May 04, 2017 

LAWT News Service 

 

Southland residents can now register to save up to $250 on a new cordless-electric lawn mower through the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Lawn Mower Rebate Program. This year’s program provides added convenience and flexibility to residents by allowing them to purchase any approved cordless electric lawn mower throughout the year.

 

“Residents can save money when they purchase an air pollution-free electric lawn mower,” said SCAQMD Chairman William A. Burke, Ed.D.  “This new program allows residents to shop for an electric lawn mower when and where it’s convenient for them.”

 

Now in its 15th year, the program offers a new format. Instead of requiring participants to visit select locations throughout the region on specified dates as in previous years, participants now have the flexibility to purchase a new cordless electric lawn mower throughout the year either online or from a manufacturer-authorized retailer or dealer, including hardware and home improvements stores. 

 

Participants will then turn in their old gasoline lawn mower to an approved scrapper to receive a rebate based on the purchase price of a new battery operated electric lawn mower.  The rebate program will be implemented on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants must begin the rebate process within 60 calendar days after the purchase.

 

“No longer will participants have to worry about pulling a starter cord, filling up a gas can at the gas station or possibly spilling fuel in their garage,” said Burke.  “These mowers require less maintenance and are quieter than gas-powered models, plus they have zero-emissions, so it’s a win-win for the consumer and clean air.”

 

The electric lawn mower purchased must be new — not used, previously owned or factory reconditioned.  The lawn mower must be zero-emission electric and battery-powered.  Corded electric mowers are not eligible.  It must be a push or self-propelled mower specified for residential use and have a minimum one-year manufacturer’s warranty.  Electric lawn mowers purchased after Mar. 3, 2017, will be eligible for the rebate program.

 

The rebate amounts are as follows:

 

 

 

Purchase Price

Eligible Rebate Amount

$250 or less

$150

$251 up to $400

$200

$401 or more

$250

 

 

 

To take advantage of the offer, residents must first register atwww.aqmd. gov/lawnmower or call 1-888-425-6247. Participants must reside in SCAQMDs four-county jurisdiction.

 

The program is funded through SCAQMD’s Air Quality Investment Program, which is financed by Southland companies that pay a fee in lieu of offering rideshare incentives as required by SCAQMD’s Rule 2202.

 

SCAQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. 

Category: Business

April 20, 2017 

City News Service

 

The personal representative of the estate of a former Bubba Smith, the NFL player who later transitioned to being an actor, filed court papers asking that the will of the late defensive end be admitted to probate.

 

Elias Goldstein’s Los Angeles Superior Court petition was filed Monday on behalf of the estate of Charles “Bubba” Smith, whose post-football acting career included the role of Hightower in the “Police Academy” films. Smith also was featured on the television shows “Good Times,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Semi-Tough,” “Hart to Hart,” “Married With Children” and “Family Matters” as well as in ads for Miller Lite.

 

Goldstein announced last May that Smith had brain disease when the former player died in Los Angeles in August 2011 at age 66. Goldstein said at the time that he wanted to raise awareness of CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative illness afflicting unknown numbers of former athletes in contact sports.

 

The will, drafted in June 2010, asks that Smith's property be distributed to his beneficiaries according to the living trust he established before his death. Smith’s parents are both dead, but he has a nephew, Dakota Smith, living in Walnut and a brother, Willie Ray Smith Jr., residing in Maryland.

 

Smith was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988. He was an All-American at Michigan State and played in a 10-10 tie with Notre Dame in 1966 that was viewed by some as one of the great games of the last century. He was one of only three players to have his jersey number, 95, retired by the program.

 

Smith was the No. 1 pick of the 1967 NFL draft. He played professionally for the Baltimore Colts, the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Oilers. He played in Super Bowls III and V and was on the winning team in the latter game.

Category: Business

April 20, 2017 

By Stacy M. Brown 

NNPA Newswire Contributor 

 

Carol H. Williams has been quite busy.

 

The advertising legend and owner of the agency that bears her name, Williams has created ad campaigns for Bank of America, the city of Oakland, General Motors, Pillsbury, Proctor & Gamble and many other household names.

