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State Senator Indicted On Bribery, Extortion Charges

Sep-02-2010

A federal grand jury has indicted a Maryland state senator on charges of bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud and extortion in connection with a scheme involving Shoppers Food Warehouse.

State Sen. Ulysses S. Currie, 73, of Forestville, was indicted Wednesday on 18 criminal counts charging that he and executives of Shoppers took part in a scheme in which Currie was paid by the company in exchange for using his official position to influence dozens of matters that benefited the supermarket chain and its executives.

The scheme went on from 2002 to 2008, prosecutors said. In that time, Currie was paid from $3,000 per month in 2003 to $7,600 per month in 2007, but the payments were never reported on annual government ethics forms, prosecutors said.

According to the indictment, Currie lobbied state highway officials to get traffic signals installed at the site of two Shoppers stores -- one in Baltimore County, the other in Laurel.

The indictment said he also helped the company get $2 million in public funding for its project at Mondawmin Mall, and Currie smoothed the way for the company to transfer a liquor license in Prince George's County.

"Government officials cross a bright line when they accept payments in return for using the authority of their office, whether they take cash in envelopes or checks labeled as consulting payments," said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. "When businesses can obtain valuable government benefits by putting a senator on the payroll, it diminishes public confidence and disadvantages companies that refuse to go along with the pay-to-play approach."

The indictment follows a two-year long investigation that came to light in the spring of 2008.

Reached by phone on Wednesday by 11 News I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller, Currie said he had no comment on the indictment and no comment on whether he plans to stay in office.

However, shortly after making that statement, Senate President Mike Miller released a statement saying Currie told him he would step down from his position as chairman of the Budget and Taxation Committee until the matter is resolved.

"He believes that he will be unable to dedicate himself fully to serving as chairman of Budget and Taxation Committee as he works to prove his innocence," Miller said in the release. "I am saddened that the investigation of Sen. Currie has reached this point. Sen. Currie has confronted adversity throughout his life, and I am confident he will be exonerated." "When businesses can obtain valuable government benefits by putting a senator on the payroll, it diminishes public confidence and disadvantages companies that refuse to go along with the pay-to-play approach."
- U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein

Currie has been in the Legislature since 1987. He is currently running for re-election and is unopposed in this month's primary.

Two former grocery store chain executives are also charged in the scheme. They are William White, 67, of Annapolis, and Kevin Small, 55, of Lewisburg, Pa.

Gov. Martin O'Malley also issued a statement regarding the indictment.

"This is a sad day for the people of Prince George's County and Sen. Currie personally. People have the right to expect the highest ethical service from their public servants," he said.

Currie's lawyer told reporters that the senator committed no crime, calling the case an unusual bribery case because it doesn't involve cash payments under the table or a hush-hush deal.

Shoppers Food Warehouse has agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine.

Obama rips GOP for blocking business aid bill

Aug-30-2010

President Barack Obama blasted Senate Republicans on Monday for blocking a small business assistance bill, calling their opposition "pure partisan politics."

The country needs a "full scale attack" on economic sluggishness, he told reporters at the White House.

"While we have taken a series of measures and come a long way ... too many Americans are still looking for work and too many communities are far from being whole again," he said.

The president also said his economic team is "hard at work" on a series of new measure designed both to spark short-term hiring and lay the foundation for long-term economic growth.

Among other things, Obama said the administration will continue to push for an extension of middle class tax cuts, new incentives for clean energy research and development and initiatives to help rebuild infrastructure.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, released a statement immediately after Obama's remarks criticizing the president and Democratic congressional leaders for dramatically increasing the size of the national debt while doing little to restore stronger economic growth.

"Instead of growing jobs as promised, Washington Democrats have grown the size of the national debt, the federal government and the unemployment rate," McConnell said.

"It's no surprise that most Americans think the country is on the wrong track and that Democrat policies have failed to do anything to fix their top concern, the economy."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said boosting small businesses and extending middle-class tax cuts both are important in improving the economy.

