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White Valedictorian at Morehouse!

It's my favorite story on Monday Morning and I heard it first on the CBS Morning news.Randal Pinkston, a contemporary of mine was reporting that Morehouse College, the historical and prestigious College in Atlanta had recorded another FIRST.

It's the only college in the country dedicated to educating and building African American males into scholars and world leaders. Martin Luther King is the most famous alumnus. Film maker Spike Lee and big screen actor Samuel Jackson are among the graduates of Morehouse. Robert Mallett, President of the Pfizer foundation, James Nabrit, former UN ambassador, Major Owen, retired US Congressman and Roderic Pettigrew, physician and nuclear physicist are also graduates.

On Sunday, Josh Packwood of Kansas City, Mo. joined the celebrated group of Morehouse men and he hasn't even started to make his mark in the world of work;
but Packwood is the FIRST white valedictorian of Morehouse and that's big news.

An article from the associated press is re-printed below but it hardly tells the entire story. My friend Randal is more on the mark.

Packwood's accomplishment isn't without some stress. Not everyone applauds his accomplishment; Some feel he takes a place that should be reserved for an African American; but those critics were reminded of Doctor King's words that one should be judged by the content of one's character.

Packwood has overcome some things that are well known in the tough streets..he bought, sold and used drugs. He was taken in by a family that was headed by an African American father...the family helped convince Josh to attend Morehouse over Columbia and Yale...
The results are historic.

ATLANTA (AP) -- From his first day at Morehouse College -- the country's only institution of higher learning dedicated to the education of black men -- Joshua Packwood has been a standout.

His popularity got him elected dorm president as a freshman. His looks and physique made him a fashion-show favorite. His intellect made him a Rhodes Scholar finalist. His work ethic landed him a job at the prestigious investment banking firm Goldman Sachs in New York City.

But it's his skin that has made all of this an anomaly. This month, Packwood is set to take the stage and address his classmates as the first white valedictorian in Morehouse's 141-year history.

The 22-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri, will graduate on May 18th with a perfect 4.0 GPA and a degree in economics.

He could have gone elsewhere, to a school like Columbia, Stanford or Yale, but his four-year journey through Morehouse has taught him a few things that they could not, and he makes it clear that he has no regrets.

Exclusive! Baseball Ticket Dispute Settled.

You first read about it here weeks ago; I've now confirmed that DC Mayor Fenty and Council Chairman Gray have ended their dispute over who gets the tickets to the Nationals new ballpark.

A well placed source says the District's top two elected officials met late Thursday and agreed to end their war which had been waged since opening day at the publicly financed stadium that sits along the Anacostia river in Southeast.

At issue was the Mayor's insisting that he hold onto all the free tickets to the new ballpark, including tickets to the two posh suites made available to the Mayor and Council by Nat's owners, Ted Lerner and family.

Chairman Gray had insisted that the Council should have control over one of the suites; at one point he collected tickets issued to his colleagues by the Mayor and had them all returned to the chief executive.

A well placed source tells me the chief executive had all the tickets from one of the suites delivered to the Chairman's office today(Friday).

If you think this matter wasn't deliberated at the highest levels of city hall (John Wilson Building), then consider this; the tickets were delivered to the Council Chairman, not by a staffer, but by the Attorney General.

AG Peter Nickles told me by phone late Friday , "The Mayor, Chairman and I met yesterday (Thursday) on a number of matters and the tickets came up". "The Mayor indicated there had been some misunderstanding. He told me to take care of it and I did".

The DC Council suite has 19 tickets, some parking passes and extra tickets in the general seating area of the ballpark.

No Crime for Underage Drinking in DC

We first reported the story on Nine News Now on Wednesday; but a couple of comments are needed here; DC Police, Council members and Nightclub owners all confirmed to this reporter what the DC area's young people have known for years--There is no criminal law in the Nation's Capitol that prohibits underage consumption of alcohol.

It's not that City leaders haven't considered a bill. DC Councilman Jim Graham told me by phone on Wednesday that "We had a task force to study this and I'm torn. There was simply no public support for this". Graham says public officials, including some Council members raising children, did not want young people who are caught drinking to be slapped with a criminal record, even if it could be expunged at a later date.

