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Winning Writers gather at New Youth Connections in New York City. Back row: Annmarie Turton, Mar-garita Martinez, Jimmy Lee, Evin Cruz, Angelica Petela, Renea Williams, Mohammed Hussain, David Etienne. Front row: Kelly Colon, Irving Torres, Nesshell Rainford, Percy Lujan.

SUMMIT — Lisa Abramson Scott, a 16-year resident of Summit, has been nourishing teen writers in the New York City area. Her efforts, and theirs, paid off when the teen-written magazine, “New Youth Connections,” won the top prize as the periodical of the year, sponsored by the Association of Educational Publishers. The awards were announced on June 8 at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C.

Abramson said the competition included the Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition and Upfront, a magazine produced by Scholastic and The New York Times. Students in grades 9 through 12 do all the writing.

Abramson said she first became involved with Youth Communication in the late 1980s when she was a graduate student at New York University in Public Administration. She developed a marketing plan for the publication and became an editor for a couple of years, but went on to a career in finance. Now, she has returned to Youth Communications. “It’s still my passion,” she said, “so I’ve come back after all that time. I’m working in a different capacity, promoting programs in the city.”

She said the emphasis has shifted to websites, as “kids don’t pick it up (the printed issue) the way they used to.” The organization is launching three new websites, including Read. Write Succeed; Represent — The Voice of Youth in Foster Care; and YC Teen. The data base has over 6,000 stories, Abramson said.

The teen writers are New York City public high school students, said Keith Hefner, executive director of Youth Communication, a training program for teen writers. “The secret of their success is inside knowledge of their peers’ concerns — and their willingness to participate in our extensive writing program,” he said in a press release. Hefner, a MacArthur ‘genius’ Fellowship winner and Montclair resident, founded the nonprofit Youth Communication in 1980. Its mission is to help marginalized youth develop their full potential through reading and writing, so they can succeed in school, at work and in their communities.

Youth Communication also develops teacher guides and lesson plans. “Our materials help teachers strengthen the reading and writing skills of teens who struggle in school,” Hefner said. “Teachers need ways to inspire reluctant readers. That’s what our stories do.” And the New Youth Connection publication helps teachers with professional development. “The idea is to develop content for hard to reach kids. We look for ways to help them feel less alone.”

Hefner said he looks for “that sweet spot,” where the needs of the classroom and the interests of the students coincide. He added the four fulltime editors at Youth Communication are experienced journalists. He said of the process, “It teaches kids about delayed gratification, as they need to rewrite and rewrite before they see anything published. They learn not just how to write a story, but how to interview, how to treat a subject with fairness, and how to improve grammar and vocabulary. These are important skills.” A student may go through 15 drafts and not see results for two months. “It’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears,” he said.

Hefner was inspired by his own experience with a high school newspaper in Ann Arbor, Michigan, when he wrote about a black student who was not allowed on the football team. A school official didn’t want him to print it and Hefner realized then how important it is to respond to social change.

Hefner spoke highly with “Starting with I,” an anthology that is used all over the country. “Although it’s designed for a low level reader, it’s thematically interesting and does not talk down to students,” he said. “It helps them find the intersection between the personal and the larger world.” He noted how two students who had siblings serving in the Middle East would have different perspectives on the impact for the family. One student, he said, debated whether it was more dangerous to stay in his Brooklyn neighborhood, where gangs are prevalent, or to fight overseas.

Abramson said. “What we do is to show respect for the individual. We let them tell their tories and they get perspective on their lives.” In addition, she said, the emphasis is on writing for the reader. That takes them out of themselves. The content is effective in the classroom, she said, because it conveys the message: “This person is like me. I can write. I can find my voice. We want students to see that what they’re writing makes a difference.” But she emphasized the focus is always on the reader. “What can you tell others? How can your experience make a difference? It’s a way to empower them, to develop resources where they can turn for help.” By relating to a broader audience, Abramson said, students learn to put their own issues in perspective and to see possibilities in the future.

In addition, Youth Connections promotes anthologies, such as “Haiti on My Mind,” which was especially relevant after the recent earthquake. The anthology was chosen as a 2010 best book for teens by the Pennsylvania School Librarian Association.

The Nov. 10 issue of New Youth Connections featured “War Torn,” including articles about siblings serving in the Middle East. Another issue’s theme was focused on teen pregnancy and teen parents. The Real Men program won an award for best curriculum in life skills and character education. It includes an anthology of 35 nonfiction stories by young men about masculinity as well as a short film about one writer’s journey, from high school dropout to high school principal.

“We’re trying to get the word out and encourage people to get involved,” Abramson said of Youth Communication. Visit youthcomm.org for more information.

Summit resident’s work with teens pays off with publisher’s award

Tags: voice of youth, educational publishers, Kelly Colon, marketing plan, Irving Torres, Pennsylvania School Librarian Association

By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — No, do not raise the debt-ceiling. You heard me: Block the debt ceiling vote. Don’t raise it. America’s out-of-control. A debt addict. Time to detox. Deal with the collateral damage before it’s too late.

We need to fix America’s looming credit default, failing economy and our screwed-up banking system. Now, with a Good Depression. If we just kick the can down the road one more time, we’ll be trapped into repeating our 1930’s tragedy, a second Great Depression.

Yes, depression. Spelled: d-e-p-r-e-s-s-i-o-n. Wake up America, recessions do not work. Won’t work in the future. Remember that 30-month recession after the dot-com crash? Didn’t work. Why? Because in the decade since that 2000 peak, Wall Street’s lost an inflation–adjusted 20% of America’s retirement money.

And what about the so-called Great Recession of the 2008 credit meltdown? Didn’t work either. In fact, made matters worse: Wall Street got richer by stealing from the other 98% of Americans, the middle class, the poor. And now their conservative puppets in Washington want to make matters worse, widening the wealth gap further to benefit the Super Rich.

Seems nobody really gives a damn about our great nation any more. America’s now a capitalists anarchy: “Every (rich) man for himself.” Proxy battles are fought by high-priced lobbyists in a broken political system. America needs a 21-gun wake-up call. Yes, that’s why America needs a Good Depression. The economy’s bad now. But kicking the can down the road again will make matters much worse later.

America’s leaders lost their moral compass, lack a public conscience

This is not our first call for a Good Depression. As early as 2005 we began reporting on excessive debt. In November 2007 we warned of a crash dead ahead. The subprime credit meltdown had been accelerating for many months, although for a year our leaders kept misleading Americans: Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s “it’s under control.” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s delusional “best economy I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.”

In August 2008 came the original of our seven reasons why America needs a Good Depression. Yes August, just two months before Wall Street banks collapsed into de facto bankruptcy, after many warnings predicting a crisis. This was no Black Swan. In September 2008 we reported on Naomi Klein, author of “Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism,” warning of Wall Street’s insidious plan to take over America:

“Nobody should believe the overblown claims that the market crisis signals the death of ‘free market’ ideology.” Then as the meltdown went nuclear, Klein warned: “Free market ideology has always been a servant to the interests of capital, and its presence ebbs and flows depending on its usefulness to those interests. During boom times, it’s profitable to preach laissez faire, because an absentee government allows speculative bubbles to inflate.”

But “when those bubbles burst, the ideology becomes a hindrance, and it goes dormant while big government rides to the rescue. But rest assured,” she predicted, Reaganomics “ideology will come roaring back when the bailouts are done. The massive debts the public is accumulating to bail out the speculators will then become part of a global budget crisis that will be the rationalization for deep cuts to social programs, and for a renewed push to privatize.”

Totally predictable: No Black Swans in 2000, 2008 … nor in 2012

Yes, all was predictable: The events of the past few years were well known in advance. In fact, the events of the entire decade were predictable. The rich got richer off the backs of the middle class and the poor. Why? “There’s class warfare all right,” warns Warren Buffett. “But it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

And they are also blind and deaf to the havoc their free-market Reaganomics policies are creating, selfishly undermining America, the world’s greatest economic power.

Lessons learned? Zero. Why? Wall Street, Washington and Corporate America are focused on one narrow-minded short-term strategy: Economic g-r-o-w-t-h, bull markets, megabonuses, tax cuts. In good times they tout “free markets.” But when greed bombs, they throw free-market “principles” under the Reagan Revolution bus and unleash their mercenary lobbyists to go whining to Congress for huge taxpayer bailouts and access at the Fed discount window, to siphon off more taxpayer money. And they’ll do it again soon,

Wall Street and their cronies are doing such a miserable job, America needs a new strategy: First, stop “kicking the can down the road.” Let a good old-fashioned Good Depression do the job that our hapless, happy-talking leaders refuse to do. Take our medicine. Let a new depression clean house and reawaken Americans to core values.

Trust me folks, it’s either a Good Depression now … or a Great Depression 2. Here are seven reasons favoring the do-it-now strategy:

7 reasons U.S. needs a Good Depression now

Tags: Corporate America, US Federal Reserve, san luis obispo, screwed-up banking system

Organ transplants are possible but not a long-term solution, with only a 50 per cent chance the grafted intestine will last past the child’s 5th birthday.

Study’s lead author Tracy C. Grikscheit, MD, envisions a better solution.

“The small intestine is an exquisitely regenerative organ. The cells are constantly being lost and replaced over the course of our entire lives,” she explained. “Why not harness that regenerative capacity to benefit these children?”

“What is novel about this research is that this tissue-engineered intestine contains every important cell type needed for functional intestine,” said Henri Ford, MD, Vice President and Surgeon-in-Chief at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

For children with intestinal failure, we are always looking for long-term, durable solutions that will not require the administration of toxic drugs to ensure engraftment.

This tissue-engineered intestine, which has all of the critical components of the mature intestine, represents a truly exciting albeit preliminary step in the right direction,” he added.

The study was recently published in Tissue Engineering Part A , a premier biomedical journal.

