news L V B L A C K I M A G E l M A Y 2 0 1 0 Having arrived in Las Vegas


s sights re


much of her work, Sims works her patients’ eyelids to correct


only a few months ago, Dr. Leslie Sims is the only Afri- can American in the state of Nevada who practices oculo- plastic surgery — the cosmet- ic, corrective, and reconstruc- tive surgery of the structures around the eye.


It is no accident that this


mps, bumps, wrinkles, unwanted s and skin spots. “Some of us get d brown spots from the sun — especially prevalent in Las Vegas, sun damage is rapid,” she said. so treat the hands in addition to e. The hands are also telling when es to the aging process. Your face ook great, but your hands can tell letely different story.” s acknowledges that many n-Americans are wary of the ct of plastic surgery. Still, there blems unique to darker skin that


talented woman is already rec- ognized as a trailblazer in her field. A Harvard graduate who studied medicine at Yale, she also holds a master’s degree in public and international health from the University North Carolina.


Sims graduated from Mercy


High School in Farmington Hills and was a Class A track chmpion in the 100, 200 and 400, as well as a broad jump champion. She went to the state finals three consecutive years and while at Harvard set a record in the 60-yard dash that was only recently broken.


With those impressive cre-


dentials, Sims was a natural recruit to practice at Westfield Eye Center when the time came to expand its services.


“I am trained in ophthalmol-


THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE


Harvard graduate sets sights on superior patient care


treat this. Our skin tends to fare well over the years, but lighter-skinned Black women might develop skin spots.”


Addressing another fear


specific to African Americans, Sims said prospective cos- metic surgery patients should not harbor outsized fears about keloids — the thick, raised nodules that some- times emerge after an injury. She notes that many modern procedures are accomplished through non-surgical means, without cutting the skin.


Dr. Leslie Sims


Dr. Leslie Sims brings an impressive set of credentials with her to Westfield Eye Center.


you are trying to achieve. Not so much of what you want, but what you need.”


In much of her work, Sims


means, without cutting the skin. “At Westfield Eye Center we have a current technology that will tighten the skin, as opposed to using lasers that might cause damage,” said Sims. “One thing to know about keloids is that they don’t normally occur on the face, unless you have an


works around her patients’ eyelids to correct any lumps, bumps, wrinkles, unwanted freckles and skin spots.


“Some of us get red and


There is first a private consultation, so we can determine what you are trying to achieve. Not so much of what you want, but what you need. - Dr. Leslie Sims, Westfield E e Center


ogy and fellowship trained in oculoplastic and reconstruc- tive surgery with an emphasis on aesthetics surgery,” said Sims.


Also specializing in recon-


onvince some to be more receptive. n-American women and some ic women might seek services,


structive surgery of the face, neck, and hands, Sims jokes that she is all too happy to help uphold the old adage that “good Black don’t crack.”


e when they are pregnant they discover a discoloration in their d dark color blotching,” said Sims. s called melasma, [it] occurs when n and or progesterone stimulates tation hormones, causing dark or gray, irregular-sized patches face. We can treat this. Our skin y tends to fare well over the years


for lighter-skinned black women, ght develop skin spots. The laxity cessive skin around the eyes might roblems as we grow older.”


dressing another fear specific frican-Americans, Sims said ctive cosmetic surgery patients not harbor outsize fears about — the thick, raised nodules that mes emerge after an injury. She that many modern procedures omplished through non-surgical


To a large degree, Sims is


seeing patients who are con- cerned about the aging pro- cess.


“I provide botox treatments


brown spots from the sun. This is especially prevalent in Las Vegas, where sun damage is rapid,” she said. “We also treat the hands in addition to the face. The hands are also telling when it comes to the aging process. Your face might look great, but your hands can tell a completely different story.”


and all of the dermal fillers for lines in the face that include laugh lines and lines in the forehead,” she said. “There is first a private consultation, so that we can determine what


unattended wound. The face is actually very forgiving as it pertains to keloids. A lot of people might experience having a keloid on the back of their ear lobe or on their chest. Keloids, in terms of what I do, are a rarity — but they usually form after an injury on the thicker parts of skin on the body such as the arms, legs, back, and the earlobe.” Now that she is settled into Las


Sims acknowledges that many African Americans are wary of the prospect of plastic surgery. Still, there are prob- lems unique to darker skin that could convince some to be more receptive.


