EURweb |
06-30-06 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
LIL' KIM TO LEAVE JAIL ON JULY 3RD: Rapper thanks her fans for letters and support throughout the past 10 months.
*On July 3rd at 6 a.m., Lil' Kim will again be a free woman.
An official statement released late yesterday from the rapper's Queen Bee Entertainment announced that Kim, born Kimberly Jones, will be sprung from Philadelphia Federal Detention Center Monday morning and will remain under house arrest for the following 30 days.
"I am thrilled to be coming home," Kim says. "I thank all my fans for all their letters, as well as my family and friends for all their support throughout the past ten months."
Her entertainment attorney, L. Londell McMillan, ads: "We are
pleased that Kim is coming home to start the next phase of her life. She has
accepted responsibility and handled herself in an exemplary manner."
The Brooklyn MC was sentenced to 366 days behind bars for lying to a
federal grand jury about a shooting outside of New York radio station Hot
97. She was convicted of three counts of perjury and one of conspiracy, but
acquitted of obstruction of justice. She began her sentence on Sept. 19.
STAR WARS: THE FIRED CO-HOST STRIKES BACK: Jones Reynolds calls err’body to put Wa-Wa on ‘bwast’
*Cue the Brooke Valentine song, because a girlfight has broken out
at “The View.”
In addition to today’s People magazine, fired co-host Star Jones
Reynolds went to the New York Daily News as well as Ryan Seacrest’s morning
radio show in Los Angeles Wednesday to drop bombs on Barbara Walters, her
former boss and co-host at the ABC daytime show. (She was also scheduled to
tell her side of the story to CNN’s Larry King Thursday night, and to Al
Roker this morning on “The Today Show.”)
Reynolds took offense to Walters’ statements in the press following
the former lawyer’s announcement Tuesday that she would be leaving “The
View” in July, and in interviews later that day in which Walters expressed
feeling “betrayed” by Star’s announcement, which came earlier than expected.
"For Barbara to say she felt betrayed is the height of hypocrisy,"
Reynolds told the New York Daily News’ Jawn Murray. "If anyone should feel
betrayed, it should be me.”
Reynolds told the Daily News and Ryan Seacrest Wednesday that she was
hurt by Walters’ decision last April to hire her most outspoken critic,
Rosie O’Donnell, whose main beef with Star is her refusal to confirm that
her 150-pound weight loss was due in part to gastric bypass surgery.
"Rosie had attacked me on every single evening entertainment
program," Reynolds, 44, told the Daily News. "Barbara used that week to call
her and invite her to be part of a show that I helped launch nine years
ago."
As previously reported, Reynolds was informed in April that her
contract would not be renewed for a 10th season. Walters told the Associated
Press Tuesday that producers made their decision based on Star’s poor
approval ratings.
Reynolds told Seacrest that she “honestly understood it was a
business decision” to let her go, but admits she was extremely hurt that the
April 21st phone call informing her of her changed status did not come from
Walters.
Expressing the same hurt to the Daily News, Reynolds said: "Barbara
did not call me herself. After nine years, she didn't call me. They told me
my contract would not be renewed because my approval rating had gone down.
... I was like, whoa!"
Star claimed producers had previously assured her that her job was
safe when she challenged them about replacement rumors.
"I came to work every day. I held my head up. I operated in grace and
dignity," she explained. "I knew since April but I still came to work."
In Star’s People magazine interview, she explains her reasons for
making the announcement on Tuesday instead of waiting until the show wrapped
in July, as Walters and ABC producers had encouraged her to do.
"I thought the audience deserved to have their Star tell them what
the deal is,” she told People. “To now be accused of betrayal by someone I
looked at as a mentor, when I was finally speaking up for myself instead of
letting the executives and tabloids speak for me, is disheartening.”
After Reynolds’ surprise announcement, ABC execs called her agent to
request that she not return to the set on Wednesday; her face was deleted
from the opening video montage and Walters began the show with the phrase,
“And then there were three.”
Walters further explained to the audience Wednesday: “It is becoming
uncomfortable for us to pretend that everything is the same at this table.
And therefore, regrettably, Star will no longer be on this program, except
for some shows that have been pre-recorded [including today’s episode
featuring the cast of “The Devil Wears Prada.”].
Star says she hasn't spoken to Walters since Tuesday's show. She was
replaced Thursday by African American actress Renee Elise Goldsberry from
"One Life to Live." While rumors suggest South Carolina talk radio host Bo
Griffin is being considered as a permanent replacement, sources tell EUR
that Sheryl Lee Ralph is also being pursued to fill the slot full time.
