Get out the shovel and trowels – its Memorial Day weekend and that means gardening for many.  Spend a bit more time getting your garden off to a good start and reap the benefits all season long.  Proper planting and post planting care means less maintenance, fewer pests and more produce and beautiful flowers in your landscape.

Start by selecting healthy plants free of insect and disease problems.  There’s no need to spend money on problems.  And keep in mind that bigger is not always better.  Instead look for compact plants with sturdy stems.  The leaves should be deep green or the proper color for that variety.  Avoid plants that show signs of stress such as spots, brown leaf edges, and holes.  And when all things are equal, purchase the perennials with multiple stems.

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Nearly all African-Americans polled – 97 percent – say they are unhappy with the Black TV programs currently on air. Seventy-five percent say they want more documentaries, 71 percent prefer more history, 68 percent desire to see more independent films and 59 percent would like to see more news, according to a new study conducted by Target Market News, a Chicago-based organization that tracks Black consumer market trends.
But what Blacks say they want and what they’re watching are two different things.

On Feb. 12, 1993 three lives changed forever.

One life, Laramiun Byrd’s, just 20-years-old at the time, ended abruptly with four gun shots – three to the chest and one to the head. The shots were fired from a then 16-year-old Marlon Green, who later changed his name to Oshea Israel. Israel’s life was the second to be forever altered by the ill-fated encounter.

It’s getting to be the time of year when many Minneapolis residents enjoy a small outdoor recreational fire. Residents who like to have a fire in their yards should keep these City ordinances in mind to keep Minneapolis safe and livable:

If you are going to Chicago, don’t miss…The Dawoud Bey, Picturing People – an expansive career survey of Chicago-based photographer Dawoud Bey, May 13 – June 24, 2012, with an opening reception Sunday, May 13, from 4-7pm presented by The Renaissance Society. The artist will speak at 5pm.   The Renaissance Society, an internationally renowned contemporary art museum, is located on the University of Chicago campus at Cobb Hall, 5811 S. Ellis Avenue, in Hyde Park.

Ranging from street photography to formal studio portraiture, Bey’s body of work is distinguished for its commitment to portraiture as a means for understanding contemporary society. 
Museum Director and Curator Susanne Ghez says,  “Dawoud’s portraits capture the essential characteristics of individuals, and at the same time draw out the complications and varieties of the communities in which people live – whether in Harlem, Atlanta, or Chicago."

Bike Walk Twin Cities is providing essential educational materials and training in April and May to help Twin Cities-area law enforcement agencies with enforcement efforts related to pedestrian and bicycle safety.
 
The Bike Walk Twin Cities Toolbox of Enforcement Resources for Safe Walking and Bicycling is part of a federal pilot program to increase bicycling and walking as forms of transportation. Since 2007, Twin Cities bicycling increased by 52 percent and walking by 18 percent, according to data from Bike Walk Twin Cities, a program of Transit for Livable Communities.