Augusta focus. ([Augusta, Ga.) 198?-current, April 13, 1995, Image 1

Augusta focus., April 13, 1995, Image 1

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Newspaper Page Text, ﬁ&*ile” 9| S . L 1 S (T s ~=smSportsFocus p. 12 ENVIRONMENT McKinney jump starts relocation By Rhonda Y. Maree AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer AUGUSTA With the eyes of the nation’s capital upon them, Richmond County commissioners offi cially went on record in support of getting Hyde Park and Vir ginia Subdivision residents out of their contaminated neigh borhoods. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., sat in on Tuesday’s standing-room-only meeting and urged the commissionersto take action on thelin gering issue. Commissioner Henry Brigham, who considered the 11th District representative’s presence a big fac tor, said, “I sure am glad she was there. It was good timing.” Ms. McKinney mentioned a situation in Savannah in which she, with backing from the city’s local government, was able to se cure $8.5 million in federal money for reloca- See HYDE PARK, page 3 A SAMPLING OF VOTERS SAY: Mays is strongest contender; Handy is weakest By Rhonda Y. Maree AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer AUGUSTA Richmond County Commissioners Willie Mays and Freddie Handy are popular names among registered voters, but they fall on oppo site ends of an effectiveness and likability scale. In an informal survey of local voters, Mr. L iR ——— Destiny T the Radi o i g /.‘ﬁ " st ; e e ~a;;; g - o . i e SRP R A s o . ¢ B i - , o TER ','/’ L% g e B i s, N B - W £ oo e 3 . ! pe See ARTbeat page 6 B National NeWs ......ccccevenmsersesissensssnins 2 Bl B . oo ciiminminsitierns @ M People L et B R L pisisssbsasenne DR . L L. commisriiaipetinasssonsoris B B A CIoBBE LOOK ©.iioecocovissimssisansasasonsisorsss ¥ B Fashion 11 B SPOItS ..coveeriiniinessssssisininininns 12-13 B SPITIL coocervienssinnisnnenssssnssmsssssssessasssens 14 B Employment .....c..oceeoeuenniisirnnens 18-19 B Classifieds ..........cocoervenensniiseenens 20-21 |2B / Your local newspaper sponsored by your local grocer. % S ENY A_e,_. . & Cynthia McKinney | April 13-19, 1995 VOL. XIV NO. 695 l| | Metro Augusta's Finest Weekly Newspaper Field of possible candidates strongest in District 1 of a consolidated government oy eof SSRNt 1 il MR Current office holders and the districts they are eligible to run for in the new consolidated government. Augusta-Richmond Districts 1-8 District 1 Willie Mays Margaret Armstrong Colis Ivey Lee Beard Jim Tarver C.S, Hamilton Johnny Hatney ./ s District 2 & Freddie Lee Handy . . f Dlstrlct@a ee Neel i _-_;0 yn Usry Distict 7 District 8 l’ix hAwm‘v», <:, ?‘ :J.rw Bﬂgham Larry sconyers ‘Districtg "SE# 1 ¢ Districtlo (Includes District§ 1,24, okt ma ’ : 45) Wl“|e Ms ~ y 75) ' Colis | . : ‘ vey, i YWoaT Arms Jinc‘s.rlanhnn f“ Read > it Ta ver %é%? Hatney o ””v»\" s ?&\ 2 U o » Mays received overwhelming votes as the most effective and favorite commissioner. Bill Law, who follows local politics closely, considers Mr. Mays to be the strongest commis sioner because he is a “seasoned politician.” Because of Mr. Mays’ experience, Mr. Law said he feels certain the District 1 representative will win a seat in a consolidated government of Richmond County and Augusta. Agnes E. Myers also perceives Mr. Mays to be RACE MATTERS Black Daytona residents complain ofunfairtreatment M Tens of thousands of black college students descend on beach community. Police restrictions irk civil rights organization. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Some black residents have complained to Mayor Paul Carpenella about police restric tions on their use of bridges during Black College Reunion. Police directed residents on the mainland to bypass Daytona Beach bridges and travel to an Ormond Beach bridge or to the Port Orange bridge to get to the beach dur ing the event’s peak hours Sat urday. “This is really, really blatant racism,” said Derrick Harris. “They have to gotoanother city where they don’t even pay tax es to cross over to the beach? District 4 Moses Todd District 5 - Henry Brigham - Melvin Ford -QOscar Baker District 6 J.D. Powell {lncludes Districts 3,6,7,8) Lee Neel Carolyn Usry, ‘William Calhoun Gerald Woods “Travers W, Paine 11l J.D. Powell Jerry Brigham Larry Sconyers " Source: Richmond Coun P the most effective. She said, “He seems to be concerned about his community and its welfare.” Juanita W. Taylor agrees. “Mr. Mays cares about his constituents’ opinions and their inter ests,” she said. Kenneth Galloway said Mr. Mays is his favor ite county official because he “cares about the needs of all people, not just black people.” Two other registered voters, who asked to See FAVORITE, page 3 I Atlanta braces for Freaknik - See Page 2 | You can’t do that to people.” He said he planned to contact the American Civil Liberties Union. On Saturday, a group of resi dents went to Carpenella tocom plain. He responded by saying a citizens task force will be formed to better organize next year’s event. Robert Winters, a senior at North Carolina A&T State Uni versity in Greensboroin town for the reunion, said he considered the traffic restrictions an unwarrented concern about black visitors by business