Newspaper Page Text
8A
July 5, 2007
HEALTH ISSUES
Kroger launches
cholesterol-cutting milk
By DAN SEWELL
A{'BmincssWriter
CINCINNATI (AP) -
Kroger Co., the nation’s
largest traditional
grocery chain, is market
ing a new milk brand for
cholesterol-reducing
ability.
The product, under
Kroger's Active Lifestyle
brand, is billed as the
first national launch of a
cholesterol-cutting milk.
[t adds to the company’s
expanding lines for
health-conscious and
natural/organic foods
and to the in-house
brands the company sees
as an important part of
its profit growth strategy.
“There’s a major trend
toward health and well
ness in the country,” said
Linda Severin, Kroger's
vice president for corpo
rate brands. “Managing
cholesterol is just a key
need for many of our
customers. This is a way
Poorest students get inexperienced teachers, study says
By APRIL CASTRO
Associated Press Writer
AUSTIN (AP) - Despite
state efforts to ensure students
get access o an equal educa
tion, the largest school districts
in Texas perpetuate a campus
level fhncE‘ng gap that sal)()mpges
needy and minority students
chances for success, accordi
to a national study rclnafi
Wednesday.
The stud Washington
{based Théyf’%wationn%mst
‘examined salary differences
within the state’s 10 largest dis
tricts. Within all districts, teach
ers were paid a lower average
salary at the needier scho,?)il
Because Texas teachers are paid
based on the years of experi
ence, the findings show that less
experienced teachers are often
responsible for students most in
need of high-quality teachers.
“Concentrating novice teach
ers in the highest-poverty
schools stacks the deck against
the academic success of low
income students by failing to
help their schools attract and
retain a more stable, more expe
rienced, more effective teaching
faculty,” according the authors.
The study, “Their Fair Share:
Edney
Sen. Ted Kennedy before she
was recruited by NNPA as
its first female Capitol Hill
correspondent and its first
Capital Hill correspondent
in 30 years.
The stories she has covered
for NNPA include the Elec
tion 2000 debacle; the
World Conference Against
Racism in Durban, South
Africa; and the terrorist
artack at the Pentagon on
Sept. 11, 2001. She also
spent eight days in New
Orleans, investigating the
immediate aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina; and
exclusively covered the flight
from Detroit to Mont
gomery with the family
entourage and body of civil
rights icon Rosa Parks.
Her journalism awards
include a 1990 NNPA First
Place Feature Story Merit
Award; the 2004 Unity
Award for economics writing
from Lincoln University; the
2004 Charles Tisdale Award,
named for the Publisher of
we can help our cus-!
tomers be proactive with I
their heart health.” ,
The milk uses a prod-i
uct with plant sterols, |
which are naturallyi
found in some vegeta
bles, fruits, nuts, and
other foods, and have |
been recognized by the |
Food and Drug Adminis- |
tration as potentially!
helping reduce the risk ofi
heart disease. The Coro-
Wise plant sterols [
extract, from Minneapo- |
lis-based Cargill Inc., is;
already offered in a range |
of national brand prod-l
ucts from orange juice to |
granola bars. *
Promised Land Dairy, !
based in San Antonio, |
began selling its Y.U.M.I
(Your Ultimate Milk)
brand last fall, mainly in }
Texas and a handful of |
other states. |
How Teacher Salary Gaps
Shortchange Poor Children in
Texas,” ltfi:(.‘tfl a tend thaatl l'm
happenin nationally,
nwfriherg said. ;
“The research on brand new
teachers is very dlear,” said Kati
Haycock, president of The
Education fl,’rust. “No matter
how good those teachers will
eventually become, they are not
as good in their first year of
practice. Those kids pay a pret
ty heavy price.”
Experienced and able teach
ers are most vi@al to poor chil
dren and many minority chil
dren who have the least to draw
on at home, Haycock said.
“When we assign (students)
to a series of strong teachers,
those teachers literally hel
them catch up even thg#fi
they come in behind. With
weak teachers however, they're
consigned to fall even fiuzcr
behind other kids.”
Still, she said, districts contin
ue to assign a disproportionate
numbser of the weakest teachers
o low-income and minority
students even thox:éu the state
has made great strides to ensure
funding equity between dis-
The is ca y
the high turnover rates at those
the historic Jackson Advo
cate; and a 2004 Fellowship
at the Annenburg Institute
for Justice in Journalism.
Edney is also a graduate of
the 2006 Women and Power
Executive Leadership Pro
gram at Harvard’s KSG.
She is an adjunct professor
of journalism at the Howard
University John H. Johnson
School of Communications,
where the NNPA News Ser
vice helps to mentor stu
dents for professional jour
nalism.
NNPA Chairman John B.
Smith Sr. says he has high
hopes for Edney at the helm
of the News Service, which is
under the NNPA Founda
tion.
“It is my hope that
through the joint efforts of
the Foundation, under the
leadership and tutelage of
M:s. Edney, we will be able to
build an even stronger unit
between the Association and
Foundation whereby we will
be unique in the dissemina
tion of news that affects peo
ple of color.”
