CHARGES AGAINST SPARKS ENGINEERING DISMISSED
By Cash Michaels
Staff writer
In a settlement deal, the Wilmington Housing Authority has voluntarily dismissed its “claim of fraud” lawsuit against Sparks Engineering, PLLC, and its owner, former Wilmington City Councilman Ronald Sparks.
The WHA filed a lawsuit against Sparks and his company in 2008, alleging that both were responsible for the authority’s investment loss of $1.7 million in the 32-unit Eastbrook Apartment complex deal after Sparks’ 2005 inspection allegedly failed to turn up a massive mold infection in the buildings.
Residents had to move out of the complex, and it remains empty.
Sparks maintained that neither he nor his company did anything wrong, and that he would fight to defend his personal and professional reputation.
In February of 2011, the Review Committee of the NC Board of Examiners for Engineers reviewed the claims against Sparks Engineering, PLLC, and determined that the allegations did not “rise to a level requiring disciplinary action…,” and thus, closed their review.
A January 2012 trial was halted in New Hanover Superior Court when the judge announced a tentative settlement had been reached.
In a joint statement issued last week, the WHA, Sparks Engineering, PLLC and Ronald Sparks said:
The parties are pleased to announce that all matters at issue have been resolved to the satisfaction of the parties, pursuant to the provisions of a Settlement Agreement that has been executed by the parties, and ratified by the Board of Wilmington Housing Authority and HUD.
Under the settlement, no admission of liability has been made by Sparks Engineering, PLLC and Ronald W. Sparks. Prior to the release of this joint statement and final approval of the settlement, the Wilmington Housing Authority voluntarily dismissed its fraud claim against Mr. Sparks, as the Wilmington Housing Authority does not believe that Mr. Sparks intentionally made any misrepresentations in connection with the services that he performed for the Wilmington Housing Authority.
No aspect of the settlement involved any payment associated with these allegations. This case involved complex issues and the settlement of this case should not be viewed by anyone as an indication of the parties’ beliefs about the strengths and/or weaknesses
of any party’s position. This settlement represents a desire on the part of everyone involved to avoid further expense and delay associated with the final resolution of this matter.
“First my family and I want to thank the citizens of our region who kept us in their prayers,” Sparks said in a statement. “Without that significant spiritual support we could not have survived this ordeal.”
Sparks also thanked his legal team.
-30-
Blacks: Zimmerman Would Have Been Arrested if Trayvon Had Been White
By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – African-Americans are more than twice as likely as non-Blacks to believe that if 17-year-old Trayvon Martin had been white, his killer would have been arrested rather than set free, according to a new USAToday/Gallup Poll.
Those polls come as Florida Special Prosecutor Angela Corey announced Wednesday that the shooter, George Michael Zimmerman, 28, had been arrested, and charged with second-degree murder.
The suspect turned himself in to Florida authorities early Wednesday.
If convicted, Zimmerman could face up to life in prison.
Corey phoned Trayvon Martin's parents to personally inform them of her decision before her press conference.
After the prosecutor's announcement, Trayvon's parents, their attorneys, and the Rev. Al Sharpton held a press conference to say they were pleased with the news, but that this was just "first base" in their quest for justice.
"This is not about gloating," Rev. Sharpton said. "This is about pursing justice."
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain, killed young Martin as the teen was walking back to a townhouse in Sanford, Fla. on Feb. 26 with a bag of Skittles and a can of Arizona tea. Zimmerman, described by police as White and pictured by relatives as Latino, was taken into custody for questioning and then released.
The suspect turned himself in to Florida authorities early Wednesday.
If convicted, Zimmerman could face up to life in prison.
Corey phoned Trayvon Martin's parents to personally inform them of her decision before her press conference.
After the prosecutor's announcement, Trayvon's parents, their attorneys, and the Rev. Al Sharpton held a press conference to say they were pleased with the news, but that this was just "first base" in their quest for justice.
"This is not about gloating," Rev. Sharpton said. "This is about pursing justice."
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain, killed young Martin as the teen was walking back to a townhouse in Sanford, Fla. on Feb. 26 with a bag of Skittles and a can of Arizona tea. Zimmerman, described by police as White and pictured by relatives as Latino, was taken into custody for questioning and then released.
The case attracted international attention as Martin’s parents called for the arrest of Zimmerman. Marches and demonstrations have taken place across the country, many of them led by college students, deploying racial profiling and what they consider police mismanagement of the investigation.
