Jamil was my son, my friend and my travel buddy. We did just about everything together, but even now I realize how much more that I could have done with him. I write this with a very heavy heart because I chose work over spending time with him and our family over the weekend. I believed that I would have more time to spend with him if I accomplished business goals and we had more resources per success. What I realize now is that the most important resource and accomplishment that I have was him and my stepson. I feel that I failed him, his mother Katrina, my wife and his step-mother Jacqueline, his brother Xavier, his grandparents, his family and friends because I made a bad choice, work over family. I pray and ask everyone reading this to always chose your children and your family over business. Never accept that you have time to spend with your children, your spouse and your loved ones. Jamil believed that we should make time to be with people we cared about. He was a very balanced young man in the way he lived his life. Even now, he is teaching me a lesson through his heart and his faith in Jesus Christ. I hope we all learn a valuable lesson from Jamil and his loving, caring, Christ-led spirit. If I was a hero to him in anyway, he was a hero to me as well.

I want you all to know that Jamil was blessed in many ways by hundreds of family members and friends including his grandparents (Edwin & Helen Lombard Charles White & his wife Vernice, my mother Iris Foster (deceased) and my adopted mother & Mom's sister Crystal Foster and his step-grandparents, Arlandist & Julia McCollum and his cousins that he was up north with including Darryl's wife Chastity. For me, there are three important and key people in his life that I want to personally introduce to you.

His mother, Katrina Lombard, who gave birth to him and cherished him,

My wife, Jacqueline, who came into Jamil's in 2007 when he first joined Boy Scouts at Bates Academy

My stepson and Jamil's brother Xavier McCollum, who was a member of Boy Scouts when Jamil joined.

Katrina has been a strong and proud mother. She enjoyed exposing Jamil to different cultures, communities and ideas. She took him to more cities in the country than I have ever been to, which opened him up to seeing the world with a broader perspective than most children. She and I didn't agree on much, but I will clearly state that she loved Jamil very much and will miss him dearly.

Jacqueline came into Jamil's life in 2007 via Boy Scouts and her role grow when we started dating in 2009. She was consistent from the beginning through May 26, 2013. She loved Jamil as if he was her birth son and she gave him the balance of expression, fun and education that I missed at times. She introduced him to baking and cooking, expanding his creativity via education and pushing him to think of others and not himself. Jamil would not have expanded his evolution and growth without her love and support. It touched my heart that she would accept my son in the same way that she loved her son Xavier. In this way, Jamil was blessed because he had two women who loved him and helped him build the compassionate and giving spirit that he has.

Xavier and Jamil are brothers in the true since of the word. Separated by 1 year and 8 days, initially they have some adjustment to Jacqueline and I's relationship. What was the most amazing thing to me is that they found a way to work through the adjustment on their own and built a bond that is stronger than any brotherly bond I have seen. They planned to go to middle school together and made it there in 7th and 8th grade. They played football and ran track together. They played in the Baker band together and they shared a lot of friends. One of the things that warmed my heart was how Xavier took Jamil under his wing during his first week at Baker. Xavier took him around to all of his friends in the 8th grade and told them, he's my brother. That helped Jamil adjust to the new school and blossom into a wonderful and loving young man. For me to properly honor Jamil, I now must take Xavier and support him the same way he supported his brother.

I just wanted to give you all some more context on the wonderful and amazing child Jamil was and the people who guided him in that walk. Being his father is the greatest thing I have ever done, but it was also for two special women and an amazing brother as well.

Thank you all for your love, prayers and support. We all appreciate it and most importantly, Jamil appreciates it.

Funeral arrangements for Jamil:

Friday, May 31st - Viewing 4pm to 8pm

Haley Funeral Home

24525 Northwestern Hwy

Southfield, MI 48075

(248) 356-4800

Saturday, June 1st - Funeral 12 noon

Family Hour - 11-12 noon

St. Paul A.M.E. Church

2260 Hunt Street

Detroit, MI 48207

(313) 567-9643

If you like to make monetary donations in honor of Jamil Foster, you can make those at any Chase Bank location to the Jamil Foster Memorial Foundation Acct #2960755272.