Griffin, ironically, used to work with ex-“View” co-host Debbie
Matenopoulos on the cancelled syndicated version of Fox’s "Good Day Live."
According to TMZ.com, Matenopoulos went on Fox’s long-running Los Angeles
version “Good Day L.A.” Thursday morning and had some choice words for her
former co-worker, whom she became close to during their run together on the
show. Matenopoulos said when ABC cut her loose, so did Reynolds.
"The thing that was most hurtful to me was that I thought that [she]
was my friend, and then [she] was nowhere to be found," Matenopoulos said.
Meanwhile, a source at "The View" tells the Daily News that the staff
is glad to see Reynolds go, adding: "Star has very effectively alienated
everybody on the show."
MIJAC’S JURY SELECTION DRAMA: Prospective jurors asked to weigh in on
singer’s previous molestation charges.
*Michael Jackson’s lawyer Thomas C. Mundell asked a pool of potential
jurors if they believed the singer was guilty of child molestation, even
though he was acquitted of the charges in a high-profile case last June.
Four people raised their hands.
And so went the jury selection phase of Jackson’s trial in Los
Angeles. The King of Pop is being sued for $3.8 million by former associate
F. Marc Schaffel for alleged unpaid loans and expenses, unpaid salary for a
charity record and a share of proceeds from two TV programs produced to
repair Jackson's image in the wake of an ABC documentary.
A jury was selected Wednesday, reports the Associated Press, but not
without Jackson’s previous molestation case coming up.
"I have lots of opinions about this man," said a woman, one of the
four to raise their hands. "How can you not? I read so much and I have tons
of opinions."
She was asked if her opinions would affect her ability to reach a
decision in the current civil case.
"It colors it," she said.
She was accepted on the jury, but a man who raised his hand was
dismissed after he said he thought Jackson possibly had a "character flaw"
that may relate to the case.
Another potential juror, a retired nurse, said she met Jackson in
1984 while working at the hospital where he was treated when his hair caught
on fire during a Pepsi commercial shoot. As for her impressions of him, she
said: "He was wonderful with the kids."
At that, the other prospective jurors fell out laughing and the woman
was dismissed from the panel.
Alternate jurors were expected to be selected Thursday, followed by
opening statements and witness testimony. Meanwhile, prospective jurors were
told that Jackson himself will not appear in court during the trial, but
will be seen on videotape giving deposition testimony.
LOPEZ TRYING TO STOP EX-HUSBAND’S TELL-ALL: Book reportedly details their first sexual encounter, mother’s alleged racism and other tidbits.
*Ojani Noa, the one-time husband of Jennifer Lopez, is being
pressured by the singer’s attorneys to keep his planned tell-all book from
seeing the light of day.
According to E!, lawyers for the entertainer filed for a preliminary
injunction in April to stop Noa from moving forward with his planned book,
“The Unknown Truth: A Passionate Portrait of a Serial Thriller,” alleging
that he offered to leave the tome alone if Lopez gave him $5 million. She is
also requesting that he not be able to profit at all from any private
details about their relationship, whether they are published in the book or
not.
According to the latest filing, Noa is planning to write about J.Lo’s
"multiple duplicitous sexual affairs" on the set of 1997's “Anaconda” and
about her having a relationship with Marc Anthony while he was still married
to Dayanara Torres and while Lopez was still dating Sean "Diddy" Combs. The
court documents also state that Noa’s book accuses the singer’s mother,
Guadalupe Lopez, of being racist and having a gambling problem.
Also among the more than 285 pages of documents filed Friday was the
allegation that Noa recently tried to sell videos of Lopez primping for
their wedding and honeymoon and another featuring her in a skimpy bikini to
the National Enquirer.
"Sadly, no personal detail is too sacred to be sold by Noa for
profit," the papers, filed by Lopez's attorney, Paul Sorrell, state. "Noa
will do anything within his power to make money off his ex-wife--and thinks
nothing of willfully breaching the agreement and hurting [Lopez] in the
process. He is out of control."
According to E!, the agreement he's referring to is a $125,000
settlement reached by both Lopez and Noa after he sued her for allegedly
failing to keep a promise to let him manage one of her restaurants. As part
of the settlement, Noa was told he could not divulge any intimate details
about his former wife or their relationship for monetary gain.
