By Kathy Wray Coleman , Editor of Cleveland Urban News.Com and The Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog,.Com

CLEVELAND, Ohio- The never-ending Cuyahoga County corruption probe that has stung the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party and netted to date over 60 guilty pleas or convictions, including two former common pleas judges, former county commissioner Jimmy Dimora, and prior county auditor Frank Russo, has dipped into Cleveland City Hall and into Cleveland's Black community as former Cleveland City Councilwoman Sabra Pierce Scott (pictured) was sentenced on Tuesday in U.S. district court in Cleveland to 3 years probation for taking bribes.

U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Boyko also sentenced Pierce Scott, who appeared in court with more than 60 supporters, to eight months house arrest.

She had pleaded guilty and agreed to help prosecutors, allegedly including a deal to get Councilman Jay Westbrook to retire, which he did earlier this week. She was once a Westbrook protege, and one of former Cleveland Council president George Forbes,  an attorney who also served as Cleveland NAACP president and general counsel for the Call and Post Newspaper.

Pierce Scott, 54, is now a full time student seeking a master's degree at Case Western Reserve University. She served as the majority leader of Cleveland City Council under Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.

After abruptly resigning mid-term in 2009 under a cloud of suspicion, she was Jackson's campaign manager relative to the 2009 non-partisan mayoral runoff against Bill Patmon, a current state representative whom she upset in 2001 to snatch the Ward 8 council seat, a high powered political position representing Cleveland's historical Glenville neighborhood on the city's majority Black east side of town that is now held by Councilman Jeff Johnson.

The criminal information, which was issued instead of an indictment since Pierce Scott cooperated with federal prosecutors, accuses her of taking $2 thousand in cash from developer Michael Forlani, a former president of Doan Pyramid Electric and top owner with Veterans Development LLC, a company that was vested with a $1.25 million contract from the City of Cleveland to build a parking garage and apartment building to boaster the nearby Louis Stokes VA Medical Center.

In exchange for the money and a job for her son, the information accuses the former councilwoman, who served eight years before resigning, of pushing the land project and legislation for tax breaks for Forlani, and for his companies, and of helping them to buy land owned by the city.

Forlani was convicted earlier this year of corruption related crimes with help from testimony from Pierce Scott.

He will be sentenced April 1.

By Kathy Wray Coleman , Editor of Cleveland Urban News.Com and The Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog.Com

CLEVELAND, Ohio-The Kentucky State University Concert Choir will perform on Sunday, March 17 at 4 pm at Antioch Baptist Church, 8869 Cedar Rd in Cleveland, telephone number 216-421-1516.

By By Kathy Wray Coleman, publisher, editor-in-chief, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, Ohio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper (www.clevelandurbannews.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio- Family members and attorneys of alleged excessive force Cleveland police deadly shooting victims and community activists attended the Cleveland NAACP meeting Monday night to seek support from the local chapter of the nation's most prominent Civil Rights organization.

Chapter president the Rev Hilton Smith (pictured in red tie) led the meeting and was gracious and supportive, community activists said after the gathering.

More that 50 community activists were there.

Speakers include Criminal Defense and Civil Rights Attorney Terry Gilbert, the family of slain Parma father of two Daniel Ficker, 27 at his death,  the mother of slain aspiring rapper Kenneth Smith, 20,  and Gilbert for the family of murdered unarmed Black  137- bullets Cleveland police shooting victim Timothy Russel (pictured with beard)l, 43.

Gilbert represents the Russell, Smith and Ficker families.

The uncle  and aunt of slain unarmed Black  137-bullets Cleveland police shooting victim Malissa Williams (pictured) also attended to say thanks to the community for its support.

Other speakers were Community Activists Kathy Wray Coleman, Mary Seawright, Nina McLellan, Dr. Stewart Robinson, Bettie Robinson and Gerald Henley.

On behalf of The Imperial Woman Coalition Coleman, who leads the group, presented a cadre of requests for support by the NAACP with Smith stating that "we have got to do something about this."