Courtesty Of Detroit Regional Chamber 

“To me, my story is simply that someone gave me a shot, gave me a chance, gave me an opportunity to prove what I could do,” said Robert L. Johnson during his keynote address earlier this afternoon. Johnson, founder and chairman of RLJ Companies and founder of Black Entertainment Television, centered his discussion on the role the private sector plays in urban redevelopment.

After an introduction by Dennis Archer Jr., founding principal and president of Archer Corporate Services, Johnson highlighted two ideas that he is focused on putting into action. First, the importance of giving the African American community a chance and an opportunity to succeed in the workforce through what he calls advanced best practices. Second, he discussed the importance of reducing the same community’s dependence on payday lending providers.

Following his remarks, Johnson was joined on stage by Carol Cain, senior producer and host of CBS Detroit’s “Michigan Matters” and Detroit Free Press columnist. To watch video highlights from Johnson’s keynote, click here.

Keep up with the conversation: check the mpc.detroitchamber.com homepage throughout the Conference for full coverage, including extended posts and up-to-date photos and video, in addition to your eDetroiter emails.

Bob Johnson speaks about how he started BET at the Michigan Policy conference. He talks fondly about John Malone, owner of Liberty Media for helping him get started.

Johnson says he built his businesses by forming strategic alliances.  He says he's not the smartest guy in the room.  He said a lot of African Americans just havent had the opportunities that he had.

The Institute for Population Health and health care Reform
Vernice D. Anthony: I am very excited about the future of health care for our community. All we have been hearing about in the past is the poor statistics on our health status, rising health care cost, health disparities. But there is good news on the horizon that will significantly improve access to care, quality and cost. I am referring to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), nationally, and the creation of the Institute for Population Health (IPH) in Detroit.
Loretta V. Davis: As fiscal crises have impacted many state and local health agencies across the country, it has been imperative that all public health system develop partnerships to develop more cost effective ways to accomplish the shared goal of improving the public’s health.
During the last ten years, the City of Detroit’s general fund budget for public health decreased from a high of $37 million to a low of $4.1 million. This decline in funding reduced staffing and put the quality of services and the health of residents at risk.
Simply put, continuing the health department as it was, was not an option that the city or the health of its residents could afford. The Institute for Population Health (IPH), a 501(c)(3) public health institute, was developed to address these issues, ensure the provision of quality public health services in Detroit into the future, and to become a center for population health innovation.
The mission of the IPH is to maximize positive health conditions in populations and communities through collaboration, scientific inquiry, and the application of scientific health practices.
Anthony: The IPH opened its doors on October 1, 2012. How is the IPH benefiting the community?
Thanks to the Mayor Dave Bing’s support and the visionary IPH leadership team, the benefits of the IPH to the community include quality public health service provision and much more. The IPH is now one of only five city-level public health institutes in the country, joining the ranks of public health institutes in New York, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Chicago.
As a new public health institute, the IPH is dedicated to improving the availability and quality of population health, personal health and human services by fostering innovation, leveraging resources and building partnerships across public and private sectors; and we are already making progress.
Anthony: That is really remarkable. Give me some examples of the progress you have already made.
Davis: In only eight months of operation, the IPH has seen amazing results in both finance and service provision. With the establishment of the IPH, administrative costs were reduced, allowing for greater efficiency in service delivery.
Almost 5 million additional dollars became immediately available for essential public health services. The IPH has also retained more than 200 jobs in Detroit and is attracting new young professional talent.
With renewed focus on putting the people we serve first, the numbers served in many IPH clinics are more than double the numbers served in the same clinics in previous years. In October 2012, during the very first month of IPH operations, the Social Hygiene Clinic saw 885 patients, as compared to 350 patients seen in the Social Hygiene Clinic during October 2011. There was also a forty-eight percent (48%) increase in HIV counseling and testing.
Since October 1, 2012, IPH pediatric dentistry has served more than 1,075 children; IPH family planning, over 2,570 people; Children’s Special Health Care, 2,700 children; and the Women, Infants, Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, more than 75,916 families.
Additionally, the IPH is actively engaged in a variety of community and academic partnerships and has some new and innovative projects in development. So, there is much more to come from the IPH.
Anthony: With regard to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and health care reform, what is it that you think the community and policy makers need to know?
Davis: The IPH is excited to be providing public health services and growing as a public health institute at such a historic time. The ACA will shift our health system from one that focuses on caring for the sick to one that focuses on keeping people healthy and well.
There are over 1,149,911 uninsured people in our state, and nearly 50% reside in Southeast Michigan (US Census Bureau, 2011). Of the uninsured living in Southeast Michigan, the vast majority reside in Wayne County.
This means we have a lot of work to do to prepare ourselves and our communities to assure the maximum enrollment possible as a result of the ACA. Approval of Governor Snyder’s “Healthy Michigan Plan” to increase Medicaid coverage is the first step.
Anthony: What do businesses need to know about how these improvements in health care will impact our economy?
Davis: When we invest in keeping people healthy, we are investing in a productive society and a strong economy. We have not even begun to realize the benefits of creating a society in which health and wellness are the norm. The Healthy Michigan Plan and the ACA will undoubtedly benefit all Michigan residents.
Many employers cannot afford to cover their employees, so the ACA will be creating a healthier workforce. It will be a win for uninsured residents, hospitals, insurance companies, businesses, and our state as whole.
Anthony: What can we all do to help in this effort?
Davis: Support the Healthy Michigan Plan.(www.ReformMedicaidMi.com) Get educated about the ACA. Prepare for the Health Insurance Exchanges. And last, but certainly not least, improve your own healthy lifestyle…..our community can be no healthier than our population.
Anthony: Any closing comments?
Davis: While we know that there is no silver bullet, and healthcare reform is a”process” with a long road ahead, and many complexities. We have much to learn along this road. The IPH is open to and looks forward to new funding and strategic partnership opportunities to contribute to the improvement of health care in Michigan and to population health innovation in the United States.
Loretta V. Davis, MSA, is the founding president and CEO of the Institute for Population Health. Vernice D. Anthony, BSN, MPH, is the director and health officer of the City of Detroit - Department of Health and Wellness Promotion.

