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Throughout its history, the NHLBI has been a leader in conducting and supporting research to eliminate health disparities that exist between various segments of the U.S. population. The Institute has not only initiated research projects with significant minority participation in order to compare health status between various populations, but also given high priority to programs that focus exclusively on minority health issues.
Since FY 1991, the Institute has had procedures in place to ensure full compliance with the NIH Policy on Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research. As a result, all NHLBI-supported research that involves human subjects includes minorities, with the exception of a very few projects for which a compelling justification for limited diversity in the study population exists. Thus, all segments of the population, both minority and non-minority, stand to benefit from the Institute?s research programs.
It has long been a goal of the NHLBI to increase the number of individuals from underrepresented groups in biomedical and behavioral research. Selected FY 2005 activities addressing this goal include the following:
The Office of Minority Health Affairs (OMHA) within the OD provides oversight for, and coordinates, supports, and evaluates Institute programs related to minority health outcomes, including research, research training and career development, public outreach, and translation of research findings. The OMHA also coordinates activities to foster greater participation of underrepresented minorities in NHLBI research and research training programs. Selected FY 2005 activities include the following:
See Chapter 13 for additional NHLBI-supported minority research training and career development programs.
The following text describes selected current projects that focus on minority populations and reflect the Institute?s research portfolio related to minority health. Additional information can be found in Chapters 9 through 11.
Heart and Vascular Diseases
Risk Factors
Long-term epidemiologic studies are critical to uncovering risk factors that lead to disease. The Institute has initiated several major studies of heart disease focused significantly or completely on minority populations.
Several investigator-initiated epidemiologic studies are examining gene?environment interactions that increase CVD risk factors among various racial groups. Included among them are studies that compare gene?environment interactions in black populations in Africa, the Caribbean, and selected areas of the United States; determine the genes responsible for the metabolic syndrome, a risk factor for CVD, in 10,000 Chinese sibling pairs; determine the genes responsible for CVD risk factor response to dietary fat changes in blacks; investigate genes influencing changes in blood pressure in response to high- and low-salt diets in a rural Chinese population; and identify and map specific genes that contribute to CVD risk in Mexican Americans.
Scientific evidence is emerging that implicates cellular and inflammatory processes in the development and characteristics of atherosclerotic plaque and the clinical course of CVD. One study seeks to identify cellular, metabolic, and genomic correlates of atherosclerotic plaque characteristics and early changes in the vascular wall in a subset of the ARIC cohort that is predominately black. Another study is elucidating the links between socioeconomic factors, stress, inflammation and hemostasis, and cardiovascular risk in a large and diverse population-based sample.
Several drugs in four widely used classes of noncardiovascular medications (fluoroquinolone and macrolide antibiotics, antipsychotics, and antidepressants) have been shown to be pro-arrhythmic and thus increase the risk of sudden cardiac death. Investigators are conducting a study, using a large and comprehensive data set of about 800,000 people, 40 percent blacks, to understand the role of these medications on the risk of sudden cardiac death. Research findings will provide information that clinicians need to prescribe these widely used medications in a way that minimizes the risk of sudden cardiac death.
An ancillary study to MESA is seeking to determine whether impairment of myocardial perfusion reserve can serve as a marker of CHD. Scientists hypothesize that impaired myocardial perfusion reserve indicates the presence of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis and coronary microvascular disease. Developing a new measure of subclinical disease would enable early interventions and lifestyle modifications to prevent CHD. Fifty percent of the population will be Hispanic. Other ancillary studies to MESA are investigating progression of carotid atherosclerosis, association of risk factors with arteriosclerosis measured in retinal vessels, and the relationship of sex hormones to subclinical CVD and other risk factors in men and women.
The Institute is supporting additional epidemiologic investigations that include a study of Chagas? disease? a leading cause of heart disease throughout Latin America?to identify genetic determinants of susceptibility to infection and differential disease pathogenesis in a black population residing in rural Brazil; a project to use pooled data from nine existing U.S. studies to compare between blacks and whites, CHD incidence and mortality rates, exposure?outcome relationship, patterns of comorbidity, and population attributable risk; and a study to evaluate and compare the extent of atherosclerosis and risk factors for CHD in three different populations: U.S., Japanese American in Hawaii, and Japanese in Japan.
Treatment and Prevention
Low-dose aspirin is cost effective and efficacious for the prevention and treatment of CHD. However, some individuals, perhaps because of genetic variations across individuals, do not respond to the treatment. A genetic study in high-risk siblings of patients with premature CHD, along with their adult offspring, is seeking to determine whether low-dose aspirin responsiveness is heritable and whether it is associated with specific variations in candidate genes or defined haplotypes; 50 percent of the participants are black.
Many evidence-based guidelines for treatment of risk factors or disease have been developed, but they are often not adhered to by patients?especially minority populations? or adopted in routine clinical practice. The Institute has initiated the following activities to address this important problem:
Although great progress has been achieved in reducing CVD morbidity and mortality in the United States over the past 40 years, minorities have not shared fully in the progress and continue to have higher CVD morbidity. To address this problem, the Institute has initiated programs directed at reducing cardiovascular disparities:
The NHLBI, through its education programs (see Chapter 2), disseminates health information to physicians, health care professionals, patients, and the public on ways to prevent or treat diseases within the Institute?s mandate. It has developed the following community-based programs to combat cardiovascular health disparities among four major cultural/ethnic groups: blacks, Hispanics, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
In addition to the activities mentioned above, the Institute has prepared publications on CVD prevention for minority populations. They include the following:
The educational materials listed throughout this chapter may be obtained from the NHLBI public Web site or through the NHLBI online catalog.
During the past decade, research studies have shown a lower incidence of atrial fibrillation in blacks compared to whites. However, the picture for ventricular fibrillation, a more lethal disturbance of heart rhythm, is far less sanguine. Blacks with ventricular fibrillation were less likely than whites to undergo electrophysiologic testing and, when discharged from the hospital, had higher mortality rates over the next year. In addition, blacks with out-of-hospital arrest suffered more ventricular arrhythmias than whites in every age group. Survival rates after cardiac arrest were 3.25 times greater for whites than blacks.
The NHLBI is supporting basic and genetic research on cardiac arrhythmias to elucidate the mechanisms involved in control of heart beat/rhythm and to develop improved therapies for all ethnic/racial groups in the United States. One research group has found a gene variant in blacks that produces a small increase in risk of arrhythmia. In combination with certain medications, low blood potassium levels, or structural heart disease, such a gene variant might further magnify the risk of life-threatening arrhythmias. Another group is studying selected genes and their variants that are likely candidates for modulating cardiac rhythm, may contribute to variations in response to drug treatment of atrial fibrillation, and may alter healthy heart rhythm patterns.
High Blood Pressure
Etiology and Pathophysiology
High blood pressure is a serious health problem that is especially prevalent and severe among minorities. Institute-initiated studies addressing the etiology and pathophysiology of high blood pressure include:
The NHLBI supports a number of investigator- initiated studies to identify genes linked to hypertension in blacks, Mexican Americans, and whites to determine if part of the disparity in prevalence can be attributed to genetic differences among the groups. Genes under investigation include those associated with the renin-angiotensin system, the autonomic nervous system, and sodium transport.
The Institute supports a number of projects to examine antecedents of hypertension in children to determine racial differences in blood pressure regulation. One study is determining relationships between cardiovascular reactivity in adolescent normotensive blacks and development of pathobiologic markers of hypertension risk (i.e., increased resting blood pressure, left ventricular mass, and relative wall thickness) later in life. Another is investigating the genetics of cardiovascular reactivity following stress in black youths.
Researchers also are examining the influence of SES and ethnic discrimination on stress reactivity to determine if it provides a pathophysiologic link to CVD in blacks. One group is examining the combined influence of low SES and ethnicity on development of behavioral risk factors (i.e., hostility, anxiety, and heightened cardiovascular reactivity to stress) in a group of adolescents; 50 percent of them are black. Another group is assessing the relationship between early life exposure to socioeconomic stressors, such as adverse socioeconomic conditions, low levels of social integration, and racial discrimination, and development of hypertension in blacks.
Investigators have observed that blacks have an augmented blood pressure response to salt. A study to improve understanding of the genetic basis and phenotypic characterization of salt-sensitive hypertension in blacks has located a specific region of the kidney where sodium is reabsorbed more extensively in blacks than in whites.
Impaired sodium regulation also appears to be linked to the development of hypertension. Scientists are investigating the effects of stress on salt retention and measuring hormonal variables known to influence sodium regulation. One study is seeking to determine whether the mechanisms regulating sodium retention differ between blacks and whites. Researchers found that black youths have a slower salt excretion rate in response to stress than white youths. Another study is examining the role of sodium and obesity in hypertension development among blacks living in three different environments: Nigeria, Jamaica, and Chicago. In a twin study consisting of 41 percent blacks, scientists are investigating sodium retention as a mechanism augmenting systemic vascular resistance and changes in vascular function, ventricular structure, and blood presssure.
The role of dietary factors, particularly macronutrients, in the etiology of high blood pressure is another area of investigation. Scientists are conducting epidemiologic studies among participants with diverse ethnicity, SES, and dietary habits in four countries to determine the impact of selected dietary components (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, amino acids, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, antioxidants, fiber, and caffeine) on blood pressure. Another study is seeking to identify the link between healthy diet, genetic factors, and their underlying biological mechanisms.
Treatment and Prevention
Identifying effective treatment strategies for various populations requires large-scale studies with representative populations in sufficient numbers.