On Tuesday, as a new website authored by Zimmerman was unveiled, his attorneys held an extraordinary press conference, announcing that they no longer represented him because they could no longer reach Zimmerman, and discovered that he had been consulting with Fox News talk show host Sean Hannity without their knowledge.
On Wednesday, US Attorney General Eric Holder told Rev. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network annual conference that, “If we find evidence of a potential federal criminal civil rights crime, we will take appropriate action. I also can make you another promise: that at every level of today's Justice Department — preventing and combating youth violence and victimization is, and will continue to be, a top priority."
Later that day, after Zimmerman's arrest, a new defense attorney, Mark O'Mara, said he would represent his client at trial.
The Gallup poll, conducted April 2-4, asked: Would Zimmerman have been arrested if the person he shot was white, or do you think Martin’s race did not make a difference?
Seventy-three percent of African-Americans said Zimmerman would have been arrested if his victim had been white, compared with 35 percent of non-Blacks. Only 20 percent of Blacks believe Martin’s race did not make a difference, compared with 49 percent of non-Blacks. Just 8 percent of African-Americans had no opinion on whether race was a factor, compared with 16 percent of non-Blacks.
For the second straight week, Trayvon Martin’s killing was the nation’s top-ranked news story, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted March 29-April 1. In that study, 58 percent of Blacks cited the teenager’s killing as their top news story, compared with 24 percent of whites. Forty-three percent of whites believe the story has received too much coverage, with only 16 percent of Blacks sharing that view.
“Nearly four-in-ten Democrats (38%), including 31% of white Democrats, say the killing of Trayvon Martin is their top story; just 19% of Republicans are following this story most closely,” the Pew study reported. “More than half of Republicans (56%) say the story has been overcovered, compared with 25% of Democrats, including 33% of white Democrats.”
A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday also reflected a stark racial divide. Eighty percent of African-Americans polled said Trayvon Martin’s shooting was unjustified, compared with 38 percent of whites. Most whites – 56 percent – said they didn’t know enough to reach a conclusion, compared with only 19 percent of Blacks who felt that way.
When asked about the Stand Your Ground laws in nearly two dozen states that provide broad legal protection to anyone who feels their safety is being threatened, 69 percent of African-Americans said they opposed the law, compared with 40 percent of whites.
In the Gallup study, 72 percent of African-Americans said they believe racial bias was a factor in events leading up to the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, more than twice the 31 percent rate of non-Blacks.
When asked if Zimmerman were guilty of a crime, 51 percent of Blacks said he was “definitely guilty,” compared with 11 percent of non-Blacks. An equal amount of Blacks and non-Blacks –21 percent – said Zimmerman was probably guilty of a crime.
“U.S. public opinion about the Trayvon Martin case in Florida reflects the same type of racial divide found in 1995 surveys asking about the murder trial of O.J. Simpson in Los Angeles. In one Gallup poll conducted Oct. 5-7, 1995, for example, 78% of blacks said the jury that found Simpson not guilty of murder made the right decision, while only 42 % of whites agreed,” the Gallup poll noted.
It continued, “The situation in the Trayvon Martin case is different from the Simpson situation, however, because the victim, rather than the alleged perpetrator, is black. Still, both situations, even though 17 years apart, apparently tap into the same deeply felt views of the average American that the criminal justice system in America is biased against blacks.”
Update by Cash Michaels of The Carolinian and Wilmington Journal.
-30-
DIVERSITY POLICY WILL GET
ANOTHER LOOK, SAYS SUTTON
By Cash Michaels
Editor
The vice chairman of the Wake County Board of Education says “there will be an effort by this board…” to revisit Policy 6200, the long held school board policy that established socioeconomic student diversity as an important tool in the school system, before the previous conservative-led Wake school board gutted it in favor of neighborhood schools.
Vice Chair Keith Sutton, the board’s only African-American, who also represents predominately black District 4, made his remarks Monday evening during a community engagement meeting at Martin Street Baptist Church, sponsored by the Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African-American Children.
The two-hour session allowed parents and community leaders to ask questions of Sutton about the direction of Wake County schools, and express their concerns about the new student assignment plan, school discipline policies, and other matters.
It was in answering a question from a Carnage GT Magnet Middle School parent, concerned about the changing student demographics there with the new student assignment plan, that Sutton addressed the former diversity policy.
