WI Web Staff
Federal prosecutors have recommended that former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. spend nearly four years in prison for converting public funds to his personal use.
Thomas, 51, vacated his Ward 5 Council post in January after admitting in court that he embezzled more than $350,000. The money had been earmarked for youth sports programs.
Thomas, who had just entered his second term in office, also admitted to filing false tax returns. At that time, was sentenced to 38 months in prison, and during proceedings Thursday in U. S. District Court, the embattled father of two asked to be incarcerated in either Florida or Alabama.
Thomas' mother Romaine Thomas, who attended the May 3 hearing, reportedly pleaded with Judge John D. Bates for mercy and leniency on behalf of their family -- particularly his young children.
Meanwhile, in spite of a 46-month prison term sought by U.S. Attorney Ron Machen, Thomas' legal team has asked for a sentence of 18 months.
White House Announces Nearly 300,000 Summer Youth Jobs
Wednesday, 02 May 2012 22:21 Published in National
U. S. Secretary of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis joined Mayor Michael Nutter at Philadelphia's City Hall on Wednesday to announce that the Obama Administration has secured additional commitments from 95 companies and non-profits, three cities, two federal agencies and the White House to provide 110,000 new summer jobs and other employment opportunities for low-income and disconnected youth as part of the Summer Jobs + Initiative. The initiative is part of the president's "We Can't Wait" campaign, and among the nearly 300,000 opportunities that will exist, are paid positions, mentorships, internships and training programs.
The Administration will also launch the Summer Jobs+ Bank, a new online search tool to help connect young people to jobs, internships and other employment opportunities this summer and year-round.
"In January, we called on the private and public sectors to help us address record unemployment among America's youth," said PresidentBarack Obama. "We are proud to announce that cities, federal agencies, non-profits, and companies from across the country have come together to provide hundreds of thousands of summer jobs and employment opportunities for our young people."
Solis said the Summer Jobs+ Bank and the growing list of organizations stepping up to answer Obama's challenge are important to maintaining the administration's commitment to the next generation of the American workforce.
"There's no replacement for the dignity that comes with earning your first paycheck, and whether young people are looking for a job at the retail store around the corner or at a national park states away, they now have one place to start their search," Solis said.
As part of the Pathways Back to Work fund, $1.5 billion has been proposed for high-impact summer jobs and year-round employment for low-income youth ages 16-24 in the American Jobs Act. When Congress failed to act, the federal government and private sector came together in January to commit to creating nearly 180,000 employment opportunities for low-income youth in the summer of 2012, with a goal of reaching 250,000 employment opportunities by the start of summer.
Commitments announced since January include: Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association; Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Bread for the World; Bright Horizons; Cambia Health Solutions; Capital Workforce Partners; Coppin State University; and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
A plan by Mayor Vincent Gray to compensate city workers for four days of forced furloughs last year, has been defeated (7-5) by the D.C. Council.
The measure, which was pushed through for a vote by Council Chairman Kwame Brown, involved a $22 million plan for the Presidents Day, Emancipation Day, Memorial Day and Fourth of July holidays which the workers weren't paid in order to close a $188 million gap in the city budget. But a $64,000 surplus was reported the latter part of 2011 and Gray was looking to compensate workers from those coffers.
"We are disappointed the Council has failed to approve this critical legislation," Gray spokesman Pedro Ribeiro, said in an interview. Ribeiro added that the vote was "immensely short-sighted and highly irresponsible."
There had been two versions of the proposal: One would have allowed workers to be immediately paid for the four days, and the other sought payment to the tune of $11 million for just two of the holidays. The rest of the money would have been earmarked for health care and housing initiatives. Employees would have received compensation for the remaining two days after revenue estimates had been made.
While At-Large Council member Michael Brown, described the defeat as a loss for "everybody," Kwame Brown said he had been committed to moving the surplus to a vote.
But he said the Council just wasn't satisfied with the measure.
"Some [Council] members believed that the affordable housing money was cut and that employees [looking for such housing] might not be able to participate in that program," the chairman said. He also said that passing the vote would have left many residents without health insurance, and that money earmarked for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients -- the city's poorest residents -- would likewise be reduced.
