News lifestyle 2008-08-17 Andanh.com

Twin Cities and the state fairgrounds are steeped in Republican political history Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:05 EDT

MINNEAPOLIS . Hosting a .Republican National Convention is old hat to .Minnesota.

More than 100 years old.

Across the Mississippi River from present-day Minneapolis skyscrapers once stood an exhibition hall where Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison for a second term as president in 1892. Harrison met defeat to Democrat Grover Cleveland, and the Industrial Exposition Building met the wrecking ball a half-century later.

Not so much as a plaque marks the .convention site, occupied today by .townhouses in a neighborhood of trendy restaurants and boutiques. That's typical of prominent points of national political interest in the Twin Cities, the backdrop for the GOP convention, Sept. 1 to 4. History buffs need determination and imagination to unlock the past.

Church celebration promises a vast repast of good eats Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:50 EDT

New Zion Day and Basket Meeting will celebrate 140 years of African-American history with a street fair .featuring home-cooked foods at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The menu includes country fried fish, ribs, barbecue pork, Chicago smoked links, country ham sandwiches, homemade pies and cakes, green tomato relish, chow-chow, smoked turkey wings and legs, tacos, fresh corn and peaches.

Arts and crafts vendors also will be at New Zion United Methodist Church, 5056 Newtown Pike.

The Sunday morning service .begins at 11 a.m. followed by dinner. Pastor George Edwards of Maysville United Methodist Church will speak at 3:30 p.m.

Cultural sensitivity training Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:06 EDT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. . When a doctor doesn't look an Asian-American patient in the eye, that might be seen as a sign of respect. But making eye contact is encouraged with black patients, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, which has published a guidebook for culturally competent care.

As the country's ethnic profile diversifies, some states are trying to assure that health care providers are trained in .cultural competency..

New Mexico passed a law last year requiring that higher education institutions with health education programs provide such training, though the state still is grappling with how it will be implemented. New Jersey and California are among a handful of states with similar measures already in place.

.We don't expect that a provider is going to know everything about every nationality,. said William Flores, chairman of New Mexico's task force charged with developing the curriculum. .The critical thing here is developing sensitivity and the understanding that not every culture responds to medical providers in the same way, sees medicine in the same way..

Cream cheese is at heart of many great dishes Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:52 EDT

An eight-ounce block of cream cheese is pure heaven for a cook.

It adds substance to desserts and creamy flavor to entrees, but best of all, it's the base for thousands of appetizers.

You don't even have to be a cook to create a high-five-ing hors d'oeuvre from a block of cream cheese.

At the annual Picnic with the Pops, which will be Friday and Saturday nights at the Kentucky Horse Park, some creative cooks will serve dishes to rival those of a four-star restaurant. But there are many more people who will choose to throw some chips and pretzels and cream cheese dip into a picnic basket and call it dinner.

Opening Night
Ashley Judd will appear at the Paramount Arts Center Sept. 5 when the new movie screen and projector are first put to use.

Chinese Dir