News of Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson’s arrest has spread like a wildfire throughout the county, igniting a mixture of emotions among the area’s denizens from scorn to disappointment to amazement at the ballooning scandal. FBI agents arrested Johnson, 61, the outgoing county executive and one of Maryland’s premier leaders, and his wife Leslie, […]
Author Archives: George Barnette
Special to the AFRO
Posted inPrince George's County News
Johnson Probe Yields More Arrests
Three Prince George’s police officers have been arrested in connection with a FBI investigation that brought charges against County Executive Jack Johnson and his wife Leslie. “Police officers are given badges and guns to prevent crimes, but these police officers allegedly used them to commit crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein in a statement. […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
John Legend Campaigns for More Urban Teacher Diversity
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, R&B star John Legend and Washington, D.C. Public Schools interim Chancellor Kaya Henderson traveled to Howard University on Nov. 10 to press for more diversity in teaching in urban school systems. The performing artist echoed the educators’ message: great teachers are crucial to producing great student performance in classrooms […]
Posted inCollege
Georgetown Survives Scare in Opening Game Against Old Dominion
Throughout the off-season, the convention wisdom held that Georgetown would only be as good as its three veteran guards, seniors Austin Freeman and Chris Wright, and junior Jason Clark. After a slow start, the three showed their worth as they led Georgetown to a hard-fought 62-59 victory over Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va. On Nov.12. […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Attorney General Files Suit Against Henson and Associates
An Election Day robocall sent to Democratic voters in the state of Maryland telling them to “relax” and that the election was over – an apparent attempt to get them to stay home and not vote – has been traced back to Universal Elections, a company hired by Republican Robert Ehrlich’s gubernatorial campaign. Maryland’s State’s […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Audit Reveals Clean Bill of Financial Health for Prince George’s Schools
An external auditor gave Prince George’s County Public Schools a passing grade after looking at the system’s books recently. The audit’s findings were so positive, Prince George’s schools may receive a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting. “The clean audit will enhance our chances of receiving more grant dollars from state, local, and […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Bowie Police Department Seeking New Chief
The City of Bowie is searching for a new police chief after Kathy Perez, the city’s first and only chief, resigned to take a position as assistant chief of the Federal Reserve Board Police in Washington, D.C. “She set the tone of creating a very professional organization, putting in place the appropriate building blocks to […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
New County Council Members Prepare for Office
With five new members of the Prince George’s County Council, the transition into office will have to be made as smooth as possible. The new members have already starting working to make sure they hit the ground running in December. The main thing new council members are doing now is listening to residents. All the […]
Posted inNational News
Obama to America: ‘I’m Responsible’
WASHINGTON (November 4, 2010) – A somber President Obama took the podium on the State Floor of the White House on Nov. 3 to discuss the election nightmare Democrats face in the wake of the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives. The press conference lacked the charm and clever rhetoric the president has displayed […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Prince George’s Hospital Launches Domestic Violence Initiative
In an effort to provide better services to victims of domestic violence in the area, Prince George’s Hospital Center has launched the “Maryland Domestic Violence Health Care Screening and Response Initiative.” The initiative was announced by Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, whose own family was victimized by the scourge of domestic violence when his […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Despite Winning the Primary, Baker has busy Election Day
Click here to read selected 2010 Election results. Prince George’s County Executive-elect Rushern Baker knew his position was sewn up during the primary election, however that didn’t keep the general election from being busy for him. Baker spent the day on a Get Out To Vote Tour capped off by attending Gov. Martin O’Malley’s victory […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Maryland not Meeting Minority Contract Goals
Four years ago, Gov. Martin O’Malley and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown set a goal – 7 percent of all state contracts were to be awarded to African American-owned businesses. A recent contract worth $450 million has come across the table and no piece of the project is set to go to Black-owned firms – creating […]