LAWT-7-30-2009

July 30, 2009

SERVING LOS ANGELES COUNTY WITH NEWS YOU CAN USE

Vol. XXX, No. 1138

California Officials Concerned A Calling to Heal About New State Budget Woes

FIRST COLUMN

BY INDIA ALLEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Despite slogans posted on billboards and announced in TV commercials ad nauseum — “Get healthy now!” “Lose weight immediately!” and wait for it, wait for it, “Lose weight now, without ever exercising or dieting” — African Americans top the charts when it comes to failing health.

According to various Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports dating from 2007 to the present, African Americans have a 51 percent higher prevalence of obesity compared with

Photo by INDIA ALLEN

A HEALING SPACE — Dr. Kali Alexander is the proprietor of Lotus on the Nile, a “wholistic” wellness center in Leimert Park that offers an array of alternative health services to the community.

whites; 14.7 percent of all nonHispanic blacks age 20 or older have diabetes; and 44.1 percent of African Americans 20 years or older have hypertension.

Though these percentages are grim, there’s at least one glimmer of hope: Located in Leimert Park, the heart of Los Angeles’ African American community, amid fast food restaurants, fish frys and liquor stores, it sits unassuming.

Countless people drive on Crenshaw Boulevard every day and never look twice at the burnt-red building with yellow writing.

Nonetheless, Lotus on the Nile Wellness Center is thriving.

Owned by Dr. Kali Alexander, a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist, Lotus is a health and wellness center that offers “wholistic” services and products, including acupuncture, herbal consultations, and formulas tailored to individual needs. The center also offers an array of exercise and wellness classes, including yoga.

An Unconventional Spirit Like Lotus, Alexander has always been an anomaly of sorts.

Born and raised in Lynwood, Alexander says her parents exposed her to things that were considered outside of the box. Her parents vowed never to limit their children’s learning and life experiences.

See A CALLING TO HEAL, page 6

BY STEVE LAWRENCE AP WRITER

SACRAMENTO (AP) — California officials are warily awaiting the next round of state revenue figures, concerned that their latest budget-balancing efforts may not be enough to end a seemingly endless stream of deficits.

Lawmakers wrapped up a nearly 24-hour session on July 24 by approving most of a complicated package of spending cuts, raids on local government funds, and accounting maneuvers designed to eliminate a $26 billion budget shortfall.

But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders said they might have to deal with more red ink in a few months if the state’s economy doesn’t turn around.

“We are still in troubled waters; there are still uncertainties,” the Republican governor said. “We don’t know how much longer our revenues will drop. We don’t know if we may not be back in the next six months to make further cuts.”

Legislative leaders said much of the same thing.

“It’s entirely likely we will ultimately see further declines in revenue, which will almost certainly require further budget action,” said Assembly Minority Leader Sam Blakeslee, a Republican from San Luis Obispo.

California’s economy has been hit by a series of blows in recent

Analysis: Race is Daunting Challenge for Obama

BY CHARLES BABINGTON AP WRITER

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s summary of the furor over a black Harvard professor’s arrest was so understated, and perhaps obvious, that it barely rose above the cable-news driven din.

“Race is still a troubling aspect of our society,” America’s first black president said July 24, as he tried to tamp down a controversy he had helped fuel two days earlier.

Without doubt.

What’s less clear, however, is whether Obama’s history-making election is triggering changes in the day-to-day racial interactions of ordinary Americans. After all, if one of the country’s most prominent black scholars can be arrested in his home after a heated exchange with a white police officer, doesn’t that suggest Obama’s racial breakthroughs apply more to the political world than to the broader society?

No, say a variety of people who welcomed his plunge into the controversy, even if it caused the president a little heartburn. Obama is uniquely positioned, they say, to

pour light on one troubling issue — racial profiling by police — and to nudge the nation to talk more openly about race in general, if only for a short while, as he did with a widely followed speech in March 2008.

“Obama’s election gives us someone in a position of authority to speak personally to this experience,” said James Lai, director of the Ethnic Studies program at Santa Clara University in California.

Questions of whether police officers disproportionately stop minorities for questioning and frisking “will get a much more thorough debate now,” he said.

But Obama “has to walk a very fine line” when discussing race, Lai said. “He must be careful not to fall into the box of being the black candidate.”

Even Obama was surprised by the intensity of the uproar over the arrest of professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. by Cambridge, Mass., officers who were checking a possible burglary report, which proved unfounded. At a news conference last week, Obama said the officers had “acted stupidly” after they realized Gates was in his own home.

The president said he had worked on a racial profiling bill as an Illinois state legislator “because there was indisputable evidence that blacks and Hispanics were being stopped disproportionately.”

After two days of wall-to-wall media coverage, Obama placed conciliatory calls on July 24 to Gates and the arresting officer, and he popped into the White House press area. He said he hoped the episode “ends up being what’s called a ‘teachable moment,’ where all of us, instead of pumping up the volume, spend a little more time listening to each other and try to focus on how we can generally improve relations between police officers and minority communities.”

Obama’s actions will probably help that cause, and over time, he will reshape other parts of America’s racial fabric, said Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

His impact “will be measured in time” on the way it affects white Americans “and the lives and morale of black families,” said Guillory, a Louisiana native and See OBAMA, page 3

AP Photo by RICH PEDRONCELLI

BUDGET BREAK DOWN — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gestures toward a chart as he describes how the state’s $26 billion budget deficit was resolved during a news conference in Sacramento July 24. The governor and lawmakers worked through the night to approve the deal, but cautioned that more cuts may be necessary in a few months.

years, starting with the bust of the Internet company boom, followed by a severe slump in the housing market.

The state’s unemployment rate has climbed from 7.1 percent to 11.6 percent over the last year, and economists from the University of California at Los Angeles predict it will reach 11.9 percent by mid-2010.

The latest deficit-closing efforts come about five months after lawmakers and the governor ended months of negotiations to close a previous $42 billion deficit.

California’s deteriorating economy and voters’ rejection in May of a series of budget-balancing proposals led to a new round of negotiations.

Lack of a budget agreement and a drop in state revenue forced the state to issue IOUs, or promissory notes, for the first time since 1992 to cover bills from thousands of state vendors.

Hallye Jordan, a spokeswoman for state Controller John Chiang, said Chiang hoped to be See BUDGET, page 3

NEWS IN BRIEF THE SOUTHLAND Funeral Services Set for Local Publisher Funeral services will be held Aug. 1, 10 a.m., at First AME Church for former banking official and publisher John Holoman, who was found dead at his home on July 24. Holoman was 70.

Holoman was publisher and owner of the Herald Dispatch Newspaper Group, which published Herald Dispatch, Watts Star Review and The Firestone Park News/Southeast News Press.

The papers were published weekly until ceasing operation in May 2007. Prior to the closure, the three newspapers served an area that included large sections of the black community of greater Los Angeles. The newspapers were distributed through retail outlets, newsstands and subscriptions.

In addition to the newspaper operation, Holoman also owned the Holoman Food Service with his son Eric. The company owned and operated 17 Church’s Fried Chicken restaurant franchises throughout Los Angeles.

John Holoman was born on March 21, 1939, in McCaskill, Ark., to Maejordie and Cashie Holoman. The family moved to Kansas City, Mo., in 1943, where

John Holoman

John Holoman attended Lincoln High School. While studying business administration at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., he married Lucille Foster in 1958, and one year later, following the birth of their daughter Stephanie, moved to Los Angeles.

Holoman worked for the U.S. Postal Service prior to becoming a licensed real estate broker and began a long career in real estate sales and development, during which he worked on one of the first African American home developments in Los Angeles County, Centerview, in Gardena.

The recipient of numerous awards and commendations from See BRIEFS, page 5

www.LAWattsTimes.com

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L.A. WATTS TIMES

July 30, 2009

OPINION EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON

Obama’s Gates Train Wreck The stock basketball one-liner came to mind when I heard President Barack Obama utter his now-infamous “acted stupidly” line referring to the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr..

The star player takes a wild shot and the livid coach screams “no, no, no,” and then when the improbable happens and the ball swishes through the net, the coach’s livid “no, no, no” instantly becomes a fist-in-the-airshaking “yes, yes, yes.”

My response was the same only in reverse. I said an instant and visceral, fist-shaking “yes, yes, yes” to Obama’s Gates quip. After all, the president spoke boldly and unhesitatingly on the always-contentious, divisive and painful issue of racial profiling.

But then just as quickly, I said, “no, no, no.”

No, not because I didn’t think it was the right thing to do, and no, not because I didn’t think he didn’t have the right to give an opinion, and it was just that: an opinion on a touchy issue.

All presidents weigh in with their personal views, opinions and thoughts, no matter how ill-informed at unscripted White House press conferences, and in countless network television interviews on every subject under the sun.

And certainly I didn’t say no because Obama shouldn’t toss racial matters and racial profiling out on the nation’s table. No apology necessary for that. The “no” was because I

knew that Obama would take a monster hit for piping up on a racial case that’s a ticking time bomb that could explode in his face.

Presidents can and do recover from ill-chosen words on emotioncharged issues.

In this case, though, his words came at the worst possible time. His words came at a moment when the president needs to squeeze hard every ounce of the considerable personal and political capital that he’s painstakingly built up over the past few months to get an ever-growing number of push-back Democrats, dogged obstructionist Republicans, and the recalcitrant powerhouse trio of insurers, medical professionals and pharmaceutical companies who flatly oppose or are waffling on Obama’s public option component of health care reform.

This is the centerpiece of the reform package; without it, reform is a meaningless exercise in political gamesmanship.

Two new presidential approval polls from Rasmussen and Zogby confirmed my “no, no, no” shout. The Rasmussen poll is an absolute number’s nightmare for Obama. His disapproval rating has soared to nearly 40 percent among voters. Those that strongly approve of his performance sunk to 29 percent. That wasn’t the worst of the bad news. A bare 25 percent of voters thought his answer was good. More than 60 percent thought it was fair or lousy. Even more ominous was the voter breakdown.

The crack in Obama’s hitherto impregnable black vote support was glaring. Nearly 30 percent of black voters broke ranks with Obama on his Gates answer.

Among Obama’s two other huge breakthrough groups, independents and young voters, the blowback was even more disastrous.

Nearly 70 percent of independents and nearly 50 percent of young persons rated his answer “fair” or “poor.”

This is just the opening that the usual suspect Obama foes need to pound the president, and by extension his policies on health care, the stimulus, on foreign policy overtures.

All are suddenly back in play and in question as set hit pieces for the Obama-mashers; but especially health care reform. The issue is no longer the standard knock that it is too costly and a gross case of too much government interference in health care. Obama is now antipolice and an out-of-the-closet race inflamer whose judgment can’t and shouldn’t be trusted on the crucial issue of health care reform.

The more charitable don’t go that far, but instead firmly declare that the presidential honeymoon is officially over. The only good news is that Obama’s popularity outside the United States is still off the charts. But foreigners can’t vote for or elect the congresspersons and senators who make and decide major policy decisions, health care reform See HUTCHINSON, page 4

Imprisoned By Our Own Apathy

BY ERIC P. LEE

The issue of same-sex marriage has sparked a heated controversy within the African American community, and particularly among black clergy, where a tremendous amount of passion, energy and commitment to defeat any efforts for marriage equality has been expended for a couple of reasons.

First and foremost, the majority of black folks believe the traditional understanding of marriage as being between a man and a woman.

This belief is deeply entrenched in the biblical teachings that God created man and woman as helpmates, companions for the purpose of fulfilling God’s plans for populating and tending to the Earth.

The concept of relationships existing outside of this defined parameter is not considered, and if they are considered, they are not accepted as being within God’s design for human relationships.

Many African Americans believe that homosexuality is a sin that further contradicts the will of God for human relationships.

The irony and hypocrisy of maintaining this belief is that gays and lesbians have knowingly been a part of our communities, our churches and our families for decades, and we (African Americans) have never operated in the overt and purposeful condemnation that has been seen

during the recent debate concerning marriage equality.

The further hypocrisy is that the African American clergy, and therefore a large part of the black community, seems to believe that homosexuality is a sin that is separate from the sins of fornication, adultery, false accusations, deceit, pride, greed, usury, lust, lasciviousness and the host of other weaknesses of the flesh.

The second reason for the energetic and passionate resistance of the African American community against marriage equality is the result of the misinformation about the impact marriage equality legislation would have on a church’s religious freedom.

Many African American clergy incorrectly believed that if marriage equality passed, churches would be required to perform same-sex weddings if requested by a gay or lesbian couple.

Once again there is irony in this argument because separation of church and state is the very same argument used by those advocating for same-sex marriage, indicating that marriage is a civil institution by virtue of the State of California issuing the marriage license.

Another reason the African American community has passionately and aggressively come out against marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples is that marriage

equality is not considered a priority in our community. This reasoning, however, is the greatest irony and hypocrisy regarding the Eric P. Lee issue of marriage equality, because the passion, energy and commitment to defeat marriage equality has by default made it a priority in our community.

Issues such as unemployment and underemployment; lack of affordable health care; the high percentage of HIV/AIDS affecting African American women; the failure of public education and the up to 60 percent high school dropout rate of African American males; the highest incarceration rate and the highest proportion of inmate population compared to our percentage of the population; teenage pregnancy; the high percentage of single-parent households; and the equally high percentage of foster care children are more pressing issues in our communities.

But there is not the same passion, energy and commitment from the African American clergy to solve these problems that has been displayed in the marriage equality debate.

Public education has been failing African American children for See LEE, page 11

Joint Position of Black Press in Response to Gates Arrest

BY NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION, WEST COAST BLACK PUBLISHERS AND CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA

In the tradition of the Black Press working as an opponent of racial injustice, we — as chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, president of the California Black Media and president of West Coast Black Publishers Association — stand with President Barack Obama in his original assessment of the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. Gates, a Harvard Professor was arrested in his home on July 16, 2009, for disorderly conduct.

Our position is based on the history of black men suffering at the hands of white male stupidity and racism since African Americans arrived in this country in shackles.

The president commented about the officer on this occasion and, as he said, his comment was based on his limited information and based primarily on his experience as a black man in America.

Virtually all African American males in America are familiar with the law being applied to them in ways that are not only stupid but in ways that are discriminatory and that deny them their dignity.

Deposited in the memory banks of African American males is the treatment of Rodney King being beaten by Los Angeles police officers, while lying on the ground.

They have memories of the July 2002 image of teenager Donovan Jackson being thrown onto the hood of a car in Inglewood, and Tyisha Miller being shot numerous times while sitting in a car in Riverside.

Further, there are the more recent actions of police officers in Tenaha, Texas, allegedly taking money from blacks driving

through the town, to avoid losing their freedom and/or their children.

Obama has stated that he was surprised by the controversy arising out of his comments about the Gates incident. After all, here was a police officer arresting a man at his own home for expressing his contempt for a system that places under arrest a black man for disorderly conduct in his own home.

The crime, we suppose, is “contempt of cop,” or was it “talking trash while black?”

When the president said that the officer, police Sgt. James Crowley, acted stupidly, he was speaking from his vast experience as a black man in America. As a former constitutional law professor, and from a vantage point different from any of his white critics who have lived a privileged life because of the color of their skin, Obama is aware of the historical unequal treatment and profiling of blacks and their being singled out for more serious treatment by authorities under similar circumstances.

There was no legal basis for arresting professor Gates in his own home once he had provided identification proving that he was in his home.

His indignation was apparently based on a new reality that even though it is widely understood that “a man’s home is his castle,” a different standard applies to African American men.

The actions of Crowley were consistent with, as Gates said, how vulnerable all blacks are to white authority. Many white men will never understand the continuing effect of a black man’s experience in America, including the recent stupid efforts requiring the president to prove that he is an American citizen.

