I guess I didn't get the memo.

Apparently, this is not the time to ask Councilmember Marion Barry or his staff about Sharon Bowen. Barry paid Bowen $50,000 to work on poverty issues in 2007 and 2008. Bowen was another Barry girlfriend.

Why not today? HBO is premiering a documentary on Barry's life. It's either that or he's dead. When asked about Bowen's supposed organizing of a poverty summit, Barry's spokesperson Natalie Williams made it clear that the press should be focusing on more important things—like legacies.

Williams' immediate response to my Bowen question: "All of our interviews are focused now around Barry's legacy."

When I made it clear that I really just wanted some clarification on the Bowen matter, Williams simply hung up on me.