"We had was a lot of [Council] members with priorities, trying to make sure that they represented their constituency groups," Kwame Brown said. "We were committed to moving the measure through for the mayor, but it didn't get enough votes to pass."
Nelson, Llindberg to Collide June 23 Defending WIBA World Title
Tuesday, 01 May 2012 18:13 Published in Sports
Todd Wilson Goes for 14th Straight Win Against Winston Mathis on Jimmy Lange Boxing Card
Fairfax, VA (May 1, 2012) – In a battle of world champions, undefeated Tori "Sho Nuff" Nelson (6-0-1) of Ashburn, VA will defend her Women's International Boxing Association (WIBA) Middleweight Title against Maria Lindberg (6-1-2) of Malmo, Sweden as the 10-round Co-Main Event on the Jimmy Lange Boxing card set for Saturday, June 23 at the Patriot Center. Presented by Valcourt Building Services, the card will also feature undefeated Fairfax, VA junior welterweight Todd "White Lightning" Wilson (13-0, 4 KOs) going for his 14th straight victory with an eight-round contest against Winston Mathis (7-5-1, 2 KOs) of Atlanta, GA.
Nelson captured the WIBA Championship with an impressive win over Vashon Living last February in Fairfax. Her biggest win to date came on July 29, 2011 in Trinidad and Tobago with a victory over Lorissa Rivas for the World Boxing Council (WBC) Middleweight Belt. A single mother of two teenagers who juggles jobs as a bus driver and cafeteria worker at Loudoun County's Broad Run High School and waitressing at IHOP, Nelson has made a strong connection with her fans, both inside and outside of the ring.
Lindberg, the WIBA's Light Middleweight Champion, defeated Diana Kiss in a non-title fight in her last bout held February 11, 2012 in Hamburg, Germany. Prior to that she lost a decision to Christina Hammer for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and World Boxing Federation Middleweight Championships on May 27, 2011.
Wilson, a former collegiate boxing champion and Virginia Military Institute graduate, has fought six times in front of hometown fans at the Patriot Center with victories against former world champion Eric "Mighty Mouse" Aiken and tough veteran Dean "Pitt Bull" White. Wilson defeated Eric Burke by fourth-round TKO in his most recent fight held February 25, 2012 in Charlotte, NC. Mathis is looking to bounce back after dropping his last fight to undefeated Chris Algieri on March 31, 2012 in Huntington, NY.
Fan favorite Jimmy Lange (38-4-2) of Great Falls, VA is headlining his 15th show at the Fairfax venue, and will face Tony "Mo Better" Jeter (13-3-1, 9 KOs) of Stevensville, MD in a 10-round bout. Officials also announced that popular LA Boxing instructor Lawrence Jones (4-6-2, 1 KO) of Reston, VA and Gundrick King (16-8, 11 KOs) of Tuscaloosa, AL will fight in a six-round junior middleweight contest. Jones served as a last-minute replacement in his last fight, a loss to Harry Joe Yorgey at the Patriot Center three months ago. King last fought on March 17, 2012, losing to Charlie Ota. In a four-round heavyweight showdown, unbeaten Duane Mobley (2-0, 1 KO) of Upper Marlboro, MD will be matched against Michael DeSantos, an LA Boxing trainer from Ashburn, VA who is making his professional debut. Mobley scored a first-round knockdown over Francois Russell last month in Indiana and won his first fight last February at the Patriot Center.
Doors will open at 6:00 pm, with the first fight scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm. All bouts are subject to change. Jackie "First Lady of Boxing" Kallen is the promoter with matchmaking handled by JD Brown.
Tickets, priced at $35, $50, $75, $125, $200, $300 and $500 (plus applicable service charges), can be purchased through all Ticketmaster outlets including the Patriot Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com/ and via Phonecharge at 1-800-745-3000.
