Ex-foster youth may sue county

WARD: Young man whose life savings were stolen may press case in court.

Samuel Sago was a victim of his case manager Andre Toliver, 39, who stole his trust fund money. Toliver died of a heart attack leaving a trail of victims from whom he stole money. Sago lives with his foster sister Tiffany Foster in Gardena. Sago plays with his foster sisters son, Lemonte Jones, 5. (Robert Casillas/Staff Photo)

A

former foster youth whose life savings were apparently stolen by a county caseworker is considering suing the county, hoping to force policy changes to prevent future thefts.

Samuel Sago, 21, lost nearly $5,000 to a now-deceased probation officer who was working for the Department of Children and Family Services.

County officials said Andre Toliver stole more than $17,000 from 19 wards who had entrusted him with money they were required to save to help them transition out of foster care.

DCFS officials said the auditor-controller has expanded the investigation to look not only at the 28 youths whom Toliver was supervising at the time of his death, but his other wards during the three years that he worked for the Transitional Housing Program.

The auditor-controller is also investigating Toliver's fellow case managers, to see if they had misappropriated any of their wards' trust funds. About 175 youths are currently in the Transitional Housing Program. So far, no additional problems have been found.

Although county officials returned the funds last week, Sago is working with a local civil rights advocate to consult with attorneys for a lawsuit.

"When you steal from kids who are in the foster care system, that's got to be the worst," said Eddie Jones, president of the Los

Angeles Civil Rights Association, who is helping Sago. "How low can you go?"

"In order to get them (DCFS) to understand the severity of this, and how it has affected so many children in this foster care system who have money due them, then there's only one way to do it and that's to file a lawsuit and have it litigated and get some closure and some due process," Jones added.

While participating in the DCFS' Transitional Housing Program, Sago - a part-time Starbucks barista - handed over about $300 a month for 17 months to Toliver, who was supposed to deposit it in a trust fund.

When Sago asked for his money in March, so he could find an apartment after graduating from the Transitional Housing Program, DCFS officials issued him a check for only $713 and never explained that Toliver had apparently pocketed the rest. The theft was not discovered until after Toliver's death in March.

Sago did not receive the full amount he was owed - $4,664.10 - until last Friday, after members of the Board of Supervisors put pressure on the DCFS to reimburse him.

Tiffany Foster, 29, whom Sago considers his foster "sister" because her family cared for him from ages 11-18, and now lets him stay at her home, criticized DCFS officials' handling of the problem.

"No one seemed to care," she testified Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors. "The policies and the procedures that they have in place (are) not working, and they do need to be adjusted."

Supervisor Gloria Molina apologized to Sago on behalf of the board.

"We've made every effort to make you whole - in other words, to return your money," she said. "We've had some fraud that's been committed in this department, and various people who are covering up for other people. We're trying to get to the bottom of it."

"On behalf of the board, we really are sorry for your situation, and apologize," Molina added.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18224639?source=rss

Lisa Snowdon Ananda Lewis Asia Argento Mary Elizabeth Winstead Lily Allen

Angelina Jolie's "Salt" Sequel in the Works!

Readying herself for her next go-around as a spy on the run, Angelina Jolie is reportedly in talks to reprise her role in the upcoming "Salt" sequel.

According to Deadline, Sony Pictures has asked Kurt Wimmer to write a follow-up to the 2010 summer box office hit.

Earlier this year, Angelina revealed to MTV that she was indeed on board for a reboot, telling, "It's up to everybody here and if they want to see more," Jolie told Us at the film's London premiere. "I hope so!"

Miss Jolie - who celebrated her 36th birthday over the weekend - added, "I love doing action. I love to punch things, jump off things and shoot, so I'm lucky I got the job."

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/angelina-jolie/angelina-jolies-salt-sequel-works-512182

Aisha Tyler Blake Lively Melissa Sagemiller Christina DaRe Rozonda Thomas

Win It: Yube Cube Storage Configurations

Yube Cube Coffee Table Looking for a customizable and modular storage option that is so eco-friendly it?s almost edible?  You got it!  This week?s exclusive giveaway for our newsletter subscribers is a storage configuration from Yube Cube.