Although it is well known that reducing hypertension will reduce CVD rates, the implementation of evidence-based guidelines for hypertension treatment in clinical practice is not very high. To address this issue, the NHLBI initiated a program to improve hypertension con-trol rates in blacks, a group with the highest prevalence and earliest onset of hypertension and with a disparately high premature cardiovascular mortality and morbidity:
Understanding racial differences in blood pressure control is an area of major interest for the Institute. Scientists are examining whether variations in genes of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system predict differences in blood pressure response to diuretic therapy among hypertensive blacks and whites. Research also is being focused on variations in the ACE gene between blacks and whites to explain racial differences in the antihypertensive responsiveness to ACE inhibitors.
The Institute supports a number of investigator- initiated studies to evaluate various interventions to improve hypertension management. One study is testing the effectiveness of a two-staged intervention involving telemonitoring of blood pressure and telephone-based nurse care management in 12 community-based clinics that serve economically disadvantaged, largely black and Hispanic populations. Another study is evaluating two interventions compared to usual care (regular primary care clinic visits) in blacks with hypertension who have several risk factors (smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and high sodium intake) for CVD. The interventions include the following: (1) simultaneous intervention (smoking cession, increased exercise, and decreased salt intake) in a clinical session, with stage-specific telephone support and follow-up and (2) sequential intervention of each targeted behavior presented individually at a clinic session, with stage-specific telephone support and follow-up.
Anger and hostility have been demonstrated as risk factors for hypertension. Scientists are evaluating an anger management intervention in a hospital setting with 46 percent blacks to determine if it will lead to improved blood pressure and psychosocial risk factors (e.g., reduce depression).
The NHLBI (see Chapter 2) has developed a number of outreach activities to inform minority populations of the importance of blood pressure control. Included among them are a toll-free number that provides materials on hypertension in English or Spanish; mini telenovelas (Más vale prevenir que lamentar), ?health moments? to reinforce CVD prevention for local Spanish-language television stations; a Spanish version of the High Blood Pressure Education Month Kit; and several publications for health professionals, patients, and the public. Below are some examples:
NHBPEP Coordinating Committee Activities
Member organizations of the NHBPEP coordinating committee have continuing education programs on the prevention and treatment of hypertension that are focused on their minority members. They also support hypertension prevention and awareness in community-based settings such as screening and church activities, community awareness campaigns, and media events.
High Serum Cholesterol
The Institute supports a number of investigator- initiated projects to identify genes that influence the lipoprotein profile within various racial and ethnic groups. Research findings could offer an explanation for differences in susceptibility to CHD found between various racial and ethnic groups.
Variation in hepatic lipase activity is associated with differences in plasma concentrations of HDL and LDL synthesis and catabolism. Researchers are investigating whether ethnic differences in hepatic lipase activity are responsible for the well-known differences in plasma HDL concentrations found in blacks and whites. Genetic studies are being conducted on a population that is 39 percent black.
The NHLBI is supporting an investigator-initiated study among minority preschool children to track the long-term effectiveness of nutrition interventions on blood cholesterol and diet. Additional potential risk factors, such as increased blood pressure, obesity, and intention to smoke, will also be monitored.
The NCEP (see Chapter 2) has prepared the following publications on blood cholesterol for minority audiences.
The latest NHANES data show a continued rise in the proportion of Americans who are overweight; black women are especially at risk. To understand the reasons for the racial disparity among women, the Institute initiated a long-term program, the NHLBI Growth and Health Study (NGHS), to examine the development of obesity and CVD risk factors in a biracial cohort of young girls. The study, which ended in FY 2000, found black girls consumed more calories and a higher percentage of calories from fat and watched more television than white girls. An investigator-initiated study using the NGHS cohort, starting at ages 18 to 19 years, is examining the changes in cardiac output and total peripheral resistance that occur with developing obesity and their influence on ethnic difference in blood pressure regulation. Another project, using data from the NGHS, is examining CHD risk factors in black and white girls to identify genes involved in black?white differences in lipid metabolism and obesity.
Black women have been shown to manifest lower resting energy expenditure than white women. Scientists seeking to improve our understanding of ethnicity, genetics, energy metabolism, and obesity development will examine the relationship between two genes implicated in energy metabolism and resting energy expenditure in high-risk blacks.
Menopause-related coronary risk was previously believed to be associated with a gain in total body fat. Research, however, suggests that the location of the fat, not the total fat per se, is the key risk factor. An investigator-initiated study is seeking to determine if indices of central adiposity, particularly intra-abdominal fat, predict coronary events better than indices of total fat. The study is also examining the role of central adiposity with altered glucose and lipid metabolism and elevated blood pressure; 48 percent of the population is black.
Treatment and Prevention
The NHLBI has initiated several programs to treat or prevent obesity.
The Institute supports a number of investigator-initiated studies on the effectiveness of obesity prevention and control interventions among diverse populations. One study is testing the effectiveness of weight-control interventions (involving diet, physical activity, and psychosocial and familial influences) administered during the critical transition period from prepuberty to puberty in black girls at high risk for obesity. Two studies are evaluating the effectiveness of weight control programs to prevent weight gain in a predominately black population that has recently completed a smoking cessation program. The blood pressure status of the participants, who are prehyper-tensive or hypertensive at the beginning of the studies, will be monitored.
Hispanic parents and children are participating in a program that targets physical activity and dietary behaviors in a microenvironment (i.e., home environment) and in a macroenvironment (i.e., apartment complex, schools, grocery stores, parks, restaurants). Community health workers (promotoras) are working with the families and the community to increase awareness and promote environmental change. Preadolescent black girls are the subject of (1) a study to test the efficacy of an after-school dance program and (2) a family-based intervention involving reduced use of television, videotapes, and video games to reduce weight gain.
Obesity is one of the major health challenges facing American Indian children and has serious implications for the development of type 2 diabetes. A school-based intervention, augmented with a family intervention, is focusing on reducing excess weight gain by increasing physical activity and healthy dietary practices in kindergarten and first-grade American Indian children. A project with a subject population consisting of Asians, Hispanics, and whites is testing an integrated school- and community-based intervention involving physical activity and diet to reduce the prevalence of obesity.
Blacks at high risk of CVD often have limited success in weight loss and lifestyle change programs. A study was initiated to examine the role of social support, particularly from family members and friends, to facilitate weight loss and related dietary and physical activity changes in blacks.
The NHLBI OEI (see Chapter 2) has prepared health information on losing excess weight for minorities.
Physical Inactivity
The Institute has initiated research on the effectiveness of an intervention program to encourage greater physical activity among adolescent girls.
The NHLBI supports several investigator-initiated studies on strategies to increase physical activity among minority populations. Included among them are studies to examine the effect of vigorous exercise on reduction of childhood obesity in black girls. A school-based study is evaluating the effects of vigorous exercise programs on decreasing the accretion of general and visceral adiposity in black girls.
An ancillary study to an Institute-initiated program to reduce the decline in physical activity in adolescent girls (TAAG) is investigating the influence of community characteristics (e.g., street design, access to public transportation, facilities for physical activity, population mix, socioeconomic mix of the neighborhood) on physical activity levels and body mass index; approximately 50 percent of the girls are minority. Two other studies are seeking to determine the factors that lead to decline in physical activity in adolescent girls. They include the effects of previous exposure to physical activity intervention, race and ethnicity, weight, psychosocial influences, and the environment.
Physical inactivity among children is often attributed to the lack of open space, lack of recreational equipment, and fear by parents for the safety of children playing outdoors. A study is being conducted to determine if an intervention that changes these neighborhood features in a low-income, inner-city neighborhood will increase physical activity in children.
Scientists have observed an age-related decline in aerobic capacity, but have not been able to discern the effects of physical activity, body fat, and genetic variation on its rate of change. They also have little understanding about how the rate of change in aerobic capacity during early and middle adulthood affects CVD development. An ancillary, investigator-initiated study being conducted in conjunction with the Year 20 CARDIA examination is addressing these issues. Data from this study should increase understanding of the interrelationships of cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and CVD-related risk factors and endpoints, and may provide the basis for more extensive evidence-based recommendations on the role of fitness in cardiovascular health; 46 percent of the participants are black.
The Institute has prepared the following publications for minorities on the importance of physical activity and ways to become more physically active.
The Institute also has developed a Web-based application on physical activity for lay health educators in English and Spanish, which can be found at http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/salud/pa/index.htm.
Smoking among minorities has increased significantly compared with whites. To determine the causes of the increase, the Institute is supporting an investigator-initiated study in a predominately minority population to examine factors that prompt them to initiate smoking. In addition, the study seeks to identify predictors of cessation.
The Institute is also supporting a number of studies of smoking intervention and follow-up cessation mainten-ance that specifically target minorities. Two studies are evaluating the effectiveness of smoking cessation programs for smokers who seek treatment at the hospital emergency department. One study involves patients who suffer from acute respiratory illness; approximately 35 percent are minorities. The other targets Chinese American patients hospitalized with CVD, pulmonary disease, or diabetes mellitus. A third study is seeking to determine if the addition of a physical activity interven-tion improves smoking cessation; 45 percent of the participants are blacks.
Two types of pharmacologic therapies (nicotine replacement therapy and sustained-release bupropion) have been approved by the FDA for smoking cessation in the United States. Scientists are comparing the ability of each drug alone or in combination to increase initial and long-term smoking cessation rates in young low-income and minority smokers. Another study is evalu-ating the efficacy of a weight loss drug intervention to prevent weight gain in obese individuals participating in a smoking cessation program; 44 percent of the participants are black.
The Institute has prepared the following publications on smoking cessation for minorities.