"The Republican Party talks a lot about their support for and their helping of small business," he said. "I think the question that the president put toward them today is, 'If that's what you support, why are you standing in the way of something that small businesses acknowledge would help with their hiring, with their purchasing and with their expansion?'"

Gibbs said the president does not believe there is any magic bullet to quickly getting out of the financial crisis.

"It took us a long time to get to this point. We got here not simply because of one thing, but because of many things," Gibbs said.

"We've seen the housing market collapse. We saw what happened to credit markets. We saw what happened to the stability of our financial system. All of that accumulated after many years into one big pothole ... the size of which any stimulus was unlikely to fill."

Growing economic jitters amid new signs of a slow recovery remain a top political issue in the runup to November's midterm elections.

The U.S. economy sputtered to a near stop in the second quarter, according to estimates from the government released Friday, although the slowdown wasn't as bad as many had feared.

The nation's gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, was revised sharply lower to an annual growth rate of 1.6 percent in the three months ending in June. The initial reading had been for a 2.4 percent growth rate in the period.

The bill currently stuck in the Senate authorizes the creation of a $30 billion lending fund. The Treasury Department would run the program, which would deliver cheap capital to community banks, defined as those with less than $10 billion in total assets.

The idea is that community banks are the ones that do the bulk of lending to small businesses and so by pumping capital into them, it will get in the hands of Main Street businesses.

Other key components of the bill would provide $12 billion worth of tax relief for small businesses between 2010 and 2020, according to an estimate from the Joint Committee on Taxation.

The bill also increases Small Business Administration loan limits and extends loan sweeteners through the end of the year. It offers several tax cuts for small businesses, to both encourage investment and entrepreneurship.

The legislation also provides $1.5 billion in grants to state lending programs that can't rely on depleted state coffers for more cash.

Obama says he ignored Beck rally

Aug-30-2010

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President Obama chuckles when Brian Williams asks him about polls that show may Americans still believe he is a Muslim. He says he doesn't pay much attention to those polls, because "I can't spend all my time with my birth certificate plastered on my forehead."

"I don't think the American people want me to spend all my time on it," he says.

Obama is clearly intent on casting himself as above the political fray, saying American politics is in its "silly season." For example, he swears he didn't watch any of Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally on the National Mall yesterday and says he doesn't find it surprising that "a Glenn Beck can stir up some of the people."

"I'm making decisions that are not necessarily good for the nightly news and not good for the next election, but for the next generations," he says.

Marking Katrina anniversary, Obama praises New Orleans' resilience

Aug-30-2010

Calling the federal response to Hurricane Katrina "a shameful breakdown in government," President Barack Obama said Sunday as rebuilding continues, officials are looking ahead to avoid a repeat when future disasters strike.

Speaking at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans to mark the fifth anniversary of Katrina, Obama said construction of a fortified levee system to protect the city is underway and will be finished by next year, "We should not be playing Russian roulette every hurricane season," he said.

"There is no need to dwell on what you experienced and what the world witnessed," the president said, speaking to a crowd that included current New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and members of Louisiana's Congressional delegation.

"We all remember it keenly -- water pouring through broken levees; mothers holding their children above the waterline; people stranded on rooftops begging for help; and bodies lying in the streets of a great American city," Obama said. "It was a natural disaster but also a man-made catastrophe; a shameful breakdown in government that left countless men and women and children abandoned and alone."

But the president spoke of the resilience of city residents. "Because of all of you -- all the advocates, all the organizers who are here today, folks standing behind me who have worked so hard and never gave up hope, you are all leading the way toward a better future for this city with innovative approaches to fight poverty, improve health care, reduce crime and create opportunities for young people -- because of you, New Orleans is coming back."

The president noted that New Orleans is now one of the nation's fastest-growing cities, and small businesses have surged. "Five years ago, the Saints had to play every game on the road because of the damage to the Superdome," he said. "Two weeks ago, we welcomed the Saints to the White House as Super Bowl champions."

