Philadelphia Mayor Proposes Soft Drink Tax To Close Budget Gap And To Fight Obesity

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter Wednesday proposed a soft drink tax to close the city's budget deficit and to reduce residents' alarming obesity rates.

Nutter is the second top black-elected official to propose such a tax on soft drinks health officials believe is a contributor to obesity, an epidemic in the black community.

In December 2008, New York Gov. David Paterson proposed a similar tax on non-diet soft drinks, but the news media belittled the idea, and the American Beverage Association, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group for the soft drink industry, killed it.

Philadelphia's proposed tax is part of a plan to raise $150 million in revenue levying two-cent per ounce retailer tax based on their annual sugar-sweetened beverage sales volume. The proposed tax, if enacted, will raise current 20 ounce soft drink cost from a $1.39 to $1.79. The tax would raise two-liter or 68 ounce soft-drink prices to $2.75 from $1.39. Philadelphia residents drink annually 60 million gallons of sugar sweetened beverages, the Philadelphia Department of Health reports.

"This will generate approximately $77 million in annual revenue for the city," Mayor Nutter said in a statement. "In addition, as a comprehensive program for obesity prevention, it is hoped the tax will lead to decreased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages while providing $20 million in annual funding from fiscal year 2012 onwards for obesity-prevention activities."

Soft drink bottlers sweeten soft drinks with sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and any other caloric sweetener, say Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity executives. Companies also sweeten 100% fruit drinks, sports drinks, flavored water, energy drinks and pre-sweetened tea with high-fructose corn syrup and sugar.

"Sugar-sweetened beverages with little or no nutritional value and a significant number of calories are staples of today's American diet," the executives say. "Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is associated with poor diet, increasing obesity rates, and diabetes risk." The Centers for Disease Control reports 18.5% of black boys 12 to 19 years old are obese and 27.7% of black girls 12 to 19 years old are obese (The NorthStar News & Analysis, Feb. 14). Physicians define obesity as excess body fat based on the Body Mass Index comparing an individual's weight to their height. Physicians say a person 66 pounds overweight is obese.

Black adults fare even worse. The Centers for Disease Control reported 39.2% of black women are obese and 31.6% of black men are obese (The NorthStar News & Analysis, July 26, 2009). Mayor Nutter said during a television interview 70% of the black and Hispanic youngsters living in North Philadelphia were overweight or obese. Overall, 64% of Philadelphia adults and 57% of the city's children are overweight or obese.

American Beverage Association executives say the nation's soft drink bottlers, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper, are doing their part to reduce obesity. Last week, the association signed a three-year agreement, leading to removal of full-calorie soft drinks from the nation's public schools.

Philadelphia's proposed soft drink tax is similar to cigarette taxes in past years that successfully led to declines in cigarette sales.

"Years of experience with tobacco excise taxes demonstrate that cigarette prices increased and, subsequently, smoking decreased," noted the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. "If Philadelphians were to replace sugar-sweetened beverages with water twice a week, they would save over $40 and lose seven pounds per person per year, as a family, would lose 24 pounds per year." ^ Top|Share

Lee Daniels

"Precious" Is Third Black-Directed Film To Take Home The Oscar

The controversial movie "Precious" is the third film made by a black director to win an Oscar, an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences spokesperson tells The NorthStar News & Analysis.

"Shaft," the 1971 Gordon Parks-directed film, won an Oscar for the best original musical score. Isaac Hayes composed the music and wrote the lyrics for "The Theme From Shaft," the spokesperson says.

In 2001, actor Denzel Washington took home the Oscar for best actor in a leading role for "Training Day," a film directed by Antoine Fuqua, the Academy spokesperson says.

During Sunday's 82th Academy Awards, actress Mo'Nique won the Oscar for the best actress in a supporting role, and Geoffrey Fletcher made Oscar history, becoming the first black man to win an Academy Award for screen writing.

