14 The Hampton Roads Messenger


Church Directory Hampton Roads


To list your church here, call 757.575.1863 Norfolk First Baptist Church,


Logan Park 7493 Diven Street Norfolk, Virginia 23505 www.fbcloganpark.com 757-423-0407


Mount Gilead Missionary


Baptist Church 1057 Kennedy St. Norfolk, VA 23513 (757) 853-3721


Second Calvary Baptist


Church 2940 Corprew Avenue Norfolk, Virginia 23504 www.secondcalvary.org 757.627.SCBC (7222)


Queen Street Baptist


Church Glenn E. Porter, Sr., Pastor 413 E Brambleton Ave Norfolk, VA 23510 www.qsbcva.org (757) 622-4458


Faith Christian Center


Church 1066 Norview Ave, Norfolk, VA 23513 www.fccnorfolk.com


(757) 857-1336


Portsmouth Grove Baptist Church 5910 W Norfolk Rd Portsmouth www.grovebaptistchurch.com (757) 484-4149


Hampton


Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Temple 3100 Butternut Dr, Hampton, VA 23666 (757) 896-6050


Newport News


Ivy Baptist Church 50 Maple Ave Newport News, VA 23607 www.ivybaptistchurch.org (757) 245-1781


Virginia Beach


New Light Full Gospel Baptist Church 5549 Indian River Road Virginia Beach, VA 23464 757.420.2397


Pleasant Grove Baptist Church


2153 Kempsville Rd Virginia Beach, VA 23464 (757) 479-1239


Chesapeake


Bethany Baptist Church 2587 Campostella Rd, Chesapeake, VA 23324 (757) 543-5887


Suffolk


Oak Grove Baptist Church 2635 E Washington St Suffolk, VA 23434 www.oakgrovebaptist.net (757) 539-8012


Our Faith


GRACE RECEIVED AND GRACE GIVEN” By Rev. Dr. Gregory Headen


This past


month, Doretha and I visited our daughter and grandsons


in


Georgia. It has been about two months since we saw them. Our 14


year old observed his 15th birthday on a Friday, but we were there to celebrate on a Wednesday. What a blessing to reconnect to your family, to see the young ones get taller and older as they move from boys to men. It occurred to me how much it means to belong, to have people in your life that you care about and love. The heart really rejoices when these signifi- cant others express so much love for you. Doretha and I brought some sunshine into the lives of our daughter and grands in just a few hours, and they brought so much into our lives. Some moments in life bear the mark of eternity. They are so meaningful. We waste too


much time crying over what does not go our way and pouting over disappointments and let downs. We worry so much about what we think we have lost that we forfeit the golden moments we could have right now. If you have a spouse, you had better pay close attention to his/her good side and not give all the attention to the deficits and weaknesses. If you have a child, you would do well to speak to him/ her about what is right and promis- ing and not always point out what is distasteful. If you have a friend, you had better value the good that you receive from that friend, and not persistently point out to him/ her what bothers you. Whatever human being you get to know well enough will show you some good and bad, but you must decide what to focus on most. Since I am not perfect yet, how can I hold any other human being to that standard every moment without being a hypocrite myself? Thank God for grace!!!


Volume 7 Number 10


June 2013


Police Presence Grows as Crowds Dwindle at Urban Beach Week


BY: JAY ROONEY M I A M I


BEACH, Fla. -- For one weekend out of the year, Miami Beach plays host to what is ostensibly the country’s largest music and culture event for young African Americans, Urban Beach Week. Yet while the loosely organized gathering has been a boon for local business, an increased police presence in recent years has had a dampening effect on partygoers.


Long-simmering ethnic tensions,


some say, has made the city less and less welcoming of the annual influx of mostly black youth.


Miami Beach, population 87,000,


has been the site of the unofficial gathering since 2001. Every year, starting on Friday and ending on Memorial Day, close to 300,000 people descend on the city for the informal “festival” and indulge in the city’s world-famous beaches and nightlife.


Considered the spiritual successor


to Freaknik, a similar gathering for African-American spring breakers in Atlanta that grinded to a halt in the late-90s amid complaints of rowdiness and disorder, Urban Beach Week is a big draw for black youth across the United States and worldwide. Hotels, bars, nightclubs and other local businesses typically thrive during the event.


Still, not everyone is happy with the arrangement.


One resident who goes by the


name HotLatte wrote in an online discussion that efforts to curtail Urban Beach Week have “nothing to do with race.” The people that attend, the post continues, “completely disrespect the city, leave TRASH everywhere, disrespect the PEOPLE, walk around NAKED in front of children and the city doesn't have to put up with that foolishness.”


Crime has also been another


complaint. Fights, smashed windows and general disorder and chaos have been associated with the revelry since its earliest days. Shootouts have broken out – including a high-profile shooting allegedly involving rap artist Fat Joe in 2007. That incident helped cement the popular image of Urban Beach Week as too rowdy, too debaucherous and too dangerous.


In response, Miami Beach, which


has sought for years to get the City Commission to ban the event outright, decided to step up its police presence in anticipation of the Memorial Day weekend crowds.


This year it spent upwards of $1


million on everything from high-tech security equipment to staffing some 400 officers per shift from multiple agencies. A police presence was visible on every corner of the city, and police cars equipped with license plate scanners were posted on the two main causeways that feed into Miami Beach, looking for stolen vehicles and outstanding warrants.


While the moves have led to


fewer arrests – 176 this year, compared to well over 300 in years past – there


are those who say the motivation isn’t entirely linked to security concerns.


Miami’s diversity is contrasted


by a high-degree of segregation. Billy Corben, a documentary filmmaker behind several award-winning documentaries chronicling South Florida’s often bizarre history and colorful characters, once brilliantly described the city and its outlying districts, including Miami Beach, as "not at all a melting pot, but more like a TV dinner, neatly compartmental- ized, where the peas occasionally spill over to the mashed potatoes.”


When the peas spill over, trouble


usually happens. That trouble all came to a head in 2011.


That year, Miami Beach cops


unloaded over 100 rounds into an unarmed driver, killing him and injuring four bystanders. The officers involved have not been charged, and a civil lawsuit filed by the bystanders continues to drag on. The shooting capped a weekend that saw some 431 arrests, mostly for violations such as disorderly conduct and drug possession.


The following year saw Rudy


Eugene gnaw Ronald Poppo’s face off in the infamous “Miami Zombie Attack.” Eugene, who was black, was linked to Urban Beach Week, despite the fact that the attack occurred outside the city. So the increased police presence persisted into 2013, to the delight of residents and local politicians, and the chagrin of partygoers and business owners.


Roberto Sanso is manager


of Quattro Gastronomia Italiana Restaurant. He told the Miami Herald that crowds this year were noticeably thinner. “Normally I can’t see [Lincoln Road],” he said, describing a typical holiday weekend scene. This past Saturday, he added, “I could see the whole street.”


Reports also note hotel occupancy


rates were down 10-15 percent for the weekend compared to two years ago, and several businesses reported a loss of revenue this year – one local business owner was quoted by Miami Fox Affiliate WSVN as being down $40,000 for this year’s Memorial Day Weekend compared to last.


“It has been a very successful


Memorial Day on the public safety side,” declared Miami Beach police Sgt. Bobby Hernandez on Monday. “Our goal was to provide a safe and secure destination to our visitors and the least amount of disruption to our residents. We accomplished that this weekend."


A quick stroll down South Beach


on a Saturday afternoon demonstrated the cost of that success. On a day normally reserved for the peak of festivities, from one end to the other the sands were empty.


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