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Volume 79 Number 26 April 25 – May 1, 2010 | FREE

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Marian Wright EdelmanA Call for Education Equity

By Kam WilliamsCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Tasha Smith and her identical twin, Sidra, were born onFebruary 28, 1971 in Camden, New Jersey. Being raised by asingle-mom in a crime and drug infested neighborhoodproved to be almost too much of a hurdle for Tasha to over-come as her life spiraled down a self-destructive path markedby promiscuity, marijuana and cocaine addiction, chain-smok-ing and a stint as a stripper.

Fortunately, she eventually embraced Christianity, cleanedup her act and moved to L.A. where she tried her hand atstandup comedy before settling on an acting career. The ver-satile scene-stealer has since appeared in such movies as“Couples Retreat,” “The Longshots,” “Daddy’s Little Girls”and “Why Did I Get Married,” to name a few.

When not working, Tasha gives back to the community,dividing her time between making motivational speeches andteaching actor’s workshops all across the country. Here, she

talks about reprising the role of Angela in “Why Did I GetMarried Too,” as well as her new TV series, “My Black IsBeautiful,” a reality series premiering this month on BET.(Check local listings)

Kam Williams: Hey Tasha, thanks for the time again.Tasha Smith: Hey, Kam Williams! [Shrieks] Whassup! How

ya doing?KW: Very well, and you?TS: I am doing awesome! I was hoping to interview with

you when I was in New York for the premiere [of “Why Did IGet Married Too”].

KW: This is probably better because I’m sure you weremobbed and I would have had to elbow my way just to get afew minutes one-on-one with you.

TS: Hey, you can have as long as you need now. How’sthat?

KW: Tremendous, thanks.

Black and beautiful Tasha

By LaGloria WheatfallDEFENDER

The Texas Southern Universityfamily continues to mourn an 18-year-old student who was shotand killed at a recent off-campusparty. Joshua McMackle was

shot in the backand killed aftera fight brokeout in the 3700block ofW h e e l e r .Police saymore than tenshots werefired. One ofthem hit thevictim in the

back. He collapsed in a nearbyfront yard and died a short timelater at Memorial HermannHospital.

Another victim was reportedlyshot in the ankle but recoveredand was sent home the next day.

“It’s really sad that you can’tgo to college and really enjoy

Fired Metroattorneysues agency

DEFENDER NEWS SERVICE

A woman who served as chief coun-sel for The Metropolitan TransitAuthority is fightingback, after beingfired from the embat-tled organization.

Pauline Higginsalleges that she wasfired in Feb. forrefusing to allowagency employees todestroy 16 or 17boxes of documents.Higgins has filed alawsuit against Metro and its chief

★METRO, Page 4★TSU, Page 3

★TASHA, Page 7

JoshuaMcMackle

By Ron ReynoldsDEFENDER

It has been just over 100 days since Annise Parkerwas elected the mayor of the Bayou City. Parkercame in and immediately began making sweepingchanges. The Defender sat and talked with herabout the first 100 days, what she’s accomplished,and what lies ahead.

Defender: What are the highlights of your first100 days in office and were there any goals set thatwere not achieved?

Mayor Parker: I didn’t set specific goals otherthan; I would do my best to name my departmentleaders as rapidly as possible. That I would estab-lish transition teams to look at a number of areas incity government and have them report back to me.I would also make sure I would jumpstart someitems that have been pending for a long time, suchas the Dynamo stadium.

★MAYOR, Page 4

By Hazel Trice Edney, NNPA NEWS SERVICE, AND

Alexis K. Barnes, HOWARD UNIVERSITY NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Dr. Dorothy R.Height, the civil rights icon and living legendwhose name has for decades been synonymouswith quest for justice, died at the HowardUniversity Hospital April 20th at the age of 98.

“Michelle and I were deeply saddened to hearabout the passing of Dorothy Height - the godmoth-er of the Civil Rights Movement and a hero to somany Americans,” President Obama said in a state-ment.

“Ever since she was denied entrance to college

By Pharoh MartinNNPA NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - The news of thedeath of former NAACP Executive Director andCEO Benjamin Hooks has reverberated to thevery core of America’s civil rights and politicalleadership, according to statements that pouredinto the NNPA News Service recently.

“Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks was among the great-est Americans of the 20th Century,” saidNAACP President and CEO Benjamin ToddJealous. “He was a giant of hope and humanitywho, as executive director and CEO of the

★HEIGHT, Page 2 ★HOOKS, Page 2

CIVIL RIGHTS TRAILBLAZERS DIEDR. DOROTHY HEIGHT:

‘God Mother’ of the Civil Rights MovementDR. BENJAMIN HOOKS:

Former NAACP Executive Director mourned

TSU studentkilled atlocal party

Water rateson the rise?

DEFENDER NEWS SERVICE

Houstonians could soon findthemselves shelling out more fortheir water bills, if some city offi-cials get their way.

Mayor Annise Parker and somecouncil members support a hike

★WATER RATES, Page 7

Mayor Annise Parker

First100days

PaulineHiggins

Photo: Andray Stroud

Mayor Annise Parker addresses Imani School studentson the topic “How city government operates.”

2 APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2010 | DEFENDER

because the incoming class had already met itsquota of two African-American women, Dr.Height devoted her life to those struggling forequality. She led the National Council of NegroWomen for 40 years, andserved as the only woman atthe highest level of the CivilRights Movement - wit-nessing every march andmilestone along the way,”the President said. “Andeven in the final weeks ofher life – a time when any-one else would haveenjoyed their well-earnedrest – Dr. Height continuedher fight to make our nationa more open and inclusiveplace for people of everyrace, gender, backgroundand faith.”

Dr. Height, presidentemerita and chair of theNCNW, had long sufferedwith a lung ailment despiteher hectic speaking sched-ule. She became noticeablyill March 18 while sitting inthe conference room of theheadquarters of the NationalCouncil of Negro Womentalking with her administra-tive assistant, ChristineTony. Tony, who has trav-eled with Dr. Height for thepast 25 years, told NNPAthat she noticed that Dr. Height had becomeshort of breath and was not finishing her sen-tences.

Doctors at the Howard University Hospitaladmitted her to the hospital that day despite herprotests that she desired to receive the esteemedLifetime Achievers Award slated to be given toher that night from the National NewspaperPublishers Association Foundation. Sheremained hospitalized ever since and diedshortly after 3 a.m. April 20.

Civil rights leaders who awoke to the news ofher death, reflected on her legacy like civilrights royalty. “She was the Queen Mother ofour whole civil rights movement,” said the Rev.Joseph Lowery. “She was the great example ofintelligence, industry adventure and daring and

commitment to what’s right in this country andto what’s witnessing for it. She was a greatleader.”

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Dr. Height’sdeath means as much to the world as toAmerica. He said the news of her death had hitthe people of South Africa, where he was visit-

ing “like a shock wave.Those who knew Dr. Heightknew a century of service.She often said, ‘The bloodthat unites us was strongerthan the water that dividesus,’” he said.

He reflected on how sheknew and fought alongsideother greats like Dr. King,Whitney Young, MalcolmX, Adam Clayton Powell,WEB Dubois and BayardRustin. “What a rich life ofservice,” Jackson said.

“This is a great, greatloss,” said retired NAACPChairman Julian Bond. “Instanding out for the rights ofwomen, you just go downthe list and Dr. Height wasthere. She will be missedand missed and missed.

The Rev. Al Sharptondescribed her as “a truegiant of a lady. She taughtAmerica what real woman-hood was. And all the wayto the end, she never left herpost.”

Due to snow, Dr. Heightwas unable to attend a meet-

ing with President Obama, Sharpton and othercivil rights leaders in February.

“She lectured me all the way to the door onwhat to say and how to say it,” Sharptonrecalled. Then, she said, ‘You call me theminute you walk out of the White House’. Shewas that kind of fighter. And she was alwaysthere for the next generation.”