Sorrell is due in court today to argue for the injunction against
Noa's lawyer, Robert Vasquez, who filed a six-page document last week
denying Lopez's allegations that his client's "compliance could be bought
for the right price."
All of this started back in April after the New York Post reported
Noa was shopping around the project in which each chapter was named after a
title of one of Lopez's films.
"I mean, I live in a free country, no? I can express myself," Noa
said in a deposition taken earlier this month. "I can talk and say whatever
I want to."
Lopez and Noa were married for 13 months – from Feb. 1997 to Mar.
1998.
BILL WITHERS EXPLAINS INDUSTRY ABSENCE: In part two of EUR exclusive, singer says, 'the record business quit me.'
*In part two of Lee Bailey's candid interview with Bill Withers, the
recent ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Heritage Award recipient explains why he
believes his record label CBS shut him out of the recording studio for eight
years and basically ended his career.
As previously reported, the creator of such standards as "Ain't No
Sunshine," "Lovely Day" and "Just the Two of Us" decided to leave the
industry for good after an uncomfortable experience during his last time in
the studio. Withers said he was expected to work as a little 4-year-old girl
was allowed to wander around the facility in the nude.
"Now here's this little blonde-haired naked girl, and I'm black from
the South," Withers said. "And she's coming over to me saying, "I could see
myself standing up in front of some judge trying to explain myself. So I
said man, this stuff is crazy. And it just soured me on the whole
experience, so I left it alone."
But why did the record company want him out? The interview
continues:
WHAT WAS THE LABEL'S REASONING BEHIND ALL OF THAT?
At these record companies man, it looked like to me that the people that
were supposed to be running the black music departments could only
greenlight [so much]. Mickey Eichner sure as hell wasn't in black music, but
he could shut me down. Shut me down, brother, from 1977 to 1985. And even
after "Just the Two of Us," I felt like okay, maybe I can get off of [CBS].
[The label told me], "If you could get somebody, any other record company,
to give us $100,000, which is chump change in this business, [you can
leave]." And nobody would touch me, then. This business back then, when one
white guy spoke against you, that was your ass.
That's something I've never talked about, but basically I got shut down.
When I made records that turned out to be part of the landscape now, like
"Lovely Day," all I got was complaints [from the label]. That song hung
around for 25 years and made its own way. So then after stuff I had done was
still being listened to 30 years later, now I get offers all the time for
record deals. They can kiss my ass (laughs) you know what I mean? I will
never ever give anybody that kind of power over me again. I felt like man,
shoot, I'd rather get me a truck and write "Bill's Handyman" on the side and
go around fixing people's toilets or something. I don't need this sh*t. It
turned me off.
So now, because of the longevity and stuff, I started to get approached [by
labels]. If I chose to right now, I could sign a record deal probably by the
end of the day.
AND WRITE YOUR OWN TICKET? IN OTHER WORDS, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO BOW DOWN TO ANYONE ELSE'S WISHES?
I don't know about that. Somebody would be trying to stick his fingers into
my brain, probably. At this point in life, I mean, I'll be 68-years-old July
the 4th, so I have a totally different outlook on life. My values are in
different places. But it wasn't like I just quit. I couldn't get arrested.
WHY DIDN'T YOU AT LEAST KEEP PERFORMING?
I never sold that many tickets. It was not profitable for me to keep
performing. When I worked, I was the opening act. I opened for Phyllis
Hyman, I opened for Jennifer Holiday, those were the only gigs that were
there for me. I couldn't sell enough tickets to go on the road. I opened for
the Fifth Dimension and had to play in front of the curtain. How much room
is on the stage in front of the curtain? By the time I got through buying
tickets and paying the band, I was losing money. So I stayed out of the way
and kept my mouth shut, because people don't wanna hear that stuff, man. And
nobody would believe you anyway.
I did not quit the record business, the record business quit me, and then
rediscovered me when I got to be an old man. This is something I've never
told anybody, and I don't know, maybe you've got that truth thing on you
man, but I'm tired of getting blamed [by people who say], "Oh you just quit.
You just walked away." I did not quit anything.
WELL YOUR LEGACY OBVIOUSLY LIVES ON, AS DO YOU.
You know what? it's fun being me, because I don't remind you of nobody.
Fortunately, I don't have to go begging, and I'm grateful for that, but
that's the way it is. I love these young rappers man, because of their sense
of ownership. They're doing better business than anybody from my time was
able to do.
