Enlarge The Rev. Les Schmidt and LaWana Mayfield

Posted: October 6th, 2010 Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman

Mecklenburg Ministries recently hosted a lunchtime meeting on "Immigration and For-Profit Prisons: Who Wins?" at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

LaWana Mayfield and the Rev. Les Schmidt presented their views on the issue on behalf of Grassroots Leadership, which works to help others think critically about socio-economic issues in an effort to end social injustice.

Mayfield is very passionate about immigration issues, particularly the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, or 287g. That law enables local law enforcement officers to hold undocumented immigrants in county jails and report them to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

On the surface, that may not seem like a bad idea, but what Mayfield wants people to understand is that the law fuels funding for for-profit prisons, which are operated by corporations instead of governments.

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Posted: October 5th, 2010 Greg Lacour

PHOTOS BY JAMES WILLAMOR

The Crossroads Correspondents will be previewing restaurants for the Oct. 7 Taste of the World. For more info and to make a reservation, click here.

Lang Van, the venerable Vietnamese restaurant at Eastway and Shamrock drives, doesn’t look like much from the outside. It’s in a humble, boxy, single-story building that practically hides from the street.

Inside, though, the décor is tidy and warm, and owner Dan Nguyen (a woman, despite her first name) complements the interior with her own hospitality. This is a place that, after 21 years, has a regular clientele, and Nguyen knows--and hugs, and serves--all of them.

Nguyen has a remarkable capacity for remembering regulars’ favorite dishes, said her young cousin, Anh Phan, who works at Lang Van along with several members of his family. (Nguyen speaks decent but incomplete English.)

“She tries to follow the tastes of the customer, so it’s kind of unique,” Phan said. “The first time you come here, you order from the menu. But the next time, you don’t need the menu.”

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Posted: October 5th, 2010 Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman

Imagine life without access to the Internet. Concerning, isn't it?

It's that concern that led to the formation of the Alliance for Digital Equality, a non-profit organization that held a daylong summit at JSCU on Oct. 1. Its mission is to be a "non-profit consumer advocacy organization that serves to facilitate and ensure equal access to technology in underserved communities."

If you are like many people, the Internet, whether accessed via computer or smart phone, offers instant connections to banking services, social networks, health care information, news, travel advisories, job listings, coupons and educational opportunities, like college classes and, increasingly, textbooks. And for many businesses, the Internet is critical for reaching customers.

For Morgan Lashley, a senior at Johnson C. Smith University, she can't imagine life without the Internet. She says she relies on the web to help her with research, but, more importantly, she uses it to stay in touch with her husband, who is stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army.

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Posted: October 4th, 2010 Greg Lacour

PHOTOS BY JAMES WILLAMOR

The Crossroads Correspondents will be previewing restaurants for the Oct. 7 Taste of the World. For more info and to make a reservation, click here.

El Rincon Latino (“The Latin Corner”), it turns out, is a description as well as a name. It’s on a corner, occupying a wedge-shaped section of a building that also houses a tax office and convenience store, next to a Firestone and across the street from a warren of government offices.

“Yeah, it’s a triangle,” said Dallas Rodriguez, the garrulous 49-year-old owner, who started up in June. “I’d been after this spot for eight months … because I know it’s going to be a good corner once (the economy) gets going again.”

It’s a cozy space, with a karaoke machine for Friday nights, a disco ball for Saturday dance nights and a grill behind the bar where Rodriguez – a former police officer and contractor from Havana by way of California and Florida – prepares all the meals.

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