Despite taking home the gold, "Precious" remains steeped in controversy. The film about an a young black woman, raped by her father and abused by her mother, has some writers calling it "ghetto porn," depicting black men as sexual predators, black women as monsters and black families as dysfunctional. ^ Top|Share

Senate Committee Approves Legislation Ending Crack Cocaine-Sentencing Disparity, But The Bill Is Not Retroactive

The United States Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday approved legislation, reducing the sentencing disparity for crack-cocaine and powdered-cocaine possession, but the bill is not retroactive, leaving jailed many black inmates convicted of possessing crack cocaine in small amounts.

The legislation, The Fair Sentencing Act of 2009, reduces the current 100 to 1 quantity ratio to a level of 20 to 1, according to The Sentencing Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that promotes criminal-justice reform. Under current law, a defendant arrested selling 500 powder grams of cocaine faces 5 years in prison, the same amount of time as a defendant possessing five grams of crack cocaine.

The new legislation raises the crack cocaine trigger amount for a five-year mandatory minimum from five grams to 28 grams. The legislation triggers a 10-year mandatory minimum from 50 grams to 280 grams, reports The Sentencing Project.

The Fair Sentencing Act of 2009, while welcomed, falls short of what sentence-reform advocates thought was needed.

"While the Judiciary Committee's vote is a welcome recognition of this longstanding problem, it falls far short of what fairness and justice would require," Kara Gotsch, director of advocacy for The Sentencing Project. "Adoption of this legislation would still leave thousands of low-level offenders serving lengthy prison terms."

Sen. Dick Durbin, D., Ill. introduced The Fair Sentencing Act of 2009, countering the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which resulted in harsher punishments for low-level crack cocaine offenses compared with powdered cocaine offenses, although the two drugs are pharmacologically very similar, says legal observers (The NorthStar News & Analysis, Oct. 18, 2009). Durbin will schedule the bill for a vote by the entire U.S. Senate. U.S. Rep. Robert "Bobby" Scott, D., Va., introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives a bill similar to Durbin's. The House Judiciary Committee passed in July Scott's bill.

The Sentencing Project published in May an eight-page paper, discussing crack cocaine's sentencing racial impact.
Although two-thirds of crack cocaine users are white or Hispanic, in 2006 81.8% of crack cocaine defendants were black, reported The Sentencing Project. ^ Top|Share

John and Monica Conyers

Rep. John Conyers' Wife Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison For Accepting Bribes

U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn Wednesday sentenced Monica Conyers, wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, to three years and one month in prison for accepting bribes while a member of Detroit's city council.

Monica Conyers screamed to spectators she'd appeal the decision as guards led her from the courtroom.

A jury convicted her of accepting bribes from a Houston company, seeking a Detroit sludge contract. Mrs. Conyers claimed prosecutors badgered her into pleading guilty, when she wanted to drop her guilty plea. Judge Cohn disagreed, saying she voluntarily agreed to the plea deal. Monica Conyers resigned from her city council seat.

Prosecutors want Cohn to consider allegations Mrs. Conyers and an aide collected $69,500 from constituents seeking city help.

John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, chairs the House Judiciary Committee, one of Congress' most-powerful committees. ^ Top|Share

Poll: African-Americans Concern About Global Warming Will Be A Factor In Four States Mid-Term Elections

African-Americans in four states believe global warming is a serious problem, and President Barack Obama is doing a good job making voters aware of the issue, according to a Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies poll released in February.

The Joint Center's report titled, Opinion of African Americans on Climate Change and 2010 Midterm Elections: The Results of a Multi-State Poll, surveyed 500 African-American adults by telephone in Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri and South Carolina. The Joint Center released poll results prior to the 2010 midterm elections, believing climate change concerns will be important factors for black voters selecting candidates in closely contested races.

Some 74% to 80% of those surveyed said they are very likely to vote, and climate change is a key issue of concern, the report found.

Between 62% and 75% of blacks surveyed believe global warming is either a major or moderate problem, and a plurality in each state think global warming is presently causing serious problems (The NorthStar News & Analysis, Dec. 6, 2009).

"Further, large majorities of African Americans in these states believe that everyone, including governments and individuals, can do something to reduce it," the report says.

The survey found blacks in all four states support government green job investment, green vocational educational programs and small business and start-up business-tax breaks that create green jobs (The NorthStar News & Analysis, Oct. 4, 2009).

The Joint Center is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank for black elected officials. ^ Top|Share