See BLACK PRESS, page 4

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July 30, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 3

BUSINESS BIZSHORTS Business Leaders and Advocates to Gather for Awards Luncheon at USC More than 150 small businesses from Los Angeles County will gather at the new USC Galen Center Aug. 7, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., to honor successful start-ups and minority-owned businesses during the 12th annual Minority Enterprise Development Week (MED Week) Awards Luncheon.

The event is funded through the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency to provide access to educational and technical resources that foster business expansion and job creation throughout Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Admission cost is $25 for preregistered guests and $35 at the door. Admission includes networking opportunities, a gourmet lunch and entertainment.

The center is at 3400 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles. Parking is available at Parking Structure 2, which can be entered from Figueroa Street, south of McCarthy Way. Parking costs $8.

Information: (213) 368-1450, www.losangelesmbec.org.

Caltrans Seeks Small Businesses for Bids Caltrans and other state agencies have been mandated to direct 25 percent of their contracting opportunities to small businesses.

Some businesses, including small ones, are in the dark about the opportunities and about how to be found by federal, state and local government agencies that want to bring them into the fold. They can find out about the California Construction Contracting Program, a partnership of Caltrans, the California Community College’s Economic and Workforce Development Program, and the California Small

Business Development Center program.

The collaboration targets small businesses with the goal of helping them become qualified to bid, submit winning bids, and then fulfill those contracts to the best of their abilities.

Information: www.iesmallbus iness.com.

Apple, Labels Work on Album ‘Cocktail’ (AP) — Apple Inc. and the four major recording labels are working on launching in the fall a music offering code-named “Cocktail” that aims to add value to digital albums sold on the online iTunes Store, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.

The new package will include liner notes, artwork and potentially cell phone ringtones and music videos in a unified software package that the labels hope will boost sales of albums, instead of just single tracks. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the offering had not been finalized, and they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Talk of the enhanced digital album offering was first reported by the Financial Times.

The offering may be announced in conjunction with a new tablet computer by Apple CEO Steve Jobs in September, one of the people said.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

Music sales have declined nationwide in seven of the last eight years, largely because of illegal file-sharing over the Internet, but also because consumers tend to buy individual songs rather than full albums.

The project is an attempt by labels to get consumers to spend more.

Estate Planning: Safeguard Your Wishes You may not have a lot in common with Michael Jackson, so you think. However, as in the case of one of America’s most favorite icons, all chaos could follow in the wake of your death if you’re not careful about your estate plan.

Consider this: Jackson’s mother was named the guardian of his children, but apparently also thought she should be the executor of his estate. And that, said Michael Finer, of Major League Investments, “creates an interesting dynamic.”

While it is not unusual for a client to want experienced financial advisers to handle the money and a nurturing family member to raise the children, conflicts can rise out of unfulfilled expectations. In Michael Jackson’s case, an additional conflict may arise if the mother of his three children decides she wants custody. Unless clearly unfit, being a mother will normally trump being a grandmother.

Although most people don’t have estates the size of Jackson’s, nor the complications that come with it, there are universal lessons to be learned. They apply to small and large estates and everything in between.

So what are some of these lessons?

Review Your Estate Plan Annually For starters, financial planners suggest establishing a comprehensive estate plan and review it at least once per year as a part of your annual planning. You might have a will in place, but when was it last updated? In Jackson’s case, his last will and testament was reportedly signed in 2002. And, given the size and complexity of his estate, his family situation, and changes in tax law, his probably should have been updated more often.

Reviewing your will once per year gives you the chance to reexamine your desires — your bequests, the guardians of your children and the executor or executors of your estate — as things change in your life. In Jackson’s case, he named in 2002 his mother as the temporary guardian of his children and Diana Ross as an alternate guardian in the event that Jackson’s mother cannot or will not serve.

But it’s quite possible that his wishes may have changed in the ensuing years. Unfortunately, what he might have done has no legal relevance.

Guardianship of the Minors Choosing a guardian for minor children can be difficult, according to Denise Wilcox, with Financial Solutions Inc. That’s why it’s important that you consult with financial professionals and other advisers who can help you evaluate your choices and select the guardian that’s right for you, your minor children, and the guardian you select.

Wilcox states, “Choosing a guardian should be the result of careful consideration and should always be driven by how to give the children the greatest possibility for a healthy, happy and productive life.”

Besides naming a guardian of your minors, you’ll also need to name a guardian of the estate, someone who will have the responsibility to invest your children’s money until the children reach, typically, the age of majority.

Decision Makers for Incapacity As important as it is to name the decision-makers in the will, it is equally as important to name those responsible for making medical and property decisions if you are incapacitated.

Can you imagine the conflicts that would have occurred if

Michael Jackson had become incapacitated without naming someone to hold his Power of Attorney?

Financial Planning Association member John J. Scroggin notes, “It is amazing how many people fail to contemplate their incapacity and as a consequence create tremendous heartache, costs and conflicts for their families. Having Medical Directives and Durable Powers of Attorney are as important as having documents for the disposition of your assets when you pass.”

The Need for Privacy Having a will typically means probate. That’s the process where your estate, or at least the parts that don’t get transferred by contract such as life insurance, death benefits and retirement accounts, will be administered and processed through the legal system after you die. There are advantages with the probate process. However, there are also disadvantages including: • For the average estate, probate can be a complicated and a lengthy process.

• Costs can be onerous, and — as has happened in Jackson’s case — there’s a lack of privacy.

For those who do not want their estate to become a public matter, Randy Gardner, a professor of tax and financial planning and director of the Certificate in Financial Planning Program at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, suggests the use of a revocable trust rather than a will as a key testamentary instrument so you do not end up with the publicity.

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

Ferrel Guillory

Elijah Cummings

mentions after that. And Obama’s damage control on July 24 was reminiscent of the Wright episode, when a racial tempest was overshadowing his message and agenda.

Obama made no apologies July 24 for diving into the Gates matter, even as he said he should have used more judicious words at first.

“The fact that this has become such a big issue, I think, is indicative of the fact that race is still a troubling aspect of our society,” he said in the White House briefing room. “Whether I were black or white, I think that me commenting on this and hopefully contributing to constructive, as opposed to neg-

ative, understandings about the issue, is part of my portfolio.”

Charles Babington covers the White House for the Associated Press.

OBAMA Continued from page 1 former journalist. “To have a young, black family in the White House remains a powerful symbol, a powerful message, without any words being attached to it,” he said.

“We can’t know the impact just yet.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Democrat from Baltimore, agrees.

“Things are getting better,” said Cummings, 58, who as a young lawyer was often the only black professional in the courtroom. “But we’ve still got a long ways to go.”

BUDGET Continued from page 1 able to stop issuing IOUs within two weeks, after his staff analyzes the effect of the new budget-balancing plan.

“As soon as the controller determines there is sufficient cash to meet all payment obligations, he will stop issuing IOUs and begin issuing regular checks,” she said.

Officials will also be watching monthly revenue reports from the Department of Finance and the controller’s office to look for signs of new trouble in the months ahead.

Nearly all his black associates think Gates was a victim of racial profiling, Cummings said, while 70 percent of his white friends do not.

“We look at these problems of race out of our own glasses,” he said, “and they are based on our experiences.”

Cummings said Obama’s election has given young minorities greater hopes of achieving their dreams. “But they still have to go to the same schools,” which are often substandard, he said. A future “Barack Obama” may face fewer racial hurdles, Cummings said, but he or she won’t reach the White

A Department of Finance spokesman, H.D. Palmer, said July 25 that the department’s economists could also prepare a fullblown economic forecast if there are substantial indications that the budget will need more surgery.

Two parts of the latest budget plan — proposals to tap $1 billion in local gas tax revenue and allow new offshore oil drilling in the Santa Barbara Channel — failed in the Assembly on July 24, but Schwarzenegger said he would make up for the shortfall by vetoing additional spending.

House if they lack access to decent schools, health care and job opportunities.

In a way, Obama made a similar point July 24, saying he had to cool the rhetoric over the Gates affair to refocus the political world on his top priority: revamping the U.S. health care system.

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and other presidents might have ducked a reporter’s question about Gates’ arrest simply by saying it was a local matter or they lacked enough details to comment. Obama would have had a harder time doing that. As the first black president, he is better situated — but also more obligated — to address racial matters.

Still, Obama rarely mentions race without prompting. And he addresses it in depth only when scandals or big controversies essentially force his hand.

When the black minister Jeremiah Wright’s incendiary racial remarks threatened his presidential bid early last year, Obama delivered a speech that was widely regarded as among the most comprehensive and nuanced addresses on race ever delivered by a top U.S. politician.

But race received only passing

Facts July 30, 1866 White Democrats, led by the city’s all-white police force, attack a constitutional convention of black and white Republicans in New Orleans. More than 40 persons are killed, and at least 150 are wounded. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, military commander of the state of Louisiana, said, “It was not a riot; it was an absolute massacre ... which the mayor and the police of the city perpetrated without the shadow of a necessity.”

Source: blackfacts.com

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L.A. WATTS TIMES

July 30, 2009

COMMUNITY COMMUNITY MEETINGS, FORUMS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Photos by MARTY COTWRIGHT

MASTERS AT WORK — Yvette Devereaux, above, performs with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra during the 14th Annual Central Avenue Jazz Festival on July 26. Devereaux is the first African American woman to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Below: Gerald Wilson, conductor/musician/composer for more than 60 years, and his world-renowned orchestra during the 14th Annual Central Avenue Jazz Festival on July 26.

Crenshaw Plaza to Present Punt, Pass & Kick Competition

Town Hall Meeting for Martin Luther King Hospital Slated

BHCP Kids, Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza’s Education and Health Initiative, has announced that its first Punt, Pass & Kick Competition will be held Aug. 1, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., on the second level of the parking deck at the plaza. The plaza is at 3650 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

The football skills competition is free to children ages 5 to 14.

Participants will compete separately against their peers in five age categories (5 to 6; 7 to 8; 9 to 10; 11 to 12; and 13 to 14).

There will be two rounds of competition. The first round is the elimination round in which each competitor gets one attempt to pass, punt and kick. The distance (in yards) from each attempt will be totaled to determine the finalists. The top 10 from each age group will move on to the championship finals in the afternoon.

Those finals will follow the same format of one pass, punt and kick for each competitor.

Award medals will be given to the top three finishers in each age category. All competitors will receive a free T-shirt, plus free breakfast and lunch.

Information: www.crenshaw plaza.com.

L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and the Empowerment Congress will host a town hall meeting about the new Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital on Aug. 1, 9 to 11:30 a.m., at the MLK Multiservice-Ambulatory Care Center in the H. Claude Hudson Conference Center, 12021 S. Wilmington Ave., Los Angeles.

Issues to be addressed include an update on efforts to open MLK Hospital. Doors open at 8:30 a.m.

Light refreshments will be provided.

RSVP: (213) 743-7200, http:// r i d l e y - t h o m a s . l a c o u n t y. g o v / MLKRSVP.htm, www.empower mentcongress.org.

Schwarzenegger Cuts an Additional $500 Million From State Budget

BY INDIA ALLEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger flexed his authoritative muscle July 28, vetoing a number of budget items and adding nearly $500 million in additional cuts to the final 2009-10 state budget.

Although the state’s 26 billion deficit is closed, the governor’s vetoes included additional cuts to social services, health and education. Additionally, the final budget eliminated funds for AIDS prevention, intervention and support programs; the Domestic Violence Program; Adolescent Family Life Program and the Black Infant Health Program.

State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass blasted the governor’s vetoes, calling Schwarzenegger’s actions “game playing” that will have catastrophic affects on children, domestic abuse victims and seniors.

“It wasn’t too long ago when a 24-year-old woman born with HIV pleaded with legislators not to adopt the governor’s proposal to eliminate the program that provides the drugs that keep her alive,” Bass said in a written statement July 28. “The governor’s actions today have not just caused harm; his actions … put lives in jeopardy … He and his staff may be lighting cigars to celebrate these cuts, but they should also be concerned about the devastating harm they are causing.”

The governor is cutting funding to the Black Infant Health Program at a time when African American babies have a mortality

rate three times higher than white babies, and cuts to child welfare services are leaving children and foster kids vulnerable, she added.

Bass said she is asking the Legislative Counsel for a definite opinion on the legality of the governor’s actions.

Schwarzenegger’s office defended the cuts. H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the state Department of Finance, said the governor had no choice.

“The governor took no pleasure in having to make additional cuts,” Palmer said. “But he was

compelled to because there were two measures that totaled $1.2 billion that the Assembly failed to include … which left us $200 million upside down.”

The two measures Palmer referred to were measures that would have allowed the state to stronghold local governments’ funds and allowed oil drilling off the Santa Barbara coast.

The final budget was passed after months of bickering between Republicans and Democrats that led to a budget stalemate lasting nearly 20 days.

Neighborhood Council to Host National Night Out Cookout in North Hills North Hills East Neighborhood Council will present National Night Out Cookout Aug. 4, 6 to 9 p.m., at Our Lady of Peace Parish, 15444 Nordhoff St., North Hills.

National Night Out is America’s “Night Out Against Crime.”

The 26th annual National Night Out (NNO), a crime/drug prevention event, will have free food, fun, games, performances and free child ID and finger printing.

National Night Out is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs; strengthen neighborhood spirit and

Total of roughly $16 billion in cuts made, some include: • $1.4 billion used for University of California and California State University • Diversion of $2 billion of local government property taxes used for schools • $700 million reduction in funds to community colleges • Requirement for state workers to take a three-day-a-month furloughs • $375 million used for CalWORKS • $27 million used for foster care services • $53 million used for AIDS and HIV programs • $16 million used for the Domestic Violence Program • $3 million used for the Black Infant Health Program • $9 million used for the Adolescent Family Life Program Source: California State Department of Finance. To view the California budget and the governor’s line item vetoes, visit www.dof.ca.gov.

Symposium on Compton Gateway to be Held The University of California Cooperative Extension and the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Councils will bring together leaders from the environmental, business and government communities to explore opportunities to synchronize ecological restoration and economic development along the Compton Creek at a twoday gathering, titled “Compton Gateway: Symposium for Creekside Community Development.”

The symposium will focus on the Crystal Casino/Gateway Towne Center/Earthen Bottom Channel Opportunity Area and include discussions on how activities there may serve as a model for management and improvement of the watershed as a whole.

The registration fee is $45 before Aug. 14 and $60 afterward.

The fee includes registration and lunch for both days. The event will take place Sept. 15 and 16, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Crystal Hotel and Casino, 123 Artesia Blvd., Compton.

Registration and information: http://ucanr.org/comptoncreeksymposium.

BLACK PRESS Continued from page 2 We believe, as the president stated, that this is indeed a teachable moment. As long as everybody keeps their eyes and minds open and applies the law to the facts, they will be taught that this is indeed another deposit in the bank of black-white relations in America. Like so many of the previous acts, it was a stupid act that should not be repeated.

Danny Bakewell Sr., chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association and publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel; attorney Joe C. Hopkins, president of the West Coast Black Publishers Association and publisher of the Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley Journal News; and Hardy Brown, president of California Black Media & publisher of Riverside Black Voice News.

HUTCHINSON Continued from page 2

Quick Figures — State Budget Cuts:

police-community partnerships; and send a message to criminals, letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Information: http://groups. yahoo.com/group/NorthHillsEastN C, dawnmondie@gmail.com, www. nationaltownwatch.org/nno.

being front-and-center the most pressing.

Even Obama’s still-high personal popularity ratings don’t mean much. Popular ratings are just that: overhyped numbers that measure a president’s likeability, not his leadership effectiveness.

