LAWT-6-18-2009

Vol. XXX, No. 1132

June 18, 2009

SERVING LOS ANGELES AND SURROUNDING AREAS

FIRST COLUMN

Teen Survivor of Rwandan Genocide Graduates in U.S.

BY DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP AP WRITER

SEATTLE (AP) — Two years ago, Candide Uwizeyimana could not speak a word of English. A survivor of the Rwandan genocide, she lost her family and later was separated from those who rescued her from an orphanage, fed and housed her, and paid for her education.

Survival was the focus of her first 16 years. But drive, determination and some luck have given Candide the opportunity to live a completely different life in the suburbs north of Seattle, where she saw snow for the first time and graduated from high school.

Will she go on to a university next or study at a community college and continue working and saving money from her job at the

Safeway grocery store?

These are some of today’s concerns but they are not her story.

A LIFE FILLED WITH TRAGEDY, OBSTACLES Rwanda was filled with fear and panic in 1993, months before the country would explode in ethnic violence that would claim as many as 1 million lives. Villages in the mountainous region of Gikongoro in southwest Rwanda were not immune from the atrocities.

Life was becoming unbearable for Joseph Rurangwa and Beatrice Nilabakunzi and their five daughters, Candide and her four sisters, Leaticia, Adeline, Angelique and Theodette.

When the family dog started See GENOCIDE SURVIVOR, page 17

Photo by DEMESE BLACK

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED — Members of the Los Angeles Lakers, the 2009 National Basketball Association Champions, in a team huddle at the Los Angeles Coliseum June 17. The Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 99-86 on June 14 to win the championship series 4-1.

Study: Job Cuts to Hinder Calif. Economic Recovery

BY JACOB ADELMAN AP WRITER

AP Photo by ELAINE THOMPSON

SPEAKING CANDIDLY — Candide Uwizeyimana, shown on Feb. 10, shares her experiences as a child refugee during the Rwandan genocide.

Uwizeyimana, who often wandered from one refugee camp to another all by herself, graduated from high school in Washington state on June 14.

(AP) — California’s economic recovery will be stymied by massive state work force cuts that could boost the unemployment rate to more than 12 percent and restrain growth even after housing markets stabilize, according to an economic forecast released June 16.

The quarterly Anderson Forecast from the University of California at Los Angeles predicted that 60,000 government positions would be eliminated as lawmakers try to reduce the state’s $24.3 billion deficit, making tepid growth likely until early 2011.

An economic recovery “will be

‘The Homies’ Discover Inner Peace With Poetry

BY ERIKA A. MCCARDEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Arlene Ayala didn’t find the road to writing easy.

It took her a while to embrace poetry and participate in a creative writing program at the L.A.-based Homeboy Industries, which aims to help at-risk and former ganginvolved youth become positive members of society through job placement, training and education.

“I never wanted to take the class, and I would get mad at Leslie,” Ayala said of Leslie Schwartz, who spearheaded the program. “We always got into it and I wouldn’t write anything. I kept telling her, ‘I’m not a poet,’ but she kept pushing and pushing. Now I write poems and enjoy writing, and it helps me focus when I’m mad about something.”

On June 11, Ayala, a former drug dealer, and her colleagues presented literary works from the first annual Homeboy Review — a collection of essays and poetry written and published by ex-gang members in Homeboy Industries’ writing class.

Photo by DAMIEN SMITH

WRITER, POET, HOMEGIRL — Anna reads from her work published in The Homeboy Review, the new publication of Homeboy Industries’ writing class that was launched June 11 in Los Angeles.

“I never thought I could ever write, but we have it in us,” Ayala said. “We’re so programmed to think we’re not going to be anything, and now it’s crazy to see our names in a book and it makes me want more. It’s amazing to have something to show my grandparents.”

Founded by Father Gregory

Boyle in 1988, Homeboy Industries has grown to provide training and work experience for rival gang members with an enterprise comprised of Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy Maintenance, Homeboy and Homegirl Merchandise, Homegirl Café and the newest, Homeboy Press, which publishes The Homeboy Review.

The new publication is written in three subdivisions: The First Section, which features literary works from established poets and writers including poet Luis Rodriguez, author Kerry Madden and Naomi Shihab Nye; Art and Justice, which analyzes the relationship between art and community; and 130 West Bruno Street, which highlights poetry written by “The Homies” from Schwartz’s class.

The evening debut of The Homeboy Review kicked off with readings by select students, Rodriguez, Madden and Boyle.

Also featured was a dedication to fellow “Homie” Trayvon Jeffers, who was scheduled to read his work See ‘THE HOMIES’, page 14

held back by a rising tide of former state employees conserving their spending while they seek work in the private sector,” Anderson Forecast senior economist Jerry Nickelsburg said in the report. “The impact, which will be felt in the coming

year, is decidedly negative and will retard economic growth in 2010.”

The forecast said the construction and retail sectors will continue shedding jobs, and the state’s unemployment rate would reach a See JOB CUTS, page 10

NEWS IN BRIEF THE SOUTHLAND Tuskegee Airman Roger Terry Dies in Los Angeles (AP) — Roger Terry, whose conviction for “jostling” a superior was reversed 50 years after he and other Tuskegee Airmen attempted to enter a whites-only Roger officer’s club, has died.

Terry He was 87.

Theodore Lumpkin, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the World War II black fighters unit, said Terry died of heart failure June 11, at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center.

An army lieutenant and bomber pilot, Terry and more than 100 black officers were arrested in April 1945 for refusing a general’s demand that they sign papers admitting they were wrong for protesting the segregated club at Freeman Field, a military airfield near Seymour, Ind. Terry was court-martialed, convicted of “jostling” a white officer, and dishonorably discharged.

In 1995, the U.S. military exonerated Terry. He was among 300 Tuskegee Airmen who received the congressional Gold Medal in 1997.

Judge Wants Assurance Before Ending LAPD Oversight (AP) — A federal judge says the Los Angeles Police Department has made great strides in reforming

itself but he will not rescind a decree mandating U.S. Justice Department oversight until several key issues are resolved.

Judge Gary Feess on June 15 extended the existing consent decree for another two weeks rather than allowing it to expire June 16.

The Justice Department favors ending the decree, which has been in place since 2001, when the government threatened to sue over what it said was a pattern of police abuse dating back decades.

The judge, however, wants assurances on requirements mandating policies to eliminate biased policing, establishment of a system for evaluating police officers, and provisions for certain officers to disclose their financial assets.

Feess gave Justice and police officials one week to respond in writing.

Audit: L.A. Probation Staffers Work Excess Overtime (AP) — Los Angeles County supervisors have ordered an inquiry into excessive overtime pay for Probation Department employees.

An audit released the week of June 8 found the department routinely exceeds its combined overtime limit of 24 hours a week, costing the department nearly $50 million over the last five years.

The audit showed that 366 staff members each worked more than 300 overtime hours in the See BRIEFS, page 8

FATHER’S DAY IS JUNE 21

Page 2

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 18, 2009

OPINION EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON

Another Wrong for the Wrongly Accused Byron Halsey had the happy and tragic distinction of being the 238th wrongfully convicted prisoner released from prison in the past two decades due to DNA testing.

Halsey was the 12th wrongfully convicted prisoner exonerated this year. In 1985, Halsey was accused of the rape and murder of two Plainfield, N.J., children.

Halsey’s nightmarish tale after the arrest is woefully familiar to those wrongfully accused. There was the marathon police grilling, with threats and intimidation, a coerced confession, slipshod legal representation, a fast-track trial, conviction, and then either dumped in a cell for life or receive the death penalty.

Halsey faced the death penalty.

As with the overwhelming majority of the other wrongfully jailed, Halsey is African American.

Like most of them, he may not get a nickel for the near quarter century of mental and physical suffering he endured. It’s a wrong that more than half the states have done absolutely nothing to correct for the falsely accused.

Halsey’s only recourse is to file suit. And he faces towering hurdles.

One is the shield of sovereign immunity that states cloak themselves in to protect from lawsuits. New Jersey would have to waive that immunity to allow a suit. Then he’ll have to demonstrate his actual innocence.

This means providing smokinggun proof that a district attorney rigged evidence with the intent to

frame him. This almost never happens. Most wrongful convictions are obtained through voluntary confessions, a verdict by an impartial judge or jury, eyewitness mistakes, and inadvertent misstatements of fact.

District attorneys chalk up wrongful convictions to a trail of unintentional errors and insist that no legal wrong was committed. In other words, the wrongful conviction and jailing is a moral wrong and injustice but it is not a legally recognizable injury.

The 22 states that do provide for some compensation for a wrongful conviction hardly empty the till for the exonerated. The headline photo-ops of wrongfully convicted prisoners smiling, with relatives in tow, announcing multimillion dollar awards, are the rarest of exceptions.

Most states place hard caps on the pay-outs to the exonerated that range from $5,000 to $25,000.

States such as Montana don’t pay a penny directly to the exonerated but offer educational aid. Connecticut and Florida provide compensation but only on a case-by-case basis.

The exonerated must file a claim and wait a lengthy period of time for the claim to be processed.

And if there’s the slightest legal hitch in the circumstances of the conviction and release, the state may not pay. The legal wrangle over compensation can drag on for months or even years.

That’s exactly what’s happened

in the case of the five young African American and Latino men who were falsely accused and spent years in jail for the racially charged rape and murder of a white coed in New York’s Central Park in 1989. New York is playing hardball with their claims for compensation.

In the states that don’t offer payment for wrongful imprisonment, the exonerated must file suit.

Halsey is suing New Jersey for unspecified damages for the two decades he spent in prison. This will take months to resolve and he faces tough odds. District attorneys rarely admit that they prosecuted an innocent man, and even when they approve a release after near-iron clad evidence that the prisoner was wrongfully convicted, they rarely offer any apology for the prosecution. This is partly to preserve the legal fiction of an infallible criminal justice system and district attorneys and partly not to open the floodgate to a hefty pay-out.

Halsey and the other wrongfully imprisoned could get some measure of financial relief for their suffering if Congress passes the Restitution for the Exonerated Act of 2009. The mostly democratic-backed legislation, though, will not give any direct payment to the exonerated. It provides $2 million stretched out over four years for legal assistance, job and vocational retraining, health services, education and child support. It’s a help but it does not hit See HUTCHINSON, page 3

Journalism in Hell

BY MUMIA ABU-JAMAL

While a young reporter for a local NPR affiliate, housing was my beat.

In a city which was the oldest in the United States, there were no shortages of housing issues, for Philadelphia’s housing stock seemed in a permanent state of disrepair, especially in those sections of the city where blacks, Puerto Ricans and poor ethnic whites lived.

But which stories shimmer in the rear-view mirror of memory, brighter than the rest?

Although I reported in several sections of the city, many of those have sunk below the ocean of time.

An exception was the rent protest by residents of a dwelling in Southwest Philadelphia, a place I drove by for years, but never entered, until it became my job.

The exterior was attractive and distinctive and set apart from its neighbors by the decorative moldings and mortar work which told of another age of its construction, when builders were artisans, who took time not merely to build, but to make the building beautiful.

When I got a call from a contact of the impending strike, I rushed out there and finally entered the building.

The conditions therein made me gasp. Ceilings were dangerously

drooping over children’s living quarters, plumbing was backed up, and the general conditions of lack of repair made the building a threat to all of its inhabitants.

As I met with the leaders of the strike, their fury was evident. When I think back on the story years later, it dawned on me that housing, per se, wasn’t the issue. Resistance was.

That’s what gave the story the meaning, for it represented everyday, working-class people standing up to the injustice of unfair and improper living conditions.

Years later, while in the churning swells of the American House of Pain (prison), this would be my beat.

There are tens of thousands of people in these places, and, therefore, tens of thousands of stories. I have never had a shortage of them.

Sometimes, it’s the cases which brought a man to this place, and more often than not, the procedures by which this occurred. Like the making of sausages, the American legal process is a messy and ugly thing when one inspects closely.

I’ve written of unjust and improper prosecutions, harrowing brutality, stunning institutional boneheadedness and cruelty that would curdle milk.

In 1995, I was institutionally sanctioned for “engaging in the business of journalism.” It took years of

legal wrangling, including sitting in a courtroom for sevMumia eral weeks, in Abu-Jamal shackles so tight that one’s ankles were swollen and bleeding, to finally prevail on the principle that the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protected such activity, but it was well worth the battle (the case was Abu-Jamal v. Price).

For years, writing a story meant, quite literally, writing a story.

With an ink pen. On a legal pad.

Sometimes with a 4-inch long flexpen (this is a pen which has in inner tube of an ink pen, but the shaft is composed of see-through rubber, with a rubber cap at both ends, one allowing the 1/2-centimeter tip to protrude). It has been likened to writing with a wet noodle. Two of my books were written with these instruments, and then sent out to be typed by friends or editors.

The computer age has not yet dawned on the prison system (at least in Pennsylvania). I am often amused when I receive letters from people, who include, quite innocently and helpfully, their e-mail addresses, or their Web sites. For it tells me that they actually think I have a computer — here — in the cell, or perhaps computer (or Web) access.

Not. See ABU-JAMAL, page 7

Let’s Make a New, New Deal

BY SUSAN FEINER

Franklin Delano Roosevelt realized that, “People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.”

Why do most economic policies run counter to this basic point?

Faith in markets leads economists to believe that full employment is impossible, government intervention is destructive, deficits are bad and planning is futile. That is nonsense.

Remember Galileo? His heresy was challenging the belief that the Earth was the center of the universe.

It’s as heretical today to enact policies that don’t place markets at the center of the economy. Excommunicating Galileo didn’t change planetary orbits, but misguided fealty to markets does affect our future.

Today, more than 14.5 million Americans are jobless and another roughly 9 million are working reduced hours. All 372 metropolitan areas in the U.S. saw unemployment rise in May, and 93 recorded jobless rates of at least 10 percent.

To fight unemployment and reduce unnecessary suffering, the Social Security Act of 1935 established a joint federal-state system of unemployment insurance (UI). Today, state unemployment programs set benefits so low that few households dependent upon UI can make ends meet.

We are the skinflint states.

The stingiest state is Arkansas, where the average weekly benefit ($207) contributes only 29 cents of each dollar a family needs to cover the bare minimum for food, rent and utilities, transportation, child care, clothing and household expenses.

Arkansas’ average weekly unemployment benefit works out to $1.36 per hour less than the federal minimum wage. The least-stingy state is Wyoming, where the average weekly benefit ($328.34) delivers 53 cents of each dollar needed to meet basic needs. U.S. workers collect, on average, $269.29 per week in UI. This replaces a mere 40 cents of each dollar

needed to cover the basics.

Now is the time to embrace an economics of the people, for the peoSusan Feiner ple, and by the people. Meaningful jobs at decent wages are as essential to democracy as freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Consider this simple math: hire 10 million people at $25,000 per year (about $12 per hour). The cost? $250 billion — a fraction of what we’ve handed the nation’s bankers who neither lend nor spend. In contrast, all $250 billion (less payroll taxes) will be spent immediately, putting a sharp brake on the downward spiral of joblessness.

Ten million people should not be paid $12 an hour to be idle. Rather, the federal government should step in as the employer of last resort. We know this works. It worked in the 1930s and it will work again today.

During the New Deal, direct federal employment created over 10 million jobs, driving unemployment to its lowest level since the Great Crash. Federal employees built schools, hospitals and libraries; brought electricity to millions of rural households; preserved thousands of acres of forests; and produced art that is now a treasured part of our heritage.

Now, as then, there is plenty of work to do and plenty of people who want work.

FDR knew that, “Necessitous men are not free men.” We have a choice: America — the land of the free or the home of the broke?

Susan Feiner is the director of women and gender studies and a professor of economics at the University of Southern Maine. This column was provided by American Forum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational organization, that provides commentaries on state experts’views on major public concerns in order to stimulate informed discussion.

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CIRCULATION AUDIT BY

June 18, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 3

BUSINESS BIZSHORTS Free Business Seminars to Take Place on Wednesdays A free business seminar called “Effectively Managing Seven Key Areas of Business” will take place Wednesday evenings, 7 to 8 p.m., at New Thought Management Inc., 3540 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 611, Los Angeles.

This seminar is designed to help business owners and executive managers identify ways to make more money and become more efficient, gain a clear understanding of critical steps to start or expand any business, find out why most businesses fail within the first three years and learn how to effectively manage seven key areas of business for success.

R.S.V.P.:info@NewThought Management.com, www.NewThought Management.com, Anthony D. Parnell at (818) 973-3159.

