LAWT 07-19-2012

W E E K E N D E R

Vol. XXX, No. 1293

www.lawattstimes.com

Thursday, July 19, 2012

L.A. Watts Times

ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID G. BROWN

SEE PAGES 8-9

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Thursday, July 19, 2012

HOROSCOPES A

RIES ~ Be flexible as others present changes and new schedules for a group activity. Your easy-going attitude will allow you to reschedule appointments easily.

Watch the sun rise it’ll be good for your spirits! Soul Affirmation: I release internal pressure by enjoying the beauties of the world around me. Lucky Numbers: 22, 26, 29 AURUS ~ Give your busy brain a rest and work your body this week. It’s a great day for physical activity that can loosen up muscles and relieve tensions. You’ll receive some practical advice from a distant relative. Soul Affirmation: Newness of outlook helps me deal with the monotonies of life Lucky Numbers: 2, 16, 33 EMINI ~ Family responsibilities may feel like a chore this week. If you relinquish control of the situation, a natural order will occur, and things will organize themselves. You can let people be who they are.

Soul Affirmation: I call on my creative talents to pay my bills. Lucky Numbers: 5, 9, 42 ANCER ~ A secret may be revealed in a casual conversation. Your confidence is valued and appreciated. Take it all in! There’s no returning to what has been once you realize the gift you’ve been given. Soul Affirmation: Helping others is the true measure of my worth. Lucky Numbers: 12, 13, 27 EO ~ A friend from the past could suddenly appear in your life. This could be a highly beneficial reunion for both of you.

Let bygones be bygones, and renew this friendship. Love isn’t used up just because it’s shared. Soul Affirmation: Charm is my middle name this week. Lucky Numbers: 4, 17, 18 IRGO ~ Drive the speed limit this week or you could wind up with a ticket. Why rush? Serenity is available if you only stop and listen for it inside of you. Discharge your usual obligations with dignity and count your blessings. Soul Affirmation: I am guided by the joy within. Lucky Numbers: 1, 13, 49 IBRA ~ Justice is on your mind again this week. This may be in a cosmic sense, or you may still be speeding along try-

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July 19 - 25 ing to get a ticket. Slow down and relax your brain-energies! The universe knows how to take care of itself and of you. Trust!

Soul Affirmation: Distant love is sometimes sweeter. Lucky Numbers: 8, 11, 13 CORPIO ~ No need for rowdiness, wild ones. You can make your point without waving your hands and arms about wildly!

Speak your wisdom softly, gently this week, so that others can hear it and benefit. Soul Affirmation: I face each week with a smile and the week smiles back at me. Lucky Numbers: 22, 27, 31 AGITTARIUS ~ Things speed up again this week and you are in a highly creative mood. An outspoken female in your circle may illuminate a thorny question for you. You’ll be surprised and pleased by what you hear. Soul Affirmation: I look for the good in all that comes to me this week.

Lucky Numbers: 25, 31, 36 APRICORN ~ One of your most unique gifts is the power to change your mind. You know how to change the way you think, and it gives you great personal magnetism. This week you may be called upon to change the way you think about a person close to you. Do it. Soul Affirmation: Friendships are shock absorbers on the bumpy roads of life. Lucky Numbers: 10, 14, 22 QUARIUS ~ Focus intently on the personal this week. Others may seem scattered or impersonal, but it’s not about you.

Keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself until others are more receptive to your good vibrations. Soul Affirmation: I master fear by knowing that all is well. Lucky Numbers: 1, 5, 39 ISCES ~ A personal decision is made, and you are happy for the person who makes it. This person may be younger than you, but you’ve got a karmic bond between you. Enjoy the excitement of moment, and know that faith is being kept by your very actions. Soul Affirmation: This week I forgive myself for everything that has happened. Lucky Numbers: 3, 4, 10

Inside This Edition

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L.A. Watts Times WEEKENDER Published Weekly – Updates 3800 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008 Administration – Sales – Graphics – Editorial 323.299.3800 - office 323.291.6804 - fax

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AP Photo/Alex Brandon

President Barack Obama, left, leans in to kiss first lady Michelle Obama for ‘Kiss Cam’ while attending Team USA and Brazil in an Olympic exhibition basketball game, Monday, July 16, 2012, in Washington. USA won 80-69.

BY KEN THOMAS | ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Beverly Cook – Publisher, Managing Editor 1976 – 1993 Charles Cook – Publisher 1976 – 1998 Melanie Polk – Publisher 1998 – 2010 WWW.LAWATTSTIMES.COM Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. ............Executive Publisher & Executive Editor Brenda Marsh Mitchell ..................................Executive Vice President Tracey Mitchell ......................................................................Controller Brandon I. Brooks ..................................................Co-Managing Editor Yussuf J. Simmonds ..............................................Co-Managing Editor Jennifer Bihm................................................................Assistant Editor Bernard Lloyd ....................................................Director of Advertising Benjamin Samuels ....................................................Graphic Designer Chris Martin ..........................................................Production Designer EMAIL: wattsweekender@yahoo.com Circulation ..................................................................................50,000 The opinions expressed by contributing writers are not necessarily those of the L.A. Watts Times.

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Obama gets a second chance on the Kiss Cam

12 BlackFacts.com July 21, 1896 National Federation of Afro-American Women and the Colored Women’s League merged and created the National Association of Colored Woman. Mary Church Terrell was elected president at meeting at Washington’s Nineteenth Street Baptist Church.

Second chances can be rare in politics, but President Barack Obama found Kiss Cam and an impatient crowd to be just the right motivation.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, were taking in this past Monday night's USA Basketball exhibition game when the Verizon Center’s “Kiss Cam” turned its eye their way. Their image on the huge arena screen prompted the

crowd to cheer — a not-so-subtle hint that Obama plant one on the first lady.

Both smiled, but Obama just put his arm around his wife as the game resumed. That cautious reaction brought some boos.

Obama got a do-over later in the game when the Kiss Cam swung back his way. This time he delivered, giving Mrs. Obama a big kiss on the lips.

And a peck on the forehead for good measure.

And the crowd roared.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

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Number of Persons Total Annual in Household Income* 1 $22,340 2 $30,260 3 $38,180 4 $46,100 5 $54,020 6 $61,940 7 $69,860 8 $77,780 For each additional household member, add $7,920 * Includes current household income from all sources before deductions.

CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION 1) The gas bill must be in your name and the address must be your primary address. 2) You may not be claimed as a dependent on another person’s income tax return other than your spouse’s. 3) You will need to recertify your application when requested. 4) You are required to notify SoCalGas within 30 days if you no longer qualify. 5) You may be asked to verify your eligibility for CARE.

© 2012 Southern California Gas Company. Trademarks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved. Some materials used under license, with all rights reserved by licensor.

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Thursday, July 19, 2012

A Sunday in the Life of ‘The Soul Man’

Wesson says West Angeles Plaza a healthy project

From left (back) are Wesley Jonathan, Lady Denise Hunter, Pastor John Hunter, Cedric ‘The Entertainer’ Kyles, Mrs. Lorna Kyles, John Beasley, Eric Rhone, (front) Jaden Hunter, Croix Kyles and Lucky Rose Kyles.

BY CORA JACKSON-FOSSETT LAWT CONTRIBUTING WRITER

business card bulletin board

What does ‘The Soul Man’ do on Sunday? He worships God, and on July 15, that’s just where he was – praising the Lord at three Los Angeles area churches.

Cedric The Entertainer, who portrays the Rev. Boyce ‘The Voice’ Ballentine on TV Land’s ‘The Soul Man’ sitcom, joined his family and cast members at First A.M.E. Church, West Angeles Church of God in Christ, and The City of Refuge.

The visits actually served a two-

fold purpose for Cedric, who hails from a strong Christian background.

He got his ‘praise on’ enjoying the singing, prayers and sermon as well as addressed the congregations to encourage viewership of ‘The Soul Man.’ “It’s a blessing to be here and have an opportunity to talk about my show. You could see I was about to go to the big ‘desk’ before Pastor John (Hunter) pulled me back,” he jokingly told FAME’s 1,000+ members at the 10 a.m. service.

“We’ve had great shows in the past like ‘Amen,’ but I had the vision

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for this show, where we could talk in our community about some of the issues that are going on, show a family that’s loving, growing, learning, and we do it with each other.

“We hear talk about African Americans not having any presence on television and film, but when we have them, we must support these shows,” said Cedric.

Joining the audience in applauding Cedric’s comments, Pastor Hunter noted, “This is supporting and blessing our own. There are not many positive, affirming, family-oriented shows that are clean on television. It’s the kind of family program that doesn’t undermine the image of African Americans, but it reinforces the positive with levity and fun.”

The series, created by Cedric and Suzanne Martin, revolves around the Rev. Ballentine, an R&B superstarturned-minister. Upon hearing the call to ministry, he leaves his career and high life in Las Vegas to serve in his father’s church in St. Louis.

Reluctantly joining him are his wife, Lolli (played by Niecy Nash) and See CEDRIC ‘THE ‘ENTERTAINER, page 15 Provocative Public Issues Talk! with Earl Ofari Hutchinson

KPFK Radio Los Angeles

90.7 FM Streamed globally at kpfk.org

Herb Wesson When private citizen Herb Wesson first ran for his 10th District Council office, a constant refrain from the district’s residents was the concern about the lack of healthy food options in the community. With rising rates of obesity and diabetes, he determined that something needed to be done.

A couple of things have changed since then. Wesson is now president of the Los Angeles City Council.

And, his district is no longer a “food desert.”

Central to improving the quality of life in the Crenshaw/Jefferson Park area is the new West Angeles Plaza development now under construction at Crenshaw and Jefferson boulevards in the heart of the Crenshaw District.

Under the leadership of Tunua Thrash, and her team at the West Angeles Community Development Corporation, the project has moved forward. The anchor tenants for the $12 million development will be Fresh & Easy, which has leased 14,000 square feet, and Union Bank, which has leased 4,000 square feet.

There will be an additional 3,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.

“Our residents shouldn’t have to travel to other parts of the city to buy healthy food,” said Wesson. “We’ve made great progress, and with 150 jobs on this project, this is just the beginning.”

It is the shared vision of Council President Wesson and Bishop Charles Blake, a founder of West

Angeles Community Development Corporation, to remake the face of Crenshaw Boulevard, and this is one of the projects that will help achieve that goal, they said.

In addition to the banking facility and the new market, West Angeles Plaza is expected to be a significant economic development catalyst for the area. Another catalyst for the area, say supporters, is the nearby Exposition Light Rail Line that is now up and running. Construction at West Angeles Plaza is expected to be completed in the summer of 2014.

The West Angeles Community Development Corporation, Union Bank, CIM, and the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus program, provided funding for the project.

