Washington Informer

By Dorothy Rowley

WI Online Editor

Rapper and reality star Flavor Flav has come clean in his newly-released book, "Flavor Flav: The Icon, the Memoir."

The tell-all provides an eye-opening account of Flav’s life in the spotlight as a member of Public Enemy and his stints on several reality TV shows.

Flav’s real name is William Drayton. The 52-year-old Long Island, NY, native who has admitted to fathering eight children with different women, is also a grandfather of three. His book details among other issues, a longtime drug addiction as well as tensions with Public Enemy member Professor Griff.

"I [was] a drug addict for 18 years; only six years clean," Flav was quoted as saying in a Black America Web article.

"The worst mistake I ever made was experimenting with drugs. I was always more of a follower instead of a leader. Being around the 'hood, you’re following, you always wanna have a big name for yourself, and you don’t wanna be no punk. Whatever my friends were doing, I chose to do. It was the worst experiment that I could do in my life, but would I change it to this day? No. The reason why is because I got to learn about addiction. I got to live through all of that, so that way I could be able to teach about it and hopefully, people learn how I made my mistakes and they [don’t] make the same mistakes that I made."

Flav, who claims to have lost his virginity at age 6 on a playground, was accused in April of failing to pay employees at a new chicken restaurant in Clinton, Iowa, that he operated with a partner.

While the employees alleged that their paychecks bounced, the "Flavor of Love" star told a TV station that the employees were a bunch of disgruntled workers who were haters.

"It's not true information first of all, and second of all, maybe these are people that's just jealous of me being here and probably want to see me out," Flav reportedly said.

Wesley Snipes - AP Photo

In a June 6 ruling, the court refused to hear an appeal from Snipes, who was convicted in 2008 on three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file income tax returns, according to the Associated Press (AP).

Snipes has starred in films that include "White Men Can’t Jump" and the "Blade" trilogy. He reported in December to a federal minimum security prison to begin a s three-year term, and is expected to be released iin 2013.

The AP also reported that Snipes wanted his trial held in New York City, where he lived. However, the government brought charges against him in Florida, where Snipes’ driver’s license was issued.

Last month, Snipes reportedly tried through his attorneys to re-finance his Alpine, NJ, mansion for $1.6 million.

New Standard Offer Service rates Effective June 1

WASHINGTON – The District of Columbia Public Service (DCPSC) has authorized a decrease in supply rates. Based on the results of a competitive auction, District customers who buy their electricity through the Standard Offer Service (SOS) program will see decreases in their electricity bills beginning June 1, 2012. SOS represents about 70 percent of a residential customer's bill.

The change will decrease average monthly residential electricity bills by about 5.8 percent. The average residential customer uses about 825 kWh per month in the summer and 615 kWh per month in the winter. The monthly bill for an average residential SOS customer will decrease by $5.25 adjusting the average bill from $90.00 to $84.74.

The supply cost of electricity (including generation and transmission) for SOS customers will decline from 9.75 cents per kWh in the summer to 8.86 cents per kWh and from 9.22 cents per kWh in the winter to 8.61 cents per kWh. As a result the supply portion of the average residential electricity bill will decline from $63.71 to $58.45. The average monthly residential bill (including supply and delivery charges) will be about $84.74.

"This is great news for our District of Columbia customers because the cost of electricity has the greatest impact on their bills," said Thomas H. Graham, President, Pepco Region.

The SOS program is administered by Pepco under rules established by the DCPSC. Under legislation passed by the D.C. Council in 1990, Pepco no longer owns any power plants. The DCPSC has designated Pepco to purchase electricity for SOS customers through power supply contracts in an annual auction.

For more information and updates, visit www.pepco.com and follow Pepco at www.twitter.com/PepcoConnect.

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FraserNet, The Empowerment Experiment and Black Business Advocates Unite to Promote "Cash Mobs" in 7 Major Cities

NEW YORK CITY-Nationally recognized entrepreneur George Fraser, CEO of FraserNet and Maggie Anderson, CEO of The Empowerment Experiment, and Black business advocates launch their first Cash Mob (Noir), an event that will demonstrate the economic value and benefit of supporting local, quality, Black-owned businesses.

