LAWT-6-25-2009

June 25, 2009

SERVING LOS ANGELES COUNTY WITH NEWS YOU CAN USE

Vol. XXX, No. 1133 FIRST COLUMN

Coming to America: Africans Playing Hoops in U.S

BY PAUL NEWBERRY AP NATIONAL WRITER

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) — Growing up in Nigeria, Robert Ojeah fretted over the demands of everyday life, the sort of things that shouldn’t be a burden to a child.

Would he have a roof over his head that night? What was he going to do for money? Where was his next meal coming from?

“We would catch animals.

Cook them, roast them, eat them,” he said. “Rabbits. Snakes. Squirrels.”

No matter what life dealt him, Ojeah kept growing. And growing.

All the way up to 6-foot-10, with muscles upon muscles on a hard-asa-rock, 220-pound body that’s still only 16 years old.

Meet basketball’s new wave.

At the top is Tanzania’s Hasheem Thabeet, a 7-2 center who played at UConn and is expected to be one of the top picks in today’s NBA draft. He and Ojeah are part of a vanguard of African youngsters who have found their way, through hoops, from a continent mired in poverty to America — landing on the rosters of high school, Amateur Athletic Union and college teams across the land.

The sacrifices are immense.

These players are little more than children when they leave behind family and friends, landing in a new country, a new culture. But as difficult as the journey is, the rewards

AP Photo by SARA D. DAVIS

HOOP DREAMS — Team Georgia Elite basketball player Onyekachi Uchebo, left, and Abdulwali Kasim, during a practice session in North Carolina on June 8. The director of the Amateur Athletic Union team has sought basketball players from Africa.

can be even greater. They inspire many to try.

“When you go back to Africa with a degree from an American school, you are somebody,” said Dikembe Mutombo, one of the earliest of the African exports, whose long NBA career finally ended last month at age 42 when he injured his knee in a playoff game with the Houston Rockets.

At the highest level, the numbers are still minuscule: seven native Africans (including the Chicago Bulls’ Luol Deng, who left Sudan to escape a civil war and considers himself British) were in the NBA this season, making up less than 2 percent of the league’s total players.

Look further, though. A count

by The Associated Press culled from school and basketball Web sites found more than 170 African players at U.S. junior colleges, colleges and universities last season.

Other sources show 100 players or so at the high school level, many placed at prep schools catering to international students.

Not all will make it to the NBA, of course, but the growing numbers will surely have a trickleup effect.

“If I can do it, they can do it, too,” said DJ Mbenga, a native of the Congo who won an NBA championship ring last week as an endof-the-bench backup center for the Los Angeles Lakers. “When the opportunity opens up, you have to take it.”

Mbenga had a relatively affluent childhood in the Congo, where his father worked in the government and could afford such luxuries as vacations to Europe. But when a new regime took control of the wartorn country, Mbenga’s dad died See COMING TO AMERICA, page 10

Photo by DAMIEN SMITH

A ‘SPLASH’ HIT — The “Operation Splash” Summer Youth Swimming Program kicked off June 19 at the Jackie Tatum-Harvard Aquatics Center in Los Angeles. The joint project of Kaiser Permanente and the City of Los Angeles will provide learn-to-swim scholarships to more than 6,000 youth, ages 7 to 17, and their parents at 36 pools in lower-income communities citywide. Pictured: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Bernard Parks Jr. look on as a youth rides down the water slide to break the ribbon for the opening of the aquatics center.

NEWS IN BRIEF THE SOUTHLAND

Male View Underscores ‘Saving Our Daughters’

Los Angeles Mayor Sidesteps 2010 Governor’s Race

BY DARLENE DONLOE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

(AP) – Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is out of the running in next year’s race for California governor.

The Democratic mayor was considering jumping into the 2010 contest, but he says he’s bypassing the campaign because he wants to finish his job as mayor. He starts his second term July 1.

He says, “I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Villaraigosa announced his decision June 22 on CNN. The mayor has been struggling with a budget crisis at City Hall after an uneven first term that included the breakup of his marriage during his affair with a TV newscaster.

At a recent book signing for his tome “Saving Our Daughters: From A Man’s Point of View, Vol. 1,” author Curtis J. Benjamin, actors Nia Long and Gary Sturgis, and about 80 girls from local Boys and Girls Clubs held an open discussion about the issues surrounding fatherdaughter relationships.

Although some of the girls were a bit timid about the subject matter, Benjamin, who gifted each girl with a copy of his book, shared what he has learned with an audience that he hoped would find it beneficial.

He told about how some men aren’t comfortable talking about certain subjects and how the gender gap often gets in the way. He spoke about daughters feeling more comfortable talking to their mothers and how men should make a concerted effort to communicate and bond with their female offspring.

Held June 19 at the Barnes and Noble bookstore at The Grove in Los Angeles, the packed preFather’s Day event sponsored by TPain, Rihanna and Sean Garrett, was a precursor to what Benjamin hopes are open and honest discussions about the sometimes-complicated See ‘SAVING OUR DAUGHTERS’, page 13

L.A. Teachers Union Approves Contract With No Raises

Photo by BILL JONES

DADDIES AND LITTLE GIRLS — Actors Gary Sturgis (“Daddy’s Little Girls”) and Nia Long (“Are We There Yet?”) were at Barnes and Noble in Los Angeles June 19 promoting “Saving Our Daughters: From A Man’s Point of View, Vol. 1,” co-authored

by Curtis J. Benjamin. The book is the author’s attempt to share with other fathers how they can make concerted efforts to communicate and bond with their female children.

(AP) — Los Angeles’ teachers union has approved a contract that includes no raises for three years.

About 81 percent of United Teachers Los Angeles members voted for the contract, with about a third of the 48,000 members voting.

In May, the union voted for a one-day work stoppage to protest

the 2,100 layoffs that take effect July 1. A Superior Court judge issued a restraining order to halt the stoppage and the union canceled its plans.

The contract, approved June 18, allows teachers to take grievances public, enforces better safety conditions at schools, and gives teachers more say in training efforts.

Taxpayers Shoulder Costs of Unused County Phones (AP) — Taxpayers in Los Angeles County are shelling out at least $1.5 million for government phone lines that never ring.

According to a countywide review, the local government has 8,000 phone lines that are not being used. For instance, no one canceled 329 phone lines at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital when it was downgraded to an outpatient clinic in August 2007.

Some lines may never even have served an official purpose.

One was registered to a defunct Hollywood ticket brokerage.

Taxpayers paid $38 a month for 14 years for the line.

Auditors are only halfway through their work.

They say the number of abandoned phone lines could reach 16,000 — a cost of about $3 million annually.

www.LAWattsTimes.com

See BRIEFS, page 6

Page 2

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 25, 2009

OPINION EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON

Towering Obstacles to Overcome Blacks’ Gay Marriage Bias A June Los Angeles Times poll on voter attitudes toward gay marriage found two things, one surprising, the other not. It was no surprise that the majority of blacks still condemn gay marriage. The surprise is that the gap between blacks, whites, Latinos and Asians on gay marriage is wider than ever.

There was the no-holds-barred campaign by gay groups to defeat Proposition 8, the millions shelled out on the campaign, mountains of literature churned out to sell the gay marriage fight as a civil rights fight, impassioned pleas from civil rights leaders, and a pitch from President Barack Obama to support gay marriage. All of that meant nothing. The lines in the gay marriage war had not softened but hardened among blacks.

The Times poll dealt solely with voter attitudes on the issue in Los Angeles. But every poll since the first poll in Jet magazine in 1994 that measured black attitudes toward gays has consistently found that a sizable number of blacks are suspicious and scornful not just of gay marriage, but of gays.

It’s no puzzle why. The issue of gay marriage still pricks the social conservatism of many blacks, and their exaggerated notion of manhood. From cradle to grave, many black men have believed and accepted the gender propaganda that real men talk and act tough, shed no tears, and never show their emotions.

When black men broke the prescribed male code of conduct and

showed their feelings, they were harangued as weaklings, and their manhood instantly questioned.

They also believed the racial propaganda that manhood was reserved exclusively for white men. In a vain attempt to recapture their denied masculinity, many black men mirror America’s traditional fear and hatred of homosexuality as a dire threat to their manhood.

Many blacks, in an attempt to distance themselves from gays and avoid confronting their own fears and biases, dismiss homosexuality as a perverse contrivance of white males that reflected the decadence of white America. While many Americans made gays their gender bogeymen, many blacks made gay men their bogeymen and waged open warfare against them.

A parade of rappers, black novelists and poets railed against the gay lifestyle as unnatural and destructive.

Many black ministers, as many white Christian fundamentalist ministers, wave the Bible and rail against homosexuality as the defiler of faith and family values.

Blacks did not join in the loud chorus of condemnation of the late Green Bay Packers superstar Reggie White in 1997 when he made offensive remarks about gays in a speech to the Wisconsin Legislature. White was a hard-line fundamentalist minister. He later apologized for the attack, but his opposition to gay marriage did not change one whit.

At a tightly packed press confer-

ence in October 2003, five of Michigan’s top black prelates publicly called on the state Legislature to amend the state Constitution to define marriage as between a man and woman. The ballot measure passed in November, and more than 50 percent of blacks backed it.

The same year the conservative Virginia-based Alliance for Marriage corralled a handful of top black preachers to plop their name on the alliance’s letterhead and tout its antigay rights agenda.

At the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People convention in July 2004, there was some talk of taking a delegate vote to put the organization firmly on record backing gay rights. It didn’t get far.

The Rev. Julius Caesar Hope, the head of the NAACP’s religious affairs department, warned that a resolution to back gay marriage “would make some serious problems. I would think the membership would be overwhelmingly against it, based on our tradition in the black community.”

Proposition 8 was dead in the water in California and would have gone down to a crushing defeat since whites opposed it by a solid majority.

But African American voters rescued it, or more specifically, conservative black ministers rescued it by pounding away in rallies and in their pulpits on the “abomination” of same-sex marriage.

See HUTCHINSON, page 3

They’re Just Not That Into You

BY MAYA RUPERT CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Minority voters, sit down, I need to talk to you all for a minute.

Listen, I know what the Republicans have been saying: They want to court you. They need you.

They know they haven’t always been the party of inclusivity, but they want to be that now. They’re ready to give you what you need. They can change. They promise.

Unfortunately, Republicans seem to be taking the high school boyfriend’s approach to political rebranding: Spreading the word that they want to appeal to minority voters, but treating us horribly every chance they get.

I don’t want to be harsh, but we must accept a simple truth, minority voters: I don’t care what they tell you, Republicans are just not that into you.

The last few weeks have seen some truly blatant racism coming from the Republican ranks. And for a party theoretically committed to becoming more welcoming to communities of color and other minorities, the lack of admonishment from Republican leadership is baffling.

Between Rusty DePass calling Michelle Obama a gorilla, Tennessee Sen. Diane Black’s aide circulating a racist picture mocking Obama (and keeping her job), and Republican leaders calling a brilliant and gifted

jurist a racist for acknowledging the importance of her Latina heritage and gender, I’m having a hard time figuring out what distinguishes this new Republican Party from the one I know and already dislike.

In the courting process, actions speak far louder than words. We learned this lesson the first time we tried to decipher our dates’ mixed signals. But for some reason the Republican Party is banking on our inability to transfer that lesson to the political arena. And I guess I understand why because their schizophrenic strategy of trying to appeal to minority voters while simultaneously insulting minorities has worked on at least some members of our communities. And minority Republicans, I’m looking at you now.

Sarah Palin, you know how the day after the election your party’s operatives threw you under the bus as the reason for McCain’s defeat?

And remember how they did it by invoking sexist insults like calling you a diva, saying you went on shopping sprees with campaign money, and tried to have meetings with staffers in a towel? It’s not that they were disappointed in the election and lashing out. They’re just not that into you.

Bobby Jindal, remember when you were a rising star in the party until you responded to Obama’s joint address to Congress with a speech of

your own? Remember how absurd it sounded for the governor of Louisiana to discourage federal government intervention in the Maya Rupert time of crisis? Do you honestly think party leaders hadn’t realized that? Of course they had. But they needed a sacrificial lamb to parrot the party line when they knew it wouldn’t be wellreceived. They threw you to the wolves because they never saw you as a party leader, only as an answer to Obama because you were a person of color, too. It’s not that they were tone deaf. They’re just not that into you.

And Michael Steele, do you know how silly you sound every time you try to make the Republican Party sound hip? Well, the party knows. And they cringe along with the rest of us when you compare the Republican Party to a backwards baseball cap and talk about “urban suburban” communities.

But they let you do it anyway because they figure it’s worth a try to see if black people will vote for Republicans if someone just speaks hip-hop to us. So they’re comfortable letting you be a buffoon — because they’re just not that into you.

Log Cabin Republicans, I really See RUPERT, page 3

The Stateless ‘State’ of Palestine

BY MUMIA ABU-JAMAL

The presidential election of Barack Obama has so electrified the world, that expectations have swept past reality into the realm of the silly.

Some of this is surely driven by the corporate media, which no longer covers the news, but engages in what might be called “pre-news,” as it tends to predict what will (or may) happen, the better to not be scooped by competitors.

And as news makes its hard turn to opinion, it sometimes builds up Obama as a world leader, in ways that are simply unreasonable.

This was seen in the run-up to the Iranian presidential elections, where news coverage all but predicted the election of opposition candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and the fall of the irascible Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The result predicted, talking heads opined about the global influence of Obama over the elections. As for stolen elections, did millions of Americans take to the streets to protest the stolen elections here in 2000?

Similarly, much news coverage centered on Obama’s hard-line on the Israelis, as in his Cairo, Egypt, address when he called for a freeze in settlements. So slanted is U.S. policy toward Israel that a halt in construction in illegal settlements is seen as somehow “hard-line.”

For their part, Israeli rightwingers, many supporters of newly elected president Binyamin Netanyahu, postered Tel Aviv, Israel, with images of Obama wearing an Arab headdress (known as a kaffiyeh), emblazoned with the words “Jew Hater,” and “Anti-Semite” in

English and Hebrew (an allusion to his Muslim name and family background).

To “freeze” a situation that is funMumia damentally unjust Abu-Jamal is to preserve the status quo — a state of affairs that leaves the Palestinian people in an unjust and untenable situation.

On top of that, Netanyahu recently announced an essential rejection of Obama’s “freeze,” and an alleged support of the establishment of a Palestinian state — albeit a demilitarized one, with foreign affairs to be overseen by Israel. This is a state only in the sense that the old South African Bantustans were independent territories (that is to say, not at all).

The Palestinians have had their best lands seized and Swiss-cheesed by settlements, their parliament has been cast into prison, their water is rationed, and their homes have been bulldozed, all while Western leaders crow about a “peace process” that is ultimately a freeze in oppression.

Meanwhile, Israel, not only the most powerful military in the region but an undeclared nuclear-armed state, accepts the idea of a Palestinian state, but only if demilitarized — and this is seen as progress.

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 28, 1978 The U.S. Supreme Court orders the University of California Medical School at Davis to admit Allan P. Bakke, a white male, in what becomes known as a “reverse discrimination” lawsuit.