Psychosocial Factors
Major depression is a risk factor in the development of ischemic heart disease and for death after an acute MI. Investigator-initiated research is seeking to determine the pathways that link depression to physiological mechan-isms in post-MI patients. One study is examining the link between the severity of depressive symptoms to the inflammatory process implicated in atherogenesis by focusing on the basal expression of cytokines and cell adhesion molecules on blood monocytes. Another is focused on the autonomic nervous system and its link to depression. A third study is investigating the role of platelets, platelet aggregation, and adhesion in patients with major depression. Approximately a third of the population in the studies is black.
The NHLBI is interested in the effect of depression, anxiety, and lack of social support on prognosis after a CHD event. An investigator-initiated study is examining the efficacy of individual and group therapy in post-MI patients who are socially isolated or clincally depressed. Scientists will be measuring biological risk factors (e.g., lipids, adiposity, coagulation factors) and possible subclinical markers of disease (e.g. carotid intima-media thickness, coronary calcification); 34 percent of the participants are black.
The Institute supports investigator-initiated research on the role of race and ethnicity, psychosocial and environmental factors, and low SES in the development of CHD. Scientists are investigating the contribution of biobehavioral factors (hostility, anxiety, and heightened cardiovascular reactivity to stress) in the etiology, pathogenesis, and course of CHD. Racial differences in stress-induced physiologic responses also are being examined. Other investigators are focused on the relationships of psychosocial stress, sleep disordered breathing, and nocturnal physiological measures with emerging risk factors and subclinical CVD; 50 percent of the participants are black.
Investigators are interested in the effects of race and psychosocial factors, such as hostility, on glucose metabolism. A study was initiated to determine how hostility is differentially related to glucose metabolism in blacks and whites. Research findings may increase understanding of the differences in the etiology of diabetes in the two groups.
Additional areas of interest include the genetic basis of aggression and the relationships between risk-promoting variables (psychosocial stress, smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity); presumed mediating variables (sympathetic nervous system activity and insulin metab-olism); and CHD risk factors. Fifty to sixty percent of the participants are black or Hispanic.
Diabetes mellitus is a strong risk factor for CVD. Its prevalence is increasing due to the significant increase of obesity and physical inactivity in the population, espe-cially among blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians. To address this growing problem, the Institute is sup-porting an investigator-initiated study on defining the relationship between the overall dose of endurance exer-cise training and the corresponding response of meta-bolic risk factors in an overweight and obese biracial female population. Another study will determine if adolescents with type 2 diabetes have a high risk of developing clinical CVD in their late 20s or 30s. Scien-tists are using noninvasive imaging techniques for detecting subclinical atherosclerosis to measure CVD development in a predominatly black population.
Hypertension and diabetes are major contributors to CVD and occur disproportionately in blacks. In particular, black women seem to have earlier disease onset and poorer outcomes. Scientists are investigating the link between hypertension and type 2 diabetes and the relative excess of androgen found in black women to determine whether insulin resistance, excess androgen, and endothelial dysfunction contribute to accelerated vascular injury in blacks.
The NHLBI supports clinical trials to determine the benefits of various strategies to reduce CVD among patients with diabetes or treat patients with coronary artery disease and diabetes.
An investigator-initiated study will evaluate the effectiveness of a multiple risk factor intervention (diet, exercise, stress management, social support, smoking cessation) targeting postmenopausal Hispanic women with type 2 diabetes.
Lung Diseases
The NHLBI supports research on a number of lung diseases, such as asthma, sarcoidosis, and TB, which disproportionately affect minorities. The following section provides examples of research to address health disparities in lung diseases.
Etiology and Pathophysiology
The NHLBI has initiated several studies to determine the etiology and pathophysiology of asthma.
The Institute also supports investigator-initiated projects on the etiology and pathophysiology of asthma. One study is using genomic screening to search for the genetic basis of asthma in a homogeneous Hispanic population in Costa Rica; another study is seeking to identify positional gene candidates for airway hyperresponsiveness and compare their association with asthma between two asthmatic groups: a white population on Tangier Island, VA, and a black population from Barbados; and a third study seeks to establish the link between specific genotypic variants and phenotypic markers, and to elucidate the immunological pathways that contribute to asthma severity in blacks from Harlem.
Latinos carry a disproportionate burden of asthma, yet few investigators studying the genetics of asthma have focused on this group, partly due to the complexity of the Latino gene pool. A recently initiated study is developing and testing new methods to correct for population stratification due to racial admixture, a key problem confounding genetic studies in the Latino population. The project focuses on data from the NHLBI-supported Genetics of Asthma in Latino Americans (GALA) to assess population stratification.
Occupational and environmental factors are known to trigger asthma symptoms. An investigator-initiated study is focusing on understanding the mechanisms by which occupational or environmental factors trigger the onset of asthma among low-income, urban blacks and Hispanics. Another study is examining the association of early exposure to endotoxin (which appears to promote the development of the immune system), nitrogen dioxide, and aeroallergens (which trigger asthma exacerbations); obesity; physical inactivity; and environmental tobacco smoke on the prevalence, persistence, and incidence of asthma in black and Hispanic children enrolled in inner-city Head Start programs.
Circadian change in airway function is an important aspect of asthma, as more than 70 percent of deaths and 80 percent of respiratory arrests occur during sleep. Forcusing on nocturnal asthma, researchers are investigating the mechanisms that cause the changes in airway function that lead to exacerbation of symptoms; 36 percent of the population is minority.
Treatment and Control
The Institute has initiated research to identify optimal drug strategies for treatment and management of asthma. Because the burden of asthma disproportionately affects minority children, it is important for them to be well represented in clinical trials.
The Institute is also supporting investigator-initiated studies focusing on finding effective treatment for various populations. One study is examining the effect of steroids on enhanced alpha-adrenergic vascular responsiveness in asthma; 77 percent of the participants are minority. Another study is using preexisting, well- characterized asthma patient cohorts to identify genetic variants that can predict therapeutic response to asthma drugs. Scientists are interested in the influence of race/ethnicity on the genetic factors associated with asthma therapeutic responses.
Translational Activities
Ensuring full use of modern asthma treatment strategies is an important goal of the NHLBI. The Institute is supporting an investigator-initiated study to determine the effectiveness of an intervention that is removing barriers to preventive care to improve asthma management and lower asthma morbidity. Scientists are using a Breathmobile to deliver asthma screening to black children attending Head Start Programs and a special consultation service to communicate directly with the parents about asthma management. Another study among low-income, inner-city children with asthma attending preschool is testing a bilingual intervention program to improve asthma management; 60 percent of the participants are Hispanic and 40 percent are black.
Additional studies to improve asthma management among minority groups include a study to determine whether shared decision making in choosing asthma therapy between patients and physicians improves adherence in a patient population consisting of 82 percent minorities and a study to test whether individualized interventions will improve asthma management in a black and Hispanic population. A third study seeks to improve asthma management by teaching children with asthma to recognize symptoms of the presence of airflow obstruction; 42 percent of the participants are black and 6 percent are Hispanic.
Two randomized controlled trials are being conducted among patients recruited at the time of an emergency department visit for asthma exacerbation. One study is testing an intervention to enhance knowledge, self- efficacy, and asthma-related social support; 40 percent of the patients are minority. The other focuses on young black children recruited at the time of an emergency department visit for asthma exacerbation. Investigators are testing the effectiveness of an intervention strategy that includes case management, telephone contacts, and a monetary incentive to increase follow-up visits to primary care providers.
Three studies are evaluating the benefits of working with public school systems to improve adherence to asthma management. In Birmingham, scientists are evaluating the impact of school-based supervised asthma therapy on asthma exacerbations in a predominately black population with moderate-to-severe asthma. In New York, they are testing the ability of an intervention that includes in-school intensive asthma education to 9th- and 10th-grade students who have persistent asthma and intensive asthma education for their community physicians to improve asthma morbidity; 90 percent of the participants are black. In Detroit, investigators are developing and evaluating computer-based instructions and peer counseling for black teens with asthma.
Chronic environmental tobacco smoke exposure, particularly from parental smoking, is associated with more severe asthma, increased incidence of emergency department visits, life-threatening attacks, and prolonged time to recovery from asthma exacerbation requiring hospitalization. A study is being conducted to evaluate an intervention tailored to parental stage of change regarding smoking practice, to reduce asthma crisis care used by children with persistent asthma.
The NAEPP (see Chapter 2) has developed easy-to-read materials on asthma treatment and control directed to audiences with low literacy.
Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease of unknown etiology characterized by persistent granulomas with damage to surrounding tissue. The Institute has initiated a program to determine the immunopathogenesis of granulomatous inflammation found in sarcoidosis, including the role of predisposing factors, the immune components involved in the formation of granulomas, and the defective regulatory immune response.
Investigator-initiated studies on the causes of sarcoidosis include a study to identify genes linked to sarcoidosis susceptibility in blacks and to determine if hereditary susceptibility predisposes blacks to sarcoidosis, and a project to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the immunologic and inflammatory processes that ultimately lead to end-stage fibrosis in progressive pulmonary sarcoidosis; 50 percent of the participants are black.
Sleep Disorders
Sleep apnea is a common disorder that disproportionately affects blacks and is associated with an increase risk of CVD; it is particularly prevalent in heart failure patients. An Institute-initiated program is assessing the interrelationship between sleep disorders and heart failure, and the mechanisms leading to cardiovascular stress when the two interact.
The NHLBI supports research on the etiology, pathophysiology, and consequences of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), a condition characterized by repetitive interruptions in breathing.
The Institute also supports a wide spectrum of investigator-initiated projects to elucidate cardiovascular and other health consequences of SDB. Ongoing studies in various community settings are assessing the health risks of SDB within specific ethnic populations, including blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians. A study of sleep in black families will investigate whether sleep problems contribute to diabetes, and the potential relationship to CVD. Characterization of how SDB occurs within family groups is helping to identify potential genetic risk factors that may allow early iden-tification and treatment of high-risk individuals. A community-based study of sleep in Hispanics is assessing the prevalence and awarenesss of sleep disorders.
