Keepingitreal

Thousands of PG&E customers stand to get refunds for billing violations

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. must refund $35 million to customers who received long-overdue or estimated bills in violation of state rules, California regulators decided Thursday.The refunds will go to some 230,000 PG&E customers, who will receive the money early next year. The refunds, ordered by the California Public Utilities Commission, will appear as a credit on monthly electricity and gas bills."This is a relatively straightforward issue," said Commissioner John Bohn. "Customers were illegally billed."The commission, however, did not slap PG&E with any fines, saying there was no evidence that the utility acted with ill-intent. A PG&E spokesman said the San Francisco company was disappointed in the decision, particularly in the commission's insistence that the refunds be paid from profits that otherwise would have gone to PG&E shareholders. But the company will not contest the decision, said spokesman Brian Hertzog."We're planning to move forward with the refunds," he said. Thursday's decision ends a long and embarrassing episode for PG&E. For years, the commission fielded complaints about improper billing by the utility. Some customers didn't receive PG&E bills for months on end, only to get one big bill for all the time missed. Other people received monthly bills that turned out to be estimates, not based on the amount of power they actually consumed. In some cases, the utility then said the estimated bills were too low and demanded higher payments. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Patti Labelle is Pissed

Arctic ice ebbs to record level: scientists

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Arctic sea ice melted to its lowest level ever this week, shattering a record set in 2005 and continuing a trend spurred by human-caused global warming, scientists said on Thursday. "It's the biggest drop from a previous record that we've ever had and it's really quite astounding," said Walt Meier, a research scientist at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado. Sea ice freezes and melts seasonally, but never has it ebbed to this small a patch, the data center said in a statement. Compared to 2005, the previous record-low year for Arctic sea ice, this year saw a decrease of more than 386,100 square miles. That is about the size of Texas and California combined, or nearly five times the size of the United Kingdom, the center said. It is more than double the drop between 2005 and 2002, the previous record-holding year."That's a dramatic change in one year," Meier said of this year's sea ice decrease. "Certainly we've been on a downward trend for the last 30 years or so, but this is really accelerating the trend."The minimum amount of ice occurred on Sunday and freezing has already begun in some places, according to satellite imagery used by the center. EARTH'S AIR CONDITIONER Melting sea ice, unlike the melting glaciers of Greenland and Antarctica, does not contribute to global sea level rise, much as an ice cube in a glass of water does not make the level of liquid rise when it melts. However, without the bright white of sea ice to reflect the sun's rays, the Earth loses what some climate scientists call its air conditioner. The less ice there is, the more dark water there is to absorb the warming solar radiation. This year's record was caused by a "perfect storm" of interacting factors, Meier said by telephone. These included a long-running high pressure system that kept skies cloudless over the Arctic, along with a circulation pattern that pushed ice out of the Arctic towards Greenland, instead of letting it circle around the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska as it usually does. Also, there was thinner ice to begin with, Meier said. While this particular year's ice minimum cannot be directly attributed to anthropogenic -- human-caused -- global climate change, the trend that brought it about can, he said."This year, the reason why (the ice) was so low was not because there's more anthropogenically generated carbon dioxide dumped in the last year, it's because of this high pressure ... but you can't really explain the overall trend without invoking anthropogenically global warming," Meier said. He also noted that the decrease in Arctic sea ice was forecast in models used by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which this year said with 90 percent probability that global warming exists and that human activities contribute to it. However, the sea ice is diminishing much faster than any of the models predicted, Meier said. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Suffer the Little Children

Dellums puts prison reformer in charge of public safety; Latte-lappers lose laptops; Emeryvillers stripped; and albumen attacks vex neighbors.This month, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums had to replace his outgoing public safety director, Victor Ochoa, who is considering a City Council run. So the old socialist appointed UC Berkeley alum Lenore Anderson, a public-interest lawyer and activist who won a Soros Justice Fellowship for giving "advocacy training to parents whose sons and daughters face incarceration," which, in turn, "is expected to reduce the likelihood of incarceration ... among Bay Area youth." Ah. Feel safe yet? Anderson seems to prioritize quelling punishment over quelling crime, as if the former might spawn the latter. She formerly headed the prison-reform nonprofit Books not Bars, which according to its mission statement "fights to redirect California's resources away from youth incarceration and towards youth opportunities. We engage in grassroots campaigns using media advocacy, policy advocacy, grassroots organizing, and alliance building. Currently, we are working to close California's abusive, expensive youth prisons and replace them with rehabilitation centers and community-based programs" — coming soon to your street. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Oakland Schools' Cash Stash