Yube Cubes are pretty ?sweet? with panels made from compressed sugar cane fibers and a frame made of Woodlite, a non-toxic, mold-able plastic mixed with bamboo!

From bookshelves and desks to end tables and entertainment centers, the Yube Cube adapts to everyone?s individual creativity and lifestyle needs.

The storage system is up for grabs this week to our weekly newsletter subscribers and one lucky winner will receive their choice of a media storage stand, coffee table or a living room storage set.

We?ve got new, eco-friendly goods up for grabs every week, so now?s your chance to get on the list!

"); } // Refresh the DOM FB.XFBML.Host.parseDomTree(); } function update_form_values() { if (fb_connect_user) { profile = jQuery('#fb-user').find('.FB_ElementReady .FB_Link')[1]['href']; user_id = profile.substring(profile.indexOf('?id=')+4); jQuery('#url').val(profile); // FB profile URL jQuery('#email').val(user_id+'@facebook.com'); // Can't get a real one from FB unfortunately. This saves their user id @facebook.com jQuery('#fb-user').find('.FB_ElementReady .FB_Link').each(function(i){ if (i==1) { jQuery('#name').val(jQuery(this).text()); } }); // Gets their name from the DOM setCookie('fb_connect', 'yes'); } } function setCookie(c_name,value,expiredays) { var exdate=new Date(); exdate.setDate(exdate.getDate()+expiredays); document.cookie=c_name+ "=" +escape(value)+((expiredays==null) ? "" : ";expires="+exdate.toGMTString()); } function getCookie(c_name) { if (document.cookie.length>0) { c_start=document.cookie.indexOf(c_name + "="); if (c_start!=-1) { c_start=c_start + c_name.length+1; c_end=document.cookie.indexOf(";",c_start); if (c_end==-1) c_end=document.cookie.length; return unescape(document.cookie.substring(c_start,c_end)); } } return ""; } FB.init("e19403f6ef175ce124b620a1ec06c4b2", "/xd_receiver.htm"); FB.Connect.ifUserConnected(update_user_details); if (getCookie('fb_connect') == 'yes') { setCookie('fb_connect', null); FB.Connect.showFeedDialog(139467211191, {'blog':'

Source: http://www.ecorazzi.com/2011/06/07/win-it-yube-cube-storage-configurations/

Anna Paquin Nikki Reed Brittany Murphy Minka Kelly Emmanuelle Chriqui

Ashley Green admits crush on Joseph Gordon-Levitt

07 June 2011

Rate this article

Ashley Green says she loves being single but wouldn't mind getting close to Jordan Gordon-Levitt.

Ashley Greene has a crush on Jordan Gordon-Levitt.

The 'Twilight' star is single since splitting with Joe Jonas earlier this year and while she is enjoying spending time by herself for now, she wouldn't mind getting closer to the 'Inception' star.

She explained: "[The best thing about being single is] being able to really, really focus,. Sitting at my house, just reading and looking at scripts, searching directors and reading different books that are turning into screenplays. And being able to just really focus on me and what I'm going to do next in my career.

"I have so many celebrity crushes. You know, Joseph Gordon-Levitt I've always kind of had a crush on. I think he's extremely talented."

I have so many celebrity crushes. You know, Joseph Gordon-Levitt I've always kind of had a crush on. I think he's extremely talented.

Ashley has been linked to 'Captain America' star Chris Evans and Kings of Leon star Jared Followill since splitting with Joe.

An eyewitness who saw her canoodling with the actor at Los Angeles nightclub Trousdale claimed they couldn't keep their hand off each other.

The source said: "Ashley was all over Chris, and he certainly didn't mind.

"They were dancing together very closely. It looked like they had a lot of sexual chemistry."

Meanwhile, Ashley and Jared were reportedly "flirting" at New York nightclub Avenue in March with a witness saying: "Ashley was smiling all night. She and Jared were close the whole night. Dancing, talking, flirting. It was pretty clear they were into each other."

Source: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/Ashley+Green-39605.html

Lena Headey Liz Phair Julianne Hough Dido Whitney Port

Diddy Hires Etiquette Coach

Dawn Bryan helps music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs teach Bad Boy employees how to “properly act in formal settings.”  Training included dining etiquette, business protocol, and international terrain. According to Page Six, “Bryan, who calls herself an “international protocol expert,” also taught employees “how to hold chopsticks, how to present a business card in Japan, [...]

Source: http://ksfm.radio.com/2011/06/07/diddy-hires-etiquette-coach/

Brittany Murphy Minka Kelly Emmanuelle Chriqui Kristanna Loken Cameron Richardson

Jennifer Lopez Blocks Release Of ?Intimate Video? By Ex

jennifer lopez sexy actress e1302698337429 Jennifer Lopez Blocks Release Of Intimate Video By Ex

Jennifer Lopez has won the legal fight to block the release of an ?intimate tape? that was filmed on her honeymoon with her first hubby, Ojani Noa.

The video footage of ?American Idol? judge Jennifer Lopez had sparked a crazy bidding war from several websites, but Lopez was granted a court order preventing the video from being released.

Lopez claims her first husband, Ojani Noa, is violating a confidentiality agreement in place since 2004 trying to sell the video the former couple made in 1997 while on their honeymoon.

The video entitled ?How I Married Jennifer Lopez: The J.Lo and Ojani Noa Story?, shows Lopez is next-to-nothing being spanked by Noa.

The National Enquirer viewed 11 hours of Noa?s footage, revealing some of the kinky material included:

* A sizzling scene of Lopez checking herself out in front of a bathroom mirror, clad only in a bra and panties.

* Lopez, wearing skimpy underwear, being spanked in bed by Noa.

* An immodest J.Lo jumping on a motorcycle in a short dress and no underwear.

The tape could be embarrassing but at least isn?t a sex tape.  We highly doubt Jennifer Lopez?s current hubby, Marc Anthony, would enjoy viewing the footage.

Click thumbnails for larger pictures

Images: wenn.com/news

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/41uXlGb5PA4/

Kate Bosworth Emma Heming Ali Larter Tami Donaldson Adriana Lima

In Dreams, Katy Perry walks anew

By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY

CULVER CITY, Calif. — Battling a cold, Katy Perry would rather spend a rare day off at home in bed. Instead, she's rehearsing with dancers, some on roller skates, at a soundstage in Culver Studios.

  • Model performance: The style-conscious Katy Perry was a perfect fit for the Victoria's Secret 2010 Fashion Show in New York City.

    By Todd Plitt, USA TODAY

    Model performance: The style-conscious Katy Perry was a perfect fit for the Victoria's Secret 2010 Fashion Show in New York City.

By Todd Plitt, USA TODAY

Model performance: The style-conscious Katy Perry was a perfect fit for the Victoria's Secret 2010 Fashion Show in New York City.

Her California Dreams world tour, a critical and commercial hit since its Feb. 20 launch overseas, opens a U.S. run in Atlanta tonight. A few days earlier, Perry isn't just fine-tuning this fanciful feast of pop hits, whimsical costumes, dancing gingerbread men, fireworks, confectionery sets and candy smell-o-vision. She's revamping it.

"It has room to grow," she says. "A typical tour is three months, but we're going to the end of November. It's nice to be able to expand and get out of the same same same. That's the fun thing about success. I can take advantage of it. Now I can say, 'I want a machine that simulates the whipped-cream boobs from the California Gurls video.' I just want to keep things fresh, keep people on their toes and keep myself excited."

Perry, 26, certainly kept crowds excited in Europe, Australia and Asia. London's The Daily Telegraph dubbed the show "a megawatt jukebox musical." The Guardian's take: "For all her gimlet-eyed calculation, Perry packs more wit and charisma into her eyelash extensions than most pop stars manage in a career. ? (She) makes you actually believe in the ridiculous transformative spangle of pop music all over again."