Treatment and Control
The NHLBI has initiated a multisite clinical trial to find effective treatments for sleep apnea.
An investigator-initiated study will assess the impact of continuous positive airway pressure on functional outcomes in milder obstructive sleep apnea. The minority participation at U.S. sites is 46 percent, but is 13 percent of the total minority participation when Canadian sites are included.
The Institute has initiated genetic studies to characterize genes associated with TB susceptibility and host immune responses to infection.
Treatment and Control
The NHLBI supports a number of investigator- initiated studies focused on understanding the relationship of the immune system to TB. Most of the patients are from minority populations with HIV. One group is seeking to identify the correlates of protective immunity in a Mexican American population in order to aid development of anti-TB vaccines. Another group is conducting a Phase I safety trial on a vaccine with a patient population consisting of 85 percent minorities. A third group is examining the role of interferon-gamma in the pathogenesis of TB among Hispanics with and without HIV. A fourth group is identifying and characterizing host factors that predispose Asians to develop TB. In predominately minority populations in the United States, a new study will compare the effectiveness of adding aerosolized interferon-gamma to the usual treatment regimen for advanced TB.
The NHLBI also supports research to improve TB control among minority populations. One project is evaluating educational strategies to improve adherence to medication regimens and regular clinic visits among Hispanic adolescents infected with TB. Another study, located in the Harlem community of New York City, is testing a new strategy to promote adherence to therapy among inner-city TB patients. Both programs are outgrowths of behavioral research programs begun by the Institute in 1995.
Building on the foundation laid by the Tuberculosis Academic Award program, the NHLBI is supporting a consortium of five TB curriculum centers.
Blood Diseases
The NHLBI supports basic and clinical research on SCD and Cooley?s anemia with the goal of curing the disorders or improving patient care.
Sickle Cell Disease
Basic Research
SCD is an inherited blood disorder that produces chronic anemia, periodic episodes of pain, and end organ damage. It affects about 1 in 500 blacks and 1 in 1,000 Hispanics. Since 1972, the NHLBI has supported an extensive research program to improve understanding of the pathophysiology of SCD and identify better approaches for its diagnosis and treatment and for prevention of complications.
Hydroxyurea is used to treat patients with SCD. It can prevent some of the vasoocclusive complications of the disease, an effect due in part to increase fetal hemoglobin (HbF) production. The treatment can improve the clinical course of the disease and prolong survival in some patients. Investigator-initiated studies are seeking to discover genes that regulate HbF level and HbF response to hydroxyurea.
In 2005, the NHLBI cosponsored two working groups with the NIH Office of Rare Diseases and the National Human Genome Research Institute. The first, entitled ?An NIH Strategic Plan for the Development of Globin Gene Therapy for Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease and Cooley?s Anemia,? brought together leading investigators in the globin gene transfer field as well as patient advocates, the FDA, and industry representatives to discuss how the NHLBI can best facilitate translation of hemoglobin gene transfer into clinical trials for SCD and beta-thalassemia. The other, ?Barriers to Late-Stage Drug Development for Hemoglobinopathies,? brought together experts from the NIH, drug companies, contract research organizations, and academia to evaluate options for the best ways to expedite drug development for hemoglobin disorders and other rare diseases.
The NHLBI addressed another area of serious concern for sickle cell patients, in 2005, by supporting a meeting on the ?Renal and Urologic Complications in Sickle Cell Disease.? The working group assembled hematologists, renal specialists, and urologists to discuss the research needs and opportunities associated with the renal and urologic system problems in patients with SCD.
Clinical Research
The NHLBI is committed to finding improved treatments and ultimately a cure for SCD and other hemoglobinopathies. Institute-initiated studies have begun to yield therapies that will alleviate the symptoms of sickle cell anemia and procedures that should ultimately provide a cure.
The NHLBI is supporting several transplant-related clinical studies that are seeking to reach minority populations. To ensure increased awareness and equitable opportunities for participation, the studies support bilingual transplant center personnel and provide public Web pages, educational materials, and informed consent documents in Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese. In addition, focus groups have been held to identify barriers to participation.
The Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation (COBLT) Study was just completed in 2005. The COBLT bank contained more than 8,000 cord blood units; approximately 57 percent were from minority donors. Approximately 30 percent of the COBLT transplant patients were minority.
Each year in the United States approximately 1,500 children are diagnosed with sickle cell anemia, and 30 to 50 children with thalassemia. A recent retrospective analysis of 44 children who were transplanted with sibling cord blood for SCD or thalassemia showed that matched sibling cord blood transplantation offers the potential for a cure.
Transplants for patients with sickle cell anemia are performed at many centers across the United States, with few performed at a single center. To promote a unified strategy for sharing data, the NHLBI, with support from the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, awarded a grant supplement to the International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry to collect data on demographics and outcomes of patients with sickle cell anemia who received a blood or marrow transplant.
Outcomes Research
In 2002 and 2003, the NHLBI held a workshop and three working groups to address the needs of adult SCD patients. One high priority recommendation was to develop and validate a health-related quality of life instrument specifically for adults with SCD. Subsequent working groups of consumers, clinicians, and researchers identified issues that are unique to SCD patients, such as interactions with the health care system and the economic burden of living with SCD. In 2005, the Institute awarded a 3-year contract to develop a health-related quality of life questionnaire to be used in clinical studies.
The NHLBI has developed a number of publications on SCD that target minorities.
Cooley?s Anemia
Cooley?s anemia is an inherited disorder of red blood cells that affects primarily people of Mediterranean, African, Southeast Asian, Chinese, and Asiatic Indian origin. In 2000, the Institute initiated a program to establish a network of clinical research centers to evaluate new therapeutic agents. Research efforts include developing oral chelators to remove iron overload caused by repetitive transfusion therapy, testing drugs to enhance fetal hemoglobin production, and examining gene therapy approaches to cure the disease. A registry with samples has been established to foster genomic and proteomic studies. International collaborations have also been establised.
Investigator-initiated studies include efforts to develop oral chelators to remove the iron overload caused by repetitive transfusion therapy; exploration of hormone therapy for patients surviving into their teens; testing of drugs intended to enhance fetal hemoglobin production (hydroxyurea, butyrate, and decitabine); investigation of gene therapy approaches to cure the disease; prevention of bone diseases; optimum treatment of hepatitis; treatment of heart disease and iron overload; noninvasive ways of measuring iron burden; and efforts to improve the safety of the Nation?s blood supply.
Women?s Health Initiative
Coronary heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis are the most common causes of death, disability, and impaired quality of life in postmenopausal women. The WHI (see Chapters 2 and 11) is addressing the benefits and risks of HT, changes in dietary patterns, and calcium/vitamin D supplements in disease prevention. Several of the centers have recruited primarily minority populations: blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and American Indians. The Clinical Trial recruited 12,607 minorities and the Observational Study recruited 15,658. Overall, of the 161,809 postmenopausal women recruited into the WHI, 17 percent were minorities.


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My Nonprofit Reviews
Trudie P.
Review for Top Paw Rescue Inc, Hollywood, FL, USA
I've known Joanna from Top-Paw since 2009. Way back then myself and a friend adopted 2 kittens from them for her daughter and Joanna was more than help ful. Also back around then and 2010 they helped to TNR cats/kittens for me that were coming to my feeding station. Never did she complain or say she didn't have time or anything like that...it was a phone call and the help was there. I have received good advise regarding different animal situations from Joanna and was fortunate that she picked me to foster one of her rescue dogs named Samantha a little over a year ago. Of course Samantha is still with me and Joanna could not be happier knowing this precious soul is in great hands. I wish more local rescue people would be more down to earth and just be willing to help no matter what the circumstance...I took her to BCAC once to pick up a pittie girl that she was so worried about...She sat in the back of the truck with that doggy and held her like a baby. To me this was a sure sign that she is indeed a pure at heart dog lover and guarded her with her life. Dedicated and real about what she does is what's important. I'm happy to have maintained a "friendship" also all this time. Thanks for all your help ever Joanna !!!! Love Trudie and all the furry kids !!!
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How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
A lot
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Very Well
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
Thank you so much for this! I appreciate the help you have given me in return :)

subset: commoncrawl


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The NSWRL has confirmed Brad Fittler will take the reins as NSW Blues coach for 2018 and 2019!
10 mins ago
Wests Tigers will bring a beach theme to Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford, on Saturday, May 5, for the clash with the Melbourne Storm.
The main game sees the home team, Wests Tigers, on the back of consecutive wins against Cronulla and the Bulldogs, take on the undefeated competition leaders in the Storm at 7.30pm.
Lining up for Wests Tigers will be Central Coast juniors Chris Heighington and Ryan O


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Johannesburg - A tax to fund the government's national health insurance (NHI) system will not be introduced in the short term, deputy director general public finance in the National Treasury Andrew Donaldson was reported as saying this week.The Hospital Association of South Africa (Hasa) said on Friday that Donaldson had indicated that considering South Africa's constrained fiscus, it would be difficult to raise additional taxes at this stage.He said discussion papers would be released early next year before financing arrangements for healthcare would be changed.Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan has raised several options for increasing the funding required for NHI, but "no decision had been taken on specific funding arrangements", Donaldson said.There would also be continued provision for the revitalisation of hospitals, with major rebuilding projects such as at Chris Hani-Baragwanath hospital.According to the Hasa statement, Donaldson said that increasing expenditure on public healthcare from 4% to 6.2% of gross domestic product - as estimated in the green paper on NHI - would place a substantial strain on the country's public finances.He also highlighted that the shortage of supplies, nurses and doctors in the public sector would limit the amount that could be spent on NHI."A great deal of work also needs to be done to address bureaucratic barriers to service delivery," he said."Merging public and private procurement arrangements will be an important part of healthcare reforms."The integration of supply chain management between public and private sectors could help lower costs and bring modern logistics into the delivery of healthcare in the public sector," he said.
