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.

Diane Hathaway will pay $90,000 in restitution and spend two years on probation for fraud in home's short sale.

Hathaway retired Jan. 21 amid the scandal involving the sale of her home
She pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud for misleading her bank during the short sale
Currently living in Florida, it is unclear where Hathaway will serve her sentence
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Former Michigan Supreme Court Judge Diane Hathaway was sentenced to 12 months and one day behind bars Tuesday for bank fraud.

Hathaway, who pleaded guilty in January to misleading her bank during a short sale of her Grosse Pointe, Mich., home, also is to pay $90,000 in restitution and will spend two years on probation. It is unclear where she will serve her sentence.

Hathaway's defense lawyer, Steven Fishman, had asked Judge John Corbett O'Meara to spare Hathaway jail time prior to her sentencing in U.S. District Court's Eastern District in Ann Arbor. Continue to USA Today For Complete Story...

DETROIT — Tuesday marked the third day in a judicial tenure hearing for Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Wade McCree.

The judge has admitted to making some questionable decisions, among them cheating on his wife with an attractive litigant two and a half decades his junior, but there may be a defense for his actions.

On Tuesday, the McCree's attorneys laid out a medical defense for his actions. He suffers from hypomania, a symptom of bipolar disorder that results in impulsive behavior. Continue to MLive For Full Story...

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.

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