Even as schools across the city hunger for basic program funding, the district sits atop vast surpluses with no plans to spend the money.  By spending a substantial portion of her time last year in Maryland instead in of the East Bay, outgoing Oakland schools State Administrator Kim Statham didn't just cheat taxpayers — she cheated nearly forty thousand children. In fact, newly released public records show that the school district under Statham's command shortchanged kids, especially those from low-income families, out of more than $40 million worth of education. This startling fact came to light quietly last week: The district revealed that after it closed the accounting books on its 2006-07 academic year, it was left with huge surpluses in nearly all of its accounts. Public records show that the eye-popping windfall was mostly the result of the district having failed to spend the money allotted to it by the state and federal governments. In addition, records show that Statham, who is to leave the district next week, had no plans to spend any of the excess cash this year. If the district doesn't spend that money, Oakland students will again be cheated out of millions of dollars in government funds designed to improve their education. "It's really unnerving," said teachers' union president Betty Olson-Jones, after learning of the excess funds during a presentation at last week's school board meeting by district interim CFO Leon Glaster. "It's a lot of money." SOURCE OF THIS STORY                                                             

Jena 6 Dedication: Still I Rise - Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? 'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries. Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history's shame I rise Up from a past that's rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Beyoncé takes over the Oracle Arena

Beyoncé Knowles may have tripped and tumbled down a flight of stairs onstage a month and a half back in Orlando and had a "wardrobe malfunction" two weeks ago in Toronto, but there were no slipups Friday night in Oakland - just two fast-paced hours of terrific singing, solid musicianship, spectacular staging and some of the most imaginative choreography ever to have graced the stage of Oracle Arena. With only one more week to go in her current 41-city North American tour, the 25-year-old Texan had the show, billed as "The Beyoncé Experience," down pat. Every twitch, turn, slide and hip shake was in perfect sync with the accents of her 13-member, all-female backup band, which provided periodic instrumental interludes that permitted the star to exit the stage for quick changes of costume. There were seven altogether, every one fabulously glamorous, most of them tailored to highlight the singer's ample cleavage and a pair of legs to rival Tina Turner's. At one point, when the legs were concealed by a long scarlet gown, wind blew from underneath to expose them. Beyoncé may have borrowed a trick or two from Marilyn Monroe, but unlike the late actress, this girl can really sing. She rendered 32 songs Friday, including many of the tunes from her two solo CDs, abbreviated versions of 10 of her Destiny's Child hits and "Listen," her showstopper from "Dreamgirls." On that song and several other ballads, she added occasional bits of rasp to her ringing mezzo tones to emphasize key lines. She was particularly powerful on "Speechless," a masterpiece of lyrical minimalism that she delivered while sitting on a couch that resembled a giant set of glossy red lips. Beyoncé was in motion most of the time, however, yet never appeared to be out of breath. The cadenza of "Dangerously in Love" served as a showcase for her awesome vocal chops, as she ended a long sustain with microtonal Arabic melismas, followed by a string of descending blue notes that drew on both gospel music and the late soul singer Billy Stewart. Beyoncé, her 10 instrumentalists, three harmony vocalists (whose voluptuous figures cut a striking contrast to Beyoncé's svelte frame) and 10 dancers performed much of the concert on a set of stairs that stretched most of the width of the stage. The stairs changed colors often; they were green when Beyoncé sang "Green Light" and pink when the band played "The Pink Panther Theme." (She co-starred with Steve Martin in the 2006 version of the film.) Each musician was given a solo in the spotlight, including bandleader Bibi McGill, with her Jimi Hendrix-inspired guitar flight, and alto saxophonist Tia Fuller, with her cascading bop-tinged lines and striking command of the instrument's upper register. Rie Tsuji and Britanni Washington played dueling pianos, mixing Beethoven and Bill Evans with some Liberace-like flash thrown in for entertainment's sake. Carmalita Glaspie, during a thundering drum solo, picked up a bottle of water with her left hand and took a swig while continuing to play with her right. Kimberly Thompson, the band's other drummer, began her solo blindfolded. The dancers complemented Beyoncé throughout. Men in camouflage fatigues slithered on the floor at one point as she sang. One did a twirling break dance. Two ripped off their sweat-soaked T-shirts and flung them into the audience. Women flanked Beyoncé at times, their synchronized moves with the singer suggesting the Ikettes. During a costume-change interlude, a man and a woman performed a graceful ballet, embracing as they spun together, then kissed. But none of the supporting dancers upstaged the star, whose movements included a hip-gyrating belly dance during "Naughty Girl" (which interpolated Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby") and a Naomi Campbell runway walk on the infectiously syncopated "Get Me Bodied." "I've been singing my heart out for over two hours," Beyoncé said toward the close of the show. "Now it's time for you to sing for me."Smiling as she stood silently, her long auburn hair flapping in a breeze, Beyoncé wove her microphone in the air while the fans sang the final selection, "Irreplaceable," as a mass choir. They had come to witness "The Beyoncé Experience" and left having been made a part of it. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Couple Rumor: Gabby and Luda!

