Food: Sugar experts from around the Caribbean trade bloc this week embraced a decision by the European Parliament’s agriculture committee to give sugar producers in former colonies five more years of duty free and guaranteed quota access to its market, saying the extra time will give them a chance to be more competitive. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: SANTIAGO, Chile, Jan 29 2013 (IPS) - Openly conceding the differences in their ideological, economic and geopolitical views, leaders and high-level representatives of the 33 member countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) committed themselves to integration at their first ever summit. Comment

Travel: By Chudi Chukwudi Comment

Guyana: KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — The lushly forested nation of Guyana on Thursday joined a regional pact to protect jaguars, the elusive spotted cat that is the biggest land predator in the Americas but is vulnerable due to expanded agriculture and mining that carves away at their fragmented habitat. Comment

St Vincent: The year 2012 was a good one for the St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Diaspora Committee of New York, Inc. It embarked on a number of initiatives that have profound meaning for the development of Vincentians at home and abroad. Comment

Music: “My time in Haiti has been fantastic,” said Branford Marsalis on wrapping up almost one week in Haiti playing the International Jazz Festival of Port-au-Prince 2013. At the official residence of American Ambassador Pamela White, Marsalis and his group played the final performance to lucky invited guests, American embassy staff, local professionals, long-time NGO representatives, and Haitian artists and culture lovers. Comment

As part of Russell Simon’s “Peace as a Lifestyle” LIFE Camp, Peace Week is centered around Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday week with a similar mission to carry out King’s legacy of non-violence. Comment

Arts & Theater: In celebration of Black History Month, the African Children’s Choir will present an uplifting evening of music and hope at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. Comment

Sports: Led by three all-Met candidates-Jamal Olasewere, CJ Garner and Jason Brickman, the Long Island University Blackbirds will host rival St. Francis College of Brooklyn for a noon tip-off on Saturday, Feb. 10. This contest to be played not at the college itself but at nearby Barclays Center is part of a round-robin schedule in the Northeast Conference, which ends in early March with the winner of its post season tournament earning an automatic spot into the NCAA post-season tournament. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: When the opportunity presented itself, Mike Petke was ready! Former Red Bulls defender and assistant coach Mike Petke was named head coach of the New York Red Bulls, the club announced last Thursday. The 36-year-old Petke from Bohemia (Long Island) was not the club’s first choice, but most importantly, he was its last. Comment

Caribbean: The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has brokered a million dollar agreement with Sky Sports to show England’s next four tours of the West Indies as part of a new eight-year deal. Comment

Guyana: A former Guyanese member of parliament, one of four Caribbean nationals jailed more than two years ago for their part in an alleged plot to blow up fuel tanks and pipelines at New York’s JFK Airport in 2007 is now complaining that he was the victim of an American cowboy trial that has left him stripped of his dignity and languishing in a jail cell. Comment

People: The U.S. Department of State is stepping up its outreach to educate the Caribbean American traveling public about the services the agency has to offer, and ways in which the community can receive special help before they travel. Comment

Rural communities often struggle to find new and readily available economic opportunities. In the past decade, however, a new source of employment and revenue has seen fantastic growth. It seems the answer was blowin’ in the wind. Renewable energy, especially wind energy, has proved to be a very successful venture. Investment in wind energy helps rural areas immensely. It provides employment, and various types of revenue can flow into a community from a project. Comment

New York: Cash for guns: Turn in an operable handgun and receive cash. Sponsors: Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes, Council Member Letitia James and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. Church of the Open Door, 201 Gold St. from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Comment

St Vincent: Young female Olympic fencer, Nzingha Prescod, who competed last summer in the women’s foil in fencing at the London Olympic Games received a New York City citation last week from City Councilman Jumaane Williams. Comment

St Kitts and Nevis: The government said on Jan. 26 that the six-kilowatt photovoltaic power system at the Nelsons Dockyard Shirley Heights Lookout was aided by the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union, and the governments of the United States of America and Germany. Comment

People: Philatelists will flock to two cities in Michigan next month to witness the first day unveiling of a stamp bearing the image of Rosa Parks, the undisputed first lady of the Civil Rights Movement on the anniversary of her 100th birthday. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: As the civil case for justice for the Central Park 5 proceeded in the Federal Court House at 500 Pearl St. in Lower Manhattan on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2012, the heat turned up in the street. Comment