Source: blackfacts.com

Published Weekly

The L.A. Watts Times 3540 Wilshire Boulevard, PH3 • Los Angeles, CA 90010

Administration - Sales - Graphics - Editorial

(213) 251-5700 Fax (213) 251-5720 Beverly Cook - Publisher, Managing Editor 1976-1993 Charles Cook - Publisher, 1976-1998

WWW.LAWATTSTIMES.COM Melanie Polk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Publisher Ward Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chief Financial Officer Samuel Richard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Managing Editor Thandisizwe Chimurenga . . . . . . . . .Assistant Editor Chico C. Norwood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Staff Writer Willa Robinson . . . . . . . . . . .Director of Advertising Jenny C. Cohen . . . . . . . . . .Advertising Coordinator Madaline Vinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Office Manager Marty Cotwright . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Staff Photographer EMAIL: lawattsnus@aol.com Audited Circulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25,000 The opinions expressed by contributing writers are not necessarily those of the L.A. Watts Times.

The L.A. Watts Times is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, CDs or tapes.

CIRCULATION AUDIT BY

June 25, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 3

BUSINESS BIZSHORTS Workshop on Exporting for Small Businesses Slated Cerritos Community College will present “Profitable Exporting for Small Businesses” June 27, 9 a.m. to noon, at Cerritos College, 11110 Alondra Blvd., Norwalk.

More than 70 percent of goods and services are exported by small businesses to 95 percent of the world’s markets outside of the United States. A majority of those small businesses are family owned and began in a spare room of their homes.

You will learn why you should export, what it takes to be an exporter, and how to determine the right time to export. This workshop costs $39. Information: (562) 4675050, (562) 860-2451, e-mail tdellimagine@cerritos.edu.

Calif. Unemployment Climbs to Record 11.5 Percent (AP) — California’s unemployment rate climbed to 11.5 percent in May, the highest in modern record-keeping, the U.S. Department of Labor reported recently.

The loss of another 69,000 jobs comes as a blow to the state after unemployment dipped slightly to 11.1 percent in April, according to revised figures. The California Employment Development Department said the government posted the largest job declines in the month, down by 14,200 jobs. Every other sector besides education and health services also saw losses.

Although the Labor Department reported that 48 states and the District of Columbia saw their unemployment rates rise in May, California’s rate was substantially higher than the national rate of 9.4 percent for the month.

Only four states had higher rates: Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

The West had the highest regional jobless rate in the nation, at 10.1 percent, and it was the

highest rate since September 1983, when the nation was emerging from a deep recession.

California has lost 885,000 jobs since May 2008, when the unemployment rate was 6.8 percent.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has proposed laying off another 5,000 state employees, along with billions of dollars in cuts to education and social welfare programs, to address a $24.3 billion deficit for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Cash for Clunkers — U.S. Consumers Could Get Up to $4,500 Toward New Car WASHINGTON (AP) — Car shoppers could take advantage of government incentives worth up to $4,500 this summer to send their old gas guzzler to the scrap heap in favor of a more fuel-efficient new vehicle.

President Barack Obama was expected to sign into law the “cash for clunkers” program, which was approved by the Senate on June 18.

A clunker is an old, worn-out car.

For owners of low gas mileage vehicles, the plan could give them a reason to visit their local car dealer during the economic downturn.

The bill provides $1 billion for the auto sales program from July through November and the Congressional Budget Office expects that with a total of $4 billion, about 1 million new vehicles could be purchased. The government is expected to implement the program by early August.

The new vehicle can be U.S.or foreign-built and must have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of less than $45,000.

In May, U.S. auto sales were 34 percent lower than a year ago and the industry expects to sell less than 10 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2009, compared to more than 16 million in 2007.

Avoiding Bad Financial Mistakes During Divorce In these economic times, many marriages slide into trouble over money. But when a marriage dissolves, any hint of financial trouble before the divorce has the potential to slide the split couple into disaster.

Even when money is tight and parties are distracted by the pain of a breakup, financial and tax planning need to be front-and-center in divorce planning. Here are critical steps that need to be taken by divorcing individuals: Find Experienced Divorce Advisers A good divorce attorney isn’t necessarily a shark. The choice of attorneys — for men as well as women — should fit the challenges being faced on both sides. Good divorce attorneys definitely cost money, but they pay for themselves, in addition to CPAs and financial planners familiar with the divorce process.

Among such major issues as division of marital property, exclusion of non-marital property, and various ways to structure ongoing financial contributions from one party to another, all the advisers in the process should understand Qualified Domestic Relations Orders — known as QDROs (pronounced “Quad-Rows”) to assure that pension assets will be shared fairly.

Most of the legal cost in a divorce is based on the presumption that assets are being hidden. If divorcing couples were to consult a tax adviser prior and draft a financial statement agreeable to both parties, legal fees could be dramatically reduced.

Know the Tax Ramifications of Alimony It is possible to deduct some

alimony payments, but you need to get the advice of a qualified accountant first. There are several requirements that need to be made, including: • The payment must be made as part of a legally binding written agreement.

• That agreement cannot state that the payment is not alimony.

• Payment must be made to or on behalf of your ex-spouse unless there are payments diverted to others directed in writing by your ex.

• Payments must be made in cash or cash equivalents.

• Alimony cannot be treated as child support.

• Your obligation to pay ceases if your ex-spouse dies.

Value the Assets Before You Agree to Take Them If you’re getting the house, does it have a 20-year-old furnace and a roof that’s about to cave in?

A thorough inspection by a licensed inspector could help. If you’re getting the family car, is it past warranty with a funny sound coming from under the hood?

If your spouse runs a lucrative business that you’ve worked for or invested in, how do you know you’re getting the right share?

Hiring a valuation expert may be necessary. Divorcing spouses need to make sure they have enough money to finance repairs and replacement of assets that they’ll be paying for as a single person.

Think of the Kids In many states, college-age children have the right to demand financial support or college funding at the state level so their education isn’t interrupted. While both parents should advocate in their kids’ best interest, this isn’t always the case. Be aware of your state’s

divorce laws with respect to secondary child support.

File Taxes Wisely There are always special situations in a divorce that will determine whether a couple will need to file jointly or separately during the last year that the marriage exists.

It’s best for both sides to get some assistance filing their taxes during their divorce year and the year afterward.

Get Help Documenting Child Support Child support guidelines vary from state to state. If your state has a special program that allows a spouse to pay into a special account so child support is recorded every month, consider it. It provides a paper trail and enforcement system for assuring that kids get the money they need. Federal law requires all child support payments be made by wage assignment and health insurance by Health Insurance Orders. A majority of child support orders go unpaid. Make sure you know the laws to force compliance.

Once the Divorce is Over, Watch the Spending Budgeting early in the process may cut down on the risk of overspending, which is a temptation after a painful event. Both necessary and unnecessary spending after a divorce is a key reason the newly single tip into bankruptcy.

Make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

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.

RUPERT Continued from page 2 don’t understand you. Your relationship is just abusive because Republicans don’t even try with you.

Every chance they get, they exhibit nothing but utter contempt for you and prove that they think you’re lesser citizens because of your sexuality.

Please stop voting for them because Republicans don’t like you.

Minority voters, we deserve leaders who don’t see our identities as a punch line or a way to score

political points. We must demand better because we don’t deserve this.

And if Republicans can’t give it to us, then they don’t deserve us either.

Maya Rupert is an attorney in downtown Los Angeles. She has previously contributed to the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as other publications. Her column explores issues of race, gender and politics and appears in the L.A. Watts Times regularly. She can be reached at maya.rupert@gmail.com.

We are committed to preparing a publication that you will eagerly anticipate each week.The L.A.Watts Times is scanning and probing news and information resources to deliver the best of the African American community to you.To receive the L.A. Watts Times via U.S. Postal Service 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.

DR. MARTIN

G JR. LUTHER KIN

January 15,

SERVING

Vol. XXX,

No. 1110

Continued from page 2 Civil rights leaders roundly denounce homophobia and urge support of gay rights. They remind blacks that homophobia and racism are two sides of the same coin and that many ultra-conservatives who oppose civil rights also oppose gay rights. Their plea for tolerance toward gay marriage, however, continues to fall on deaf ears among the majority of blacks.

There’s now much talk among gay groups about plopping another initiative on the California ballot in 2010 to legalize gay marriage.

They’ll face the same tough

obstacle that they faced in trying to dump Proposition 8 in 2008; that is the conviction held by many blacks that gay marriage is a bad thing and must be opposed. This is not an insurmountable obstacle to overcome. But it’s going to take a lot of work, understanding, outreach, and most importantly, the ability to resist every impulse to blindly lash out at blacks. That’s the ultimate test.

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 blog talkradio.com.

PRESIDEN T OBAM A INAUGU RATION EDITION

2009

nte, yton, a Confida Xernona Cla g’s Legacy Kin Reflects on

LOS ANGEL

ES AND SURRO

UNDING AREAS

Vol. XXX,

fire.

Lives on in The Dream Year of This Historic Parade Kingdom Day

Karen Bass

Parade founder

No. 1111

Giant Ste ps:

She g System Inc. Broadcastin of the oneis also the originatorin History” minute “Moments televised annually broadcasts Xernona Clayton History Month. during Black schedule is a minute, the Although her found Moving a mile and former Clayton recently a man veteran is full, King, civil rights to talk about King Jr. confidante calls, time knew for severMartin Luther durin Atlanta fielding the she respected, worked with in her office and putting al years, and of the Civil doing interviews, Trumpet Awards, ing the height With a venon the accomfinal touches the Rights Movement. knowledge, highlights of ns of an affair that erable wealth and contributio “never at plishments Clayton, admittedly has a million African Americans.founder and CEO a loss for words,” Clayton is the Awards Foundation stories to tell.

Watts Times of the Trumpet and executive proThe L.A. to get her Inc., and creator Awards, which spoke with Clayton Trumpet air on ducer of the nation’s upcoming year and will take on the One. is in its 17th to King.

Xernona Clayton Atlanta on TV is the best but tribute him as April 12 from ts are vast, LAWT: What e King’s that pinpointed achievemen activist, Her I go into the activities her horn. of our time. way to acknowledg one to toot preacher, community husband, and in the — Baptist the great savior Clayton isn’t , page 22 wouldn’t NG KING Prize winner, son, brother, King Jr., who black woman televi- birthday?

See CLAYTON HONORI The first all XC: He definitely Martin Luther not for an author, Nobel a prime-time He didn’t like it intellectual, more, describe South to host Clayton was a vice words, and Jan. 15, were want the hoopla.

Tenn., old today, father. These sion talk show, at Turner in Memphis, been 80 years urban affairs April 4, 1968, sanitation workers would have president of He was killed black of the counassassin’s bullet. in support of the city’s joins the rest gone Edition.

Watts Times where he had our Special strike. The L.A. this man with who were on — in honoring try — and world from of violence opposed taunts and threats and adults N white students Central High.

BRISCOE FIRST COLUM of

BY ANDRE lecTING WRITER sworn the integration Roberts has CONTRIBU Obama is Over the years, college stuWhen Barack the United tured high school and president of and has been may in as the 44th 20, Americans dents at seminars, about what finally States on Jan. extensively year interviewed the nation has the turbulent conclude that his was like during Roberts racist past. pro- it school. He uses Dr. Terrence overcome its psychology spent in high to teach one he But for retired as a platform in as many Roberts, 67, and and participate of education inte- experiences fessor Dr. Terrence s at events, balls as possible, Roberts ” teenagers who the importance inaugural improve relationship of nine black Little Rock Central to speak to Today and Tomorrow.great grandhow to best He also plans the Sidwell Arkansas’ 11-year-old color. of “My grated ceremony NORWOOD at C. people to said.

Williams, in 1957, the and faculty

BY CHICO in among the days leading up 7 Neeko Anthony High School this cleared hurdle In Rock students LITTLE ROCK 9, page Speak- son, up with the theme for STAFF WRITER See E. Day, the “Little speak will be just another for equal rights.

California Assembly as the came said organizer Larry battle Inauguration will serve the the continuing validates Nine” will attend luncheons, er Karen Bass and Norris J. year,” the driving force behind Obama’s election tried to Angeles Rock Nine” grand marshal celebrity grand Grant, and the Los the what the “Little Roberts, a former BRIEF In his Association and Bishton Bishton Jr. annual parade. said Commerce.

NEWS IN the 25th Joining Bass in Psyaccomplish, P. ValChamber of role as 19 Master’s David marshal for Jan. service the Gen. UniParade on ND co-chair of will be Lt. previous public for Real Estate at Antioch reviewing offiKingdom Day THE SOUTHLA this year’s has been chology program Day deputy director for the state of Kingdom in Los Angeles. celebration of court, Angeles who Serve as cereand 2009 versity in Los Development Taylor.

The largest is credited the inaugural Rosenfeld to Jr. holi- cer, Rosenfeld Queen Wyvetta and offiinvited to attend black president in Luther King the Parade create about the Martin first Planning Deputy Supervisor California, California, helping to Other celebrities mony for the tor jobs, attend include day in Southern will begin at 11 Second District has chosen with new private-sec slated to of U.S. history. what we mas urban and cials 2.5-mile parade substance to Ridley-Tho as 72,000 revitalized struggling Nadette Stanis adds Avenue Mark serve Bern “It to “When which Rosenfeld a.m. at Western Boulevard. It actress Times” fame; jazz legend Roberts said.

Daniel A. King history, tried to do,” State “Good areas.

Martin Luther this country’s a Senior Deputy to Hancock; California west to Crenshaw you look at s of L.A. Dison Herby at the opposition at will proceed of Public Instrucfor the Second District: Thousand look and you look and turn south in Superintendent Rosenmembers of Lose Jobs Boulevard and then you trict team.

Vernon Avenue Jack O’Connell; integration, Teachers Could with Obama’s s of Los responCity Council; Crenshaw onto where a festival tion feld will be what has happenedapparent that the (AP) — Thousandother emthe Los Angeles Leimert Park, quite and sible for planning, more.

14 election, it is Angeles teachersbe laid off this on, enTele- and will follow. will include crumbling. transportati on KABC fits in The parade old system is and ployees could the nation’s secto Set to air drill teams what we did as bands, 20 vironment Daniel A. “In retrospect, 7 from 11 a.m. to chip 4 grapschool year theme marching MLK PARADE, page vision-Channel We were able weakRosenfeld economic developschool district year’s parade See that pattern.

— For 1 p.m., this the old system of ond-largesta $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. en it if you assessment school faster than ever.”

Ramon Corprivate sector and is the cowhere it’s crumbling the election Superintendent Legislature ent state LLC, the developm Roberts said Urban Partners rial tines blamed anything, because cutbacks, saying founder of doesn’t change ing entrepreneu elements that for the potential need to solve the an award-winn focusing on develof this there are “systemic that lawmakers crisis if the Los into the fabric real estate firm opportubudget are woven is state’s investment School District United opment and society.” the harm Angeles Unified force intact. the western nities in If anyone understands Roberts. In 6 to keep its work causes, it is States. a board the BRIEFS, page as and See segregation he 15, served at age He has City who the fall of 1957, the Central black teenagersas the member of eight other to be known insults, would come Nine” braved “Little Rock Grant DONLOE

BY DARLENE TING WRITER CONTRIBU is a ball of

Assembly Speaker

HUTCHINSON

N TIVE EDITIO COMMEMORA

SERVING LOS

ANGELES AND

Barack Ob ama

SURROUND ING AREA S

America’ s 44th Pr esident

January 22, 2009

BY TEREN AP WRITE CE HUNT R

ts 9’ Civil Righ ‘Little Rock d Inauguration Icon to Atten

‘HOPE OVER FEAR’ John Roberts to become — Barack Obama, the 44th joined by presiden his wife t of the United States Michelle and COLUMN daughter at the U.S. s Malia, Capitol in Washing third from left, and Sasha, ton Jan. 20. takes the

FIRST

Not Just a Dream : Oba Sparks Bla ck Men to ma Action

BY LUCAS AP WRITE L. JOHNSON II R

The Son of Our Soil

AP Photo/RON oath of office EDMONDS from Chief Justice

WASHI into history, NGTON — Stepping Barack Hussein grasped Obama the reins America ’s first black of power as Jan. 20, presiden declaring the nation t on choose “hope must over fear, purpose unity of over to overcom conflict and discord” crisis since e the worst economi the Great c Depressi In frigid on. tempera exuberan tures, an t crowd million packed of more the Nationalthan a and parade Mall route Obama’s inaugura to celebrate tion in a noon ceremon highy.