Height did most of her work through theNCNW. But she also chaired the executivecommittee of the Leadership Conference onCivil Rights, the largest Civil Rights organiza-tion in the nation. She was also an active mem-ber of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and theYWCA.

Heightcontinued from page 1

NAACP, expanded the circle of opportuni-ty in our nation for millions by greatlyaccelerating the desegregation of ourlargest corporations.”

Jealous described the85-year-old Dr. Hooks as“simply the greatest liv-ing person to have servedas Executive Director andCEO of the NAACP”.

Hooks was also aBaptist minister, alawyer, an FCC commis-sioner, a businessmanand a judge. But he wasbest known as a civilrights leader who resur-rected the nation’s oldestcivil rights organizationas its long-time executivedirector from 1977 to1992.

Under Hooks’ leader-ship, the organization ledthe way of pressuringCongress to pass theextension of such land-mark legislation such thecivil rights and votingrights bills. Also,NAACP’s membershipbase reportedly grew byhundreds of thousandsduring his tenure.

“Dr. Hooks led thisorganization to newheights, and we will continue to honor hislegacy by fighting on, in his words withtruth, justice and righteousness on ourside,” stated NAACP Chairman Roslyn M.Brock. “…He was a civil rights icon andmy mentor and personal friend. He taughtme to stand up for what I believe in; evenin the face of adversity, and that the strug-gle for civil and human rights for allAmericans never ends.”

President Obama called Hooks a “truetrailblazer” who, as the first African-American to serve as a criminal courtjudge in Tennessee and to serve on theFederal Communications Commission,was awarded the Presidential Medal of

Freedom for his work. He received themedal from President Bush in 2007.

Obama said, “As I was running for thisoffice, I had the honor of spending sometime with Dr. Hooks, and hearing about hisextraordinary place in our Americanstory.”

Speaker of the HouseNancy Pelosi said thatHooks helped shape themodern day civil rightsmovement.

“With great patriot-ism, he led the day-to-day efforts to root outdiscrimination andinjustice and worked onbehalf of equality andopportunity for allAmericans for morethan half of a century,”Pelosi said. “Dr. Hookshad a remarkable career:as a judge, an FCCCommissioner, and as aminister. He was a manof deep faith and boldconvictions. He wasalso a man of action; inhis calm yet determinedway, he worked so thatour nation would live upto the aspirations of allof its people.”

Senate MajorityLeader Sen. Harry Reid(D-Nev.) said thatHooks’ “contributionsresonate within the

African-American community but willhave a lasting impact on all Americans.”

NAACP created the Benjamin L. HooksDistinguished Service Award, which isawarded to persons who promote equalopportunity through policies and pro-grams.

National Urban League President andCEO Marc H. Morial said, “He cautionedus never to forget the struggles of our for-bearers, and never to take for granted ourgains. He challenged us all to be our best,and in his memory we renew our commit-ment to social and economic justice andpersonal empowerment.”

Hookscontinued from page 1

• 85 years old

• Ordained a Baptist minister in 1956

• Appointed to a five yearterm on the FederalCommunicationsCommission (FCC) in 1972

• NAACP Executive Directorfrom 1977 to 1992 (15 yrs)

• Received the PresidentialMedal of Freedom in 2007

• Inducted in the Civil RightsWalk of Fame @ MLK Natl.Historic Site in 2008

• 98 years old

• President (4 decades),National Council of NegroWomen

• Chair, Exec. committee,Leadership Conf. on CivilRights

• Past President, DeltaSigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

• Founder, Black FamilyReunion Celebration

• Visiting professor,University of Delhi, India

HEIGHT: BIO HOOKS: BIO

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2010 | DEFENDER 3

college without thinkingyou’re going to die,” saidTSU graduate AnthonyGillum. “I remember beingone of those students atthose parties just a couplemonths ago and feeling likeI can’t have fun without fearof something bad about tohappen.”

The party was reported tohave brought out over 200people after being promotedas one of the official “afterparties,” following TSU’sAnnual Spring Fest.

Community resident andJunior-English major,Janeth Hyacinth says, “Myfriend was at the party and Ithink it is pretty ridiculousthat people still think it’scool to walk around withguns…especially on the col-legiate level. This guy wasan honor student. He had somuch potential but now hewill never get a chance touse it.”

Joshua McMackle gradu-ated from Randolph-MaconAcademy in Royal,Virginia, a military prepschool, where he was said tobe well known and very aca-demically and sociallyinvolved. McMackle was astar basketball and footballplayer and a member of hishigh school’s flight pro-gram, learning to fly aCessna 152.

McMackle received ascholarship to pursue hismusical aspirations, major-ing in music production inTexas Southern’s exclusivehonor music program.

According to a pressrelease from Texas SouthernUniversity, President JohnM. Rudley states, “…We

wish that it were in theUniversity’s power to pro-tect all of our students wher-ever they may be, but it isjust not humanly possible,particularly when they areaway from campus.Nonetheless, we are review-ing our events policies andare continuing to increaseour on-campus security pro-cedures. Our highest priori-ty is to create a communitywhere our students can learnand excel in a secure envi-ronment.”

Representatives fromTSU say that the universitydid not sanction the partyand that the investigation isbeing handled by theHouston Police Department.

The school is offeringcounseling services at theTSU Counseling Center andLanier East Dormitory.

“My heart goes out to thefamily of this boy,” saidShari Bihms, a first-yearstudent at TSU-ThurgoodMarshall School of Law. “Ican’t believe that somethinglike this is still happeningaround such a positive envi-ronment. It could have beenany of us and I think it wasdefinitely a wrong place,wrong time type of situa-tion. I hope this opens theeyes of not only students,but school officials, theHouston Police Departmentand the community, to helpcreate a better and saferenvironment for us to getour education.”

Police are still investigat-ing and have yet to confirmany arrests. Investigatorsare urging anyone withinformation on this incidentto contact HPD homicide at713-308-3600 or CrimeStoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

TSUcontinued from page 1

By Hazel Trice EdneyNNPA WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - PresidentBarack Obama needs only to turn over inhis bed to be reminded of all the Blackwomen who are powerfully qualified to beU. S. Supreme Court justices. If First LadyMichelle Obama was not his wife, somelegal scholars say she would be a clear andobvious candidate for the short list toreplace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

Yet, when Stevens announced his retire-ment April 9, not one Black woman imme-diately surfaced as a so-called “short-list”candidate despite the fact that no Blackwoman has ever served on the high court.This week, the name of former GeorgiaSupreme Court Chief Justice Leah WardSears began circulating as one that thePresident is seriously considering. TheNational Bar Association has put forth thename of Justice Ann Claire Williams, thefirst African-American ever appointed tothe Seventh Circuit and the third Blackwoman ever to serve on any United StatesCourt of Appeals.

There are at least dozens of Blackwomen across the U. S. who are equallyqualified. “The NBA strongly urgesPresident Obama to use this upcomingvacancy as an opportunity to further diver-sify the high court and to make it morereflective of the nation it serves,” the NBAsaid in a statement announcing its recom-mendation of Williams. The organizationsent a letter to the President making theirchoice clear.

According to widespread reports,President Obama has actually widened hissearch to include as many as 10 juristsfrom across the nation.

“I think that President Obama has anenormous task and a wonderful opportuni-ty to find a person with the combination oftalents that will help solidify a greatchoice,” says Harvard Law ProfessorCharles Ogletree. “The fact of the matter isthat you can look at profiles in Ebony

Magazine or some of the women in Jet orEssence Magazine or just look at theNational Bar Association, which has a con-tingent of Black women judges andlawyers, to see some of the stars we havewho are not well known to a large extent,but clearly have every one of the qualitiesand qualifications necessary for the job.”