Independent Writers Present: ‘Marketing Your Book’ Independent Writers of Southern California will present “Getting the Buzz on: Marketing Your Book” on June 29, 7:30 to 9 p.m., at Veterans Memorial Building, 4117 Overland Ave., Culver City.

The June IWOSC meeting will provide answers to questions such as, “What’s the best way to get a buzz on about your work?”

Panelists Annette Fix, Teresa Fogarty, Thora Gabriel, Penny C. Sansevieri and John Seeley will attend.

At the meeting, marketing vehicles like social networking sites will also be discussed. Cost: free for IWOSC members; $15 for nonmembers. Information: (877) 799-7483, info@iwosc.org, www.iwosc.org.

Calif. Senate Plans Staff Furloughs to Save Costs SACRAMENTO (AP) — Republican and democratic state senators have voted to require their staffs to take unpaid days off about once each month as the state deals with a $24.3 billion budget gap.

The monthly furloughs will apply to employees earning more than $50,000 annually. The goal is

to save about 5 percent of workers’ pay. Reductions in employees’ dental, orthodontic and vision care are also planned. The changes must be approved by the Senate Rules Committee, which doesn’t meet for two weeks, according to a Senate e-mail obtained June 12 by the Los Angeles Times.

The planned Senate furloughs come four months after most other state employees were required to take unpaid leave twice a month.

The Assembly has not furloughed its staff but is considering cuts.

Schwarzenegger: A Bad Time to Sell State Assets SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says it’s the wrong time to consider putting California landmarks up for sale — less than a month after he proposed doing just that.

He acknowledged June 12 that it was not “the best time right now” to sell state assets such as the San Quentin State Prison, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the California State Fairgrounds.

Schwarzenegger originally announced the proposal in May as part of his revised plan to address a $24.3 billion budget deficit.

The Republican governor said California, which has the world’s eighth-largest economy, could generate $3 billion from selling seven landmarks and 11 office buildings scattered around the state.

The commercial real estate market is just one part of California’s economy that has been pummeled by the recession.

Real estate experts told The Associated Press recently that many of the properties would be undervalued if placed on the market now because the commercial real estate market is so poor. Many potential buyers also might have trouble obtaining credit.

Even if the properties were put up for sale this year, California would not realize proceeds for perhaps two to five years — and in some cases even longer. That would do nothing for the current budget crisis.

Bringing Health Care Issues Into Financial Planning Many people plan their finances as if they’ll never be sick a day in their lives.

Yet the cost of a serious illness is all it takes to devastate most U.S. households financially. During his March health care summit, President Barack Obama said that the cost of health care now causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds and by the end of 2009, could cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their homes.

With such dire predictions, it’s essential that financial planning take a worst-case- scenario view of not only what can happen to your finances if you’re sick, but also ways to deal with the financial exposure if you lose your job and your health insurance.

A certified financial planner professional is trained to discuss key financial preparations you need to make to handle any kind of personal or family health crisis.

But there are steps you can take by yourself to control your risks.

Take Off the Weight While dealing first with the numbers on your bathroom scale will have immediate health benefits, it will also make your health insurance options and potential

out-of-pocket costs more affordable over time. A recent Stanford University and Rand Corp. study reported that lifetime medical costs related to diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension and stroke among the obese are $10,000 higher than among the non-obese. It added that lifetime medical costs could be reduced by $2,200 to $5,300 following a 10 percent reduction in body weight.

Grill Your Agent or HR Person Whether you buy health insurance through an agent or your employer, insists that he explain exactly what you’re getting for your premium, and where deductibles do and don’t apply. If you’re purchasing your own insurance policy, compare the premium savings from a higher deductible plan with your usage pattern of health services. What you save can often cover your high deductible.

Weigh Life Insurance Options While You’re Healthy A certified financial planner can help you make sure you’re carrying the right amount of life insurance to support your family and other heirs as well as cover any remaining medical bills that might remain after you die.

Discuss Potential Cost of Any Diagnosis If your physician diagnoses a particular illness that requires tests, prescription drugs, a hospital stay or ongoing therapy, be very blunt about what you’ll be charged, from the doctor’s bills to ongoing ancillary costs associated with treatment. Ask the doctor or his office manager to possibly negotiate a discounted fee for service. It’s possible to get discounts through cash payments as well.

Ask for Generics and Samples Many physicians are willing to recommend a generic substitute or at least supply you with a few samples of the drug they’re already prescribing. While doctors can’t get away with passing sample drugs to all their patients, always ask. As long as they are prescribing the medication, samples with the proper dosage can provide cost savings to patients.

Check Local Pricing Resources In non-emergency situations, you should always compare prices on treatments. Check with local medical boards and state health officials to see if they have online databases on costs for various See HEALTH CARE, page 5

a house

HUTCHINSON Continued from page 2 a state in the only place that really counts, and that’s the pocketbook.

Money cannot substitute for the torment of being wrongfully jailed.

It can’t restore careers, jobs lost, and the huge sums that are spent on legal fees to prove innocence. It can’t repair the wreck of families shattered.

It can’t make up for the years that the children of those falsely accused grew up without their fathers to nurture and mentor them to adulthood. And it certainly can’t wipe away the scarlet letter of incarceration that’s imprinted even on the falsely accused.

Halsey is angered that the state committed a monumental wrong to him and has not offered a dime to help him after his release. A dollar figure on his suffering won’t change that but it can at least serve as reminder that the state must pay something for the wrong inflicted on him. It’s money that Halsey and the

other wrongfully accused deserve to get for their horror.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His weekly radio show, “The Hutchinson Report,” can be heard in Los Angeles at 9:30 a.m. on KTYM Radio 1460 AM and nationally on blogtalkradio.com.

Facts June 16, 1976 Hector Petersen, 13 years old, is the first to die in what becomes known as the “Children’s Crusade,” the first nationwide black South African uprising against the system of apartheid in the 1970s. The violence will last 16 months and result in about 5,700 deaths, roughly 3,900 injuries, and 5,900 detentions.

Source: blackfacts.com

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Page 4

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 18, 2009

COMMUNITY

Calif. Budget Deadline Looms; No Deal in Sight

BY STEVE LAWRENCE AP WRITER

SACRAMENTO (AP) — The most forlorn provision in the California Constitution — the sel-

dom-met deadline for the Legislature to pass a new state budget — kicked in June 15 with no chance that it would be honored.

Lawmakers haven’t approved

a budget by the June 15 deadline since 1986, and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic-controlled Legislature don’t seem close to reaching a deal

CITY OF LOS ANGELES PUBLIC AUCTION The City of Los Angeles, Department of General Services, Asset Management Division, will hold a public auction by bid, to sell four (4) surplus City-owned properties.

Minimum Bids set on all parcels. CASH ONLY SALE. The City will not offer any financing on any of the properties.

The AUCTION will be held on Monday, JULY 20, 2009 at 2:15 p.m.

At City Hall, Room 350, 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles Parcel (1) Parcel (2) Parcel (3) Parcel (4)

4607 Ocean Front Walk, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292 10234 National Blvd., Palms, CA 90034 735 Battery Street, San Pedro, CA 90731 1309 Isabel Street, Los Angeles, CA 90065

Vacant Land Former Fire Station Former Animal Shelter* Vacant Land

Open House Schedule: Thursday - June 25, 2009 - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Parcel 2 Only) Saturday - June 27, 2009 - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Parcels 2 & 3 Only) Wednesday - July 1, 2009 - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Parcel 3 Only) Saturday - July 11, 2009 - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Parcels 2 & 3 Only)

For a copy of the brochure, please visit our website at www.lacity.org/GSD/asset/surplus.htm.

For general information, please call (213) 922-8500 or (213) 922-8552 and (213) 922-8542.

SAVE SAVE WATER, POWER AND MONEY

COMMUNITY FORUM

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WATER | POWER | MONEY

on how to erase a $24.3 billion deficit.

Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, the Santa Rosa Democrat who chairs the two-house committee that is trying to draft budget legislation, said she hopes the Senate and Assembly will have something to vote on in about a week or 10 days.

But there seem to be internal differences among both Democrats and Republicans over how to close the deficit.

Democrats are divided over whether to push for tax increases.

Republicans say they won’t provide the votes needed to raise any taxes and will not buy the cuts in prison budgets that Schwarzenegger is proposing.

Controller John Chiang said the state will run out of money if there is no agreement on a budget by late July, and Schwarzenegger says he would rather let state government come to a “grinding halt” than authorize borrowing the nearly $2.8 billion that would be needed to cover that shortfall.

If the state runs out of money, it would have to delay paying its bills or issue IOUs, said Hallye Jordan, a spokeswoman for Chiang.

“We are preparing for either or both scenarios,” she said.

The state’s latest budget problems come only 31/2 months after lawmakers and the governor ended months of negotiations over how to close a $42 billion deficit. On May 19, voters rejected a series of ballot measures designed to help implement that agreement, adding about $6 billion to the deficit.

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, said last week that the deficit was too big to close just with the cuts, fee increases, borrowing from local government and other proposals made by Schwarzenegger. She said her caucus was examining other ways to raise revenue.

Evans, chairwoman of the budget committee, said that might include fee hikes that could be enacted without Republican votes or targeted tax increases, such as a tax on oil production, higher tobacco taxes, or rolling back corporate tax breaks lawmakers granted in February.

“What we don’t have in mind are any broad, general income taxes or any broad new sales taxes,” Evans said.

Senate Democrats seem to be reluctant to consider raising taxes,

although their budget plan includes temporarily increasing income tax withholding to help erase the deficit.

“Everything is on the table when you have a $24 billion deficit and an impending cash crisis,” said Jim Evans, a spokesman for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.

Senate Democrats also are proposing to spend $4 billion of the $4.5 billion reserve fund that Schwarzenegger wants to set aside for emergencies.

“In our view, building a reserve in a time of fiscal emergency like this is like filling a water bucket when your house is on fire and not using it to put out the fire,” Evans said.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said most of the reserve — $3 billion — was set aside to cover the higher deficit estimates issued by the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget analyst.

The administration initially projected the deficit at $21 billion instead of $24.3 billion.

“That $3 billion is already spoken for,” McLear said.

He said “tax increases are off the table” because Republican lawmakers and the governor won’t support them. And he said the Legislature would be to blame, not Schwarzenegger, if a long budget deadlock left California unable to pay its bills.

“The governor is doing everything he can to get them to act,” McLear said. “In the end, it’s up to them.”

Evans disagreed. She said work on the budget was being held up because the Schwarzenegger administration was putting out details of its budget proposals in “dribs and drabs.”

“The Legislature has to flesh out the governor’s proposals,” she said. “We have to hear from the public, and we have to craft a budget that is, in our opinion, responsible. The governor is essentially saying, ‘It’s my way or the state goes off a cliff ...’

“Democrats are resigned to taking huge cuts in programs we care about. We just need to see some movement on the other side of the aisle and from the governor’s office.”

McLear said the administration has been updating its budget proposals “as the economic situation has deteriorated. We expect Assemblywoman Evans to be able to keep up,” he added.

Facts June 18, 1963 Three thousand black students boycott Boston public schools as a protest against de facto racial segregation.

June 18, 1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt confers with A. Philip Randolph and other leaders of the March on Washington movement and urges them to call off a scheduled demonstration to protest segregation in the Armed Forces.

Source: blackfacts.com

June 18, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 5

COMMUNITY COMMUNITY MEETINGS, FORUMS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Deadline for receipt of What’s Going On listings is Friday, 12 p.m., at least two weeks prior to activity.

Fax to: (213) 251-5720, e-mail us at lawattsnus@aol.com or mail to: L.A. Watts Times, 3540 Wilshire Blvd., PH3, Los Angeles, CA 90010.

SUMMER DAY CAMP — Faithful Central Bible Church will hold the Carpenter’s Workshop Summer Day Camp from June 22 through Sept. 4, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Camp activities will include sports, movies, field trips and educational exercises. The location for the camp is 333 W. Florence Ave., Inglewood. Information: (310) 330-8000, ext. 3226, klewis@faithfamily.org.

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES R O U N D TA B L E — T h e L o s Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable will present a forum on “The Health Care Crisis in America and Los Angeles” June 22, 10 a.m., at the Oasis Center, on the second floor of Macy’s in the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw Shopping Center, 3650 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Los Angeles. Information: (323) 3836145.

SAVE OUR SONS — The prison/justice ministry meets June 21, 2:30 p.m., at Crenshaw United Methodist Church, 3740 Don Felipe Drive, Los Angeles. Kim McGill of the Youth Justice Coalition will discuss “Youth Violence Prevention,” and Kelly Gilmore of the West Los Angeles College Outreach Program will speak on “U Can Go to College.”

This forum is by, for and about young people. Youth groups and foster/ group homes are especially welcome.

Information: (323) 292-0141.

THE HUTCHINSON REPORT — NAACP Chairman Julian Bond will speak with Earl Ofari Hutchinson on the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s push of President Barack Obama to strengthen civil rights protections June 19, 9:30 to 10 a.m., on KTYM 1460 AM. Listeners will also have an opportunity to question Bond about NAACP activities and the organization’s work with Obama. Information: (323) 383-6145.

SYMPOSIUM — The Center for the Study of Political Graphics, with students and faculty from Otis College of Art and Design, will discuss the relationship between the original art seen in MasterPeaces and

the contemporary protest poster. The symposium will take place June 20, 2 to 4 p.m., at the Da Vinci Gallery on the campus of Los Angeles City College, 855 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles. The “Get Lit Players” will also perform. Get Lit’s mission is to help underserved high school students discover their own voice using literature, writing and performance as tools. Information: (323) 653-4662, www.politicalgraphics.org.

DIALOGUE — In recognition of National HIV Testing Day (June 27), the National Council of Negro Women Inc. View Park Section and Ashley Stewart Stores have joined together to present “We Are Listening,” an intergenerational dialogue program, June 23, 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Ashley Stewart Store, 3501 W. Century Blvd., Inglewood. The topic for discussion will be African American Women and Girls and HIV/AIDS. Information: (310) 686-4849.

SWIMMING — “Operation Splash” Summer Youth Swimming Program, a joint project of Kaiser Permanente and the City of Los Angeles, will kick off June 19, 1 p.m., at the Jackie Tatum-Harvard Aquatics Center, 6120 S. Denker Ave., Los Angeles. The partnership will provide learn-to-swim scholarships to over 6,000 youth, ages 7 to 17, and their parents at 36 pools in lower-income communities citywide. This free program will also provide junior lifeguard program scholarships for an additional 600 youth. Information: (323) 906-7953, www.laparks.org/dos/aquatic/aqua tic.htm.

GANG TALK — “Gang Talk with Sister Herron” airs Thursdays, 6 to 6:30 p.m., on KTYM 1460 AM. The show, hosted by longtime community activist Lita Herron, will address the devastating impact of gangs and violence on families and communities.

RESOURCE FAIR — “APlace to Start Resource Fair” will take place June 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Foshay Learning Center, 3751 S. Harvard Blvd., Los Angeles. Hosted by the Community Coalition, the fair is expected to have 75 employment, health, housing and other local resource organizations for youth, families, residents and adults transitioning out of prison. Information: (323) 750-9087, deka@cocosouthla.org, www.cocosouthla.org.

SoCal Edison Presents Informational Sessions on Solar Energy Southern California Edison is offering free informational sessions on the California Solar Initiative program and the incentives it offers to homeowners who decide to “go solar.”

During the sessions, customers have the opportunity to learn about solar energy basics, the benefits of installing a solar energy system, financial incentives through the CSI program, tax credits and other financial models that can help reduce upfront costs.

The 90-minute, nontechnical informational sessions are held on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings at SCE Service Centers and other locations throughout SCE’s service territory. The sessions are free but require registration because space is limited.

Registration: www.sce.com/csi, (866) 970-9221.

Prices Proposed for New L.A.Area Freeway Toll Lanes

L.A. Restricts Lawn Watering to Two Days Weekly

(AP) — Los Angeles County is considering congestion pricing for new toll lanes on Interstate 10 and State Route 110.

Under the proposal transportation officials recently announced, solo drivers would be charged between 25 cents and $1.40 per mile to use high-occupancy vehicle lanes depending on the time of day.

Public hearings will be held in cities along the two freeways this month on the proposed prices.

The project, which has received more than $200 million in federal grant money, is set to be completed by December 2010.

State and local highway officials will convert current carpool lanes on 14 miles of I-10 and 11 miles of I-110 into toll lanes.

Carpoolers would still be able to use the lanes without charge.

(AP) — It’s now illegal to water lawns in the nation’s secondlargest city except on Mondays and Thursdays as Southern California deals with the effects of drought and regulatory restrictions on its distant water supplies.

