Our Time PressThe Local Paper with the Global View

Whenever summer comes around, a lot of things run through  the minds of parents and their teens. Final report cards, Regents test scores and summer jobs.
Summer jobs are hard to find for young teens. That’s because most jobs want people that do not have to go home at a certain time and can work long hours. Parents who have young teens and want them to be able to work should look at jobs openings at day care’s and summer camps. These jobs have a schedule of 9am-5pm.
The only problem with having your teen trying to work at a summer camp is that your teen may end up not working at the camp and end up in the camp themselves.      This usually happens to 13-and -14-year old teens. Even with the camps, they want older people to work and that’s just based on maturity. Some teens at the age of 13 and 14 and even sometimes 15 aren’t mature enough to handle younger children which would be at the summer camp.
“I tried to work at a summer camp last summer and I didn’t get picked because I was too young”, a 14-year-old from Brooklyn, New York.
Maybe the best job for young teens would be a baby-sitting job for a neighbor or walking/sitting pets for a neighbor. There are not a lot of job openings for young teens, so you would have to make your own opening. It may not be easy, but there are plenty of people that need help in the summer. Your teen could make fliers and put them up in local buildings and stores to advertise.
For teens older than 14, programs like the Summer Youth Program which can be reached at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dycd/html/services-employment-syep.html. There is another program that can help also,
http://www.tabinc.org/blog/archives/2005/05/nyc_summer_yout.html. There are   few things your teen would need in order to sign up for the Summer Youth Program, the most important might be your child’s working papers. Your child’s working papers could be received at your child’s school at the guidance counselor’s office.

Though much of the political discussion this election season has centered on the Congressional races, there are a number of state campaigns that are just as contentious.
Take for instance the Democratic primary in the 57th Assembly
District. With the 24-year incumbent, Roger Green, making his play for Washington, the seat is up for grabs.
Three very promising candidates have set their sites on representing the district, which extends from Prospect Heights into Ft. Greene, Clinton Hill and Bedford Stuyvesant: Freddie Hamilton, founder of the Child Development Support Corp.; Bill Batson, the former director of community relations for the State Senate Democratic leader David Paterson; and Hakeem Jeffries, a lawyer for CBS who has twice before tried to unseat Green.
The position that they all covet will place them directly in the Atlantic Yards firestorm since the controversial development lies within the district. The debate surrounding the project, as important as it may be, has played a divisive role in this campaign, deflecting attention away from other pertinent issues, such as education and affordable housing.
We  broached the topic of the $4.2-billion development with each candidate, who all have been very vocal about their positions. Hamilton, who is also running to retain her position as Democratic state committeewoman district leader, supports the project primarily for its promise of affordable housing and jobs. Both of her opponents, however, insist that without any legally binding contracts, which the Community Benefits Agreement is not, those two concessions will only remain promises.
“I like the CBA,” says Batson, “but it has to be binding and the parties that are a fixing their signatures don’t have the agency or the authority to make the commitments that are being made. I am not bashing the CBA or its signers, but if FCR expects that document to substitute for municipal or state oversight than they are wrong.”
While Jeffries holds a more moderate position on project – citing the scale, use of eminent domain and the strain on public services as his major points of contention – Batson is going so far as to sue to get an injunction to postpone the hearing on the project. He, too, shares Jeffries’ concerns and is adamantly opposed to Forest City Ratner’s seedy approach – circumventing the City Council- to getting this deal approved. Batson’s position is sure
to garner him huge support from the likes of Develop Don’t Destroy and all others who are more taken with this one issue than any of the other problems facing the district. Some have said that he is suffering from tunnel vision, to which the contender vehemently denies. Batson points to his work with the Duffield St Underground Railroad site and his establishment of the American Civil Rights Education Services organization. “If you go through all of my
quotes in the media, only a tenth of it’s about the Atlantic Yards,” he says.
Well about 90% of our conversation was about the project. Regardless of what I asked, Batson kept returning to the subject. But to his credit the candidate does have some progressive non-ATY-related policies. I applaud his call for “a moratorium on evictions in areas where there’s rampant real estate speculation” as well as his push to sanction landlords that employ arson or neglect to blight their properties for profit. But he seems to lack a broad-based understanding of all that plagues the district.
