Washington Informer

Now that the much-needed rain has ceased and the cloud cover is giving way to sunshine, the D.C. area is in for a warming trend that is expected to extend well into next week.

However, the cool temperatures from earlier this week could change the highly-anticipated Tidal Basin cherry blossom peak bloom dates -- meaning the dates may be April 6 - 10 instead of April 3 - 7.

(Sources: WTOP, The Patch.com)

Ward 8 Councilman Marion Barry has been released from the hospital after being treated for low blood sugar.

Barry, 76, a diabetic, is home resting following an overnight stay at a Washington hospital earlier this week. A change in his medication to better manage his condition was made.

Meanwhile, Barry encouraged his supporters via his Twitter account to: "change our diets and demand healthier food options in our neighborhoods."

Actors' Equity, Capital Fringe, and Dizzy Miss Lizzie's Roadside Revue Honored

Washington theatre will celebrate its highest honors for achievement at the 29th Helen Hayes Awards on Monday, April 8 at the Warner Theatre and the JW Marriott Hotel.

The awards will recognize outstanding performances, designs, direction, and productions in 26 categories as well as pay tribute to three organizations which have made extraordinary contributions to theatre and Washington.

"The Helen Hayes Awards is the one night of the year when all sectors of Washington theatre come together – artists, professionals, and audience members -- to celebrate their collective achievements," said Linda Levy Grossman, president and CEO of theatreWashington. "Outstanding talent – and enormous commitment – goes into creating the incredible shows audiences enjoy almost every night of the year on Washington stages, and on April 8t we will honor that dedication."

Oscar, Tony, and Emmy winning actress Ellen Burstyn, song and dance man extraordinaire Maurice Hines, Wendy Rieger, Kojo Nnamdi, and D.C. Council member David Grosso are just a few of the special guests expected to attend.

(Source: theatreWashington)

Renownd film critic Roger Ebert has died following a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 70.

Ebert was part of the film critic team that included the late Gene Sisket, who died in 1999 from a brain tumor.

For years, he "two thumbs up" team helped moviegoers decide which films they wanted to see, and Ebert continued his syndicated reiviews which were based at The Chicago Sun-Times, until shortly before his death.

"I'll see you at the movies," were the last word's Ebert wrote to his readers. It was published in an essay titled "Leave of Presence" on his blog Tuesday, in which he explained he was planning to slow down and reduce the number of movie reviews he wrote.

(Source: CNN)

Mayor Rahm Emanuel was among the officials at Urban Prep Academies – Englewood Campus recently as the boys-only charter school celebrated another milestone.

For the fourth time, 100 percent of the graduating seniors from Urban Prep's Englewood campus and the inaugural graduating class from its West campus, all African American males, have been accepted to a four-year college or university, school leaders announced at a special, hour-long assembly.

"I want everyone in this city, I want everyone in this country to look up here," Emanuel said, pointing to the young men lauded for their academic achievements.

Urban Prep students are distinguished by their school uniform – which includes a navy blue blazer and red tie.

Throughout the year, the school's seniors ceremoniously exchange their red ties for one with a red and gold striped design as they receive college acceptance letters. Thursday, more young men made the special exchange, signaling their recent college acceptance.

Students at the Englewood and West Campuses were joined by students from Urban Prep's Bronzeville campus for a collaborative commemorative event.

Urban Prep co-founder, Tim King, made national headlines three years ago at the first announcement of 100 percent college acceptance. The class of 2010 was the school's inaugural graduating class.

A spokesperson for the school said recently that Urban Prep continues to follow and mentor the former graduates, including the first graduating class, members of which are now mostly in their third year of college. Urban Prep officials said they have some 300 alumni enrolled in higher education.

Next fall, that number is expected to increase by 167 as members of the class of 2013 head for campuses around the country.

Urban Prep Academies is a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by education entrepreneur Tim King and a group of African-American education, business and civic leaders. Urban Prep's mission is to provide a comprehensive, high-quality college preparatory education to young men that results in graduates succeeding in college.