The federal government is one of the nation's largest buyers of advertising, and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters is asking why more of the hundreds of millions in public dollars aren't going to African-American owned broadcasting outlets. The group is targeting federal agencies that approve the allocation of ad budgets to change this disparity.

A 2012 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, "Advertising by the Federal Government: An Overview," estimated that the federal government spent $750.4 million on commercial advertising services in fiscal year 2011. The breakdown of the top five departments was as follows:

- Department of Defense: $473.6 million
- Department of Health and Human Services: $87.6 million
- Department of Treasury: $50.6 million
- Department of Transportation: $36.7 million
- Department of Homeland Security: $34.7 million

"Of these expenditures, Black owned broadcast stations and networks receive a very small share," said NABOB Executive Director, Jim Winston (pictured). "Many Black owned broadcast stations receive no federal ad dollars."

Because there is no obligation on the part of the federal government departments or their separate divisions and offices to publicly report where or when the advertising expenditures will be placed, either before the expenditure or after, Black owned stations frequently learn about advertising placements by the departments, divisions and offices only after hearing them on competing media outlets -- after the advertising expenditures have been made.

"The federal government has an obligation to inform and educate all of its citizens with its advertising expenditures," says Winston. "If the federal government fails to utilize the advertising vehicles that reach the African American public, it is virtually impossible for the federal government to achieve its informational and educational goals in our communities."

In addition, in an age of government austerity, the government is overlooking a comparatively inexpensive means of reaching our communities, says NABOB. Because of ongoing undervaluation of the African American consumer by major advertisers, Black owned stations and networks must charge lower rates than other stations and networks reaching the same size audiences. Therefore, when using Black owned media, the federal government can reach a critical segment of the American public in a fiscally responsible manner.

Black owned radio and television stations are the voices of their communities. In recent years, due to the recession, many of those voices have been silenced by bankruptcies and foreclosures. For the African American owned stations that remain, obtaining a fair share of federal advertising expenditures could mean the difference between survival and failure.

NABOB has taken on the issue of getting a fair share of federal advertising dollars, and says the initiative has the potential to "benefit every Black owned station in America." It's asking its members to contact their members of Congress.

NABOB will focus on the federal advertising issue at its 37th Annual Fall Broadcast Management Conference and the 13th Annual Power of Urban Radio Forum set for October 2-4, 2013, at the Westin City Center Hotel in Washington, DC.
 

