TW LW WOC TITLE/ARTISTE/LABEL

01 4 12 The Realest Song – Konshens – Cash Flow (1wk@#1) U-3
02 1 12 Dance The Night Away – Voicemail & Busy Signal – Washroom Entertainment (2wks@#1) D-1
03 3 10 Bicycle – Vybz Kartel – CR0203 NM
04 2 16 Life We Living – Vybz Kartel – Cash Flow/Adidjaheim (3wks@#1) D-2
05 6 9 Skip to Ma Lue – Serani feat Ding Dong & Razz & Biggy – Daseca U-1
06 5 15 Woman Pon Yuh Head – Chino – Big Ship (pp#3) D-1
07 9 18 Mi Want My Own – Tyrical – Seanizzle Records (pp#8) U-2
08 8 22 Holiday – Din g Dong / Chevaughn – Notice (4wks@#1) NM
09 12 7 Fresh – Flexx – Fagan Fraternity/Hapilos Entertainment U-3
10 11 8 How She Like It – Duane Howard & Junior Kelly – Reign Time Records U-1
11 13 6 Go Go Club – Vybz Kartel – Head Concussion U-2
12 14 6 Put Yuh Hand Up In The Air – Assassin – Di Genius U-2
13 15 6 Every Gal – Nicky B – Head Concussion U-2
14 7 19 House Cleaning – Mavado – Heart of Love (pp#2) D-7
15 10 13 Country Mi Ting Deh – Mikeylous – Specialist Sound Production (pp#9) D-5
16 18 5 Hot Like a Fire – Toya – Downsound U-2
17 17 5 Never Let You Go – Shaggy & Tessanne – Big Yard NM
18 21 4 Gal Ova Gun – Mavado – Armz House Production U-3
19 20 4 Bills – Lisa Hype – Head Concussion U-1
20 22 4 Fire Pon Obeah – Capleton – SANKOFA U-2
21 16 23 Skip to Ma Lue – QQ feat Ding Dong – QG Production (2wks@#1) D-5
22 19 14 Better Days – Chase Cross – Frass (pp#12) D-3
23 25 2 Mi Woman a Call Mi – Beenie Man – SANKOFA U-2
24 – New Beg U A Touch – Vybz Kartel – Adidjahiem Records
25 – New Come into My Room – Mavado & Stacious – Di Genius

TOP 25 REGGAE SINGLES

TW LW WOC TITLE/ARTISTE/LABEL

01 2 16 One More Night – Busy Signal – Turf Music (1wk@#1) U-1
02 3 15 King & Queen – Richie Spice & Alison Hinds -Black Coral U-1
03 4 13 The Pill – Junior X – Revolutionary Entertainment U-1
04 5 18 Feel So Good – Barbee – Rare Diamond Productions U-1
05 1 18 Ears Hard – Vybrant – Major Links Entertainment (2wks@#1) D-4
06 6 16 Heavy Load – Tom Laing – Top Tier/Raw Moon NM
07 8 10 Love this Lifetime – Sheba feat Bounty Killer – Sonic Dynasty U-1
08 9 8 Hold My Hand – Sean Paul feat Keri Hilson – Fresh Ear U-1
09 7 20 Drive By – Nesbeth – Jan Biggs (3wks@#1) D-2
10 11 11 You Make My Day – Sizzla – Minor 7, Flat 5 U-1
11 13 7 Lose A Friend – I-Octane – Truck Back U-2
12 14 9 Million $ Check – Mojo Morgan – Gedion Soldiers Ent U-2
13 10 21 Ruff Times – Nico D feat. Jah Mason – Tad’s Int’l Rec/Kontractor Music/J.A.M. (2wks@#1) D-3
14 17 5 Love Contagious – Tarrus Riley – VP Records U-3
15 12 20 Rolling Stones – Spanner Banner – Penthouse (pp#4) D-3
16 20 3 Johnny – LUST – Born Music U-4
17 22 3 Rise Again(Tribute to Haiti) – Shaggy, Sean Paul, Sean Kingston, Tessanne Chin, Etana, Alison Hinds, Kees Dieffenthaller, David Rudder, Belo, Shontelle Layne, Destra Garcia, Edwin Yearwood – Birchill Records U-5
18 15 14 Be By Your Side – Ras Penco – Uprize Music Production (pp#11) D-3
19 18 24 Falling for You – Lutan Fire – Renaissance (2wks@#1) D-1
20 21 4 Searching – Peter Lloyd – Black Light Records U-1
21 16 24 Revolution – Natural Black – Fifth Element Records (pp#2) D-5
22 24 3 Nah Stop Try – Zebilum Tucker – Formula One Productions U-2
23 19 26 Try Jah Love – Josie Mel & Smokey Benz – Minor 7, Flat 5 (3wks@#1) D-4
24 – New Time and a Place – Bu ju Banton – John John
25 23 27 Always on my Mind – George Nooks – Tads Records (pp#3) D-2

TOP 10 ALBUMS/CD CHART

TW LW WOC TITLE/ARTISTE/LABEL

01 1 9 Strictly the Best Vol. 40 – Various Artistes – VP Records(2wks@#1) NM
02 2 13 Tell It Like It Is – Stevie Face – Boot Camp Records (4wks@#1) NM
03 5 5 Crucial Times – Sizzla Kalonji – Greensleeves Records U-2
04 3 16 The Ultimate – Various Artistes – Tads International Records (3wks@#1) D-1
05 6 5 Now & Forever – Sanchez – VP Records U-1
06 4 30 2 Sides of My Heart Vol 1 – Gramps Morgan – Dada Son (4wks@#1) D-2
07 8 3 State of Da World – Inner Circle – Shanachie U-1
08 10 2 Escape from Babylon – Alborosie – Greensleeves U-2
09 – New Pon Di Gaza 2.0 – Vybz Kartel – Adidjaheim / Tads Records
10 9 20 Trial & Crosses – Twins of Twins – Kingston 13 Productions (3wks@#1) D-1

“It’s not impossible to change the world and I don’t think the many heroes that came before me had thought it was impossible either,” says Nate Parker.
The actor, activist and intellect is referring to a real life hero that he portrays in the movie “Blood Done Sign My Name,” an inspirational civil rights drama set in the 1970s that recounts the aftermath of the murder of Henry Marrow, a 23-year-old African American Vietnam veteran who was killed by a prominent white businessman in Oxford, North Carolina.
A true story based on a novel of the same title by Duke University professor Timothy Tyson, Parker plays a 22-year-old Benjamin Chavis, the burgeoning activist who decided that the best way to protest the injustice was to organize a peaceful march to the state capitol. Gathering the incensed Oxford natives, what begins as a small group of Marrow’s outraged friends and relatives grows to become a crowd of thousands for a three-day, fifty-mile march to Raleigh, North Carolina.
Chavis, who later went on to become the youngest head of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), urged the black population of Oxford to use its’ economic power to boycott the white businesses that had taken advantage of them, and provided a platform for Parker, who makes no qualms of his attraction to periodic pieces to enrich his knowledge of black history.
“My character [Chavis] was the medium between all the different emotions after Marrrow’s death. You had some guys running through the city breaking things. You had the students who didn’t know what to do. You had the judicial system that wasn’t giving anyone any answers and what he succeeded in doing was creating solidarity,” says Parker.
The 30-year-old Norfolk native and former computer programmer who stumbled into acting after he was discovered by a Los Angeles talent agent has had a remarkable career.  He was specially selected by Denzel Washington for the role of Henry Lowe in “The Great Debaters,” a movie which snagged him an NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Actor.
Now one of the most promising young actors to have recently emerged on the film scene, Parker played the male lead in “Rome and Jewel,” a hip-hop take on “Romeo and Juliet” and also stared in the movie “Pride” about an African American swim team. Recently, he played the love interest of Alicia Keys in the movie “The Secret Life of Bees” and will be starring alongside Oscar nominee Terence Howard in the George Lucas upcoming production “Red Tails”.
A  Penn State graduate, Parker, who is also committed to using his role as an actor to represent positive male images within the black community, picks his projects very carefully and was particularly attracted to “Blood” because of its powerful message.
“It deals with civil rights in the 1970s and I was attracted to this movie because of the dynamics of the story. It’s a true story where the director was a slave to the book in many ways,” Parker says.
Written in 2004 by Timothy Tyson, who was 10 years old at the time the events occurred, the book, an engaging autobiography, has sold over 150,000 copies and won numerous accolades including the Southern Book Critics Circle Award and the prestigious Louisville Grawemeyer Award. Tyson, whose father served as a minister to the city’s all-white Methodist Church in Oxford, saw first hand the injustices that plagued the city when his father tried to integrate the church and initially wrote this epic story of empowerment in the South as a thesis whilst in college.
“The events happened over the summer just before I turned 11,” says author Tyson. “The next year we integrated the schools and it was really violent and crazy.  We had a group called The rights of White People meeting in the park across the street from where I went to school and there was just a lot of insanity. I was very interested in figuring out how things had gotten that way, so I started it when I was a freshman in college and went back to Oxford and interviewed Robert Teal, the murderer, who is a friend of my father’s and thus began the journey,” he says.
Starring Lela Rochon (“Boomerang”, “Brooklyn’s Finest”) and Omar Benson Miller (“Miracle at St. Anna”, “CSI: Miami”), “Blood” is directed by Jeb Stuart the screenwriter of “The Fugitive”. Stuart, whose father was also a Presbyterian minister in the south, was drawn to the book which he felt paralleled his own life. “I had been raised in what was commonly known as a ‘New South’ household, meaning it was pro-civil rights and like the Tyson’s, respect for blacks was paramount,” claims Stuart who captures the book’s essence in examining Marrow’s murder and its aftermath from multiple points of view.
“The title worked perfectly for me,” continues Tyson.  “Blood evokes murder. It’s also a short hand, which we use for race and family. It’s very much a story about different families who have these complicated legacies which collide. When we sign our names, we are making a commitment and it’s about a commitment that generations of Southern blacks and whites have made to make a declaration of independence.”
A story of the struggle to attain civil rights, “Blood” gets inside the passion of race relations in America and whilst many may argue that a tale about criminal injustice and deep-rooted Southern values has been explored before in numerous flicks, Parker, a major star in the movie is quick to dispel those arguments.
“First of all, civil rights is not over,” say the actor. “The movement has not ended. A lot of black issues are rooted in these cliché civil rights movies and if it means me using my platform as an actor to do these types of powerful movies, then that’s what I am going to do. Being a person of color, the activism has to be a part of my very platform. There is no other way.”

The first Passport Day in the USA was held in March 2009. Over 57,000 passport applications were accepted at passport agencies and 2,000 passport acceptance facilities. This year, with the addition of new passport agencies in Detroit, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Tucson, we expect that even more Americans will take the opportunity to apply for their passport on this special day.

“Passport Day in the USA is a great opportunity for Americans to apply for their passports,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Passport Services, Brenda S. Sprague. “Since it is on a Saturday, people can drop by a passport agency or their nearest passport acceptance facility and still have plenty of time to enjoy their weekend.”

On March 27, all passport agencies will be open and accepting passport book and passport card applications from 10 am to 3 pm, with no need to schedule an appointment. For this day only, U.S. citizens without urgent travel plans may apply directly at a regional passport agency and both routine and expedited processing service may be requested.

Many passport acceptance facilities around the country will also be hosting Passport Day in the USA events. U.S. citizens can visit www.travel.state.gov to find a participating passport acceptance facility near them and the event details. This website also contains complete passport information about what is needed to apply for a passport, as well as the application fees and processing times. U.S. citizens may also call the National Passport Information Center toll-free at 1-877-487-2778.

Please note that since June 1, 2009 U.S. citizens have been required to present a passport book, passport card, or other travel document approved by the U.S. government when entering the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land borders and sea ports of entry. Additional information on travel requirements is available at www.getyouhome.gov.

For press inquiries, please contact the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Policy Coordination and Public Affairs at (202) 647-0254

Actress and comedian Mo’Nique continued an award-winning streak, adding an NAACP Image Award to a list of recently received accolades for her ferocious performance in “Precious”.

The 43-year old Baltimore native who has successfully transitioned between stand-up comedy and acting, with roles in films that include, “Baby Boy,” “Two Can Play That Game”,  “Half Past Dead,” “Shadowboxer “ and “Domino” also won the Outstanding Talk Series award for her talk show on BET.

The cast of “Precious” also received accolades including a Best Actress award for main star Gabourey Sidibe, an Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture accolade for Geoffrey Fletcher and a Best Director award for director Lee Daniels.

In an emotional televised speech, which exceeded the allotted 45 seconds, Daniels invited fellow power house director Tyler Perry to share the stage and thanked “Precious” producers Sarah Siegel-Magness and husband Gary for believing in him. “These two people came in when every studio and everybody on Wall Street despite my success on other films told me no.

I want to thank them for believing in me and making sure my decision was executed to the fullest,” said Daniels. With performances by artists Wyclef Jean, John Legend and Jill Scott, awards in other categories went to Delroy Lindo, Keri Hilson and Maxwell.

Lindo received an accolade for his role on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” Hilson was named outstanding new artist whilst Maxwell won for best male artist.Hosted by Anika Noni Rose and Hill Harper, event sponsors for the 41^st NAACP Image Awards (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) included FedEx, Pepsi, AT&T, Sprint and American Airline

The key to this endeavor is having every household fill out and mail back a completed census form. Participation is critical, as the results determine how Congress is apportioned and how more than $400 billion in federal funds are distributed annually to state, local and tribal areas.

One way to help ensure that everyone is counted is to form Complete Count Committees in communities, municipalities, cities, counties, states, and tribal governments across the country.

Complete Count Committees are volunteer teams consisting of community leaders, faith-based groups, schools, businesses, media outlets, and others who are appointed by elected officials and work together to make sure entire communities are counted.

“We want the 2010 Census to be the most accurate yet, and we are again calling upon Complete Count Committees to help us achieve that goal,” said Dr. Robert Groves, director of the U.S. Census Bureau. “To ensure an accurate count and distribution of funds for schools, roads and elderly services, the support of local Complete Count Committees is vital.”

A variety of state, county, municipal, tribal and community-based organizations formed 11,800 Complete Count Committees during Census 2000. These committees developed targeted outreach plans specific to their communities to supplement what the Census Bureau was already doing through paid advertising and partnership efforts. As a result, these committees helped

inform local residents — including those historically hard to reach populations— of the importance of responding to the census. In part because of these efforts, the response rate for Census 2000 increased for the first time in 30 years and the undercount of those historically missed during a decennial census was reduced. In short, the Complete Count Committees, when combined with the Census Bureau’s paid advertising and partnership program, made a huge improvement in the quality and accuracy of Census 2000.

In 2010, we need even more of these committees to help educate and inform our increasingly diverse nation. Complete Count Committees can start now to create awareness within their communities about the upcoming 2010 Census. They can donate space for testing and training temporary census workers, publicize recruiting efforts and obtain endorsements from local leaders. They can conduct census rallies or parades, media luncheons, and interfaith breakfasts and weekend events, as we get closer to Census Day.

The 2010 Census will have one of the shortest census questionnaires in the history of the United States, dating back to the first census in 1790. The 2010 Census will ask just name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, relationship and whether the head of household owns or rents their home. The census form will take only about 10 minutes on average to complete, and answers are protected by law and strictly confidential.

For more information about forming a Complete Count Committee, please contact your Census Bureau regional office and ask to speak with a Partnership staff member. Staff can provide you with training materials, timelines, suggested activities, and a Complete Count

Committee handbook to make your committee a success. Visit the Census Bureau’s Web site at

<http://www.census.gov> and click on “Regional Offices” for contact information.

Contact:

Public Information Office 301-763-3691/763-3762 (fax) 301-457-1037 (TDD) E-mail: <pio@census.gov>

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is talking about another $2.5 billion cut to education – on top of $17 billion in cuts over the last two years.  The latest round of proposed cuts—which will affect health care for children and social services for the poor and elderly—have prompted educators, working families, community organizations, and union members throughout California to plan a “Day of Action” on March 4 to protest the cutbacks.

The purpose of the action, according to the California Teacher’s Association, is to raise public awareness of the devastating impact the budget reductions will have on California public schools.

Peter Somberg, Vice-President of Inglewood’s Teacher Association, says a bold showing is needed to “Educate the public on the far-reaching devastating impact the cuts will have on California’s public schools.”

Teresa Lewis, a parent with two children in the public school system, says she has been talking to other parents about the proponed cuts.

“We need to see that these cuts are not just affecting our children right now, but that the cuts will affect their future,” Lewis says. “The state of California public education is ranked, what, 45th, 46th out of 50 states in receiving funding?  How do we expect our children to be prepared when they won’t and have barely funded our schools?  Not all of us can send our children to private schools. Not all of us want to send our children to private schools.  What my children have access to now, what they learn now is what will determine how far they get in life.  I want better for my children.  I want them to be better than me. I want them to be able to compete.”

William Brown, a single parent, says that some sacrifices should be made in these bad economic times, but also wonders about the current plans.

“What happens when the economy turns around? Brown asks. “How will my child and other children, who have been pretty much ignored when you look at the funding for our schools, be able to function [and] compete in what everyone is calling a global society when they have not received the proper training because of the elimination of needed programs and the extreme cuts to education?”

According to the California Charter Schools Association, the number of students going to charter schools has consistently increased by approximately 20% on an annual basis in recent years.  Many parents believe that this growth is due to the fact that the K-12 public schools have neglected many of the enrichment programs that are attractive to parents and children in an effort to improve academic performance.  As a result, many parents would rather send their children to a charter or private school in search of a well-rounded education.

“Public schools are becoming more of a factory assembly line where our children are now numbers: come in, take your test, and get out,” said, Guadalupe, a charter school parent advocate.  “Offer my child everything and he will learn.”

A parent who did not wish to be identified said, too many of the standard public schools are focused on test scores to the exclusion of broader concerns.

“Because of the increase of charter schools, all some of these schools talk about now are the state test scores,” the parent said. “I took my daughter out of a school because they said their focus was only on the end of the year test scores, so basically, all my daughter was learning was how to pass the test.  Just because she scores well on the state test doesn’t mean she’s well educated.  It doesn’t make sense that my daughter can’t get what the private school students get. And the schools, because of the budget cuts, don’t care about anything but the scores. I am going to attend the March 4th Rally, and hope that together we can also let Sacramento know we want the same quality education that the politicians and the president’s daughters get.”

The issue of educational cuts affects everything from the special education curricula to the gifted and talented programs. While many are aware of the hardships and budget constraints for the special education programs, many are not aware of how the cuts have affected the gifted and talented programs. Last year’s report, “2008-2009 State of the States in Gifted Education,” from the National Association for Gifted Children (NACG) and the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted, found that America’s 3 million gifted and talented students in the k-12 schools are being neglected at all levels in the United States.

The report cited several failures on the part of U.S. education: “A full fourth of states provided zero funding for programs and resources for gifted students last year, and in states that did provide funding, there was little consistency, with per-pupil expenditures ranging from $2 to $750.”

The report also noted “a shift in focus away from academic excellence toward ‘bringing up lower-performing students and maintaining adequate yearly progress’ and a shift in staffing away from gifted programs,” a result of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of the President George W. Bush administration. “At a time when other nations are redoubling their commitment to their highest potential students, the United States continues to neglect the needs of this student population, a policy failure that will cost us dearly in the years to come,” said Ann Robinson, in a prepared statement quoted by the report.

NCLB, a federal legislation, mandates that if states receive federal funding for their schools, then those states must develop assessments or tests, in basic skills to be given to all students in certain grades. This mandate is the result, many educators believe, of many schools neglecting the “Whole Child” educational approach to the “Test Scores are What Matters” model.

David A. Sanchez, president of the 325,000-member CTA, says he is encouraging everyone to participate because the March 4 event because “…investing in our public schools and colleges is essential to building a stronger California for all of us,” Throughout the cities of California including the State Capital in Sacramento, marches and rallies will be taking place. In Los Angeles, there will be marches and rallies at many locations including Pershing Square in downtown L.A., then to the Governor’s Office, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State LA, Dominguez Hills, and other locations.  More information can be gotten at StandUpFor Schools.org.

Even while the federal government was officially shut down due to the severe snow storm that was incapacitating the Washington, D.C. area, the president still welcomed Rev. Al Sharpton, NAACP President Benjamin Jealous and National Urban League President Marc Morial into the Oval Office for their first formal meeting since Obama became the country’s first Black president.

”The assumption is that because the president is African-American he should be up for representing African-American interests,” Sharpton said. ”That’s like saying because you’re from the labor union you should represent labor interests.”

Described as a ”very candid and open” dialog, the leaders met for more than an hour exploring a framework for reducing the excessive job loss numbers in the nation’s inner-cities, according to a telephone conference with reporters after the meeting.

”Our meeting with the president was a positive conversation,” Morial said. ”We support very strongly the president’s 2010 focus on jobs and job creation. We certainly share with him the great challenges that our communities are facing as the result of the jobs crisis and its high levels of long-term unemployment. And while, no doubt, the great recession has affected all Americans it has disproportionately African-Americans, Latinos and those living in urban communities.”

Because of the weather, iconic civil rights and women’s right stalwart Dorothy Height, who was also invited, was not able to attend the meeting. The 97-year-old chairwoman of the National Council of Negro Women was, until that point, also fully involved with the deliberations.