“Long-term, there will be an effort by this board to go back and look at Policy 6200…,” Sutton told approximately 35 people in attendance, adding, “…and see how we can address not just issues of diversity, but looking at how we can balance and strengthen the policy by looking at specific targets with regard to not only the magnet populations, but also racial compositions and student achievement as well, and see how we can balance that.”
“I firmly believe that there is a way, and if it can be done it would be in Wake County, where we can look at stability - which is important to a lot of families - proximity, and student achievement/diversity as well,” Sutton continued.
“If it can be done, it can be done here in Wake County. Over the next few weeks, and into the future, we’ll be taking a look at that…to begin looking at how we can do that.”
There is no question that if the Democrat-majority Wake School Board were to revisit changing Policy 6200 again so that it once again reflected diversity as an equal standard with stability, proximity and academic achievement, that the Republican-minority, led by former board Vice Chair Debra Goldman, would howl.
It was 2009, after almost a decade of socio-economic student diversity in Wake Public Schools, that a Republican-majority took over the school board with a mandate to end the policy that many experts said was a key to Wake’s academic success.
Led by Chairman Ron Margiotta, the conservative board removed diversity from Policy 6200, saying that parents wanted proximity and stability, and blamed the diversity policy for not having it.
In fact, it was the county’s explosive growth - as a result of the diversity policy which saw inner city children attending suburban schools, and suburban kids being bused to inner city magnet schools - that forced constant assignment changes, and the implementation of year-round schools.
In Feb. 2010, then Wake Supt. Del Burns, resolute that he could not be a part of the board’s plan to implement what many believed to be a racially biased neighborhood schools plan, resigned. It would not be until current Wake Supt. Anthony Tata took over in Jan 2011, and later led the effort for the board to adopt a controversial school choice plan, was there any clarity on student assignment.
But now that many parents are realizing that, despite assurances to the contrary, they are not getting their first choice of schools for their children, in addition to growing concerns that many of the under-chosen schools will become predominately black and Hispanic high poverty schools, there are mounting questions about the wisdom of Tata’s school choice construct.
The toughest of those questions have come from local realtors, who say the plan doesn’t allow them to sell homes near schools with certainty, and on Wednesday from Wake County mayors, some of whom complained that businesses are having second thoughts about moving to area because of the lack of clarity in Supt. Tata’s plan.
“With us trying to recruit businesses to come here, we are trying to compete with municipalities all around the globe,” said Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane. “The big thing is, ‘Where are my kids going to go to school?’ And there’s no answer. That’s a deal breaker.”
An apparently stunned Tata took McFarlane’s comments to heart, vowing to make necessary changes, including increasing capacity at various schools, to at least address the negative perceptions.
The controversy only feeds criticism from Supt. Tata’s primary adversary, Great Schools in Wake Coalition, a liberal nonprofit group that has been critical of Tata’s plan from Day One.
The group, which pleaded with the new Democrat-led Wake School Board to jettison Tata’s plan and use the next year to craft a better one, to no avail, unveiled their new “Let’s find a better way” campaign this week.
“[We] believe that it is time to pause, reflect upon the strengths and weaknesses of the new plan and its predecessor, and develop an alternative that combines the best of all assignment methodologies while considering what our community values in public education,” said GSIWC Chairwoman Yevonne Brannon. “The choice student assignment plan is taking a toll on our community.”
-30-
PLAN TO VOTE IN THE (NH) MAY PRIMARY?
By Cash Michaels
Editor
With the all important May 8 primary just four weeks away, voters need to know what they can do, and when, to make sure that their vote counts.
Teenagers who will turn 18 years of age by the November 8th General Election may register to vote by Friday, April 13th.
One Stop Early Voting at the county Board of Elections (BOE) Office on April 19th.
Early Voting begins at satellite voting locations on April 27th.
May 1 is the last day for the BOE Office to receive requests for absentee ballots.
May 5th Early Voting ends.
May 7th all voted absentee ballots by mail must be in the BOE Office by 5 p.m. for counting on Primary Day.
On May 8th, all polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. that evening.
There will be four One Stop Absentee Voting sites for the 2012 Primary Election.
Government Center Suite 39 (on College Rd. side of complex) April 19 through May 5
Monday through Friday. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
New Hanover County Senior Resource Center 2222 S. College Road
April 23 through May 5
Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Main Library (Downtown) 201 Chestnut Street.