To counteract the shortage of doctors in state hospitals, follow the Austrlian route and 'force' ALL doctors (icluding those in private practise) to set aside 2 afternoons a week for what they call "bulk billing"
Doctors in this country have recently been 'forced' to do 2 years of internship in a government hospital instead of 1 previously. They are also 'forced' to do a year of community service in a post stipulated by the government...'forcing' them to do anymore would certainly chase away the few who haven't left for canada/uk/aus/nz yet
the shortage of doctors is only the tip of the iceberg anyway. You forget the shortage of nurses, physiotherapists, dieticians, etc etc. Not to mention shortage of linen, medical consumables, equipment, beds, a failing infrastructure, corruption, incompetence, arrogant staff attitude and the list goes on.
What is the possibility that when the NHI comes into effect, the private sectors will then accept NHI card holders? They will lose probably 90% of their current clients because most of us will not be able to afford NHI and a medical aid scheme. So in theory, private hospitals will make a major loss, due to the fact that there are no patients, forcing them to then accept NHI card holders? I am really not comfortable with ANY of the public healthcare. Don't want to lay in one of their beds bleeding to death with an excuse, eish, short staff or is my lunch break.
re the use of "NHI cards" at Private sector: This is the only way state will be able to provide treatment to all. It will in all probability be in the form of a PPP (Public Private Partnership) There are already a few running in the country.
STRANGE! Was it not said that no additional taxation shall be required for funding of the NHI?
the govt can throw billions at NHI but what happens when all the best doctors and nurses move overseas?
i still maintain that the problem to service delivery is not lack of funds. it's mainly misappropriation of funds and lack of skilled management to oversee the utilisation of advanced funds. the govt must stop playing dumb and confront the real issues they have. this is sickening.


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Richmond (Va.) Hermitage running back Derrick Green is on his way to Auburn for an official visit starting Saturday at around 3 p.m., but prior to his third official trip, Green finally spoke regarding his official visit to Michigan back on Oct. 20.
Green breaks down the visit and his top schools including a new addition and the removal of one of his previous top six.
"The Michigan visit was nice," said the 6-foot, 220-pounder who is ranked as the No. 1 running back in the country. "I was hosted by Denard Robinson and Roy Roundtree and the biggest thing for me was seeing how Michigan used their running backs and how the coaches worked with the players and coached the team. It was a really good atmosphere, the crowd was amazing."
Article Continues Below
Green, who saw Michigan defeat rival Michigan State 12-10, said the lack of scoring doesn't affect him at all.
"It was a great game, I know it was only four field goals but I got to see everything I needed to about the offense and they came out with a win," he said. "I've been to Michigan a couple of times now recently and it's a good place, I had a nice visit."
The Michigan official followed an official visit to Tennessee in early September and both schools are squarely in his top list of schools. Next up is Auburn this weekend.
"Like all of my official visits during the season, I want to see how the gameday atmosphere is there and how the coaches work," he said. "I'll get back on Monday and I'm looking forward to it."
After that Green will figure out who will get his last two official visits and then possibly make a decision in January.
"I might do it at the U.S. Army All American Bowl," he said. "If I'm ready, I might do it there but we'll see. My last two visits are between Oregon and Ole Miss and now Miami. Virginia Tech is out now, Miami is now in my top six."
Why the addition of the 'Canes?
"They never stopped recruiting me even after I eliminated them and I like the running backs coach a lot, he was just at my game Friday night," he said. "They just lost a running back commitment and the opportunity there is good. I am probably going to take an official there and more likely Oregon, but I haven't decided just yet. It will be two of those three."
Green has led his team to a 10-0 record and into the playoffs and he has rushed for 1,300 yards and more than 20 touchdowns despite playing on the first half of many blowouts.
"The season is going well," he said. "We have a big playoff game next weekend and I think they will test us so I'll be able to play a full game."
As for his silence following the Michigan visit, rumors began to circulate that Green was a silent commitment to the Wolverines and had shut things down to the media.
"No, that's not true," Green laughed. "I was taking the ACT and my parents wanted me to focus on that, I wanted to focus on my senior season and we have family in New York that are struggling from the storms so talking about visits doesn't seem that important."
Green also wanted to slow down the process a a bit.
"I needed to re-focus on my season and my schoolwork," he said. "Nothing has changed that much and I am just slowing down the pace. I'll visit the schools, talk things over with my parents and when I'm ready to decide I will announce. Right now I am just taking it all in."
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Lewis Grout House
Site: V02-199
National Register Nomination Information:
Set in a residential area along the main street through West Brattleboro village, the Lewis Grout House together with a connected barn and a detached garage occupy an informally landscaped street-corner lot. The c. 1880, one-and-three-quarters-story, clapboarded house of Gothic Revival style carries a steeply pitched, asphalt-shingled cross-gable roof with a deeply overhung cornice along all eaves. Each facade possesses a prominent two-story gable with a stickwork screen at the gable peak. The fenestration displays pyramidal arrangement, and the upper-story openings are crowned by triangular-arched hood moldings. A three-bay, flat-roofed porch with cruciform posts and stickwork balustrade distinguishes the five-bay main (east) facade. An original five-sided bay window emerges from the three-bay south facade while an added rectangular bay window marks the north facade. An elongated one-story, gable-roofed rear (west) kitchen and shed ell connects the main block and the contemporary, south-offset, one-and-one-half-story, clapboarded carriage barn. The barn's gable roof carries a cross gable only on the front (east) slope above the double-leaf, diagonal-boarded vehicle doors. A louvered, fully cross-gabled cupola surmounts the ridge intersection, echoing the decorative treatment of the house's gables. Sited at the north edge of the grounds, the c. 1925, one-story, one-car, clapboarded garage has a simple gable roof; double-leaf, diagonal-boarded vehicle doors enter its east gable facade while a Gothic Revival door (removed from the house) enhances its south facade. Now in excellent condition, these buildings retain historic integrity of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.
The Lewis Grout House is situated in a residential neighborhood of substantial houses adjoining on the northwest the business and civic center of West Brattleboro village. The house stands in the northwest quadrant of the intersection between the main street, Western Avenue, and Bonnyvale Road. A primary two-lane highway (Vermont Route 9) with heavy traffic, the paved surface of Western Avenue has been widened to the extent that it has encroached on the front (east) grounds of the house. In contrast, Bonnyvale Road has remained a relatively narrow paved road, leaving the south grounds largely intact. A paved driveway curves from Bonnyvale Road to serve vehicle entrances in both the rear ell and the carriage barn connected to the house.
The grounds surrounding the house are generally landscaped in an informal manner with cultivated lawns and scattered shrubs. Several mature and younger deciduous trees (pin oaks) standing along the streets provide shade for the east and south grounds. A single coniferous tree (blue spruce) interjects contrasting form and color near the barn's south facade.
The north grounds were planted during the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a relatively formal garden. Period photographs of the garden show what appear to have been exotic species of flowering plants such as yucca. Subsequently that garden has reverted to lawn with dispersed shrubs including lilacs and, toward the rear, apple trees.
The detached garage is sited next to the north edge of the north grounds, both apart from the house and deeply recessed from Western Avenue. Reflecting the lack of vehicular use, a driveway serving the garage has mostly-reverted to lawn.
Constructed about 1880, the main block of the Grout House rises one and three-quarters stories above a low brick foundation. The house is sheathed with clapboards over a structure that apparently combines post-and-beam and balloon framing. Boxed corner posts are visible in three rooms on the first story but none on the second; the unfinished attic reveals balloon framing.
Narrow corner boards ascend from the water table to support the relatively broad frieze that follows the deeply overhung molded cornice along all eaves. The four gable peaks share common decorative treatment; narrow vertical boards with sawtooth lower ends (and cut-out trefoils between the teeth) cover the wall surface behind a screen of slotted stickwork with a pointed-arch valance and central pendant.
The high cross-gable roof slopes at an extraordinarily steep pitch. It has been shingled with asphalt in place of the original wood shingles. An interior brick chimney rebuilt c. 1989 straddles the south ridge near the cross. An original balancing chimney on the north ridge was removed at the same time above the level of the roof.
The main (east) facade presents to Western Avenue a symmetrical design with a central entrance surrounded by window bays arranged in a pyramidal manner. Only the five-bay first story extends the full length of the main block below the truncated horizontal eaves. Centered on the facade, the three bays of the second story occupy the base of the gable while the single third-story bay punctuates the gable peak.
Sheltering the central entrance and one bay on each side, the three-bay porch was enlarged c. 1908 by the addition of a single bay on each side of the original one-bay counterpart. The added components replicate the original ones. The slender cruciform posts rise from paneled pedestals linked by a balustrade made of interlocking stickwork to a blind valance with applied cross-braces. Above the deeply overhung molded cornice of the porch's flat roof, a perimeter balustrade matches the first-story counterpart. Projecting outward from the central bay, the exterior open-string steps descend to ground level; their original matching balustrades were replaced c. 1953 by simpler versions with vertical stick balusters and ball-headed chamfered newels. A diagonal lattice skirt encircles the porch.
The central entrance retains the original single-leaf, hinged door with a single light complemented by alternating tiers of single and double panels. (A recent metal storm door protects the main door.) The smooth door surround is surmounted by a molded cornice cap. The paired flanking bays are fitted with the two-over-one sash (plus one-over-one metal storm sash) prevalent on the house. Only the first-story openings are crowned by cornice caps while the louvered wood shutters are common to all stories.