"I don't have to tell you that there are still too many vacant and overgrown lots," Obama said. "There are still too many students attending classes in trailers. There are still too many people unable to find work. And there's still too many New Orleans folks who haven't been able to come home."

"So while an incredible amount of progress has been made, on this fifth anniversary, I wanted to come here and tell the people of this city directly: My administration is going to stand with you -- and fight alongside you -- until the job is done, until New Orleans is all the way back."

He said his administration has made efforts to reduce red tape and turf wars between agencies, and has put in place a new way to handle disputes, with help from Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana. More than 170 projects are now underway as a result, he said.

In addition, federal officials are tackling "corruption and inefficiency that has long plagued the New Orleans Housing Authority," he said.

And a group led by Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is examining disaster recovery nationwide. "We're improving coordination on the ground, modernizing emergency communications and helping families plan for a crisis," Obama said. "And we're putting in place reforms so that never again in America is someone left behind in a disaster because they're living with a disability or because they're elderly or because they're infirm. That will not happen again."

On Friday, he said, his administration announced a final agreement on $1.8 billion for Orleans Parish schools, money the president said had been "locked up for years, but now it's freed up, so folks here can determine how best to restore the school system."

In addition, the largest civil works project in American history -- the construction of a fortified levee system to protect New Orleans -- is underway and will be finished by next year, he said.

"Together we are helping to make New Orleans a place that stands for what we can do in America -- not just for what we can't do," he said. "And ultimately, that must be the legacy of Katrina: not one of neglect, but of action; not one of indifference, but of empathy; not of abandonment, but of a community working together to meet shared challenges."

Some wounds, the president acknowledged, have not yet healed, and "there are some losses that can't be repaid. For many who lived through those harrowing days five years ago, there are searing memories that time may not erase. But even amid so much tragedy, we saw the stirrings of a brighter day."

He said he recalled being struck, upon visiting New Orleans four years ago, by the amount of greenery that had returned.

"The work ahead will not be easy," he said, "and there will be setbacks. There will be challenges along the way. But thanks to you, thanks to the great people of this great city, New Orleans is blossoming again."

Following his speech, the president, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, were given a short tour of a new neighborhood built on a part of the city that experienced severe flooding when Katrina hit.

Growing number of Americans incorrectly call Barack Obama a Muslim, poll says

Aug-25-2010

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Americans increasingly are convinced -- incorrectly -- that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, and a growing number are thoroughly confused about his religion.

Sen. Barack Obama visited the First Emanuel Baptist Church in Central City as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in August 2007. Church Pastor Charles Joseph Southall III and the choir put a blessing upon him. Nearly one in five people, or 18 percent, said they think Obama is Muslim, up from the 11 percent who said so in March 2009, according to a poll released Thursday. The proportion who correctly say he is a Christian is down to just 34 percent.

The largest share of people, 43 percent, said they don't know his religion, an increase from the 34 percent who said that in early 2009.

The survey, conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center and its affiliated Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, is based on interviews conducted before the controversy over whether Muslims should be permitted to construct a mosque near the World Trade Center site. Obama has said he believes Muslims have the right to build an Islamic center there, though he's also said he won't take a position on whether they should actually build it.

In a separate poll by Time magazine/ABT SRBI conducted Monday and Tuesday -- after Obama's comments about the mosque -- 24 percent said they think he is Muslim, 47 percent said they think he is Christian and 24 percent didn't know or didn't respond.

In addition, 61 percent opposed building the Muslim center near the Trade Center site and 26 percent said they favor it.

The Pew poll found that about three in 10 of Obama's fiercest political rivals, Republicans and conservatives, say he is a Muslim. That is up significantly from last year and far higher than the share of Democrats and liberals who say so. But even among his supporters, the number saying he is a Christian has fallen since 2009, with just 43 percent of blacks and 46 percent of Democrats saying he is Christian.

Among independents, 18 percent say Obama is Muslim -- up from 10 percent last year.

Pew analysts attribute the findings to attacks by his opponents and Obama's limited attendance at religious services, particularly in contrast with Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, whose worship was more public.