The Urban Prep motto, "We Believe" is a constant reminder that Urban Prep students will not fall into the trap of negative stereotypes and low expectations. Instead, Urban Prep students believe in their potential and believe in their ability to exceed that potential. The Urban Prep family (teachers, administrators, staff, board of directors, community members and donors) also believe in these young men, and in their important and long lasting role in student lives.

The New York Times reports that since its September debut, the "Steve Harvey" talk show which airs weekdays on ABC, has been the surprise hit of daytime TV, averaging a rating of 0.9 among women ages 25 to 54.

The show's also been gathering steam, posting a 1.0 rating in February, enough to tie Katie Couric's syndicated talk show for the first time. Harvey's show is already posting a slight profit, according to Endemol, the company that produces it , which then sells the show to stations across the country.

Harvey's ratings have cemented his status as one of the foremost entertainers in America, one who juggles a national morning radio show, the game show "Family Feud" and side projects — if they can be called that — like a feature film, "Think Like a Man," that made $100 million last year.

Recently, The Hollywood Reporter asked in a headline if Harvey was "the next Oprah."

"That's a scary headline, man," he exclaimed in a telephone interview before saying all the right things about Ms. Winfrey being "one of a kind."

Meanwhile, Harvey gravitates toward normal-people stories, relationship advice and inspiration ("Harvey's Heroes" is a recurring segment), much as Ms. Winfrey's show did in the 1980s and '90s. Winfrey must like what she's seen because she agreed to appear on Harvey's show with their conversation to be televised at the end of April.

(Source: The New York Times)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported Tuesday morning that the first three of 35 educators involved in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal have turned themselves in to authorities.

According to the AJC report, Tameka Goodson, a school improvement specialist at Kennedy Middle School, was booked in to Fulton County Jail around 12:30 a.m. on a $200,000 bond, charged with racketeering and false statements and writings.

The indictment, handed up by a grand jury Friday, accuses Goodson of working with her school's principal and secretary to change students' wrong answers to right answers on standardized tests.

In addition, Donald Bullock, a testing coordinator at Usher-Collier Heights Elementary, arrived at the jail with his attorney just before 6 a.m. on Tuesday. He is accused of asking two teachers to participate in falsifying standardized test answer sheets and telling the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that he wasn't aware of teachers erasing test answers, according to the AJC' report. Bullock is charged with racketeering, false swearing and three counts of false statements or writings.

Benteen Elementary testing coordinator Theresia Copeland walked into the jail about an hour later, and is charged with racketeering, theft by taking and two counts of false statements or writings.

Copeland allegedly participated in collecting a bonus check based on falsified test results and misled investigators when she said she wasn't involved in cheating, according to the indictment.

Online jail records list the bonds for Bullock and Copeland at $1 million each.

(Source: Atlanta Journal –Constitution)

In comments filed recently with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), members of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) endorsed the 2003 Wright Petition that seeks FCC action to proscribe excessive payphone rates.

"The burden of staying connected with loved ones in prison falls heaviest on families with the least ability to pay, often forcing them to make harrowing choices between maintaining communication or putting food on the table," said MMTC President David Honig. "Unreasonably high prison phone rate practices reflect poorly on the moral stature of the telephone industry and diminish public confidence in the industry, especially among the underserved."

MMTC's members have also expressed gratitude to FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who led the Commission's initiative to take on the issue through rulemaking.

For the past 10 years, the fight for prison payphone justice has been waged by the Prison Phone Rates Collaborative and the Campaign for Prison Phone Justice, which MMTC inducted into its Hall of Fame at the January 2013 MMTC Broadband & Social Justice Summit.

On March 25, MMTC commended Verizon for its eloquent and thorough comments in support of the Wright Petition. Since Verizon no longer operates in the prison phone market, it has no economic interest in the FCC prison payphone proceeding.

Instead, Verizon official joined forces with social justice organizations on moral and ethical grounds, with the company's advocacy of prison payphone rate reform speaking highly of the corporation and its leadership.