The true test for a president and how the public rates him is the quality of his leadership. A foreign crisis, a souring economy, out-of-control partisan battles with Congress, fights with major labor and industry groups, and prolonged military adventures are the things that inflict mortal wounds on presidents. The same is true for real or perceived gaffes, slips, and shoot-from-the-lip comments.

Obama spoke from the heart and said what needed to be said about the thorny issue of racial profiling. Again, no apology needed for that. He just said it in the wrong case and at the wrong time. Gates was the

train wreck waiting to happen; in other words, “no, no, no.”

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His weekly radio show, “The Hutchinson Report,” can be heard in Los Angeles, Fridays on KTYM Radio 1460 AM and streamed live nationally on ktym.com.

July 30, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 5

COMMUNITY PASSING...

Community Activist, Educator Howard Ransom Jr. Succumbs Longtime community activist and adult education advocate Howard Ransom Jr. died the morning of July 26 at his South Los Angeles home. He was 55.

Funeral services will be private, but there will be a memorial celebration and tribute Aug. 3, 11 a.m., at the Christian Academy, 3141 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood.

Ransom had been an activist for at-risk youth and disadvantaged adults in the South Los Angeles community for more than 30 years through his volunteer activities with several organizations including the Brotherhood Crusade, Young Foundation and the United Way. An instructor with the Los

BRIEFS Continued from page 1 city, state and federal elected officials, Holoman was a founding member of the Black Business Association, as well as a board member of the Consolidated Realty Board. He also served as president of the West Coast Black Publisher’s Association and was a member of the National Black Publisher’s Association.

He is survived by his wife; two brothers, Frank and Donnell; one sister, Barbara; daughter; son, Eric; three grandchildren; two great grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends.

Author E. Lynn Harris Dies at Age 54 (AP) — E. Lynn Harris, a pioneer of gay black fiction and a literary entrepreneur who rose from self-publishing to best-selling status, has died, his publicist said July 24. He was 54.

Publicist Laura Gilmore said Harris died the night of July 23

Howard Ransom Jr.

Angeles Unified School District since 1986, Ransom was a tenured “master teacher” at the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center in Watts, where he succeeded in preparing at-risk youth and An improbable and inspirational success story, Harris worked for a decade as an IBM executive before taking up writing, selling the novel “Invisible Life” from his car as he visited salons and beauty parlors around Atlanta. He had unprecedented success for an openly gay black author and his strength as a romance writer led some to call him the “male Terry McMillan.”

He went on to mainstream success with works such as the novel “Love of My Own” and the memoir “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted.”

Source: Jackson Doc Gave Him Drug Before Death (AP) — A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation into Michael Jackson’s death says the pop star’s personal doctor administered the powerful drug that authorities believe killed him.

Jackson regularly received the anesthetic propofol to go to sleep.

The official, who requested anonymity because the probe is ongoing, told The Associated Press on July 27 that Dr. Conrad Murray gave Jackson the drug the last night of his life.

Murray was with Jackson when he died June 25 and has been identified in court papers as the subject of a manslaughter investigation.

Murray’s lawyer has said the doctor didn’t prescribe or administer anything that should have killed Jackson.

educating adults in human development and skill enhancement curriculums. He was noted nationwide for his success in preparing students for GED testing.

In 1992, Ransom co-designed a civil service training program that focused on postal employment for the residents of Watts. More than 800 men and women (many on welfare) enrolled in the program during its first year, with 68 percent completing the class and passing the exam with scores in the top percentile.

“Howard was a consummate educator. He was a passionate educator who was very successful in teaching those who were marginalized whether they were high school students or adults,” said “Moesha” star William Allen Young, Ransom’s friend of more than 30 years.

“They found someone in Howard who embraced them. He drove them to take their GED test and if they failed he picked them up and

saw them through it.”

Born on April 4, 1954, in Chicago to Howard Ransom Sr. and Ollie B. (Cooper) Ransom, Howard Jr. was reared in Oakland.

He graduated from Oakland High School and went on to receive bachelor degrees in Theatre Art and African American studies at California State University, Hayward.

At the time of his death, Ransom was a scholar in residency with the Tom and Ethel Bradley Foundation focusing on the “Intentional Civility” curriculum developed for the organization by internationally renowned scholar and psychologist Lewis King. “Intentional Civility” is a 21st century approach to uplifting an individual’s self-esteem. The program is designed to teach and prepare individuals to become responsible citizens and to build the capacity of individuals, communities, and institutions to solve their own

problems.

“He was an innovator and motivator who never lost sight that the line of responsibility for raising children was that of the parents and he held parents accountable,” said Greg Franks, CEO of the Tom and Ethel Bradley Foundation. “His loss to our community and his friends is devastating.”

Ransom has received numerous recognitions for his accomplishments as an educator. In 2005 he received the “Educator of the Year” Award from the Young Center for Academic and Cultural Enrichment. That same year he was chosen as a “Living History Maker” by Turning Point Magazine.

Ransom was preceded in death by his mother. He is survived by his wife, Linda; father; brother, Phillip Ransom; sister, Sheila Ransom; a niece; three stepchildren; his grandson, and a host of other relatives.

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Facts

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after being stricken at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, and a cause of death had not been determined at the time. She said Harris, who lived in Atlanta, fell ill on a train to Los Angeles a few days ago and blacked out for a few minutes, but seemed fine after that.

Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said only that a man matching Harris’ name and date of birth had died the night of July 23 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which was confirmed by hospital spokeswoman Simi Singer. Gilmore said an autopsy would be performed early this week.

Aug. 1 Known as “Emancipation Day,” Aug. 1 marks the anniversary of the Proclamation of Emancipation throughout the British Empire in 1834. On this date, slavery is officially abolished as a result of the unyielding resistance of the enslaved Africans and the Parliamentary and religious support they received from British liberals. The day is recognized by all Caribbean states and officially observed as a public holiday in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua, Guyana and Barbados. Activities for the day include an all-night vigil and cultural presentations.

Source: blackfacts.com

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Page 6

L.A. WATTS TIMES

July 30, 2009

COMMUNITY DYNAMIC DUO — Dr. Mae Jemison was the first African American woman in space as part of the shuttle Endeavor team in 1992. She was on hand to congratulate Kimberly Anyadike, the youngest African American female to fly coast-to-coast, at the Proud Bird Restaurant in Los Angeles on July 25.

The event was a tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen sponsored

by Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum and Aviation Angels.

Photo by IAN FOXX

A CALLING TO HEAL

Saturday & Sunday please park at El Camino College Lot

Inspired, she returned to the states and enrolled at Emperor’s Acupuncture College in Santa Monica. But as the saying goes: the road to success is not always strait and steady — so was Alexander’s journey.

Toward the end of her five-year training, Alexander became pregnant with her first child and was dealt what seemed like a devastating blow at the time. Her mother was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer.

“The doctor told me that she might have maybe six months (to live),” Alexander says. “I just couldn’t accept it.”

Not giving up, Alexander turned to a practitioner of Chinese medicine she had known, but during the third treatment, he encouraged Alexander to treat her mother.

“He said to me, ‘You know what to do; you just need to do it,’ ” Alexander says.

After that, she took the reigns, changed her mother’s diet, coached her in meditative exercises, such as Qigong (Chi Gong) and even restricted certain people from visiting.

Eight years later, Alexander sees the whole ordeal as a “true blessing in disguise.” She is in her groove professionally and spiritually, and married with three children: Khafre Seneb, 7; Kafara, 5; and Asenath, 4.

And her mother is still cancer-free.

“I feel great right now,” Alexander says. “I feel like I can do anything.”

Lotus Realized In December 2006, Lotus opened its doors to the public and Alexander hasn’t looked back. She had been preparing for Lotus for 15 years and chose a name before opening.

“I named it Lotus on the Nile as a way for African (American) people to reclaim their roots in Eastern medicine … because the Lotus flower and the rejuvenating and healing qualities it’s associated with has roots in ancient Egypt,” she says. “And, Crenshaw (Boulevard) is like the Nile of our community.”

The Lotus was important because it grows in murky, swampy waters and still transforms into beauty, Alexander added.

“It’s a reminder that at any moment, we have the power to transform,” she says, smiling.

Now going into its third year, Lotus is blooming. Among other things, Alexander attributes the success to her ability to accept health insurance. She also stays prepared

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

See A CALLING TO HEAL, page 8

Continued from page 1 “We were exposed not just to different religions but different ways of thinking,” Alexander says.

Her upbringing provided an environment to develop her unconventional personality and tendency to question and challenge the status quo.

“The little free spirit thing I definitely had going on,” Alexander says, laughing. “Even in high school, I decided that cheerleading was sexist, and I was the captain of the cheerleading team.”

Albeit Detours, She Arrives After high school, Alexander attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she obtained a degree in economics. Because UCLA had such a strong black polit-

✁

ical history, it was a very good time to be a black student on that campus, Alexander says. Her experiences inspired her to travel to Cuba.

“I really wanted to meet Assata (Shakur) because she was there at the time,” she says.

But after meeting Shakur — a former Black Panther Party member granted political asylum — Alexander’s trip took an unexpected detour. While delivering medical supplies to various clinics, she came across a dentist who used hand acupuncture to numb isolated spots in her patient’s mouth.

“When the dental procedure worked, I said, ‘Oh, I got to know that,’ ” Alexander says. “I was so amazed.”

Lotus on the Nile Wellness Center

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

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

KITCHEN DIVAS — The Kitchen Divas cooking series takes place every Thursday evening, 5:30 to 8 p.m., at 476 S. La Brea Ave., Inglewood. The series will focus on creating healthful meals that are filling and appetizing. The menu includes a raw energy bar and green lemonade, collard wraps, mac ‘n’ cheese with mixed green salad, raw fruit and a cream pie.

Information: (323) 290-5955, kitchendivas@bwwla.com.

BLACK AUGUST — A monthlong series of events, which will give recognition and honor to the African American struggle against slavery, oppression and prison injustices, will take place in various locations. An opening program will be held Aug. 1, 3 p.m., and a community forum on organizing against police crimes, specifically in Inglewood, will take place on Aug. 6, 7 p.m. Both events will be held at the Afiba Center, 5730 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles. A multimedia presentation highlighting the sights, sounds and words of African Americans fighting for self-determination will be held Aug. 7, 6:30 p.m., at the Southern California Library, 6120 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles. Information: (424) 2004968, blackaugust. la@gmail.com.

ROUNDTABLE — The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable meets Saturdays, 10 to 11:30 a.m., in Leimert Park at the Lucy Florence Coffeehouse, 3351 W. 43rd St., Los Angeles. The roundtable features expert speakers on hot-button local and national issues, followed by an open discussion. It is free and open to the public. Information: (323) 383-6145.

MEN’S GOLF — The fifth annual City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks Men’s Match Play Championship Golf Tournament will be held Aug. 15, 16, 22 and 23 at department courses in the San Fernando Valley, Griffith Park and West Los Angeles. The tournament begins with a stroke-play qualifying round at Encino Golf Course on Aug. 15, and the players with the 32 lowest scores will advance to match play each weekend. The field will be limited to 96 players, with a minimum age of 16 to compete. The entry fee is $140; entries must be received or postmarked by July 31. Registration forms are available at all city municipal golf courses or at www.golf.lacity.org/pdf/tourn_forms/2009_match playEntry.pdf. Information: (818) 246-1764, (714) 994-4747.

WOMEN’S TENNIS — Individual tickets for the 2009 L.A. Women’s Tennis Championships are now available for as low as $10 per session. The tournament takes place Aug. 3 through 9 at the Home Depot Center, 18400 S. Avalon Blvd., Carson. $25 individual tickets, all-week ticket packages, including a VIP “Meet the Players” party, and other exclusive promotions are also available. Information: 1 (877) AEG-TICKETS (1877-234-8425), www.latennischamps. com.

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT — This is an annual event where community members have an opportunity to promote police community partnerships, crime prevention and neighborhood camaraderie. National Night Out is a night to celebrate safety and crime prevention successes. This year the event takes place Aug. 4, 2 to 8 p.m. The southeast community will celebrate National Night Out on 108th Street between Main Street and Broadway. Information: (323) 7543668, (310) 702-3136, (213) 9727966, e-mail 24769@ lapd.lacity.org.

ANIMATION IN AUGUST — The Organization of Black Screenwriters (OBS) plans to use the entire month of August to inform its members about writing for and creating animated content in today’s market.

In partnership with Blacks in Animation and Visual Effects, there will be a general meeting on Aug. 1, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in the main conference room of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building, 1999 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles.

The following three consecutive Wednesday meetings — Aug. 12, 19 and 26 — will run from 7 to 9:30 p.m. RSVPs are requested. Information: (310) 844-8755, jwilliams@ obswriter.com.

DIVINITY VS. DESECRATION, PART 2 — Author and lecturer Sadiki Bakari will deliver part two of this lecture on the parallel dimensions of hip-hop during the “Talking Drum” forum Aug. 14, 7 p.m., at the Afiba Center, 5730 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles. Bakari will discuss issues such as live instrumentation and computer programs, and the metaphysical and physical elements of hip-hop. A love offering will be accepted at the door.

Information: sadikibakari.com.

TASTE IN SAN PEDRO — The 21st Annual celebration will be held Aug. 1 and 2, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., in Point Fermin Park, 807 W. Paseo del Mar at Gaffey Street, San Pedro.

Food from local restaurants, beverages, merchant booths and an artists’ pavilion will be available. There will also be a 45-foot-tall Ferris wheel overlooking the ocean; a 33-foothigh inflatable Shark Slide; and a 55foot-long obstacle course for children of all ages.

MJ NIGHT — Muhammad University of Islam and Muhammad Mosque No. 27 will host this fundraiser, dedicated to the music and performance of Michael Jackson. The fundraiser will take place Aug. 1, 7 to 10 p.m., at 5350 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles. There will be food, music, a Jackson dance contest, photos, prizes and more. Attendees should come in their best Jackson attire to compete for a prize. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.

Information: (323) 292-9134, tyramuhammad@noiwest.com.

See WGO, page 8

Facts July 30, 1839 Enslaved Africans, led by Joseph Cinque, kills the ship’s captain and took over the slaver Amistad in the most celebrated of American slave mutinies.

The group is captured off Long Island on Aug. 26.

Source: blackfacts.com

July 30, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 7

COMMUNITY

City Leaders See a ‘Radically Different’ LAPD

BY JOHN ANTCZAK AP WRITER

(AP) — Eleven years after an anti-gang cop was arrested for stealing 6 pounds of cocaine from an evidence room, city leaders believe the Los Angeles Police Department has dashed the image of corruption and abuse spawned by revelations of the theft investigation.

“The LAPD that through much of its history was maligned and criticized is now moving into the 21st century as a leader in creating positive change,” Police Chief William Bratton said after a federal judge this month freed his department from oversight by the U.S. Justice Department.

The assessment is a far cry from the reputation that allowed Hollywood to serve up such gritty L.A. cop tales as “Training Day” and “The Shield” in the aftermath of a decade that included the 1991 Rodney King beating, the 1992 riot and finally the incident that became known as the Rampart scandal.

Bratton asserts further that the most important legacy of its reforms will be removal of barriers between the department and the diverse city, especially the black community.

“We have the highest consensus between that community and

BRIEFS Continued from page 5

Life In L.A.’s Fast Lane: $1.40 a Mile At Rush Hour (AP) — Solo commuters looking for a faster drive through Los Angeles during rush hour will have the option of using toll lanes late next year for a fee.

Members of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board approved rates, ranging from 25 cents to $1.40 per mile, on July 23 for portions of Interstate 10 and state Highway 110.

The MTA and the California Department of Transportation will convert existing carpool lanes on those two freeways to toll lanes.

Carpoolers won’t be charged.

Solo drivers will be allowed to use the lanes if they pay the toll, with rates varying depending on traffic levels. When congestion is heavy, the rate will be higher; when demand is low, they’ll pay less.

The MTA says the lanes will open December 2010.

THE STATE Cal State San Bernardino Employee Gets Swine Flu SAN BERNARDINO (AP) — Orientation for new students at California State University, San Bernardino, has been postponed because an employee has come down with swine flu.

The university said in a statement July 27 on its Web site that the campus otherwise remains open and operations are normal.

The orientation and registration program for new students was to have been held July 27 and 28. It will be rescheduled sometime later in summer.

this department in its history,” Bratton said.

The glowing view is not universal: Civil liberties watchdogs are willing to acknowledge significant progress by the LAPD, but insist there are still dramatic disparities in the way officers treat blacks and Latinos compared with other people.

The Rampart scandal erupted from the 1998 cocaine heist by Rafael Perez, which got the attention of the Justice Department and led to allegations of a wider pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct due to failures to implement proper management practices.

Perez struck a plea bargain and painted a picture of a rogue force that framed, beat and shot people in Rampart, an eightsquare-mile division west of downtown.

While the allegations produced little concern for gangster and drug dealer victims, the justice system was shaken.

Then-Chief Bernard Parks disbanded the elite anti-gang unit and ordered its plainclothes officers into uniforms.

Ultimately, nine officers were prosecuted, nearly two dozen were fired or suspended, and scores of felony convictions were invalidated because of suspected police misconduct.

The university says the sick employee is isolated at home and is being treated there.

Swine flu has previously been reported at four other California State University campuses. They are Cal State Los Angeles, Long Beach State, the Maritime Academy and San Diego State.

The city paid about $70 million to settle civil rights lawsuits, including $15 million to a man who was shot and paralyzed in a 1996 incident involving Perez and a partner. Framed by the officers, Javier Ovando had spent two-anda-half years in prison before his conviction was overturned.

Five officers, including Perez, pleaded guilty during the Rampart probe.

Perez was sentenced in 2001 to five years in state prison after pleading guilty to grand theft and cocaine possession, and then was prosecuted in federal court for the Ovando case. He pleaded guilty and in 2002 received a two-year sentence. He later changed his name to Ray Lopez.

Four other officers were tried on Rampart charges. Three were convicted of conspiring to obstruct justice by framing two gang members, but a judge overturned the verdict and the case was dropped.

They and the fourth officer, who was acquitted, sued and got a $20.5 million settlement from the city.

A Justice Department’s threat to sue forced the city to adopt numerous reforms through a consent decree.

The department moved to require anti-gang and narcotics officers to disclose their finances,

develop a new computer system tracking officer conduct, and place video cameras in patrol cars to determine if officers engage in racial profiling. The cameras are in a test phase.

The agreement also called for oversight by an independent monitor and a federal judge.

Eight years passed before U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess found that the department had become “the national and international policing standard” and replaced the decree with a transitional agreement in which progress will be reported to the city’s civilian Police Commission.

“It was not just bad apples, it was a wrong culture, and it took us some time to change both,” said City Council President Eric Garcetti, whose father was considered a political casualty of Rampart when he lost re-election as district attorney amid the fallout.

John Mack, who is now vice president of the Police Commission, contrasted his current view with the years he was “on the other side battling LAPD” in his long tenure as leader of the Los Angeles Urban League.

He recalled a “history of hostility, of tension and frankly of an oppressive attitude toward the African American community and many communities of color.”

THE BIG BLUE BIN! Some things are just better in blue

THE NATION Mass. Gov. Won’t Apologize for Comments on Arrest BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Deval Patrick says he won’t apologize for calling the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. “every black man’s nightmare.”

Patrick made the comments last week in the wake of Gates’ July 16 arrest on a disorderly conduct charge at his own home after police responded to a 911 call about a possible break-in. The charge was later dropped.

A multiracial group of officers and union officials supporting the arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley, had called on Patrick to apologize.

On July 27, Patrick said he’s not sure what he’s being asked to apologize for. He said he acknowledged from the beginning that he wasn’t there and is a friend of Gates.

Patrick also said Crowley seems to be “a pretty good guy himself.”

See BRIEFS, page 10

“We clearly have made giant strides in truly transforming the institutional culture of LAPD, which is something that at one point in time, a number of us certainly questioned would ever happen,” Mack said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California acknowledged “great progress” by the LAPD but opposed lifting the consent decree, said staff attorney Peter Bibring.

The organization contends that the goals of the decree remain incomplete, particularly in ending racial bias in policing.

“We think that to have the decree lifted when there are still problems in the management of gang units and unaddressed racial disparities sends the wrong message that these are acceptable problems for a department to have,” Bibring said.

The police department has changed the name of what was its Consent Decree Bureau to the Risk Management Bureau, but Bratton insisted nothing else will change.

Gerald Chaleff, the administrator heading the bureau, said that under the consent decree, the department paid $12 million to the independent monitor for the first five-year period and then $156,000 a month during the final three years.

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Facts Aug. 1, 1960 Dahomey, now known as the Republic of Benin, located on the west coast of Africa, proclaims its independence from France.

Source: blackfacts.com

City of Los Angeles • Department of Public Works

Bureau of Sanitation For information, call (800) 773-2489.

As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services and activities. Produced by the Public Affairs Office•Printed on recycled paper

Page 8

L.A. WATTS TIMES

July 30, 2009

ARTS & CULTURE SHORT TAKES

FILMS • “The Jackson 5 in Africa” — a film of rare footage documenting the Jackson 5 during their 1974 tour in Senegal — will be the centerpiece of the Closing Night Gala for the 2009 Downtown Film Festival-L.A. on Aug. 22. Tickets for the film will go on sale Aug. 1.

Narrated by actor Robert Hooks, the film opens with the Jackson 5 being greeted by a group of dancers and drummers at the airport. The camera follows Michael Jackson and the family cinema-verité style on their first-ever visit to Africa, including live footage of their visit to an African market, classic live footage of the group spontaneously performing “Hum Along and Dance,” and footage of the Jackson 5 performing on stage before a packed, standing-room-only audience at the height of their career in the mid-1970s. Information: www. dffla.com.

• Libros Revolución/Revolution Books will present a screening and discussion of “Revolution:

Why It’s Necessary, Why It’s Possible, What It’s All About” on Aug. 8, 7 p.m., at Papa West Dinner Club, 4336 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles. The film is from a 2003 talk delivered by Revolutionary Communist Party Chairman Bob Avakian, which breaks down the very nature of the society we live in and how humanity has come to a time where a radically different society is possible. Information: (213) 488-1303, e-mail librosrevo@yahoo.com.

BOOK • Nigerian-American author Jessica Kehinde Ngo’s first book,

a memoir entitled “Second Twin, First Twin,” is scheduled to be published on Aug. 15. The book interlaces narrative and twin mythology from Nigeria and other countries around the globe. Readers will be sent on a journey with Ngo as she revisits her past in an attempt to examine what “twinship” meant to her at different periods during her early life. The memoir also explores issues such as biracialism, social phobia, sibling rivalry and the love-hate relationship that is “twinship.” The 233-page book cost $12. Information: www.second twinfirsttwin.com.

side seldom seen in mainstream media. The DVD is scheduled to be released Aug. 4, and will retail for $20. Information: (301) 792-0972, www.happilyeverafterthemovie. com.

CONCERT • The Southwest Chamber Music continues its Summer Festival on the newly renovated Loggia

DVD • Lamar and Ronnie Tyler, the creators of the Web site www. blackandmarriedwithkids.com, present their first documentary dedicated to promoting marriage and parenting in the black community, “Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage.”

While many media outlets portray the black family as nonexistent, or only as households run by single mothers, the truth is that there are a multitude of black families in the thousands, thriving, happy and successful. The DVD contains personal stories discussing topics ranging from love and family to the Obamas’ affect on black marriage and more. This documentary goes inside of real marriages in the black community to unveil a

“A BRILLIANT GEM!” - Laurence Vittes, The Hollywood Reporter

Original Painting “CROWNS” ©2009 Synthia SAINT JAMES

FINAL TWO WEEKS!

FESTIVAL

William Grant Still

of The Huntington Art Gallery with its first offering: William Grant Still’s “Four Indigenous Portraits for Flute and String Quartet.” The “portraits” are snapshots of the diverse American landscape, composed in advance of current trends/reality/fashion. The concert will take place Aug. 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. No children under 8 years of age will be admitted.

Handicapped access is available.

Continued from page 6 for anyone to walk through Lotus’ doors — a quality that doesn’t go unacknowledged.

“She welcomes everyone,” says Purusha Hickson, owner of Stretch for Success, a yoga training facility in Los Angeles. “Then she educates them, treats them, and directs them to conscious activities they can do for themselves, empowering them to take the reigns of their own health.”

Though Alexander still remembers the challenges of the early days, when her clientele numbered few, many people have been taking notice of Lotus’ growth and commitment to the community.

“A real treasure is what she is,” says Phyllis Jackson, who first visited Lotus to attend a community forum. “I think it’s really amazing that Kali had the nerve to open up, not another wig shop or barbecue spot, but a healing center right on Crenshaw.”

Hickson shares Jackson’s sentiment and notes how vital it is for

Continued from page 6

(626 626) 356-7529 356 7529 WWW.PASADENAPLAYHOUSE.ORG

by

Regina Taylor

Adapted from the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry directed by

Israel Hicks

A co-production with Ebony Repertory Theatre in Association with Regina Taylor MEDIA DIA SPONSORS S

• The World Stage Jazz Festival, in conjunction with L.A. City Council District 8, the L.A. City Department of Cultural Affairs and Union Bank, will be held Aug. 9, noon to 7 p.m., in the Leimert Park Farmer’s Market parking lot near 43rd Street and Degnan Boulevard, Los Angeles. The concert will showcase Hope, Heath & Devereaux; the Phil Ranelin Jazz Ensemble; The Estrada Brothers and the World Stage All-Stars, with special guest Charles Owens.

SHINE Mawusi, an all-female drum and dance ensemble, will also perform. Admission is free and parking will be available. Refreshments may be purchased from vendors. Information: (323) 290-6565.

A CALLING TO HEAL

WGO

CroVVns

Lawn patrons must bring their own blankets or lawn chairs. No picnicking is allowed on The Huntington grounds. A limited portion of the grounds adjacent to the Tea Room and Loggia are open for Summer Festival patrons before the concert. Loggia and Lawn tickets are unreserved festival seating.

The Huntington is at 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, just south of Pasadena. Single Loggia tickets are $45 per person; single lawn tickets are $28 per person; student rush lawn admission tickets are available on the day of the concert for $10 and parking is included in the price of admission. Information: (800) 726-7147.

LUNCH AND LEARN — The Jenesse Center would like to invite the community to learn about opportunities to partner with it in moving families from crisis to self-sufficiency. Some opportunities include beautifying the facilities where families live, raising money for family-oriented programs and services, and spreading the word about ending domestic violence in our homes and communities. The event will take place Aug. 7, noon, at 3761 Stocker St., Suite 100, Los Angeles. RSVP

African Americans to have access to a health and wellness center.

“One of the things that ails our community is poor health,” he notes. “A lot of that comes from a lack of knowledge of some of the natural healing arts … and lack of knowledge of a proper diet.”

Alexander has empowered even skeptics.

“I’m usually so guarded with all my walls up,” says Adrian Tweedy, who’s been Alexander’s client for more than two years. “Lotus is the only place where I can open up.”

Since becoming Alexander’s patient, Tweedy has stopped drinking alcohol, and her health has improved.

“I’ve been a drinker my whole life,” Tweedy says. “But now I juice beets. I’m eating better, and I feel better about me.”

Lotus On The Nile Wellness Center, 4307 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008, Phone: (323) 29LOTUS, (323) 295-6887, Web site: www.lotusonthenile.com. information: (323) 299-9496, ext.

103, e-mail srobertson@jenesse.org.

WATTS SUMMER FESTIVAL — The 43rd Annual Watts Summer Festival will take place Aug. 8 and 9, noon to 8 p.m., on 103rd Street between Compton Boulevard and Success Avenue in Watts. There will be carnival rides; exhibits; vendors; free health information; storytelling; continuous live music and more. Charles Wright of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band will be the celebrity spokesperson for this event.

Information: (323) 789-7304, www. wattsfestival.org.

L.A. Watts Times...News You Can Use

July 30, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 9

ARTS & CULTURE The HollyRod Foundation’s 2009 DesignCare event was held July 25 in Beverly Hills. The foundation, created by actress Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete, works to provide a better quality of life for individuals dealing with Parkinson’s disease, autism and other life-altering challenges.

LaTonya Richardson and Samuel L. Jackson

Rodney and Holly Robinson Peete

John and Natasha Salley

Bigotry and Racism Fuel ‘Mutiny at Port Chicago’

BY DARLENE DONLOE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In September 1944, 50 black sailors found themselves in a military courtroom — fighting the charge of disobeying orders and inciting mutiny. To add insult to injury, they were also accused of being cowards and guilty of treason.

Depending on what side of the ethnic divide you were on, the men were either completely innocent and being systematically railroaded by the U.S. Navy, or they were partially culpable.

How the men came to be on trial is the subject of Paul Leaf’s latest production, “Mutiny at Port Chicago.”

A true story, this racially fueled drama, currently playing at the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica, chronicles what was widely considered the largest stateside military disaster of World War II. It happened on July 17, 1944, at the Port Chicago Naval Munitions base, located on San Francisco Bay. An explosion on the dock completely demolished two transport ships (E.A. Bryan and the Quinault Victory), damaged the small town of Port Chicago, killed

320 men and injured another 390 men on the base. About two-thirds of those killed were black.

As the story goes, the black sailors, who had originally volunteered with hopes of fighting in the war, were, instead, relegated to the dangerous job of loading ammunition onto the ships because they were thought to be intellectually challenged and dispensable. At the time, they were the only ones assigned to hazardous manual labor.

Although they warned their white superiors that loading large amounts of ammunition on transport ships at breakneck speed without proper training or equipment would eventually lead to a catastrophe, their warnings went unheeded.

So, it was no surprise to the black GIs when the explosion occurred. What was surprising (or maybe not) is how the Navy handled the situation.

The disaster was deemed an accident of unknown origin.

And when the sailors were ordered to go back to work under the same conditions (sans safety measures) the Navy was faced with a different kind of detonation. The men flatly refused.

This is a fabulous, littleknown story.

Photo by DAVID MCFARLAND

PAYING A PRICE — (left to right) J. Teddy Garces (as Ed), and Cris DAnnunzio (as Coakley), in a scene from “Mutiny at Port Chicago.” The play, currently running through Aug. 15 at the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica, tells the story of black sailors stationed in Northern California during World War II who refused direct orders to offload dangerous munitions from a warship.

This kind of event demands a script of great magnitude with actors who can effectively pull it off. Unfortunately, neither occurs.

The material is there, but writer/director Leaf fails to guide it to a satisfactory conclusion. These were volatile times when cooler heads did not prevail. There’s no sense of urgency or intensity in what should be an edge-of-yourseat drama. The severity of the times and the racially sensitive implications concerning the Navy and black GIs falls short.

While some of the actors clearly give passionate, fiery performances, others seem to be reading their lines, which impairs the flow of the show.

J. Teddy Garces, who plays Seaman Edward Little, one of the lead characters, nearly singlehandedly saves this production, as does Eric Bivens-Bush, Pedro Coiscou and Durant Fowler, all of whom represent the 50 men accused of mutiny.

While Leaf’s direction is concentrated and fills the intimate setting, some of the characters whose roles should have engulfed the play, didn’t convey the raw emotions of the era needed to convincingly sell the production.