Information:
www.Facebook.com/JimmyLangeBoxing
Follow the Fighters:
Jimmy Lange - Twitter.com/boxerjimmylange
Tony Jeter Facebook
Tori Nelson Facebook
Maria Lindberg Facebook
Todd Wilson Facebook, Twitter.com/TWhiteLightning
Strathmore and Blues Alley Present Ahmad Jamal
Tuesday, 01 May 2012 16:41 Published in Arts & Entertainment
Renowned jazz pianist shares tracks from 2012 album Blue Moon, first recording in over three years
NORTH BETHESDA, MD – At 81, renowned jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal continues to build his stellar reputation as an intrepid and inventive virtuoso with the 2012 release of Blue Moon with original recordings and exciting interpretations of songs from classic film and Broadway. Jahmal will share this latest project for the first time in the D.C. area on Friday, June 22, 2012 at 8 p.m. in the Music Center at Strathmore. Says The Guardian (U.K.) of Blue Moon: "...this session looks set to be one of his classics." For more information or to purchase tickets, call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.
Jamal is a legend of jazz, known for his outstanding technical command and identifiable sound as a piano stylist, as well as his sophisticated ensemble interplay, achieved by treating his quartet, musically, like an orchestra. His stylistic approach to conducting musicians has been met with wide acclaim; notes The Village Voice, "No musician has had a more profound effect on the orchestral approach to small groups in the last 35 years than Ahmad Jamal." The pianist-composer has been honored with the American Jazz Masters fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, was inducted into the prestigious Order of the Arts and Letters, was named a Duke Ellington Fellow at Yale University and was voted into DownBeat's Reader's Poll Hall of Fame. However, Jamal's impact and credibility is best illustrated by fellow musicians such as Miles Davis, who cites Jamal as a primary influence: "All my inspiration comes from Ahmad Jamal."
Blue Moon was released in February 2012 and is comprised of nine tracks. Each of the pieces showcase Jamal's creative reinvention of swing, provide a pretext for breathtaking melodies and showcase his unique relationship with his new working group. The recording "does a brilliant job of drawing together the various strands and styles he does so well" and is "from top to bottom...one very strong album" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer).
After citing increased youth involvement in the National Action Network (NAN ), Rev. Al Sharpton and the organization have launched a Youth Move page on its website.
Many of the youth are being drawn in as part of an effort by Tamika D. Mallory, NAN's executive director, who is just 31 herself, along with Dominique Sharpton, 25,who heads up membership for the organization. Sharpton was a youth activist and established the National Youth Movement in 1971. He was active in leadership his teenage years and went on to run for the U. S. Senate, mayor of New York, and president of the Unites States. He is now grooming young people to fulfill positions of leadership in civil rights and social justice.
NAN's Youth Move is being led by 14-year-old National Youth Director Mary Pat Hector in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Northeast Region where NAN 's headquarters are based, is being directed by 12-year-old Victoria Pannell. Both young ladies mobilized young people during NAN's national convention in Washington, D.C., and were prominent at key events featuring leaders in education and anti-violence. U. S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan acknowledged their efforts at a special plenary session where he spoke at on April 13.
As Youth Move director, Mary Pat Hector has been increasing membership in chapters across the country and the youth presence is a key goal area of growth the organization will continue to focus on. On a local level, Mary Pat leads teen-safety workshops for schools and trains teens and college students in many areas of youth advocacy techniques. She travels an average of 4,000 miles a month speaking at high schools, colleges, conferences, woman's events, and crisis shelters across the U.S. She recently spearheaded the national "Shake off the Violence" tour urging youth to put down guns.
Victoria Pannell recently led an anti-violence march in Harlem, New York, as part of an effort to take back the streets from the drug dealers and gang members and has been active in the fight to save United States Post offices. She and some of the young people met with the head of the U.S. Post Office during NAN's national convention last month, and were victorious when the Senate passed an amended version of the 21st Century Postal Service Act Post that saves the majority of the Post Offices for three years.
Victoria is currently doing speaking engagements on homelessness, being fatherless, violence in communities, and mental health services for children.
Districts's First Integrated Community Services, LEED Certified School
The District's first early childhood public charter school, Eagle Academy Public Charter School, has announced the launch of its new integrated community service school, The Eagle Center. The announcement was made Monday during a ground breaking ceremony held at the new facility in Ward 8 at 3400 Wheeler Road, Southeast.
Participants in the ceremony included Mayor Vincent Gray, Council Chairman Kwame Brown, Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry, ANC Commissioner Melvin Sims, and Eagle Academy's Founder and Executive Director Cassandra Pinkney.