With 11 million out of work America ns lost in the and trillions of stock market’s dollars Obama tumble, emphasized biggest that challeng e is to repair his tattered economy left behind the outgoing Presiden Bush. t George by W. “Our time of standing protectin pat, g narrow interests of and See OBAM A, page 6

they say NASHV they might

BY REMA taken without — An actor ILLE, Tenn. not (AP) turns a his example have SPECIA REYNOLDS inner-city dilapida L TO L.A. . ted, GreenVan Jones, 40, WATTS in just a mosque into a NAIRO TIMES founde d For theater few days. last e-mail BI, Kenya — I gram that All, a national buckles sent to down on A 20-year-old proseeks to ing her what my Kenyan friend one energy his studies historica create clean jobs. His askI should lly expect.

Oakland mother dies black college after at a program, I would which employs -based his ple during the be teaching in nity organizeof cancer. A commuand has time of Presiden Nairobi an operatin 25 peoObama’s of $4.5 million, create thousanr decides his plan t Barack inaugura g budget to in passing tion.

Kenyans ds of green was instrum too modest were excited I wondered if ental a portion and enlarges jobs is energy excited ty-fold. of a national as the majorityas I was, as bill it twencans, as Act. It will called the Green of Ameriexcited as Barack Jobs use up to cans particula African to train the White Obama’s election $125 million Amerirly.

30,000 House is to such people ization My the very realBlackBe as installin in jobs of what rry reply just g solar so and retrofitt fathers as I boardedflashed her HOME have told many black ing building panels “Kenya them aspire to their sons the plane: is PRIDE s a large screen, — Kenyans to friendlymore environ to make don’t be full of Obama mania often was for years, even mental react as surprised as thousand . guration if it ly just a U.S. Presiden another if Jan 20th so AP s ceremon booster With Obama’ national t Barack Photo/SAYYID AZIM y — from of people gather D.C., Jan. not meant confidenceis holiday. are extreme Obama to watch s election Nairobi, decided erally. to Kenyans appears the U.S. year ago 20. Across the country, Kenya — , Jones to And long be taken liton presiden our soil!” ly proud of this came together that posal beforeshop a $33 billion wrapped tial inaubefore son of to celebrateneighbors divided took place in up the contest, proCongres he Washing didacy Another by political the inaugura ton, his can- hire about 600,000 s that would had national violence tion of its another. holiday? the next black men driven these only favorite NEWS Yes, two years people over three son, Obama. a and others IN BRIEF When Obama for similar to actions work. was elected ident of THE SOUTH the See BLACK preswere grantedUnited States, Kenyans LAND MEN, page Top police a day off, 3 commem Los Angele officials a holiday edged that orate the acknowlto s Police turned off occasion frequently minorities are Study Reject . As my phone on Racial more the flight in obedienc I but they subjected to searches Bias attendan (AP) told the me, in my t hovering e to , commission statistic oversees — A commission jealousy why didn’t the I thought, over the Los that filing s do not prove Angeles Departm “Now we get a racial is rampant proent Police ment. day off?”

While in the departto investig told police on Jan. 13 board the waiting in London a recent ate whether data Information to Kenyans last plane of the study can from Times, from: Los spoke with identify trip, http://ww be used Angeles officers asm and great enthusiw.latime against minoriti who discrimi to s.com. animate America nate L.A. Gang es. ns as they d gestures to has $5 Million The commis symbol pontifica Tab to Pay of ted the sion’s decision came after with proud, hope Obama embodie mony abouthearing hours of (AP) — booming s couldn’t testi- they City officials the study, have cared voices. They conduct secured which ed flight was less that a $5 million said professo by a Yale Universwas judgment against r, and publishe civil more time delayed five hours our ity street ober by to brag about — gang whosea Los Angeles d in the relative.

HE’S GOT Obama their 11 ties Union American Civil Oct- control the MOVES the many Liber- downtow heroin trademembers of Souther —A When we performa n Californ The study 19. Go to nces that parade participa in the finally n area.

Jomo Kenyatta Photo by ia. page 17 took place nt nearly arrived found HGSTAR1/ Angeles City to view does the at International Attorne in Kenya, police officers that Los dillo more parade at the 2009 Kingdom splits as UNW Airport everyone likely to and other y Rocky Delgaphotos. are Day Parade part of stop and ly Kenyan — even the livesearch blackmore officials announclaw enforcem on Jan. Latino passenge resident subdued, ent rs — seemed and against ed the judgmen s than exhauste whites, the 5th they d from the even t See KENYA journey. more often though whites are week. Official and Hill gang last N SON, s said it and contraba found carrying are obtained against page 6 is the first guns fornia. nd. a gang in CaliSee BRIEF S, page 7

Larry

L.A. Watts Times “News You Can Use” S

U B S C R I P T I O N

O

R D E R

F

O R M

Name: ______________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code: __________________________________ Telephone Number: (_______) __________________________ If mailing subscription, do not send cash. Mail to: L.A.Watts Times, 3540 Wilshire Blvd., PH3, Los Angeles, CA 90010. For more information call (213) 251-5700.

Page 4

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 25, 2009

COMMUNITY COMMUNITY MEETINGS, FORUMS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilwoman Hahn Kicks Off Safe Summer Swim Season in Watts Councilwoman Janice Hahn has opened the 109th Street pool in Watts for the summer. Hahn was joined by Assemblymember Isadore Hall, members of the Los Angeles Police Department and community members who have committed to increasing security measures at the pool and surrounding areas.

months. As a result, this year, there will be a police presence and security staff at the 109th Street pool throughout the season, and volunteers from the community will also be on hand to keep children safe at, as well as on the way to and from the pool.

The 109th Street pool hours for the summer will be June 20 through July 3, 1 to 5 p.m., daily; July 4 through Aug. 29, weekdays, 11 a.m. through 5 p.m., and weekends, 1 to 5 p.m.; Aug. 30 through Sept. 7, 1 to 5 p.m., daily. Admission to the pool is free for children 12 and under, $2 for adults with a library card, and $2.50 without a library card.

Information: (213) 473-7015

AG Holder Urges New Hate Crimes Law

Councilwoman Janice Hahn

After gang activity marred last year’s opening of the pool, Hahn called for greater security measures in order to preserve a safe, fun environment for children to swim and play during the warm summer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Citing recent killings in Arkansas, Kansas and the nation’s capital, Attorney General Eric Holder on June 16 said new hate crimes law were needed to stop what he called “violence masquerading as political activism.”

The attorney general’s call for Congress to act came as a civil rights coalition said there has been a surge in white supremacist activity since the election of the first African American president and the economic downturn.

“Over the last several weeks,

we have witnessed brazen acts of violence committed in places that many would have considered unthinkable,” Holder told the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.

He cited separate attacks over a two-week period that killed a young soldier in Little Rock, Ark., an abortion provider in Wichita, Kan., and a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Federal agents and prosecutors already are involved in the local investigations of each attack.

“The Justice Department will use every tool at its disposal to protect the rights ensured under our Constitution,” Holder said.

Holder said that to stop such violence, Congress should pass an updated version of hate crimes legislation in order to more effectively prosecute those who commit violent attacks based on gender, disability or sexual orientation.

Facts June 26, 1934 W.E.B. DuBois resigns from his position at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in a disagreement over policy and racial strategy.

Source: blackfacts.com

Commentary

Mayor Villaraigosa Decides to Stay

BY KERMAN MADDOX

Recently, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced live on CNN that he was not running for governor of California in 2010. Sometimes in politics, elected officials find themselves in nowin situations or a dammed-if-youdo, dammed-if-you-don’t moment.

That was the case with Villaraigosa. If he decided to enter the race for governor, he would have been criticized by opponents for being selfish and placing his political ambitions above the needs of Angelinos. Dammed if you do!

However, by deciding not to run, his critics will point out that his re-election victory was not impressive enough to be a springboard for the governor’s race, that the recent Los Angeles Times poll sent conflicting signals about his strength with voters in the City of Los Angeles, or the oft-repeated story of his personal problems.

Damned if you don’t.

These are all fairly simplistic, surface arguments. However, if you move beyond the surface arguments and look at the demographics of people who will vote in the democratic primary in 2010, it becomes a very difficult decision for the mayor because you can see political scenarios where the numbers suggest he had a real chance of winning the democratic nomination for governor in 2010.

The recent Times poll gave the mayor a favorable rating of 55 percent among L.A. voters, with higher approval ratings from African American and Latino voters who make up a large share of the democratic primary vote.

To put this in perspective, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger received an approval rating of 29 percent in the same poll and President Barack Obama, the most popular elected official on the globe, received a favorable rating of 72 percent.

Honestly a 55 percent favorable rating in a down economy with double-digit unemployment and a severe budget crisis is not a bad number one year out from an election.

Now, is the mayor as popular as he was before his personal problems became public? Of course not. Does the mayor have his fair share of critics? Without a doubt.

But should these factors stop him from at least considering running for higher office? Absolutely not.

Former Mayor Tom Bradley was re-elected in 1985 and shortly thereafter started running for governor. Former Sen. Barack Obama was re-elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 and started running for president right away. Politicians always think about running for higher office; it’s what they do. It’s as common as barbecue and peach cobbler at summer holiday gatherings.

I’ve worked with and supported Villaraigosa on most of his elections for public office and can speak with a degree of knowledge about his prodigious fundraising

Kerman Maddox

ability, incredible work ethic, and ability to overcome long odds.

I remember being in Iowa in October 2007 when the Des Moines Register poll came out and had Obama in third place among democratic candidates in the Iowa caucuses, double digits behind both Sen. Hillary Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards, with less than 100 days before Iowans were to vote in the caucuses, and we all remember how that turned out.

Just as there were questions about democratic voters’ willingness to vote for an African American senator named Barack Hussein Obama in 2008, there are similar questions about democratic voters’ willingness to elect a Latino mayor from Los Angeles named Antonio Villaraigosa. However, from an electoral standpoint Villaraigosa is much better positioned to win than Obama was.

Nonetheless, I am pleased Villaraigosa decided to stay in Los Angeles and focus on unfinished business and not run for governor.

The easy decision would have been to test the waters and seek the historic opportunity of possibly becoming California’s first Latinoelected governor.

Frankly, who could have faulted him for pursuing that rare rendezvous with history? The tougher decision is to turn your back on the appealing historic campaign and all the attention that comes with it and stay in Los Angeles as mayor.

This time Villaraigosa should be commended for making the right decision and given some credit for turning his back on history and placing the needs of Angelinos above his political ambitions.

It’s not often in a term-limited era that elected officials defer their ambitions and turn away from the limelight. When it happens, we should recognize it for what it is and not try and make it something it isn’t.

Kerman Maddox is a managing partner at Dakota Communications, a political science professor at the University of Southern California, occasional adviser for Antonio Villaraigosa and a member of the board of directors at First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles.

Facts June 28, 1964 The Organization for AfroAmerican Unity (OAAU) is founded in New York by Malcolm X. Source: blackfacts.com

June 25, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 5

COMMUNITY

WHAT’S GOING ON? 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.

SPEAKING TOUR — “No more singing capitalism’s blues: Sisters, it’s time to fight!” is the theme of the Radical Women Speaking Tour featuring Christina López, Chicana-Apache immigrant rights warrior, and Anne Slater, Radical Women national organizer.

The purpose of the tour is to mobilize women and their allies to make a stand against racism, layoffs and state budget cuts. The tour arrives on June 28, 2 p.m., at Solidarity Hall, 2170 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles.

Door donation is $3. Barbecue buffet will be served at 4:30 p.m. for a $9 donation. Payment is on a sliding scale and work exchange is available.

Information: (323) 732-6416, radicalwomenlosangeles@gmail.com.

RAP CLASS 4 SENIORS — A monthlong workshop in which senior citizens study the evolution of hiphop by exploring the jazz, blues, and soul roots of hip-hop music will be taught by independent hip-hop artist Keith Cross. Classes begin July 6 and end on July 30. Classes will meet Mondays through Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. to noon, at the Watts Senior Citizen Center, 1657 E. Century Blvd., Los Angeles. Classes will culminate in a public performance on July 31, and will feature original selections performed by each student.

Enrollment is free and ongoing, although participants are urged to enroll no later than July 9. Information: (323) 232-2446, keith@ KeithCrossmusic.com.

ART WORKSHOPS — Weeklong art and design workshops will be held at the Art Center College of Design South Campus from July 6 through Aug. 14, 8 a.m. to noon. The campus is at 950 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. Saturday classes for high school students will range from painting and figure drawing to graphic design and video game design.

Through the Art Center for Kids, students in grades four through eight will be provided conceptually based art and design classes that promote innovation, critical thinking and visual literacy. Information: www. artcenter. edu/sat for Saturday High, or www. artcenter.edu/kids for Art Center for Kids.

THE RED TENT — In ancient times, biblical women gathered inside a tent to discuss the wants and needs of young ladies entering into womanhood. This Inglewood event will encourage women to share their diverse talents, skills, professions, thoughts and cultures to elevate their community and the city’s leadership by networking in Inglewood and surrounding cities. The event will take place June 27, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Ladera Park at 6027 Ladera Ave., Los Angeles. This is a family-oriented, community event that is free to the public. Information: (323) 599-2020, (323) 447-3360, reverendruth@yahoo. com.

JAZZ VESPERS — The Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church Lay Organization will present an afternoon of instrumental jazz music

by Leslie Drayton and Fun. Milton Bridgewater will also be a speaker.

The event will take place June 28, 4 p.m., at Grant A.M.E., 10435 S. Central Ave., Los Angeles. Information: (818) 259-0493.

CALL FOR POSTERS — The Center for the Study of Political Graphics will celebrate its 20th anniversary by producing a limited edition portfolio with three to five silkscreen posters. It would like poster design entries that address issues facing our communities today such as global warming, the economy, health care, immigration, the Prison Industrial Complex, violence against women, war, etc. Winning designs will be reproduced in an edition of 125 silkscreen prints. Winning artists will receive 20 percent of the print run and a complete portfolio.

Paper or digital submissions will be accepted and multiple entries are welcome. There are no geographic limitations. The submission deadline is June 30. Information: (323) 6534662, www.politicalgraphics.org.

HOLLYWOOD LAFF FEST — This fifth annual event will take place July 5, 3 to 7 p.m., at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood.

Tickets are $30 for VIP seating and $20 for general admission. Music will be provided by DJ-Tee, and the event will be hosted by comic A.J. Jamal. Information: (310) 670-6937, www.Hollywoodlafffest.com.

BLACK AND TAN — Imani Toliver, Amalia Ortiz, Cece Peri, Brook Sprowl and Richard Vargas will read from their works of poetry June 26, 8 p.m., at Stories Books, 1716 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. Information: (213) 413-3733, www. storiesla.com.