It turns out says Graham that only the nightclub owners were adamant about the need for criminal penalty. "It starts in the home...parents are letting their kids drink', he says.

Mark Barnes, owner of the popular "The Love" night spot was adamant. He says city leaders have placed the entire burden of stopping young people's illegal drinking on the bar owner. "If we sell them alcohol we can lose our license", says Barnes.

He turned over a case of fake ID's on the bar of his "The Park" night club to demonstrate for me the incredible high number of young people who try to slip into his clubs to buy drinks.

One of my young co-workers had this comment on underage drinking in DC,"It's the worst kept secret, every college kid knows there is no risk to drinking in DC".

Get Ready Obama, Here it Comes!

I had dinner with friends last night, one of them happened to be a white female, former Hillary Clinton supporter who moved over to Barack Obama. She said more than once how proud and pleasantly surprised she was that her candidate had been able to garner the white vote; but she also repeated her fears about the kind of activity now getting headlines in Georgia.



Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - Updated 20m ago
Boston Herald.com


Boston Herald General Economics Reporter
Jay Fitzgerald has been a journalist and blogger for years. He's now the general economics reporter for the Boston Herald.

Photo by Frank Neimeir/Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Offensive T: Pam Lindley of Marrietta, Ga,. holds the
shirt sold by the Mulligan bar that’s stirred up protests
and national attention.



The Curious George cartoon character is getting dragged into the presidential race again in an ugly way - and Boston’s WGBH-TV isn’t happy.



A Georgia tavern owner has been selling T-shirts showing the cartoon monkey happily eating a banana with the words “Obama in ’08” written underneath.


The tavern owner, described as an “ultra-conservative,” has since seen his Marietta, Ga., establishment picketed by outraged critics who say the characterization of presidental candidate Barack Obama as a monkey is racist.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution jumped on the story yesterday, while the popular online Drudge Report featured the controversy on its heavily trafficked Web site.


Curious George, created by the late longtime Cambridge residents H.A. and Margaret Rey, is a beloved figure among kids and adults alike across the country - and especially in Boston.


WGBH, which co-produces a “Curious George” children’s television show, isn’t happy with George’s use against Obama, an African-American.


“It’s offensive,” said Jennifer Welsh, a spokeswoman for the PBS-affiliated station. “We would never grant permission for this.”


But it wasn’t clear yesterday what could be legally done about the T-shirt being peddled by the Mulligan Food & Spirits owner, Mike Norman, who has called his product “cute.”


A spokesman for Boston’s Houghton-Mifflin, which owns the book rights to Curious George, couldn’t be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for NBC Universal, which owns the film rights to Curious George, also couldn’t be reached for comment.


NBC Universal and WGBH co-produce the “Curious George” TV show.


This isn’t the first time Curious George has been dragged into the current presidential race.


Earlier this year, loudmouth radio jock Rush Limbaugh apologized on air for laughing at a caller’s comment that her daughter thought Obama looked like Curious George.

Major Downtown Development

It's been called the most expensive real estate left in downtown DC--The Old Convention Center site!

Here's part of the Official release from Mayor Fenty's Office

-- Mayor Adrian Fenty announced Monday that the District has reached a deal with Hines│Archstone to lease the so-called B parcel to the development team who has agreed to build a Four-star, 400-room high-end hotel and 100,000 square feet of additional retail space at the 10-acre downtown site. Hines Archstone also unveiled the entire project’s branding and new name: City Center DC.


"It is time we start calling this place what it is, our City Center,” said Mayor Fenty. “City Center DC is going to be a true retail and entertainment destination – the heart and soul of our dynamic new downtown.”

but no condos, for those always looking for center city housing where residents can depend totally on public transportation, their feet and bikes to get around!

Angry Howard U Parents

Hundreds of parents, many of them coming from across the country, left Howard University's commencement exercise on Saturday in a tizzy.

One DC parent whose son was graduating says, what should have been a proud moment was turned upside down when the outdoor graduation was moved into the tiny and antiquated Burr gym.

There was only enough room for the graduates,commencement speakers and other VIPs. Parents, siblings, and grandparents were dispatched to their homes or hotels to watch the event on TV!