The Cash Mob (Noir) operates the same way as a flash mob, but with one major difference: instead of "flashing" the mob will be "spending cash" at a Black-owned business.

Participants in the Cash Mob (Noir) will spend at least $20 at local Black businesses in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC/Prince George's County, MD between 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm on Saturday, May 19 to demonstrate the great buying power of Black consumers.

When Black consumers consistently spend more money with Black-owned businesses, the community will see improvement, by way of recycled dollars and job creation. Supporting Black businesses will change lives. Additionally there will be a Mob-Mixer afterwards at a Black-owned lounge from 7-9 p.m. to celebrate and network.

WHEN: Saturday, May 19 from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Visit: http://www.frasernet.com%20or http://www.eefortomorrow.com%20for details.

People use water every day to meet their domestic, industrial, agricultural, medical, and recreational needs. Access to public water sources that are safe and reliable is crucial for the health and prosperity of a society.

Making Tap Water Safe and Healthy

Tap water not only provides Americans with water for daily activities (like drinking, bathing, and cooking), but also is used to deliver fluoride (to reduce the potential for tooth decay).

During the past century, many improvements in the health, prosperity, and longevity of the U.S. population can be attributed to improvements in water quality. Water treatment and disinfection have made U.S. tap water one of the safest and healthiest drinking water supplies in the world (2).

In 1908, Jersey City, New Jersey, was the first city in the United States to begin routine disinfection of a municipal drinking water supply (3). Over the next decade, thousands of cities and towns across the United States began disinfecting their drinking water. This disinfection led to a dramatic decrease in cases of waterborne illness (diseases spread through water) and death (4).

For example, in 1900 there were approximately 100 cases of typhoid fever for every 100,000 persons living in the United States (5). In 2006, the rate had declined to 0.1 cases for every 100,000 persons (only 353 cases of illness in total) and approximately 75% —or 265 cases—occurred among international travelers (6). Adding fluoride to our tap water has also helped reduce the amount of tooth decay experienced by the public. Both the disinfection and fluoridation of public water systems are among the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century (7, 8).

Protecting Tap Water from Contaminants

As a result of environmental regulations, such as the Clean Water Act (passed in 1972), many sources of water pollution—particularly sewage—have been reduced over the years. However, treating water to remove or kill disease-causing contaminants is still critical. Contamination of drinking water sources can occur at multiple points, including in the source water, through inadequate water treatment, in storage tanks, and in drinking water distribution systems (the pipes that carry water to homes, businesses, schools, and other buildings).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets maximum concentration levels for many water pollutants and regulates drinking water quality in public water systems. Every community water system is required to provide its customers with an annual consumer confidence report.

This report gives information on local drinking water quality, including the water's source, the levels of contaminants found in the water, problems with the water treatment system which may have occurred, and how customers can get involved in protecting their drinking water.

Fifty Shades of Grey, E. L. James

Sunrise Point, Robyn Carr

The Witness, Nora Roberts

Fifty Shades Darker, E.L. James

The Innocent, David Baldacci

Guilty Wives, James Patterson

What Doesn't Kill You, Iris Johansen

Imagine: How Creativy Works, Karen Gravano

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot

The President's Club, Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy

WASHINGTON, DC – The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has presented Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed with its highest honor, the Louis E. Martin Great American Award, for his innovative and effective leadership in guiding his city through difficult economic challenges in the wake of the recent recession.

Mayor Reed received the award at the Joint Center's Annual Gala Dinner Tuesday night in Washington before an audience of more than 500 elected and appointed government officials and business, civic and community leaders from across the country.

Mayor Reed was honored for improving the delivery of public services in Atlanta and strengthening the city's financial position while working to improve the quality of life for its most vulnerable residents.