General requests by The Imperial Women Coalition and community activists for help by the national NAACP and the Cleveland Chapter NAACP are as follows: The need to address the absence of any Blacks on the law enforcement leadership team of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and for a new and diverse leadership team including a new chief of police; The need for a mechanism for monitoring the successes and failures of Black children in the absence of a Cleveland schools desegregation court order; The support from the Cleveland NAACP in requesting the firing of and felony murder charges against the group of Cleveland police officers, none of whom are Black, responsible for gunning down unarmed Blacks Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell with 137 bullets; The support from the Cleveland NAACP in requesting the firing of and felony charges against the Cleveland police officers responsible for gunning down Daniel Ficker and Kenneth Smith; The release of former Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven Terry from federal prison due in part to a sentencing disparity because he is Black; The support of area Black contractors for contracts, work and other amenities; An amendment of the state law (O.R.C. 2939.02) that permits common pleas judges to choose grand jury foremen and for the grand jury itself to choose, the latter of which is also permitted under the law; An amendment to the state law that gives welfare recipients, mainly poor women and children, three years for the subsidy when up to five years is  permitted under federal law; The help for maliciously prosecuted Black woman Bettie Simpson, who was exonerated relative to bogus criminal charges pushed by the county prosecutor of mortgage fraud, and the release of her daughter from prison around the issue where her daughter was convicted of similar criminal charges; A moratorium on Cuyahoga County foreclosures and an investigation of the foreclosure process in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas and an amendment of the state law (O.R.C. 2329.17) that allows county sheriffs to appraise and sale foreclosed homes because they are illegally handing them to their friends and to mortgage companies and big banks for cheap with the amended state law precluding participation by the sheriff and appraisals based upon the last legal county appraisal for property tax purposes; The compliance by assistant county prosecutors in discontinuing the process of  withholding discovery evidence against Black children prosecuted for alleged crimes in violation of federal law and the applicable rules of court; An investigation of the Cuyahoga County Department of Child and Family Services Department around the Emilliano Terry case where the murdered boy's 20 year old mother stands accused of his murder after her cries for help were ignored by the county agency; The compliance with the DeRolph decision handed down in 1997 by the Ohio Supreme Court that deemed Ohio's method of funding public education unconstitutional, or a sliding scale of student assessment by the Ohio Department of Education based upon how rich or how poor a school district might be; The support of a bill (Ohio House Bill 216) by state Rep. Bill Patmon (D-10) for Ohio trial court judges in multi-judge municipal and common pleas courts to at all times be assigned and reassigned to criminal and civil cases at random; A discussion with Cleveland NAACP officials  and Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Chief Judge Nancy Fuerst as to a study commissioned by the group that shows that the 34 majority White judges of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas where felony criminal cases and other matters are heard give harsher sentences to Blacks than their similarly situated White counterparts; An amendment of state law (O.R.C. 2701.03) that gives the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court sole authority to decide if an Ohio trial common pleas court judge is removed from a case for bias or conflict and for the entire seven-member Ohio Supreme to decide; and, An amendment of state law (O.R.C. 2701.031) that gives the chief judge of the county common pleas court sole authority to decide if an Ohio municipal court is removed from a case for bias or conflict and for a panel of judges to decide coupled with the statutory right to appeal the decision to a state appellate court.

Community activists groups  and/or their members that are participants as to the aforementioned include The Imperial Women, The Oppressed People's Nation, The African-American Museum, The Cleveland Black Contractors Association, The Urban Education Strategy Group, Stop Targeting Ohio's Poor, Ohio Family Rights, The National Organization for Parental Equality, The Carl Stokes Brigade, Black on Black Crime Inc, The People's Forum, The Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network, The Northeast Ohio Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, Organize Ohio, The Family Connection Center, and The Cleveland Chapter of The  New Black Panther Party.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, publisher, editor-in-chief, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, Ohio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper(www.clevelandurbannews.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio- Family members and attorneys of alleged excessive force Cleveland police deadly shooting victims and community activists will attend the Cleveland NAACP meeting tonight, Monday, March 11, 2013 at 7 pm, 1919 E. 107th St and Chester Ave in Cleveland at  the University Circle United Methodist Church. (For more information contact the Cleveland NAACP at 216-231-6260 or The Imperial Women at 216-659-0473).

After seeking the opportunity to speak  for at least the last five years, newly elected chapter president the Rev Hilton Smith (pictured in Black suit and red tie) has invited community activists to be on the agenda at the meeting but said that the media are not invited.

Speakers include Criminal Defense and Civil Rights Attorney Terry Gilbert (pictured in brown suit), the family of slain Parma father of two Daniel Ficker, 27 at his death,  the mother of slain aspiring rapper Kenneth Smith, 20,  and Gilbert for the family of murdered unarmed Black  137- bullets Cleveland police shooting victim Timothy Russell (pictured with beard), 43.

