LAWT 01-12-2012 by LA WATTSTIMES

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L.A. Watts Times Vol. XXX, No. 1266

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

HOROSCOPES

Jan. 12 - 18

Inside This Edition

IBRA ~ If you know you’ve been focusing on your RIES ~ The Full Moon is an emotional time and right now, the current one is lighting up your Home and Lhome or personal life to the detriment of your working A Family Zone. On the one hand, this could mean that life, then it's time to find a balance between the two as the

Full Moon lights up your 10th House of Ambition. Not that there is anything at all wrong with looking after our home and family, or our partner, but right now the skies are suggesting that if your private life is taking up too much of your energy, then the balance needs to be redressed. CORPIO ~ We all need to attend to the mundane details of life but there is a point at which we have to cry STOP! and start to turn our minds to something just a little bigger and more fascinating. And your time to do that starts now. Sure, there are dozens of little jobs which need to be taken care off but you also need to find a balance, so that you get to play with some big ideas too, otherwise your brain might just atrophy! AGITTARIUS ~ It’s time to draw a line under something very intimate in your life. Maybe it’s about not having enough intimacy, maybe it’s about not having the sort you like, maybe it’s about not being honest with your partner, or it could just be about moving on from an old friend with benefits which you know is curtailing your chances of finding something real. APRICORN ~ There’s a Full Moon in your Love Zone which can mean one of several things. Firstly, if you and your partner are slowly but surely drifting away from each other, this Full Moon can be a sign that you're doing the right that at the right time and it could be the moment to let go so you can both discover new worlds. QUARIUS ~ The Full Moon is always a time of letting go and right now, the Full Moon in the skies is suggesting you need to let go of at least one thing in your daily life which is doing you no good. It may very well have to do with your health what in your life do you know has to go? Laziness? Smoking? Drinking? Arguing? Missing someone or something? Whatever the case, the Full Moon now brings you your annual chance to let go of something which isn't good for you and to not miss it much at all! It’s a very good opportunity and not to be wasted! ICES ~ Focusing on your friends and their needs is a wonderful thing. No one could ever criticize you for being too giving but the current Full Moon in your 5th House of Self-expression does suggest you need to hold a little something back for yourself. If you know you've been thinking about others a lot and instead need to focus a little more on you and your own needs to express yourself, then the Full Moon now is all the astrological excuse you need to be a little bit selfish and focus on yourself, also on your kids and any creative projects you have bubbling. Go on, you know you want to!

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January 15, 1929 Civil rights activist and leader, Martin Luther King Jr. is born. January 13, 1979 A commemorative stamp of Martin Luther King, Jr. is issued by the U.S. Postal Service as part of its Black Heritage USA commemorative series. The stamp of the slain civil rights leader is the second in the series.

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you’re going through a particularly emotional time on the home front, feeling a little anxious about someone in your family or about what to do re the person your live with, or perhaps you have decisions to make about where you’re going to live. For others, a family member is the focus. AURUS ~ The Full Moon taking place now is happening in your 3rd House (on your Solar Chart) which means you might find that you're a bit overly-emotional in some of your communications now. Don’t be afraid to speak emotionally but do try to do it in a way that people are going to want to hear, rather than risking putting them offside with too much passion! EMINI ~ Money comes in and money goes out and for most people almost certainly including you that’s pretty much the endless cycle. So try not to get over-worked up now as the Full Moon takes place in your 2nd House of Cash. There’s a chance you’re going to feel a bit emotional, but money is just energy and it responds to our thoughts! ANCER ~ The Full Moon taking place now is in your sign which is a massive message from the heavens coming live and direct to YOU that it’s time to make some changes, to move on from something, and to stay calm, even when life seems to be a roller coaster. If you know you’ve spent all your time recently thinking about someone else, making allowances and generally putting them first, then this Full Moon is also a heavenly reminder to you to look after yourself. EO ~ We all have deadlines to make and appointments to keep and so on agreed however be honest; have you been living your life focusing so much on all that, on getting where you need to go, taking care of business, that you've come a little bit adrift? Do you need to slow down, smell a few flowers and then have a think about life, where you’re going, what you’re doing and what you want for yourself? IRGO ~ What do you wish for, when you see a shooting star? Whatever that is, then you can make that dream come true now or else, if you know it’s never going to happen, now is a great time to move on from wanting something you don’t really believe you can have and to start wishing for something that's more likely to actually happen for you. If you could use some practical help with having a dream come true, the Full Moon now suggests you could find a friend who has what you need to help your wish manifest.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

At 75, Marion Barry Obama gives U.S. ability to gears up for send weapons to S. Sudan another campaign WASHINGTON (AP) — As HBO considers making a movie about Marion Barry with Eddie Murphy in the title role, the real Barry is doing something that comes naturally: running for reelection in the nation’s capital. Barry, the former four-term District of Columbia mayor whose legacy will always be tainted by his 1990 arrest after being caught on video smoking crack cocaine, now plays the role of elder statesman on the D.C. Council, where he represents a poor, predominantly Black ward. At 75, Barry walks stiffly and slowly, having survived prostate cancer, a kidney transplant and a gunshot wound when Hanafi Muslims attacked city hall in 1977. But the man once dubbed the city’s “Mayor for Life” says he has more influence than in more than a decade and fully intends to seek a third straight council term this year, even if the prospect makes some wince. He goes so far as to predict a winning margin of at least 70 percent in the April Democratic primary in Ward 8, the neighborhood east of the Anacostia River where he remains popular. “I have more White support than people say I do, but I don’t worry about that,” Barry said, referring to his ward. “That’s what frustrates some of these White people out here. They get frustrated, all worked up. They can’t do a damn thing to me or about me. Isn’t that funny?” While Barry is quick to dismiss his critics and boast that he’s won 10 of 11 election contests, there is one subject he won’t discuss: the possible Spike Lee film about Barry that could star Murphy. Barry's only comment on a project that could largely define his legacy for a younger generation came in the form of a Tweet addressed to Lee: “Please DM me.” “DM” stands for a direct message

that other users can’t see. And so it goes with Barry, the Mississippi native and former 1960s civil rights activist who is a walking embodiment of Washington’s complicated legacy of self-rule. He’s the most quotable and least politically correct of the 13 councilmembers, quick to call out his colleagues and unafraid to play the race card. During council hearings, he can seem distracted and disengaged — more interested in reminding people about his four terms as mayor than dealing with the issue at hand. But he remains a player in district government. While Barry initially supported former Mayor Adrian Fenty, he quickly turned on him, accusing him of ignoring Ward 8 to pursue projects in wealthier parts of the city. Barry is much closer, though, to Mayor Vincent Gray and Council Chairman Kwame Brown, who also hail from east of the Anacostia River, long a dividing line between the city’s haves and have-nots. Barry and Gray have known each other for three decades and worked together frequently. And Barry said he considers himself a mentor of sorts to Brown. Asked about his clout, Barry said: “I’ve got more now than I’ve had since 1995, before the control board came in.” Barry was referring to his fourth and final term as mayor, when Congress seized control of city government following years of poor fiscal stewardship, much of it under Barry. He stepped down after that term ended but staged a comeback in 2004, winning the Ward 8 council seat. He was reelected in 2008. Councilmember Jack Evans said Barry “has more opportunity to make his voice heard” with Gray in office. At least so far, that hasn’t translated into notable legislative accomplishments. See MARION BARRY, page 15

War through the eyes of children.

AP Photo/UNMISS, Isaac Billy

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has declared the government of South Sudan eligible to receive weapons and defense assistance from the U.S. President Barack Obama issued a memorandum Friday clearing the way. AWhite House official said the decision could potentially promote peace and regional stability in East Africa. The announcement came amid an outbreak of violence

between two South Sudanese tribes that may have left thousands dead and some 50,000 people needing aid. While the U.S. now has the ability to send weapons to South Sudan, the White House said no decision on doing so has been made. South Sudan gained its independent in July, becoming the world’s newest nation.

metro.net/expo

Watch for trains on Metro Expo Line tracks.

Test trains are now running in preparation for the upcoming opening of the Metro Expo Line, the newest extension of the Metro Rail system. Trains will be moving in both directions on the tracks.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File

FILE – Still fighting the good fight: Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry plans to seek a third straight council term. Barry currently plays the role of elder statesman on the D.C. Council, where he represents a poor, predominantly Black ward.

Please remember to: > Obey all tra;c signals and warning devices. > Be alert at all times. Watch for a “TRAIN” signal. > Always push the button and wait for a “WALK” signal before entering the crosswalk. Never jaywalk across the tracks. > Never sit or stand on tracks. > Do not go around lowered gates. > Never make a left turn on a red arrow. This tra;c rule will be enforced by cameras at intersections. > Right turns are allowed while an Expo Line train is passing through, but may be restricted at certain intersections.

For more safety tips, visit metro.net/ridesafely.