The city is facing its third consecutive year of water supply shortages, according to the city Department of Water and Power, and the new sprinkler ordinance that went into effect June 1 is accompanied by a pocketbook incentive for conservation.

The amount of water customers can purchase at the lowest price, known as Tier 1, will now be reduced by 15 percent. Customers who do not achieve a 15 percent reduction in usage will be charged at a higher rate for every gallon above their Tier 1 allotment.

See MEETINGS, page 15

metro.net

Congestion Reduction Demonstration Project public hearings You are invited to attend Metro public hearings for the ExpressLanes Congestion Reduction Demonstration Project, which are being held in accordance with State Bill 1422 requiring that public hearings be held 30-days in advance of Metro Board adoption of a tolling policy. The project is financed by the federal government and is designed to test innovative strategies to alleviate congestion, maximize freeway capacity usage, and fund additional transit alternatives on High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on the I-110 between 182nd Street/Artesia Transit Center and Adams Boulevard and on I-10 between Alameda Street/Union Station and I-605.

Content presented at the meetings will be identical, so you may attend at the time most convenient for you. > Thursday, June 18, 2009 (6 – 8pm) Darby Park 3400 W Arbor Vitae St Inglewood, CA 90305 Served by: Metro Bus Lines 210, 710, 117, 115, 715 and 209 > Saturday, June 20, 2009 (10am – Noon) West Covina Civic Center Community Room 1444 W Garvey Av West Covina, CA 91793 Served by: Foothill Transit Lines 178, 185, 272, 274, 281 and Silverstreak > Monday, June 22, 2009 (6 – 8pm) Civic Center Library Meeting Room 3301 Torrance Bl Torrance, CA 90503 Served by: Torrance Transit Lines 1, 2 and 8

HEALTH CARE medical procedures. Also, if there is a support group for your condition, talk to members about what they paid locally for care.

Talk to a Financial Adviser About Planning for Long-Term Care If you or a loved one is diagnosed with a chronic illness, that’s a financial issue that requires a plan. As tough as it may be to focus on money issues at a stressful time, make an appointment with a tax professional or planner to discuss affordability options that will safeguard your assets.

Begin Negotiations Before There’s a Problem The best time to speak with hospital bean counters isn’t when

you’re behind on your payments.

Once a diagnosis is made, either you or someone you designate as your agent needs to contact the hospital business office to check on payment schedules and possible discount plans if you are uninsured or fear your insurance may not cover a significant portion of costs.

Any creditor appreciates a customer who’s willing to come to the table first.

This column is produced by the Financial Planning Association, the membership organization for the financial planning community, and is provided by Percy E. Bolton, CFP, a local member of FPA. Bolton can be reached at office@percybolton.com.

Please submit comments by July 14, 2009.

By Mail: Stephanie Wiggins, Executive O;cer One Gateway Plaza – MS 99-25-5 Los Angeles, CA 90012

By Fax: 213.922.7464

On the Web: metro.net/expresslanes (Click on “Contact Us”)

Spanish translator will be available.

Tendremos intérpretes de español disponibles.

09-2208tr ©2009 LACMTA

Continued from page 3

Page 6

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 18, 2009

COMMUNITY Juneteenth Feature

John Brown’s Legacy Hasn’t Changed; America Has

BY VICKI SMITH AP WRITER

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. (AP) — A century and a half later, we still don’t know quite what to think of John Brown.

Certainly, he aimed to be a hero. He believed his plan was the necessary means to a righteous end: Storm a federal arsenal, seize thousands of weapons, arm a gathering guerrilla force, and start the revolution that would end the morally reprehensible and perfectly legal institution of slavery.

Yet the first casualty of his 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry was a free black man, a baggage handler who bled to death on the street while Brown’s raiders grabbed hostages and holed up at a fire engine house.

Within 48 hours, Brown’s rebellion was dead, along with at least four civilians, 10 raiders, and a U.S. Marine who helped retake the building.

Brown’s methods have been debated ever since, the grandiosity of his plot and his willingness to kill or be killed a timeless fascination. This year, the National Park Service has declared that his raid was the opening salvo in the War Between the States, with sesquicentennial commemorations beginning in West Virginia.

But in 1959, as America began to contemplate the centennial of the Civil War, Brown was largely left out of the discussion.

Segregation of schools and public lynchings still made headlines, and many white southerners feared civil rights activists would use retold tales of the raid to agitate. Blacks feared being marginalized, or worse. And so John Brown was pushed aside, and the centennial began in 1961, with the anniversary of the Confederate firing on Fort Sumter.

“John Brown was, in effect, a terrorist; whether you agree that what he was doing was right or not,” says Gerry Gaumer, spokesman for the Park Service in Washington, D.C. “There are people in the Taliban who believe what they’re doing is right. Can you separate John Brown from what’s

going on in Iraq or Iran or Pakistan or Afghanistan?

“They fervently believe what they’re doing is right,” he says.

“But is there a better way?”

This month, the Park Service is offering two-mile walking tours that retrace Brown’s footsteps through the picturesque town at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. Descendants of raiders, soldiers and townspeople will gather in August, then return for the Oct. 16 anniversary to explain their ancestors’ roles.

Had his own been among the bodies in 1859, Brown might have remained a bit player in the larger drama of the war. But that was not his fate. On trial for treason, murder and inciting a rebellion, he refused to apologize and declared the fight for freedom sanctioned by God and the Bible.

Swiftly convicted and executed, he became a potent and enduring symbol — to the North, a heroic martyr willing to die for equality; to the South, a lunatic killer attacking a way of life. And so he remained for a century or more, a complicated man often dismissed with simplistic labels.

Later, people began to talk more openly about slavery and the roles that blacks and other racial and social groups had played in the nation’s defining conflict.

Slowly, says historian Jean Libby of Palo Alto, Calif., historians stopped dismissing Brown as a madman and began to put him in the context of his times, an era when — to the undying outrage of Brown and his wealthy supporters — courts ruled that black people were not citizens but property of whites.

Textbook writers, Libby says, gradually began to acknowledge that slaves had come from Africa with culture and history of their own, in need of neither handlers nor teachers.

“Now slavery is portrayed differently,” she says, “and so is John Brown.”

Brown, a Connecticut native, had despised slavery since he was a boy and witnessed a slave being beaten. He spent months plotting to

John Brown

seize 100,000 weapons in what was then Virginia, retreat into the mountains and begin a guerrilla war with slaves who would join him, emboldened by his success.

“He was so ahead of his time,” says Alice Keesey Mecoy, who discovered she was Brown’s great-great-great granddaughter in 1976.

Libby had come to Mecoy’s grandmother, asking to photograph the family. Mecoy found the story “kind of cool,” but she was 16.

Only after her own children had left home did she grow so interested as to make her ancestor’s life her full-time research project.

This fall, the 49-year-old former accountant and office manager from Allen, Texas, is presenting a paper in Harpers Ferry on the women surrounding Brown. A book is in the works.

“He wasn’t only against slavery. He was for equality of all people, men and women, any color, any religion. He firmly felt everyone was equal,” she says. “And that was such a radical thought for the time.”

Mecoy, whose great-great grandmother Annie Brown stayed with her father at a farmhouse near Sharpsburg, Md., as he planned the raid, is proud of her ancestor. She’s pleased that “he’s no longer looked

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at as the crazy guy standing on a hill ringing a bell saying, ‘Come to me!’

“You may have grown up being taught that he was this awful, terrible person who killed without provocation and stormed this armory and caused death, and the person in the next state may have learned a very different thing,” Mecoy says. “John Brown was taught regionally, based on what your region believed of him, and that caused differences of opinion.

Now, I think we’re getting to where this is really the core of what happened.”

Harpers Ferry park ranger John Powell has talked with descendants of Brown who, like Mecoy, are quick to disavow the violence but who also admire that their ancestor “tried to right what he perceived as a terrible wrong.”

“To this day, when people speak of John Brown, the veins bulge in their foreheads,” he says.

Those raised north of the MasonDixon line tend to see him favorably, while to many Southerners, “John Brown’s the bogeyman.

“There’s an expression in the South: ‘I’ll be John Brown,’ ” Powell says. “It means I’ll be damned. Or I’ll be hanged.”

Brown became part of the popular culture of his times, and that legacy endures: An American reggae band uses the song as its name and Brown’s likeness on its album covers. In 2007, a rare daguerreotype of Brown sold for $97,750 at a Cincinnati auction.

Still, many people will discover Brown only this year. And as they do, they may wrestle with how to categorize him. History often presents people as one-dimensional characters, known only for good or evil deeds. Brown confounds because he committed both.

“People don’t know what to do with John Brown. They don’t know what color he is. They don’t know if he was a good guy or a bad guy. They don’t know whether they should teach their kids about him.

They just don’t know,” says Bob O’Connor of Charles Town, a local college instructor and author of “The Perfect Steel Trap: Harpers Ferry 1859.”

“To me, he was a person that was single-focused on a cause that he was willing to die for,” says O’Connor. “I often ask my students, ‘What cause are you willing to die for?’ They have trouble coming up with the answer to that.”

While many defend Brown’s attack on Harpers Ferry, few label the slaughter of five pro-slavery leaders in Kansas three years before as anything but premeditated

murder. Brown’s raiding party on Pottawatomie Creek hacked the men to death with swords in an execution that University of Maryland professor Martin Gordon calls “probably the most misunderstood event of his career.”

“Why did he use swords? Not because he’s a barbarian, but because he didn’t want anyone to hear what he was doing. Rifle fire would wake up the town” says Gordon, president of the Council of America’s Military Past.

“This was a very selective act of terrorism, moral justice, take your pick. Criminal action, take your pick,” Gordon says. “But he wanted to teach the pro-slavery element in Kansas a lesson, so he picked five of their leaders, pulled them out of their house and killed them as silently as he could.”

In his own death, Brown became what the pro-slavery New York Journal of Commerce predicted when it published an editorial urging that he be imprisoned rather than hanged for his crimes.

“Monsters are hydra-headed, and decapitation only quickens vitality, and power of reproduction,” the newspaper warned.

Escaped slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who had tried to talk Brown out of his doomed raid, acknowledged its importance decades later, in an 1881 speech in Harpers Ferry.

“Until this blow was struck, the prospect for freedom was dim, shadowy and uncertain. The irrepressible conflict was one of words, votes and compromises,” he said. “When John Brown stretched forth his arm the sky was cleared.

The time for compromises was gone — the armed hosts of freedom stood face to face over the chasm of a broken Union — and the clash of arms was at hand.”

Even so, Dennis Frye, chief historian of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, says Brown will remain “a perpetual enigma.”

“People emote when they think of John Brown. They’re not using their mind as much as their heart. They’re not using their brain as much as their soul,” Frye says.

“They feel about John Brown. They either feel for him or they feel against him, but the key is they feel.

“I don’t see him passing away in the American experience or the American soul.”

On the Web: Harpers Ferry National Historical Park: www. nps.gov/hafe/historyculture/johnbrown.htm; The Kennedy Farmhouse: www.johnbrown.org/story.htm; Quad-State Sesquicentennial Committee: www.johnbrownraid.org/index. php.

Facts June 18, 1968 The United States Supreme Court bans racial discrimination in the sale and rental of housing.

Source: blackfacts.com

We join with the community in commemorating

Juneteenth www.pxp.com

June 18, 1941 Tuskegee Institute scientist George Washington Carver is awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University of Rochester.

Source: blackfacts.com

“Juneteenth” is June 19th

June 18, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 7

COMMUNITY Juneteenth commentary

Time to Emancipate the Airwaves: The Airwave Abolition Movement

BY PAUL SCOTT

Back in 1865, two years and some change after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, the slaves in Texas finally got the memo that chattel slavery had been abolished. Better late than never, I suppose.

However, if the right-wing talking heads had their way, black folks would still be picking cotton in 2009.

This week marks the beginning of Juneteenth week (June 15 through 19) a time when African Americans celebrate the end of the last vestiges of slavery. It is a time to celebrate the freedoms of this country that were so long denied to African Americans.

But some things are still in bondage: the airwaves.

While this country prides itself as being a diverse melting pot of ideals and a plethora of differing opinions, the airwaves have long been dominated by a right-wing conspiracy to control all conversations concerning race, class and all things political.

There is not a city in America where you can’t hear the melodramatic, melodious voice of Rush Limbaugh taking shots at the Left or Sean Hannity’s arrogant whine espousing the doctrine of conservative white-world domination.

What is rarely discussed is the amount of political power that comes with the privilege of having unlimited access to the airwaves.

So when Rush Limbaugh says that he hopes President Barack Obama fails, he ain’t just whistlin’

Paul Scott

Dixie. He has the ability to galvanize millions of Rush-o-holics to do his evil biddings and make his anti-Obama dream turn into reality.

Despite the Right’s wolf crying of victimization since the last election, make no mistake about it, the hand that controls the golden microphone rules the world.

It is past time that we seize control of the airwaves and I cannot think of a better time to do it than Juneteenth (the Black Independence Day).

Although the conservatives have had their panties in a bunch over the possible reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine (or similar legislation) that will allow folks like me to verbally pimp slap the smirk off of Bill O’Reilly’s face every time he disses hip-hop, this has not been a major topic in the African American community.

Also, many African Americans are totally in the dark when it comes to understanding the possible impact of a FCC Diversity Advisory Committee that could have Shaka Zulu’s “Black Power Hour” going head to head with Mike Savage’s “Savage Nation.”

While this lack of information may be dismissed by the Right as evidence that black folks would rather listen to Lil’ Wayne songs instead of the news, in reality, the ultra-conservative media have abused their powers to control the dissemination of information.

But no more! Black folks need some Affirmative Action airtime.

We have to teach members of the Right a lesson that they should have learned in kindergarten: Sometimes you have to share your toys.

This Juneteenth, the black community will start an underground railroad to get the information out about the various initiatives to ensure African American access to the airwaves. The word will spread from city to city that there are new initiatives available under the Obama administration that could level the media playing field.

It is imperative that members of the African American community use this week to contact their Congress members and demand that the Fairness Doctrine be reenergized, and make phone calls and send letters and e-mails to the FCC throwing our total support behind the Diversity Advisory Committee.

While more access to the media may not guarantee our making it to the Promised Land it will, at least, supply us with the GPS navigation system to help us get there.

Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com.

ABU-JAMAL Continued from page 2 Not only are there no PCs in here; there are no iPods, no compact discs, no cassette tapes (even though cassette-ready tape players are for sale in the prison commissary)!

We are, for all intents and purposes, dinosaurs, who live in another age, at another warp of time, from the millions who dwell without. Recently, a man named Amin (Harold Wilson) who won a retrial and acquittal from several unjust murder convictions, was ordered released after almost two decades on death row.

He left the county prison in Philadelphia, with all his earthly possessions in a trash bag, and a bus token. A local country prisoner, a Puerto Rican brother, released at the same time, saw the look of loss on his face, and offered him his cell phone. Amin squinted at the machine, tiny in his fist, and asked, “What do I do with this?” He had absolutely no idea how to operate this strange thing, for he had never seen nor held one before.

He later told me, “My it looked like something straight outta Star Trek!” Sometimes, stories come, unbidden and unwanted.

Several months ago, a funny and well-liked jailhouse lawyer on the Row named Bill Tilley, tired from his years of butting his head against

the grey judicial walls, and fearful that his emergent health problems were a prelude to cancer, got up early in the morning, used his laces from his sneakers, and fashioned a noose, by threading them through the steel grate mesh of the air vents into the cell.

He hung himself.

After his passing, the scuttlebutt was that he did indeed have cancer, but medical staff did not disclose this fact, for, as a death row prisoner, the state wouldn’t waste money on such a patient who was going to die anyway.

Several weeks before his death, Tilley confided to a few friends that he suspected it was cancer, given the severity of his symptoms, but whether it was, or not, it was so painful that he remarked, “I don’t ever — ever — wanna go through that again!”

What we didn’t know was that he was telling us, in the only way he could, of his suicide plans, back then.

Perhaps he was saying, in so many words, that he didn’t fear death, but did fear pain.

His death took place less than 35 feet from the cell door in which these words are written. I broke the story. But it gave me no pleasure.

There are tens of thousands of stories in this House of Pain, and I have written hundreds of them. This is my hidden beat, one that even the

most intrepid of journalists cannot enter.

Yet, it is my beat. And I intend to do this job with the same thoroughness, the same professionalism, as I did in days of yon. For, though this is a hidden world, one not seen by millions, it is, too, a public world, for it is bought and paid for with the tax dollars of the citizenry.

Shouldn’t they know what their investments have purchased?

Several times a month, in written form, or otherwise (as in books of commentaries) I offer this service, to the best of my ability.

