LAWT 11-22-2012

W E E K E N D E R SEE PAGES 8-9

Vol. XXX, No. 1311

www.lawattstimes.com Thursday, November 22, 2012

L.A. Watts Times

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

HOROSCOPES

Nov. 22 - 28

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RIES ~ You can be discreet and cut down on some of the envious comments you are attracting. Or you can continue to flaunt it since you’ve got it. Your choice this week! Watch for a pleasant change in a romantic partner’s attitude.

Soul Affirmation: The winner is me. I smile for the cameras.

AURUS ~ Take advantage of bursts of energy all week. Body and mind are in sync. Don’t take things too personally this week, you might get your feelings hurt. If you do, night time is a great time to makeup. Make the call. Soul Affirmation: My hunches are right more often than not this week.

EMINI ~ You are a superstar at work.

Efficiency seems to be your middle name. As you go your charming way, don’t forget to delegate tasks with a smile. Soul Affirmation: I give my mind a holiday again this week.

ANCER ~ A relationship may be heating up. Make sure you know what you want, then go ahead. Minor challenges on the home front are easily dealt with. Soul Affirmation: The widest outlook comes from the look within.

EO ~ You make important progress at work this week by seizing the initiative and letting your leadership abilities shine.

What you do makes things better for everyone around you, so rock steady. Meetings and conversations go especially well. Soul Affirmation: The word is in me. I bring it forth.

IRGO ~ Lucky! Your natural ability to shine is magnified this week. You’ll be garnering positive attention on a project you recently completed. Bask in the glow of public admiration! Be daring you’ll find much support for the things you want to do.

Soul Affirmation: This week I forgive myself for everything that has happened.

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Inside This Edition

IBRA ~ A celebration is in store and you are the guest of honor! You’ve achieved something wonderful and you need to take some time to enjoy it. Let yourself enjoy the applause then move onward and upward. Soul Affirmation: I entertain wild ideas about making money this week.

CORPIO ~ Let someone else make a few decisions this week. Take a backseat and enjoy the respite from doing all the driving. You’ll enjoy the ride more this week if you just admire the view as it goes by. Soul Affirmation: I enjoy living in my dream.

AGITTARIUS ~ Sometimes you imagine that everyone needs to hear your sensible opinions on all matters of significance.

And other weeks you know that you are wise and generous enough to listen to others as they share their good ideas. This week is a week for listening. You’ll learn much. Soul Affirmation: I listen with an open heart.

APRICORN ~ Anybody may occasionally have a week when their energy feels low. Your natural good health will see you through a possible down time if you just go with the flow and let yourself relax. Rest if you have the chance and you’ll feel like your wonderful self in no time flat! Soul Affirmation: I calm my emotions by forgetting about the past.

QUARIUS ~ You are the center of attention this week and while you’ll be very busy you’ll love every moment. Enjoy your time in the spotlight! You may want to indulge yourself with some emotional theatrics this week. Soul Affirmation: All vibes are good for me this week!

ISCES ~ Stay flexible this week especially where a partner is concerned. While they may be moody there’s no need for you to join them in their attitude unless you really, really want to! Stay positive and go with the good vibrations that surround you. Soul Affirmation: I exercise to lower tension this week.

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New report highlights local public health trend

BY LAWT NEWS SERVICE

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ASSOCIATED PRESS The balcony where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis is now open for visitors for the first time since the National Civil Rights Museum opened in 1991.

The museum says visitors on November 19 were able to stand on the spot where King was fatally shot on April 4, 1968.

The museum stands on the

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CIRCULATION AUDITED BY CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL

Diabetes continues to rise in Los Angeles County, according to a report released by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The report, “Trends in Diabetes: Time for Action,” highlights the prevalence of diabetes from 1997 to 2011. In that time frame, the percentage of adults in the county with diabetes has increased from 6.6 percent to 9.9 percent, with more than 685,000 adults now affected by the disease.

“Type 2 diabetes accounts for more than 90 percent of all diabetes cases in the county with obesity as the primary preventable risk factor.

On an individual level, Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or controlled by choosing smaller portions, drinking fewer sugary drinks, and exercising,” said Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, director of Public Health and health officer.

“On a county-wide level, we all need to work together to combat this

alarming trend by ensuring access to high quality health care services, creating healthy environments that promote nutrition and physical activity, and providing public education that empowers individuals and families to make healthier lifestyle choices.”

In Los Angeles County, diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death.

The risk of death among people with diabetes nearly doubles compared to people of similar age who do not have diabetes. Diabetes is also one of the most costly chronic conditions.

Medical expenses for people with diabetes average more than twice as much as for those without diabetes, and the disease is estimated to cost more than $6 billion a year in medical expenses in L.A. County alone.

“This report illustrates a startling truth: the rate of diabetes in Los Angeles County is getting worse, not better,” said Peter Braun, executive director of the American Diabetes Association, Los Angeles.

See OBESITY, page 10

Balcony where MLK was shot opens to museum-goers

L.A. Watts Times

Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. ............Executive Publisher & Executive Editor Brenda Marsh Mitchell ..................................Executive Vice President Tracey Mitchell ......................................................................Controller Brandon I. Brooks ..................................................Co-Managing Editor Yussuf J. Simmonds ..............................................Co-Managing Editor Jennifer Bihm................................................................Assistant Editor Bernard Lloyd ....................................................Director of Advertising Benjamin Samuels ....................................................Graphic Designer Kim McGill ............................................................Production Designer

Diabetes on the rise as L.A. county obesity rates grow

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BlackHistoryDaily.com November 26, 1872 South Carolina General Assembly met in Columbia Stephen A. Swails was elected president pro tem of the senate, and Samuel J. Lee was elected Speaker of the house. The Assembly named four Blacks to the seven-man governing board of the University of South Carolina: Samuel J. Lee, J.A. Bowley, Stephen A. Swails and W.R. Jervey.

grounds of the former Lorraine Motel, where King stayed while supporting a sanitation workers strike. It includes various exhibits about the history of the civil rights movement and allows visitors to see the room where King stayed.

The balcony will be open temporarily, likely closing around the time when renovations to the museum end in 2014.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Color her cool

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WLCAC celebrates grand opening

Soledad O’Brien the ‘Who is Black in America?’ interview

BY KAM WILLIAMS CONTRIBUTING WRITER Soledad O’Brien is the anchor for CNN morning show, “Starting Point” and a special correspondent for CNN/U.S. Since joining the network in 2003, O’Brien has reported breaking news from around the globe and has produced award-winning, record-breaking and critically acclaimed documentaries on the most important stories facing the world today. In 2010, she wrote a critically acclaimed memoir, “The Next Big Story: My Journey through the Land Photo by Bryan D. Kane of Possibilities,” which Soledad O’Brien chronicles her biggest reporting moments and how her upbringing and background times during any election year.

That’s just what happens. The goal have influenced these experiences.

O’Brien’s documentaries include for me is to be focused and really the “Black in America” and “Latino well read so I’m prepared to ask the in America” series; “Don’t Fail Me: tough questions of both sides. You’re Education in America,” a look at the always going to have those people crisis in public education where who love you and those who hate American kids are not learning the you, but after four kids and a quarterskills necessary to compete; “The century in this business, I have a very Women Who Would be Queen,” a thick skin. [Chuckles] The only thing portrayal of the future king and that bothers me is if I feel I haven’t queen’s friendship-turned-romance done a tough interview. The people and very modern royal marriage; who come on regularly know they’re “Unwelcome: The Muslims Next going to be challenged, and that they Door,” a report on religious freedom can challenge me. They also underprotections; “Pictures Don’t Lie,” the stand that I’m not a pushover and story of the secret life of Civil Rights that I don’t crumble because I come photographer Ernest Withers as a armed with the facts.

LAWT: Let’s talk about your paid FBI informant; “Rescued,” a look at Haiti’s remarkable children upcoming special. Where did you before, during and after the devastat- come up with the idea for “Who Is ing earthquake; and “Gary and Tony Black in America?”

SO: We were thinking about uniHave a Baby,” chronicling the strugversal themes for “Black in gle of two gay men to have a child.

A graduate of Harvard Uni- America” that really touch people, versity, Soledad lives with her hus- that really matter to people, and one band and four children in Manhattan. of the themes that we kept coming up Here, she talks about her upcoming with was ‘colorism,’ discrimination “Black in America” special “Who Is based on skin tone. It was fascinating Black in America?” which is set to to hear the conversations that were premiere on CNN Sunday, December happening between people who were 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. (Check local list- light-skinned, people who were darkskinned, and people somewhere in ings) LAWT: Congratulations on your between. Just the hurt, the pain and excellent election year coverage on anger on all sides was very interestCNN. But did you ever worry about ing. So, we thought we would being pigeonholed as partisan during explore that because it seemed like a the presidential campaign? How do very interesting story to tell, espeyou maintain your image as impartial cially since we were seeing a big when you have Republicans taking change, generationally. The converpotshots at you? For instance, sations I was having with men and Romney advisor John Sununu sug- women of my age group were very gested that you put an Obama different from the conversations bumper sticker on your forehead, and younger men and women were havFox News President Roger Ailes ing with people of their age group. condescendingly referred to you as It’s fascinating to hear the take of “That girl that’s named after a those that we feature in the doc around 17, 18 and 19, as they kind of prison.”