People: The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance joined the Internal Revenue Service, local charity organizations, and thousands of volunteers across the state Friday, Jan 25 to kick-off Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day. 1.6 million New Yorkers receive $940 million annually; benefits can be as high as $7,500 when combined with the federal program. That event is sponsored by Rensselaer Circles of Mercy, the United Way of the Greater Capital Region, and the Internal Revenue Service. Comment

Grenada: Prime Minister Tillman Thomas has assured the Grenada Union of Teachers (GUT) that his government’s “broad goal is to develop Grenada’s human resource as a primary national asset.” Comment

People: Managing your finances is a lifelong process. It usually begins with savings—ideally as a child. Once you have a regular income of your own and have started saving on a regular basis, you’ll have to decide how to invest the money you are saving. Comment

Health: (StatePoint) For parents of newborns, those first months can be exciting, challenging and even a little frightening. While your instincts will kick in to guide you through many parenting challenges, when certain issues arise, it’s important to seek help from your best-informed resource: your pediatrician. Comment

People: Why would a “conservancy” cut down 400 trees and pave 1 mile of nature with asphalt? Comment

Arts & Theater: PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Georges Exantus thought he’d never dance again. He was lucky just to be alive. Comments (1)

People: A group of workers, community members and labor organizers, including Brandworkers and the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center, came together Thursday, January 24 to commemorate the second anniversary of the death of tortilla factory worker Juan Baten. At a candlelight vigil, the group urged the city’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to adopt a transparent process in its new subsidized loan program to inform the public on where their tax money is going and ensure that tax dollars support businesses that are creating good jobs. Comment

Guyana: The Guyana Ministry of Tourism Industry and Commerce will unveil its 2013 tourism package with the arrival of more than 500 visitors to its Mashramani celebrations, which begins with a steel pan concert on Jan. 28 and continue with a variety of events scheduled all the way to Republic Day on Feb. 23. Comment

Movies: “Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary” Comment

Brooklyn: Levity replaced nostalgia when Brooklyn Borough President Markowitz commanded attention at the citywide event to honor Dr. Martin Luther King at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Monday, Jan. 21. Comment

Guyana: Sonia Noel is involved in many ventures - she is a fashion designer, Reality TV Show host, Guyana Fashion Weekend’s CEO -but most of all, she is a visionary whose captivating personality and sense of style will be transformed onto the pages of a new magazine. Comment

Brooklyn: At Brooklyn Academy of Music where New Ylrk City’s 27th annual citywde tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. invited visitors to celebrate the legacy of the civil rights martyr, a historic double-header also hailed another prominent African-American who changed the course of America by becoming the first Black president of the United States. Comment

Heading toward the end of his first term and right from the very start of his second, President Obama has been signaling that he intends to be more hard-nosed about navigating Washington’s obstacle course to achieve agenda objectives, than back when it was all virgin territory. When he was newly arrived and for much of his tenure in the first go-round, the president was all about doing the reach out drill. Even before he got to be president, in fact, when he intoned, “We’re not blue states and red states, we’re the United States…” Comment

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theate, will embark on a 21-city US tour from Jan. 30 through May 19. Following record-breaking performances in New York City that brought full houses to their feet, Ailey’s second season led by Artistic Director Robert Battle will move audiences in major cities across the country, including: Washington, D.C.; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; Newark, NJ; Boston, MA and Robert Battle’s hometown Miami, FL, among many others. Comment

Sports: From an initial field of more than 11,000, some 430 top-point scorers will compete in a semi-finals on Saturday, Feb. 2 at Pratt to determine who will face each other at the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory in New York City on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, where trophies and educational grants-in-aid from Colgate-Palmolive Company are awarded to top place finishers in each age/grade division. Comment

Sports: The New York Cosmos, still hoping to be the first MLS franchise in New York, wants to set up shop at Belmont Park and build a 25,000-seat stadium as part of what is being referred to as an exciting complex on the Queens-Long Island border in Elmont. The $400-million- dollar project to be built on 400 acres is being evaluated for feasibility by New York’s Empire State Development Corporation. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: Perhaps for people outside of Trinidad and Tobago, the assembly elections held in Tobago on Monday was purely an internal affair but for the near three-year administration of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, it was a referendum of massive proportions on her leadership of the Caribbean trade bloc’s largest economy, just as political parties and analysts are beginning to focus on the 2015 general election and what Tobago portends for that. Comment