Andrew Kohut, the Pew Research Center's director, said the confusion partly reflects "the intensification of negative views about Obama among his critics." Alan Cooperman, the Pew Forum's associate director for research, said that with the public hearing little about Obama's religion, "maybe there's more possibility for other people to make suggestions that the president is this or he's really that or he's really a Muslim."

Obama is the Christian son of a Kenyan Muslim father and a Kansas mother. From age 6 to 10, Obama lived in predominantly Muslim Indonesia with his mother and Indonesian stepfather. His full name, Barack Hussein Obama, sounds Muslim to many.

White House officials did not provide on-the-record comments on the survey, but they prompted Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell of Houston to call The Associated Press.

Caldwell, who said he has known Obama for years, said the president is a Christian who prays every day. He said he was not sure where the public confusion about the president's religion came from, but he called false media reports about it "a 24-hour noise box committed to presenting the president in a false light."

Six in 10 of those saying Obama is a Muslim said they got the information from the media, with the largest portion -- 16 percent -- saying it was on television. Eleven percent said they learned it from Obama's behavior and words.

Despite the confusion about Obama's religion, there is noteworthy support for how he uses it to make decisions. Nearly half, or 48 percent, said he relies on his religion the right amount when making policy choices, 21 percent said he uses it too little and 11 percent too much.

At the same time, the poll provides broad indications that the public feels religion is playing a diminished role in politics today, with fewer people than in 2008 saying the Democratic and Republican parties are friendly toward religion.

With elections for control of Congress just over two months away, the poll contains optimistic news for Republicans. Half of white non-Hispanic Catholics, plus three in 10 unaffiliated with a religion and a third of Jews, support the GOP -- all up since 2008.

The survey also found:

--The Democratic Party is seen as friendly to religion by 26 percent, while 43 percent say the same about the GOP. That's a 9 percentage point drop for Republicans since 2008, and 12 points lower for Democrats.

--Fifty-two percent say churches should stay away from politics, a reversal of the slim majorities that supported churches' political involvement from 1996 to 2006.

The poll, overseen by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, involved landline and cell phone interviews with 3,003 randomly chosen adults. It was conducted July 21-Aug. 5 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

Sherrod turns down job offer from Agriculture Department

Aug-25-2010

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Shirley Sherrod, who received an apology after being forced to resign from the Agriculture Department in July, declined an offer Tuesday to serve as the agency's deputy director of the Office of Advocacy and Outreach.

The newly created position was designed to improve the department's civil rights efforts and image nationwide.

In an interview with Tony Harris on "CNN NewsRoom" Tuesday, Sherrod said she was uncertain about that role. "There are still many questions around that position," she said. "I just felt that taking the position at this time wouldn't exactly be where I should be at this point. ... Everything that should've happened with that position hadn't been made clear."

Sherrod said she also turned down an offer to return to her previous position as the department's director of rural development for Georgia. "When you look at everything that has happened in the last four or five weeks, it makes it difficult to go back to that position. I feel at this time I could do more to address issues not as a full-time employee of USDA," she told Harris.

Sherrod met Tuesday morning with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to discuss the offers. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two since a controversial sequence of events last month culminated in Sherrod stepping down.

The two indicated that, while Sherrod will not return to the USDA as an official staffer, she is likely to serve in an unofficial advisory capacity to help address issues related to racism at the department.

In a joint news conference after their meeting, Vilsack noted that Sherrod had expressed strong interest in a final settlement of claims made by black farmers against the USDA, as well as lawsuits raised by women, Hispanics and Native Americans.

She said Vilsack pushed "really, really hard" for her to stay in the department during their roughly 90-minute meeting, but she just didn't "think at this point with all that has happened" that it would be possible to continue working there.

She needs to "take a break" from the furor surrounding her dismissal, she said.

But "it doesn't mean I'm not interested in that work, because I am," Sherrod told reporters at the Agriculture Department.