Outgoing President Sweigert got failing grades for this fiasco. How about the Convention center or Armory as a backup?

There is always a chance of rain this time of year and Doppler radar which everyone has... had given us several days warning of what Saturday's weather would look like!

DC Mayor Fenty Snubbed by Cops!

This just in from a group representing a lot of DC Police Officers...they don't want Mayor Fenty speaking at their memorial service!

This is no doubt a response to Fenty's actions following the slaying of 14 year old Deonte Rawlings by two off duty DC Police Officers last year. The US Attorney's office recently announced it would not be filing charges against the Officers. A departmental administraive probe is now underway.

Following the slaying Fenty angered the FOP by meeting privately with the Rawlings family, inviting them to participate in his press conference and paying for the slain youth's funeral.

The FOP had demanded an apology from the Mayor. That hasn't happened.

The Annual Local Police Memorial Service is tomorrow, Friday, May 9, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. Due to the strong possibility of rain tomorrow, the Service will be moved from the front of Police Headquarters to inside 441 4th Street, NW. (One Judiciary Square) in the Old Council Chambers on the first floor, at 11:00 am until 1:00 pm.

Exclusive! Candid Interview With Terminated Principal

Principal Veda Usilton is a DC native and product of the City's public schools. She has a Master's degree from Howard University and a PHD in counseling from the University of Maryland.

For the past eleven years Usilton has been Principal at Garnet Patterson middle school in the Shaw neighborhood. Singers Pearl Bailey and Marvin Gaye and the District's first Delegate to Congress, Walter Fauntroy graduated from the school, located at 10th and U streets,in Northwest.

Usilton learned by letter this week that her tenure at Garnet-Patterson would end next month. She and at least 30 other Principals are being terminated by School Chancellor Michelle Rhee.

First off, I have to say Principal Usilton she didn't seek me out. She was reluctant to talk to me and felt there was nothing she wanted or needed to say; but I showed up at the school unannounced without my cameraman on Tuesday...and heard just enough to convince me I had to get on camera this woman and her struggles to educate over the years the poor and often troubled students at this inner city Middle school.

I promised to take no more than 30 minutes of her busy schedule. After getting the go ahead from school officials downtown. We sat down in the Principal's office on Wednesday to talk.

Said Usilton, "we knew something had to happen". She told me that she expected changes because under the federal "No Child Left Behind" law, DC School Chancellor Rhee is required to overhaul 27 schools that failed to improve reading and math scores over a five year period. Garnet Patterson is one of those schools.

Firing all the Principals was an option.

Principal Usilton says that while there has been sporadic improvement last year only seventeen percent of her students were proficient in MATH-- Only 20 percent met their READING goals.

She told me scores went down every year they changed the test. There was also a decline in test scores the year lots of veteran teachers chose to retire; also, until recently she never had the resources that are now being poured into the DC schools.

But the Principal in front of me wasn't about to blame Chancellor Rhee for anything.

On the contrary.

To view my entire interview with Principal Veda Usilton go to the link below.

Click here to see BJ interview with Principal.

Five Million Dollars! Where is it?

This reporter has obtained City government records that indicate the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs can't account for at least five million dollars that is owed the city from fines imposed on residences and businesses that violated building, housing or construction code. Some of the fines go back as far as 2004.
More to come here and on Nine News Now this week.

Deonte Rawlings

Prosecutors decided not to bring criminal charges against the two DC police officers involved in the Deonte Rawlings slaying;

That came as no surprise to people close to the case. People in the streets were quick to share their accounts that the 14 year old had no gun and no powder residue was found on the boy's hands to indicate that he had fired on officers; but those same witnesses failed to come forward during the federal probe meaning they had no real sworn testimony to offer or decided it best to stay out of the fray.

The FOP now wants an apology from Mayor Fenty who some officers felt sided with the Rawlings family from the beginning, including paying for the funeral, then appearing and speaking at the event;

Other officers had added in private to me that they doubt the officers will be allowed to return to active duty on the streets because, in the least, departmental policy may have been violated by the cops who went to the area, while off duty, in plainclothes while armed,looking for a stolen bicycle.