Ogletree declined to name some of thosein his mind. But, Penn State constitutionalscholar Mary Frances Berry, former chairof the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights,quickly ticked off several names of quali-fied Black women in addition to Sears.They included Elaine Jones, former direc-tor-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defenseand Education Fund and Jacqueline A.Berrien, chair of the U. S. EqualEmployment Opportunity Commission.

Berry also agreed that Children’sDefense Fund President Marian WrightEdelman, a Yale Law School graduate andthe first Black woman admitted to theMississippi Bar, would make a great candi-date. Lani Guinier, Harvard Law School’sfirst African-American tenured professor,is another name that Berry agreed could beconsidered.

“I think that it would be a good thing ifa Black woman could be appointed sincethere’s never been one,” said Berry.“Michelle, if she weren’t the President’swife, is full of qualifications. And there aremany qualified Black women.”

Michelle Obama, a graduate of HarvardLaw School like her husband, was actuallyhis mentor in the Chicago law firm of

Sidley & Austin. Though it might be con-troversial, President Obama actually couldappoint his wife to the court. That prece-dent was set when President John F.Kennedy, in 1961, appointed his brother,Bobby, to the position of U. S. attorneygeneral.

Asked to consider herself, Berry scoffedat the suggestion that she is also a qualifiedcandidate for the high court. She said thatshe is “too old.” But, then she shot downher own argument by recalling that JusticeRuth Bader Ginsburg was appointed byClinton at the age of 64.

As Stevens will retire at the end of thecourt session in late spring, Obama is nowin the process of exploring the back-grounds and qualifications of prospectivecandidates. He will likely announce onlyone person who will then go underextreme scrutiny by the U. S. SenateJudiciary Committee before an up or downconfirmation vote by the entire U. S.Senate.

“We hope and expect President Obamawould consider candidates from a varietyof backgrounds, as he has indicated,” saidJohn Payton, director-counsel of theNAACP Legal Defense and EducationFund. “Certainly, it would be wonderful tohave an African-American — male orfemale — appointed to the Supreme Court.And, yes, it would be nice to hear moreAfrican—American women mentioned onthe short list of candidates.”

Regardless of the race or gender, Blackjurists agree that there is certain criterionthat is clearly necessary at this point to bal-ance out the strong bent of conservatismstill on the court – including Black JusticeClarence Thomas.

“There is definitely need for someonewho has a progressive sense about the roleof the Supreme Court Justice and someonewho has a sense that the Constitution hasto serve everyone in the country,” Ogletreesays.

Leah Ward Sears

Obama should appoint first Blackwoman for Supreme Court, Jurists say

Anne ClaireWilliams

I have named many of my key departmentvacancies, the two that I have left, are assign-ing a judge to the municipal court and I willname that person April 21st. I knew I wasgoing to need to find a fire chief. It’s a com-plicated problem and it’s going to take a littlelonger.

My transition teams have all reported backand now I’m launching some new workgroups to implement some of their recom-mendations. And then finally, this projectthat has been stalled that I have shaken loose,things like the Dynamo stadium. I’m veryhappy with what’s going on with that.Something that I didn’t expect, but has takena large amount of my time, is dealing withNASA and the administration’s (PresidentObama) call for a major shutdown of a lot ofthe vital programs out at NASA. I ended uptaking a trip to Washington and my officehosted a weekly conference call, as we triedto deal with that, which was something thatwas not in any of my plans. But we havebeen dealing with it.

Defender: You are working very hard toname a fire chief. Can you talk about some ofthe qualities you are looking for and anyrough estimate for when you will name a firechief?

Mayor Parker: I hope to have a fire chief inplace by the end of May and that will be fivemonths in.Chief Flanagan, the acting chief is doing anexcellent job of leading the department rightnow. He certainly will be considered for thepost, but I’m going to do a national searchwith the desire to find someone who canshake things up in the fire department, who isa respected, experienced firefighter, but whoalso understands this legacy organization hasto become a modern, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-racial firefighting force.The challenge in hiring somebody within thedepartment is that I think it would be verydifficult for an insider to really be a changeagent. There are a lot of good firefighterswithin the fire department and I want to reas-sure the public that we’re a safe city and ourfire department does an outstanding job inkeeping us safe, both from fire and alsoresponding to emergency situations with theEMS system. What they don’t do quite aswell, is handle some of their internal dynam-ics.

Defender: Considering the projected short-fall, how do you plan to maintain services andcut spending at the same time?

Mayor Parker: Well, that’s actually a signif-icant challenge. When we talk about main-taining services, it may not be the level ofservices people are accustomed to, but thereare certain core services that a city must pro-vide and must provide at a very high level.So let’s address first, the water and sewer sys-tem. I am going to have to increase spendingon the water and sewer system. That is anenterprise system, meaning it is entirely self-funded, so it doesn’t help me balance thebudget. But, I am asking council to approvea significant rate increase for water and sewerso that core service is healthy for the longterm with no diminishment of services. Inthe other areas of core services, police, fire,garbage pick-up, we are actually increasingour service on sanitation solid waste byrolling out our citywide expanded recyclingprogram. We are not going to scrimp on pub-lic safety. We are going to have to put moreofficers on the streets. What we are lookingat there, is civilianizing in the police depart-ment and looking at other options for deploy-ment in the fire department. But I am askingboth police and fire to look for savings. Ithink there are ways we could better manageovertime and I absolutely believe there arebetter ways we can make use of technology

Defender: Can you elaborate on your plan tofix the deficit without a tax hike?

Mayor Parker: There are two differentissues we need to be talking about. One, Itook office in the middle of a fiscal year andhad a minor budget gap to close by the end ofJune. (That was) one of the reasons I movedforward with the long-stalled Lakewood proj-ect. That was something else that has beenkind of languishing and we were able to get itdone. The budget that was passed last yearhad counted on the proceeds from the sale ofLakewood. But there are still some spendingcuts that had to be implemented to round outthis year’s budget. At the same time I’m talk-ing about next year’s budget, next fiscal year,beginning July first, when we have a gap tocover - anywhere between $100 and $140million. That’s a steep hill to climb and weare looking at a range of options to do that.When I present the budget at council, it willbe balanced, as it is required by our charter.There will be some significant cuts that haveto be made, but it will not include a taxincrease. I can’t tell you at this moment allthe things we will do to produce a balancedbudget. But again, just as the library depart-ment rolled out a plan where there is selectedreduction in library hours on a rotating basiscitywide, some of our other departments mayhave to do that as well. The plan may or maynot include furlough for city employees. All Ican assure you is, we are managing the cur-rent budget and we are covering the minorgaps that come through the course of the yearthat I started the year with.

Defender: What would be the circum-stances for a property tax increase duringyour administration?

Mayor Parker: My pledge was this firstbudget, I would hold a line. But I can imag-ine a number of scenarios that would at leastprompt us to consider a property tax increase.Those would include a significant downgradein our property tax revenues or a significantdrop-off in our property tax revenue that itfell so low that it would prevent me from pro-viding the basic services that the city needs.Or a similar sharp fall in sales tax revenue oreven some unfunded mandate from the stateor federal government. But my belief rightnow is that the citizens of Houston are suffer-ing just as much as the city is from the cur-rent economy, and it should be my job to tryto bring spending in line with revenue ratherthan revenue in line with spending.

Defender: You were City Controller beforeMayor, would you say you had a realistic viewof the economic challenges the city faced,and what do you think the previous adminis-tration could have done, if anything to pre-

vent these challenges?Mayor Parker: The economic situation is

very dynamic. Meaning, it has changed overtime. I don’t second-guess the decisions ofmy predecessors. I face a very different eco-nomic climate and I’m adjusting to that.Some of these issues, looking at the budgetgap for this year and next year, changed asrecently as a week ago when we got newproperty tax estimates from the Harris Countyappraisal district. I will say I’ve been aggres-sive in trying to move some projects forwardthat have languished like Lakewood and likethe Dynamo. But a lot of what I’m dealingwith is simply things that are fluid in thisvery difficult economy.