That Perry wants to recalibrate a box-office smash is testament to her moxie and enterprise. She compares it to the drive that went into last year's Teenage Dream, which sold 1.5 million copies, spawned sales of 10.2 million digital tracks and ended debate that 2008 debut One of the Boys was a fluke driven by sassy sensation I Kissed a Girl.

"I wasn't afraid to make the second record," she says. "I went with my gut and reconnected with the reasons I started in music: the love, the passion, the need to create. The focus now is the live show and making it as big an event as the album has been.

"I'm always trying to keep myself entertained, so I'm all over the map," Perry says. "I'm looking for what's beyond the trend. I have a nose for things like that."

Sniffling, she tears a foot of toilet paper from the roll in her hand.

"This is for my nose," she says with a feeble grin. No tissue could be found in the cavernous hall. "I feel like someone has taken me by my ankles and shaken me upside down."

With no makeup and her dark hair pulled back, the blue-eyed pop star appears strikingly pretty, albeit more fragile and vulnerable than the saucy sex kitten in her kaleidoscopic videos. Known for her extravagantly kooky fashion sense, she's decidedly low-key today in a striped hoodie, purple knee-length sweatpants and sneakers.

"It does get a bit grueling," she says of life on the road. "You just have to carry on. People get sick, tired. I take a lot of vitamins, and everybody juices. It's a very vibrant show, and you can tell if I phone it in. I tell myself these people haven't seen the show six times. It may be their first and only impression."

Reasonable ticket prices and pent-up demand (Perry last toured in 2009) are fueling ticket sales, says Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni.

"This is her moment in the sun," he says, noting her ambitious gamble of moving up to arenas in an economic downturn. "There's a lot of color and flash onstage, and the music has gotten a lot of exposure as well. She's a worldwide star. Her overseas business has been incredible."

To help shape her "candy on crack" vision of California Dreams, Perry enlisted Baz Halpin, who directed Pink's Funhouse tour.

"Pink's show had such a great balance of fun and heart," Perry says. "It wasn't just a dance party. There was beauty and purpose, and it was above and beyond any pop show I'd ever seen.

"Halfway through production of my show, I changed everything and developed a story line and symbolism. I gave it a soft narrative that anyone around the world could understand, and I still did the candy overload, even made the place smell like candy."

Perry's visual flights of fancy crib from Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, The Wizard of Oz and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She draws much inspiration from Japan's kawaii subculture of "cuteness."

"When I went to Japan (at 19), it peeled back a layer in my brain," she says. "Everything was so sweet and cute and petite and feminine. Dancing cheeseburgers with faces make me happy. Sarcasm and irony make me happy."

Perry's solid base of hits, accrued in only three years, prevents the show's clever visual barrage from swamping the music. She's mindful to keep the focus on tunes, creating an acoustic interlude that re-creates her pre-superstar days as a guitar-strumming songbird at Hollywood's Hotel Café.</p>

That was before her global takeover. In the past three years, Perry has sold 50 million downloads. With E.T.'s ascent in May, she became the first artist to spend an entire year in the top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100 chart. It began with last summer's ubiquitous California Gurls, which spent six weeks at No. 1 and sold 4.8 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Teenage Dream (3.7 million) and Firework (4.4 million) followed. The album is only the ninth in Billboard history to yield four No. 1s. Her hot streak is likely to continue with Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.), released Monday.

After dismissing Perry as a one-hit wonder, "people have been surprised at the staying power of this new record and her ability to spin off hit after hit," says Joe Levy, chief content officer of Maxim magazine, which placed the singer atop its Hot 100 last year.

She's a dizzy bombshell with brains, yet fans find Perry more approachable and relatable than most contemporary female pop stars. Her skill set?