AUGUSTA FOCUS
African-Americans have the
power to win against Diabetes
By SHARI LOGAN
__SE‘_CMM
SEATTLE (NNPA) - The
diabetes epidemic among
African-Americans is seri
ous, deadly serious.
Black people are 2 percent
more H)ikcly to die from
& ¢ Two diabetes than
Eitcs, according to Dr.
Carl Gibson a moficra(or of
the Diabetes workshop at
the annual convention of
the National Ncwsparcr
Publishers Association last
week.
But, the workshop, held
in a room that had earlier
served a breakfast of white
bread rolls, eggs, sausage,
and rturkey figcon to a
crowd of more than 200
people, saw less than half of
the original crowd by the
time tfic panelists began
speaking about ways to pre
vent an§ diabetes and other
health problems.
Three million African-
Americans have diabetes, a
disease that that develops
schools. Teachers who start
their careers at the most chal
lenging campuses tend to leave
after a few years for openings at
the easier-to-teach and h{ger
paying schools.
“The only way you keep
them in these schools is you pay
them more to be there {xmuse
it is a lot harder work there,”
said Gayle Fallon, president of
the Houston Fenfcmtion of
Teachers.
()nc? teachers ha}:le a few
years of experience, they “even
tally m?r(lspfecr ©a sclzol that
you consider the final school
you want to be in and that very
rarely is a high-poverty school,”
Fal'}_(;‘n sa{d.
e largest was in
Arlington%rv%hcre rgnalpddle school
teachers were paid $4,750 less
in the highest-poverty schools
and the higfigst minority
schools than teachers of their
white and affluent counter
o e
wi rates, whi
was cxam}i)::‘e,cdn};t the }&l‘%};
school, elementary and mi
school levels, was only bucked
three times: among Cypress-
Fairbanks and San Antonio
high school teachers and El
Paso elementary school teach
Homeowners
Continued from page 7A
Flood Insurance Pro
gram, which can provide
protection for up to
$250,000 for the struc
ture of a home and
SIOO,OOO for contents.
The flood olicies,
which are sold gy insur
ance agents, also can be
purchased by renters to
cover up to SIOO,OOO of
their belongings.
Homeowners policies
also routinely exclude
earthquake damage, which
requires special coverage
through state-sponsored
entities such as the Califor
nia Earthquake Authority
or riders offered by some
private companies.
Another misconception
held by more than two
thirds of policyholders is
the belief d;:‘ot cars, boats or
motorcycles stolen from
their property or damaged
on their property are cov
ered by homeowners poli
cies, Weatherford said.
“They figure that if
from risk factors such as
obesity, physical inactivity,
and Exmily history.
Nevertheless, Gibson was
hopeful. “We might be at
high risk,” he saidg. “But we
can make some changes.”
Type 2 diabetes occurs
when the body does not
make enough insulin or
cannot use the insulin it
makes effectively. Insulin
helps the body use sugar,
which is supposed to go to
our body’s cells in orjcr to
Euild energy. However, for
eople wi%z: Type 2 dia
gctcs. the insulin just stays
in the blood which creates
high blood glucose levels.
Normal glucose levels for
someone that has not eaten
for more than two hours is
less than 140. When some
one has a level of more than
200 after the same time
period, the person is diag
nosed with fi'pc 2 diabetes.
Yet, Dr. Gibson said that
ancestry alone does not
equal to high risk.
Ethlyn Gibson, a registered
ers, who were paid $448 more
on average in the neediest
schools.
In Austin, where middle
school teachers are paid some
$3,000 more in sdgools with
the lowest poverty rates, school
district ofg‘l(cials say teacher
salaries should not be the only
measure of efforts to help stu
dents achieve.
“We recognize that it’s very
challenging to retain teachers in
our higfiesr needs schools,” said
David Lussier, special assistant
to Austin school district Super
intendent Pat Forgione. “But
we are spending more money
per pupii)eto address the needs
of those schools.”
Some of the extra money
goes to tutoring and other non
teaching staff, Eke dropout pre
vention specialists, he said.
The district, which has long
recognized the problem, is
impEzmenti a program next
year that wo?fid offer $3,000 to
third-year teachers who agree 10
stay in the most challenging
schools for another three years,
he said. The stipend increases to
$6,000 after six years.
The study used information
provided by the Texas Educa
tion Agency.
they're in the garage or in
the back yard an§ a tree
falls on them, their home
owners (policy) covers it,”
she said. “In fact, vehicle
coverage covers vehicles,
homeowners coverage cov
ers the home and outbuild
ings.”
As for the son heading off
to college, his property in
the dorm likely won't be
covered by his parents’ pol
icy so the family should
consider purchasing sepa
rate coverage, NAIC saicf.
A recent MetlLife survey
of some 1,200 homeowners
and renters also found con
fusion aboutinsurance cov
crag_t.