April 23 through May 5
Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Northeast Regional Library 1241 Military Cutoff Road.
April 23 through May 5
Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Polling Place Changes
The New Hanover County Board of Elections adopted the following polling location changes:
CF06 is moving from Trask Middle School to Northside Baptist Church, 2501 North College Road, Wilmington, NC 28405
FP07 is moving from Ashley High School to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 6650 Carolina Beach Road, Wilmington, NC 28412
H09 is moving from Porters Neck Fire Station to Lutheran Church of the Reconciliation, 7500 Market Street, Wilmington, NC 28411
W18 is moving from Muni Golf Course Fire Station to First Assembly of God Church, 4927 Wrightsville Avenue, Wilmington, NC 28403
-30-
PLAN TO VOTE IN THE MAY (WAKE) PRIMARY?
By Cash Michaels
Editor
With the all important May 8 primary just four weeks away, voters need to know what they can do, and when, to make sure that their vote counts.
Teenagers who will turn 18 years of age by the November 8th General Election may register to vote by Friday, April 13th.
One Stop Early Voting at the county Board of Elections (BOE) Office on April 19th.
Early Voting begins at satellite voting locations on April 27th.
May 1 is the last day for the BOE Office to receive requests for absentee ballots.
May 5th Early Voting ends.
May 7th all voted absentee ballots by mail must be in the BOE Office by 5 p.m. for counting on Primary Day.
On May 8th, all polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. that evening.
The Wake County Voting schedule for the Wake Board of Elections at 337 S. Salisbury Street in downtown Raleigh:
April 19 - 20 and April 23 - 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 28 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, April 29 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
April 30 - May 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Wake County Voting schedule for satellite voting precincts:
Friday, April 27 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 28 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, April 29 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday - Friday, April 30 - May 4 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The satellite Early Voting locations include:
Roberts Community Center - 1300 East Martin Street, Raleigh 27610
Optimist Community Center - 5900 Whittier Dr., Raleigh 27609
Herbert C. Young Community Center - 101 Wilkinson Avenue, Cary 27513
Apex Community Center - 53 Hunter Street, Apex 27502
Falcon Park Hut - 105 Falcon Dr., Fuquay-Varina 27526
Avery Street Recreation Center Annex - 201 Avery Street, Garner 27529
Knightdale Recreation Center - 101 Lawson Ridge Road, Knightdale 27545
Northern Regional Center, 350 East Holding Ave., Wake Forest 27587
Go to wwww.WakeVotesEarly.com for details on those sites.
-30-
[BOX]
ST. AUGUSTINE’S COLLEGE COMMUNITY DAY APRIL 14
The annual St. Augustine’s College Community day takes place this Saturday, April 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be free food, games, activities for all ages, vendors, exhibits, entertainment, plus meet the Falcon cheerleaders and football players.
From 2-6 p.m. it’s the Spring Fling, and at 1;30 p.m. it’s the Blue and White Football Scrimmage. For more information call 919-516-5087, or go to www.st-aug.edu
TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
FEDS THREATEN TO RIP FUNDING FROM I-540 IF RED ROUTE IS NOT CONSIDERED
Last year, in an effort to prevent the southwest extension of I-540 toll highway from cutting through Garner, the NC General Assembly prohibited the NC Dept. of Transportation from considering what became known as the “red route” as an option. But now, the Federal Highway Administration is threatening to take federal funds needed to complete construction of that I-540 leg unless the red route is placed back under consideration by NCDOT and the North Carolina Turnpike Authority. The town of garner fought against the red route because it endangered 13 neighborhoods, several businesses, and a Baptist church. The FHA wants data on how those areas would be affected. Local officials are trying to decide how to facilitate that information without breaking NC law.
RALEIGH POLICE ARREST OCCUPY PROTESTERS AT FORECLOSED HOUSE
At least nine protesters with the Occupy Raleigh/Occupy Greensboro movements were arrested by a Raleigh police SWAT team Monday in front of a Southeast Raleigh home on Pebble Meadow Lane that had been recently foreclosed. They were charged with trespassing. The protesters say they were there to support the former occupant of the house, Nikki Shelton, who had been notified by her bank that her belongings would be trashed if she and her family did not vacate the property by April 8. Shelton says she is a victim of fraud concerning what is owed on her home loan.