BY BEN NUCKOLS | AP

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Police to search landfill for missing Ariz. girl BY AMANDA LEE MYERS | AP PHOENIX (AP) — Police plan to begin searching a landfill outside of Phoenix in the next few weeks in hopes of finding the body of a 5-yearold Arizona girl who has been missing for months and is now believed dead, they announced Tuesday. Investigators in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale have been working with experts for weeks to determine the likelihood of finding the body of Jhessye Shockley at the landfill in Mobile, south of the Phoenix metro area. Sgt. Brent Coombs said Tuesday that investigators determined that a search operation is viable, although they have not set a date to begin the labor-intensive work that could take weeks. He said investigators will provide the public with daily updates once the search begins. When Jhessye’s mother, Jerice Hunter, reported the little girl missing on Oct. 11, an intensive search began as police and volunteers combed her neighborhood and found no sign of her or any evidence indicating what might have happened to her.

In the weeks that followed, information about Hunter’s past abuse of her children came to light and the investigation turned to her, with police saying she was the “No. 1 focus.” A phone call to Hunter’s home Tuesday rang unanswered. Hunter’s 13-year-old daughter, who had been removed from Hunter’s home with her other siblings Oct. 12, told police in November that she hadn't seen Jhessye since September. She told them that a few days before Hunter reported the girl missing, she saw Hunter cleaning her shoes and a closet where she kept Jhessye. Police said they found a receipt that showed Hunter bought food and a bottle of bleach Oct. 9. The teen also told police that Hunter deprived Jhessye of food and water while keeping her in the closet, and that she saw the girl with black eyes, bruises and cuts to her face and body. When she last saw Jhessye, the teen said that the girl's hair had been pulled out, that she didn't look alive, and that the closet where she was kept “looked like a grave and smelled like dead people.” Police arrested Hunter soon after on suspicion of child abuse related to

Jhessye. They released her from jail a day later and dropped the charge against her after prosecutors said they wanted further investigation and were worried that Hunter would not be eligible for a potential murder charge if she was convicted of abusing Shockley, a situation known as double jeopardy. Hunter has declined to submit to a lie-detector test by police but has told reporters that she had nothing to do with her daughter’s disappearance. She also has been critical of investigators, who she said were wrongly focused on her instead of looking for Jhessye. In October 2005, Hunter was arrested with her then-husband, George Shockley, on child abuse charges in California. Hunter pleaded no contest to corporal punishment and served about four years in prison before she was released on parole in May 2010. Shockley is a convicted sex offender and is still in a California prison. Hunter’s oldest child, 14 at the time, told police that his mother routinely beat the children. Hunter’s mother, Shirley Johnson, has said that her daughter changed after prison and became a loving mother.

AP Photo/Glendale Police Department, File

This undated file photo provided by the Glendale Police Department shows 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley. Authorities investigating the disappearance of the Arizona girl said Tuesday they plan to search a landfill south of metropolitan Phoenix in hopes of finding the girl’s body and other evidence.

Bloody clothes found as police seek missing S.C. boy BY MEG KINNARD | AP

being analyzed by state police. Also Tuesday, police said a $10,000 reward was being offered for information leading to the toddler’s return. Police also obtained surveillance video and records of Jennings’ computer See AMIR JENNINGS, page 13

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Police looking for a South Carolina toddler missing since Thanksgiving have found a shovel and what appear to be bloody clothes and blankets in his mother’s Columbia home and in her car, according to search warrants. Authorities went to the home of Zinah Jennings earlier this month after her stepfather told police he had seen her in the backyard with a shovel around the time Amir Jennings disappeared. Using a cadaver dog to search the house near downtown Columbia, investigators found a shovel. A dog was also used to search Jennings’ car, where investigators say they found blankets and clothes with stains AP Photo/Columbia S.C., Police Dept. that appear to be In this Nov. 25, 2011, photo provided by the Columbia blood. Investigators S.C., Police Dept., 18-month-old Amir Jennings is shown said the items were near Columbia, S.C.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Texas teen deported to Colombia reunites with mom BY JUAN CARLOS LLORCA AND LINDA STEWART BALL | AP DALLAS (AP) — A Texas teenager who was deported to Colombia in May after claiming to be an illegal immigrant was returned to the United States and remains at the center of an international mystery over how a minor could be sent to a country where she is not a citizen. Her family has questioned why U.S. officials didn’t do more to verify her identity and say she is not fluent in Spanish and had no ties to Colombia. While many facts of the case involving Jakadrien Lorece Turner remain unclear, U.S. and Colombian officials have pointed fingers over who is responsible. Jakadrien, 15, arrived in Dallas on Friday evening and was reunited with her family. She was flanked by her mother, grandmother and law enforcement when she emerged from the international gate at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport shortly before 10 p.m. “She’s happy to be home,” the family’s attorney, Ray Jackson, said, adding that the family would not be issuing any statements Friday night. He said the family was “ecstatic” to have Jakadrien back in Texas and they plan to “do what we can to make sure she gets back to a normal life.” Immigration experts say that while cases of mistaken identity are rare, people can slip through the cracks, especially if they don’t have legal help or family members working on their behalf. But they say U.S. immigration authorities had the responsibility to determine if a person is a citizen. “Often in these situations they have these group hearings where they tell everybody you’re going to be deported,” said Jacqueline Stevens, a political science professor at Northwestern University, who is an expert on immigration issues. “Everything is really quick, even if you understand English you wouldn’t understand what is going on. If she were in that situation as a 14year-old she would be herded through like cattle and not have a chance to talk to the judge about her situation.” Jakadrien’s saga began when the teen ran away more than a year ago. Jakadrien’s family said she left home in November 2010. Houston police said the girl was arrested on April 2, 2011, for misdemeanor theft in that city and claimed to be Tika Lanay Cortez, a Colombian woman born in 1990. It was unclear if she has been living under that name. Houston police said in a statement that her name was run through a database to determine if she was wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement but the results were negative. She was then turned over to the Harris County jail and booked on the theft charge. The county sheriff’s office said it ran her through the available databases and did the interviews necessary to establish her identity and immigration status in the country, with negative results. A sheriff’s office employee recommended that an immigration detainer be put on her, and upon her release from jail she was turned over to ICE. U.S. immigration officials insist they followed procedure and found nothing to indicate that the girl wasn’t a Colombian woman living illegally in the country. An ICE official said the teen claimed to be Cortez throughout the

criminal proceedings in Houston and the ensuing deportation process, in which an immigration judge ultimately ordered her back to Colombia. Standard procedure before any deportation is to coordinate with the other country in order to establish that person is from there, the ICE official said. The ICE official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to not being authorized to discuss additional details of the case, said the teenager was interviewed by a representative from the Colombian consulate and that country's government issued her a travel document to enter Colombia. Jakadrien was issued travel documents at the request of U.S. officials using information they provided, the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Colombian officials are investigating what kind of verification was conducted by its Houston consulate to issue the temporary passport. The girl was given Colombian citizenship upon arriving in that country, the ICE official said. According to the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the girl was enrolled in the country’s “Welcome Home” program after she arrived there. She was given shelter, psychological assistance and a job at a call center, a statement from the agency said. “If she looked like an adult, and she told them she was a 21-year-old Colombian citizen, and she didn’t show up in their databases, this was inevitable,” said Albert Armendariz, an immigration attorney from El Paso. Jakadrien’s family says they have no idea why she ended up in Colombia. Johnisa Turner said the girl is a U.S. citizen who was born in Dallas and was not fluent in Spanish. She said neither she nor the teen’s father had ties to Colombia. Jakadrien’s grandmother, Lorene Turner, called the deportation a “big mistake somebody made.” “She looks like a kid, she acts like a kid. How could they think she wasn’t a kid?” Lorene Turner asked on Thursday. Lorene Turner, a Dallas hairstylist, said she spent a lot of time on the Internet trying to track down Jakadrien. Ultimately, the girl was found in Bogota by the Dallas Police Department with help from Colombian and U.S. officials. Dallas Police detective C’mon (pronounced Simone) Wingo, the detective in charge of the case, said she was contacted in August by the girl’s grandmother, who said Jakadrien had posted “kind of disturbing” messages on a Facebook account where she goes by yet another name. Wingo said the girl was located in early November through her use of a computer to log into Facebook. Relatives were then put into contact with the U.S. embassy in Bogota to provide pictures and documents to prove Jakadrien’s identity. Colombian officials said when the government discovered she was a U.S. citizen and a minor, it put her under the care of a welfare program. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the case was brought to the State Department's attention in mid-December. “We didn't have any involvement at all in this case until it came to light that there may be a problem with an American minor in Colombia, and that — and then we became involved both See TEEN DEPORTED, page 15

AP Photo/Mike Fuentes

Jakadrien Turner, age 15, center, was mistakenly deported to Colombia after Immigration and Customs Enforcement say she claimed to be Colombian woman named Tika Lanay Cortez, 21. Turner had run away from her Dallas home in November 2010.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

