By Katie Mocol , TC Daily Planet 

Amid the atmosphere of bustling market stalls and the scent of tamales and moo shu pork, 50 people, many of them first generation immigrants, listened to and participated in a forum on immigration on Saturday, September 13. Representative Keith Ellison gave his constituents a taste of his policy at his campaign-sponsored forum at Minneapolis’ Midtown Global Market.

The congressman from Minnesota’s fifth congressional district made promises for comprehensive immigration reform that echoed and mirrored the concerns of his district.

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) today announced the intent to help set a new world record on October 2 by taking part in Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, a national campaign designed to encourage hundreds of thousands of children and adults from across the country to read the same book on the same day.  MPS will take part in this national campaign by encouraging each school site to distribute and read a special edition of the campaign’s official book, Corduroy, in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms on October 2.
 

By Swallehe Msuya
Freelance Contributing Writer

M. Ann Pritchard combines many attributes. She is author, actress, model, singer, stage make up artist and a powerhouse of authoring children’s books with a positive message.

She is to-date credited for authoring masterpieces of children’s books with illustrations. Her books contain musical songs and carry such fabulous titles as Phil the Pill, Friends Making Positive Choices and Val’s World featuring “The Family Unity Roundtable”.

SAINT PAUL, Minn.,  - "The final date to initiate a
2008 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) contract with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is Tuesday, September 30, 2008," noted Minnesota Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Perry Aasness.The 2008 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program had a late start in 2008 due to the enactment of the Farm Bill on June 18, 2008. FSA started DCP enrollment on June 25, 2008. Normally, enrollment is held during the winter and spring months prior to planting.

ST. PAUL — It began in April, 2008 and will take several years, but eventually all of Minnesota’s 158 types of license plates will be flat, rather than embossed, and produced in a manner that saves time, space, money and a few unpleasant chemicals while it makes the plates easier to read.

The “digital” license plates (DLP) are produced by the Minnesota Department of Corrections using a relatively new process that involves printing the design on flat sheeting. With input from law enforcement, the Department of Public Safety

By Douglas McGill , TC Daily Planet

When Bulcha Demeksa, an opposition member of the Ethiopian Parliament, feels compelled to denounce the Ethiopian Prime Minister, he doesn’t bother to organize a political rally in Ethiopia or search for journalists eager to publish his rhetorical thunderbolts.
That’s because opposition rallies are banned in Ethiopia, and the press is government-controlled down to the last pixel and drop of printer’s ink.  Plus, Ethiopia’s jails are filled these days with people brave or foolhardy enough to speak out publicly against the regime of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Over 150 industry experts, community leaders and policy makers participated in the ALANA Green Summit on September 15, 2008 at Concordia University-St. Paul, Minnesota to explore how the ALANA (African Latino Asian and Native American communities) could help build the emerging green economy.

ALANA communities will be the fastest growing segment of the prime workers and tax payers.  ALANA firms are growing at faster rates than other firms nationally and locally. ALANA Green capital will play a  critical part in developing the emerging green economy.

Egal Shidad: Stories of Somali Health will air a program simultaneously on television and radio that addresses mental health in the Somali communities of Minnesota. 

Saint Paul, Minn. – Egal Shidad: Stories of Somali Health will air a program about mental health on October 6th at 7:30pm on KFAI FM 90.3/106.7 and 7:00pm on SPNN Channel 19 on St. Paul Cable. This program is primarily intended for members of the Somali community, using the Somali language and aspects of Somali culture to relay information and reduce barriers associated with mental health.  

(L-R) Jacqueline Abebe - President, Umoja Society (Tanzanians in Minnesota), 
Hon. Ambassador Ombeni Sefue, Tanzania's Ambassador to the US,
Tanzanian Consul in the Twincities Kjell Bergh & Ntukamazina - Umoja Society Secretary
 
By Swallehe Msuya

Minneapolis, MN - Tanzania’s Ambassador to the United States, Hon. Ombeni Sefue has challenged Tanzanians living in the US to “become a bridge” in promoting trade and investment ties between their country and the US. Addressing Tanzanians resident in Minnesota in North Minneapolis on Saturday, September 13; the envoy said Tanzanians have to rise to the challenge of exporting to the US some 6,000 assorted products designated duty-free under the AGOA protocol.

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, (IPS/GIN) -- The launch of the African Union's official civil society council may
strengthen the continent's ability to address human rights violations and tackle poverty, activists say.

The first permanent General Assembly of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (ECOSOCC) ended Sept. 9 in Tanzania's largest city, Dar es Salaam. The newly formed ECOSOCC is meant to be the people-powered arm of the continental organization. It is also meant to be relatively safe from political manipulation.

New report finds 164,000 fewer smokers 

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., – Findings from the latest Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey (MATS), released today, show that Minnesota is making significant progress in reducing tobacco use. The survey—conducted by ClearWay MinnesotaSM, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Health—found that Minnesota’s adult smoking rate has declined to a new low of 17 percent. That figure is down approximately 5 percentage points since 1999 and represents 164,000 fewer smokers. Minnesota’s declines are impressive compared to national trends, where smoking rates appear to have stalled at about 20 percent since 2004.

Charles Bigelow’s official title is the founder, chief executive officer, and president of Boyce-based Light Speed Power Inc. Unofficially, he’s known as a solar evangelist and a renewable-energy rebel. For the past seven years, he’s been preaching the gospel of energy independence — designing, installing, and maintaining solar- and wind-power renewable-energy technologies for private homes. Bigelow has installed more than 15 solar and wind projects — four of them wind turbines — in the Shenandoah Valley and elsewhere in Virginia. He has completed projects in Augusta, Clarke, Frederick, Loudoun, Rappahannock, and Warren counties, as well as in Winchester and three counties in West Virginia. But he’s only at a fraction of his capacity.

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 authorizes a $7,500 tax credit for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing homes on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009. There are lots of information about this following around and here are some of the most frequently asked questions: 

1. Who is eligible to claim the $7,500 tax credit?
First time home buyers purchasing any kind of home—new or resale—are eligible for the tax credit. To qualify for the tax credit, a home purchase must occur on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009. For the purposes of the tax credit, the purchase date is the date when closing occurs.

2. What is the definition of a first-time home buyer?

By Pegue Manga

Dotting the vast expanse of rainforest in the southeast of Cameroon are dome-shaped houses constructed with young tree branches and leaves.

Those who dared to make it to this part of Cameroon in the early 19th century would attest to having seen these structures. These are houses (derogatorily called huts) belonging to Baka pygmies, a diminutive and timid people who live in the Congo Basin rainforest.

Thousands of infants are dying from sickle-cell anemia yearly in Nigeria – one of the highest rates in all Africa, reports the head of the country’s sickle-cell foundation.
"This genetic disorder alone accounts for eight percent of infant mortality in Nigeria, which calls for urgent attention," said foundation head Sadiq Wali.