Lowell Folk Festival

Lowell Folk Festival kicks off in downtown Lowell, with 22 artists performing on six stages, playing everything from polka to jazz and beyond. The three-day music extravaganza is set to begin tomorrow and run through Sunday. Those who attend will be treated to traditional music, food, dancing and crafts from all corners of the globe.

"It is all about taking ethnic traditions and bringing it to the big stage," said John Marciano, who is in charge of programming music for the festival. "You just can't access this music any other day of the year." Though it's called a folk festival, this event features many genres of music, from bluegrass, to Celtic and gospel, to blues. The main concept is to present traditional music from regions throughout the world in its original context.

"It is as close to the real deal as possible," Marciano said. "This is music that is handed down from one generation to the next. It's not whitewashed at all. That is the difference with the Lowell Folk Festival." Since its 1987 debut as the National Folk Festival, what has since become the Lowell Folk Festival continues to draw artists from all around the world.

Anabela Janke

This week, on “unemployment news” we know about the case of Anabela Janke (photos below), the wife of Scott Janke who was fired because she married her! It is good to clarify that Anabela Janke is also known as Jazella Moore in the porn World. Scott Janke used to work as Fort Myers Beach Town Manager, but soon after the mayor and council members heard about his wife they fired him! Isn’t one allowed to have a private life with anyone?

Fort Myers Beach Mayor Larry Kiker said, "Our issue is the situation town was put in in terms of how effective we can govern and whether or not it this was going to serve as a distraction for that, and we felt like it would." On "The Early Show" Anabela said she didn't think her husband was being treated fairly.

Scott added, "When this story began to break, I was actually called by a local reporter, who also called the mayor about a day before he was going to actually print these articles. And the mayor and I chatted on the phone. Because of my ethics, I said, 'I'm willing to resign with compensation if the town council thinks it will help the community not be so distracted." '

E Lynn Harris

E. Lynn Harris, the best-selling Arkansas author known for contemporary stories about African-Americans, died today during a West Coast book tour. His personal assistant confirmed an unspecified health event this morning, but said she was awaiting word from the scene before providing specifics..

Arkansas Sports 360 provided the first formal report that Harris had died. The item did not cite a source, but Harris was close to the UA Athletic Department and had worked as coach and sponsor of the cheerleaders. Black Voices later confirmed the report, citing a spokesman for his publisher. Word of the health event began making the rounds on Twitter earlier in the morning.

Born in Michigan, Harris grew up in Little Rock. He attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was the school's first black cheerleader. He continued to be a diehard Razorback fan. He has taught adjunct courses in the English department, most recently last fall. His latest book, "Basketball Jones," is about the gay lover of an NBA star.