FORUM — Rep. M axine Waters (D-Los Angeles) will conduct an open forum for area residents to share their views on the national economic stimulus package and how it might affect them, their families and community. The forum will take place June 28, noon, at the Springfield College School of Human Services, 111 N. La Brea Ave., suite 101, Inglewood. Information: (310) 673-5607, ext. 223, e-mail jgriffin@ spfldcol.edu.

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES R O U N D TA B L E — T h e L o s Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable will discuss, “Should African Americans regard the fight to legalize gay marriage as a civil rights fight?” June 29, 10 a.m., at the Oasis Center, on the second floor of Macy’s in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, 3650 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Los Angeles. This topic is part of the Contemporary Issues Roundtable’s weekly Monday morning discussion series. Information: (323) 383-6145.

ROUNDTABLE — The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable meets Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at Leimert Park’s Lucy Florence Coffeehouse, 3351 W. 43rd St., Los Angeles. The roundtable features expert speakers on hot-button local and national issues followed by open discussion. It is free and open to the public. Information: (323) 3836145.

HEALTH IN MOTION — The City of Lynwood Recreation and Community Services Department

senior division will sponsor its Annual Senior Empowerment Program under the theme of “Health in Motion,” and it will be held June 30, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Lynwood Senior Center, 11329 Ernestine Ave., Lynwood. The staff recommends that attendees wear comfortable clothes to take advantage of the Hula Hoop exercise class, yoga demonstration and massages. Lunch is available for $1.75 for seniors 55 and over and $4 per person under 55.

Seating may be limited. Information: (310) 886-0425.

MEMORIAL — KRST Unity Center of African Spirituality and the International Leadership Alliance will hold a memorial for Ivan Van Sertima June 27, 1 to 3 p.m., at 7825 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles. Runoko Rashidi and Toni C. Humber will be the keynote speakers. Information: (213) 278-5354.

AQUARIUM — The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium has various programs this summer for young and old. Visitors can experience “Tidepool Wonders” and explore low tides on the rocky shore June 27, 7 to 8:30 a.m., followed by a walk to the nearby Point Fermin State Marine Park. A “Meet the Grunion” program, including a film on grunion, will be held on July 9, 8 p.m. Grunions are sardinesize fish that come ashore to lay their eggs on the beach. The aquarium is located at 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro. Information: (310) 548-7562, www.cabrilloaq.org.

WELCOMING PARTY — Debbie Allen and Norm Nixon will

Photo by MARTY COTWRIGHT

NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY — Juneteenth, which is celebrated nationally as the day that slaves in Texas got their freedom, was celebrated in Leimert Park on June 19. The event included live gospel, jazz and blues performers, barbecue, watermelon and red soda. Pictured: O.N.E. entertains the audience.

host the Summer Dance Series at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in celebration of the opening of the Debbie Allen Dance Academy at 3650 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., Los Angeles.

The internationally acclaimed academy is relocating from Culver City to the corner of Marlton and Santa Rosalia avenues in the former location of Mattie’s Bistro. The series, entitled “Up On The Roof,” will be June 25 at 7 p.m., June 26 at 6 p.m., and June 27 at noon and 5:30 p.m. Information: (310) 280-9145, www.debbieallendanceacademy.com.

ARTS TRAINING CAMP — The Amazing Grace Conservatory will hold a six-week performing arts training camp from July 7 to Aug. 14, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., daily. Hip-hop, voice, theater, tumbling, creative writing and more will be offered.

Classes will be taught by industry professionals at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, 4718 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles.

Information: (323) 732-4283, www. amazinggraceconservatory.com.

GARAGE SALE — Korea Daily newspaper and JBC Radio will host a community garage sale called “Ah-na-ba-da,” meaning “thrifty, sharing, exchange, reuse” in the Korean language. The sale will take place June 27, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 3250 San Marino St. (north of Olympic Boulevard, west of Normandie Avenue), Los Angeles. Sale booth reservations are $5. Attendees can also shop around the nearly 100 sale booths. The sale will include live band performances, karaoke contests and more. Information: (213) 637-7149.

Hello, There are some ugly household items just hanging around my parkway and sidewalk.

No problem, We will come and pick it up.

Want FREE pickup of large bulky items from your apartment, condo or townhome?

CALL 3-1-1 or 800-773-2489 Make the Call. L.A. will haul!

As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and upon request, will provide reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to tits programs, services and activities.

Page 6

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 25, 2009

COMMUNITY BRIEFS Continued from page 1

Chris Brown Pleads Guilty to Assault (AP) — Chris Brown has pled guilty to one count of felony assault on pop star Rihanna.

Mehserle’s lawyer, Michael Rains, says Mehserle meant to use his Taser, not his pistol.

The case has fueled tension between Oakland’s black community and law enforcement. Mehserle is white. Grant was black.

Rains said he intends to file a motion to throw out a judge’s ruling that there’s enough evidence for Mehserle to stand trial on a murder charge.

Judge Unseals Transcript in Oakland Editor’s Death OAKLAND (AP) — A judge has unsealed grand jury testimony in the fatal shooting of an Oakland journalist.

Chris Brown

Brown entered his plea before a preliminary hearing was scheduled to start in Los Angeles on June 22. Brown was in the process of waiving his rights.

Rihanna had been on standby to testify on June 22. Brown’s attorney, Mark Geragos (GEHR’uh-gohs), says the deal includes five years of supervised probation and six months of community labor.

The judge expressed some concerns because Brown is not a California resident, but it appears Brown will be allowed to do his community service in his home state of Virginia.

He’ll have to return to California for updates every three months.

THE STATE Trial Set in Oakland Train Station Shooting OAKLAND (AP) — A former transit officer accused of murdering an unarmed man at an Oakland train station has been ordered to stand trial in October, and his lawyer is asking to move the emotionally charged case to another city.

Johannes Mehserle pleaded not guilty June 18 to murdering 22year-old Oscar Grant. Mehserle shot Grant on New Year’s Day after he was pulled off a train for allegedly fighting.

TOO

TOXIC TO

TRASH Household Hazardous/ Electronic Waste Roundup This week’s location: Saturday, June 27, 2009 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

National Guard Armory Front Parking Lot 10808 Culver Blvd Culver City For information or an event schedule, contact: 1 (888) CLEAN-LA www.888CleanLA.com or 1 (800) 238-0172 www.lacsd.org

Chauncey Bailey

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson on June 18 ordered the transcripts in the 2007 murder of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey unsealed, but stayed the order to allow defense attorneys an opportunity to appeal.

The decision came during a scheduled arraignment for Yusuf Bey IV and Antoine Mackey. A grand jury last month indicted the men for murder in Bailey’s death.

Their next court date is scheduled for July 16.

Bey, a former leader of Your Black Muslim Bakery, is accused of ordering the killings of Bailey and two other men. Mackey is accused of being the getaway driver in Bailey’s death and being the shooter in another murder.

THE NATION High Court Rules Narrowly in Voting Rights Case WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 22

Old paint. Solvents. Batteries. Computer monitors. These are some of the household hazardous & electronic waste items you can bring to a Roundup for recycling. It’s a great opportunity to clean out your garage and cleanup the environment. Our free drive-thru drop off events are a quick, convenient and commonsense way to dispose of materials too toxic to trash, to pour down a sink or to dump in a storm drain.

Home-generated sharps waste such as hypodermic needles, pen needles, syringes, lancets, and intravenous needles SHOULD NOT be placed in your trash. Bring them to the Roundups. Pick up a free stateapproved sharps container at the Roundup or visit www.888CLEANLA.com for alternate disposal options.

NO BUSINESS WASTE ACCEPTED. BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES AND PRESENTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND THE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICTS IN COOPERATION WITH THE CITIES OF BEVERLY HILLS, CULVER CITY, EL SEGUNDO, HAWTHORNE, INGLEWOOD, LOS ANGELES AND WEST HOLLYWOOD.

sided with a Texas governing authority in a challenge to the landmark Voting Rights Act. The law requires all or parts of 16 states with a history of discrimination in voting to get approval in advance of making changes in the way elections are conducted.

The court said that the Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 in Austin could apply to opt out of the advance approval requirement — reversing a lower ruling.

The district is in a fairly new community called Canyon Creek.

Census figures from 2000 showed about 80 percent of the residents in Canyon Creek are white.

As recently as 2002, voters in Canyon Creek used a neighbor’s garage to vote in their utility board elections. The board wanted to change the polling location to a school, but first had to seek federal clearance.

The community got it, but Canyon Creek’s board felt that needing approval from Washington was unnecessary in a small community with no history of minority voter discrimination.

Former Sgt. Sentenced to Prison for Break-In ATLANTA (AP) — A former Atlanta police sergeant has been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to violate civil rights by breaking into a private residence without a warrant to search for drugs.

Wilbert Stallings of Conyers, Ga., was the sergeant over the narcotics team involved in the shooting of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston during a 2006 raid at her home.

U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias said the 45-year-old Stallings should feel fortunate that the resident in this case was not home, or this civil-rights conspiracy could have had the same end as the one that took Johnston’s life.

Stallings was sentenced to 18 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release, and was ordered to perform 80 hours of community service. He pleaded guilty to the civil-rights conspiracy charge on March 24, 2008.

Senate Passes Apology for Slavery, Segregation WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has unanimously passed a resolution apologizing for slavery and racial segregation and sent the measure to the House.

Iowa Democrat Tom Harkin first introduced the measure years ago but wanted it passed June 18 — on the eve of Juneteenth (June 19th) — a day of celebration commemorating the end of the Civil War and the release of African Americans from slavery. He said the House was to take it up soon and that a formal celebration will be held next month in the Capitol Rotunda.

The Senate has passed such nonbinding but highly symbolic resolutions before, apologizing for such things as the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. The resolution includes a disclaimer saying that nothing in it supports or authorizes reparations by the United States.

See BRIEFS, page 13

Documentary Meets Reality for L.A. Gang Stories

BY SLAV KANDYBA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

There was an atypical scene on television recently: sitting side by side were Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Clippers point guard Baron Davis and former skateboarder-turned-film director Stacy Peralta.

The occasion was an episode of “The Tavis Smiley Show,” which followed PBS’ premiere of “Made in America: Crips and Bloods,” a documentary film directed by Peralta — who directed the acclaimed skateboarding documentary “Dogtown and the Z Boys” — and produced through Davis’ Verso Entertainment.

The appearance of the three men together marked the rare occasion when art and reality occupy the same space at the same time.

“Made in America” is the latest attempt to explain Los Angeles gang warfare, which has permeated pop culture and Hollywood for the past 20 years.

“The whole purpose of making the film was trying to search for a human face,” Peralta said in the interview. “The fact of the matter is our evening news and newspapers encourage us to look at these young black and Latino men as monsters.”

Whether a documentary or feature in nature, each film about gangs has offered something slightly different. The Denzel Washington blockbuster “Training Day” offered an indictment of crooked cops and featured an appearance by inactive Blood Cle “Bone” Sloan, who, in 2005, went on to direct a documentary with “Training Day” director Antoine Fuqua called “Bastards of the Party.” That documentary, first aired on HBO, offered a deep, genuine perspective that attributed the rise of the Crips and Bloods to the vacuum left when the Black Panthers and other black civil rights organizations dissipated. “ ‘Bastards’ was the first story told from the inside out,” Sloan told the L.A. Watts Times. The former Athens Park Blood, who currently serves as a consultant on the NBC drama “Southland,” said he set out to do the movie because “no one could really tell me how this all (gangs) got started.” “ ‘Bastards’ has reached a lot of the brothers,” Sloan said. “Not a day goes by that I don’t get stopped in the street to talk about the film.

The film saved my life. I don’t know what I’d have been doing.

I’d be dead or locked up for life.

The subculture of banging was my whole world.”

Aqeela Sherrills, a former gang member who has become an outspoken activist to end gang violence, said he appreciates what the documentaries are trying to do.

But, simultaneously, he pointed out that they don’t necessarily capture the whole picture — such as effective solutions, including the truce of 1992 between Crip and Blood gangs.

“Things are much calmer on the streets today thanks to the peace movement of 1992 and those

Skipp Townsend

Cle Sloan

who work to sustain the ideas today, although there are real wars that are happening in neighborhoods,” Sherrills said. “I feel that we have a deeper relationship amongst the current generation of key players.”

The mayor’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development office, established in July 2008, is overseen by the Rev. Jeff Carr. In February, Carr told the City Council that the office “had made significant strides in its first six months, and helped achieve record lows in gang homicides during the summer of 2008 — including an 86% reduction in gang homicides in neighborhoods suffering most from gang violence,” according to a news release.

Carr’s office replaced the L.A. Bridges gang prevention and intervention programs with more than $13 million in city funds diverted to 12 neighborhoods — grid zones — with the highest levels of gang violence.

Sherrills said he feels city officials have been on the right course with centralizing operations under one department and having police better engage with the community. Yet, he said he thinks some city measures — including the much-touted grid zones — are ineffective.

“Why is USC determining which of our youth need help in our community?” Sherrills asked rhetorically. “The whole assessment is theoretically a good idea but it doesn’t practically work.

Many of the funded agencies have served a fraction of the children they have been funded to serve.”

That is something that Skipp Townsend, a former Rolling ’20s Blood who appears in “Made in America,” agrees with.

“A lot of individuals (gang intervention activists) are going to turn away from the communities that are not funded,” Townsend said. “There’s not enough money.”

Still, Townsend believes that Villaraigosa and his “gang czar,” Jeff Carr, have done an “outstandSee GANG STORIES, page 12

June 25, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 7

COMMUNITY Author Uses a Little Magic to Reach Children With Literacy

BY ERIKA A. MCCARDEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Author Charles Campbell says his life mission is to help children in urban communities to realize and value their self-worth. He accomplishes his mission through reading literature and creative writing.

“Children today are acting out because they can’t read and write,” said Campbell, author of the children’s fantasy trilogy, “The Magic Coin.” “They have a talent for song and dance, but that’s something that goes back to slavery when we were denied to read and write.”

The longtime teacher introduced “The Magic Coin” series after failing to reach a group of students in creative writing at a Savannah, Ga., elementary school where he taught.

“I was teaching fourth- and fifth-grade students. The kids weren’t getting it. They could barely write a sentence, and didn’t know how to write a basic fiveparagraph essay,” Campbell said.

“They got so frustrated; I threw away my lesson plan.

“To get their attention I told this fake story about a boy who found a gold coin in his pants and how it magically turned into fire.

What I noticed was how their eyes widened. They wanted to know what happened next. They enjoyed

Charles Campbell

the storytelling.”

That was nine years ago.

Campbell has since launched Black Butterfly Inc. to enrich the lives and self-esteem of urban communities through literature.

He also turned the impromptu story he told in class that day into the self-published “The Magic Coin” trilogy, which has managed to help more than 200 youths with creative writing and literary analysis. Under Campbell’s leadership, Black Butterfly operates with a staff of four: two illustrators, a creative consultant, and an educator and Spanish translator.

“We’ve rarely seen African Americans or Hispanics as the central protagonist in a fantasy novel.

And if you don’t see yourself in a book, it’s not as exciting,” Campbell said. “I decided to use fantasy as an educational tool to teach the basic tools of creative writing and encourage children in urban communities to step out of

their comfort zones.”