Although the State of Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) will be closed on Monday, May 27, to observe the Memorial Day holiday, unemployed workers can still contact the Michigan Automated Response Voice Interactive Network (MARVIN) system to claim their eligibility for unemployment benefits.

Unemployed workers claiming benefits in Michigan must contact MARVIN by telephone or online once every two weeks to certify that they are unemployed and meet the eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits.

Individuals who contact MARVIN by telephone must do so during specific times according to a Monday through Wednesday schedule based on the last two digits of their Social Security numbers or anytime on Thursday or Friday between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. MARVIN can be reached toll-free at 1-866-638-3993.

MARVIN is also available online to those with free online web accounts at www.michigan.gov/uia and is available to users anytime during their reporting week from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday throughFriday.

Bi-weekly certification through MARVIN Online is just one of many services available to users through the Claim Web Account Manager (CWAM), UIA’s online portal that gives users direct access to their account. Using CWAM, claimants can access account information and get answers to questions using the Virtual Problem Resolution (ViPR) team – where claimants can send an online inquiry and receive the reply directly by email. 

Because of the upcoming holiday, there may be a one or two day delay before the benefits are either directly deposited into the bank accounts or loaded onto the debit cards of unemployed workers. The Memorial Day holiday is observed by Michigan state government and most financial institutions.

For more information about LARA, please visit www.michigan.gov/lara.  Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/michiganLARA, “Like” us on Facebook or find us on YouTubewww.youtube.com/michiganLARA.

Despite ballot certification, Duggan foes vow challenge

Despite the 2-1 vote of the Detroit Election Commission, whose decision was anchored on the city’s new charter to retain mayoral candidate Mike Duggan on the ballot, his challengers are vowing to take the issue straight to court.

Candidate Tom Barrow, who raised Duggan’s residency as a technical flap that shouldn’t allow him on the August primary ballot, is promising to campaign against Duggan’s candidacy, which he calls “Aanother suburban transplant taking over the reigns of the city. We already had a failed experiment with Dave Bing and the parachuting in of a Livonia mayor only works for Republican money interests, not everyday Detroiters.”

Robert Davis, a labor activist, said he is going to court to fight the issue. Duggan campaign lawyer Melvin “Butch” Hollowell, in an interview with the Michigan Chronicle, said the issue is “not really a close legal question,” because Duggan has met the requirements of the new charter. “I think the election commission did the right thing,” Hollowell said. “This was about having access to the ballot which is an important part of election law all around the country.”

According to Hollowell, with today’s ruling the campaign now shifts away from what he describes as “small issues like technicality and allows us to focus on the larger issues such as when you call a police, will they come?” Detroit Election Commission members Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey and interim corporation counsel Edward Keelean voted for Duggan to remain on the ballot while the third member, City Council President Charles Pugh, opposed.

E-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

As AARP works to support Medicaid expansion in Michigan, a recent report by the Urban Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows that more than 25,000 currently uninsured Michigan veterans and spouses would receive health coverage if Medicaid is expanded under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Currently, Michigan legislators are debating the merits of Medicaid expansion, with a decision expected in the coming weeks. Gov. Rick Snyder supports extending Medicaid to 470,000 uninsured Michigan residents.

“As we honor our veterans on this Memorial Day, we can provide much-needed help to those who have served our nation by expanding affordable health care coverage to veterans currently without health insurance,” said Jacqueline Morrison, AARP Michigan State Director. “AARP is fighting for affordable health coverage in Michigan to help veterans, as well as the 75,000 hard-working 50 to 64 year olds who are struggling without health insurance.”

The report, “Uninsured Veterans and Family Members: Who Are They and Where Do They Live?”, says there are 1.3 million veterans under age 65 uninsured in the United States, and about 40 percent of those could qualify for health coverage through Medicaid expansion.

“Our uninsured veterans’ health care coverage depends upon Medicaid expansion, and they deserve our support so they get it,” Morrison said.

Many assume that all veterans receive Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care coverage, but that’s not the case. VA care is out of reach for low-income veterans who do not live near VA facilities or are unaware that VA care is available. In addition, VA eligibility is determined by other factors including service-related disabilities and income, and many veterans make too much money to qualify for VA assistance, but not enough to afford insurance on their own. Most spouses of veterans do not qualify for VA assistance or for Medicaid under current requirements.