In recent years, Wesson and his staff have overseen other major improvements at the Ralph’s supermarkets at La Brea Avenue and Rodeo Road; at Pico Boulevard and San Vicente Boulevard; and at Western Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard. The first Fresh & Easy Express in the nation is now located at La Cienega Boulevard and 18th Street; and a major rebuild is planned for the Vons at Pico and Fairfax.

The next major food improvement in the area is planned for the $93 million, 300,000 square foot “District Square” development near Crenshaw and Rodeo, where there will be a new Smart & Final, and a new Target. Construction on this project will begin soon.

Saturdays Noon to 1PM PST

President Earl Ofari Hutchinson

The Hutchinson Report

with Earl Ofari Hutchinson

thehutchinsonreportnews.com

Artists rendering of West Angeles Plaza development now under construction at Crenshaw and Jefferson boulevards.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

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Person Of The Week | Darrell D. Miller So. Calif. home prices match two-year high in June Darrell D. Miller of Fox Rothschild Recognized

BY ELLIOT SPAGAT ASSOCIATED PRESS Southern California extended its housing recovery in June as the median sales price matched a two-year high and buyers drawn by low interest rates snapped up homes in pricier coastal regions.

The median price of new and existing houses and condominiums in the sixcounty region reached $300,000 in June, up 5.3 percent from $285,000 during the same period last year, research firm DataQuick said recently.

It marked the third straight month that prices increased from last year, matching the longest streak since late 2010.

Meanwhile, the California Association of Realtors said the statewide median sales price in June for existing single-family homes grew 8.1 percent to $320,540 from $296,410 a year earlier.

That number doesn’t include condominiums or new homes, and it relies on residential brokers instead of county property records. Still, it suggests the recovery extended to the entire state last month as buyers were lured by low interest rates.

“Just about everywhere in the state has hit bottom,” said Jeffrey Michael, director of the University of the Pacific’s Business Forecasting Center in

Stockton. “Some areas have moved into recovery and others are sliding along the bottom. It looks like the coastal areas are moving into recovery.”

Richard Green, director of the University of Southern California’s Lusk Center for Real Estate, believes California’s housing market hit bottom at the end of last year or early this year.

He said metrics such as the relationship of housing prices to rental costs and income suggest the timing is ripe to buy a home.

“The fundamentals for owning are the best they’ve been in a while,” he said. “You probably have to go back to 1997. Owning just looks really good now.”

However, many buyers are facing slim pickings.

The California Association of Realtors said its statewide index showed unsold inventory in June covering only 3½ months, down from 5.1 months a year earlier.

The figure represents how long it would take to sell all existing singlefamily homes at the current sales clip.

Supply in a normal market is considered to be six to seven months.

DataQuick President John Walsh cautioned against reading too much into the median price, saying the gain reflects a shift in sales from foreclosed properties in economically battered regions to See HOME PRICES, page 14

as Entertainment Attorney of the Year

BY NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION

Acknowledging his reputation as a trailblazer among Hollywood entertainment lawyers, Darrell D. Miller, cochair of Fox Rothschild’s coast-to-coast Entertainment Law Practice, has been named the 2012 Entertainment Attorney of the Year by the National Bar Association, the nation’s oldest and largest network of predominantly African-American attorneys and judges.

Miller, consistently named in the Top 50 Showbiz Players by Black Enterprise Magazine, received the recognition July 16 during the Association’s 87th Annual Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

With more than 20 years of experience in entertainment law, Miller has established himself as the go-to person for providing celebrities, athletes and others in the industry with guidance toward formulating solid and informed strategies for career growth. He is able to assist clients in monetizing and protecting their brands, building multiple revenue streams and leveraging new technology and social networking to expand their brands.

Miller has been touted for his “Seven Streams of Income” wealth building strategy, which he formulated by examining the earning habits of the

Darrell D. Miller extremely wealthy. The Atlanta Post called the theory “a revolutionary concept that forever changed the thinking – and financial portfolios – of his clients and, ultimately, the general public.”

A former professional singer, Miller has a deep personal understanding of the creative people and companies he represents as well as the knowledge and savvy of a seasoned entertainment attorney. His forward-thinking vision on expanding celebrity brands to generate multi-streams of income has helped shape the careers of many of his clients.

During his career, Miller has cultivated long-standing relationships with numerous studio executives and creative personnel, including artists, writers, directors and producers associated with a variety of television programs and motion pictures such as “NCIS,” “Southland,” “Law & Order,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Entourage,” “In Plain Sight,” “Boondocks,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Shark Tank,” “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Mary Mary TV Series,” “Jumping The Broom,” “Green Lantern,” “Fast and Furious 5,” “Couples Retreat” and Academy Award-Winner “Crash.” His clients include Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy Award nominated stars.

Miller has a transactional law practice, with an emphasis on the motion picture, television, music, theatre and new media industries. He has aided and assisted clients in all areas of entertainment law, including motion pictures, television, music, theatre, new media, live-stage events, touring, literary property, licensing agreements, co-productions, partnerships, incorporations, merchandising, intellectual property, syndication, literary book publishing, executive employment agreements, development agreements, productions agreements and distribution agreements.

See DARRELL D. MILLER, page 10

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Thursday, July 19, 2012

UNCF Walk participants

Florida A&M president to resign immediately

Everyone Wins As Supporters of UNCF Walk for Education The community came out in numbers to support the 30th Anniversary UNCF Los Angeles Walk for Education last month in Exposition Park. The annual walkathon raises scholarship funds for deserving and under-served African American and minority youths. Chris Schauble, co-anchor, KTLA 5 Morning News returned as master of ceremonies along with the Black Greeks for HBCUs honorary chairpersons, LAUSD School

Board Member, Marguerite La Motte and Actress T’Keyah Crystal Keymah of That’s So Raven, In Living Color and Cosby. City Councilmember Jan Perry was in attendance and offered remarks about the relevancy of UNCF and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

‘Every step we take in Southern California brings us that much closer to sending more kids to college and fulfill-

ing President Barack Obama’s commitment for America to regain world leadership in the number of college graduates by 2020,” said Curtis R. Silvers, Jr., UNCF Area Director, Los Angeles.

“UNCF’s Walk for Education is an opportunity for the community to rally together to help children to get the college education our nation needs them to have in order to compete in a global See UNCF WALK, page 12

AP Photo/Don Juan Moore

Florida A&M University President James H. Ammons speaks to the audience during graduation on May 3, 2009 on the campus of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida. Ammons resigned on July 11, 2012, the same day parents of drum major Robert Champion who died after being hazed, added the university to a wrongful death lawsuit.

BY GARY FINEOUT ASSOCIATED PRESS Florida A&M University’s president reached an agreement with school officials to immediately resign July 11, after facing months of criticism in the hazing death of a marching band member.

Last week, James Ammons had submitted a letter stating his resignation would not take effect until Oct. 11.

However, he waived a provision allowing him to give 90 days notice to the FAMU board in exchange for getting paid bonuses.

Ammons will be paid more than $98,000 in performance bonuses from his last two years in office — and will still earn his full presidential salary of more than $341,000 over the next year while he remains on sabbatical.

Ammons plans eventually to return to FAMU as a member of the faculty.

The school’s governing board — which held an emergency conference call to discuss Ammons’ resignation — voted in favor of the deal and named FAMU Provost Larry Robinson as interim president.

The death of 26-year-old Robert Champion unraveled the hazing culture at the university, specifically within the famed Marching 100 band.

Trustees have complained about a lack of oversight of the band as well as lax management on other issues at the university.

Eleven FAMU band members face felony hazing charges, while two others face misdemeanor counts for their alleged roles in Champion’s hazing.

They have pleaded not guilty.

Meanwhile, Champion’s family has sued the university.

The band has already been suspended until 2013. And there are still two investigations under way, including a probe by the Florida Board of Governors into whether university officials ignored past warnings about hazing prior to Champion’s death Interim president Robinson had previously served President Barack Obama’s administration as assistant

secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He also briefly served as the top official in charge of FAMU back in 2000, before Ammons was appointed president.

FAMU's board spent more than an hour discussing whether to make Robinson interim president so quickly.

Questions remain about whether other candidates should be considered — and whether an interim president is eligible to apply for the job permanently.

But both the student body president and head of FAMU's faculty senate pressed to appoint Robinson immediately to bring stability to a campus that has been reeling since Champion’s November death.

“I know how jittery the university community is at this time,” Narayan Persaud, a FAMU professor, told other board members.

Still, in order to reach consensus, trustees agreed to take a more formal vote when they meet again in August.

The choice of interim president will also have to be approved by the Florida Board of Governors, the panel that oversees the entire state university system.

Robinson said in a statement he was “grateful” to serve “at this critical time in the university’s history.”

“There is work to be done and I stand ready to do my absolute best to keep FAMU on its path of success,” Robinson added.

Ammons had vowed a month ago to remain at his job, despite a no-confidence vote from trustees in June.

During the recent conference call, Ammons agreed to step down immediately but did not comment further about his decision.

Ammons was first brought on five years ago to help stabilize the school's financial troubles and threats to its accreditation.

Other problems have come out in the past year. A top auditor resigned after it was discovered false audit summaries had been distributed. It was revealed that more than 100 members See FAMU, page 15

Thursday, July 19, 2012

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Jesse Pulitzer-winning columnist William Raspberry dies Jackson Jr.’s absence goes unnoticed in DC

ASSOCIATED PRESS William Raspberry, who became the second black columnist to win a Pulitzer Prize for his widely read syndicated commentaries in The Washington Post, died Tuesday July 17. He was 76.

Raspberry had prostate cancer and died at his home in Washington, his wife, Sondra Raspberry, told The Post. A Post spokeswoman confirmed his death.

Raspberry, who grew up in segregated Mississippi, wrote an opinion column for the Post for nearly 40 years.

More than 200 newspapers carried his column in syndication before he retired in 2005.

He won the Pulitzer for commentary in 1994. His columns often dealt with AP Photo/The Washington Post, Julia Ewan urban violence, the legacies of civil rights leaders and female This Oct. 28, 2004 photo shows William Raspberry, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist genital mutilation in Africa.

Raspberry started at The for The Washington Post. Raspberry, one of the Post in 1962 as a teletype most widely read black journalists of his generoperator and began working as ation, died Tuesday, July 17, 2012. He was 76. a reporter within months. In 1965, he covered the riots in the Watts syndicated black columnist in the section of Los Angeles, and he began mainstream media was Carl Rowan. writing a column on local matters a Raspberry’s column moved to The Post’s op-ed page in 1970. year later.

At the time, the only nationally See RASPBERRY, page 15

BY HENRY C. JACKSON AND SOPHIA TAREEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS When Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. disappeared last month for a mysterious medical leave, it took weeks for anyone in Washington to even notice.

It was a measure of the disconnect between his famous name and his stature on Capitol Hill. The 47-year-old son of the legendary civil rights leader has become simply a congressman who can deliver the pork back home.