The second-story fenestration differs in several respects. The central bay is occupied by coupled slender one-over-one sash; these are crowned by coupled high triangular-arch hood moldings with flush-boarded spandrels. The single outer bays of standard two-over-one sash are topped by matching hood moldings. On the third story, the single window repeats the latter treatment.
The fenestration of the south facade is also arranged in a pyramidal manner. Its most distinctive feature, an original five-sided bay window, emerges from the right side of the three-bay first story. The bay window is illuminated by slender one-over-one sash, coupled in the central face and crowned by cornice caps. The spandrels are decorated with applied cross-braces. A deeply overhung molded cornice encircles the eaves of the bellcast roof. The other two first-story bays have single sash like those on the main facade. At the base of the gable, both bays of the second story contain coupled slender one-over-one sash with triangular-arch hood moldings like the central bay of the main facade. The single bay at the gable peak also matches its counterpart on the main facade.
The opposite (north) facade differs from the south facade only on the two-bay first story. Replacing an original entrance, a three-sided rectangular bay window was installed c. 1930 in the right bay. This bay window is lighted by triplet small two-over-one sash on the central face and a single sash on each side above the clapboarded spandrels. A deeply overhung cornice follows the eaves of its shed roof.
The rear (west) facade is exposed only on the two-bay right (south) side adjoining the west ell. A secondary entrance with a four-panel door (plus a metal storm door) occupies the right-center position, sheltered by a one-bay, screened southeast extension of the ell's south porch. The right end of the porch abuts a one-story, one-bay, clapboarded appendage with a shallow-pitched hip roof. This appendage lacks an exterior entrance (other than a brick and wood bulkhead sheltering a subsurface one into the basement); a standard two-over-one sash lights its west side. On the main block's two upper stories, the central bays are fitted with the only twelve-over-twelve sash in the house.
The interior of the main block possesses a Georgian plan. central stair hall forms a front-to-rear (east-west) axis on both the first and second floors. The rooms flank the hall in each quadrant on each floor. Additionally, the original sewing room (converted during the 1910s to a bathroom) occupies the second-floor space at the front of the hall between the front bedrooms.
The stair hall represents generally the four main rooms on the first floor in terms of the finish materials. The floor was relaid probably during the 1920s or 1930s with narrow tongue-and groove hardwood boards. The wide baseboard carries a cap molding. The doorways are enframed by heavy molded surrounds. The walls are plastered and papered while the ceiling has been sheathed with fibreboard. Abutting the right (north) wall, the open-string stair ascends in a straight flight to the second floor; it incorporates heavy turned newel posts, turned balusters, and a molded hand rail.
The two parlors flank the hall in the front (northeast and southeast) quadrants of the first story. Their floors (like those in the northwest and southwest rooms) were also relaid with narrow hardwood boards but only in a band around the perimeter of each room. The band surrounds a rectangular area of original medium-width softwood boards that is concealed by a carpet; the hardwood boards are laid parallel with each wall to form a rectangular pattern that frames the carpet.
Both the doorways and windows in the parlors have heavy molded surrounds like those in the hall. Distinguishing the south parlor, a nearly full-width trabeated opening was made probably c. 1920 in its rear (west) wall leading into the living room in the southwest quadrant; a Tuscan column supports each side of the opening. The original door with four molded panels, remains in place between the south parlor and the hall, and two others remain in the living room.
The doorways into the north parlor from the hall and the dining room in the northwest quadrant were also widened probably contemporaneously with the trabeated opening; each has paired, fifteen-light French doors. The three other doorways in the dining room retain single-leaf, four-panel doors, including two without moldings.
On the second floor, the four corner bedrooms share finish materials with the exception of the flooring. Only the southeast front bedroom retains the original softwood floor boards of medium width. The other three bedrooms display the narrow hardwood boards laid throughout the first story. The walls are generally plastered and papered while the ceilings are plastered and painted. All four bedrooms share baseboards, with simple cap moldings, plain door and window surrounds except for single beads along the inner edges, and doors with four raised panels.
Attached to the north half of the main block's west facade, the mostly clapboarded rear (west) ell contrasts with the main block by its elongated one-story, gable-roofed form. An interior brick chimney straddles the ridge of the asphalt-shingled roof.
The ell's north eaves facade aligns with the north facade of the main block, and extends seven bays in length. An entrance with a four-panel door occupies the right-center position while the other bays are fenestrated mostly with two-over-one sash.
The south facade is subdivided into a three-bay right (east) half marking the kitchen on the interior, a central open vestibule bay, and two garage bays on the left side. The right half is entered by a central four-light-over-two-panel door flanked by two-over-one-sash. A three-bay, screened porch with chamfered posts spans this half; its shallow-pitched hip roof is covered with sheet copper. The garage bays on the left side are entered by a smooth overhead door on the right and double-leaf, vertical-boarded, hinged doors on the left. (The latter oak-framed doors were made c. 1989 by Earl Stark, a local craftsman who has done much repair work on this house, to replace deteriorated predecessors.)
On the interior, the kitchen differs somewhat in finish materials from the rooms in the main block. Beadboarded wainscoting sheathes the lower walls to a level slightly above the window sills. The upper walls are plastered while the ceiling has been refinished with gypsum board. The floor has been overlaid with linoleum. The door and window surrounds are plain except for a single bead along the inner edges.
The southwest corner of the ell engages the northeast corner of the larger-scaled carriage barn to provide an interior passage between the two blocks. Most of the ell's west gable facade is concealed by a one-story, two-by-one-bay, clapboarded wing that is attached also to the barn's north gable facade. Covered with corrugated sheet metal, its shed roof slopes downward from the barn's north facade. The shed's two-bay north facade is entered by a four-light, vertical-boarded, hinged door in the center closely adjoined on the right by an eight-light horizontal fixed sash. A former chicken coop, this wing has been adapted to a private library.
Constructed probably at the same time (c. 1880), the carriage barn echoes to a notable extent the design of the house's main block. The clapboarded barn rises one and one-half stories above a mostly brick foundation. The steeply pitched gable roof possesses three gables of equal scale; a transverse gable interrupts the front (east) slope while the rear (west) slope lacks a corresponding feature. A frieze and deeply overhung cornice like those on the house follow all the eaves, but the gable peaks are decorated only with short pendants. The roof has been covered with asphalt shingles in place of the original wood shingles.
Straddling the cross of the roof, a ventilating cupola of square plan echoes on a small scale the design of the house's roof. Above the vertical-boarded base stage, a rectangular louver ventilates each face below a gable decorated like those on the house. The asphalt-shingled, cross-gable cap repeats the cornice and gable screen forms of the house.
The three-bay main (east) eaves facade is dominated by the central transverse gable that shelters the main entrance. The latter consists of double-leaf, two-panel, hinged doors made of diagonal flush boards Directly above the entrance, a twelve-over-twelve sash with louvered shutters lights the gable. The side bays on the first story are fitted with twelve-light fixed sash and lack shutters.
Facing Bonnyvale Road, the south gable facade is punctuated on the left half of the first story by three small one-light stall windows. A twelve-over-twelve sash with shutters occupies both the south and north gables. The rear (west) eaves fa�ade displays an irregular four-bay arrangement. nine-light, vertical-boarded, hinged door enters the left-center position, flanked by twelve-light fixed sash.
The interior of the barn retains three box stalls for horses in the southwest corner of the ground floor. The central drive floor was rebuilt about 1957 with poured concrete. The barn now is used primarily for storage.
Garage; c. 1925
Oriented parallel to the house's west ell, the one-story, one-car, clapboarded garage rests on a concrete foundation. A molded cornice follows the eaves of its asphalt-shingled gable roof.
The vehicle entrance occupies most of the main (east) gable facade. It consists of double-leaf, two-panel, hinged doors made of diagonal flush boards and enframed by a plain surround.
The two-bay south eaves facade includes a pedestrian entrance in the right bay. The distinctive Gothic Revival door has twin vertical triangular-arched lights over a slender horizontal molded panel and twin rectangular panels at the bottom; the original etched glass has been replaced by clear glass. This door was removed c. 1930 from the right bay of the house's north facade when the bay window was added in that position. The left bay of this facade is lighted by a two-over-two sash with a plain surround.
Historic Appearance
Photographs taken about 1900 show the house probably in its original appearance. The most obvious difference from the present involved the front porch; then it consisted of one bay sheltering only the main entrance, and the balustrade on the projecting steps matched that on the porch deck. Atop the wood-shingled roof, metal cresting extended along each ridge with a pinnacle at each gable peak. The twin interior brick chimneys possessed both corbeled bases and caps.
The west ell differed on its south facade by having only one vehicle entrance on the left half. A vertical-boarded exterior sliding door existed in the right position in place of the present overhead door while the left bay held a twelve-light fixed sash in a clapboarded wall.
The barn also appears to have been crowned by metal cresting along its roof ridges and pinnacles above the gable peaks. Its south gable facade was fenestrated on the first story only by a twelve-light fixed sash in the left-center position.
The grounds were enclosed along the perimeter by a wood fence. It incorporated slender vertical pales of alternating shorter and taller height fastened to two horizontal rails.