People: WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama devoted one word — “deficit” — to the issue that brought Washington to the brink of fiscal crises time and again during his first term. Comment

St Vincent: MIAMI (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says four men were rescued after being lost at sea for six days in the Caribbean. Comment

West Indies selectors have recalled former Guyanese Captain Ramneresh Sarwan to the West Indies squad for the tour of Australia from Jan. 29 to Feb. 13. Comment

Venezuela: CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s top diplomat said Monday that he shared jokes and laughed together with President Hugo Chavez during a meeting in Cuba, where the socialist leader has been recovering after cancer surgery. Comment

Jamaica: KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Jamaica may be able to benefit from newly found deposits of rare-earth elements that are key ingredients for smartphones, computers and numerous other high-tech goods, the Caribbean island’s top mining official said Tuesday. Comment

Suriname: Two International Monetary Fund (IMF) economists say despite the ongoing global slowdown, Suriname has put in place a strong, homegrown adjustment program that is helping to turn around its economy. Comment

Sports: Looking back a number of years ago, Charlie Jones was the college basketball talk first for the Brooklyn-based Bishop Ford High School teams and then as a student athlete at Long Island University where he again put up number. His offense paved the way for successful teams on all the levels that he competed on. Comment

Published by Victor Hugo in 1862, “Les Miserables” is generally recognized as one of the most important novels of the 19th Century. The socially-conscious, 1900-page opus explored a plethora of themes, particularly power, justice, monarchy and religion. Comment

People: WASHINGTON (AP) — Declaring “our journey is not complete,” President Barack Obama took the oath of office for his second term before a crowd of hundreds of thousands Monday, urging the nation to set an unwavering course toward prosperity and freedom for all its citizens and protect the social safety net that has sheltered the poor, elderly and needy. Comment

Health: (StatePoint) Today’s seniors are leading active lives, filling their time with travel and new experiences. While staying active is great for one’s general well-being and happiness, continuous travel provides many challenges to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Comment

Manhattan: Harlem and its teeming professionals received huge kudos on the 84th birthday anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a tribute session that amplified how in 1958 the New York village furthered the cause to Civil Rights. Comment

Health: (StatePoint) One of the simplest things you can do for your health is to get enough sleep, say experts. Unfortunately, many Americans have difficulty sleeping, making this seem like a simple task, but it can be anything but simple. Comment

People: NY State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver joined with Assemb. Francisco Moya and Higher Education Committee Chair Deborah J. Glick Friday, Jan. 18 to announce the introduction of a comprehensive state Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act to continue New York’s legacy of educational support for immigrant youth. The legislation, for the first time would also allow immigrant students to apply for state financial aid as well as create a DREAM Fund that would provide private scholarships. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: National Security Minister Dr. Errol Cort met recently with senior police officials of the Antigua and Barbuda Police Force to deal with an upsurge in criminal activities especially gun-related crimes on the island. Comment

Caribbean: The World Bank has urged Caribbean and other developing countries to safeguard their economic growth, warning that the “road ahead remains bumpy.” Comment

People: The United Nations health agency says that a new global strategy targets a “raft of neglected tropical diseases” in the Caribbean and elsewhere. Comment

Haiti: Global NGO Project HOPE says addressing the long-term medical needs of thousands of Haitians disabled by the 2010 earthquake and other tragedies is crucial to the future stability of many communities in Haiti. Comment

Movies: Happy People: A Year in the Life of the Taiga (Unrated) Aborigine documentary, narrated by co-director Werner Herzog, anthropological examination of the 300 remaining Bakhtia, a Siberian coastal people whose cultural traditions have remained preserved for centuries. (In English and Russian with subtitles) Comment

Music: After an absence from competition for about 12 years, calypsonian Austin “Super Blue” Lyons will be back for the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival season, performing on “Fantastic Friday” night for Soca Monarch 2013. Comments (1)

Venezuela: CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government has published a decree signed by President Hugo Chavez, while his vice president said Wednesday that the ailing leader also sent a message of gratitude to the military for its loyalty. Comment

Grenada: A review of the 2012 Consolidated Voters List indicated the omission of the names of some previously registered voters. The New Democratic Congress is confident that the discrepancies which have been identified in the 2012 Consolidated Voters’ List will be resolved shortly. Comment