Jackson arrived in Washington 17 years ago with a star quality that set him apart from his 434 colleagues in the House. Yet he has never lived up to those high expectations on the national stage, gaining a reputation in the nation’s capital for quixotic pursuits such as trying to impeach President George W. Bush and push through constitutional amendments

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File

In this Oct. 16, 2011 file photo, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill., is seen during the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington.

When Jackson disappeared on a mysterious medical leave in June 2012, it took weeks for anyone in Washington to notice. that had no chance at all.

One big reason given for his failure to rise to a more statesmanlike role is the cloud of suspicion that has hung over him for more than three years because of

his dealings with corrupt former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

“He was, up until about 2008, clearly a rising star,” said Dick Simpson, a See JACKSON ABSENCE, page 15

It’s never too early.

Start reading to your kids on day one.

Even a trip to the grocery store is a chance to learn.

Read food labels, shopping lists, and store signs to your child.

It all helps.

First5California.com/parents

Doing the little things means everything.

/First5California

/First5CA

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Thursday, July 19, 2012

L.A. Watts Times WEEKENDER

F E AT U R E

By Thandisizwe Chimurenga LAWT Contributing Writer Every 36 hours or every one and a half days, a Black woman, man or child is killed by a police oƥcer, security guard, or self-appointed law enforcer.

So says a recent report by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM), a national Black human rights organization. The report, entitled “No More Trayvons,” examines the killings of 120 people between Jan. 1 and June 30 of this year and paints a disturbing picture of questionable actions by both those who are “sworn to protect and serve,” and private citizens who are allowed to act outside of the law.

Originally released on July 9th, the report initially claimed that the killings took place an average of every 40 hours. The report was updated and re-released however, on July 16 – the 150th birthday of anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells – to reflect an additional 10 confirmed victims who had been killed during the first six months of 2012.

“Since the murder of Trayvon Martin and the worldwide attention that’s been focused on it, there’s been a huge public outcry, but few headlines, about more killings. More grieving family members started coming forward and there were more calls for investigations,” said Kali Akuno, the national organizer of the MXGM and co-author of the report. According to Akuno, “exposure of

the true depth of the problem became more urgent to demonstrate that Trayvon’s murder was not an isolated tragedy, but symptomatic of the larger problem of institutional racism.”

Trayvon Martin was the Florida teen shot and killed while visiting his father on Feb. 26, 2012, in a gated community by George Zimmerman, a self-described Neighborhood Watch captain. Zimmerman claimed his shooting of the unarmed, teenage Martin was in self-defense and thus justified under Florida’s “stand your ground” law. Florida is one of a handful of states where voters have adopted laws that state an individual, instead of retreating, may exercise deadly force if they believe a threat to their life exists. The individual may be justified to “stand their ground,” whether in a public or private space.

Among the findings of the 38-page report are the following: Ɣ In 105 of the 120 cases of extrajudicial killings, the legal system has (thus far) only charged nine people and the outcome of these charges is yet to be determined; Ɣ Of the 120 killed 13 were children under the age of 18; 22 were just entering adulthood, aged 18-21 years; 48 were aged 22-31 years and 20 were aged 32-41 years; Ɣ A significant portion of those killed suơered from mental health problems or were intoxicated and behaved in ways the police allegedly could not control;

28 people might be alive today if community members trained and committed to humane crisis intervention and mental health treatment had been called instead of the police; Ɣ 55 people had no weapon at all at the time they were executed and 43 people were alleged to have weapons but the allegations were either disputed by witnesses or further investigation. Ɣ Five women were among the 120 executed by police: two who were accused car thieves, two who were by-standers and one woman who was beaten and smothered by police in an inappropriate attempt to “calm” her down.

Akuno says that the 120 people killed by law enforcement and others are described as extrajudicial “because they happen without trial or any due process, against all international law and human rights conventions. As such, a national plan of action needs to be adopted by the Obama administration to address this.”

Local reactions to the report’s findings include anger and calls for federal oversight of the police.

“It would be an understatement to just say this report is disturbing,” said Bilal Ali, a founder of the Coalition against Police Abuse along with the late Michael Zinzun.

Ali is now an organizer with Occupy the Hood, an oơshoot of the Occupy Movement that swept across

New report paints disturbing picture of extrajudicial killings of Black people across the country

www.lawattstimes.com

Thursday, July 19, 2012

the country in the fall of 2011. “The report validates the assumption that there is no value placed on AfricanAmerican life here in Amerikkka. Occupy The Hood-LA, through its “Stand Our Ground Campaign,” plans on educating and organizing our people so that we will ‘stand our ground’ against any and all genocidal practices as employed by this racist and parasitic social order.”

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, civil rights activist and analyst, called the report both “frightening” and “terrifying,” and stated that it shows how “local police departments have dropped the ball.” According to Hutchinson, [These incidents of extrajudicial killings] “demand not only a full scale investigation, but the feds are going to have to do what they did before: when Los Angeles, Miami, Pittsburgh and other cities were under consent decrees, there was a decrease in these types of incidents. When L.A. came out from under consent decree, there was an increase.”

Hutchinson noted that the “No More Trayvons” report appeared not long after the Los Angeles Police Commission’s Inspector General released its own report on the LAPD’s use of force incidents for the first quarter of 2012. That report, published June 27 and available on the web, states that “the total number of categorical use of force incidents, which had been declining since 2007, steeply increased in 2011 to its highest point in 5 years. This growth – encompassing 30 additional incidents – represents a 35 percent increase over 2010 numbers.”

The LAPD’s Southeast and 77th Street precincts show the highest number of incidents of oƥcer-involved shootings.

The Inspector General’s oƥce disputes LAPD Chief Charlie Beck’s explanation that the number of oƥcerinvolved shootings increased because the number of assaults on oƥcers had increased. Suggesting that the methodology used to record such incidents may be faulty, the report states that “Aggravated assaults on police oƥcers are measured on a per-crime/per-victim basis, while categorical use of force incidents are counted on a per-incident basis, regardless of the number of oƥcers (or suspects) involved. For example, a single shooting incident in 2011 involved 16 documented assaults. Although 15 oƥcers fired their weapons, this incident is counted as one oƥcerinvolved shooting.”

Hutchinson believes that “the federal government, Attor-

ney General Eric Holder are going to have to step up to the plate,” and that any consent decree, regardless of where it is implemented nationally, must have at least three common components: “racial profiling must cease; complaints about police conduct must be taken seriously and investigated fully; and police training must be thoroughly revamped,” he said.

Tiah Starr is an organizer with the local chapter of the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality. The group holds an annual march in downtown Los Angeles from Pershing Square to MacArthur Park to protest the victims of police murder. She says that grassroots action is also necessary.

“It’s not enough to read the report and complain about how bad things are; we need to hold the police accountable when every time another life is taken,” said Starr. “Whether that means organizing a thousand more million hoodie marches, going out at night with video cameras to watch the cops, or standing with the victim’s family – its clear that remaining silent on this will only lead to even more murders.”

NUMBER OF SHOOTINGS

According to the report, the number of shootings for the years 2007 through 2011 is as follows:

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

105 102 84 85 115

“It’s not enough to read the report and complain about how bad things are; we need to hold the police accountable.”

Tiah Starr, Organizer Oct. 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality

ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID G. BROWN

9

10

The Main Event

BY KAM WILLIAMS LAWT CONTRIBUTING WRITER One of the most prodigious pugilists of all time, Sugar Ray Leonard was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina on May 17, 1956 to Cicero and Getha Leonard.

The fifth of seven kids, his family moved to Washington, DC in 1959 before settling down seven years later in Palmer Park, Maryland where his father was employed as a supermarket night manager and his mother as a nurse.

Though shy as a young child, Ray followed his brother Roger’s footsteps into boxing, ultimately eclipsing his elder sibling in terms of potential and finding fame by capturing the gold medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

He went on to become the first fighter to earn over $100 million over the course of an enviable career, winning world championship titles in five different weight classes while squaring-off in classic showdowns with such formidable opponents as Roberto “No Mas” Duran, Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns, Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Wilfred

Thursday, July 19, 2012

QB Griffin III again misses Redskins rookie camp

Sugar Ray Leonard goes one-on-one for “The Big Fight” interview

Benitez.

Ray retired from the ring in 1997 with a record 36-3-1, with 25 of those wins coming by knockout. Today, he lives in California with his wife, Bernadette, and their children, Camille and Daniel. Here, he discusses his moving memoir, “The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring.”

LAWT: It is widely known that it is very difficult for men to talk about sexual abuse. What made you decide to go public with your story, and was it a cathartic and healing experience to write about it?

SRL: It was cathartic. I only wish that I had had the courage and the knowledge to have gotten that out of my system, out of my mind or my heart years earlier. But there is no book, there is no manual to tell you how to deal with sexual abuse. I saw Todd Bridges talk about being abused on Oprah. Something that he said, or an expression that he made that gave me that little boost I needed to be open about it and to talk about it as transparently as I did. When I told my wife, she couldn’t believe it. She was petrified, because it’s such a no-no, taboo, a hands-off subject. But I’d have to say hearing Todd Bridges on Oprah was my watershed moment.

LAWT: Kate Newell says: I saw you on Stephen Colbert and loved it. She was wondering why a movie hasn’t been made about your life?

SRL: Being on Colbert was a real treat for me, too. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but it turned out to be pretty cool. In terms of a movie, we’re talking about it. It’s on the table but, as you know, Kam, that type of thing doesn’t just happen overnight, unfortunately.

But I do look forward to seeing the story of my life onscreen someday.

LAWT: Boxing fan Mike Ehrenberg asks: Was Wilfred Benitez the best pure boxer you ever faced?

SRL: Yes, without question. He was a mirror image of what I considered myself as a boxer. That was one of my toughest fights, by far. It’s sad that he’s not mentioned in the same breath as Hearns, Hagler and Duran. It always bothered me that he wasn’t considered in our league, the reason being that he never beat any of us. But he should be right up there.

LAWT: Mike also asks: Was the Dicky Eklund knockdown, highlighted in the movie “The Fighter,” legit?

SRL: It was legit that I was knocked down, or pushed down. [Chuckles] But I remember that fight like it was yesterday

ASSOCIATED PRESS

because that guy, Dick Eglund, was so unorthodox. And it was the first time in my life I really experienced racial hatred from the fans. We’re talking about Boston back in ’78.

LAWT: I lived in Boston from ’75 to ’78. It’s the most racist city I ever experienced before or since. You couldn’t step foot in white neighborhoods… they wouldn’t serve you in some restaurants… and you couldn’t go to Fenway Park or the Boston Garden.

SRL: I can believe it. When I arrived at the airport, I had a priest or a pastor greet me with, “Hey boy, welcome.”

LAWT: I could go on and on about Boston.

SRL: I could, too. That’s what it was like back then.

LAWT: When I interviewed Governor Deval Patrick last year, I told him I never would’ve believed that Massachusetts would ever elect a black governor after my experiences in his state. Mike has one more question: Do you regret coming out of retirement past your prime to fight Terry Norris and Hector Camacho?