 

When she was notified about her nomination to the Advertising Hall of Fame, which celebrates and honors the legends who have made extraordinary contributions to the ad business, Williams kept working.

 

“I didn’t know whether it was real or not,” she said.

 

Williams said that you have to be able to keep life’s trials and life’s rewards in perspective.

 

“Put it behind or in front of you and keep moving forward,” said Williams. “It was really nice and I was honored to be considered for [the Hall of Fame], but I just kept working.”

 

Williams will be inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame (AHOF) during a ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Tuesday, April 25.

 

“There was a moment, I was stunned and then the tears came,” Williams said remembering the Hall of Fame call. “It was an unbelievable feeling; then I did my ‘spike and dance’ in the end zone.

 

Williams becomes the first African-American female advertising executive inducted among the nearly 200 honorees in the 67-year history of the AHOF.

 

She will also receive the “David Bell Award for Industry Service,” which recognizes recipients for their extraordinary and unique contributions and service to the advertising community and industry.

 

“The National Newspaper Publishers Association is especially proud to salute the outstanding career achievements of Carol H. Williams,” said NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. “No one has done more to impact the advertising industry with innovative genius and market penetration than the iconic Carol H. Williams.”

 

Williams’ career started at the Leo Burnett agency, where during her 13-year tenure, she became the first African American woman to serve as creative director and vice president at the company.

 

She followed that by serving for two years as senior vice president at FCB in San Francisco, Calif.

 

It was Williams who came up with one of the most recognized campaigns in advertising history; one she said remains a career highlight.

 

“I think one of the most incredible experiences I had was in 1974 when my boss, Charlie Blakemore, walked up to me and said, ‘I want to ask you to write on something, but I’m afraid you’ll quit.’ I said, ‘I won’t quit,’” Williams said.

 

At the time, the Secret deodorant brand had been failing, it was ranked No. 9 and declining, she said.

 

“It was primarily used by women,” Williams said, so she came up with the slogan, “Stronger enough for a man, but made for a woman.”

 

The Secret campaign that Williams worked on propelled the deodorant to bestseller status where it remains.

 

Williams also used a Black woman in one of the commercials for the campaign as well as a Black announcer, which was unheard of at the time.

 

Williams founded Carol H. Williams Advertising (CHWA) more than 25 years ago; the agency has grown into one of the largest African-American, independently-owned advertising and marketing firms in the country. CHWA’s client list has included several Fortune 500 companies. After starting the company in her living room, CHWA now has offices in Oakland, New York, Detroit and Chicago.

 

“I can’t necessarily say that I found advertising. I think advertising found me,” Williams recalled. “I was going into pre-med, because I love humanity, and I wanted to engage and heal people, but I also loved to write and had an active imagination.”

 

After working with the American Association of Advertising on an initiative for African-Americans, Williams developed her portfolio, landed a summer job and never looked back.

 

Last month, during a panel discussion on gender and race in the advertising industry, Williams said that it was revealed that less than three percent of executives in the advertising business are White women and less than one percent are Black women.

 

“It was really a discussion about the industry’s commitment to female diversity,” said Williams. “It’s quite amazing when you think about it, since the female voice is the primary voice in advertising and she’s the doorkeeper to most of the products which go into the household.”

 

Williams continued: “Then, with the Black female, it’s even more so. She’s the head of the household for the most part; she’s the one making the money, she’s making those decisions.”

 

The fact that women’s voices are absent at the highest levels of the advertising industry is quite interesting, Williams said.

 

For young women, particularly Black women, who aspire to work in the advertising industry, Williams said that it’s important to check your  emotions at the door.

 

“We tend to be an extremely emotional people,” said Williams. “We are extremely creative people and that creativity is driven a lot by emotions.”

 

Williams continued: “Inside corporate America, a great deal of decisions are made that are focused on the bottom line and on the hard business of the dollar.” Williams said that those decisions are absent of emotion.

 

Williams said that, as a Black woman, you will run into a lot of foreign elements in the advertising business and people who have never had in-depth conversations with Black people.

 

Williams added: “If you allow emotions to rule, rather than your intellect, you can get into highly-conflict-driven situations that can create barriers to your success.”

