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Marlon A. Walker

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As seen in: The Marshall Project, Facebook, USA Today, Yahoo News, U.S. News and World Report, Detroit Free Press, Flipboard, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Charlotte Observer, Nieman Lab and
Covers:  education, dekalb county schools, crime
News media leader. #FAMU ‘05. Ex: @marshallproj @clarionledger @ajc @freep, etc. Tennis fanatic. You DO NOT refrigerate hot sauce. #ImportedFromDetroit
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Why was teacher, fired in Ohio for physical abuse, hired by DeKalb Schools?

Why was teacher, fired in Ohio for physical abuse, hired by DeKalb Schools?

myajc.com — Sandra Meeks-Speller was reported to local authorities in Ohio after they say she physically and mentally abused students while a school administrator there. It's not clear whether anything was done by the Ohio Department of Education, which approves, renews and revokes licenses to teachers and school administrators in the state.
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Are Metro Atlanta school districts keeping your student bus rider safe?

Are Metro Atlanta school districts keeping your student bus rider safe?

myajc.com — When the school bus carrying Susan Campbell's son and other children pulled into her north Fulton County subdivision in the fall of 2013, the back bumper was dragging on the road. Campbell said the students were on edge. One had banged his head. But where did the accident take place?
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DeKalb kept silent on reason for school official's absence

DeKalb kept silent on reason for school official's absence

myajc.com — The DeKalb County School District has been tight-lipped about the circumstances surrounding the long absence of former Chief Human Capital Management Officer Leo Brown and his recent demotion. First Amendment experts say the district's handling of the situation is what not to do when it comes to government transparency.
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DeKalb Schools: Questions about $100K for new hires

DeKalb Schools: Questions about $100K for new hires

myajc.com — DeKalb County Schools nearly $100,000 for a search firm to fill six administrative positions, but the eventual job winners were mostly handpicked and put in position before the search was over, including three from Superintendent Steve Green's previous district. The move has raised the question about the necessity of spending the money to find people the superintendent had already selected.
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Wayne County authority had little say over $300M jail project

Wayne County authority had little say over $300M jail project

Detroit Free Press — The Wayne County Building Authority was tasked with overseeing construction of a $300-million jail, but its members had little say over decisions such as who would be hired to work on the project, records show. Instead, it appears most of the control went to the county's chief financial officer, Carla Sledge, who became the authority's chief administrative officer. It was Sledge who authorized halting construction on the site after a report to the county showed that more than half the $220 million designated for construction of the facility was spent, while just 25% of it was completed.
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Justice delayed for crimes in Dellwood; officials at odds about why : News

Justice delayed for crimes in Dellwood; officials at odds about why : News

St. Louis Post-Dispatch — DELLWOOD * The officer on the phone seemed to have good news for Felicia Vanderford. He told her his department, the Dellwood police, was close to making an arrest in the death of her son Dorcy Davis. "They described to me who did it and came up with a name," Vanderford said. Early on, investigators had been in touch with her often as they developed leads in the April 2010 slaying. Then the calls stopped. "They haven't contacted me in two years," Vanderford said recently. "And the one who killed my son is still out there." St.
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Black teachers scarce in metro Atlanta despite benefits for kids

Black teachers scarce in metro Atlanta despite benefits for kids

myajc.com — Each day around 3 p.m., Jarvis Williams sees off most of his first-grade class at Towns Elementary School in Atlanta, where he began his teaching career at the start of the 2015-2016 school year. After that, he settles in for a few more hours as big brother, mentor and counselor to help with issues that come up during the day, as some students needed additional guidance. The additional hours are not a problem, he says. Black men, who make up about 2 percent of teachers nationwide, find themselves often playing dual roles - teacher in the classroom and mentor and male role model where, in many cases, none exists.
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DeKalb County principal still in demand years after retirement