I fight against being here, but I am here. And while here, the beat goes on.

Mumia Abu-Jamal, an awardwinning journalist, is on death row in Pennsylvania and has been since 1982. He was involved in a controversial 1981 shooting in Philadelphia, a case still debated today. To find out more about Abu-Jamal, visit www.freemumia.org.

Facts June 21, 1964 Three Civil Rights workers — Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner — disappear after doing voter registration work near Philadelphia, Miss.

Source: blackfacts.com

JUNETEENTH CALENDAR NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY — The Sixth Annual Juneteenth National Freedom Day celebration will be held June 19, 10 a.m. to dusk, in Leimert Park, Vernon Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles.

This event is free to the public and there will be live gospel, jazz, blues, barbecue, red soda and watermelon. Information: (323) 627-5946.

FUNDRAISER — In honor of Juneteenth, the African American Voter Registration, Education and Participation Project fundraiser will take place June 18, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., at 3915 Kenway Ave., Los Angeles.

The project is the largest organized effort targeting African American and urban voters in California in more than 20 years. Los County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, founder, will be at the benefit. Tickets are $500 per person. Information: (310) 773-4759, 2009juneteenth@gmail.com.

SWING FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY — The TPC Foundation Inc. will sponsor the Juneteenth Swing for Financial Literacy Golf Tournament to help finance the expansion of its eight-year-old SmartStart Youth Financial Literacy Program for 11th- and 12th-grade students. The tournament will take place June 19, 8:30 a.m., at the Angeles National Golf Course, 9401 Foothill Blvd., Sunland. Information: (323) 299-6000, tpcfoundation@yahoo.com, www.regonline.com/JuneteenthGolf2009.

STORYTELLING — The community is invited to celebrate Juneteenth with Binnie Tate Wilkin, educator, author and storyteller, who will present stories, songs and dance to commemorate Juneteenth. The event will take place June 19, 2 p.m., at the A.C. Bilbrew Library, 150 E. El Segundo Blvd., Los Angeles. This event is free and refreshments will be available. Information: (310) 538-3350, www.colapublib.org/.

A NEW VOICE OF HOPE — The City of Santa Monica and the Juneteenth Celebration Committee will present the 17th Annual Juneteenth Celebration, “A New Voice of Hope.” Mistress of Ceremonies, comedienne and actress Debra Wilson-Skelton, of MADtv fame, will lead the audience through the various performance venues including a main stage, youth stage and legacy museum. The entertainment line up includes Herbie Hancock, Kenny G., Island Rhythm Reggae and the Ward AME Church Youth Choir. This event will take place June 20, noon to 5 p.m., at Virginia Avenue Park, 2200 Virginia Ave., Santa Monica. Visitors and neighbors are encouraged to walk, bicycle or park for free at Santa Monica College, Structure A, near the intersection of Pico Boulevard and 17th Street. Information, including disabled access: (310) 458-8696, (310) 458-8688, betty.macias@smgov.net.

JAZZ FESTIVAL — The 20th Annual Pomona Valley Family Juneteenth Jazz Festival will be held June 20, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Ganesha Park, 1575 N. White Ave., Pomona. Marcus Coleman, Wayne Linsey, Sekou Bunch, Da’ Breeze and others will perform. There will be a Juneteenth Marketplace for food, art, gifts, clothing, community outreach information and more. Information: (909) 621-9707, www.juneteenthamerica.us/festival.html.

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“Juneteenth” is June 19th

Page 8

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 18, 2009

COMMUNITY BRIEFS Continued from page 1 2007-08 fiscal year, earning an average of $42,600 in overtime pay.

The supervisors on June 9 told the department to find out what went wrong, who was disciplined, and to propose future safeguards.

Information from: Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com.

San Diego Newspaper Publisher Succumbs Geraldine “Gerri” Warren, copublisher and managing editor of the San Diego Voice and Viewpoint newspaper, passed away June 8 following a long illness. She was 62.

THE NATION

San Bernardino County to Implement Marijuana IDs SAN BERNARDINO (AP) — San Bernardino County plans to quickly implement an identification card program for medical marijuana patients.

County spokesman David Wert says the program will begin with in 45 days.

The county Board of Supervisors issued the directive during a closed-session meeting June 9.

It follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear an appeal by San Bernardino and San Diego counties, which argued that federal law outlawing marijuana possession and use pre-empts California law allowing possession and use upon a doctor’s recommendation.

Patients have to fill out applications and provide documentation at the county level before the information is sent to the state, which issues ID cards.

Information from: The Sun, www.sbsun.com.

for the past 13 years.

Warren, along with her husband John, was also an ordained minister and together they founded Eagle’s Nest Christian Center, where they served as co-pastors until her death. Warren was the mother of four and had been married to her husband for 31 years.

Gov’t Going Forward With Swine Flu Vaccine Plans

Geraldine “Gerri” Warren

Warren was an important presence in a variety of San Diego civic activities, including the NAACP, the Human Relations Commission, United Way and the Black Chamber of Commerce.

A former resident of Washington, D.C., and Florida, Warren contributed to the drafting of a constitution for the District of Columbia’s statehood proposal to Congress, and in 1996 she organized and founded the Florida Tribune newspaper bringing local African American coverage to three southcentral Florida counties every week

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health secretary Kathleen Sebelius says production of a vaccine for swine flu is being set up in case a vaccine program is recommended.

Sebelius says the government is making every effort to be prepared as the swine flu runs its course. She says the good news is that this swine flu seems not to be such a lethal virus.

Still, Sebelius says, the government is working with governors as well as health and schools officials in case a major vaccination program is needed. She says that production of a vaccine could start as early as late summer and be ready by the fall.

Nearly 18,000 cases of swine flu have been reported across the United States with 45 confirmed deaths.

Sebelius, former governor of Kansas, appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” June 14.

Big Brothers Big Sisters partnering with frats ATLANTA (AP) – Three of the country’s largest black fraternities are joining forces with Big Brothers Big Sisters to help woo black men to be active in the national mentoring program.

The organization is partnering with the Baltimore-based Alpha Phi Alpha, the Philadelphia-based Kappa Alpha Psi and the suburban Atlanta-based Omega Psi Phi. The Philadelphia-based nonprofit has struggled to attract minorities to pair with a growing list of black boys from single-parent homes who are signing up in droves.

Big Brothers Big Sisters spokeswoman Kelly Williams say the organization has a waiting list of about 8,500 black boys who are waiting for mentors. But only about 15 percent of mentors involved in the program are black men.

THE DIASPORA Gabon Government Swears in Bongo Replacement LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — The head of Gabon’s Senate was sworn in June 10 as the Central African nation’s interim president, the first time in more than four decades that anyone except the late leader Omar Bongo has held power.

Bongo died June 8 at the age of 73 after suffering cardiac arrest at a

Rose Francine Rogombe

Spanish hospital where he had been treated for weeks.

Senate chief Rose Francine Rogombe’s appointment to the interim presidency follows constitutional procedure and sets the stage for presidential elections she must organize within 45 days. By law, only a natural disaster or catastrophe could delay the poll date, by up to 45 more days, said constitutional court president Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo.

Under Gabon’s constitution, Rogombe is ineligible to run for president.

Known as one of Africa’s last “Big Men” — leaders who clung to power through fear and corruption — Bongo had dominated the oilrich former French colony for 42 years. Both loved and feared, he was, at the time of his death, the world’s longest-serving president, the only leader most Gabonese ever knew.

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“Juneteenth” is June 19th

June 18, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 9

COMMUNITY Juneteenth: America’s Only Emancipation Celebration

Photos by DAMIEN SMITH

THE MAN — (Top) Kobe Bryant, Most Valuable Player of the 2009 National Basketball Association Championship Finals, holds the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. The Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic on June 14, 99-86. (Bottom) A portion of the thousands of Los Angeles Laker fans who turned out in support of the 2009 NBA Champions.

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.

This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.” – EXECUTIVE ORDER 3 On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which ended slavery in the United States. However, it would take two years for the news to travel to Texas.

It was on June 19, 1865, that the Union soldiers, under the command of Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the war had ended and that slavery was over.

It is still a mystery as to why it took the news so long to arrive in the Lone Star state. One story claims the messenger was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom while another charges that the news was deliberately withheld by slave owners to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And yet another story alleges that federal troops actually waited so that the slave owners could reap the benefits of one final cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation.

One year following the announcement, celebrations began throughout Texas to commemorate the occasion. In the cities of Houston, Mexia and Austin, freed people pooled their funds to purchase

land for their communities’ Juneteenth gatherings.

Although emancipation celebrations or National Freedom days previously have been held throughout the country on various dates (May 20, 28 and 29, Aug. 4 and Jan. 1), Juneteenth is the nation’s only recognized emancipation celebration. Through the efforts of Texas legislator Al Edwards, Juneteenth became an official state holiday in Texas on Jan. 1, 1980. The day is marked by celebrations that feature parades, street fairs, cookouts, or park parties and include music and dancing. There may be contests such as watermelon eating, hog calling, talent shows, religious services, along with the consumption of barbecue, watermelon and the traditional “red soda water.”

“Juneteenth is a day on which honor and respect is paid for the sufferings of slavery. It is a day on which we acknowledge the evils of slavery and its aftermath. On Juneteenth we talk about our history and realize because of it, there will forever be a bond between us,” says Tom Feelings on Juneteenth.com.

Twenty-nine states now recognize Juneteenth as either a state holiday or a state holiday observance. These states include: Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Delaware, Idaho, Alaska, Iowa, California, Wyoming, Missouri, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Colorado, Arkansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, Virginia, Washington, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Vermont and North Carolina, and the District of Columbia.

Celebrating the strength of our rich heritage Juneteenth isn’t just about freedom – but the strength of our heritage. The courage to pursue any path. The determination to create financial independence.

The ability to embrace our proud history as we embark on a future full of promise. At Wells Fargo, we have a solid team of people, products and services working together to help you succeed financially. We offer financial education programs to help you plan for college, homeownership, owning a business and achieving financial control. Our heritage is founded on helping you achieve financial freedom – so you can truly embrace your American dream.

On June 19th, we join you in honoring the 144th anniversary of Juneteenth. wellsfargo.com © 2009 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC.

“Juneteenth” is June 19th

Page 10

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 18, 2009

COMMUNITY

NBC/Universal Looking for Diverse Talent

BY DARLENE DONLOE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Thousands of wide-eyed hopefuls flock to Hollywood every year looking for that big break that ultimately will never come.

Hollywood is a tough nut to crack. If you’re a newcomer with no connections, it’s sometimes difficult to get your foot in the door. But it’s easier now.

In an effort to continue its commitment to diversity and inclusion, NBC Universal will hold its Short Cuts Film Festival for the fourth year, and for the sixth year it will host a Stand-Up for Diversity program to find the nation’s funniest comic.

To find out how interested parties can get involved, the L.A. Watts Times spoke to Kendra Carter, director, NBC Universal Talent Diversity Initiatives.

Carter, who has been in the position for about a year, is an entertainment executive who is eager to find that next untapped talent.

Before taking on her role at NBC/Universal, she was a casting executive at Spike TV and, before that, racked up about nine years working in various casting and talent positions.

“I’ve always loved talent scouting,” Carter said. “And, diversity is

Kendra Carter, director of NBC’s Universal Talent Diversity Initiatives

just exciting. This year we’re rebranding our film festival and calling it Short Cuts Film Festival because we were leaving people out.

Before it was about comedy. But not everyone can speak to comedy.

“We were probably missing out on some great filmmakers out there.

So this is a no-brainer. It would serve NBC Universal overall.”

This year the festival is a program for culturally diverse filmmakers, actors and producers across all film genres, including horror, drama, comedy and science fiction.

Semi-finalists will have the opportunity to display their films at the New York Television Festival and in Los Angeles at the NBC Universal Short Cuts Film Festival.

“The film has to be diverse in production, cast or theme, which is

great in my opinion because it runs the gamut,” Carter said. “So if you’re a white writer or director, then your cast or theme needs to be diverse. If you’re a black writer or director, then you’re covered.”

The winning participants will receive an NBC Universal Talent Holding deal for the Best Actor, an NBC Universal pilot script deal, and executive meetings for the Best Filmmaker — along with a special international directing assignment from the SCI FI Channel. The deadline for submissions is Aug. 21.

Winners from the first year, according to Carter, went on to get a deal at FOX TV. In 2007, Tajamika Paxton and Gregory Colleton, both African Americans, won the competition with “A Fat Girls Guide To Yoga,” which starred Wendy McKinney, who won the best actor category.

“The great thing about this program is that any up-and-coming filmmaker can gain so much exposure through this program,” Carter said.

But, Carter said, the program is about much more than winning.

“It’s about establishing relationships and building off of those relationships,” she said. “If you’re unknown and trying to get your foot in the door, this is a great program.”

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Starting June 28, in Miami, NBC Universal will begin conducting its annual nationwide search for the funniest comics of diverse backgrounds.

“Stand-Up for Diversity” will have open calls in five major U.S. cities, including New York (November 2009), San Diego (July 12 to 13) and Atlanta (Aug. 11 to 12) with the finals taking place in Los Angeles (December 2009).

The ultimate winner will receive a talent holding deal with NBC Universal, as well as other

prizes yet to be announced.

Over the course of the program, Carter said some of the finalists have “gone on to do great things.” She points to Brandon T. Jackson, who participated in 2004. He was recently seen in the movie “Tropic Thunder.”

There is also Jordan Carlos, who participated in 2007 and has been seen on the “Colbert Report.”

For information on 2009 Short Cuts, visit www.nbcshortcuts.com.

For information on Stand-Up For Diversity, visit www.standupnbc.com or www.diversecitynbc.com.

Photo by MARTY COTWRIGHT

RETROSPECTIVE — Veteran civil rights activist and former Georgia State Representative Julian Bond, currently the chairman of the board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, speaks with actress and civil rights activist Denise Nicholas at the California African American Museum June 12. Bond was in town promoting the newly published book, “NAACP: Celebrating a Century 100 years in Pictures.”

JOB CUTS Continued from page 1 high of 12.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. Unemployment will not dip back into the single digits until late 2011, the report said.

The state’s unemployment rate was 11 percent in April, the last month for which Employment Development Department statistics were available.

“The stalled California economy is simply not producing the jobs required for the new entrants to the labor force over the next couple of years to prevent these elevated levels of unemployment to persist once the job layoffs cease,” Nickelsburg said.

The forecast was due to be released as state lawmakers wrangled over a budget proposal that was likely to include billions of dollars in cuts to education, health care and social spending.

Legislators clashed over the cuts, fee increases, and plans to borrow from local governments, with Democrats divided over whether to push for tax increases and Republicans saying they won’t provide the votes needed to raise taxes or to endorse cuts in prison budgets.

Nickelsburg said in an inter-

view that a failure to reach an agreement could tip the state into dangerous territory.

“Then you don’t have the legislators and the governor figuring out what should be cut and what shouldn’t. You have things like across-the-board slashing, and that’s inefficient,” he said. “Out of all the bad options, that’s the worst.

Unfortunately, it’s not just an academic option. We see examples of this all the time.”

The forecast was most optimistic in its discussion of the housing market, which forecasters predicted was due for a recovery later this year now that prices had become more affordable and housing supply was coming in line with demand.

The state’s overall economy will begin to pick up in 2010 and will grow at normal levels by the beginning of 2011, the forecast said.

Forecasters also said personal income would remain stagnant through the first half of next year, but that new opportunities in alternative energy — along with new investment in medical technology, software and research — would result in faster than average growth in personal income in 2011.

June 18, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 11

ARTS & CULTURE The 31st Annual Playboy Jazz Festival was held June 13 and 14 at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood.

Bill Cosby, master of ceremonies for the festival, also took a shot at performing during the festival

Actor and musician Jamie Foxx and acquaintances at festival

Percussionist Peter Michael Escovedo

Vocalist Patti Austin (Photo by DAVE PERRY/PHOTOVISIONS)

Aaron Neville

Bassist, guitarist Esperanza Spalding

Saxophonist Kenny G (Photo by DAVE PERRY/PHOTOVISIONS)

800,000 Callers Phone Digital TV Hot Line

BY RYAN NAKASHIMA AP WRITER

Nearly 800,000 calls were received by a federal hot line this week from people confused about the nationwide move on Friday to drop analog TV signals and broadcast only in digital.