Category: Business

April 13, 2017 

By Stacy M. Brown 

NNPA Newswire Contributor

 

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has heard the call for a new report on federal advertising and they’re listening.

 

One year ago, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) stood on Capitol Hill with members of the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP) and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) urging the GAO to issue a new report detailing how much money federal agencies spend on advertising in Black- and Hispanic-owned newspapers and media companies. Now, the GAO said it that will launch a formal investigation.

 

The GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars, according to the group’s website.

 

Norton has been at the forefront of the call for the report, noting that the federal government spends billions of dollars on advertising services each year, but spend very little with minority-owned publications and media companies.

 

“Exactly one year ago, Con­gresswoman Norton stood along with NAHP and NNPA members on the steps of Capitol Hill requesting that the GAO issue a report on federal advertising contracts with minority-owned newspapers,” said Silvana Diaz, the legislative committee chair for the NAHP. “That was only the beginning. Since then, we have taken this cause and request up with various members of Congress and U.S. Senators in order to build and generate the support needed to give this request the necessary attention.”

 

Diaz continued: “E-mails and phone calls went unanswered, but with perseverance and commitment, we gathered not only enough, but also the adequate support to help us push this request.”

 

In March 2016, Norton sent a letter to Gene Dodaro, the comptroller general at the GAO, asking for a new investigation and a long overdue follow up to a 2007 GAO report that revealed the lack of advertising by federal agencies in minority-owned media companies.

 

Norton’s letter was signed by several members of Congress including: former Congressional Black Caucus Chairman G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.); Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.); Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio); Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.); Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.).

 

In December, Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) joined Norton’s efforts, each sending their own letters to the GAO.

 

“Yes, we have accepted the request,” said Chuck Young, the managing director of public affairs for the GAO. “No start date is set yet, but the first thing we do when such work begins is to determine the full scope of the areas we will cover and the methodology to be used. Once that is all done, then we will have timeframes.”

 

Through a spokesman, Norton said she was pleased that GAO is moving forward.

 

She also confirmed the office’s receipt of her request.

 

“The GAO has accepted our request,” said Benjamin Fritsch, Norton’s spokesman.

 

Norton said that the federal government is the largest advertiser in the United States and it’s important that news outlets and media companies owned or published by people of color with a primary mission to serve communities of color have the same opportunities as other media outlets, especially as the Black and Hispanic populations continue to grow in our country.

 

In 2007, the GAO investigated the spending on advertising contracts with minority-owned businesses by five agencies—the Department of Defense, Department of the Treasury, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of the Interior, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—and found that just five percent of the $4.3 billion available for advertising campaigns went to minority-owned businesses.

 

GAO officials said that each federal agency has its own budget, and because of a lack of research on this topic, totals are currently unavailable on the entirety of government advertising spending.

 

“That is just one reason why we need a new report, to understand where they’re spending and not spending,” Norton said.

 

Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., president and CEO of the NNPA, said that the NNPA encourages the GAO to expedite the completion of this vital and important study.

 

“Billions of dollars are at stake and Black Americans and Hispanic Americans should be treated fairly and equitably when it comes to federal spending on advertising across the nation,” said Chavis. “We thank those members of the U.S. Congress, who continue to press for the GAO to take action on this matter.”

 

Chavis continued: “There is a sense of urgency given the current state of the economy in the United States on issues of inclusion, diversity and equal justice.”

 

In addition to the update from the GAO, Norton wants more accountability.

 

She noted that, combined, the NAHP and NNPA enjoy an estimated reach of 43 million readers each week across the United States. With close to 97 million African-Americans and Hispanics in the U.S. today, representing 33 percent of the total population, this consumer segment demands attention, Norton said.

 

Additionally, the buying power of the African-American and Hispanic communities, currently at more than $2.3 trillion combined, continues to outpace the national average. Due to their positions of trust in the community, minority-owned media companies remain the most practical advertising and outreach partners for all federal and private agencies.

 

“News outlets and media companies owned or published by people of color are critical to ensuring that diverse viewpoints are presented to the American people,” said Menendez. “As one of the largest advertisers in the United States, the federal government should play an active role in ensuring that minority-owned media outlets have fair opportunities to compete for and be awarded federal advertising contracts.”

Category: Business

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