"The Eagle Center will be the first public school in DC to which many other urban school districts would come to see how to turn around an underserved community," said Pinkney."The establishment of this unique, first-of-its-kind model program of a full service community school will provide a framework for structuring similar programs across the country."
Eagle Academy Public Charter School, established in 2003, is a high-performing community school providing an innovative academic program to young children, from PreK-3 through Grade 3, free of charge.
In 2011, the city awarded Eagle Academy a 67,000 square feet school in Ward 8 – the former McGogney Elementary School - to develop The Eagle Center.
Based on Eagle Academy Public Charter School's eight years of experience serving children and families from Ward 8 (72% of students), and conversations with Ward 8 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners, and consultations with District officials, the charter school decided two years ago to move its high-performing school to Ward 8.
The project will cost $20 million dollars with primary financing for the project from BB&T Bank.
"BB&T is proud to have provided financing for this innovative school as part of the bank's mission of making the communities in which we work better places to be. We value quality education and the impact it can have on communities," stated Dan Waetjan, BB&T Metro D.C. region president.
The Washington Redskins did what everybody knew they would do by picking Robert Griffin III (RGIII) as their first draft pick. The Heisman Tropy winner is the toast of the town in D.C.!
AMERICAN IDOL LIVE! returns this summer for another hit tour to showcase this season's talented top 10 finalists.
Launching the careers of many, the AMERICAN IDOL LIVE! Tour is the first chance to see your favorites in concert! The tour launches in Detroit, MI, at the Joe Louis Arena on Friday, July 6 and wraps up on Sept. 11 in Milwaukee, WS. The tour will also stop in D.C. at Verizon Center on Wednesday, August 8. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m., Friday, May 11 via www.AmericanIdol.com , www.ticketmaster.com and www.aeglive.com .
"Every year we are amazed at the extraordinary wealth of untapped talent that is discovered on American Idol and we couldn't be happier with this season's top 10 contestants," said Iain Pire, president, 19 Entertainment. "We are truly excited to bring our contestants on tour across America directly to our fans' hometowns."
As presenting sponsors of AMERICAN IDOL LIVE! Tour 2012, CHIPS AHOY! and RITZ are thrilled to bring the excitement of the tour to their fans in a number of unique ways, from cookie and cracker coupons to a one-of-a-kind consumer promotion. The U.S. Air Force Reserve is an associate sponsor.
AMERICAN IDOL LIVE! gives fans the unique opportunity to be up close and personal with Idol finalists Colton Dixon, DeAndre Brackensick, Elise Testone, Erika Van Pelt, Heejun Han, Hollie Cavanagh, Jessica Sanchez, Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips and Skylar Laine.
Tickets for the Verizon Center show are $65, $45 and $29.50 (plus applicable service charges) and there is an eight ticket limit. A ticket lottery will take place at 8 a.m., May 11 at the Verizon Center box office, and fans must be in line by that time to participate.
Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced during a gathering this week at the Southeast Children's Fund Child Development Center, that he has joined educational and human-services leaders in presenting his Early Success Framework
The initiative – which focuses on ways District government and partner agencies engage issues surrounding early-childhood education and healthy child development -- will not only more closely coordinate local government agencies, but ensure that all District children develop and learn in nurturing and healthy environments.
"During my State of the District Address earlier this year, I said that I want the District to 'Seize the Future' by creating a new economy, by ensuring that our residents are prepared to fill the jobs in that new economy and by improving the quality of life for all in our city," Gray said. "Early-childhood education and development is integral to each of those priorities. That's why we're announcing this Early Success Framework, which will help us coordinate efforts across the many functions of our government and our partners that touch on early-childhood education and development and will also help us measure our progress."
Among some of the Framework 's challenges are efforts to meet outcomes in quality standards for the District's early-childhood programs, provide access to high-quality programs for low-income children, and to lower the threshold for eligibility to participate in programs in support of infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities.
The Framework -- which is part of Gray's cradle-to-career" plan -- is the result of efforts coordinated by the offices of Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services and Deputy Mayor for Education.
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