The particular focus on African-American employment by the president and civil rights leaders came about because the Black jobless numbers are teetering near rates that rival Great Depression levels. While the country’s unemployment rate fell below the double-digit highs it posted at the end of 2009 in January to 9.7 percent the jobless rate for Black continued to rise to a dizzying 16.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At this time last year, when President Obama first took over an already severely economically recessed country, the Black unemployment rate was at a still extreme yet more modest 12.8 percent.

”We will not rest until the unemployment rate comes down to acceptable levels. That means way down in the four and five percent range,” said Morial, who’s aiming for a target rate never seen by African-Americans.

For the past six months, the National Urban League has been advancing a six-point jobs plan. In November, the NUL chief executive sent a letter to the Obama Administration and congressional leaders that outlined his organizations’ recommendations to address the jobs issue, which included proposals such as direct funding to lower than federal-level municipalities, schools and non-profit community-based organizations to hire staff for critical community services, expansion of the Small Business Administration’s Community Express Loan Program and the Youth Summer Jobs Program, among other provisions.

”We’re not saying that you should do this or that you should take action with this specifically but we are saying, ”Here are some ideas”, Morial said, calling his organization’s jobs plan a ”laundry list” of provisions put together by leading economists.

The group said that after courting Obama as an ally on their war on jobs loss they want to share the same concerns with an embattled Congress that is currently trying to hash out job creation legislation. Mirroring healthcare, a jobs bill narrowly passed the House along party lines in December but the Senate is facing a growingly tougher task.

”We are looking for a way to target the frustration, particularly at the Republicans in the Senate,” Jealous said.

The NAACP leader said that he is growing weary of Republicans continued use of obstructionist tactics to railroad Obama’s domestic agenda. He is also frustrated with the passive Democrats, who, despite enjoying unprecedented leverage as the party in power in both the legislative and executive branches – are allowing legislation to be dragged along.

He said that the Senate bill should favor the House bill, which looks to use leftover bank bailout money to aid states, extend unemployment benefits, invest on infrastructure and expand tax credits for families with children.

Since a Senate jobs bill is still being debated, Morial said that he will push for the inclusion of a number of provisions from his jobs plan.

”We believe that any jobs bill passed through Congress needs to be inclusive, needs to have focus on those areas that have high unemployment,” Morial said.

Sharpton insisted that he was not looking for a race-based jobs bill but argued that the involvement of leaders representing communities hardest hit by unemployment was essential to a successful jobs recovery.

”We must have input in this jobs and training bill,” Sharpton argues. ”Why? Because our communities are the most impacted. We have to live and suffer with the results so we have to be at the table.”

At a meeting Wednesday night on Capitol Hill of the House Information Policy, Census, and National Archives Subcommittee, a parade of congress people worried that the Census has not done enough to engage local and ethnic media, which Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) called “the bibles of certain communities.”

Over $340 million has been allocated to the Census Bureau for a promotion and advertising campaign to avoid an undercount, part of an overall Census budget of $15 billion, triple the bureau’s 2000 budget.

But with just five weeks to go before the April 1 deadline for mailing back Census questionnaires, lawmakers wondered if that money was being targeted effectively. They were quick to criticize Census officials for a culture of “unresponsiveness,” and for a campaign that often seemed to rely on “big talent” rather than local voices.

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) noted that $118 million had been allocated for “production, labor, and ‘other’” in budget notes. Many lawmakers on the panel, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), said they still hadn’t received clear budget breakdowns for which communities were receiving what share of the ad dollars, and how many ad firms the Census had subcontracted with.

“I, for one, am terribly disappointed in the Census in giving us details,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) as the hearing began on Wednesday night.

Much of the subcommittee’s criticism centered around the conduct of the Madison Avenue firm DraftFCB, which is coordinating the Census Bureau advertising campaign.

In questioning the campaign’s effectiveness in reaching communities that had been undercounted in 2000, Chaffetz cited the Census Super Bowl ad, which cost $2.5 million, and ads during the Olympics that had cost over $5 million. He called attention to the Census on-line campaign that had yielded only 8,500 followers on Facebook, 2,400 followers on Twitter and 64 uploads on You Tube. Noting the low numbers, Chaffetz said, “How do you justify millions of dollars out the door? It’s a mystery to me.”

Jeff Tarakajian of DraftFCB defended the campaign by saying that awareness about the Census “was extremely high for where we are now,” and that 54 percent of the paid media budget was allocated to ethnic audiences in 2010 compared to 47 percent in the 2000 Census. Groves added that over 200,000 “partner organizations” around the country had been called on to help get the word out.

But lawmakers continually questioned who those partners were, and whether the Census was digging deep enough into communities. They said their constituents in California, Utah and Texas had expressed dismay at widespread disorganization at the regional level.

“I am increasingly concerned about what I am hearing from black newspapers and black radio stations,” said Waters. “It appears that our message of reaching the undercounted is not being respected.”

That’s unnecessary, said Sandy Close, executive director of New America Media, who appeared before the subcommittee.

“There’s no question that the ethnic media ‘get’ the Census — they get their communities’ stake in a complete count,” Close said.

She described meeting with nearly 600 ethnic media representatives around the country in 12 roundtables with local and national Census officials over the past year. At those briefings, she said, “You could cut the enthusiasm with a knife.”

But 47 percent of those outlets were left out of an ad buy, and 70 percent reported never hearing back from Census advertising firms, including DraftFCB, Close noted. Their experience with the Census was one of “anxiety and confusion” over how they could get involved, she said.

“The selection process that you use for minority ad buys is unacceptable,” echoed Jackson Lee.