IT’S “ST. AUGUSTINE’S UNIVERSITY” AS OF AUGUST 1
It is something many alums and students say they’ve always dreamed of, St. Augustine’s College becoming St. Augustine’s University. According to Dr. Dianne Boardley Suber, president of St. Aug’s, that long held dream comes true this August 1 for the historically black institution. Established in 1867, the Episcopalian school has historically produced teachers, scientists, politicians and military leaders. Along with the name change comes new, more advanced degreed academic programs like forensic science, accounting and psychology. Dr. Suber, who has led the school for 12 years, see the university growing to approximately 1700 students from its current 1500. Being a university will also help St. Aug in its marketing strategies, Dr. Suber says.
-30-
VICTIM OF ETHNIC INTIMIDATION - Roxboro police say John Lumpkin, a black man, suffered a black eye, broken nose and broken bones in his face after being accosted near a gas station. Three white suspects were arrested. Read more in state briefs.
STATE NEWS BRIEFS
ROXBORO POLICE CHARGE THREE IN BEATING OF BLACK MAN
[ROXBORO] Three white people have been charged in the brutal assault of a black man near a gas station on March 31. The victim, John Lumpkin, suffered a black eye, broken nose, and broken bones in his face from the beating. He had to be hospitalized. Police aren’t describing exactly how the incident transpired, except to say that an argument ensued, followed by the alleged assault. Roxboro police have charged Christopher Latta, a white male, with felony assault and ethnic intimidation. He’s in jail in lieu of $25,000 bond. Charges are pending against Brandon Latta. The third suspect, Brandy Walker, was charged with felony conspiracy. Her bond was set at $9,000.
FIRST LADY OBAMA NC A&T COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER [CHECK DATE]
[GREENSBORO] The Aggie universe is abuzz with the recent announcement that First Lady Michelle Obama will be the commencement speaker for NC A&T University graduation ceremonies May 12. However, because of Secret Service security restrictions, only 15,000 people will be allowed to attend, far fewer than the 23,000 that were originally planned for, making some graduates upset. NC A&T is one of three universities Mrs. Obama has agreed to deliver graduation remarks at this spring. North Carolina is considered a vital swing state in her husband’s historic presidential campaign for re-election.
DONALD TRUMP TO KEYNOTE NC GOP CONVENTION JUNE 1
[GREENSBORO] The man who questioned whether President Obama was actually born in this country will headline the NC Republican Party Convention in Greensboro June 1. Celebrity millionaire industrialist Donald Trump will be the featured speaker at the convention, officials say, and he’s expected to fire up conservatives with not only a few zingers at the president, but at Gov. Beverly Perdue and the Democratic Party as well. Trump did flirt with a run for president himself until the president called him a “carnival barker” and presented proof to the nation that he was born in Hawaii.
-30-
CASH IN THE APPLE
By Cash Michaels
“RED TAILS” - The film “Red Tails,” the story of the Tuskegee Airmen released in January of this year, is due out on DVD May 22nd. Based on just its USA box office earnings alone, “Red Tails,” which cost $58 million to make, has earned as of April 4, only $49,726, 895 domestically.
And that’s the only money the film has made. Based on my research, “Red Tails” was never released worldwide (and probably won’t), which means it is, sadly, a money loser. So the only way it can possibly make money is in DVD sales, and television/cable rights.
This is sad because that means Hollywood will not invest in a big budget black history film again. Hollywood’s excuse - that no one wants to see them, they can’t make money.
So expect to see more jive rap movies, or oversexed black men after black women/white women, or ultraviolent black movies.
But good historical fare that you can share with your children on the big screen? Forget about it! Best to take the kids to the library.
“Red Tails” was a good effort, but in the end, Hollywood was right, it didn’t make money, and in the final analysis, that’s all that matters to them.
Thank you, producer George Lucas, for making the film anyway.
MIKE WALLACE - If you are a halfway decent journalist, then guess what? There’s a little bit of Mike Wallace in you. You may not know it, may not even admit it, but there is.
The veteran CBS newsman died at the age of 93 last weekend, and his signature program, “60 Minutes” will do a special program in honor of Wallace this Sunday, as it should. He blazed a lot of trails, and led by example for generations of intrepid journalists.
I’d like to consider myself one of them.
As a teenager growing up in Brooklyn, NY, there wasn’t a Sunday evening I didn’t rush home from playing basketball in the park to see who Mike Wallace was going to expose that week.
Would it be the guy who overcharged folks for their car repairs? Perhaps the Nazi war criminal who has been in hiding all of these decades.
