The Federal Aviation Administration has placed a ban on flights around Astor Courts, where Chelsea’s wedding will take place, she will marry Marc Mezvinsky. Planes are forbidden to fly below 2,000 ft and the ban goes into effect at 3:00 p.m. on Sat and lasts until 3:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
Preparation for the wedding has already started. A huge glass-front tent has been put up on the 50-acre Astor Courts estate to accommodate Chelsea’s 500 guests. Security at Saturday’s (July 31st) wedding on the grounds of Astor Courts (a private, French-style mansion overlooking the Hudson) could cost $200,000 because of all the high-level politicians and global celebrities. The whole wedding will cost about $3 million. The wedding planner is Bryan Rafanelli of Boston. Jeff Leatham, artistic director of the Four Seasons George V hotel in Paris is doing the flowers and Jimmy Vali, president of Vali Entertainment in Norwood, N.J. is coordinating the music. Place settings cost $100 a person and invitations cost $150 a person. There will be a hand-painted runner down the aisle, $6,000 a table setting for food and drink from multiple vendors and $600,000 for air-conditioned tents. Ok, we get the point… Princess Chelsea!
Former NBA player Lorenzen Wright was found dead, almost a week since he was reported as missing by his mother. On July 22 his mother reported Lorenzen Wright as missing to Collierville police. The body was found in the wooded area of Hacks Cross and Winchester Road, Wednesday, July 28, 2010. It appears, sources say he had been shot and it may be self inflected. Germantown police say a 911 call has been turned over to Memphis police in connection to this investigation.
In 1996 Wright was drafted 7th overall by the LA Clippers and went on to play for the Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2008-2009 season.
Condolences to the family and RIP Lorenzen Wright.
Al Goodman, 67, died Monday (July 26th) of heart failure during surgery to remove a tumor at Hackensack Medical Center in New Jersey, according to daughter, Rhonda Goodman. Al Goodman sang baritone on such soul classics as “Love on a Two Way Street” and “Special Lady.” Goodman was “joking and laughing” before his surgery, she said.” “We’re all mourning for Al Goodman, there’s mourning all over the world — in England, in Germany and in Japan,” said Marshall Thompson, leader of the Chi-Lites. ”
Goodman was a member of the Moments, an R&B group that formed in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1968 along with Harry Ray and William Brown. They topped the soul charts in 1970 with “Love on a Two Way Street” and again in 1975 with “Look at Me (I’m in Love).” Last year, rapper Jay-Z sampled “Love on a Two Way Street” for his hit, “Empire State of Mind. “In 1978, the trio renamed itself Ray, Goodman and Brown. A year later, they hit No. 1 with “Special Lady.” The group made regular appearances on the soul charts into the 1980s. Their last Top Ten single was in 1986.
Goodman is survived by his wife of 34 years, Henrietta, five children and one grandson.A funeral is planned for Monday at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey.
The city of New York has agreed to pay more than $7 million to settle a civil lawsuit stemming from the fatal 50-bullet police shooting of an Sean Bell. The settlement filed in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday pays $3.25 million to the estate of Sean Bell, who was killed in 2006 outside a strip club in Queens while leaving his bachelor party. As part of the settlement, the city agreed to pay $3 million to Joseph Guzman and $900,000 to Trent Benefield, both of whom were wounded in the shooting that killed their friend.
The lawsuit had accused the city of wrongful death, negligence, assault and civil rights violations. “We hope that all parties can find some measure of closure by this settlement,” the city’s attorney, Michael A. Cardozo, said in a statement. An attorney for the plaintiffs, Scott Rynecki, said the settlement was hard-fought over two days and that the plaintiffs felt it was the best outcome possible. “I think it was all about closure at this point.”
Three police officers were acquitted of manslaughter and other charges in 2008. Federal authorities in February declined to bring civil rights charges against them. The officers remain on modified duty and are facing departmental charges that could result in their dismissal.