Bahamas: The United States Department of Justice says that a Peruvian national and a Bahamian national have pleaded guilty to smuggling undocumented migrants to the United States for private financial gain. Comment

Arts & Theater: Discover endless riches when an extraordinary lineup of stories from the Disney animated film vault comes to life right in your hometown in Disney On Ice presents “Treasure Trove!” Comment

Music: Hundreds of mourners on Jan. 2 paid their last respect to Guyanese-born baritone extraordinaire Monte Burke, who died on Dec. 27 after a brief illness. He was 85. Comment

President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Julian Hunte has described 2012 as “a watershed year in West Indies cricket.” Comment

People: Just ask two of the present coaches on the high school and college levels if the timing and person was the right decision in naming P.J. Carlesimo as the interim head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association? Comment

Arts & Theater: Congratulations to Brooklynite - the lovely Mallory Hagan, Miss America 2013, a former resident of Bedford Stuyvesant who tapped her way into the pageant’s history with an exciting performance to James Brown’s hit - “Get Up Off Of That Thing.” Comment

National: WASHINGTON (AP) — Braced for a fight, President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled the most sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence in two decades, pressing a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting. Comment

New York: ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers agreed to pass the toughest gun control law in the nation and the first since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, calling for a stricter assault weapons ban and provisions to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill who make threats. Comment

Music: Spirtual Wholeness “ I Have A Voice”: The Tamar Women’s Ministry invites you to attend “Finding My Way” a four-part series on spiritual wholeness between noon - 2:00 p.m. at the Tried Stone Baptist Church, 1591 Boston Rd., Bronx, N.Y. 10460. Comment

Haiti: It was as if the Haitian Diaspora had taken over Brooklyn Borough Hall, at least for the evening of Jan. 10 when at times, those attending one of the two different Haitian events happening simultaneously, co-mingled in the Hall’s staircase-framed marble lobby. Comment

People: At year’s end, everyone’s eyes were on what is now known as the “fiscal cliff.” At the eleventh hour, Congress came to a deal on taxes and unemployment, effectively holding off automatic budget cuts until this March. Now we will likely see a showdown on government spending. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: Darren Bravo slammed a swashbuckling 82 not out from 51 balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes against Guyana at the Queens Park Oval in Trinidad in the Caribbean Twenty20 match up. Trinidad and Tobago leads the points table as of 1-13-13 with 13 points. Comment

Grenada: Hardly a week after asking Governor Gen. Sir Carlyle Glean to dissolve Parliament, Grenada Prime Minister Tillman Thomas has announced general elections in the “Spice Isle” for Feb. 19. Comment

Haiti: PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — President Michel Martelly urged Haitians to recall the tens of thousands of people who lost their lives in a devastating earthquake three years ago, marking the disaster’s anniversary Saturday with a simple ceremony. Comment

People: St. Augustine, FL - Jan. 14, 2013 -- As Florida celebrates 500 years in 2013, the world’s leading light station and maritime museum, The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum is determined to set the record straight. There are many myths concerning Ponce de León’s discovery of Florida. While some myths are entertaining and fun, some myths can be very confusing and misleading. And the Lighthouse’s Director of Archaeology, Dr. Sam Turner wants to debunk a few of them. Comment

Guyana: ROSEAU, Dominica, Dec. 26, 2012 (IPS/GIN) - Imagine Guyana and Dominica without forests and rivers, or Antigua, Barbados and St. Lucia without beaches. Comment

Grenada: Happy Birthday, Ewart, on your 70th Birthday Celebration on Dec.25, 2012. 70 runs, not out, and still batting vigorously. Comment

Grenada: Happy Birthday, Ewart, on your 70th Birthday Celebration on Dec.25, 2012. Seventy runs, not out, and still batting vigorously. Comment

Brooklyn: Concerned about the excessive incarceration of minorities in New York City, the Brooklyn grassroots organization, United People’s Inclusive (UPI) -- an offshoot of the 26-year-old Caribbean Women Socio-Cultural Association of America (CWUSCAA), last week launched a community awareness mission beginning with a visit to the Eureka Assembly at 1055 Rogers Ave., Brooklyn, as the UPI institutes a grassroots-up, multifaceted community bloc-by-cloc alliance aimed at right the wrongs of the social imbalance. Comment