AND THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE GOOD TASTE. THEY CAN'T SEEM TO LEAVE YOUR MUSIC ALONE.
Bless their hearts. Kanye and Will Smith and Blackstreet and all of them, I
love them. They've all been nice to me when I talked to them, they treat me
nice. I've been very, very fortunate with what happened with the music that
I did. But I didn't stop making music. I was stopped, brother. Cold.
CORINNE BAILEY RAY PREPS U.S. TOUR: UK sensation brings her smooth style to the States.
*British soul singer Corinne Bailey Rae will tour the U.S. in support
of her self-titled debut album, which entered The Billboard 200 at No. 17
led by the first single, “Put Your Records On.”
After Wednesday’s appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,"
Bailey Rae is due to perform on "Good Morning America," "Live with Regis and
Kelly" and "The Tavis Smiley Show" in the coming weeks.
She’s also scheduled to appear on A&E's "Breakfast With The Arts" on
July 16. In mid-July, Bailey Rae will be the featured artist for Yahoo!
Music's "Critical Eye," part of their Who's Next program.
Her confirmed U.S. headlining shows are as follows:
July
7/24 Seattle, WA Crocodile Cafe
7/25 Portland, OR Lola's in Crystal Ballroom
7/27 San Francisco, CA Bimbo's 365 Club
7/29 San Diego, CA Brick By Brick
7/31 Los Angeles, CA The Roxy Theatre
August
8/12 Dallas, TX Gypsy Tea Room & Ballroom
8/13 Houston, TX Warehouse Live
8/14 Austin, TX Antone's Nightclub
8/16 Atlanta, GA Vinyl
8/18 Annapolis, MD Ramshead Tavern
8/20 Alexandria, VA Birchmere
8/21 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live
8/23 New York, NY Venue TBD
8/25 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
8/29 Chicago, IL Park West
8/30 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater
NEW FOXY BROWN ALBUM DUE IN DECEMBER: Rapper says she went ‘straight from the operating room to the studio.’
*Now that her hearing is nearly 100 percent again, Foxy Brown says
her comeback album should hit the streets sometime in December.
"I went straight from the operating room to the studio,” the Brooklyn
rapper tells MTV. “It was really hard. I was deaf for an entire year.
Completely deaf. The surgery was iffy. They didn't know if it would be a
success, and it was."
Last December, Brown was diagnosed with sudden sensorineural hearing
loss. She went under the knife in February to reverse the impairment and now
says her hearing is almost fully restored.
"To suddenly lose your hearing after 10 years as a professional
artist, I questioned God: 'Why me?'" she said.
Soon, the Ill Na Na will be facing questions from an attorney in her
upcoming assault trial. Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand, is accused
of striking two nail salon workers in a fight over payment for a manicure in
August 2004.
EVANDER HOLYFIELD TO TIP BACK INTO THE RING: ‘Real Deal’ puts suspension behind him; prepares for Aug. 19 bout in Dallas.
*Former four-time heavyweight champion Evander “The Real Deal”
Holyfield, at age 43, will return to the ring on Aug. 19 to fight a 10-round
match against Jeremy Bates.
"I'm very excited about it," Holyfield told ESPN.com of the fight
scheduled to take place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. "Being
able to finish what I've started means a lot. I was sidetracked lately, but
I am getting back on the path."
It’s been 21 months since the boxer’s last bout, when he lost a
unanimous decision to Larry Donald in New York and was subsequently
suspended by the New York commission for "poor performance," meaning he
couldn't fight anywhere in the United States until the suspension was
lifted.
Holyfield, (38-8-2, 25 KOs), protested the suspension, passed a
series of medical tests and eventually convinced New York boxing officials
to change his suspension from “medical” to “administrative,” which allowed
him to seek licenses elsewhere. Last week, Holyfield was granted one in
Texas.
FILM/TV BITS: ‘Southland’ in U.S.; Freeman’s ‘Bucket’; Wright/Saldana in
‘Blackout’; ‘Crash’ screenwriters honored; ‘Blade,’ ‘Noah’s Ark’ on iTunes.
*The film “Southland,” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Sarah
Michelle Gellar and Seann William Scott, will be released theatrically in
the U.S. by Sony Entertainment despite being roundly dissed by critics at
the Cannes Film Festival in May. The film is set in post-apocalyptic Los
Angeles circa 2008.
