Pictured are United States President Barack Obama, (in blue tie), Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted (R-OH, in green tie), Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge of Ohio (D-11) (in dark blue suit), who is also chair of the Congressional Black Caucus of Blacks in Congress, Ohio Senator Nina Turner (D-25) (in light blue-green suit), who is also the Democratic nominee for Ohio Secretary of State, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald (in red tie), who is also the Democratic nominee for Ohio governor, and Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio (D-13) (in orange-yellow tie)

Kathy Wray Coleman is  a community activist and 20 year investigative journalist who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper. (www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio-A federal district court judge on Wednesday outlawed as unconstitutional what Civil Rights leaders and prominent Black elected officials of Ohio have branded a racist state law pushed by Republican Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and enacted by the Republican controlled Ohio State Legislature in 2011 that bans early voting three days before Election Day except for the military and registered voters over seas, a victory for Democrats of the pivotal state of Ohio, and for the Obama for America campaign, which brought the lawsuit against Husted in 2012. Also ruled unconstitutional were actions by Husted as Ohio Secretary of State in disenfranchising Ohio voters and adopting policies to further the controversial state law.

U.S. Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (D-11), a Warrensville Heights Democrat and licensed attorney who is one of two Blacks in Congress from Ohio along with Columbus Democrat Joyce Beatty (D-3), had denounced the state law as unconstitutional back in 2011 and in 2012, and she reiterated that stance in a press release to Cleveland Urban News.Com on Wednesday.

"It's time for the Republican-controlled legislature in Ohio to drop their efforts to suppress the voices of seniors, communities of color, students, and the elderly, who are most likely to vote during that period," said Fudge, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus of Blacks in Congress and whose predominantly Black 11th congressional district includes the largely Black cities in Cuyahoga County of Cleveland, East Cleveland, and Warrensville Heights, where Fudge was mayor before becoming a congresswoman.

Federal District Court Judge Peter Economus of the Southern District of Ohio in Youngstown issued a temporary injunction in 2012 in Obama for America vs. Husted that allowed early voting to proceed days before the November general election, and after the parties could not recently come to a resolution he ruled against Husted and the state of Ohio on Wednesday, and in favor of the president's campaign, though Obama won reelection in 2012 against then Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

"We are pleased the court agreed to restore equal and fair access to early voting," said Obama for America-Ohio Senior Adviser Aaron Pickrell in a press release to Cleveland Urban News.Com just days before the November 2012 presidential election, and after Economus issued the temporary injunction."

Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald,  a licensed attorney and the Democratic nominee for governor, was elated about the recent decision, which will likely boost his chances of winning as he seeks to unseat incumbent Republican Gov John Kasich, in November.

"I applaud the court's decision today to restore early voting in Ohio and especially its explicit recognition that Gov. Kasich and [Ohio] Secretary of State Jon Husted have actively undermined basic protections enshrined in the United States Constitution," said FitzGerald in a press release to Cleveland Urban News.Com, Ohio's most read digital Black newspaper. "I also thank Cuyahoga County's law department for filing the amicus briefs that were critical to establishing the precedent Judge Economus cited today."

FitzGerald went on to say that " it is critical that all public officials move forward in the days ahead to protect the right to vote for all Ohioans."

Data compiled by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections show that in 2008 when Barack Obama, then a junior senator from Illinois, was elected president of the United States of America, roughly 59 percent of voters in Cuyahoga County voted during the three days leading up to the election were Black.  And at that time Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, was Ohio's secretary of state.

Minorities, the elderly, students and the poor routinely utilize early voting, data also show.

The heavily Democratic Cuyahoga Count is Ohio's largest of 88 counties statewide, and is roughly 29 percent Black.

Husted won election in 2010 pursuant to a Republican sweep of statewide offices including the governorship won by former Ohio congressman John Kasich, and is seeking reelection in November against Democratic nominee state Sen Nina Turner (D-25) of Cleveland.

The lawsuit alleges in relevant part that the anti-early voting state law at issue is unconstitutional not necessarily because it targets Blacks in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but because it bans all but military and over seas voting the Friday before Tuesday elections, and that the military provision creates an inequitable criterion.

Turner told the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio's largest newspaper,  that she seeks 'robust voting hours' relative to Wednesday's  court victory for early voting. If she beats Husted in November for the secretary of slate slot, she would become the first Black Democrat to win statewide office in Ohio. CLICK THIS HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE PLAIN DEALER STORY AT CLEVELAND.COM

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-13), a Niles area Democrat, said that forcing the Democrats to go to court to fight for a fundamental right to vote shows the extent that the Republicans will go to get their way. But he said also that Wednesday's win for the Democrats is refreshing.

"This is a positive step forward, but the assault on voting rights in Ohio by the Republican-controlled state legislature, Gov.  Kasich and Jon Husted must come to an abrupt end," said Ryan, also  a licensed attorney. "And the Ohio Democratic party should not be forced to go to court to ensure this basic American right."

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) /

(www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio-Once again the Cleveland Cavaliers are searching for a new head coach after another poor season. Mike Brown was fired last month and for the second time in four years by owner Dan Gilbert.

Cleveland, as a major American city,  is a pro sports teams kind of town and winning, whether its is basketball, football or baseball, is part of the ambiance of it all, at least from the standpoint of Cavaliers fans.

Gilbert has now changed head basketball coaches four times and general managers three times over the nine years he has been the owner of the Cavaliers, which makes some wonder if he has a clue as to what he is doing with this franchise. Gilbert has been one of Cleveland fans' favorite team owners because of what he's done for the city outside of his basketball team. He continues to tell Cleveland fans that he is going to bring a winner to Cleveland and wears his passion for his team on his shirt sleeve. At some point, and in the near future, Gilbert will need to put up or shut up.

In the last year Gilbert has put himself on the hot seat with Cleveland fans and in a clown's suit with the the national media. Rehiring Brown last year after firing him in 2010, then firing him again after one season, is disturbing. Not only that, but when he announced that Brown was being rehired last year, he said that he should have never fired him the first time. So to fire Brown again one season later is almost fictional.

As a reason for Browns firing Gilbert said that “ we need to go in a different direction.” Can Cavaliers fans trust in whatever direction that may be? Probably not.

Brown can sit back, relax and ponder over what he did wrong as he collects the $16 million remaining on his five year contract. But there will be no relaxing for new General Manager David Griffin. He appears to be the new voice and leader of this Cavaliers franchise.

Gilbert has been know where to be seen since the end of the Cavaliers season, or at least not in the places that some what like to see him be. Griffin, on the other hand, has been the Cavaliers spokesman at his introductory news conference, announcing Brown's firing, and taking the lead at the NBA draft lottery in late May. Griffin, along with other Cavaliers management affiliates, has the task of finding the right coach to replace Brown.

LOS ANGELES, California —Embattled anti-Black LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling (pictured) has called off a previous agreement  for a sell of his NBA team for a reported $2 billion to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, his lawyers said this week.

The decision puts him at odds with his estranged wife, Rochelle, who had allegedly threatened to have him potentially institutionalized.

Rochelle Sterling, 80, also part owner of the Clippers, and who has laid claim to half of her husband's $1.8 billion financial empire, told reporters during the height of the controversy that she is not a racist. The deal she pushed required approval by the NBA Board of Governors and would be a record high behind the $550 million price tag for the Milwaukee Bucks.

According to Sterling's attorney Maxwell Bletcher, Sterling expected all fines to be disregarded and for his lifetime NBA ban to be lifted in order for the deal to be sealed.

Bletcher told reporters that Sterling had directed him to go forward with a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against the NBA.

Sterling, 80, is the longest tenured owner of any of the 30 NBA teams and bought the Clippers in 1981 for a reported $12.5 million. He and his attorneys said just days before he originally agreed to give up the team that the punishment behind his racist rant was too harsh, that his rights and his company's rights had been violated, and that his contract had been breached.

Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling from the NBA for life in late April and fined the billionaire $2.5 million  after racist comments surfaced publicly that were recorded by a girlfriend, V. Stivano. The punishment, which the NBA hoped will quell slated protests over the matter by some NBA players, is the harshest in NBA history.

The suspension bans Sterling from ever sitting court-side at an NBA game or attending any Clippers' practices. And he cannot set foot in any Clippers' facilities.

Kathy Wray Coleman is  a community activist and 20 year investigative journalist who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper. (www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)

ELMONT, New York-In spite of being the 4-5 favorite, California Chrome and Jockey Victor Espinoza placed fifth and lost the triple crown following a loss to Tonalist and Jockey Joel Rosario at the Belmont Stakes in New York on Saturday, June 7, even after winning the Kentucky Derby on May 7 and the Preakness on May 17.

Affirmed remains the last triple crown winner for the last 36 years and since 1978.

The Kentucky Derby, held annually at Churchill Downs in Louisville, is always the first Saturday in May, with the Preakness in Baltimore, Maryland held two weeks later, and Belmont Stakes three weeks after that, but never before June 5 or after June 11 for the Belmont Stakes. Winning all three legs will bring a triple crown.

The purse for winning at Belmont was $1.5 million, while the Derby and the Preakness brought purses this year of $2 million and $1.5 million, respectively.(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)