Mayor: Detroit won’t run out of cash by April BY COREY WILLIAMS | AP DETROIT (AP) — Detroit is no longer at risk of running out of cash by April because cost-cutting and other measures are taking effect, Mayor Dave Bing said Thursday — but the city council president and others do not share Bing’s optimism. Bing presented a financial and operational restructuring plan update to the council Thursday afternoon. It highlights cost savings from 1,000 imminent layoffs, overdue payments from the Detroit Public Schools district and a corporate tax increase he says will mitigate a cash shortfall. The 18-month plan calls for $102 million in savings through June and $258 million over the 2013 fiscal year. Auditors had previously warned Detroit could run out of money as early as April. Bing said members of a state review team won’t uncover any financial issues in the city that his administration doesn’t know about when they meet with his staff in the coming weeks. A preliminary review last month determined there was “probable financial stress” in city government and that Detroit faces a general fund deficit of about $200 million. The review team is looking into Detroit’s finances — a step in a process that could lead to Michigan taking over the city’s government. “Do we have financial stress? Damn right we do. We’ve had it since day one,” Bing said. The review team’s recommendations will be forwarded to Gov. Rick Snyder. City officials have said they want to avoid the need for a stateappointed emergency manager. City Council President Pro-Tem Gary Brown said he was not as hopeful about the plan as Bing. In the past, including the previous two years under Bing, city budget officials have repeatedly overestimated the revenue coming in to the city treasury, Brown told Bing and mayoral aides. “It (revenue) just didn’t show up as projected,” Brown said. “And we don’t have a system in place in city government to react.” In particular, Brown said he has reservations about projected savings from reduced overtime, work rule changes and a reorganization of the municipal bus system’s management. City labor union leaders have been collaborating with the council and Bing to convince the state that an

AP Photo/Detroit News, David Coates

Reason for optimism?: Cheryl Johnson, left, Kirk Lewis, second from left, Mayor Dave Bing, second from right, and Chris Brown discuss a financial and operational restructuring plan Thursday in Detroit. emergency manager is not necessary. Changes to union contracts and the pension system still are needed to eliminate the city’s long-term structural financial problems. Bing and union leadership are negotiating medical benefits concessions that can save the city $15 million through June and changes to pensions that would bring about $25 million in savings in the 2013 fiscal year. Bing has said he’ll cut 1,000 jobs early this year to save about $14 million. “A large percentage of the city’s budget is tied up in labor contracts in terms of hourly wages, health care and retirement issues,” said Mike Boudreau, director of Bloomfield Hills-based O’Keefe and Associates financial turnaround consultants. “There’s no way around that, but I think it’s unfair to put it totally on (the unions). I think the pain needs to be spread around.” While Bing’s plan focuses on the next 18 months, Detroit’s structural issues also need to be addressed, Boudreau added. “I think he’s headed in the right direction, but I think it’s missing the mark,” Boudreau said. “They’ve come forward with plans before that didn’t materialize.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton comes to town! WATTS STAFF REPORT Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and the Empowerment Congress invite you to the 20th Annual Summit, which takes place Sat., Jan. 14, on the AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file USC campus in Bovard Auditorium. Whether MSNBC will hire the Rev. Al The keynote speaker will be Sharpton in light of questions about his MSNBC host of “Politics Nation,” the role as a booster for the cable chanSee SHARPTON, page 15 nel’s parent company is undecided.

C.T. Vivian returns to struggle to help guide SCLC BY ERRIN HAINES | AP ATLANTA (AP) — At age 87, civil rights veteran C.T. Vivian could have easily retired from the struggle for justice and equality, but instead he is the new vice president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. As the venerable civil rights organization emerges from years of turmoil over its management and finances, Vivian’s return to the leadership lends SCLC a renewed credibility and a tangible link to what can seem like a bygone period. “It just feels good to know that the organization that really changed America in the last half of the 20th century is, in fact, going to be back in full operation,” Vivian said. “That’s why I come back as vice president. You’re only worthy of what you’re willing to continue to do.” A veteran of more than six decades in the civil rights struggle, Vivian joined in his first sit-in demonstrations in the 1940s in Peoria, Ill., long before the movement became front-page news. He met the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. soon after King’s victory in the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and became an active member of the fledgling Southern Christian Leadership Conference — which King co-founded — just a few years later. Now, at an age when many of his contemporaries are long retired or long gone, Vivian is still working in the struggle for justice and equality for African-Americans. He said the movement for civil rights isn’t just something that happened years ago — it's something for the younger generation to con-

tinue today. “Most people think of Martin King as history ... it was something past, not something you can use today,” Vivian explained. “Young people always want to know, ‘What was it like?’ All of us wish Martin was here. We did it. We were involved.” The minister, author and activist says he wants SCLC’s attention again focused on the nonviolent direct action, to address the lingering plagues of war, poverty and racism that King fought against at

SCLC’s height. Ambassador Andrew Young, who also worked alongside King in SCLC, said Vivian’s appointment could not be more appropriate. “He has always been one of the people who had the most insight, wisdom, integrity and dedication,” said Young, who turns 80 in March. “The amazing thing is that C.T.’s still got the energy and vitality and the clarity of thought to be a big help. It’s the best thing that’s happened to SCLC since I left.” See C.T. VIVIAN, page 15

AP Photo/David Goldman

Under new management: C.T. Vivian has been named the new vice president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Vivian, a close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will be taking over the famed civil rights group co-founded by King, which has been mired in turmoil over its management and finances in recent years.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Grammys denies Black press credentials ... AGAIN The inference here is that Black folks can entertain (sing and dance) but they are not allowed to report BY BRANDON BROOKS, SENTINEL ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR

For the last 53 years, the Grammys have been the premier awards show celebrating the outstanding achievements and performances of people in the music industry in Los Angeles, where entertainment is the No. 1 industry. For most of those years, African Americans have figured prominently in both the nominations and in the win column. So when Los Angeles’ largest, most revered African American-owned and operated newspaper — a weekly publication that shines a spotlight on issues of interest to its 150,000 primarily Black readership — received the invitation to apply for Grammy credentials this year, it should have been a shoo-in to cover the industry that not only defines Los Angeles but also defines the music industry. And yet, this, the standard “Credential Request Decline Letter”: “The Recording Academy regrets that we are unable to accommodate your media request to cover the 54th Annual GRAMMY(r) Awards on

Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in Los Angeles. “Due to extremely limited space within the Media Center and Arrivals, we were only able to credential a small fraction of the hundreds of media outlets that applied ...” “Your understanding is very much appreciated ...” That made it official: For now, the second year in a row (yes, we were rejected last year too), the Recording Academy and Rogers & Cowan has denied the request of The Los Angeles Sentinel to cover the music industry’s main event (and even the pre-awards ceremony) — the 54th Grammys — the awards presentation to be held on Sun., Feb. 12. While we understand that hundreds of media outlets must be denied credentials “because of limited space,” it defies incredulity that our publication would be among those. Why? There are many reasons we say that; here are just two: 1. In virtually every major Grammy nomination category, there is at least one, and many times, two African American nominees.

2. Traditionally, a great number of Grammy-nominated artists have significant ties to the local African American community, because they live here, they record here, they have close family relatives who live here — and/or they read our paper. Among those are two of the five of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award honorees: Diana Ross and Gil Scott-Heron. Thus, given the sheer number of African Americans who are nominated, who perform at the Grammys, who work at the Grammy awards show and/or who cheer for the Grammy nominees during their arrival on the red carpet, African Americans in Los Angeles have a vested interest in coverage from their community newspaper. That is not to say that other media outlets cannot adequately cover the events. But it does mean that they are not necessarily equipped to adequately describe the cultural nuances of the Grammy show like that of the local newspaper that is dedicated to, and more capable of, examining how events, broader issues and trends affect the lives of African Americans. Events like the annual Grammy

Locked out of the Grammys awards deserve coverage by a representative sampling of all media — including one from a decidedly African American point of view. No doubt the Los Angeles Times and Billboard will be there. But so should the Los Angeles Sentinel. Finally, by press time, the Sentinel had spoken to a representative of the Recording Academy by phone, and after a brief conversation, she answered the question as to whether or not the Sentinel, the number one Black newspaper on the West Coast, will be able to report the 2012 Grammy Awards directly to its readers. The Recording Academy’s answer was a resounding “NO.” Statement of Danny Bakewell, Sr.,

Executive Publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel and L.A. Watts Times newspapers: In light of the Recording Academy’s negative response, meetings are being held with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), NAACP, Brotherhood Crusade, Mothers in Action, SCLC and other community activists who have voiced outrage at the Academy’s disrespect of the Black press of America. Plans are being made to bring this matter to national attention because we believe artists, civic leaders and civil rights leaders around the country will be outraged that the Academy is practicing blatant discrimination against the Black press. See GRAMMYS, page 11

