Women’s Independent Press

KRANNERT CENTER AND FOX/ATKINS PRESENT
OUTSIDE AT THE RESEARCH PARK 2012
July 13 and August 3 at 6:30pm
FREE

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts once again joins forces with Fox/Atkins Development, LLC, for a two-show series of summer concerts at the U of I Research Park. Both concerts are free and open to the public. OUTSIDE at the Research Park plays upon a simple concept: great music, fresh food, a green state of mind, and an open, relaxed environment. The performance space and seating area are located just south of the building at the corner of First Street and St. Mary’s Road in Champaign. The tree-lined, grassy space has hosted thousands of audience members each summer since the inception of OUTSIDE in 2007.

Headliners for the 2012 series will be the Brazilian-rooted, Deep South funk masters Nation Beat on July 13 and bluegrass rockers The Giving Tree Band on August 3.

Come Together
Krannert Center’s senior associate director Rebecca McBride emphasizes that the OUTSIDE at the Research Park series is an important celebration of “our richly diverse community and the many individuals and businesses who are committed to sustainable practices that further enhance the quality of life in Central Illinois.” The 2012 OUTSIDE series will continue to demonstrate Krannert Center’s commitment to reduce waste, decrease energy consumption, and provide environmentally friendly services to patrons. McBride notes that “the Center’s ongoing green initiatives have been furthered at OUTSIDE, where we’ll again offer biodegradable containers and utensils, easy-to-access recycling bins, even more bike racks for those arriving on two wheels, and marketing materials printed on recycled paper.”

The second performance on Friday, August 3, is a great opportunity for the entire region to rev up for the forthcoming 2012-13 season at Krannert Center; tickets for these events go on sale Saturday, August 11, at 10am. The August 3 event will also feature a green fair that will invite sustainability-minded local businesses and organizations to take advantage of free exhibit space to share information about their green efforts. Interested parties can contact Lisa Lillig at 217/244-6298 or lillig@illinois.edu for more information.

Performances

Friday, July 13, 2012, at 6:30pm, free
Nation Beat with opening act the Bow-Dacious String Band

Immerse in secondline and maracatu, a little zydeco and forró, plus funk and Brazilian country as Nation Beat gets the party started OUTSIDE for 2012. Calling it “Americana music from both Americas,” bandleader Scott Kettner traces the group’s distinctive sound—honed through years of collaboration on stage and in the studio—to its origins in northeastern Brazil and the Deep South of the United States. Kettner with captivating singer Liliana Araujo host this open-air party swirling with Mardi Gras and Carnival melodies.

Founded in 2003 and led by Robin Kearton, the Bow-Dacious String Band collects kids as young as seven through 20-somethings with spunk and skill for improvised music, popular tunes, and traditional pieces. This joyful bunch devoted to cooperation has elated crowds at the Boneyard Arts Festival and the Taste of Champaign.

Friday, August 3, 2012, at 6:30pm, free
Green Fair: Featuring a Bike Rodeo sponsored by Safer Routes to School with support from The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign at 6pm
The Giving Tree Band with opening act Mo’ Betta Music

Country folk and driving bluegrass spin out from The Giving Tree Band, whose dense harmonies and rock spirit evoke the enduring magic of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and the Beatles. Eric and Todd Fink—the songwriting powerhouse brothers on guitar and banjo—pen narratives that unfurl with joy and charm. Dubbed “the greenest band in the land” by Mother Earth News, this group performs on instruments made from reclaimed and naturally fallen wood, has produced recordings fueled by solar energy and packaged with recycled and biodegradable materials, and helps maintain its carbon-neutral footprint with bike commutes.

Starting at 6pm, you can browse the Green Fair for products and resources for sustainable practices, and bring your youngsters to the Bike Rodeo sponsored by Safer Routes to School with support from The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign for tips on bike handling and safety.

At 6:30pm, grab a spot in front of the stage for tunes from Mo’ Betta Music. Grade school and high school students from the community perform, gain skills on instruments from the clarinet to the electric guitar, and become more involved socially and academically through this program sponsored by the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center at the University of Illinois.

Location, Parking, and Services

These concerts will be held just southwest of Assembly Hall on First Street in the Research Park. Free parking is available in the lot south of the Caterpillar/SAIC Building at 1901 South First Street.

All performances are free and open to the general public.
Beverages, wine, and food are available from Houlihan’s Restaurant in the concession area locatedat the northwest corner of the Caterpillar/SAIC Building.
Restrooms are available inside the Caterpillar/SAIC Building at 1901 South First Street.