"She's great at creating a sensation," Levy says. "She does both naughty and nice very well, at the same time. She has a modern way of doing old-school glamour. Part of that is burlesque. Every video is a bit of a fan dance. ?Lady Gaga and Rihanna bring a lot of darkness to the table. Katy is interested in provocation and making you think, but she wants you to be dazzled and smiling the entire time. She gets her message across with more than one spoonful of sugar."

The sugar high of success brought a single buzz kill: media scrutiny. Goofy, winsome, self-effacing, perpetually optimistic and enthusiastic, Perry tends to confound, but not deter, a tabloid machine that feeds on celebrity dirt.

"The press side of the entertainment business is an absolute disgusting monster," she says, suddenly somber. "There's nothing seriously wrong in my world. I'm showing up for my concerts. I'm not on drugs. I'm not going through a divorce. I'm working as hard as I can. People sometimes can't handle the truth."

So they invent it. Breathless descriptions of her private October wedding in India to actor/comedian Russell Brand "are absolutely false, to this day," says Perry.

A recent annoyance involved the Internet upheaval over The Smoking Gun's posting of Perry's 45-page tour rider, which bans carnations in dressing rooms and forbids chauffeurs from staring at her or asking for autographs. Without her participation, Perry's tour managers composed the rider using standard documents of previous clientele, she says. She defends the exhaustive fine print devoted to security and safety.

"The whole driver thing, I have no idea where that came from," she says, rolling her eyes. "My response was, 'Just change it. Make it not so silly!' My sister handles flowers and VIP stuff. Maybe she has a beef with carnations, but I don't think so. Anyone who knows me knows I'm easygoing. I'm just an entertainer. I'm not asking for the sun to shine at night."

Managers alerted Perry to the commotion. Determined to duck upsetting media distortions, Perry made a New Year's resolution to stop Googling herself. She tends to her website and tweets to 7.7 million followers but avoids lurking on gossip sites.

"With success comes a bull's-eye on your back," she says. "Everybody is looking for you to trip, to fall, to crack. People are nitpicking left and right to see what's going to be my boiling point."

In fame's spotlight, Perry in fact has grown more serene and secure thanks to the stabilizing forces of family, friends and marriage. Her tour bus is equipped with multiple bunks to accommodate close pals who frequently join her on the road. There's no bitter chasm between the brazen pop tart and her parents, evangelical pastors who nixed music, TV, movies and magazines.

"I've stopped trying to change my parents," Perry says. "Maybe six years ago, I felt a warmth of acceptance. I thought, 'You're happy, I'm going to let you be.' The same thing is happening with them toward me and my siblings.

"The media loves to paint this stereotype of good girl gone bad, but that's not how it is. I was raised a bit strict, so I started breaking the rules. I just wanted to carve my own path."

And married life? Brand is "my dreamboat," she tweeted Saturday, his 36th birthday.

"It's beautiful to have a teammate," she says. "And it's a relief to be able to come home to someone who understands and is stronger than me. Also, when you're single, you use so much energy looking for The One. When you find him, it's whew, you can turn that radar off and breathe. You don't care about going to clubs and bars anymore. You apply that energy to other things."

After a high-profile engagement period, the couple is less visible. Perry's mum on relationship specifics and has kept a tight lid on wedding details (turning down millions for photos), reasoning, "If you let the outside in, it's like having 10,000 horrible in-laws."

While smitten with Brand, she's less infatuated with his film universe. Perry boosters consider her a natural for the big screen. She's leery.

"I guess I'd consider it in the future," she says. "I have to be really smart about that. It would be like doing a music video for three months."

Perry eagerly agreed to voice Smurfette in The Smurfs, opening July 29, after the director and producer heard a charming cuteness in tapes of her speaking voice.

"I feel like a walking cartoon most of the time, anyway," Perry says. "It was easy. I got to help shape who she is and give her a twist and more character. I want to do more animation. I think it's such a wonderful teaching tool that brings parents and kids together. I cry in those movies all the time. It's my go-to for a feel-good time."

