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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, August 2, 2009

Obama's sister, family moving to D.C.


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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Maya Soetoro-Ng

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Allen Toussaint

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It's official: The New York Times, citing White House sources, reports that President Obama's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, is moving her family to Washington from Hawai'i and will spend the next several months living in the nation's capital.

The Associated Press reported in January that Soetoro-Ng planned to move to Washington with her husband, Konrad, and daughter, Suhaila, once Soetoro-Ng finished teaching her history classes at La Pietra-Hawaii School for Girls.

Soetoro-Ng was in the nation's capital for the January inauguration of her brother.

The Times reports that Konrad Ng, a professor at the University of Hawai'i, will become the scholar-in-residence at the Smithsonian Institution's Asian Pacific American Program next month.

TOUSSAINT INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME

Over music and gumbo served in a historic New Orleans nightclub, pianist and hit songwriter Allen Toussaint will join the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

Today's celebration was planned in a perfect spot for Toussaint and his fellow inductee, the late rhythm and blues singer Ernie K-Doe. The Mother-in-Law Lounge is named for K-Doe's biggest hit from the '60s, "Mother-In-Law," which was written by Toussaint. And after being destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, the rebuilt club stands as a living monument of Big Easy history.

Toussaint, 71, has hundreds of hits to his name. He penned the 1966 Lee Dorsey classic "Working in a Coal Mine" and produced Dr. John's 1973 hit "Right Place, Wrong Time" and 1975's "Lady Marmalade" by Labelle. In 1998, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

MOORE TO LAUNCH MICHIGAN COMEDY FEST

Oscar winner Michael Moore ("Bowling for Columbine") has more big plans for his adopted northern Michigan hometown of Traverse City, where he's already established a film festival.

Moore said yesterday that he and comedian Jeff Garlin, a star and executive producer of the HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm," will organize the Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival. It will run over a weekend and feature movies, stand-up and sketch comedy and other entertainment. A date has not been chosen.

Moore said that if the comedy festival goes well, he'll look into starting a local book festival in fall 2010.

STAGE COLLAPSE AT CANADA CONCERT KILLS 1

One person was killed and at least 15 were injured when a storm whipped through an outdoor country music festival in Canada, causing a stage to collapse.

Strong winds and heavy rain began hitting the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, east of Edmonton, around 6 p.m. yesterday, said Camrose Police Chief Darrell Kambeitz.

Hollywood actor Kevin Costner and his band, Modern West, were scheduled to take the stage next when the storm hit, according to the Big Valley Jamboree Web site.

Nashville musician Billy Currington and his band had been performing before the structure collapsed.