This isn't the first time we've heard rumors that Gabrielle Union and Ludacris were a couple, they've been spotted together at various events. She's also been connected to Dwyane Wade and Chaka of DTP Records...Who knows, but you know one picture means you f*cking!Sexy actress GABRIELLE UNION has a new hip-hop honey in the shape of birthday boy LUDACRIS. The rapper, who recently turned 30, and the Bad Boys II star have been dating for the last two months, according to friends. The new romance is Union's first serious fling since she split from husband Chris Howard in 2005. Union, 34, was the rapper's special guest at his recent birthday party, which he held at Cafe Martorano at the Rio hotel in Las Vegas on 7 September (07). A source who attended the exclusive party tells In Touch Weekly magazine, "They were openly affectionate." [SOURCE]

O.J. Simpson's Bail Set at $125,000

O.J. Simpson's Bail Set at $125,000

A judge set bail Wednesday at $125,000 for O.J. Simpson in connection with the armed robbery of sports memorabilia collectors at a Las Vegas hotel. His attorney later said he expected the former football star to be released within hours and return to Florida. Details

SAVE OUR SOUL

In case you don't know, Donnie is the soulful, groundbreaking R&B artist who challenged constructs of mainstream music with his 2002 debut The Colored Section. The critically acclaimed album brought him to the legendary Motown record label and now his sophomore album, The Daily News, is proving that Donnie is an artist with longevity and stamina. In addition, Donnie is an openly gay artist, one of the firsts in R&B. Now he needs our support on making Logo's Click List with his video "If I Were You". So, if over 500 people can vote for Madonna vs. Janet - take a quick trip to the link below and vote for Donnie! Click here to vote! You can also learn more about Donnie at http://www.myspace.com/donniemusic.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

