John J. Forster is the Activities Coordinator for the group 'Committee for the Capital City'. He is also Co-founder of Initiative DC, which led the successful effort to amend the DC Home Rule Act to provide for the voting rights of initiative, referendum, and recall. John has been a DC resident since 1977.

The 'Committee for the Capital City' was formed in 1995 by civic-minded citizens of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia who are united in their desire to preserve and protect the unique character and beauty of the nation’s capital city while providing full democratic rights to its residents. The membership includes Democrats and Republicans, black and white, young and old, of many different occupations and income levels. They welcome all who would join with in pursuit of political justice and equality for the people of the District of Columbia.

John writes -  in an article written for The Washington Post 'The Other Path To Statehood', 2016:

"Creating a state of the District of Columbia (or whatever name they give it) faces too many obstacles.

Congressional Republicans almost universally oppose the addition of two new senators from the District and would certainly block such a proposal. It is unlikely that legislators from either Maryland or Virginia would ultimately support a new state of the District of Columbia if that state had the power to levy a commuter tax, as it surely would. Politicians from large states might object to the dilution of their Senate power. Likewise, some rural state legislators might object to empowering the District with statehood for what they see as essentially a city. For these reasons, the chance of the District becoming a new state looks remote.

But there is a better way to achieve D.C. statehood.

The other path: join an existing state.

Imagine the District becoming Douglass County, Md. As a new unique jurisdiction in Maryland, the District would honor one of its most famous residents: the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass. And it would retain its unique identity while gaining both full voting rights and full home rule.

Could this approach win the needed support in Congress, Maryland and the District?

Reunion with Maryland probably would gain bipartisan support in Congress because Republicans have demonstrated support for giving D.C. residents voting rights through Maryland-based proposals that would not add two senators. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders in Maryland surely would like to gain almost 700,000 new residents who, with their addition, would make Maryland more Democratic, more highly educated and wealthier. (Compared with Maryland, the District has a higher percentage of registered Democrats, a higher percentage of college graduates and a higher per-capita income.)

Once D.C. residents realize that the state of the District of Columbia is a bridge too far, they will support achieving statehood citizenship with Maryland’s help. Voting rights and full home rule are the goals, and both can be achieved by reuniting with Maryland.

There is, of course, a precedent for this. The District was originally created with land ceded from Virginia and Maryland. The Virginia portion was successfully returned to Virginia in 1847 after Virginia voters approved it the prior year.

Douglass County, Md., is the best path to D.C. statehood."

For more information:

Committee for the Capital City

PO Box 77443

Washington, DC 20013-8443

202-265-0200

info@cityhoodfordc.dev

John B. Wells, Saturday host of Coast to Coast AM, is a veteran radio host and voice actor with credits ranging from radio stations and TV shows, to movies and advertisements, on all seven continents. 

Upon graduating from TCU with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and an emphasis in theater, he took a part-time job at the legendary KZEW-FM/Dallas-Ft. Worth, where within less than a year, he moved into the afternoon drive slot and posted record ratings.  Soon after, Wells left to pursue a full-time career doing voiceovers. During that time, he voiced imaging promos for New York’s WCBS Newsradio 88, where he spent nearly 10 years, followed by WNEW-FM; Los Angeles’ KLOS-FM and KROQ-FM; Detroit’s WWJ-AM; Chicago’s WBBM-AM/TV; San Francisco’s KRON-TV; Dallas’ WFAA-TV, KRLD-AM and KZPS-FM; Houston’s KLOL-FM, KHOU-TV and KPRC-AM; Miami’s WBGG-FM; and the Armed Forces Radio Network.  Wells was heard for nearly a decade on BBC Radio 1 in London, along with HIT 95 in Berlin, Radio ADO in Paris, and many others around the world.

In addition to serving as the announcer for CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn and the "World's Leading Dance Event" Sensation in Amsterdam, Wells has lent his voice to Oliver Stone’s JFK and Talk Radio films and appeared in several other movies.  He has also recently voiced promos for Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch and Gold Rush. 

After frequently serving as a guest host on Coast to Coast AM, Wells became the Saturday evening host of the most-listened-to overnight radio program in North America in January 2012. Each week, Wells captivates listeners with discussions on news and current events, conspiracy theories and all things curious and unexplained.