SRL: Do I regret it? Yeah, I do, but it took that to wake up to the fact that my time was over, my time was gone.

Sometimes it just takes that kind of beating, if you will, to wake up. It does. I didn’t want to take it. I took it in intervals.

The first time was in ’91. I retired and came back in ’97. Woo! I mean, come on! I don’t know, man. A six-year layoff?

That was crazy! My career was relatively short, whether you look at either its length in years or the number of fights I had. But it was brutal.

LAWT: That’s because it was the Golden Age in terms of welterweights and middleweights.

SRL: Exactly! You couldn’t mess around in that era there.

LAWT: Harriet Pakula Teweles says: With mounting medical evidence that contact sports aren’t providing ample equipment to mitigate against cerebral concussions, how would you feel about boxing associations mandating protective headgear for fighters, not just for sparring, but also during bouts?

SRL: I’m not in favor of that because we learn as amateurs how to protect ourselves. And that’s why there’s a third man in the ring, the referee. And that’s why there has to be a very strong boxing commission that doesn’t allow guys in the ring who don’t belong there.

Look at football, where you still have See SUGAR RAY LEONARD, page 12

Robert Griffin III remained unsigned as the Washington Redskins opened the second day of their five-day rookie camp.

The Heisman Trophywinning quarterback from Baylor was the second pick in this year’s draft. The team’s third-round selection, offensive lineman Josh LeRibeus, was also absent again Tuesday July 17.

The two aren’t considered holdouts because training camp doesn’t officially begin until July 26. Neither can be on the field with their fellow newcomers until they have signed their contracts.

The collective bargaining agreement that was ratified by the NFL and the union to end last year's lockout was supposed to make rookie deals easier to complete with a system of AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File slotting that paid players In this June 13, 2012, file photo, Washington based on their draft posi- Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III walks tion. It worked well for the off the field following NFL football practice in Redskins for their choices Ashburn, Va. from the fourth through seventh rounds, all of whom were have yet to close the deal.

Griffin’s agent, Ben Dogra, was signed by early June.

Griffin is due for a four-year con- unavailable for comment. His client tract worth about $21 million, rough- attended the exhibition basketball ly two-thirds of which would be the game Monday night between the signing bonus. The hang-up apparent- American and Brazilian men’s ly is “offset” language that would Olympic teams at Verizon Center in govern the guaranteed money in the Washington.

Fourteen of the 32 first-round event Griffin is waived before the draft choices, including top overall contract’s expiration.

LeRibeus’ agent, Jordan Woy, pick Andrew Luck, and 12 of the 32 selections remain said he had been talking to the third-round Redskins on a daily basis, but they unsigned.

DARRELL D. MILLER Continued from page 5 Miller is a member of the Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association Hall of Fame and is frequently tapped by journalists for his insight into current entertainment industry trends. The Los Angeles Business Journal, The American Lawyer, Los Angeles Daily Journal, The Atlanta Post, CNN.com, ESPN.com and MSNBC.com regularly approach him for commentary on topics ranging from the Oscar race and the recession’s impact on stars to international recording artists and movie stars and legal issues inherent in the industry.

Miller was recently honored by the Foundation for Second Chances (FFSC) with its 2011 Service in Entertainment Leadership Award for his reputation as an entertainment attorney as well as for his philanthropic involvement with art institu-

tions such as the Pasadena Playhouse, where he is a member of the Diversity Committee.

He also serves on the Air Force Entertainment Liaison Board and is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association, American Bar Association (Section Member, Forum on Entertainment and Sports Industries), Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (Past Chair of the Board of Directors, President and Executive Committee Member) and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Past Member Board of Governors and Executive Committee and Past Chair of Membership and Diversity Committees). He is also a frequent panelist and guest moderator of discussions relating to both the talent and institutional aspects of entertainment law.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

11

The stamps they First lady, Smithsonian left: Miles Davis museum honor top designers and Ray Charles

BY BRETT ZONGKER, ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP Photo/Sony/Legacy, Don Hunstein

In this publicity image released by Sony/Legacy Records, musician Miles Davis is shown during recording session in 1959 for “Kind of Blue.” Fifty years after jazz legend Miles Davis recorded “Kind of Blue,” the House voted Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 to honor the landmark album’s contribution to the genre.

BY JOY CHILDS, WATTS TIMES CONTRIBUTING WRITER Like manna from jazz heaven, tributes to two icons — Miles Davis on June 27 and Ray Charles on July 11 — came down on the Hollywood Bowl’s summer jazz series. They were two of the best tribute celebrations in recent memory at LA’s premier venue.

“A Celebration of Miles Davis” If you haven’t been to the Bowl, or a post office lately, you might not know that the United States Post Service and the Bowl have unveiled the Miles Davis (1926−1991) commemorative stamp.

The jazz icon’s stamp is a forever stamp (meaning it’s a perpetually valid firstclass postage stamp), which bears a likeness of Davis’ signature swaybacked stance blowing the hell out of a trumpet.

The ceremony was attended by family members Cheryl Davis (daughter) and Erin Davis (son) as well as Herbie Hancock, who then had to rush over to the Bowl to moderate the concert honoring Davis.

What a brilliant celebration it turned out to be.

After telling the crowd about the commemorative stamp ceremony, to wild applause, Hancock revealed that his first gig with Davis was on the very stage from which he was speaking … i.e., at the Hollywood Bowl in 1964.

That statement was enough to make the real jazz lovers in the audience smile in the imagination of what the stage might have looked like back then, set up, as it was, for one of the greatest jazz bands of all time: Hancock, Davis, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. OMG! The show transported you back to the Miles Davis of the ‘60s and forward. First up — and fittingly so — was Jimmy Cobb’s So What Band. The drummer, at 83 years young and attired in his ever-present suspenders and cap, has the distinction of being the sole surviving member of Davis’ “Kind of Blue” masterpiece album, which is cel-

ebrating its 50th anniversary. Cobb and his band mates, including Javon Jackson (who, on tenor sax, was a ringer for John Coltrane); Buster Williams (bass); Larry Willis (piano) — and both Vincent Herring and Jeremy Pelt on trumpet — did an absolutely sterling job of recreating “King of Blue” in its entirety, songs so well known it wasn’t even necessary to call out their titles.

Moving on to the ‘70s and’80s was the Miles Electric Band. Their set opened with Badal Roy on the tabla, which is a pair of small different-sized hand drums used especially in music of India. He was soon joined by trumpet extraordinaire/young lion Nicholas Payton, who tore it up on Davis’ 1971 recording of “Jack Johnson” before venturing in to “In a Silent Way,” regarded as one of Davis’ earliest experimentations with electric piano and guitar and rock improvisation. Their grooves were augmented by black-andwhite film footage and stills of Davis See MILES DAVIS / RAY CHARLES, page 12

AP Photo /file

Ray Charles is shown in this Feb. 25, 1986 photo. Charles, the Grammywinning crooner who blended gospel blues died Thursday, June 10, 2004, a spokesman said. He was 73.

Michelle Obama said the nation’s top designers in fashion, architecture, landscapes and technology were making life better through their everyday work and honored them at the White House July 13.

The first lady joined the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in hosting a luncheon in the East Room for winners of the National Design Awards. The New York Citybased museum presents the awards, along with a design fair for Washington teens to meet some of the nation’s top creative minds.

Richard Saul Wurman, who created the popular TED conferences for discussing technology, entertainment and design ideas, won the Lifetime Achievement Award. The first lady added that he was “quite dashing and sassy” after meeting him last Friday.

Thom Browne, who designs the Black Fleece line for men and women by Brooks Brothers, was honored for his fashion design that evokes the late 1950s and early 1960s. Winners were also named interior design, product design and other sectors.

Obama told a crowd of designers from companies like Facebook, Nike and New York's fashion scene that the design winners help improve daily life

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

First lady Michelle Obama smiles as she honors the Smithsonian's CooperHewitt National Design Award winners, Friday, July 13, 2012, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. through their work.

“Every day, these visionary designers are pushing boundaries, creating and revealing beauty where we least expect it and helping us all lead healthier, more sustainable lives,” Obama said. “From the clothes we wear to the technologies we use to the public spaces we enjoy, their work affects just

about every aspect of our lives.”

The first lady hailed the nonprofit design firm Design that Matters in Cambridge, Mass., which partners with social entrepreneurs to address needs in developing countries, including a neonatal incubator made of spare car parts and a projector for nighttime adult literacy See TOP DESIGNERS, page 12

12

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Producers seek young man to play Michael Jackson

BY MARK KENNEDY, ASSOCIATED PRESS Producers of a musical based on the life of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy are seeking an exceptionally talented young actor — one who can play a preteen Gordy, a young Michael Jackson and a precocious Stevie Wonder.

Gordy launched an audition website July 17 to help find the young man between the ages of 8 and 11 who can sing, dance and act like the King of Pop in his Jackson 5 days and Wonder at about age 11.

“Motown” will open on Broadway next spring.

Gordy says he’s not looking for imitators, but someone who “can be themselves in the role” and give him “the same chills” he experienced when he first saw Jackson at age 10 in 1968.

Berry Gordy Jr., arrives at the Hitsville U.S.A and the Motown Museum in Detroit, Friday, Oct. 19, 2007. Gordy was honored with the renaming of the street where the AP Photo/Carlos Osorio Motown sound originated. The Detroit City Council unanimously voted to give a section of West Grand Boulevard the name, Berry Gordy Jr. Boulevard. Berry Gordy Jr. Boulevard will stretch west from the John C. Lodge freeway to Grand River Avenue. It includes the block where “Hitsville USA,” Gordy’s former home and Motown recording studio, stands.

SUGAR RAY LEONARD Continued from page 10 injuries no matter how much they improve the helmets and other equipment. Boxing’s a poor man’s sport. We can’t afford to play golf or tennis. It is what it is. It’s kept so many kids off the street. It kept me off the street. What’re my options?

LAWT: Yale grad Tommy Russell says: I really respect your admission about battling drug abuse during the tough times of your professional life.

What is the most important thing you have learned from that experience?

SRL: I learned that I had character defects, that I was allergic to alcohol and drugs, and that I had an obsession with all the bad stuff. But thank God that I woke and that I had good people around me to support me. There’s not much more I can say about it. You have to want to be a better person.

LAWT: Larry Greenberg says: On Celebrity Ghost Stories, you appeared with one of my favorite young ancestresses, Leila Jean Davis, and you shared some very personal experiences. How did you like being on the show?

SRL: I enjoyed it. I never thought in a million years that I would tell people that I saw a ghost. And I’ve seen a lot of ghosts. [Laughs] LAWT: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?

SRL: Yeah, how’s your day?

[Chuckles] LAWT: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?

SRL: Yes, we all are afraid of something. We might not admit it, but we are.

LAWT: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?

SRL: Extremely!

LAWT: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good

laugh?

