Borders' decision leaves Atlanta mayor race 'wide open' By ERIC STIRGUS

Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders stunned political observers and community leaders by announcing Monday she is ending her quest to become the city's next mayor. Borders was considered the front-runner in the race to succeed Shirley Franklin, a two-term incumbent prohibited from running for another four-year term in 2009. Borders had more campaign money than any candidate and strong connections to the city's business, faith-based and African-American communities."I'm about as surprised as anyone," said Harvey Newman, Georgia State University's chairman of the department of Public Administration and Ur ban Studies. "The race is about as wide open as I've seen." Borders, 50, said she needed to devote more time caring for ailing parents. Her father, William Holmes Borders Jr., is a diabetic with full kidney failure. She declined to discuss the health of her mother, Gloria. Both parents are 75.Atlanta's next mayor must be someone who can deal with issues such as the economy, rising mortgage foreclosures and homelessness, said the Rev. Richard Cobble, a leader of Concerned Black Clergy, one of the city's most influential organizations. The group had talked Monday, before Borders' announcement, about devoting more energy to the mayor's race. "We're going to be very vigilant," Cobble said. "We're g o ing to see who [candidates are] in bed with and who they're taking money from." Borders said she has not decided whether she'll run again for council president. She pledged Monday to focus on finance and public safety issues during the remainder of her term, which ends in 2009.

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Boy, 8, stabs girl with pencil on school bus By MICHELLE SHAW

How safe do you think your children are on school buses?

An 8-year-old boy stabbed an 8-year-old girl in the stomach with a pencil Tuesday afternoon during a bus ride home from a north Fulton elementary school. Fulton County schools spokeswoman Susan Hale confirmed the incident happened on a bus from High Point Elementary during the ride home between 2:40 and 2:50 p.m. The girl was taken to a hospital, but no information was available on her condition Tuesday evening, Hale said.Immediately after the incident, the bus driver was told by other children what had happened. He pulled the bus over and called for help, Hale said. An ambulance and a Sandy Springs police car came to meet the bus.

The 8-year-old boy was taken from the bus and released to his parents. It wasn't clear late Tuesday whether he will be charged with the crime, Hale said.

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FBI Sows doubt

(FBI stands for 'Fun Being Ignorant'...As a 27 year former federal employee...I can tell you that most federal agents are thieves, alcoholics and sexual predators...

Cathy Harris www.thecathyharrisstory.com)

OUR OPINION: ANTHRAX CASE EXPOSES WEAKNESSES IN AGENCY

Posted on Mon, Aug. 11, 2008 The FBI's announcement last week that it has solved the 2001 anthrax-poisoning case that took the lives of five people was less than reassuring. After seven years, the FBI now blames Army microbiologist Bruce E. Ivins, and the Justice Department says that if the evidence were presented to a jury, Mr. Ivins' guilt would be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Feel better now? Don't. Justice and the FBI are merely making the best of the information they have and the case they're left with. Mind you, the evidence -- all circumstantial -- does present a strong case that Mr. Ivins was responsible for the attacks. But the manner in which this case was handled -- by the nation's premier investigative agency, no less -- is cause for concern about the FBI's efficacy and for doubt about the conclusions reached in this case. Mr. Ivins committed suicide on July 29 after FBI agents told him he would be charged i n the attacks. The FBI's evidence included: a unique batch of anthrax spores that only Mr. Ivins had custody of; a pattern of late-night activity in the lab by Mr. Ivins only days prior to the mailings; hundreds of letters Mr. Ivins wrote in the 1980s and '90s to senators and the media that were eerily similar to those sent by the killer. Put it all together and Mr. Ivins looks guilty. But Justice and the FBI were just as certain of their evidence when they charged another Fort Detrick scientist, Steven Hatfill, only to drop those charges and pay $5.8 million in settlement. Nor was Mr. Hatfill the only person to suffer from the FBI's initial bumblings. Others who came under suspicion lost jobs, had their reputations damaged and saw their lives destroyed. The anthrax scare cost businesses millions of dollars and caused many Americans to lose faith in government's abili ty to protect the m. America needs an FBI that is more sure-footed and less prone to stumbling.

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New Florida voters registering Democrat By Bill Cotterell,  FLORIDA CAPITAL BUREAU POLITICAL EDITOR*

As early voting in Florida primaries begins today, the Democratic Party is riding the crest of a voter-registration wave.

Figures released Sunday night by Secretary of State Kurt Browning showed 252,631 new Democrats and 98,354 newly registered Republicans across Florida in the first seven months of this year. The number of no-party voters rose by 48,563 between the end of the year and the closing of books on July 28 for the state primaries. Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff said the numbers show enthusiasm for the "change" Sen. Barack Obama has been touting. He said months of bickering over seating of Florida national convention delegates didn't hurt registration.

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The Ron Brown Scholars Program

The Ron Brown Scholars Program seeks African-American high school seniors to receive $10,000 annually for four years to attend an accredited four-year college or university in the US. Deadlines: November 1 and January 9, 2009. Mail application, transcripts and recommendation letters in one package. For information, contact Ron Brown Program, 1160 Pepsi Place, Suite 206, Charlottesville,   VA. 22901; 434-964-1588; info@...; www.ronbrown.org . 

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 Woman Says Joyriding Grandson, 7, Beat Her Up

Boy Taken For Mental Evaluation After Incident    

http://www.wpbf.com/news/16255951/detail.html?rss=wpb&psp=news

LAKE PARK, Fla. -- A 7-year-old boy who took his grandmother's car on a joyride last month has been taken for a mental health evaluation after he allegedly beat her up inside a South Florida Wal-Mart, WPBF News 25 reported.

Latarian Milton told WPBF on April 28 that he took his grandmother's Dodge Durango on a joyride because he was mad at his mother and because he enjoyed doing "bad things." "I wanted to do it because it's fun. It's fun to do bad things," Milton said. "I wanted to do hood-rat stuff for my friend." Police said the boy and a friend drove several miles through Lake Park and Palm Beach Gardens on April 27 during rush hour before finally coming to a crashing ha lt. Along the way, police said Milton ran over two mailboxes, hit two parked cars in a Costco parking lot and struck two moving cars near a Wal-Mart. Milton could have faced grand theft charges, but police said last week that they would not charge the boy. Milton's grandmother, Vikkita Stratford, told WPBF that the 7-year-old took his mischievous activities to a new level Monday when she said he beat her up inside a Lake Park Wal-Mart. According to Stratford, the problem began when Milton asked his grandmother for some chicken wings. When she refused, Milton walked over over to the counter and ordered them anyway.

Stratford said that when she confronted him about it, Milton just snapped. "He just started hitting me -- just started hitting me in front of the whole Wal-Mart. Every one in there was upset," Stratford said.

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http://www.lasentinel.net/Shooting-Victim-Jasmine-Sanders-Laid-to-Rest.html Photo courtesy of the Kinney Family Jasmine Sanders shown celebrating her birthday in a recemt family photograph