Retail Scammers

Retailers are on a look out now as credit card scammers keep emerging. This new trend has spread like wild fire, leaving most business to ask for identification at the swipe of every card. The average scammer usually walks in with a third party card and try to purchase multiple gift cards. Then, in turn use them to buy merchandise. Macy’s and other stores caught on to this sly move and now customers are limited to the amount of gift cards they can purchase during any one transaction.

Using Only His Phone, Man Scams 217 Macy’s Stores Into Issuing Fraudulent Refunds

Earlier this year a couple was arrested in Kings Plaza shopping mall after they were caught in a $100,000 credit card scam and identity theft. The suspect was caught on camera six times receiving the lifted gift cards from his girlfriend. When the Kings plaza authorities became suspicious of the couples action, they called the police.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/brooklyn-identity-thieves-arrested-100g-credit-card-scam-article-1.2548733

Retail stores now have to be on a look out as the issue becomes more prevalent among them. Customers are now being secretly watched for any suspicious activities.

According to an article in the New York Times, “The issue is more acute in the United States because of the delay in adapting technology more common in places like Europe, which make counterfeiting cards more difficult,” said Al Pascual, director of fraud and security for Javelin Strategy and Research.

 

 

 

Billboard Music Awards

This year the billboard Music Award was one hell of a show. Madonna came on the stage and gave a nice tribute for prince singing “purple rain” along with Stevie Wonder. Unfortunately alot of people disliked her tribute, according to ‘The Telegraph”, madonna did a horrible job with her tribute their was many other songs she could have picked from. She could have picked Kiss;1999, Darling nikki; Little Red Corvette. Im guessing because  of madonna’s lack of knowledge with unerring pop culture, she did not make the tribute as good as it should have been, her place in it went awry. Instead of any of the songs listed above , Madonna decided to sing “Nothing Compares to You”, and alot of people hated the performance. In my opinion it would have been better if another r&b artist to do the tribute. yes its true, madonna was relevant around the era prince was, but she still did not do a good job. Stevie Wonder and another artist would have been a better choice for prince tribute.

Floyd Mayweather sure has Money to Spend

Floyd “Money” Mayweather was not giving this name for no reason. The un-defeated champion put an amazing party togther for his daughter Iyanna. She just turned sixteen and he decided to do it in a big way. The proud father brought two of the biggest names in music industry to perform drake and future. The group of teens gatheres togther and watched Drake perform “One Dance”, “Energy” and “Back to Back”. Future of course was accompanied by DJ Esco who danced and performed alongside with Future. These two togther cost mayweather in total 5 million dollars. I know we all wish we had 5 million dollars to easily waste.There are people out there who wished they even had an extra 20 dollars in their pocket to allow them to survive another day. Sometimes i wish these millionairs and billionairs would understand the struggle thats goin on around the world. They can easily donate money if they feel the need to waste it. Numerous amounts of charities are out there, but yet are being used. Hopefully one day people can find better ways to soend there money, instead of using it lavishly.

GS9 Associate Hit with 98 year Prison Sentence

GS9 affiliated Rashid “Rasha” Derissant was slapped with a hefty prison sentence of 98 years to life.This harsh sentence was adjourned due to his gang warfare that extended from New York City to Miami, and involved a few people to be murdered. Between January 2013 and October 2014. Rashid grew up in Crown heights for majority of his life. Not only is Rashid in jail but so is the other members of the GS9 gang. He was found guilty of attemped murder and conspiracy in April with another member named A-rod.These two were both involved in the february 2013 murder of a 19 year old member of another gang.The head of the GS9 group Bobby Shmurda is still awaitig his trial for gun and drug related charges in 2014. His trial is now postponed for September 2016. Bobby Shmurda is currently suing the NYPD for false imprisonment. He claims the police illegaly entered the home of his friend to make the arrest. The enter members of GS9 has had another case because the body of rival peter martinez washed up on manhattan beach with its feet encased in concrete. This case has been seen as a homocide case.

Disney’s First Latina Princess Will Debut This Summer

Yes you read that right. Disney has a new princess they are debuting this summer, her name is Elena and she will be the franchise’s first official Latina princess. The Latina Disney princess first made headlines in 2015 when Disney announced that they were adding a new princess.

The news of a new Latina princess came years after the release of princess Sofia of ‘Sofia The First’ who was initially thought to be Disney’s first Latina princess. Disney took a lot of heat for it because many Latinas felt they did not identify with Sofia appearance wise who was fair-skinned with a red-auburn hair color.

This is a ground breaking move for Disney as once again they are expanding their brand as culturally diverse. The story will focus on princess Elena’s journey as a young heiress to throne and learning all she needs to know pertaining to her culture and kingdom.

Actress Aimee Carrero a Latina of Dominican heritage, voices the first Latina princess for Disney and could not be more proud. “By introducing a heroine whose background resembles their own — whose brown locks and brown eyes look like theirs — young girls can now properly identify with a princess.” Carrero said following a statement she made that it was a little harder for young Latinas to identify with the blonde hair blue-eyed Elsa in the mega-hit Frozen because they look nothing like her. Continuing her clear expression of pride she went on to say “They can quite literally see themselves in this new character of Elena, and that is monumental.”

Disney has been promoting and preparing for the launch of princess Elena Of Avalor this summer. She has her own series coming out soon in the earlier part of the summer, princess Elena dolls were released in February, and Princess Elena will debut in Disney parks in the later part of the summer to early fall.

Sesame Street Has a New Latina In Town

Sesame Street welcomes a new Latina character to the iconic children’s show and her name is Nina. The character is the latest in a number of new faces added to the long running children’s program. Nina is a college student working several jobs to fund her education. She is able to pay for school working at the shop, laundromat, and babysitting Elmo.

The young Latina character is bilingual and “uses her wit, compassion and charisma to help the furry residents of Sesame Street solve their daily dilemmas, providing a positive role model for preschoolers,” according to the Sesame Workshop.

“Sesame Street is constantly evolving and has a long-standing history of modeling a diverse community,” as stated on the character description for the official site. “As producers took note of changing demographics in the United States, it was important to represent this diversity in the new addition to the cast.”

Nina is portrayed by 26-year-old Miami born Cuban-American actress Miamian Suki Lopez who is no stranger to diversity in her life and filled with pride to represent Latinas in her role as Nina. “Its funny-you’re so proud to be Latina. I’ve never met somebody who’s so proud” Lopez recalled in a phone conversation with New Times. Lopez responded politely with confusion “Why wouldn’t I be?”

The Cuban-American hopes her Latin pride is clearly seen on the show. “I want to make sure that [my acting] comes cross that I’m proud to be Latina and [that if you’re Hispanic] you should be too,” Lopez said, according to the News Times. Lopez joined the cast for the 46th season. The new addition follows the departure of the beloved first Latina character Maria who exit in 2015 during the 45th season after being on Sesame Street for 44 years.

Clinical Psychologist Dr. Angelica Perez-Litwin who created the petition for Sesame Street to have a college attending Latina on the show said this when speaking of the positive affect it could have “a great opportunity to highlight a millenial Latina who is pursuing a college or graduate degree, or who’s running her own business.” Dr Perez-Litwin believes sending Nina to college will inspire an entire generation of children to do the same.

You can watch Suki Lopez as Nina on Sesame Street daily on PBS’s KLRN at 1pm and on HBO/HBO Latino Sundays at 9am.

“Hold the Garbage” says City Council to DSNY

City Council members Antonio Reynoso (D-34), Steven Levin (D-33), Daneek Miller (D-27) and Rafael Salamanca (D-17) have written and sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio asking to postpone contracts regarding organic waste recycling last Friday at a budget hearing.

The four members of the council has openly expressed their concern over a set of contracts that the Department of Sanitation’s Commissioner, Kathryn Garcia, sent to Comptroller Scott Stringer. The council members herald from parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens say that the Department’s plans will only increase waste and pollutant build-up in those areas that already are affected by so much garbage.

“These contracts would allow for increased organic waste processing at certain waste transfer stations in the city to support the Department’s expansion of its curbside organics collection program,” the letter stated.

Organic waste, according to the Department’s website, are any “food scraps, spoiled food, food-soiled paper, and yard trimmings and plants.” These substances are to be recycled into renewable energy and compost. By the end of 2016, the Department is looking to expand the organic waste curbside pickup to more areas and reaching one million city residents.

However, the council members’ say those plans for expansion are a problem in terms of traffic and overall pollution, negating the effects of creating a greener New York with less refuse, as is the Department’s goal.