DeKalb County principal still in demand years after retirement

myajc.com — When the phone rang with an administrative assignment at Lakeside High School, Robert Williams jumped at the chance. Williams, 69, retired from DeKalb County School District in 2003 after a 30-year education career. A few years ago, he realized he missed the interaction with people that made working in a school - which, for nine months of the year is heavily populated - a joy. "I'm not a sitting-around-the-house kind of guy," Williams said. "I'm not a good yard man. I'm gone all the time. (Working) has become a hobby where you really like to get out, keep the ship afloat until it can be steadied with a permanent hire."
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No decision near on fate of failed Wayne County Jail project

No decision near on fate of failed Wayne County Jail project

Detroit Free Press — The Wayne County Jail project is costing the county about $1.4 million monthly in interest and storage fees as the project sits stale at Gratiot and St. Antoine in Detroit, with no decision on its fate coming in the foreseeable future. Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, making the rounds with various news media last week to discuss the county's finances, also said he has gotten one offer for the property since he took office in January - from Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert, to purchase the site for $20 million. "We don't see any plan that doesn't add to this mess," Evans told the Free Press on Thursday.
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Evans: Wayne County debt crisis worse than expected

Evans: Wayne County debt crisis worse than expected

Detroit Free Press — Wayne County Executive Warren Evans' administration says the county's deficit is a lot bigger than his predecessor claimed it to be, an acknowledgment that, coupled with the absence of a state-approved plan to eliminate the debt, could open the door to state intervention. After conditionally approving a sweeping plan put forth by the Robert Ficano administration last spring, officials from state Treasurer Kevin Clinton's office say no plan currently is on the books for the county, putting it at risk for beginning the process to eventual state financial oversight. Clinton spokesman Terry Stanton said the new county executive will get time to address the county's financial state.
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Community center hits snag with Plymouth Township

Community center hits snag with Plymouth Township

Detroit Free Press — Some Plymouth residents want to purchase the Central Middle School building when it closes to students at the end of the school year and maintain its activity rooms, pool and football field as a recreation center for the community. The problem is that they hope to establish an authority between the City of Plymouth and Plymouth Township and use tax dollars from a special levy to keep up the facility. But the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees, knowing the project was on the horizon, voted not to enter into any authorities until November 2016.
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Supporters rally for gay, pregnant teacher fired from Catholic school

Supporters rally for gay, pregnant teacher fired from Catholic school

Detroit Free Press — Supporters rally for gay, pregnant teacher fired from Catholic school Barbara Webb, 33, taught chemistry for nine years and coached sports at the school in Bloomfield Hills until, she said, she was fired last month because of her nontraditional pregnancy. A link to this page will be included in your message.
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Clerk mum as township board, NAACP call for resignation over racial slur

Clerk mum as township board, NAACP call for resignation over racial slur

Detroit Free Press — BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP - Gloria Platko is no longer taking calls from reporters. Two weeks after Township Manager Dexter Mitchell publicly aired a taped conversation with the township clerk in which she referred to Township Supervisor Dwayne Parker as "an arrogant n----," calls for Platko to resign the seat to which she was elected in November have come from residents, the Saginaw NAACP, the Michigan Democratic Party and even her colleagues on the township board. But Platko, who is white, has trudged along, doing her job through e-mail and the occasional phone conversation.
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Dog's shooting a sad Christmas tale

Dog's shooting a sad Christmas tale

News & Observer — The pop sounded like fireworks. Then there was a loud whimper. Jennifer Walker opened the front door at 3405 Edgemont Drive around 5:30 p.m. Monday hoping to find Truman, one of the family's dogs, frightened from the noise. Instead, he was covered in blood. A Raleigh police officer stood nearby. "Did you shoot our dog?" she asked him. "Yes. He was coming after me," she remembers him saying. Family members say the 11-year-old chocolate lab would never hurt anybody. Christmas night, he was treated for a gunshot wound at a local animal hospital because someone thought otherwise.
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Cons working foreclosure scams rarely go to jail

Cons working foreclosure scams rarely go to jail

Savannah Morning News — LAS VEGAS - They call themselves loan modification consultants, negotiators or specialists. Some are legitimate, but many are simple con artists looking for desperate marks facing foreclosure amid the wreckage of the nation's housing market. It's a good business, too, since in most states, there's not much of a chance they'll ever end up before a judge facing any time in jail. While some states have recently toughened penalties for perpetrating the booming business of foreclosure scams and some prosecutors have used existing fraud statutes to bring criminal charges, the reaction of many state prosecutors in places where foreclosure scams are common are civil actions designed to recover a victim's money.
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If he does you www.wrong...

If he does you www.wrong...

www.sptimes.com — The profile begins like many found on the Internet: Male, 38 years old, 5-foot-10, nicknamed "Blue-Eyed Boy Toy." His handsome face adorns the screen, along with a few more personal details. But before a woman gets too interested, she's warned to keep away from the "fat face loser from Tampa" who likes to have his cake and eat it, too. He's one of dozens of men in the Tampa Bay area who can be found on www.dontdatehimgirl.com, a site built to help women steer clear of cheaters and abusers, according to its creator Tasha Joseph.
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Black Men and Education Focus Of Urban League Report

Black Men and Education Focus Of Urban League Report

diverseeducation.com — by Marlon A. Walker Black Men and Education Focus Of Urban League Report By Marlon A. Walker This year's "The State of Black America" study by the National Urban League pays the most attention to Black males because they are further away from parity with their White counterparts in several significant categories. Black men face the greatest battle to gain equality in society, and Urban League leaders say improving the educational outcomes of Black males is the best path for changing their plight. Compared to White men, African-American men are more than twice as likely to be unemployed and earn, on average, 74 percent as much in income annually.
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New DDOT chief: 'We've got to get the buses running on time'

New DDOT chief: 'We've got to get the buses running on time'

Detroit Free Press — Dan Dirks is frustrated. It's 11:30 in the morning - nearing peak time for the DDOT bus system - and Dirks has been waiting nearly half an hour to take the Crosstown bus from Detroit's west side, near the Dearborn border, to St. John Hospital near Grosse Pointe. The problem? Only three buses are servicing the Crosstown route, when there should be 11. "It pisses me off," he said, finally boarding the bus at 11:53 a.m. on a recent weekday. It won't be like this for long, says Dirks. And he should know.
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I-94 expansion threatens recording studio where Motown sound got its start

I-94 expansion threatens recording studio where Motown sound got its start

Detroit Free Press — The United Sound Systems building near Wayne State University drew musical acts from all over that wanted to create hits based off the sound quality created within its walls. It's where Berry Gordy Jr. cut the first record that would lead the way to the Motown dynasty. Aretha Franklin used the studio to record the vocals to her 1985 hit "Freeway of Love." Funkadelic, which included George Clinton, recorded most of its music there. Miles Davis, the Dramatics, John Lee Hooker, Luther Vandross and Eminem also are among those who recorded tracks at 5840 Second Ave.
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Injured Missouri vet feels at home - at last

Injured Missouri vet feels at home - at last

St. Louis Post-Dispatch — LAKE OZARK, Mo. * It's appropriate that the drive to Todd Nicely's new Cambridge Avenue home, which backs up to the Cornett Branch Cove, includes traveling half a mile down a road named Bittersweet. The 28-year-old, originally from Arnold, said it was always a dream of his to live by the lake after retirement. He just didn't expect it to happen this soon. Or this way. Nicely was injured in Afghanistan in early 2010 when he stepped on a 40-pound explosive device. The blast ripped off his hands and legs.
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Was victim, 79, scared to death?

Was victim, 79, scared to death?

Columbus Dispatch — RALEIGH, N.C. -- Larry Whitfield was on foot, his getaway car wrecked, his rookie attempt at robbing a bank thwarted by a set of locked doors, according to detectives. Looking for a place to hide, police say, he found himself inside the home of a frightened old woman. There's no evidence Whitfield ever touched 79-year-old Mary Parnell. Authorities say he even told the grandmother of five he didn't want to hurt her, directing her to sit in a chair in her bedroom. But investigators have no doubt he terrified her so much that she died of a heart attack.
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