First Najee Ali got into trouble by opening his mouth when he should not have and was sent to prison as the result. Now his trouble has troubles and, again, the longsuffering friends of Najee are rallying to his support. Remember when Najee’s daughter, Jazmin, was charged (and ultimately acquitted) with attempted murder for having bumped with her car a White, male, felonious motorcyclist who was chasing her on the freeway? Remember how Najee confronted the motorcyclist in the courthouse after Jazmin was arraigned on that charge? Remember how the motorcyclist accused the penniless Najee of bribing him into dropping the charges against his daughter? Remember how, out of sheer stupidity, Najee pled guilty to a charge of attempted bribery in exchange for one of those flaky district attorney-induced sentencing “deals” that are always detrimental to the welfare of Black men? Well, the D.A. did it again.

Pursuant to the dictates of the Three Strikes law and the policy of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, non-violent offenders are required to spend only 50 percent of their sentence behind bars. Violent offenders are required to spend at least 80 percent of their sentence locked up. Najee’s original plea deal, negotiated with D.A. Steve Cooley’s head man in Alhambra, required him to sit in prison for half his sentence, which would have resulted in his freedom this month. However, Cooley’s man in Alhambra has reneged on the deal, bumped Najee’s in-stir time up to 80 percent and scheduled him a new release date for early in 2011. Justin Sanders, Najee’s attorney, is working feverishly to resolve this latest trouble. He, along with an appellate lawyer in San Diego, is taking the matter to the court of appeals to compel the district attorney to live up to the terms of the plea document.

In the meantime, the Rev. K.W. Tulloss and other friends of Najee have launched a national Free Najee Ali Campaign, which includes the creation of a Web site, a letter-writing campaign to D.A. Cooley, and a series of rallies and forums, the first of which will be hosted by Earl Ofari Hutchinson on Nov. 4 at the Lucy Florence Coffeehouse in Leimert Park.

PERP OR VICTIM? — You know, we’re going to have to keep a close eye on that recent act of violence at UCLA involving a Black male student’s alleged stabbing of a White female student. This thing is not as simple, random and senseless as it seems. I heard from people close to the incident that the alleged cutter, Damon Thompson, is a brilliant 20-year-old Belizean senior who came to the United States two years ago for the sole purpose of studying at UCLA. He became the victim of extreme racial and sexual harassment on the UCLA campus, for which he was unprepared. He sent e-mails back home to his family and friends complaining of constantly being called names, of being taunted and intellectually belittled for his Blackness and being told to “go back to whatever backward place” he came from. He was vulgarly questioned about his sexual habits and a group of White girls even showed up at his room demanding he have sex with them because, in their words: “We have never f----- a Black man and we want to know what it’s like.” They left his doorway still not knowing. I heard that shortly thereafter, Thompson discovered a White girl had sabotaged an experiment he had set up in the UCLA lab, and the next thing you know, a White girl is stabbed in the neck in the lab. Keep an eye on this, because this young brother may need us.

AT THE PAB — There were a lot of auxiliary goings on among attendees at Saturday’s grand opening of the new Los Angeles Police Administrative Building. Elected officials from all levels of government flocked to the event, including officials from places nowhere near Los Angeles. But one of our own was missing: Yeah, Councilman Bernard Parks. Isn’t that surprising? … Speaking of Parks, I had an opportunity to apologize to former mayor, Judge James Hahn, in person, for the way I treated him after he fired Parks. We had a quiet candid conversation about those heady days and even though he had read and appreciated my published clearing-of-the-air on the issue, I feel much better now after having said to his face: “I’m sorry.” By the way, Hahn had just gotten married the previous week to a lovely woman with billowy yellow hair named Michelle. (I didn’t know he’d ever divorced what’s-her-name!)

I introduced myself to City Attorney Carmen Trutunich who was surrounded by his often discussed good ole boys. I gave him a high-five, inquired as to his health after suffering that brutal rebuff from the entire City Council the previous day, and heard him muttering “I’m just trying to save the taxpayers’ money...” as I walked away in search of someone else I could needle. I fell upon Councilman Tom LaBonge, of whom I inquired as to the status of repairs to that raggedy-assed Griffith Park and zoo. He mumbled something that led me to believe he’s doing nothing about it, and I tried to buttonhole my councilman, Dennis Zine, about those DWP lights in my backyard, the big pothole in front of my driveway and the demons who speed along my street and run over children and kill our cats and squirrels and possums. But he kept getting away. His mind seems to be more on supporting Trutanich’s bullying tactics rather than attending to the needs of his own constituents.

Apart from Chief William Bratton, the best in a really long line of speakers at the event were Council President Eric Garcetti, who gave credit for the new PAB to whom credit is due — namely Hahn and retired DWP General Manager and former Chief Legislative Analyst Ron Deaton — and Gary Lee Moore, city engineer, who announced, “I am the last speaker,” and received an appreciative ovation from the crowd.

THIS AND THAT — Upon the recommendation of the White House, Kerman Maddox has been appointed to be an at-large (or super) delegate to the Democratic National Committee from the state of California for a four-year term. Kerman’s appointment was made by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who is chairman of the DNC.

Edward Brownlee, principal of Inglewood’s Hillcrest High School, will be saluted at the L.A. Clippers basketball game at Staples Center Saturday in honor of Brownlee’s retirement this month after more than 30 years with the Inglewood Unified School District. The celebratory portion of the event, hosted by the HNA Sports’ Successful Teens Program, will be held in the City View Terrace section of the Staples Center, as well as on the court, from 4:30 to 10 p.m. … SVREP is having a Halloween party Saturday from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Chiparaki Cultural Center, 1637 N. Spring St. Come in costume!

The date of State Sen. Curren Price’s mortgage counseling clinic, originally scheduled for Saturday, has been changed. It will be held Nov. 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Wallis Annenberg Building in the Muses Room at the California Science Center.

Angie Reyes English is on Hawthorne’s Tuesday ballot, seeking a seat on the City Council. She is currently Hawthorne’s city clerk and Sen. Price’s senior district representative, whom he has endorsed, and is a former field deputy to Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry. Elect Angie Reyes English. She looks like a good ’en.