20 Y EA RS
Your Community Connection since 1994
Including Inglewood Airport Area • Baldwin Hills • Crenshaw/LA • Ladera Heights VOL. 23, No. 19
May 8, 2014
Is Nigeria’s Acceptance of Help Too Little, Too Late?
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early 3 weeks since 200 school girls were abducted by Islamic extremists to be traded for sex trafficking, Nigerian officials have finally asked for help. The deafening silence has been the source of global outrage. A $300,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the capture of Boko Haram Islamists, responsible for the abductions. Boko Haram militants barged into the Chibok Government Girls Secondary School in Abuja, Nige-
• News • Community • Entertainment • Health • Real Estate • Business
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nglewood Unified School Administrator, Dr. Don Brann, announced April 29, he has laid off 44 nonteaching employees. In addition to the 44 classified employees, Brann has sent layoff notices to 60 teachers and 20 administrators, including eight principals and all of the assistant superintendents. The decision, which came during an emergency meeting, drew protests from dozens of union members,
ria, posing as soldiers, and waking the girls out of their sleep. They ordered the girls outside, took all the food and then set the room on fire. Abubakar Shekau, leader of the terrorist group, took responsibility for the kidnappings in an online video, and said he plans to sell the girls, as young as 9 years old, as sex slaves. There
On The Inside:
Inglewood Unified Lays Off 44 Nonteaching Employees
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has been at least one prior abduction 2 week before the one at the school, and another one on May 4. According to reports, 53 girls have escaped, but 276 are still missing. In a scenario that parallels President George W. Bush’s delay in sending help to Hurricane Katrina victims, (Continued on page 12)
Homeless to Howard By Thomas Bunn
y now, I’m sure most of the world knows who James Ward is, but for those of us who are a little late to his story, I’ll be delighted to share his inspiring narrative. James, his mother and two younger siblings had been LA transients for years, finding shelter with relatives, living out of their car, and eventually taking temporary (Continued on page 2)
James Ward
Inglewood Today Proudly Serving Inglewood for 20 Years
Dr. Don Brann who blew whistles and honked car horns outside the district office. The layoffs of nonteaching employees will affect classified union jobs, such as custodians, painters and security personnel. Brann, who became the second school administrator since the district was taken over by the state in 2012, came out of retirement to help steer the district away from financial insolvency. When he came on board in July 2013, nearly a third of its students had left, and its cam(Continued on page 2)
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