Daily News Feed: 12.31.07

The Many Shades of Chaka Khan, Now in ‘Purple’
The Broadway stage has seen celebrities come, and it has seen them go, but it may just have to get up off its doubts for Chaka Khan. This R&B and funk star begins performing as the sassy, fearless Sofia in “The Color Purple” on Jan. 9. Chaka Khan will begin her role as Sofia in “The Color Purple” on Jan. 9. She is also nominated for two Grammy Awards for her most recent album, “Funk This.” (Continue Reading…)

Lawyers: Hate crimes ignored in Miller Place death
For the defense in the John White case, it’s a question that remains unanswered: Why weren’t members of the angry group of white teens that gathered at the end of a black family’s driveway in August 2006 charged with a bias crime? A week after the trial of John White, the black Miller Place father convicted of manslaughter in the death of white teenager Daniel Cicciaro Jr., 17, White continues to get support from the Rev. Al Sharpton, among others, who are asking the same question. (Continue Reading…)

Fear lingers in L.A. community
Two blocks from where 14-year-old Cheryl Green was shot to death a year ago stands a symbol of the Harbor Gateway neighborhood where she died. The fourplex on 204th Street is one of many apartment buildings erected in this small and crowded neighborhood during the last 20 years. The building has a new coat of yellow paint, yet faintly visible beneath its surface is the graffiti that a year ago covered the building. It was the work of 204th Street, a Latino gang that terrorized the neighborhood and was known to attack blacks. An upstairs unit in the complex was its unofficial headquarters, police say. (Continue Reading…)

Primaries grab interest of black voters in N.C.
North Carolinians ordinarily have little stake in the presidential primaries. Voting here, slated for May, comes so late the races are all but over. But this year, many African-Americans are watching closely to see whether a black candidate might have a realistic chance of reaching the White House. Polls show Democrat Barack Obama, an African-American from Chicago, is almost even with Hillary Clinton in Iowa, where caucuses Thursday will begin to shape the 2008 presidential race. (Continue Reading…)

Katrina Recovery Leader to Retire
The Federal Emergency Management Agency official who for the past two years led the agency’s troubled Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts will retire Thursday, the head of FEMA announced in an internal memo. Gil Jamieson, whose tenure as administrator of Gulf Coast recovery included controversies over formaldehyde in FEMA trailers and funding delays, will be temporarily replaced by James Stark. Stark currently leads FEMA’s Louisiana recovery offices. (Continue Reading…)

Ex-Firefighter Awarded $1.17M In Forced Retirement
A black former Pasadena firefighter was wrongfully forced into disability retirement after complaining about harassment and hazing by colleagues, a jury found Friday in awarding him $1.17 million. A racially mixed Los Angeles Superior Court panel of eight women and four men, including a black female, deliberated for less than half a day before finding in favor of Carter Stephens. (Continue Reading…)

Chaos at banks as Zimbabwe extends currency deadline
Zimbabwe’s central bank chief extended a deadline Monday to exchange bills of 200,000 dollars just hours before they were to cease being legal tender after chaotic scenes at banks across the country. In a press conference, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono declined to set a new date for withdrawing the notes, but blamed recent heavy rains for hampering efforts to stock up banks with new higher denomination bills. (Continue Reading…)