Bobby Brown's choices

February 16, 2012

Which is why I'm trying to stay neutral and non-judgmental about Bobby Brown, ex-husband of Whitney Houston and father of their 18-year-old daughter. He's going to Houston's funeral Saturday in Newark because he wants to support his child.

On Saturday night, he'll be in Connecticut - performing at Mohegan Sun.

Hey - maybe his daughter doesn't need her dad's support on the night of her mother's funeral? This is the same man who performed on the night of Houston's death, and then waited 24 hours before he flew from Mississippi to Los Angeles to comfort his daughter.

We've gotten many comments over various social media about Mr. Brown's fatherhood - much of it critical. But, like I say, each of us deals with grief in his or her own way. The fact that Brown physically abused Houston and helped her dive into the abyss of drug and alcohol abuse is apparently still on many of your minds, judging from the posted comments.

And we welcome your comments on how he's dealing with the funeral. It will likely be a tad uncomfortable on Saturday, if you believe all the reporting about how Houston's family is divided on whether to welcome Brown to the event.

Meanwhile, security for Saturday's funeral figures to be something of a logistical challenge, given that the service is invitation-only and there will be no TV monitors outside for the public to watch what's going on inside. You will be able to watch an internet stream on 7online if interested.

We'll have the latest on the arrangements - and who's expected to show up - tonight at 11.

Also at 11, our investigative reporter Sarah Wallace has a disturbing story about a Level 3 sex offender, who's on parole in Westchester County. He's living in a house that is next door to two day care centers, and lots of kids. Turns out there's a huge loophole in the law - it's illegal for him to be near a school, but not illegal to be near a day care center.

Something's wrong.

I'm just sayin'. Sarah's exclusive story airs tonight at 11.

And we'll have the latest on the huge teachers deal involving New York State and City. It's a billion-dollar windfall for the State - because federal funds will now flow, thanks to student evaluations being part of the agreement with teachers. The agreement with the City ends what has been a nasty campaign by the teachers' union against Mayor Bloomberg. The only bottom line that counts is the effect on students. And with the federal monies now available, then perhaps students will benefit. We'll see.

And we're at a vigil in New Jersey for the 11-year-old girl - the daughter of a State Trooper - who was killed today when a school bus collided with a dump truck. 17 other students were hurt, two of them critically.

We'll also have any breaking news of the night, plus Meteorologist Lee Goldberg's AccuWeather forecast (will we dodge or get hit by a winter storm this weekend?) and Rob Powers with the night's sports. I hope you can join Sade Baderinwa and me, tonight at 11.

BILL RITTER

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