July 29, 2010 

THE NATION

Panel Charges Rep. Charles Rangel With Ethics Misdeeds; Trial Phase Next

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House investigative committee on July 22 charged New York Rep. Charles Rangel with multiple ethics violations, dealing a serious blow to the former Ways and Means chairman and complicating Democrats’ election-year outlook.

The panel did not immediately specify the charges against the Democrat, who has served in the House for some 40 years and is fourth in seniority. The charges by a four-member panel of the House ethics committee sends the case to a House trial, where a separate eight-member panel of Republicans and Democrats will decide whether the violations can be proved by clear and convincing evidence.

The timing of the announcement ensures that a public airing of Rangel’s ethical woes will stretch into the fall campaign, and Republicans are certain to make it an issue as they try to capture majority control of the House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi had once promised to “drain the swamp” of ethical misdeeds by lawmakers in arguing that Democrats should be in charge.

Rangel led the tax-writing Ways and Means panel until he stepped aside last March after the ethics committee criticized him in a separate case — finding that he should have known corporate money was paying for his trips to two Caribbean conferences.

Officials said that in the current case, the committee and Rangel’s attorney tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a settlement. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions. A settlement would have required Rangel to agree that he violated ethics rules.

Records Reveal U.S. Senate Candidate Alvin Greene’s Military Failures, Mistakes

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Surprise U.S. Senate nominee Alvin Greene frequently mentions his 13 years of military service, but records obtained by The Associated Press show that the veteran who has called himself an “American hero” was considered a lackluster service member at best.

The records, which document his superiors’ decisions to pass over Greene for promotion, cite mistakes as severe as improperly uploading sensitive intelligence information to a military server, and as basic as an overall inability to clearly express his thoughts and perform basic tasks.

Greene, 32, won a surprise victory in the June 8 Democratic primary. Greene handily defeated Vic Rawl, a former lawmaker and judge who had been considered an easy win by the party establishment.

Ex-Mayor Makes Memphis, Tenn., Primary About Race

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — In the city where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, a once-unbeatable former mayor wants the Democratic congressional primary to be a referendum on race.

Willie Herenton is accusing white two-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of “trying to act black.” He tells voters in this majority-black city that they “need to come off that Cohen plantation and get on the Herenton freedom train.”

But President Barack Obama has endorsed Cohen, who has an “A” rating from the NAACP and has built support in the black community by supporting civil rights legislation and bringing much-needed federal funding to Memphis schools and hospitals.

“It appears that the former mayor is making race the basis of his campaign, but I don’t think voters are going to go for that at all,” Cohen said. “President Obama’s election proves that voters don’t look at race when making a decision in an election.”

Herenton is betting they will. Though in interviews he’s happy to address issues like improving public schools, creating jobs and bolstering small minority businesses, on the campaign trail he focuses mostly on race and his contention that Tennessee needs “just one” black representative in its all-white congressional delegation.

Gov. Pat Quinn Signs Hair-Braiding Bill into Law

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois hair braiders will soon be able to practice their craft without fear of being shut down by state regulators.

Gov. Pat Quinn has signed a law that will allow braiders to operate without a cosmetology degree and license.

Braiders who can prove that they’ve practiced for at least two years can automatically get a hair-braiding license after paying a fee.

New braiders can get a license after undergoing 300 hours of training in braiding methods and sanitation.

Proponents of the law say it’s needed to protect small-business owners, many of them African and African American women, who were being raided by the state’s professional regulation department for not being licensed.

The law takes effect Jan. 1.

Checks Coming Soon: Obama Signs Extension of Long-Term Jobless Benefits

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal checks could begin flowing again as early as this week to millions of jobless people who lost up to seven weeks of unemployment benefits in a congressional standoff.

President Barack Obama on July 22 signed into law a restoration of benefits for people who have been out of work for six months or more. Congress approved the measure earlier in the day. The move ended an interruption that cut off payments averaging about $300 a week to 2 1/2 million people who have been unable to find work in the aftermath of the nation’s long and deep recession.

At stake are up to 73 weeks of federally financed benefits for people who have exhausted their 26 weeks of state jobless benefits. About half of the approximately 5 million people in the program have had their benefits cut off since its authorization expired June 2.

They are eligible for lump-sum retroactive payments that are typically delivered directly to their bank accounts or credited to state-issued debit cards. Many states have encouraged beneficiaries to keep updating their paperwork in hopes of speeding payments once the program was restored.

THE SOUTHLAND

Los Angeles Deputies Fired for Not Checking on Jail Inmates

(AP) — Two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies have been fired after a jail suicide revealed how they cheated a bar code system to avoid checking cells regularly.

Another eight sworn officers were disciplined, according to a report to the Board of Supervisors by the county’s Office of Independent Review, the Los Angeles Times website reported July 21.

The scandal, called “Scannergate” by deputies, was revealed after a high-security inmate hanged himself at the downtown jail in March 2009.

Deputies use a bar code reader to scan checkpoints as they walk the cell rows checking on inmates.

A falsified log showed a deputy scanned all points within 35 seconds, which was impossible. Investigators later found a copy of the bar codes in a deputy’s desk.

Information from: Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com.

Lawsuit over Rights to  Film ‘Precious’ Settled

(AP) — Court records show a lawsuit between two film companies over the rights to the film “Precious” has been dismissed.

Lionsgate Films and The Weinstein Co. sued each other in February 2009 over rights to the film, which went on to win two Academy awards.

Lionsgate attorney Matthew Gershman said the case was “amicably resolved” but that he couldn’t provide further details.

Notice of the dismissal was filed July 22 in Los Angeles.

“Precious” is based on the 1996 novel “Push: Based on a Novel by Sapphire.” Actress Mo’Nique and screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher each won Oscar awards, and the film was nominated in four other categories.

Attorney Bert Fields, who represented Weinstein, was not immediately available for comment.

THE STATE

California Hate Crimes Drop 21 Percent Last Year

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Hate crimes reported in California dropped by more than 20 percent last year, continuing a trend that has held for most of the decade.

A state Department of Justice report released recently says hate crimes declined by half since they peaked after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In 2009, 1,100 crimes motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation and other forms of bias were reported. That’s down from 1,397 in 2008 and 2,261 in 2001.

The decline from 2008 was led by double-digit drops in hate crimes against gays, blacks and Jews.

The 2009 report showed 245 crimes based on sexual orientation, 376 against blacks, 160 against Jews, 81 against Hispanics and 13 against Muslims.

Hate crimes have declined over the last decade, aside from a slight spike in 2007.