Jada Pinkett

The Randy Milligan Charitable Fund will hold The Diamond Ball at Camden Yards tonight to benefit programs that help inner-city children with their moral, physical and educational development.The black-tie event, which is open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. An MVP reception, for invited guests, begins at 6 p.m. in the sky box of Orioles president Larry Lucchino. Special guests include Jada Pinkett, star of the television series "A Different World," and several Orioles players. There will be auctions of more than 50 sports-related items.

That Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blakewould respond to a letter from constituent Jada Pinkett Smith expressing concern about the welfare of circus elephants with a complaint that the actress had not returned the mayor's earlier calls, demonstrates an upside down understanding of public service ("SRB miffed that Pinkett Smith hasn't returned city's calls," March 8). The mayor works for Ms. Pinkett Smith and the rest of us, not vice versa. When a citizen calls the police for help, the 911 operator doesn't respond, "What have you done for us lately?"

Did they see Will in the mall?Did they see Will in the hall?Did they see Will in the gym?Is it really, truly him?Ever since actor Will Smith held a news conference at the Columbia Inn to announce that he would be filming "Enemy of the State" in the area, sightings have occurred with alien frequency in Howard County.Rumors abounded that the "Independence Day" star was staying at the Columbia Inn. That the "Man in Black" bought a shirt at Britches in the mall. That he was playing hoops at a local athletic club.

A day after Jada Pinkett Smith sent a heartfelt letter to Baltimore's mayor, pleading for her to stand up for circus elephants she believes are being abused, circus officials called the actress "completely misguided. " "She doesn't know the first thing about elephants or about how to take care of them," Stephen Payne, the spokesperson for Ringling Bros., told Baltimore Insider Wednesday. "She's completely misguided. " In a letter dated Tuesday, Jada Pinkett Smith wrote to the mayor, "as a mother and proud Baltimore native," asking her to stop the circus from using devices called bullhooks to prod the elephants into performing.

A half-dozen instants of stunning empathy and insight redeem everything in Reign Over Me that is undigested or sentimental. It's a courageous, moving, organically funny picture about the slow-healing sadness that occurs when private grief gets interspersed with public events. It's about the need to thrash things out. Picture a man still crazed by the loss of his wife and daughters on Sept. 11 who watches TV news for the first time in years, then switches to a classic movie station showing You Were Never Lovelier.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake wasn't exactly jumping when Jada Pinkett Smith asked for her help in protecting elephants earlier this week. The mayor more or less says she had bigger fish to fry -- that and the actress didn't help her out when the city needed it. But Friday Pinkett Smith's aunt, who runs the Baltimore-based charity of the actress, said her niece has done quite a bit for the city -- and she's surprised that the mayor doesn't...

After a day of false speculation resulting in millions of page views for web sites around country, Will and Jada Smith issued a statement Tuesday saying their marriage is not in trouble and they are not separating. Here is the statement: "Although we are reluctant to respond to these kinds of press reports, the rumors circulating about our relationship are completely false. We are still together, and our marriage is intact. " A spokesperson for the Baltimore School for the Arts graduate Jada Pinkett-Smith also spiked reports that the actress was involved with Marc Anthony, a costar on TNT's "Hawthorne.

"Set It Off" never really gets down.Some are calling it a "Girlz N the Hood," but it bears a closer resemblance to glitzy armed-robbery films -- "Heat" or "Asphalt Jungle" or even "Reservoir Dogs" -- than to John Singleton's gritty probe of urban pathology.Where "Boyz N the Hood" cut deep, to bone, this one stays glibly on the surface. It's slick and routinely entertaining, if never quite persuasive. It chronicles how four black women, abused by "the system" (they claim), turn to violent crime to express themselves and find an identity.

Body of Lies : *** This film has met the sad box-office fate of other recent Middle East-themed movies, but this one didn't deserve its swift demise at the box office. Based on David Ignatius' novel, this solid thriller takes the spy-vs.-spy complications of the Cold War espionage thriller and adapts them to the volatile, risky world of contemporary insurgency and terrorism. Leonardo DiCaprio continues on a roll as an American agent determined to establish good-faith partnerships with Arab agents, and Russell Crowe is smarmily amusing as his boss.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blakewants to teach Jada Pinkett Smith a lesson in that old, scratch my back, I'll scratch yours thing. Earlier this week the actress sent the mayor a letter, asking her to make sure the elephants are well treated when the Ringling Bros. circus comes to town later this month. She feared the circus would be jabbing the animals with pointy sticks. But the mayor is something less than moved to act. Particularly after the actress didn't exactly help her out. “We've reached out about homelessness, about school issues,” Rawlings-Blake told WJZ. “I would have loved to gotten some feedback, support or concern about those issues that are very pressing to the city.” And that's not all. The mayor, a known fan of the circus, who's accepted free tickets to the show and even a ceremonial role in the event, said she's still looking forward to it this year.