Also appearing before the committee were Karen Narasaki of the Asian American Justice Center, Arturo Vargas of National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), and Danny Blakewell, chair of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA).

Vargas cited an over-reliance by the Census on using Spanish-language media in reaching Latino audiences, and not enough messaging in reaching the 9.1 million Latinos in the United States who only speak English at home.

One reason for the widespread feeling of disengagement, said Narasaki, was that a lot of decisions had been made about who would be working with the Census many years earlier – years before a recession and heightened fears over immigration status had changed America.

“One of the biggest issues to overcome among Asian and Latino audiences is distrust in government,” she said. “It’s the media in those communities who are going to help. An ad on the Super Bowl is not going to do it.”

But panelists agreed that it was not too late to turn the tide. As the Census enters the third phase of its campaign – the crucial “nonresponse phase” – many called for a greater investment in the ethnic media sector.

“The Black Press of America needs at least $10 million,” said Bakewell, head of NNPA. “Black people do not live in only 16 markets in America. Black newspapers, radio stations, black churches — that’s where we are.”

Close, of New America Media, called on Congress to invest in the ethnic media sector directly, so that the media themselves could create the messages that would most effectively mobilize their communities for the 2010 Census.

Close cited one targeting the Native American community where a woman in jeans walks across an open plain, towards three tepees.

“These ads were created for a Native American community that is nowhere near the plains and who do not live in tepees,” said Close. “They were offensive, and the media didn’t use them.”

Another ad was brought to the overhead screen, created by the Hoopa tribe of Northern California for the Two Rivers Tribune. Across a local landscape the ad read, “Save our Water, Save Our Way of Life – Stand Up and Be Counted! Census 2010.”

That kind of unique messaging will “move the needle those extra percentage points that will pay off in hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Close.

Lawmakers called for Census officials to turn over several documents relating to ad buys, sub-contractor fees, and correspondence, and demanded greater transparency. There was talk of investigation several times throughout the night. And again and again, panelists were asked if they thought it would be more effective to use local media to act as “trusted messengers.”

“Your tepees were the icing on the cake,” said Waters to Close, at the door of the conference room, as panelists filed out for the evening, four hours after the hearing began, at almost midnight.

Organizers scrambled to accommodate the director of American Vogue, squeezing over a hundred shows and presentations into just four days. But, Fendi and Prada chose to show on Thursday _ with or without the powerful fashion arbiter, the inspiration for Miranda Priestly in the book and movie “The Devil Wears Prada.”

And they were glad they did. Fresh off the plane and decked out in purple, Wintour made a surprise appearance, and took her front row seat at both afternoon shows.

“You have to believe in what you are worth,” Silvia Venturini Fendi, the second generation Fendi designer, said after the show, which featured the label’s trademark furs.

Later Thursday, Wintour watched Prada, where designer Miuccia wowed the fashion crowd with her latest collection, a winter dream full of cozy knits and flared skirts, perfect for the screen heirs of 1950s stars Debbie Reynolds and Doris Day.

A parade of models, each with their hair in perfect chignons, came down the runway in below-the-knee skirts, wool gowns with ruffled hems and bodices, cable knit suits and short flared jackets with fur trimming.

They sported retro shoes from slingbacks to pumps to sandals, all worn with embroidered wool knee socks. Bags were of the old-fashioned handle strap or clutch variety. Black and retro Prada prints recalled a dimly lit winter.

Also seen on Thursday’s runway was Dolce and Gabbana’s second line D&G’s winter wonderland, complete with furry “apres ski” boots with a hidden high heel and crystal studded goggles.

Wintour plans to be in Hollywood for Oscar night March 7th and before that is scheduled to attend Paris fashion week. The French are likely to resist any changes to their well-orchestrated fashion calendar.

The scheduling to accommodate Wintour prompted much soul-searching among Italian designers, industry insiders and officials. Milan Mayor Letizia Moratti, the head of the fashion chamber, Mario Boselli, designer Giorgio Armani and Diego Della Valle, head of Tod’s shoes, all said Italy should stand its ground.

Fendi’s Venturini expressed regret that there was not more “esprit de corps” among Italian designers.

“We need the courage to join forces,” Venturini said.

Aris Thessaloniki forward Eddie Johnson also was chosen Thursday but Freddy Adu, his teammate on the Greek club, was bypassed.

Just three players from Major League Soccer were selected: defenders Jonathan Bornstein and Heath Pearce, and forward Robbie Findley. Sixteen players are based in Europe, including nine with English clubs, and one in Mexico: midfielder Jose Torres.

Players will start gathering Sunday for the match in Amsterdam. The U.S. will wear its new World Cup uniforms for the first time Wednesday.

A veteran of two World Cups, Beasley has 17 goals in 89 appearances but has not played for the U.S. since June 18. That was when he allowed Landon Donovan’s corner kick to roll past him, leading to Brazil’s second goal in a 3-0 victory at the Confederations Cup.

After appearing in just three matches for Rangers this season through November, Beasley regained his form and scored twice in five games in December before straining a thigh during training. The 27-year-old from Fort Wayne, Ind., was sidelined from Dec. 19 to Feb. 14.

Edu had just one appearance for the Americans last year, entering as a 90th-minute substitute March 28 in a World Cup qualifier at El Salvador. The 23-year-old from Fontana, Calif., injured a knee ligament May 24 and had surgery June 4. He didn’t return to action until Dec. 27 and played four games before being sidelined with an ankle problem until Feb. 17. Edu has five goals in 11 international appearances.

