February 14, 2019
VOL. 34, No. 07
Local and National in Brief •The NAACP announced this week that Congresswoman Maxine Waters will be honored with the prestigious NAACP Chairman’s Award which is bestowed in recognition of individuals who demonstrate exemplary public service and use their distinct platforms to create agents of change. •Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined with the court’s four liberal justices to temporarily block a Louisiana abortion regulation that was expected to close all but one or two of the abortion clinics in the state. The case has been seen as an early test of the new court’s willingness to follow precedents or make it easier for states to restrict abortion procedures. •Governor Newsom put the brakes on high speed rail. “Let’s level about high-speed rail. I have nothing but respect for Governor Brown’s and Governor Schwarzenegger’s ambitious vision. I share it. Right now, there simply isn’t a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to L.A. •Notorious drug trafficking Czar, El Chapo Guzman, was found guilty of multiple drug related charges and will likely spend the rest of his life in federal prison.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM
PULLS NATIONAL GUARD FROM BORDER Gov. Gavin Newsom recently ordered the removal of roughly 360 National Guard members from California’s southern boundary with Mexico, repudiating President Trump’s characterization of a recent influx of Central American refugees and migrants as a national security crisis. The announcement comes just one day before the governor delivers his first State of the State address Tuesday, setting the stage for Newsom to counter Trump’s State of the Union address from last week. In released excerpts of his speech, Newsom says he is giving the National Guard a new mission so that
California National Guard troops, part of Task Force Sierra in 2010, deployed at the border along with Border Patrol Agents in San Diego. Gov. Jerry Brown in September extended the state National Guard’s participation in President Trump’s border deployment by six months. (John Gibbins / Associated Press)
troops would not take part in the White House’s “political theater” and instead “refocus on the real threats facing our state.” The governor said he would sign a general order to redeploy the troops to support wildfire prevention efforts and expand operations to counter drugs and cartels across California, with a group of forces trained in spotting
narcotics to be stationed at the state’s international points of entry. “The Border ‘emergency’ is a manufactured crisis,” Newsom is expected to say Tuesday, according to prepared remarks provided by the governor’s office. “This is our answer to the White House: No more division, xenophobia or nativism.”
INGLEWOOD MOURNS THE LOSS OF
XAVIER WILLIAM PATTERSON Francis Taylor, Asst. Editor
Mayor James T. Butts adjourned this week’s City Council meeting in memory of Xavier William Patterson, the son of Niesan Elliott-Johnson and Luc-Richard Elie, whose short life ended by suicide a few days after spending an exceptionally pleasant day with his family during the prior weekend. Xavier was reared in Inglewood and participated in all of the sports programs at Darby and Rogers Park. He was an all-around athlete participating in football, basketball, track and tennis. He attended Kelso Elementary and La Tijera Middle School before transferring to North Hollywood High School to complete his high school studies. Xavier was an average student and, aside from occasional anger management issues, there had not been any indi2 cation that he was conJOIN US ON