SO: It’s going to get crazy at See SOLEDAD O’BRIEN, page 7

(L-R) Elton Blake (program director WLCAC managed Workforce investment Act Job Training programs); Michael Dolphin (Employment Development Department Division Chief LA/ Ventura Workforce Service Division); Timothy Watkins (president/CEO WLCAC); Joe Buscaino (recently elected councilman for District 15); and Senator Curren D. Price.

LAWT NEWS SERVICE The Watts Labor Community Action Committee Managed Youth source center celebrated its grand opening Thursday November 15, with an unveiling of a “cobra” vehicle, assembled by the program’s students. They finished the project with the help of a joint collaboration of WLCAC and the Maxine Waters’ Employment Preparation Center. It was made possible through a grant awarded to WLCAC by the office of Laura Richardson and funding for management was acquired

through the Community Development Department, according to a WLCAC spokesperson.

Twenty five youths participated, the spokesper- Timothy Watkins (president/CEO WlCAC); Adriana son said. Each Camacho (program manager); and State Senator Curren enrolled in the D. Price.

Photos by Robert Torrence WLCAC managed youth program for period of 18, services while in the program. Several months.They received case manage- participants have since been successful ment services as well as supportive in obtaining employment.

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

African American Film Critics Violent dolphin Assn. honors Peter Ramsey

deaths a mystery for scientists

Animator Leo Sullivan, director Peter Ramsey, AAFCA West Coast VP Kathy Williamson.

The African American Film

Critics Association (AAFCA) held a reception and screening of “Rise of the Guardians” on Saturday, November 17 in honor of African American director Peter Ramsey.

The event began at the RAVE Cinemas Baldwin Hills and was followed by a lively Q & A and awards reception at the Post and Beam restaurant. The theater was filled to capacity with 207 VIP guests of AAFCA, including industry professionals and members of grassroots organizations including The NAACP and students from the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center among others.

A gathering of 100 VIP guests

business card bulletin board

BY LAWT NEWS SERVICE

met at the reception joined by Gil Robertson, AAFCA President; Kathy Williamson, AAFCA West Coast Vice President; and veteran animator Leo Sullivan in honoring Ramsey with a distinguished AAFCA Award for his outstanding contribution in the field of Animation. Ramsey also received a proclamation from the city of Los Angeles from the office of Councilman Bernard Parks. A champagne toast to the legacy of AfricanAmerican animators rounded out the event as the final acknowledgment of Ramseyʼs trailblazing excellence as an animator and director. For more information, visit AAFCA.com.

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AP Photo/Audubon Nature Institute

This Sept. 23, 2012 photo made available by the Audubon Nature Institute shows a bottlenose dolphin with a gunshot wound near the blowhole. The dead dolphin was found near Elmer’s Island, Louisiana. Dolphins are washing up on shore with bullets wounds, jaws and tails missing, heartbreaking discoveries for scientists along the Gulf Coast.

BY TAMARA LUSH ASSOCIATED PRESS Over the past several months, dolphins have washed ashore along the northern Gulf Coast with bullet wounds, missing jaws and hacked off fins, and federal officials said they are looking into the mysterious deaths.

The most recent case was of a dolphin found dead off the coast of Mississippi, its lower jaw missing.

Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday they’re asking everyone from beachgoers to fishermen to wildlife agents to be on the lookout for injured or dead dolphins — and any unusual interaction between the mammals and people.

“It’s very sad to think that anyone could do that to any animal,” said Erin Fougeres, a marine mammal scientist for NOAA’s southeast office in St. Petersburg, Fla. “There have been some obviously intentional cases.”

Fougeres said five dolphins have been found shot. In Louisiana, two were shot in 2011 and one in 2012.

And in Mississippi, three were found shot this year, the most recent one earlier this month, which was first reported by the Sun-Herald newspaper.

Besides the shootings, a dolphin in Alabama was found with a screwdriver stuck in its head over the summer. Another in Alabama had its tail cut off, and that animal survived. Still others were missing fins or had cuts to their bodies.

“I think it is outrageous,” said Moby Solangi, the executive director of Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Miss. “These animals are very docile, very friendly

and they’re very curious. They come close to the boats, so if you’re out there, you'll see them riding the bows. And their curiosity and friendship brings them so close that they become targets and that’s the unfortunate thing.”

Dolphins are among the species protected by the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. Violators can be fined up to $10,000 per violation and sent to prison for a year.

The California-based Animal Legal Defense Fund said it is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever harmed the dolphins.

The gruesome discoveries are heartbreaking for Gulf Coast scientists, who follow the population.

Fougeres said that two months before the 2010 oil spill disaster off the coast of Louisiana, dolphins began stranding themselves and that there were unusually high mortality rates — possibly due to a cold winter that year.

Since then, the spill and another cold winter in 2011 have contributed to several deaths within the Gulf's dolphin population, experts say.

Investigators have also found discolored teeth and lung infections within some of the dead dolphins.

Since Feb. 2010, experts have tallied more than 700 recorded dolphin deaths.

Experts have also found increased “human interaction” cases, which include dolphins tangled in fishing lines — and the more violent incidents.

Fougeres cautions that some of the dolphin mutilations might have happened after the animal died See DOLPHIN DEATHS, page 5

Thursday, November 22, 2012

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Elmo actor Kevin Clash resigns amid sex allegation

Rebels enter Goma, Congo, seize airport ASSOCIATED PRESS A spokesman for a rebel group in Congo believed to be backed by neighboring Rwanda confirmed that his fighters have entered Goma and have taken the city's international airport. The assault was punctuated by heavy gunfire.

Col. Vianney Kazarama, spokesman for the M23 rebel movement, told The Associated Press by telephone that the rebels are now fighting for control of the rest of

Goma. “We already took the airport,” Kazarama said Tuesday. “We are now inside the city of Goma.”

Goma was last threatened by rebels in 2008 when fighters stopped just short of the provincial capital. The

United Nations has said that if Goma were to fall a humanitarian catastrophe would result. The rebels are opposed by Congolese government forces backed by U.N. peacekeeping troops and their attack helicopters.

BlackFacts.com November 28, 1997 Former Detroit Mayor Coleman Young died on this day. He was 79 years old. Young became Detroit’s first Black mayor and presided over his adopted city for an unprecedented five terms. Young died at Sinai Hospital of respiratory failure caused by advanced emphysema.

WARNING AP Photo

Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash.

BY FRAZIER MOORE ASSOCIATED PRESS Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash has resigned from “Sesame Street” in the wake of an allegation that he had sex with an under-aged youth.

In its statement Tuesday November 20, Sesame Workshop said “the controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us want,” leading Clash to conclude “that he can no longer be effective in his job.”

“This is a sad day for Sesame Street,” the statement said.

As the announcement was made, a lawsuit was being filed in federal court in New York charging Clash with sexual abuse of a second youth.

The lawsuit alleges that Cecil Singleton, then 15 and now an adult,

was persuaded by Clash to meet for sexual encounters.

Clash, who had been on “Sesame Street” for 28 years, created the highpitched voice and child-like persona for Elmo, a furry, red Muppet that became one of the most popular characters on the show and one of the company’s most lucrative properties.

Clash’s exit from Sesame Workshop followed a tumultuous week that began on Nov. 12 with a statement from the company that Clash had requested a leave of absence following the charge by a man in his early 20s that he had had a relationship with Clash when he was 16.

Clash denied the charge from that man, who has not been publicly identified, calling it “false and defamatory.” Days later the man recanted his charge.

DOLPHIN DEATHS

Chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm are contained in crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel and other petroleum products and byproducts.

Chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm are also contained in and around oil fields, service stations, refineries, chemical plants, transport and storage operations, including pipelines, marine terminals and tank trucks, and other facilities and equipment that manufacture, produce, process, handle, distribute, transport, store, sell or otherwise transfer crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel or other petroleum products or byproducts.

The foregoing warning is provided pursuant to Proposition 65. This law requires the Governor of California to publish a list of chemicals “known to the State to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity." This list is compiled in accordance with a procedure established by the Proposition, and can be obtained from the California Environmental Protection Agency. Proposition 65 requires that clear and reasonable warnings be given to persons exposed to the listed chemicals in certain situations.

Continued from page 4 from natural causes and washed ashore. She said that in the case of the dolphin with the lower jaw missing, someone could have cut off the jaw for a souvenir after the animal died.

“We have to do a necropsy on the animal and collect tissue samples to try to determine whether or not the injury was pre-or post-mortem,” she said.

She also said that the increase in cases might be due to NOAA’s dolphin stranding network becoming better trained to notice cruelty cases or unusual deaths.

Some have suggested that the deaths are the work of a few angry fishermen who are upset about baitstealing dolphins. Yet the majority of fishermen say that while dolphins can be annoying, they wouldn’t harm the creatures.

“I don’t know who to suspect ... I was really sickened when I read

about it,” said Tom Becker, of T&D Charters out of Biloxi, Miss., and head of the Mississippi Charter Boat Captains Association, said he’s never had a problem with dolphins.

The mammals tend to swim behind his boat until a fish too small to keep is tossed over the side.

“You’ll see him under your boat,” Becker said, about the dolphin. “He’ll get it before it can reach the bottom. I usually leave the area if they’re doing that.”

Fougeres said she doesn’t think the dolphins are being targeted by a gang of people or even by a lone, sick individual.

“The cases are fairly spread apart,” she said. “I don’t think there is one dolphin murderer out there.”

She added that anyone who sees a dead or stranded dolphin, or spots people harassing a marine animal can call the NOAA Enforcement hotline at 800-853-1964.

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Obama meets China, Japan leaders amid sea tensions

BY JIM KUHNHENN AND JULIE PACE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

U.S. President Barack Obama, center, arrives for the East Asian Summit Plenary Session at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Walking in front of President Obama is Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

Stay Safe While Preparing for and Celebrating the Holidays Southern California Edison Offers Tips to Avoid Injuries and Fire Hazards As store shelves fill up with holiday lights and decorations, families and friends are preparing to celebrate the festive season.

And as they get together to celebrate, Southern California Edison (SCE) has a simple message: don’t let potential fire hazards such as frayed cords and unsafe conditions like broken lights ruin the festivities.

“During the holiday season, it’s easy to get distracted with all the things you need to prepare around your home for your family and guests. Taking short cuts may seem to save time, but it’s important not to rush and be safe,” said William Messner, SCE’s manager, Corporate Health and Safety. “We want all our customers to enjoy the holidays, so we urge them to be aware of potential risks associated with decorating such as falling off ladders, fires and electrical hazards.”

Close to 83 percent of people decorate their homes as part of the winter holidays, according to the Electrical Safety Foundation International. And the most common winter holiday decorations are lighted Christmas trees (83 percent), indoor decorations using electric lights (63 percent) and outdoor light decorations (58 percent).

From 2005-2009, an annual average of 240 home fires started with Christmas trees, resulting in 13 deaths, 27 injuries, and $16.7 million in property damage. About 5,800 people each year are treated in hospital emergency rooms for falls associated with holiday decorations. More than half of these injuries were caused by falls from ladders or roofs while decorating outdoors.

President Barack Obama closed his Asian tour in diplomatic talks with leaders of Japan and China, their economic message overshadowed by security tensions over disputed waters and territories. The crisis between Israel and Hamas militants intervened, too, as Obama rushed his top diplomat straight from Cambodia to the Mideast.

Obama was wrapping up four days in Southeast Asia on Tuesday and starting the long journey home, where fiscal deadlines and decisions await.

On the margins of the East Asia Summit, Obama met with two Asian leaders, outgoing Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who is likely to be replaced. The president is devoting attention to the region to broaden U.S. influence in a part of the world long dominated by China.

But talk of trade was overshadowed by discussions over how to prevent violence over South China Sea territories. Southeast Asian leaders meeting in the Cambodian capital decided to ask China to start formal talks “as soon as possible” on crafting a binding agreement on how to resolve such disputes.

Tensions have flared recently over rival claims by China, the Philippines and Vietnam to South

China Sea islands and waters that are believed to be rich in gas and oil and that comprise some of the world's main shipping routes. Two other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Brunei and Malaysia, also have been embroiled in South China Sea rifts.

China has opposed any attempt to bring the disputes to international forums, and it has warned the U.S. to remain neutral in the disputes.

U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said the United States favors a legally binding code of conduct and that such disputes should be resolved among the various countries involved, not one-onone with China.

“The U.S. believes that any solution has to be consistent with international law, has to preserve the free flow of commerce that is important not just to the countries in this region but to the world,” Rhodes said after the meetings. “The U.S. is not a claimant in the South China Sea, but we have significant interest there given its role in the global economy.”

Separately, tension between Japan and China has risen over the uninhabited islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. Tokyo nationalized some of the islands last month, reigniting a long-running territorial feud between China and Japan.

Noda alluded to the strains during remarks at the top of his See ASIA SUMMIT, page 15

During this holiday season, SCE has a few helpful tips: • Do not use decorative lighting with frayed cords and wires, broken fuses or broken light bulbs.

• Do not use staples, nails or tacks to hang electrical cords. These can pierce the protective insulation.

• Plug no more than three strands of lights into each electrical cord or outlet.

• Never use lighted candles on or near holiday trees or decorations.

• Use wooden or fiberglass ladders when decorating outdoors. Metal ladders conduct electricity.

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

More safety tips are available at: www.SCE.com/holidaysafety.

Follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/SCE) and like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SCE).

U.S. President Barack Obama attends the East Asian Summit Plenary Session at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

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25th Grand Polemarch Randall C. Bacon Passes in L.A. Laurel Wreath Laureate of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Grand Polemarch Randall C. Bacon Laurel Wreath Laureate devoted member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Los Angeles Alumni, Western Region has died.

He served over 55 years in numerous leadership positions in the fraternal organization while simulta-

neously extending his exemplary visionary leadership in the field of Public Administration with the County of Los Angeles, County of San Diego and the City of Los Angeles.

“Randall Bacon was an outstanding public servant in the city of

SOLEDAD O’BRIEN Continued from page 3 grapple with their identity and with where America is today.

LAWT: I think I heard CNN’s Roland Martin mention in promo for your show that he had someone in his family pass for white.

SO: Yep, and that’s not an unusual story. That’s another question people would like to explore.

What makes you black? How can you consider yourself black while someone with the identical genetic makeup considers themselves white or tries to pass for white? Those are the sorts of big questions we wanted to grapple with.

LAWT: I suspect that the influx of immigrants from South America, India, Africa, Mexico and so many other countries, along with mixed marriage, is changing the definition of what is black?

SO: I think that’s true. I also think that there’s a real interesting conversation going on generationally. One of the young women we profile, who is biracial, very much has a hard time identifying as black. And yet, she has a sister who would say the exact opposite. [Chuckles] So, this isn’t a documentary where we come up with the right answer at the end. It really is much more a conversation about colorism because, ultimately, what is at the heart of all this is this sense that there’s some better skin color to be, and that people are discriminated against. So, it’s not just that people are grappling with identity but that there’s a lot of pain and shame and embarrassment and hurt and anger on account of colorism. And we wanted to understand what that was.

LAWT: Tell me a little about Nayo Jones, one of the young women you profile on the special.

SO: She’s biracial. Her father is white and mother’s black. She lives with her dad and very much identifies with her white side. She’s a super-talented, smart young singer and poet. She goes through life with people trying to figure out what she is, and asking, “What are you?” which really makes her mad.

LAWT: What about Perry DiVirgilio?

SO: In a way, he’s the center of all the stories. He’s a biracial guy.

His dad is white, his mom is black, and he runs the poetry workshop in Philadelphia on understanding who you are where all of these people’s lives intersect. They’re sort of the right age for it because they’re the coming-of-age age. When you’re a

slam poet, part of the agenda is to connect to your material. And your success is a measure of your honesty and your authenticity. I think a lot of those slam poets don’t want to tackle the hard stuff, and Perry really pushes them and challenges about what their identity means to them by asking, “What is making you angry?” “What are you afraid of?” and “What are you ashamed of?”

So, he’s sort of the centerpiece of our documentary not just for his own story but because he connects to all the young people as the poet/mentor who tries to get them to be honest. What you realize is that most people aren’t that honest, and this is one of the rare times when you capture people on camera speaking about how they feel about race and identity.

LAWT: How do you see this coming-of-age generation as different?

SO: I think those in our documentary share a sense of optimism, and I’m curious to see where it goes.

Overall, it was very interesting to see all these different people trying to tackle the problem of colorism, because in some ways it’s such a deep psychological problem. Perry, our poet, thinks so. He believes that young people being able to articulate their poetry so unbelievably is really about understanding who they are.

The exercises that he does in his poetry workshop are just fascinating.

LAWT: Do you think you might have different generational reactions to the special?

SO: I’m sure. Some of the younger people exhibit a certain flexibility. They’re like, “Why can’t I be biracial? Why can’t I be both?”

I never felt that was an option for us.

Maybe it was, but I never felt like I had an option for both. My identity was very strong. I never believed people who said things like, “You’re not really black,” or suggested my identity might be anything but black.

Today, I think there is this sense of flexibility among younger people.

Whether or that remains as they get older remains to be seen. The ultimate question we examine is, “Who decides?” Is it you? Is it society? I think it’s a really interesting documentary. Again, we didn’t set out to solve the problem. I just don’t think people talk about the roots of colorism, and this fifth “Black in America” special was a great opportunity to do so.

Los Angeles where he served as general manager of the Department of General Services,” recalls Assemblyman Mike Davis, vice chair, California Legislative Black Caucus.

He was also a leader in the American Society for Public Administration in the city of Los Angeles and was national president of the Forum of Black Administrators and various organizations throughout the nation,” remarked Assemblyman Davis.

The Celebration of Life is scheduled for Friday, November 23 at Angelus Funeral Home, 3875 South Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. 90008. The public viewing is between 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., Omega Ceremony (Closed to the Public) 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Family Tribute 8:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

On Saturday, November 24 the Funeral Church Service is at 11:00 a.m. at First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) of Los Angeles, 2270 South Harvard Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90018. Interment is at Inglewood Park Cemetery, 720

Randall C. Bacon E. Florence Ave., Inglewood, CA 90301. Immediately after services there will be a repast celebration at the Los Angeles Kappa Kastle, 1846 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019.

The Bacon family asks that in lieu of cards, flowers and gifts,

please consider making a donation in his name to help further champion the causes and organizations that he so passionately cared about – health and education. The memorial fund is being administered by the General Manager of the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation Inc.

8

Thursday, November 22, 2012

The tale of Thanksgiving, like that of Christopher Columbus or George Washington and the cherry tree, is well known to anyone who has spent any amount of Ɵme in the United States. “Pilgrims, fleeing from religious persecuƟon in England, sailed across the AtlanƟc Ocean and seƩled in the ‘New World’ and, aŌer making it through harsh winters and lack of necessiƟes, held a feast of Thanksgiving for being able to survive.”

Although the tale may be well known, the truth of the tale is much more sinister and uglier: “Thanksgiving Day literally is a holiday celebrating the beginnings of the almost total exterminaƟon of an enƟre race of people, commonly called ‘Indians,’ and the enslavement, conƟnued oppression and genocide of the Afrikan by European seƩlers. For over 100 years now Black folks in the United States have joined with the descendants of the same European murder[er]s who enslaved them and systemaƟcally all but destroyed the Amer-Indian, in feasƟng and giving thanks to God for the ‘opportunity’ to live in one of the most racist, imperialist, and oppressive countries on earth ... Black People celebraƟng Thanksgiving Day is like the Americans celebraƟng the bombing of Pearl Harbor, or the so-called Jews celebraƟng the rise of the Third Reich, or the PalesƟnians celebraƟng the intrusion of the seƩler colony of Zionist Israel...”

So wrote the late Dr. Ishakamusa Barashango, author of “Black People and European Holidays: A Mental Genocide,” back in 1979.

Nowadays, the tale of Thanksgiving has aƩempted to include some recogniƟon of the part indigenous peoples (American Indians) played in generously helping the Pilgrims to survive the harshness of life in the “New World,” such as Catherine O’Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac’s 2001 book, “1621 A New Look at Thanksgiving,” published by the NaƟonal Geographic Society: “The area surrounding the site of the first Thanksgiving, now known as southeastern MassachuseƩs and Eastern Rhode Island had been the home of the Wampanoag people for over 12,000 years, and had been visited by other European seƩlers before the arrival of the Mayflower. The naƟve people knew the land well and had fished, hunted, and harvested for thousands of generaƟons ... AŌer several meet-

F E AT U R E

ings, a formal agreement was made between the seƩlers and the naƟve people and they joined together to protect each other from other tribes in March of 1621.”

The authors also write that later, in the fall of 1621, the first Thanksgiving would be held. The celebraƟon lasted for three days and both seƩlers and members of Wampanoag feasted on deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat. Two years later, the first “religious” Thanksgiving Day occurred when the seƩlers “gave thanks to God for rain aŌer a two-month drought.”

Only a handful of books tell of the destrucƟon of indigenous peoples in order to control the land and resources of the “New World” such as Dr. Barashango’s and, the late Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” wriƩen in 1980.

Speaking with Tavis Smiley on NaƟonal Public Radio in 2003, Zinn stated that, “... the American colonists that came here from the beginning were invading Indian soil and driving the Indians out of their land and commiƫng massacres in order to persuade the Indians that they’d beƩer move. And the history of the U.S. is a history of hundreds of liƩle wars fought against the Indians, annihilaƟng them, pushing them farther and farther onto a smaller and smaller piece of the country. And finally, in the late 19th century, taking the Indians that were leŌ and squeezing them onto a reservaƟon and controlling them.”

In addiƟon to outright aggression, Zinn and authors such as Francis Jennings’ 1975 work “The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism and the Cant of Conquest,” show that the seƩlers’ quest for control of the land also benefited from depopulaƟon due to the spreading of deadly diseases. Smallpox, in parƟcular, took its toll on the Indians through physical contact with infected settlers and by the passing on of blankets that the ill had uƟlized.

Such grisly beginnings are the main reason why many throughout the U.S. refer to the holiday as “ThanksTaking,” in acknowledgement of the theŌ of the land of NaƟve Americans who were here first.

Thanksgiving Day, in all of its sordidness, conƟnued to take shape over the next several centuries, including what many historians cite as the first naƟonal day of Thanksgiving, held in 1789, under President George Washington who proclaimed Thursday, November 26 as “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer,” to especially give thanks for the opportunity to

L.A. Watts Times WEEKENDER

form a new naƟon and the establishment of a new consƟtuƟon - both of which enshrined and were dependent on the unpaid labor of millions of Black Africans who had been kidnapped from their homes throughout the Western Coast of the African conƟnent.

A campaign for Thanksgiving Day to become a naƟonal holiday in 1846 was led by magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale, and Abraham Lincoln declared two naƟonal Thanksgiving Days in 1863 - in August to commemorate the BaƩle of GeƩysburg, and the other in November to give thanks for “general blessings.” Lincoln would issue a proclamaƟon fixing Thanksgiving Day as the last Thursday in November.

It would be just before World War II that the holiday of Thanksgiving would have its date fixed thanks to the corporate machine we have now come to idenƟfy most holidays with.

Jennifer Rosenberg, 20th Century History Guide editor for About.com, writes that in 1939, “... the last Thursday of November was going to be November 30.

Retailers complained to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that this only leŌ 24 shopping days to Christmas and begged him to push Thanksgiving just one week earlier. It was determined that most people do their Christmas shopping aŌer Thanksgiving and retailers

www.lawattstimes.com

hoped that with an extra week of shopping, people would buy more. So when FDR announced his Thanksgiving ProclamaƟon in 1939, he declared the date of Thanksgiving to be Thursday, November 23, the second-to-last Thursday of the month.”

Rosenberg writes that the date change caused such confusion and enmity throughout the country that the United States Congress stepped into the maƩer. Thus, on December 26, 1941, Congress passed a law declaring that Thanksgiving would occur every year on the fourth Thursday of November.

And there you have it; greed in the beginning, with a heŌy side of theŌ and disease, and greed in the end.

SHOULD BLACK PEOPLE CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING? For Black people in the United States in parƟcular, the late 1960s and early 1970s saw an unprecedented rise in calls to not only study and embrace African heritage and culture, but to reject what many referred to as “euro-American” values and symbols. Men such as Malcolm X, H. Rap Brown, Fred Hampton and many others pointed out the crass commercialism associated with the holiday season and urged us to look – and keep our money – within our own communiƟes.

D o e s that

Thursday, November 22, 2012

mean we shouldn’t ‘celebrate’ Thanksgiving in the Black community? Many Black people, keenly aware of the holiday’s origins and the ironies, uƟlize the Ɵme oī from work and school to enjoy the company of their families while acknowledging the holiday’s origins and this country’s history of racist treatment of Black people and others. But there are also many who simply refuse to recognize or celebrate this holiday, seeing that stance as making a statement in solidarity with the NaƟve Americans, the first inhabitants of this land.

During the era of slavery, holidays meant that the majority of slave masters would allow their otherwise capƟve labor force the opportunity to relax, play, consume liquor and temporarily escape “the troubles of this world.”

Rather than ponƟficaƟng on the meaning of those holidays or the generosity of slave masters, many of our collecƟve ancestors put the holidays to a more pracƟcal use: they uƟlized them as a cover to escape from bondage.

Sarah Bradford, author of “Scenes from the life of Harriet Tubman,” published in 1849 writes that in 1854, “ When Harriet arrived there, it was the day before Christmas, and she found her three brothers … were adverƟsed to be sold on Christmas day to the highe s t bidder … Christmas came on Sunday, and therefore they were not to be sold

Ɵll Monday. Harriet … gave them secret noƟce to be ready to start Saturday night, immediately aŌer dark …”. Harriet’s brothers were discovered missing from the plantaƟon that Monday morning, a full day and a half later.

During that Ɵme in many areas of the U.S., Black and Red peoples united into communiƟes to fight a common enemy: the encroachment of whites onto NaƟve American lands and to keep Blacks out of chaƩel slavery. The Seminole NaƟon of Florida is perhaps the most well known historical example of such a union.

Whether we enjoy home-cooked meals with loved ones on this date, watch football games or debate the finer points of ideology, we should all take the opportunity to reflect on the poliƟcal and blood lineages Black people share with the indigenous/NaƟve Americans of this land; our shared history of suīering, and our eīorts to unify and forge a new and libratory existence for ourselves and others.

9

10

Thursday, November 22, 2012

A Black Thanksgiving

appreciative for the very breath of life to be alive in this day and time. We have come a mighty long way, and yes, we still have a long way to go toward the fulfillment of the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the realization of the aspirations and prayers of past generations. A Black Thanksgiving is the time for us to affirm the importance of giving back to help our communities to better develop and prosper. This is the time for sharing what we have with those who are less fortunate. More than 40 million Black Americans now spend more than $1 trillion annually.

“Thanksgetting” presupposes “Thanksgiving.” Let’s assess how we spend that much money every 12 months. How much is for our empowerment as a people? How much do we spend to educate our children? How much do we invest in our own businesses and institutions such as our Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)? How much to we give to our churches and charities that serve the interests of our communities? How much do we give back to Africa?

We should at Black Thanksgiving be financially supporting the NAACP, SCLC, National Urban League, NAFEO, Rainbow

Push Coalition, National Action Network, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Diamond Empowerment Fund, Georges Malaika Foundation, the NNPA and other organizations and institutions that continue to make a positive difference in the United States, in Africa and the world community. We should be particularly aware and supportive of the African Union and other Pan African organizations.

A Black Thanksgiving should show utmost respect and solidarity with our Native American brothers and sisters who still are struggling for self-determination, freedom and development. It is also important to note here that we should be more proactive in building lasting coalitions with our Latino brothers and sisters because we have mutual interests, anthropological and cultural roots, as well as sharing strategic political goals and objectives as just witnessed on Election Day. The future success of our advancement is dependent upon our unity and solidarity with others who know from history and from the present day realities the importance of standing up, speaking out, taking action, and working tirelessly for the freedom and equality of all people throughout the world.

We are very thankful for the reelection of President Barack H. Obama.

This election was triumphantly won by the massive voter turnout against the backdrop of voter suppression. The world is continuing to change for the better and the varied prospects for Black Americans to prosper going forward are significantly enhanced. We just have to stay focused and to avoid the regressive temptations of hopelessness and cynicism. Lastly, when you have an “undying love,” respect and a sense of giving for the help of your own family and community, you are clear about the necessity to have love, respect and a sense of giving for the help of others.

Thus, a Black Thanksgiving in the truest sense is a Thanksgiving for all people.

Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is President of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network and Education Online Services Corporation and can be reached at drbenjamin.chavis@gmail.com.

symptoms. Living with uncontrolled diabetes long-term can lead to severe health consequences such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, neuropathy and blindness.

Additional key findings from the report include: • Diabetes prevalence was highest among Latinos (13.5 percent) and African Americans (12.4 percent).

Latinos and African Americans also have the highest prevalence of obesity.

• Asian/Pacific Islanders experienced the largest percentage increase (68 percent) from 1997 to 2011 (prevalence increased from 5.9 percent to 9.9 percent).

• Among adults aged 65 and older, nearly one in four (24.1 percent) reported having diabetes.

• Adults living in households below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) were nearly twice as likely to have diabetes compared to households at or above 200 percent of the FPL.

This disparity is likely due to higher rates of risk factors for diabetes among those living in poverty, such as obesity and physical inactivity.

What you can do to prevent Type 2 diabetes: • Follow a healthy meal plan consisting of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables; low-fat dairy products; lean cuts of meat, fish, and poultry; and limit intake of foods high in salt and sugar.

• Be physically active 30-60 minutes on most days of the week.

• Lose excess weight through a healthy diet and increased physical activity.

The report was issued in collaboration between the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the American Diabetes Association of Los Angeles. For a full copy of the report, “Trends in Diabetes: Time for Action,” visit: http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ ha or http://www.ada-losangeles.org.

BY BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR. NNPA COLUMNIST Millions of Black American families observed Thanksgiving this week.

We have much to be thankful and grateful for. Yet we should also be cognizant of the challenges and struggles that lie ahead in the pathway to future economic empowerment and social sustainability not only in America, but throughout a changing world. In other words, this is a time for reflection, self-assessment, selfimprovement, and collective development and progress.

I know that there are some cynics even among us who prefer to see the plight of Black Americans only from a pathological or from a continuously negative critique. It is true that unemployment in our communities, in particular for our youth, remains devastatingly high. Prisons and jails across the nation continue to overflow disproportionately with Black American inmates and defendants. Abject poverty continues to have an alarmingly mortal grip on too many of our families and communities. Improving the systematic quality education of our children remains one of the highest priorities.

Constructive criticism does have its place and value. But isolated and even well-intentioned criticism concerning the ongoing struggle to eliminate racism, injustice and inequality without a concomitant plan of action to advance the cause of freedom, justice and equality is just a nonproductive waste of time and energy.

A Black Thanksgiving this year and every year should be focused on taking the time as family, friends, colleagues, and simply as “brothers and sisters” to adequately assess and plan for further advancement of the interests, intelligence, and institutions of the Black American community. This is also a time for the elders of the freedom movement to share wisdom with our young emerging activists and leaders in spirit of acknowledging that every inch of progress that has been accomplished over the past 400 years has come as a consequence of struggle and sacrifice.

This is not, however, the time for carelessly taking anything for granted.

We all should be first and foremost

OBESITY Continued from page 2 “Our partnership with the L.A. County Department of Public Health has been critically important. The results of their findings show that there is a desperate need for all community groups, health care providers, businesses, schools and community leaders to take a hard look at how we can better leverage our resources and work together to address this devastating disease.”

There are three different types of diabetes, including Type 1, where the body (pancreas) produces little to no insulin; Type 2, where the body's cells resist the effects of insulin; and gestational, which occurs during pregnancy. Some common symptoms of diabetes are increased thirst and/or urination, extreme hunger, unusual weight loss, and extreme fatigue and irritability. However, in its early stages, people with diabetes may not have any

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.

Income inequality grows in U.S.

BY GEORGE E. CURRY NNPA COLUMNIST The threat of an impending fiscal cliff has sparked intense conversations about whether upper income citizens are paying their fair share of taxes. But equally important – and perhaps more important in the long term – is the issue of income inequality.

A new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute, two Washington-based think tanks, documents the growing gap between rich and poor as well as the rich and middle-class families.

That pattern holds true both nationally and at the state level.

The report, titled, Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends, found: “Over the past three business cycles prior to 2007, the incomes of the country’s highest-income households climbed substantially, while middle- and lower-income households saw only modest increases.

“During the recession of 2007 through 2009, households at all income levels, including the wealthiest, saw declines in real income due to widespread job losses and the loss of realized capital gains. But the incomes of the richest households have begun to grow again while the incomes of those at the bottom and middle continue to stagnate and wide gaps remain between high-income households and poor and middle-income households saw only modest increases.”

The poorest fifth of households in the U.S. had an average income of $20,510. The top fifth had eight times as much – $164,490.

“On average incomes fell by close to 6 percent among the bottom fifth of households between the late 1990s and the mid-2000s, while rising 8.6 percent among the top fifth,” the report found.

“Incomes grew even faster –14 percent – among the top 5 percent of households.

A similar gap existed been top earners and middle-class households.

“On average, incomes grew by just 1.2 percent among the middle fifth of households between the late 1990s and the mid-2000s, well below the 8.6 percent gain among the top fifth,” the report stated.

“Income disparities between the top and middle fifths increased significantly in 36 states and declined significantly in only one state (New Hampshire.)”

The report contains charts that show how income equality plays out at the state level.

The state with the largest household income gap was New Mexico, where the bottom fifth averaged $16,319 annually and the top fifth of households earned

George E. Curry

$161,162, a top-to-bottom ratio of 9.9. New Mexico was followed, in order, by Arizona, California, Georgia, New York, Louisiana, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois and Mississippi.

New Mexico also had the greatest gap between the middle fifth of households ($51,136) and top fifth ($161,162), a ratio of 3.2.

New Mexico was followed, in order, by California, Georgia, Mississippi, Arizona, New York, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Louisiana.

Those gaps were even larger when poor and middle-class households were compared with the top 5 percent of all earners. For example, the income of the top 5 percent of households was 13.3 times the average income of the bottom fifth.

The ratio was more than 15 times that in Arizona, New Mexico, California, Georgia and New York.

According to the report, the major reason for the growing economic disparity has been the stagnant wages for workers in the low and middle-income brackets while wages of the highest paid employees have grown significantly.

“The erosion weakness of wage growth for workers at the bottom and middle of the income scale reflects a variety of factors,” the report noted. “Over the last 30 years, the nation has seen increasingly long periods of high unemployment, more intense competition from foreign firms, a shift in the mix of jobs from manufacturing to services, and advances in technology that have changed jobs.

The share of workers in unions also fell significantly.

“At the same time, the share of the workforce made up of households headed by women – which tend to have lower incomes – has increased. Government policies such as the failure to maintain the real value of the minimum wage and to adequately fund supports for low-wage workers as well as See CURRY, page 15

Thursday, November 22, 2012

11

e v e n t LISTINGS

11-12 / 2012

L.A. Watts Times Calendar, Compiled by Brandon I. Brooks, Co-Managing Editor 11/23 GARRETT MORRIS’ DOWNTOWN BLUES & COMEDY CLUB: Garrett Morris’ Downtown Blues & Comedy Club is an iconic element of the downtown L.A. entertainment scene, providing an eclectic mix of hilarious comedy and impassioned harmonies that merge to form an unrivaled entertainment experience.

WHEN: Doors open: 8:00 p.m.

Music performance: 8:45 p.m.

Reservations: (213) 841.3940. Ticket Prices: $20. WHERE: 501 S. Spring Street Los Angeles, CA 90013 (Inside the Alexandria Hotel – Valet Parking). Headliner: Brett Butler. Music by: The Billy Mitchell Group. For more information please visitwww.downtowncomedyclub.com.

11/27 HOLIDAY JOB FAIR (CALL CENTER JOB FAIR): What better gift to receive than a job for the holidays! If you like working with people in a fast-paced environment, Chairman Jerome E. Horton invites you to attend a Job Fair where you can get information about full-time positions being offered at the Board of Equalization’s new Call Center opening soon in Culver City, California. BOE staff will be available to answer your questions and help Jerome E. Horton guide you through the process of applying for the available Tax Technician positions.

Representatives from our call center will also present two helpful orientation sessions at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. where you can learn more about becoming part of this dynamic team! WHEN: 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. WHERE: 5901 Green Valley Circle, Room 3A, Culver City, California 90230. Make sure you come prepared by following these three easy steps: 1. Complete a State of California application at: jobs.ca.gov/Profile/StateApplication. 2.

Take the online exam and receive your results immediately:jobs.ca.gov/JOBSGEN/8PB65.PDF. 3. Bring your State application (must be postmarked by 11/30) and test results to the Job Fair or send by mail to: California State Board of Equalization 450 N Street-MIC 90 Sacramento, California 95814. For more information on other taxes and fees in California, visit www.taxes.ca.gov.

ON GOING 11/22/12 – 4/7/13 CAAM PRESENTS GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN: The California African American Museum (CAAM) presents the exhibition “Go Tell It On The Mountain.” WHEN: On view through April 7, 2013, which showcases 24 artists who examine Christianity’s role in fostering political action and social engagement. The exhibition’s curators, Nery Gabriel Lemus and Mar Hollingsworth, utilized James Baldwin’s 1953 novel of the same title, “Go Tell It On The

Mountain,” as a point of departure to select a variety of pieces. The selections celebrate faith and, at times contrast, the oppositional forces within Christianity and the underlying tensions of religious control as well as human hypocrisy.

In connection with the “Go Tell It On The Mountain” exhibition, CAAM will host a presentation and lecture, facilitated by theologian Dr. Darmise Maris entitled The Black Church and the Shaping of African American Culture, Sunday November 25th at 2 p.m. CAAM exhibitions and events are free and open to the public. WHERE: CAAM is located at 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles. For more information visit www.caamuseum.org or call (213) 744-2024. Parking is $10 per vehicle and available on 39th and Figueroa streets.

UP & COMING 11/30 FRIDAY NIGHT ONE NIGHT SPECIAL EVENT: Come out and enjoy Chicago jazz vocalist, Ava Long. WHEN: 8:00 p.m.

WHERE: The Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center, 4305 Degnan Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90008 The Cover Charge is $20.00 per person. Refreshments will be available for purchase. For reservations, please call 323-296-BARB (323-296-2272). For more information, and to buy online, please visit the website, www.barbaramorrisonpac.com.

12/1/12 – 1/6/13 THROUGH THE HILLS: Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau and the City of Beverly Hills celebrate the holidays with the city’s first ever full-scale, public ice rink located in the Golden Triangle. WHERE: Positioned in front of the iconic Beverly Hills City Hall building on Crescent Drive between North and South Santa Monica Boulevards. WHEN: The ice skating rink (made of real ice) is open December 1, 2012 - January 6, 2013, providing entertainment throughout the season for visitors and locals alike. The ice

GLIDING

skating rink will operate seven days a week, Sunday through Thursday 1 2 p.m. – 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 12 p.m. – 10 p.m. Skate admission and rental is $15 (adult) and $11 (children under 12) per hour session (session times vary, visit lovebeverlyhills.com for schedule). Bottled water, gloves and socks will be available for purchase and the rink will include viewing areas for those who wish to watch the skaters and lockers for personal belongings.

12/10 CG YOGA STUDIO WANTS TO ADOPT-AFAMILY: 'Tis always the season to give, but this holiday season CG Yoga Studio wants to give a little more. We are currently seeking submissions to adopt a family in need living in the Los Angeles area. CG Yoga Studio will supply the selected families entire Christmas: Tree, Meal, & Gifts. WHEN: Deadline for submissions is

Monday December 10, 2012. WHERE: 223 S. LaBrea Ave Inglewood, CA 90301. For more information please call (310) 673-9643. Please email submissions to: info@cleargardensyoga.com. Donations are welcomed.

12/12 CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING

CEREMONY AND WINTER SHOWCASE TOY DRIVE: The City of Carson Recreation and Human Services Division will be hosting its Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and Winter Showcase Toy Drive. WHERE: Congresswoman Juanita MillenderMcDonald Community Center located at 801 E. Carson St. in Carson. WHEN: There will be Carolers singing holiday favorites

to launch the ceremony at 5:00 p.m. in the Atrium with Santa and his sleigh. The Tree Lighting will take place promptly at 5:30 p.m.

The doors for Halls A, B, and C will open immediately following with the Winter Showcase starting at 6:00 p.m. The Winter Showcase is a collection of performances put on

by Carson children. There will be one group from each of the 12 city parks performing. This is an opportunity for everyone to enjoy Carson's young talent.

There is a $3.00 admission fee at the door, or attendees may bring an unwrapped toy in place of the admission fee. One unwrapped toy admits one adult and one child only.

For more information on the event, please contact the Human Services Division at (310) 847-3570.

TO MAKE A CALENDAR SUBMISSION: Include event name, date(s), time, location, contact/RSVP information and admission price, if any.

Use BRIEF paragraph format (no lists, line breaks, or all caps). All calendar submissions are space-permitting and may be edited for brevity. Send submissions, along with any images, to brandon@lasentinel.net with the subject heading “LAWT Community Events.” Please include text in the body of your email, not in an attachment.

12

Thursday, November 22, 2012

50 Cent takes swing at ‘Trapped’ on promoting boxing in Nevada Broadway? R. Kelly is working on it

BY KEN RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

50 Cent, born Curtis Jackson, arrives at the 40th Anniversary American Music Awards on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012, in Los Angeles.

Rapper and entrepreneur 50 Cent is taking a swing at promoting boxing in Nevada.

Nevada Athletic Commission executive Keith Kizer said Monday the entertainer and businessman whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III won approval earlier this month for a promoter’s license.

The company is called SMS Promotions.

It’s handling a Dec. 8 bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas between Cuban-born Miami-based boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa and an opponent yet to be named.

Messages left Monday with the company in New York City weren’t returned.

Kizer says 50 Cent and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. had been talking about forming a promotions company called TMT Promotions.

But the rapper told the commission those plans fell through, and the fledgling business was being absorbed by SMS Promotions.

AP Photo

Andre 3000 isn’t in a rush to record new album

BY MESFIN FEKADU ASSOCIATED PRESS In order to capture his best version of Jimi Hendrix for an upcoming biopic, Andre 3000 said he had to think of him as a regular dude and not a rock star.

“I didn’t look at him as an icon because when you’re in it, you don’t know you’re an icon. You don’t know you’re an icon until other people say you’re an icon,” the 37-yearold said in a recent interview.

“So I had to take it as a person, you know what I mean? And I just tried to say, ‘Well, what would Jimi want people to know that they can't get off of YouTube?’ And that's how I approached it,” he said.

Hendrix died at age 27 in 1970.

He was ranked No. 1 on Rolling Stone magazine's greatest guitarists of all-time list. His band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, is known for iconic albums such as “Electric Ladyland” and “Are You Experienced.”

“All Is by My Side,” which focuses on the early days of Hendrix’s career, will be released next year. Andre 3000 is excited to see the film, which he’s finished shooting in Ireland. He believes the public “will be pleased.”

Andre 3000, one-half of OutKast with Big Boi, has been out of the music scene in recent years, although he’s been featured on songs by Beyonce, Frank Ocean, Rick Ross, Ke$ha and Young Jeezy.

OutKast’s 2006 platinum-selling album, “Idlewild,” which accompanied a film of the same name starring the duo, was their last album.

AP Photo

Andre 3000 Their 11-time platinum “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” won the 2004 Grammy Award for album of the year.

Big Boi, who released a solo album two years ago to welcoming reviews, will release a new solo disc, “Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors,” next month.

But Andre 3000 isn’t in a rush to record an album.

“Some days I feel like I'll do it, some days I don’t. Some days I

feel like I don’t need to, some days I feel like I want to do it before I die. So, I don’t know where to fall.

I am just hoping one day I get that inspiration,” he said at an event for Gillette’s eMO’gency Styler Tour, which supports men’s health and prostate cancer programs. The tour kicked off in New York, with stops scheduled in Chicago and Houston.

“It’s a feeling for me. Like, I can’t just throw out an album to be

R. Kelly

Is Broadway ready for Twan, Sylvester, Pimp Lucius and “the package”? R. Kelly thinks so — and says he’s working to bring the wacky characters and plotlines in his even wackier “Trapped in the Closet” series to the Great White Way. The superstar announced Monday night that he’s had an offer to bring the cult classic to the stage, and he may even be in some performances.

“To transform it into a Broadway version, that’s what I’m working on,” he told a packed house at the Sunshine Theater, where he unveiled the latest chapters in “Trapped in the Closet,” which will debut on the IFC channel on Friday.

Kelly gave no other details about a possible Broadway adaptation of the wildly popular video opera. It got its start from a stirring series of songs Kelly debuted in 2005, which ended with a cliffhanger. The songs captured so much attention that Kelly made an over-the-top video series about it that just got crazier and crazier as he added more chapters.

Kelly has often referred to “Trapped” as an alien, and on

Monday, he said: “I’m glad to be one of the astronauts to take this thing to the unknown.”

He thanked the enthusiastic crowd for accepting the series, and admitted that he always wanted to act: “Somehow, I landed ‘Trapped in the Closet’ from being silly.”

He also joked about the ridiculous nature of the series.

“I’m just having a lot of fun. I don’t have a job, so I sit in the studio all day and think of stuff to do and this is just something stupid I’ve done that’s been successful for me,” he said. “I’m having a lot of fun with it.”

The latest chapters introduce a few new faces, and like the others series, ends with a cliffhanger. While it’s taken Kelly five years to add these latest chapters, Kelly says he won’t take as long to produce more.

“I want everybody to know I’ve got 85 chapters of ‘Trapped in the Closet’ waiting in the studio for y’all,” he said. “The chapters that are coming — the show, we call it — is going to exceed every chapter that you have ever seen.”

Kelly capped off the evening with a rendition of one of his biggest hits, “I Believe I Can Fly,” for the audience.

rapping,” he said. “And I don’t even know if it will be rap. I don’t even know what it will be.”

However, he could find the inspiration and complete an album in just a few days: “It could be a rush situation. Like if I feel that feeling and I record an album in three days and I’m like, ‘This is what I want to say right now’ — that can happen, too.”

He also says he’s constantly writing songs.

“I write all the time. ... I actually stopped typing it in my phone because like a cloud is basically reading every thought that I have and I don’t like that,” he said. “So I

went back to my paper and started writing.”

He’s not sure fans want a new OutKast album for the right reasons.

“Man, we’ve had a great ride. ...

Like when we got into it when we were high school kids and we just wanted to do something fun and push it, and if it’s not that then why do it?” he said.

“I’m not the type that prescribes to nostalgia, and most people say they want an OutKast album because they used to love it. Y’all don’t even know if y’all still love it.

You just know you used to love it.

But you may not like it now, who knows?”

BY NEKESA MUMBI MOODY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Thursday, November 22, 2012

13

Q&A: Nicki Minaj Queen of Soul on new music and performs for first ‘American Idol’ lady

BY MESFIN FEKADU ASSOCIATED PRESS Nicki Minaj, the rapper who has had much success on the pop charts with songs like “Starships” and “Super Bass,” says the rerelease of her sophomore album will be nostalgic for her early fans.

“The feel of the rerelease is kind of like my first sound, like the mixtapes,” she said of “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded — The Re-Up,” out Tuesday.

The rerelease comes seven months after “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. That album features pop, dance, R&B, reggae and rap sounds. It's a far stretch from when Minaj kicked off her career as a sexed-up street rapper, signed by Lil Wayne in 2009 after she released three buzzed-about mixtapes.

Her official debut, “Pink Friday,” is near double platinum and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

But the 29-year-old says she’s “back to basics” on her eight-track “Re-Up,” which features Lil Wayne, Tyga and some of Minaj’s proteges.

“It sounds probably more hood in some ways, for a lack of a better word,” she said.

Her pop fans won’t be disappointed, though: There’s also the Dr. Lukeproduced, dance-flavored “Va Va Voom.”

In a recent telephone interview, Minaj talked about her new music, artists she is mentoring and working (kind of) with and Mariah Carey on “American Idol.”

The Associated Press: What’s the energy like on the rerelease?

Minaj: I studied a lot of the production side of this particular rerelease.

It was just important that the beats sounded a certain way. ... I was really able to step up the writing on it as well.

AP: This album features some of your signed artists, Parker and Thomas Brinx. How’s it feel to pay it forward?

Minaj: It’s exciting because I think that I’m finally in a position to open doors for other people and it’s a great feeling because I feel like they're so, so talented. Parker, he’s actually from London and he’s a writer, producer, singer ... and I'm going to be putting out music with him at the top of the year. ...

Brinx was someone that I knew for a long time. I was rapping with him before I even got a deal and his skills have always been so exceptional. ... So I always felt like if I got an opportunity I would bring him along and now I have that opportunity.

AP: You let cameras follow you for a three-part reality special on E! What was that like?

Minaj: It’s been fun because I think that my fans are getting a real kick out of it. I’m happy I did it. ... I don't really have an opinion on it. It was just a decision for me to show

BY OSCAR WELLS GABRIEL II ASSOCIATED PRESS Aretha Franklin says “it was fabulous” to have first lady Michelle Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder attend her show in Washington, D.C. The Queen of Soul sang for Mrs. Obama and Holder — as well as for Photo by Chris Pizzello/AP, file about 3,000 fans at DAR This July 25, 2012 file photo shows Aretha Constitution Hall on Franklin performing at the NOKIA Theatre Saturday night. Afterward, L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles. Franklin sang for Franklin said it was great to Mrs. Obama and Holder – as well as for about see her VIP guests relax and “shake their hips a lit- 3,000 fans at DAR Constitution Hall on tle,” especially after a Saturday, Nov. 17. Afterward, Franklin said it tough reelection campaign. was great to see her VIP guests relax and Franklin has performed “shake their hips a little,” especially after a for Mrs. Obama before — tough reelection campaign. at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Franklin ly come and would love to sing.”

Franklin also paid tribute to the told The Associated Press she doesn’t think there will be an encore in 2013, late Whitney Houston, singing “I though if invited she “would certain- Will Always Love You.”

Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Nicki Minaj arrives at the 40th Anniversary American Music Awards on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012, in Los Angeles. more of myself and I never really know how people are going to react to it, so I’ve started stepping back and away, and getting away from just overthinking it.

AP: Were you hesitant about doing it?

Minaj: Of course I was hesitant.

I’m a very private person. I definitely thought about it a lot and then I went for it.

AP: What are your favorite albums of the year?

Minaj: I really have been enjoying all of the hip-hop albums that came out because I feel like hip-hop artists have been taking their careers into their own hands and I just want to give a salute to everyone because it’s not easy. ... The music has been sort of changing and adding new sounds to the game and introducing new people to the game, so I would just give a big nod to hip-hop for 2012.

AP: Is working as a judge on “American Idol” what you thought it would be like?

Minaj: No. ... They’re very long days and that’s the biggest thing I didn’t really expect. ... I’m used to being

able to handle my business at any time, and when it’s ‘American Idol,’ sometimes we’re in one place for eight hours judging people and I can’t go to my BlackBerry every five minutes like I'm used to. So that kind of slows my business down and that is something that I never could have foreseen. But, as a whole, I love the experience that I’m getting.

AP: How are you and Mariah Carey, another new judge on “Idol,” getting along?

Minaj: (Click.)

Black Facts.com November 27, 1976 Jaleel White was born November 27, 1976 in Pasadena, California.

He started acting in commercials for Jack In The Box and other companies at the age of 3. His first televison role was on CBS’s “The Jeffersons” in 1985. White is best remembered as being the ever annoying and loveable Steve Urkel for Warner Brother’s Hit series “Family Matters.”

1960s, ’70s hit R&B singer Billy Scott dies in NC ASSOCIATED PRESS Rhythm and blues singer Billy Scott has died in North Carolina at age 70.

Bill Kopald with the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame said Scott died from pancreatic and liver cancer Saturday at his home in Charlotte.

Born Peter Pendleton in Huntington, W. Va., he sang with various groups while in the Army.

After he was discharged in 1964, he changed his name and with his wife, Barbara, in 1966 began recording as The Prophets. Their first gold record was 1968’s “I Got the Fever.” Other hits included “California” and “Seaside Love” as the Georgia Prophets.

AP Photo/North Carolina Music Hall of Fame

Rhythm and blues singer Billy Scott is seen in an undated photo provided by the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Scott died from pancreatic and liver cancer Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012 at his home in Charlotte, N.C., according to Bill Kopald with the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. He was 70.

The group recorded a number of hits in the 1970s in the beach music genre, a regional variant of R&B. Scott was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 1999.

14

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Parks and Perry’s Dwight Howard Day

Little things adding up for Notre Dame’s Golson

Betsy Annas/City Hall

Councilmember Bernard C. Parks, his Council District 8 staff and Snoop Lion with Dwight Howard on Dwight Howard Day. SENTINEL NEWS SERVICE Councilmembers Bernard C. Parks and Jan Perry declared November 14, 2012 Dwight Howard Day in the city

of Los Angeles. Parks and Perry hosted a special event at City Hall where they presented Dwight Howard an official 6' 10" city resolution (Dwight's height) with the help of surprise guest,

Snoop Lion (formerly Snoop Dogg).

The Crenshaw Choir sang and city staff members looked on as Parks and Perry welcomed Howard to the city of Los Angeles.

AP Photo/Winslow Townson

Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson throws under pressure from Boston College’s Kasim Edebali during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Boston Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012.

BY TOM COYNE ASSOCIATED PRESS Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly believes Everett Golson is ready for

what awaits him at Southern California.

He believes the 6-0, 185-pound sophomore quarterback who did See GOLSON, page 15

Randolph fined $25K for locker room confrontation ASSOCIATED PRESS Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for confronting Oklahoma City's Kendrick Perkins following both their ejections in a game last week.

The fine was announced Monday by Stu Jackson, the league’s executive vice president of basketball operations.

Randolph and Perkins were each ejected for an altercation with 2:05 remaining in the fourth quarter of Memphis’ 107-97 win in Oklahoma City on November 14.

Perkins and Randolph AP Photo confronted each other between Russell Zack Randolph Westbrook’s free throw nels at opposite ends of Chesapeake attempts and were both tossed.

The two tried to approach each Energy Arena. Randolph then talked other while being restrained by team- to Perkins near the locker room, mates before finally heading out tun- drawing the fine.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

15

ASIA SUMMIT

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP MA2013-04

Continued from page 6 meeting with Obama, telling reporters: “With the increasing severity of the security environment in East Asia, the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance is increasing evermore.”

Earlier this month, the U.S. and Japan held naval exercises involving some 37,400 Japanese and 10,000 U.S. troops, highlighting the tensions.

“There needs to be a lowering of tensions around these territorial disputes,” Rhodes said following the meetings. “There’s no reason to risk any potential escalation, particularly when you have two of the world’s largest economies — China and Japan — associated with some of those disputes.”

Obama and Noda, speaking to reporters ahead of their meeting, ignored shouted questions about the South China Sea disputes. So did Obama and Wen. Meanwhile, the explosive crisis in the Middle East has competed for Obama’s time throughout his trip.

On Tuesday he dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Middle East in hopes that she can help mediate an end to bloody conflict in the region.

Clinton will begin her Mideast diplomacy by meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. She also will meet with Palestinian officials in Ramallah before heading to Cairo to meet with leaders in Egypt.

Israel has been firing rockets into the Gaza Strip in an attempt to end months of rocket fire out of the Hamas-ruled territory. The U.S. says Israel has a right to defend itself.

FLEET VEHICLE AND SPECIAL EQUIPMENT REPAIR/MAINTENANCE SERVICE

GOLSON Continued from page 14 not play as a freshman is ready.

Ready for the pressure of leading the Fighting Irish (11-0) on the field ranked No. 1 for the first time in 19 years. Ready for a rivalry

CURRY Continued from page 10 changes to the tax code that favored the wealthy have also contributed to growing wage inequality.”

Authors of the report made the following recommendations for narrowing the inequality gap: •Raise and index the minimum wage; •Improve and extend unemployment insurance; •Make state tax systems more progressive by weighing he impact of sales tax and user fees on lowincome families and •Strengthening the safety net.

“The consequences of growing income inequality reach beyond individual families,” the report stated. “For instance, in order to compete in the future economy, states and the nation as a whole need a highly-skilled workforce.

But research shows that children from

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority (“Authority”), which owns and operates the Bob Hope Airport (“Airport”) in Burbank, California, invites you to submit a proposal, to become the primary vendor, for performance of repairs and preventive maintenance of Authority-owned and/or leased fleet vehicles and special equipment (“Authority Vehicles.”) The Authority requires that all state and federal regulatory requirements be satisfied, and that all Authority Vehicles be maintained and repaired in a professional and cost-effective manner with as little down time as possible, using on-site staffing and facilities as much as possible. When that’s not possible, proposer’s off-site facilities must be within 25 miles of the airport. The Authority will select the best-qualified proposal from among all qualified firms submitting proposals (“Proposers”). The Authority will conduct a mandatory pre-proposal conference and facility tour on December 4, 2012 at 10:00 A.M. at 2627 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505 2nd Floor Administrative Offices, Skyroom.

Copies of the proposal may be obtained through the Bob Hope Airport website www.bobhopeairport.com under “Business Opportunities: or by contacting Purchasing Department, at (818) 840-8840. Sealed responses are to be received no later than 2:00 P.M., Monday, December 17, 2012. Responses received after the deadline will not be accepted. Public opening of the responses received will occur at 2:05 P.M., Monday, December 17, 2012.

poor families don’t perform as well in school and are likely to be lessprepared for the jobs of the future.

Moreover, as income gaps widen, wealthy households become increasingly isolated from poor and middle-income communities. This hurts the nation’s sense of community and shared interests, for example, undermining support for public schools and other building blocks of economic growth.”

George E. Curry, former editorin-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA.) He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com. You can also follow him at www.twitter.com/currygeorge.

BlackFacts.com November 24, 1868 Scott Joplin, the King of Ragtime, was born on this day in 1868 in Texarkana, Texas. A skilled pianist and composer, Joplin started a 20-year ragtime craze with the release of his composition “Maple Leaf Rag” in 1897, during the Gay Nineties. Ragtime-scored piano music-at the time was considered Negro tavern and brothel music. Its tinny sound was the source of the name Tin Pan Alley, the center of ragtime in New York City.

The lack of recognition of ragtime as a serious African-American musical art form plagued Joplin throughout his life. He died in an asylum in New York City on April 1, 1917, at the age of 49.

game that has been dominated over the past decade by USC (7-4).

Ready to help Notre Dame advance to the BCS title game with a win.

Kelly said he bases that opinion by the maturity Golson has shown as he’s improved throughout the season, playing in tough venues such as Michigan State and Oklahoma and rallying the Irish from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh to a triple-overtime victory.

“All of those things go into Saturday and all of those will be positives for him going into the USC game,” Kelly said.

Golson said he is feeling more comfortable because of all he’s learned and he has learned to manage the clock better so he doesn’t have to rush each play.

“I think I’ve progressed a lot,” he said.

Golson keeps doing a lot more of the little things right and it's leading to more big plays for the Irish. He waited until the last second to pitch the ball to set up Cierre Wood’s 68-yard touchdown run on the fourth play against Wake Forest. He had TD passes of 50 and 34 yards against Wake Forest, and the second came after a nice pump fake.

Slowly, Golson has turned what had been an at-best average offense into one that opponents are increasingly having trouble slowing down.

“He’s a guy that makes explosive plays,” Kelly said. “He’s got the ability to throw it. He can run the football. He’s elusive. I think we’re seeing a guy that’s growing

each and every week.”

Through Notre Dame’s first five games, Golson was 67-of-111 passing for 827 yards with three touchdown passes and three interceptions, with a pass efficiency rating of 126.46. He also had run for 40 yards on 27 carries.

In the last five games, after sitting out against BYU with a concussion, Golson is 84-of-145 passing for 1,091 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions, a pass efficiency rating completion rate of 136.58. He’s also run for 202 yards on 53 carries — and that includes just one carry in the win over Wake Forest.

The Irish have improved during that span from 71st in the nation in total offense, averaging 398.4 yards a game, to 50th, averaging 419.7.

“He’s definitely on the right path to providing us the offense that we need,” Kelly said.

The coach admitted he hasn’t run Golson as much as he'd like because he still needs to get stronger.

“He still needs another coat of armor on him. He needs another year in the weight room and he needs to get thicker. We want to be judicious when we run him,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to run him. He’s better when he runs, physically and mentally. He loves to run.”

Golson is the fourth quarterback in Notre Dame history to start his career with nine straight victories. He would have 10 straight if he hadn't been benched the first three plays against Miami. The school record is 11 wins by Bob Williams during the national cham-

CITY OF LOS ANGELES $50,000 REWARD NOTICE The City of Los Angeles offers a reward payable at the discretion of the City Council to one or more persons in the sum or sums up to an aggregate maximum total sum of $50,000 for information leading to the identification and apprehension of the person or persons responsible for the act of murder against, KENRICK BLACKMON, in the City of Los Angeles.

On Saturday, April 21, 2012, at approximately 1: 35 a.m., 22-year old Kenrick Blackmon was shot while driving with friends south on San Pedro Street towards Century Boulevard. Mr. Blackmon was not associated with any gangs and had no criminal history, and was killed only six blocks from his home. Detectives are continuing to investigate Mr. Blackmon’s murder, but have been unable to identify any suspects at this time. Detectives hope that a monetary reward compels members of the public to provide more information. The person or persons responsible for this crime represent an ongoing threat to the safety of the people of Los Angeles.

Unless withdrawn or paid by City Council action, this offer of reward shall terminate on, and have no effect after, MAY 17, 2013.

The provisions of payment and all other considerations shall be governed by Chapter 12 of Division 19 of the LAAC Code, as amended by Ordinance Nos. 158157 and 166666. This offer shall be given upon the condition that all claimants provide continued cooperation within the criminal justice system relative to this case and is not available to public officers or employees of the City, their families, persons in law enforcement or persons whose misconduct prompted this reward. If you have any information regarding this case, please call the Los Angeles Police Department at 1-877-LAWFULL, 24 hours.

C. F. No. 12-0010-s44 11/22/12 CNS-2409723# WATTS TIMES

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAMES FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2012211377 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Fashion Driven by IstyleIsmile, 6625 Springpark Ave Apt 14, Los Angeles, Ca. 90056, County of Registered owner(s): Monét Lorenz Lamb, 6625 Springpark Ave Apt 14, Los Angeles Ca. 90056 This business is conducted by an Individual The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.)

S/ Monét Lorenz Lamb, Owner/Operator This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on October 23, 2012 NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).

Original 11/8, 11/15, 11/22, 11/29/12 CNS-2406285# WATTS TIMES

pionship season of 1949.

Last week, the focus was working on footwork and communicating with teammates, calling plays and then checking into different plays. Kelly had Golson watching film of Peyton Manning and other quarterbacks.

“Manning is probably one of the great communicators, his ability to get into plays and check and do it efficiently,” Kelly said. “We try to use some of the greats to show some things that could be helpful.”

As for the pressure of playing at USC with Notre Dame eager to win its first national championship since 1988, Golson said he’s taking the same attitude he’s taken all year of focusing on the opponent and not worrying about the big picture.

“As far as I’m concerned, my head is down, my foot’s on the gas, I’m never going to look up and lose focus,” he said. “My thing is just keep your head down and keep pushing it.”

16

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gets roasted!!

Kareem Adul-Jabbar Immortalized Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s leading scorer, was the center of attentionthis past Friday night outside of Staples Center as his statue was unveiled.

Earving “Magic” Johnson, Jerry West, James Worth, Pat Riley, and several hundred fans were all on hand to honor Jabbar, who led the Lakers to five NBA championships.

Photo by Ken Brooks

Left to right: Mychal Thomas, Dr. J. Julius Irving, Bill Walton, Kurt Rambis, Norm Nixon, Michael Cooper, James Worthy, AC Green, George Lopez , Jamaal Wilkes, Jerry Reinsdorf, and Bill Russell.

The legendary Kareem AbdulJabbar (center) was roasted in a celebrity roast hosted by George Lopez on Saturday, November 17 at LA Live. The roast benefited the Skyhook Foundation and was

attended by a who's who of celebrities including legendary basketball friends, Dr. J. Julius Irving, Magic Johnson, Bill Watson, Norm Nixon, Kurt Rambis. Jamaal Wilkes and AC Green. Here,

Kareem ends the night with a group shot of some of those who spent time on stage roasting the icon for a sold-out crowd. For more information go to www.kareemabduljabbar.com.

2012 300S model shown with optional features. Paint color not available for 2013 MY. Beats Audio™ available on other Chrysler Group vehicles. Chrysler and Imported From Detroit are registered trademarks of Chrysler Group LLC.

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