“African-American women


Clarke supports proposal to make Detroit a tax-free zone


Sen. Hansen Clarke (D-De-


troit) recently announced that he supports Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Represen- tatives Newt Gingrich’s pro- posal that would make Detroit a tax-free zone, eliminating all federal, state and local taxes.


Vegas, Sims is eager to become more deeply involved in the community while providing superior care to her patients. “Your experience with my services


and some Hispanic women might seek services, because when they are pregnant they might discover a discoloration in their face and dark color blotching,” said Sims. “This is called melasma. It occurs when estrogen and or proges- terone stimulates pigmenta- tion hormones, causing dark brown or gray, irregular-sized patches on the face. We can


insurance companies’ exemp- tion from anti-trust laws to lower the price of insurance by making the market more competitive.”


Clarke believes that the loss “At Westfield Eye Center


we have a technology that will tighten the skin, as opposed to using lasers that might cause damage,” said Sims. “One thing to know about keloids is that they don’t normally occur on the face, unless you have an unattended wound. A lot of people might experience having a keloid on the back of their ear lobe or on their chest. Keloids, in terms of what I do, are a rarity, but they usually form after an injury on the thicker parts of skin on the body such as the arms, legs, back and the earlobe.”


Now that she is settled into


Las Vegas, Sims is eager to become more deeply involved in the community while pro- viding superior care to her pa- tients.


“Your experience with my


services will be consistent,” she said. “I will be available and accessible to answer questions and concerns of my patients and any issues they have about their procedure. I will be there in the beginning, middle and in your process of recovery. You will never go through a procedure with me and afterward hear my door close with, ‘Have a nice day.’ On the contrary, I will be there.”


Reprinted with permission of LV Black Image.


“We must be aggressive in


attracting new families and businesses to locate in the city and doing what we can to keep people here,” said Clarke.


“Detroit has been hit by


an economic depression, and implementing a no-tax policy would be a huge incentive for new businesses and residents and could be the innovative reform needed to revive this city.”


Clarke has also been a


major advocate for reforming insurance rates in Detroit and around the state.


“We should also reduce


the most unfair tax on fami- lies and business owners by reducing insurance premi- ums on home, auto and com- mercial insurance coverage in Detroit and around the state,” Clarke said.


“We must ban insurance


companies from using unfair rating factors that geographi- cally and economically dis- criminate against


families and businesses, and also end


will be … consistent,” she said. “I will be available and accessible to answer questions and concerns of my patients — and any issues they have about their procedure. I will be there in the beginning, middle and in your own process of recovery. You will never go through a procedure with me and afterward hear my door close with, ‘Have a nice day.’ On the contrary — I will be there.”


of revenue to the city through a proposed tax-free zone should be offset by federal aid similar to that provided to New York City in the 1970s.


He feels the aid should at


minimum eliminate the defi- cits for the city of Detroit and the Detroit Public Schools, and that it should be tied to measurable milestones show- ing a decrease in crime in the city and improved educational outcomes for the students in Detroit schools.


Clarke has a proposal to


reduce the cost of delivering services in the city by trans- forming existing school build- ings into community resource centers to be open seven days a week, year-round.


These centers could provide


services such as adult educa- tion and literacy training for adults, recreation programs on nights and weekends, and local health services for area residents.


By Paul Bridgewater Nothing breaks down the


June 16-22, 2010


Page A-8 Food, farms and fathers


barriers between people like sharing good food and conver- sation, and I hope the back- yard grills on Father’s Day will be filled with more salmon and fresh vegetables than burgers and steaks.


sharecropper,


Allen, 62, is the son of a former pro-


fessional basketball player, ex-corporate sales leader and now farmer. He founded Growing Power Inc., a farm and community food center in Milwaukee, and he is widely considered the leading au- thority in the expanding field of urban agriculture.