The first novel in “The Magic Coin” trilogy is being used as a reading component in Los Angeles-area schools and Savannah. It is featured as the primary reading tool in Campbell’s Reading, Writing and Conflict Resolution Power Workshops. Campbell conducts his workshops at local schools to help students with creative writing and literature training, tutoring and mentoring in selfesteem enhancement. The second and third books of the trilogy are expected to be released in 2010.

“I learned that most kids, no matter what school they attend, do See LITERACY, page 14

Page 8

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 25, 2009

ARTS & CULTURE SHORT TAKES BOOK SIGNING

CONCERTS

• Leimert Park’s Eso Won Books, at 4331 S. Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, will hold a book signing for “Black Warriors: The Buffalo Soldiers of World War II”

• KCRW’s World Festival will present Etta James & the Roots Band, Janelle Monáe and Adele at

basket, blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy a day at the park that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, with a children’s play area. A variety of vendors will also offer their wares.

Information: (310) 548-7705, www. musicbythesea.org.

DVD

Etta James

June 27, at 2 p.m. Written by Ivan J. Houston, former chairman and CEO of Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Co., “Black Warriors” is Houston’s account of serving in WWII with the U.S. Army’s segregated black 92nd Infantry — also known as the “Buffalo Soldiers” — that was profiled in Spike Lee’s recent film “Miracle at St. Anna.”

There will be a brief lecture and a Qand-A session afterwards. Information: (323) 290-1048, www.blackwarriorsbook.com.

the Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, June 28, 7 p.m. Information: (323) 8502000, www.hollywoodbowl.com.

• “Music by the Sea,” a series of free outdoor summer concerts, will take place at Point Fermin Park, 807 Paseo del Mar, San Pedro, a City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks facility. The concerts run from noon until 5 p.m. on Sundays throughout July (July 5, 12, 19 and 26) and will consist of three approximately 90-minute performances. Performers for the summer series include Soul Shot, Super Freaks, 110 South, Ultimate Source and Jack Chance. Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic

• Universal Studios Home Entertainment will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing.” An all-new special edition is due to be released on Blu-ray and hi-def and DVD on June 30, 20 years from its theatrical debut. The 20th anniversary edition has more than four hours of bonus material, including a never-beforeseen retrospective documentary

with cast and crew; a new feature commentary by Lee; and newly discovered deleted and extended scenes. “Do The Right Thing” earned two Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Screenplay. The film stars Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Rosie Perez, John Turturro and Samuel L. Jackson. Cost: $39.98 for the Blu-ray Hi-Def version and $29.98 for the two-disc DVD version.

Summer And Music will present a “Soul Motion Scooter Fest” June 28, 4 to 10 p.m., at the intersection of Pine Avenue and East Broadway, Long Beach. This event is the first of 40 shows featured in downtown Long Beach’s revamped Summer And Music series, which features local musicians and a variety of curricula for free. Information: www.summerandmusic.com, justin@summerandmusic.com.

FILM

EXHIBIT

• “Black Dynamite,” a throwback to 1970s’ Blaxploitation films starring Michael Jai White, will take place June 25, 8 p.m., at the Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. The screening will be hosted by the Organization of Black Screenwriters as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival. Tickets are $12. Information: (866) 345-6337, e-mail boxoffice@filmindependent.org.

FESTIVAL

• “Haiku In My Neighborhood,” with haiku poetry by Dee Dee McNeil and photographs by Roland Charles, is on display at the M. Hanks Gallery through Aug. 15. The gallery is at 3008 Main St., Santa Monica. The book of the same name is available for $25 and the gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays. Information: (310) 3928820, www.mhanksgallery.com.

Facts June 28, 1874 The Freedmen’s Bank closes. Created by an act of Congress in 1865 for the benefit of former slaves, black depositors had some $3 million in the bank, which had an imposing headquarters in Washington and branches in various cities. Bank President Frederick Douglass would say later that the Freedmen’s Bank had been “the Black man’s cow and the white man’s milk.”

Source: blackfacts.com

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

LAABP PRESENTS $20,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS TO DESERVING YOUTH Eleven college-bound students were honored recently by the Los Angeles Association of Black Personnel (LAABP) with $20,000 in scholarship funds.

The gala reception, co-sponsored by the Oscar Joel Bryant Foundation, was held at the City Club in downtown Los Angeles and attended by more than 100 people.

“The LAABP is extremely proud of these outstanding young people and we are pleased to contribute to their education. Each student expressed complete confidence and dedication to achieving their future plans and I am certain we will hear of their accomplishments in the years to come,” said Cora Jackson-Fossett, LAABP President.

“Also, I want to acknowledge our Scholarship Committee, who did an outstanding job in coordinating the entire application process,” added JacksonFossett. Susan Huntley served as chair of Scholarship Committee and was assisted by Isophine Atkinson, Lance Bailey, Anthony Brown, Amber Johnson, Jo Ann Moss, Angela Sherick, and Jackie Staten.

The scholarship recipients were rated in five categories: academic honors, community involvement, extracurricular activities, essay response, and grades (G.P.A. and S.A.T. scores). The following youth received awards: Cristen Brown is currently a culinary arts student at El Camino Community College. He will attend California School of Culinary Arts this fall.

Ciara Dowdy is a student at Bethune Cookman University where she is majoring in Criminal Justice.

Erin Ford graduated from John Muir High School and will attend Tuskegee University this fall. Her msajor will be Psychology/Pre-Med. LaToya Greene graduated from Crenshaw Arts Technical Charter High School. She will attend Paine College and major in Psychology.

Spenser Melendez is a graduate of Quartz Hill High School. This fall, he is attending Antelope Valley College and will major in Nursing.

Jasmeen Sims is a student at California State University Dominguez Hills and majoring in sociology.

Jasmine Sims is also a student at California State University Dominguez Hills and majoring in sociology.

Nicole Sims is currently enrolled at California State University Los Angeles.

Her major is Education/English.

Brittany Usher is a graduate of St. Mary’s Academy. She will attend California State University Poly in San Luis Obispo and major in Biomedical Engineering.

Monet Williams is a student at California State University Long Beach where she is pursuing a master’s degree in Criminal Justice.

Tiara Wilson graduated from King/Drew Medical Magnet High School. She will attend Loyola Marymount University this fall and major in Creative Writing.

In addition, the LAABP presented $400 book awards to seven young people.

They were Derl Howard, Leticia Love, Denise McGee, Jeania Moore, Hailegh Nelson, Travis Roberts and Jules Sharp.

The LAABP is the official representative for City of Los Angeles employees of African American heritage. Incorporated in 1972, the LAABP advocates equal employment within the City’s workforce and increased opportunities for people of color to attain management and executive positions. Among the services the organization provides are career development seminars, mock interview program and networking forum.

Photo by DAVID A. FOSSETT

STUDENT SCHOLARS — Several students receiving scholarships and book stipends pose for a photo.

Photo by DAVID A. FOSSETT

SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE – From left are Lance Bailey, Susan Huntley, Jackie Staten, Isophine Atkinson, Amber Johnson, Jo Ann Moss, and Anthony Brown.

Not pictured is Angela Sherick.

Photo by DAVID A. FOSSETT

LAABP BOARD – The Executive Board includes (from left, seated) Shelia Brooks-LeFridge, Corresponding Secretary; Cora Jackson-Fossett, President; Adriene Murphy, Director-atLarge; (standing) Terrence Montgomery, 1st Vice President; Sharon Loudd, Treasurer, and DeMarlo Sims, 2nd Vice President.

June 25, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 9

ARTS & CULTURE Judge Mablean Ephraim’s 7th annual Honoring Unsung Fathers (H.U.F.) Awards and Scholarship Brunch took place June 21 at the Downtown Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles.

Della Reese presented a concert at the Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills on June 20. The concert included Grammy winner Jon B, R&B singer Noel and other celebrities.

Della Reese

TV personality Mother Love

Mablean Ephraim and comedian Michael Colyar, master of ceremonies

The St. Francis Medical Center Foundation held its annual charity ball June 20 at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. St. Francis treats 60,000 children and adults each year.

Grammy-nominated R&B group SWV

Singer and songwriter Tony Rich and guest

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

Actress Jennia Fredrique (“Noah’s Arc”)

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

Page 10

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 25, 2009

ARTS & CULTURE Black Music Month Feature

Quincy Jones Tells Sinatra Stories in Shanghai that he believed China’s music industry could become the world’s biggest.

He also impressed students with his knowledge of traditional Chinese string instruments — he did not know their names but easily identified them by gesturing the way they are played — and said he would

BY MIN LEE AP ENTERTAINMENT WRITER

SHANGHAI (AP) — American music legend Quincy Jones delighted an audience of university students in Shanghai late last week with stories about working with Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson — and a sprinkling of Chinese phrases he had picked up.

About 200 students welcomed the 76-year-old composer before his lecture as part of the 12th Shanghai International Film Festival. He greeted the students at Fudan University’s Shanghai Institute of Visual Art with the Mandarin phrase for thank you — “xie xie ni” — and praised their “piao liang” — beautiful campus.

Jones, whose career spans jazz, film scores and pop music, discussed a wide range of topics, including the technical difficulties of writing movie scores, Internet music sharing and the evolution of African American music.

The multiple Grammy awardwinner advised students to follow their interests and “never chase money,” but also to work hard and prepare well for any career.

“When Frank Sinatra called me, I was ready ... You better be ready when you work for Frank Sinatra because he knows no breaks.

Continued from page 1

Quincy Jones

He either loves you and respects you or he’ll roll over you with a Mack truck in reverse,” Jones said, referring to the late American singer’s reputation as a perfectionist.

Students also wondered what it was like to work with Jackson on his bestselling album “Thriller.” Jones, who produced the album, said Jackson was a “very, very focused” worker with a strong memory.

Asked about illegal music downloads in a country where piracy is rampant, Jones said it was crippling the record industry, but added

SUMMER MOVIE

“A

THAT HAS

EVERYTHING -

NON-STOP THRILLS,

LAUGHS,

TOP TIER ACTING.”

AND

— Peter Travers

A FILM BY TONY SCOTT

COLUMBIA PICTURES AND METR0-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURES PRESENT IN ASSOCIATION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA MED A SCOTT FREE/ESCAPE FREE /ESCAPE ARTISTS PRODUCTION “THE TAKING OF MUSIC PELHAM 1 2 3” JOHN TURTURRO LUIS GUZMAN MICHAEL RISPOLI AND JAMES GANDOLFINIBASED ONON THEBY HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS EXECUTIVE SCREENPLAY PRODUCERS BARRY WALDMAN MICHAEL COSTIGAN RYAN KAVANAUGH NOVEL BY JOHN GODEY

BY BRIAN HELGELAND PRODUCED BLUMENTHAL STEVE TISCH DIRECTEDBY TONY SCOTT

BY TODD BLACK TONY SCOTT JASON BLUMENTHA

JOY RIDE.”

— Joe Neumaier, NY DAILY NEWS

DOWN

— Larry King

At Sunset & Vine 323/464-4226

SHERMAN OAKS .

At The Sherman Oaks Galleria 818/501-0753

UNIVERSAL CITY CityWalk Stadium 19 with IMAX® 888/AMC-4FUN

Need A $ Bailout?

Shop The Roadium 7 Days a Week 7AM-4PM EXPIRES 7-12-09

2500 Redondo Beach Blvd.

NOW PLAYING WEST LOS ANGELES The Landmark At Pico & Westwood Blvd.

310/281-8233

✁

professionally in Europe before taking over as director of global scouting for the Toronto Raptors. Alabi wound up with a scholarship to Montverde Academy, a private boarding school in central Florida, and lived with a host family on the weekends.

“It was difficult,” said Alabi, who didn’t even have a pair of basketball sneakers when he got to the Sunshine State. “The food and everything, communicating with people, it was hard. I was quiet all the time unless I was playing basketball and having fun.”

The NBA has spread the game through its “Basketball Without Borders” program, which exposes promising youngsters from throughout the continent to the finer points of the sport at a camp in South Africa. This summer, the league is planning additional clinics in Kenya and Angola.

“Right now, they don’t have the infrastructure,” NBA commissioner David Stern said. Still, “there’s an enormous amount of raw talent.”

Ojeah started out playing soccer — he was a goalie — but switched to basketball when he was 13. His size got him invited to a camp attended by Linzy Davis, who runs Team Georgia Elite, a highlevel AAU program in Atlanta.

Davis has turned the recruitment of African players into something of a specialty — developing crucial relationships, learning the ins and outs of local customs, becoming an expert on visa approval, which might be the most important step in

The Best Shopping Bargains in L.A.

THE THRILLER OF THE YEAR.”

CENTURY CITY AMC Century 15 888/AMC-4FUN

under mysterious circumstances. His teenage son escaped a similar fate by fleeing to Belgium, which granted him political asylum.

In his adopted country, Mbenga discovered a new passion: basketball. The sport helped him cope with his grief.

“It was a way for me to get away from everything,” he said.

Back down the pipeline are players such as Solomon Alabi, a 71 Nigerian heading into his sophomore season at Florida State. Like most African youngsters, he started out playing soccer — by far the most popular sport in Africa.

“We didn’t really have basketball,” he said. “We only have one basketball court in the place I’m from and it’s not really an organized basketball court. It was on the sand and we played soccer on the basketball court. It wasn’t like level concrete or anything.”

This is how it often starts, a kid falling in love with the game under the most inelegant of conditions. The path to the U.S. is never quite the same but follows the same general pattern: a local patron steers the prospect to an African camp, which could be sponsored by the NBA or a local player who made it out; the camp provides high-level instruction and a chance to get spotted by coaches and scouts; prep schools, financial aid and host families are arranged on the other side of the Atlantic.

Alabi went to a camp run by Masai Ujiri, a Nigerian who played collegiately at Montana State and

FREE ADMISSION FOR 2

A THRILLING

HOLLYWOOD

Are the World,” to which he responded in Chinese, “Thank you, my beautiful children.”

He said his current projects include a film about the Brazilian carnival, a Broadway show about the history of jazz and blues, and an animated film for children about a range of a music genres.

COMING TO AMERICA

Raves...

“HANDS

like to work with Chinese musicians.

Jones said he had visited many music conservatories in China and was impressed by the passion of its youngsters, saying that they “really have a thirst for knowledge.”

The students bid farewell to Jones by singing his hit song “We

L.A./BEVERLY HILLS Pacific’s The Grove Stadium 14 323/692-0829 #209

WEST LOS ANGELES The Bridge Cinema De Lux 310/568-3375

(Between Crenshaw and Van Ness) WESTWOOD AMC Avco 888/AMC-4FUN

SANTA MONICA AMC Santa Monica 7 888/AMC-4FUN

BALDWIN HILLS AMC Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15 888/AMC-4FUN

AND AT A THEATER NEAR YOU

LAWT 6-25-09

(323) 321-3709

Saturday & Sunday please park at El Camino College Lot

Visit us on the web at: www.roadium.com

the process.

If a player can’t get out of Africa, there’s little chance of fully developing his skills. Youth leagues, top-level coaches and basic infrastructure — courts, balls, uniforms — are all severely lacking.

Back in this country, Davis lines up financial aid at schools such as Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, N.C., which is where Ojeah goes to school.

While tuition and weekday board is usually provided by a prep school eager to boost its basketball stature or by a wealthy benefactor, Davis still has to dig deep out of his own pocket. He’s driving players around the southeast every weekend, or buying airline tickets for particularly long trips.

“I’m well into five figures on these kids,” said Davis, who sells medical supplies and lab equipment and insists he gains no financial benefit from his work with the players.