This is a powerfully provocative moment in history. The facts surrounding this story are highly explosive (pun intended). However, the weak performances leave this vibrant subject matter dead in the water.

On the Donloe Scale, D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable), O (Outstanding) and E (excellent), “Mutiny At Port Chicago” gets an “N-L” (needs work/likable).

The Ruskin Group Theatre Co. is at 3000 Airport Ave., Santa Monica. Performances will take place at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m., Sunday. The production ends Aug. 15.

Further information: $20 ($15 for students, seniors and guild members), (310) 397-3244, www.ruskin grouptheatre.com.

Gabrielle Union

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Page 10

L.A. WATTS TIMES

July 30, 2009

ARTS & CULTURE Frankie Beverly Tribute First Lady Says for Release in August

Children Need Exposure to Arts

BY CHEVEL JOHNSON AP WRITER

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — With nearly four decades of music behind them, Frankie Beverly and Maze are still considered one of the recording industry’s best-kept secrets.

Beverly’s son, Anthony, is working to change that.

In August, he’ll pay homage to his father and the group with the release of “Silky Soul Music: An All-Star Tribute to Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly.” Anthony Beverly, an accomplished drummer and one of the producers along with Rex Rideout and Donald Lawrence, developed the project, calling it “long overdue.”

“I just wanted to honor my father,” said Beverly, who’s releasing the album through his independent label Brantera Music Group Inc. “I want to properly honor my father’s contributions to the industry.”

The urban contemporary, funk, soul and R&B group has never received one of the industry’s coveted Grammy Awards or American Music Awards, but they continue to perform to sold-out audiences. Their relationship with fans has evolved into an almost cult-like experience.

“I don’t believe there’s another artist who can get 60,000 people all moving in harmony and dancing at the same time,” said Sedrick Thomas, a Beverly and Maze enthusiast from New Orleans. “His music just reaches down inside of you. His passion for the music, his lyrics, and his ability to sing from the soul, all of that is what the people respond to.”

Thomas said it doesn’t matter that the industry hasn’t formally recognized Beverly and Maze.

“One of the greatest assets they have is that their music is timeless,” he said. “That’s also one of their biggest challenges in an industry that’s always looking for ‘something new.’ But I think in the hearts of the people, he’s won every award that there is.”

The tribute album will be in stores Aug. 25. It features R&B artists Mary J. Blige, Musiq, Joe, Mint Condition, Raheem DeVaughn, Ledisi and Kevon Edmonds as well as gospel greats the Clark Sisters, Kiki Sheard and J Moss.

“Not only is this an accomplished group of artists, with diverse and distinctive voices, they are all Frankie Beverly and Maze fans,” said Anthony Beverly.

Blige is recording “Before I Let Go,” while Musiq is doing a rendition of “Silky Soul,” the title track on one of the band’s most successful releases, and New Orleans native Ledisi is taking on audience favorite “Happy Feelin’s.”

“Frankie is wonderful,” said Ledisi, who performed at this year’s Essence Music Festival, which Maze has headlined and closed since it launched in 1995. “There’s a lot of pressure to do it (the song) ‘right,’ but I had a fun time working on it.”

The single, “Can’t Get Over You,” recorded by Joe, was released in July.

John Smith, Maze’s lead gui-

BY JOCELYN NOVECK AP NATIONAL WRITER

Photo by HERBERT LEWIS

HAPPY FEELIN’S — Frankie Beverly, founder and lead singer of the group Maze. Next month a tribute compact disc of the group’s music will be released by Beverly’s son, Anthony, in honor of Beverly’s more than 40-year career.

tarist for the past 10 years, said the tribute is well-deserved.

“Frankie’s legendary,” Smith said. “He’s still headlining, still drawing them in and doing it without having to be on the radio. That’s a testament to how his music affects people. This tribute is so past due.

These guys have been consistent with their fans but the industry hasn’t been consistent with them. At least he’s still here to receive the accolades. He’s the baddest cat — still.”

Anthony Beverly said his father, who rarely — if ever — does interviews, was eager to hear the tribute’s finished product.

“He’s really excited about it,” he said. “He’s loving the idea of it.”

Beverly, 62, was born Howard Beverly in Philadelphia but was so impressed by 50’s R&B group Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers that he decided to change his name to Frankie. Beverly spent some time creating and singing with other groups before ultimately catching the ear of Marvin Gaye, who convinced him to change his then-band’s name from Raw Soul to Maze and in 1977 helped them release their first album, “Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly.”

Since then, they’ve released “Golden Time of Day,” “Inspiration,” “Joy and Pain,” among several other projects.

At this year’s Essence festival, the City of New Orleans presented Beverly and Maze with its Crystal Star Award. Mayor Ray Nagin, a devoted Maze fan himself, described the award as “something special for a special man and his band.”

“It’s only once in a lifetime when a voice and band like this comes along,” Nagin said during a break in the July 5 closing set at the sold-out Louisiana Superdome.

Fans, on their feet from the moment Maze hit the stage around midnight July 5 until the wee hours of the next day, gave him a standing ovation.

Beverly, dressed in his signature all-white pants, long-sleeved white shirt and white baseball cap, simply thanked the mayor and the fans and then did what he does best: continued singing.

“We’re gonna wear you out some more! Let’s go!,” he shouted as he counted down the intro for the next song.

WASHINGTON (AP) — If you think your kids spend a little too much time on their laptops, take heart: Michelle Obama has the same problem.

The first lady made the rueful revelation as she feted the nation’s top innovators and designers in fields as diverse as architecture, technology, fashion, and communications — winners of the annual National Design awards — at an East Room luncheon on July 24.

“What would we do without our laptops?” asked Mrs. Obama, addressing one of the winners, Bill Moggridge, who designed the world’s first laptop. “My kids would die,” she said to laughter.

“They’d be — they wouldn’t make it through the summer. I don’t know whether to thank you, Bill, for that.”

Hosting the design awards, which are presented by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, has been a recent tradition for first ladies, starting with Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2000.

But Mrs. Obama, who has put a priority since the beginning of her tenure on spending time in the local community, added a twist: Earlier on July 24, she sent both award winners and White House

Michelle Obama

staff members to five Washington museums for free public seminars.

At one of them, an eclectic combination of Calvin Klein designer Francisco Costa, interior designers Calvin Tsao and Zack McKown and White House deputy social secretary Ebs Burnough riffed on such subjects as the meaning of design.

One audience member's query was somewhat less philosophical.

Nina Hammond asked the panel how she could help her 12-year-old daughter achieve her goal of becoming a fashion designer, since

they do not live in New York, the country’s fashion capital. She even held up a purple frock designed by the girl, Clarke Smith. “I’m trying to foster her dream,” said the mother.

Costa said she’d surely be welcome in New York.

Hammond wanted a little more: “Can I get a name, or a number?” she asked, to laughter.

Burnough noted that Mrs. Obama had wanted the designers, who spoke at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, to get out during their See FIRST LADY, page 14

calm in the aftermath of his arrest last week, Gates said he would accept Obama’s invitation to the White House for a beer with him and Cambridge police Sgt. James Crowley.

In a statement posted July 24 on The Root, a Web site Gates oversees, the scholar said he told Obama he’d be happy to meet with Crowley, whom Gates had accused of racial profiling.

It was a marked change in tone for Gates, who in the days following his arrest gathered up his legal team and said he was contemplating a lawsuit. He even vowed to make a documentary on his arrest to tie into a larger project about racial profiling.

In an e-mail to the Boston Globe late July 24, he said: “It is time for all of us to move on, and to assess what we can learn from this experience.”

The riot erupted after a mob of whites were kept from lynching two black inmates in the Sangamon County Jail. After two days of rioting, at least seven people were dead.

The riot led to the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Former Springfield NAACP president Ken Page said Jackson’s work is designed to show Springfield is a progressive city, and that what happened in 1908 won’t happen again.

BRIEFS Continued from page 7

Judiciary Committee OKs Sotomayor for High Court WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee on July 28 voted to approve Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice over nearly solid Republican opposition, paving the way for a historic confirmation vote next week.

The panel voted 13-6 in favor of Sotomayor, with just one Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, joining Democrats to support her. The nearly party-line tally masked deeper political divisions within GOP ranks about confirming President Barack Obama’s first high court nominee.

“I’m deciding to vote for a woman I would not have chosen,” Graham said. Obama’s choice to nominate the first-ever Latina to the highest court is “a big deal,” he added, declaring that, “America has changed for the better with her selection.”

Gates Says It’s Time to ‘Move On’ From His Arrest BOSTON (AP) — Black Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. says he’s ready to move on from his arrest by a white police officer, hoping to use the encounter to improve fairness in the criminal justice system and saying “in the end, this is not about me at all.”

After a phone call from President Barack Obama urging

Sculpture To Mark 1908 Riot to Be Unveiled SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A sculpture that resembles two ends of a burned-out home will be unveiled next month to commemorate the 1908 Springfield race riot.

The 10-foot-tall bronze sculpture, created by Peoria artist Preston Jackson, will be unveiled in Springfield’s Union Square Park on Aug. 6. The artwork represents the dozens of homes destroyed by white rioters as they terrorized a predominantly black neighborhood known as the Badlands on Aug. 14 and 15, 1908.

Descendants of Slaves Who Built North Carolina House Reunite MARION, N.C. (AP) — Descendants of slaves belonging to the man who built the historic Carson House in McDowell County will hold a reunion at the house, their first at the North Carolina plantation.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that descendants of the slaves of John Carson are holding the reunion Aug. 1.

Event organizer Dennis Carson says the group is excited to return to the plantation that their ancestors helped build.

Carson used slave labor to build the house in 1793 and then became one of western North Carolina’s wealthiest farmers and slaveholders.

His home served as McDowell County’s first courthouse when the county was formed in 1843.

July 30, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 11

ARTS & CULTURE

Gates, An Intellectual Drawn Back Into the Arena

BY HILLEL ITALIE AP NATIONAL WRITER

NEW YORK (AP) — Decades ago — long before Harvard, long before his books and documentaries — Henry Louis Gates Jr. and some friends nearly set off a brawl trying to integrate a West Virginia club.

Gates and the others were circled by a white mob. The owner screamed at the black students to leave, slamming one of them against the wall. The club was shut down, but Gates had been marked: West Virginia police, he would write in his memoir, placed him on a list of those who might be detained should

race riots break out during election time.

“Someone in authority had decided I was dangerous?” he wrote.

“I mean, I liked to think so.”

Gates rarely has been considered a dangerous man. Gregarious, outgoing, media savvy — yes. But in the years after the incident in Keyser, West Virginia, his unrelenting focus on black life in America was intellectual. He has written essays, compiled reference works, searched for slave narratives, produced documentaries, assembled a mighty team of colleagues at Harvard.

LEE Continued from page 2 decades. Statistics show that African American children (males in particular) are performing at 3 to 4 grade levels below their actual grade, and there is no outcry, no passion, and no energy from our community to demand education reform.

Statistics show that up to 60 percent of African American males are dropping out of high school, and there is no outcry, passion or energy from our community to stop this blatant assault upon the African American male.

Statistics show that there is a direct correlation between the high school dropout rate and the rate of prison incarceration, and there is no outcry, passion and energy from our community to halt the growth of the prison industrial complex, the new slavery.

Statistics show that 50 percent of African American students completing 12 years of public education do not pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), which is at eight grade level, and there is no outcry, passion and energy from our community to demand accountability.

Town Halls on public education have been held in our communities and we have had no more than 50 people in attendance. SCLC of Greater Los Angeles has produced and distributed a 90-minute documentary on the failure of public education and has yet to illicit a response from key African American leaders about how we save our children.

What do we really hold as a priority in our community?

The local SCLC has been on the forefront of organizing the predominately African American Security Officers into a union in order to improve wages, secure affordable health benefits and create better working conditions for more than four years.

The results of organizing a union will generate millions of dollars for our communities and significantly improve the quality of life for the families of these officers. Yet there have been no more than five pastors engaged in this struggle for justice during the entire campaign.

Our people are dying for lack of knowledge, knowledge held by the traditional gatekeepers of our communities, our clergy, who were once the voices crying in the wilderness about the injustices towards our people.

Those voices have become silent on the issues that are critical to

our community’s survival. Those voices have become silent in the fight for justice and equality. It has always been the voice of our clergy to advocate on behalf of our people.

Where has that voice gone?

Where is the outcry against injustice, the passion for justice, the energy to defeat the oppressor, the commitment to equality, respect and dignity for the African American people?

Instead, there has been a tremendous outcry by the African American clergy against marriage equality for the gay and lesbian community, which whether it passes or fails, does not have any impact on the African American community.

Instead, there has been passion, energy and commitment from the African American clergy to defeat marriage equality, rather than that same passion, energy and commitment to finding solutions for the survival and continued progress of our people.

We used to hold to the belief and guiding principle of our slain martyr, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

We used to hold true to God’s calling of siding with those oppressed and discriminated against.

We used to hold as a priority the principle of justice and equality, especially for those who were treated differently.

Instead, we have become as our former oppressor, denying rights and privileges to one group of people that all other groups enjoy. Our calling is not to oppress, but to deliver. Our calling is not to discriminate, but to advocate for justice.

African Americans, more than any other people, have earned the right through our legacy of defeating the immorality of slavery, Jim Crow Segregation and legal discrimination, and therefore have the moral obligation to speak out against injustice.

My fear is that not only have we lost our way as it pertains to what are the priorities for the survival of the black community, but we have also lost our way as it pertains to being the moral voice of authority when it comes to issues of justice.

Our voice can not just be used to speak out against African American injustice; it must be used to speak out against all injustice. My fear is that we have become imprisoned by our own apathy.

The Rev. Eric P. Lee is president and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Los Angeles.

“He’s unquestionably one of the great public intellectuals. He puts people together, he makes a million speeches. He’s on airplanes a lot. I think he has 50 honorary degrees by now,” says David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, for which Gates has been a contributor.

Now a dispute with police has brought Gates down into the arena once again.

Reached by telephone on July 23, Gates told The Associated Press he had no further comments to make about the incident, in which he was suspected of breaking into a house — his own — and then charged with disorderly conduct when he raged at a police officer.

Gates’life has been an almost perfect arc of energy and ascent. A mill worker’s son, he graduated with honors from Yale and has devoted himself to discovering and explaining the very marrow of the black past.

As head of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard, Gates has consciously attempted to build upon Du Bois’ scholarship and to live out, and up to, his place in what Du Bois called “The Talented Tenth” of black elites.

Gates’ projects have included an encyclopedia of Africans and African Americans, an anthology of African American literature and documentaries about Abraham Lincoln and “The Wonders of the African World.”

His books include an influential work of cultural criticism, “The Signifying Monkey;” and a compilation of essays, “13 Ways of Looking at a Black Man,” which features pieces on Colin Powell, Louis Farrakhan and O.J. Simpson’s murder trial.

EDITION EMORATIVE NG JR. COMM LUTHER KI DR. MARTIN January 15,

SERVING Vol. XXX

, No. 1110

2009

nfidante, ayton, a Co Xernona Cl ng’s Legacy Ki Reflects on

ELES AND LOS ANG

SURROUN

DING AREA

S

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

“There are people who talk about President Obama being a three-dimensional chess player, operating on a lot of levels at once, and that's a good description of Skip,” says fellow Harvard professor Lani Guinier, using the nickname Gates has had since childhood.

“He’s entrepreneurial. He has an eye for investments and for networks that are a potential source of support.

He has an eye for talent, for bringing in the best people he can to Harvard.

And he has an eye for the media, for positioning himself and knowing how to present a story.”