He promotes the belief


that all people, regardless of their economic circum- stances, should have access to fresh, safe, affordable and nutritious foods at all times. Using methods he has de- veloped over a lifetime, he trains community members to become community farm- ers, assuring them a secure source of good food without regard to political or eco- nomic forces.


During a recent weekend


visit to Detroit, Allen talked and worked with some 200 urban gardeners, many of them members of the Detroit Black Community Food Secu- rity Network (DBCFSN). This non-profit organization is dedicated to the cultivation of healthier food and greater local participation in the politics of food production. DBCFSN has a three-acre parcel on the west edge of Detroit’s Rouge Park for its farm, D-Town, where rows of mature tomato, cab- bage and collard plants im- pressed Allen during a previ- ous visit.


D-Town Farm is part of In a town where


obesity reigns, it’s time to join what Will Allen calls “the Good Food Revolution.”


also drives people away from their ancestors — a phenom- enon he calls rootlessness. In the book “Island Farm” he says “planting is what wise an- cestors do…Perhaps the most alarming aspect of contem- porary American life is that people live not only as if they had no ancestors, but worse, as if they were not going to be anyone’s ancestors.”


Versluis unites both rural Paul Bridgewater


Rouge Park’s 1200 acres, pur- chased by the City of Detroit from three farmers in 1921 to create the city’s largest park – 40 percent larger than New York’s Central Park.


I love


that a group of African Ameri- can urban farmers is returning some of that land to its roots. Detroit has a long tradition of farming dating back to the French ribbon farms in the 1700s. We can all benefit from farm projects that grow com- munities and nourish hope.


Most of us city kids who


are now age 50-plus have had little exposure to farming other than backyard gardens. Unlike those who grew up in Michigan’s rural countryside, we did not have farm chores before and after school, and we didn’t experience what it meant to be connected to gen- erations of family members who produced food for others.


Yet even rural farm life has


changed. Housing and retail developments have replaced much family farmland, and multi-national corporations control most farming and food production. A West Michi- gan author who grew up on a family farm, Arthur Versluis, writes about how this trend


and urban readers as he re- flects, “It is important to see our life’s meaning in where we are from, in what soil we grew, and why the wind blew our seed to this place and not that.”


I’m grateful that my father


introduced me to backyard gardening when I was growing up in Saginaw. I learned what it meant to plant seeds, and I learned, over many years, what it meant to have the solid values of my father planted in me.


On Saturday, June 19,


you’ll hear a similar theme in my interview with former U.S. Congressman Kweisi Mfume, a man who overcame incredible odds after his troubled teenage years. He earned a GED at age 23 and ultimately served 10 years in Congress, nine years as president of the NAACP, and now CEO of the National Medical Association. He talks about straying from the strong values he was taught, and he’s passionate when he describes his ability to return to them because they were so strongly rooted.


Tune to “The Senior Solu-


tion” at 10 a.m., Saturday, June 19, on 107.5 FM, WGPR, to hear the interview with Kweisi Mfume. The show is part of a Father’s Day week- end that I hope will inspire all of us to remember and culti- vate our roots.


JUNE IS NATIONAL MUSIC MONTH


Get out of leases early and lower monthly payments?


Jorgensen Ford is the only minority owned and oper- ated dealership within the city of Detroit. Jorgensen Ford has been in the city since 1949. Jorgensen’s staff is fully certified and ready to service and sat- isfy you. We have pro- grams to meet all of your transportation


needs.


Mr. Merlton Brandenberg, Owner


We have a new and pre- owned vhecile center a fully certified staffed body shop, service and parts


department. Jorgensen is the dealership with the big smile where friends bring friends to experience the best in automobile service. We don’t promise, we deliver.


(313) 584-2250 www.jorgensenford.com 8333 Michigan Ave. • Detroit, MI 48210


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36