*Morgan Freeman will join Jack Nicholson in “The Bucket List,” a Rob
Reiner-directed film about two terminally ill men who try to fulfill items
on their wish lists before each kicks the bucket. After breaking out of a
cancer ward, they set out on a road trip with an itinerary that includes
racing cars, eating giant plates of caviar and slinging poker chips in Monte
Carlo. Production will begin in October.
Jeffrey Wright and Zoe Saldana will topline writer/director Jerry
LaMothe's film, “Blackout,” reports blackfilm.com. The story follows events
that unfold in a forgotten Brooklyn neighborhood during New York’s 2003
blackout. The film also stars Melvin Van Peebles, LaTanya Richardson,
Anthony Chisholm, Saul Rubinek, Jamie Hector (of HBO's “The Wire”) and Sean
Blakemore.
*Screenwriters Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco have another award to
add to their Oscar for penning “Crash.” On Wednesday, the pair’s script
picked up the Humanitas Prize, a screenwriting award that honors work that
helps "liberate, enrich and unify society." Eleven writers collected awards
and portions of $145,000 in prize money during a luncheon at the Hilton
Universal Hotel. Haggis and Moresco received $25,000. Also, screenwriter
Willy Holtzman received $25,000 for "Edge of America," a story about a black
teacher who comes to work at the Three Nations Reservations High School in
Utah.
*MTV Networks has just dropped a bunch of new programming at the
iTunes Music store for purchase. It was announced Thursday that new programs
will be available from Spike TV, Nick at Nite, TV Land, Logo, MTV and The N.
Included in the lot are Spike TV’s “Blade,” starring Kirk “Sticky Fingaz”
Jones, and Logo’s “Noah’s Ark,” about a close circle of gay African American
friends in Los Angeles.
MUSIC BITS: Fader at iTunes; Robertson’s ‘Not in My Family’; Furtado rules;
Jenkins dies; G-Unit hosts 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks.
*Fader magazine, which features a dual cover of Nina Sky and Rick
Ross for its premiere publication, is available on iTunes for free as a PDF
file, which offers a digital copy of every page in the magazine (including
ads). The download is accompanied by a 47-minute podcast featuring music
covered by the magazine.
*Patti LaBelle is among the notables featured in a new book that
looks at the impact of HIV/AIDS On Black America. “Not In My Family: AIDS In
The African American Community,” edited by Gil L. Robertson IV, will be
published Nov. 1 by Agate Publishing and will be accompanied by a
star-studded gospel soundtrack. Others featured in the book are Sheryl Lee
Ralph, Jasmine Guy, Hill Harper, former US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders
and Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. For more information, visit
www.notinmyfamily.com.
*With the help of producer Timbaland, Nelly Furtado came back on the
scene and completely took over. The singer’s new album, “Loose,” reached No.
1 on Billboard Wednesday, while the set’s first single, “Promiscuous” feat.
Timbaland, landed at No. 1 on the Hot 100. The track also tops the Pop 100
and the Hot Digital Songs charts. Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" featuring
Wyclef is No. 2 on the Hot 100, followed by Taylor Hicks’ “Do I Make You
Proud" at No. 3, Yung Joc’s “It’s Goin’ Down” at No. 4 and Gnarls Barkley’s
“Crazy” at No. 5. Cassie's "Me & U" climbs 9-6 and Chamillionaire's "Ridin'"
featuring Krayzie Bone drops 5-7. Rihanna's "Unfaithful" holds at No. 8,
while Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man" jumps into the top ten with
a 13-9 leap. Rascal Flatts' "Life Is a Highway" slips 7-10 to round out the
top 10. Elsewhere, Janet Jackson's "Call On Me" featuring Nelly enters the
Hot 100 at No. 73.
*Musician Johnny Jenkins, a guitarist whose acrobatic flair with the
guitar was an early influence on Jimi Hendrix, has died. He was 67. Jenkins
passed away Monday night at a hospital in Macon, GA, according to Jones
Brothers Eastlawn Chapel. During the early 1960s, he played behind Otis
Redding and eventually became part of the fledgling Capricorn Records label
co-founded by Phil Walden and partner Frank Fenter. After Capricorn went out
of business in the late 1970s, Jenkins faded from the music scene. In 1996,
Walden produced Jenkins' comeback album, "Blessed Blues."