He has told his own story in a memoir, “Colored People.” Gates was born in 1950 in Piedmont, W. Va., then a segregated mill community. His first knowledge of whites was through television, in sitcoms such as “The Life of Riley,” which featured a factory worker, like Gates’ dad. His family initially had little interest in protest, wondering why blacks would want to eat at white-owned restaurants since it was believed that whites couldn’t cook.

“Civil rights took us all by surprise,” wrote Gates, whose life was changed, as millions were, by the

We are committed to preparing a publication that you will eagerly anticipate each week.The L.A.Watts Times is scanning and probing PRESID ENT OB AMA IN AUGUR news and information resources ATION EDITIO N to deliver the best of the Giant Steps: Barack Obama America’ s 44th Pr African American community to esident you.To receive the L.A. Watts Times via U.S. Postal Service each week, fill out this subscription form and send with check or money order payable to: L.A. Watts Times for the yearly rate of $65.

She System Inc. Broadcasting or of the one” is also the originat nts in History y minute “Mome televised annuall broadcasts Month.

Black History schedule is the during Although her mile a minute, recently found Moving a former veteran and nte is full, Claytonabout King, a man rights civil time to talk King Jr. confida for severMartin Luther Atlanta fielding calls, she respected, knew with durin in her office ws, and putting the al years, and worked , of the Civil doing intervie the Trumpet Awards ing the height With a venon the accom- Rights Movement. final touches highlights knowledge, utions of erable wealth of an affair that at and contrib dly “never plishments Clayton, admitte ans. a million African Americ the founder and CEO a loss for words,” has tion Clayton is stories to tell. Watts Times t Awards Founda of the Trumpe and executive proThe L.A. to get her , which Inc., and creator with Clayton Trumpet Awards air on spoke s upcoming the of nation’ ducer take on the year and will TV One. is in its 17th Xernona Clayton tribute to King. the best Atlanta on ted him as : What is April 12 from ments are vast, but LAWT s that pinpoin I go into King’s the activitie activist, time.

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MN BRISCOE ion R lecBY ANDRE FIRST COLU the integrat G WRITE Roberts has CONTRIBUTIN Obama is sworn Over the years,and college stuWhen Barack nt of the United school tured high and has been preside in as the 44th 20, Americans may dents at seminars, what vely about Jan. has finally interviewed extensi States on turbulent year the nation the that e his conclud like during e Roberts Dr. Terrenc its racist past. logy pro- it was in high school. He uses overcome teach psycho he spent platform to in as many a as But for retired Roberts, 67, one and participate e experiences education at events, and as possible, Roberts who inte- the importance of fessor Dr. Terrenc to teenagers e relationships inaugural balls to speak Tomorrow.” of nine black Little Rock Central how to best improv Today and He also plans as’ Sidwell -old great grand-s, to said. s and faculty at the grated Arkans 1957, the ceremony among people of color.

OOD “My 11-year William C. NORW in leading up page 7 student Anthony hurdle in

BY CHICO High School E ROCK 9, In the days the “Little Rock R son, Neeko the theme for this See LITTL another cleared rights.

STAFF WRITE Assembly SpeakE. ation Day, will be just equal up with speak luncheons, ing battle for valida tes Inaugur California as the came said organizer Larry the the continu will attend n will serve year,” Nine” behind electio Bass J. ’s force to Angeles er Karen Obama tried driving l and Norris Grant, the and the Los Rock Nine” F grand marsha celebrity grand Association Commerce. In his what the “Little Roberts, a former S IN BRIE the parade. of and Bishton said NEW as er annual lish, Bass Psyrole Bishton Jr. Chamb in ’s accomp Joining the 25th P. Valpublic service Estate the Master UniGen. David marshal for Parade on Jan. 19 LAND previous co-chair of offir for Real at Antioch will be Lt. Day THE SOUTH reviewing Kingdom deputy directo for the state of chology program s who has been this year’s Day s.

Angele of court, Kingdom to Serve as in Los Angele al cereDevelopment is credited versity in Los celebration and 2009 Rosenfeld the inaugur Rosenfeld The largest King Jr. holi- cer, about Wyvetta Taylor.offiy California, invited to attend black president in to create Parade Queen Luther first Planning Deput ties and jobs, t Supervisor with helping nia, the the Martin mony for the Other celebri rn Califor include private-sector urban Second Distric s has chosen we to attend day in Southe will begin at 11 72,000 new U.S. history.

Thoma struggling ce to what as zed cials slated Nadette Stanis of Ridleyparade substan e serve and Mark to 2.5-mil “It adds “When which revitali Bern Rosenfeld n Avenue legend Roberts said. history, Danie l A. ard. It actress Times” fame; jazz a.m. at Wester areas. ’s tried to do,” State Deputy King Boulev “Good at this country a Senior k; California ands of L.A. Martin Luther west to Crenshaw ion to Disyou look Herby Hancoc of Public Instrucat the opposit District: Thous Lose Jobs for the Second at will proceed south on and you look you look Rosenand turn Superintendent nell; members of and then trict team. ’s Boulevard Teachers Could Avenue in O’Con l; integration, ands of Los responwith Obama onto Vernon festival tion Jack happened feld will be s City Counci em(AP) — Thous Crenshaw g, t that the what has where a s and other the Los Angele is quite apparen sible for planninenLeimert Park, Angeles teacher be laid off this election, it 14 more. is crumbling. did fits in will include transportation, and Tele- and will follow. ployees could the nation’s secold system The parade on KABC ct, what we as to 20 drill teams Daniel A. vironm ent Set to air “In retrospe to chip school year ng bands, 4 from 11 a.m. able district grap7 ld develop l page ic were marchi E, school Rosenfe We econom theme PARAD vision-Channe ond-largest — weakthat pattern. million deficit, See MLK year’s parade the old system For ment.

35 years of with a $250 now 1 p.m., this away a bit at Lives On to the point has more than ent and ples officials recently said.

— Dream He will “The ever.” is assessm school en it if you Ramon Corng faster than private sector and is the con Superintendent Legislature where it’s crumbli the electio pment the state s LLC, develo e blamed saying Partner Roberts said s, becaus tines Urban l al cutback anything, founder of g entrepreneuria for the potenti to solve the doesn’t change ic elements that “system an award-winninfocusing on devel- that lawmakers need if the Los of this there are firm into the fabric opportu- state’s budget crisis District is real estate are woven investment opment and n United Angeles Unified Schoolintact. society.” the wester ands the harm work force nities in If anyone underst to keep its Roberts. In S, page 6 causes, it is a board States.

See BRIEF the segregation served as 15, he and has age at City He l rs who the fall of 1957, of the Centra black teenage as the memb er eight other to be known insults, would come Nine” braved “Little Rock E NE DONLO R

BY DARLE G WRITE CONTRIBUTIN is a ball of

Xernona Clayton

fire.

Lives on in The Dream Year of This Historic Parade y Kingdom Da

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Karen Bass

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1954 Supreme Court decision outlawing the “separate but equal” laws in public schools.

Just two years later, Gates began at the Davis Free Elementary School, integrated in 1955 and virtually the only place in Piedmont where blacks and whites gathered together.

Gates arrived more determined than afraid. He was “marked out to excel,” an early reader and writer “blessed with the belief that I could learn anything.”

“I was all set to become the little prince of that almost all-white school,” he wrote.

He was an A student who loved history and geography and would practice the way African leaders’ names were pronounced by following the newscasts of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.

He gave the valedictory address at high school and graduated summa cum laude from Yale, where he majored in history.

To his eventual embarrassment, he wrote in his Yale application: “As always, whitey now sits in judgment of me, preparing to cast my fate. It is your decision either to let me blow with the wind as a nonentity or to encourage the development of self.

Allow me to prove myself.”

He was substantial enough to get into Yale anyway, politicized enough to protest racism and the Vietnam War, but never so disheartened by his country that he didn't consider himself a part of it.

At Harvard, Gates is credited with turning the school’s African American studies program into a “hub for intellectual history,” Kwame Anthony Appiah said, with fellows and faculty advisers including Guinier, William Julius Wilson and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka.

Vol. XXX , No. 1111

SERVIN G

LOS ANG ELES AND

SURROU NDING AREAS

January 22,

2009

BY TERE AP WRIT NCE HUNT ER

‘HOPE OVER John Rober FEAR ts to becom ’ — Barac e the 44th k Obama, joined president by of the Unitedhis wife Miche lle and States at daughters the U.S. Malia Capitol in Washi , third from left, ngton Jan. and Sasha 20. , takes

FIRST COLUMN

Not Just a Dream: Sparks Black Me Obama n to Actio n

BY LUCA AP WRIT S L. JOHNSON ER

L.A. Watts Times

II

The Son of Our Soil

the oath

AP

of office Photo/RON EDMON from Chief DS Justice

WAS into histor HINGTON — Stepping y, Barac k Husse grasped in Obam the reins America’s of powe a Jan. 20, first black presid r as declaring ent on choose “hope overthe nation must purpose over confli fear, unity of to overco ct and discor me the crisis since worst econo d” the Great Depression.mic In frigid temperature exuberant crowd million of more s, an packe and parad d the Natio than a nal Mall e route Obama’s inauguratio to celebrate noon cerem n in a highony.

With out of work11 million Amer icans lost in the and trillions stock marke of dollars Obama emphasized t’s tumble, biggest that his challenge tattered economy is to repair the outgoing left President behind by Bush.

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

they say NASHVILL they migh — An

BY REM actor turnsE, Tenn. (AP) taken witho t not have ut inner-city a SPECIALA REYNOLDS Van Jonehis example. mosque dilapidated, TO L.A. in just s, Green WATT a few days. into a theate NAIR For All, 40, foun ded S r buckles last e-mai OBI, Kenya — TIMES down on A 20-year-old gram that seeks a national proI sent one l to my historically his studie energy Keny ing her what I shoul an friend askjobs. His to create clean s at a black colleg mother Oakland-ba d expec e after his program, which dies I would sed nity organ of cancer. A employs ple and during the be teaching t. comm izer in has an 25 peou- of create thous decides his operating Obama’s time of Presid Nairobi $4.5 ent Barac inauguratio budget too mode ands of green plan to in passinmillion, was k Kenyans st and enlarg jobs is g a portio instrumental were exciten. I wondered ty-fold. if excited n of a nation es it twen- energy bill d as as the al majority I was, as Act. It will called the Green cans, as Barac of excited use up to Jobs the White k Obama’s electi to train as Africa Americans partic $125 House is on to n Amer 30,000 million ularly. ization such as ithe very people My of what realin jobs instal fathers so reply just BlackBerry flashe have told many black and retrofitting ling solar panel as I board d her aspire buildings s their sons them “Kenya HOME to ed the is to make to friend more envir PRID plane: a often was for years, even don’t be full of Obama large screen E — Kenya onme ntall ly. if it mania so just ns react booster , as thousa y guration another surprised if Jan as U.S. With Obam not mean a confidence nds of ceremony national President AP erally. t D.C., Jan. are extrem holiday. 20th is — from people gather Barack Photo/SAYYID AZIM And longto be taken lit- decided to shop a’s election, Jones to Nairobi, Obama Kenyans year ago 20. Across the wrapped a $33 billio posal befor appea our soil!” ely proud of Kenya watch the U.S. befor came togeth countr up the this son — that presidential rs on n proe Cong contest, e he hire didacy took place er to celebr y, neighbors of Anoth about 600,0 ress that would had divide his in Washi inauate the black men driven these can- the inaugurationd by political another. er national holida ngton, 00 peopl next two three and other of its favori violence only y? Yes, NEWS years for e over work. s to action a te son, When Obam IN BRI similar Obama. s EF ident of a was electe See BLAC the THE SOUT were grante United States d presK MEN HLAN , , page 3 Keny D ans commemorad a day off, a Top police Los Ange holiday officials edged to turned off te the occas les Polic that acknowlion.

Study on e Reject frequently minorities the flight my phone in obedi As I are more Racial Bias but they subjected to me, in my attendant hover ence to (AP) searc told the ing over oversees — A commission statistics commission hes, why didn’t jealousy I thoug the do ht, “Now not that filing the we get a Departmen Los Ange day off?” les is ramp prove racial proWhile ant in to inves t told police on Police ment. board the waiting in the depar tigate wheth Jan. 13 London last ta recen to plane Kenyans er data Information t from Times spoke with of the trip, identify study can be asm and , http://www.from: Los Angel officers great used to who against latimes.com es Americans animated gestuenthusiminorities. discriminat . res as they e L.A. Gang symbol The pontificated to of Tab to Pay has $5 Million came aftercommission’s the with proud hope Obama decision embodies mony abouthearing hours couldn’t , booming voice (AP) of have cared s. They conducted the study, which testi- they secur — City offici flight was less als said ed a $5 professor, by a Yale Unive was judgm more time delayed five that our million and publi rsity street ent against hours — HE’S civil ober by GOT MOV shed relative. to brag about Obam gang whos a Los Ange the the many ES — a their ties Union American Civilin Oct- control e 11 memb les A parade When the 19. Go performances of Liber South heroi partici ers - down to page that ern Califo pant nearly Photo by Jomo Kenya we finally The town area. n trade in 17 to view took place HGSTA arrived rnia. does the tta Intern R1/UNW Angeles study found more parade at the 2009 at in Kenya City Attor Kingdom the splits as part that Los ationa police photos. , officers ney Rock likely to Day Parade of dillo ly Keny everyone — even l Airport and are stop and y on Jan. an passen the liveLatino search blackmore officials other law enfor Delgasubdued, gers — residents announced ceme exhausted seemed whites, than they and against the the judgm nt even See KEN from the journe 5th and more often though white are week. y.

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“News You Can Use” S

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Page 12

L.A. WATTS TIMES

July 30, 2009

EDUCATION Obama Offers Contest for U.S. Schools

BY LIBBY QUAID AP EDUCATION WRITER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Using money as bait, President Barack Obama challenged U.S. states and school districts on July 24 to raise their academic standards, improve teacher quality and allow more innovation if they want a chance at roughly $5 billion in new grants.

Along with health care and righting the recession-hit economy, education reform is another of Obama's first term domestic priorities.

Obama said the broad goals are to give every child a chance to succeed and to boost the educational foundation of the nation’s economy.

Yet the “Race to the Top” program is also specifically targeted at expanding reforms the administration wants, such as linking teacher pay to

how well students do on tests.

“This competition will not be based on politics or ideology or the preferences of a particular interest group,” Obama said in an appearance at the Education Department.

“Instead, it will be based on a simple principle: whether a state is ready to do what works.”

The president added: “Not every state will win and not every school district will be happy with the results. But America’s children, America’s economy, America itself will be better for it.”

Obama said the states and districts that apply for money will be evaluated by clear criteria, with rewards going to those that adopt strong standards and common tests; that get high-quality teachers in the classroom; and that allow

expansions of charter schools, which are public schools that operate with more independence.

He endorsed the idea of linking student achievement to teacher pay — a hotly debated idea in education — but said it should be just one factor in compensation.

As he has with other domestic priorities, Obama said reforming education has been talked about without enough action for years.

Speaking of the need to improve academics nationwide, he said: “We have no choice. And I’m absolutely confident that we can make it happen.”

The $5 billion education fund, part of the economic stimulus law enacted this year, is seen as Obama’s shot at revamping schools over the next couple of years.

NC Private School Hires First Black Leader CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A prominent private school in North Carolina has hired its first black leader.

The Charlotte Observer reported last week that when Mark Reed took the helm of the 1,600-student Charlotte Country Day School on July 1, he became one of the few African Americans nationwide to lead private schools of its size. And according to the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools, he could be the first African American to head a predominantly white private school in the state.

But school officials say their pick was not about race.