F E AT U R E

Thursday, January 12, 2012

By Rev. Eric P. Lee Special to the Watts Times

L.A. Watts Times WEEKENDER

As we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and reflect upon the historical Civil Rights Movement that produced the most dynamic social change to the American ideological structure that at one time promoted legal discrimination, we must also reevaluate whether Dr. King would welcome this celebration if he were alive. Forty-four years after Dr. King’s assassination, Black Americans are experiencing the same (if not worse) social, economic and political disparities that we faced when Dr. King led the fight for equality. Black Americans are at the bottom of every social economic indicator compared to all other ethnic groups, including the immigrant populations. The saying, “last hired, first fired” holds true today with an unemployment rate for Black males twice that of white males. The academic achievement gap that prompted the 1954 Brown Vs Board of Education Supreme Court decision eliminating segregated schools is larger today than it was over five decades ago. The disparities in health care and aơordable housing continue to create an ever-widening gap in the quality of life that Dr. King envisioned in our collective march towards justice, freedom and equality. The Civil Rights Movement, which consists of the

the oơspring of racism, continued to exist and be practiced even after the passage of the Voters Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. The passage of these historically signiﬁcant Legislative Acts signaled the dawn of a new social era in American society…and this we must celebrate. But, we’ve been celebrating this victory since 1964 and if Dr. King were alive today and Black Americans were suơering from the same social ills as we were 48 years ago, Dr. King would not join in this celebration. If Dr. King were alive today, he would admit that the goal of the Civil Rights Movement should not have been integration. The goal of the Civil Rights Movement has always been equitable access to the social, economic and political industries that would empower Black self-determination. Integration was presumed to accomplish equitable access and should have only been considered a marker on the journey to equitable access. The reality is that we were already integrated, but without access to power and resources. American mainstream society has co-opted and romanticized the Civil Rights Movement to interrupt Black progress toward the goal of equal opportunity, equal access and equal representation. Every year the airwaves are ﬁlled with iconic sayings and speeches of Dr. King that “dream” of an equal society. NEVER do we hear the speeches of Dr. King that

Freedom Movement (1930’s – 1960’s) and the Black Power Movement (1960’s – 1970’s) eơectively accomplished a change in American legislative policy and created a legal framework to correct and penalize acts of individual and corporate discrimination. However, as Dr. King once intimated, even though you can enact legislation prohibiting discrimination, you cannot legislate a person’s heart. Consequently discrimination,

advocate for Black’s to deposit their money into Black owned banks and insurance companies. NEVER do we hear of the speeches of Dr. King that suggest we educate our own children. NEVER do we hear of the speeches of Dr. King that encourages us to support Black owned businesses. The messages that American mainstream society has promoted are designed to keep Black American’s dreaming about equality

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

ABOVE LEFT: The late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is shown in this Oct. 24, 1966 file photo. King would celebrate his 83rd birthday Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012.(AP Photo) ABOVE RIGHT: Civil rights leader Martin Luther King addresses students at Sacramento State College on Oct. 16, 1967. King told the students that the Vietnam War was unjust because it works against the drive for African American equality. He maintained that fighting a war thousands of miles away takes money from the domestic war on poverty. (AP Photo/Walter Zeboski) BELOW LEFT: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is welcomed with a kiss by his wife Coretta after leaving court in Montgomery, Ala., March 22, 1956. King was found guilty of conspiracy to boycott city buses in a campaign to desegregate the bus system, but a judge suspended his $500 fine pending appeal. (AP Photo/ Gene Herrick) BELOW RIGHT: Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., is pictured at an integration rally in Montgomery, Ala., May 21, 1961. (AP Photo/Horace Cort)

that will never come unless we demand it through our own eơorts. If Dr. King were alive today, he would suggest a strategy that would change the economic, educational, health and political industries from the inside-out. Recognizing that legislative policy is only designed to react to acts of discrimination when discovered or reported, King would inspire those socially conscious

professionals in the labor unions, public schools, hospitals and elected oƥces to become activists for justice and equality from within their respective industries. The moral mandate for justice has already been established; the history and tradition of the civil rights movement is evidence of our ability to change society; the current social-economic indicators of Black Americans is justiﬁcation for this continued ﬁght for justice.

We need Dr. King to be alive today…but in our hearts, our souls and our minds. We must not allow his legacy to end with a celebration of his birth or his martyrdom, but with the equitable access to quality education, aơordable housing and healthcare, and equal employment opportunities. It is only then that we can truly celebrate the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

‘House of Lies’ brings comedy to corporate greed says Bell. Based on Martin Kihn’s 2005 book, “House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time,” the Showtime series pokes a sharp finger at the perversion inside the world of big incomes and big expense accounts — and adds a

BY SANDY COHEN | AP LOS ANGELES (AP) — From Enron’s collapse to the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, corporate greed has plunged the U.S. into recession, toppled overseas economies and inspired the worldwide Occupy Wall Street movement. But that doesn’t

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Lead character Marty Kaan: Actor Don Cheadle, Mr. Kaan, the protagonist and chief manipulator in “House of Lies.” The new series premiered Sunday at 10 p.m. EST. heavy dose of sex. “The whole sexual side of it, that’s all spiced up,” the author says. “The real life of a consultant is extremely dull.” Cheadle’s character, Marty Kaan, is the protagonist and chief manipulator in “House of Lies.” Impeccably dressed and fluent in nonsense business jargon, Marty is a smooth talker who’s happy to take advantage of the corporate bigwigs he's been hired to counsel. He leads a team of consultants — played by

mean we can’t laugh at it. “House of Lies,” a new dark comedy that premiered Sunday on Showtime, takes direct aim at the one percent. Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell star as management consultants who visit struggling companies around the country to provide dubious but expensive advice, all the while having a good time on the company dime. Their ultimate goal isn't to improve the client’s image or bottom line but to boost their own. “It is manipulation at its finest,”

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Bell, Josh Lawson and Ben Schwartz — who complement and emulate his slippery techniques. It’s a departure for Cheadle in both character and venue. The 47year-old Oscar nominee (for 2004’s “Hotel Rwanda”) is known mostly as a movie star, with credits including “Crash,” “Iron Man 2” and the “Ocean’s Eleven” series. He says he was drawn to the small screen as both star and executive producer by the “House of Lies” concept and “how insane this character was.” “I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of different experiences in my quoteunquote career with the kinds of characters I get to play,” Cheadle says. “But, I guess, nobody quite like him yet.” “Marty Kaan is kind of a bad dude,” says show creator Matthew Carnahan. “He’s not a great guy,” and that’s why it’s so delicious to have Cheadle play him. “He’s got such a squeaky clean humanitarian image,” Carnahan says. “You put him in this part, and I just think there’s a lot you can get away with.” Marty has sex with several women each episode. “They have a point system for how many hotel workers they sleep with while on the road,” says executive producer Jessica Borsiczky. Bell’s character, Jeannie, is also a departure from the sweeter roles she’s played on TV and in film. “I don’t think I’ve ever played anyone as layered as Jeannie before — or as duplicitous,” Bell says. Marty and his team bring their pricey advice to a mortgage bank, a basketball team owned by a divorcing couple, a pharmaceutical company and a megachurch — all while being threatened by a potential corporate merger. A recent shoot hints at the wealth and excess central to the show: In a swanky room at downtown LA’s historic Biltmore Hotel, Cheadle, Bell and the rest of the cast wear designer clothes and sip designer cocktails as their characters discuss multimillion-dollar mergers that most benefit the men at the top. “Ultimately, it explores everything that’s messed up about American capitalism in the 21st century in a very funny way,” says Showtime’s President of Entertainment, David Nevins. Early episodes show Marty and crew coming out on top with few consequences, but Cheadle and the producers promise the characters get their due. “It does feel cathartic on some level,” Carnahan says. “Even though we happen to be working, the pervasive sense of economic woe and gloom that our country is under the cloud of right now, it’s a great kind of gestalt experience for all of us to be able to waggle a finger at it and make fun of the people who are taking our jobs and our money.”

Etta James released from hospital, manager says LOS ANGELES (AP) — Etta James' longtime friend and manager says the singer has been released from a Southern California hospital and is back at home with her family. Lupe De Leon says James was released Thursday afternoon, just a few days after the terminally ill singer’s condition improved enough for her to be removed from a breathing machine. The “At Last” singer had been hospitalized since before Christmas after she experienced difficulty breathing. James has been diagnosed with terminal leukemia, and she is also suffering from dementia. She has been receiving mostly at-home care. De Leon says James, who lives east of Los Angeles in Riverside County, is stable AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File and is with her husband and A true soul survivor: Etta James. other family members.

‘SVU’ actress speaks as victim of real-life theft BY JENNIFER PELTZ | ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK (AP) — “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” actress Tamara Tunie spoke out Tuesday about being a real-life crime victim, saying her former business manager exploited her trust to steal more than $1 million she earned by working doggedly at a peak in her career. Blasting Joseph Cilibrasi as a “menace to society” as he was sentenced to 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 years in prison, Tunie said he insinuated himself into her life by joining in birthday parties, weddings and other family events, only to use that closeness to embezzle from her and leave a lasting hole in her family’s finances. “Show business is fickle, and though I have been blessed with a healthy career, who knows how long that will last?” Tunie told a Manhattan court. “As an African-American woman, roles are few and far between, and I cannot reasonably hope to replace what was stolen.” Cilibrasi, 51, pleaded guilty in the fall to stealing from Tunie and other clients, including screenwriter Janet Roach and Kansas City Symphony music director Michael Stern. Cilibrasi used some of the stolen cash to finance his own forays into entertainment, including investing in movies and Broadway shows and hiring a screenwriter to pen a script about a historic building, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said. Cilibrasi didn’t speak at his sentencing. His lawyer, Gerald Shargel, said Cilibrasi has accepted responsibility and expressed remorse. In pleading guilty in November to grand larceny and other charges, Cilibrasi admitted he stole more than $1.4 million from Tunie by writing checks to himself from her accounts without her permission and by secretly opening a credit card account in her name, then AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file getting his own card on the Art imitating life: Actress Tamara Tunie, who account by falsely listing stars in “Law and Order: SVU,” spoke out himself as her husband. Tuesday about being a real-life crime victim, See TAMARA TUNIE, saying her former business manager stole page 12 from her at a peak in her career.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Mekhi Phifer tries to get used to Broadway screams BY MARK KENNEDY | AP NEW YORK (AP) — Mekhi Phifer is not used to being shouted at, but it's part of his Broadway debut. The 37-year-old actor, best known for the TV series “ER” and the film “8 Mile,” is discovering that audiences aren’t silent while watching him in “Stick Fly,” Lydia R. Diamond’s complex drama about a Black family. “People are spirited when they see this play,” he says, laughing. Both White and Black audience members in the Cort Theatre are known to burst out with spontaneous advice for the actors or to otherwise clearly telegraph their reaction to dramatic situations. “I had to get used to that,” he says. “It’s not very typical for Broadway — at least the Broadway plays that I’ve seen.” Phifer plays Flip LeVay, a successful plastic surgeon and ladies’ man who attended Exeter and Harvard. Sparks fly when he and his younger brother bring their respective girlfriends — one Black, one White — to meet their parents at their lavish summer getaway on Martha’s Vineyard. Phifer, whose acting career began when he won the lead in director Spike

Lee’s “Clockers,” is not what you’d call a stage veteran. In fact, “Stick Fly” marks his professional stage debut. But Phifer is hardly intimidated. “Just being there live in front of an audience has been a very exhilarating feeling,” he says. “It’s definitely a different machine but I’m having a lot of fun because there are new things I learn every night.” Produced by musician Alicia Keys, the play offers the New York-raised Phifer a great way to get his theater feet wet. He’s close to his roots, can learn from the ensemble and doesn’t have to dance. “This was actually the perfect piece. It just had the right amount of energy, the right amount of intrigue, the right amount of edginess,” he says. “It didn’t feel like a typical Broadway play.” That’s because Phifer, who has played his share of streetwise tough guys, gets to play an educated rich man whose secrets unspool slowly over the course of the performance. He says he likes the opportunity to move past race and explore humanity. “There’s no question that I’m African-American. OK? I’m a Black man. We’re not going to escape that. But I love being able to get past that and, as

AP Photo/Charles Sykes, file

From left, Rosie Benton, Mekhi Phifer and Tracie Thoms appear at the curtain call for the opening night performance of the Broadway play “Stick Fly”, in New York. It’s the actors first time on Broadway. the play goes on, you’re just watching people,” he says. “That’s one of the main things that drew me towards this role and this play — it could be anyone.” Phifer is the theater newbie in an accomplished cast that includes Emmy Award nominee Dule Hill (“Psych,” “The West Wing”); Tracie Thoms (“Rent” and “Cold Case”); Tony Award-

winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (“Lackawanna Blues” and “Castle”); Rosie Benton (“Les Liaisons Dangereuses”); and Condola Rashad (“Ruined”). Rashad is the daughter of Phylicia Rashad and Ahmad Rashad. So tight is the cast that they’ve come up with their own lyrics to the original music Keys has written for spots

between the play’s scenes. The rest of the time, they warm up together, eat communally and go out for drinks as a group afterward. “It’s always a pleasure when you get to work with people that you actually really like,” Phifer says. “We hang out when we’re at the theater. We sit in the hallways See MEKHI PHIFER, page 15

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrible

As a Musicares Person of the Year honoree, Aretha Franklin poses with Neil Portnow, MusiCares Foundation’s president in 2008. (He’s also president of the Recording Academy.) As one who has worked closely with Black musicians for years, Portnow should know how vital the Black press is to the success of the Grammy awards show.

GRAMMYS Continued from page 7 As this is all going on during the celebration of Dr. King’s life, it represents that we still have a long way to go in our fight for respect and equality. Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, has been working closely with Black musicians for years. He more than others should know how vital the Black press is to the success of the Grammy awards show and its promotion. It is only fitting that an organization such as the Sentinel be there to support and report the breadth of Grammy events because in the so-called “mainstream media,” many times Black artists’ names get glossed over, resulting in little more than a blurb.

The Sentinel exists to give a unique perspective and to shed a light on issues that other outlets just might not write about for whatever reason. As Executive Publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel and L.A. Watts Times Newspapers, I am outraged about the Recording Academy’s failure to include the Black press of America. … We have been the backbone of this community for years, and we aren’t going anywhere. … The awards show is being held in our backyard, being that it is held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The Black press will be included no matter what it takes — or you better believe you will see some of your top Black musicians boycotting along with major Black organizations.

´ FILM UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA AWORKINGTITLE PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH BLUEEYES/LEVEMUSIRAGE/CLOSE ST TO THE HOLEEXECUTIPRODUCTI ONS A BALTASAR KORMAKUR VE C MARK WAHLBERG KATE BECKINSALE “CONTRABAND” BEN FOSTER GIOVANNI RIBISI CALEB LANDRY JONES AND BASEDJ.K.SIUPONMMONS BY CLINTON SHORTER PRODUCERS LIZA CHASIN EVAN HAYES BILL JOHNSON THE FILM PRODUCED ´ JONASSON ´ SCREENPLAYBY AARON GUZIKOWSKI ´ BY TIM BEVAN ERIC FELLNER BALTASAR KORMAKUR STEPHEN LEVINSON MARK WAHLBERG “REYKJAVIK-ROTTERDAM” WRITTEN BY ARNALDUR INDRI-DASON AND OSKAR DIRECTED ´ A UNIVERSAL RELEASE BY BALTASAR KORMAKUR SOUNDTRACK ON BACK LOT MUSIC

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AP source: Heisman Trophy winner RG3 is going pro

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Obama hails Dallas Mavericks for first NBA title BY MARK S. SMITH | AP

Baylor’s best: College quarterback Robert Griffin III has decided to enter the NFL draft, says a person familiar with the decision.

AP Photo/Sharon Ellman, File

BY STEPHEN HAWKINS | AP Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III has decided to enter the NFL draft. The exciting dual-threat quarterback is bypassing his senior season at Baylor and is projected to be one of the top picks in April. The news came Tuesday, exactly a month after Griffin became the first Baylor player to win college football’s highest individual honor. ESPN, citing an anonymous family source, first reported that Griffin was going pro and was in the final stages of picking an agent. A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that Griffin opted to declare for the draft. The person spoke Tuesday night on condition of anonymity because the quarterback had not yet made an official announcement. Baylor officials had indicated this week the possibility of a news conference on campus as early as Wednesday. There was still nothing officially scheduled Tuesday night. Griffin set or tied 54 school records while playing 41 games at Baylor, and is the school’s career passing leader. He completed 800 of 1,192 passes (67 percent) for 10,366 yards with 78 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. His 2,254 yards and 33 TDs rushing are records for a Bears quarterback. He completed 291 of 402 passes (72 percent) for 4,293 yards and 37 TDs with only six interceptions this season, when he also ran for 699 yards and 10 more touchdowns. He was the nation's second-most efficient passer with a 189.48 rating, just behind Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson, whose 191.78 rating came with 93 fewer pass attempts. The Bears matched a school record with 10 wins and closed the season with a six-game winning streak, including a record-breaking 67-56 victory over Washington in the Alamo Bowl for their first bowl victory since 1992. They were 13th in The Associated Press Top 25 released Tuesday, the first time they were ranked in the final poll since 1986. Griffin played this season as a fourth-year junior. He had another sea-

son of eligibility remaining at Baylor because he got a medical redshirt after he tore the ACL in his right knee in the third game of the 2009 season. During an interview with the AP last month, Griffin said he wouldn’t be facing a decision on whether to stay for another season had he not gotten hurt two years ago. “If I come back, people would be like why. If I leave, people at Baylor will be like why,” Griffin said then. “So it’s a tough decision.” But Griffin’s draft stock rose dramatically this season, especially during the Bears’ last six wins. Griffin and Stanford’s Andrew Luck, the Heisman runner-up, are likely to be the first two quarterbacks selected. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft is Sunday. Baylor swept their four November games, including overcoming its biggest fourth-quarter deficit ever with Griffin throwing three TDs before winning in overtime at Kansas. The Bears also beat Oklahoma for the first time, when Griffin threw for 479 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winner with 8 seconds left that came right after the Sooners had overcome a two-TD deficit to tie the game in the final minute. Griffin has repeatedly said that his NFL decision wouldn’t be about money or draft status. He also said it wouldn’t be about trying to win another Heisman Trophy. “If it’s time for me to go, then it’s time for me to go,” he said the week after the Oklahoma game. “I’m definitely proud to be part of what’s going on here at Baylor.” Before going 4-0 in November, Baylor had combined to win only four Big 12 games in November the previous 15 seasons combined. The Bears had never had a winning season in the Big 12 until 2010, in Griffin’s return from the knee injury, when they also ended a 16-year bowl drought with a Texas Bowl appearance. Griffin arrived at Waco as a 17-yearold freshman in January 2008 after graduating from high school a semester early. He completed an undergraduate degree in political science in December 2010 and has been working on master’s degree in communications.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama saluted Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks on Monday as NBA champions who staged a season-ending charge to beat LeBron James and the vaunted Miami Heat and claim their first title with a “heart that’s the size of Texas.” “This was a remarkable run, a great victory,” Obama declared, as owner Mark Cuban and Mavericks stars, including series MVP Nowitzki, looked on. “It’s too bad that next year, it'll be the Chicago Bulls here.” The first basketball fan — a passionate supporter of his hometown Bulls — was nonetheless lavish in praising the Mavericks, who beat the Heat in six games last June. “They know how good teams win,” Obama said. “Not just by jumping higher or running faster, but by finding the open man, working together, staying mentally tough, being supportive of each other, playing smarter.”

AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari

President Barack Obama accepts a team basketball jersey from Dallas Mavericks captain Dirk Nowitzki on Monday in the East Room of the White House in Washington during a ceremony honoring the 2011 NBA basketball champions Dallas Mavericks.

AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari

President Barack Obama poses with the 2011 NBA basketball champions Dallas Mavericks on Monday during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Team owner Mark Cuban is at right.

TAMARA TUNIE Continued from page 10 The thefts came between 2000 and 2009, years Tunie described as a career high. Best known for playing medical examiner Melinda Warner for more than a decade on NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU,” Tunie also has appeared in Fox’s “24” and other series in such films as 1997’s “The Peacemaker,” starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. Tunie told the court that she often worked three jobs at once, and that she supports her 77-year-old mother and helps nieces and nephews pay for college. In cultivating his clients as friends, Cilibrasi “preys on people who believe they know him, who count on him for his expertise” and rely on his professional ethics, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Peirce R. Moser told the court. Cilibrasi acknowledged in his guilty plea that he stole $75,000 from Stern by pocketing checks he told Stern to write to cover some federal and Missouri state taxes. Stern was hit with tax penalties because the money never got to authorities, Cilibrasi said.

Cilibrasi also acknowledged opening a credit-card account in the name of another client, screenwriter Janet Roach. Her credits include 1985’s “Prizzi's Honor,” starring Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner. Stern said in a letter to the court that he’d endured years of tax trouble because of Cilibrasi, whom he’d trusted as a friend but now considers “a con man through and through and a born liar.” Roach said in a November phone interview she was saddened that Cilibrasi “brought this upon himself” but was glad the matter was resolved. Cilibrasi used some of the proceeds of his crimes to back such shows as “Legally Blonde: The Musical” and the Tony Award-winning “Spring Awakening,” and films including the Tunie-directed “See You In September,” prosecutors said when the case was unveiled in 2010. Prosecutors said Cilibrasi also used some of the ill-gotten cash to vacation in Italy, Puerto Rico and Los Angeles, and to hire a writer for a script about Bannerman Castle, an elaborate building on an island in the Hudson River.

He said that’s how Dallas “took down some of the league’s best teams ... including the Miami Heat, who got a little bit of attention last year.” The victory was sweet revenge for Dallas after it blew an NBA finals lead to the Heat five years earlier. It also upended the hope of Heat superstars James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for a championship in their first year playing together. Monday’s ceremony reflected both the league’s current, lockoutshortened season and the determination of the colorful Cuban to make it happen. Typically, White House visits take place when a championship team plays in Washington. With such a short season, the Mavericks aren't here this year. Cuban insisted on the ceremony anyhow. “It’s tough to say no to Mark Cuban,” Obama said, to knowing laughter from his players. Obama singled out the Germanborn Nowitzki, noting he played in the finals despite a painful finger injury and fever. “Clearly Dirk is a tough guy, although the most painful thing may have been his rendition of ‘We Are the Champions’ during the victory celebrations,” the president said. Mavericks guard Delonte West did not attend the event in the East Room, even though the Secret Service said he had been cleared along with his teammates. West pleaded guilty to weapons possession charges after a September 2009 traffic stop in suburban Maryland. He told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he was “banned” from the White House on Monday because of the weapons charges, but Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said in fact West could have taken part. A team spokeswoman, Sarah Melton, also said West was not banned from the White House ceremony but declined to comment on why he didn’t attend. West was not a member of the championship squad but joined the Mavericks prior to this season. Associated Press Writer Julie Pace in Washington and Schuyler Dixon in Dallas contributed to this report.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Oakland Raiders fire first-year coach Hue Jackson BY JOSH DUBOW | AP ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Reggie McKenzie made clear on his first day as Raiders general manager that there's a new regime in Oakland. Soon after officially signing his contract to be the first general manager since longtime owner Al Davis’ death, McKenzie fired coach Hue Jackson in a bold first move as he looks to give the organization a fresh start. “There comes a time when change is necessary,” McKenzie said Tuesday. “For the Raiders the time is now. The Raiders organization, with respect and deference for all its tradition and history, is about to embark on a new era.” The era will begin without Jackson, who was fired after going 8-8 in his first season as head coach. McKenzie wanted to bring in his “own guy” to rebuild the organization. Finding that coach will be the first major task for McKenzie, who also must bulk up the personnel department and evaluate the roster in what promises to be a busy offseason. Owner Mark Davis said McKenzie will decide on the new coach and the personnel decisions, with the coach ultimately reporting to the general manager. That’s a major change from how the organization was run before Davis’ father, Al, died of heart failure on Oct. 8. Al Davis made all the major decisions when he was in charge of the team, with many of those now falling to McKenzie as Mark Davis focuses on finding a new stadium and other off-field issues. “Change happened on October 8th,” Davis said. “The one thing I know is what I don’t know. The one thing I did know was I needed to bring the right people in here. ... My feeling always has been that if my father wasn’t here we needed someone to run that football side of the building. I needed to find the right person. I truly believe that Reggie McKenzie is the right man for this job.” McKenzie had spent the past 18 years in the front office of the Green Bay Packers, last serving as director of football operations. He was well-

respected for his role in helping to build a Super Bowl championship team with the Packers and also had ties to the Raiders, having played linebacker for four years with the team in the 1980s. Many of his former teammates were on hand at the news conference introducing him. “Guys, this is where I came from. I’m back home now. I’m back home,” he said. “As soon as Mark told me ‘We want you for the job,’ I couldn’t, you know, I couldn’t stop smiling.” Davis said he had targeted McKenzie as his desired general manager in the weeks after his father’s death and noted it was awkward when he ran into him at the Raiders’ game in Green Bay last month. About an hour after Oakland’s season ended, Davis had the organization formally request permission from the Packers to interview McKenzie. They sat down for a six-hour interview last Wednesday, with former Raiders coach John Madden assisting Davis. They quickly finalized the deal and McKenzie signed it Tuesday morning. He then immediately fired Jackson, marking a rapid fall for the man who was in charge of personnel decisions and coaching after Davis’ death. Jackson made the trade for quarterback Carson Palmer after starter Jason Campbell broke his collarbone, costing the Raiders a 2012 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2013 second-rounder. While Palmer showed signs of giving the Raiders a big-time quarterback, he was unable to get Oakland to the playoffs for the first time since 2002, raising questions about how effective that trade was. After starting the season 7-4, the Raiders lost four of their final five games to mark their ninth straight season without a winning record or a playoff berth. A late-game collapse at home against Detroit on Dec. 18 and a 38-26 loss to San Diego at home in the season finale did in the Raiders and ultimately Jackson. Jackson joined the Raiders as offensive coordinator in 2010 under head coach Tom Cable and engineered a dramatic improvement as Oakland more than doubled its point total and improved

AMIR JENNINGS Continued from page 4 use at the Richland County Public Library after receiving a tip Jan. 5 that the woman was a frequent visitor there. Warrants show authorities also collected a DNA swab from Jennings’ cheek and her medical records from a visit to the hospital after a Christmas Eve car wreck. Jennings has been jailed since Dec. 30 after police said she repeatedly lied to them about where her son was. Last week, the boy’s grandmother pleaded with the public to help authorities find the toddler she described as a happy, gap-toothed child who enjoys nursery rhymes and responds to “Mir Mir” and “AJ.” He was about 18 months old when he was last seen. Jocelyn Jennings Nelson reported her daughter missing in early December, saying she was worried about the boy and Jennings, who she said struggled with depression and started acting erratically after her son's birth. Police began looking for the 22-yearold mother but said they also considered that relatives said she had repeatedly left

town for days at a time, taking her son to visit friends in neighboring states. Several weeks later, on Christmas Eve, police investigating a one-car wreck just blocks from Jennings’ home were surprised to find the driver was the young mother they’d been looking for. Interviewed at a hospital, Jennings gave conflicting statements about where the boy was, according to police, first telling authorities she didn't have any children before saying Amir was with friends and family in cities from Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C. After several dead ends, the mother was arrested and charged with lying to police. Authorities say they have stepped up their efforts to find the boy and are hoping a tip line will yield some information. Jennings also took investigators to a Columbia apartment complex where she said she had dropped off her son, later saying she didn’t know the apartment number or location within the complex, according to search warrants.

to 8-8. That helped him get the job when Davis decided not to retain Cable. The offense wasn’t quite as effective with Jackson as head coach, with injuries to star running back Darren McFadden, receiver Jacoby Ford and Campbell played a role in the decline. But the biggest problems this past season were an inability to curb the team’s propensity for penalties and on the defensive side of the ball. The team committed 163 penalties for 1,358 yards, setting records in both categories, as Jackson was unable to instill the discipline he promised. The Raiders also had franchise worsts in touchdown passes allowed (31), yards per carry (5.1), yards passing (4,262) and total yards (6,201), while giving up the third-most points (433) in team history. Oakland joined this season’s Tampa Bay team as two of the four teams to allow at least 30 TD passes and 5.0 yards per carry in a season, a distinction achieved previously by only the 1950 Baltimore Colts and 1952 Dallas Texans. The Raiders also became the sixth team since the 1970 merger to allow at least 2,000 yards rushing and 4,000 yards passing in a season. The new coach will be Oakland’s seventh in the past 10 seasons, following Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Art Shell, Lane Kiffin, Cable and Jackson. AP sports writer Janie McCauley contributed to this report.

AP Photo/Hans Deryk, File

FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2011 file photo, Oakland Raiders head coach Hue Jackson reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, in Miami, Fla. A person with knowledge of the situation says the Raiders have fired coach Jackson after one season and a disappointing 8-8 record. ESPN first reported Jackson’s firing. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012, because the move had not yet been announced ahead of the Raiders’ scheduled 2 p.m. PST news conference to introduce new general manager Reggie McKenzie.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Venus Williams pulls out of Australian Open

Muhammad Ali returning to Kentucky for birthday BY BRUCE SCHREINER | AP

AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File

FILE – Tough luck: Venus Williams says while she is withdrawing from the Australian Open, which starts next week, she plans to be back in action next month. MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Venus Williams withdrew from the Australian Open on Monday, prolonging her absence from the tennis tour because of an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain. The seven-time Grand Slam title winner announced on Twitter and her website that she wouldn’t play in the year’s first major tournament, which starts next week. She added, though, that she plans to be back in action next month. Williams hasn’t played competitively since Aug. 29 at the U.S. Open. Two days later, she pulled out of that tournament, revealing that she’d been diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome. “I regret to announce that I am withdrawing from the 2012 Australian Open. After several months of training and treatment, I am making steady progress to top competitive form. My diet and fitness regimen has allowed me to make great strides in terms of my health and I am very close to being ready to return to WTA competition,” Williams said in a posting on her website Monday. “I have every intention to return to the circuit in February.” Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said Williams was “very disappointed” that she was not able to play in Melbourne. “She had hoped she’d be further along in her preparation but is not quite ready for Grand Slam competition,” Tiley said in an email to The Associated Press. “She’s an amazing champion and she’s had a tough year battling illness and injury. We wish her all the best and look forward to seeing her back in Australia soon.”

Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, a former doubles partner of Williams, said the American’s health must come first. “She’s been unlucky with the virus thing,” Wozniacki said after her second-round win Tuesday at the Sydney International. “I’m not completely sure what it is exactly, but the most important thing is the health. “Tennis, it’s a game. I’m sure she’ll come back and fight and try to come back to the top again. But most of all, the most important thing is that you’re healthy. Hopefully, she’ll be 100 percent healthy by February.” The 31-year-old American is a former No. 1 who is 100th in this week’s WTA rankings. She’s dealt with a series of health problems, including a hip injury that forced her to withdraw from last year’s Australian Open, and a left knee injury that kept her on the sideline between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2010. Since reaching the semifinals at the 2010 U.S. Open, Williams has played only 11 matches. After winning her opener at Flushing Meadows in August — which was Williams’ first match in two months — she withdrew shortly before her second-round match there. At that time, she described the way she’d been feeling this way: “It was just energy-sucking, and I just couldn’t play pro tennis.” Her younger sister Serena, whose 13 Grand Slam titles include five at the Australian Open, badly sprained her left ankle at a tournament in Brisbane this month. It’s not clear whether Serena will be able to play at the Australian Open.

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) — Muhammad Ali is coming home to Louisville to celebrate another milestone — his 70th birthday. The iconic heavyweight boxing champion will bask in the limelight once again at a private birthday bash on the evening of Jan. 14 at the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville. Ali turns 70 on Jan. 17. The party will double as a fundraiser for the center — a cultural and education complex that also features a museum focusing on Ali's long career as a boxer, social activist and humanitarian. “Louisville was the first to support Muhammad in his pursuit of gold,” Lonnie Ali, the boxer’s wife, said in a statement Saturday evening. “It is only fitting that Louisville and surrounding communities participate in this important celebration to mark his 70th birthday.” Ali Center spokeswoman Jeanie Kahnke said Saturday that Ali will be surrounded by old friends and people who made a difference in his life, including his longtime trainer Angelo Dundee. The party will feature a dinner, entertainment and speeches. She described it as a “retrospective look and celebration” of Ali’s life. “It’s significant for anyone to turn 70 years old,” Kahnke said. “But for such a global icon, who has literally touched the lives of millions of people, it’s a momentous event to celebrate.” Kahnke said that Muhammad and Lonnie Ali are looking forward to returning for the celebration. The Alis have a residence in Louisville but have recently been staying at their home in Arizona, she said. Ali is battling Parkinson’s disease. A series of community events — titled “Seven Days for Seven Decades” — will be offered from Jan. 15-21 at the center, touching on both the serious and fun sides of Ali. “Community is an important part of Muhammad’s life,” Lonnie Ali said in her statement. “He was and is a master at building community around him.” She noted that Ali has engaged community support in the U.S. and around the world. “In each community he visits, Muhammad involves people as stakeholders in his success,” she said. “He makes people feel important, worthy and good about themselves and their actions. Muhammad continues to involve everyday people in his daily pursuit of life. He draws people in and makes them feel welcome. His support of community causes and individual efforts have been a way of life.” The week of events includes a

AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File

FILE – Still the champ: Muhammad Ali is celebrating another milestone: the BIG 70. Said wife Lonnie, “Louisville was the first to support Muhammad in his pursuit of gold … It is only fitting that Louisville and surrounding communities participate in this important celebration ... ” “compassion fair” and workshops focusing on examples of compassion throughout the world. An exhibit will delve into the lives of people with dual African American and Native American ancestries. There will be screenings of films based on Ali’s life. On Jan. 15, a magician will perform in the center’s main lobby — a recognition of Ali’s love of magic tricks. Also, people visiting the center during that week will receive a discounted admission for bringing non-perishable food items for a food bank. “We really want to thank the community that has supported and loved and embraced Muhammad," Kahnke said. The center opened in 2005 and draws about 85,000 visitors a year. Born Cassius Clay, Ali began his boxing career as an amateur in Louisville in the 1950s, and won a gold medal in boxing in 1960 at the Olympics in Rome. He went on to become a three-time world heavyweight champion. He first won the title by defeating Sonny Liston in 1964. Ali was then stripped of his boxing title in 1967 for refusing to be drafted for military service during the Vietnam War. He regained the title in 1974 when he defeated George Foreman in Zaire. Ali’s last title came in 1978 when he defeated Leon Spinks. Ali had three epic fights against his chief rival, Joe Frazier. Ali has received dozens of international awards for his humanitarian efforts.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