SRL: Just now. [Chuckles] LAWT: What is your guiltiest pleasure?

SRL: It used to be a pint of ice cream in bed.

LAWT: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?

SRL: “The Big Fight.”

LAWT: What inspired you to write the book?

SRL: To be honest, I don’t know. I started one back in 1982 or ’83 when I first retired. But I was only 25 or 26 and not ready to write my memoirs.

LAWT: The music maven Heather Covington question: What music have you been listening to?

SRL: “Dance with My Father” by Luther Vandross.

LAWT: What is your favorite dish to cook?

SRL: I’m pretty good with oatmeal.

LAWT: The Sanaa Lathan question: What excites you?

SRL: Success. But not necessarily monetary success.

LAWT: Judyth Piazza asks: How do you define success?

SRL: Success is attaining your dream while helping others to benefit from that dream materializing.

LAWT: Dante Lee, author of “Black Business Secrets,” asks: What was the best business decision you ever made?

SRL: Remaining conservative.

LAWT: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?

SRL: At about 6, seeing my mom and dad kissing and understanding it.

LAWT: The Melissa Harris-Perry question: How did your first big heartbreak impact who you are as a person?

SRL: It made me realize how much

I loved that person.

LAWT: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

SRL: You don’t play boxing. [LOL] You really don’t. You play golf, you play tennis, but you don’t play boxing.

LAWT: The Tavis Smiley question: How do you want to be remembered?

SRL: As someone who had an impact outside the ring.

LAWT: Thanks again for the interview, Ray, and best of luck with the book.

SRL: Thank you, Kam.

UNCF WALK Continued from page 6 economy.”

Southern California Edison (SCE) served again this year as the presenting sponsor and led with the most corporate team walkers along with support from Union Bank, BP, Superior Grocers, American Airlines, Toyota, Mattel, Southern California Gas Company/Sempra Energy, Inter-Alumni Council of Los Angeles, Valley Fruits and Tropicana.

There is no magic formula for success; every person finds his or her unique path. But in today’s world, nearly every success story shares one common element, higher education. For that reason, the United Negro College Fund – the nation’s oldest minority higher education assistance organization – continues its commitment to providing educational opportunity for financially disadvantaged minority youth. For additional information about UNCF or willing to volunteer, please contact the Los Angeles Area Office at 213.639.3800 and help them carry out the mission implicit in its motto, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

MILES DAVIS / RAY CHARLES Continued from page 11 with fellow heavyweights Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley.

The last third of the concert was devoted to the Miles Electric Band, headed by porkpie hat-wearing Marcus Miller, whose musical choices included “Splatch,” “Portia,” “Jekyll and Hyde,” “Goree,” and “Tutu,” Davis’ title album from 1986, dedicated to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the first Black Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa.

Little known is the fact that originally Davis was to have worked with Prince but ended up working with bassist/clarinetist Marcus Miller. And given the result of “Tutu” and its progeny — “Tutu Revisited” (2011) — funketeers are no doubt thankful it was ultimately Miller’s off-the-chain funky licks that landed him that original recording date — and the Hollywood Bowl tribute as well.

“Ray Charles: Genius + Soul = Jazz” How do you pay tribute to RC? It’s got to be an all-star event, joining worldclass bands like the Count Basie Orchestra and an All-Star Band, of course, with special guest vocalists in a spectacular homage to one of the most distinctive voice of all times.

It may have been an odd choice for Tavis Smiley to have been the moderator, but it was all good. In fact, having Bebe Winans infuse his brand of gospel on Charles’ 1954 gospel-inspired “I Got a Woman” was a really good choice, and Winans was definitely up to the task on what had been Charles first R&B hit.

And if you’re Winans, you can’t help but bring a soul injection, a gospel tinge to a song like “Drown In My Own Tears.”

A bit of a musical lesson was provided by Dave Koz, who told the audience, “A lot of people don’t know that Ray Charles was a great sax player [Note: This writer didn’t know.]” before taking the stage with his own musical hero,

TOP DESIGNERS Continued from page 11 classes in Africa. The company won the design award for corporate and institutional achievement.

She also saluted Wurman, who is an architect and author known for his travel guidebooks. He began TED conferences in 1984 and they would introduce such innovations as the first Mac computer, the Segway and the first announcement of Google, among other creations.

Obama said Wurman has spent his career transforming information into knowledge to help people better understand the world.

“But in the end, as he put it,” Obama said, “he does this work ‘not for fame, fortune or money,’ but ‘just really to do something good.’ ” After the ceremony, Wurman said he treasured the award and cried when he heard he was receiving the honor.

Atlanta-based architects Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam, a husband-andwife team, won the top award for architecture. Scogin said it was a unique honor to receive at the White House but that design has historically been part of the U.S. presidency.

“Thomas Jefferson is still one of the great — he was not an architect — but he was one of the great architects in American culture,” Scogin said. “His interest in the visual and making spaces is always to this day still original thinking.”

The architects joined a teen design fair at the Smithsonian earlier in the day to share their careers with teens from Washington and New York City. Elam

Tom Scott on “Them That (I Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet). And Dee Dee Bridgewater, along with Houston Person on sax, was as sassy as she wanted to be on “Hallelujah I Love Him,” adding that she’d met Charles while doing “Sophisticated Ladies, that he’d invited her and the entire cast to his home for a cocktail party, where he told her, “Baby, I like your voice!” She also had tons of fun blowing on “Busted.”

Another highlight was Terence Blanchard doing a smoky, New Orleans bluesy – sounding strokes throughout the set.

The Raelettes were a hoot — soulful, preachy Patti Austin on “Come Rain or Come Shine.” Sweet-sounding Lynne Fiddmont. Sexy siren Siedah Garrett.

And Country Music Academy awardwinner Martina McBride. The Count Basie Band was in full swing mode on “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” which Smiley announced was the first official crossover hit known.

Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, donning dark glasses like Charles, certainly did justice to “Let the Good Times Roll” with the Count Basie Band and “Hurts to Be in Love,” as well as on “Cryin’ Time” with Monica Mancini.

One hysterically funny moment came from a 1977 “Saturday Night Live” clip featuring the comedians of that show posing as “The Young Caucasians” and singing a dismal version of “What’d I Say” in a 1950’s Four Freshmen style … which brilliantly led to a rocking, soulful version by the tribute musicians.

After ending with an all-star, patriotic “America the Beautiful, there was no doubt that Miles Davis and Ray Charles each left their stamp on the sphere of music — and a Ray Charles stamp is expected in 2013. said there’s great design around the world now, so the nation needs to cultivate its next generation of innovators.

“There’s no reason that American design shouldn’t be the most inventive,” she said. “We have the most freedom of any place on the face of the earth, and our design work should just reflect that on and on and on.”

Other winners included: — Design Mind Award: Janine Benyus, a biologist and innovation consultant working to use biomimicry, looking to nature to create sustainable designs.

— Design Patron: Red Burns, an arts professor and chief collaborations officer for the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University for her innovations in communications technology.

— Communication Design: Rebeca Mendes, a professor in media arts at the University of California, Los Angeles.

— Interaction Design: Evan Roth, an artist who visualizes and records often unseen moments in public spaces and collaborated with Jay-Z on the first opensource rap video.

— Interior Design: Clive Wilkinson Architects, a Los Angeles-based firm whose clients have included Google, Disney and 20th Century Fox. — Landscape Architecture: Stoss Landscape Urbanism, a Boston studio that works in both landscape design and urban planning.

— Product Design: Scott Wilson, founder of the Chicago-based studio Minimal that collaborated with Microsoft to design Kinect for Xbox 360 and who created TikTok watches for the iPod Nano.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

NOTICE INVITING BIDS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Long Beach, California, acting by and through the City’s Board of Harbor Commissioners (“City”) will receive, before the Bid Deadline established below, sealed Bids for the following Work: PORT OF LONG BEACH PIER G, BERTHS G230-G236 TERMINAL REDEVELOPMENT NORTH SLIP BACKLANDS DEVELOPMENT AT PIER G, BERTHS G230-G236 LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA AS DESCRIBED IN SPECIFICATION NO. HD-S2230 AND DRAWINGS LISTED ON DRAWING NOS. HD-10-01998-00-G-IN-MS-S-001 THROUGH HD-10-01998-00-G-IN-MS-S-003 Bid Deadline: Prior to 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 21, 2012.

Bid packages will be time/date stamped on the 4th floor or in the Lobby and shall be submitted prior to 10 a.m.

Place for Submission of Bids: 1. By Delivery Any Business Day Before the Bid Deadline Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Harbor Department Administration Building, 4th Floor Plans and Specifications/Program Management Office 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 2. By Delivery on the Same Business Day as the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building Ground Floor Lobby 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Bid Opening: As soon as practical after the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building 5th Floor Conference Room 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Contract Documents Available: Date/Time: Beginning Thursday, July 19, 2012 Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Location: Harbor Department Administration Building 4th Floor, Plans and Specifications 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Mandatory Pre-Bid Meetingand Site Tour: Date/Time: 10:00 a.m. Thursday, August 2, 2012 Attendance at both the Pre-Bid Meeting and Site Tour is Mandatory.

Location: Harbor Department Administration Building 6th Floor Board Room 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Project Contact Person: Deepen Upadhyay Deepen.Upadhyay@polb.com Fax: 562-283-7352 NIB -1 Contract Documents. Copies of Contract Documents in DVD format may be obtained, at no cost, at the Plans and Specifications Office, 4th floor, Harbor Department Administration Building, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, CA 90802 during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. To arrange to receive a DVD of the Contract Documents by courier at the expense of the Bidder, call (562) 283-7353.

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

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

NIB -2 Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting and Site Tour. The engineering staff of the City’s Harbor department will conduct a pre-bid meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday August 2, 2012, in the Board Room, 6th floor, of the Harbor Department Administration Building. A Mandatory Tour of the Site, conducted by the City, will follow the pre-bid meeting. Attendance at both the Pre-Bid meeting and Site Tour is mandatory. Each Bidder must have a valid picture identification card (e.g. driver’s license or TWIC card), hard hat, steel toe boots, and colored safety vest to attend the Site tour. Note that attendance at the pre-bid meeting and the Site tour can be used to satisfy a portion of a Bidder’s good faith efforts to meet the SBE/VSBE participation goals listed below. EACH BIDDER MUST ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING AND SITE TOUR. FAILURE TO ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING AND SITE TOUR SHALL DISQUALIFY YOUR BID. NIB -3 Summary Description of the Work. The Work required by this Contract includes furnishing all transportation, labor, materials, tools, equipment, services, testing and incidentals to accomplish the PORT OF LONG BEACH PIER G BERTHS G230-G236 TERMINAL REDEVELOPMENT NORTH SLIP BACKLANDS DEVELOPMENT AT PIER G, BERTHS G230-G236. Refer to Section 01110, Summary of Work in the Technical Specifications for a more detailed description of the Work, which includes, but is not limited to, the following: 1. Supervision, coordination, and project staging.

2. Provide traffic, security and safety controls.

3. Provide water pollution control to effectively minimize the negative impact of the project’s construction activities on storm water quality and Harbor waters and ocean.

4. Installation, relocation and removal of new and existing Construction Boundary fencing, including K-rail mounted chain-link fence and chain-link gates.

5. Demolition and removal of existing Roadability Building/Canopy and electrical Substation housing, including foundations and all associated hazardous materials abatement as indicated on Drawings and in the Specifications.

6. Demolition and removal of existing asphalt concrete paving and curbs, Portland cement concrete paving, reinforced concrete pads and runways, concrete curb, concrete wheel stops, storm drain lines and manholes, drainage structures, water lines, sanitary sewer lines and manholes and cleanouts, gas line, electrical and communication conduits, duct banks, cable, substation equipment, switchgear, panelboards, transformers, high mast light poles and foundations, power pole, bollards, chain link fence and gates, guard posts, crane rails, compressor assembly, sign posts foundations, temporary railing (Type K), sandbags, cutting and plugging of existing water lines, sewer lines, storm drains, coordination of removal of oil lines by others, including all other demolition and removal Work shown on the Drawings and in the Specifications.

7. Trenching for removal and placement of utilities.

8. Recycling and amending of recovered aggregate base to produce crushed miscellaneous base to be used on-site.

9. On-site Recycling of recovered asphalt and concrete pavement to produce crushed miscellaneous base to be used on-site.

13

10. Excavation of soil material, stockpiling, testing and off-site disposal.

11. Installation of water system, including, but not limited to; waterlines, valves, fire hydrants, thrust blocks, fittings, bedding material and other appurtenances.

12. Construction of Trench Drains, Storm Drain, Manholes, catch basins, inlet structures, storm water treatment devices, bedding material and other appurtenances.

13. Installation of the electrical and communication system, including, but not limited to; reefer outlets, ductbanks, manholes, pullboxes, conduits, conductors, high mast light poles and other appurtenances.

14. Construction of one (1) 12kV - substation, including; substation concrete foundation, equipment pads, chain link fencing, guard posts, lighting, installation of electrical substation equipment, including testing and commissioning of the electrical system.

15. Installation of conductors in existing and new ductbank system.

16. Adjustment of existing manholes, pullboxes and other remaining utility appurtenances to grade.

17. Construction and placement of crushed miscellaneous base from stockpile provided on-site, recovered and amended on-site or recycled from on-site concrete and asphalt pavement.

18. Import and placement of asphalt concrete pavement.

19. Installation of striping, markings, signage, wheel stops, K-rail, fencing, bollards and protection cages for high mast light poles and fire hydrants.

NIB -4 Contract Time and Liquidated Damages. The Work shall be completed within Four hundred and eighty (480) calendar days as provided in Paragraph SC - 6.1.1 of the Special Conditions, from a date specified in a written “Notice to Proceed” issued by the City and subject to adjustment as provided in Section 3.1 of the General Conditions. FAILURE OF THE CONTRACTOR TO COMPLETE THE WORK WITHIN THE CONTRACT TIME AND OTHER MILESTONES WILL RESULT IN ASSESSMENT OF LIQUIDATED DAMAGES IN THE AMOUNTS ESTABLISHED IN THE SPECIAL CONDITIONS. NIB -5 Contractor’s License. Each Bidder shall hold a current and valid Class ”A” or Class “C-10” California Contractor’s License to bid this Project.

NIB -6 Contractor Performed Work. The Contractor shall perform, with its own organization, Contract Work amounting to at least 30% of the Contract Price, except that any designated “Specialty Items” may be performed by subcontract and the amount of any such “Specialty Items” so performed may be deducted from the Contract Price before computing the amount required to be performed by the Contractor with its own employees. “Specialty Items” will be identified by the City in the Schedule of Bid Items.

NIB-7 SBE/VSBE. This project is subject to the Port of Long Beach (POLB) Small Business Enterprises (SBE)/Very Small Business Enterprises (VSBE) Program. The combined SBE/VSBE participation goal for this project is twenty-five percent (25%), of which a minimum of six percent (6%) must be allocated to VSBEs. POLB expects all Bidders to achieve the combined SBE/VSBE participation goal. Award of the Contract will be conditioned on the Bidder submitting an SBE-2C Commitment Plan demonstrating the Bidder’s intent to meet the combined SBE/VSBE participation goal. If the Bidder’s Commitment Plan does not demonstrate intent to meet the combined goal, the Bidder shall demonstrate that it made an adequate good faith effort to do so, as specified in the Instructions to Bidders (ITB 18). The Port’s SBE Program staff is available to provide information on the program requirements, including SBE certification assistance. Please contact the SBE Office at (562) 283-7598 or sbeprogram@polb.com. You may also view the Port’s SBE program requirements at www.polb.com/sbe.

NIB -8 Prevailing Wage Rates and Employment of Apprentices. This Project is a public work as defined in Labor Code Section 1720. The Contractor receiving award of the Contract and Subcontractors of any tier shall pay not less than the prevailing wage rates to all workers employed in execution of the Contract. The Director of Industrial Relations of the State of California has determined the general prevailing rates of wages in the locality in which the Work is to be performed. The rate schedules are available on the internet at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlsr/DPreWageDetermination.htm. Bidders are directed to Article 15 of the General Conditions for requirements concerning payment of prevailing wages, payroll records, hours of work and employment of apprentices.

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

Bidders shall note that the only acceptable manufacturer specified in SC-27 and in the following Technical Sections shall be Square D Company, pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 3400 (c)(2) and (c)(3): 16350, “MEDIUM VOLTAGE METAL-CLAD SWITCHGEAR”, and 16463, “SUBSTATION CAST-COIL TRANSFORMER”. Any bid listing any other manufacturer will be non-responsive.

NIB -10

NOT USED.

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

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

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

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

Issued at Long Beach, California, this 2nd day of July, 2012.

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

14

PUBLIC NOTICE INVITING BIDS Notice is hereby given that Celerity Nascent Charter School; hereinafter referred to as the (District); is requesting sealed bids for a contract to provide a food service program for the 2012-2013 school year. It includes providing breakfast, lunch, and after-school snack service to approximately (2800) elementary age students, at ten (11) different sites, for one hundred eighty (180) school days and twenty (20) summer session days. The bid packet which contains the scope of the work is available for review.

Bids may be submitted by certified mail or in person to the following address: Celerity Educational Group C/O Celerity Nascent Charter School 2069 W. Slauson Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90047 Attention: Miguel Portillo, Director of Operations (323) 854-0044 until: 12:00 noon on Friday, August 10, 2012. At said time and place and promptly thereafter, all bids that been duly received will be publicly opened and read aloud. The contract will be awarded to the lowest price bidder that is most responsive to the invitation and best demonstrates their ability to meet the needs of the District. No offer of intent should be construed from the legal notice that the District intends to enter into a contract with the interested company for food service management unless it is in the best interest of the District to do so. The district reserves the right to negotiate final contractual terms with the successful company.

HOME PRICES Continued from page 5 higher-priced neighborhoods along the coast. Foreclosed properties tend to sell at steep discounts.

“The June numbers look pretty good at first glance, but they’re more mixed when you scratch beneath the surface,” he said. “Yes, the median sales price rose again. But it’s clear this has a lot to do with the changes in the types of homes selling, rather than across-the board price appreciation.”

Distressed sales, which include foreclosures, accounted for 42.2 percent of existing home sales in Southern California last month, the lowest since February 2008, DataQuick said.

Homes that were foreclosed upon during the previous year accounted for 24.5 percent of existing home sales, down from 32.9 percent during the yearago period.

Short sales — when the sales price is below the amount owed on the property — made up 17.7 percent of existing home sales, down from 17.9 percent last year.

The number of homes sold in Southern California reached 22,075 in June, up 7.5 percent from 20,532 a year earlier, DataQuick said. It was the sixth straight month of annual gains, the longest streak since late 2009 and early 2010.

County breakdowns showed how coastal areas were driving overall gains.

Orange, the most expensive in Southern California, posted a 13.7 annual increase in the number of homes sold, with a median price of $453,000. San Bernardino, the least expensive in the region, showed a 1.3 percent annual decline in sales, with a median price of $158,000.

Reflecting the shift to pricier deals, sales of homes for at least $500,000 accounted for 22.5 percent of Southern California home sales last month, the highest since August 2008, when the figure stood at 23.6 percent. Homes that went for at least a half-million dollars made up only 13.8 percent of total sales

Thursday, July 19, 2012

NOTICE INVITING BIDS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Long Beach, California, acting by and through the City’s Board of Harbor Commissioners (“City”) will receive, before the Bid Deadline established below, sealed Bids for the following Work: PIER E TERMINAL CONTAINER YARD/INTERMODAL RAILYARD, PHASE 1 AT LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA AS DESCRIBED IN SPECIFICATION NO. HD-S2366 Bid Deadline:

Prior to 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 21, 2012.

Bid packages will be time/date stamped on the 4th floor or in the Lobby and shall be submitted prior to 10 a.m.

Place for Submission of Bids: 1. By Delivery Any Calendar Day Before the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building 4th Floor, Plans and Specifications/Program Management Office 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 2. By Delivery on the Same Calendar Day as the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building Ground Floor Lobby 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Bid Opening: As soon as practical after the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building 5th Floor Conference Room 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Contract Documents Available: Date/Time: Beginning Thursday, July 19, 2012 Monday –Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Location: Harbor Department Administration Building 4th Floor, Plans and Specifications 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting and Site Visit: Date/Time: Tuesday, July 31, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.

Location: Harbor Department Administration Building 6th Floor Board Room Project Contact Person: Tom Baldwin, Fax: 562-283-7352, Baldwin@polb.com NIB -1 Contract Documents. Copies of Contract Documents in DVD format may be obtained, at no cost, at the Plans and Specifications Office, 4th floor, Harbor Department Administration Building, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, CA 90802 during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. To arrange to receive a DVD of the Contract Documents by courier at the expense of the Bidder, call (562) 283-7353.

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

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

NIB -2 Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting and Site Visit. The engineering staff of the City’s Harbor department will conduct a pre-bid meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 31, 2012, in the Board Room, 6th floor, of the Harbor Department Administration Building. Attendance is mandatory. All attendees of the mandatory Site Visit must bring and wear their own Person Protective Equipment (PPE), including, but not limited to: hard hat, safety vest and closed toe shoes. Note that attendance at the pre-bid meeting can be used to satisfy a portion of a Bidder’s good faith efforts to meet the SBE/VSBE participation goals listed below. EACH BIDDER MUST ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING AND SITE VISIT. FAILURE TO ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING AND SITE VISIT SHALL DISQUALIFY YOUR BID. NIB -3 Summary Description of the Work. The Work required by this Contract includes, but is not limited to, the following: A. Erosion Control.

B. Demolition of underground utilities and structures.

C. Grading.

D. Construct storm drain system including HDPE and RCP pipe, trench drains and oil/sediment separators.

E. Construct water system including fire hydrants.

F. Construct electrical and communication infrastructure including lighting, substations and equipment.

G. Construct crane rail on concrete foundation systems for rail mounted cranes.

H. Construct miscellaneous concrete structures.

I. Construct steel racks for refrigerated containers.

J. Construct a railyard including powered switches, turnouts and crossovers.

K. Construct a train-in-motion warning system.

L. Construct a railyard compressed air system.

M. Construct a CMU compressor enclosure structure.

N. Construct a restroom facility.

O. Construct pavement systems including AC, PCC and RCC. NIB -4 Contract Time and Liquidated Damages. The Work shall be completed within six hundred sixty eight (668) calendar days as provided in Paragraph SC - 6.1 of the

in January 2009.

The June median price in Southern California was up 21.5 percent from $247,000 in April 2009 but was still more than 40 percent off its peak of $505,000 in the middle of 2007.

Economists said a spike in unemployment or foreclosures were among the biggest threats to the nascent recovery.

Michael said the low inventory suggests the market would be able to absorb a new raft of foreclosures.

Special Conditions, from a date specified in a written “Notice to Proceed” issued by the City and subject to adjustment as provided in Section 3.1 of the General Conditions.

FAILURE OF THE CONTRACTOR TO COMPLETE THE WORK WITHIN THE CONTRACT TIME AND OTHER MILESTONES WILL RESULT IN ASSESSMENT OF LIQUIDATED DAMAGES IN THE AMOUNTS ESTABLISHED IN THE SPECIAL CONDITIONS. NIB -5 Contractor’s License. Each Bidder shall hold a current and valid Class ”A” California Contractor’s License to bid this Project.

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

NIB-7 SBE/VSBE. This project is subject to the Port of Long Beach (POLB) Small Business Enterprises (SBE)/Very Small Business Enterprises (VSBE) Program. The combined SBE/VSBE participation goal for this project is thirty percent (30%), of which a minimum of five percent (5%) must be allocated to VSBEs. POLB expects all Bidders to achieve the combined SBE/VSBE participation goal. Award of the Contract will be conditioned on the Bidder submitting an SBE-2C Commitment Plan demonstrating the Bidder’s intent to meet the combined SBE/VSBE participation goal. If the Bidder’s Commitment Plan does not demonstrate intent to meet the combined goal, the Bidder shall demonstrate that it made an adequate good faith effort to do so, as specified in the Instructions to Bidders (ITB 18). The Port’s SBE Program staff is available to provide information on the program requirements, including SBE certification assistance. Please contact the SBE Office at (562) 283-7598 or sbeprogram@polb.com. You may also view the Port’s SBE program requirements at www.polb.com/sbe.

NIB -8 Prevailing Wage Rates and Employment of Apprentices. This Project is a public work as defined in Labor Code Section 1720. The Contractor receiving award of the Contract and Subcontractors of any tier shall pay not less than the prevailing wage rates to all workers employed in execution of the Contract. The Director of Industrial Relations of the State of California has determined the general prevailing rates of wages in the locality in which the Work is to be performed. The rate schedules are available on the internet at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlsr/DPreWageDetermination.htm. Bidders are directed to Article 15 of the General Conditions for requirements concerning payment of prevailing wages, payroll records, hours of work and employment of apprentices.

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

Bidder shall note: Manufacturer specified in the following Sections shall be Square D Company: 16350 - Medium Voltage Metal-Clad Switchgear, 16361 - Medium Voltage LoadInterrupter Switchgear, 16426 - Distribution Switchboards, and 16463 - Substation Cast-Coil Transformer. No substitutions will be accepted.

NIB -10 Additional Requirements. A Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is required under this Contract. By submitting a bid, the Contractor is representing that it is prepared to sign the Letter of Assent and comply with the PLA requirements as defined in Appendix FF if awarded the Contract.

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

NIB -12 Conditional Award of Contract and Reservation of Rights. The Board, acting through the Executive Director, reserves the right at any time before the execution of the Contract by the City, to reject any or all Bids, and to waive any informality or irregularity.

The Conditional Award of the Contract, if any, will be to the responsible Bidder submitting the lowest responsive and responsible Bid. If the lowest responsive responsible Bidder fails to submit the required documents including insurance forms, bonds and signed Contract within thirty (30) calendar days after Conditional Award of Contract, the Board reserves the right to rescind the Conditional Award and Conditionally Award the Contract to the next lowest responsive and responsible Bidder.

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

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

Issued at Long Beach, California, this 18th day of June, 2012 J. Christopher Lytle Executive Director of the Harbor Department, City of Long Beach, California

Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist at the California Association of Realtors, said the state recovery began in the Central Valley about three years ago with investors snapping up homes in tranches and often paying cash. This year,

the recovery has shifted to the “upper reaches of coastal areas,” where homeowners have been reluctant to sell, she said.

“They’re not feeling as frozen with uncertainty,” she said.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

GOVERNMENT LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (METRO) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will receive proposals for RFP No. PS 4710-2924, HIGHWAY PROGRAM-GENERAL QUALITY ADMINISTRATION/QUALITY CONTROL SUPPORT SERVICES. Metro seeks to secure project management and quality control support services for Metro’s Highway Program Department. Such projects may include SR 710 environmental and outreach contracts, 710 South environmental and utility contracts, Interstate 605 Hot Spots Projects and other highway, arterial and goods movement improvements funded through Measure R, Metro’s Call for Projects (CFP) or other funding sources as outlined in the Statement of Work on file at the LACMTA Office of Procurement, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (9th Floor).

All proposals must be received on or before 3:00 P.M. Friday, August 17th , 2012 at the address listed above, sent to the attention of Jim Nolan, Senior

15 Contract Administrator. Proposals received later than the above date and time will be rejected and returned to the proposer unopened. A Pre-Proposal conference will be held at 9:00 A.M. on FRIDAY, July 27th, 2012, MULHOLLAND CONFERENCE ROOM, 15thFloor located at the address above.

Copies of the RFP will be available as of July 18th, 2012 via the website at www.metro.net. You may also obtain a copy of the RFP by calling PROCUREMENT RECEPTIONIST DESK (9th Floor) at (213) 922-1037, or via Fax at (213) 922-1004.

7/19/12 CNS-2348201# WATTS TIMES REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) NO. 7564 JANITORIAL SERVICES The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles invites vendors to submit bids for Janitorial Services at five Housing Authority sites: 2600 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 515 Columbia, Los Angeles, CA, 19600 Hamilton Ave., Torrance, CA, 19610 Hamilton Ave., Torrance, CA, and 6946 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys, CA. Copies of the IFB may be downloaded from the internet at www.hacla.org/ps. Bids will be accepted at 2600 Wilshire Blvd., 4th floor, Los Angeles, CA 90057, until 2:00 p.m. (local time), August 24, 2012.

CEDRIC ‘THE ENTERTAINER’ Continued from page 4 daughter, Lyric (played by Jazz Raycole). Rounding out the cast are Barton, Boyce’s cantankerous father (played by John Beaslely) and Stamps, Boyce’s crafty brother (played by Wesley Jonathan).

Reviewers agree that the show provides comedic, yet realistic, insights into the faith-based African American community.

A Sunday in the life of The Soul Man continued at The City of Refuge led by Bishop Noel Jones.

Nearly 2,000 parishioners viewed a special videotaped message from Cedric before hearing from ‘The Soul Man’ himself.

“It’s great that Bishop Jones allowed me to come in. I have known him for a long time. He married me and my wife 13 years ago,” said Cedric.

“Also, it’s very important, if you have an opportunity, to watch this show and tell others to watch, too.”

Bishop Jones revealed, “The reason I allowed Cedric to speak is that I know it’s going to be tasty, it’s going to be tasteful and the show is going to impact many people. I think that’s a good thing. Entertainment is a good way to transfer a great many values.

“Hopefully, something within that show will have a message and entertainment that will uplift and encourage people.”

Uplifting people is a quality instilled in Cedric at a young age according to Eric Rhone, executive producer of ‘The Soul Man’ and his business partner since 1983.

“Cedric has a very strong family and upbringing back in Missouri, so those core values of respect and family have always been there for him.

We want to put out positive images

and messages that we can all be proud of, particularly young people who come into this business after us,” said Rhone.

Cedric shared similar intents as he explained how the church became the setting for the show.

“I started looking at demographics, niche markets. For us, I knew that black people are so spread out economically, but one place we come together is in the church environment. From hoodlums to educators, all of them are trying to be saved,” he said.

“I just thought this was a great forum for me to do a show and it allows me to tell great stories because all types of people come there. The church is the hospital for the soul.”

Another strength of ‘The Soul Man” is its ability to portray a variety of challenges encountered by both pastors and parishioners.

“It’s not only about what happens in the church. Most people think the church is only on Sunday, but ministers are in operation all week long.

You’re dealing with people’s marriages, funerals, problems, and sometimes addictions. We thought, ‘What a great platform.’

“When I was thinking of this show, it made sense, as a great platform, to do our community, our world, things that make sense to African Americans and at the same time, it also fits a broader community,” said Cedric who added with a laugh, “Now, I’m a flawed individual, trying to get right, so don’t write me saying, a preacher don’t do that.”

‘The Soul Man’ airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on the TV Land network. Check cable or local listings for the channel.

RASPBERRY Continued from page 7 “Bill Raspberry inspired a rising generation of African-American columnists and commentators who followed in his path, including me,” said Clarence Page, a Pulitzer-winning columnist with the Chicago Tribune.

Although he considered himself a liberal, Raspberry’s moderate, nuanced positions on issues including civil rights and gun control garnered criticism from both the right and the left. He was especially concerned with the problems of ordinary people. He told Editor & Publisher magazine in 1994 that

reporters could “care about the people they report on and still retain the capacity to tell the story straight.”

He taught journalism for more than 10 years at Duke University. A collection of his columns, “Looking Back at Us,” was published in 1991.

The son of two teachers, Raspberry was born in 1935 in the northeastern Mississippi town of Okolona. He attended Indiana Central College, now the University of Indianapolis, and joined The Post after a stint as a public information officer with the Army.

7/19, 8/2/12 CNS-2348136# WATTS TIMES LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (METRO) Metro will receive proposals for RFP No. PS54402931 for Currency Processing Services per specifications on file at the Office of Procurement, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (9th Floor).

All proposals must be submitted to Metro and be filed at the reception desk of the Office of Procurement on or before August 6, 2012 at 3: 00 p.m., Pacific Time. Proposals received after the above date and time may be rejected and returned unopened. Each Proposal must be sealed and marked Proposal for RFP No. PS54402931. A PreProposal conference will be held on July 25, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. in the Wilshire Conference Room, 9th floor, located at the address above.

