by Suritia Taylor

WASHINGTON (NNPA)—Lonnie McNeill has never been the type that needed to be in the spotlight or one to indulge in glamorous things like many of her Howard University classmates. Her mantra has always been minimalism, an attitude that she doesn’t need everything. In fact, she doesn’t even Facebook or tweet!

INVESTMENT SUCCESS—At 21, McNeill’s net worth in stock investments is over $5 million.

This 21-year-old Howard graduate isn’t on anyone’s list of millionaires, but she is a savvy investor who has been in the stock market since she was eight years old. Even with the near collapse of the market last year, McNeill reveals that her net worth is “currently enough for her to retire with over $5 million without saving another dime,” that is with the assumption that she maintains a 13 percent annual rate of return on her present investment.

Comments made last week by Republican U.S. Senate candidate, Pat Toomey, regarding his opposition to hate crime legislation, have outraged former NFL player Franco Harris.

Harris contacted the Courier to explain the importance of hate crime legislation and what Toomey’s remarks say about him as a candidate.

FRANCO HARRIS

“I feel that hate crimes are more premeditated in a way and because of that I think that’s why they should be treated differently,” Harris said. “When you have a crime against a certain community of people it turns into fear tactics, it gets to be psychological. We need to look at that in a bigger, broader sense and realize that there’s bigger, broader consequences.”

David J. Hickton wasted no time letting people know that he intends to apply the resources and power of his office to rid neighborhoods of gun violence, protect all citizens from consumer and bank fraud, support environmental law and protect civil rights.

Immediately after being sworn in Sept. 7 as the new U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Hickton laid down the law.

JOINING THE BATTLE—As his wife Dawne looks on, David J. Hickton is sworn in as western Pennsylvania’s new U.S. Attorney by Senior U.S. Justice Gustav Diamond.

“Freedom from fear is a basic right. The violent criminals who terrorize our neighborhoods and towns will feel the full force of the law as it can be marshaled by this office,” he said. “We must limit and then end the mad cycle of killing and revenge. We must bring back the law to places where it has been forgotten.”

Federal authorities have charged former Dwelling House Savings & Loan customer Jammie E. Harris, also known as Jammie E. Williams with exploiting a lack of computer security to steal $1,101,264.60 from the bank over an 11-month period in 2008.

In an indictment made public Sept. 8, a federal grand jury charged Harris, 45, of Hazelwood, with diverting funds from the defunct Hill District bank to a PayPal account through 272 transactions between February and December, 2008.

Attorney Marty Dietz, who specializes in federal defense work, said the chances that Harris found this glitch in the security system by herself are exceedingly slim.