Sherrod said she enjoyed her work with the department and "would want to see (it) continue."

"We need to work on issues (of) discrimination and racism in this country, and I'd certainly like to play my role," Sherrod said.

She later told CNN's Harris: "I'm encouraged there are people who want to seriously talk about the racism that exists in this country. I'd like to see how we can deal with it and move forward. If I can help promote that discussion, it's something I would really like to do. I'd like to see us once and for all deal with it.

"It's a great country. Let's make it better. Let's all get along."

She praised "new processes in place" to prevent discrimination and inappropriate firings at the department, but said she doesn't "want to be the one to test it."

Sherrod was forced to resign from her position in Georgia in July after misleading and incomplete video footage of a speech she gave was posted on the internet and picked up in media reports. Vilsack apologized to her and offered her the promotion.

He repeated his previous assertions Tuesday that he did not speak with anyone at the White House before initially deciding to force Sherrod to step down.

"This was my responsibility," he said. "I disappointed the president (and) the country. ... I have to live with that."

The secretary has apologized "and I accept that," Sherrod replied.

The flap began after conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart posted a portion of a speech Sherrod gave in which she spoke of not offering her full help to a white farmer. The original post by Breitbart indicated that the incident Sherrod mentioned occurred when she worked for the Agriculture Department, and news outlets quickly picked up on the story.

However, the incident took place decades before she joined the department, and her speech in its unedited form made the point that people should move beyond race. In addition, the white farmer whom Sherrod mentioned has told reporters that she helped him save his farm.

"People were quick to judge," Sherrod told Harris. "Hopefully it won't happen again with others in the future. I'm hoping with all I went through and continue to deal with, at least in the future people will think first and give the opportunity to look before quickly and hastily making a decision."

Obama takes plunge, swims in Gulf

Aug-15-2010

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The one really big question hanging over President Obama's weekend vacation to Panama City, Florida, now has an answer.

Will he or won't he dive into the water to send a message that the Gulf Coast is back?

The answer: He will, and sooner than expected.

"I think we're going to go tomorrow and as I just said Ed, I'm not going to let you guys take a picture of me with my shirt off," Obama jokingly told reporters Saturday. "You guys will tease me just like last time. I was on the front page ... People commenting."

But just hours later, a photo was published on the White House Flickr page showing a smiling President Obama and his daughter Sasha taking a dip in the Gulf waters off Alligator Point in Panama City Beach, Florida.

No reporters or press cameras were present for the swim, but the image will nonetheless send a message that the White House has sought to convey with the first family's trip: the Gulf Coast is open for business.

Obama caused a bit of a tabloid stir when he took off his shirt to reveal a muscular physique during trips to Hawaii during the 2008 presidential campaign and subsequent presidential transition. But some are less concerned about Obama ending up on magazine covers, and more worried about the White House sending the right message.

"Absolutely, I want him to take his shirt off and get in the water and show it's clean and safe," said Stephen Leatherman, a professor at Florida International University in Miami who puts together an annual list of America's best beaches.

Leatherman rates the beach there as one of the top 10 in the country, and he said Obama has a unique opportunity to showcase the fact that the Gulf Coast is still open for business despite the worst oil spill in American history.

"It's got lily-white sand, and frankly the oil didn't really make it there. It was pretty well spared," said Leatherman, who noted that the water is 87 or 88 degrees because of the steamy Florida weather, making it conducive to at least a quick presidential plunge.

"There is no better symbol than the president of the United States showing us the way," Leatherman said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was cagey Friday when reporters asked whether the president will take a swim during the first family's 27-hour mini-vacation.

"Stay tuned," said Gibbs, who grew slightly impatient and a bit bemused about getting so many queries about something as seemingly minor as a presidential swim.

"Look, he's going to have some fun," Gibbs said. "Whether or not he gets in the water is up for clearly some debate. But, look, he will have an opportunity to enjoy ... the physical beauty of the Gulf and do some work at the same time."

Gibbs turned it around on reporters and wondered whether they would bare their midriffs this weekend.