Or maybe the mob boss who cut a deal with the feds to turn state’s evidence, in exchange for authorities turning a blind eye to his many, many murders.
Whatever Wallace was covering, he made it interesting and concise. Wallace had a reputation for going for the jugular, but in a professional, polished way. Mike Wallace was the fanciest, yet sharpest knife in the journalistic draw.
Yes, the man was in a class by himself. No one did more on-camera investigations, or interviews with world leaders or famous celebrities, than Wallace.
And judging from what his “60 Minutes” colleagues have said since his death, no one was more competitive than Mike Wallace in going after, and getting, the big story. But, if what we hear is accurate, then no matter how great Mike Wallace was, he was never satisfied with the quality of his work.
He had the heart of a perfectionist, a journalistic heart that served Mike Wallace well for almost 60 years.
So what did I learn from watching Wallace all those Sunday evenings at 7 p.m.?
Actually it’s a skill that many veteran journalists at the time exercised. Mike Wallace was just one of the best at it.
Listening.
That’s what Wallace was extraordinary at. Not only researching the hell out of whatever story he was covering, but paying particular attention to the answers he was getting so that he could instantly judge whether he was getting malarkey or not.
When Wallace knew he was dealing with someone who was determined to hide something from him, Wallace would set him up, forcing that interviewee to contradict himself on the record, and then confront him with his just uttered false statement with either a document or a video clip.
“Isn’t THAT your signature on this document? Can you explain how your signature got there when you just finished telling us you knew nothing about this?” the cagey Wallace would ask?
Couple his “You know you’re guilty as sin” questions with the tight shots of his interview prey profusely sweating like a pig, and you knew Mike Wallace was the man when it came to getting down to the truth.
Yes, Mike Wallace mastered the art of the on-camera ambush. If he showed up at your door with a cameraman, you were in serious trouble, buddy, and the audience loved it. Folks didn’t trust the press much, but they absolutely trusted Mike Wallace.
We also loved Wallace putting blunt questions to powerful people, and watching them squirm. Who else did that?
And we also enjoyed Wallace sitting across from famous people like Johnny Carson, Barbara Streisand and Nation of Islam leader Min. Louis Farrakhan, among others.
The interview with Min. Farrakhan is a classic. Find it on YouTube. Two legendary
contemporaries, men of history for sure, in a battle royal. Wallace setting traps. Farrakhan rhetorically
blowing the trap up, and then smiling like a Cheshire cat.
But Wallace never gets upset, never reacts negatively, and takes it all in…just to set up his next blockbuster question.
At the end of the interview, it’s clear that Min. Farrakhan may not like Mike Wallace, but he certainly respects him.
Wallace was a journalist who challenged, who got in your face, who let you know that while others were afraid to confront you, he wasn’t and was two seconds away from shoving the first question down your throat if you’ve done something wrong.
But he was also a charmer, and the fact that he got so many of the world’s notables to sit in a seat in front of him and some unforgiving TV cameras, is a testament to that.
There is no journalist in the business today that possesses Mike Wallace’s skills. Oh yes, there was Tim Russert, and Ted Koppel, and Peter Jennings, and of course, Ed Bradley. All pros at the top of the mountain.
But Mike Wallace was larger than life, as was Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.
And that’s where he’ll remain.
Goodbye, Mike Wallace, and thanks.
DON’T FORGET - Almost five children a day die because of child abuse. On Saturday, April 14, the Prevention of Child Abuse 5K Walk will kick off from the Neuse River Amphitheater, 298 S. Front Street in Smithfield from 8a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pre-register at www.HandsofProtection.org. For more information contact Ronald or Carolyn Penny at 919-931-8898.
Make sure you tune in every Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. for my talk radio show, ''Make It Happen'' on Power 750 WAUG-AM, or online at www.myWAUG.com. And read more about my thoughts and opinions exclusively at my new blog, ‘The Cash Roc” (http://thecashroc.blogspot.com/2011/01/cash-roc-begins.html). I promise it will be interesting.
Cash in the Apple - honored as the Best Column Writing of 2006 by the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Columnist Cash Michaels was also honored by the NNPA for Best Feature Story Journalist of 2009, and was the recipient of the Raleigh-Apex NAACP’s President’s Award for Media Excellence in Sept. 2011.
Until next week, keep a smile on your face, GOD in your heart, and The Carolinian in your life. Bye, bye.
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment