Brown pays his dues; Wells leaves Herald

MOMMA KNOWS BEST One day in the Norfolk County House of Correction was apparently enough for singer Bobby Brown, who was sprung late yesterday after the court received a check for $63,500 in overdue child support and legal fees. But before the Roxbury native can return to Atlanta, where he's undoubtedly got some 'splaining to do to wife Whitney Houston, Brown is scheduled to appear this morning before probate judge Paula Carey in Canton. For a while yesterday it looked as if the troubled R&B star wasn't going anywhere. Around noon, according to a corrections official, two men showed up to retrieve Brown, but after a five-minute meeting with the singer, they left without him. The official said Brown's mother, Carol, had agreed to pay the money he owed former girlfriend (and mother of two of his children) Kim Ward, but she smartly demanded he sign an IOU for the dough. Brown declined. (Hey, it's his prerogative, right?) Then, just before 5 p.m., the jail got word that the money was paid -- by whom, they don't know -- and Brown was free to go. The media, including reps for "Access Hollywood," "Inside Edition," and that show hosted by venerable newsman Ryan Seacrest, were camped outside the Dedham jail. "We've had our fair share of high-profile detainees," said David Falcone, spokesman for the Norfolk County sheriff's office, referring to the late John Salvi and Dr. Dirk Greineder, the Wellesley allergist convicted in 2001 of murdering his wife. "But, I'll tell you, we haven't had a celebrity . . . like this."

THE PRESIDENTS HAVE ONE And now Academy Award-winning producer Michael Williams has one. His own day. Yesterday was "Michael Williams Day" in Haverhill. Mayor James J. Fiorentini turned over keys to the city to the native son during a ceremony to honor his film accomplishments. When we last saw Williams, he was clutching his Oscar backstage at the Academy Awards with documentarian Errol Morris and fellow producer Julie Bilson Ahlberg after their film, "The Fog of War" won an award. At city hall yesterday, Williams was again (still?) holding the Oscar as he accepted the proclamation. This time, however, he was flanked by his mom, Jeanne Cetlin, and father, Louis Williams. The mayor urged all citizens to "strive to emulate the successes of this model citizen of Haverhill." Williams, of Scout Productions, has had a very successful year. Scout is the same company that created "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," for which he is an executive producer.

ON THE MONEY They look remarkably like the real thing, but "Boggs Bills" are not legal tender. Nor are these creations by artist J.S.G. Boggs merely phony money. They're works of art displayed at the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the British Museum, and, now, Babson College. Today the school will unveil a massive new work by Boggs, called "All the World Is a Stage," for which Babson paid the artist $250,000. (A representation of a 20-pound British bank note, the 12- by 22-foot digital painting weighs more than 700 pounds.) "It's an abstraction, but money's interesting because it connects to everything -- philosophy, art, history, you name it," said Boggs, who's in town for the unveiling. The subject of an excellent book by New Yorker magazine writer Lawrence Weschler, Boggs has gotten into trouble making money. In 1986, he was briefly imprisoned in England for drawing UK currency, and the US Secret Service has raided his studio. "I draw my own money, and they don't like that," he said.

HELP WANTED The doors are swinging open at the Boston Herald again. Following the departures of editor Andrew Costello and managing editor Andrew Gully, the paper's investigative editor, Jonathan Wells, has decided to walk. Wells, 46, is leaving to become executive producer of Channel 25's investigative unit, called "Fox Undercover." A former producer at "60 Minutes," Wells said he's wanted to get back into TV, and "based on what's happening at the Herald, this seemed like a good time." What, exactly, is happening at the Herald? "It's going to a format that slots much shorter stories, with the emphasis on much quicker, easier reads and celebrity," Wells said. "Those aren't the kinds of things I like to do. No hard feelings."

Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.