LAWT-4-1-2010 by LA WATTSTIMES

April 1, 2010

SERVING LOS ANGELES COUNTY WITH NEWS YOU CAN USE

Vol. XXX, No. 1173 FIRST COLUMN

Preserving Black History, With Smithsonian Help BY DIONNE WALKER AP WRITER

ATLANTA (AP) — Like so many black Americans before him, Marvin Greer figured slavery and migration had hopelessly scattered the heirlooms of his family’s past. Now he’s found some of them, but he’s not sure how to keep them intact. The 23-year-old history buff looked on anxiously as a Smithsonian Institution worker recently catalogued and inspected his personal trove of portraits and military discharge papers, part of a museum-led push to help families like his save their history. Years after author Alex Haley first encouraged blacks to research

their roots, many are digging into attics and garages to find the rest of their history — captured in letters, portraits, beloved dolls and other long-forgotten heirlooms. And historians are trying to help: Smithsonian officials hope the “Save Our African American Treasures” series also will turn up items for a national museum of black American culture, set to open on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., by 2015. The February Atlanta stop was the sixth in the cross-country, history-gathering trek, which has included events in Chicago, Los Angeles and parts of South Carolina. See PRESERVING BLACK HISTORY, page 8

PRESERVING HISTORY — Black dolls lay on a table at the “Save Our African American Treasures” event in Atlanta this past February. Smithsonian officials hope the events, which have been held at different cities throughout the nation, will turn up items for a national museum of black American culture, set to open on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., by 2015. Photo by ERIK LESSER

Photos by MARTY COTWRIGHT

REMEMBERING REV. MASON — Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark RidleyThomas (above) was one of several speakers at the funeral service for the Rev. Elliott James Mason Sr., Ph.D. Mason was remembered as a strong, accomplished and humble spiritual leader who nurtured countless ministers in their journey. Pictured (bottom left): An attendee holds a program from the service for Mason, attended by hundreds at the Trinity Baptist Church in South Los Angeles on March 30. Mason, who died of an illness at age 88 on March 23, was pastor at Trinity Baptist for about 23 years — from 1962 to 1985. Before coming to Trinity in 1962, he was in ministry for 15 years at Third Baptist Church in Toledo, Ohio.

Parks & Recs Layoffs Threaten One Watts BY PAT HENDRICKS MUNSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Due to citywide budget cuts and a plan to shed thousands of Los Angeles jobs, hundreds of children in Watts are facing a significant reduction to a program some describe as vital for youth. At issue are the potential job losses of eight of nine Department of Recreation and Parks staff members who participate in the One Watts program. One Watts is a collaboration between the recreation centers at Nickerson Gardens, Jordan Downs and Imperial Courts housing projects, notorious for high crime and gang violence. In the program, atrisk youth participate in after school

Urban League: Health, Jobs Legislation Fall Short BY HOPE YEN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Landmark health legislation won’t be enough to reduce racial gaps in unemployment and health care, the National Urban League says in urging President Barack Obama to promote a “jobs surge” that targets hardhit communities. In its annual “State of Black America” report released March 24, the 100-year-old organization said African Americans had made gains in overall equality with whites as measured partly by their high voter turnout in 2008. Still, blacks lagged in homeownership rates and were almost twice as likely to be unemployed and lack health insurance. The 151-page study, which in 2007 featured a foreword by thenSen. Obama bemoaning the problems facing black men, makes clear that it appreciates his efforts so far as president but that “much, much more must be done.” Seeking to broaden its appeal, the report for the first time also addresses inequality for Hispanics, the nation’s fastest-growing demo-

graphic group. It noted that Latinos faced many problems similar to blacks and in some areas may lag further behind, such as voter participation, insurance coverage and college enrollment. “Now it’s time for a strong jobs bill,” said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League. “I think the health bill is a very important landmark piece of legislation that in the long term will also create jobs. But that’s not immediate,” Morial told The Associated Press. “In the short run, we may be looking at continuing high unemployment. It’s just not acceptable when Congress and the president spent a considerable amount of money bailing out the banks and auto companies.” The report includes policy discussions and essays from academics, business leaders and members of the Obama administration such as Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Among its recommendations: • Provide $150 billion for direct job creation in local communities by offering grants to cities, states,

universities and nonprofit groups. Eligibility will be based on local unemployment rates with a goal of creating 3 million jobs. • Adopt the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, hire housing counselors nationwide, and strengthen enforcement of fair lending laws to crack down on predatory lending, since blacks and other minorities were disproportionately hurt by the foreclosure crisis. • Spend $5 billion to $7 billion to hire up to 5 million teens as part of an expanded Youth Summer Jobs Program that would improve opportunities for urban youth, who have higher rates of unemployment. • Create an “alternative public option” that would eliminate racial disparities in health coverage caused by an employer-based system. A new federal agency would guarantee a job for every person seeking work to improve public works projects, and provide the workers health benefits already available to federal employees. Morial said more aid is needed beyond the $38 billion jobs bill See URBAN LEAGUE, page 10

Photo Courtesy of PEOPLE FOR PARKS

ONE WATTS — The Los Angeles mayor’s Chief of Staff, Jeff Carr (then the city’s director of Gang Reduction and Youth Development), speaking to youth at a character building basketball league match in the summer of 2008. The game was part of what would one day become known as the One Watts program, a collaboration between the recreation centers at Nickerson Gardens, Jordan Downs and Imperial Courts housing projects in Watts. The program could be hit with a significant reduction due to city budget cuts.

and lunch-time services. “The mayor’s approach is going to have a negative impact — racial tension, gang activity, etcetera — the very issues that we are work-

ing hard to eliminate,” said Carl Stevens, acting senior director of the recreation facility at Nickerson Gardens. See LAYOFFS, page 12

NEWS IN BRIEF THE SOUTHLAND Lawyer in BART Shooting Case Wants Cops on Jury (AP) — The lawyer of a former Northern California transit officer charged with murdering an unarmed man on a train station platform wants police officers to be a part of the jury pool. During a pretrial hearing March 26, attorney Michael Rains said he filed a motion in Los Angeles County Superior Court requesting that police officers be allowed to serve for ex-Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehersle’s upcoming trial in June. A California state law prohibits peace officers from serving as jurors in criminal cases. Rains is arguing that the law violates Mehserle’s right to a fair trial by an impartial jury represented by a cross section of the community.

Judge Robert Perry could make a decision as soon as the next scheduled pretrial hearing on May 7. Mehserle, 28, is charged with fatally shooting Oscar Grant, 22, in the back at an Oakland station on New Year’s Day 2009. The incident was video-recorded by witnesses, viewed across the Internet, and subsequently used as evidence during a preliminary hearing.

ACLU Says it is ‘Disturbed’ by Police Shooting (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California urged the Los Angeles Police Department on March 22 to examine its policies after the shooting of an unarmed man who family members say was autistic. The organization is “deeply troubled” by the shooting of Steven Eugene Washington, ACLU of Southern California Executive See BRIEFS, page 4

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L.A. WATTS TIMES

April 1, 2010

OPINION EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON

President Obama Now Looks and Acts like FDR The comparison of then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the height of the presidential campaign was overblown and made mostly to sell magazines and puff up TV-pundit sound bites. Though undoubtedly flattered by it, candidate Obama did not encourage the comparison to FDR. The first months after Obama’s inauguration, I and countless others did more than just hope that Obama would inch toward looking and acting like Roosevelt; we relentlessly prodded him to lurch in that direction. There were many days of bitter frustration and disappointment, punctuated by loud grumbling of betrayal. Obama as Roosevelt knew that he was in a political life-and-death, take-no-prisoners war with his political enemies — the GOP, ultraconservative Democrats, Wall Street, the big bankers and big manufacturers. But unlike Roosevelt, for months he coddled and placated his opponents, even as they made absolutely no effort to mask their loathe of his policies and presidency, and made it abundantly clear they will stop at nothing to hound him from office. Roosevelt, by contrast, hit back hard at his enemies as obstructionists and economic royalists. He never wavered from his commitment that

the workers and farmers, the “common man,” came first. Now, Obama has done the same. The president’s fight back started when he admitted that making nice with the GOP and presenting futile appeals to them for bipartisanship sounds good, but in the ruthless world of real politics, it’s a prescription for a moribund, hapless presidency. Doing so is also a prescription to be ridiculed as a president sans spine. Obama has quickly rammed through a drastically retooled, consumer-friendly health care reform law that looks nothing like the goody-laden bill of six months ago. Also, he did it with the added FDR touch of beating back furious lobbying from banks and private lenders to keep their profit-first fingers in student lending, and making the government the lender of first resort for student loans. Obama added millions to back it up, with a special nod toward expanding aid to strapped historically black colleges. Obama has also endorsed enactment of a modified version of the Glass-Steagall Act. That’s the tough FDR-era, bank-regulation act. Also, the watered-down and grossly underfunded Senate jobs bill won’t do much to dent the nearly double-digit unemployment. But Obama has strongly signaled that he’ll plow stimulus dollars directly

into government-run job training programs and public works projects. The other FDR touch is to virtually order the banks to lend more to distressed homeowners, cut borrowing rates, and promise more aggressive government intervention to aid strapped endangered homeowners. These are the programs that will do much to help the working class and the minority poor. It makes the screech that he push a black agenda seem even more silly, ridiculous and self-serving. Obama ignored the squeals of the GOP obstructionists regarding appointments to judgeships. And a slew of recess appointments of scholars and professionals to diplomatic, commerce and labor regulatory board posts. He drew the ire of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by holding firm on his demand to halt renewed Israeli settler expansion in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. On a personal and humane note, Obama made a magnificent gesture to donate his $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize award to solid charities and community organizations and causes. The Big Bank and Wall Street greed merchants could learn a lesson from this example. Fat chance of that. Roosevelt did not substitute high-profile media posturing for tough leadership. When the GOP See HUTCHINSON, page 9

Mob Rules: Tea Party’s High Noon BY SIKIVU HUTCHINSON

When the first round of health care reform protests rippled across Middle America in 2009, open-carry fanatics set the tenor of the mobocracy to come, flaunting their weapons, exhorting patriots to stockpile, and evoking the specter of an Obama-driven apocalypse. Now that the health care overhaul bill has passed, the End of Days are upon us. On the House floor during deliberations on the bill, a Republican lawmaker yelled “baby killer.” During a Tea Party protest in Washington, D.C., Congressman John Lewis was called the N-word and Congressman Barney Frank was lispingly labeled a derogatory term for gays. At the same protest, one enterprising man in the crowd hoisted a sign with the slur “Obama Plan, White Slavery” on it. After President Obama signed the legislation, the offices of Democrats who supported the bill were vandalized. Reveling in nightly PR infusions from the corporate lapdogs of American journalism, the freshly evangelized, macho-racist right has ensured that its charge of a socialist government expansion is now viewed as a “reasonable” critique of an overhaul that effectively concedes universal coverage to the insurance industry. The Tea Partiers have taken Christian fundamentalists’ language of “moral” panic and used it as a goad to a

white nationalist uprising obsessed with imagery of enslavement. The intersection of patriarchal resentment and so-called white cultural disenfranchisement has always animated conservative mass protests and activism. During the 19th and 20th centuries, “white slavery” was the catch-all term for moral panic about sex trafficking of white women. The association of the health care overhaul with this historical theme is a telling glimpse into the mind of the macho racist for whom sexual invasion is a metaphor for the imperiled white body as Nation. The specter of “enslaved” white people under the yoke of a black patriarch (ala the law-making black-face grotesques of “Birth of a Nation”) elicits visceral terror among white supremacists. True to their Confederate provenance, the Tea Partiers have begun to rally more vociferously for a return to states’ rights. Before the ink was dry on the health care bill, 14 states lined up to contest its mandate that individuals purchase health care coverage. In February, during the Tea Party’s first convention, states’ rights was the clarion call. At the convention, there were seminars on nullification — states’ rights as trumping federal authority — and the heroism of Confederate President Jefferson Davis whipping up a secessionist frenzy. Hijacking Christian fundamen-

talist propaganda, the Tea Partiers have succeeded in casting the “incursions” of the federal government as a grave moral transgres- Sikivu Hutchinson sion. In the misogynist hysteria over federal funding for abortion, it did not matter that the Hyde Amendment was unequivocal on funding restrictions for the procedure. And in the thuggish sound and fury over “socialism,” it did not matter that the final health care bill merely opened the gateway for competition among health care insurers rather than single-payer or even a public option. So-called nationalized health care is an affront to white Americans’ God-given right not to subsidize minority leeches who exploit decent taxpayers with abortions, drug abuse treatment and emergency room visits. Progressive organizations such as the Color of Change and Move On.org have called on GOP leaders like Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele to publicly denounce the Tea Party violence. Fat chance when the GOP is all but stage managing the Tea Party “movement.” Cruising into the midterm elections, Steele and the GOP operatives are no doubt licking their chops at the media blitz, See SIKIVU, page 9

The New Black Revolution Begins in the Classroom BY KOKAYI KWA JITAHIDI

The recent tumult within the Los Angeles Unified School District again highlights the frequent struggles and failures of public school districts charged with educating large numbers of black children. In spite of federal mandates such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the increased presence of charter schools and innovative policies, such as the Public School Choice Initiative that allows external groups to run district schools, black children continue to perform at or near the bottom in all of the major educational indicators. A review of the 2009 California Standardized Testing Report (STAR) results substantiates concerns about the lack of intellectual development of our youth, and more broadly, the ability of our community to compete in a highly competitive and technically savvy world. In math, 47 percent of black second-graders in the LAUSD scored at or above a proficient level on the test. That number dropped to a deplorable 18 percent for black seventh-graders. In English, 44 percent of black second-graders scored at or above a proficient level. Like math, however, these scores declined rapidly to a paltry 25 percent at the seventh grade. Overall, black children scored the lowest in math and English — the two most highly used and necessary skills in the job market. In addition to the poor level of intellectual development our children receive, they are also missing other critical pieces of the educational experience: substantial exposure, understanding and appreciation of their culture and history. As great thinkers such as Carter G. Woodson and Elijah Muhammad taught us, education is inherently linked with culture. Therefore, children will either develop pride in themselves and their people or take

on an “I-am-lessthan” attitude that makes academic achievement impossible. In districts like the LAUSD, black history and culture is often narrowed to a short Kokayi Kwa Jitahidi lesson on Martin Luther King Jr. in February or a hollow conversation about slavery. In short, black children in the LAUSD are being miseducated and prepared to maintain a condition and lifestyle of dependency, servitude and death. Thankfully, there are those in our community that refuse to accept the LAUSD’s failure of black students as the only reality. In the past there have been trailblazers such as Anyim Palmer, who founded Marcus Garvey School in 1975 and established a national model for African-centered education. Today, a new model has emerged in the form of the Culture and Language Academy of Success (CLAS). Founded in 2003 by colleagues Sharroky Hollie, Janis Bucknor and Anthony Jackson, CLAS is focused on setting a standard of excellence in terms of educating black children in Los Angeles. Although the school still has room for improvement, nearly half of its students — almost all black — are proficient or above in math and English, which is much higher than black children in traditional district schools. Moreover, CLAS utilizes a system called culturally responsive pedagogy, which attempts to attack the cultural isolation many of our children experience by creating a school environment that affirms the students’ history and culture. Every morning before class begins, students gather in a circle to repeat affirmation statements to ready themselves for the day’s learning. Armed with a successful system and improving student outcomes, the See KOKAYI, page 8

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April 1, 2010

L.A. WATTS TIMES

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BUSINESS Health Care Savings Are on the Way, But What Now?

Entrepreneurial Training Being Offered (VSBEC) — The Vermont Slauson Business Enterprise Center will hold its Entrepreneurial Training Program April 3, 9:30 a.m., at 6109 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles. The program is for a variety of entrepreneurs — from emerging entrepreneurs contemplating their next innovative business idea to established business owners on their way to the Fortune 500. Introductory and comprehensive classes are offered in threeweek and eight-week sessions. Admission to the workshop is free. Information: Ivory Rose Chambeshi, ichambeshi@vsedc. org, (323) 789-4515.

Congressman Barney Frank to Headline Economic Summit in L.A. (Greenlining Institute) — Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, will headline The Greenlining Institute’s 17th annual Economic Summit, “Rebuilding the American Dream,” on April 9, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., at The Center at Cathedral Plaza, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles. The daylong event in downtown Los Angeles will focus on

how to restore the American “promise of prosperity” for all citizens in an era when the cost of higher education is skyrocketing, home ownership is imperiled by rising foreclosure rates, and the state’s budget crisis is putting vital services at risk. In addition to Frank, speakers will include Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg; California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey; Bank of America Home Loans President Barbara Desoer; California Endowment President and CEO Robert Ross; and Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcon. About 1,000 business, community and political leaders are expected to attend. Registration information is available at www.greenlining.org/ summit/.

IRS Issues 2010 Filing Season Statistics WASHINGTON (IRS) –– Electronically filed tax returns are on track with last year, and overall refunds are running nearly 10 percent higher so far in 2010, according to statistics issued by the Internal Revenue Service. The statistics, covering the period through March 12, show that, while the overall number of tax See BIZSHORTS, page 10

BY CANDICE CHOI AP PERSONAL FINANCE WRITER

NEW YORK (AP) — The year is 2014, and health insurance is more affordable. It’s a reality that seems a lifetime away for some. The bulk of the historic health care law signed by President Barack Obama last week won’t be rolled out for more than three years. That’s when states will be required to set up exchanges for those without access to employerbased plans. Insurance companies will no longer be able to charge women more, and pre-existing conditions won’t prevent anyone from getting coverage. Some provisions of the new law will come much quicker, however, and you can likely trim expenses on your own with a little research. Here’s a look at what you can do now to cut health care costs, regardless of whether you’re insured: Saving on Coverage Starting this fall, parents will be able to keep adult children on their plans until they turn 26, even if the children are married. That’s a big deal, since young adults often have jobs that don’t offer health insurance, noted John McDonough, a visiting fellow at Hunter College who worked as an adviser on the Senate Health Committee in crafting the reforms. Still, others may be struggling to

Photo Courtesy of the WHITE HOUSE

APPROVED — Shown above is Barack Obama’s signature for the health care reform bill.

find any work in today’s economy. Annual premiums for individual policies averaged nearly $3,000 last year, according to America’s Health Insurance Plans. By comparison, those on employer-based plans might pay about $1,000 a year for much more complete coverage. Anyone who can’t obtain coverage under a family member’s plan should check to see what type of state aid is available. If the only option is to buy private insurance, keep in mind that individual plans usually aren’t as comprehensive as employer-sponsored group plans. So be sure the necessary services are covered.

If you have a job that offers insurance, don’t passively accept the default coverage option. Recently married couples should evaluate both plans to see if it’s cheaper for one spouse to piggyback on the other’s coverage. When open enrollment comes around in the fall, see if there are any options that could boost savings. Flexible spending accounts, for example, let you set aside money before taxes for health-related expenses. Starting in 2013, contributions will be capped at $2,500 a year. The threshold for claiming itemized tax deductions for medical expenses will rise to 10 percent, from 7.5 percent. Saving on Office Visits Don’t be shy about asking at your doctor’s office about monetary assistance. Even if there isn’t a formalized program, you might be able to negotiate if you can show you’re in a tough situation. See HEALTH CARE, page 9 metro.net/works

F E I L E R TRAFFIC WORKS IN THE

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In November 2008, Measure R was approved, committing a projected $40 billion to tra;c relief and transportation upgrades throughout the county over the next 30 years. Here are updates on projects in the works: Barriers Installed For Sepulveda Pass Widening > Metro’s contractor is placing concrete barriers along the I-405 Freeway to separate construction areas for the Sepulveda Pass Widening Project. > A northbound carpool lane is being added between the I-10 and U.S. 101 freeways. Underground Route Considered For Regional Connector > A new underground light rail alternative underneath Little Tokyo has been added to the Regional Connector Transit Corridor Study. > The Regional Connector would create a seamless transit link between the Metro Gold, Blue and Expo lines through Downtown LA. Construction Underway To Link Expo Line/Blue Line > Crews are installing a rail cross-over link for the new Exposition Light Rail line being built between Downtown LA and Culver City. > The Expo Line will share a track and two stations (7th St/Metro Center and Pico) with the Metro Blue Line as it leaves downtown.

BIZSHORTS

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L.A. WATTS TIMES

April 1, 2010

COMMUNITY

WHAT’S GOING ON? Deadline for receipt of What’s Going On listings is Friday, noon, at least two weeks prior to activity. Fax to: (213) 2515720, e-mail us at lawattsnus@ aol.com or mail to: L.A. Watts Times, 3540 Wilshire Blvd., PH3, Los Angeles, CA 90010. GOD’S GLORY — Evangelist Toler will give her sermon on God’s glory at Christ Full Deliverance Ministry April 4. Services begin at 2 p.m. and are held until 6. The church is in the Carson Community Center, 801 E. Carson St., Carson. Information: (310) 8350212, www.carsoncenter.com. EASTER BRUNCH/HUNT — The Backyard at W Los Angeles will present an Easter Sunday brunch at The Backyard April 4, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and W Easter Egg Hunt at noon. Admission to the brunch is $42 for adults and $19 for children 10 and under. The Backyard at W Los Angeles – Westwood is at 930 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles. Reservations are highly recommended. Information: (310) 4438211, www.thebackyardw.com. BLESSING — The Olvera Street Merchants will present the annual Blessing of the Animals on April 3, noon to 5 p.m., at El Pueblo Historical Monument, with a procession on Olvera Street at 2 p.m. and the blessing to follow. Information: (213) 625-7074, (213) 485-8372.

GARDEN TOUR — The seventh annual Native Plant Gardens Tour will take place April 10 and 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tour will take participants through 50 Los Angeles-area home gardens. Admission cost $20. Also on April 10, at 6:30 p.m., Isabelle Greene will give a free lecture called “In California, the Natives Are Friendly,” at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Information: theodorepayne.org, (818) 768-1802. SEASHORE SUPRISES — The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium will present “Science at the Seashore: Eggs Along the Shore” workshop April 3, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Children can attend the class with an adult or by themselves. Activities include learning about the wide variety of eggs along the shore and the animals that hatch them. There will also be stories and an arts-and-crafts project to take home. The aquarium is at 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro. Admission is $15 for nonmembers and $14 for members. Reservations are recommended. Information: (310) 548-7562, www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org. EXTENDED RUN — The Theatre at Boston Court presents “Oedipus El Rey” through April 11, an extension of its scheduled end in late March. The production has been

described as a re-imagining of Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex” in which the setting is the barrio of East Los Angeles rather than ancient Greece. “Oedipus El Rey” is performed Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. (no show April 4). The Boston Court Performing Arts Center is one block north of Colorado Boulevard at Mentor Avenue and Boston Court in Pasadena. Tickets are $32, but discounts apply. Information: (626) 683-6883, www.bostocourt.org. EGGSTRAVAGANZA — Community Coalition will host a “Family Fun Eggstravaganza” April 3, 10 a.m. to noon, at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, at 39th Street and Hobart Boulevard in Los Angeles. There will be an egg hunt for children and parents, lunch, activities and performances. The event is free. Information: Karume James, karume@ cocosouthla.org; Judith Gallardo, judith@cocosouthla.org; Community Coalition, (323) 750-9087.

Facts April 1, 1984 Marvin Gaye dies in his parents’ Los Angeles home. Gaye attacked his father for verbally abusing his mother. His father responded by shooting him to death. Since Gaye’s death, the power and reach of his music has increased. Source: blackfacts.com

America’s Jazz and Blues Station www.jazzandblues.org

BRIEFS Continued from page 1 Director Ramona Ripston said in a statement. Washington, 27, was shot by gang enforcement officers Allan Corrales and George Diego near Koreatown shortly after midnight March 20 after he approached them and appeared to remove something from his waistband, police said. No weapon was recovered. Corrales and Diego heard a loud noise while driving in their patrol car and turned around to see Washington. The officers said he was looking around suspiciously and manipulating something in his waist area. When the officers tried to stop Washington to investigate, he quickly approached them and appeared to pull something from his waistband, Assistant Chief Earl Pay singer told reporters at a news conference. Each officer fired once and Washington was hit in the head, police said. The officers fired “with the belief that he was arming himself, and in defense of their lives,” Paysinger said. But Ripston countered, “The initial news coverage of the incident shed little light on why lethal force was necessary when officers were not responding to any report of criminal activity and had no reason to suspect Mr. Washington of a crime just because they heard a loud noise as they were driving past.”

LAPD Gets High-Tech Emergency Training System (AP) — The Los Angeles Police Department unveiled a new training system March 22 aimed at helping commanders make the best decisions during emergencies. The series of computers is configured to simulate anything from a call about a missing child to a fullscale terror attack. Command decisions are logged and can be reviewed and analyzed to help trainees learn about the consequences of their actions. The system is the first of its kind in the United States and cost

about $370,000, Deputy Chief Michael Downing said. There are about 50 such systems in use worldwide, and the results of the training exercises are shared with other law enforcement agencies to help learn about decision-making, system inventor Jonathan Crego said.

Obama to Visit California for Boxer Fundraiser (AP) — President Barack Obama will visit Los Angeles next month to help raise money for three-term U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and the Democratic National Committee.

Sen. Barbara Boxer

Boxer’s campaign manager, Rose Kapolczynski, said the president will visit in mid-April. She said Obama is expected to help Boxer raise hundreds of thousands of dollars as she seeks re-election to a fourth term. Three Republicans are vying for their party’s nomination to challenge Boxer this year. Kapolczynski said the senator is trying to persuade first-time voters who turned out for Obama in 2008 to come back to the polls again. Obama beat John McCain by 24 percentage points in California.

THE STATE Report: Criminal Probe Targets Calif. Pension Fund SACRAMENTO (AP) — Federal prosecutors have started a criminal investigation into the investment activities of the California Public Employees Retirement System, a newspaper reported March 26. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, said Justice Department See BRIEFS, page 5

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COMMUNITY COMMUNITY MEETINGS, FORUMS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS • April 9, noon to 1:30 p.m., at from Union Station in downtown Los Community Help Guide Los Angeles Central Public Library, Angeles to Dodger Stadium beginning to be Launched (LAUPR) — The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable will launch its Community Help Guide April 5 at L.A. City Councilman Bernard Parks’Crenshaw Office at 10 a.m. Parks’ office is at 3847 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles. The guide is offered at no cost to residents and agencies. It represents the roundtable’s effort to provide community residents with the names and phone numbers, as well as key contacts, agencies and service providers, to address their major needs. Information: (310) 672-2542, hutchinsonreport@aol.com.

Metro to Host Community Meetings on Regional Connector Project (Metro) — Community meetings on the Regional Connector Light Rail Transit project will take place throughout April. The meetings will consist of an open house, as well as a presentation highlighting the features of the new build alternative. There is no need to attend multiple meetings, as identical information will be presented at each. The meetings will take place on the following dates and locations:

630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles. This meeting is tentatively scheduled to be broadcast live from www.metro. net/regionalconnector. • April 13, 6:30 to 8 p.m., Lake Avenue Church, 393 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena. • April 14, 2 to 3:30 p.m., and 6:30 to 8 p.m., Japanese American National Museum, 369 E. 1st St., Los Angeles. • April 17, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Los Angeles Theater Center, 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles. Information: www.metro.net/ regionalconnector, regionalconnector@metro.net.

Karen Bass Opens 33rd Congressional District Campaign Headquarters (Karen Bass) — California Speaker Emeritus Karen Bass (DLos Angeles) officially opened her 33rd Congressional District campaign headquarters in late March. Bass announced she would run for Congress in February. The headquarters is at 4322 Wilshire Blvd., suite 301, Los Angeles. Information: (323) 372-1251.

Express Bus Service to be Offered from Union Station to Dodger Stadium (Metro) — Metro will offer Dodger Stadium Express bus service

April 1 with the Dodgers pregame series and throughout the regular 2010 baseball season under a grant from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC). The grant — $300,000 — will be used to offset the cost of fares for passengers with a Dodgers ticket. Service will be provided starting 90 minutes before games begin and will end 45 minutes after games finish. More information: www.metro.net, (800) C-O-M-M-U-T-E.

$500K Grant to Help Fully Re-Open Troubled Hospital (AP) — An independent public agency will provide a $500,000 grant to jump-start the planning process to fully re-open Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Center in South Los Angeles. L.A. Care Health Plan awarded the grant to establish an independent nonprofit to manage and operate the facility. The troubled hospital closed in 2007 after patient deaths were blamed on shoddy care. The county Board of Supervisors has agreed to foot the bill to re-open and refurbish the hospital, and the University of California will provide physician services and quality-of-care oversight. The plan is for a nonprofit, 120-bed facility to open in late 2012, followed by an emergency department the next year, and an ambulatory care center in 2014.

BRIEFS Continued from page 4 officials in Los Angeles are examining potential influence-peddling within CalPERS, the nation’s largest public pension fund. At issue is whether the investment decisions of fund managers were influenced by bribes rather than the best long-term interests of pensioners. Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, declined to comment to The Associated Press. Brad Pacheco, CalPERS’ chief spokesman, told The AP his office was not aware of any criminal investigation. CalPERS serves 1.6 million active and retired public employees and holds about $200 billion in investments.

THE NATION Blacks Criticize Fried Chicken Comment OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Legislative Black Caucus is criticizing Sen. Randy Brogdon for a remark he made about fried chicken during a debate on federal health care legislation supported by President Barack Obama. Caucus chairman Rep. Jabar Shumate of Tulsa on March 24 called on Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee to admonish Brogdon. Shumate said Brogdon’s comment is part of a pattern of disrespectful and inflammatory actions and statements.

Brogdon, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, made the comment March 23 during a debate on whether the state should try to opt out of parts of the health care bill. He said Congress has no more authority to tell Oklahomans where to buy health insurance than it does to tell them where to buy a fried chicken dinner. Brogdon said he was not referring to Obama.

Senate Approves Ban on Race-Based Abortions ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia Senate has approved a bill that would make it a crime to perform an abortion on a woman based upon the race or gender of the parent or child. After more than three hours of debate, senators passed the measure 33-14 in a vote that broke down along party lines. Republican Sen. Chip Pearson of Dawsonville, the bill’s sponsor, said the proposal addresses the prevalence of gender- and racebased abortions in Georgia, especially among African American women. The bill would make it illegal to coerce a woman into an abortion on those grounds. Democratic Sen. Donzella James, of College Park, said the idea that black women are being targeted for abortion is unfounded and inflammatory and fails to address the health care disparity that is the real cause of the disproportionate abortion rate for black women.

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L.A. WATTS TIMES

ARTS & CULTURE

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Life is grand in Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Niqueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and with good reason. Last month, she walked away with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mary, an abusive mother, in the drama â&#x20AC;&#x153;Precious: Based on the Novel â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pushâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by Sapphire.â&#x20AC;? Her win made her only the fifth African American woman to win the coveted award â&#x20AC;&#x201D; following Hattie McDaniel, Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry and Jennifer Hudson. She also won a Golden Globe, a New York Film Critics Award, a SAG award and an NAACP Image Award for the same role. Her Atlanta-based talkfest, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Nique Show,â&#x20AC;? on BET, also won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Talk Series. Awards season is now complete and Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Nique has taken her act on the road. The loud, brassy comedienne with a larger-than-life personality recently kicked off a two-month â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spread The Loveâ&#x20AC;? Comedy Tour, which will arrive at Nokia Theater L.A. LIVE on April 2. The tour, which includes her BET colleague Rodney Perry, comedian Tone-X and DJ Ant, kicked off in New Orleans and will conclude in Bridgeport, Conn., in May. Prior to becoming Oscarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest golden girl, some of Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Niqueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s credits included the now-defunct UPN sitcom â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Parkers,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;F.A.T. Chance,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Queens of Comedy,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Phat Girlz,â&#x20AC;? and others. Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Nique admits she likes spreading her talent around. How the Baltimore native is keeping up with her fast-paced schedule is anyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guess. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doing her talk show and touring the country all while being the mother of 4-year-old twin boys, a 19-yearold son and being happily married to her childhood friend, Sidney Hicks, who is also her manager. I caught up with the 42-yearold actress and comedian to talk about her Oscar, her life and the tour.

Photo by BILL JONES

LIFE IS GOOD â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Nique holds the Oscar she recently won for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Precious: Based on the Novel â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pushâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by Sapphire.â&#x20AC;? Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Nique recently kicked off a two-month â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spread The Loveâ&#x20AC;? Comedy Tour, which will arrive in Los Angeles April 2.

LAWT: Why did you decide to do the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Spread the Loveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Tour now? M: Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a comedian. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always a good time. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Spread The Loveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is needed now more than ever. LAWT: When was your last tour? Do you miss touring? M: The last time was two years ago. Yes, I miss it. When youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing stand up, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no cut, no editing. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s you and a microphone. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not waiting for reviews, nothing like that. LAWT: Do you remember the first laugh you got doing stand-up? M: Yes. I said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dawg, give it up for my fat, black ass.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; That was back in 1989-90 at Burkeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Comedy Club in Maryland. My brother went the week before. He was horrible. I teased him. I said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;If I had been on stage I would have said â&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; He said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I dare you to go next Wednesday.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I did. LAWT: How do you go about writing your act? Do you bounce it See MOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;NIQUE, page 10

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ARTS & CULTURE The 11th Annual Celebrity Spring Toast/Roast Awards took place March 27 at the Radisson Hotel in Los Angeles in honor of actress Marla Gibbs and actor Hal Williams.

Jackee Harry of “227” fame

Hosts Dawnn Lewis and Tommy Ford

Actress Della Reese

Photos by IAN FOXX

ART WORK — (Top) Los Angeles painter and sculptor Artis Lane poses with her work during an opening reception of the California African American Museum’s “7+FIG Showcase.” (Bottom) Artist Pat Boyd poses with one of her works. The exhibition will include the work of 23 members from the California Artist Coalition of Los Angeles. It runs from 12 to 4 p.m. on weekdays through June 11. The exhibition is at Ernst & Young Plaza, 735 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles. More information: www.caamuseum.org/ce_5.htm.

SHORT TAKES MUSIC • Dwight Trible will perform live April 8, 8 to 11 p.m., at Vitello’s Jazz and Supper Club, 4349 Tujunga Ave., Studio City. John Beasley will be on piano,

Dwight Trible

Trevor Ware on bass, and Dexter Story on drums. Reservations: (818) 769-0905, www.vitellosrest aurant.com. • Bone Thugs-n-Harmony will perform April 16 at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City as part of their 34-city U.S. tour in support of the group’s reunion album, “Uni5: The World’s Enemy,” scheduled for release April 27. Tickets are available on www.ticketmaster.com. Information: www.bonethugsnharmony. com. See SHORT TAKES, page 12

Honorees Marla Gibbs and Hal Williams

Page 8

NOTEBOOK University Officials Condemn Racist Acts on Campus SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — University of California officials on March 24 condemned recent incidents of racism and intolerance on campus and promised to promote greater diversity and inclusion. At a meeting of the UC Board of Regents, administrators and board members apologized to students for the acts that have raised racial tensions and sparked heated debate about race and diversity within the 10-campus system. The incidents include a picture of a noose found at UC Santa Cruz, swastikas spray-painted at UC Davis, and an off-campus “Compton Cookout” party that mocked Black History Month at UC San Diego. “All the regents regret that any member of the UC community had to endure such disgusting acts of bigotry,” said Russell Gould, who chairs the board. “They are a disgrace to the values of this institution.”

Secretary Locke Announces Recovery Act Investments in California and N.Y. WASHINGTON (U.S. Commerce) — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has announced two American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments to help bridge the technological divide, improve education, and increase economic opportunities for lowincome families in Los Angeles and New York City. The grants, totaling more than $29 million, will fund computer training and provide more than 30,000 computers to middle school students and their families in highneed schools, enabling them to make use of key educational, employment and health resources online.

KOKAYI Continued from page 2 founders of CLAS recently attempted to spread its influence through assuming responsibility for the struggling Hyde Park Boulevard Elementary School through the School Choice Initiative process. Rather than provide the school with an opportunity for change, the district retained control of Hyde Park. As education columnist Larry Aubry stated, the School Choice Initiative continued a pattern of ignoring the schooling needs of black children and parents. This unfortunate scenario underscores the reality that we — as the black community — must unleash a revolution that extends from the home and lands squarely inside the classrooms where our children learn. We cannot, however, depend on the status quo (i.e. LAUSD) to provide us with support in our efforts to develop black children who have knowledge of self and skills to conquer the world. For this most holy of revolutions, we are going to have to “do for self.” Black educators will need to come together — like the founders of CLAS — and develop school plans

L.A. WATTS TIMES

April 1, 2010

EDUCATION Congress Gives College Aid a Boost In California, Computers for Youth will partner with the Los Angeles Unified School District to increase broadband technology awareness, help students succeed academically, and increase family involvement in their children’s education through computer and Internet tools. The project is expected to provide 15,000 sixth-grade students and their families with computer training, after which they will receive a refurbished computer with educational software.

California College Students Protest Budget Cuts SACRAMENTO (AP) — Thousands of college students from across California converged on the state Capitol March 21 for protest against slashed budgets and rising fees at public universities and community colleges. The peaceful demonstration, called the “March on March,” lasted several hours and was the third major protest last month demanding more money for K-12 schools and colleges. Unlike previous protests that blamed college leaders, this rally brought together students and administrators. Deep cuts in state funding have led to class cutbacks, staff layoffs and sharp fee hikes at the 10campus University of California, the 23-campus California State University system and 110 community colleges. “I hope legislators will understand how deep students care about their education,” California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott, who spoke at the March 21 Capitol rally, told The Associated Press. “By denying students their education, we’re going to hurt our state economically.”

based upon our culture, history and expectation of excellence. While taking over district schools or opening charters provide some opportunities, we must develop truly independent structures to maximize our efforts. Of course, this would require that blacks from all economic classes contribute money and time to support the growing number of independent schools that will inevitably need to come. We cannot build a community with flourishing businesses, safe streets and solid infrastructure without people with a strong cultural consciousness and skills that come from good schools. Let’s get to work. Kokayi Kwa Jitahidi is a community organizer with the Families for Community Safety Campaign, a grassroots effort to create a more just and peaceful society by holding law enforcement officers accountable for their actions. FCSC seeks to work with all sectors of the community including political organizations, elected officials and residents in general. Jitahidi is also founder of the MA’AT Club for Community Change. He can be reached bro. kokayi@gmail.com.

BY JIM KUHNHENN AP WRITER

WASHINGTON (AP) — More needy college students will have access to bigger Pell Grants, and future borrowers of government loans will have an easier time repaying them, under a vast overhaul of higher education aid that President Barack Obama signed into law this week. Under the measure, private banks would no longer get fees for acting as middlemen in federal student loans. The government would use the savings to boost Pell Grants and make it easier for some workers to repay their student loans. In addition, some borrowers could see lower interest rates and higher approval rates on student loans. The legislation, an Obama domestic priority overshadowed by his health care victory, has widespread reach. About 8.5 million students are going to college with the help of Pell Grants. The measure was part of a package of fixes to the health care legislation Obama signed earlier last week. The Senate approved the fixes March 25. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, praised the bill as a victory for middle-class families. “Now they’ll have the assur-

ance that their kids will be able to afford to go to college and again, when they get out, they won’t be burdened with a huge debt,” he said. The changes do not go as far as Obama and House Democrats wanted. That is because ending fees for private lenders would save less money than they anticipated, according to budget scorekeepers. The bill is now expected to save $61 billion over 10 years. As a result, the Pell Grant increase is modest and still doesn’t keep up with rising tuition costs. Advocates had sought bigger increases. “The increases in the Pell Grant are better than nothing, but they are still quite anemic,” said analyst Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of the student assistance Web site FinAid.org. When Pell Grants were created in 1972, the maximum grant covered nearly three-quarters of the average cost of attending a public four-year college. In 2008, the latest year for which figures are available, the maximum grant covered about a third of the cost. And debt affects the careers graduates choose. “We’re seeing students being squeezed out of socially valuable jobs like teaching and social work” because of their debts, said Rich Williams, who has worked on the

PRESERVING BLACK HISTORY Continued from page 1 “There is a continuing, growing appreciation that the history of black America is a history that deserves to be preserved,” said Lonnie Bunch, director of the Smithsonian’s planned National Museum of African American History and Culture and organizer of the museum’s innovative Treasures series. He estimates the series has documented and helped families preserve hundreds of items, among them a rare Pullman Porter’s cap, and agricultural tools believed to have been used on a rice plantation. Experts say more families are seeking ways to preserve items once thought to be junk, spurred by increased emphasis on black Americana and its role in painting a fuller picture of America’s past. In Atlanta, some came seeking tips for preserving everything from the modern — a beloved Michael Jackson album — to the ancient, including a massive chronicle of slavery’s history dating back to 1859, likely belonging to a Quaker, according to museum officials. Ninety-nine-year-old Amelia Boynton-Robinson knew the background of the wooden, four-legged sewing kit she toted from Tuskegee, Ala.: It was a gift from the wife of Tuskegee University founder and black scholar Booker T. Washington, crafted by students circa 1900. “At that time, dress makers were very important and very popular because you didn’t have factories,” Boynton-Robinson explained to a museum worker, as she learned despite a missing hinge, the rustic box only needed some dusting and cleaning to keep it sturdy for years to come. Greer was sent away with tips on investing in acid-free storage boxes and heavy plastic covers.

Photo by ERIK LESSER

LOUIS — An attendee with photos of Louis Armstrong participates in the “Save Our African American Treasures” event in Atlanta this past February. Smithsonian officials hope the events, which have been held at different cities throughout the nation, will turn up items for a national museum of black American culture, set to open on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., by 2015.

“Anything that’s on your hands (then) on the document will further deterioration,” said Alice Carver Kubik, a professional reviewer under contract to Treasures. None of the Atlanta collectors struck it rich, learning great-grandmother’s dog-eared photos or a handful of old coins was worth millions. But experts say monetary value is secondary among black families with a growing interest in how their ancestors lived. They point to the influence of Haley, whose 1976 book “Roots” both detailed his own painstaking effort to trace his family back to Africa, and encouraged blacks across the country to begin digging into family history many had assumed was lost forever. Years later, Smithsonian experts credit programs like the popular public broadcasting

bill for the Public Interest Research Group, a consumer advocacy organization. Private lenders still will make student loans that are not backed by the government, and they still will have contracts to service some federal loans. But the change represents a significant loss to what has been a $70 billion business for the industry. Key features of the measure include: • Pell Grants would rise from $5,550 for the coming school year to $5,975 by 2017. Lawmakers had initially hoped to reach a $6,900 cap. • More eligible students could get a full Pell Grant. Most grants go to students with family income below $20,000, but students with family income of up to $50,000 may also be eligible. • Some college graduates will have an easier time repaying loans. The government will essentially guarantee that workers in low-paying jobs will be able to reduce their payments. Current law caps monthly payments at 15 percent of these workers’ incomes; the new law will lower the cap to 10 percent. Savings from the measure will also go toward reducing the deficit and helping to pay for expanded health care. series “Antiques Roadshow” with encouraging blacks to take things to the next level. It’s tough to quantify exactly how many black Americans are researching historic documents or digging up old family belongings to map their past. But the Internet, with its everexpanding library of historic records, is the latest thing driving interest, according to Sharon Leslie Morgan, author and operator of Ourblack ancestry.com. Since its March 2007 launch, the Web site, which offers tips to beginning family research, has gone from less than 100 to almost 3,000 unique site visits per month. “Genealogy is a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, which is probably why a lot of people never really get into it. However, modern technology has made research so much easier,” Morgan said. “There are so many more records available to African American researchers that didn’t use to be accessible at all.” For Lynn Brown, discovering heirlooms has helped make real the things she’s found on sites like Ancestry.com. She spent seven years rooting around on the Web site and eventually looking in the Atlanta archives for details about her family. But it wasn’t until one day, in the North Carolina home of a long lost cousin, that she found the most valuable pieces of her family’s puzzle — pages of a handwritten family tree and pictures of her relatives dating back to 1880. She thinks many blacks have tossed items from their past — “They think it’s not worth anything because, for a long time, it was not,” she said. But for her, having links to her family’s past that she can hold in her hands is invaluable. “I can just feel and see my ancestors,” she said, smiling.

April 1, 2010

L.A. WATTS TIMES

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HEALTH Older Women Need 1-Hour Workouts to Fend Off Flab

THE PULSE Dept. of Public Health Receives $32M Award (Lapublichealth.org) — Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, along with the L.A. County Department of Public Health, have announced the receipt of an unprecedented amount of funding from a grant — about $32 million — for public health efforts addressing chronic disease in the county. The grant comes from the U.S. Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative. Funds will be used by the Department of Public Health to work with cities, schools and communities across the county to improve nutrition, increase physical activity, and reduce smoking. These three health behaviors are the major contributing factors to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer — the leading causes of death in the county. Information: www.publichealth. lacounty.gov, www.hhs.gov/recovery, www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/ recovery.

Prostate Cancer Awareness Event Slated The Real Men Cook Foundation will present “Every Month is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month for Minority Men: Saving Lives Together” April 10, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Saint Brigid Catholic Church, 5214 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles. University of Southern California and community doctors will coordinate the screening. Information, registration: (323) 294-7411.

Health Law Will Require Calorie Counts in Menus WASHINGTON (AP) — That Caesar salad you’re about to eat? It’s 800 calories, and that’s without the croutons. The fettuccine alfredo? A whopping 1,220 calories. You may choose to ignore the numbers, but soon it’s going to be tough to deny you saw them. A requirement tucked into the nation’s massive health care bill will make calorie counts impossible for thousands of restaurants to hide and difficult for consumers to ignore. More than 200,000 fast food and other chain restaurants will have to include calorie counts on menus, menu boards and even drive-thrus. The new law, which applies to any restaurant with 20 or more locations, directs the Food and Drug Administration to create a new national standard for menu labeling, superseding a growing number of state and city laws. The idea is to make sure that customers process the calorie infor-

mation as they are ordering. Many restaurants currently post nutritional information in a hallway, on a hamburger wrapper, or on their Web site. The new law will make calories immediately available for most items.

Be the Match Seek Marrow Donors (Be the Match) — Each year more than 10,000 Americans are diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses such as leukemia or lymphoma, and learn that the only hope for a cure is a marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant from an unrelated donor. Today, the need for transplants is rising. Medical advances are making transplants a treatment option for more patients of all ages than ever before. About 70 percent of patients in need of a transplant do not have a matching donor in their family. They depend on Be the Match Registry, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, to find a match. Because tissue types are inherited, patients are most likely to match the tissue type of someone who shares their racial or ethnic heritage. Currently, the likelihood of finding at least one potential match on the Be the Match Registry ranges from 60 to 88 percent and depends on a patient’s race or ethnicity. While many patients do find the life-saving match they need each year, more donors are needed, especially those from racially and ethnically diverse communities to help all patients. To join the registry, contact BeTheMatch.org.

Calif. GOP Urges Suit Over Health Care Overhaul SACRAMENTO (AP) — Republican state senators called on California Attorney General Jerry Brown March 22 to join other states and sue the federal government over health care reform. The legislators said Congress cannot force people to buy health insurance or any other products. Attorneys general in 13 other states have already filed suit against the health care overhaul that President Barack Obama signed into law. The bill will require most Americans to carry health insurance. Christine Gasparac, a spokeswoman for Brown, said the attorney general had not yet seen the letter sent March 21 by state Sen. Tom Harman, a Republican from Huntington Beach who says the overhaul violates the principle of federalism. GOP lawmakers also decried what they called an unfunded mandate, estimating the plan would cost California taxpayers $3 billion.

SIKIVU Continued from page 2 banking on Independent voters’ “buyers’ remorse” to sweep Obama and his health reform allies out of office. Playing George Orwell’s O’Brien to Middle America’s Winston Smith in the novel “1984,” the GOP knows that it can

hold up four fingers and seduce the white electorate into believing there are five. Sikivu Hutchinson is the editor of blackfemlens.org and the author of the forthcoming “Moral Combat: Black Atheism, Gender Politics and Secular America.”

BY LINDSEY TANNER AP MEDICAL WRITER

CHICAGO (AP) — Rev up the treadmill: Sobering new research spells out just how much exercise women need to keep the flab off as they age — and it’s a lot. At least an hour of moderate activity a day is needed for older women at a healthy weight who aren’t dieting. For those who are already overweight — and that’s most American women — even more exercise is called for to avoid gaining weight without eating less, the study results suggest. “We all have to work at it. If it were easy to be skinny, we would all be skinny,” said John Foreyt, a behavioral medicine expert who reviewed the study but wasn’t involved in the research. Brisk walking, leisurely bicycling and golfing are all examples of moderate exercise. But don’t give up if you can’t do those things for at least an hour a day. Even a little exercise is good for your health even if it won’t make you thin, the researchers said. Their findings are based on 34,079 non-dieting middle-aged women followed for about 13 years. The women gained an average of almost 6 pounds during the study. Those who started out at a healthy weight, with a body mass index less than 25, and who gained little or no weight during the study consistently got the equivalent of about an hour of moderate activity daily. Few women — only 13 percent — were in this category. Few already overweight women got that amount of exercise, and the results suggest it wasn’t enough to stop them from gaining weight. The results echo what gymfuls of middle-aged American women see every time they step off the treadmill

HEALTH CARE Continued from page 3 And since repeated visits can add up even for the insured, make every trip worthwhile. Have a clear idea of what you expect from an appointment, and bring a notepad listing all the questions you want answered. Be prepared with any past medical records that might be requested. If the doctor suggests a follow-up appointment for something minor, ask if it can be addressed via phone or e-mail. Don’t automatically agree to any test or procedure either. Ask why it’s necessary and if there are any alternatives. Be especially diligent in questioning any screening tests when you’re not experiencing any symptoms, said Art Levin, director for the Center for Medical Consumers. In such scenarios, “screening is vastly oversold, to put it mildly,” he said. This isn’t to say you should cut corners on your health. But your doctor may suggest a routine test that you might not feel is necessary. Individuals with specific chronic diseases, such as diabetes, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, may be eligible for monetary assistance from The Patient Advocate Foundation Co-Pay Relief program. Finally, if you’re in a PPO plan,

and onto the scale. “Talk to any group of women and they all say the same thing,” said Janet Katzin, 61, a “slightly overweight” marketing director from Long Island who exercises for an hour twice a week. Thin as a younger adult, Katzin said the pounds started creeping up after she had her two children in the 1980s, despite exercising and watching what she eats. “It’s just extremely frustrating and discouraging.” The study appears in March 24 Journal of the American Medical Association. Only women were studied, so the researchers from Harvard’s Brigham and Women Hospital said it’s uncertain whether the results would apply to men. The research “reinforces in a nice, clear way the idea of how difficult it is to maintain a healthy weight in our society,” said Foreyt, of the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. The results bolster a 2002 Institute of Medicine report that emphasized the importance of balancing diet and exercise and recommended at least 60 minutes daily of moderate activity for adults and children. But the study also indicates that the 2008 U.S. guidelines urging about a half-hour of exercise five days a week won’t stop weight gain while getting older without cutting calories, said Dr. I-Min Lee, the study’s lead author. The study underscores some inevitabilities about aging. Men and women often put on weight, partly because their metabolism slows down. But that probably has less to do with it than people’s natural tendency to become more sedentary, without changing their eating habits, Lee said. Hormonal changes in menopause also can make women prone to weight gain, especially around the

belly. Still, Lee emphasized that the benefits of exercise extend beyond what you see in the mirror, helping keep the heart healthy and protecting against chronic disease even if you don’t get enough activity to lose weight. The researchers analyzed data on women who took part in a longrunning federal study. Participants were 54 on average at the start and periodically reported how much they exercised and weighed. They also reported eating habits at the start, but not throughout, a limitation the authors acknowledged. Lee said the women’s eating habits were thought to be typical of American women who aren’t dieting. Dr. Howard Eisenson, who heads Duke University’s diet and fitness center, said it’s likely some women underestimated what they ate and overestimated how much they exercised, which could have skewed the results. Still, Eisenson said he doesn’t encourage anybody to try to lose weight by exercise alone. To combat age-related weight gain, “you’re fighting in many cases a losing battle” if you don’t also cut calories, he said. That doesn’t mean you have to starve yourself, but it does mean watching what you eat and avoiding frequent indulgences. People often don’t realize how quickly a bag of chips, an extra piece of cheese, a few glasses of wine or a candy bar add up. “You can eat a candy bar in two minutes. Most are at least 200 calories,” and to burn that off requires walking for about an hour, Lee said. Knowing that equation can help people make wise decisions about activity and food choices, she said. On the Net: JAMA: http://jama. ama-assn.org.

go to an in-network doctor. Otherwise, copays can be as much as 50 percent higher. Saving on Drug Costs Research any prescription drug your doctor recommends. Not only can the costs add up, but you might have concerns about some of the risks or side effects. The Food and Drug Administration and the Mayo Clinic have comprehensive Web sites explaining drugs on the market. Most people already know that generics cost significantly less, with $4-a-month programs growing increasingly popular with big box retailers. But even if a generic isn’t available, there could be a cheaper, over-the-counter alterna-

tive. As a starting point for considering any changes, check Consumer Reports’ Web site at www. CRBestBuyDrugs. com. In addition to its $4-a-month generics program, Target also offers a three-month supply of generics for $10. Wal-Mart’s discount program includes some brand-name and overthe-counter drugs. Comparison shopping is important too, especially for brand-name drugs such as Ambien or Prevacid. Several states run Web sites that let consumers browse prices at area drug stores. As with health insurance in general, several states also have prescription drug discount programs for the uninsured.

HUTCHINSON Continued from page 2 and the press wrote the epitaph for him midway through his second term in 1938, he continued to swing away. Roosevelt took to the airwaves and hit the road to blast the economic royalists, obstructionist judges and Congress members in light of his reform program. In the final stages of the health care reform fight and its immediate aftermath, Obama snatched a page directly from Roosevelt and mobilized millions of Americans to fight for real reform. As long as he continues to do that, he’ll continue to look and act like FDR.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His nationally heard public issues talk show is on KTYM-AM 1460 AM Los Angeles, Friday, 9:30 a.m., and KPFK Pacifica Radio 90.7 Los Angeles, Saturday, noon, Pacific Standard Time. Hutchinson is also president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, which has weekly news, discussion, and speaker forums. Attendees can come hear and dialogue with community leaders, elected officials, and policy makers on Thursdays, 7 p.m., at the Lucy Florence Cultural Center, 3351 W. 43rd St., Los Angeles. Information: (323) 383-6145.

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L.A. WATTS TIMES

April 1, 2010

SPORTS BRAD PYE JR.

SPORTS BEAT Notes, quotes and things picked up on the run from coast-to-coast and all the stops in between and beyond. The Southland is home of some of the finest high school basketball players in America, and they have a slew of championships to prove it. Included in this group of spectacular players are Westchester High Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dwayne Polee Jr., Reggie Murphy and Kareem Jamar, who helped the Comets win the Division I state championship at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield March 27 against Newark Memorial, 63-56; L.A. Price Highâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Richard Solomon and Allen Crabbe, who aided Price in beating Albany St. Mary, 69-51, for the Division IV championship; and Serra Highâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vaughn Autry, et al., winners of an exciting game that went into overtime and ended in Serraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 63-59 Division III boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; basketball victory over Bishop Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Dowd. By the way, Serra made history during that game: The school is the first to win basketball and football CIF state titles in the same school year. The high school girls have been as impressive in making their marks and winning championships too. Included in this group are Santa Ana Mater Deiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Jordan Adams, Jessica Duarte and others, who over the weekend at Robobank

Arena won the state Division II title over Concord Carondelet, 58-43. And the beat continuesâ&#x20AC;Ś There are some Los Angeles Laker fans that are waiting for Ron Artest to prove his worth. From day one, I thought the Lakers made a mistake by letting young and dynamic Trevor Ariza get away to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Artest. Will Adrian Dantley be the Denver Nuggetsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; next permanent head coach? Dantley has been filling in for the George Karl, whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s battling throat cancer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really hard,â&#x20AC;? the Denver Post quotes guard Chauncey Billups as saying. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You lose your leader on team in George. You lose his voice, you lose his presence. A.D. and those guys are doing a wonderful job, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just different.â&#x20AC;? Two sisters of a kind: Chiney Ogwumike (Cy-Fair High in Cypress, Texas), the younger sister of Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pac-10 Player of the Year Nneka Ogwumike, was named Gatoradeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s girls basketball Player of the Year. Nneka won this same honor in 2008. They are the first siblings to capture this award in its 25year history. The 6-foot, 3-inch senior will follow her sister to Stanford. And the beat continuesâ&#x20AC;Ś In light of a recent 28-4 vote by NFL team owners, the sudden-death rule in postseason play has been changed. Here is how the change will work: On the first possession, teams must score a touchdown to win a postseason game. A field goal will not get it done on the first possession. It will permit the other side one possession to tie or beat it. Will Terrell Owensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; next stop

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off someone? M: I bounce it off me, my husband (Sidney) and my best friend. I call on the phone. I just start talking. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how we work it out. Sidney is one of the funniest people I know. LAWT: Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the best part about being Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Nique? M: The best part is happiness, love and joy and fullness, maturity, husband, kids. There are so many answers. LAWT: What do you get from each of the genres â&#x20AC;&#x201D; stand-up, talk show, films, etc.? M: They all give me excitement and love. They all allow me to entertain. Stand-up is my therapy. The late-night party is my therapy. The acting, that is like for real. So when they say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Nique, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a dramatic actress,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Nique who?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a stand-up actress that acts dramatically. LAWT: Congrats on the Oscar. What do awards mean to you? M: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not so much the award means something; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the reward of doing it. Cause the awards are things. The reward comes in when

be with Arizona Cardinals? Carson Palmer, the Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Southern California, has reportedly supported the idea, although it may not happen. The Philadelphia Eagles seem willing to trade Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb and make Michael Vick their starting quarterback. At least thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the way coach Andy Reid has been talking with the media â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and that could be the case. And the beat continuesâ&#x20AC;Ś Venus Williamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; book, entitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Come To Win,â&#x20AC;? is slated to be published in June. In the book, former President Bill Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and others talk about sports and the role it has played in their success. And the beat continuesâ&#x20AC;Ś Tiger Woods plans to have a press conference April 5 before he tees off in the Masters on April 8.

Photos by KELVIN FIELDS

STATE CHAMPS â&#x20AC;&#x201D; (Top) Members of Westchester High Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basketball team pose with others after winning the Division I state championship at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield on March 27. The Comets beat Newark Memorial, 63-56. (Bottom) Comets defend against the Cougars with 1minute and 43 seconds left in the game.

URBAN LEAGUE Continued from page 1

Tiger Woods

Tiger has won the Masters four times. And the beat endsâ&#x20AC;Ś Brad Pye Jr. can be reached at switchreel@aol.com. someone says from watching the movie, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;My life changed. Watching â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Parkers,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I went back to college.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; LAWT: Have you learned more from the mistakes youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve made or the things youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done right? M: Wow! Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good question. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equal. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve learned from mistakes and from things Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done right. I think maybe from the mistakes. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to call it mistakes. I want to just call it life. It makes it who I am today. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m thankful. LAWT: Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve said youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve lost 40 pounds. Do you have a weight goal or a health goal? M: Both. The health goal is a lifestyle. I want to be healthy and I can be because I want to meet my grandchildren. The weight goal is 200. My husband was able to pick me up at 262, but his knees gave out. I want him to pick me up with ease. LAWT: What about you would surprise your fans? M: That I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe in God, I believe God. For information on the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spread The Loveâ&#x20AC;? Comedy Tour, visit www.ticketmaster.com or call (800) 745-3000.

signed into law by Obama, partly because it does little to help the â&#x20AC;&#x153;chronically unemployed,â&#x20AC;? who have less education and jobs skills and are disproportionately black and Latino. That jobs measure, which contains a modest mix of tax breaks and spending for highway and transit programs, is expected to generate perhaps 250,000 jobs by yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s end, a tiny portion of the 8.4 million jobs the economy has shed since the recession began in 2007. Referring to health care legislation, Morial noted that nearly 20 percent of blacks do not have health coverage, compared to about 11 percent for whites, and that disparities in health care extend beyond insurance to â&#x20AC;&#x153;access to fresh food and groceries, access to physical education, recreational activities and sidewalks to walk on.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The health bill is not a magic wand,â&#x20AC;? he said. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;State of Black Americaâ&#x20AC;? report comes after Morial and other

BIZSHORTS Continued from page 3 returns filed this year is down slightly, the percentage of returns using efile remains strong. More than 82 percent of the 69 million returns received this year have come in via efile. Home usage of e-file is up almost 7 percent compared to this

African American leaders, including the Rev. Al Sharpton and Benjamin Jealous of the NAACP, met with Obama at the White House in February to press for aid in urban and rural areas with large numbers of hurting minorities. Obama has said he cannot adopt employment strategies that are designed to solely help blacks. He supports targeting help to regions most in need, which in turn, he says, would lift the African American community. Morial said that during the White House meeting, Obama expressed an â&#x20AC;&#x153;overall understanding that additional significant steps needed to be taken.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I do believe he will pay attention,â&#x20AC;? he said. The unemployment rate was 15.8 percent for blacks and 12.4 percent for Hispanics in February, compared to 9.7 percent overall and 8.8 percent for whites. On the Net: National Urban League: www.nul.org.

time last year. Also, taxpayers can check their eligibility for new credits and deductions on the IRS Web site at IRS.gov/recovery. This special section also contains instructions on how to claim the available tax incentives and provides answers to frequently asked questions.

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April 1, 2010

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 11

PUBLIC NOTICE FOR RENT UNFURNISHED APARTMENTS FOR RENTSection 8 in South East L.A. Across from Magic Johnson Park, near Avalon & Central. 3 Bedrooms/1.5 Bathrooms & 4 Bedrooms/ 1.5 Bathrooms. CALL: 323-567-3564 NOTICE ON HEARING TO CONDUCT ANNUAL DANCE / ENTERTAINMENT-GEN, W/DANCE Notice is hereby given that application has been made to the Los Angeles County Business License Commission to conduct ADDRESS OF PREMISES: 1000 UNIVERSAL CENTER DR., #99, UNIVERSAL CITY, CA 91608 NAME OF APPLICANT: HARD ROCK CAFE INTERNATIONAL / HAMISH DODDS / JAY WOLSZCZAK / HARD ROCK CAFE DATE OF HEARING: 04/14/2010 TIME OF HEARING: 9:00 A.M. Any person having objections to the granting of the License may, at any time prior to the date above named, file with the Business License Commission his objections in writing giving of the hearing and be heard relative thereto.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (Metro) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Metro will receive proposals for RFP# PS4340-2538 Metro Gold Line Eastside Access Project per statement of work on file at the Metro Office of Procurement & Material Mgmt, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (12th Floor). All proposals must be received on or before 4:00 p.m. (Pacific Time), May 13, 2010 at the address listed above, sent to the attention of Amy Wang. Proposals received later than the above date and time will be rejected and returned to the proposer unopened. A Pre-Proposal conference will be held at 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time), on April 7, 2010 located at the address above. You may obtain a copy of the RFP, or further information, by faxing Amy Wang at (213) 922-3883.

OFFICE OF THE COMMISSION: OFFICE OF THE COMMISSION 500 W. TEMPLE STREET RM. 374 LOS ANGELES, CA 90012

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP NO. 7530 INSURANCE BROKERAGE AND RISK MANAGEMENT CONSULTING SERVICES The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles invites proposals from qualified firms interested in providing insurance brokerage and risk management consulting services. A copy of the RFP may be obtained beginning March 22, 2010 via www.hacla.org/ps or call (213) 252-5405 or 252-1832. Proposals will be accepted until 2:00 P.M., by April 23, 2010. 3/25, 4/1/10 CNS-1820929# WATTS TIMES FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20100270839 The following person is doing business as: SAVIYNT 11108 Matteson Ave. Culver City, CA 90230 Rishma Shariff 11108 Matteson Ave. Culver City, CA 90230 This business is conducted by an Individual. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct (The registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) is This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on March 1, 2010. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. NOTICE: This Fictitious Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the Los Angeles County Clerk. A New Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before that time. 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). First Filing: 3/11/2010, 3/18/2010, 3/25/2010, 4/1/2010 LAWT 412 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20100351008 The following person is doing business as: Queen V Enterprises 3579 E. Foothill Blvd., #537 Pasadena, CA 91107 Victoria Willams 3579 E. Foothill Blvd., #537 Pasadena, CA 91107 This business is conducted by an Individual. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct (The registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) is This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on March 15, 2010. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. NOTICE: This Fictitious Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the Los Angeles County Clerk. A New Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before that time. 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). First Filing: 3/18/2010, 3/25/2010, 4/1/2010, 4/8/2010 LAWT 413 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20100376275 The following person is doing business as: Dream Merchantz 4065 Ursula Ave., Unit 15 Los Angeles, CA 90008 Stephanie E. Thornton 4065 Ursula Ave., Unit 15 Los Angeles, CA 90008 This business is conducted by an Individual. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct (The registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) is This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on March 18, 2010. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. NOTICE: This Fictitious Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the Los Angeles County Clerk. A New Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before that time. 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). First Filing: 3/25/2010, 4/1/2010, 4/8/2010, 4/15/2010 LAWT 414

REQUEST FOR SUB-QUOTES Project: I-405 Sepulveda Pass Widening Project, Contract No. C0882 Owner: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) Concrete Barriers / Post-Tensioning / Bridge (Seismic) Retrofit Notice of Interest due by April 16, 2010 Kiewit Pacific Co. is the design-builder for the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Widening Project and is seeking sub-bids and quotes from Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE). Opportunities for subcontractors, professional services and material and/or equipment suppliers will occur throughout the life of the project. Requests for Quotes (RFQ) will be ongoing as needed. All DBE’s must be certified by the California Unified Certification Program (CUCP). Currently, Kiewit is requesting Notice(s) of Interest from firms to provide sub-quotes for the following bid opportunities. Concrete Barrier (Barrier Rail) Post Tensioning (Statement of Qualifications will be required for Post Tensioning) Bridge (Seismic) Retrofit Contact us with your Notice(s) of Interest to provide a Sub-Quote no later than April 16, 2010 to receive a Bid Quote Sheet and Bid Instructions for your scope of work. All responsive subcontractors must posses a valid California contractor’s license and provide acceptable insurance. Responsible subcontractors are expected to provide bonding for 100% of their contract. Kiewit will reimburse bond premiums. All agreements issued on behalf of this project with a value of $100,000 or greater must satisfy the LACMTA Prequalification Application requirements. Kiewit intends to conduct itself in good faith with all DBEs and all other business enterprises regarding participation on this project. For further information or questions regarding these opportunities and to receive a Bid Quote Sheets for your specialty, or to discuss this design-build project, requirements of the contract, licensing, project scheduling, insurance or bonding, please contact our project office.

Kiewit Pacific Co. I-405 Sepulveda Pass Widening Project Attn: Rebecca Manning 6060 Center Dr., Suite 200, Los Angeles, Ca 90045 (310) 846-2400 Fax (310) 215-3528 I405.DBE@Kiewit.com

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STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME: 20100091257 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name: APOGNIX / SAVIYNT, Rishma Shariff, 11108 Matteson, CA 90230. The Fictitious business name referred to above was filed on January 21, 2010 in the County of Los Angeles. Original File No. 20100091257. Full name of Registrants: Rishma Sharriff This business is conducted by a Individual: Rishma Shariff. This statement was filed with the Los Angeles County Registrar Recorder on March 1, 2010.. Publish Dates: 3/11/10, 3/18/10, 3/25/10, 4/1/10 LAWT 001 Trustee Sale No. CA09000312-09-1 . Loan No. 1010560983 Title Order No. 090884483-CA-GTI APN 6055-011-051 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED October 10, 2007. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. On May 3, 2010, at 1:00 PM, at the front entrance of the Pomona Superior Courts Building, 350 West Mission Blvd, Pomona CA, MTC FINANCIAL Inc dba Trustee Corps, as the duly appointed Trustee, under and pursuant to the power of sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust Recorded on October 18, 2007, as Instrument No. 20072374683 of Official Records in the office of the Recorder of Los Angeles County, CA , executed by: MOHAMMAD A. HANNAN, A SINGLE MAN, as Trustor, in favor of INDYMAC BANK, F.S.B., A FEDERALLY CHARTERED SAVINGS BANK as Beneficiary, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, in lawful money of the United States, all payable at the time of sale, that certain property situated in said County, California describing the land therein as: AS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED ON SAID DEED OF TRUST. The property heretofore described is being sold "as is". The street address and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 1419 WEST 97TH STREET, LOS ANGELES, CA 90047 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made without covenant or warranty, express or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the Note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest theron, as provided in said Note(s), advances if any, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, estimated fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligations secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of this Notice of Trustee`s Sale is estimated to be $552,545.30 (Estimated), provided, however, prepayment premiums, accrued interest and advances will increase this figure prior to sale. Beneficiary`s bid at said sale may include all or part of said amount. In addition to cash, the Trustee will accept a cashier`s check drawn on a state or national bank, a check drawn by a state or federal credit union or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the California Financial Code and authorized to do business in California, or other such funds as may be acceptable to the trustee. In the event tender other than cash is accepted, the Trustee may withhold the issuance of the Trustee`s Deed Upon Sale until funds become available to the payee or endorsee as a matter of right. The property offered for sale excludes all funds held on account by the property receiver, if applicable. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder`s sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. DATE: April 8, 2010 Trustee Corps TS No. CA09000312-09-1 . 30 Corporate Park, Suite 400 Irvine, CA 92606 949-252-8300 Ernie Aguilar Authorized Signature SALE INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED ON LINE AT www.noticesolutions.com AUTOMATED SALES INFORMATION PLEASE CALL 714-786-5351 Compliance with California Civil Code Section 2924f: The Beneficiary or Beneficiary's agent has indicated that the requirements of California Civil Code Section 2924f have been met. Regarding the property that is the subject of this notice of sale, the "mortgage loan servicer" as defined in Civil Code § 2923.53(k)(3) declares that it has obtained from the Commissioner a final or temporary order of exemption pursuant to Civil Code section 2923.53 that is current and valid on the date this notice of sale is recorded. The time frame for giving a notice of sale specified in Civil Code Section 2923.52 subdivision (a) does not apply to this notice of sale pursuant to Civil Code Sections 2923.52. Ernie Aguilar Authorized Signature TRUSTEE CORPS IS A DEBT COLLECTOR. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. Ad #2773: 2010-04-08 2010-04-15, 2010-04-22

Trustee Sale # CA0957070-3 Loan# 0146747795 Order # 55009869 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED 06/14/2007. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. On 04/23/2010 at 1:00PM, MTC FINANCIAL INC., dba TRUSTEE CORPS as the duly appointed Substituted Trustee under and pursuant to Deed of Trust Recorded on 06/22/207 as Document No. 20071504100 of official records in the Office of the Recorder of Los Angeles County, CALIFORNIA, executed by, CESAR ESPINO, AN UNMARRIED MAN, as Trustor, SUNTRUST MORTGAGE, INC., as Beneficiary, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER FOR CASH (payable at time of sale in lawful money of the United States, by cash a cashier's check drawn by a state or national bank, a check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association, or savings bank specified in section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state). AT: At the front entrance of the Pomona Superior Courts Building, 350 West Mission Blvd, Pomona CA The property heretofore described is being sold "as is". All right, title and interest conveyed to and now held by it under said Deed of Trust in the property situated in said County and State describing the land therein: APN # 5044-013-012 AS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED ON SAID DEED OF TRUST. The street address and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 2911 WEST 36TH STREET, LOS ANGELES, CA 90018 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the Note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon, as provided in said Note(s), advances, if any, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, estimated fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Trustee's Sale is: $292,437.47 (estimated amount). Accrued interest and additional advances, if any, will increase this figure prior to sale. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder's sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. The Beneficiary under said Deed of Trust heretofore executed and delivered to the undersigned a written Declaration of Default and Demand for Sale, and a written Notice of Default and Election to Sell. The undersigned caused said Notice of Default and Election to Sell to be recorded in the County where the real property is located and more than three months have elapsed since such recordation. Compliance with California Civil Code Section 2924f: The Beneficiary or Beneficiary's agent has indicated that the requirements of California Civil Code Section 2924f have been met. See Exhibit "A" attached hereto and made a part hereof. Compliance with California Civil Code Section 2923.52: 1. Pursuant to California Civil Code 2923.54 the undersigned, on behalf of the beneficiary, loan servicer or authorized agent, declares as follows: X Servicer does hereby state that Servicer has obtained from the commissioner a final or temporary order of exemption pursuant to Section 2923.53 that is current and valid on the date of the notice of sale is filed. 2. Timeframe for giving notice of sale specified in subdivision (a) Section 2923.52 ___ Does X Does not apply pursuant to section 2923.52 or 2923.55 Dated: 04/01/2010 MTC FINANCIAL INC. DBA TRUSTEE CORPS, as Successor Trustee By: ERNIE AGUILAR, TRUSTEE SALES OFFICER *TRUSTEE CORPS* 30 Corporate Park, Suite 400, IRVINE, CA 92606 FOR SALE INFORMATION CONTACT: (714) 786-5351, (949) 252-8300 FOR REINSTATEMENT / PAY OFF REQUESTS CONTACT: (949) 252-8300 Ad #2786: 2010-04-01 2010-04-08, 2010-04-15

THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS BY THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA REGARDING THE PROPOSED FIVE-YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (FY2011– FY2015) FOR THE WATTS CORRIDORS REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA Public Hearings have been scheduled for April 15, 2010 Notice is hereby given that The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, California (“CRA/LA”) has scheduled a public hearing for the Watts Corridors Redevelopment Project Area's FiveYear (FY2011-FY2015) Implementation Plan. The public hearing will be held Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. or as soon thereafter as the matters may be heard at the CRA/LA Central Office located at 354 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90013, 6th Floor Board Room (northeast corner of 4th and Spring Streets in Downtown Los Angeles). The public hearing is being conducted to hear testimony of all interested parties regarding the Five-Year (FY2011-FY2015) Implementation Plan for the Watts Corridors Redevelopment Project Area (Project Area). The Project Area is generally bounded by the Harbor Freeway on the west, Mona Boulevard on the east, the Century Freeway on the south, and 103rd Street on the north. At the above stated time and place, any and all persons having any testimony regarding any portion of the Five-Year (FY2011-FY2015) Implementation Plan may appear before CRA/LA and be heard. Copies of the Five-Year (FY2011FY2015) Implementation Plan are on file and available for public inspection during the listed business hours at the following locations: CRA/LA Main Office, Records Center 354 South Spring Street - 5th fl. Records Los Angeles, CA 90013-1258 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday Watts/Watts Corridor Site Office 10221 South Compton Avenue Suite 201 Los Angeles, CA 90002 9:00 a.m. – 5:15 p.m. Monday thru Friday Council District 15 Field Office 10221 South Compton Avenue Suite 200 Los Angeles, CA 90002 9:00 am -4:00 p.m. Robert Pitts Center - Lobby 1827 E. 103rd Street Los Angeles, CA 90002 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday Watts Century Latino Organization 10360 Wilmington Avenue Los Angeles CA 90002 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday Maxine Waters Employment Prep Center 10925 S. Central Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90059 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday Alma Reaves Woods - Watts Branch Public Library 10205 Compton Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90002 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Monday and Wednesday Noon - 8:00 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday 10:00 am - 6:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday For additional information contact Charlotte Brimmer, Project Manager for the Project Area at 213.977.1960 or Aaron Ledet, Assistant Project Manager at 213. 977.1863 3/18, 3/25, 4/1/10 CNS-1817597# WATTS TIMES

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L.A. WATTS TIMES

April 1, 2010

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LAYOFFS Continued from page 1 Although these young people come from opposing turfs, they converge as students at Markham Middle School. Markham, at 1650 E. 104th St. in Los Angeles, is considered neutral territory, Stevens said. Because of the One Watts program, tensions at home and school are minimized or eliminated completely, he said. The city has planned to shed a total of 4,000 jobs, and city officials are trying to close a $73 million budget gap. “We are facing an unprecedented budget shortfall, and the mayor has been clear throughout this budget process that there are no easy solutions, and turning the city’s budget around requires tough choices that clearly state our top priorities and reduce or eliminate services that we can no longer afford to provide,” Sarah Hamilton, a spokesperson for L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, recently said in an e-mail to the L.A. Watts Times. “The mayor has also been clear that he does not relish making these decisions, but they are necessary to preserve the fiscal health of the city.” Hamilton did not add any other comments or respond to other related questions from the L.A. Watts Times. The City of Los Angeles’ Department of Recreation and Parks department did not respond to the L.A. Watts Times’ requests for comment before press time. “We definitely see the benefits of this program,” Stevens said. “Our whole idea was to blow up the

Jack Foley

perception that they (the housing projects) can’t get along. We see everyday how our staff are making a difference in these children’s lives … It is well worth it to have this program in place.” These kids — Hispanic and African American — play on the same sports teams, get help with their homework, learn team-building skills and take field trips together. It is all part of a process to teach the kids to see each other as human beings and not enemies, Stevens said. One Watts has worked well for Marquon Thornton, 17, born and raised in Nickerson Gardens, who began participating in the recreation center programs when he was 12. Thornton made good use of the services to steer clear of trouble and stay in school, said Gregory Thomas, acting facility director over the three project facilities. He has earned a scholarship and will attend California State University, Northridge, in the fall. “We understand some layoffs are necessary, but there’s no common sense, no plan in place,” said Jack Foley, president of the Venicebased nonprofit People for Parks, a partner of One Watts that recently took local kids to the Mountain High Ski Resort. “They’re talking about laying off eight of nine staff mem-

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THIS IS YOUR COFFEE bers at the three housing projects, which use to be (a) dumping ground for the worst employees.” The projects now have some dedicated young people working there who may be terminated as of June 30, he said. “This needs to be stopped,” Foley added. With Markham’s student popu-

lation of 1,500 (roughly 70 percent Hispanic, 30 percent African American), and 24 known active gangs in the area, Tim Sullivan, Markham Middle School’s principal, said he believed the mayor and the city should be more concerned about the children. Sullivan also said he believes the layoffs will be detrimental to the

children and community. “The recreation staff assists Markham, not only by providing enrichment opportunities for our students; they also assist with safe passage to and from school. These (children’s) lives are in danger when they are not involved,” Sullivan said. “They are more than staff members; they are community liaisons.”

main stage on April 24, 11:30 a.m., 405 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles. More book information: www. simonandschuster.com. • “Midnight at the Barrelhouse: The Johnny Otis Story”

imonies of Overflow Blessings from Faithful Tithers.” They aren’t necessarily looking for experienced writers, but for members of the public who have faithfully tithed in spite of mounting bills and other financial hurdles. A Thanksgiving 2010 release date is planned. Testimonies can be e-mailed to submissions@provemenowhere with.com. Upon publication, each story will include your e-mail address, church name, city and state. Further information: C. Daphne Lawson, daphne@clavierchanean. com, www.provemenowherewith. com.

SHORT TAKES Continued from page 7

BOOKS • Todd Bridges’ memoir, “Killing Willis: From Diff’rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted” was recently published. The book, which costs $26, details Bridges’ descent into addiction, providing a graphic chronicle of his self-destructive path into degradation and

THEATER

desperation — as well as his painful journey back. Bridges will participate in the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the

was released April 1. In this first biography of Johnny Otis, George Lipsitz tells the largely unknown story of a towering figure in the history of African American music and culture who was, by his own description, black by persuasion. • The editorial staff of a new Christian anthology is seeking submissions for their upcoming release “Prove Me Now Herewith: Test-

• The Pepperdine University Fine Arts Division Theatre Department will present David Ives’ version of Georges Feydeau’s classic French farce, “A Flea in Her Ear,” April 6 through 10, 7:30 p.m., at the Malibu campus’ Smothers Theatre. Pepperdine University is at 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. Tickets are $15 for the public, $10 for fulltime Pepperdine students with identification, and $12 for Pepperdine faculty and staff with ID. Information: (310) 506-4522, (800) 982-2787, arts.pepperdine.edu/.