Actor, musician, writer, composer, martial artist, aviator and broadcaster, Wells finds the ancient sage advice of "concentrating on just one thing" to be true. His one thing: the Arts.

TOBIAS HURWITZ

Tobias Hurwitz lives and breathes electric guitar. He rocks packed stadiums for The Baltimore Ravens Rhythm Section every home game with thrilling guitar solos from iconic tunes like Van Halen’s “Eruption” and Hendrix’s “Purple Haze.” Hurwitz is also a Grammy-nominated “Music Educator” who has authored fifteen popular books on rock guitar, with YouTube videos that have received over a million hits.

When he’s not revving up the Ravens crowd, Hurwitz—named “best guitarist in the Mid-Atlantic” by Music Monthly’s readers poll—hits the clubs with rough-and-ready Thin Lizzy tribute band Black Rose. During the day, “Baltimore’s Best Guitar Teacher” (Baltimore City Paper) is busy raising the next generation of guitar shredders as an in-demand teacher and the co-owner of Rock Star Jam music camp.

Hurwitz was on The National Guitar Workshop faculty for many years and is currently a faculty member at the internationally renowned Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop in Bigfork, Montana, where he’s taught with Dweezil Zappa and John Oates of Hall & Oates. Hurwitz has written instructional articles for Guitar Player and Guitar magazines and is involved with TrueFire, which produces video guitar lessons from top players.

Since graduating from L.A.’s Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT), Hurwitz has released three solo albums, including collaborations with Santana drummer Dennis Chambers, rock-guitar virtuoso Michael Angelo Batio, Swedish prog-metal “freak guitarist” Mattias Eklundh and other master musicians. Hurwitz also collaborated with Zen Guitar author Philip Toshio Sudo, co-authoring Sudo’s final book/CD, The Book of Six Strings: The Zen Way to Play Guitar.

Live, Hurwitz has performed with The Coasters, Stanley Clarke, J. Geils and many other artists. His solo instrumental compositions and technical guitar demonstrations wow audiences at the National Guitar Museum, and guitar-related festivals and events nationwide.

PINA DE ROSA

As a Mindset Effectiveness Expert, a TEDx Speaker, an Award Winning Producer, an Author, and an International & High Performance Results Coach, Pina De Rosa has been designing and delivering engaging keynotes for over 15 years. She has been nominated for the Los Angeles Business Journal Woman Making A Difference 7 years in a row (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016).

In addition to keynote speaking at corporate and schools functions, and leading her own events, Pina has shared the stage with Barbara De Angelis, Loral Langemeier, Michael Beckwith, Chris Howard, Alison Armstrong, Lisa Sasevich, Debbie Allen, Jill Lublin, Dr. Joanna Martin, Kerwin Rae, James Schramko, Deborah Kagan, Shellie Hunt, Scott Martineau, Johnnie Cass, Sean Harris, Clinton Swaine, Benjamin Harvey, Dave Vanhoose, Daven Michaels, Sean Bell, Larry Loik and Kelly O’Neil to name a few.

Audiences and coaching clients worldwide, from Los Angeles to London, from Sydney to Hong Kong and from Auckland to Kilimanjaro, are always inspired in action by Pina’s commitment: empowering each individual to live their fullest potential, delivering fast and lasting release of those internal blocks/fears/self-doubt that get in the way of us taking action, and experiencing quality of life. She speaks 5 languages (English, French, Italian, Spanish and German), and holds 4 passports.

When she speaks on college campuses, sharing from her personal experience of being raped during her first semester in college, her message is not only an inspirational dialogue on date-rape awareness and sexual assault prevention, it is life saving! Her passion project is BroadwaySniffsOutCancer – by producing this yearly Benefit that raises funds and awareness for the cancer-detection-dogs , she wishes to save people from losing their loved ones to a late cancer diagnosis. She is the president of http://www.gratitudeinternational.com/, and is honored to be on the board for https://www.thenewhollywood.org/

Pina will customize and lead workshops, seminars and keynotes for your corporate events, colleges, private groups and organizations — topics will be custom tailored to your audience’s needs. Length of keynotes and format of workshops vary from 20 minutes to 3 hours. 1, 2 and 3 days events can be scheduled. Her corporate clients include: Galpin Motor, BCBG Max-Azria and State Farm Insurance; and her university clients include: University of Southern California, California State University Long Beach, Ohio State University, Findlay University and the Alliance Neuwirth Leadership & College-Ready Academy Charter High School. She resides in Los Angeles, California.