Defender: When you were Controller, whatefforts did you make to prevent the economicchallenges Houston now faces?

Mayor Parker: Actually, I started workingon the financial issues of the city long beforeI became controller. The fact that we have arainy day fund in the city of Houston wasbecause I worked with one of my council col-leagues to create and fund the city’s rainy dayfund, which is 20 million dollars. I aggres-sively spoke against the previous administra-

tion’s use of pension obligation bonds to meetcurrent pension obligations. I did a lot ofinternal audits looking for potential efficien-cies and financial savings, many of whichhave been implemented over the years. So,the city financial health is something I’vefocused on for a long time. Specifically in thecontroller’s office. This is a really terribleeconomy but on the other hand, we have thelowest interest rate environment we have hadin generations. As a city, we aggressively refi-nanced every debt we could. Just as the sameway that private individuals refinanced theirhome mortgage, we refinanced everything insight just to lower our payment.

Defender: Can you elaborate on your planfor more affordable housing?

Mayor Parker: We are going to continueour commitment to affordable single-familyhousing. We had a minor glitch recently inour single-family program because of delaysin the state level, causing us to have to putsome things on ice for a while. But we stillhave a commitment to single-family homeownership. However, I intend to shift myhousing department focus onto multi-familyhousings. We have a significant amount ofmulti-family already in the city. I don’t intendto build more, but I want to make sure weupgrade our housing stock and that weaggressively go after the really worst of theworst multi-family units that are havens forcrimes and that drag down the value in sur-rounding neighborhoods. So it’s not an aban-donment of any of the programs. We aredoing a shift in focus.

Defender: You gave the previous mayor a ‘D’as it relates to minority contracts. Tell us howyou have promoted minority contracts.

Mayor Parker: Well, one of my transitionteam members was to specifically look at ourMWBE (Minority and Women-ownedBusiness Enterprise) program. I have takentheir recommendation and we are preparing aset of internal changes and upgrades to theprogram, which I will be taking to the councilcommittee very soon. The interesting thing tome was, my transition team said to me and Iquote. ‘The MWBE and small business pro-gram are only as good as a mayor wants it tobe’. I think the good news is I want it to be areally great program. But I also intend toleave it as a program that doesn’t depend onthe good auspicious of the mayor.

4 APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2010 | DEFENDER

Mayorcontinued from page 1

executive. The suit providesthe most detailed account todate of Metro’s alleged effortto prevent disclosure ofpotentially damaging infor-mation, including documentssought in an open-recordsrequest by lawyer and formerCity Controller Lloyd Kelley.

And it portrays Metro,under chief executive FrankWilson’s leadership, as anagency where loyalists wererewarded with extra pensionbenefits while Higgins andothers who sought to correctthe agency’s problems werecriticized, marginalized orfired. The suit names Metroand Wilson as defendants.

The suit “involves cut-throat politics and cronyismat Metro” and seeks Higgins’reinstatement, unspecifieddamages and recovery of her

legal costs under the TexasWhistleblower Act.

Higgins says that Wilsondefamed her after her termi-nation by making negativestatements about her that heknew were untrue.

Higgins joined Metroalmost two years ago as headof its in-house legal depart-ment. The agency laterreleased documents from herpersonnel file stating thatHiggins belittled employeeswho worked under her andused Metro offices for meet-ings related to a celebrity golftournament she sponsored.

Her lawsuit says thatHiggins’ efforts to bringMetro into compliance withstate document-retentionlaws, and her resistance to e-mail destruction policiesordered by Wilson that shemaintained were unlawful,were the true reasons for hertermination.

Two days before she wasfired, the lawsuit states,Higgins met with MayorAnnise Parker and her deputychief of staff, Adam Harris,and “expressly complainedabout Metro’s illegal docu-ment destruction.” The law-suit cites this meeting in itsreference to the state law pro-tecting whistleblowers, not-ing that “Higgins made herreport to Houston’s mayor,whom she believed in goodfaith was an appropriate lawenforcement authority withthe power to take some reme-dial action with respect to hercomplaint.”

Parker has confirmed hav-ing met with Higgins that daybut has not commented onwhat they discussed.

Metro does not commenton pending litigation.

Metrocontinued from page 1

Photo: Andray Stroud

Imani 8th grader Isaac Watson presents Mayor Annise Parker with his originaldrawing of Houston’s cityscape.

A group of all-stars assem-bled in the state of New Yorkaccomplished what no teamin Texas, Hawaii or Alabamacould do to Yates head boysbasketball coach Greg Wisefor nearly two years.

The coach of the No. 1-ranked team in the U.S.watched his East squad loseto the West 129-125 atMadison Square Garden inthe Jordan Brand Classic.

Several of the game’s tophigh school players, includ-ing Harrison Barnes, JaredSullinger, Brandon Knightand C.J. Leslie, competed inthe game. The East squadtrailed by 19 points at half-time (75-56), yet closed towithin two points with 18seconds remaining in regula-tion.

Josh Selby (Kansas) scored21 points, Barnes (NorthCarolina) had 20 points and15 rebounds and TristanThompson (Texas) added 19for the West.

Duke-bound Kyrie Irvingled Wise’s team with a game-high 22 points. Sullinger(Ohio State) had 20 pointsand four blocked shots whileLeslie chipped in with 19points for the East.

The West streaked out to a43-28 advantage in the firsthalf and added a 19-9 run togo up 66-43 with three min-utes left in the opening half.

Wise said he talked to histeam about putting together astrong half in what would bethere last half of high school

PV Reigns, Again Just when you thought the

winning had ceased on “theHill” after the Panthers werecrowned “Kings of theGridiron” in ‘09, guess again.

Recently, the Prairie ViewA & M men’s tennis teamcompleted a successful runthrough the 2010 SWACTennis Championships asthey defeated Alcorn State 4-3 to capture the program’s19th SWAC Championshipand an automatic bid to theNCAA Division I TennisChampionships.

Prairie View, which earnedthe third seed from theSWAC West, began its tour-nament run with back-to-back victories over No. 2Jackson State and No. 1Arkansas-Pine Bluff to earnthe right to play in the finalround. The win marksPrairie View’s first SWACChampionship since 2005and the second bid in schoolhistory to the NCAADivision I TennisChampionships.

“I’ve never been throughanything like this,” said headcoach John Cochran of theteam’s five-hour ordeal.“This championship means alot to us as we worked hardall year long to get to thispoint. I’m especially happyfor Jose (Garcia) and Kuda(Nyatoti) because they were apart of the team in 2008 thatwas ahead 3-1 in the titlematch only to lose at the end.Today’s win means redemp-tion for them.”

PV’s Kristen Powell wasnamed the tournaments MVPand teammate Jose Garciawas named All-Tournament.

Rounds 1 & 2 of theDivision I Championshiptournament begins May 14th

★ARDISON, Page 6

★EDISON, Page 6

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2010 | DEFENDER 5SPORTS

Max Edisonon

Sports

Darrell Ardison

on H.S.Sports

By Max EdisonDEFENDER

Don’t look now, but the Texas Southern UniversityTigers are ruling the SWAC roost in both softballand baseball. At press time, the softball team,

coached by Worley Barker, is leading the conference’sWestern Division with a conference best record of 12-2(20-16 overall). Meanwhile the baseball team, under thedirection of head coach Michael Robertson, is tied for firstplace with Southern and owns a 10-4 record (20-19 over-all).

The amazing thing about both teams isthe relationship between the coaches, afriendship that dates 35 years.

“Mike and I go back to when we werelittle boys playing baseball on the sameteam my daddy coached,” Barkershared. “He went to Forrest Brook and Ifinished from Smiley. We both attendedHuston-Tillotson and were teammateson the baseball team there.”

“Worley and I are like brothers,”Robertson gushed. “We’ve known eachother forever. He’s a very smart guy, inthe corporate world, as well as softball.I’m not surprised by his success, not atall.”

In his seventh season in the dugout forthe Lady Tigers, Coach Barker, whogave up a successful career in the bank-ing industry, has a youthful, versatileteam that can play any style. The Lady Tigers are first inthe conference in overall offensive production and rankfourth in fielding percentage.

“We’re not a one dimensional team, we do a combina-tion of things,” Coach Barker explained. “We have speed,so we can play a small game if the defense dictates it. Wecan put a bunt down when we need to, we can steal bases.We also have several kids in our line-up that swing the batreally well, with power and hit the long ball. We also prideourselves in playing good defense.”

Freshman first baseman Gianna Robinson (LaMarque)is amongst the conference leaders in almost every offen-

By Darrell K. ArdisonDEFENDER

You can’t blame the WestburyHigh School girls track team forbeing confident going into the dis-trict meet held at Barnett Stadium.

In the meet’s final event (milerelay), Kathy Lenore (sopho-more), Normaria Lane (junior),Tiara Cross (freshman) and CarinaBertran (senior) combined to dowhat they have done all during the2010 high school track and fieldseason. They earned another goldmedal.

These young student-athletesare currently representing aWestbury track program that hasbeen to the mountaintop over thepast two decades. State champi-onships have been the norm, notthe exception, and this Westburygirls’ squad want to leave theirown indelible mark on the pro-gram’s legacy.

They weren’t exactly satisfiedwith their winning time of fourminutes, four seconds under blus-tery conditions on the Barnetttrack. They ran a season-best3:44.00 at the prestigious TexasRelays two weeks earlier.

Another stellar effort at theregional meet in Huntsville nextweek and they can return to Austinfor a crowning performance. Theywere unanimous in voicing theirconfidence that the goal was with-in reach.

“Our team is really good,” Lanesaid. “We work together and whenyou work hard together, you win

together. That’s basically what ourphilosophy is, to go out there andgive it 100 percent every time justto show that Westbury is still hereand we can run our best.”

This Westbury girls’ squadadmits to thinking about the pro-gram’s past excellence every timethey begin a race.

“When I graduate, I want to beknown too,” Bertran said. “Wethink about our possible legacy

whenever we settle into the start-ing blocks.

All four members of Westbury’s4X400 (mile) relay also earnedmedals in open events rangingfrom the 800, 200 and 400.

Coached by former Westburystate gold medallist SheritaJackson in the hurdles, theWestbury girls expect to makespeed work their emphasis leadinginto regionals as they attempt to

complete an undefeated season.“We’re going to do whatever we

have to do in order to make thishappen,” Lenore said. “That’s thebeauty of working together as ateam.”Clements remains unbeaten in 23-5A softball

Rangers’ ace pitcher Liz Paulturned in another stellar perform-

★WESTBURY, Page 6

Westbury girls mile relay all brought home medals in open events. (Pictured L. to R.) KathyLenore, Normaria Lane, Tierra Cross, Carina Bertran.

★TEXAS SOUTHERN, Page 6

Westbury Lady Rebels on fasttrack to dominance

Softball, baseball,sitting on top of theconference standing

Texas Southern

Terrel Jones bats over .300, with at least 30 RBI.

Tenesha Skrine helped the Lady Tigers garner a conference-best 12-2 record.

Worley Barker

MichaelRobertson

sive category, including bat-ting average, slugging pct., onbase pct., and RBI. Her offen-sive fire power is matched byteammate, third basemanTenesha Skrine (sophomore,Westfield). Freshman short-stop/pitcher Jessica Haynes(Northshore), outfielder AprilWhite (sophomore,Galveston), infielderNicolette Anderson (fresh-man, Compton, Calif.) andfreshman outfielder ShannonColquitt (Compton, Calif.)have also been consistentoffensive producers.

Freshman pitcher MeganSerrano (Austin, Tx.) hasbeen SWAC Pitcher of theWeek twice.

The scary thing about theLady Tigers success is theyonly have two seniors on theircurrent roster.

“Ariel Arrendondo(Brownsville, Tx.), our seniorcatcher, is like a coach on thefield. She’s been in the pro-gram for a while and sheunderstands the game verywell. The other senior, AshleyRamirez (Austin H.S.,Houston), has been a reliablearm for us throughout hercareer.

“We’re actually a yearahead of schedule, despite thesuccess we’ve had this year,”Barker reasoned. “We haveabout 21 kids that are fresh-men and sophomores. I’mequally proud that 23 of our26 players are from Texas.Texas is big on softball andwe just want to get our shareof the talent.”

For the guys, you knew itwas just a matter of timebefore skipper MikeRobertson put the Tigers atthe top of the conferencestandings. Robertson enjoyedtremendous success while

head coach at Prairie Viewand in his third year at thehelm of the Tigers, he is real-izing the fruit of his labor. Inaddition to being tied for thelead in their division, the teamis ranked #2 in the nation inthe Black College BaseballPoll.

Coach Robertson hasinstalled his signature brandof “small ball” and the teamhas responded favorably.

“We play ‘small ball,’which is based on speed. Werecruit speed,” CoachRobertson explained. “Thatmeans we steal bases, we buntto advance runners, we hit

and run, the type of things weused to see Ricky Hendersondo on the base pads. We getthem on, we get the over andwe get them in. It’s a veryaggressive style of baseballoffensively.

“You also have to playgreat defense,” Robertsoncontinued. “You have to havequality pitching and you’vegot to make the routine playsdefensively. You want to getthose 27 outs. Sometimes wehave to make 2-3 runs standup, so we can’t afford errors.It’s a very disciplined style ofbaseball and that’s what weemphasize to our players, dis-

cipline.” The Tigers rank in the top

four in the conference in bothteam batting and team pitch-ing.

“We have five guys in thelineup batting over .300.Outfielder Ray Hernandez(sophomore, Spring Woods)is one of the top hitters notjust in our conference, but inthe nation. He’s among theconference leader in RBI andhits. Outfielder Terrel Jones(Jr., Tupelo, Ms.) is battingover.300 with at least 30 RBI.Outfielder Corbin Smith(freshman, Pearland) is hit-ting over .300 and is amongstthe conference leaders inwalks and runs scored, with agame that reminds me a lot ofMichael Bourn. Our catcher,Andrew Garza (freshman,Houston, Davis) and outfield-er Brandon Mikell (Jr. LosAngeles, Calif.) are also hit-ting over.300.”

The pitching staff ranksamong the very best in theSWAC. Dakota Laufenberg(Jr. Cinco Ranch), AdrianLosoya (Freshman Aldine)and Bryan Smith (Jr. Cy-Creek) rank among the top inthe conference in most cate-gories.

“Overall I’m happy withour entire pitching staff.They’ve done a great job for

us,” Robertson said. Like Coach Barker,

Robertson’s team boasts alarge percentage of local tal-ent.

“About 85 percent of ourteam is from right here in theHouston area, which was oneof the reasons I wanted tocome to TSU, to take advan-tage of the rich, talented play-ers in the area,” CoachRobertson said. “The athleticdirector (Charles McClelland)has been great, providing uswith the resources we need tobe successful. The adminis-tration has been extremelysupportive. My staff is out-

standing. I think we haveeverything we need to be verysuccessful.”

Coaches with roots in thecity, that have outstandingknowledge and passion fortheir respective games;sounds like the perfect recipefor success for years to comewith Texas Southern Softballand Baseball.

6 APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2010 | DEFENDERSPORTS

basketball.The East scored the first six points of the second half and

Duncanville’s Perry Jones (Baylor) closed the deficit to 88-81on a put-back basket.

