Week of March 12-18

March 12

1773—This is the most probable date when Black explorer Jean Baptiste Pointe de Sable begins building the settlement which would eventually become the city of Chicago, Ill. The Haitian-born de Sable would over time become a man of considerable wealth owning commercial buildings, docks, trading posts and a mansion. De Sable was the product or a French man and an African woman. He died Aug. 19, 1818.

BENJAMIN BANNEKER, MALCOLM X and QUINCY JONES

1791—Pierre Charles L’Enfant is commissioned to design and layout the nation’s capital city—Washington, D.C. However, a dispute with President George Washington forces his departure the very next year. Thus, the final design and layout fell to Black inventor and mathematician Benjamin Banneker. Although two White men were nominally in charge of the project, historical records show that it was Banneker’s mathematical skills and his memory of L’Enfant’s plans that enabled the project to be completed.

by Mike Glover

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)—Most Americans haven’t heard of Herman Cain, the former head of a chain of pizza restaurants who is considering seeking the Republican presidential nomination.

But in Iowa, home to the nation’s first presidential caucuses, Cain has caught the attention of conservative activists influenced by the tea party movement who aren’t bothered by candidates who have succeeded in business but have never held a public office.

CONSIDERS GOP RUN—In this Sept. 18, 2010 file photo, Georgia businessman Herman Cain, who is edging toward a run for the White House, addresses a gathering in Hoffman Estates, Ill. (AP Photo/The Arlington Heights Daily Herald, Mark Welsh)

“He’s creating quite a buzz,” said former Iowa Republican Party Chairman Richard Schwarm. “He is someone Iowa caucus-goers are going to take very seriously.”

Cain, 65, from suburban Atlanta, has visited Iowa several times recently and was scheduled to return to Des Moines on Monday for a conservative forum. Cain likely will express views similar to other speakers, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, but he’ll offer a vastly different resume.

by Maryclaire Dale
Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Federal officials wrested control Friday of the troubled Philadelphia Housing Authority, a move that followed the spectacular flameout of the agency's long-acclaimed director.

Embattled board members of the Philadelphia Housing Authority resigned and ceded control of the agency to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development agency amid investigations of secret sexual harassment payouts at the agency, purported slush funds and more than $33 million in outside legal fees since 2007.

ADDRESSING MEDIA—Mayor Michael Nutter, accompanied by former board members of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, labor leader Patrick Eiding, left, Debra Brady, the wife of U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, Nellie Reynolds, and former Mayor John Street, right, makes remarks in Philadelphia, March 4. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)—A pair of visiting shuttle astronauts ventured out on a spacewalk at the International Space Station on Feb. 28, tackling a hodgepodge of maintenance jobs and an experiment to capture the invisible vacuum of space.
Stephen Bowen and then Alvin Drew floated out the hatch early, and went straight to work with an extension power cable.

Bowen, the lead spacewalker, was a last-minute addition to Discovery's last crew. He is filling in for an astronaut who hurt himself in a bicycle crash last month.

LAST MISSION FOR DISCOVERY—STS-133 mission specialists, from left, Nicole Stott, Michael Barratt and Alvin Drew leave the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Feb. 24. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)