AAWA

  AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN'S AGENDA EDUCATION FOUNDATION

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MONITOR NOTES  (January 2004)

DECISION MAKING AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

• The dollar traded within about a half cent of a record low against the euro as a smaller-than-forecast jump in U.S. consumer spending gave traders little reason to push the U.S. currency higher. (P.D. 12/24)

• The Bush administration reached an agreement on expanding free trade in Latin America, giving four Central American countries duty-free access to the vast U.S. market and holding out the promise of lower prices for U.S. consumers.  The agreement, which must be approved by Congress, would represent America’s sixth free-trade agreement – deals to eliminate all barriers to trade – and was modeled along the lines of the decade-old North American Free Trade Agreement linking the United States, Mexico and Canada. 

HEALTH

• A new state advisory warns that women of child-bearing age and children 6 and younger should eat only one meal of fish a month from 15 Ohio rivers and lakes.  This warning came after high levels of mercury pollution were found in the Northeast Ohio waters of Punderson Lake in Geauga County, Meadowbrook Lake in Summit County and the West Branch of the Black River in Lorain County.  High levels also were found in 12 other rivers, lakes and streams in the state. (P.D. 12/18)

• Gov. Bob Taft is expected to pass a bill this month (Dec) that would give medical workers who treat the poor immunity from medical malpractice lawsuits, except in cases of willful or wanton misconduct. (P.D. 12/26)

HOUSING 

The federal government awarded a record $1.27 billion in grants to programs and shelters working to get people off the streets.  Ohio will receive nearly $60 million, with a quarter of it for programs in Cuyahoga County.  Recipients include initiatives run by the county ($4.1 million), Mental Health Services for Homeless persons ($2.1 million) and Salvation Army ($1.1 million).

EDUCATION

• The “achievement gap” between black and white students in Cleveland is the smallest among 10 big-city school districts that participated in national reading and math tests last year.  Overall, youngsters in America’s biggest and most diverse cities scored well below national averages.  Even so, the tests underscore the notion that urban students should be held to the same standards as students elsewhere, despite language barriers, high rates of poverty and crumbling and cramped building (P.D. 12/18)

• At the 27^th Annual National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) Conference, a coalition of African American and Latino/a state legislator announced an initiative to work together to close the educational gap between minority and white students.  This national joint initiative between NBCSL and NHCSL legislators will launch a pilot projects in several states including Ohio. (Senator C.J. Prentiss Statehouse Newsletter, Dec. 2003)

Last modified: 08/25/05