Irving scored 13 points in less than three minutes to bringhis team within 127-125 with 23 seconds remaining. Irving

missed a shot with 12 seconds left that would have tied thegame.

Barnes and Irving were named the West and East squadMost Valuable Players.

Wise was able to put the whole experience into perspective.“It was a first-class event from start to finish,” he said. “To

be involved in it and to be the first coach from the Houstonarea was an honor.”

Yates will go into next season on the wings of a 58-gamewinning streak.

Ardisoncontinued from page 5

in Athens, Georgia, at the University ofGeorgia.More PV News

The Panther Backers are presentingtheir 15th annual Prairie View A&Mand Prairie View A&M FoundationPanther Backers Celebrity GolfTournament on Monday, May 17, 2010at Cypress Lakes Golf Club, 18700Cypresswood Drive in Cypress, Texas.

The annual fundraiser, through con-sistent support of former athletes, dedi-

cated alumni donors and friends, hasprovided scholarship opportunities forseveral young men and women over theyears. In addition to providing thoseopportunities, the group will also focuson raising funds for the design and con-struction of a first-class multi-functionaland multi-dimensional athletic complexon the campus of Prairie View A & M.

Registration will begin at 8 a.m. witha four-man scramble shotgun start slatedfor 9 a.m. A silent auction will be heldthroughout the day in addition to anawards luncheon and raffle once everyteam completes its 18 holes.

Sponsorship packages for the tourna-ment range from $125 for a PantherSponsor/single golfer to $5,000 for aPlatinum Package. Prizes will beawarded for first, second and third placeteams in addition to separate contestsfor putting, longest drive and closest tothe pin.

For more information, contact DavidHall at (281) 932-4340 or DenoRobertson at (713) 417-4090. A regis-tration form is available for downloadon the Prairie View A&M athletic website at http://sports.pvamu.edu orwww.pvamu.edu/athletics.

Edisoncontinued from page 5

Texas Southerncontinued from page 5

ance.Paul registered 14 strikeouts and

allowed only two hits to improve to 27-2on the season as Clements came awaywith a 4-0 victory over Fort Bend Austin.

Clements was expecting Austin aceMorgan Hawkins to start the game andwere faced with a surprise.

Austin sophomore Nikki Grenier toedthe rubber and it took awhile forClements to adjust in District 23-5Aaction.

The Rangers led 1-0 following twoinnings when Brianna Sanchez scored ona Laura Heinerman bunt single. Afterthat, Clements slowly got its offenserolling.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, theClements bats came alive.

Elisa Nielser began the rally with asingle to centerfield. Nicole Defee andPaul followed with singles to load thebases. Alexis Oliver drove in two runswith a double. Hannah Dowell cappedthe uprising with an infield single toplate the final run.

The Rangers (28-4 overall and 15-0 indistrict play) finished with eight hits,including three bunt singles.

“We have played a lot more of theshort game this year because we don’thave the power hitting that we have hadin the past,” said Clements head coachDavid McCorkle. “We had a good mixgoing tonight.

“Fort Bend Austin gave us a differentpitcher and I think it threw us off atfirst,” McCorkle said. “We eventuallypulled it together, but it was a slow start.”

While the Clements’ offense was slow-ly mounting momentum, Paul held downher end with another sparkling perform-ance.

“That is just what Liz has been doingall season,” McCorkle said. “She threwreally well and kept them off the baseswhen we weren’t scoring. She reallycomes alive in those situations.”

Clements will close out the regularseason with matchups against Travis andElkins.

Fort Bend Austin falls to 19-10 and 9-6 with the loss. Austin, Kempner andTravis are vying for the final two playoffberths in 23-5A.

Hisd hosts girl’s showcaseThe Houston Independent School

District athletic department hosted itsinaugural Girls Athletics SeniorShowcase recently at Finnegan Park(near Wheatley High School).

Following the district’s success with asimilar event for the boys the past twoyears, a decision was made to host anevent for unsigned senior female ath-letes.

More than 150 female student-athletescompeted in front of college coaches andrecruiters.

Basketball, soccer, softball, track andfield and volleyball athletes performedskill and speed drills while also compet-ing in front of college scouts.Foster to represent Houston area inAlamodome

The Foster High School varsity foot-ball team will kickoff the 2010 seasonwith a trip to San Antonio for the 12thannual Texas Football Classic.

The Falcons will take on El PasoHanks in the first of three games on Aug.28th in the final day of the three-dayevent.

Westburycontinued from page 5

INVITATION FOR BIDS IFB NO. 10-16

Phase X Modernization and Site Improvementsat Kelly Village Housing Development

3118 Green Street

The Houston Housing Authority hereby invites bids from generalcontractors offering to furnish all labor, materials, equipment andnecessary services required for Phase X Modernization and SiteImprovements at Kelly Village Housing Development located at3118 Green Street, Houston, Texas 77020, as stated in the specifica-tions of Invitation for Bids No. 10-16.

Interested bidders may obtain the Invitation for Bids package bycontacting:

ANNA SIMOTASPURCHASING OFFICER

HOUSTON HOUSING AUTHORITY2640 FOUNTAINVIEW, SUITE 408

HOUSTON, TEXAS 77057(713) 260-0554 FAX: (713) 260-0556

Interested and qualified contractors may obtain the Invitation for Bidspackage, beginning April 20, 2010, by paying a FIVE HUNDRED DOL-LARS ($500.00) refundable deposit to the Purchasing Office of theHouston Housing Authority, located at 2640 Fountainview, Suite 408,Houston,Texas 77057. Deposits shall be made in the form of a CertifiedCheck, Cashier’s Check, or Money Order made payable to the HOUS-TON HOUSING AUTHORITY.

A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on April 27, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. atthe Kelly Village Housing Development Community Center locat-ed at 3118 Green Street, Houston, Texas 77020. The Bids mustreach Houston Housing Authority no later than 2:00 p.m. on May11, 2010. Bids received after the deadline will be rejected unlessjustification exists for consideration.

A Fair Housing and Equal Employment Opportunity Agency. For assistance:Individuals with disabilities may contact the 504/ADA Administrator at 713-260-0528,

TTY 713-260-0547 or 504_ADA@housingforhouston.com.

HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOLDISTRICT NOTICE TO PROPOSERS

The Houston Independent School District located in the Hattie Mae White EducationalSupport Center at 4400 West 18th Street Houston,Texas 77092 will accept proposals, until thestated date and time deadlines, in the Board Services Office, Level C1 ‘

• Project 10-04-08 – School Reform Models – with a deadline of 2 P.M. May 12, 2010. The pre-proposal conference for this project will be in Room 2C01 at the above stated address onApril 28, 2010 at 10 A.M.

• Project 10-04-05 – Four Color Printing Press – with a deadline of 10 A.M. May 4, 2010. Thepre-proposal conference for this project will not be required.

• Project 10-04-07 – GRAPHIC DESIGN SERVICES – with a deadline of 10 A.M. MAY 12, 2010.The pre-proposal conference for this project will be in Room 2C10 at the above statedaddress on APRIL 26, 2010 at 10 A.M.

• Project 10-05-03 - RFP - Arbitrage Rebate Compliance Services with a deadline of May 12,2010 at 2 P.M. The pre-proposal will be held on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 2 P. M. in Room2E26 at the above stated address.

Proposals are available on the HISD web-site at www.houstonisd.org.The District reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, or, to accept the proposal that is

most advantageous to the District.Scwyana Smith

OPEN-HOUSE STYLE PUBLIC MEETINGStatewide Long-Range Transportation Plan 2035The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in cooperation with the Federal HighwayAdministration, will host two series of open house-style public meetings for the development ofthe Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan 2035. This plan will establish a framework foraddressing the challenges of our aging infrastructure, urban densification, and a growing popu-lation through 2035. The plan will also address the need for improvements to all modes of trans-portation including roadways, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, transit, freight rail, passenger rail,airports, water ports, pipelines, and Intelligent Transportation Systems.

