She attended the school as a girl when it was named the Franklin School and was a regular visitor for many years afterward.
* Whitney's invitation-only service will be Saturday in the church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child.
The owner of the Whigham Funeral Home, in Newark, said yesterday that the pop diva's funeral will be at noon at the New Hope Baptist Church, in Newark. The funeral home said that no wake would be held and that there would be no public memorial at Newark's Prudential Center.
Whitney, 48, died Saturday afternoon, a few hours before she was to perform downstairs at producer Clive Davis' pre-Grammy Awards bash.
* After an autopsy Sunday, authorities said that there were no indications of foul play and no obvious signs of trauma.
Whitney's trauma was all on the inside.
* Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to make a buck, Sony may release Whitney's remake of "Sparkle" over Memorial Day, instead of in August.
So reported Radaronline.com.
Sony denied the story.
TATTBITS
* On the 83rd anniversary of
the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Las Vegas honored one of its earliest relationships with the grand opening of a publicly funded, $42 million Mob Museum, dedicated to the "entrepreneurs" who made Sin City. There are tommy guns, money stacks and a bullet-riddled brick wall from the 1929 massacre that saw Al Capone seize control of the Chicago mob.
The opening, however, became a mob scene when a man opened fire on one of the exhibits.
Oh, sorry, that was an episode of "CSI."
* Kenny Rogers
is suing Capitol Records, claiming that the company has not properly paid him for digital downloads, ringtones and other uses of his songs.
