Nagin and Wife's Quarantine Could Last A Week!

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and his wife's Seletha quarantine in Shanghai as a swine flu precautionary measure could last up to a week according to The Times-Picayune. Fortunately neither Nagin or his wife are showing any signs of the flu.

New Orleans Area Teacher Charged With Having Sex With 14 Year-Old Girl!

The Times-Picayune reports that Patrick Williams, 33 an assistant band director at a local school was arrested Monday evening on charges of having sex with a 14 year-old girl, and contributing to the delinquency of other students at the school.

Williams allegedly brought four students to a home in eastern New Orleans on Oct. 24, said New Orleans Police Department Assistant Superintendent Marlon Defillo. There, the students -- two 14-year-old girls and boys aged 15 and 17 -- engaged in or witnessed various sex acts, Defillo said.

Williams is accused of having sex with one of the girls. He was booked into the Orleans Parish jail with felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile, conspiring to commit felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile, three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and four counts of indecent behavior with juveniles.

Defillo said police learned of the matter just days ago, when one of the girls told her mother what happened during a heart-to-heart conversation. Her mother brought the matter to the attention of the Police Department's child abuse investigators, Defillo said.

As of Tuesday evening, Williams was being held in the Orleans Parish jail without bond. He likely will have his first court appearance today to determine whether he is eligible for bail.

Too bad we can't trust our children with teachers anymore. Nothing is sacred!

I Guess We Will Fall For Anything!

U.S. Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana is facing a 16-count federal indictment that accuses him of funneling bribes to family-owned businesses in exchange for helping companies get business deals in western Africa. The former nine-term congressman is scheduled to stand trial June 2 in federal court in Alexandria, Va. Last night in New Orleans he gathered with friends and family to recognize his 3 decades of public service. The fact that an offering was collected to help defray "Dollar Bill's" legal expenses is a joke. If Jefferson is guilty of his pending charges, then he will spend the rest of his life in jail. Why are black people collecting money for him. We really will fall for anything! Thanks to the NOLA.com for the article.

The Man Who Saved Lil Wayne!

Police officer have been getting criticized all over the country, and hurt by the "bad apples" that give all of them a bad name. All police officers put their lives on the line daily in an effort to protect private citizens. Robert Hoobler was a police officer in New Orleans on Nov. 11, 1994, when 12 year-old Dwayne Carter Jr. was walking home from school, came upon a 9 mm handgun and accidentally shot himself in the chest. Carter Jr. was able to call 911, and Hoobler answered the call taking the young boy to the hospital and saving his life.

Dwayne Carter Jr., of course is none other than rapper Lil Wayne. The two had the opportunity to meet again, and the reunion went like this:

One night, as Hoobler dined at a restaurant on St. Charles Avenue with a friend, a large man tapped him on the shoulder and told him, "Lil Wayne wants to see you."
Hoobler cast a puzzled glance around the room and locked eyes with a man sporting wild dreadlocks and shiny chains. The man motioned him over. Hoobler didn't recognize him until he stood over the table.
"This man saved my life, " Lil Wayne said to several men and women around him, according to Hoobler. "I almost died, and this man saved my life. I'll never forget him."
He reached out and bumped Hoobler's fist. They spoke briefly before they each returned to their meals.
Hoobler finished eating. When he went to pay for his meal, the waiter told him not to worry about it. Lil Wayne had picked up the tab.

Thanks to the the The Times-Picayune for an uplifting article on the good that police officers have done in the past in times of need.

End Of Rent For Katrina Victims!

The Times-Picayune reports that nearly 15,000 New Orleans area residents who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina will lose a rent subsidy provided by The federal Disaster Housing Assistance Program, known as DHAP. The program was discontinued by federal officials on President Bush's last day. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La is pushing for a one year extension of the program and recently wrote to President Barack Obama: "It would be remiss of the federal government to infuse hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy . . . while we terminate a program housing more than 30,000 people in a region struggling to restore its affordable housing stock."

Surely a few million dollars can be found to assist residents that were displaced by the worst hurricane in recent memory.

52 Year-Old Son's Need For Drug Money Made Him Kill Mom

Louse DeClues, 73, had survived hypertension, breast cancer and diabetes. She couldn't survive her son, Tony's desire for drug money has she succumbed to multiple stab wounds and asphyxiation at the hands of her son on Saturday. Tony has confessed to the murder of his mother. NOLA.com provides the grisly details of another sad commentary on our society.

Black Killings: A Spiritual Sickness?

Jarvis DeBerry has written a very poignant and "on the mark" article in NOLA.com titled "Killings A Sign of Spiritual Illness." In the article DeBerry quotes the late Ralph Wiley who wrote the following in his 1991 essay "Who Black People Don't Like."

"Murder is the acid test of dislike. Black people pass with flying colors. Black people will kill each other rather quickly, and over the most simple things. The things are so inconsequential to a life that you know black people aren't really killing themselves over these things. They're killing themselves because they don't like each other."

DeBerry's article specifically targets the increased murder rate among black male teenagers, and the general lack of respect for the life of a black male teenager. We've known for years, that the life of a black male is substantially devalued in our community. While we tend to put pressure on police forces around the country to control crime, the real issue is that black males are killing themselves, and ultimately that's not a decision that the police can control. Individual responsibility would solve a lot of problems of the teenage black male.