This Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. story is making me really upset.

See I have heard some folks ask why we, as African Americans, always get upset.

Well if it weren’t for certain idiocies in this Country there would be no need for us to fight for equality ALL OF THE TIME.

See some may not understand what “racially profiled” really is. But I’ve experienced it, my mother, my father, my sister, in fact my entire family have experienced it.

If you’ve never experienced it before – then it may be difficult for you to understand what Dr. Gates and other people of color actually go through.

If you haven’t read about Dr. Henry Gates then you should. I will not go into details regarding his case but I can probably understand where he’s coming from. And I want to share with our readers what many African Americans have gone through.

Imagine the day before your daughters wedding you go into a bank.

You fill out a bank slip requesting to retrieve money.

You take it to the teller.

Without you knowing, the teller sees on the back of the bank slip a message that reads “This is a stick up”.

The teller calls the police.

You as an unarmed person are then cuffed, beat, and cursed at.

When you ask what’s going on it only makes matters worse.

SO WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSE TO DO???

Finally after enough beatings the officers tell you you’re being arrested for trying to rob a bank.

You can’t defend yourself because you’re really scared and in pain.

As the investigation continues – it turns out some joker wrote “This is a stick up” on the back of ALL bank slips.

And not you..

This story happened to my grandfather.

Here’s another story…

Imagine riding in the car with your two daughters.

Two police officers pull you over.

They ask you for your license and registration.

When you question the officers they tell you to get out of the vehicle.

Following orders you get out of the car.

Then the officers cuff you and throw you up against the hood of your vehicle because YOU fit the description of a suspect.

You try to tell the officers you are not him.

The whole time your two daughters are sitting in the back of the car crying and scared.

The officers then remove your two daughters from your vehicle and FORCES them into the police vehicle to take them home.

WHAT DO YOU DO??????

This story happened to ME when I was 10 years old. And I will never forget the way those officers treated MY FATHER!!!

This week the Stormtracker weather team unveiled it’s new outdoor forecasting facility, the “FOX Toledo Stormtracker Weather Patio.”  We will utilize this space daily in rain, sunshine even snow. Check out the virtual tour of our new forecast facility below.

I’ve been studying up on the government’s Cash for Clunkers offer to see if it’s a deal that would be good for my household. Also, of course, it’s helpful to know as much as possible about stories we’re covering.

One question we had in the newsroom this week was, “How do you know if your car or truck’s gas mileage is bad enough to qualify?” You officially need to get 18MPG or less. You can look your vehicle up on the website WWW.FUELECONOMY.GOV

Another good resource for deciding whether to take the deal is Kelly Blue Book’s site, famous for helping you know your trade-in or resale value.
WWW.KBB.COM

One more favorite of mine for car research can help you research both new and used cars and trucks and includes notes on owner satisfaction.
WWW.EDMUNDS.COM

Keep in mind Cash for Clunkers money takes the places of any trade-in
you would have gotten, so make sure your car is worth less than the government rebate, or it’s probably not a good deal.

I get the question quite often, “Do you do anything else in addition to being the Face?”  Boy, do I have an answer for that.

I’ve owned and operated a mural/faux painting business for the last decade, which up until this current economic time has been pretty successful.  Now my jobs are a little more few & far between, but right now I’m painting murals in three kids’ bedrooms.  I will be leaving shortly to finish up a ballerina in a young lady’s room, then in the weeks to come a lollipop-princess theme, and a Halo scene from the popular video game.

I also work a couple nights a week at Main Street Bar and Grill in downtown Sylvania.  I’ve never done anything like this before, but I’m finding it to be very entertaining as well as challenging!  Tonight, after I perform my “face-ly” duties at Monster Jam, I’ll be heading directly to this job, where I work second shift.  This means I will be closing down around 2:30, then get the fortunate task of vacuuming, mopping, and restocking.  I will probably arrive home around 4 am tomorrow morning!

Because I thought a fourth job sounded like a good idea, I started selling Miche purses.  If you haven’t heard of these, they are super cool!  A Miche bag consists of a base bag, and then a choice of about 40 interchangeable shells.  It has changed my life….my purse matches no matter what now!  I have been selling them quite frequently already, and have a purse party scheduled for next Thursday evening.

Does that answer the question?  I suppose I thrive on a very busy, sporatic schedule.  I’m curious to see just what “other” job the next Face of FOX Toledo will have…it’s pretty hard to sustain oneself on just being a popular commercial star alone.

