Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott test positive for Covid-19

Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott's Director of Communications, Cal Harris released the following statement on the mayor testing positive for Covid-19:

“Mayor Scott tested positive for COVID-19 late this morning, and is currently self-isolating at his home in Northeast Baltimore. The Mayor is asymptomatic and currently feels fine. He will work remotely until he is officially cleared to return to City Hall.

“The Mayor regularly gets tested for COVID-19 to safeguard the health of City Hall colleagues and Baltimoreans he meets in the community. His test results came back negative last Friday, however he received two positive tests today. Mayor Scott is proactively working with the Baltimore City Health Department’s contact tracing units to notify colleagues he came across at outdoor events this past weekend.

“This serves as another reminder of the vast challenges faced by the ongoing global pandemic. Despite being vaccinated and following Baltimore City’s health protocols, breakthrough infections are a real threat. This could have been a different situation if Mayor Scott were not vaccinated, which is why he continues to work closely with Commissioner Dzirasa to support ongoing vaccination efforts across Baltimore.”

Booker says he's "not giving up" on police reform after talks collapsed

Senator Cory Booker explained to "Face the Nation" just why talks fell apart and the road ahead to meaningful change in policing.

Illinois State Trooper Gerald Mason dies after shooting on Chicago expressway

UPDATE 10/03/2021:

death of an Illinois State Police trooper on a Chicago expressway has been ruled a suicide, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said Saturday. An autopsy found District Chicago Trooper Gerald Mason, 35, died of a gunshot wound to the head, the medical examiner's office said. His age was initially reported as 36 on Friday by state police. The 11-year state police veteran died Friday shortly after the shooting around 2 p.m. on the inbound lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway on the city’s South Side, authorities said.

An Illinois State Police trooper died Friday after being shot on the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago, authorities said, on the same day the state started stepping up patrols in response to a surge in shootings involving motorists in the city.

The trooper was pronounced dead at 2:16 p.m. Friday at the University of Chicago Medical Center, said Natalia Derevyanny, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. An autopsy will be conducted, she said.

Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly identified the dead officer as 36-year-old District Chicago Trooper Gerald Mason.

“He was an amazing District Chicago trooper,” Kelly said during a brief news conference Friday evening.

NJ School to be renamed after Tuskegee Airman

Malcolm E. Nettingham died last year at age 101, but his legacy as a member of World War II's celebrated Tuskegee Airman will long be remembered with the announcement this week that a New Jersey middle school will bear his name. 

Members of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education passed a resolution to rename Park Middle School as the Malcolm E. Nettingham Middle School, as tribute to one of the last living members of the group of elite Black World War II fighter pilots. 

The community will have the opportunity to learn about his contributions before the official renaming ceremony on Nov. 11, Veterans Day. 

“We are proud to call Mr. Nettingham an alumnus of the district and are excited to honor his memory by renaming the middle school after him,” said Schools Superintendent Joan Mast. “This will allow students for generations to come to learn from Mr. Nettingham’s legacy and continue to celebrate his deep roots in the community and school district.”

Nettingham, a resident of Scotch Plains for nearly a century, died in September 2020. He graduated from Scotch Plains High School in 1936. 

Nettinham received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2007 for his military service and valor. His hometown honored him by making him the grand marshal of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Memorial Day Parade in 2014. He also was inducted into the first Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Hall of Fame in 2015. 

“Mr. Nettingham typified everything our community values: humility, service to others, inner strength, dedication to family and community, and so much more,” said Park Middle School Principal Jocelyn Dumaresq. “The choice to rename Park Middle School is even more fitting in that it was once Scotch Plains High School, the school from which Mr. Nettingham graduated in 1936.”

[SOURCE: MYCENTRALJERSEY]

Booker Applauds House Judiciary Committee’s Passage of CROWN Act

U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, applauded the passage of the CROWN Act out of the House Judiciary Committee.

“No one should be harassed, punished, or fired for the beautiful hairstyles that are true to themselves and their cultural heritage, yet Black people – especially Black women – face unjust harassment because of their natural and protective hairstyles, including denial of employment opportunities and exclusion from school activities,” said Sen. Booker. “To combat biases against natural hair and to protect the civil rights of people of color, the CROWN Act will ensure that discrimination based on hairstyles is prohibited. I applaud the House Judiciary Committee for their vote today and now urge all members of the House and Senate to support this legislation that will allow individuals to wear their hair proudly without fear or prejudice.”