MARION BARRY

GOVERNMENT

Continued from page 3 While Evans considers Barry a friend and agrees with him on some issues, Evans said much of the legislation Barry introduces “is very costly, and as a consequence there’s no way to pay for most of it, and it does not get passed for that reason alone.” Barry is quick to offer advice to Gray and Brown. “He’s somebody who’s got a lot of experience,” Gray said. “If he’s going to talk to me about something, I’m going to listen, but at the end of the day, I’m going to make my own decisions.” Brown is more blunt about the limitations of Barry’s influence. He has occasionally distanced himself from Barry’s public statements and feuded with him on the council dais. “Everyone wants to automatically — because I’m young and Black — assume that I’m just Marion Barry,” Brown said. Last week, Brown sent Barry a letter warning him that he may have violated the council’s code of conduct by using government resources to issue a news release criticizing Natalie Williams, one of his opponents. Barry said he understands the political considerations that factor into city leaders’ treatment of him. Barry served six months in prison for cocaine possession following his 1990 arrest, and controversy continues to dog him. In 2006, he was sentenced to probation for failing to file tax returns for several years, and he still hasn’t paid all the debts and penalties he owes. Last month, the IRS filed a lien against him for $3,200 in unpaid 2010 taxes. Barry makes $125,000 a year as a councilmember, and unlike some of his colleagues, he has no outside income. In 2009, he was arrested for stalking a former girlfriend. The charges were dropped but drew attention to a $15,000 city contract he had steered to the woman. The following year, the council — then led by Gray — censured Barry and stripped him of his committee assignments. City ethics officials ultimately concluded Barry hadn’t broken

any rules. Barry’s time in exile lasted less than a year. After Brown became council chairman in January 2011, he tapped Barry as chairman of the Committee on Aging and Community Affairs. Barry now sits on five other committees — as many as any councilmember. Meanwhile, current city leaders have faced ethical questions of their own. On Thursday, D.C. Councilman Harry Thomas Jr. was charged with stealing more than $350,000 in government funds and filing false tax returns. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment. Federal investigators are also looking at alleged campaign improprieties involving Gray and Brown. Barry has cautioned against any rush to judgment and argued before Thomas was charged that the controversies swirling around district politics are largely media-driven. “In America, you’re innocent until proven guilty,” Barry said. Barry has also suggested that Black officials are scrutinized more heavily than their White counterparts are, and he blamed three White councilmembers for deepening the racial divide by asking Thomas to resign. If Barry is viewed as a pariah in some parts of the city, many of his constituents see him differently: as a champion of the underprivileged who used city government to put district residents back to work. “He empowered AfricanAmericans,” said Vincent Hopkins, 48, an insurance salesman who lives in a gated community in Barry’s district. Former councilmember Sandy Allen was defeated by Barry in 2004 but worked on his 2008 re-election bid and is now his campaign manager. “Marion is one of the greatest politicians that I have ever known,” Allen said. Ward 8 voters have forgiven his many foibles, she said, because “they feel that he is one of them. ... He has not gotten so far above them that he does not understand their plight.”

LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (METRO) REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) is requesting Statements of Qualifications (“SOQ”) from Design–Build Entities (“Respondents”) interested in submitting a proposal for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Project Contract for design-build delivery. Work under this contract will include, but is not limited to, furnishing all management, coordination, professional services, labor, equipment, materials and other services to perform the final design and construction of the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Project that will extend an 8 ½ mile light rail line from the intersection of Exposition and Crenshaw Boulevards to the Metro Green Line’s Aviation/LAX station. The CD will be available for pick up on December 23, 2011 at, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, Ca 90012, 9th floor, Procurement Receptionist desk. The non-refundable price for the complete SOQ documents is $25.00 when picked up at the above address; or $50.00 if documents are to be mailed. Requests must be accompanied by payment to Metro in the form of a money order, a company check, a cashier’s check, or a certified check. Personal checks are not acceptable forms of payment. Please email Valerie Dean if you have questions at deanv@metro.net 1/12/12 CNS-2239130# WATTS TIMES

There is some discontent with Barry in Ward 8, but it has yet to coalesce around a single candidate. Several are challenging him in the April Democratic primary. Barry's opponents say the ward needs a councilmember who will bring more energy to the job. “The same problems people had before he came to the city, they still have ... jobs, housing, the same problems,” said Sandra Seegars, a longtime community activist who’s running against Barry. “Ward 8 has not really improved.” Barry doesn’t seem worried about his chances. And he enjoys needling his critics, including The Washington Post, which endorsed Barry’s first three successful campaigns for mayor but wrote in 1994 that it wished it could have the third one back. The paper has extensively reported on his missteps. “They can’t touch me politically,” Barry said of his critics. “The more they jump on me, the stronger I get.”

C.T. VIVIAN Continued from page 6 As a young theology student in Nashville, Tenn., Vivian helped organize the first sit-ins in that city, and later participated in the Freedom Rides in Mississippi. Under King’s leadership at SCLC, Vivian served as the national director of affiliates. After King's death in 1968, he continued to fight for equality and diversity and has served on SCLC’s board of directors. SCLC’s historic efforts on issues including voter equality and desegregation of public accommodations were overshadowed in recent years by infighting. In 2010, SCLC seemed at the dawn of a new era, as the group elected the Rev. Bernice King — daughter of the SCLC patriarch — to lead the organization. She would have been the SCLC’s first woman president. However, allegations of financial mismanagement caused a deep rift among several longserving board members, bringing the SCLC to near extinction, and King ultimately declined to take the helm. Prosecutors in Georgia ultimately found no proof to support a complaint that two ousted SCLC board members took more than $560,000 from the organization, but the damage had been done. Many in the Black community,

including SCLC veterans like Young and the Rev. Joseph Lowery, were calling for the group’s end. Early last year, the group elected a new president, the Rev. Howard Creecy, who vowed to restore SCLC’s focus. However, he died suddenly in July, leaving SCLC’s future in doubt. Since then, King’s nephew, Isaac Newton Farris Jr., has been working to rebuild the organization, alongside veterans including Bernard LaFayette Jr., a King lieutenant who now serves as board chairman. SCLC has also focused on recruiting and training young people, a focus Vivian said has always been an essential component of its success. “You learn by doing,” Vivian said. “We’ve got youth and age together. We don’t care how young people are. They should be called to struggle for their freedom.” In the 55 years since SCLC’s founding, Vivian points out that the strategy of nonviolent direct action has not been implemented as effectively by any other group. His aim is for SCLC to be among the groups at the forefront of driving home the need for the strategy again today. “There must always been the understanding of what Martin had in mind for this organization,” Vivian said.

“Nonviolent, direct action makes us successful. We learned how to solve social problems without violence. We cannot allow the nation or the world to ever forget that.”

SHARPTON Continued from page 6 Rev. Al Sharpton, who is also the founder and president of the National Action Network. In addition to Sharpton, the event will feature Warren Olney, KCRW host and executive producer, who will serve as the master of ceremonies; Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretarytreasurer, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO; and Hill Harper, award-winning actor and author. The event is free, with pre-registration starting at 8:00 a.m. The featured entertainment will be The Bricks. Breakfast and lunch will be served. While workshops will start around 10:30 a.m., the event kicks off promptly at 9 a.m., so be on time and in line. For more information on registration, please call 213-346-3246 or visit www.empowermentcongress.org.

MEKHI PHIFER Continued from page 11 or sit on the steps and yap it up.” He hopes the good feeling bleeds into the audience, which has been known to become so boisterous that lines get drowned out. (His advice if that happens: “You might have to see it twice.”) He wants the audience to be intrigued, provoked and later discuss all of it. “When you leave the play, you feel good. You want to go out and have a drink. You want to talk about it. You want to get something to eat. You don’t want the night to be over. And I think that’s what the Broadway experience should be about,” he says. “Our play lends itself to that energy and that attitude.” Director Kenny Leon has been hoping to help Phifer make his Broadway debut ever since the two were slated to work together on an ill-fated attempt a few years ago to mount a production of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” “In the back of my mind, I’ve always wanted to work with Mekhi,” Leon says. “He has presence. He has charisma. He has everything that all great actors have, except he had never done a play before.” When that time finally happened, Leon was impressed by how humble the young actor was when he walked into the rehearsal room. “I can’t believe how much he’s learned in such a short amount of time,” Leon says. “The ease in terms of the transition from film to stage — I don’t think I’ve ever seen it happen like this. I couldn’t be more pleased with what he’s doing on that stage.” Phifer was born in Harlem and raised by his mother, Rhoda, a choreographer and schoolteacher who always encouraged her son to be creative. After beating out hundreds for a spot in “Clockers” on a whim — he got his headshot at a Woolworths near the audition site — Phifer has had a varied career, one that has taken him from “Honey” with Jessica Alba and “Soul Food” with Vanessa Williams to “Dawn of the Dead”; music videos like Brandy

and Monica’s “This Boy Is Mine”; and the 2007 romantic comedy “This Christmas.” “I do love being onstage. Even as a kid, I was (a) performer. Local talent shows, local this and that. When break dancing was out, I break danced. When rapping was the thing, I freestyled rap on the street and battled and all that kind of stuff,” he says. “I’m a student of the game. I'm never not learning.” His TV appearances include “New York Undercover,” Fox’s “Lie to Me,” HBO’s “A Lesson Before Dying” and “The Tuskegee Airmen,” and the ABC television special “Brian’s Song.” He is particularly proud that he landed a part in the Starz series “Torchwood: Miracle Day” as a CIA agent after producers were unable to find a White actor. So hitting the stage for the first time is just a logical extension of a man wanting to learn. “I’ve got to be quite honest: I caught the theater bug and I’m all about Broadway right now,” he says. “It can be scary but you have to have a certain strength and fortitude about yourself.”

TEEN DEPORTED Continued from page 5 with Colombian authorities and with folks in Dallas,” Nuland said. Stephen Yale-Loehr, who teaches immigration law at Cornell Law School, said hundreds of U.S. citizens are wrongfully detained or deported each year. “There are a variety of legitimate reasons why somebody might not appear to be a U.S. citizen at first glance.” he said. “It’s the duty of the U.S. federal immigration agency to make sure that we do not detain and deport U.S. citizens erroneously. And this, unfortunately happened in this case.”

Thursday, January 12, 2012

For our children and community of Inglewood and Ladera Heights

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