Batson doesn’t seem as connected to the area as his opponent, Hamilton. Her work with her non-profit seems to have grounded her in a deeper understanding of the plight of working class people, especially those with families. Hamilton is focused on stemming the tide of State Medicaid cuts and expanding dollars for subsidized childcare, both lofty goals that will not be easily achieved. But her administrative abilities, as demonstrated
through the organization, and experience in working with legislators on education and childcare related issues are crucial for the position.
Unfortunately, Hamilton’s support of Atlantic Yards and David Yassky’s attempt to drain the color out of the 11th-CD may not sit well with voters. Granted her explanation for her support of the carpetbagger is reasonable; Yassky’s activism with gun control in the City Council and in Congress greatly attracted Hamilton, who lost her son to gun violence in 1993. She notes that no other candidate in the 11th has included the issue in his/her platform. Hamilton went on to say, “I understand the issue of the voting rights district, but I don’t agree that only Black people can run in that district. It’s a disservice and a discredit for us to even take that position.” Maybe (playing devil’s advocate).but its difficult to trust a man who made the same divisive power play in Washington DC.
As for Jeffries, the young lawyer mirrors Green in much of his policy fundamentals. He too, seeks to funnel more money into skilled-trade training programs and diversify the construction trade. Jeffries also wants to create a program by which cultural institutions that receive state funding “adopt schools and use the resources that are available to” provide students with a well-rounded education. Though a cohesive community effort to educate children is always warranted, it’s important that public schools don’t rely too much on non-governmental agencies to pick up the slack as it allows the government to slack off on services that we are paying for. Nevertheless the
plan is commendable.
However, I’m not totally convinced of his passion, but I seem to be in the minority as Jeffries has picked up endorsements from many of his party’s bigwigs, like Bill Thompson Jr. and Vito Lopez, and has raised $90,000. Batson on the other hand has the support of environmental groups like the Sierra club and has pulled in $62,000. Hamilton, who has posted $17,000, doesn’t have quite the war chest of the other two gentlemen, but she has the support of the out going incumbent.

HBO: Can you talk a little about the title, and its significance?
Spike Lee: Well, titles are always important for all my films. That’s the first thing the audience hears. Even before I had written the script for Do the Right Thing I had the title. I can’t remember exactly when we came up with the title for When the Levees Broke but it was early on.
HBO: It’s very open-ended, and almost leaves the viewer to finish the sentence themselves.
Spike Lee: I’ve tried to progress past the point with my films where I’m giving a five-word description. One of the significant things about the title is that most people think that it was Katrina that brought about the devastation to New Orleans. But it was a breaching of the levees that put 80 percent of the city under water. It was not the hurricane. And last week the United States Army Corps of Generals went on record and finally ‘fessed up, and said that we f—d up.
HBO: What was the thing that devastated you more than anything, about what happened in New Orleans?
Spike Lee: The thing that’s very hard for me, and I think’ll be hard for any filmmaker who has to ask difficult questions, especially when you’re asking people who’ve lost loved ones, is that, as a filmmaker and as a storyteller, it was my job, it was my duty to ask some difficult questions that I knew would stir up feelings…that would make people break down. Now, that was not my intention. But we have people talk about how their whole life has been changed.
So it’s very important that the audience, not just here in the United States but all over the world, hear these stories from these individuals, these witnesses, who saw the horror of what happened in New Orleans.
HBO: There were so many stories, and I’m sure even today you still hear stories that you haven’t heard that just horrify you. How did you decide which you were gonna go with?

Spike Lee: Well, when you choose the stories a lot of it depends who’s telling the story and who can convey that story. Everything you shoot cannot make it into the final film. So, myself along with my editor and producing partner Sam Pollock, we thought long and hard about what goes, and what stays.
HBO: When did you know you had to do a film about this?
Spike Lee: When Hurricane Katrina went through New Orleans or around it, I was in Venice, Italy at a film festival. It was a very painful experience to see my fellow American citizens, the majority of them African- Americans, in the dire situation they were in. And I was outraged with the slow response of the federal government. And every time I’m in Europe, any time something happens in the world involving African-Americans, journalists jump on me, like I’m the spokesperson for 45 million African-Americans, which I’m not. But many of them expressed their outrage too. And one interesting thing is that these European journalists were saying the images they were seeing looked like they were from a third world country, not the almighty United States of America.