Johnson, a 25-year-old forward on loan to Aris from Fulham, scored once with the Greek club _ off a pass from Adu.

A half-dozen players are out with injuries: AC Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu (Oct. 21 surgery to repair ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee); Hannover defender Steve Cherundolo (injured a shoulder in practice Jan. 31); Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey (injured right knee on Jan. 17); Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Ricardo Clark (pulled right calf muscle); Aarhus midfielder Benny Feilhaber (damaged ankle cartilage); and Sochaux forward Charlie Davies (recovering from injuries sustained in Oct. 13 car crash).

The U.S. has played two warmups this year using mostly MLS players: a 3-1 loss to Honduras and a 2-1 victory Wednesday night over El Salvador. In addition to the three MLS players, the only holdover from Wednesday’s match is IK Start defender Clarence Goodson.

After the match against the third-ranked Netherlands in Amsterdam, the No. 14 Americans will gather in mid-May and play exhibitions against the Czech Republic (May 25, possibly in East Hartford, Conn.) and Turkey (May 29 at Philadelphia). The U.S. plays England on June 12 in its World Cup opener before meeting Slovenia six days later and finishing the first round against Algeria on June 23.

The roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England)

Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway), Heath Pearce (Dallas), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday, England), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England)

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro, Sweden), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), Landon Donovan (Everton, England), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Stuart Holden (Bolton, England), Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico)

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Hull, England), Robbie Findley (Salt Lake), Eddie Johnson (Aris, Greece)

The deal between the league and the players’ union was set to expire Thursday night after players balked at a third short-term extension.

The sides, whose five-year contract initially was due to expire Jan. 31, have not met since Monday’s session in Washington, D.C.

“We have advised our players to keep working for the time being, but as of Friday they will be doing so without a CBA,” Major League Soccer Players Union executive director Bob Foose said in a statement. “In the meantime, all options are being considered as the process continues.”

MLS president Mark Abbott said last weekend that the league didn’t plan to lock out players and was prepared to start the season under the terms and conditions of the old contract.

Players have sought free agent rights and more guaranteed contracts from the league, which launched in 1996 and negotiates all player contracts on behalf of its teams.

“We have listened to the issues raised by the MLS Players Union and the league has made detailed proposals that have addressed these issues, including in the areas of economics, guaranteed contracts, options and the ability of a player to move to another MLS club if he is released by his current club,” MLS said in a statement. “These proposals, which represent substantial changes from the current CBA, will significantly increase our spending and provide substantially more rights to the players.”

Income for players averaged $147,945 at the start of last season, according to the union. But the median _ the point at which an equal number of players make above and below _ was $88,000.

“While we expect that negotiations with MLS will resume at some point, there simply hasn’t been enough progress made in the negotiations to date to warrant an extension of the old agreement,” Foose said. “We are completely committed to forging real changes to the way MLS players are treated.”

The MLS schedule begins March 25, when the new Philadelphia Union team is away at Seattle, but there are some matches before then. Columbus hosts Toluca on March 9 in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League on March 9, then plays the second leg at the Mexican club eight days later.

Red Bull Arena, a $200 million, 25,000-seat stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, formally opens with an exhibition game between the Red Bulls and Brazil’s Santos on March 20. The Red Bulls said Thursday that Robinho, on loan to Santos from Manchester City, will be part of the travel roster along with Neymar, Giovani and Fabio Costa.

AP-CS-02-25-10 2031EST

###  End  Src AP  Id AP1100568CEFF13A  Rcvd Feb 25 2010 20:31 ###

His winning burger _ a beef patty topped with his own pastrami, Swiss cheese and coleslaw on a brioche bun _ edged out a spice-crusted burger with slaw and barbecue sauce by fellow Food Network star Bobby Flay.

“It’s unbelievable. We’re here with some of the best chefs and some of my best friends,” Symon said.

The award is part of the Burger Bash, an annual event at the festival hosted by Rachael Ray. Chefs from around the country gather on the beach for a massive grill session and let attendees vote for best burger.

Last year’s winner, Spike Mendelsohn, this time offered up a burger topped with applewood smoked bacon and American cheese, as well as a cotton candy milkshake.

Symon’s winning burger is a menu staple at his B Spot restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio.

Welcome to the presidential no-spin zone.

Obama put together a production of government in the television age, a health care reality show. He used his platform to direct discussion on the specifics of reform, cut off opponent posturing and make points of his own.

Yet he was only a host _ not a producer _ and television networks eager to cover it at first lost interest as time went on.

By 2:30 p.m., at the opening of the session’s second half, Fox News Channel had shifted to its studio show (occasionally showing a mute picture of the summit on a portion of its screen) and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer was reporting on poll results. Both covered it fitfully in the afternoon. MSNBC moved on to the Finland-Sweden ice hockey game from the Olympics. PBS aired “Between the Lions.”

Online streaming was the best option for people who wanted to watch the session uninterrupted.

As the program’s host, Obama set an agenda and said he wanted to make clear where Democrats and Republicans agree and isolate the issues where there are differences. Democrats seemed intent on showing that in actual policy proposals, “we may be closer here than we really think,” said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.

Obama struggled to get the politicians away from finger-pointing and toward any serious negotiations.

Like any opinionated cable host, Obama sometimes sharply dealt with those who angered him. One eye-opening exchange came when his 2008 election opponent, John McCain, criticized dealmaking that bloated the current health care bill.

“We’re not campaigning anymore,” Obama told McCain. “The election is over.”

It became the most-remembered sound bite of the day, as it was featured prominently on ABC and NBC’s evening newscasts. On television screens, it harkened back to the presidential debates with cable news showing split screens of the two men. The exchange lit up the blogs.

“Genius!” wrote one Facebook member, Bruce Stevenson.

Tim McKay had a different view on Facebook: “I’m not John McCain fan, but the way President Obama just treated him at the health care summit was in my opinion, about as classless and unprofessional as they come.”

McCain later appeared on Fox News with Sean Hannity to say he thought Obama looked “very, very uncomfortable” in responding to his criticism.

“The president was uncomfortable because he knows it was wrong,” said McCain. “It’s not the way that he promised.”

The president also criticized Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House’s No. 2 Republican, for piling a copy of the Senate bill on his desk as a prop to make the point that changes should be simplified.

“Those are the kind of political things we do that prevent us from actually having a conversation,” he said.

He cut off Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell after the Kentucky senator checked his watch to note Democrats had more speaking time.

“There’s an imbalance in the opening statements because I’m the president,” Obama said.

Diane Sawyer called the summit “a landmark event _ a televised political duel” on ABC’s “World News.” The network’s top political correspondent, George Stephanopoulos, said both sides can claim victories: Obama because he showed genuine interest in bipartisanship, and the Republicans because they showed they have some concrete ideas on the topic.

On NBC’s “Nightly News,” Savannah Guthrie said that neither side expected the summit to change everything.

“The question is, did it change anything?” she asked.

Writing with an outsider’s view, the Times of London wrote that “watching American politicians argue about health care can be seriously damaging to your health. Symptoms include migraines, extreme fatigue and sudden violent urges.”

Cable TV producers have only a limited attention span, and the summit was barely an hour old before MSNBC was muting the sound and interviewing political strategists and talk show hosts about what they were seeing. In other words, they silenced the unusual sight of the nation’s leaders in the same room publicly talking about a huge issue so they could present what their pundits were saying about them.

Fox spent the most time presenting uninterrupted coverage before the lunch break. Afterward, the network cut back sharply following it after reporting that its online poll found 90 percent of respondents saying the event was just “political theater.”

“I don’t think a single mind was changed by watching this,” said Fox Sunday host Chris Wallace.

How quickly did Obama’s summit become simply grist for the cable talk mill? During one break, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Roland Martin that if the summit were part of the Olympics, how would he score it?

“I wouldn’t score it,” Martin replied. “That’s part of the problem. The important thing is that they’re talking.”

Former Alaskan governor and current Fox News contributor Sarah Palin told Hannity on Fox News that it was a “victory” for Republicans in expressing their health care ideas to a wide audience.

“It was painful to sit there and watch this, but very productive and helpful … for Americans to see what had been discussed all along, now out in the open,” said Palin, speaking live via satellite from a snowy Alaska.

Bill O’Reilly said he thought the summit was “fair and balanced” and that Obama was a good moderator. But O’Reilly said the long broadcast was “boring as sand” and that it likely didn’t change anyone’s mind, viewers and politicians alike.

On MSNBC, Chris Matthews said it “bugged me a little” that Obama, who was addressed as “Mr. President,” called lawmakers by their first name. But he theorized that Obama’s “lack of protocol” may have showed Congress “who’s boss.”

The day’s host had his own review, asked how things were going while he walked from the Blair House to the White House during his lunch break.

“I don’t know if it’s interesting to watch on TV,” Obama said, “but it’s interesting being a part of it.”

Maybe it’s because in downhill, it’s just you and the mountain. In skicross it’s you, the mountain, a couple dozen twists and turns and three other racers determined to beat you to the finish line.

“You never know what’s going to happen in front of you and you need to be prepared for that and to adjust very quickly,” Rahlves said.

The sport was added to the Olympic program following the overwhelming popularity of snowboardcross, which made a splash at the 2006 Turin Games. The men race on Sunday, with the women hitting Cypress Mountain on Tuesday.

Yet there is a decided difference between the two, from the age of the average competitors to the uniform.

Snowboardcross is populated by mostly 20ish riders who dash down the hill in baggy snowpants and are known to drop in a funky board grab or two to spice things up.

In skicross, not so much.

Many of the top racers are like the 36-year-old Rahlves, former Alpiners who moved to skicross in part because they were on the back end of their careers or were simply lured in by the new opportunities skicross provides.

Including Rahlves and teammate Casey Puckett, six of the world’s top 12 ranked men in skicross are former downhill skiers in their 30s.

The women’s side is a little younger, but not much. Ashleigh McIvor, a 26-year-old Canadian, 20-year-old teammate Kelsey Serwa and 33-year-old Ophelie David of France are considered the top contenders.

While Alpine success can certainly help in skicross, it doesn’t guarantee a thing because skicross adds banked turns, blind jumps and racing near a competitor.

“There’s not that many guys that are good at this,” said Stanley Hayer of Canada, who is 36. “It takes a totally different skill set. You can be a great giant slalom skier and totally (stink) at skicross.”

Rahlves won 12 World Cup races between 2000 and 2006, but that success has never translated to the Olympics. He went 0-for-7 between Nagano, Salt Lake City and Turin, failing to crack the top five in any event.

He hopes to change that Sunday, and the unpredictable nature of skicross means anyone in the field can walk away with gold if they mix some good fortune with a whole lot of daring.

“I’m a scrapper,” he said. “I like to fight for it. I always like more challenge, when it’s harder and it’s more risky.”