“We hired Mark because he was in our view the best candidate out there, period, end of story,” said school trustees chairman Watts Hamrick. He noted that when Reed’s hiring was announced last November, faculty gave a standing ovation.

Reed, 44, came to Charlotte from Houston’s St. John’s School. In 19 years there, the former international track athlete rose from teacher and coach to assistant headmaster.

He replaces Margaret Gregg, who retired after 17 years as Country Day’s head of the school.

He leads a school where 89 percent of students — who pay up to $20,200 a year in tuition — and 90 percent of employees are white. By comparison, Mecklenburg County’s population is 65 percent white.

But Reed is no stranger to such

Mark Reed

rarities. The newspaper reported he was the first black male faculty member at St. John’s.

“I will never forget the first time working with kids,” Reed said, noting he quickly abandoned his plans for a career in medicine or physical therapy. “It was phenomenal — it felt like fun, and it didn’t feel like work.”

Former St. John’s headmaster John Allman praised Reed’s contribution as “impossible to overstate.”

“Mark’s guiding strength is building strong relationships of trust with people,” said Allman, now at Trinity School in New York. “His is a relationship-based leadership. He inspires trust from the ranks and from people regardless of their position.”

The son of Alabama natives, Reed grew up in Great Falls, Mont., attending public schools. His late mother was a teacher — as is his sister — while his late father played professional baseball in the Negro League.

Reed, who went to the Uni-

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versity of Houston on a track scholarship, later competed internationally in the high jump.

Reed said he liked St. John’s emphasis on excellence and accomplishment, regardless of race — which he likened to his sport.

“In high jump,” he said, “you either cleared the bar or you didn’t.”

Founded in 1941, Country Day — which consists of two campuses totaling 117 acres — counts itself among the county’s 10 largest private, coed, college preparatory schools.

Reed’s hiring makes a “huge statement,” said Orpheus Crutchfield, president of StrateGenius, a Berkeley, Calif., firm that helps independent schools develop minority teachers and administrators.

Minorities lead fewer than 100 of the 1,400 members of the National Association of Independent Schools.

In the last few decades, predominantly white private schools have tried to make their leadership, faculty and student bodies more diverse, Crutchfield said.

“It’s very slow. It’s glacial. But it is on an upward trend,” he said.

Information from: The Charlotte Observer, www.charlotte.com.

NOTEBOOK Awards to Be Given Away August and September DiversityScholarships.com is giving away a $10,000 scholarship in August and September to a high school or college student who is 18 years of age or older.

The scholarship award can be used to pay for tuition, books, housing and more. To apply, students simply have to register online, view free information from sponsor colleges and universities, and then confirm their registration.

Applicants must have at least one parent that is an African American, Hispanic American, Asian American or Native American. Female students of all ethnicities are also eligible. In addition, applicants must be permanent U.S. residents, and must be planning to attend or are already enrolled in a college, university or trade school.

At the end of the month, one random winner is selected from a drawing and the scholarship monies are paid in one lump sum directly to the winner upon verification.

Information: www.Diversity Scholarships.com.

CSU and Church Partners Provide a Gateway to College Hundreds of junior high school students are going to church to learn algebra. The California State University has partnered with churches to conduct 15 Summer Algebra Institutes in regions of high need throughout the state.

The primary objective is to help pre-high school students from underrepresented communities meet or exceed grade-level understanding of math concepts.

Many of the students participating in the institutes are in school districts that have cancelled or limited summer school due to the state budget crisis. Even though the CSU is also facing budget reductions, the system aims to continue and expand its efforts to provide access to students in the black community.

Through the CSU African American Initiative, top university leaders visited 70 Northern and Southern California churches in February to spread the message as part of Super Sunday.

Students who take rigorous courses in high school, especially in math, are often the most successful during college.

Information: www.calstatela. edu.

Amazon Offers 400K Titles with Print-On-Demand DETROIT (AP) — The University of Michigan said July 21 that it is teaming up with Amazon. com Inc. to offer reprints of 400,000 rare, out-of-print and outof-copyright books from its library.

Seattle-based Amazon’s Book Surge unit will print the books on demand in soft cover editions at prices from $10 to $45. The Ann Arbor school said the books are in more than 200 languages, from Acoli to Zulu and include an 1898 book on nursing by Florence Nightingale.

The move is possible because of the university’s project to digitize its collection in partnership with Google Inc., school spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said.

The Michigan-Google partnership started in 2004 as part of a program that also includes Harvard and Stanford universities and the University of California system. Authors and publishers filed a federal court lawsuit claiming the pact violated copyright laws, but Google and the publishing industry settled the suit last year.

The books in the MichiganAmazon deal do not have copyright protection and are in the public domain, so no royalty payments go to the author or original publisher.

University of Michigan libraries Dean Paul Courant said the arrangement means “books unavailable for a century or more will be able to go back into print, one copy at a time.”

Calif. Faculty Union Approves Furloughs, Pay Cuts

BY TERENCE CHEA AP WRITER

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A union that represents 22,000 California State University faculty members has agreed to take furloughs two days a month to help close a huge budget deficit at the 23-campus system, officials said July 24.

Members of the California Faculty Association voted for the furloughs, which amount to a 10 percent pay cut. The vote involved CSU professors, lecturers, coaches and librarians over the coming academic year.

The move was approved by 54 percent of the 8,800 CFA members who voted.

“It was an agonizing decision,” said Lillian Taiz, a history professor at CSU Los Angeles who heads the union. Many faculty members “made this sacrifice for the good of their colleagues and the good of the university.”

The faculty union also over-

whelmingly approved a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Charles B. Reed’s leadership of CSU, the nation’s largest four-year university system with 450,000 students.

Faculty union officials are still in negotiations with CSU officials about how to implement the furloughs, which will likely result in fewer teaching days or administrative duties for faculty members, said John Travis, a CSU professor who chairs the CFA bargaining committee.

The chancellor has called for nearly all of CSU’s 47,000 employees to take unpaid leave two days a month as part of a plan to address a $584 million budget deficit caused by a 20 percent reduction in state funding. The furloughs could save up to $275 million.

Security personnel would be exempted from taking the days off.

The California State University Employees Union, which represents 16,000 nonacademic employees, approved a furlough agreement ear-

lier last week.

CSU officials welcomed news that faculty members will participate in the furlough plan.

“Furloughs will help us maintain as many jobs as we can and also help preserve employee benefits,” CSU spokesman Claudia Keith said.

The no-confidence vote, approved by 79 percent of CFA members who voted, does not call for any action against Reed, but “it does send a very strong signal that the faculty is really fed up with his leadership,” Taiz said.

The union president said many faculty members feel the chancellor has not worked hard enough to preserve state funding to CSU or find new sources of revenue.

CSU officials said faculty members’ frustrations should be directed toward state policy-makers who have voted to cut funding to California’s colleges and universities.

To address its budget deficit, See FACULTY UNION, page 15

July 30, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

Page 13

HEALTH South African AIDS Delegation Visits Los Angeles

BY CHICO C. NORWOOD STAFF WRITER

Photos by MARTY COTWRIGHT

HEALTHY NEW START — L.A. Care Health Plan held a grand opening celebration for its new Family Resource Center in Inglewood on July 26.

Demonstrations on yoga, weight training, diabetes and blood pressure testing were just a few of the activities held throughout the day. Pictured (above): Radio KJLH personality and host of the Front Page, Dominique DiPrima, welcomes the audience to the grand opening of the center. (Below): Medical assistant Vicki Evans testing Dennis Gray’s blood pressure.

THE PULSE Twenty Los Angeles County Jail Inmates Infected With Swine Flu (AP) — Authorities say 20 inmates in the Los Angeles County Jail system have contracted the swine flu.

Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said July 22 that the first confirmed case was reported about two weeks ago at the downtown Men’s Central Jail.

He said most of the infected inmates are housed at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic. At that facility, about 190 inmates were placed in two quarantine housing areas, where they will be tested and monitored over a sevenday period.

Two inmates were taken to outside hospitals for treatment.

About 20,000 inmates are in the county jail system.

Health Conference Scheduled for Aug. 1 The Healthy Heritage Movement Inc. will hold its fifth annual conference, the 2009 Healthy Heritage Wellness Conference, Aug. 1, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at California Baptist University in Riverside.

The wellness conference is a one-day event that will focus on preventing sickness. The conference will provide educational seminars/workshops, free screenings for mammograms, HIV/AIDS, prostate cancer and blood sugar levels.

There will be vendors, entertainment and wellness screening throughout the day.

This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Ruth Tanyi, a family nurse

practitioner, medical journalist, health and fitness instructor and director of “Lifestyle & Preventive Care Weekly” television show.

The master of ceremony is Gerald T. Hightower, founder and senior pastor of Purpose Center International Ministries.

The conference and parking are free. Pre-registration is required. Lunch will be served for $10 per person.

Sponsorship and vendor information: (951) 288-4375, e-mail info@healthheritagemovement.org.

Free Program to Help Break Grip of Tobacco Offered The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, in conjunction with Ralphs Grocery Co. and L.A. Care Health Plan, is giving away free nicotine patches and gum to help smokers kick the habit for good.

Quit smoking aids are available at Ralphs stores in Compton, 280 E. Compton Blvd., and in Los Angeles, 1730 W. Manchester Ave., among other locations citywide.

L.A. County residents 18 years of age or older are eligible for this giveaway and must have a valid form of identification. Participants will be screened for eligibility to ensure that the nicotine replacement therapy will not conflict with any pre-existing conditions. A follow-up survey is required.

L.A. County offers other resources to residents who are currently addicted to tobacco, have already quit, or want to help a friend live a healthier life.

Further information: LAQuits. com, 1-800-NO-BUTTS.

A five-member delegation of South African officials came to Los Angeles last week seeking new approaches to combat HIV/AIDS. The Los Angeles trip was the final stop of a three-week visit that took the group to Iowa, New Mexico and other states to learn more about cutting-edge programs offered on HIV/AIDS. “They were here to learn … and get ideas that they could bring back,” said Sandra Barkan, program officer for the Meridian International Center, a nonprofit organization which aims at “strengthening international understanding,” according to its Web site. The center sponsored the visit.

The delegation met with government officials, including officials on the state and local level, involved with AIDS programs. It also met with people at universities and nongovernmental agencies, Barkan said.

South Africa is in the grips of “one of the most severe AIDS epidemics in the world,” according to AVERT, a United Kingdom-based international charity working to avert HIV and AIDS worldwide.

The organization’s Web site — which has statistics derived from the UNAIDS 2008 “Report on the global AIDS epidemic” — states that there’s an indication that about 5.7 million people living in South Africa have HIV. It also estimates that that there are roughly 1,000 AIDS deaths every day in the country.

According to the same study, about 280,000 children under the

age of 15 were reportedly “living with HIV in South Africa in 2007.”

And “so many people are dying from AIDS that in some parts of the country, cemeteries are running out of space for the dead,” the AVERT Web site states, adding that “South Africans spent more time at funerals than they did having their hair cut, shopping or having barbecues.”

One of the stops for the group was at the offices of the L.A.based Women Alive. The organization is by and for women living with HIV/AIDS, according to its Web site. The group described Women Alive Executive Director Carrie Broadus as “passionate” and “charismatic” and the organization “inspirational.”

“It was interesting just to listen because I work with a women’s group back in South Africa and to see how this women’s group address issues …

I kind of see the similarities … and the differences,” said Nolene Arend, an HIV/AIDS coordinator with the Diocese of Grahamstown (Anglican Church of Southern Africa), who was part of the delegation. “They are very excited and passionate about what they are doing and I think we need more.

It’s good to see organizations specifically for women.”

The South African visitors were impressed by many of the strategies offered by Women Alive, particularly the group’s quarterly Power Circle, and the focus on empowering women and educating men. Women Alive provides the only heterosexual HIV Program

Support group in Los Angeles, according to Broadus.

According to AVERT, there were at least 55,114 cases of rape in South Africa in 2004-05, making women and girls more vulnerable to contracting HIV and AIDS. “Coming to this women’s program, it is a strategy we can adopt in South Africa,” said delegation member Pearl “Fiks” Ntuli, provincial manager of the Olive Leaf Foundation in South Africa, after hearing information about the Women Alive program.

The group also visited the Los Angeles Unified School District’s HIV Prevention Unit, where it obtained information on the challenges of working in the nation’s second-largest school district and how it is dealing with the high rate of sexually transmitted infections among students.

Delegates also received information on how the LAUSD is working with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and other organizations.

“We found that they have good prevention programs in Iowa and moderately low rates in New Mexico. We attained a lot of knowledge from the experiences you … go through here,” said delegation member Colben “Leslie” Sakuneka, an HIV/AIDS coordinator for the uMgungundlova District Municipality in South Africa.

“Some of them are similar to what we go through; therefore, we will apply most of the knowledge we have learned here in South Africa.”

Commentary

Child Safety: Don’t Overlook the Baby Bottle

BY GINA SOLOMON, NEW AMERICA MEDIA

Editor’s Note: Recently, California’s Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee refused to put the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) on the Prop 65 list of toxic chemicals. BPA is commonly found in baby bottles and, as NAM contributor Dr. Gina Solomon notes, it has been linked to reproductive health problems, developmental abnormalities and obesity.

I went to visit my baby nephew in Florida not too long ago. He was a year old at the time, and an adorable child. But I was distressed to see him drinking out of a brightly colored plastic baby bottle.

Most people don’t get upset about baby bottles, but as a doctor who works on environmental health issues, I know too much.

Plastic baby bottles are usually made with a chemical called “Bisphenol A” (BPA). More than six billion pounds per year of this chemical are made in the United States for plastic bottles, food can liners, dental uses, and as paper coatings and adhesives.

Over the years, several hundred scientific studies have shown that BPA is probably not safe. This chemical mimics estrogen in people’s bodies, and studies (so far only in laboratory animals) have shown that it causes a host of reproductive

health problems, as well as developmental abnormalities in babies.

BPA is also unique because it has been linked to obesity. This chemical can permanently re-set hormones that affect the “fat meter” in the body, causing a predisposition to obesity. Studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed BPA in the urine of about 93 percent of the thousands of people tested. Concentrations of BPA

were significantly lower in Mexican Americans than in non-Hispanic blacks and non-Hispanic whites.

Women had statistically higher concentrations than men, and children had higher concentrations than adults.

Because BPA is a huge moneymaker for the chemical industry, it has public relations firms, armies of lawyers and its own hired scientists See CHILD SAFETY, page 15

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

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

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

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

Page 14

L.A. WATTS TIMES

July 30, 2009

SPORTS BRAD PYE JR.

SPORTS BEAT Notes, quotes and things picked up on the run from coast-to-coast and all the stops in between and beyond.

Unless something drastic happens to derail the Los Angeles Dodgers and the L.A. Angels of Anaheim, the teams should not only be playoff-bound but headed for the World Series.

Two of the best parings for the World Series would be the Dodgers against the New York Yankees. It would be homecoming for Dodger skipper Joe Torre. The next best

has the support of Rachel Robinson, the widow of Jackie Robinson.

Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were the inductees into baseball’s Hall of Fame recently.

Photos courtesy JON SOOHOO

HUDDLED UP — Los Angeles Dodgers’ second baseman Orlando Hudson speaks to players from the USA Baseball Breakthrough Series prior to a recent Dodgers-Reds game at Dodger Stadium. The Breakthrough Series, which ended recently at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton, is designed to give rising high school junior and senior players from urban areas exposure to college and professional scouts.

Venus Williams

Ricky Henderson

Manny Ramirez

World Series would be the Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox. It would be a homecoming for the Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez.

Ramirez’s grand slam blast on the first pitch to break a sixth inning 2-2 tie gave the Dodgers a 6-2 lead against the Cincinnati Reds July 22.