Having been a coach for over 15 years, Pina works with a variety of modalities to best suit your needs. Here are her accreditations and background:

Master Results Coach

Performance Consultant

Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP

Advanced Neurological Repatterning TM

Ericksonian Method

Professional Speaker

High Performance Results Coach

Leadership Master Coach

B.A. Cum Laude (Major: Theatre, Minor: Psychology)

Fluent in Italian, French, Spanish and rusty German

GARY JONES

In 1967, Gary Jones began his professional life as a puppet artist in Chicago as the scenic designer of the world famous Kungsholm Miniature Grand Opera. Jones’ unusual talents were immediately praised through his imaginative productions of The King & I, Porgy & Bess, Gypsy, My Fair Lady, Oliver, and Bizet’s Carmen.

In l975, he founded his own company, The Blackstreet USA Puppet Theatre which presents “Gary Jones & The YUPPETS” (Young Urban Professional Puppets).

Since then he has handcrafted hundreds of puppets, trained several aspirants in his unique performance technique and witnessed his work applauded by both national and international audiences. Box office attendance records were broken for his residencies at The Smithsonian Institution, Division of Performing Arts in the ’80s.

Over the years, Jones has created an original and eclectic repertoire suited for both adults and young people with a cutting edge focus on dance.

He has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards including “The Crystal Castle” from the Walt Disney Corporation for his outstanding work with children. His work has been written about in countless reviews and newspaper articles. In l998 People magazine profiled his unique efforts integrating art and the educational experience illuminating such controversial topics as AIDS, conflict resolution, drugs, and self esteem.

Jones harbors a very deep concern for senior citizens and has volunteered countless performances in convalescent homes in Los Angeles.

The opulent elite world of the Kungsholm Miniature Grand Opera of Chicago which Jones experienced as a teenager conditioned him in ways which are still visible in his vocation as a puppet and doll artist. Once he began working there his daily exposure to high European culture inevitably led him to other such forms. One such heretofore closed world was the international ballet stage. Today he admits his balletomania with a smile. With pride he relates the charmed reactions of Ruth Page, Cynthia Gregory, Paul Russell, Charmaine Hunter, Alvin Ailey, Garth Fagan, and Dwight Rhoden to the Blackstreet USA Puppet Theatre. Their influence on his performance technique is witnessed in an undeniable favoritism lavished on the dance puppets in his theatre.

His devotion to a vegetarian diet and daily yoga echoes the lifestyle of the dancer life he discovered too late to join. He has been criticized for this absolute immersion in art. There was no television in his home for 30 years! And living in Los Angeles has not changed the fact that he attends a film once a year, if that. He is overly familiar and critical of neighborhood libraries and considers a visit to the central building a treat.

He attributes his addiction to books to the influence of his late brother who earned a Ph.D. at 25.

“Maybe I’m still competing with him on some level.” Jones is a walker and explorer of his adopted Los Angeles and its sometimes bizarre architecture. Unfortunately on occasion he has aroused police suspicion when observed inspecting the details of structures that fascinate and inspire him. Yet as an amateur photographer he rarely snaps the buildings. The camera lens is always directed at his puppets or dolls. With the snap of the shutter he maintains that he sees deeper into each character. Often this insight leads to the creation of a new figure or time at the keyboard writing a new script.

Gary has said that, “art speaks directly to our souls…it is from this place that we can begin again in joy.”

MIKE MOODY

A caffeinated 22 year old with endless authenticity. Mike’s mojo as a musician is to emulate the Soulful sounds of the 70’s with his hometown Michigan style. When you follow signs for I-94 East from LA to the MOTOR CITY, you’ll eventually end up where it all began for the songwriter. Mike moved to California at the beginning of 2016 and has been building his music career and followership over the last year. He has performed over 120 shows in California thus far and is motivated to continue expanding his resume.

