FAIRFAX, Va. | It's clear right away -- long before the woman sitting up front asks, "Did you shoot anyone?" -- that this guy with the straight-out-of-central-casting Brooklyn accent and gold chain is not your typical college lecturer.It's clear from Michael Franzese's life story -- the 17 years in the mafia, the millions upon millions of ill-gotten gains, the "Yuppie Don" nickname, the prison term -- that he is a breed apart from the professors usually addressing this crowd.And it's clear, from the wide eyes and dropped jaws in a George Mason University auditorium on a recent evening, that these kids in their gray hooded sweat shirts are listening intently, drawn in by Franzese's message and mien.They're hearing Franzese deliver the same, simple points he makes to college athletes and coaches, to NBA rookies and Major League Baseball players and umpires, to professional tennis players and NFL veterans.Know the dangers of gambling, because, he says, "If you don't have a gambling problem, you know somebody that does.

The Dougherty County School System Police Department made 185 arrests ...

ALBANY — A student version of Albany’s Crimestoppers program may soon be roaming the halls of Dougherty County schools.

“Kids know a lot of stuff, they see a lot of stuff, but sometimes they’re afraid to say something,” Albany Police Sgt. Carmelita Preston said.

Preston, Dougherty Schools Police Chief Troy Conley and school officer Erika Ellis presented details of the program’s development at a Wednesday school system safety and security meeting.

Privately-funded Albany Crimestoppers is not dependent on tax dollars and rewards anonymous tipsters with cash, Preston said.

The officers are studying a successful Tampa, Fla., student program to work out the details for Dougherty County, such as whether to provide a special phone or drop box for tips, which could be observed by other students, she said.

Mailbag: Where was the Rocket's red glare?

Instead of flowers and chocolate for Valentine's Day, I got you the present you've always wanted: That's right, it's a 6,000-word mailbag. As always, these are actual e-mails from actual readers:

SG: Nah, I'd say Clem is rocking in at a solid 0.65 right now. At least he made a half-hearted attempt to defend himself by taping phone calls, manufacturing statistics, releasing one-sided reports, appearing before Congress and giving interviews to 89-year-old broadcasters to "fight" his case. O.J. vowed to find the real killers one time then spent the next 14 years playing golf.

Viewing all entries for: January 2008

LAST night after her uncontested "victory" in Florida, Hillary Clinton was introduced by... Alcee Hastings, removed from by the Senate in 1998 after impeachment from* in the House, under a heavy cloud of suspicion of bribery when he was a federal judge. (A bit of the colourful background here.) Bill Clinton pardoned Mr Hastings' alleged co-conspirator on his last day in office.

Child workers’ main concern is food

Two more boys in the same age group work in the canteen adjoining the security room here. The canteen in the deluxe building of the Estate Office also has under-14 boys serving tea and eatables. The number of those covered under the law runs into hundreds because it is common sight to see children in the age group of under-14 working in dhabas, restaurants, eateries, hotels, motels, teashops, resorts and other recreational centres. These are excluding children working in the residential quarters all over the city.

Mrs Amar Kulwant, a councillor of the Municipal Corporation said: Food is no excuse for exploiting small children. Look at the type of labour these small children are exposed to behind the closed doors in houses. I have personally intervened in cases of physical and mental torture.

City offers ‘free’ ID theft protection

It was discovered Tuesday that the city was being billed for time security guards were not present at the Election Commission and the city is asking Wackenhut for proof their employees were on duty. The city is also threatening legal action.In addition, a local law firm last week filed a lawsuit on behalf of three voters.Councilman Gotto, while in agreement with the mayor's decision, said it was only one piece of a larger puzzle and that the next necessary steps are “finding out just how bad the problem is in Metro as far as security of data and security of buildings."Results of an internal full-scale data security audit of every Metro department are expected today. Dean called for the audit Jan. 2.Gotto has requested an independent audit of the Department of General Services, Information Technology Services and the Election Commission.IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION FOR VOTERS:- Mayor Karl Dean announced Thursday that all voters who wish to participate would be receiving a free year of identity theft protection through Debix Identity Protection Network.- Voters should be receiving a letter no later than next week containing detailed instructions on how to enroll with Debix, a Texas based company, including an activation code to either mail in an enrollment form or register for the service online at debix.com/nashville.- Voters can opt to renew coverage for an additional year at a discounted price of $9.50.- For more information, contact Debix at (888) 332-4963 between 8 a.m.

Minnesota Man Claims He Took Drugs & Had Sex with Barack Obama in 1999

Still not willing to let this one slip quietly under the rug, Sinclair made a YouTube video in which he made his case. It's had over half a million views already, but the story has still been largely ignored by the news media.

Sinclair lives in Duluth, Minnesota, and in his filing, charges that his civil rights have been violated by Barack Obama and the Democratic Party.

Thursday, Feb. 21, 2 p.m. ET: Personal Tech

I have one big TV with a box, for digital and premium channels, On Demand, and DVR, but I have a few smaller TVs in other rooms of the house that are plugged into the wall, for watching networks, CNN, Comedy Central, etc. when I'm not sacked out on the couch. Many people, especially with multiple rooms and family members, have more than one TV, and not all of them are fully equipped with the bells and whistles. It will be interesting to see what happens when the cable providers nudge us off of analog cable over the coming years.

Rob Pegoraro: The annoying thing about this aspect is that if the cable industry hadn't spent years blocking the progress of an open standard for digital cable reception, digital-cable-ready TVs could have been on the market long ago. Instead, it's only been in the last few years that sets with these "QAM" tuners have become commonplace.

Listen Up: Willie Nelson

This isn't the first time someone has tried an extreme makeover, music edition, on Willie Nelson. A few years back, Rob Thomas, the Matchbox Twenty frontman who appeared with Carlos Santana on his career-reviving album "Supernatural," undertook a similar renovation of the country icon. It wasn't a "Smooth" move.

Country superstar Kenny Chesney, who co-produced Nelson's new album with veteran Buddy Cannon, might not seem a better fit. Chesney's muscle-flexing approach is worlds (and generations) away from Willie's relaxed, jazz-tinged style. And when Chesney turns reflective, he's likely to make references to fondly remembered frat parties, rather than life-defining events that may have taken place even before Nelson, 74, was born. That's the case here on "Louisiana," Randy Newman's masterful account of a 1915 hurricane, and with the invocation of the likes of "Cyrus Jones, lived from 1810 to 1913" on "Gravedigger," written by Dave Matthews.