You may obtain a copy of the RFP, or further information, by faxing Robert Vasquez, Sr. Contract Administrator, at 213-922-1005, or by e-mail at vasquezr@metro.net.

7/19/12 CNS-2345506# WATTS TIMES

FOR RENT Dbl. Rm. Share rm. with 1 other male occupant. Clean and quiet home/ Crenshaw area. No Drugs or Alcohol.

323-293-9495

JACKSON ABSENCE Continued from page 7 former city alderman and a political scientist at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “After that his whole reputation collapsed, and he’s not been able to move forward.”

None of that seems to matter in his Chicago-area district, where the Democrat has brought home close to $1 billion in federal money and won every election since 1995 in a landslide.

Now, many of his constituents are willing to cut him some slack over the way he has released only scant details about his medical condition in recent weeks.

Ford Heights Mayor Charles Griffin said that Jackson’s health is a private matter and that he has no problem with the way the congressman hasn’t disclosed his location or detailed his condition beyond calling it a “mood disorder.”

Griffin’s town of about 2,700 people is one of the poorest in Illinois, and Jackson was key in bringing it drinking water from Lake Michigan.

“I have no idea what his relationship is on the national level,” Griffin said.

“The only thing I know is that he’s ... been successful in bringing back resources and funds to do things to get things moving. And that’s the type of approach we need.”

While Jackson clearly once had his sights set on becoming a senator or the mayor of Chicago, he seems resigned to playing the role of a politician devoted to local issues. He said earlier this year that the late-1990s water project in Ford Heights was a highlight of his career, not his role as Barack Obama’s campaign co-chairman, which earned him a speaking spot at the 2008 convention.

“When I first went to Congress, I promised to bring fresh water to Ford Heights,” Jackson said. “That promise has been fulfilled.”

The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s eldest son was groomed for the national political scene from the beginning, it seemed.

He attended a top private school in Washington and earned a law degree and a master’s in theology. He has bragged about spending his 21st birthday in jail after being arrested in an anti-apartheid protest. He co-wrote books with his father and developed his own charismatic speaking style, one that is often punctuated by vigorous pointing with a raised index finger.

Shortly after taking office, he was deemed People magazine’s Sexiest Politician in 1997. He became one of the most outspoken and most quoted liberals in the House. An almost Hollywood buzz broke out over his svelte new figure in 2005 when he quietly dropped 50 pounds, disclosing months later that he had had weight-loss surgery.

But he also put significant time and energy behind a raft of big-ticket liberal ideas that largely went nowhere.

In 2001, after Bush took office, Jackson began to push constitutional amendments that would guarantee a right to universal health care and housing. In 2007, he was one of a small number of lawmakers to call for articles of impeachment against the president.

Earlier this year, he pushed for a raise in the minimum wage, an idea that never stood a chance in the GOP-dominated House.

His highest-profile project in the district, a proposed third airport in the Chicago area, never went anywhere over questions of who should run it and whether it was needed.

Jackson was expected to have distinguished himself more by now.

“He’s got one of the most recognizable names in the country. It carries its burdens and is one that he wanted to attain some kind of national visibility,” said Alan Gitelson, a Loyola University political science professor. But “we can’t point to any area where Congressman Jackson has marked himself as a leader.

His role has been relatively more homestyle than anything else.”

Political experts say one explanation was that he was too busy eyeing other offices. He is also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations he discussed raising money for Blagojevich in 2008 so that the governor would appoint him to Obama's vacant Senate seat.

In recent years, Jackson has spent much of his time addressing both the Blagojevich allegations and an extramarital affair that became public via the former governor’s trial. For much of the past three years, Jackson avoided public appearances and largely refused to do

interviews. He did not even host an election night party after he won in 2010.

Still, Jackson has a seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, a perch that — until the House GOP takeover in 2010 — allowed him to steer big money to his district. That has earned him respect and loyalty.

Earlier this year, he fended off his first real Democratic challenge, crushing former Rep. Debbie Halvorson with 70 percent of the vote even after the congressional map was redrawn in a way that added rural and white voters to his largely black, Democratic and urban district.

Jackson’s two little-known challengers in November — a postal carrier running as an independent and a Republican college professor — have seized on his medical leave to talk about the congressman’s shortcomings. His colleagues have called for more information, but only when asked.

“He should be more forthcoming,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a fellow Chicago Democrat. “That’s what’s best for him ... so that all his friends can be much more supportive and it will stop giving his enemies ammunition.”

FAMU Continued from page 6 of the Marching 100 weren’t students.

And there is an ongoing state criminal investigation into band finances.

Additionally, the athletic department has a multi-million dollar deficit, and it appears that enrollment will drop this fall.

Ammons had already launched initiatives to battle hazing, including strict new requirements for membership in the Marching 100.

It could take as long as a year to find a new president, but FAMU board members said Robinson will need to help deal with the damage now.

“I just believe there is some major cleaning up that needs to be done in the interim,” said Torey Alston, a FAMU board member.

16

Thursday, July 19, 2012

e v e n t LISTINGS

7 / 2012

L.A. Watts Times Calendar, Compiled by Brandon I. Brooks, Co-Managing Editor 7/20 Nick Cannon & Office Depot are going back to school: Nick Cannon will join the Office Depot Foundation, the independent charitable giving arm of Office Depot, to donate 10,000 colNick orful new Cannon sackpacks to children served by non-profit organizations and schools in Greater Los Angeles. WHEN: 10 a.m. WHERE: Office Depot store located at 2020 S. Figueroa St. in Los Angeles. Earlier this year, the Foundation pledged to donate sackpacks to the Los Angeles Unified School District in support of the 2012 Take Action Leadership Campaign.

Smokey Robinson performs with the L.A. Philharmonic: Smokey Robinson, “King of Motown,” returns to the Hollywood Bowl stage for his orchestral debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic led by Sarah Hicks.

WHEN: Friday and Saturday, July 20 and 21, at 8 pm. WHERE: HOLLYWOOD BOWL 2301 N Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90068l. The multiple-award winning vocalist, whose music industry career has endured for more than half a century, last appeared at the Hollywood Bowl in 2010 as part of the Jazz at the Bowl series.

TICKETS: Tickets for the Hollywood Bowl 2012 summer season are available now at HollywoodBowl.com or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. For more information, please call 323.850.2000.

WHERE: The Savoy Entertainment Center 218 S. La Brea Avenue Inglewood, CA 90301.

For more information call (310) 680-7600.

28th Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo: To the delight of thrilled audiences and rodeo fans, some of the nation’s most skilled and entertaining Black cowboys and cowgirls will ride into the Los Angeles area to compete in the nation’s only touring Black rodeo competition— the thrilling Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo (BPIR). Celebrating its 28th year, BPIR will proudly showcase its athletes performing and competing. WHEN: 7:00 p.m. on Saturday and 3:30 pm on Sunday. WHERE: Industry Hills Exp Center, 16200 Temple Avenue, City of Industry, CA. The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo must continue to inform and educate the African American community and general public about this part of African American history and culture as for the most part it has been omitted from history books, Black Cowboys and Cowgirls have played important roles in the evolution of the Old West. The stories of Black Western Heritage and the development of the West remain important in our nation's history. Tickets range $16- $35 to attend the event. To purchase tickets or learn more about the event, call 310.674.6700 or visit www.billpickettrodeo.com.

7/22 The Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center All-Star Big Band: The Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center All-Stars Big Band directed by Saxophonist John Stephens

Barbara Morrison

7/21 Founders Alain Leroy Locke Alumni Women (FALLAW) 1969-1970: Are scheduled to hold their next monthly business meeting. The theme is Crazy Hat Day! You may wear or bring your crazy hat to the meeting. WHEN: 4 p.m. WHERE: The meeting will take place at Bel-Vue Presbyterian Church, 675 East 118th Street, Los Angeles, California, 90059.

For more information call (323) 757-9188.

You may also contact Linda Williams at (951) 347-2943 for more information.

Raheem DeVaughn performs live: Come celebrate Jonathan DeVeaux’s annual b-day extravaganza as Raheem DeVaughn performs live. A limited amount of VIP booths are available call for details. Music by DJ Devoux. WHEN: Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Raheem DeVaughn

featuring some of the most talented players on the West Coast, along with the legendary Jazz and Blues singer, Barbara Morrison. The Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center is the only venue in Los Angeles serving up a big dose of Big Band Jazz and Blues every Sunday this summer. WHEN: 4:00 p.m. WHERE: The Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center, 4305 Degnan Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90008. The Cover Charge is $10 per person.

For reservations, please call 323-296-BARB (323-296-2272). For more information, and to buy online, please visit the website, www.barbaramorrionspac.com.

On Going Free Meals for Children: Free meals for children 18 years of age and younger, will be provided July 2 thru August 17, by the FNCF Community Development Corporation.

WHEN: The meals will be served weekdays, 7 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.

WHERE: First New Christian Fellowship Baptist Church (FNCFBC), 1555 West 108th

Street , Los Angeles (across the street from Washington Preparatory High School ). The meals are a component of the Summer Food Service Program, sponsored by the California Department of Education’s Nutrition Services Division. For further information, please call (323) 756-2541.

J.A.M. Sessions at MLK, Jr. MACC: Move to the beat or explore a new instrument as you connect with diverse artists and cultures at the J.A.M. Sessions. These free interactive events are centered around movement, music, and fun. All ages and levels of experience are welcome. WHEN: July 25 and August 1 at 6 p.m. WHERE: 12021 S. Wilmington Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90059. For more information and or to RSVP contact (323) 461-3673.

Admission is free!

FREE Mentoring and Tutoring: HOPE For Life Foundation presents free mentoring and tutoring classes to students 12 - 20 and Military Personnel 20 -25 in Substance Abuse, Home Work Assistance, Job Search Assistance, Job Retention, Financial Literacy, Interviewing Skills, Writing Skills, Job Application Assistance, Job Coaching, Job Retention Tips, Life Skills, Resume Writing, Reunification & Parenting, and

more. WHEN: Classes take place on Mondays and Fridays 2 p.m. during the summer, and Wednesday evenings 6 P.M. and Saturdays 1 P.M. during the school season.

Classes are presently open through 2013.

WHERE: 1426 W. Manchester Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90047. For more information contact Jessica Smith 323-753-4673.

FREE Summer Day Program: Free breakfast and lunch served daily for all children up to age 18. Parents may drop-in any time to register for the summer program. WHEN: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. WHERE: People Who Care Youth Center, 1500 W. Slauson Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90047. No appointment is needed and no registration is needed for the meals only program.

TO MAKE A CALENDAR SUBMISSION: Include event name, date(s), time, location, contact/RSVP information and admission price, if any. Use BRIEF paragraph format (no lists, line breaks, or all caps). All calendar submissions are space-permitting and may be edited for brevity. Send submissions, along with any images, to brandon@lasentinel.net with the subject heading “LAWT Community Events.” Please include text in the body of your email, not in an attachment.