“The excess truck traffic that results means that residents in these communities are exposed to high levels of air and noise pollution, suffer the effects of breathing polluted air, and are forced to navigate dangerous streets,” the letter mentioned. An increase in air pollutants would rise to increased Medicaid costs from the respiratory problems that would arise, the council argued.

The council members are willing to work with the Department to create better alternatives for organic waste pickup.

“We look forward to working with DSNY to identify alternative locations, and to supporting the expansion of the curbside organics program.”

#SheWillBe

After launching the woman’s advocacy group in October of last year, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has moved forward with her plans for the Young Women’s Initiative. At a press conference at the City Hall steps last Monday, with a group of female activists behind her, she called for more female participation in local government.

“We need to challenge anyone that has a role to play in supporting candidates to make sure that we are creating pathways of opportunity for young women in government,” Mark-Viverito said.

The Young Woman’s Initiative is a progressive step for equity for the women in New York, particularly women of color and those from minority neighborhoods. Mark-Viverito is the first Latina woman to hold a citywide elected position in city council.

The women’s advocacy group was modeled after President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper program, launched in 2014, whose goal is to improve the lives of the country’s young black males. The goals remain similar.

As Mark-Viverito described the group’s policy plans, which includes development for women in areas of health and career, she was applauded by the women behind her who held up signs of #SheWillBe and the Spanish translation #EllaSera.

The City Council and other philanthropic groups have agreed to donate $20 million to The Young Women’s Initiative.

“You are mentors, supporters and fighters,” she said. “You are the future of our city. You are in the business of opening doors and shattering glass ceilings and you’re making a real difference in the lives of women and girls across our city.”

The U.S. Goes Crazy for Coconuts

An article titled, “CARIBBEAT: Mainstream coconut craze old news to Caribbean New Yorkers”, who have known about its benefits for ages was published on nydailynews.com on last month. The article discusses that Caribbean people, specifically in New York City, have long used coconuts as a health benefit for generations. Mainstream America, on the other hand, has recently become obsessed with this fruit and its benefits. As such, the demand for coconuts is growing rapidly as the writer, Jared McCallister, said. He reported that the Wall Street Journal, in an article titled “Coconuts Go Upscale, Boosting Price of Conventional Coconut Oil,” mentioned that “the yearning for coconut products — such as coconut water, dish detergent, teeth whiteners and even medicine — has driven up the price of coconut oil substantially, more than 20% higher in March and more than 50% high than last year’s prices.”

As a result, some Caribbean islands have been working towards becoming suppliers for coconuts to revitalize their coconut industries since the Philippines is the biggest producer of coconut oil.

Ironically, one can walk into any Beauty Supply store, grocery store or pharmacy in Caribbean communities around New York for these items. Many of the brands that one will encounter are either Island-based companies or companies stationed within big cities with Caribbean enclaves like Toronto or the Bronx. Although coconuts and coconut-based products are rising in popularity in America, it may just be a phase. Whether or not it is a phase, I hope that industries abroad are not exploited and left for dead in the process because for some, that is all they have left.

Bill Clinton’s Visit to Lefferts Garden Brooklyn

Last month, Bill Clinton visited St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Lefferts Garden Brooklyn to speak on how, he says, Hillary Clinton helped the Caribbean community. In an article titled “Bill Clinton Touts Hillary’s History With Brooklyn’s Caribbean Community,” Rachel Holliday Smith of DNA.info discusses the church’s significance within the West Indian community in Brooklyn. Global pop-star and native of Barbados, Rihanna, even held the memorial service for her grandmother there, Holliday mentioned. As such, it makes perfect sense that Clinton decided to use that space as a platform for his message along his wife’s campaign trail.

For the most part, his speech was rather vague in that he discussed some of the things that, he said, Hillary has done for the immigrant community including improving voting access for “foreign-language voters” and working to “improve health benefits for pregnant immigrant women and their children.” I say that this speech was vague because although Caribbean people, both first and second generation, are affected by immigrant laws it doesn’t say much about what was done to assist with the Caribbean community specifically.

According to the article, Clinton said his wife intends to “liberate [the Caribbean and Americas] from imported oil forever and guarantee them their economic … future” among other things, which is quite a big job to take on as U.S. President. However, time and the American votes will tell.