Joint Center President Ralph B. Everett said that Mayor Reed is a forceful, forward-looking leader. "His record of success, his efforts to bring everyone in his community together to solve problems, his innovative spirit in finding solutions that work, and his determination to ensure that no one is left behind – these are the qualities that make Mayor Reed one of the most compelling leaders of his generation," said Everett.

"He has earned a reputation as an unflinching advocate for our nation's urban centers who recognizes that sustaining support for them is a necessity, even in tough economic times," said Cynthia G. Marshall, chair of the Joint Center's Board of Governors and President of AT&T North Carolina.

The Joint Center is a Washington research and policy institution that has supported African American leadership and encouraged broad political participation for more than 40 years.

The Louis E. Martin Great American Award is named for the legendary journalist and presidential advisor who was a co-founder of the Joint Center. Previous award recipients include former Presidents Jimmy Carter and William J. Clinton, Congressmen James E. Clyburn (D-SC) and Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Muhammad Ali, lawyer and civil rights leader Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., the late civil rights activist Dr. Dorothy I. Height, and the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. Last year's recipient was Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), who is also from Atlanta.

Mayor Reed demonstrated his leadership traits when, as an undergraduate at Howard University more than 20 years ago, he created a fundraising program that has contributed more than $10 million over the years to the school's endowment. He was appointed as the University's youngest General Trustee in June 2002 and remains a member of that body.

"Kasim Reed, a beloved son of Howard University, represents our core values of leadership, excellence, truth and service," said University President Sidney A. Ribeau. "Mayor Reed's accomplishments in Atlanta have established him as one of the leading mayors in the nation. We congratulate him on this extraordinary Joint Center award. Well done!"

The Annual Gala Dinner is the organization's major fundraising event. This year's theme was Continuing our Commitment for the Next Generation.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is one of the nation's leading research and public policy institutions and the only one whose work focuses primarily on issues of particular concern to African Americans and other people of color. To learn more, please visit www.jointcenter.org.

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that he believes gays and lesbians should have the right to marry.

"I've always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and I sensed that for a lot of people, " Obama said in an interview with Robin Roberts, host of ABC's "Good Morning America," where he added that some of his daughters' friends have parents who are same-sex couples.

"Over the course of several years, as I talked to friends, family and neighbors and when I think about members of my own staff or incredibly committed monogamous relationships . . . or those marines or sailors out there fighting on my behalf . . for me personally, it is important to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married," Obama said.

His comments make Obama the first sitting U.S. president to publicly support gay marriage.

Meanwhile, the president had been under intense pressure lately to lay out a clear stance on same-sex marriage after Vice President Joe Biden and other top advisers endorsed the issue.

During his 2008 campaign, Obama had been opposed to same-sex marriage. But I explaining his previous reluctance on May 9, he said he'd had hesitated on gay marriage, in part because, " I thought civil unions would be sufficient... And I was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people the word 'marriage' was something that invokes very powerful traditions, religious beliefs and so forth."

The District of Columbia Branch NAACP has launched its "This Is My Vote" campaign, which is an area-wide initiative to register more than 5,000 new African-American, Latino and minority voters prior to the November presidential election.

The campaign is a non-partisan initiative designed to increase civic participation, education and turn out among minority, young and elderly voters. The NAACP  D.C. branch has already begun training and mobilizing volunteers to register and educate new voters in churches, schools, grocery stores and recreation centers across the D.C. area. The campaign will use door-to-door canvassing, registration booths at public events and on-site voter registration stations to help attract, register and turn out new voters.

Conducting a voter registration is easy, according to the District organization, and individuals, churches, sororities and fraternities, interest groups and civic organizations of all sizes are invited to partner in the effort. The Disrict branch will provide training, planning assistance and resources to partner organizations.

"This is our time! We demand our civil rights through exercising our voting rights," said Akosua Tyus, NAACP branch president. District branch Political Action Chair, Brandon Andrews added that, "We must empower our communities to advocate for solutions that best fit the problems they face. Holding elected officials accountable at the ballot is a powerful tool in this process. Join us in our effort."

For more information or to inquire about partnering or holding a registration event please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .