Florida Sentinel Bulletin

In 2006, Bow Wow, whose actual name is Shad Gregory Moss, owed a Florida tax lien of $91,105.61, which is still unpaid. A new lien was filed in Georgia in 2008 to the tune of $15,279.62.  Finally, in 2010, a third lien was added to Bow Wow’s debt, totaling $19,700.91.

Reportedly, the spend thrift entertainer has a rep for lavishing himself with costly things that range in the six figures.

NEW YORK  — A public viewing will be held Friday for singer Etta James, and the Rev. Al Sharpton will eulogize the late legend at a private funeral Saturday.

James died last Friday at age 73 after battling leukemia and other ailments, including dementia. She was most famous for her classic At Last, but over her decades-long career, she became revered for her passionate singing voice.

NEW YORK  — Apparently enough time has passed for Barbara Walters and Star Jones to reunite for a day.

The View announced on Wednesday that Jones will appear on the daytime talk show on Feb. 22 to promote an awareness campaign about heart disease among women.

Walters and Jones had a falling out in 2006 when Jones, one of the five original co-hosts of the daytime chat show, exited The View. ABC decided not to renew her contract and Jones took Walters by surprise by announcing on June 27 that she would be leaving the show.

That exit came more quickly than expected. Walters wouldn’t allow her back the next day.

Diddy is planning to create a music-themed cable channel called Revolt. By striking a distribution deal with Comcast and Time Warner Cable, Revolt could reach up to 18 million households.

Sources with knowledge of the Revolt playbook describe it as a music and music news channel with an urban skew.

One described it as the old days of MTV, but for more of the African American audience. The venture is well funded, say the sources.

Funny man Tracy Morgan was released from a Utah hospital, after he fell unconscious at the Sundance Film Festival following the Creative Coalition Spotlight Awards dinner, where he accepted an award.

The 30 Rock star was immediately rushed to a Park City medical facility, where he was diagnosed with altitude sickness which is also referred to as mountain sickness.
Park City, Utah, stands at an elevation of 7,000 feet, and illness is brought on by a combination of reduced air pressure and lower oxygen levels at high altitudes.

In many cases, the symptoms of altitude sickness can be mild, but if someone has a compromised immune system, the effects can be life-threatening.

In Morgan’s case, his diabetes could have led to complications, but apparently, he was treated quickly and without hesitation.

After her multimillion dollar divorce from basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, Vanessa Bryant has been offered a spot on Basketball Wives: LA. Though no official response has been received from Bryant, VH1 is very eager to add her to the cast of the show.

Producers of the show were not interested in working with Vanessa while she was married to Kobe.

Bryant has become the Holy Grail for Basketball Wives producers. The people behind the VH1 show are prepping to make her an offer she can’t refuse.

HENLEY-ON-KLIP, SOUTH AFRICA — Oprah Winfrey says the first graduation at her elite school for South African girls is a time for celebration, and for contemplating how she could have done it better.

Winfrey said Saturday’s graduation ceremony is a victory. But she says her future philanthropy in Africa will support existing institutions instead of spending millions to start from scratch.

Of the 75 students who started at her school in 2007, all 72 who graduated are headed to universities in South Africa and the United States.

While Jay-Z is on cloud nine with daughter Blue Ivy Carter, his former pride and joy, Rocawear, seems to be on the verge of chapter 11.

The hip-hop clothing brand, which Jay-Z founded in 1999 with producer Damon Dash, laid off half the staff of its men’s and boys apparel division on January 6.

Jay-Z sold the Rocawear brand in 2007 for $204 million in cash to Iconix Group, a licensing company that also owns brands such as Candie’s, Ed Hardy and Signature Apparel Group LLC.

Jay-Z Swears Off ‘B-Word’ For Blue Ivy
Fatherhood seems to have changed Jay-Z after welcoming a baby girl, Blue Ivy Carter with wife, Beyoncé this month, the rapper has reportedly sworn off of using the word “b*tch.” He penned a poem celebrating the birth of his daughter that read:

Before I got in the game, made a change, and got rich/I didn’t think hard about using the word b*tch/I rapped, I flipped it, I sold it, I lived it/Now with my daughter in this world I curse those that give it.

Jay-Z has used the word widely in songs including hits “99 Problems,” “That’s My B*tch” from his Watch the Throne album with Kanye West and “B*tches & Sisters” where he tried to make a distinction between types of women.

Morgan Freeman was honored with the Golden Globes’ annual Cecil B. DeMille award for his lifetime of incredible work in film and television (he starred on the 70s kids show The Electric Company).

Believe it or not he is only the second African-American to receive this illustrious award (Sidney Poitier was the first, back in 1982).

Freeman has played everything from a low-life pimp to the personification of God.