*G-Unit folks 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks will visit the studios of
Sirius Satellite Radio’s Shade 45 channel on July 1 at 1 p.m. to kick off
a Holiday Weekend BBQ Special, hosted by DJ Whoo Kid. 50 will also premiere
new music from his upcoming mixtape, “G-Unit Radi Part 21 – Hate It or
Love It,” featuring Mobb Deep, Tony Yayo and Young Buck. Exclusive tracks
from Lloyd Banks will also get a world-premiere during the program.
EVENT CALENDAR: ‘Sing Cinderella Sing’; ‘Color Purple’ benefit; Pro-Keds
Day; Hootie’s ‘Homegrown’; Common in London.
*“Sing Cinderella Sing,” a new musical that mixes the traditional
fairy tale with “American Idol” (where the wicked stepsisters vie for the
attention of a rich music producer to win a singing contest), will be staged
in Los Angeles at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center (4718 W. Washington
Blvd.) on July 8 at 8 p.m. Broadway sensation Desiree “Dez” Coleman Jackson
stars as Cinderella, while Kenny Lattimore and KJLH-FM personality Tammi Mac
serve as hosts. Tickets range from $24 to $82. Visit www.nhpac.com or call
the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center at 323-964-9768 for more info.
Proceeds will benefit the Little Princess Foundation
(http://littleprincessfoundation.org); the Distinguished Gentlemen
Organization (http://dg4life.org) and the Girl Blue Project (http://thegirlblueproject.org).
*“The Color Purple” is among several current Broadway productions
offering special performances to benefit the Actors’ Fund of America, a
non-profit organization that provides for the social welfare of all
entertainment professionals. “Purple’s” benefit performance will take place
at 7 p.m. on July 11 at its home, the Broadway Theatre. Tickets are
available by calling (212) 221-7300, ext. 133. For more information visit
www.actorsfund.org.
*Hip Hop exec Damon Dash teams with Pro-Keds for "Pro-Keds Day," an
event to be held July 1 as part of a celebrity basketball game taking place
during New York’s Kingdome Basketball Tournament. During the event, Dash
will distribute new limited edition "Kingdome" Pro-Keds. Ron Artest and
Francisco Garcia of the Sacramento Kings, Rafer Alston of the Houston
Rockets and Sebastian Telfair of the Portland Trailblazers are among the
athletes scheduled to attend.
*Hootie & the Blowfish will begin a 10-city concert series Monday in
Nashville to help collect school supplies for children. Ticketholders for
the Homegrown Concert Series are encouraged to bring along school supplies,
which will be donated to each community's public school system. At each
stop, a business or organization within the town will make a donation to the
schools. In Nashville, the Hard Rock Cafe will donate $5,000 to LP Pencil
Box, a school supply center where teachers can get supplies for students who
can't afford them.
*Common is scheduled to headline Rise: London United, described as
Europe's largest anti-racism festival. The free event, to be held July 8 in
London’s Finsbury Park, is organized by London Mayor Ken Livingstone to
combat racism and celebrate diversity in the city. The concert is being
staged with the National Assembly Against Racism and TUC, South East Region.
The show will also feature winners of the London United London poetry slam,
selected by The Poetry Society and the Mayor of Livingstone earlier this
year.
NASA TEAMS WITH UNCF: New education initiative will give HBCU students full
access to NASA facilities and scientists.
*NASA kicked off a new initiative with the United Negro College Fund
Special Programs Corporation Wednesday that will give researchers and
students from minority institutions direct access to NASA facilities,
scientists and capabilities.
Funded by a $3.5 million grant from NASA, the corporation will
establish the NASA Science and Technology Institute for Minority
Institutions, to be housed at the NASA Research Park at the agency’s Ames
Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.
Focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the
institute will bring together the talent and expertise of historically black
colleges and universities; Hispanic-serving institutions; tribal colleges
and universities; and other minority institutions through research-based
fellowships, internships, co-ops and grants.
"I am truly delighted that NASA is partnering with the corporation to
establish this revolutionary new institute." said Ames Director S. Pete
Worden. "This joint venture will give minority students and researchers
access to NASA and the opportunity to collaborate with researchers in the
surrounding community of universities, high-tech research and development
companies."
The goal of the initiative is to provide professional development
that will prepare faculty, students, researchers, visionaries and
entrepreneurs to become highly-skilled science and technology leaders and
managers. The preparation will enable them to compete in the national and
global workforce.
"The establishment of this institute truly demonstrates and
highlights NASA’s continuing commitment to promoting science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics excellence in the minority higher education
community," said Aaron R. Andrews, president and CEO of the corporation.
