C A P I C O S T I A

by Mel Dyer "Great coffee, delicious food..." That is the slogan for The Highlands, an Ethiopian-owned café, - a coffeehouse AND restaurant, stylishly smooshed together - slated to open, this summer, in River East's best neighborhood, ..my own Penn Branch. Penn Branch and surrounding ANC Seven Bee presently has no full-service restaurants, coffeehouses or gathering places of any sort for its middle, upper middle and working class residents - no place to celebrate a little league softball victory, a graduation ..or a promotion. When the urge to  power-gab overwhelms us, clusters of Branchers drift into the middle of our quiet, tree-lined streets. Sometimes, we lean into each others' cars, while we are, out there. We obstruct afternoon strolls, with chatty clots, along our sidewalks. We hobble into each others' homes, ..crippled by the strain of standing in a driveway, for HOURS, having deprived our legs of healthy circulation. It's abominable. Comparativel

by Mel Dyer Has anyone asked women, why they aren't voting for women presidential candidates? Who they want to vote for? Why more women didn't vote for Elizabeth Warren, in the Democratic primaries? Considering that women still outnumber men, by roughly SEVEN percent, in the US population, must we ask how women party nominees and presidential candidates keep losing? Where were the women for Warren? Why aren't we asking women what kind of presidential candidates they want to vote for? When women want to elect a woman for president, I think women will let us know. Furthermore, there won't be a blamed thing anybody can do to stop them. For the interim, all of the speculation, as to why Senator Elizabeth Warren is not on her way to becoming the Democratic Party nominee ..is a little too late. Read... Click here and read MORE.  

by Mel Dyer I'm a proud American, but, I'm also Ghanaian. On March 6th, 1957, Ghana claimed its independence from the British Empire - the first African nation to do so, from a European colonial power. It makes me tremendously proud to see Ghana, for the first time in this nation's history, celebrate this most important day, in the Asante Region, from which my maternal grandfather's Akan ancestors came. Many famous Ghanaians, like British High Commissioner Baron Paul Boateng and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Anan, come from this storied place and its people. Considering all we have survived - Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Reconstruction, Jim Crow - Akan strength, grit, determination and God's grace ..is why we're all here, today. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, GHANA!!!

by Mel Dyer For Gen-Xers, like myself, there is more to backing Vice President Joe Biden for President, than Obama Era nostalgia. College-age supporters of Bernie Sanders don't understand why so many of us are putting our bets on the Gentleman from Delaware. We remember the good, ole days, ..when watching the Old Joe Biden work his magic, in the Senate and on the campaign trail... Looked something like this.