"Are you bringing your suits?" Gibbs said with a smile.

But Leatherman suggested it's no joking matter because the president's decision to swim or not to swim will carry tremendous symbolic weight.

"I think it's very important that he gets into the water because I think there's this feeling that if you get in, you're going to get contaminated or get all kinds of diseases," he said.

This is the president's fifth trip to the Gulf region since the April 20 explosion that sparked the oil disaster. The trip is generating criticism over whether Obama is giving the region short shrift by spending only parts of Saturday and Sunday in Panama City.

White House officials announced the trip earlier this summer after critics wondered why the president and first lady had urged Americans to vacation in the Gulf but originally chose Bar Harbor, Maine, and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, as the only locations for their own sojourns.

Now, the criticism has shifted to whether 27 hours in Panama City is too quick of a jaunt, and the Republican National Committee released a statement Friday that also said Obama has included Florida in only a couple of his trips to the region in recent months.

"It's nice to see the president take the time out of his busy schedule of golf games and campaign fundraisers to clear his conscience and visit Florida for only the second time since the oil crisis began," RNC spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said. "As he meets with business owners in the Panhandle, it seems like the perfect opportunity for him to explain how his reckless spending, tax increases, and government takeover of health care are supposed to help the Gulf's devastated economy. Not even the Sunshine State can put a positive light on the president's failed liberal policies that have sunk his approval ratings to an all-time low."

The president is accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama and their younger daughter Sasha. (The oldest, Malia, is still away at camp and will not be in Florida). Also making the trip is Gulf Coast recovery chief, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, to try to show the administration is committed to a long-term turnaround.

Gibbs largely deflected questions about whether the trip was too short, saying the president is focused on promoting the "health of the region" with the vacation.

"Tourism in Florida and along the Gulf Coast is the economy," Gibbs told reporters Friday. "This is an opportunity to highlight the notion that this important region of the country is still doing well and open for business."

While Leatherman said he does think the trip seems too short, Obama should be applauded for carving out some time to help the region.

"I think it's basically a photo-op, isn't it?" said Leatherman. "But I still think it's a good thing for the president to come down and show the world that it's clean and safe. That will go a long way to helping the Gulf Coast."

Leatherman added: "The best thing that could happen is the president saying, 'I'm going in!' And I don't mean damn the torpedoes. I mean him saying, 'It's clean and safe, and I'm going in the water!' "

President Barack Obama to visit New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina anniversary

Aug-15-2010

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President Barack Obama, accompanied by members of his Cabinet, will travel to New Orleans on Aug. 29 to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

The visit will include remarks by the president at Xavier University, where, days short of the first anniversary, then-U.S. Sen. Obama delivered the commencement address to the first class to graduate after the storm.

Michael DeMocker/The Times-PicayunePresident Barack Obama greets the crowd as he leaves a town hall meeting at the University of New Orleans in October. The president will be in New Orleans on Aug. 29 to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

The announcement was welcome news for political leaders and others in the city and the region who are ever wary that the connection and commitment of a nation that was once so fixed on New Orleans and surrounding communities in the terrible wake of the disaster, is perhaps inevitably waning with each anniversary.

"We are pleased that President Obama will join us in commemorating the most catastrophic man-made disaster in our nation's history and celebrating the resiliency of the people of this region," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. "We thank the president and his Cabinet for their commitment to and partnership with our city over the past few months. New Orleans has a long way to go, but with the federal government's commitment, and the hard work of our residents, we can create the city of our dreams."

"I'm very happy that the president has decided to mark the Katrina anniversary by being in Louisiana," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.

"I'm ecstatic," said James Carville, the Democratic strategist and commentator who makes his home in New Orleans. "He's doing the right thing. The fifth anniversary is significant. This is the time to do it."

Carville noted the results of the latest post-Katrina Kaiser Family survey, which found people upbeat about where things are headed, but with some 70 percent convinced that most Americans had forgotten about their struggle to come back after the storm.