Health: (StatePoint) While last year’s cold and flu season was mild, experts say this year could bring you a wallop of sniffles and sneezes. Comment

New York: The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, Garfield Foundation, and the Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch College on Friday, Jan. 11 announced the second annual Competition To Help Reach Immigrant Ventures and Entrepreneurs (THRIVE). Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: A new president for Trinidad and Tobago will be elected next month. The Electoral College will meet to elect the new president. Comments (1)

Movies: A document chronicling the life of Jamaican intellectual, dancer and choreographer Ralston Milton Nettleford is set to premiere in February. The film about the dancer and social critic popularly known as Rex will debut at the start of Black History Month and simultaneous to the anniversary of his untimely death on the eve of his 77th birthday. Comment

Brooklyn: In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of non-violence, a coalition of community leaders and notables will come together Monday in Manhattan to launch the fourth annual Peace Week at 11:00 a.m. and hold a news conference in the wake of the recent tragic loss of life in Newtown, CT. Included in the group are activist Erica Ford, Cheryl “Salt” Wray, NYC Council members Leroy Comrie, Ruben Wills, Jumaane D. Williams and Terrie M. Williams. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: Morocco will send a technical team this year to the Bahamas to lure investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahamas Foreign Minister Frederick Mitchell said. Comment

Movies: “Gangster Squad” Comment

Grenada: Grenada Prime Minister Tillman Thomas has asked Governor General Sir Carlyle Glean to dissolve Parliament, paving the way for general elections in the “Spice Isle” within 90 days. Comment

New York: The West Indian American Day Carnival Association wrapped up its 2012 season recently with an Awards ceremony at Brooklyn Borough Hall. The newly minted president since last April, Thomas Bailey, only the third in the 45-year history of the Association, led the ceremonies. Trinidadian-born Bailey, a retired finance professional, has been involved with WIADCA for over 20 years. The 2011 Award recipients were also recognized at the event. Comment

Music: Saturday, January 12 Comment

Arts & Theater: NEW YORK (AP) — “Mary Poppins” is closing up its big umbrella on Broadway. Comment

Movies: Brief Reunion (Unrated) Stalker thriller about an Ivy League grad (Joel de la Fuente) whose perfect life comes apart at the seams when a jealous ex-classmate (Scott Shepherd) crashes his 40th birthday party and starts stalking his wife (Alexie Gilmore). With Francie Swift, Quentin Mare and Kristy Hasen. Comment

Denise ‘Saucy Wow’ Belfon is making it known that should she walk away victorious at the February 8, 2013 staging of the International Soca Monarch competition. Comment

People: Workforce Professionals Training Institute (WPTI) invites guests to the New York Times building for a breakfast event about results from a survey of over 180 front line workforce development staff. This staff is often overlooked in the nonprofit arena, but the services they provide are key to helping thousands of NYC jobseekers find gainful employment and a pathway out of poverty. The survey of front line staff and additional interviews/focus groups with their managers were conducted by WPTI with the assistance of the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI), and the results are Comment

St Kitts and Nevis: Premier Joseph Parry says Nevisians will go to the polls on Jan. 22 to elect a new Nevis Island Administration (NIA). He also named Jan. 14, as Nomination Day. Comment

St Vincent: Members of the Garifuna-American community of the U.S. Gulf Coast region in the city of Houston, Tx. joined fellow Garifunas across the country in the observance of National Garifuna Settlement, Education & Awareness Month, to celebrate Garifuna culture, history values and identity with events that included parades, forums and concerts. Comments (2)

Cuba: HAVANA (AP) — Cuba is eliminating longstanding restrictions on health care professionals’ overseas travel as part of a broader migration reform that takes effect next week, an island doctor told The Associated Press on Monday. Comment

People: If Bloomberg and company really care about busing our children properly in the short term and in the long term, they can legally place EPP back into the bids. In fact, the only reason EPP is not yet required in all school bus contracts is that they had Cuomo veto a bill that passed the State Assembly and Senate in 2011. Comment

St Vincent: Some of of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ most versatile performers will showcase the country’s rich culture and heritage at a concert to benefit retrieval efforts in the historic homeland of the Garifuna people. The concert also includes a special live performance by James Lovell and the Afri-Garifuna Youth Ensemble. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: Haiti’s President Michel Martelly has taken over the Chairmanship of the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) from St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony. He will serve for six months from Jan. 1 to July 1. Comments (1)