“I get nothing out of this other than the enjoyment of seeing them get to where they want to get to.”

Amadou Gallo Fall, who played basketball at the University of District Columbia after being spotted by a Peace Corps worker at a camp in Tunisia, is now vice president of international affairs and director of scouting for the Dallas Mavericks.

He gives back to his native country through SEEDS — Sports for Education and Economic Development in Senegal — and recognizes the potential pitfalls of trying to reach America, everything from under-the-table payments to broken promises.

“We hear the stories,” he said.

“If there’s no opportunity at all, if kids don’t have a court, they don’t have a basketball, they don’t (have) any shoes, certainly there’s going to be a sense of despair and leaving at all costs. That’s what people may prey on. Really, nobody should be surprised.”

There’s certainly the potential for academic abuse, since many Africans wind up at basketball-oriented prep schools. But plenty of kids seem genuinely committed to getting a good education and overcoming language and cultural barriers to play catch-up in the classroom.

“I will guarantee you one thing: If there are 300 kids, 298 of them will get their degrees if they are African kids,” said Ujiri, a director for Basketball Without Borders in South Africa. “They have a direction in life. They have a goal.”

They’re linked to their homelands only by the occasional phone See COMING TO AMERICA, page 11

June 25, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 11

HEALTH THE PULSE New Safe-Eating Guidelines Issued for SoCal Fish (AP) — The state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is updating its safeeating guidelines for fish caught off Southern California because of PCBs, DDT and other contaminants.

Spokesman Sam Delson says officials expanded the sampling area from Ventura Harbor to Carlsbad. Fish from 22 species were analyzed for contaminants.

Consumers are warned to avoid white croaker, barred sand bass and topsmelt from Santa Monica Beach to Seal Beach Pier.

Children under 18 and women under the age of 45 are also warned not to eat black croaker or barracuda from Ventura Harbor to San Mateo Point.

PCBs and DDTs are manmade chemicals that were banned in the 1970s. But by then large amounts of the contaminants had flowed into the ocean and were deposited on the seafloor off the Palos Verdes Peninsula. They continue to be absorbed by fish.

Mosquitoes in L.A. Park Test Positive for West Nile (AP) — County officials say mosquitoes caught near Griffith Park in Los Angeles tested positive for West Nile virus.

Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District spokeswoman Crystal Brown says the mosquito sample is the second to test positive this year, but not a cause for alarm.

Brown says officials found a dead bird infected with West Nile in Los Feliz last week, the third in L.A. County this year.

West Nile virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and can cause flulike symptoms and, in rare cases, serious illness or death.

The Griffith Park area includes the Los Angeles Zoo. Information from: the Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com.

L.A. Nursing Home Fined $100K After Patient Death (AP) — A Los Angeles nursing home has been fined $100,000 after a state investigation found

deficient care that caused a death.

Lakewood Manor North was issued an “AA” citation on June 16 — the most severe that the state Department of Public Health issues.

In 2007, an 83-year-old man slipped and suffered a head injury while trying to move from his bed to a wheelchair. The state says the resulting head injury was not properly assessed or treated. The man died four days later.

The state’s investigation also found that the facility failed to provide safety supports needed to prevent falls. Nursing home administrator Kim Elliott says the penalty is the first in the facility’s 40-year history and has resulted in changes to operating procedures.

Ex-Hospital Exec. Pleads Guilty to Skid Row Fraud (AP) — A former hospital executive has admitted he paid recruiters to bring in homeless people for unnecessary medical treatment in a scheme to defraud government health programs out of millions of dollars.

Robert Bourseau, 74, the former co-owner of the City of Angels Medical Center, faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of paying illegal kickbacks to defraud Medicare and Medi-Cal. He agreed to pay more than $4.1 million in restitution to the programs and will be sentenced Sept. 14.

Dante Nicholson, the medical center’s former senior vice president, was indicted with Bourseau in January and pleaded guilty to the same charges in March. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Aug 17.

The hospital’s former chief executive, Dr. Rudra Sabaratnam, pleaded guilty last year to bilking Medicare and Medi-Cal of $4.1 million from 2004 to 2007. The recruiter, Estill Mitts, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.

The indictment was the product of an investigation into a scheme in which hospital officials paid the recruiter $500,000 over three years to find homeless people who were paid $100 or less.

COMING TO AMERICA Continued from page 10 call or e-mail. Many players don’t get to go home over summer break because they are honing their game at the AAU level, or doing extra schoolwork, or don’t want to risk visa problems preventing them from coming back.

Talib Zanna, a 6-9 Nigerian who signed with Pitt after playing at Bishop McNamara High School near Washington, didn’t even go back home when his father died.

“That was the saddest moment I’ve ever had,” Zanna said. “I was playing this game because of him and (trying) to make him proud of me.”

Hakeem Olajuwon, a Nigerian, was the first African to go No. 1 overall in the NBA draft, led the Houston Rockets to back-to-back championships, and won an MVP award.

Not far behind on the African

popularity meter is Mutombo, one of the greatest defensive players in NBA history and just as well known for humanitarian efforts in his native Congo.

The growth of the African game might have been even greater if the two stars were in their prime now, rather than retired.

“We were very unlucky with Hakeem and Mutombo,” Ujiri said.

“They came along at a time when there wasn’t that much exposure.”

Maybe Thabeet, the UConn center, will fill that void. Or maybe someone else will come along in a few years, lifting up an entire continent. One basket at a time.

AP sports writer Joseph White in Washington, Hank Kurz in Richmond, Va., and Chris Talbott in Jackson, Miss., contributed to this report.

New Map Finds HIV Rates Are Highest in the South ATLANTA (AP) — A new Internet data map offers a first-ofits-kind, county-level look at HIV cases in the U.S. and finds the infection rates tend to be highest in the South.

The highest numbers of HIV cases are in population centers like New York and California. However, many of the areas with the highest rates of HIV — that is, the highest proportion of people with the AIDS-causing virus — are in the South, according to the data map, which has information for about 99 percent of the nation’s counties.

HIV infection rates are higher in African American communities, and high minority populations in the South help explain the finding.

While that’s not surprising, the high rates seen throughout states like Georgia and South Carolina

were, said Gary Puckrein, president of the National Minority Quality Forum, the nonprofit research organization that put the map together.

The map depicts reported numbers of people living with HIV and AIDS in 2006.

Skin Color Clue to Nicotine Dependence UNIVERSITY PARK, Penn.

— Higher concentrations of melanin — the color pigment in skin and hair — may be placing darkerpigmented smokers at increased susceptibility to nicotine dependence and tobacco-related carcinogens than lighter-skinned smokers, according to scientists.

“We have found that the concentration of melanin is directly related to the number of cigarettes smoked daily, levels of nicotine dependence, and nicotine exposure among African Americans,” said

Gary King, professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State.

King states that previous research shows that nicotine has a biochemical affinity for melanin.

Conceivably, this association could result in an accumulation of the addictive agent in melanin-containing tissues of smokers with greater amounts of skin pigmentation.

“The point of the study is that, if in fact, nicotine does bind to melanin, populations with high levels of melanin could indicate certain types of smoking behavior, dependence, and health outcomes that will be different from those in less-pigmented populations,” explained King. “And the addiction process may very well be longer and more severe.”

The team’s findings appear in the June issue of the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior.

Page 12

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 25, 2009

HEALTH

Meltdown 101: Why High Health Costs Hurt Economy

BY LINDA A. JOHNSON AP BUSINESS WRITER

In pushing for health care reform, President Barack Obama has said problems with the current health care system are a big cause of our economic troubles. He’s even called the system, with its spiraling costs and inconsistencies in the amount and quality of care people get, a “ticking time bomb” for the federal budget.

Just how serious is the problem? How big a role does health care play in the nation’s economy?

Here are some questions and answers about the economic impact of health care.

Q: How big a part of the economy is health care?

A: It accounts for about onesixth of the entire economy — more than any other industry. Spending on health care totals about $2.5 trillion, 17.5 percent of our gross

domestic product — a measure of the value of all goods and services produced in the United States.

That’s up from 13.8 percent of GDP in 2000 and 5.2 percent in 1960, when health spending totaled just $27.5 billion — barely 1 percent of today’s level, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health policy group.

Q: What’s included in that spending?

A: It covers money paid to health care providers — hospitals, outpatient centers, Veterans Affairs and other clinics, doctor and dentist practices, physical therapists, nursing homes, home health services and on-site care at places such as schools and work sites.

Also included are retail sales of prescription and nonprescription drugs, premiums paid to health insurers, and revenues of makers of medical devices, surgical equipment

Celebrate the 4th Annniversary of Leimert Park Village Farmers’ Market this Saturday!

Hosting a National Healthcare Day of Service with free health screenings, raffle, activities for kids, and live music.

Saturday, June 27th 10 am-3 pm Degnan & 43rd Street Operated by Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles (SEE-LA) For more information please call 323-463-3171 or visit www.farmernet.com

and durable medical equipment such as eyeglasses, hearing aids and wheelchairs.

It also counts out-of-pocket payments by consumers for health insurance premiums, deductibles and co-payments, along with costs not covered by insurance and “medical sundries” like heating pads.

Q: Why does Obama say the health care system must be fixed first to repair the economy, and is it true?

A: It’s absolutely correct, for a host of reasons, experts say. “Health care is the economy,” and fixing it would free up money for other priorities, such as education and industrial innovation, said Meredith Rosenthal, a Harvard University professor of health economics and policy.

The health care system is dysfunctional and full of waste — as much as 30 percent of all spending, she said. Unlike most other markets, consumers rarely know which doctors, drugs or treatments are best for them, don’t price shop and, if they’re insured, don’t know the full cost of care.

That all can lead to unnecessary spending. Kaiser’s president, Drew Altman, said health care costs have become pocketbook issues for businesses and insured and uninsured Americans. Kaiser’s periodic polls on what consumers worry about find the cost of health care and insurance are equal with job

security, gas prices and being able to pay the mortgage.

“People make the link, not just the president,” he said, adding that they’re most concerned with how reform will affect them personally.

Q: How do health care costs drag on the economy?

A: Growth in overall health care costs, including spending on the huge Medicare and Medicaid programs, is out of control, said Robert Laszewski, president of consultants Health Policy and Strategy Associates. That limits how much money the federal government and businesses have to invest in solving the energy problem, developing products that can be sold to other countries, creating technology that can bring medical breakthroughs, building infrastructure and more.

Q: How do rising health costs affect workers and businesses?

A: Health insurance premiums have skyrocketed, making it evertougher for workers and employers to afford them. From 1999 through 2008, annual health insurance premiums jumped 119 percent, according to Kaiser data. The average family premium paid by workers rose from $1,543 to $3,354 a year, and employer payments per worker jumped from $4,247 to $9,325.

During that span, worker earnings rose only 34 percent and overall inflation was just 29 percent. So worker income has barely kept pace

GANG STORIES Continued from page 6 ing job” assigning project managers to each of the 12 grid zones — where gang activity is the most rampant.

Sherrills said he thinks the city could initiate an advertising campaign highlighting intervention workers to give them greater visibility.

“We are not going to prevent conflicts but we can say in a PSA or a 30-second cable clip, ‘… a gun is not always the best way to handle a problem – think about the consequences,” Sherrills said. “That would go a long way.”

The long-term solution to gangs, Sherrills added, may not be within the city officials’ domain

and it’s something that the “community needs to do for themselves.”

In his interview with Tavis Smiley, Stacy Peralta puts gangs in another perspective, framing it as an American war.

“We defeated Nazi Germany and Japan in a single war in less than a decade and we can’t solve this in four decades?” Peralta said.

“To me what it says is that we’re valuing children by color differently and we must take a hard look.

That’s the only way (Villaraigosa) and Jeff Carr will have the power to fix this.”

The L.A. Watts Times could not get comments from the mayor’s office for this story by presstime.

Testosterone Dose Response in Surgically Menopausal Women 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.”

with inflation, more of the paycheck is going to health costs, and there’s less left over for things like vacations, dining out, home improvements or a new car — especially for low-wage workers and retirees. That represents a huge drag on economic growth, considering that consumer spending powers about 70 percent of the economy.

For employers, particularly small businesses, rising insurance premiums mean there’s far less money for new equipment, better facilities, research or expansion.

That means fewer new jobs, plus smaller raises and higher health premiums for workers, further limiting consumer spending.

Q: What’s the impact of 50 million Americans having no insurance?

A: Ira S. Loss, senior health care analyst at Washington Analysis, puts it this way: “We’re paying to take care of those people.”

Hospitals, particularly in inner-city and rural areas, charge patients with insurance more to help make up for those who can’t pay their bills. And we’re all paying more in taxes to cover extra payments by federal and state governments to hospitals that have large shares of uninsured patients.

Q: Isn’t health care one of the few parts of the economy that’s growing?

A: Yes. Employment in the huge health care sector has grown by about 427,000 jobs — nearly 3 percent — since the recession began in December 2007, and totaled 15.5 million jobs in April, the latest month for which U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures were available.

Most of the increases came in ambulatory care services (up 254,400 jobs) and hospitals (up 148,400 jobs). That was partly offset by job declines at pharmaceutical companies, drug wholesalers and pharmacies.

However, only 42,900 jobs have been added since January.

That’s because the steady growth in jobs throughout the recession in ambulatory care, hospitals and, to a lesser extent, health insurers, has slowed dramatically over those months, with hospitals adding only 7,700 jobs and insurers just 1,000.

Obama and Congress are trying to reduce the rate at which health care spending is growing, by eliminating waste and fraud, improving efficiency and increasing preventive care, so it’s unlikely jobs at health care providers will decline.

In fact, more caregivers will be needed for aging baby boomers, plus the millions who could get coverage under health care reform and presumably would seek care more regularly.

So despite the system’s faults, there’s an economic silver lining: As Altman of the Kaiser Family Foundation explains, health care has been “one of the few engines of job growth during the recession.”

Editors note: Meltdown 101 is a series of daily Q-and-As explaining the economic and financial crisis.

June 25, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 13

EDUCATION BRIEFS Continued from page 6

THE DIASPORA Zimbabwe: Spat Looms Over PM Newsletter HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s information ministry says it is investigating whether a newsletter published by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office is legal.

The state Sunday Mail newspaper says the four-page publication set Tsvangirai on a “collision

NOTEBOOK Nigeria Militants Attack Dutch Shell Pipelines ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Militants in Nigeria say they attacked two pipelines belonging to oil giant Royal Dutch Shell.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta says the facilities were targeted by militant fighters before dawn on June 21.

Both pipelines are located in Adamakiri and Kula in southern Rivers state.

There was no immediate confirmation from the oil company or Nigeria’s government, and the extent of damage was unclear.

Violence has been escalating in the region as the military intensifies operations to flush out rebels battling for a larger share of the country’s oil revenues.

Morgan Tsvangirai

Haitians Leery of 2nd Election Round Amid Violence

course” with government colleagues.

The newsletter contains details of Tsvangirai’s current trip to reengage with Western nations after a decade of isolation for Zimbabwe.

The Sunday Mail says Tsvangirai should first have reported to Cabinet colleagues.

Chief information secretary George Charamba is quoted as saying his department is “looking at what the law says.”

Rivals Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai joined in a coalition government in February.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Election officials flew street banners and sent text messages to encourage a big turnout for Haiti’s hotly anticipated Senate run-offs, but very few in the capital city were voting June 21.