owners and law enforcement. Marjorie Johnson, president of the Daytona Beach branch of the NAACP, said the weekend’s use of 590 officers from 41 agencies — including 46 on horseback — illustrates the city’s unfavorable perception of the event. “I think having all this exces sive police is unnecessary,” she hotbed of activity. Residing in the district are six sitting Au gusta city council members and one member of the county com mission. Some 13 elected offi cials are eligible for District 9 which is a seat made up of the combined Districts 1,2,5, and 6. District 10 will also be crowded. Eight current office holders are eligible to run for that seat. Provisions for the new consol idated government call for all office holders to run for the new positions this coming Novem ber, if the voters and the U.S. Justice Department give the okay to merge the city of Augus ta and Richmond County. said. “It sets the tone that this is a police state.” Daytona Beach police spokes man Al Tolley said bridge re strictions were motivated by safe ty, not racial concerns. Similar restrictions were used during the end of Bike Week whenbeachside traffic peaked, he said. “Those very restrictions are one ofthereasons we had arelatively calmer activity,” Tolley said. Tolley estimated that 125,000 college-age visitors came to the beach this weekend, more than last year. Police made about 500 arrests, including 19 for weap ons violations and several hun dred open-container and disor derly conduct reports. Two visitors were treated at Halifax Medical Center after sep arate shooting incidents. Also, two officers were treated for cuts when bottles were thrown at them during another incident. e T e MR. 808 HENNEBERGER GEORGIA NEWSPAPER UNIVERSITY OF GA ATHENS GA 30802 12/31/99 Pictortam Wirtues and the Speaker of the | House Story on page 9. U.S. sharp turn to right sparks human rights B U.N. panel cautions U.S. against letting new right-wing conservative trend erode commitment to fight discrimination and safeguard human rights. By Paul Geitner Associated Press Writer (AP) Taking note of the new conservative mood in Wash ington, a U.N. panel warned the United States on Friday to maintain its commitment to fight discrimination and safe- guard human rights. The panel of human rights experts said that if Congress de cides to scrap affir mative action pro grams for women and minorities, care should betakentosee that employers don’t return to discrimina tory ways. It also said federal and state govern ments should consid er restricting the crimes subject to the death penalty and bar it altogether for minors rather than the current trend of extending it in a bid to fight crime. Laws limiting the sale of guns to the public should be extended and strengthened, it said. Prison overcrowding needs to be eased and conditions improved, including steps to ensure female prisoners are not abused by male guards. The recommendations came from the Human Rights Committee of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the United States ratified in 1992 — with reservations. Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck presented a status report last week on American compliance with the treaty. And State Department spokesman Yehuda Mirsky said the United States believes it has a “world-class” human rights record. See HUMAN RIGHTS, Page 2 Fed court rules against - 8 - CCNY prof for anti-jewish - statements made in 1991 By Larry Neumeister Associated Press Writer NEW YORK A federal appeals court has reversed its earlier decision and ruled that the City College of New York did not violate a professor’s free-speech rights when it demoted him for making anti-Semitic remarks. The U.S. Supreme Court had ordered the appeals court to reconsider the college’s effort to oust Leonard Jeffries as chairman of its black studies department. The Supreme Court said Jeffries’ case could be altered by its May decision that public employees may be fired for insubordinate statements even if some of the statements are protected under the First Amendment. In a 1991 speech in Albany, Jeffries said that “rich Jews” financed the slave trade, and that Jews and the Mafia conspired to defameblacks in movies. The college’s trustees, responding to an uproar over the speech, voted to limit Jeffries’ next term as chairman to one year, rather than the customary three. Jeffries sued the college president, the chancellor and the board of trustees, claiming his First Amendment rights had been violated. A jury and a judge agreed, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set aside those findings last Tues day. “We recognize that academic freedom is an important First Amendment concern,” the court wrote. “Jeffries’ aca demic freedom, however, has not been infringed here.” The court also said that the college “made a substantial showing at trial that their decision to limit Jeffries’ term was based upon a reasonable prediction that the Albany See DECISION REVERSED, page 2 BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID NO. 302 AUGUSTA, GA UNITED NATIONS The United States has come under particular criticism for exempting itself from the treaty’s ban on executing criminals under 18 — something allowed in 25 states and upheld by the Supreme Court.