People: A final ruling has been established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security regarding the length of time it should take to process visas allowing U.S. citizens separated from their immediate relatives abroad (spouse, children and parents) to unify in the United States. Comment

Grenada: The government of Grenada and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have signed an economic and technical agreement valued at US$4.8 million. Comment

Cuba: HAVANA — Just outside the Virgin of Regla temple, here in Havana, a fortune-teller throws shells for passersby in exchange for money. Every day she gets the same questions: Will they find love? Will they be able to buy a home? Will they be able to travel in the near future? And above all, when will “this” end? Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean is projecting a 3.8 percent economic growth for the Caribbean in 2013. Comment

Caribbean: West Indies and Sri Lanka will renew rivalry when they face each other in a limited overs Tri-Nation Series next year, that also involves powerhouse. Comment

Bahamas: NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — The government of the Bahamas says it has prepared a two-part referendum that could legalize certain forms of gambling on the islands. Comment

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Police in Jamaica say three tourists from the U.S. have died in a traffic collision on the island’s north coast. Comment

People: As one would expect, Mayor Michael Bloomberg summarily dismissed a proposal reportedly being advanced by some Staten Island folk who apparently identify with the NRA’s approach for combating deadly gun violence in schools, to wit, putting armed “good guys” in the schools. After maintaining silence for a while following the horrific business that unfolded in Newtown, Conn., the NRA, when they surfaced, stuck to a script that did their brand proud. It’s fair to assume that not a whole lot of us on the common sense side of the gun divide would have been surprised. Comment

Music: Firday, Jaunary 11 Comment

Guyana: Saying the service badly needs overhauling, government announced a New Year’s Eve overhaul of the police service saying it will join Jamaica, Trinidad and other Caribbean trade bloc nations in hiring foreign police officers, local and civilian specialists to support a major restructuring effort beginning in earnest this year. Comment

Music: Recently, at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan packed with long-time progressives, singer Harry Belafonte, at age 85, hosted an evening along with fellow singer Pete Seeger, age 93, and actor Peter Coyote, friend of Leonard Peltier. The message for the concert: Bring Leonard Peltier home, this year. Comment

Brooklyn: Waving university pendants, seventy graduating seniors from Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning School’s class of 2013 paraded from the steps of their school to a waiting postal truck at the corner of Tilden and E. 57th in East Flatbush. There, they mailed applications to the college or university of their choice. The 285-student school, grades 9-12, is one of three high schools housed on the Tilden High School campus. Comment

Haiti: The United States Department of State has issued a new travel warning for American citizens traveling to or living in Haiti over the current security situation. Comment

Long Island: Philanthropist-actress-reality show star Dhonna Goodale helped ensure that homeless and foster children in Riverhead and surrounding areas had a delightful Christmas. The Flanders resident and her family headed up a Christmas Eve shopping excursion to Kmart in Riverhead on Monday, where they outfitted 22 Riverhead-area children from head to toe and purchased toys of their choice. Comment

Sports: The York College basketball team got off to a slow start but after two months or their first 11 games of competition is playing about .500 ball. The Cardinals compete in the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) with the likes of Staten Island, Brooklyn, Baruch, John Jay, City, Hunter Medgar Evers and Lehman. Comment

New York: The current off-season may be down time for soccer fans but certainly not for MLS executives, who see the off-season as the most important time of the year. It’s the time when deals are made to re-build and strengthen their squads and coaching staffs, so, with the dawn of the New Year upon us, MLS executives are hard at work at staffing their teams. Comment

Manhattan: Getting local businesses back up and running is a key part of a community’s recovery after a disaster. Several of FEMA’s federal, state, local and private sector partners have programs in place to support New York businesses after Hurricane Sandy. Comment

Food: Roots reggae singer Horace Andy who garnered international fame with hit singles “Government Land,” “Angel,” “Five Man Army” and his cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine” joined veteran reggae singer Johnny Osbourne and Brooklyn based singer, producer, songwriter Ed Robinson as headliner performers at “Christmas In The Rockaways” at Far Rockaway High School (821 Bay 25 Street in Far Rockaway) on Saturday Dec. from 9 AM to 5 PM. Comment