Many Haitians said they are wary of voting following weeks of political clashes, some deadly, and they’re fed up with what they see as an ineffective government that has done nothing about the country’s dire poverty.

Only minor skirmishes were reported early June 21. University students, who have been protesting

for weeks against curriculum changes and for a higher minimum wage, burned tires and threw rocks at police before retreating onto campus. Police threw tear gas in response.

On June 17, student protesters burned a U.N. vehicle. On June 18, a young man was killed as mourners and U.N. peacekeepers confronted each other during a funeral procession for Father Gerard JeanJust, a popular priest. The death is under investigation.

Six Migrant Boats With 75 People Arrive in Spain MADRID (AP) — Officials say six small boats packed with at least 75 migrants from Africa have arrived on the southern shores of Spain or have been rescued just off the coast.

Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service says one inflatable vessel carrying 16 people was sighted 31 miles from Almeria by the French-flagged freighter “Ciudad de Cadiz.”

The crew saw the boat’s occupants waving for help and sent a small boat over with water and food.

The French ship stood by until rescue services arrived June 21.

Another five boats took advantage of the year’s longest day to cross from Algeria and one made landfall at Cala Arenas, where police arrested 12 people.

Every year thousands of migrants attempt crossings, mainly to the Canary Islands, in search of a better life.

‘SAVING OUR DAUGHTERS’ Continued from page 1 father-daughter issue.

Pointing the finger at himself, the 42-year-old father of two daughters and a son is surprisingly candid about his past shortcomings as a parent.

“I used to act a fool,” Benjamin said. “It was during my first marriage and unfortunately my antics affected my relationship with my daughters. I’m not a fool anymore.”

Recognizing that he needed to work on himself before providing life lessons to his children, Benjamin, who has since remarried, set out to improve his relationship by seeking the advice of psychologists, as well as other fathers who may also be confronted with the same father-daughter concern.

First presented as a panel discussion between celebrity African American fathers and 100 mothers and daughters, “Saving Our Daughters” has blossomed into two books, with a third expected some time next year.

Admittedly, Benjamin said he wrote volume one of his paperback in an effort to make amends and to prove to his daughters and himself just what kind of man he is and the kind of father he could be.

“I wanted to let them know I’m sorry for what I’ve done in the past and to show them how fathers need to be,” Benjamin said. “I wanted to do the first book about what daughters go through with domestic violence, molestation and the other different things girls go through and to let them know that as fathers we’ll be there to support them.”

Benjamin, who is also executive director of It’s Cool To Be Smart, (a mentoring program for teenage girls), is a big fan of Tyler Perry films and wanted to do something based on the movie, “Daddy’s Little Girls.” He sent a proposal to Roger Bobb, who is a single-parent father and an executive producer at Tyler Perry Studios.

“He was very supportive and appears in my second book,” Benjamin said. “He understood that this book is about helping both fathers and daughters. Fathers can influence their daughters in so many profound ways.

“We have to build up our girls, spend time with them and listen. It’s our job to prepare them for what to expect from men when they go out into the world.”

The first book encourages African American fathers to take a leadership role in the lives of their daughters, and includes stories and anecdotes from male celebrities, analyses from psychologists, and statistics on father-daughter relationships. It was co-written by Karen Watts.

Some of the statistics in the book are: • Children raised in homes without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty.

• A Columbia University study found that teens in single-mother households are 30 percent more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol than kids in two-parent homes.

• Information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services shows that kids without fathers are twice as likely to drop out of school. Girls raised without a father face a greater risk of teen pregnancy.

There are a number of studies that indicate an early father-daughter relationship is crucial to the growth and development of a child.

To aid him in his effort, Benjamin enlisted the help of rapper T.I., producer Sean Garrett, NFL star Deon Grant, actors Anwan Glover and Gary Sturgis and more.

His intent, said Benjamin, who has held several book signings around the country, is to give the often-overlooked male perspective on raising daughters.

In the book, T.I. writes: “My daughter has to know what the world is really like. She has to know what you can do and what you can’t do.

It’s my job to teach her.”

Many of the Girls and Boys Club members were intrigued at the concept of Saving Our Daughters.

Michelle Garrison, 16, one of the girls who attended the event, hopes to one day major in business administration at Cal State Long Beach, or become a professional basketball player in the Women’s National Basketball Association.

“Having attended this event, I now understand how daughters benefit from having caring fathers and male role models in their lives,” said Garrison, who added she has an uncle who is a positive male role model in her life.

Kim Richards, the executive director of the Carson Boys & Girls Club, described all of the girls as

Budget Crisis Forces Deep Cuts at Calif. Schools RICHMOND (AP) — California’s historic budget crisis threatens to devastate a public education system that was once considered a national model but now ranks near the bottom in school funding and academic achievement.

Deep budget cuts are forcing California school districts to lay off thousands of teachers, expand class sizes, close schools, eliminate bus service, cancel summer school programs and possibly shorten the academic year. Without a strong economic recovery, which few experts predict, the reduced school funding could last for years, shortchanging millions of students, driving away residents and businesses, and darkening California’s economic future.

Slammed by an epic housing bust and massive job losses, California faces a $24 billion budget deficit and could run out of cash by late July if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature cannot reach a budget deal.

To balance the budget, the governor has proposed closing more than 200 state parks, releasing prisoners early, selling state property, laying off state workers and cutting health care.

Under the governor’s plan, K-12 schools and community colleges would lose $5.3 billion over the coming year — on top of billions of dollars in recent reductions and payment delays.

The state would spend $7,806 per K-12 student in 2009-10, almost 10 percent less than two

“diverse, full of potential, and filled with a capacity to succeed.”

“Many lack a caring adult in their life on a consistent basis,” Richards said. “About 65 percent or more are from low-income families and more than 35 percent are from single-parent homes. For many of the club kids, Boys & Girls Club’s staff are the primary caring adult in their life. Many of the girls and teens that we serve lack a father figure in their lives.”

Nia Long, who was raised by a single mother, addressed the teens and stressed a need for them to have high self-esteem, self-worth, and a positive outlook on life regardless of their present circumstance.

“I think it’s a good thing that people are waking up and that someone has taken the initiative to do a book like this,” said Long, who has a 9-year-old son named Massai and who also appears in Benjamin’s second book, “Saving Our Daughters: From A Man’s Point of View, Vol. 2.” “Something like this has been on my heart for a long time. As a parent, I think the most important thing I’ve learned is being patient. It’s to live in

years ago, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Federal stimulus funds have prevented deeper cuts to a public school system that educates 6.3 million children, of which about a quarter do not speak English well, and nearly half are considered poor under federal guidelines. School districts have already issued layoff notices to more than 30,000 teachers and other employees, and they could issue more pink slips this summer, according to the state Department of Education.

Superintendent: L.A. Schools Could Face Deeper Cuts (AP) — Superintendent Ramon Cortines says Los Angeles schools will face even deeper cuts and more teacher layoffs if the district doesn’t get more money for the state or pass a parcel tax to raise funds.

Cortines told the Board of Education on June 18 that the budget crisis means he will increase class Ramon sizes, eliminate full- Cortines day kindergarten, and halve the number of nurses during in the 2011-12 school year.

The superintendent has asked the board to approve a parcel tax that would go to voters next spring and generate money for schools.

He did not provide specifics on the plan or how many additional layoffs could occur.

The district faces a $132 million deficit for the coming school year and will lay off 2,100 teachers. State law requires Cortines to file a three-year budget by July 1.

the moment with your child. We’re always in a rush to go somewhere and do something. And when I say, ‘OK, I’m going to be patient and let this be about him,’ I learn more about myself and about him.”

Although he doesn’t have any daughters, the 42-year-old Sturgis, who has two sons ages 11 and 16, is teaching them how to deal with girls on a constructive level. He said after hearing about Benjamin’s project, he had to get involved.

“Parenting is one of the hardest jobs there is,” Sturgis said. “There is no handbook on how to be a good parent. Once you have your own kids, you’ll learn a whole bunch about life you didn’t know. In my case, life didn’t matter to me until I had children. I didn’t really look at tomorrow. When you grow up in poverty you don’t look at the future, you just look at what’s going on at the time. But, once I got kids, I had a reason to live. It’s no longer about me. I’m here for them.”

For more information on “Saving Our Daughters: From A Man’s Point of View,” visit www.amans pointofview.org.

Facts June 25, 1975 Mozambique, located on the southeastern coast of Africa by the Indian Ocean, proclaims its independence from Portugal.

June 27, 1991 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall announces his retirement from the bench. He was appointed to the court by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967.

Source: blackfacts.com

Page 14

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 25, 2009

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.

Tiger Woods missed out on winning his fourth U.S. Open championship. He also failed to move within three of Jack Nicklaus’ alltime record of 18 Grand Slams. If Woods had won the U.S. Open Bethpage State Park Course at Farmingdale, N.Y., he would have been the only player to win 10 U.S. Golf Association championships.

And the beat continues The Wimbledon Classic opened June 22 in London. Serena and Venus Williams entered as the No. 2- and No. 3-ranked players in the world, respectively. Venus beat Serena 7-5, 6-4, last year for her fifth

Serena Williams

Wimbledon title. Venus will be aiming for No. 6 now. A win will tie her with Billie Jean King. King told USA Today: “This is her place.” Will the Williams sisters end up in a rematch this year? They could.

Serena won her first match against Neuza Silva of Portugal in straight sets, 6-1 and 7-5. Russia’s Dinara Safina is ranked No. 1. The women’s finals is July 4, and the men’s finals is July 5.

And the beat continues Will Kobe Bryant and Coach Phil Jackson try for six titles to match the six Jackson and Michael Jordan won in Chicago? Let us hope so.

The Lakers’ Jordan Farmar hopes his Golf Classic & Gala is a

Jordan Farmar

championship event for charity.

Farmar’s Golf Classic is set for July 20 at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks. For information, call Toi Crawford & Associates at (310) 358-1019.

Will Shaquille O’Neal wind up with his fifth NBA title, if the Phoenix Suns trade him to the Cleveland Cavaliers? Several veteran observers believe the 37-year-old Shaq has something left in the tank, and he could help the Cavs’ superstar LeBron “King” James get it done.

University of Southern California freshman DeMar DeRozan could be a lottery pick in the NBA draft, which starts today (June 25).

Two other potential lottery picks are Duke’s junior Gerald Henderson and Memphis’ Tyreke Evans. Both are talented guards.

USC’s men’s basketball program continues to fall apart. Coach Tim Floyd abruptly resigned days ago and top recruit Derrick Williams was released from his letter of intent.

Ditto for Lamont Jones. To boot,

LITERACY Continued from page 7

METHADONE CLINIC

(323) 242-0500 11900 Avalon Blvd.

Suite 200-Upstairs Los Angeles

(310) 553-9500

not like writing. Many teachers use writing as a disciplinary tool and it becomes associated with something negative, and a psychological issue,” Campbell said. “Like some teachers might have a student write sentences ‘x’ amount of times just for chewing gum. In short, children associate writing to being punished. Writing should be something fun and enjoyable.”

The schools that order Campbell’s books for their creative writing curriculum are provided with his literary power workshops free of charge, and they are arranged daily, weekly or bi-weekly, based upon the school’s need and structure. Campbell said it usually takes about a year to get through “The Magic Coin” and its lecture series because the workshop is woven into a school day or after school program.

“His books are phenomenal and the kids and parents love them,” Jacqueline Sanderlin, principal of George Washington Carver Elementary School in Compton, said in an e-mail, adding the school purchases the books for their fourth- and fifth-grade students.

several of USC’s top undergrads have opted for the NBA. And the beat continues The L.A. Angels of Anaheim’s Torii Hunter became the first Angel to smack three homers in a game in six years. Hunter was on deck in the eighth inning when Bobby Abreu struck out and ended his bid to become only the 16th major leaguer to blast four homers in a game. The Angels beat the San Diego Padres, 9-1, in the process.

The L.A. Dodgers took two out of three games from the Angels to continue with the best record in all of baseball. The Dodgers are slated to play the Chicago White Sox and the Seattle Mariners.

The Dodgers’ Orlando Hudson is No. 2 in the second base competition for the July 14 All-Star Game in St. Louis. The Dodgers’ outfielder Manny Ramirez is the sixth top vote-earner. The Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins is the No. 1 vote-getter at shortstop with 1.2 million votes.

And the beat continues Look for the top football positions in the National Football League to add a little more color.

Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the other day the Rooney Rule has been expanded by requiring teams to interview at least one minority for all senior football vacancies. Currently, there are five minorities in top NFL executive positions. They’re Rod Graves (Arizona); Martin Mayhew (Detroit); Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore); Jerry Reese (New York Giants); and Rick Smith (Houston). Ray Anderson, NFL’s senior football executive vice president of football operations, is an African American, too.

Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders Pro Bowl defensive cornerback, really cares about young people in East Oakland. Asomugha recently took a group of boys from the inner city of East Oakland to Washington, D.C., and New York City. They visited the White House and former President Bill Clinton’s offices in Harlem, N.Y. And the beat continues After knocking out Clyde Weaver (0-2) in his debut, 26-yearold George Foreman III declared:

She said the students’ reading scores have doubled and their writing has greatly improved.

“This has been an effective intervention for our scholars who are reading about a young, black hero,” she said. “His discussions have a lot of engagement, excitement and interaction. I find that the students exemplify the behavior of the characters in their daily lives.”

Campbell’s literary power workshops include sentence construction; fundamentals of essay writing; spelling punctuation; literary analysis; penmanship; fantasy writing exercises; writing competitions; listening and public speaking skills; and a special exercise that he refers to as peacekeeping, which essentially is conflict resolution.

“My passion is with helping kids to increase literacy levels in reading, writing and self-esteem,” Campbell said. “I hope kids who see an out through soaring on the bball court or in a hip-hop video, might soar through a love for reading and writing. The mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

For more information about Campbell’s Reading, Writing and Conflict Resolution Power Workshops, call (323) 216-4772.

“It feels good to know all the torture my father (George Foreman, the former heavyweight champion) put me through paid off.”

And the beat continues Remember the name Chalonda Goodman of Newman High of Newman, Ga.? She swept the 100 and 200 meters at the Georgia Class 5-A meet for the fourth consecutive

year. Goodman has run the fastest prep 200 in the nation (23.32) this season and the second best 100 (11.30), and she still holds the Texas state 5-A meet record for the fastest 100 (11.45). She’s the University of Texas-bound.

And the beat ends Brad Pye Jr. can be reached at switchreel@aol.com.

PUBLIC NOTICE REQUEST FOR SUB-QUOTES FROM DBE AND OBE SUBCONTRACTORS, MATERIAL CONTRACTORS AND SUPPLIERS. OWNER: IRVINE RANCH WATER DISTRICT PROJECT: MICHELSON WRP – PHASE 2 EXPANSION PROJECT PROJECT NO. 20214, 30214 FUNDED IN PART BY CLEAN WATER STATE REVOLVING FUND (CWSRF) PROGRAM PROJECT LOCATION: IRVINE, CA BID DATE: JULY 14, 2009 @ 2:00 PM Performance/Payment/Supply Bond in the Full Amount of the Subcontract / Material Contract Will Be Required.

