Posted: 11:41 a.m. Monday, Aug. 16, 2010
Copper Crook Caught On Church's Roof; For Teens, Sex & School, Love Matters; GAP Band Bassist Robert Wilson, Jazz Singer Abbey Lincoln Pass Away
By Veronica Waters
- Members of a southwest Atlanta church victimized by copper thieves 17 times, including twice over the weekend, can rejoice. One of the crooks was caught Sunday night--on the roof of the Pleasant Word Christian Church on Whitehall Street. Reverend Robert Reed says thieves have repeatedly ripped out 10 air conditioning units, stripped copper wiring, destroyed the electrical system--causing the church to cancel services--and even stolen the church's security system. No word yet whether the man caught last night has any accomplices.
- Parents and teachers at one of the twelve Atlanta Public Schools named in the CRCT cheating scandal are fighting for their school's rep. F. L. Stanton supporters have started a Facebook page: "We Are NOT Cheaters -- Stanton Elementary School Stand Up," and are planning a rally Monday night before the school board meeting. They want to ask that the school be cleared of any wrongdoing, saying it was "unfairly named" in the standardized test erasure scandal.
- DeKalb County's top school official fires two principals and demotes two other officials after finding school funds were used to purchase books that school administrators had written. Three educators-turned-authors took in almost $100,000 in sales to district schools. One principal was accused of using her school's funds to buy more than $11,000 worth of copies of her own book.
- When it comes to teens, sex and studies, love matters. Research finds teenagers who have sex in romantic relationships don't fare any better or worse in school than teens who don't have sex. But sociologists found kids who have casual sex hookups do get worse grades and have more problems in school than teens who abstain. Researchers said teens in romantic relationships may find social and emotional support in their sex partners, reducing their anxiety and stress levels in life and in school.
- The "Godfather of Bass Guitar," Robert Wilson of the legendary R&B and funk group the GAP Band, died Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 53. Wilson died from a massive heart attack in his home. His publicist says Wilson's family became concerned about him when they didn't receive their regular phone calls, and his body was discovered Sunday afternoon by his adult son in Palmdale, California.
- Actress, jazz singer and songwriter Abbey Lincoln has died. Her friend, filmmaker Carol Friedman, confirms Lincoln died Saturday in New York after a year of declining health. Lincoln was 80. She appeared opposite Sidney Poitier in the 1968 film "For Love of Ivy'' and she had a small role in the 1990 Spike Lee film "Mo' Better Blues.'' Lincoln's 1991 album "You Gotta Pay The Band'' was number one on the jazz charts, and on her follow-up, "Devil's Got Your Tongue,'' she took on rappers and comics who profit from denigrating black culture.
As a young woman, Lincoln made a splash not only because of her voice, but her beauty. Early album covers featured her in slinky dresses, and she appeared in a Jayne Mansfield movie wearing the dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.''
But after falling under the influence of Max Roach, whom she married in 1962 and later divorced, Lincoln turned her back on that image, casting herself instead as a civil rights advocate, dressing in African-inspired clothing and hairstyles, and making music with a political tone.
Explaining her image makeover in 1993, Lincoln told The Associated Press, "This dress was more important than I was. People in the audience were looking at my exposed breasts and the shape of my body, and it didn't have nothing to do with the music. ... It wasn't a dream of mine to be a star, so Max came along at the right time to help save me from myself. Otherwise, I would have become an alcoholic and unhappy.''
- Good luck, Bubba! Louisiana shrimpers hit the water today for the opening of the first season since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. There's concern about the low price of shrimp and how much they'll catch--as well as anxiety about how the public will perceive the catch, despite extensive safety testing.
- President Obama and family had a whirlwind vacation in Florida over the weekend, cruising the Panhandle waters. To the delight of locals, he and daughter Sasha went for a swim off Alligator Point on Panama City Beach--a signal to other would-be Gulf vacationers that the water and beaches are fine.
- Didn't cha know? Erykah Badu found out the hard way that curfew means curfew at Chastain. The park pulled the plug on her amphitheater show, right at 11:01, right in the middle of "Didn't Cha Know." Badu didn't come on stage until an hour after her opening act finished, and while she got the crowd grooving right away, that didn't give her time to finish her own set. AJC's Tracy Brown says, though, for an hour and 10 minutes, Erykah was "smoldering with funk." Read her review of the show.
- Foxy Brown has been indicted for violating a restraining order by mooning her neighbor. She pleaded guilty two years ago to menacing the woman with a cell phone. Prosecutors say she violated the protective order when she screamed at the neighbor, Arlene Raymond, then bared her behind and yelled an obscenity. Brown has been charged with criminal contempt in the second degree and faces up to one year in jail.
- The KISS 104.1 weather forecast: hazy, hot and humid with a 40% chance of showers or thunderstorms and a high around 91.
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