The purpose of this first series of meetings is to present an overview of the project and to solicitcomments and input to aid in the development of the plan. Information will be available forviewing at the meetings including exhibits and videos about the planning process.Representatives from TxDOT will be in attendance to discuss the development of the plan andanswer questions. Forms will be provided for submitting written comments.

The open-house style public meeting in this area will be held on May 6, 2010 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at:

TxDOT Houston District Headquarters7600 Washington Ave.

Houston, TX 77007

Information regarding additional meeting locations throughout the State can be found atwww.txdot.gov; and typing key words “transportation plan 2035” in the search field or by callingthe project’s toll-free information line at 1-888-5-TX-PLAN (1-888-589-7526).

For those unable to attend the open-house style public meeting, written comments will beaccepted on the project website at: www.txdot.gov or by email at:(TPP_txtranplan@dot.state.tx.us), or by mail at: Peggy Thurin, P.E., Project Manager, StatewideLong-Range Transportation Plan 2035, 4544 Post Oak Place, Suite 224, Houston, Texas 77027.

Persons with special communication or accommodation needs may call 713-802-5072. Requestsshould be made no later than three days prior to the meeting. Every reasonable effort will bemade to accommodate needs.

CLASSIFIED

Ray Hernandez is one of the top hitters in the nation.

Gianna Robinson led the Tigers to a 20-16 overall record.

Meggan Serrano

in monthly water bills. TheCouncil may vote to raiserates by nearly 30 percent onan average residential house-hold, more than twice theincrease Mayor Parker pro-posed earlier this month.

When the plan was firstintroduced, residential waterusers were slated to see a rateincrease of a little more than12 percent. Those who live inapartments and other multi-family homes could see a hikeof more than 50 percent, eventhough, according to the pro-posal, they have done the bestjob conserving water. Therevised figure, which wouldtake effect over several years,comes after some councilmembers complained that therate of increase for multi-fam-ily, or apartment, users wouldbe far higher than that for sin-gle-family homeowners.About half the council bodyexpressed a desire to raise allrates to what it costs to pro-vide the service.

“We run a system to meetpeak demand like droughtsand fires and other emergen-cies, and all of those are fixedcosts, so if people use lesswater, the cost of it has to goup some,” said MichaelMarcotte, the Public Worksdirector.

Marcotte said the increaseis needed to pay for mainte-nance and meet basic require-

ments for water safety.Houston City Council

Member Jolanda Jones wasamong the vocal opponentswho wanted a “fair increase”for everyone.

“You’ve got poor familiesthat will be paying more thanbusinesses paying more thanpeople who live in a house. Idon’t think you should bepenalized because you live inan apartment,” Jones said.

Marcotte said water billswould still be relatively low.

“Lay those bills out thatyou pay for water and sewer

against all of the other billsyou pay — whether it’s cableTV, telephone, gas and elec-tric. I think you’ll find that thewater and sewer system pro-vide a pretty good value forthe money that we’re charg-ing,” Marcotte said.

The increase would put thecost of Houston’s water at ahigher level than many othermajor U.S. cities, includingMiami, Oakland, Dallas, SanAntonio, Fort Worth and LosAngeles, according to a ratestudy commissioned by thecity.

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2010 | DEFENDER 7

TS: So, what’s happening?KW: Nothing much, how about you?TS: I have just been so busy, and I’m so

excited. I have been doing soooooo much.Speaking engagements… producing… devel-oping a half-hour sitcom… working on amovie… leading acting workshops all over theworld…and hosting “My Black Is Beautiful,”an empowerment TV show I’m doing on BETfor women. Do you hear me, Kam?

KW: Yeah, so what’s the new TV show goingto be like?

TS: We’re doing makeovers, giving financialclasses, answering questions about Blackwomen’s imaging in the media, and muchmore. It’s so good! We encourage women tobecome mentors within their communities inorder to teach young girls how to thrive in thissociety. It’s a good thing, so, I’m excited abouthaving the platform and this opportunitybecause you know me, I love my folk.

KW: Let’s talk a little about “Why Did I GetMarried Too.” You were as phenomenal as youwere in the original, which led me to name youthe best actress of 2007. How was it seeingeverybody again?

TS: Thank you. It was fun. Honestly, we arelike a family. We really are. The chemistry forthe sequel was even better. It almost felt likewe were actually on vacation together, organi-cally. I got to tell you, it was like a familyreunion. It was like, “Hey, girl!” and we justhad us a good time.

KW: You can’t beat shooting in the Bahamas.TS: To be honest, the Bahamas wasn’t fun.

[Whispers] Kam, it was horrible. Not only wasthe shooting schedule insane, but there were somany bugs on that island that it was nerve-wracking. It was infested with these big mothscalled “money bats.” Imagine if every time youwalked outside hundreds of them were all overthe place and landing on you. It was so stress-ful and irritating. I’m not exaggerating. Theyalso had these mosquitoes called “no see ‘ems”because you couldn’t see ‘em. Those thingsjust ate us up. We had welts and bites all overour bodies. Ugh! I could go on and on. Andthen there were these other bugs like flyingcockroaches that made a loud buzzing soundevery time we tried to shoot a scene.

KW: Gee, that sounds very different from“Couples Retreat,” your previous film, whichwas filmed in Polynesia on Bora Bora, anotherexotic location.

TS: Let me tell you honey, they should havepicked Bora Bora. Bora Bora was a dream! Itwas truly paradise.

KW: Who do you admire most in your profes-sion and have you sought out that person as amentor?TS: Wow! Angela Bassett is a friend of mineand someone who I truly admire tremendouslyin terms of her work and her choices.

KW: How has your life changed as a Christian,and who in the scriptures speaks most to whoyou are and how you’ve developed spiritually?

TS: I’d say Paul. I just love how he wentfrom being an unbeliever persecuting

Christians to one of the most powerful peoplein the Bible. And how has my life changed as aChristian? Once you have the light of Godwithin you, you see things within yourself thatyou did not know existed. Things that werehidden in darkness are now in light. I seemyself as able to forgive… to love… I evensee talents in myself that I didn’t see before.

KW: How do you express the Christ you servein the glamorous Hollywood milieu in which youwork?

TS: Your atmosphere does not change you, ifare rooted and grounded in who you are. I dowhat I believe the Lord did, and that is walk inlove with all mankind, which I don’t see a lotof Christians doing. Christians can be so judg-mental, that it can turn off people who are con-sidering converting. It makes me a little embar-rassed, to tell you the truth, when I hearChristians criticizing others. I have to fightagainst being discouraged, because I don’t wantto be connected with people who are so intoler-ant of much of mankind like that. God loves usall. He really does. And I want to walk in lovewith people.

KW: What it was like for you to revisit thecharacter Angela.

TS: It was exciting and empowering, becausealthough Tyler always jokes around saying,“Tasha’s just like Angela,” I’m not really. I’mloud and I communicate, but I’d never think ofdoing half the things Angela does. She’s anover-the-top character who just lives andspeaks honestly without worrying about beingpolitically correct. So, playing her, you get asense of freedom to do whatever you want andto live vicariously through her.

KW: What’s the most common feedback youget from your acting workshops?

TS: People come to my workshop expectingjust to learn about acting, but at the end manysay they’ve learned something about life. Theyleave as better mothers, better wives, better

husbands and better siblings. KW: After watching your acting studio video,

[http://www.tsaw.com/actors_workshop_video.html] Larry Greenberg wants to know whethera white guy can enroll in your acting course.