By James Peterson ---- Somehow the sun was shining brighter this past Saturday morning when I awoke to the news that Mychal Bell’s conviction had been overturned. Bell, one of the Jena 6, was in fact the first of 6 young black men to be ‘tried’ and convicted of second-degree aggravated assault as well as conspiracy to commit this crime.  The Jena 6 situation has been blogged about here and elsewhere so I will not rehearse these unfortunate events in this space.  Mr. Bell’s sentencing hearing was originally scheduled for July 31st and subsequently postponed until later this week (September 20th 2007).  The reversal of Bell’s conviction is a clear victory for the Black Public Sphere whose collective will challenged the ‘Jim Crow’ justice of Jena, LA early and often as this unfortunate story unfolded.  For those folk who love to hate Rev. Al Sharpton and/or Rev. Jesse Jackson we thank you (as well as their courage to endure it) because your unbridled hate for these figures (ironically) helps to invest them with the media-magnetism required to put the spotlight on dark pockets of retrograde INSTITUTIONAL racism. This battle for justice continues and my hope is that the BlackProf community will, with all of its legal and intellectual resources, be integral in the processes and protests designed to ensure that the Jena 6 receive equal and fair treatment under the law. Make no mistake about it though Mychal Bell is a hero.  By most accounts, Mr. Bell should have taken a plea agreement at the time of his trial.  “A plea bargain would have put him back on the streets in a matter of months” (ISR interview with Alan Bean).  He was an emerging High School football star with interest from various college programs.    But Bell opted to be a soldier in the quagmire of the culture wars.  And on this front Bell risked his football career in order to assert his innocence and to highlight the injustices surrounding the racially charged incidents in Jena, LA.  In this sense he is more Jim Brown than (insert your favorite running back here).  He is more like Bill Russell than Shaq; and he is more Ali than Tyson.  He is an athlete who understands that the playing field is often times an extension or reflection of the politics that operate in the public sphere.  Moreover, Mr. Bell understood that whatever his football career might have been or might still become, he couldn’t submit to a ‘justice’ system that required him to co-sign racial injustice with a circumstantially coerced guilty plea.   Bell’s courage set the stage for leaders and activists to fully engage the complex racial conundrum that Jena, LA has become.  His time spent in jail, for a crime that this recent overturning suggests he could not have committed, is part of the heavy lifting required to confront the problems of race and class in our selectively aggressive criminal justice system.  A sad but corollary fact of Bell’s stand is that it unveils the kind of legal environment (racialized and unforgiving) within which too many young black men must make similar decisions about life, innocence, and justice.SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Kanye Crowned The Victor

He best be announcing his retirement any day now!

The new U.K. album chart has just come in and Kanye West’s Graduation is the #1 disc in Great Britain.

The Chicago native beat 50 Cent’s Curtis, which came in at #2.

Kanye is expected to beat Fiddy in America as well, where his record is projected to outsell 50’s by 200,000 copies.

Somehow we think Fiddy’s gonna back out and claim that West’s record company bought ALL those albums and that he’s not retiring.

You lost, buddy!

Are blacks main target of payday lenders?

Former managers for Ohio-based payday lender Check 'n Go were ordered to solicit poor, black residents, rewarded for pushing people into revolving loans and pressured to donate to a company executive running for the Ohio House, they said yesterday. "We train our sales staff to keep customers dependent, to make sure they keep re-borrowing … forever, if possible," said Mike Donovan, a former district director of operations for Check 'n Go who said he oversaw stores in Washington, D.C., northern Virginia and Delaware. Donovan and two former Washington-area store managers for Check 'n Go, the nation's second-largest payday lending company, spoke out yesterday at a news conference in Washington as part of an effort to get the District of Columbia Council to cap payday-lending interest rates. Advocates for consumers and the poor in Ohio also are aggressively pushing for payday-lending-rate caps and other regulations. "I'm here to tell you that Check 'n Go deliberately targets black communities," said William Harrod, a former store manager in D.C. When marketing his loans, he said, "I was instructed to stick to low-income, black apartment buildings." Donovan agreed. "We seek out low-income African-American and Latino neighborhoods because we know that this is where our most profitable client base is located." Bill Faith, the executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, said the former Check 'n Go officials backed up his argument that payday loans trap people in a spiral of debt. "It's what we've heard from the victims," he said. "It's good confirmation to hear it from inside the industry that this is their business plan." Check 'n Go, based in Mason, issued a written response, accusing its former employees of making "false and reckless statements." "Check 'n Go is proud to serve the Washington, D.C., community and provide a valuable credit option for all of our customers. Check 'n Go adheres to all local regulations and industry best practices that provide for a variety of consumer safeguards. We take these charges seriously and will pursue all legal remedies available to the company." Harrod said he was trained to access customers' bank accounts. Donovan said staff members were told not to let customers know about an extended-payment option, unless they discovered it themselves. The industry, which typically gives out two-week loans, has exploded in Ohio from about 100 stores in 1996 to almost 1,600 today. Payday lenders say they provide an important service to those with nowhere else to turn. Faith and others with the Ohio Coalition for Responsible Lending met yesterday with state Rep. William G. Batchelder to work out final details of his payday-regulation bill. Batchelder, a Medina Republican, said his bill would cap interest rates on payday loans at 36 percent annualized (the current limit is 391 percent), encourage banks and others to offer small loans and limit a borrower to two payday loans per year. His bill will get competition from an industry-backed proposal by Reps. Matt Lundy, D-Elyria, and Ross McGregor, R-Springfield. Provisions include letting borrowers enter an extended payment plan and limiting bounced-check fees to one per loan. Donovan also said yesterday that he felt pressured to donate to the campaign of company executive John Rabenold, a Republican running for the Ohio House in the 35th District near Cincinnati. Donovan said upper-level Check 'n Go employees were sent an e-mail by CEO David Davis asking them to give at least $200. In the first six months of 2007, Rabenold raised more than $90,000 from the payday-lending industry, Ohio records show. "We were told that this was voluntary, but our understanding was that a failure to do so would impact our careers in the company," Donovan said, noting that Rabenold's campaign treasurer is the company's field training director. "So there is a lot of pressure to support the Rabenold campaign, both monetarily and otherwise." Rabenold said the company did not pressure employees to give. "My campaign success is based on people looking on me as an individual and my desire to advance the interests of the community," he said. "These people who are making contributions are the same ones who want to help me knock on doors, walk in parades and wear my T-shirts." Source: The Columbus Dispatch

Owner of the Minnesota Twins Buys Hip-Hop Radio Station

Carl Pohlad, owner of the Minnesota Twins Major League Baseball team, is now in the hip-hop broadcasting business. According to the Associated Press, the billionaire is set to hand over 28 million to Radio One Inc. for KTTBFM, or B-96, a hip-hop station in Minneapolis. Pohlad, who recently launched Northern Lights Broadcasting, is looking to get into the radio business and the purchase is his first major move in that direction. Steve Woodbury, president and CEO of Northern Lights, says that he has been tasked with finding other radio and TV stations with potential and starting a small media group. According to Woodbury, B-96 will retain its hip-hop format and all on-air personalities will remain. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Greenspan reportedly warns on rate cuts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said his successors at the U.S. central bank should be cautious about cutting interest rates because of inflation risks, and he forecast home prices will drop further, according to interviews published on Sunday. Greenspan, whose memoirs hit book shelves on Monday, said the Fed should be careful not to cut rates too aggressively because the risk of an "inflationary resurgence" is greater now than when he was chairman, the Financial Times reported. The U.S. central bank meets on Tuesday and is widely expected to cut benchmark federal funds rate -- currently at 5.25 percent -- by at least a quarter of a percent age point to help the economy weather a housing downturn and a credit crunch. Greenspan said the U.S. housing slump is likely to deepen more than many analysts expect, with home prices falling by at least a "large single-digit" percentage amount and perhaps by a double-digit percentage, he told the Financial Times. The Fed is currently weighing the adverse impacts of the housing downturn on the broader economy after a recent report showing employers shed 4,000 jobs in August raised warning flags. UNDERLYING STRENGTH SOURCE OF THIS STORY

BET: Hip-Hop Lives in the South

It’s official. BET Hip-Hop Awards returns to Atanta for the second time in a row. The event will be hosted by Katt Williams again. And, T.I. is top nominee (9!) once more. Not to mention that they somehow managed to fill up the Hip-Hop Dance category for 07. Either hip-hop lives in the south or BET is allergic to change.

• BET Hip-Hop Awards - Full Nominees

Arrested!

O.J. Simpsonwas arrested by police in Las Vegas on Sunday amidst allegations that he was involved in an armed burglary in Las Vegas.
Hopefully they will squeeze the Juice dry!

Don't Believe the Hype: Diddy's Baby Mama Edition

By Melody on Don't Believe the Hype According to Sandra Rose, the once mystery woman that popped up between Diddy and Kim Porter with a baby, Sarah Chapman, has broken her silence and talked to her in response to Kim's interview with Essence. Sarah said, "I just wanted to let you know that whatever you write about me I want it to be truthful things." "I never moved out of Atlanta," she said. "I have always lived here and I'm definitely 33. I graduated [from Spelman] in '96. My birthday is next week and I'm going to be 34," she said. "I never ran away from Atlanta because I was pregnant." Sarah, who was born in Minneapolis, said she moved to Atlanta at age 17 to attend Spelman College. Sarah's response to Kim's assertion that she didn't know her: "A lot of what you said is true about me and Kim. There's so much more to the story than that. She definitely knows who I am," said Sarah. "Yes, it's true, we've had words. [Kim] knew about my pregnancy prior to her getting pregnant. In fact, Kim and I met [Sean] at the same time." Sarah stressed that she doesn't seek out the spotlight: "That's not for me. I don't enjoy that. I'll let Kim have that" She also talked about the rumors that surrounded her pregnancy last year: "There's been rumors out there that [Sean Combs] offered me a million dollars to not have the baby, said Sarah. "If he gave me a million dollars I wouldn't be calling him every month for child support," she joked. "I mean, he pays me on a monthly basis, but there's rumors that he offered me a million dollars hush money."

 

Read more under the cut...

About her longterm relationship with Sean, Sarah said, "He and I are friends, we've always been friends. I've known him for a long time - 13 years exactly. Sarah adding that they dated "on and off" over those years. "I know it sounds very cliché, but we really are friends. It's never been a situation where I'm trying to step on top of [Kim] or I'm trying to be in her position."Sarah expressed surprise that Kim dropped her name in the Essence interview. "She threw my name in that shit," said Sarah, raising her voice slightly. Regarding Kim's revelation that Kim didn't speak to Sean Combs about Sarah's baby until after her twins were born, Sarah said, "the scary part is that any woman can be with a man and not even mention to him 'oh, I heard you got another woman pregnant' - that's really scary. For the longest time she never mentioned my pregnancy to him. She kept it a secret to herself so it wouldn't take the shine off of her," said Sarah. "I thought [Sean] was lying, but he said Kim never mentioned my pregnancy to him." Sarah stressed she wanted the opportunity to tell her side of the story in a national forum. "I don't have a voice," she said softly. "I don't have a forum to speak about my child. He has the forum. I'm not a superstar, he's the superstar. He's the person that should be out there acknowledging his child. I'm going on with my daily life and raising my child. We do what we do. We go to Sesame Street and the zoo," said Sarah. "Now that she's lured me out, let me paint the picture. I don't want anyone else to paint the picture. Let me have a say so," she said. "I need to have a voice. I want to be heard."SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Queen Latifah, Gabrielle Union, and Jill Marie Jones in 'The Perfect Holiday'

Towards the end of this year, we will have two Christmas themed-films out that features an all-star African-American cast. Besides 'This Christmas', which comes out on Nov.21st, on December 14th, the Yari Film Group will release 'The Perfect Holiday', which stars Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Queen Latifah, Charlie Murphy, Terrence Howard, Faizon Love, Rachel True, Katt Williams, Jill Marie Jones, Malik Hammond, Khail Bryant, & Jeremy Gumbs.The Perfect Holiday' is directed by Lance Rivera.THE PERFECT HOLIDAY is a heart-warming holiday story of Nancy (played by Gabrielle Union - "Daddy's Little Girl" & "Bring it On"), a loving single mother of three who falls for Benjamin (Morris Chestnut – "Best Man", "Like Mike" & "Breakin' All the Rules"), a talented but struggling songwriter who is working part-time as a mall Santa. Conflicts arise when her oldest son, 10 year old John-John, convinces his younger brother and sister to join him in mischievous plots and schemes against their mother's new boyfriend in the hopes that she will reunite with his hero - their rap-mogul father J-Jizzy (Charlie Murphy). Being narrated by Queen Latifah in a magical role of "Mother Christmas" opposite Terrence Howard, who plays a hard-to-dislike Scrooge-ish character named "Bah-Humbug", THE PERFECT HOLIDAYsuccessfully brings together all the elements that will make this a Holiday Classic. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Omarion - Cut Off Time Feat. Kat Deluna