"We just got to keep things rolling here," Carville said. "People see progress but we want to know the government is going to stick around for a while. The fact that he's coming -- I think people here, to a person, will be ecstatic."

Oil disaster lingers

The fifth anniversary of Katrina comes four months into the latest disaster to befall the region -- the Gulf of Mexico oil spill -- which nearly half of the respondents to the Kaiser survey said may prove more damaging than the storm.

The six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling imposed by the Obama administration in the wake of the blowout of the BP well is unpopular in Louisiana.

"The five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina will be a somber day of remembrance for the people of south Louisiana and those who are still trying to put the pieces back together," said Sen. David Vitter, R-La. "But I hope that the president realizes that his moratorium continues to cause very real problems for our economy."

In addition to lifting the moratorium, Reps. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, and Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, emphasized the need for a federal commitment to greater flood protection for the region.

"I invite the president to stay at least a few days in south Louisiana, so he can see firsthand the need for a major federal investment in levees and coastal restoration that will protect thousands of American citizens from the next major hurricane," Melancon said.

Obama will come to New Orleans at the conclusion of a 10-day vacation with his family in Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.

The president did not come to New Orleans for the fourth anniversary -- his first as president -- which fell while he was on vacation in Martha's Vineyard. But, as it turned out, Obama had to interrupt his vacation to travel to Boston to deliver the eulogy at the funeral of Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy on Aug. 29. The president subsequently visited the city and held a town hall meeting in October, and he has been back to the region since the oil spill. He is coming to Panama City, Fla., this weekend for a 27-hour mini-vacation with his family to make the point that Gulf Coast beaches are clean and open.

The choice of Xavier was a natural one.

"We are so happy to welcome him back this time as president, since he was still a U.S. senator when he came to address our first commencement class to graduate after Katrina in 2006," Xavier President Norman Francis said in a statement Friday. "Mr. Obama will get to see firsthand why we are so proud of the progress we have made here at Xavier during the five years since Katrina, not only restoring our campus but expanding our facilities and services since then in order to fulfill our mission established 85 years ago."

But where to eat?

"It's good, I'm really excited," said Donna Brazile, like Carville a Democratic strategist and commentator, who met with Obama in the Oval Office last week, and was among those urging him to be in New Orleans on Aug. 29.

Now, she said, she will provide the president with her "three cents on what restaurants he would enjoy."

Obama is familiar with at least one famed city eatery. On a campaign visit to New Orleans in February 2008, Obama had gumbo at Dooky Chase with Francis, and, in his abbreviated visit last October, the proprietor, Leah Chase provided the president and his entourage with a to-go order.

Alerted to the president's next visit, Chase, 87, said she stands ready to serve her president once again. "The 29th, that's a Sunday, I'll do whatever they want. If they want brunch, I'll do it for them. Just let me know."

Former Paterson aide charged with assault

Aug-13-2010

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A former aide to New York Gov. David Paterson, whose alleged attack on a former girlfriend led to cover-up allegations against the governor, has been charged with assault, authorities said Thursday.

The charges against David Johnson relate to the October 2009 non-fatal incident during which Johnson allegedly choked his girlfriend.

Johnson will be arraigned Thursday, according to Steven Reed, a spokesman for the Bronx District Attorney's Office.

In July, a retired judge tasked by the New York Attorney General to investigate the incident and its alleged cover-up recommended charges against Johnson, but not Paterson. The report from Judge Judith Kaye said Paterson was guilty of "errors of judgment" and made some mistakes in handling the October 31 incident but committed no crime.

Kaye cited repeated instances in which Paterson contacted the woman, including after he referred the case to the state attorney general.

"Regardless of any good faith reasons on the part of the governor for contacts that he initiated, these were errors of judgment," Kaye wrote.

However, Kaye said her investigation showed that evidence in the case "warrants consideration of possible charges against David Johnson relating to the October 31 domestic incident."

The state attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, appointed Kaye as independent counsel in the case to avoid any potential conflict with his own plans to run for governor.

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