The Federal Communications C o m m is s io n s a id tha t a bout 317,450 calls went into the help line, 1-888-CALL-FCC, on June 12 alone, the day analog signals were cut off.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s far below the 600,000 to 3 million callers that the FCC expected in early March would See DIGITAL TV, page 12

By Mildred Dumas

A comedy-drama

Directed by Jennifer Dove Presented by: Inglewood Center for Spiritual Living Performances at, 525 N. Market St., Inglewood, CA 90302

3 Perfomances: Friday, June 26, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 27 & Sunday, June 28, 4:00 p.m.

General admission $18 Call (310) 412-4027 for senior citizen and group rates

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Page 12

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 18, 2009

ARTS & CULTURE

Eddie Murphy Wants His Goo-Gaa in ‘Imagine That’

BY DARLENE DONLOE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In recent years, comedian Eddie Murphy has positioned his brand as that of a family friendly actor with such child-focused endeavors as the voice of Donkey i n the “Shrek” series, ”The Haunted Mansion,” “Daddy Day Care” and the “Dr. Doolittle” series.

His latest film, “Imagine That,” which opened June 12, continues his PG run.

Murphy stars opposite an absolutely adorable youngster named Yara Shahidi, who plays his daughter, Olivia, in the film.

Yara may look familiar. She has appeared in numerous television commercials, including Gap and Tropicana, and can next be seen as Samuel L. Jackson’s daughter in the thriller, “Unthinkable.”

In “Imagine That,” Murphy plays divorced father Evan Danielson who, when it comes to his daughter, is an unsure and distracted parent. Professionally he’s a driven, highly motivated financial wizard.

While he’s perfectly capable and comfortable in the board room, Danielson lacks finesse when it comes to establishing a meaningful and heartfelt relationship with his own daughter who, desperate for attention and companionship, has turned to imaginary friends who come to visit through her “GooGaa” security blanket.

The Goo-Gaa is central to the story. It’s a portal to an imaginary place where a father and daughter relationship can bloom.

A winning part of the movie is the audience’s and Danielson’s inability to actually see the magical creatures Olivia has come to befriend. That bit of business nudges the audience to get involved and to

✁

SHORT TAKES THEATER • “Crowns,” the play by actress Regina Taylor currently running at the Ebony Repertory Theatre, has been extended to July 5. The musical explores the lives of the “The Hat Queens,” six women in the South whose stories of love, loss, identity and sisterhood are woven into the hats that crown their heads and the songs that speak their truth. The cast includes Emmy nominee Paula Kelly and Vanessa Bell Calloway.

The theatre is located inside the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, 4718 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. Information: (323) 964-9768, www.ebonyrep.org.

and Santigold at the Hollywood Bowl June 21, 7 p.m., at 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. The event will be hosted by Garth Trinidad. Information: (323) 8502000, www. hollywoodbowl.com.

• The Los Angeles Philharmonic will present Aretha Franklin at the Hollywood Bowl. This will be the Queen of Soul’s first

FESTIVAL • The 16th Annual Brazilian Summer Festival 2009 will take place June 19, 8 to 11 p.m., at the

Aretha Franklin

GOOD IMAGINATION — Yara Shahidi and Eddie Murphy “Imagine That,” which opened June 12. Murphy plays divorced father Evan Danielson who, when it comes to his daughter, Olivia, is an unsure and distracted parent. Danielson lacks finesse when it comes to establishing a meaningful and heartfelt relationship with his own daughter who, desperate for attention and companionship, has turned to imaginary friends who come to visit through her “Goo-Gaa” security blanket.

use their own mind’s eye.

At her father’s office one day, Olivia’s imaginary friends dole out advice for Danielson concerning a huge upcoming stock deal for his company. When the advice manifests, Danielson finds himself relying more and more on the guidance of the imaginary friends, which increases his bond with Olivia.

Eventually he lets loose his button-down façade and lets his inner child out to play.

Danielson then begins to see that playing make-believe allows him to understand the true meaning of success and what’s really important in his life.

When Danielson is up for a significant career-advancing promotion opposite his incredibly annoying company rival, Johnny Whitefeather (Thomas Haden

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Church), he once again seeks sage counsel from the Goo-Gaa. However, Olivia, who is never without her Goo-Gaa, is away at a sleepover, which leaves Danielson feeling highly vulnerable and insecure.

What happens next actually turns the film from a heartfelt family flick into a lower-level slapstick comedy. There are ridiculous antics and tyrannical rants that feel misplaced.

Murphy falls into his usual comedic form complete with distorted facial expressions, voices ala The Klumps, coupled with flighty gyrations. Still, kids will probably enjoy this light comedy. Yara is so charming and capable, she is sure to draw in her peers.

The film is rated PG (for some mild language and brief questionable behavior).

On the Donloe Scale, D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable), O (OK) and E (excellent), “Imagine That” gets an “L” (Likable).

Mestre Amen’s Capoeira Batuque

Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. Brazilian arts and crafts booths will be located throughout the theater.

Mestre Amen’s Capoeira Batuque, Vai-vai Sambaxé Dancers, and others will perform. Tickets are $45; $2 for children 12 and under.

Information: www.FordTheatres. org, (323) 461-3673, www.Brazilian Nights.com.

performance at the bowl in 35 years. The concert will take place June 26, 8:30 p.m., at 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. Information: (323) 850-2000, www. hollywoodbowl.com.

• “Della Reese Presents” is the second in a concert series of Michael Stone Events. Grammy winner Jon B, Grammy-nominated group SWV and up-and-coming R&B Singer Noel are scheduled to perform June 20, 8 p.m., at the Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Comedian Tommy Davidson will be the special guest host and T.C. Campbell will be the musical director. Tickets prices are $50, $75 and $100. Information: (323) 655-0111.

• Dwight Trible and Trio will perform June 27, 8 p.m., at Alva’s Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San

CONCERTS • KCRW’s World Festival will present Femi Kuti and The Positive Force, Raphael Saadique (formerly of Tony! Toni! Toné!)

DIGITAL TV Continued from page 11 call on transition day.

The move to all-digital was delayed from Feb. 17, and ramped up efforts at spreading the word is credited with roughly halving the number of unprepared households since then. Nielsen Co. put the number of unready homes at 2.8 million, or 2.5 percent of the total television market, as of June 14.

FCC Acting Chairman Michael Copps said June 13 that if it were baseball, the digital transition is now closer to home plate.

“We’re safe on third right now,” he said. He added that thousands of FCC staff would continue to answer phones and help people whose TVs no longer work properly, at least through June.

“We all need a bit of patience

Dwight Trible

Femi Kuti

Pedro. There is a suggested donation of $20 and reservations are suggested. Tea and bottled water will be provided. Information: (310) 519-1314, www.dwighttrible.com, www.myspace.com/dwighttrible.

and perseverance,” he said. “This is a momentous change and it’ll take time to get it right.”

Dozens of mostly Hispanic TV watchers visited and called the Mercy Center, a community center in the Bronx, N.Y., to get more help.

A staff of three has been on hand seven days a week for the last month.

“Up to now, it’s been people wanting the equipment,” said Judith

Criado, the director of education at the center. “Today, everyone who has called has the equipment but they just don't know how to actually see the channels.”

About a third of the calls on June 12 to the FCC were still about federal coupons to pay for digital converter boxes, an indication that at least 100,000 people still didn’t have the right equipment to receive digital signals.

June 18, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 13

ARTS & CULTURE

Denzel’s On Track in “The Taking of Pelham 123”

BY DARLENE DONLOE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Denzel Washington is having a bad day.

Well, at least his character is having one in the high-octane thriller, “The Taking of Pelham 123,” currently in theaters nationwide.

In this remake of the 1974 film starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, Washington plays portly subway dispatcher Walter Garber, an everyday man who goes to work one day — only to find that a maniac named Ryder (John Travolta) has, in an act of revenge, commandeered a New York subway and is holding hostages until he gets what he wants.

And what he wants is $10 million to be delivered within the hour, or he will begin killing the 19 people on the subway train each minute past the time limit.

Ryder, the brains of an armed gang of four, is a menacing character with his dark shades, neck tattoo and rockin’ Fu Manchu mustache. And Travolta is totally convincing playing this sadist. He manipulates, lies, arouses fear and,

without hesitation, kills at whim.

Even though he’s at work, poor Garber ironically ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When Ryder calls to make his demands, it’s Garber who answers the phone. And once the connection is made, Ryder takes a liking to Garber and won’t negotiate with anyone else — leaving the lives of the hostages in the hands of the otherwise easy-going dispatcher.

On the surface, it looks like the mild-mannered Garber is no match for Ryder. After all, he’s just a desk jockey. But when pushed to take the lead, Garber mans up.

Watching Travolta and Washington volley back and forth during ransom negotiations is brilliant.

While the two are seen on screen throughout the hostage drama, they only physically play opposite each other for a limited portion of the movie. The limited face-to-face time on screen actually works, although when you’re dealing with stars like these — watching them go at it toe-to-toe is always a coup.

Washington, who was, admittedly, 40 pounds heavier than usual while playing the role, does well

playing subtle. And although his character is clearly and cleverly understated, the Denzel factor still manages to shine through.

This is a well-oiled piece by director Tony Scott (“Crimson Tide,” “Enemy of the State,” “Man on Fire”), who not only gets the best out of Washington and Travolta (which isn’t hard to do) but he also moves the story down the tracks, at a rapid pace.

And while he’s masterfully crafting this suspenseful story, Scott, marking his fourth collaboration with Washington, also manages to infuse a bit of humor into this otherwise intense drama.

The scene between Garber and his wife is priceless. While he’s trying to diffuse a highly volatile situation, his wife doesn’t want him to lose sight of what’s really important: the fact that she wants him to bring some milk home when he gets off work.

Washington’s response and facial expression is a hoot and a holla.

John Turturro, who plays New York Police Department hostage negotiator Vincent Camonetti and

U.S. Writer Michael Thomas Wins Lucrative Book Prize DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) — American writer Michael Thomas won one of the world’s most lucrative literary prizes June 18 for his debut novel “Man Gone Down.”

A panel of judges from Ireland, Britain, Switzerland and Canada named Boston-born Thomas, 41, the winner of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

“Man Gone Down” follows a 30-something African American man, broke and estranged from his wife and three children, who has four days to keep his family afloat and reclaim his stake in the American Dream.

Irish writer James Ryan, one of the judges, said the novel was “brilliant in its scope and energy, and deeply moving in its human warmth.”

Ryan said readers never learn the name of the book’s central character, but “he lingers because this extraordinary novel comes to us from a writer of enthralling voice and startling insight.”

Thomas’ novel was selected from 145 books nominated by libraries around the world. The prize is open to any novel, whether English-language or translated, published in English in the preceding year.

“Man Gone Down” was chosen from a short list of eight books from the United States, France, India, Pakistan and Norway.

The other finalists were “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” by Junot Diaz; “The BurntOut Town of Miracles,” by Roy Jacobsen; “Ravel,” by Jean Ech-

Robert Kennedy Jr.

the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington and last month’s killing of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kan. Kennedy was the keynote speaker for the June 12, longstanding annual memorial to Evers, the Mississippi NAACP leader who was killed outside his home in Jackson on June 12, 1963, during Robert F. Kennedy’s term as attorney general.

Kennedy said his father wrote separate letters to him and each of his

James Gandolfini, who plays the mayor, each fortify the film with their solid performances.

The dialogue is crisp, the direction on point, and the acting first rate.

This isn’t a great movie, but it is pretty good. It’s a slick, updated reconstruct that holds true to the original’s foundation and concentration. The plot gets a little thick in some areas, but the pairing of Washington and Travolta helps to thin that out.

In any event, it’s worth the

price of admission, plus the exorbitant price of a bag of popcorn and a soda.

“The Taking of Pelham 123” also stars Luis Guzman and Michael Rispoli. The movie is based on the novel by John Godey.

It is rated R for violence and pervasive language. Running time: 106 minutes.

On the Donloe Scale, D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable), O (OK) and E (excellent), “The Taking of Pelham 123” gets an “O” (OK).

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enoz: “Animal’s People,” by Indra Sinha; “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” by Mohsin Hamid; “The Archivist’s Story,” by Travis Holland; and “The Indian Clerk,”

by David Leavitt.

On the Net: www.impacdublinaward.ie.

Robert Kennedy Jr.: Right-Wing Hosts Spread Hate JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Robert Kennedy Jr. says that some right-wing broadcast hosts are feeding the sort of hatred behind this year’s rise in hate crimes.

In Jackson for a memorial for slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, Kennedy said Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck are among those who have drummed up anger against abortion doctors and others.

“They’re driving this kind of hatred,” Kennedy, co-host of the Ring of Fire radio show, said in a brief session with reporters Friday after his speech.

“If you listen to right-wing radio, including so-called Christian channels, there is little to do with Jesus Christ’s values,” he said.

Kennedy had been asked what he thought was the reason for the increase in killings such as the recent fatal shooting of a security guard at

AVERAGE MAN TURNED NEGOTIATOR — Denzel Washington as Walter Garber, an everyday man who goes to work one day — only to find that a maniac named Ryder (John Travolta) has, in an act of revenge, commandeered a New York subway and is holding hostages until he gets what he wants.

eight brothers and sisters the night of Evers’ murder, saying Evers had died fighting for his country.

“That crystallized the importance of what Medgar Evers had done,” he said. “The battles he and others fought helped to make this nation a true constitutional democracy.”

He said Evers and others “were really heroes like soldiers who died in the Revolutionary War. Medgar Evers is as much a hero as any of the patriots.”

Klansman Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of Evers’ murder 30 years later; he died in prison.

The tribute is organized by Evers’ brother, Charles, who campaigned for U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy in New York in 1964 and in the presidential campaign four years later.

“He was there when my father was killed,” Kennedy said.

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Page 14

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 18, 2009

HEALTH

L.A. County Offers Teens Home Delivery of STD Tests

BY SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER AP WRITER

(AP) — Teenage girls are now a text message away from finding out whether they have sexually transmitted diseases.

Health officials unveiled a program on June 10 that will target young women in Los Angeles County by offering home delivery of STD testing kits and a text message to alert them when the results are ready online.

“Adolescents traditionally have not used health services the way they need to,” said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the county’s public health director. “We need to use media tools and be part of the way people communicate who are that age.”

The program expands on a model piloted by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine researchers in Baltimore who conducted a six-month study in 2004 using mail-in tests.

Health officials in L.A. County hope their program can curb the alarming spread of gonorrhea and chlamydia. According to the most recent statistics available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the county led the nation in 2007 in reported chlamydia cases at 44,030, and ranked second in the number of gonorrhea cases at 10,063.

Peter Kerndt, director of the county’s sexually transmitted disease program, said those numbers are expected to climb upon the program’s implementation.

More than half the cases involve women under 25, with many teenage African American girls and Latinas in South Los Angeles, Fielding said. Women under 25 are recommended for testing once a year.

Under the program, women can request testing kits to detect

chlamydia or gonorrhea by visiting a Web site or calling a toll-free number, and the kits are then mailed to addresses provided.

To administer the test, women insert a vaginal swab for 10 seconds, seal the swab in a plastic tube, and mail it to a testing center.

The samples are testable for up to two weeks.

Women can opt to receive a text message alert when their test results are available, which they can check via phone or on the Web. If needed, they are referred to a local clinic for help.

The CDC calls chlamydia a hidden epidemic that affects millions of unwitting women, despite

the fact it can easily be cured with antibiotics. Oftentimes, affected women exhibit no symptoms.

It’s estimated that 3 million men and women contract chlamydia every year, though health consequences in women can be much more severe, with the disease causing infertility, higher incidence of ectopic pregnancies, and other problems.

Privacy needs and wide availability dictate that the Internet is a good approach, especially when dealing with teenage girls, said Dr. Carrie Terrell, director of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Minnesota.

“Any time we can save people

the cost and hassle of an office visit, I think we can improve the screening rates of any STD,” Terrell said.

Similar programs have been implemented in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Denver, West Virginia and select counties in Illinois.

The Los Angeles program is funded by $450,000 of local funds and is designed to eliminate clinic waits or costs. There will be 10,000 kits available immediately, and county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said more will be made available when needed.

On the Web: www.dontthink know.org, (800) 758-0880.

Photos by DAMIEN SMITH

A LIFE CUT SHORT — Memorial in honor of Trayvon Jeffers, 28, who was fatally shot at the boat launch in Frank G. Bonelli Regional County Park in San Dimas on June 6. The memorial featured many of Jeffer’s most common sayings.

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Juarez has been working at Homeboy Industries for almost two years and worked his way up from an assistant to case manager. He is now responsible for managing and assisting recent parolees with transitioning into society. Juarez has become passionate about poetry and finds himself always writing in his spare time.

“It’s been instrumental in changing my life, and it’s pumped me up,” he said. “To see our work in print means a lot to me. I really like writing and plan to continue it.”