Gilbert represents the Russell, Smith and Ficker families.

The uncle and aunt of slain unarmed Black  137-bullets Cleveland police shooting victim Malissa Williams (pictured) said he will attend to say thanks to the community for support.

Other speakers include Cleveland Black Contractors Association President Ken Bender, and Community Activists Mary Seawright, Bettie Simpson, Prisscilla Cooper, Larry Bresler, Frances Caldwell, Kimberly Brown, Kathy Wray Coleman, Gerald Henley, Entrepreneur Michael Nelson,  Ernie Smith and Al Porter( tentative for Porter, who has to work).

Activists will present in groups as to welfare rights and jobs,  and disparities in sentencing against Blacks in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas  per a study commissioned by the Cleveland NAACP, and as to the federal county corruption probe, including the prejudicial sentence against former Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven Terry.

Other topics are the  deadly Cleveland police shootings with Attorney Gilbert headlining, alleged foreclosure and mortgage impropriety to the detriment of the greater Cleveland community, and educational issues relative to the predominantly Black Cleveland Municipal School District.

Community activists groups  and/or their members that are participants include The Imperial Women, The Oppressed People's Nation, The African-American Museum, The Cleveland Black Contractors Association, The Urban Education Strategy Group, Stop Targeting Ohio's Poor, Ohio Family Rights, The National Association for Parental Equality, The Carl Stokes Brigade, Black on Black Crime Inc, The People's Forum, The Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network, The Northeast Ohio Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, Organize Ohio, The Family Connection Center, Black on Black Crime, and The Cleveland Chapter of The  New Black Panther Party.

Many of  the community activists are dues paying Cleveland NAACP members, including Frances Caldwell, Denise Taylor, Bettie Simpson, Dr Stewart and Valerie Robinson,  Entrepreneur Michael Nelson, and  Kathy Wray Coleman, who leads The Imperial Women.

The activists said that they hope the Cleveland NAACP will help them help the Black community and others on pertinent issues of public concern from deadly Cleveland police shootings, to welfare subsidies,  poor women and children,  foreclosure impropriety, and public education, including Ohio's unconstitutional public school funding formula.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, Ohio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper

WASHINGTON, D.C - President Barack Obama (pictured) on Thursday signed the revitalized Violence Against Women Act into law, renewing a measure that had lapsed last year due to partisan infighting in Congress.

He was flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and a host of others, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, the first female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives who served from 2007-2011.

"All women need to live free of fear," the president said at the signing. "This is your day. This is the day of the advocates, the day of survivors. This is your victory."

According to 2012 CNN exit polls, 55 percent of women voted for Obama and 44 percent voted for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

The  renewed Violence Against Women Act, originally signed into law in 1994 by then president Bill Clinton, adds protections for gay rights and Native -Americans and comes on the heels of the presidents' announcement late last year of his support of gay marriage.

Among other provisions, the act provides $1.6 billion for prosecutions of violent crimes against women, mandates restitution of those convicted of violent crimes, and allows redress with civil litigation.

Male victims are covered under some of the provisions such as for stalking and sexual assault.

Statistics overall show decreases in violence against women over the past couple of decades.

In 2010, sexual assaults were above a quarter of a million, down from some 500 million in 1995, according to data from the U.S.  Justice Department. That same data show that sexual violence against women and girls has fallen some 62 percent over the past 10 years, though leveling off at a stable rate since 2008.

But violence against women, including domestic violence, is still at an alarming rate with majority Black major metropolitan cities where poverty is disproportionately high getting hit the hardest.

For a 2012 analysis Forbes ranked Cleveland in ninth place for the nation's 10  most dangerous cities based on violent crime. Detroit topped the list, which also includes, by order of ranking, St. Louis, Oakland, Memphis, Birmingham, Atlanta, Baltimore and Stockton.

Women of color are the most at risk,  and Black women experience violence at a rate some 35 percent higher than Caucasian women, says a recent report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Eleven  Black women were strangled and murdered on Imperial Avenue on Cleveland's predominantly Black east side, unprecedented murders that rocked the largely Black city of some 400,000 people. Six were murdered after Convicted Serial Killer Anthony Sowell (pictured), 52, was captured in 2008 and then released from custody, Cleveland city officials admit. Their remains were uncovered beginning on Oct 29, 2009 and Sowell, who was convicted of 82 of 83 counts including multiple counts of aggravated murder, sits on death row as his 2011 convictions are on appeal before the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals.