LAWT 03-29-2012 by LA WATTSTIMES

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L.A. Watts Times Vol. XXX, No. 1277

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

March 29 - April 4

RIES ~ Give birth to some new impulses about love. The ones you’ve been using have led you to a place you do not wish to be. Give yourself a break. Change. Be less critical. Accept love even from those you do not completely agree with. Soul affirmation: I keep in mind the practical side of life this week. AURUS ~ Lots of spirituality discussions are going on around you this week. This energy will probably last throughout the week, so expect to enjoy yourself — or pass on all social company and spend the week enjoying yourself. Soul affirmation: I am a giver of good words this week. EMINI ~ This could turn out to be the most argument-filled week you’ve had for a while. Your feelings could be deeply hurt if you try to force your sense of rightness off on anyone else. Chill. Remember that in the past when people were cantankerous you could find pleasure in nature or animals. Soul affirmation: I put my charm to work for me this week. ANCER ~ Your good will and intentions toward others will reap you an inheritance of abundance and wealth. You will be blessed with many good wishes and enjoy them in the company of family and friends. Soul affirmation: I appear to others what I know myself to be. EO ~ Your dignity and composure is a sure asset this week. Be Mr. or Ms. Cool Breeze. In touchy situations you have the ability to maintain a high level of emotional balance and a calm disposition. Use these qualities to the fullest this week. You have the know-how to re-direct negative feelings into a positive solution. Soul affirmation: Superficiality is often the best route to clarity. IRGO ~ It’s best to keep your opinions to yourself this week, as many will be experiencing minor irritations and general grumpiness. Let others be who they are. You are a beacon of serenity. Others will notice. Soul affirmation: As chances come around again. I take advantage of them.

Inside This Edition Guilty plea by ex-official

IBRA ~ You are often superb at exercising good judgment and rational decision-making. Yet sometimes you are rash. Flip to the observant side of your mentality this week. You will soon find yourself in a situation where there will be strife if you are not careful. Soul affirmation: A cheerful soul should be wrapped in a cheerful package. CORPIO ~ Just to prove to yourself once again how lucky you are, you should fly into the face of bad predictions. Gamble this week in business, relationships, love – something. Remain truly confident that things will come out in a way that will satisfy you. Soul affirmation: Change is my middle name. AGITTARIUS ~ It’s a great week to tell somebody you are close to that you love them. Saying it aloud gives you energy — and of course your designated adorer will be delighted! Keep the big picture in mind this week and you’ll feel completely buoyant! Soul affirmation: I keep my eyes open for business opportunities this week. APRICORN ~ Keep focused. Your energies are likely to be spread out this week. Your attention is likely to be pulled in many directions. Let yourself be seduced by the things that interest you most. Concentrate on your affairs. Others need you, but they can wait. Soul affirmation: I find a source of strength in someone I love. QUARIUS ~ Hardly anyone alive learns new skills in an instant, so cut yourself some slack if you feel you’ve made a beginner’s mistake somewhere. Mistakes are part of the learning process that is called Life, so self-correct and proceed with happiness. Soul affirmation: I let go and let the spirit take control. ISCES ~ This week will bring a tendency to dwell on a past betrayal. Your feelings of suspicion are well-founded. However, do not personalize it. Work against the harmful act but not against the person who committed it. Soul affirmation: I am what I consistently do.

A P

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in LA Coliseum probe

BY LINDA DEUTSCH | ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The former general manager of the taxpayer-owned Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has pleaded guilty to a conflict-of-interest charge in an indictment stemming from a yearlong investigation into alleged mismanagement of the historic stadium. Patrick Lynch entered the plea Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court and agreed to pay $385,000 in restitution. Lynch, another former Coliseum executive, two rave promoters and two contractors were named in a 29-count grand jury indictment alleging schemes involving bribery, embezzlement, conspiracy and conflict of interest. Lynch pleaded guilty to only one of six felony counts against him and received no jail time. He will serve 1,500 hours of community service and possibly pay additional fines. The indictment alleged Lynch had a lucrative side deal with a maintenance services provider.

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April 3, 1888 “Ma (Gertrude Bridget) Rainey”: Born April 3, 1888, Rainey was known as the “Mother of the Blues.” She was born in Columbus, GA. She made her stage debut at the Columbus Opera House in 1900 in a talent show called “The Bunch of Blackberries.” She made her first recording in 1923 and her last on Dec 28, 1928. She died Dec 22, 1939, in Columbus.

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A call for justice for ALL the Trayvon Martins in America Thursday, March 29, 2012

LOS ANGELES – Putting a local face on the story of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old Sanford, Florida teen who was killed by a neighborhood watch captain February 26, Los Angeles’ Black civil rights leaders called for justice for Trayvon Martin and other similar cases in California on Tuesday. Led by Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper executive publisher Danny Bakewell Sr., hundreds of people gathered on Los Angeles Crenshaw Boulevard to stand in solidarity with African Americans around the country. “There is a Trayvon Martin in every Black community in America,” Danny Bakewell Sr. told a crowd of reporters. “Oscar Grant Jr. was shot and killed in Oakland. Mitrice Richardson, a lovely young woman, was found dead after the Los Angeles Sheriffs detained and released her in the middle of the night in Malibu. Two years later, we

still don’t know who killed her. More recently, Anthony Dunn Jr., a 31-year-old Black man who worked for the post office, died after his legs were severed when he was struck by another vehicle and pinned. The unlicensed driver, who was talking on their cellphone at the time of the accident, was not detained, and the City Attorney has only filed misdemeanor charges. We want to make sure that America knows — and particularly Los Angeles knows — that there needs to be respect and value placed on Black life. There is a Trayvon Martin in every Black community in America. We want to keep the peace, but you’re making it hard: You’re making it hard when the LAPD puts out an all-points bulletin when two dog heads turn up in a dumpster. The police will drop everything to look for the killer of a dog but won’t put in the same time and resources when a Black life is lost. Black lives are important. Our

Photo by Malcolm Ali

Los Angeles Sentinel Executive Publisher Danny Bakewell Sr. issues a call for justice for Trayvon Martin at a news conference in LA. children matter!” Former First African Methodist Episcopal Church pastor, now USC professor Reverend Cecil “Chip” Murray, said, “This is a testing time. Not just for Florida but for our nation. It is a vulgar society that ignores its youth. It is a vulgar society that will mistreat the next generation that should carry on the her-

itage of our constitution. This is a trying time and each of us is on trial. To do nothing means we are guilty. To do the wrong thing means we are guilty. To be in ignorance means that we are guilty.” Rapper and actress Yolanda “Yo-Yo” Whitaker called on the hiphop community to stand up for justice for Trayvon Martin.

Rosa Parks First Lady of Civil Rights

Shirley Chisolm First African-American Woman Elected to Congress

Olga Madar First President Coalition of Labor Union Women

Wilma Mankiller First Woman Chief Cherokee Nation

Hilda Solis First Latina U.S. Secretary of Labor

Judy Chu First Asian-American Woman Elected to Congress

Mona Pasquil First Filipina Acting Lieutenant Governor

Michelle Obama First African-American First Lady

Mary Kay Henry First Woman International President of SEIU

Linda Dent First African-American Vice President of SEIU 721

“Hip-hip is 30 years old,” YoYo told the crowd. “It’s a billion dollar industry. I know that we [rappers] have changed this world, but I encourage the entire industry to get involved and take a stand. In hip-hop, we let a lot of names be called, but coon was never one of them.” See JUSTICE, page 14

SEIU 721 Celebrates National Women’s History Month

Honoring Women Who Fought for Change and Social Justice! D E D I C AT E D T O R E L I A B L E Q UA L I T Y P U B L I C S E R V I C E S www.seiu721.org

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Black farmers file claims in USDA settlement 4

Thursday, March 29, 2012

BY ADRIAN SAINZ | ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — When Roy James needed money to buy equipment and dig an irrigation well for his father’s Mississippi farm, he applied for a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture — but was turned down. The USDA said it denied the application filed in 1995 because James had

AP Photo/Adrian Sainz

Lawyer Rose Sanders, right, helps a family fill out a claim application related to a settlement in a lawsuit between Black farmers and the Agriculture Department in Memphis, Tenn. Black farmers had sued the department, claiming discrimination in USDA loan application from 1981 to 1996.

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inadequate education and didn’t have farming experience — even though he had a college degree and had worked for years on the farm that grows soybean, wheat and cotton. “I couldn’t understand why they turned me down,” James said. “It was confusing.” He became more frustrated when he found out he missed a deadline to take part in a settlement reached by Black farmers with the USDA over discrimination claims. The 1999 settlement of the Pigford v. Glickman lawsuit provided about $1 billion to 15,000 farmers who say the agency unfairly turned them down for loans because of their race between 1981 and 1996. James said he missed the deadline because he did not find out in time, but he still filed a late claim. Thousands of other Black farmers did the same — a move that may result in a payout, after all. A second settlement approved by a court in October 2011 is giving another chance to Black farmers with discrimination claims from that era who were left out of the first Pigford settlement. Farmers who filed a late claim for the first settlement — or their relatives — have until May 11 to file a new claim for thousands of dollars. Lawyers involved in the case believe that 40,000 to 65,000 Black farmers are eligible to claim about $1.2 billion under a bill signed by President Barack Obama. Thousands have already filed claims, and advocates say payouts could be as high as $250,000 in some cases. Factors that determine how much each claimant gets include the level of damages and losses they experienced, and, because there is a limited pool of money available, how many farmers end up applying. A panel of people who are not part of the lawsuit or the USDA will decide if claimants are eligible. The Pigford settlements are viewed as a victory by many. But one group that advocates for Black farmers says they are a figurative slap in the face because they don't cover a long enough time period and claimants give up the right to appeal if they are denied. LaSalle Dudley, 72, filed a claim on behalf of his deceased older sister and her husband, who were denied a loan in the early 1980s for their cotton farm near Senatobia, Miss. The loan was intended to buy machinery so Dudley's brother-in-law could give up manual farming and expand the business. Instead, because the loan was denied, they were unable to produce enough See BLACK FARMERS, page 15

KJLH-FM to host Los Angeles town hall meeting on the topic “Black Men Standing Our Ground: Justice for Trayvon Martin”

The Los Angeles radio station continues unparalleled coverage of the Trayvon Martin case.

Dominique DiPrima, host of KJLH’s “Frontpage” show, and other community activists wear hoodies to show their solidarity with the nation over the death of Trayvon Martin. The station has been broadcasting special coverage of the Martin case. DiPrima, center, is pictured, left to right, with Abeid, Dominique Dright, Angela Hoffman, Tal Talib, Jasmyne Cannick, Avi Bernard, Brenda Caddell.

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles radio station KJLH-FM, the leading broadcast radio station for African Americans and urban consumers in Southern California, will host a town hall meeting entitled “Black Men Standing Our Ground: Justice for Trayvon Martin” on Sat., March 31, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Inglewood at Faithful Central Bible Church. The church is located at 321 North Eucalyptus St. The event is free and open to the public. Confirmed speakers include, among others, Cochran Firm attorney Brian Dunn and the Advancement Project’s Connie Rice and Minister Tony Muhammad with the Nation of Islam. KJLH’s Dominique DiPrima, host of the award-winning Frontpage show, will moderate the discussion. KJLH has provided aroundthe-clock news coverage and updates since Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old Sanford, Fla., Black teen was killed February 26 by a neighborhood block watch captain. The station is the most trusted radio source in Los Angeles for news affecting the African American community in this city and around the world. Since 1992, its award-winning Frontpage show, heard weekdays from 4:30 a.m. to 6 a.m., has been Black Los Angeles’ early communications drum.

Emmy-winning producer and talk radio veteran DiPrima regularly features newsmakers, political leaders and opinion leaders who discuss issues of national and local importance to Southern California’s African American community. On the Martin case, she has interviewed police procedures expert and retired L.A.P.D. officer Timothy Williams, Southern region Final Call reporter Brother Jesse Muhammad, and CNN analyst Roland Martin. On Wednesday, the Frontpage included Florida Congressional representative Corrine Brown and Federica Wilson, who discussed Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. Political commentator and Florida native Andre Egglletion also joined the conversation. On Thursday, March 29, rapper, actress and activist Yo-Yo will be live in the studio to talk about the case from her perspective as well as to explain why she’s called out other rappers to join her in calling for justice for the Martin family and young Black men everywhere. “White People, You Will Never Look Suspicious Like Trayvon Martin!” author Michael Skolnik of GlobalGrind.com and Russell Simmons’ Hip-Hop Action Network will also be on the show. Then, on Friday, March 30, listeners will get a chance to react and participate in the conversation as See KJLH TOWNHALL, page 5

Hundreds mourn the Rev. Al Sharpton’s mother Thursday, March 29, 2012

BY ANDY BROWNFIELD | ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEWVILLE, Ala. (AP) — The funeral for the Rev. Al Sharpton’s mother focused as much on her life as it did on her son and the civil rights movement. Hundreds of people packed a small rural church in southeastern Alabama to remember Ada Essie Sharpton, who died at 87 on Thursday after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. “The journey of her existence was the journey of this country,” Al Sharpton said. When she was born in Springfield, Ohio, she couldn’t vote, had to sit in the back of the bus and was forced to go to segregated schools, he said.

“That was her entry. In her exit, the first Black president of the United States sent a letter to her funeral,” he said, referring to a note from President Barack Obama. Ada Sharpton was raised in Alabama and later moved with her husband to New York. Al Sharpton described taking his college friends in Brooklyn, N.Y., to a Baptist church, where his mother would sing and be “overcome with the spirit,” not caring about who was watching. She moved back to Alabama in 1989. Ada Sharpton’s white casket, adorned with an arrangement of pink and white roses, was carried in by members of the Golden Gate Funeral Home — a Dallas-based group known for its singing, rhythmic step-

KJLH TOWNHALL Continued from page 4

the Frontpage hosts Radio Free® Open Phones Friday regarding the Trayvon Martin case. Owned by Stevie Wonder’s Taxi Productions, KJLH is also the Los

Angeles home for the Steve Harvey Morning Show. For more information, call 310330-2200 or log onto www.kjlhradio.com.

ping and crowning of the dead. The small 200-seat Center Baptist Church was filled to capacity, with mourners crowding along the wall to hear from different Black leaders, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King III, NAACP president Ben Jealous and TV Judge Greg Mathis. Georgetown University sociology professor and radio host Michael Eric Dyson called Ada Sharpton a mother who nurtured a number of the powerful men gathered at the church. “Al Sharpton’s genius testifies to his mother’s greatness,” Dyson said. Flava King left from Atlanta with a group of about 12 people to attend the funeral. King said he was a supporter of Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and came to honor Sharpton and his mother. “We love him, and his mother didn’t even know who he was, and that’s sad,” King said, referring to stories Sharpton has told of his mother not being able to recall the civil rights leader because of her Alzheimer’s. “That’s why we came down — to show him we know who he is.”

AP Photo/Dave Martin

The Rev. Al Sharpton places a rose on the casket of his mother, who died last Thursday following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. She was 87. “Al Sharpton’s genius testifies to his mother’s greatness,” Michael Eric Dyson said.

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Lawmaker chastised for wearing hoodie in House

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Thousands march in Mali streets to support junta

AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

People march along a central street as thousands rallied in a show of support for the recent military coup, in Bamako, Mali on Wednesday, March 28.

BY MARTIN VOGL | ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Several thousand people took to the streets of Mali's capital Wednesday in support of last week’s military takeover and a new

constitution hastily written by the coup leaders. A bloc of West African nations suspended Mali’s membership and is sending five presidents to Mali to try to “restore constitutional order” a week after soldiers ousted the democratically

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elected leader of this vast and impoverished country. The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, is also putting a peacekeeping force on standby but the junta leaders are working hard to give the semblance of normalcy here, and thousands are hoping the junta will stay. “It’s the first time I’m really proud of Mali and of Africa,” said Niamoye Toure, a young doctor. “Honestly I’d given up on Mali. It’s only now with the military that I’ve regained some hope.” Toure said the marchers wanted ECOWAS to recognize the new leadership. “Capt. Sanogo isn’t here to hold onto power, but just to bring some order to the country,” she said, referring to coup leader Capt. Amadou Sanogo. The new constitution was read on state TV late Tuesday night. The 69-article constitution includes many of the guarantees of the former law, including the guarantees of free speech, liberty of movement and freedom of thought. New measures include the creation of a military-led council headed by Sanogo. It says that the new head of state is simultaneously the head of the army, the head of the government and the head of the judiciary. The middle and final sections set out the role of the military committee now controlling the country, which calls itself the National Committee for the Reestablishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State. The new constitution says that the committee will be made up of 26 soldiers or police and 15 civilians. Those asked to serve on the committee will receive immunity and cannot be tried at a later time. Alassane Ouattara, the president of Ivory Coast who holds the rotating chair of ECOWAS, told reporters after an emergency meeting in the capital of his nation — that itself was shot up and bloodied in a political crisis last year — that Mali's democracy cannot be abandoned. The delegation of five African See MARCH IN MALI, page 14

AP Photo/House Television

Making a statement: Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., wearing a a hoodie, expressed his outrage at the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin on the floor of the House on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday. Rush received a reprimand for violating House rules WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Bobby Rush donned a hoodie during a speech on the House floor Wednesday deploring the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, receiving a reprimand for violating rules on wearing hats in the House chamber. The Illinois Democrat spoke out against racial profiling and, as he removed his suit coat and pulled the hood on the sweatshirt he was wearing underneath over his head, saying “just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum.” Rush was interrupted by the presiding officer, Mississippi Republican Gregg Harper, who reminded him that the wearing of hats was not allowed and “members need to remove their hoods or

leave the floor.” On Tuesday the 17-year-old Martin’s parents spoke on Capitol Hill at a Democratic-sponsored panel on racial profiling. Rush founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers in 1968 and served six months in prison for illegal possession of weapons when he was in his 20s. He went on to get a political science degree from Chicago’s Roosevelt University, won a seat on Chicago's city council in 1983 and was elected to Congress from Chicago's South Side in 1992. In 2000 he defeated Barack Obama, then a state senator, in a primary battle for Rush’s seat. Rush lost a son to a shooting in 1999 and has been a strong advocate for victims of gun violence.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nothing much changes for Americans’ medical care while the Supreme Court mulls the fate of President Barack Obama's health care law. The wait might take three months. Decisions can come anytime, but complex cases argued in the spring often emerge near the end of the session, in late June. In the meantime, parts of the law already in effect won’t change. That includes the provision that lets young adults stay on their parents’ insurance until they turn 26 and a requirement that health plans cover preventive care without charging a co-pay.

States will continue planning the insurance markets, called “exchanges,” that the law tells them to set up for small businesses and people buying private coverage individually. The big constitutional questions before the court — the mandate that everyone have health insurance and the expansion of the Medicaid program for the poor — are among provisions not scheduled to take effect until 2014. All the law’s provisions, including those already in effect, are in jeopardy. The court could throw out the entire act, select parts if it finds violations of the Constitution, or uphold the entire law.

No changes in US health care while court decides

Questions, answers about neighborhood shooting

Thursday, March 29, 2012

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — The fatal shooting of a Black teenager by a neighborhood watch captain who then went free has led to nationwide protests calling for the shooter’s arrest. Trayvon Martin's parents, civil rights leaders and social media users alike are portraying the case as racially motivated, saying the shooter would have been arrested had he been Black and the victim White. The shooter, George Zimmerman, told police he acted in self-defense after Martin pursued and attacked him. The case has raised a multitude of questions, some of which remain unanswered. Here are some of the facts of the case that have been established. Q: What happened? A: Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot and killed Feb. 26 during a confrontation with George Zimmerman, a 28year-old neighborhood watch volunteer in a gated community of townhomes in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman was patrolling the neighborhood when he spotted Martin, who was unarmed and walking to the home of his father’s fiancee. He was returning from a trip to the convenience store with an iced tea and a bag of Skittles. It was raining, and Martin was walking with the hood of his sweat shirt pulled over his head. He talked to his girlfriend on a cellphone moments before the shooting. Q: What is George Zimmerman’s side of the story? A: George Zimmerman has not spoken publically. He told police that he spotted Martin as he was patrolling his neighborhood and called 911 to report a suspicious person. “This guy looks like he is up to no good. He is on drugs or something,” Zimmerman told the dispatcher from his sport utility vehicle. He added that the teen had his hand in his waistband and was walking around looking at homes. “These a-------. They always get away,” Zimmerman said on a 911 call. A neighbor said there had been several break-ins in the community in the past year, including one in which burglars took a TV and laptops. A dispatcher told Zimmerman to stay in his sport utility vehicle and that an officer would be there momentarily.

Zimmerman, for unknown reasons, got out. Zimmerman told police he lost sight of the teenager and was walking back to his sport utility vehicle when he was attacked. He and Martin fought, according to witnesses. Zimmerman said Martin punched him in the nose and slammed his head against the ground. At some point, Zimmerman pulled a gun and shot Martin. Zimmerman told police he acted in self-defense. Police said Zimmerman was bleeding from his nose and the back of his head. He told police he had yelled out for help before he shot Martin. He has not been arrested or charged. Q: What is Martin’s family’s side of the story? A: Much of Martin’s side of the story comes from a cellphone conversation he had with his girlfriend moments before the shooting. She was interviewed by the family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, and he released much of what she said to the news media. She has not been identified. In the interview, she said Trayvon Martin told her that he was being followed. “She says: ‘Run.’ He says, ‘I’m not going to run, I’m just going to walk fast,’ ” Crump said, quoting the girl. The girl later heard Martin say, “Why are you following me?” Another man asked, “What are you doing around here?” Crump said. After Martin encountered Zimmerman, the girl thinks she heard a scuffle “because his voice changes like something interrupted his speech,” Crump said. The phone call ended before the girl heard any gunshots. Martin’s parents said their son made the pleas for help that witnesses heard. Q: What did Zimmerman say on the 911 call? A: On one of Zimmerman’s calls to police that night, he muttered something under his breath that some listeners say sounds like a racial slur. Others, however, say the recording is not clear enough to determine what Zimmerman

ATLANTA (AP) — The Mega Millions jackpot is now the largest in U.S. lottery history. Georgia Lottery officials say the jackpot reached $500 million on Wednesday. It has rolled 18 times since Marcia Adams of College Park won $72 million in the Jan. 24 drawing.

A winner could get $19.2 million a year for 26 years or a single payment worth $359 million. The next drawing is Friday at 11 p.m. Previously, the largest jackpot was $390 million, won by two players in Georgia and New Jersey in March 2007.

Mega Millions jackpot largest ever at $500M

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Senate Chaplain Barry Black leads Congressional staff members and others in prayer at the “Hoodies on the Hill” gathering on Capitol Hill in Washington last Friday to remember Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Black teenager who was shot in Sanford, Fla., as he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt. actually said. Q: Who is investigating? A: Sanford Police have turned over their evidence to local prosecutors for them to decide whether Zimmerman should be charged. The Justice Department and FBI have opened a civil rights investigation. Several mem-

bers of Congress have called for the case to be investigated as a hate crime. Q: Why didn’t police arrest Zimmerman? A: Zimmerman claims selfdefense, and Florida is among 21 states with a “stand your ground law,” which gives people wide latitude to use dead-

ly force rather than retreat during a fight. The Florida law lets police on the scene decide whether they believe the self-defense claim. In many cases, the officers make an arrest and leave it to the courts to work out whether the deadly force is justified. In this case, See Q & A: SHOOTING, page 13

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

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Knicks Stoudemire to miss up to 4 weeks

Dwyane Wade writing book on fatherhood

Thursday, March 29, 2012

BY TIM REYNOLDS | ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

Out for treatment: New York Knicks’ Amare Stoudemire (1).

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — The New York Knicks hope to have Amare Stoudemire back before the end of the season after a second doctor said he won’t need surgery on the bulging disk in his back. The Knicks said Wednesday they expect Stoudemire to miss about two to four weeks while getting treatment. They had previously said he was out indefinitely after an MRI revealed the injury on Monday. Point guard Jeremy Lin also will miss their game against Orlando on Wednesday because of

a sore left knee, but Carmelo Anthony said he will play despite a strained right groin. Stoudemire is returning from Miami, where he was given a second opinion on the injury. Both doctors agreed on non-surgical treatment and rehabilitation, which will include an epidural for pain relief. That could allow Stoudemire to return before the regular season ends April 26. The Knicks hold a two-game lead over Milwaukee for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

BY BARRY WILNER | ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sept. 6. The owners also approved competition committee recommendations for points of emphasis in the upcoming season, including blows to the head, horse-collar tackles and taunting. The competition committee reviewed video of blows to the head delivered by both offensive and defensive linemen and sought to reemphasize that striking, swinging or clubbing an opponent in the head or neck area is illegal. Game officials will be instructed to closely monitor those acts, which draw a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness and can bring fines. Horse-collar tackles increased enough that it alarmed the committee. Rich McKay, president of the Atlanta Falcons and chairman of the committee, said examples of horsecollar tackles will be part of a video shown to players at training camp. The owners will vote Wednesday on whether to make horse-collar tackles of quarterbacks in the pocket a penalty. Although the committee did not See SALARY CAP, page 15

Owners approve salary cap reductions

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — NFL owners ratified the agreement between the league and players’ union that takes away $36 million in salary cap space from the Redskins and $10 million from the Cowboys. Other than Dallas and Washington, no club voted Tuesday to oppose the agreement, which raised the salary cap for 2012 from about $113 million to $120.6 million. The Cowboys and Redskins have sought arbitration, which will be conducted by University of Pennsylvania professor Stephen Burbank. Both teams were penalized for overloading contracts in the 2010 uncapped season despite league warnings not to do so. Each must take at least half the reduction this year. The Cowboys will play in the season opener Sept. 5 at the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. That game will be on a Wednesday night for the first time. President Obama is scheduled to address the Democratic National Convention on

MIAMI (AP) — Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat is becoming an author. William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Wednesday plans to release “A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger than Basketball” in September. The book talks in part about Wade’s struggles growing up in Chicago and how he’s incorporating some of the lessons he learned into raising his own family. “For me, it was therapeutic to do this,” Wade told The Associated Press. Wade was awarded sole custody of his two sons in March 2011 after a long court battle with his exwife, who remains in the boys’ lives. The 2006 NBA finals MVP and eight-time All-Star said he hopes the book will show fans a side of him that they have yet to see. “I don’t have to share it with people,” Wade said. “But I felt there was a need. So many people came up to me in this process, so many fathers, so many men came up to me to congratulate me and to ask me how, how I did it and why I believed I could do it.” While the book is about fatherhood, Wade said it also features much of his own childhood. Wade spent much of this past offseason working on the book, which he said will include some story lines that even people close to him do not know. “We are thrilled and honored to publish Dwyane’s book,” Henry Ferris, a vice president and executive editor at William Morrow, said in a statement. “He has an extremely important story and message about the role of fathers in children’s lives. And his career in the NBA is also a phenomenal and exciting story.” Last year, Wade was honored by the National Fatherhood Initiative for his dedication to his two sons, given the demands of being a professional athlete and single father. Earlier this season at All-Star weekend in Orlando, Wade headlined a roundtable discussion that was part of President Barack Obama’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative. Wade has had a fascination with writing for years. When he was in

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

A new role for Dwyane Wade: father figure. high school, he considered a journalism career and was a sports writer for the school newspaper. He kept a journal during his college days at Marquette, has dabbled with poetry and once saw an ode to basketball that he wrote turned into an advertising campaign. “I think the biggest thing when I set out to write a book was just to share my experiences, from when I was a kid, my upbringing, my struggles, my joyous times, to becoming a father,” Wade said. “I’m trying to compare them, how they’ve been the same in a sense, even though my worlds are totally different. But we’re still dealing with the same things. From rags to riches, it really doesn’t matter.” Wade said he tried to open up as much as possible in the book, even though it was at times painful for him to relive certain memories. Because the book is not being released for several months, he did not divulge specifics. “People will get a better understanding of me as a person,” Wade said. “Even people who might think they know all there is, there’s things you can learn about me that you don’t know. People know that in 2008 I had one of my best seasons, averaged 30 points a game, had some of my best games. But they don't know what I had to deal with before tip-off or right after the game. It’s not focused on basketball, but it all wraps together and tells a story.”

June Ambrose: The woman behind the celebrity Thursday, March 29, 2012

BY MESFIN FEKADU | ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) — Stylist June Ambrose helped remake the image of Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey as they were preparing major comebacks, but there’s one icon she didn’t get to remake — Whitney Houston. Working with Houston wasn't a pipe dream for Ambrose. With the singer readying a return to the spotlight with the upcoming movie, “Sparkle,” and new music, it was a real possibility. But she died Feb. 11, on the eve of the Grammys at 48 of an accidental drowning, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors. “There were talks about it,” Ambrose said in an interview Monday. “I really wanted to do AP Photo/Carlo Allegri, File Whitney Houston's comeback. Celebrity stylist June Ambrose, whose ... I just felt like Whitney and I ... would have been great client roster includes Will Smith, Jay-Z and Mariah Carey, is the star of her together.” Ambrose has already own reality show on VH1. Called proven she's great with other A- “Styled by June,” Ambrose works on listers: Her client list includes re-branding celebrities Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jay-Z, Missy Elliott and Zoe Saldana, and have to strip them down and build she also was a stylist for “The X- them back up, and the reason why I have to strip them down is I need Factor.” “Jay-Z’s been a longtime client them to see themselves, not the and a friend. What I love about Jay person they want to be, but the peris that he has such a natural swag- son that they are. Face that person, ger and charisma, and he's just as accept that person and then we deal passionate about his music as I am with the alter ego. AP: When were you bitten by my art, and we have such a mutual respect for what one another does,” the fashion bug? Ambrose: I was smitten and Ambrose said. “Mary J. Blige, love working with her. ... Alicia Keys, bitten by fashion from inception. too, especially when she was preg- When I came out of my mother’s nant. It was such a pure, personal womb, I was like, ‘Where are my designer diapers?’ I used to cut up time.” On her new VH1 show, “Styled my grandmother’s curtains and by June,” the Antigua native helps designer dresses for my Barbie struggling celebrities look their dolls. In preschool, I was like, ‘I best, including actress and one- want to put on a fashion show,’ and time fashionista Mischa Barton, I got all the parents together and I female rappers Trina and Da Brat, produced a fashion show. I was like and reality TV star and singer 7 years old, like in kindergarten Aubrey O’Day. The show airs on doing fashion shows. AP: What is the most common Mondays (9:30 p.m. EDT). The Associated Press: Who mistake people make when putting together an outfit? else would you like to style? Ambrose: Fit is a factor. When Ambrose: I like broken starlets. I love to fix things. ... I would you think about the ’20s and the love to get like a Courtney Love. ’40s (and) how structured fashion Lindsay Lohan, I’d be brilliant was: That’s why I say it’s the return of the lady and the dandy because with. AP: What’s it like getting people are starting to pay a lot celebrities to trust you when taking more attention to fit. When a guy invests in a sports jacket, have it them out of their comfort zone? Ambrose: Celebrities naturally tailored if it's not something that are quite defensive by nature. They was couture to your body. ... have to protect themselves, they’re Women, wear your foundation constantly being photographed and undergarments, even if you’re judged, and social media controls skinny. Having the right foundaso much of how they feel about tion pieces, it helps you with your themselves. You know, they’re core, it helps you with that juxtaporeading the blogs, the tabloids, and sition. It’s like wearing a petticoat. it starts to kind of eat away at their ... And people also feel like they See JUNE AMBROSE, page 13 spirit and their confidence. ... I

Gospel singer goes from homelessness to top charts 11

BY JONATHAN LANDRUM JR. | ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA (AP) — James Fortune used to watch his children sleep in the bathtub before he lay beside his pregnant wife at night in a motel, wondering how he was going to provide for his family the next day. For the gospel singer, being homeless for seven months in 2007 was the most strenuous stint of his life. The constant letdown of watching others get hired for jobs while he and his wife, Cheryl, went overlooked weakened his faith. He asked in a prayer why God seemingly abandoned them during their most stressful time. But during his prayer, Fortune said he went from being emotionally stifled to at peace. That’s when he was led to write the words to his 2009 hit song, “I Trust You,” which topped the Gospel National Airplay chart for 28 straight weeks “I questioned God,” he recalled. “It seemed like God wasn’t even there and had forgotten about us because we saw other people get hired and prospering,” he continued. “It seemed like the lowest point. But in that situation, God gave me the song that changed my life.” See JAMES FORTUNE, page 12

AP Photo/Light Records, Ron Cadiz

A turn of fortune: Being homeless for seven months in 2007 was the most strenuous stint of James Fortune’s life. His circumstantes, however, led him to write the words to his 2009 hit song, “I Trust You,” which topped the Gospel National Airplay chart for 28 straight weeks.

UNIVERSALPICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATIONWITH RELATIVITYMEDIA A PRACTICALPICTURES/ZIDE PICTURES PRODUCTION “AMERICAN REUNIMUSION”C JASON BIGGS ALYSON HANNIGAN CHRIS KLEIN THOMAS IANNICHOLAS TARA REID SEANN WILLIAM SCOTTPRODUCEDMENA SUVARI EDDIE KAYETHOMAS JENNIFER COOLIDGE EXECUTIVE AND EUGENE LEVY BY LYLE WORKMAN PRODUCERS LOUIS G. FRIEDMAN PAULWEIBASEDTONZ CHARACTERS CHRIS WEITZ SEANN WIWRILLTTENIAMANDSCOTT JASON BIGGS BY CRAIG PERRY WARRENZIDE CHRIS MOORE ADAM HERZ AUNIVERSALPICTURE CREATED BY ADAM HERZ DIRECTED BY JON HURWITZ & HAYDEN SCHLOSSBERG SOUNDTRACK ON RELATIVITY MUSIC GROUP

LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES STARTS FRIDAY, APRIL 6 CHECK

Yo-Yo says no!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Rap artist, actress and activist Yolanda “Yo-Yo” Whittaker calls on hip-hop artists to join her in the fight for justice for Trayvon Martin BY BRIAN W. CARTER SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

On Tuesday, a Black coalition composed of Sentinel Publisher and Bakewell CEO Danny Bakewell Sr., The Brotherhood Crusade, the Los Angeles NAACP, the Nation of Islam, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and community members gathered to call for justice for Trayvon Martin. Rapper and actress Yolanda Whittaker also known as “Yo-Yo,” added to the clarion call that this injustice wouldn’t go unchallenged, making a number of important statements. “[It’s] my [duty] to fight this cause with our community,” she said, “to help bring out and motivate other hip-hop leaders to use their voices. “We want it to stop. “Like Brother [Tony] Muhammad was saying [today], we’re going to stop patronizing, stop buying, we’re going to start creating our own business in our own Black communities if they’re going to… continue with senseless crimes against our young, Black men.

“Something’s got to be done. “No justice, no peace.” Yo-Yo spoke on how the youth could use their power to ignite a change in their communities. She feels youth should become more proactive in addressing issues that directly affect them. “If ever you questioned when there is a time to stand, when you want to know when to fight, when to let your voice be heard, when to create a protest, when to walk out and say no more — [it’s] situations like this,” Yo-Yo added. “The senseless murder of this young boy based on his race — based on racial profiling — this is when you stand. She continued: “Pay attention to what’s going on in the world, because it’s happening everywhere. “It’s more than [materialism] and school — there is a world out there that we live in and things we have to come up against. “Our ancestors have been fighting for this forever. Pay attention. “Like I tell my kids, here is the time to stand.” In addition, Yo-Yo is calling for the

hip-hop community to become more proactive. She feels that artists today don’t truly understand their power and influence to create positive outcomes. “It really doesn’t cost money nowadays to get the right PR [public relations] to send a message to America that we won’t stand for injustice of our people,” she said. “This is a billion-dollar industry. We[‘ve] got more than a couple of moguls who are close to being billionaires themselves. When I say we are the majority … We are the popular music … We are changing the world. You have to take a stand. “There is no more waiting on your mother and father — you are the frontier now. The responsibility is ours. “Hip-hop is not a baby anymore. It’s 30-years-old. “I’d like to see Lil’ Wayne … I’d love to hear Drake … I’d love to see Dr. Dre … I’d love to see Ice Cube … We don’t have that hip-hop political party like we used to when I was coming up. “If Public Enemy was here… let me tell you, we wouldn’t even be having this … I would be standing

Malcolm Ali

Rapper and actress Yo-Yo speaks at a press conference calling for justice for Trayvon Martin held in Los Angeles. with them. “Hip-hop,” she issued, “we have a responsibility.” Yo-Yo has a hip-hop school called Yo-Yo’s School of Hip-Hop. She works with the inner-city youth in Los Angeles. She is using her experience and skills to not only build talent but to educate and promote positive activity. Based in the Fernando

JAMES FORTUNE Continued from page 11

The 34-year-old Fortune and his ensemble called F.I.Y.A (Free In Yahweh’s Abundance) recently released their fourth album “Identity,” which debuted in the top spot on Billboard's Gospel, Christian and Independent album charts. He is a rising a star in the genre and has opened concerts for some of gospel’s best, including Kirk Franklin, Shirley Caesar, Yolanda Adams and Fred Hammond. Last year, Fortune launched FIYA World Music Group with his wife, the vice president of the record label. Life is totally different these days for the Fortunes, who are now have their own home in Texas. “It’s a beautiful testimony,” Franklin said of the Fortunes. “It’s amazing how God takes people that have had horrible experiences and (they) use it as a tool to write songs and music that will speak to other people who are going through the same things. It’s amazing how God takes lemons and makes them into lemonade.” Fortune lost his job at a water company and his wife was laid off from an insurance company when their employers decided to downsize five years ago. Even though he and F.I.Y.A. already had an album out three years before, it was not a lucrative project. The only stream of income the Fortunes had was through the singer’s part-time position as minister of music at Higher Dimension Church in Houston. But they had more bills than money and struggled to pay medical bills since they had no health insurance, they said. As a result, Fortune along with his pregnant wife and two children — who were 2 and 1 at the time — were evicted and couldn’t afford to keep one of their cars. For the first couple of months, they loaded up in their only car until it was repossessed, which prompted them to move from one motel to another. During the whole time, Fortune

Pullum Community Art Center, they’re also at the new youth center off Florence and Vermont Avenues. “You got to understand your power,” said Yo-Yo. “You got to understand your words — words have power. “I teach that to the kids at my hiphop school.” See YO-YO, page 14

and his wife told none of their family members or friends of their circumstances. “Pride got in the way,” said Cheryl Fortune. “We didn’t want them to know how far we had fallen. It would always seem like something would always come through. We just tried to figure it out by ourselves.” Cheryl Fortune said she often read the Bible and focused mainly on scripture Jeremiah 29:11 to give her strength each day. She wanted to bring light to the situation for her children and support her husband. The Fortunes survived off the money they saved from their previous jobs and through several performances. “For a man to not be able to provide, it almost makes them seem like they’re nothing,” she said. “But I really kept praying. I prayed not to be a nagging wife. ... I prayed every day to keep my attitude positive regardless where we were.” All those days of James and Cheryl Fortune wondering when they would find a job finally ended after seven months. He was promoted to a full-time position at Higher Dimension, and his wife found a job with health benefits. With income flowing in and the family no longer homeless, Fortune threw himself into music, writing “I Trust You” and “I Believe,” which earned him his second ASCAP Writer’s Award in 2010. Now, James Fortune looks at their situation as a “living testimony.” For those who are struggling to find a job and may have found themselves homeless, he hopes his music and story can help others pull through like the lyrics of “I Trust You” did for him. “We are an example, a demonstration of God’s power and sovereignty,” he said. “To us, we really didn’t know what God was doing. But the whole time, he was just setting us up for a great blessing.”

Thursday, March 29, 2012

GOVERNMENT NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Measure R Independent Taxpayers Oversight Committee of Metro (Oversight Committee) will hold a public hearing at 10 a.m. on April 4, 2012, in the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Boardroom located at One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles. The Oversight Committee was appointed under Measure R, also known as the Traffic Relief and Rail Expansion Ordinance, that imposed an additional 1/2 of one percent transactions and use tax to fund transportation improvements in the County, approved by voters in 2008. The Oversight Committee and oversight process has been established to ensure that Metro complies with the terms of the Ordinance. The oversight process requires that an annual audit be conducted to determine compliance with the provisions of the Ordinance related to the receipt and expenditure of sales tax revenues during the fiscal year. The audits must be provided to the Oversight Committee so it can make findings on whether Metro and local subrecipients have complied with the Measure R requirements. In compliance with the Ordinance, Metro contracted with Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio and Associates (TCBA) to perform the independent audit of the Measure R Special Revenue Fund and contracted with Vasquez & Company and Simpson & Simpson to audit the compliance of the 87 cities (Cities) and the County of Los Angeles (County). The purpose of this hearing is to receive public comments on the result of the independent audits conducted on the Schedule of Revenues and Expenditures for Measure R Special Revenue Fund and compliance with requirements applicable to Measure R Local Return Guidelines from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011, and the Committee’s annual report on these audits. INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORTS Measure R Special Revenue Fund Audit TCBA conducted the audit of compliance in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Those standards require that TCBA plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the Schedules of Measure R Revenues and Expenditures are free of material misstatement. The audit found that Metro complied, in all material respects, with the requirements applicable to the Measure R revenues and expenditures for the year ended June 30, 2011. Measure R Compliance Audits of Cities and the County For efficiency and effectiveness, Metro contracted with two firms to conduct the audits of Measure R sales tax revenues used by the 87 Cities as well as the County. Vasquez & Company and Simpson & Simpson conducted the audits of compliance with the Local Return Guidelines in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the standards contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Those standards require that Vasquez & Company and Simpson & Simpson plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether noncompliance with the requirements in the Ordinance occurred which could have a direct and material effect on the Measure R Local Return program. Vasquez & Company conducted the audit of 49 of the Cities, and Simpson & Simpson conducted the audit of the other 38 Cities and the County. The auditors found 39 instances of noncompliance, 36 of which were deemed non-material for the year ended June 30, 2011. Measure R Independent Taxpayer Oversight Committee Annual Report The Committee reviewed the three independent audit reports and based on this review, developed an annual report. The annual report describes the Oversight Committee’s review of the audit reports and makes several findings. The Committee finds that: 1) the audits were performed in accordance with the Ordinance that the voters approved in 2008; 2) Metro complied, in all material respects, with the requirements applicable to the Measure R revenues and expenditures for the year ended June 30, 2011; and 3) the audits of Measure R sales tax revenues used by the 87 Cities and the County found 30 instances of noncompliance with requirements applicable to the Measure R Local Return program for the year ended June 30, 2011, 36 of which were deemed non-material. Written comments on this matter will be accepted through April 4, 2012. All comments should be addressed to Board Administration, LACMTA, One Gateway Plaza, Mail Stop 99-3-39, Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952. Copies of the Independent Auditors Reports and the Oversight Committee Annual Report are available from Metro’s Records Management Center at the LACMTA Plaza Level at (213) 922-2342. These documents will also be made available to every library located within Los Angeles County for public review. Members of the public who wish to provide public comment in person during the public hearing on April 4 are encouraged to contact Michele Jackson, Board Secretary, at (213) 922-4605. CNS#2283421

CIVIL ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME Case No. GS014012 Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles Petition of: Ping Zhao for Change of Name TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner Ping Zhao filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Allison Yen Vu to Allison Zhao The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes

JUNE AMBROSE Continued from page 11

need to overaccessorize. You have to balance your bold. ... Head-to-toe leopard isn’t necessary unless it's a Halloween soiree you’re going to. AP: What trends will we see this spring and fall? Ambrose: Both seasons are filled with color, they’re exciting, but what's wonderful about it is there's a lot of classic pieces. I think consumers are really looking for classic fashion that has punctuation, so there’s a lot of play on texture, but the color is really what’s exciting. It’s very reminiscent of the ’70s; you feel the Bianca Jagger, you feel the Diana Ross. For the fall, they’re more rich jewel tones; for the spring, a lot of sorbets.

the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: Date: 04/26/12, Time: 8:30 AM, Dept.: A The address of the court is 300 E. Walnut St., Pasadena, CA 91101 A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: Los Angeles Watts Times Date: Mar 13, 2012 Mary Thornton House Judge of the Superior Court 3/22, 3/29, 4/5, 4/12/12 CNS-2281658# WATTS TIMES

AP: You mentioned color, but the all-black ensemble will never fail, right? Ambrose: An all-black ensemble will never steer you wrong, even though blue is the new black. I feel like the kimono is the new cardigan. ... A black number will never steer you wrong. That depth will always keep you svelte. AP: I’ve noticed more men wearing brown shoes. Is brown the new black? Ambrose: You’re seeing a lot of the oxford, cognac brown shoes — it’s the new neutral for men. And another thing they’re doing is the sockless man: very retro. Ankle is the new sexy: ankle cleavage.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP 7560, RFP 7562 AND RFP 7561 The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles invites proposals from qualified agencies interested in the following opportunities: RFP 7560 Project Based Voucher (PBV) (Issue 3-26-2012; Due 4-24-2012) To provide Permanent Supportive Housing under the Project Based Voucher Program. RFP 7562 Section 8 Tenant Based Supportive Housing (Issue 3-26-2012; Due 4-24-2012) To provide Section 8 Tenant Based Supportive Housing Program services. RFP 7561 Interpretation & Translation Language Service (Issue 4-9-2012; Due 5-10-2012) To provide translation and interpretation services. Copies of the RFP’s may be obtained via www.hacla.org/ps or call (213) 252-5405 or 2521832. 3/29, 4/5/12 CNS-2284398# WATTS TIMES LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (METRO) INVITATION FOR BIDS Metro will receive bids for IFB NO. 1013 MRL/MOL North Hollywood Station West Entrance (Design/ Build) for the final design and construction of an approximately 150-foot underground pedestrian passage (under Lankershim Boulevard) from the west mezzanine level of the existing Metro Red Line North Hollywood subway station at Lankershim Boulevard to the platform of the existing Orange Line BRT station west of Lankershim Boulevard per specifications on file at the Office of Procurement & Material Mgmt, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (9th Floor). All Bids must be submitted on forms furnished by Metro, and must be filed at the reception desk of the Office of Material on or before May 25, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.Pacific Time, at which time bids will be opened and publicly read. Bids received later than the above date and time will be rejected and returned to the bidder unopened. Each bid must be sealed and marked Bid No. C1013. A Pre-Bid conference will be held on April 11, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. in William Mulholland Conference Room located on the 15th floor at the address above.

PSOMAS

REQUEST FOR BIDS & NOTICE OF INTEREST

Psomas is bidding on the following project as a Prime Contractor: As-Needed Survey Services, Architectural Engineering Division, LA County Department of Public Works (LADPW) Bid Date: April 12, 2012 @ 3:00 pm

Psomas is seeking qualifications from CBEs and other subcontractors for the following work: • Design survey services: o Aerial photogrammetry / ground control o Preconstruction topography o Hydrography o Dam monitoring o Project area scanning o GPS ground base control o Before and after construction topography for calculation of quantities • Construction survey services o Road construction o Upgrading existing drainage facilities o Establishing new drainage facilities o Staking sewer and water lines o Staking for clean-out of dams, debris basins, and spreading grounds

Experience providing similar services directly to LADPW and/or in LA County is preferred.

This proposal is in alignment with the LA County Community Business Enterprise (CBE) Program. Certified CBEs—Disabled Veterans, Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, and Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses (DVBE, DBE, MBE, WBE)—are encouraged to respond. In addition, Psomas can provide assistance to firms in obtaining required bonds, lines of credit, or insurance. No plans are available but the RFP can be provided, if needed. Psomas intends to conduct itself in good faith in regards to all firms.

Interested businesses should email a two-page firm overview with LADPW experience and CBE documentation by April 5, 2012 to Outreach_LA@psomas.com.

You may obtain bid specifications, or further information, by emailing Aielyn Dumaua at dumauaa@metro.net 3/29, 4/5/12 CNS-2284229# WATTS TIMES REQUEST FOR STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS (RFSQ) Los Angeles County Community and Senior Services (CSS) is issuing a Request for Statement of Qualifications (RFSQ) to qualified proposers to administer and operate Youth Programs in the Los Angeles County Area. RFSQs may be picked up Monday through Friday, from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. beginning Friday, March 30, 2012 at the following location: Community and Senior Services (CSS) 3175 West 6th Street, Fourth Floor, Room 403 Los Angeles, CA 90020 RFSQs must be picked up in person and will not be mailed in response to telephone requests. The RFSQs may also be downloaded from the LA County CSS website at http://css.lacounty.gov/ A Proposers’ Conference will be held on April 10, 2012 from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. at CSS, 3175 West 6th Street, in the Collaboration Conference Room 105, Los Angeles, CA 90020. 3/29/12 CNS-2283967# WATTS TIMES

Q & A: SHOOTING

Continued from page 7

however, police have said they are confident they did the right thing by not charging Zimmerman. Q: What could the charges be? A: If Zimmerman is charged, he could most likely face second-degree murder or manslaughter charges at the state level. If convicted of the seconddegree murder charge, he could potentially face up to life in prison because a gun was used. Federal prosecutors could charge Zimmerman with a hate crime if they think there is evidence he was motivated by racial bias. That charge can carry the death penalty in the most severe instances, or up to life in prison. Federal prosecutors could also

accuse Zimmerman of using his official authority to violate Martin’s rights — known as a “color of law” case — but they would have to prove that Zimmerman was acting in some official capacity, similar to a police officer or government official. Zimmerman was a volunteer neighborhood watchman. Q: When will prosecutors decide whether Zimmerman is charged? A: It’s unclear. A spokeswoman for the special prosecutor who has taken over the local investigation said it could be weeks before they decide. Special prosecutor Angela Corey has three options: She could present the case to a

grand jury, which would decide whether Zimmerman should face charges; she could charge him without the grand jury’s review; or she could decide not to bring the case before the panel and not charge him. Norm Wolfinger, the prosecutor who recused himself from the case, had planned to convene a grand jury to review the case April 10. It is also unclear when the Justice Department will make its decision. Q: What is George Zimmerman’s racial and ethnic background? A: Zimmerman’s father is White, and his mother is Hispanic.

MARCH IN MALI Continued from page 6

presidents was to head to Mali this week. “We cannot allow this country endowed with such precious democratic instruments, dating back at least two decades, to leave history by regressing. It's why Mali needs to immediately return its democratic institutions to normal,” said Ouattara. “This position is nonnegotiable.” There is no immediate plan to deploy the peacekeepers, said Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, the president of the ECOWAS commission. The move suggests the bloc may consider force if the mutinous soldiers do not stand down. Already, the United States, the European Union and France have cut off all but essential aid, a loss of tens of millions of dollars. Additional sanctions from the region would be a further blow to the junta, which seized control of the nation of 15 million in the wake of a mutiny at a military camp in the capital last Wednesday. In the chaos that ensued, soldiers stormed the presidential palace. The whereabouts of President Amadou Toumani Toure, who was due to step down after elections next month, are unknown but he is said to be unharmed. Besides the threat of military intervention, Mali’s neighbors could suffocate the nation financially. Many of the 15 nations represented on the regional bloc share the same currency, and they could together decide to cut off Mali’s supply of cash. Also if nearby Ivory Coast were to shut its border, landlocked Mali, a nation twice the size of Texas spanning over an expanse of scrubland, verdant hills and desert dunes, would run out of gasoline, which is trucked in from Ivorian refineries. But the thousands marching Wednesday said they trusted the junta, and called on ECOWAS to reconsider. “The junta came to save Mali,” said interpreter Eric Koite. “ECOWAS won’t dare force Capt. Sanogo from power because he is an expression of the will of the people.” Sidi Ahmed Diallo, a sociologist, said: “If ECOWAS really wants to help us, then they should help us secure our territory. There are the rebels in the north of the country and if they like they can intervene there.” In 1991, Toure ousted the country’s military leader in a coup that came after months of protests. The former general was dubbed “The Soldier of Democracy” after he handed power to civilians a year later, then retreated from public life. He remerged to win the 2002 and 2007 elections, and was due to retire at the end of his term. Toure began losing support when an al-Qaida-linked terror cell implanted itself in northern Mali starting in 2003. He is accused of turning a blind eye, while diplomatic cables suggest the government entered into a pact of nonaggression with the terrorists for fear they would strike the capital in revenge. It was in January that Toure’s popularity hit a new low, after a Tuareg uprising began in the country’s north. Again Toure did not respond forcefully and, when he finally sent troops to fight the insurgents, they were ill-equipped. Some did not even have enough food. The group of soldiers that led the attack last week said that it was Toure’s failure and incompetence in dealing with the two-month-old insurgency that pushed them to seize power. Their leader is an army captain who, before the coup, was an English language instructor at a military college.

Thursday, March 29, 2012 NOTICE INVITING BIDS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Long Beach, California, acting by and through the City’s Board of Harbor Commissioners (“City”) will receive, before the Bid Deadline established below, sealed Bids for the following Work:

Bid Deadline:

RECYCLING ASPHALT AND CONCRETE MATERIALS AND OTHER RELATED SERVICES AT PORT OF LONG BEACH LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA AS DESCRIBED IN SPECIFICATION NO. HD-S2461

Prior to 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Bid packages will be time/date stamped on the 4th floor or in the Lobby and shall be submitted prior to 10 a.m.

Place for Submission of Bids: 1. By Delivery Any Calendar Day Before the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building 4th Floor, Plans and Specifications/Program Management Office 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 2. By Delivery on the Same Calendar Day as the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building Ground Floor Lobby 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Bid Opening: As soon as practical after the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building 6th Floor Board Room 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Contract Documents Available: Date/Time: Beginning Thursday, March 29, 2012 Monday –Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Location: Harbor Department Administration Building 4th Floor, Plans and Specifications 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Non Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting: Date/Time: Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 1:00-2:00pm Location: 5th Floor Training Room Harbor Department Administration Building Project Contact Person: Gamal Elgaali, P.E. Fax (562) 283-7201 Email Gamal.elgaali@polb.com

NIB -1 Contract Documents. Copies of Contract Documents may be obtained, at no cost, at the Plans and Specifications Office, 4th floor, Harbor Department Administration Building, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, CA 90802 during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. To arrange to receive a copy of the Contract Documents by courier at the expense of the Bidder, call (562) 283-7353 For information on this Project and other upcoming Port projects, you may view the Port website at http://www.polb.com/economics/contractors/out_for_bid.asp.

Copies of all Port insurance endorsement forms, SBE/VSBE Program forms, Harbor Development Permit Applications and other Port forms are available at http://www.polb.com/economics/contractors/forms_permits/default.asp.

NIB -2 Non-Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting. The engineering staff of the City’s Harbor department will conduct a pre-bid meeting at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 in the Training Room, 5th floor, of the Harbor Department Administration Building. Attendance is not mandatory, but highly recommended. Note that attendance at the pre-bid meeting can be used to satisfy a portion of a Bidder’s good faith efforts to meet the SBE/VSBE participation goals listed below. Should a Bidder elect not to attend the pre-bid meeting, the Bidder shall not be relieved of its sole responsibility to inform itself of all conditions at the Project Site and the content of the Contract Documents.

NIB -3 Summary Description of the Work. The Work required by this Contract includes, but is not limited to, the following: furnishing all labor, materials, power, equipment, tools, transportation and supervision necessary to recycle (crush) miscellaneous broken asphalt concrete, Portland cement concrete, and reinforced concrete into Crush Miscellaneous Base (CMB), crushing and sizing of rocks, maintaining BMPs for Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) to comply with regulatory requirements for dust control and storm water run-off, maintain the crusher site as required in the specifications, and perform other related work, including supervision, at various locations as required by the Long Beach Harbor Department.

NIB -4 Contract Time and Liquidated Damages. The Work shall be completed as provided in Paragraph SC - 6.1 of the Special Conditions, from a date specified in a written

JUSTICE

YO-YO

Groups participating in Tuesday’s news conference and rally included the Brotherhood Crusade, the NAACP, the SCLC, Mothers in Action, the Nation of Islam, and the National Council of Negro Women. For more information and photos, log onto www.facebook. com/lasentinelnewspaper or www. lasentinel.net.

The most important point Yo-Yo stressed was her involvement in issues like Martin’s killing. She stated that she takes her voice and power seriously. She expects everyone else to do the same. “We’ve been fighting for change all our lives,” said Yo-Yo. “All I know is, the people with power, such as myself — I believe

Continued from page 3

Continued from page 12

“Notice to Proceed” issued by the City and subject to adjustment as provided in Section 3.1 of the General Conditions. FAILURE OF THE CONTRACTOR TO COMPLETE THE WORK WITHIN THE CONTRACT TIME AND OTHER MILESTONES WILL RESULT IN ASSESSMENT OF LIQUIDATED DAMAGES IN THE AMOUNTS ESTABLISHED IN THE SPECIAL CONDITIONS. NIB -5 Contractor’s License. Each Bidder shall hold a current and valid Class ”A” General Engineering California Contractor’s License to bid this Project.

NIB -6 Contractor Performed Work. The Contractor shall perform, with its own employees, Contract Work amounting to at least 50% of the Contract Price, except that any designated “Specialty Items” may be performed by subcontract and the amount of any such “Specialty Items” so performed may be deducted from the Contract Price before computing the amount required to be performed by the Contractor with its own employees. “Specialty Items” will be identified by the City in the Schedule of Bid Items.

NIB-7 SBE Language for No-Goal Construction Bids/Projects. The Port has established a Small Business Enterprises (SBE)/Very Small Business Enterprises (VSBE) Program to encourage small business participation on construction contracts. Although an SBE/VSBE participation goal was not assigned to this contract, the Port strongly encourages all bidders to include such participation whenever possible, by utilizing small and very small business subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers. The Port also strongly encourages SBE/VSBE firms to respond to this solicitation as prime contractors. The Port’s SBE Program staff is available to provide information on the program requirements, including SBE certification assistance. Please contact the SBE Office at (562) 283-7598 or sbeprogram@polb.com. You may also view the Port’s SBE Program requirements at www.polb.com/sbe. NIB -8 Prevailing Wage Rates and Employment of Apprentices. This Project is a public work as defined in Labor Code Section 1720. The Contractor receiving award of the Contract and Subcontractors of any tier shall pay not less than the prevailing wage rates to all workers employed in execution of the Contract. The Director of Industrial Relations of the State of California has determined the general prevailing rates of wages in the locality in which the Work is to be performed. The rate schedules are available on the internet at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlsr/DPreWageDetermination.htm. Bidders are directed to Article 15 of the General Conditions for requirements concerning payment of prevailing wages, payroll records, hours of work and employment of apprentices.

NIB -9 Trade Names and Substitution of Equals. With the exception of any sole source determination that may be identified in this paragraph, Bidders wishing to obtain City’s authorization for substitution of equivalent material, product, or equipment, are required to submit a written request for an Or Equal Substitution using the form included in Appendix A together with data substantiating Bidder’s representation that the non-specified item is of equal quality to the item specified, thirty five (35) calendar days after Bid Opening. Authorization of a substitution is solely within the discretion of the City.

NIB -10

NOT USED.

NIB -11 Bid Security, Signed Contract, Insurance and Bonds. Each Bid shall be accompanied by a satisfactory Bidder’s Bond or other acceptable Bid Security in an amount not less than ten percent (10%) of the Base Bid as a guarantee that the Bidder will, if Conditionally Awarded a Contract by the Board, within thirty (30) calendar days after the Contract is conditionally awarded to the Contractor by the City, execute and deliver such Contract to the Chief Harbor Engineer together with all required documents including insurance forms, a Payment Bond for one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price, and a Performance Bond for one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price. All Bonds shall be on forms provided by the City.

NIB -12 Conditional Award of Contract and Reservation of Rights. The Board, acting through the Executive Director, reserves the right at any time before the execution of the Contract by the City, to reject any or all Bids, and to waive any informality or irregularity. The Conditional Award of the Contract, if any, will be to the responsible Bidder submitting the lowest responsive and responsible Bid. If the lowest responsive responsible Bidder fails to submit the required documents including insurance forms, bonds and signed Contract within thirty (30) calendar days after Conditional Award of Contract, the Board reserves the right to rescind the Conditional Award and Conditionally Award the Contract to the next lowest responsive and responsible Bidder.

NIB -13 Period of Bid Irrevocability. Bids shall remain open and valid and Bidder’s Bonds shall be guaranteed for ninety (90) calendar days after the Bid Deadline or until the Executive Director executes a Contract, whichever occurs first.

NIB -14 Substitution of Securities. Substitution of Securities for retainage is permitted in accordance with Section 22300 of the Public Contract Code. Issued at Long Beach, California, this 26th day of March, 2012.

J. Christopher Lytle Executive Director of the Harbor Department, City of Long Beach, California

… a lot can happen. “I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. All I know is — I have to show up. I have to let my voice be heard. “I’m going to inform, I’m going to educate, I’m going to be a part of my community. I’m going to make difference. “I’m saving lives … I’m teaching

the kids integrity, fearlessness, confidence— [but] I’m demanding something in return. “I’m demanding that you sit up straight, speak with confidence, look in a person’s eyes, you calm down, you smile, you have poise. “I’m teaching them now, as an adult in hip-hop, as a legend of hiphop, that yeah, it matters.”

Thursday, March 29, 2012

BLACK FARMERS

Continued from page 4

crops and had to close the farm. Dudley said he hopes to get about $35,000 and would share any money with his brother. He said the claim is a good way to honor his sister. “They owned the property for so long, and really I would have loved for it to have remained in the family,” Dudley said. “I would tell people not to be ashamed or fearful coming forward with what they know happened.” Black farmers were prominent in the 1920s, when they owned 15 million acres of farmland, said John Zippert, director of program operations for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. But as years passed and they sought loans to maintain or expand their businesses, many faced adversity. Black farmers seeking loans from the USDA were often turned down for no explicit reason or were approved for much lower sums than they needed. As a result, they had to reduce the size of their farms or sell their properties. “The USDA presented itself as the lenders of last resort, but in terms of Black farmers, they didn’t fulfill that promise in many cases,” Zippert said. “Many small Black farmers because they couldn’t get access to USDA credit and other support, had to go out of the farming business.” Today, Black farmers own between 3 and 4 million acres of U.S. farmland, according to Zippert, whose organization represented farmers in the Pigford settlements. Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have the highest numbers of Black-owned farms, Zippert said. As properties have gotten smaller, many Black farmers have abandoned traditional row crops such as corn, cotton and wheat. Now, many are growing fruits like watermelon and mangoes and vegetables such as peas and okra because they carry a higher income per acre, Zippert said. To be eligible for money under the recent settlement, a Black farmer needs to have sought a loan for his farm between 1981 and 1996. They also must have registered a written or verbal complaint about any discriminatory treatment they experienced. Also, applicants must be farmers who missed the initial Sept. 15, 2000 deadline and filed a late claim for the first settlement. Zippert said that many did not receive adequate notice of their eligibility. In cases where eligible farmers have died, their heirs can make claims. In all, about 65,000 Black farmers submitted a late claim for the original Pigford settlement, Zippert said. “It’s not a general re-opening of the case, and that’s caused some confusion,” Zippert said. “You have people who think that because their parents farmed in the 1940s ... that they are eligible for this, and they aren’t.” More than 20 firms are helping farmers file for the new settlement, said Greg Francis, an Orlando, Fla. lawyer. He’s placed ads in newspapers, magazines and on the Internet seeking potential claimants. Francis said his law firm called Morgan & Morgan does not charge those who file a claim. Lawyers’ fees are paid by the court. “No potential claimant should be paying anyone either for a claim form or for assistance in filling out a claims form,” Francis said. Thomas Burrell, president of the

15 NOTICE INVITING BIDS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Long Beach, California, acting by and through the City’s Board of Harbor Commissioners (“City”) will receive, before the Bid Deadline established below, sealed Bids for the following Work:

Bid Deadline:

RENTAL OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AND OTHER RELATED SERVICES AT LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA AS DESCRIBED IN SPECIFICATION NO. HD-S2451

Prior to 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 1, 2012. Bid packages will be time/date stamped on the 4th floor or in the Lobby and shall be submitted prior to 10 a.m.

Place for Submission of Bids: 1. By Delivery Any Calendar Day Before the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building 4th Floor, Plans and Specifications/Program Management Office 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 2. By Delivery on the Same Calendar Day as the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building Ground Lobby 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Bid Opening: As soon as practical after the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building 6th Floor Board Room 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Contract Documents Available: Date/Time: Beginning Thursday March 29, 2012 Monday –Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Location: Harbor Department Administration Building 4th Floor, Plans and Specifications 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Pre-Bid Meeting: Non-mandatory Date/Time: Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 10:00 a.m. Location: 6th Floor Board Room, Harbor Department Administration Bldg. Project Contact Person: Gamal Elgaali, Fax: 562-283-7201, Gamal.Elgaali@polb.com

NIB -1 Contract Documents. Copies of Contract Documents may be obtained, at no cost, at the Plans and Specifications Office, 4th floor, Harbor Department Administration Building, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, CA 90802 during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. To arrange to receive the Contract Documents by courier at the expense of the Bidder, call (562) 283-7353. For information on this Project and other upcoming Port projects, you may view the Port website at http://www.polb.com/economics/contractors/out_for_bid.asp.

NIB -2 Non-Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting. The engineering staff of the City’s Harbor department will conduct a pre-bid meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 10, 2012, in the Board Room, 6th floor, of the Harbor Department Administration Building. Attendance is not mandatory, but highly recommended. Should a Bidder elect not to attend the pre-bid meeting, the Bidder shall not be relieved of its sole responsibility to inform itself of all conditions at the Project Site and the content of the Contract Documents. NIB -3 Summary Description of the Work. The Work required by this Contract includes, but is not limited to, the following: furnishing, on a rental basis, certain fully-maintained, fueled, operated, and insured construction equipment for construction and maintenance work, furnishing and installing materials to comply with regulatory requirements for dust control and storm water run-off, and perform other related work, including supervision, at various locations as required by the Long Beach Harbor Department. The quantity of work to be performed and materials to be furnished are approximate only, being given as a basis for the comparison of bids.

NIB -4 Contract Time and Liquidated Damages. The work shall be complete as provided in Paragraph SC - 6.1 of the Special Conditions. FAILURE OF THE CONTRACTOR TO COMPLETE THE WORK WITHIN THE TIME SPECIFIED WILL RESULT IN ASSESSMENT OF LIQUIDATED DAMAGES IN THE AMOUNTS ESTABLISHED IN THE SPECIAL CONDITIONS. NIB -5 Contractor’s License. Each Bidder shall hold a current and valid Class ”A” General Engineering Contractor California Contractor’s License to bid this Project.

NIB -6

Contractor Performed Work. The Contractor shall perform, with its own

Memphis-based Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association, argues that money should be available to any Black farmer with a legitimate claim of discrimination, not just the late applicants from the original Pigford settlement. Burrell also said it is unfair because it requires Black farmers to forever waive their right to appeal if they are not approved. “The process has never been meaningful, it has never been adequate,” Burrell said.

SALARY CAP Continued from page 10

say that taunting of opponents increased, it is urging that policing such acts be emphasized. Other points of emphasis will spotlight pre-snap movement; players not lining up on the line of scrimmage; a runner declaring himself down; and substitutions that try to confuse the opponent.

employees, Contract Work amounting to at least 50% of the Contract Price, except that any designated “Specialty Items” may be performed by subcontract and the amount of any such “Specialty Items” so performed may be deducted from the Contract Price before computing the amount required to be performed by the Contractor with its own employees. “Specialty Items” will be identified by the City in the Schedule of Bid Items.

NIB-7 SBE/VSBE. This project is subject to the Port of Long Beach (POLB) Small Business Enterprises (SBE)/Very Small Business Enterprises (VSBE) Program. The combined SBE/VSBE participation goal for this project is twenty percent (20%), of which a minimum of zero percent (0%) must be allocated to VSBEs. POLB expects all Bidders to achieve the combined SBE/VSBE participation goal. Award of the Contract will be conditioned on the Bidder submitting an SBE-2C Commitment Plan demonstrating the Bidder’s intent to meet the combined SBE/VSBE participation goal. If the Bidder’s Commitment Plan does not demonstrate intent to meet the combined goal, the Bidder shall demonstrate that it made an adequate good faith effort to do so, as specified in the Instructions to Bidders (ITB 18). The Port’s SBE Program staff is available to provide information on the program requirements, including SBE certification assistance. Please contact the SBE Office at (562) 499-3472 or sbeprogram@polb.com.

NIB -8 Prevailing Wage Rates and Employment of Apprentices. This Project is a public work as defined in Labor Code Section 1720. The Contractor receiving award of the Contract and Subcontractors of any tier shall pay not less than the prevailing wage rates to all workers employed in execution of the Contract. The Director of Industrial Relations of the State of California has determined the general prevailing rates of wages in the locality in which the Work is to be performed. The rate schedules are available on the internet at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlsr/DPreWageDetermination.htm. Bidders are directed to Article 15 of the General Conditions for requirements concerning payment of prevailing wages, payroll records, hours of work and employment of apprentices. NIB -9 Trade Names and Substitution of Equals. With the exception of any sole source determination that may be identified in this paragraph, Bidders wishing to obtain City’s authorization for substitution of equivalent material, product, or equipment, are required to submit a written request for an Or Equal Substitution using the form included in Appendix A together with data substantiating Bidder’s representation that the nonspecified item is of equal quality to the item specified, thirty five (35) calendar days after Bid Opening. Authorization of a substitution is solely within the discretion of the City.

NIB -10 Truck/Construction Equipment EPA Standards: 1- All Heavy-duty on-road trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 19,500 or more transporting materials to and from the construction site must meet EPA 2004 emissions standards. Starting January 1, 2012, heavy-duty trucks must meet EPA 2007 emissions standards. 2- All Off-road construction equipment (25 horsepower or greater) Starting January 1, 2012, off-road construction equipment 25 horsepower or greater must meet CARB Tier 3 off-road emissions standards. Off-road construction equipment must be maintained according to the manufacturer’s specifications. 3- All Bidders must comply with the latest Air Quality Best Management Practices as specified in SC-18.1

NIB -14 Substitution of Securities. Substitution of Securities for retainage is permitted in accordance with Section 22300 of the Public Contract Code.

Issued at Long Beach, California, this 26th day of March, 2012. J. Christopher Lytle Executive Director of the Harbor Department, City of Long Beach, California

The Cowboys’ last game also was at the Meadowlands, where the Giants beat them 31-14 to win the NFC East. That was the second of six straight victories for New York that culminated in their Super Bowl win over New England. The telecast of that victory over Dallas averaged 27.6 million viewers,

the most ever for a Sunday night game. It was the most-watched regular-season prime-time game in 15 years. It will be the first time the Giants closed one season and opened the next one in the same venue against the same opponent since 1994-95. Back then, it was also the Cowboys, at Giants Stadium.

Thursday, March 29, 2012