Presented by Krannert Center in association with Fox/Atkins Development, LLC, and the University of Illinois

Corporate Sponsors:
Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon
Illinois Natural History Survey/Prairie Research Institute

Community Partner:
The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign

Additional Information
Visit www.KrannertCenter.com or call 217/333-6280 or 800/KCPATIX (527-2849).
Patrons who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech-impaired may also contact Krannert Center via TTY at 217/333-9714

by Anna Marie Petrarca Gire

She closed the book, placed it on the table, and finally, decided to walk
through the door.

He had arrived, flanked on both sides by two shadowy figures draped in a
color she had never seen. It was light in back of them but so dark in
front. She began to have a difficult time making anything out; the shadows
were becoming blurry and beginning to change colors. She wondered what
would happen if she left. As though sensing her thoughts, the figures
dissolved into a light mist and began rising from the floor. She asked,
“May I leave?” No response. The room was alive with sounds and smells, none
familiar to her. As the room began to brighten, the shadowy figures melted
into the wall, at first discernable, then totally absorbed by the paint
which by now was beginning to run. As fast as that occurred the room was
quiet and the walls solid.
She looked around and found there were three doors, all slightly ajar. She
went to the door to her right, looked in and saw nothing but an empty cold
space void of anything to engage her senses. She ventured in, turned around
several times and began to notice shapes forming, odd shapes. Nothing
looked familiar, nothing looked out of place. She began to enjoy this show
of.. what was happening? She wasn’t afraid, she didn’t know how she felt.
Then she began to feel a sense of newness, like a field of flowers just
emerging from a long winters nap. The flowers were suddenly there, her
favorite, stock, daffodils filling the air with fragrant wisps of smells.
She looked further and saw the sun rising over a hill to her right. A
beautiful sun rise, filled with colors that she had never seen. Music was
playing, soft soothing melodies, the likes of which she had never heard.
She was swept up in a feeling of peace and the start of something. What was
this, should she stay or leave? The sun started to drop, the music subsided
and the flowers retreated back into the ground. She backed up and slowly
left the room, closing the door softly as she left.
She looked around and felt the middle door beckoning to her. She approached
and walked in, feeling safe and serene and was overcome with such a feeling
of love and peace that it took her breath away. Here she heard the flute
playing her name. A bright and steady light brightened the space in front
of her. She wanted to stay and have this feeling blanket her with its
essence, Should she stay? Suddenly everything began to return to normal,
she backed up and reluctantly left the room.
As she exited, she looked to her left and began to walk towards that door.

Entering, she saw light and activity. People going from here to there:
lights, familiar faces, buildings that she recognized, a life that she
knew. Was this for her? She looked longingly at this scene and it felt
right, or did it? People began to fade, buildings disappeared, she heard
her name and thought again, is this for me? Backing out of the room, she
again shut the door and stepped out on to the open space staring at the
doors and then decided to return to her book. Finally, she closed the book,
placed it on the table and eagerly and with great purpose walked through
the door.

Rieva Lesonsky – CEO,
www.GrowBizMedia.com  

I have two friends who quit their jobs to start their own business on July 3 four years ago. They always refer to it as their own, personal “Independence Day.”
Starting your own business is in many ways a declaration of independence. So in honor of July Fourth, I thought I’d take a look at some myths and realities about just how independent you’ll be as a small business owner.
Myth: When you’re a small business owner, you’ll be your own boss.
Reality: As an entrepreneur, you have many bosses. They’re called your customers, and sometimes each of them will be so demanding, you’ll wish for the days when you only had one boss telling you what to do.
Myth: When you’re a small business owner, you can do things however you want to do them.
Reality: No one acts in a vacuum. If you want your business to be successful, you’ll need to test your own ideas against what the market wants. Market research before you start, and customer surveys after you start, will tell you if the way you want to do things is in tune with what the market wants.
Myth: When you’re a small business owner, you’ll have a lot more free time.
Reality: Every small business owner I know is laughing maniacally as they read that. If you expect to have more free time than you did as an employee, you’re going to be disappointed. Prepare to work twice as hard and twice as long.
If these are the realities of owning a business, why does anyone do it? Well, these aren’t the only realities. Being an entrepreneur does offer plenty of opportunities to be creative, set your own course and do what you want to do (just not all the time). Being an entrepreneur is kind of like what they say about having kids or joining the Marines: It’s the toughest job you’ll ever love. And if it’s right for you, you’ll know it—and you’ll love it.
Ready to declare your independence?
A SCORE mentor can help you get your new business off on the right foot.
Visit www.score.org to get matched with a mentor and get free business advice 24/7.
Rieva Lesonsky – CEO, www.GrowBizMedia.com

Rieva is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a content and consulting company specializing in covering small businesses and entrepreneurship. She was formerly Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Magazine and has written several books about small business and entrepreneurship