It was around that time that I decided that I would like to do this. And as soon as I got back to New York, I called up (HBO’s) Sheila Nevins, and we met, and she agreed to go forward. What many people say in this film is that what happened in New Orleans is unprecedented. Never before in the history of the United States has the federal government turned its back on its own citizens in the manner that they did, with the slow response to people who needed help.
Recently, there was another horrific earthquake, a national disaster in Indonesia. And, once again, the United States government was there within two days. Now it’s great that we were in Indonesia in two days. But…let’s get a globe [LAUGHS], and see what the distance between the United States and Indonesia, and to New Orleans, and the people in the whole Gulf region.
HBO: When you first set foot on the ground, was it what you expected? Were you prepared for what you saw?
Spike Lee: Anyone who has been to New Orleans will automatically tell you that what you saw on television, the pictures, they can’t really describe the scale of the devastation. When you go to the Lower Ninth Ward, it looks- Hiroshima must have look like that. Nagasaki. Beirut. Berlin after it was bombed in World War II. That’s the way the Lower Ninth Ward looks like, and a lotta other places in New Orleans.
People in New Orleans are up in arms about progress. People wanna move back. New Orleans was a predominantly African- American city, and its black citizens were dispersed to 46 other states. People wanna come home, but there’s nowhere for them to live. They wanna work. The thing is just all messed up. I would not wanna be Mayor Ray Nagin. That has the next hardest job in this country besides the President of the United States, being the mayor of New Orleans.
HBO: Why do you think the response was what it was?
Spike Lee: Well, I would just say, what Kanye West expressed, that George Bush doesn’t care about black people. Many people think it had nothing to do with race, it had more to do with class. You have a large population who happened to be poor, and if they did vote they didn’t vote Republican anyway. Everybody was on vacation. Ms. Rice was buying Ferrigamo shoes on Madison Avenue while people were drowning, then went to see Spamalot. Cheney was on vacation. Bush was on vacation, and even when the President cut short his vacation, he did not fly directly to New Orleans. He did not fly directly to the Gulf region. He had the pilot of Air Force One do a fly-over.
Politicians do many things that are symbolic. And people might say well, what’s the good if it’s just symbolic? Sometimes there’s a lotta good in symbolism. In 1965 with Hurricane Betsy, then President Lyndon B. Johnson flew to New Orleans, and went to the Lower Ninth Ward. He shined a flashlight in his face in the dark and said, I’m Lyndon B. Johnson, I’m the President of the United States and we care about you. George Bush did not feel he had to do that. He showed up late, and the damage had been done already.
One of the things I hope this documentary does is remind Americans that New Orleans is not over with, it’s not done. Americans responded in record numbers to help the people of the Gulf Coast, but let’s be honest. Americans have very, very short attention spans. And, I’ll admit there was eventually a thing called Katrina fatigue. But if you go to New Orleans, only one-fourth of the population is there. People are still not home. So hopefully, this documentary will bring this fiasco, this travesty, back to the attention of the American people. And maybe the public can get some politicians’ ass in the government to move quicker, and be more efficient in helping our fellow American citizens in the Gulf region.
HBO: Has this forever changed the way people think about New Orleans?
Spike Lee: I think when we look back on this many years from now, I’m confident that people are gonna see what happened in New Orleans as a defining moment in American history. Whether that’s pro or con is yet to be determined. And that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to do this film.

In compliance with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the New York City Board of Elections will implement new equipment to assist voters with disabilities.
Avante Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs), featuring a variety of adaptive technologies, will be available to voters during this year’s September 12th Primary and November 7 General Elections. Ballot Marking Devices assists the voter to mark a ballot but does not count votes.
The Board of Elections has set up Super Polling Sites in all five boroughs. These Super Polling Sites, located in each Board of Elections borough office, will house 4 to 5 machines. The Brooklyn Super Polling Site location is 345 Adams Street, 4th floor, Training Room, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
According to John Ravitz, BOE Executive Director, there is no definition for disability; any voter can use these machines during the primary and general elections. No one will be questioned as to the nature of their disability. Avante Ballot Marking Devices, however, will only be used this year.
The Board of Elections has no idea how many voters will elect to use this equipment at each Super Polling Site-there may be 5 or 500. The BOE does guarantee that anybody on line will vote. Since the time necessary to cast a ballot may be 3 – 45 minutes, depending upon the number of candidates in a particular CD/ AD, and other factors, it is suggested voters go to the Super Polling Site early.
