Sen. Edward Kennedy, battling cancer of the brain, wants to make sure that his seat would be filled rapidly in the event that he were to die or become unable to continuing serving in Congress. In a letter he sent to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (the only African American ever to hold the state’s highest office), Kennedy asks that the state modify its succession law, established in 2004, to allow a special election to fill any vacancy before the a five-month period. “It is vital for this commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election,” Kennedy writes. This would be particularly important should Kennedy be indisposed during an important vote on a health care reform bill, even though currently Democrats hold a filibuster-proof margin in the U.S. Senate. Kennedy’s aides told The Associated Press that there has been no appreciable decline in the senator’s health, despite the seeming urgency of the letter. The fact that Kennedy was absent from the funeral of his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, has also fueled speculation that the senator’s health could be failing.

Massachusetts is feeling the financial pain. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs as part of an effort to close a $1.4 billion gap that has appeared in the state budget as the economy falters. The governor, a Democrat who took office last year, said he expects to lower spending this fiscal year by about $1 billion through job eliminations and other savings, including cutting the annual contribution to the state pension by $100 million. He also proposed draining $200 million from the state’s $1.8 billion rainy-day fund, which will require legislative approval. “There are no easy choices here,” Patrick said at a press conference at the State House in Boston late yesterday. “Many worthy ideas and good people will be affected.”  At least 21 states and the District of Columbia face a combined $8.9 billion budget shortfall as income and sales taxes decline amid rising unemployment, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said in a Oct. 10 report. Fitch Ratings downgraded Rhode Island’s credit rating this week one step to AA-, blaming the economic slowdown and lower-than-expected revenue collection.

If you haven’t yet registered to vote or are thinking you might not get out and vote in November, the Rev. Al Sharpton has a few words of warning for you: “We’ll never have this opportunity again.” Sharpton, head of the Harlem-based National Action Network, has been fairly low-key during this political season, but as Election Day nears, he has ramped up his call for everyone wanting change to kick it back into gear. Get more of Sharpton’s words at BET.com/News. Click this link if you haven’t registered to vote.

Lincoln’s team hadn’t competed in almost 50 years. After a hiatus of nearly five decades, Lincoln University has athletes wearing helmets and jerseys again. The historically Black college that produced graduates such as Langston Hughes and Thurgood Marshall has a football team for the first time since 1960. Lincoln also boasts its first marching band, assembled to help rally spirit and support for the football squad. Known as the Lincoln Lions, the team will represent a legacy that includes 15,000 graduates and a 154-year history.

Massachusetts’ only Black senator loses her seat. Massachusetts only has one Black state senator … well, “had” one Black state senator. On Tuesday, in a shocking upset, Sen. Dianne Wilkerson lost her seat to challenger Sonia Chang-Diaz, by 1 percent of the vote, after 15 years in office. That translates into a measly 228 votes. “The margin is so thin. I could be coming to you and saying legitimately that we are not done and we are going to fight. Whatever happens tomorrow does happen,” she told supporters. Well it has happened. The Boston Herald reports that officials with Wilkerson’s camp said they had no intention of fighting the results. With so much at stake and with the outcome so tight, Wilkerson has no one to blame but herself for the loss. Wilkerson drew negative media after admitting mismanaging campaign funds, and she lost ground after failing to get enough signatures for the ballot and was forced to run a write-in campaign. The loss was even more pronounced because Wilkerson had the endorsements of such high-profile supporters as African-American Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.  “My fear is that people will think this district is for sale,” Wilkerson said, claiming she was outspent. “There has been so much money spent in this process. It has been unprecedented for us.”