TS: Tell him “Yes!” and please bring hiswhole family. I’m giving a $20 discount toanyone who brings along a white person to myclass. Tell him I want white people in my class-es and to send an email blast to every whiteperson he knows to come and visit me.[Laughs] KW: When you look in the mirror, what do yousee?

TS: Hmm… I see a beautiful Black womanwho has overcome and who is pressing into herfuture and forgetting about the past.

KW: What is your earliest childhood memory? TS: Wow! I remember being six or seven

years old and always begging my sister to actout scenes with me while we were in our bunkbeds. I would be like, “Can you be ChakaKhan while I be Diana Ross?” And let’s actlike we’re at a party at Stevie wonder’s houseand looking fabulous. But she would alwaysjust fall asleep.

KW: How’s your twin, Sidra, doing?TS: She’s great, thanks.KW: Who’s your favorite clothes designer? TS: I love Catherine Maladrino, Angela Dean

and Nicole Miller. Catherine Maladrino designsthat beautiful, high-class red carpet stuff.Nicole Miller makes beautiful dresses you canwear everyday. And when you just want to goand shut it down, you turn to Angela Dean. Shemade my dress for this premiere, as well as forthe opening of Tyler Perry’s studio, that redsequined number.

KW: Beautiful! If you could have one wishinstantly granted, what would that be for?

TS: Wow, I was just telling my boyfriend thatI want to be like Solomon, and instead of ask-ing for riches ask for wisdom and creativity.

KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?TS: I make a garlic cracked crab that will

shut everything down. First, I roast fresh garlicin olive oil. Then, I sauté onions, peppers andbasil in Old Bay seasoning with butter, heavycream, wine and beer until it gets thick. Then, Ilet the fresh crabs cook in that sauce for about10 or 15 minutes before roasting them. Woooo!Believe me when I tell you that my garliccracked crab is soooo good. It’s dynamic!

KW: When was the last time you had a goodlaugh?

TS: Today. [LOL] You wanna know whathappened? While I was filming “My Black IsBeautiful” I had my DNA traced and found outthat I’m linked genetically to the Bubi peopleof Bioko Island. So, I eagerly asked, “Am Idescended from kings and queens?” But I wastold, “Sorry, your ancestors were definitely notkings and queens, but probably gatherers in thefield.” [Laughs more] That was hilarious. I justlaughed so hard.KW: Are you happy?

TS: Thanks for asking. A lot of times peopledon’t really seem to care about that. How do Isound?

KW: Elated, and you’ve got a boyfriend sincewe last spoke.

TS: [Shrieks] I got a man, baby! A man! Heis so absolutely wonderful. I am so in love.And I’m planning on getting married and hav-ing a baby by the end of 2011.

KW: Congratulations! Who’s the lucky guy? TS: His name is Keith.KW: Best of luck to you both, Tasha, and

thanks for another terrific interview. TS: Thank you. It’s so good to talk to you. KW: Same here.

Tashacontinued from page 1

Photo credit: Quantrell Colbert

Angela (Tasha Smith) and Marcus (Michael Jai White) show the conflicts of marriagesin TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO?.

Water Ratescontinued from page 1

Arthur Sanders, Gwen Ifill and Jacqueline Boyden Janice Harris, Author Gwen Ifill and Mary Benton

Laura and Ernie Nesmith Maxsane Mitchell and Gwen Ifill

Camille Scott and Kelli King-Johnson

Jill and Kevin J. Roy

WHY JOURNALISM MAT-TERS……..A warm Houston welcomewas given to award-winning PBS jour-nalist and best-selling author Gwen Ifill,who was the guest speaker atHoustonPBS Elevate Lecture Series,where she spoke about why journalismmatters. A seasoned journalist, Gwenhas covered six Presidential campaignsand moderated two vice-presidentialdebates. As moderator of the PeabodyAward-winning Washington Post, shebrings together some of the country’sbest journalists to discuss the major sto-ries of the week. Before joining PBS in1999, she was chief congressional politi-cal correspondent for NBA News, WhiteHouse correspondent for The New YorkTimes and a local and national politicalreporter for The Washington Post. She’sfantastic! HoustonPBS created theElevate Lecture Series in 2008 with thegoal of offering Houstonians an opportu-nity to be inspired and learn practical,valuable information from some of thefavorite PBS personalities as well as thecountry’s leading thinkers and experts.The event was held at the University ofHouston Downtown and attended byLaura and Ernie Nesmith, JaniceHarris, Mary Benton, MelanieLawson, Maxsane Mitchell, ArthurSanders, Jacqueline Boyden, MamieEwing, Donna Guess, George Conley,John Hesse, Dr. J. S. Stone and J.Stone, are just a few folks who enjoyedthe evening and received signed copiesof her best-selling book, TheBreakthrough: Politics and Race in theAge of Obama. GreatEvent!............BEATING THEODDS…….There wasn’t a dry eye inthe crowd as six extraordinary youth toldtheir stories of beating the odds at theChildren Defense Fund’s 2010 Beat theOdds Awards Dinner. Ms. Chag refersto Marian Wright Edelman, Presidentof the Children’s Defense Fund andkeynote speaker, as the “First Lady” ofdefending disadvantage American chil-dren. She has spent a lifetime workingto guarantee every child a healthy start, ahead start, a fair start, a safe start and amoral start in life with a successful pas-sage to adulthood with the help of caringfamilies and communities. The successof the event can be attributed to co-chairsSharon Owens and Ed Smith, champi-ons of children Philamena and ArthurBaird, as well as the crowd of over 300guests. Spotted at the event were Jilland Kevin Roy Jr., Christine Johnson,David Jones, Camille Scott, Kelli King-Johnson, J. Kent and Ann Friedman,Merele Yarborough, Phyllis Williams,Fy-Fy Okocha and Vicki Stephens.Continued Success………..HATS,PEARLS AND 4” HEELS……..Anyexcuse to dress up and dine with friendsis what Clarease Yates used to celebrateher special birthday and the ladies werehappy to oblige. The elegant luncheonwas held at the Artista Restaurant andattended by Yalila Guerrero, MonicaGuidry, Keryl Douglas, Judge MiMiYam, Cathy Lang, Althea Hart,Martha Garza, Evonne Hall, EsminTate, Denise Malloy, Diane Maben,Sharon Gray, Jackie Adams,Constance Charles, Christal Jackson,Janice Bond, Vanessa Hall and yourstruly. Happy Birthday!........KUDOS……..Houstonians are in goodhands, as Police Chief CharlesMcClelland takes over the police depart-ment as “Houston’s Top Cop.” Hebegan his career with HPD as a patrolofficer in 1977 and worked his waythrough the ranks. He received a bache-lor’s degree in criminal justice from theUniversity of Houston, followed by amaster’s degree in sociology. This dedi-cated public servant has the respect, qual-ifications, experience and knowledge tolead the thousands of officers and civilianpersonnel and will take the department toa higher level. He’s a people person andbelieves in community outreach and thevalue of citizen’s input. We salute ChiefMcClelland and wish him continued suc-cess. God Bless!.......... Have a greatweek and remember to watch CROSS-ROADS on Channel 13 Sunday morningwith Melanie Lawson for your eventcovered by Ms. Chag. Also, check outour website at defendernetwork.com toview the “Event of the Week.”…..FromChag’s Place to your place, Ciao Darling!

8 APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2010 | DEFENDER

Christine Johnson and David Jones

B-Day Girl Clarease and Ms. Chag

Sharon Owens, Marian Wright Edelman and Ed Smith

MiMi Yam, Monica Guidry, Yalila Guerrero and Keryl DouglasCathy Lang, Althea Hart, Martha Garza and Evonne Hall

Fy-Fy Okocha and Vicki Stephens

Sharon Gray, Jackie Adams, Constance Charles,Chistal Jackson and Janice Bond

Esmin Tate, Clarease Yates, Denise Malloy and Diane Maben