She's also proudly promoting Purr, her flirty, fruity, vanilla-based perfume in a purple cat bottle with jeweled eyes.

"I didn't just lend my name to it, I stand behind Purr," she says. "You go in stores and see celebrity products and think, 'Does she even know this is out there? It sucks!' I would stand in front of a train for that little thing."

She's intrigued by the idea of her own fashion line, but not yet.

"If I were to juggle another ball, I might end up losing all the balls," she says. "I don't feel like there's a ticking bomb on my career. I don't have to get everything done yesterday. I can roll out the punches one by one and do things right."

That's a savvy strategy, says Maxim chief Levy.

"Anybody who puts together a career right now that's longer than 140 characters on Twitter deserves our respect and admiration," Levy says. "People always underestimate female pop artists, whether it's Madonna, Britney, Lady Gaga or Katy Perry. They know how to find good songs and push the public's buttons.

"Katy's shown the ability to put herself at the center of the culture again and again. She's got cultural juice. How she chooses to use it in the future remains to be seen."

When Perry wakes up after the Dreams tour, "I'm going to take a moment to re-assess everything and to create and to live and to experience, so the stories I tell on my third record are connected and honest," she says.

Possibilities brewing in her imagination are an acoustic record in the vein of Patty Griffin's 1998 folk/pop collection, Flaming Red.

"I'd love to work with great songwriters like Patty Griffin, Jonatha Brooke, maybe even Paul Simon," Perry says. "But I don't know if that's going to come next. Maybe I'm not finished dancing it out."

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.

Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-LifeTopStories/~3/cwS9Anu5wNE/2011-06-07-katy-perry-dreams-tour_n.htm

Radha Mitchell Thandie Newton Shanna Moakler Taylor Swift Joanna Krupa

Katy Perry Teases ?Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)? Video

Her music videos have always been spectacular and it looks like Katy Perry's clip for ?Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)? will carry on her tradition of excellence.

The ?Teenage Dream? babe shared a 35-second preview of the video, in which she stars as Kathy Beth Terry.

Additionally, the band Hanson will be included in the 1990s-inspired fun, as well as plenty of surprises.

The full-length ?Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) music video will debut on June 14th, and there?s even a Kathy Beth Terry Facebook page!

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/katy-perry/katy-perry-teases-%E2%80%9Clast-friday-night-tgif%E2%80%9D-video-512017

Julianne Hough Dido Whitney Port Lucy Liu Gretha Cavazzoni

Kate Middleton to jet off with Prince Harry!

Wills' little brother offers to teach Kate how to fly

Prince Harry and Kate Middleton | The Derby 2011 | Pictures | Photos | New

Prince Harry and Kate Middleton team up for flying lessons

With Prince William hard at work as an RAF rescue helicopter pilot, Kate Middleton plans to fill her time with some flying lessons.

Kate loves a challenge and who better to teach the new Duchess of Cambridge how to handle an aircraft than Wills' little brother, Prince Harry?

Both Princes are qualified instructors but as William, 28, has such a hectic working schedule, Harry, 26, has volunteered to take sister-in-law Kate, 29, skywards over Anglesey to earn her fixed wing licence.

'Wills' diary is manic,' says a Royal source tells The Sun.

'And to be honest would any wife want to be taught by their husband?'

'Harry immediately offered and the Duchess is thrilled.'

 Prince Harry

ROYAL WEDDING GALLERY See the guests arrive for Prince William and Kate Middleton's special day>>

NEW PICTURES Kate Middleton wears elegant lace Sarah Burton dress for her wedding to Prince William>>

NEW PICTURES Kate Middleton and Prince William are married at last>>

NEW PICTURES Kate Middleton and family arrive at London hotel ahead of Royal Wedding to Prince William>>

NEW PICTURES Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy's love story in pictures>>  

 

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NEWS_CELEBRITYNEWS/~3/fJOLlImYxdc/story01.htm

Zooey Deschanel Lisa Snowdon Ananda Lewis Asia Argento Mary Elizabeth Winstead