“There were a lot more
incorrect and ‘not sure’
answers than wé would like
to see,” said Matthew Cul
lina, director of product
management for Met Life
Auto & Home, which is
based in Warwick, R.l.
The Met Life study found
that nearly onc-tKird of
those surveyed believe their
homeowners policy would
reimburse them for the
nurse, said that African-
Americans should be eatin
fruit three times a day anfi
one food item from the
dairy group. She also said
that physical activity should
take place five times a week
for at least 30 minutes.
In fact, the Diabetes Pre
vention Program in collabo
ration with the National
Institutes of Health showed
that obese African-Ameri
cans who followed this exer
cise routine lost up to seven
percent of their body
weight. For people 200
ounds and over, that trans
f.;tcd up to 15 pounds.
Exercise programs included
brisk wafi\'ing and limiting
calories.
Women and men respec
tively should not eat more
than 1800 and 2000 calo
ries a day, Gibson said. Reg
ular visits to the doctor after
the age of 40 to get screened
and to test blood glucose
levels as well as taking pre
scribed medication can con
trol and prevent diabetes.
Market
Continued from page 7A
essarily indicate bigger divi
dends. It can be the case that
their prices are falling precipi
tously.”
Tjornehoj said investors
should consider the amount of
wurnover in a portfolio because
some short-term gains can trig
ger higher taxes.
Though they arent known
for offering the biggest returns
among all munml%‘md types,
some dividend funds can prove
rewarding,
Tjornehoj said T. Rowe
Prices Equity Income Fund
keeps expenses low and also
holds down stock turnover.
The fund, with assets of $25.9
billion, has shown a return of
7.2 percent this year and a 13.9
percent annualized return in
the past three years. The five
year annualized return is 12.1
percent.
As of May 31, the Standard
& Poor’s 500 index had shown
a rewrn of 8.77 percent in
2007, while the three-year
annualized return as of June 1
was 13 percent and the index's
market value of their
homes if they were
destroyed by fire or in a
storm.
In fact, the payout will
reflect the cost of rebuild
ing, also known as replace
ment cost. It’s generally
capped at a lot less than the
market value because it
doesn’t take the cost of the
land into consideration,
Cullina said.
A homeowner can deter
mine a rough replacement
cost equivalent by “asking a
contractor in your area the
cost per square foot for
building a home” and run
ning tfic calculation for
your own residence.
Meanwhile, some 72 per
cent of those surveyed said
they expected their insur
ance to cover the full cost
to replace personal belong
ings destroyed in a fire or
natural disaster.
When it comes to con
tents, the standard home
owners policy covers actual
cash value, which is the cost
of an item minus deprecia
tion, Cullina said.
Dr. Antoine Johnson also
acknowledged that improved
health care delivery and cul
tural awareness will also
lead to a decrease in the
occurrences of diabetes.
But what happens when a
group of peop[:' who dis
proportionately lack health
care insurance ends up
telling everyone else but the
doctor about their ill health
as African-Americans too
often do? The Washington
State Department of Health
recognized the need to
address that problem and
did something innovative.
The health ~ department
began educating communi
ty "barbers and beauticians
about the disease so that
they can give hcll}wful sug
sestions instead of sympa
%‘l)’ to the clients that sit in
their chairs. The program
included more than 20 bar
ber and beauty shops
throughout the Seattle met
ropolitan area.
Complications of diabetes
Sec Diabetes, page 10A
five-year annualized return
9.45 percent.
Tjornehoj also sees strong
returns and low expenses from
Fidelity Investments Equity-
Income Fund, which has assets
of $33.8 billion, has shown a
7.6 percent return this year and
14 percent and 12.3 percent
annualized retums over three
and five years, respectively.
Taylors rising dividends
fund, with assets of apout
$3.16 billion, is up 4.2 percent
this vear and has shown a three
year annualized return of 10.1
percent and a five-year annual
ized return of 9.8 percent.
Over all, Tjornehoj noted
dividend funds arent for people
looking for the greatest returns,
but for a limited measure of
dependability.
“They're not going to have
returns that put everybody else
to shame. If thats what you're
looking for than this may not
be the type of fund that suits
your needs.
“Take a broad view. Not only
are you in it for the dividend
but for the performance of the
stock itself.”
“You have to ask for
replacement cost coverage,
but I think it's worth filc
extra money,” he said.
Replacement cost is today’s
market value, without
deducting for depreciation.
Homeowners a?so need to
think about coverage for
special items, such as jewel
ry and fur and fine art and
heirlooms, he added.
Most policies put limits
on payouts for special items
like these, Cullina said.
“If you've got something
special, say your grandpar
ents silver, and it’s valuable,
you may want to get a
rider” to cover the items, he
said. Often such items
must be appraised by a pro
fessional, and the customer
and insurance company
reach an “agreed value” for
coverage, he said.
Cullina suggcstcd that
consumers do some
research online” to educate
themselves about coverage.
He also suggests they ask
insurance agents “%Vhat
isn't covcrcd?thcrc are the
gaps?” so they know what
extra protection is needed.