Plans and specifications are available for review by contacting us and you will be given access to our .ftp site specifically for this project or they may also be reviewed or purchased at the Owner’s location at the Irvine Ranch Water District, 15600 Sand Canyon Avenue, Irvine, CA 92618 Kiewit/Mass, A Joint Venture is seeking sub-bids and quotes for the areas of work listed (but not limited to) below: DEMOLITION, HAZ/MAT ABATEMENT, GRADING & EXCAVATION, TRUCKING & DIRT MOVING, ROCK PRODUCTS, PILE DRIVING, A.C. PAVING, CURB/GUTTER/SIDEWALK/CATCH BASIN, FENCES & GATES, READ-MIX CONCRETE, REINFORCING STEEL (REBAR), CONCRETE PUMPING, MASONRY, STRUCTURAL STEEL, HANDRAILS & RAILINGS, GRATINGS, WATERPROOFING & EPOXY INJECTION, METAL ROOFING, JOINT SEALERS, PAINTING & COATINGS, AND GENERAL ELECTRIC KIEWIT /MASS, A JOINT VENTURE (AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER) 10704 SHOEMAKER AVE. SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA 90670 (562) 946-1816 • (562) 946-3823 FAX ATTN: LILY ROENES For specific project requirements, project schedule information, questions about your scope of work, bonding, insurance or how to obtain plans and specifications, please contact our office.

Kiewit/Mass, A Joint Venture intends to conduct itself in good faith with DBE and OBE and all other firms regarding participation on this project.

ORDER FOR HEARING ON VERFIED PETITION TO ASCERTAIN AND ESTABLISH AS A NEWSPAPER OF GENERAL CIRCULATION Case No BS120491 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 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 VERIFIED PETITION TO ASCERTAIN AND ESTABLISH STANDING AS NEWSPAPER OF CIRCULATION, (Gov’t Code §§6000 and 6020) 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

June 25, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 15

PUBLIC NOTICE Request for Proposals for Mental Health Professionals The Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County (``District``) is issuing a Re-quest for Proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals for a contract(s) with Mental Health Profession-als to party in the District's Critical Incident Stress Management Program (CISM). Well-qualified Mental Health Professionals interested in contracting with the District are encouraged to submit a proposal.

Terms of the contract will be for the three (3) years with two (2) possible one-year extensions and twelve (12) month-to-month extensions. To request bid documents, please email or fax your name and complete address to Pat Varela at pvarela@fire.lacounty.gov or fax to (323) 869-0932.

The bid submission deadline for all vendors is July 20, 2009 by 2:00 p.m. at 5801 S. Eastern Avenue, Suite 100, Commerce, California 90040, Attn: Lucy Guadiana, Contracts Section.

ABSOLUTELY NO BIDS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE DATE, TIME, AND LOCATION. L.A. Watts Times CN820873 09MA42339 Jun 25, Jul 2, 2009 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. 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: Lady “J’s” Little Angels 11111 S. Western Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90047 Janice Antoine 11111 S. Western Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90047 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: 6/25/09, 7/2/09, 7/9/09, 7/16/09 LAWT375

Facts June 28, 1970 Muhammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay) stands before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding his refusal of induction into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Source: blackfacts.com

NOTICE INVITING BIDS FOR RENTAL OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AND OTHER RELATED SERVICES AT LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA AS DESCRIBED IN SPECIFICATION NO. HD-S2357 All bids must be submitted before 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 21, 2009.

Any Bids received at or after 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 21, 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 21, 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 21, 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 August 3, 2009 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 may be obtained, at no cost, in the Plans and Specifications office, 4th floor, Harbor Department Administration Building beginning June 25, 2009 during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The specification is no charge. To arrange to receive a specification by FedEx at the Bidder’s expense, 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/out_for_bid.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 1:30 p.m., on July 1, 2009, in the CM Central Conference Room, 1st floor, of the Harbor Department Administration Building. Attendance is not mandatory, but highly recommended.

This project is subject to the Port of Long Beach (POLB) Small Business Enterprises (SBE) and Very Small Business Enterprises (VSBE) Program.

POLB expects all Bidders to achieve the combined SBE/VSBE participation goal for this project which is ten percent (10%) SBE/VSBE, of which a minimum of zero percent (0%) must be allocated to VSBEs. Award of the Contract will be conditioned on the Bidder providing documentation that it has obtained enough SBE/VSBE participation to meet the goal or that it made adequate good faith efforts to meet the goal even though it did not obtain enough SBE/VSBE participation to do so as specified in the Special Provision 38 (S.P. 38). The Port’s SBE Administrator is available to provide information on the program requirements, including SBE certification assistance. Please contact the SBE Administration Program at (562) 590-4146.

You may also view the Port’s SBE program requirements at: http://www.polb.com/economics/contractors/sbe_program/default.asp This contract consists of furnishing, on a rental basis, certain fully-maintained, fueled, operated, and insured construction equipment, including operators, for construction and maintenance work, furnishing and installing materials to 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 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

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

comply with regulatory requirements for dust control and storm water run-off, and perform other related work, including supervision, at various locations as required by the Long Beach Harbor Department. The quantity of work to be performed and materials to be furnished are approximate only, being given as a basis for the comparison of bids.

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.

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. Requests for substitutions of construction equipment specified will be evaluated based on performance standards and USEPA Tier 2 Standards.

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 thirty (30) 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 the form provided by the City, signed by the bidder and the surety and both signatures shall be notarized.

Work shall be completed within the time frame specified in one or more written Annual Contract Task Order (ACTO) issued by the City. Failure of the Contractor to commence, continue, or complete the work within the time frame specified in each ACTO issued by the City will result in liquidated damages (LDs) in the amount of five hundred dollars ($500) per calendar day of delay in commencing, continuing, or completing the work that is in excess of the time specified in the ACTO, plus any authorized time extensions. LDs may be assessed for each ACTO work that is being performed at the same time.

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 thirty (30) 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 18th day of May, 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.

Facts June 30, 1960 The Belgian Congo, located in central Africa, proclaims its independence from Belgium and takes on the name “Zaire.”

Source: blackfacts.com

CLASSIFIEDS STATEWIDE “Be wary of out of area companies. Check with the local Better Business Bureau before you send any money for fees or services. Read and understand any contracts before you sign. Shop around for rates.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS HAVING A PARTY? Need Music? We can also service your movie, advertising and duplication needs.

Experienced professionals at War Zone Comics. Call 213-440-6288; email: warzonecomicswzc@hotmail. com; www.myspace.com/WarZoneComicswzc (CalSCAN)

AUTOS WANTED DONATE YOUR CAR: Children’s Cancer Fund! Help Save A Child’s Life Through Research & Support!

Free Vacation Package. Fast, Easy & Tax Deductible.

Call 1-800-252-0615. (Cal-SCAN) DONATE YOUR VEHICLE! Receive Free Vacation Voucher. United Breast Cancer Foundation. Free Mammograms, Breast Cancer Info www.ubcf.info Free Towing, Tax Deductible, Non-Runners Accepted, 1-888-468-5964. (Cal-SCAN)

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY ALL CASH VENDING! Be Your Own Boss! Your Own Local Vending Route. Includes 25 Machines and Candy for $9,995. MultiVend LLC, 1-888-625-2405.

(Cal-SCAN)

BUSINESS SERVICES CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING in 240 Cal-SCAN newspapers for the best reach, coverage, and price. 25words $450. Reach 6 million Californians!. FREE email brochure. Call (916) 288-6019. www.CalSCAN.com (Cal-SCAN) DISPLAY ADVERTISING in 140 Cal-SDAN newspapers statewide for $1,550! Reach over 3 million Californians! FREE email brochure. Call (916) 2886019. www.Cal-SDAN.com (Cal-SCAN) NEWS RELEASE? Cost-efficient service. The California Press Release Service has 500 current daily, weekly and college newspaper contacts in California.

FREE email brochure. Call (916) 288-6010. www.CaliforniaPressReleaseService.com (CalSCAN)

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE SAWMILLS FROM ONLY $2,990 - Convert your Logs To Valuable Lumber with your own Norwood portable band sawmill. Log skidders also available. www.NorwoodSawmills.com/300n -FREE Information: 1-800-578-1363 x300-N. (Cal-SCAN)

FINANCIAL SERVICES AMERICAN TAX RELIEF. * Settle IRS Back Taxes * Do You Owe Over $15,000? If So... Call us Now! * Free Consultation*. For Less Than What You Owe! Stop Wage Garnishments! Remove Bank Levies Tax Levies & Property Seizures! Stop Payment Plans That Get you Nowhere! Settle State and Business Payroll Tax Problems Eliminate Penalties, Interest Charges & Tax Liens! * Settle IRS Back Taxes * No Obligation!

Confidential! Call American Tax Relief 1-800-4969891 * Free Consultation * (Cal-SCAN) CREDIT CARD RELIEF. * Free Consultation * Save Thousands of Dollars. Out of Debt in Months! Avoid Bankruptcy! Credit Card Relief. NOT A High Priced Consolidation Company or A Consumer Credit Counseling Program. Call Credit Card Relief 1-866479-5353. * Free Consultation * (Cal-SCAN)

HELP WANTED INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE Representative: Earn supplemental income placing and supervising high school exchange students. Volunteer host families also needed. Promote world peace! 1866-GO-AFICE or www.afice.org (Cal-SCAN) JOBS, JOBS, JOBS! California Army National Guard. No Experience. Paid training. High School Jr/ Sr & Grads/ GED. May qualify for $15,000 BONUS. www.NationalGuard.com/Careers or 1800-Go-Guard. (Cal-SCAN)

HELP WANTED/DRIVERS ANDRUS TRANSPORTATION Seeking Team Drivers! Dedicated Team Freight. Also Hiring OTR drivers - west states exp/hazmat end, great miles/hometime. STABLE Family owned 35 yrs+ 1-800-888-5838 ext. 1402. (Cal-SCAN) DRIVER - VAN DRIVERS - Regional Runs - Western Express. Run the Western 11 States. Great Pay. Late-

Model Equipment. Reasonable Home Time. Onsite Full Service Maintenance Shop. BCBS Insurance. 22 yrs. old. Good MVR, EOE, CDL-A, 1 yr. OTR. Call Edna Today! 1-866-863-4112. (Cal-SCAN)

HELP WANTED/SALES ALASKA BOUND! Get Paid to Travel, Party, Play all 50 States.

Lodging, Training Provided. www.TravelUSA001.com 877-856-6960 or 866-3502220. (Cal-SCAN) NUTRITIONAL COMPANY Needs Experienced SALESPEOPLE who would like to make great money.

Great training and leads provided. Work from home or office environment. Part/Full time positions. Jim 661259-0790. (Cal-SCAN)

LAND FOR SALE/OUT OF STATE BANK FORECLOSURE COLORADO RANCH 40 acres $29,900 Clean Title, Warranty Deed. Enjoy 300 days of sunshine. Rocky Mtn. views, utilities. Excellent Financing! Call Today! 1-866-696-5263 x4938. www.ColoradoLandBargains.com (Cal-SCAN) BUYER’S MARKET. New Mexico. Ranch Dispersal.

140 acres - $89,900. River Access. Northern New Mexico. Cool 6,000’elevation with stunning views. Great tree cover including Ponderosa, rolling grassland and rock outcroppings. Abundant wildlife, great hunting. EZ terms.

Call NML&R, Inc. 1-866-360-5263. (Cal-SCAN) LAND FORECLOSURES IN NEW MEXICO! From as low as $19,995 for 10+/- acre, phone, electric close, views. Guaranteed financing, low down! Going Fast!

888-812-5830. www.SWProperties.com (Cal-SCAN)

MISC. FOR SALE/COMPUTER/INTERNET WILDBLUE High Speed Satellite Internet SystemMonthly Service starts as Low as $39.95/mo. $99.95 Includes installation + S&H 800-221-3474 www.GotSky.com . (Cal-SCAN)

REAL ESTATE/OUT OF STATE TEXAS 20 ACRES Only $13,500. -0- down $135.00 monthly. 10% - 210 payments. No credit check.

Roads-Surveyed. Only 1.5¢/sq. ft.! Free information.

1-800-887-3006 www.LoneStarInvestments.com (Cal-SCAN)

Page 16

L.A. WATTS TIMES

June 25, 2009

BUSINESS CARD BULLETIN BOARD LET US MAKE YOUR AMERICAN DREAM COME TRUE

RELIABLE AND EFFICIENT LEGAL DOCUMENT PREPARERS

NOW IS THE TIME TO PURCHASE YOUR FIRST HOME WITH ONLY 3.5% DOWN PAYMENTS.

R&E’s Assisted & Affordable Services Include: • Divorce, Separation, Response • Expungements • Evictions • Tenant Screening • Bonded Process Servers • Civil Suits; Small Claims, Answers

WE CAN QUALIFY YOU IN 24 HOURS FOR YOUR HOME LOAN. We also do LOAN MODIFICATIONS and we GUARANTEE BEST RESULTS from your lenders.

Janice Harrison

Please Call for More Information at:

(562) 708-7287

AMERICAN HOME LOANS & REALTY

MEN DID YOU EXPERIENCE UNWANTED OR FORCED SEXUAL CONTACT BEFORE YOU WERE 18 YEARS OLD? You may be eligible to participate in a research study that examines the psychological and physical stress of men who experienced forced sexual contact as a child or adolescent.

This study is conducted by Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science and UCLA. We are interested in interviewing: • African American, Latino and White men • Over 18 years of age and under 40 years

HAVE YOU BEEN DENIED YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS?

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to: • Participate in an interview that lasts 2 to 3 hours • Give 3 saliva samples • Provide a urine sample You may receive up to $100 for your participation in this study. For more information, please call Jennifer Payne, LCSW, at (323) 357-3629.

35 Years Legal Experience Bonded & Reg.#IDA371

400 Corporate Pointe, Suite 300 Culver City, CA 90230 Tele: (310) 590-4526 • Fax: (310) 590-4527 Email: Reliable.Efficient4U@gmail.com WE ARE NOT ATTORNEYS

Law Offices of

Michael Hailu &

Associates Bankruptcy Employment Law Immigration 3540 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 626 L.A., CA 90010

Let me assist you.

There is NO Fee if we don’t win.

Jacquelyn Brown, Disability Representative

INJURED? Car Accidents Slip & Fall Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death

FREE Consultation Ph: (213) 385-0193 Ask for Attorney Mike Hailu

(323) 756-3755 L & L Document Preparation

• • • • • •

3995

$

Teeth Whitening in One Hour Cosmetic Bonding Complete & Partial Dentures Gum Treatment White Fillings Crowns, Bridges & Veneers

Includes:

Digital X-Rays and Exam.

Free Toothbrush & Floss New Patients Only.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Francine Bickham,

DDS UCLA Graduate

1075 E. PCH. Ste. D., Long Beach 90806

(562) 591-4028

LEGAL DOCUMENTS TYPED • Real Estate Sales/Loans • Refinancing • Divorce and Family Law • Living Trust/Wills • Notary • Small Claims • Evictions

Call Lola Bateman

NOW OPEN

(310) 674-6413

Mel’s Fish Shack

Fax: (310) 674-0026

171 N. LaBrea Ave., #103, Inglewood

4525 West Jefferson Blvd.

Jefferson Blvd. & Farmdale Ave. 5 blocks West of Mel’s Fish Market

Carry Out Only!

323-732-MELS (6357) or visit www.melsfishshack.com ™

Gourmet Coffee for the jazz art form since 1998

Howling Monk

www.howlingmonk.com

(310) 671-8551 P.O. Box 1217 Inglewood, CA 90308

THIS IS YOUR COFFEE

Hours: Tues. - Thurs. 11-9 Fri. & Sat. 11-10 Sunday 11-8