Senator Wayne Fontana | Brookline District Office930 Brookline Boulevard | Pittsburgh, PA 15226-2106

For months now, we have watched Highmark and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s (UPMC) battle grow over providing services for so many individuals in our region. I have heard from dozens of my constituents saying government must get involved and stopped this from happening. However, what if you are one of the unfortunate individuals who do not have health insurance to receive these services? Imagine being told you can’t see a doctor based on factors you cannot always control. Don’t these people matter too?
After months of partisan debate, in March 2010, Congress narrowly passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in hopes of reducing the nation’s escalating uninsured population. The new mandate, dubbed “Obamacare,” requires uninsured individuals, a bove a certain income level, to purchase health insurance or face penalties which become effective January 1, 2014. In addition, the creation of state insurance exchanges will take place under this act where people and small businesses can buy private coverage from a range of competing insurers. This new law is estimated to extend health coverage for about 32 million uninsured Americans.
The act protects all citizens and adds a safety net by imposing new restrictions on health insurers, barring them from excluding customers with preexisting health conditions as well as requires that all customers be charged the same rates. A wide range of healthy individuals will be needed in order for these new exchanges to be successful and keep rates down. However, individuals will have the ability to “opt out” of purchasing health insurance. If a person decides to opt out of buying coverage, they will incur a penalty starting at $95 or 1 percent of their income in 2014, whichever is greater, growing to $695 or 2.5 percent of their income by 2016.
The Affordable Care Act also requires businesses with 50 or more employees to provide a minimum level of health insurance for each employee, or pay a penalty of $2,000. Qualified businesses would receive a 35 percent tax credit to lower the cost of providing insurance.
Medicaid’s size will be fundamentally restructured and expanded under the new law by raising income levels of those who qualify. For decades, Medicaid has been a health-care benefit available only to people with income levels below the federal poverty line. At the end of May, Pennsylvania administered Medicaid insurance to 2.2 million people. The expansion of Medicaid would include an estimated 800,000 Pennsylvanians and 17 million people nationwide.
The federal government will pay for all the cost of the expansion of Medicaid, apart from additional administrative outlays, for several years. The states’ share of the cost of the expansion will reach 10 percent by 2020. The Health and Human Services Department has the ability to withhold a state’s entire Medicaid allotment if the state does not comply with the Medicaid provisions.

Many leaders and lawmakers across the country feel that this new law is unconstitutional because it forces individuals to purchase insurance as well as increases states’ Medicaid spending. For that reason, 20 states have joined together and challenged the Affordable Care Act, including Pennsylvania. In March, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in several lawsuits over the law and a decision was made by the court on June 28, 2012. Essentially, the Supreme Court upheld President Obama’s health-care overhaul, including the requirement that all nonexempt Americans buy health insurance and the provisions expanding Medicaid, but, the court struck down the requirement that states lose all of their federal Medicaid funding if they decline to participate in the expansion.
Most Republican-led states have been counting on the law to be overturned and have failed to begin the process to set up exchanges. This is the current situation Pennsylvania faces. In fact, Pennsylvania’s Insurance Department has yet to spend any of its $33 million in federal grants to develop the marketplaces. Governor Tom Corbett has said that no decision has been made on whether our state would participate in the Medicaid expansion. The question now remains if Pennsylvania can meet the January 2014 deadline. If our state can’t or doesn’t meet the deadline the federal government will step in and run our health exchanges for us.
Pennsylvania has already joined the more than a dozen states with laws pertaining to the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. In March, the Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Bill 10 which amends the Pennsylvania Constitution to prohibit the government from mandating that an individual obtain health insurance coverage. The General Assembly would need to reapprove the constitutional amendment in their 2013-14 session and then present it to voters before it could become state law.
As a world leader, many nations look to the United States to set the tone for how citizens should be treated and what services should be received, yet we still have millions of people in our country uninsured. Many decades ago, President Harry Truman was the first president to propose a universal health care plan for our country and many unsuccessful attempts have been made thereafter by both Republican and Democratic Presidents and leaders alike. Furthermore, health care is close to one-fifth of the U.S. economy, and we spend about 50 percent more on it than any other industrialized country. However, the United States still remains the only industrialized nation to not have universal coverage for its citizens. What has taken us so long to pass such a measure?
What this new mandate does is offer the promise of guaranteed coverage at affordable prices. Every taxpayer should be entitled to the care they need and we should not be putting more hurdles in the way to prevent such a goal. Pennsylvania has had plenty of time to start to developing health exchanges and instead the administration is pushing constitutional amendments to deny people of their rights. I can only hope that this latest United States Supreme Court ruling will be the final word and let the country know that we need to get down to business so that uninsured families across the United States no longer have to suffer.