June 2009 Archive

This is the time of year when families begin to spend more time together. After celebrating Mother’s Day and looking forward to Father’s Day, it’s also time to start planning family vacations, reunions and going to community events.

Porter Lori, a budding musician, singer, and songwriter from Aurora, Colorado, struggled early as a teenager to nurture and hone his talents and skills. Now, at the ripe old age of 24, success in his field may be just around the corner.

The chance to live a dream, have independence and control over one’s own images, to bring cultures together, and be the...

Juneteenth, the annual African-American celebration which commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S., will be held on Saturday, June 20 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Denver’s historical Five Points neighborhood.

The accolades for Charles R. Cousins have cascaded throughout Denver and beyond. A resourceful, disciplined, ingenious and eclectic individual, “Brother” Cousins, as he came to be known, traveled along an uncharted path and his achievements abounded: real estate investor, club owner, entrepreneur, sports aficionado, mentor to youth, philanthropist, world traveler and, lastly, a pillar of the African-American community.

The first of 100 Father’s Days took place on June 19, 1910 when Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington decided to honor her father. William Jackson Smart was a civil war veteran, a widower and single father to Dodd and her five siblings. Without his involvement, who knows what would have happened to Dodd and this national holiday.

In today’s interconnected world, any crisis stretches far beyond one nation. Without regard to the type of problem or its origin, a flu pandemic, a terrorist attack or even a financial crisis can spread around the globe rapidly.

A few years back media outlets took shocking note of a deadly and disturbing phenomenon. A lot of rap artists were suddenly turning up dead. Dead actually is not the right way to describe their deaths. They were murdered, and their murderers in almost all cases were other rappers, or their friends, or the associates of rival rappers.

When Ron Ivory was a child, his green plastic soldiers were not sent to war. Instead, they were lined up on stage and transformed into a band, performing with their guns transformed into imaginary guitars. Today, this vivid creativity has pushed the songwriter, vocalist and keyboardist into the leadership of four successful musical groups, a CD release and a vision for more great things to come.

It has been said that single fathers are more often separated from a child’s life because of unfortunate circumstances such as divorce, separation and even death.

What could be more pathetic than a lonely man, thrown out of his house by his wife? Or worse, two men ejected by their wives and cohabitating. And even more pathetic than that: one of them being a slob and the other an obsessed neatness freak. With this, we have the formulae devised in 1965 by Neil Simon in his American classic play The Odd Couple, with chronic mess-man Oscar Madison and clean freak Felix Unger.

Five outstanding young men were awarded “AIM High” financial awards in the amount of $1,200 to assist in their pursuit of higher education by the Asfaw Family Foundation International (AFFI).

The onset of slavery in America can be directly linked to the beginning of tobacco production in this country. Though many factors contributed to slavery in the New World, tobacco was the main reason that slavery first flourished as an industry.

Only in New Orleans could this be classified as “a return to normalcy.” The Crescent City, torn asunder by Hurricane Katrina, stamped by federal neglect and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s neoliberal experimentation, will once again collide with the freewheeling, hard-partying frenzy of the NFL’s crown jewel: the Super Bowl.

Denver is the first city in Colorado to offer free building permits for common home-improvement projects to single-family homes and duplexes. The free permits will be available June 1-15 and valid for 180 days. Permits will be issued on the spot to citizens or their contractors.

This summer, visitors of all ages from cities coast to coast will experience for free the magic behind Disney’s A Christmas Carol in this once-in-a-lifetime attraction. Disney’s A Christmas Carol is a thrilling, multi-sensory movie directed by Robert Zemeckis that takes the classic Dickens tale to the big screen like never before. The movie opens nationwide November 6.

Older adults and their caregivers frequently face a great deal of challenges as they adjust to retirement and aging. From Medicare and Medicaid, to picking a senior living facility that is right for their needs, older adults can often become overwhelmed with navigating the complex systems and making the difficult decisions that come with aging. Caregivers also face a great deal of frustration as they struggle to assist a loved one through these processes.

This summer nearly 3 million children 14 years old and younger will be rushed to emergency departments for serious injuries that are preventable. Almost half of all unintentional injuries and deaths occur between May and August. Enjoy fun and safe summer activities by following these safety tips:

It was a perfect spring day in Denver – warm and sunny. Three preschoolers gathered to plant flowers in a demonstration garden at the future site of Feed Denver, an urban farm and market, while dozens of neighbors, community leaders and government officials assembled to discuss a bright new vision for the corner of 33rd and Holly in Northeast Park Hill.

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Real Men Cook Kicks Off 19th Annual Father's Day Celebration Chicago -- Real Men Cook, America's premiere urban Father's Day family tradition that pays tribute to the family, will be held in 11 cities on Father’s Day, June 15

Well, it’s finally here and none too soon to enjoy the many summer events happening in the Mile High City.

Laughs Aplenty In Hilarious Homage To Blaxploitation Genre

Unsubtle Wayans Brothers More Shocking Than Funny

Fame Meets Flashdance In Chocolate City

It would be well worth anyone’s while to see the musical Rent while it is in town at the Buell Theatre for a limited run through the Sunday, June 14, 2009, 2:00 p.m. matinee. It is referred to as the Broadway Tour because the two principal actors, Adam Pascal as Roger, and Anthony Rapp as Mark, who played those roles in the original 1996 production

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Over-Plotted Prequel Unravels Multi-Layered Mysteries Surrounding Marvel Superhero

Welcome to the new America. I’m not talking about a blue America or a red America. I’m talking about a 21st century America – a nation of many colors, cultures and faiths. Barack Obama’s election as the first African-American president symbolizes what we have known for some time, but often fail to acknowledge: The United States has become one of the most religiously and ethnically diverse societies on Earth...

The holiday season is here again. But amidst the hustle and bustle of gift-giving and family get-togethers, seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D should carve out time to consider whether they want to stay with their current prescription drug plan...

Nov. 5, 2008 Dear Brother Obama, You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us.You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear...

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More than 250,000 people gathered at Chicago's Grant Park along the Lake Michigan shoreline to celebrate the victory of Barack Obama. Following are remarks by President-Elect Barack Obama, Nov. 4, 2008, Chicago, IL...