Plaque honors King's murderer by mistake

GEORGETOWN, Texas -- A plaque prepared to honor actor James Earl Jones at a Saturday celebration of civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Lauderhill, Fla., instead has this inscription: "Thank you James Earl Ray for keeping the dream alive."

Ray was the man convicted of assassinating King in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968.

"I apologize to whoever I need to apologize to. This was a mistake, a very unfortunate mistake," Herbert Miller, vice president for sales at Georgetown-based Merit Industries, said Wednesday.

Merit prepared the plaque at the request of Adpro, a Lauderhill-based business.

"It had an immediate chill. It was eerie," Adpro owner Gerald Wilcox said as he showed the plaque displaying words that, he said, "deeply hurt."

The plaque features a 15-cent stamp of King and stamps of six other famous blacks, including Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. DuBois and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

The finished product arrived Monday and, even without seeing it, officials in the Fort Lauderdale suburb were angry.

"It's a real outrage," Commissioner Margaret Bates told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "To confuse James Earl Jones with James Earl Ray. ... Just think of the significance."

Gov. Ventura says actors lawsuit lacks merit

MINNEAPOLIS -- Gov. Jesse Ventura denied allegations in a lawsuit that he and others failed to compensate union actors when their performances in commercials from his 1998 campaign were reused in a documentary.

The documentary, "We Shook the World," was promoted as an "entertaining and authentic review of the campaign, election, inauguration, post inauguration events and more!"

"We don't think it has any merit at all in regards to Governor Ventura personally, Ventura for Minnesota Inc. or the Jesse Ventura Volunteer Committee," David Bradley Olsen, the governor's personal attorney, said Tuesday.

The documentary was sold under license from the nonprofit foundation Ventura for Minnesota Inc., which is also a defendant. The video's cover says that "The Governor does not profit personally from the sale of this product." Erickson Plus Limited of Minneapolis, doing business as Sound 80, said it was hired to recruit actors for the commercials. The company claims that it entered into union contracts that require a prior agreement to compensate "principal performers" before the commercials can be reused.

The unions have demanded extra compensation for the unauthorized use of union talent, the lawsuit said. Sound 80 claims it had been billed more than $20,000 by Jan. 10, 2000.

Sound 80 asked Ventura, his campaign organizations and associates to pay the extra costs, but "none of the defendants have taken any responsibility for or made payment," the suit said. Sound 80 said it paid the charges itself on Oct. 16, 2000, "to preserve its business and reputation."

Wynonna goes back home for arts center opening

ASHLAND, Ky. -- Country singer Wynonna will perform this weekend in her hometown for the reopening of a local arts center.

The Saturday concert will officially mark the reopening of the Paramount Arts Center after its $8 million renovation.

A dedication ceremony will accompany the concert, which will be the first time Wynonna has performed in Ashland in several years. Another hometown success, Julie Reeves, will be the opening performer.

Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton and Lt. Gov. Steven Henry are both scheduled to attend.

Proceeds from the concert will be used for operating costs and establishing an endowment. A portion of the proceeds also will be designated for charities of Wynonna's choice, an event organizer said.

Renfro charged with intoxication in public

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Actor Brad Renfro has been charged with public intoxication and driving without a license, police said.

Renfro, 19, was arrested Monday night after being stopped on a traffic violation near his house.

A police report said Renfro "had slurred speech, unsteady balance and had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage about his person."

Renfro has appeared in several movies, including the 1994 film "The Client."

--From wire reports