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Continued from page 1 that evening, but was shot and killed a week before. His mother sat in the front row as his friends read her son’s work, along with special poems written in his honor.

“Before the class I never transformed my thoughts to paper. I found that I have so much in me,” Robert Juarez said. “I learned that writing is a form of therapy. It let me search deep within and broke down all these layers. I learned that I can write my own destiny and that I don’t have to be stuck.”

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Principal Investigator: Matthew H. Ho, Ph.D., M.D. “Thank you for your interest in our research program. The purpose of this particular study is to find out the effects of testosterone, in women. Women who are post-menopause often have low testosterone levels in their blood. Some doctors recommend giving testosterone to women after menopause, but it is not clear whether this helps women health. This study may find out whether it is beneficial to replace testosterone in women who are post-menopause and therefore have low testosterone in their blood. This research study may also find out the most appropriate dose of testosterone that shows beneficial effects on women’s sex life, muscle and fat mass, physical function, and ability to solve some types of problems with the least amount of side effects.

“We will measure the effects of testosterone on fat and muscle size, muscle strength, sexual desire and activity, and higher functions of the brain. Approximately 140 women will take part in this study that is approved and funded by the National Institutes of Health. The protocol of this study has also been reviewed and approved by our Institutional Review Board.

“For this study, we are looking for women between the ages of 21 to 60, who are post-menopausal (either menopause occurred naturally with their ovaries intact or occurred surgically with their ovaries removed) and have had their uterus removed by surgery, and who do not have breast or uterine cancer. Do you meet these criteria?”

For information call (323) 357-3697 “If you are interested in obtaining more information about this study or taking part in this study, I can set up an appointment for you to come to our Clinical Study Center at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science. During this visit, I will explain all the procedures in great detail, describe the risks and benefits involved, and answer any questions that you might have about this research study.”

Trayvon Jeffers’ mother

For Fabian Montes, writing became a personal refuge from his former ties with gang affiliation.

“The Press opens people up to our voices. It teaches us how to deal with our pain and anger better, and it’s a form of therapy for us to turn to rather than drugs,” Montes said. “Poetry was an outlet for me and saved my life. The Review will let people on the outside know that there are some really good poets here, with very deep things to say.”

Montes has been working at Homeboy Industries for seven years, attended East Los Angeles College, and is now a Release Case Manager and helps youth from juvenile camps transition into Homeboy Industries.

“The writing is a very important part of their life and transformation out of gangs,” Schwartz said of her students.

To learn more about Homeboy Industries or The Homeboy Review, visit www.homeboy-industries.org, (323) 526-1254.

June 18, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 15

HEALTH THE PULSE American Cancer Society’s ‘Relay for Life of Baldwin Hills’ Draws Near The American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life of Baldwin Hills” will take place June 27 to 28 at Ladera Little League Baseball Field, 5401 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles.

The event serves to increase cancer awareness while raising funds for the American Cancer Society’s programs and services. During the relay, participants take turns walking or running around a track, relay-style, while enjoying activities and entertainment off the track.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas will attend. Information: www.RelayFor Life.org/BaldwinHillsCA.

U.S. Minority Lawmakers Want to Close Health Gaps WA S H I N G TO N ( A P ) — Black, Latino and Asian lawmakers warned Democratic leaders that any U.S. health care overhaul that ignores health gaps between whites and minorities will face stiff opposition.

MEETINGS Continued from page 5 Los Angeles has taken several measures to save water.

The city prohibits watering landscaping between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., using water to wash sidewalks, driveways and similar areas, or filling decorative fountains unless the water recirculates.

Restaurants cannot serve water unless customers ask for it, and vehicles may not be washed with a hose unless it has an automatic shut-off device, among other restrictions.

Post Office Announces New Black Heritage Stamp (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service has released a new black heritage stamp honoring educator, feminist and activist Anna Julia Cooper.

The Postal Service said Cooper’s essays and speeches about life for blacks in southern states challenged racist ideas and gave blacks a voice in the 1800s and 1900s.

The stamp was announced June 11 at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Washington.

Cooper taught math and science at the school before becoming principal of the school that was once designated for blacks.

Kadir Nelson, an artist in San Diego, used an undated photograph to paint the image of Cooper printed on the stamps.

SCLC Member Wants ‘Missing’ $1.4M Investigated ATLANTA (AP) — A former Southern Christian Leadership Conference board member has asked the U.S. attorney general to investigate the alleged disappearance of more than $1.4 million of the cash-strapped civil rights group’s money.

Florida State Chapter President Sevell C. Brown III sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder recently calling for a criminal

The lawmakers said they would be hard-pressed to support a bill without a new program providing access to health care for all Americans.

Republicans are resisting a government health insurance program that would compete with private insurance companies, arguing that the companies would be put at a competitive disadvantage.

Unlike most major industrialized countries, the United States does not have a government health insurance program.

Members of the Asian caucus, along with the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said they plan to introduce legislation that includes their wish list for broadening health care overhaul beyond various plans floated in the House and Senate.

The three minority caucuses have a total of 91 members, most of them Democrats and enough to help shape the final legislation.

President Barack Obama has made passing such legislation one of his main priorities.

investigation into several members of the national leadership, including chairman Raleigh Trammell, former president Charles Steele, general counsel Dexter Wimbish and others.

Wimbish said the real issue isn’t money, but baseless accusations from a member still angry over his removal from the board in 2005, when Brown demanded an independent audit of SCLC finances. The organization had been plagued by infighting in the past, before Steele took charge in 2004.

Atlanta-based SCLC, founded

by Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders in 1957 to advance racial equality, has roughly 10,000 members and nearly 80 chapters in 17 states from Georgia to California.

Brown alleges the Southern Christian Leadership Foundation, a sister group of the SCLC set up to accept tax-exempt donations, designated funds to the SCLC that did not appear on the organization’s 2006 or 2007 tax returns.

Specifically, in 2006, $134,040 was not reported as income by the SCLC, and in 2007, $1,387,301 was not reported, according to Brown.

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If you’re 50 or older, please get screened.

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Photo Courtesy of LAUSD, SUSAN GOLDMAN

YUMMY — Students from Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary School show off their peach salsa entry in the snack-off competition hosted by the Network for a Healthy California — Los Angeles Unified School District on June 12 in Los Angeles. The network encourages students to eat more fruits and vegetables and be active every day. From left, Carolina Colmenares, Jaydien Mcintosh, Aalayla Orozco and Kendra Lewis. Pictured (below): Kalanie Sanders eats some fruit for breakfast during the Symposium.

Page 16

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 18, 2009

EDUCATION

Layoffs Mean L.A. Schools Lose New Breed of Teachers

BY CHRISTINA HOAG AP WRITER

(AP) — Sean Leys sat huddled and still in a tent on a sidewalk outside of a Los Angeles middle school, fatigued by an ongoing hunger strike but resolved to protest looming teacher layoffs.

The longtime English teacher, holding a biography of labor-rights leader Cesar Chavez in his lap, was camped outside John H. Liechty Middle School with about 20 colleagues, an occasional motorist honking a horn in support of their cause.

While he may avoid being laid off, thousands of his teacher colleagues in Los Angeles will not. By next school year, 2,100 city teachers are slated to lose their jobs — a 5 percent hit to the second-largest U.S. school district.

Worse still, Leys said, is that the layoffs are concentrated in some of the city’s grittiest neigh-

borhoods. The Los Angeles Unified School District’s inner-city schools have higher turnover and tend to hire more new teachers, and state education code mandates that layoffs be issued based on seniority.

“This is about civil rights and education for inner-city children,” Leys said.

School districts across the United States are facing similar financial crunches, but many have avoided painful layoffs with the help of federal stimulus funds.

California, however, is mired in a budget crisis and, despite the influx of federal money, is still moving to lay off thousands.

The National Education Association estimates that some 34,000 teaching jobs will be eliminated this year. California — with Los Angeles Unified in the lead — faces the largest loss of nearly 18,000 teachers. The city’s schools have roughly 40,000 teachers.

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Some inner-city middle and high schools could lose up to 40 percent of their teachers, according to an analysis by the Institute for Democracy, Education and Access at University of California’s Los Angeles campus.

By contrast, many schools in the district’s more affluent areas, such as the San Fernando Valley suburbs, will be less affected because only up to 10 percent of their teachers are new, the analysis found.

At schools such as Liechty, located in central Los Angeles, more than half the teachers are losing their jobs. Their classrooms will be filled by transferred senior teachers and administrators whose positions were eliminated.

Administrators say layoffs are spread throughout the district, but Liechty has a large number because it opened in 2007 and was filled with new hires.

District officials acknowledge staff turnover is a problem at certain schools and that layoffs will cut into the hires — including those who request to work in urban areas — that the district has worked hard to recruit in recent years.

Teachers who lose their jobs can join the substitute pool and are placed on the re-employment list, officials said.

“Our hope is to keep them involved in the system,” said Vivian Ekchian, the district’s chief human resources officer.

Until the district finds the money to rehire the teachers, students will find themselves in bigger classes this fall.

Critics of the layoffs say the district’s newer teachers bring sorely needed enthusiasm to the problem-plagued campuses, as well as new teaching methods and ideas.

Many of the district’s newer hires are also minorities who can relate to the majority of the district’s 650,000 students.

School board member Marlene Canter said the experienced teachers and administrators who will fill the gaps after the layoffs are also capable of motivating children. What’s really needed, she said, is a way to reward higher-performing teachers and a simpler process to weed out poor ones.

“Just because you’re a senior teacher doesn’t mean you’re a bad teacher, or if you’re a younger teacher, you’re automatically good,” she said.

Facts June 25, 1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8802, which forbids racial and religious discrimination in war industries, government training programs and government industries; labor and civil rights leader A. Phillip Randolph and others call off a planned mass March on Washington in response to Roosevelt’s action.

Source: blackfacts.com

Photo by DAMIEN SMITH

KEEPING IT HYPE — Urban music artist Shyan spoke to students at Dorsey High School June 10, as part of his “Stay in sChOOL” tour. The program, which will officially launch in September and travel to 50 schools throughout Los Angeles County, held an early “kick off” at Dorsey to keep the students motivated over the summer.

NOTEBOOK Justices Reject Challenge to Berkeley School Plan

Mentoring Organization Reception Slated

BERKELEY (AP) — The state Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge to Berkeley’s school integration policy, paving the way for other districts to create similar plans.

The court’s decision June 11 allows an appeals court ruling that upheld the 2004 policy to stand.

Berkeley looks at the racial makeup of a student’s neighborhood in making enrollment decisions at its elementary schools and in special programs at the high school.

Opponents said the district’s efforts violated Proposition 209, which forbids the use of racial preferences in public education.

But in March, an appeals court ruled Berkeley’s policy did not run afoul of the proposition because it did not consider an individual student’s race, but the racial makeup of the student’s neighborhood.

Los Angeles CARES Mentoring Movement’s “Recruiting Mentors to Save a Generation” reception will take place June 18, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Expo Center, 3980 S. Menlo Ave., Los Angeles.

Founder and CEO Susan L. Taylor and national President Dr. Rustin Lewis will attend.

The Los Angeles CARES Mentoring Movement’s mission is to help launch the largest mentorrecruitment effort in the nation and to end the state of emergency in black America by fulfilling society’s spiritual and social responsibility to its children.

The goal for 2009 is to recruit and connect 1,000 mentors with vetted youth organizations serving children in underserved communities within Los Angeles County. The organization also intends to work with partnering organizations to facilitate culturally rich and evidencedbased success models for transforming the lives of vulnerable young people. These goals are aligned with the National Mentoring Movement.

R.S.V.P.: (818) 833-0363.

Langston Offers Scholarship to SC Girl LANGSTON, Okla. (AP) — Officials at Langston University have offered a scholarship to a South Carolina eighth-grader who wrote to Congress asking for help for her school’s crumbling facility.

Ty’Sheoma Bethea attended President Barack Obama’s address to Congress in February.

Now, Langston President JoAnn Haysbert is offering the young girl a full scholarship to the historically black college. Haysbert wrote to the girl of her own ties to South Carolina, where she grew up picking cotton on her grandparents’ farm in Kingstree, S.C. She offered the girl a full scholarship and an opportunity to attend a summer math and science program at the school.

Ty’Sheoma wrote back that she intends to do “everything possible” to qualify for the grade-point average and test scores needed to become a freshman at Langston in 2012.

L.A. School District Rescinds 505 Teacher Layoffs (AP) — Officials at the Los Angeles Unified School District say they have rescinded 505 teacher layoffs, whittling down the number of total job losses slated for the upcoming school year to 2,520.

District Superintendent Ramon Cortines said June 12 that the action resulted from positions freed up by an early retirement program, as well as federal stimulus funds.

The nation’s second-largest school district faces a budget deficit of some $600 million for the upcoming school year. With the recent rescissions, 2,141 nontenured teachers, one administrator and 378 support service personnel are slated to be laid off.

The district sent out almost 9,000 layoff notices to employees in April.

June 18, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 17

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 Lakers clinched their 15th NBA title after defeating the Orlando Magic 99-86 in game five of the finals June 14. With the win, Coach Phil Jackson now has 10 titles under his belt, moving one ahead of the legendary Boston Celtics Coach Red Auerbach.

Kobe Bryant won his first finals MVP award. Other Laker standouts included Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher, Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza.

The Magic’s standout players were Dwight Howard — the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year — and Rashard Lewis, Rafer Alston and

Serena and Venus Williams head to Wimbledon ranked No.2 and No. 3 in the tennis world. Venus has had some of her finest and most

Mike Tyson

Kobe Bryant

Courtney Lee. And the beat continues.

GENOCIDE SURVIVOR Continued from page 1 bringing home human body parts, the couple decided it was time to leave the village where Candide had always lived. Amid the crackle of gunfire, they set out on a dusty road, joining a stream of people trying to escape.

For 3-year-old Candide, it was a confusing and scary time. Men and women were yelling at each other, children were crying, and all Candide could hear was the insistent voice of her father urging her and her sisters to walk.

Somehow they made their way to the Republic of Congo, about 50 miles away, and settled in the Kashyusha refugee camp. The United Nations provided food, clothing, medicine, blankets and plastic sheeting to craft into huts.

Because she was so young at the time, Candide doesn’t remember every detail from this violent period in African history and she is unsure of her family’s role in the conflict.

Around the time she left Rwanda, millions of ethnic Hutus fled into neighboring countries following mass killings of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Tutsi military followed and killed people in refugee camps while Hutus continued to launch raids back into Rwanda.

Although most of the deaths happened during a few months in 1994, the violence went on for about four years.

The refugee camp where Candide’s family found itself wasn’t home, but it was safer than Rwanda, for the most part. The family settled in and stayed for about two years, until intermittent waves of violence in the camp made the parents decide to set out again.

On the road, heat and fatigue nagged the girls and their parents, but they managed to stay together at first.

But Candide can never forget a turning point that came at the village of Ishanjyi. The family was resting there when gunfire broke out among the refugees.

Candide’s father handed her a

fourth U.S. Open championship and 68th career win. Tiger has 14 career major crowns.

At The Memorial on June 7, Woods’ win doubled the ratings from the previous year.

Will the third time in marriage for 42-year-old former heavyweight

bag of food and talked to the 5-yearold about how difficult the next hours and days would be. Keep walking no matter what, he told her; if the family got separated, they would find each other later along the road.

More gunfire and screams echo in her memory now — along with the recollection of finding herself entirely alone.

In the days ahead, she followed her father’s instructions, dragging herself along on sore feet, sleeping near strangers each night for warmth and security. She doesn’t remember eating during that time, though she continued to carry the bag of food her father gave her.

At night, people called out, searching for their families. But no one called Candide’s name, and, she adds, “My voice was almost See GENOCIDE SURVIVOR, page 19

Serena Williams

victorious moments at Wimbledon.

Venus has won the last two Wimbledon titles and three of the last four.

Serena was briefly ranked No. 1 earlier this year and had a 24-2 report card in Grand Slam competition.

Serena has won two crowns since the last Wimbledon.

Tiger Woods starts defending his U.S. Open title June 18 at

champion Mike Tyson be the charm? Tyson and his girlfriend Lakiha Spicer, 32, recently wed in a private ceremony in Las Vegas. The nuptials follow the death of his 4year old daughter, Exodus.

There is another boxing Foreman coming along. He’s 26-year-old George Foreman III. Young George won his professional debut as he stopped Clyde Weaver (0-2) in 1:16 seconds in the first round in Kindler, La. Yes, he’s the son of George Foreman, two-time former world heavyweight champion.

Will America’s Dwight Phillips be the next owner of the world’s long jump record? Phillips leaped 28 feet, 81/4 inches in the recent Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore. Phillips’ mark was the longest since Mike Powell set the world record with a mark of 29-41/2 inches in 1991.

And the beat continues.

Should ex-Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa be in Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame? USA Today is conducting a survey to get

answers from the fans. As of presstime, 48 percent say yes, and 33 percent say no.

Everybody seems to keep picking on home run king Barry Bonds.

His wife, Liz Watson, wants to separate from Bonds because of “irreconcilable differences.” She wants joint legal and physical custody of their 10-year-old daughter, Aisha, and also is looking for spousal support. The two married in 1998.

Scout Toney Howell, a special assistant to L.A. Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti, is a former Ohio State All-American baseball and football star. The 50-year-old is about to enter his 25th year in baseball and third year with Dodgers. He says he will forever treasure his years being groomed as a scout by Negro League legend Buck O’Neil.

Howell told USA Today Sports Weekly, “I think it helps me evaluate players. It’s watching their instincts, their determination, their poise and attitude. You have to see if they have it in their heart to play the game.” By the way, Howell was an alternate in the 1992 Olympics as a third degree black belt in tae kwon do.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ first baseman Prince Fielder is one of the most consistent hitters in the majors at the moment. Prince batted .234 in April, .305 in May and .462 in June.

His next stop should be the All-Star game in St. Louis.

And the beat ends.

Brad Pye Jr. can be reached at switchreel@aol.com.

Facts June 21, 1821 The African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church is formally organized at a meeting in New York City.

Source: blackfacts.com

Tiger Woods

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Suite 200-Upstairs Los Angeles

(310) 553-9500

Page 18

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 18, 2009

PUBLIC NOTICE dations will be constructed to bypass the damaged portion of pipe. Railroad tracks situated over the pipeline will need to be dismantled to allow the excavation, and then reconstructed. It is likely contaminated material will be encountered and will need to be properly addressed.

NOTICE INVITING BIDS FOR SEWER TRUNK LINE REPAIR AT PIER G, BERTH G212 LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA AS DESCRIBED IN SPECIFICATION NO. HD-S2360 AND DRAWINGS LISTED ON DRAWING NO. HD 10-2017-1 AND REFERENCE DRAWINGS LISTED ON DRAWING NO. HD 10-2017-1 All bids must be submitted before 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 7th, 2009.

Any Bids received at or after 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 will be deemed non-responsive and will not be opened. Bids will be publicly opened in the 6th Floor Board Room of the Harbor Department Administration Building, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, California, 90802 at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009. Bids shall be sealed in an envelope and the outside of the envelope should clearly state the specification number, title of the project and the bid opening date. Bids received before Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 shall be sent to the 4th Floor, Plans and Specifications office, where the bid envelope will be date stamped. If bids are hand-carried or received the day of bid opening, prior to 10:00 a.m., the bids will be clocked in at the Lobby desk of the Harbor Department Administration Building and taken to the 6th Floor Board Room by the Port Contract Administrator. It is anticipated that the Board of Harbor Commissioners will consider a conditional award on July 13th with Staff given the authority to execute a Contract provided the lowest responsive bidder submits the required completed insurance forms, bonds and signed Contract within thirty (30) days after conditional award by the Board.

Copies of said specifications and drawings may be obtained, at no cost, in the Plans and Specifications office, 4th floor, Harbor Department Administration Building beginning June 18th during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. To arrange to receive copies of specifications and drawings by courier at the expense of the Bidder call the office at (562) 590-4140.

For information on this project and other upcoming Port projects, you may view the Port website at http://www.polb.com/economics/contractors/future_work/default.asp.

Copies of all Port insurance forms are available at http://www.polb.com/economics/contractors/forms_permits/insurance.asp.

The Engineering Staff of the Harbor Department will conduct a pre-bid meeting at 10:00, on June 30th, 2009, in the Conference Room, 5th floor, of the Harbor Department Administration Building. Attendance is mandatory.

Bids from contractors who do not attend the pre-bid meeting will be deemed non-responsive and will not be opened.

The Port has established a Small Business Enterprises (SBE)/Very Small Business Enterprises (VSBE) Program to encourage small business participation on construction contracts. Although SBE/VSBE participation goals were not assigned to this contract, the Port strongly encourages all bidders to include such participation wherever possible, by utilizing small business subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers. The Port also strongly encourages SBE/VSBE firms to respond to this solicitation as prime contractors.

This project consists of furnishing all labor, materials, power, equipment, tools, transportation and supervision necessary to repair an 18” diameter sewer pipe. The repair work requires grout injection to consolidate soil, deep excavation and backfill, shoring design, trench shoring, pavement sawcut, removal and restoration, sewer pipe, manholes, steel casing under railroad crossing, bracing of adjacent foundations as required, support of utilities, inspection with CCTV, temporary by-pass sewer system, dewatering, and testing and disposing of soil and groundwater. The broken portions of pipe will be sealed and a new parallel pipe away from existing utilities and foun-

D B A’ s a n d L e g a l N o t i c e s ,

Call

Bidders shall, at the time of submitting their bids, in compliance with Section 7028.15 of the California Business and Professions Code, be licensed by the State Contractor’s License Board as a General Contractor with a "Class A" license.

The Contractor shall have a minimum of five years experience in constructing sewer main collection systems. Specifically, the Contractor shall demonstrate its qualifications for carrying out the proposed work by providing a list describing successfully completed new construction or repair projects of comparable scope within the last five years. This list shall be submitted with the bid.

Whenever any material, product, thing, or service identified in the specifications is described by one or more brand or trade names and is followed by the words “or equal”, the apparent low bidder shall submit data substantiating a request for the substitution of equivalent item(s) within forty-eight (48) hours following bid opening.

All bids shall be submitted upon forms provided by the City accompanied by a satisfactory "Bidder’s Bond" or other acceptable security deposit in an amount not less than ten percent (10%) of such bid as a guarantee that the Bidder will, if conditionally awarded a Contract by the Board, within ten (10) days thereafter, execute and deliver such Contract to the office of the Chief Harbor Engineer along with all required insurance forms and a “Payment Bond” for not less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract price, and a “Performance Bond” for not less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract price. The “Bidder’s Bond” shall be submitted on forms provided by the City, signed by the bidder and the surety and both signatures shall be notarized.

The work shall be completed within sixty (60) calendar days from a date specified in a written "Notice to Proceed" issued by the City. Failure of the Contractor to complete the work within the specified time frame will result in liquidated damages in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per calendar day of delay in completed work. Liquidated damages are cumulative and can run concurrently.

The Board of Harbor Commissioners, acting through the Executive Director, reserves the right at any time prior to the execution of the Contract by the City, to reject all bids and to return all deposits accompanying said bids. If the lowest responsive bidder fails to submit the required insurance forms, bonds and signed Contract within ten (10) days after conditional award, the Board reserves the right to rescind the conditional award and conditionally award the Contract to the next lowest responsive bidder. All bids and bid bonds shall be guaranteed for a period of ninety (90) days following the bid opening or until the Executive Director executes a Contract, whichever occurs first. The Board also reserves the right at any time to terminate the Contract for its convenience.

Dated at Long Beach, California, this 15th day of June, 2009.

Richard D. Steinke Executive Director of the Harbor Department, City of Long Beach, California Note: The Long Beach Harbor Department intends to provide reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This specification is available in an alternative format by request. If a special accommodation is desired, please call (562) 5904140, 48 hours prior to the bid opening or any pre-bid meetings.

Office hours are Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

(213) 251-5700

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ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME Case No. MS006843 Superior Court of the State of California, for the County of Los Angeles.

In the Matter of the Application of Jelani Akil Saadiq Adams for change of name.

The application of Jelani Akil Saadiq Adams for change of name having been filed in Court and it appearing from said application that has Jelani Akil Saadiq Adams filed an application proposing that the name be changed to Jelani Akil Saadiq Adams Wilkerson. Now, therefore, it is hereby ordered and directed, that all persons interested in said matter did appear before this court located at 42011 4th Street West, Lancaster, CA 93534, on the 10th day of June, 2009, of said day to show cause why such application for change of name should not be granted.

It is further ordered that a copy of this Order to Show Cause be published in a newspaper of general circulation, printed in said county, at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the day of said hearing at 8:30 am, Dept A11 on August 10, 2009.

Thomas R. White Judge of the Superior Court.

Published Runs 6/18/09, 6/25/09, 7/2/09, 7/9/09 NC-LAWT-11

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ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME Case No. MS006808 Superior Court of the State of California, for the County of Los Angeles.

In the Matter of the Application of Karymah Elizabeth Shaw-Howell, Zoyah Leanni ShawWhittaker, Jeovan Andrew Shaw-Young and Jeovanie Ray Shaw-Young for changes of names.

The application of Karymah Elizabeth ShawHowell, Zoyah Leanni Shaw-Whittaker, Jeovan Andrew Shaw-Young and Jeovanie Ray ShawYoung for changes of names having been filed in Court and it appearing from said application that has Karymah Elizabeth Shaw-Howell, Zoyah Leanni Shaw-Whittaker, Jeovan Andrew Shaw-Young and Jeovanie Ray Shaw-Young filed an application proposing that their names be changed to Karymah Elizabeth Howell, Zoyah Leanni Howell, Jeovan Andrew Howell and Jeovanie Ray Howell. Now, therefore, it is hereby ordered and directed, that all persons interested in said matter did appear before this court located at 42011 4th Street West, Lancaster, CA 93534, on the 20th day of May, 2009, of said day to show cause why such application for changes of names should not be granted.

It is further ordered that a copy of this Order to Show Cause be published in a newspaper of general circulation, printed in said county, at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the day of said hearing at 8:30 am, Dept A10 on July 22, 2009.

Thomas R. White Judge of the Superior Court.

Published Runs 6/18/09, 6/25/09, 7/2/09, 7/9/09 NC-LAWT-10

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20090825963 The following person is doing business as: Solar 360 871 Glenway Dr. Inglewood, CA 90302 Rembert James 871 Glenway Dr. Inglewood, CA 90302 Rembert James P.O. Box 83847 Los Angeles, CA 90083 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 Rembert James.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on June 3, 2009. 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).

Published: 6/4/09, 6/11/09, 6/18/09, 6/25/09 LAWT372 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20090745196 The following person is doing business as: Intergrated Control 7015 Charmant Drive #187 San Diego, CA 92122 Tuan Tony Tu 7015 Charmant Drive #187 San Diego, CA 92122 Intergrated Control 953 Laurel Drive Los Angeles, CA 90046 Bill Wilson 953 Laurel Drive Los Angeles, CA 90046 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 Bill Wilson.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on May 20, 2009. 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).

Published: 5/28/09, 6/4/09, 6/11/09, 6/18/09 LAWT373 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20090902545 The following person is doing business as: Marilynn Boyko & Associates 2537-D Pacific Coast Hwy #344 Torrance, CA 90505-7035 Marilynn Boyko 4709 Jacques Street Torrance, CA 90503 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 Marilynn Boyko.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on June 16, 2009. 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).

Published: 6/18/09, 6/25/09, 7/2/09, 7/9/09 LAWT374 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20090764357 The following person is doing business as: Ladi “J’s” Little Angels 11111 S. Western Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90047 Janice Antoine 11111 S. Western Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90047 Janice Antoine 4430 9th Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90043 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 Janice Antoine.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on May 22, 2009. 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).

Published: 6/18/09, 6/25/09, 7/2/09, 7/9/09 LAWT375

DBA’s and Legal Notices Call (213) 251-5700

June 18, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 19

PUBLIC NOTICE GENOCIDE SURVIVOR Continued from page 17 gone because I had been screaming and crying for days.”

Sometimes she stopped by the side of the road watching families stream by, hoping to spy her mother or father. One day a man she recognized from the refugee camp stopped to ask her where her parents were and invited her to walk with him. He fed her and even carried her across a river.

But after walking side-by-side with him for days, she remembers sitting down by the side of the road, too tired to go on. He begged her to get back on her swollen feet and continue. She refused.

“Do you want to die?” he asked.

“Yes,” she says she replied.

He moved on, and later some women helped her but then walked away, not taking her with them.

“I didn’t know why,” she says.

“Everyone was trying to save themselves. Some of them were abandoning their own children.”

She remembers this time merely as a series of long walks and lonely nights, but at last, after days or weeks, came a joyous reunion: Candide met her father and younger sister, Adeline.

Together they reached another refugee camp in Congo, but Candide remembers, “I couldn’t stop thinking about my mother and my other sisters.”

In the camp, the United Nations aid workers gave extra food, such as biscuits and milk, to those who were very sick, including Candide and Adeline.

But hunger was everywhere.

Some people started to sneak off to the native Congolese gardens to steal food —mostly Cassava roots.

When caught, the thieves were beaten severely — sometimes fatally.

“I could hear these innocent people crying and screaming until they died,” Candide said. “I don’t think I can describe how terrifying it was. I will never ever forget the sound of someone who is dying.”

Not long afterward, shooting began at the camp, and her father rushed to tell Candide and Adeline to get ready to flee.

Another long trek brought them to the Ubangi River. To get his daughters across the strong current, Candide’s father traded some clothing for two spaces on a makeshift boat.

She recalls the horror that followed: After 10 minutes on the river, water started to seep into the boat, and one side started to sink. People screamed and crushed each other while trying to move to the other side.

The boat tipped back and forth and Candide and Adeline fell into the water.

They clung to each other as they sank, then popped back up. Candide was sure she was about to die.

But some men pulled them out and dropped them on the shore by their father. He and several strangers pumped on their stomachs and chests to push the water out and help them breathe again.

After that, they continued their journey. The days and nights started to blur — until one night when, as Candide remembers it, her father tried to wake her from a deep sleep, and she thought she was dreaming.

He walked away, probably thinking she was trailing just behind. But she was asleep, and when she awoke she was alone again. She never saw her father or her sister again.

She says she doesn’t know how

ORDER FOR HEARING ON VERFIED PETITION TO ASCERTAIN AND ESTABLISH AS A NEWSPAPER OF GENERAL CIRCULATION Case No BS120491

MBE/WBE/OBE SUBCONTRACTORS Assist with the audit of the City of Los Angeles, Communications Users Tax Program for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009, to also include the period of March 15, 2008 to June 30, 2008 of Fiscal Year 2008, reflective of the effective date of the City’s Communications Users Tax Ordinance No. 17986.

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES-CENTRAL DISTRICT. In the matter of the petition of: WILLIE BROWN TO ASCERTAIN AND ESTABLISH STANDING AS A NEWSPAPER OF CIRCULATION

Areas of work: Audit procedures on the City’s collection and use of Communications Users Tax.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that on July 10, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard in Department 1A of this court, located at 111 N. Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, the petitioner may apply for an order declaring the newspaper known as the INGLEWOOD TODAY NEWSPAPER to be a newspaper of general circulation for Los Angeles County. Petitioner to comply with Gov’t Code Section 6021 IT IS SO ORDERED: DATED: 07/10/09 MURRAY GOSS, COMMISSIONER

Audit plans & specification will become available once the MBE/WBE/OBE have been identified & selected by our Firm.

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We have a deadline date of July 8, 2009 (Wednesday) @ 5:00 P.M. to submit our proposal. Therefore your deadline date is June 30, 2009 (Tuesday) @ 5:00 P.M. to submit your proposal to us.

VERIFIED PETITION TO ASCERTAIN AND ESTABLISH STANDING AS NEWSPAPER OF CIRCULATION, (Gov’t Code §§6000 and 6020)

Send your proposal to: Simpson and Simpson CPAs 3600 Wilshire Blvd, #1710 L.A., CA 90010 Contact Person is: Miriam Rezene 213-736-6664, ext 114 Email address:mrezene@simpsonandsimpsoncpas.com Website is currently under construction

she went on from there, but her strength of body and determination is clear to anyone who meets Candide.

Eventually, with other refugees she arrived at Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, and was moved into a camp orphanage, where life stabilized for a time.

One day, a woman told her about a businessman from Cameroon, who might be able to help her if she moved to another camp.

Jean Damas took Candide in at age 9 and changed her life. He sent her to school and gave her a job in his store.

Damas, 39, a food seller in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, said in a telephone interview from his home that a Cameroonian woman, who was his client, brought Candide to him, hoping he could help her.

“Can you care for this child? You can give it a better life,” said Damas, who also fled Rwanda during the genocide.

At the time, Damas was in a refugee camp himself, but when he and his wife and children moved back to Cameroon, Candide moved in with the family.

Her adopted family continued to look out for her future — which, at one point, led to another hard separation. They heard about opportunities for orphans to go to the West and encouraged Candide, now a high school student, to apply with the United Nations for refugee status.

This would get her assistance and allow her to go the United States, Australia, Canada or anywhere else offering to resettle refugees.

She spoke no English, but passed every test the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees put her through.

When the day came to fly to the United States, Damas’ whole family came to the airport to see her off.

“I was really sad,” she said. “He did everything for me. They were just like my proper parents.” She has not been able to discover what happened to her biological family.

From his home in Cameroon, Damas expressed confidence he had helped Candide find a better life.

“I’m sure that if she can finish her studies, she’ll be able to earn lots of money. What I hope,” he said, “is for her to have the means to bring me there to visit her.”

LIFE IN AMERICA Today, Candide faced another turning point, though one full of promise instead of terror.

On June 14, she graduated from Shorecrest High School in Shoreline,

a suburb north of Seattle. There was a party to celebrate, with friends and the foster family a refugee group placed her with.

She’s applying for colleges in the area, and education is her No. 1 goal, says foster mother Christiane Munyemana, who is from Burundi, the country just south of Rwanda, and who has fostered orphans from Africa for 15 years. She says Candide has what it takes to succeed in the next chapter of her life.

“She takes initiative and takes adult responsibilities. That probably helped her a great deal in her travels,” Munyemana said. “Some people just give up easily. She did what she needed to do to get where she wants to be.”

AP Correspondent Edward Harris contributed to this story from Lagos, Nigeria.

Comes now the Petitioner, Willie Brown (hereinafter “Petitioner”) and alleges the following: 1. Petitioner is the publisher of the newspaper known as INGLEWOOD TODAY NEWSPAPER, hereinafter referred to as “The Newspaper”.

2. The Newspaper is a newspaper of general circulation published for the dissemination of local news and intelligence of a general character in the City of Inglewood, County of Los Angeles, State of California.

The business address of the Newspaper is 9111 S. La Cienega Blvd., Ste. 100, Inglewood, CA 90301.

3. The Newspaper has a bona fide subscription list of paying subscribers numbering in excess of 100 in the City of Inglewood, County of Los Angeles and has an average weekly circulation 5,000.

4. For more than one year preceding the filing of this petition, The Newspaper has been established under the name of INGLEWOOD TODAY NEWSPAPER, and has been printed and published weekly on Thursday’s in Los Angeles County, in the state of California.

5. During the whole of one year preceding the filing of this petition, the mechanical work of producing The Newspaper, that is the typesetting and impressing type on paper, has been performed in Los Angeles County, California. The Newspaper has been issued from the same County where it is printed and sold; it has been both printed and published in the same County and has been published as a weekly newspaper on Thursdays of each calendar week.

WHEREFORE, Petitioner prays for judgment ascertaining and establishing THE INGLEWOOD TODAY NEWSPAPER as a newspaper of general circulation, as defined in Section 6000 of the Government Code for the City of Inglewood,County of Los Angeles and the State of California DATED: July 10, 2009 JOE C. HOPKINS Attorney for Petitioner

We are committed to preparing a publication that you will eagerly anticipate each week.The te, an id nf ton, a Co L.A.Watts Times is scanning and probing news Xernona Clay ’s Legacy King Reflects on and information resources to deliver the best of the African American PRESIDENT OBAMA INAUGU RATION community to you. To EDITION receive the L.A.Watts Giant Steps: Barack Obama Am erica’s 44 th Presid Times via U.S. ent Lives on in The Dream ar of Ye ric sto Hi This e rad Pa y Postal Service Kingdom Da each week, fill out this subscription form and send with check or money order payable to: L.A.Watts Times for the yearly rate of $49.50.

ITION ORATIVE ED JR. COMM EM THER KING LU IN RT MA DR.

January 15,

SERVING

Vol. XXX,

LOS ANGELES

AND SURR

OUNDING

2009

AREAS

No. 1110

She System Inc. Broadcasting tor of the oneis also the origina in History” nts minute “Mome annually is a ball of broadcasts televised Xernona Clayton History Month. during Black schedule is a minute, the Although her Moving a mile and former recently found full, Clayton veteran a man is King, nte civil rights about King Jr. confida calls, time to talk severMartin Luther ed, knew for durin Atlanta fielding the she respect worked with in her office al years, and ws, and putting of the Civil doing intervie t Awards, ing the height With a venon the Trumpe ent. accomfinal touches Rights Movem highlights the dge, an affair that utions of erable wealth of knowle at and contrib “never ents dly plishm ans.

Clayton, admitte has a million African Americ founder and CEO a loss for words,” Clayton is the tion t Awards Founda stories to tell. Watts Times of the Trumpe and executive proThe L.A. her , which Inc., and creator Clayton to get ing Trumpet Awards air on spoke with ducer of the nation’s upcom year and will take on the 17th its One. is in Xernona Clayton tribute to King.

Atlanta on TV is the best April 12 from ments are vast, but ted him as LAWT: What s that pinpoin I go into King’s activist, Her achieve the activitie her horn. to acknowledge er, community of our time. one to toot the way y?

Baptist preach brother, husband, and the great savior Clayton isn’t page 22 KING — woman in , son, birthda wouldn’t who black RING ly Jr., winner See CLAYTON, King Prize HONO televiThe first XC: He definitedidn’t like all author, Nobel a prime-time e Martin Luther it not for an He intellectual, more, describ South to host Clayton was a vice 15, were the hoopla. words, and Jan. want Tenn., These show, today, old father. sion talk at Turner in Memphis, been 80 years urban affairs April 4, 1968, on workers would have president of He was killed the city’s black sanitati bullet. counn’s t of assassi the rest of the gone in suppor Times joins Edition. where he had The L.A. Watts man with our Special strike. on g this who were — in honorin try — and world E NE DONLO R

BY DARLE G WRITE CONTRIBUTIN

fire.

Vol. XXX

Bass

Parade founder

ANGELE S AND

SURROU

NDING

AREAS

January

from of violence taunts and threats adults opposed s and UMN white student BRISCOE FIRST COL of Central High. lecBY ANDRE G WRITER the integration Roberts has CONTRIBUTIN Obama is sworn Over the years, college stuWhen Barack the United tured high school and been president of rs, and has may in as the 44th ans semina at 20, Americ dents about what finally States on Jan. extensively year interviewed the nation has the turbulent conclude that his was like during racist past. e Roberts pro- it school. He uses Dr. Terrenc overcome its psychology spent in high to teach one he But for retired ate in as many nces as a platform on and e Roberts, 67, and particip inte- experie Roberts fessor Dr. Terrenc nce of educati ships at events, as possible, teenagers who row.” the importa e relation inaugural balls plans to speak to improv of nine black Little Rock Central Today and Tomor-old great grandbest how to as’ l of color. s, said. He also “My 11-year grated Arkans 1957, the ceremony at the Sidwel C. NORWOOD up to among people in

BY CHICO Anthony William s and faculty leading in School 7 Neeko R days High this hurdle son, for cleared In the Rock student LITTLE ROCK 9, page STAFF WRITE bly Speakwith the theme See E. Day, the “Little speak will be just another for equal rights.

California Assemserve as the came up Inauguration ns, ing battle organizer Larry the luncheo tes said will continu the attend valida Bass n will behind J. year,” er Karen Obama ’s electioNine” tried to Nine” the driving force l and Norris s grand marsha celebrity grand Grant, the Los Angele “Little Rock and the F n ation former the what a , BRIE In his Associ and Bishto Bishton Jr. annual parade. said Roberts Commerce.

NEWS IN the 25th Joining Bass as accomplish, ’s in PsyP. ValChamber of marshal for service role the Master on Jan. 19 Gen. David of r Lt. public UniD Parade s be co-chai will Estate previou ing offiat Antioch Kingdom Day THE SOUTHLAN r for Real year’s review s. chology program s who has been Day deputy directo for the state of of court, this in Los Angele Kingdom Angele celebration Serve as cereand 2009 versity in Los Development The largest a Taylor. is credited the inaugural Rosenfeld to Jr. holi- cer, Rosenfeld Queen Wyvett and offiinvited to attend black president in Luther King ing Deputy Supervisor California, create about the Martin first nia, the Parade to the Plann celebrities for Califor rn helping Other t mony jobs, attend include day in Southe will begin at 11 Second Distric has chosen with private-sector we slated to U.S. history.

72,000 new ce to what ing urban -Thomas e Stanis of 2.5-mile parade n Avenue and cials Mark Ridley serve as which revitalized struggl Bern Nadett “It adds substan said. “When Rosenfeld to a.m. at Wester Boulevard. It actress Times” fame; jazz legend Roberts Danie l A. King tried to do,” ’s history, “Good areas. nia State Martin Luther this country Crenshaw a Senior Deputy Hancock; Califor Instrucion to you look at d west to ands of L.A. Dison Herby at the opposit will procee of Public for the Second District: Thous Lose Jobs look at and turn south in Superintendent and you look rs of RosenBoulevard nell; membe l; and then you ’s trict team.

Vernon Avenue Jack O’Con integration, Teachers Could ands of Los responed with Obama Crenshaw onto where a festival tion s City Counci feld will be what has happen apparent that the (AP) — Thous other emg, the Los Angele Leimert Park, quite and for plannin is s it , sible more.

14 election enAngeles teacher be laid off this Tele- and will follow. will include crumbling. transportation, on KABC The parade old system is ct, what we did fits in and ployees could the nation’s secSet to air 20 drill teams a.m. to as vironm ent Daniel A. “In retrospe ng bands, l 7 from 11 to chip 4 pschool year theme marchi MLK PARADE, page vision-Channe district grapWe were able weakRosenfeld economic develo gest school year’s parade See that pattern.

— For 1 p.m., this the old system of ond-lar a $250 million deficit, ment.

Lives On away a bit at with point now than 35 years is “The Dream will — to the He has more and ples officials recently said. ever.” en it if you assessment school ing faster than t Ramon Corprivate sector and is the con where it’s crumbl Superintenden ture the electio the state Legisla develo pment s LLC, Roberts said g, because saying tines blamed Urban Partner anythin of r l change al cutbacks, founde that doesn’t g entrepreneuria for the potenti need to solve the ic elements develan award-winnin kers there are “systemthe fabric of this focusing on that lawma firm if the Los into estate crisis real opportu are woven state’s budget investment District is opment and n United Angeles Unified School society.” ands the harm the wester force intact. nities in If anyone underst is Roberts. In to keep its work S, page 6 causes, it States. as a board See BRIEF segregation 15, he and the served age at has He l City rs who the fall of 1957, the Centra black teenage as the memb er of eight other to be known insults, would come Nine” braved “Little Rock Karen Assembly Speaker

, No. 1111

SERVIN G LOS

9’ Civil Rights ‘Little Rock Inauguration Icon to Attend

22, 2009

BY TERE AP WRIT NCE HUNT ER

‘HOPE OVER FEAR John Rober ts to becom ’ — Barack Obam e the 44th a, president joined by his wife of the Unite Michelle d States and daugh COLUMN at the U.S. ters Malia Capitol in Washi , third from left, ngton Jan. and Sasha , takes the 20.

FIRST

Not Just a Dream: The Son Obama Sparks Bl of ack Men to Action Our So il

BY LUCA AP WRIT S L. JOHNSON II ER

AP Photo/R oath of office ON EDMO NDS from Chief Justice

WASHING TON — into histor Stepping y, Barack Hussein grasped Obama the reins America’s of first black power as Jan. 20, president declar choose “hope ing the nation on must over purpose over confli fear, unity of ct and discor to overc ome the worst econo d” crisis since the Great mic Depression.

In frigid temperatu exuberant res, an crowd of million packe more than a d the and parad National Mall Obama’s e route to celeb inauguratio rate noon cerem n in a highony.

With out of work 11 million Amer icans lost in the and trillions of dollar stock mark s Obama et’s tumb emph biggest challe asized that le, his nge is to tattered repair the economy left outgoing President behind by Bush.

George W. “Our time of standing protecting pat, narrow interests of and See OBA MA, page 6

they say NASHVIL

BY REM LE, Tenn taken withothey might not — An actor A . (AP) have ut his turns a SPECIAL REYNOLDS inner-city dilapidated Van Jone example.

TO L.A. mosque WATTS s, 40, in just a NAIROBI, into a theate , Green For few days.

Kenya — TIMES All, a natio foun ded r gram last e-mai buckles I sent l to nal prothat down on A 20-year-old ing her what my Kenyan friend one energy jobs.seeks to create his studie historically askI should clean s His Oakla expect. mother dies black college after at a program, I would which empl nd-based his of during the be teaching in cance ple and nity organ oys 25 peor. A comm time of Presid Nairobi has izer Obama’s create thous decides his plan u- of $4.5 millioan operating budg ent Barac inauguratio k ands et to n, Keny n. I wond was of in too mode ans were instrument passing ered if st and enlargreen jobs is a portion excite al excited ty-fold. of ges it twen- energy bill as the major d as I was, as called the a national cans, ity Act. as of Amer Green Jobs It will use excited as Barack iObama’s cans partic up to $125 African to train the Whit election Ameriularly. million 30,000 e House to such peop is the very ization My le in jobs BlackBerry of what real- and as installing reply just so fathers solar panel retrofitting as I board flashed her HOM have told many black s “Kenya ed the plane them more buildings to aspire to E PRID their sons is to friend don’t be full of Obama mania : a large screen E — Kenyans envi ronm make often was for years, even react as , as thousa ly. surprised ental ly guration if U.S. Presid just a another nds of if Jan 20th so ceremony booster confidenc it ent Barac AP Photo/SAYYID national With Obam D.C., Jan. not mean — from people gather to is e- decid holiday. are extrem a’s electi Nairobi, t to watch the k Obama appea AZIM erally.

Kenyans ed to on, Jones year ago 20. Across the count ely proud Kenya — rs on U.S. presid And long be taken litcame togeth our soil!” of this son that ry, posal befor shop a $33 billio wrapped er to celebr neighbors divide took place in ential inaun proof up the conte before he e Cong Washi ate the inaug d by didacy Another st, his can- hire about 600,0 ress that woul had national uration of political violen ngton, d another. ce only 00 peopl holiday? the next its favori black men driven these NEW e Yes, te son, Obam a two over three S IN BRI and other years for work.

When Obam a. s to actio EF similar a was electe ns ident of THE SOU the Unite d See BLA presd States, THLAND were grante CK MEN Keny , page 3 Top polic commemor d a day off, a holida ans Los Ange edged that e officials ackno les Police wlturned off ate the occasion. y to mino rities are frequently Study on Reject my phone As I more the flight Racial Bias in but they subjected to searc attendant obedience to (AP) told the hes, me, in my hovering comm statistics oversees — A commission jealousy do not prove ission the why didn’ I thought, over the that filing Departmen Los Angeles t we get racial proa day off?” “Now Police ment is rampant in While to inves t told police on the depar . tigate whet Jan. 13 board the waiting in Lond ta recen on to Information her data t study Kenyans last plane of the from Times can be spoke with identify , http://wwwfrom: Los Angeles trip, used to office asm and great enthu .latimes.com against mino rs who discri si. minate L.A. Gang Americans animated gestu rities res as they has $5 Mill The comm . symbol pontificate to Tab to Pay ission’s ion of came after decis with proud hope Obama embod the mony abouthearing hours of ion (AP) — dies couldn’t , booming voice testi- they City offici s. They have cared conducted the study, which secured flight was was judgm by a Yale less that a $5 millioals said profe delay our ent Univ ssor, and n ed five more time published ersity street gangagainst a Los Angecivil ober by to brag about hours — in the relative.

HE’S GOT les whose 11 Obama their ties Unio American Civil Oct- control the members MOVES the many n of South Liber- down heroi — A parad When performance ern Calif town area. n trade in the The study 19. Go to s that took e participant Jomo Keny we finally arrive ornia.

Photo by page 17 nearly found HGSTA Angeles place to view in Kenya, atta International d at police office that Los dillo City Attorney more parad at the 2009 Kingddoes the splits R1/UNW Rocky Delga as part Airport likely to everyone e photos. and other om Day rs are stop and ly Keny — even Parade on of the livean passe search blackmore officials annou law enforceme Latino Jan. ngers — residents subdued, nt nced the exhausted seemed whites, than they and against the judgm even from the 5th and See KEN journey.

Hill gang ent more often though white are week. Offic YAN SON last ials s are obtai found carry and contr , page 6 ned again said it is the first ing guns aband. st a gang fornia. in CaliSee BRIE FS, page 7

Larry Grant

L.A. Watts Times “News You Can Use” S

U B S C R I P T I O N

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June 18, 2009

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