Adrienne Bratton — daughter of the late umpire Emmett Ashford, the first black balls and strikes caller in major league history — is campaigning to get her dad inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. Bratton

And the beat continues Most of the sports world expected Serena Williams to be the winner of the ESPY Female Athlete of the Year Award at the Nokia Theatre July 17. Nastia Liukin, the Olympic all-around gymnast gold medalist, seemed shocked when she received the award from former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The Williams sisters — Venus and Serena — presented the Arthur Ashe Award of Courage to Nelson Mandela. His daughter, Zindzi, and grandson, Zondwa, accepted for Mandela. Stevie Wonder presented the best team award to the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant. In honor of Mandela, Wonder finished the night by singing his rendition of “Happy Birthday,” written for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Shaquille O’Neal’s new ABC show is currently being filmed in

Shaquille O’Neal

Oscar de la Hoya, Albert Pujols and Michael Phelps. The show debuts Aug. 18 and will air at 9 p.m.

ET/PT. The Philadelphia 76ers traded former Verbum Dei High star Andrew Miller to the Portland Trailblazers. In his 10 years in the NBA, Miller has played for four different teams including the L.A. Clippers. Miller averaged 16.5 points for the 76ers.

A tragedy happened over the weekend. Former Olympian and exmiddleweight champion Vernon Forrest was robbed and shot to death in Atlanta.

And the beat continues Three teams from the Aquatic Foundation of Metropolitan Los Angeles — Victoria Park, Jesse Owens Park and Ted Watkins Park — combined in the recent state meet to capture a state championship, according to Stan Lee, executive director of the foundation, which was established by former

FIRST LADY Continued from page 10

Condoleezza Rice

Pittsburgh. It will feature him competing against other top athletes in their own respective fields. Some of the contestants are Serena Williams,

Washington visit, “so that the community at large had the opportunity to really benefit from their knowledge and their expertise.”

Seminars at other museums touched on subjects like technology and sustainability, transforming neighborhoods, and interaction design.

Later at the White House, Mrs. Obama addressed guests that included executives from Google, Target and the Bravo TVnetwork, among many others, lunching on White House china from the Bush, Truman and Eisenhower administrations. She returned to an oft-stated theme: Kids need more than just a good education, they need exposure to the arts — and early.

“An educational foundation is only part of the equation,” the first lady said. “In order for creativity to flourish and imagination to take hold, we also need to expose our children to the arts from a very young age.”

She said Albert Einstein had it right when he said imagination is more important than knowledge.

“We need to ensure that our children have both — knowledge and imagination. I know I want that for my girls. They deserve to have access to a good education and access to ideas and images that will spark their creativity.”

L.A. County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke. The AFMLA provides swimming for youths and seniors at the aforementioned county parks in the Second District.

And the beat continues Jordan Littlejohn is the new basketball coach at Compton’s Dominquez High, replacing interim coach Duane Cooper, who replaced the fired Russell Otis. Otis piloted Dominquez to six state titles and 10 Southern Section crowns. Otis is presently facing sexual assault and commercial burglary charges. Under Cooper last season, the team won the conference title and advanced to the Southern Section playoff semi-finals.

The Crenshaw High Cougars will feature three speed merchants this fall — linebacker Hayes Pullard, running back DeAnthony Thomas and cornerback Geno Hall. Games are set to start on Sept. 3 and 4.

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

She also spoke of her efforts “to break down barriers that too often exist between major cultural establishments and the people in their immediate communities.”

“So we’ve been sending a lot of role models out there in the far reaches of this city and then inviting kids to come back here to the White House,” she said. “That’s been a big part of the messages of every single event that we’ve done here at the White House.

“These kids who are living just inches away from power and prestige and fortune and fame, we want those kids to know that they belong here, too ... and in the museums, and in libraries, and laboratories all over this country.”

Dressed in a short-sleeved, bright canary yellow suit by Michael Kors, the first lady was also not above making a quip about the nation’s obsession with her fashion choices.

“What I love about design is the artistic and scientific complexity that also becomes useful: A laptop, a bridge — an outfit,” she said, pausing slightly to stress that last word, and drawing laughter. “A garden,” she added. “All drawn from a thousand wells of inspiration and yet grounded in the basic principles of math or science.”

Associated Press writer Ann Sanner contributed to this report.

July 30, 2009

L.A. WATTS TIMES

CAREERS COURT RESEARCHER Reliable and detail oriented Individual to record file Information from local courthouses.

Training provided. Flexible hours.

Fax resume to (408) 360-0903

City of Gardena BUS OPERATOR Class “B” DL w/ Passenger & Air Break Endorsement Current H-6 DMV Print Out EQUIPMENT MECHANIC 3 YRS Journeyman Exp. Class “B” DL Current H-6 DMV Print Out Recruitment will close after 50 qualified Apps have been recv’d or 8/24/09 5:00 PM PLEASE READ JOB BULLETIN CAREFULLY BEFORE APPLYING How to apply: Please visit our website at www.ci.gardena.ca.us Or the 24-Hr Job Hotline (310) 217-9515

CHILD SAFETY Continued from page 13 to defend the chemical.

Their formerly secret “playbook” relies on casting doubt on the extensive scientific evidence of harm. I feel pure outrage when political and legal tactics put the health of babies and children at risk.

I’m still steaming over a vote last week from the Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee, a politically appointed committee in California, which fell short of listing this chemical on the state’s “Proposition 65” list. Prop. 65 is a right-to-know law passed by California voters that requires warnings when companies expose people to chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm.

A vote to include BPA on that list would have forced stores to ensure that products that contain this chemical have a warning label on them.

As far as environmentalists are concerned, the vote is not the last word on this issue. We have science on our side, and we also have a few lawyers of our own. Public health advocates have asked the California Environmental Protection Agency to take another — and more careful — look at this chemical. Specifically, the agency was asked to look at a report by the U.S. National Toxicology Program that concluded that there is “clear evidence of adverse effects” in laboratory animals, including fetal death, reduced growth, and delayed puberty. The committee ignored this important information, and we believe it needs to be considered and the public must be warned.

Other efforts to protect the public are moving ahead. State legislation is pending in California, similar to what has already passed in Connecticut, Minnesota, Chicago and Suffolk County, N.Y., to ban BPA in baby products. Many companies have also taken voluntary action, including some baby bottle manufacturers who have stopped using this chemical in their products.

Federal chemical policy reform is also desperately needed to change the way industrial chemicals are tested and used in this country. Chemical manufacturers should be required to

Page 15

PUBLIC NOTICE INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) NO. 1676 THE REPLACEMENT OF HVAC SYSTEM AT UNION TOWER SENIOR HOUSING BUILDING The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) invites vendors to submit bids for the Replacement of the HVAC System at Union Tower Senior Housing Building located at: 455 South Union Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90017. Copies of the IFB may be obtained, at no charge, at the Authority's General Services Department, 2600 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 3100, Los Angeles, CA 90057. Copies of the IFB may also be downloaded from the Internet at www.HACLA.org/cgs. There will be a job walk at the site on Wednesday, August 5th 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Bids will be accepted at the Wilshire address until 2:00 p.m. (local time), August 14, 2009.

7/30, 8/6/09 CNS-1657182# WATTS TIMES ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME Case No. MS006808 Superior Court of the State of California, for the County of Los Angeles.

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

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

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

Thomas R. White Judge of the Superior Court.

Published Runs 7/16/09, 7/23/09, 7/30/09, 8/7/09 NC-LAWT-10R

prove their products are safe before they are put in products and released into our bodies and the environment.

And the public has a right to know about the health and environmental risks posed by new and existing chemicals, and where those chemicals are being used.

For many parents and doctors, there is plenty of evidence to justify action. My nephew is drinking from BPA-free bottles now.

Dr. Gina Solomon is a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national nonprofit environmental and health organization, and an associate clinical professor of medicine at UCSF, where she teaches at the pediatric environmental health speciality unit.

She is a physician with dual specialties in internal medicine and occupational/environmental medicine.

FACULTY UNION Continued from page 12 the CSU system is also reducing enrollment by 40,000 students and raising fees. On Tuesday, the CSU Board of Trustees approved a 20 percent fee increase — on top of a 10 percent hike approved in May. Even with the furloughs, CSU campuses are still expected to lay off hundreds of employees, eliminate academic programs, expand class sizes and reduce course offerings.

Last week, the University of California’s Board of Regents approved a furlough plan that will require most of its 180,000 employees

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME Case No. BS121188-AMENDED Superior Court of the State of California, for the County of Los Angeles.

In the Matter of the Application of Steven Chan for change of name.

The application of Steven Chan for change of names having been filed in Court and it appearing from said application that has Steven Chan filed an application proposing that his name be changed to Lauren Nixon Majors. Now, therefore, it is hereby ordered and directed, that all persons interested in said matter did appear before this court located at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA, on the 18th day of June, 2009 at 9:00 AM of said day to show cause why such application for change of names should not be granted.

It is further ordered that a copy of this Order to Show Cause be published in a newspaper of general circulation, printed in said county, at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the day of said hearing at 9:00 am, Dept 1A, Rm 548 on August 7, 2009.

Murray Gross Judge/Commissioner of the Superior Court.

Published Runs 7/2/09, 7/9/09, 7/16/09, 7/23/09 NC-LAWT13 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME Case No. BS121188 Superior Court of the State of California, for the County of Los Angeles.

In the Matter of the Application of Christopher Dana Majors for change of name.

The application of Christopher Dana Majors for change of name having been filed in Court and it appearing from said application that has Christopher Dana Majors filed an application proposing that his name be changed to Lauren Nixon Majors. Now, therefore, it is hereby ordered and directed, that all persons interested in said matter did appear before this court located at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA, on the 18th day of June, 2009 at 9:00 AM of said day to show cause why such application for change of names should not be granted.

It is further ordered that a copy of this Order to Show Cause be published in a newspaper of general circulation, printed in said county, at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the day of said hearing at 9:00 am, Dept 1A, Rm 548 on August 7, 2009.

Murray Gross Judge/Commissioner of the Superior Court.

Published Runs 7/2/09, 7/9/09, 7/16/09, 7/23/09 NC-LAWT12 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20090950091 The following person is doing business as: Louche Living 660 S. Figueroa St. 24th Fl. Los Angeles, CA 90017 Louche Designs 660 S. Figueroa St. 24th Fl. Los Angeles, CA 90017 Solomon Mansoor 660 S. Figueroa St. 24th Fl. Los Angeles, CA 90017 This business is conducted by an Individual.

I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct (The registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) is Solomon Mansoor.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on June 24, 2009. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. NOTICE: This Fictitious Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the Los Angeles County Clerk. A New Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before that time.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).

Published: 7/2/09, 7/9/09, 7/16/09, 7/23/09 LAWT376

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20091058359 The following person is doing business as: Ana Karina Vazquez 10449 Marklein Ave. Mission Hills, CA 91345 Kary’s Day Care 10449 Marklein Ave. Mission Hills, CA 91345 This business is conducted by an individual.

I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct (The registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) is Ana Karina Vazquez..

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on July 14, 2009.

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. NOTICE: This Fictitious Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the Los Angeles County Clerk. A New Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before that time.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).

First Filing: 7/30/2009, 8/6/2009, 8/13/2009, 8/20/2009 LAWT 377

DBA’s and Legal Notices, Call (213) 251-5700 to take 11 to 26 days of unpaid leave over the coming academic year.

REQUEST FOR BIDS & NOTICE OF INTEREST HNTB is bidding on the following project as a Prime Subcontractor: Financial Consulting Services for Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) Bid Date: July 30, 2009 @ 3:00 pm HNTB is seeking interest, qualifications, bids, and quotes from DBE subcontractors in the following areas of work: Airline Rates and Charges Analysis; Utilities Rate-Setting; Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) Application Preparation; Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Analysis; Airport Improvement Program and Other Grant Applications; Benefit-Cost Analysis; and General Financial Services All interested subcontractors must be certified as a minority business by the California Unified Certification Program (CUCP). Responsive subcontractors will also be required to provide acceptable insurance and appropriate bonding, or immediately inform HNTB if assistance is needed.

HNTB intends to conduct itself in good faith in regards to all DBE and OBE firms participating in this project.

All interested firms should email CUCP documentation to Debra Rahal at drahal@hntb.com and await further instructions. All additional materials will be solicited via phone and/or fax.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20091060191 The following person is doing business as: Domino LA Domino Los Angeles 11822 Gorham Ave. #9 Los Angeles, CA 90049 Amina F. Shaif 11822 Gorham Ave. #9 Los Angeles, CA 90049 This business is conducted by an individual.

I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct (The registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) is Amina F. Shaif This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on July 14, 2009.

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. NOTICE: This Fictitious Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the Los Angeles County Clerk. A New Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before that time.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).

First Filing: 7/30/2009, 8/6/2009, 8/13/2009, 8/20/2009 LAWT 378

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20091068287 The following person is doing business as: MS Enterprise P.O. Box 641836 Los Angeles, CA 90064 MS Enterprise 2210 S. Hobart Blvd. #3 Los Angeles, CA 90018 Monica Brogdon 2210 S. Hobart Blvd. #3 Los Angeles, CA 90018 This business is conducted by an individual.

I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct (The registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) is Monica Brogdon..

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on July 15, 2009.

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. NOTICE: This Fictitious Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the Los Angeles County Clerk. A New Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before that time.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).

First Filing: 7/30/2009, 8/6/2009, 8/13/2009, 8/20/2009 LAWT 379

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

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Page 16

L.A. WATTS TIMES

July 30, 2009

BUSINESS CARD BULLETIN BOARD A VOLUNTARY RESEARCH STUDY Join hundreds of other Black men in Los Angeles, who are part of a program to promote self-acceptance, healthy lifestyle choices and reduce HIV infection in the Black community. To get more details about the program and find out if you are eligible, call 310-825-5474. Both HIV-ve and HIV +ve men may participate. Cash compensation and refreshments provided.

All calls are confidential.

• • • • • •

MAALES Project (310) 825-5474 Sessions held at a discreet location near you. www.cdrewu.edu/maales Charles Drew University IRB Committee Approved May 20 ’09 TO May 19 ‘10 CDU IRB# 06-05-970-04

HAVE YOU BEEN DENIED YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS? Let me assist you.

There is NO Fee if we don’t win.

Jacquelyn Brown, Disability Representative

(323) 756-3755

3995

$

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

Includes:

Digital X-Rays and Exam.

Free Toothbrush & Floss New Patients Only.

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

Francine Bickham,

DDS UCLA Graduate

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

MEN

(562) 591-4028

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

RELIABLE AND EFFICIENT LEGAL DOCUMENT PREPARERS

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

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

35 Years Legal Experience Bonded & Reg.#IDA371

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to: • Participate in an interview that lasts 2 to 3 hours • Give 3 saliva samples • Provide a urine sample

400 Corporate Pointe, Suite 300 Culver City, CA 90230 Tele: (310) 590-4526 • Fax: (310) 590-4527 Email: Reliable.Efficient4U@gmail.com

You may receive up to $100 for your participation in this study. For more information, please call Jennifer Payne, LCSW, at (323) 357-3629.

WE ARE NOT ATTORNEYS

LET US MAKE YOUR AMERICAN DREAM COME TRUE NOW IS THE TIME TO PURCHASE YOUR FIRST HOME WITH ONLY 3.5% DOWN PAYMENTS. WE CAN QUALIFY YOU IN 24 HOURS FOR YOUR HOME LOAN. We also do LOAN MODIFICATIONS and we GUARANTEE BEST RESULTS from your lenders.

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Please Call for More Information at:

(562) 708-7287

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Call Joe (310) 674-8822

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