Organ transplants will soon be history

Tags: s hospital, tissue engineering, durable solutions, Tracy C. Grikscheit, Vice President and Surgeon, biomedical journal, intestinal failure

Dear Annie: My best friend, "Bob," has struggled with alcoholism for many years, and has been in and out of rehabilitation programs. Two years ago, he found a program that worked. He went into a men’s halfway house, where he received counseling, attended A.A. meetings and got a job. After 18 months, he was promoted and even set a goal of becoming an addiction counselor.Bob seemed on top of the world until two weeks ago, when he started drinking again. He was kicked out of his residence and is now staying with me. He may also have lost his job. His employers are willing to give him another chance, but he refuses to call them. He is now drunk or sleeping all the time, spending whatever money is left in his bank account.This situation is not new. I have put up with it before. If I kick him out, he may end up passed out in an alley, a hospital, jail or worse. At least he is safe here, but I can’t do this forever. The local detox center offers emergency protective custody, but all they can do is hold him until he is sober.Even though many people care about Bob and are willing to help him, he seems to have given up hope. I think he has unresolved mental health issues. I have tried contacting his former counselor and even urged him to go to a priest. Friends tell me I am "enabling" him by letting him stay, but I don’t want him on the streets. What can I do?— Up a CreekDear Creek: You are a kind friend, but you cannot help Bob until he wants to be helped. And yes, it’s possible he has some underlying depression that sabotages his efforts to remain sober. We strongly urge you to find suggestions and support through Al-Anon (al-anon.alateen.org) and Sober Recovery (soberrecovery.com), which offer forums for family and friends of alcoholics.Dear Annie: I have a female friend who’s never been to Disneyland. I offered to take her this summer, my treat. We are excited, but now I’m a little less thrilled because she insists on bringing her 1-year-old baby girl with us. I told her we are not going to have much fun if the baby comes, but she is adamant.I like children, but would it be wrong of me to cancel the trip and risk ruining our friendship? Or do I just bite the bullet and see if we can enjoy ourselves with the baby?— D.T.Dear D.T.: You are very generous, but not all mothers are willing to take vacations and leave their infants behind. While a year-old child is a bit young for Disneyland, it is possible to have a good time with a child in tow. In fact, there are some delights that are only possible when seen through the eyes of a child. But you must understand the limitations and set the rules in advance. Are you willing to help care for the baby? Does the child wake up in the middle of the night? Will a large Mickey Mouse frighten her? Will your friend take advantage of available babysitting services?It is not unreasonable to cancel, but keep in mind that your friend may be equally unwilling to leave the child with a caregiver for the next 10 years. If you ever plan to take her to Disneyland, this may be as good a time as any.Dear Annie: Please tell "Kuttawa, Ky." to get a wireless headphone set for her husband, who can’t hear the television. They are comfortable and allow the listener to walk around the house. I can hear much better with mine than I could with my hearing aids. And other family members are thrilled that I no longer ask them to turn up the volume.— PennsylvaniaDear Pennsylvania: Many readers suggested headphones, wireless or otherwise. Our thanks to all who wrote.Email your questions to anniesmailbox@comcast.net, or write to: Annie’s Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045.

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ANNIE’S MAILBOX: Alcoholic can’t stay on the wagon and needs help

Tags: best friend, addiction counselor, friends of alcoholics

PHOENIX – A Naturopathic physician in Phoenix says household products may be linked to a number of women’s health conditions. Dr. Marianne Marchese says household products may be linked to a number of women’s health conditions, and she put those findings in her new book 8 Weeks to Women’s Wellness. According to her book , the average person can store hundreds of chemicals in the body. One of her patients Sarara Corva tells us she believes common household items may have contributed to her breast cancer. “The bodies aren’t designed for chemicals like that and we have so many of them,” Corva said. “As Dr. Marchese says there’s a toxic burden and overload that happens.”

Many of us use these items everyday, including shampoo, lotion, hair dye, makeup, cleaning products, and plastic food storage containers. “Eventually a little bit of that chemical, a little bit of this chemical, they can build up in your body,” Dr. Marchese said. “These chemicals we use on a daily basis are very estrogenic and they can mimic hormones in a women’s body. Through scientific studies and my clinical experience, I’ve seen them linked to women’s hormonal conditions.” Marchese says new research shows these chemicals can be linked to conditions such as breast cancer, fibroids, and infertility.

Some of the most prevalent toxins include:

• Parabens, found in many beauty products.
• Pthalates, found in plastic containers.  
• Solvents, found in cleaning products.

• Using beauty products which are paraben free, fragrance free, and alcohol free.
• Do not use plastic containers. Use glass instead.
• Switch your cleaning products with non-toxic products found in some health food grocery stores.

The American Cancer Society now says there have been traces of parabens found in cancer patients, but the tests don’t show how the parabens got there. Basically, it’s not clear if parabens are indeed linked to cancer at this point. When it comes to toxins you’ve already been exposed to, Marchese recommends going on a detoxification diet. This includes eating certain fruits and vegetables which will help your body cleanse itself of toxins.

She suggests broccoli, brussel sprouts, and pomegranate. Marchese also said going into the sauna or steam room is a form of hydrotherapy and will help your body naturally dispose of toxins.

Learn more about 8 Weeks to Women’s Wellness.

Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Phoenix doctor links household products to women’s health conditions

Tags: household products, average person, naturopathic physician, health food grocery stores