---Congressional Black Caucus chair reacts to nine-year high in unemployment---The Congressional Black Caucus recently expressed disappointment with the latest unemployment numbers reported by the U.S. Department of Labor. Here is an excerpt from remarks by U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC): "The unemployment numbers released by the Department of Labor sadly shows that our economy continues on a downward spiral. With the loss of thousands of more jobs and an unemployment rate of 6.1%, it is well past time for the President to reconsider his approach for fixing the economy and creating jobs. The numbers are truly astounding. But these are not just numbers. Behind these numbers are people who cannot find a job. It is truly amazing how much damage the President and the Republican Congress have done to our economy. Some 3.1 million jobs have been lost since January 2001. That is almost 84,000 jobs lost every month. Minorities continue to suffer disproportionately in this weak economy. African American unemployment is at 10.8% and Hispanic unemployment has reached a troubling high of 8.2%. When will this Administration wake up to the reality that people are hurting?

Executive Leadership Council symposiums address Black success in Corporate America--The Executive Leadership Council (ELC), the nation's premier network of the most senior African-American corporate executives in Fortune 500 companies, will present two days of African-American professional development symposiums on July 9 and 10, 2003 (7:30 am - 4:30 pm) at the headquarters of Sears, Roebuck, and Co. in Hoffman Estates, IL. Issues such as African Americans and the price of corporate success, the art of acquiring and managing power at work, and maintaining an appropriate work/ life balance will be addressed at the July 9 workshop --African-American Corporate Women and the Black Gender Gap-- geared toward African-American women in the corporate world. The following day, Black men will be the focus as the Executive Leadership Council presents "African-American Corporate Men Creating a New Vision of Leadership." Panelists and ELC members will discuss the complexity of being a Black man in corporate America. James H. Lowry, Vice President of the Boston Consulting Group will deliver the keynote address. Dr. Price Cobbs, renowned psychiatrist and co-author of Black Rage and Cracking the Corporate Code, will moderate both panel discussions. The ELC partnered with corporate sponsor Sears, Roebuck, and Co. to present a series of regional symposiums that would educate and motivate executives and mid- level managers to strengthen their leadership skills and connection with professional networks of other African-American executives and managers. For more information or to attend, send an email to: jstevens@elcinfo.com or call (202)298-8239.

---Mexico: RLJ Development acquires the Hilton Cancun Beach & Golf Resort---RLJ Development, LLC has announced the addition of the Hilton Cancun Beach & Golf Resort in Mexico to its portfolio of hotels. RLJ acquired the 426-room oceanfront resort for approximately $31.5 million. Previously a Hilton franchised hotel, Hilton Hotels Corporation will now manage the resort property. Robert L. Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of RLJ Development, stated, "We are thrilled to add a full service resort hotel to our growing hotel portfolio, which now stands at twelve, including ten properties within the Hilton Family of Hotels. As the nation's largest African-American-owned hotel company, we plan to aggressively pursue more opportunities at attractive investment prices." Located on more than 150 acres on the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, the Hilton Cancun Beach & Golf Resort mirrors the splendor of ancient Mayan architecture surrounded by sparkling white beaches and the clear Caribbean Sea. The beachfront-contemporary resort features a meticulously landscaped aquatic park and dramatic golf course built around Mayan ruins.

---Awareness of diabetes among Latino/Hispanic Americans is high, but behavior lags---Most Latino/Hispanic Americans with type 2 diabetes do not act on what they know about the disease, according to an American Heart Association survey. According to the poll, more than 92 percent of Latinos/Hispanics with diabetes agree strongly that diet and physical activity are as important as taking medicine; 78 percent said they are willing to increase physical activity to better control their diabetes. Risk factors, such as obesity, physical inactivity and family history of diabetes, are top of mind with Latinos/Hispanics, yet their behavior does not reflect this knowledge, survey findings show. Forty-nine percent reported a body mass index measurement (BMI) in the obese or morbidly obese range. The survey also found that Latinos/Hispanics rely a lot more on family than Caucasians do to make decisions on health. In fact, 20 percent turn first to family members for medical information and counsel, versus 9 percent of Caucasians.

---California: Juneteenth event ''Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo''---
The nation's only touring Black rodeo is coming to California Exposition and State Fair, June 14th and 15th. This season marks the 20th year of producing the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo. The Rodeo begins on Saturday, June 14th at 7:00 p.m. On Sunday, June 15th, an encore performance of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo begins at 3:30 p.m. Named after legendary creator William "Bill" Pickett, the Rodeo has dedicated itself to all Black cowboys and cowgirls of the past who have helped shape the West by hosting a rodeo event in his name. Presented by the 100 Black Men of Sacramento, the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo will feature entertainment, cultural food vendors, gifts, artifacts, souvenir items, and activities for children. The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo is presented in part with the Juneteeth Celebration, which exhibits the many elements of Black history. To purchase tickets, call the Cal Expo box office at 263-3049, or visit the box office online at www.calexpo.com.

---New generation of community college leaders---
With an anticipated 45 percent of community college CEOs expected to retire by 2007, the American Association of Community Colleges has received a $1.9 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to develop a program that seeks to prepare a new generation of leaders for America's largest higher education sector. The two-year grant, Leading Forward, will support the planning stages of a comprehensive national leadership development program to address the growing leader gap at the nation's 1,173 community, junior, and technical colleges. The colleges currently enroll over 10 million students annually -- almost half of all U.S. undergraduates -- and have experienced double-digit enrollment growth for the past three years. The initiative will put particular emphasis on helping colleges transform leadership positions to better fit the diverse needs of a growing and demographically evolving community college population.

---Job Opportunity, Manager of Administrative Services, Kaiser Permanente-IT, Pasadena, CA---With the name, National Operations, you can assume that the range of our activities is huge - not to mention, 24/7 - and you'd be right. In a nutshell, NOPS is a group of 1,900-plus people who provide the day-to-day automation services necessary to support Kaiser Permanente's many medical groups, business partners and millions of members. As in the practice of medicine, the data center of Kaiser Permanente never stops. As a key member of the management team, reporting to the Director, you will join a staff responsible for client services, planning and administration, and ensuring end-to-end availability of systems. You will head up a multi-disciplinary administrative services team that supports KP-IT Operations Initiatives that are critical to wide scope organizational change. As Manager, your activities will be wide ranging and encompass multiple projects, including the Continuous Improvement forum. The Manager we seek will have an MBA degree (or the business equivalent) and 5 years of professional experience in Information Technology Operations, preferably in a large-scale organization comparable to KP-IT. You will need to have substantial consulting experience with at least 2 years in a supervisory role. The ideal candidate will have proven ability as a results-oriented manager who can support the execution of key IT initiatives for organizational change. Finally, the successful candidate will possess a substantial communication skill set, well-developed analytical skills, business acumen and the ability to create partnerships with a range of clients and technical personnel. Find out more about this and other positions by visiting www.kp.org/jobs. For immediate consideration, please apply online or email your resume, indicating Source Code UFC-16458 in the subject line, to monicawest@kpit.org and kpitjobs@kp.org. EOE

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