Rapper, actor and executive Ludacris is teaming up with renowned California chef and restaurateur Chris Yeo to open Straits Restaurant in Midtown Atlanta. Yeo is known for the Singapore themed menu at his Straits franchises, and he will work with Ludacris to convert the former Spice Restaurant into another Straits location.
Ludacris tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that “After experiencing Yeo’s modern spin on Singaporean cuisine combined with the sexy dining, I wanted to bring this restaurant home to Atlanta.” The multi-talented entertainer cites Yeo’s chicken lollipops and watermelon martini’s among his favorite menu items. Ludacris purchased the 5,170-square-foot space which will house Straits in March of 2007 for $2.7 million. The restaurant, which will be located at 793 Juniper St., seats 215 and is expected to open in April.
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Reuters and The New York Times report that Foxy Brown has appealed to a New York judge to let her out of prison, to address fears that a lack of medical attention may end her career. Foxy, whose real name is Inga Merchand, offered a four-page handwritten letter to Judge Melissa Jackson, in which she stated, “I ask you to please take into consideration that my health is in jeopardy.”
The trouble seems to be arising from the fact that only one doctor has been able to successfully treat what Foxy’s camp calls a “profound hearing loss in her right ear.” The problem was corrected in April of 2006 by a California surgeon who implanted a device in Foxy’s ear, but the 29-year-old rapper states that she is experiencing complications from the implant while in prison. On Tuesday [Jan. 15], Foxy Brown’s lawyer, Laura Dilimetin, submitted a formal appeal for release, stating that any further hearing damage “will have dire consequences on [Merchand’s] ability to maintain her profession and livelihood.”
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Foxy Brown has been in the Rose M. Singer Women’s Facility at Rikers Island since August of 2007. Foxy was sentenced to three years’ probation in October of 2006, but violated the terms of the probation by being arrested for assaulting a neighbor with her Blackberry and later assaulting two stylists over a $20 manicure, in two separate incidents. Since reporting to the facility, Foxy was also placed in solitary confinement for 40 days after three violations involving physical altercations with other inmates.