The need for care is particularly great for veterans who often have chronic health problems that may go untreated because they lack insurance coverage. According to the report, one-third of uninsured veterans nationally have at least one chronic health problem, over 40 percent have unmet medical needs and more than a third have delayed getting needed care because of high costs. Uninsured veterans’ families would also benefit from Medicaid expansion – the report says that more than half of those family members have unmet medical needs.

Medicaid expansion under the ACA allows states to extend coverage to individuals with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level – about $15,000 for an individual and $32,000 for a family of four. In Michigan, about 20,100 veterans are at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level, and would be eligible for Medicaid coverage if Michigan lawmakers choose expansion. Additionally, 5,700 spouses of veterans could qualify for coverage if Michigan approves Medicaid expansion.

The federal government will pay 100 percent of the cost of Medicaid expansion in Michigan for the first three years and that figure gradually moves to 90 percent thereafter, pumping significant money into the state’s economy. It will also generate significant cost savings, providing access to preventive care that veterans and their families need while reducing the need for expensive emergency room care and related overcrowding.

“Medicaid expansion would benefit many in our state, but our veterans and their families in particular deserve to get the health care they need,” Morrison said. “The truth is we’re not doing enough for our veterans, and we can help fix that by supporting Medicaid expansion in Michigan.”

In addition to supporting state veterans and their families, AARP is also fighting for Medicaid expansion in Michigan by joining a coalition that supports expansion; sending letters of support to key legislators and testifying before legislative committees; meeting with lawmakers and administration officials; sending volunteers to legislative offices; running newspaper ads; supporting Medicaid expansion on social media; sending direct mail and email to legislators and AARP activists; and working with volunteers to make calls, send emails and letters to the editor on the issue. 

The oldest woman in the U.S. is pushing off questions about her longevity to a higher power.
When Jeralean Talley (pictured) was asked why she thinks she has lived so long, the 113-year-old from suburban Detroit lifted her arm and pointed to the sky.
“Don’t ask me,” she said. “Ask Him.”

Talley, who was born May 23, 1899, in Montrose, Ga., is the third-oldest person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group, which verifies age information for Guinness World Records.
She earned the title of oldest American when Elsie Thompson of Clearwater, Fla., died March 21, just weeks before her 114th birthday.
“I feel all right,” Talley told the Detroit Free Press on Tuesday in the Inkster home in which she has lived for decades.

Several of Talley’s 11 siblings lived well into their 90s, said 75-year-old Thelma Holloway, Talley’s only child.
Talley, who gave up bowling at age 104, uses a walker to get around and still plans to attend her annual fishing outing with Michael Kinloch, a friend from Wayne County’s Canton Township whom she met at church.
“Her memory is phenomenal,” he said.

Talley moved to Michigan in 1935, and her husband, Alfred, died in 1988.
Her friend, Mary Kennedy, said Talley remains alert and has a sense of humor.
“She is original,” Kennedy said. “There is nobody else like her.”
The Gerontology Research Group said the world’s two oldest people are 115 and live in Japan.

A majority of people on government food programs get their food from large grocery stores according to a new report, which means they have a wide variety of foods available. More than 82 percent of SNAP benefits (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) are redeemed at supermarkets and superstores according to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Retailer Policy and Management Division 2012 Annual Report.

$74 billion in client benefits were redeemed in the more than 246,000 participating stores, farmers’ markets, direct marketing farmers, homeless meal providers, treatment centers, group homes, and others authorized to accept SNAP. Supermarkets and superstores made up about 15 percent of the firms allowed to redeem SNAP benefits but continue to redeem the majority of them. In 2012, Michigan had 10,060 authorized firms to redeem SNAP benefits, those firms redeemed nearly $3 billion dollars worth of benefits.

But despite recent criticisms by people saying the SNAP recipients waste their food stamps on high-sugar foods and drinks, The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that most food expenditures by people on SNAP are of the healthy variety. A 2005 study found that 35 percent of SNAP benefits went toward meats and meat alternatives, 20 percent went to grains, another 20 percent to fruits and vegetables, 12 percent to dairy, while only 13 percent went toward other foods. Not unlike the foods purchased by people not on the SNAP program.

Click here to read the full report