NEWS ROUNDUP: LA SCHOOL BRAWL / KILPATRICK UPDATE / SHARPTON TAX PROBLEMS

Friday, May 16, 2008

Check out news coverage of a huge fight that occurred at Locke High School in south Los Angeles last week. According to the LA Times, “about half of the students said the brawling was prompted by their peers — bored with school and ready to ignite.” Other students blamed racial tensions and gang problems. Shout out to CL Reader I’m Gonna Tell Da Truth for the info.

On Wednesday, a 5-4 coalition of Detroit City Council members launched an impeachment-like process of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. According to The Detroit News, a sitting mayor for the first time in the city’s history could be called before the panel to justify why he shouldn’t lose his position.

The council also voted 5-4 to ask Gov. Jennifer Granholm to oust a popularly elected mayor and fellow Democrat, something she’s never done.

Then again, having a mayor entangled in scandal opens doors to all new territory and Kilpatrick continues to say he’s going nowhere.

Kilpatrick’s attorney and staff members claim the council lacks the authority to hold hearings to remove him: “They did not elect the mayor and they cannot remove him,” said Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams.

Consultants say the mayor has slipped from a slight majority of support to a slight minority since he was charged in March…ya think?!

Government records indicate Al Sharpton and his business entities owe nearly $1.5 million in overdue taxes and associated penalties.

As one of the most prominent civil rights leaders in the country, Sharpton calls the investigation “retaliation”: “Whatever retaliation they do on me, we never stop,” he told The Associated Press. “I think that is why they try to intimidate us.”

An investigation has also been launched on his non-profit group, which Sharpton has brushed off as the kind of annoyance civil rights leaders come to expect from the government. Sharpton’s lawyers and the staff of the National Action Network have been negotiating with the government over the debt’s size and they dispute the government’s figure.

None of this has deterred Sharpton, who was arrested last week during a protest of the three police officers who were acquitted of killing Sean Bell.