The Lewis Grout House meets National Register Criterion C in the area of Architecture for embodying the distinctive characteristics of an extraordinarily late Gothic Revival style house constructed about 1880 for the Rev. Lewis Grout, a Congregational cleric and missionary who may have participated in its design. Furthermore the house may reflect the stylistic influence of British colonial architectural design in South Africa while Grout served there as a missionary during the middle 19th century. Contextually within Vermont, the Grout House relates to the influence of the Gothic Revival style on residential design and to the statewide context, Historic Architecture and Patterns of Town Development. The house ranks as one of the most belated among the limited number of examples of Gothic Revival residential architecture in the state. The related vernacular one-car garage built c. 1925 also holds significance in Architecture under Criterion C for being an excellent representative of its type and period among the declining number of unaltered examples in Vermont.
The choice of Gothic Revival style for residential design in Vermont never approached its popularity for religious buildings. Churches began to display at least rudimentary Gothic features by the 1820s, and numerous examples appeared throughout the state during the second quarter of the 19th century. In many cases, Gothic features were applied to what were essentially Greek Revival churches. The same blend of styles eventually spread to houses; both Greco-Gothic and more fully developed Gothic expressions were built in relatively small numbers especially during the 1850s and 1860s. Thereafter the more sophisticated High Victorian Gothic emerged in religious architecture, and other styles had already swept into residential fashion. The restrained Gothic Revival character of the Lewis Grout House was markedly retardataire by the time of its completion about 1880 and represents probably the personal religious interest of its owner rather than the contemporary public preference.
The shift from horse-drawn t o motor vehicles in Vermont accelerated during the latter 1910s and 1920s. The essential incompatibility of sheltering both automobiles and livestock in existing barns brought the need for suitable garages. The latter were usually sited apart from other buildings to reduce the risk of fire. Often devoid of decorative treatment, the typical one-story, one-car, gable-roofed garage from that period possessed a gable-facade vehicle entrance with double-leaf, hinged doors. The c. 1925 garage adjacent to the Lewis Grout House exemplifies this detached type that remained dominant in Vermont until about 1940. Furthermore, this garage has been spared the alterations, such as replacement overhead door(s) that have been made to most contemporary garages in the state.
A different house is known to have stood at 382 Western Avenue prior to the late 1870s. Photographs taken during the 1860s and 1870s record on the site a one-and-one-half-story, clapboarded eaves-front, gable-roofed house probably of the Cape Cod type. That house belonged to one Abner Adams from 1856 onward and then his widow Rhoda by 1869. The subsequent owner, Eliza Reeve, became insane, and her guardian sold the property in 1878 to the Rev. Lewis Grout. Four members of the Reeve family held shares in the property, and Grout paid $375 for each share, a total of $1,500. The property comprised "about one acre of land with a dwelling house and other buildings situated thereon."
A native of Newfane, Vermont born on January 28, 1815, Lewis Grout attended the Brattleboro Academy during 1834-37 to prepare for college; his parents moved to West Brattleboro in 1836. Grout taught in the district schools of nearby towns before entering Yale College in 1838. After graduating in 1842, Grout taught for another year before returning in 1844 to Yale Divinity School, where he studied theology for two years. He then transferred to Andover Theological Seminary and graduated from there in 1846. On the same October day of that year, he married Lydia Bates (1818-97) and was ordained a missionary.
Two days later, the couple sailed from Boston for South Africa, and they reached the District of Natal in February, 1847. A daughter, Annie L. (1847-1901), was born there in July. Grout pursued his missionary efforts among the Zulus during the next fifteen years. That involved a great variety of intellectual and physical activities, among which he concentrated on study of the native languages. He prepared a Zulu grammar and dictionary, and translated the Bible and other books into that language. He published several books and articles in English about the Zulus and their homeland and language. Eventually his health began to suffer, and in 1862 the Grouts returned to the United States.
Lewis Grout next spent three years as Congregational minister at parishes in Vermont and Massachusetts. His missionary interests emerged again in 1865 when he became the secretary and agent for the American Missionary Association in his native state and New Hampshire. Grout continued in that position until 1834, while maintaining residency in West Brattleboro. The 1869 Beers map of Brattleboro shows that he owned a house on Greenleaf Road about one-half mile to the northwest of his next house.
Grout purchased the Reeve house in October, 1878 but the fate of that house is uncertain. The possibility exists that it was dismantled and its first-story framing was incorporated into the new house built for Grout. At three corners (excepting only the southwest living room) in the first-floor rooms, boxed posts protrude from the walls to indicate post-and-beam framing. The corners directly above in the second-floor rooms, however, lack such visible posts, indicating that the second story has different framing. Furthermore, the unfinished attic reveals circular-sawn balloon framing in its walls.
Mixed evidence appears in the foundation and the first-story floor joists exposed in the basement. Some of the latter are hand-hewn timbers, presumably dating from an earlier structure. The brick foundation, however, appears to have been laid entirely when the present house was built; this considerably larger and heavier house, of course, would have required a sturdier foundation than its predecessor.
The Grand Lists of taxable real estate in Brattleboro during the late 1870s and early 1880s contribute some evidence of when the present house was built. Prior to 1879, Lewis Grout is listed with one house, worth $1,550 in 1878. The 1879 listing reflects his purchase of the original house on Western Avenue; the Greenleaf Street house, located in School District No. 7, remained at $1,550 while a second house, located in School District No. 5 (West Brattleboro village), is listed at $1,000. Grout continued to own both houses in the 1880 listing, and their values remained the same.
Marked changes occurred in the listed values for 1881. The District No. 7 house increased to $2,000 but the District No. 5 house rose yet more to $1,700. This indicates strongly that the latter house was rebuilt or replaced during 1880. The Grand List for 1882 records only the District No, 5 house, worth $1,700, in Grout's possession; apparently by then he had sold the District No. 7 house : The next year, 1883, the District No. 5 house was reappraised at $2,000, possibly reflecting the completion of both the house and attached carriage barn; the value remained at that amount for some years thereafter.
Regardless of its structural origin, therefore, the present house was erected for Lewis Grout probably in 1880. The builder(s) have not been identified, although undoubtedly they were local carpenters and craftsmen. The classified business directory in Child's Windham County gazetteer of 1884 lists at least eleven "Carpenters and Builders" who resided in West Brattleboro (together with four times that number elsewhere in Brattleboro township). These names almost certainly include the builder(s) of the Grout house.
The Gothic Revival design of the Grout house, in contrast, may derive from an antipodal source. According to Stockwell family oral history, the design reflects the style displayed by British colonial administrators' houses in South Africa during the period of Grout's residency there. The question remains whether Grout may have sketched the design for construction or been assisted by a local architect or builder in its expression. Regardless, its Gothic Revival character was virtually antediluvian by that point in architectural fashion for houses in the United States. Gothic Revival influence in church architecture, however, persisted through most of Grout's career, and that undoubtedly influenced his choice of design.
Only a few years after the completion of this house, Lewis Grout served his last pastorate (1885 to 1888) at a church in Sudbury, Vermont, roughly one hundred miles to the northwest. At least his daughter, Annie, probably remained in West Brattleboro during this period. Never married, she taught school during the 1870s and then engaged primarily in botanical research around Brattleboro during the 1880s and 1890s; she discovered a variety of fern not previously known to exist in this country. On April 23, 1897, her mother, Julia Grout, died; Annie lived only four years thereafter. Lewis outlived both, reaching the advanced age of 91 by his death on March 12, 1905.
After the widower's death, the executor of his estate sold "all the real estate whereof said Lewis Grout died seized." In November, 1905, Julius L. Stockwell paid $3,000 for the property; a neighboring merchant, he had served as pall bearer at Grout's funeral. Julius Stockwell (1866-1936) and his cousin, Walter D. Stockwell, had founded in 1888 a general merchandise store situated diagonally across the village's main street from the Grout house. Julius purchased his cousin's interest in 1894, and continued the business thereafter by himself. In 1899, he became postmaster of West Brattleboro with the post office in his store; the office was soon reduced to a station of the Brattleboro post office but Julius continued to serve as its clerk until 1931.
Julius and his wife, Julia Tyler (1866-1950), settled into the Grout house and the couple lived here for the next three decades. Various relatively minor changes were made in the house during their residency. Probably during the 1910s, the front porch was extended from a single bay to three bays with matching components. The floors in the main block were mostly relaid with narrow hardwood boards. Doorways in the front parlors were broadened for French doors or the Tuscan-columned opening. Lastly (probably the early 1930s), a rectangular bay window was added to the north facade, replacing a Gothic Revival door.
Minor changes were also made in the carriage barn. Julius Stockwell used a horse-drawn wagon to deliver goods from the store to customers living in the vicinity of West Brattleboro. Three box stalls marked by small fixed sash on the south facade were built in the barn to accommodate the horses.
Julius subsequently shifted to an automobile. A garage for it was built about 1925 along the north property line at a safe distance from the house in case of fire. This outbuilding has remained unaltered except for the installation during the 1930s of the Gothic Revival door removed from the house's north facade.
Well-known locally as a leading storekeeper, Julius Stockwell also served in various municipal and organizational positions. The former included member of the town school board for several terms, overseer of the poor, and constable. His directorships of the Brattleboro Trust Co. and the Board of Trade complemented his business interests. He continued to operate the store until his death on January 18, 1936 at the age of 69. His widow, Julia, would outlive him by fourteen years, and continue to live in this house until her death on October 10, 1950.
Two children, Hazen E. (1896-1963) and Katherine (1904-1995) were born to Julia and Julius Stockwell. Although Hazen succeeded his father in the store business (and lived to about the same age), he did not reside in this house after childhood.
The Stockwell family sold the store in the late 1960s following Hazen's death.
Katherine departed Vermont upon her marriage in 1934 to Richard L. Geehr of New Jersey. She returned to live in this house in 1950, and remained here for the rest of her life. She taught in the nearby West Brattleboro elementary school for the latter half of her forty-year teaching career. Ultimately she became the longest-term occupant of the house by the time of her death on September 25, 1995.