Mike has also been featured in Music Connection Magazine’s 2016 List of Hot 100 Unsigned Artists. Mike recently graduated from Musicians Institute where he met his partner, Andy Vimar, in the Guitar Program which was the foundation for their band, Mike Moody and the Motion. The band is releasing their first single in the summer of 2017.

LEGENDARY DRUMMER AND SONGWRITER

B O B B Y   CA L D W E L L  

TALKS ABOUT HIS INCREDIBLE ROCK AND ROLL PAST

ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

Bobby Caldwell started playing at the age of ten and by fourteen was playing professionally with many rock groups in the state of Florida, but primarily “Noah’s Ark”, out of Tampa.  After signing with Decca Records and releasing two singles, the band played constantly throughout the Eastern U.S.  After paying his dues, fate stepped in.



At the age of 19, he was asked to join Johnny Winter’s new super group “Johnny Winter And”.  This group featured Rick Derringer and Randy Hobbs, formerly with the McCoy’s of “Hang On Sloopy” fame.  The album “Johnny Winter And Live” was recorded in New York and Miami and became a top ten best seller and Johnny’s highest charting album.  Bobby also played on Johnny Winter’s “Saints and Sinners” album, recording with Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer and the late Dan Hartman

Rick Derringer asked Bobby to play on his first solo LP “All American Boy”, which was recorded entirely at Caribou Ranch in Colorado.  This partnership produced the classic top ten hit, “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo.”



While touring with the Allman Brothers Band as a third drummer and percussionist, BC had the pleasure of playing with them at the Filmore East when they recorded their historic album, The Allman Brothers, “Live at the Filmore East”.



In the early to mid seventies, Captain Beyond arose from the ashes of Iron Butterfly, Johnny Winter And, and Deep Purple.  Introduced to Phil Walden by the late Duane Allman, the band signed with Capricorn Records.  Captain Beyond’s first album remains a progressive rock cult classic to this day.  The band enjoys heavy airplay on satellite radio and a large following in Europe and the far East.  Bobby’s contributions to the music, lyrics and song arrangements are evident throughout

Following Captain Beyond, he was enlisted to join the supergroup Armageddon.  Founded by the late Keith Relf from “The Yardbirds,” Armageddon comprised of England’s renowned super guitarist, Martin Pugh, Bobby Caldwell and Louis Cennamo.  The group produced one album for A&M Records.  Once again, Bobby was a major contributor to the song writing and direction of the band.



In the early 1980s, MCA Records offered Bobby a solo deal.  The album was unfortunately never completed.  Through the 80’s and 90’s Bobby continued to sing, write new material and play drums while fronting his own band before moving back to Florida from Los Angeles for family obligations.

Recently, Bobby has been playing with the reformed Captain Beyond, as well as many other projects.  He is a dedicated professional, always looking for new and exciting musical ventures.



Highly spiritual, Bobby also holds a Masters Degree in Metaphysics and is an Ordained Metaphysical Minister. He neither smokes, nor drinks, nor uses drugs and lives an extremely clean lifestyle.  He is truly a sincere, humble and caring artist.  His love and motivation to create new music is, as it has always been, steadfast and unwavering.

CONCERT DATES FOR CAPTAIN BEYOND

6/3/17 -    Ace's Live Music                                         

Bradenton, FL                          

6/22/17 -The Golden Pony                                         

Harrisonburg, VA                     

6/23/17 - Cafe 611 "Maryland Doom Fest"                 

Fredrick, MD

8/16/17 - The Earl                                                       

Atlanta, GA

8/18/17 - The Pour House Music Hall                           

 Raleigh, NC

8/20/17 - Kung Fu Neck Tie                                         

 Philadelphia, PA

8/22/17 - Saint Vitus                                                   

Brooklyn, NY

8/25/17 - "The Bear's Den" Seneca Niagara Casino     

Niagara Falls, NY

10/28/17 - Ram's Head Live "Days of Darkness fest"   

Baltimore, MD

Much more to come …

You can purchase Lost & Found 1972-1973 -Release date 6/2/2017 on CD and limited edition colored LP at Cleopatra Music and film