Tonight we held our second Midland All Hazards Weather Radio campaign promotion.  Bruce Slusher, Larry Whatley and I were at the Point Place Kroger store from 3 to 6pm this afternoon.  We got to meet several members of the community and also sold and programmed over 24 radios. 

I want to say thanks to the management of the Point Place Kroger Store for having us out and making us feel comfortable while we were there.

For those of you who purchased a radio or are considering doing so.  I have attached a instructional video on how to program in your county code.  Just click on the link below.

Click Here…

I am proud of my hometown. I make it no secret that I am from Wapakoneta, Ohio – best know as the hometown of Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. Needless to say, I went home this past weekend to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon mission.

A feeling of nostalgia washed over me as my mom, son, and I pulled in to the parking lot of the Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum. I spent quite a bit of time roaming around this place as a kid. I was part of NASA’s Young Astronaut Program. (Yes, at one time I wanted to fly to the moon, too.) It was great to pay a visit and it was fun to take my 2 year-old. Although I’m not sure he completely understood it all. He kept calling his toy space shuttle I bought him an airplane. When I corrected him, he called it a “space shovel.” It was also fun to run in to two FOX Toledo viewers. Barb and Bev Helmlinger stopped me to chat. They live in Toledo, but are also originally from Wapak.

If you have never been to the Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum, I highly recommend it. I shot some video for you as a preview: (Keep you eyes peeled for Kelan’s “space shovel.”)

I hate when it rains, sometimes I say I’d rather have snow then rain.  But today I will deal with a rainy day.  that’s because my flowers and grass need water.  I plant a boarder of inpatients around my landscaping every year along with several pots of flowers.  This summer my schedule has just been crazy, and I haven’t watered them as often as I usually do.  I am hoping the rain will give my poor potted plant a second chance at life.

People have asked me the last couple of days about what I think about the death of Walter Cronkite.

I think people want me to have some story about how he inspired me to get into the news business.

I am sorry to say he was before my day and to be honest with you I have never watched a lot of his work aside from the more famous clips you see like the JFK assassination.

What I have though about in the last couple of days is how the news industry has changed since Cronkite came into your living room every night.

The first thing is that people don’t run to the TV to catch the 6:00 news. The internet has changed news forever.

News is now more interactive. No longer do you simply deliver the headlines of the day. Newscasts are more interactive: Phone banks connect you to legal help, video resumes are put on the air to help people find work, and often times organizations try to reach out to viewers if they are in financial trouble.

Not the kind of newscast Cronkite brought you, but it’s the evolution of the news. When it’s my time to leave this business, I will be excited to look back and see how much things have changed. I may be very surprised.

Over a year ago, I stepped up my workout routine. At the time I imagined that flat stomach image we see in magazines.

I admit that’s not what I got. What I got was stronger. Fewer backaches. Enough confidence to bike 35 miles to fight M.S. An appreciation for gel bike shorts.

Changing eating and workout habits is still an ongoing challenge. But I’ve learned that workouts won’t happen unless I schedule them into my life.  When I’m at home, it’s always  tempting for me to do housework or catch up on rest instead. But I feel better when I’m active. I love the reduction in stress that you get after a challenging workout.

I’ve learned I need variety in my activities to keep me interested.  Biking, hiking, aerobics, kickboxing, yoga, pilates, bellydancing, all things I’ve tried and enjoyed.

If you want to improve your eating, but still stay on a budget, check out the bulk food section many local groceries and health food stores have. You save a lot on oatmeal, whole grains, beans and pasta by buying in bulk and cooking up a big batch so you’ll have leftovers for lunches or dinners later in the week. Low fat or fat free cottage cheese is a quick, affordable protein source, and so good with the many fresh fruits and vegetables out there right now.

Do yourself a favor and stop at a farm stand or farmers’ market. The local corn and tomatoes are just coming into season. As they fight over health care in Washington, D.C., we can all do something positive for our own health that doesn’t involve pills or legislation.

Since Luke and I moved into our new home, there are plenty of potential ideas we have when it comes to decorating.

I feel like for the past couple of months I have been glued to HGTV looking for new and creative ways to fix up a room. It’s especially encouraging when there are money saving tips as well.

I was just wondering if anyone had any great web sites to go to for decorating… or even a great store that I haven’t heard about.

www.etsy.com is one of my favorite sites for handcrafted/artsy type items. I also love www.anthropologie.com.

 www.crate&barrel.com is great for furniture.

Let me know if there are some great stores where I can get some furniture/home decorations ‘on the cheap’.

Here are some pictures of the house, before we moved in…