Ballot Marking Devices assist voters by offering an interface choice of viewing or audio (for those with visual disabilities). Assistive technologies include: Touch Screen (for making selections), Headphones, Rocker Paddles (for those with dexterity disabilities, Sip-and-Puff (also for those with dexterity disabilities), and Display Personalization (for contrast, color and font size). In addition, a Touch-Screen Keyboard in available for write-ins.
BMDs can assist voters to overcome ‘hidden barriers’ to voting. Some potential voters may avoid voting due to an aversion to, or dislike of reading. Voters with diagnosed or undiagnosedlLearning disabilities (such as dyslexia) can now vote on BMDs with confidence by using the audio interface. Other potential voters who may be functionally illiterate (due to an inadequate educational experience or other reasons) can also take advantage of BMDs.
Curious about the new voting process using Ballot Marking Devices? During the week of August 20, the NYC BOE held demonstrations in all five boroughs, collaborating with CIDNY (Centers for Independence of the Disabled, NY) and Independent Living Centers. There will be no other public demonstrations of BMDs prior to the Sept. 12th Primary due to time constraints. The NYC BOE is set to send out a $1.2 million mailer to all voters in NYC, informing them of the availability of BMDs. If you miss both outreach efforts, there will be specially trained staff at each Super Polling Site to assist you. (See Side Bar for a detailed walk-through of the process.)
Commenting on this new initiative, Steven Richman, General Counsel for the Board of Elections, said BMDs will allow voters with disabilities to vote with   secrecy and independence.
This will not be the BOE’s last foray with new voting technology. In October, Board of Election Commissioners will meet to evaluate demonstrations of a variety of electronic voting machines, choosing one to be implemented citywide by the fall of 2007.
Yes, New Yorkers, next year, we all will cast our ballots on electronic voting machines, which are not the same as Ballot marking devices. Voting machines assist the voter to make a selection and count votes. If the New York City Board of Elections is as thoughtful regarding selection of electronic voting machines/vendors as it has been in selecting adaptive voting equipment, New York can lead the nation in implementing voting machine technology. We have the perfect opportunity to avoid the debacles that occurred in California, Ohio, and most recently, Georgia.
General Counsel Richman assures us that the ’07 voting machines will include an auditable paper trail, mandated by state law.
We will be watching.

The Voter Experience
Any NYC Voter can use a BMD to Vote.
*Voter goes to Super Polling Site in the Borough of Registered Residence.
*Voter goes to AVID Sign-in Table, gives Voter’s name and address to Poll Worker.
*Poll Worker Checks Voter-Eligibility to vote in this Election
-Is Voter Registered?
-Is Voter in the Right Borough? A Voter can use a BMD only in their borough of registered residence.
-Affidavit Ballot? If a Voter is not listed as registered, Voter will be given an Affidavit Ballot, later used to verify Voter. No one will be turned away if they claim to be in the system and they are not.
*A Voter Profile is printed. Voter signs Voter Profile. The Voter Profile is placed into a Poll List Book, which will be checked later to assure Voter did not vote at regular polling site.
*Voter is given a Voter Card and a blue envelop on which Voter writes ED/AD, name, address, etc.
*Voter takes envelope and Voter Card to Smart Card Table.
*Poll Worker Creates Voter Smart Card.
*Voter goes to Ballot Marking Machine.
*Poll Worker places Smart Card into BMD, Initiates BMD for Voter (Once used, Smart Card is deactivated).
*Poll Worker Verifies ED/AD.
*If ED/AD is correct, Poll Worker will assist Voter to set up interface choices:
a) Visual Display or Audio Ballot
b) How Voter wants to cast ballot: Touch Screen, Keyboard, Sip-and-Puff Device or Rocker Paddles
c) Language Choices -English, Spanish, Chinese and Korean
d) Display Personalization- Contrast, color and font
*Poll Worker leaves Voter in privacy to vote. (Poll Workers are available if Voter requests assistance.)
*Voter Marks Ballot.
*Voter Verifies Ballot.
*Voter Casts Ballot.
*BMD prints out Ballot.
*Voter places Printed Ballot into Blue Envelope, places it into Ballot Box.
*Voter Exits.