Only insignificant changes were made in the house during Katherine Geehr's ownership. Her efforts were directed primarily toward maintaining the existing historic fabric in sound condition, and replacing in kind any components when necessary. An outstanding example of the latter involved the double-leaf doors in the ell's left garage bay; when the original softwood doors showed signs of decay, they were replaced with the present handcrafted oak counterparts.
Katherine Geehr's son, Richard S. Geehr (born 1938), has pursued a teaching career at the college level, currently being Professor of History at Bentley College in Massachusetts. He has also taken an active role in the maintenance of this house, especially the exterior painting, during his mother's ownership. Upon her death, he inherited the property and intends to continue the maintenance of the buildings in excellent condition.
The Lewis Grout House now constitutes a carefully preserved representative of late Gothic Revival domestic architecture possessing an unusually high degree of historic integrity. Similarly the connected carriage barn preserves its Gothic Revival character echoing that of the house, an outstanding example of its type and period. The related garage also retains intact its vernacular design, typifying detached one-car garages built during the 1920s. Together with their informally landscaped grounds, these buildings comprise an historic residential cluster of exceptional quality.
Beers, F. W., et al. Atlas of Windham Co., Vermont. New York: F. W. Beers, A. D. Ellis, & G. G. Soule, 1869.
Burnham, Henry. "Brattleboro." in Hemenway, Abby Maria., comp. Vermont Historical Gazetteer, Vol. V. Brandon, Vt.: Mrs. Carrie E. H. Page, 1892.
Cabot, Mary R., comp. Annals of Brattleboro 1681-1895 (2 vols.). Brattleboro, Vt.: Press of E. L. Hildreth & Co., 1921.
Child, Hamilton, comp. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Windham County, Vt., 1724-1884. Syracuse, N. Y., 1884.
"Long Prominent Local Merchant." Vermont Phoenix, January 24, 1936, 5.
"Rev. Lewis Grout, the Veteran Missionary." Vermont Phoenix, March 17, 1905, 3.
"Stockwell Geneology." Unpublished typescript. 1986? Collection of Richard S. Geehr, West Brattleboro, Vt.
Brattleboro Land Records. Books 30, 47, 70, and 90. Available at Town Clerk's Office, Brattleboro, Vt.
Brattleboro Grand Lists. 1877-1884. Available at Town Clerk's Office, Brattleboro, Vt.
DATE ENTERED: November 7, 1996.


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William Randolf has joined the U.S. Army under the delayed entry program. Randolf, a 2001 graduate of Plainview High School, will report to Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C. He is the son of Kim Randolf of Plainview.
U.S. Army Pvt. April A. Sena has arrived for duty at Ramstein Air Base in Kaiserslautern, Germamy. Sena is a transportation management coordinator assigned to the 39th Transportation Battalion. She is the daughter of Fernando and Petra Sena of Clovis, N.M. Sena is a 1991 graduate of Clovis High School.
U.S. Army Pfc. Mark A. Montoya has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C. During the training, Montoya received instruction and practice in drill and ceremony, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, field tactics, first aid, and Army history and traditions. He is the son of Abie and Lupe Montoya of Clayton, N.M.
Airman First Class Tyler Armstrong, son of Kent and Joyce Armstrong of Lubbock, graduated from the Munitions Training School at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls on July 11. Tyler completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in February and will now report to his first duty station, Mountain Home Air Force Base, in Idaho.
U.S. Army Spec. Timothy McWilliams, son of Michael D. McWilliams of Slaton and Carla Lemmeyer of Lubbock, was one of more than 500 paratroopers who participated recently in Veneto Rescue, the world's largest non-combatant evacuation exercise held near Aviano Air Base, Italy. McWilliams, a machine gunner, is a 1995 graduate of Frienship High School.
Army Spc. David Rohmfeld arrived for duty at Camp Casey in Korea. He is a 1998 graduate of Monterey High School and the son of Michael and Denese Rohmfeld of Lubbock.
Army National Guard Sgt. Kathy M. Judd has been deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in support of Operation Joint Forge. Judd, the daughter of Thomas D. Stockton of Levelland and the late M.C. Stockton, is a 1989 graduate of Levelland High school.
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Press Release - Congressman Dennis A. Ross & Judiciary Colleagues Pass Balanced Budget Amendment
Both Parties Have Demonstrated They Cannot be Trusted With America's Checkbook
Washington, DC – Congressman Dennis A. Ross, a co-sponsor of H.J. Res 1, the Balanced Budget Amendment, released the following statement upon the passage of the Amendment out of the Judiciary Committee.
"In November, America sent a clear message on spending that they'd had enough. If past is prologue, the Congress will never learn to live within its means until it is forced to. As a Member of the Florida Legislature, we lived under a Balanced Budget Amendment every year. It required difficult choices and principled leadership – something sorely lacking in Washington. It is high time we live up to our voter's standards, the principles of the U.S. Constitution and the expectations of our founding fathers. Passing a Balanced Budget Amendment is a first step toward renewing economic growth and putting our national financial house in order."
· HJ Res 1 requires Congress never to spend more than it takes in
· Requires a 3/5 majority vote to raise the debt ceiling, with an exception in times of national emergency
· Requires a supermajority to raise taxes
· Requires Spending as a Percentage of GDP to not Exceed 18% - Preventing Tax Increases to Balance the Budget
Dennis Ross, son of Bill and Loyola Ross, was born in 1959 and raised in Lakeland, Florida. He graduated from Auburn University and the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. He has served as in-house counsel to the Walt Disney Company and as an associate of the law firm of Holland & Knight. He previously served in the Florida Legislature from 2000 until being term limited in 2008. Dennis and his wife, Cindy Hartley, were married in 1983 and have two sons, Shane and Travis.
In the 112th Congress, Dennis will serve on the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform (Chairman of the Federal Workforce, Postal Service & Labor Policy Subcommittee) as well as the Education & the Workforce and Judiciary Committees.


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Qualifying Brings Some Surprises
Politics is an intense spectator sport in Louisiana. Between elections, speculation is rampant about candidates and potential candidates. These potential candidates often talk tough about running against incumbents, but that's easy to do before the qualifying period. The qualifying period is when candidates have to finally put their money where their mouth is and officially jump into a race. For upcoming elections, qualifying ended last Friday, and, as always, it brought some surprises with interesting entries and some potentially strong candidates deciding to forgo the race. Here is a look at several important races affecting the local area.
1st Congressional District
Incumbent David Vitter was elected in 1999. In 2000, he was re-elected with only token opposition. This time, he will be facing two prominent challengers, radio talk show Robert Namer and ophthalmologist Dr. Monica Monica, who had not qualified by press time but had announced her intention to do so. Monica should provide Vitter with an interesting challenge, running as a moderate Republican and focusing on health care as her primary concern. Namer will be running to the right of Vitter as a strict conservative and will probably be his most vocal critic in the campaign.
Most observers believe that Vitter is in a good position to win re-election. Such a prognosis could change based on what information emerges in the campaign, especially since Namer has promised to drop a bombshell on Vitter after qualifying ends.
2nd Congressional District
For the first time since he was elected over then-State Sen. Marc Morial in 1990 to succeed Lindy Boggs, incumbent Bill Jefferson will have a serious challenge for reelection: Public Service Commissioner Irma Muse Dixon. Dixon is a credible opponent who has a good electoral track record and is well-liked. She should be able to appeal to white voters as an alternative to Jefferson and also to several prominent African-American groups, including BOLD, that oppose Jefferson.
Jefferson has had difficulty of late. His turn as campaign chairman for Richard Pennington in the New Orleans mayor's race was a disaster, and his daughter lost a race for state representative in his strongest area, Central City. Despite his losing streak, Jefferson is a favorite to hold on to the seat, with the financial advantages of incumbency working for him.
Also facing Jefferson in the race is political gadfly Clarence Hunt, whom we last saw in the mayor's race running as a Republican. This time Hunt is running as a Democrat. During his campaign for mayor, Hunt traveled between New Orleans and Oakland, Calif. This time, it will be interesting to see whether Hunt is based in New Orleans or Oakland.
24th Judicial District Court, Division N
The race to succeed indicted Judge Ronald Bodenheimer in Division N took a surprising turn right before qualifying when former State Rep. Jim Donelon decided against another run for the judgeship. Donelon, who currently serves as deputy insurance commissioner for the State of Louisiana, lost to Bodenheimer in 1999 and was so embittered by the experience that he was not ready for another race. Donelon would have been the frontrunner, having the highest name recognition and probably access to the most campaign donors.
With Donelon out, other candidates are quite relieved. Jeff Hand and Hans Liljeberg have been campaigning and spending plenty of money advertising. It should be a close and hard-fought election.
Harahan Hotly Contested
The race to succeed the late John Doyle as Harahan chief of police will be an interesting one with several prominent and well-respected candidates opposing each other. Joining the late chief's son John Doyle III in the race will be Harahan councilmen Peter Dale and Tim Walker (the only Democrat in the race), Jimmy Cavalier and Ray Uloth.
The race to succeed outgoing Harahan mayor Vinny Mosca will be a one-on-one affair between two Republican Council members, Paul Johnston and Kerry Lauricella. Mosca will run for a seat on the Harahan City Council.
School Board Not on Firing Line
After the contentious election on July 20 to raise the sales tax in Jefferson Parish to benefit public schools, many voters expected the Jefferson Parish School Board members who approved the tax vote to receive a host of opponents in the next election. Surprising to some, the incumbents are receiving relatively little opposition. The majority have minor candidates running against them, and several others are unopposed. So, even though many voters were angry about the proposed tax increase, they do not seem to be upset with their representation on the Jefferson Parish School Board.