By Justin Smith, Sr. Correspondent

Wayne M. Nesbitt, 45, of Capitol Hill, died in the early hours of Saturday, June 14, after collapsing at the D.C. Eagle, 639 New York Ave. NW, while socializing with friends.

Nesbitt was the first black Mr. D.C. Eagle, holding the title for the 1997-1998 cycle. He also served as a judge for the 2007 Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather (MAL) contest. While a fixture of the leather community for many years, he was not a member of any of the leather-community clubs. Wayne Nesbitt touched every one of us in the leather community around the country.

Glenn Carpenter, Nesbitt's partner for 15 years, died in November 2006.

Wayne Nesbitt will be sorely missed by every one who knew him. He was a friend and young men in the leather community definitely looked up to him and admired his leadership and poise. We actually both interviewed with the Metro Weekly in Washington DC about the generation gap in the leather community. The article was called, "The Next Generation", I am a leathermen of color and I can say we've lost a truly good man. His spirit will live on in the future generations of leathermen. We will be remembered for his good deeds and service to the community at large.

RIP Sir Wayne Nesbitt

Russert was recording voiceovers for Sunday’s “Meet the Press” broadcast when he collapsed. He was rushed to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, where resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

Russert’s physician, Michael Newman, said cholesterol plaque ruptured in an artery, causing sudden coronary thrombosis.

Russert had earlier been diagnosed with asymptomatic coronary artery disease, but it was well-controlled with medication and exercise, and he had performed well on a stress test in late April, Newman said. An autopsy revealed that he also had an enlarged heart, Newman said.

Russert’s death left his colleagues devastated.

He was “one of the premier political journalists and analysts of his time,” Tom Brokaw, the former longtime anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” said in announcing Russert’s death Friday afternoon. Brian Williams, managing editor and anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” called his death a “staggering, overpowering and sudden loss.”

“Meet the Press,” which he began hosting in 1991, was considered an essential proving ground in the career of any national politician.

“If you could pass the Tim Russert test, you could do something in this field,” said Howard Fineman, senior Washington correspondent for Newsweek magazine and a columnist for msnbc.com.

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She and her famous son were extremely close. Mrs. Vandross out-lived four of your children, her only grand child and husband. As for Luther, his medical problems were from diabetes. There will never be another Luther, and now the family is complete, rejoicing in heaven.

Rest in peace.

Portrait of Bill smiling, 2004

Aloe Plant.

Lone Cactus casts a shadow on the earth.

The trail where Bill's ashes were dispersed.

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Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome for years, died at 1:30 a.m. in his adopted home of Sri Lanka after suffering breathing problems, aide Rohan De Silva said.

The 1968 story "2001: A Space Odyssey" — written simultaneously as a novel and screenplay with director Stanley Kubrick — was a frightening prophesy of artificial intelligence run amok.

One year after it made Clarke a household name in fiction, the scientist entered the homes of millions of Americans alongside Walter Cronkite anchoring television coverage of the Apollo mission to the moon.

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We giggled at each other at the Ummah Foundation Meetings. We kept in contact all year round even when the summer events were over. I can say that I miss you brother and I love you. I some how wished I could have been there in greater force to help you.

Good bless you.

IF you are in the Atlanta area or near the Atlanta area and would like to attend the memorial services, the information is provided below.

Memorial services will be held this Friday, which is also his birthday, at 1 p.m in Atlanta, Ga. The services will be held at
 
Tabernacle Baptist Church
475 Boulevard NE Atlanta, GA 30308
Phone: 404-876-3777

Because of his statue in the community, it is recommended that individuals come early to get a seat. Tabernacle Baptist can hold up to 2000 people. For more information please contact a representative at this number (404) 688 - 7940

Three years later, on the eve of Rashawn's murder anniversary, I can't help but wonder how much more exposure this case would have received had it been a white woman whose dismembered parts had been found in a similar fashion. In the same year on May 30th, a young white woman disappeared during a school trip to Aruba. Three years later, the case still garners considerable media attention on national and perhaps even some global news outlets. I remember Natalee's name, not because I knew her, but because the media makes sure that I don't forget her and that I (and everyone else) helps provide tips to locate her killer. But what's worse is our own community's apathy surrounding this case. I mean, there is a killer out there who has murdered a black gay man! Though this case has not been officially deemed a hate crime, it has all the makings of one... chopped up body parts to start. Hopefully the killer will be found and brought to justice.

This year I'm honoring Rashawn's memory by running the series of photos from last year's candle light vigil.

I remember Rashawn, and will never forget...

Nostrand Avenue Train Station, Brooklyn. One of the places where parts of Rashawn's dismembered body were found.




Volunteers hand out leaflets to the community.




Desire Brazell, Rashawn's mom speaks to the crowd.



The Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project
.


Friends embrace.




Rashawn's father.

Kidney cancer finally claimed Charles H. “Chuck” Allen III Sunday evening at the age of 55, ending the life of a native New Havener who helped shape public policy — and just as often dissented from it — from the mid-1970s into the 1990s.

Allen represented Newhallville on the Board of Aldermen from 1976 to 1988. Sometimes he was an ally of City Hall in crafting legislation or deciding ward-level issues. Other times he was the board’s most outspoken and informed critic of City Hall’s complex downtown development deals or neighborhood housing plans. An accountant by training, he provided a level of independent scrutiny rare to this day on New Haven’s legislative body.

During that time Allen survived a series of controversies and primary challenges. Several times his career was declared dead, only to have him reemerge as a state senator in the early ’90s, then a mayoral aide to the DeStefano administration. He served on a myriad of volunteer boards.

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Scheider's wife, Brenda, said he died of a staph infection, brought on by complications of the multiple myeloma with which he was diagnosed in 2004.

Roy Scheider (c.) starred with Richard Dreyfuss (l.) and Robert Shaw in 'Jaws.'

A classically trained actor who appeared in more than 70 films, his signature role was Martin Brody, the conflicted sheriff in Steven Spielberg's breakthrough 1975 "Jaws."

Brody's droll remark "You're gonna need a bigger boat," which Scheider ad-libbed, turned into a defining line of the film that became the unlikeliest of cinema classics - igniting the career of Spielberg and ushering in the era of summer blockbusters.

Unlike Spielberg or his co-stars Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss, Scheider agreed to return for the sequel, "Jaws 2." He had the good sense to skip the next two installments.

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