LAWT 09-15-2011

W E E K E N D E R

L.A. Watts Times Vol. XXX, No. 1249

www.lawattstimes.com

see pages 8-9

Thursday, September 15, 2011

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Thursday, September 15, 2011

HOROSCOPES A T

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ease. Soul affirmation: Distant love is sometimes sweeter.

IBRA ~ Busy week. You’ll want to get up with the birdies and you may even want to whistle a happy little tune. You’ll be very much in demand for your expertise and positive attitude. Way to go! Soul affirmation: I enjoy the act of adoring.

CORPIO ~ Happiness arrives and sits on your shoulder like a bright butterfly this week. A relationship can make significant progress if you stay open to love. Keep your evening free for romance in a social setting.

Soul affirmation: I give thanks for who I am this week.

AGITTARIUS ~ Take charge of a project at work and get it finished up. It’s been languishing on someone else’s shoulders and desk for way too long. A sensible outlook will get you far this week. Soul affirmation: My hunches work well for me this week.

APRICORN ~ You may find yourself faced with many distractions this week but you’ll sail through and accomplish much if you stay focused on each task and take them one at a time. You know you can do it this evening. Soul affirmation: Money opens doors for friendship to enter.

QUARIUS ~ Creativity is favored and yours is especially favored with some project that you’ve been working especially hard on. For the next few days watch for a romance that will bring special gifts. Soul affirmation: I care deeply about the feelings of others.

ISCES ~ Your new ideas combine well with your will and skill. You get a lot done at work this week. Be soft and forceful.

Make time for family life tonight. Your rewards come from those who are related to you by blood. Soul affirmation: I let positive emotions carry me through the week.

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RIES ~ Anybody may occasionally have a week when their energy feels low. Your natural good health will see you through a possible down time if you just go with the flow and let yourself relax. Rest if you have the chance, and you’ll feel like your wonderful self in no time flat! Soul affirmation: I calm my emotions by forgetting about the past.

AURUS ~ You are the center of attention this week and while you’ll be very busy you’ll love every moment. Enjoy your time in the spotlight! You may want to indulge yourself with some emotional theatrics this week.

Add up the costs and benefits before acting out. If you can afford it, go for it! If not, count to ten and smile, smile, smile! Soul affirmation: All vibes are good and good for me this week!

EMINI ~ Stay flexible this week especially where a partner is concerned. While they may be moody, there’s no need for you to join them in their attitude unless you really, really want to! Stay positive and go with the good vibrations that surround you. Soul affirmation: I exercise to lower tension this week.

ANCER ~ Ding-dong! Destiny is at the door. Let it in and enjoy the change of pace. You’ll be happy to make a few adjustments for this most welcome guest. Follow through on instincts and hunches! Soul affirmation: My spirit makes all things new.

EO ~ Stay on course with your current decisions and dreams. You may doubt your progress this week, but you really are moving toward a better tomorrow with your determined attitude. Soul affirmation: I enlarge my happiness by forgetting about myself this week.

IRGO ~ You feel great! Your shining spirit attracts many seekers this week so let your best wisest self answer questions that are put to you by those who want advice. You’ll smooth over a sticky situation at work with

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Circulation ..................................................................................50,000 The opinions expressed by contributing writers are not necessarily those of the L.A. Watts Times.

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CIRCULATION AUDITED BY CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL

Black Facts September 17 1983 Vanessa Williams is the first African American to be crowned Miss America.

1973 Illinois becomes the first state to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a holiday

September 18 1895 Booker T. Washington delivers the Atlanta Exposition Address at a business convention.

Because of his points of view, many call his address the “Atlanta Compromise.”

September 19 1989 Gordon Parks’ film “The Learning Tree” is registered in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. It joins other films such as “Casablanca,” “Gone With the Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz.” Source: blackfacts.com

Thursday, September 15, 2011

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Obama’s job’s speech to Congress: Get it done right away!

BY C STONE BROWN NNPA CONTRIBUTING WRITER In a joint session to congress last night, President Obama gave his

much anticipated speech on his prescription to resuscitate the ailing American economy.

The president’s plan is an ambitious $447 billion stimulus package

President Obama: Taking his case to the people.

that would include small business payroll tax cuts, tax credits for businesses that hire new workers, and new construction jobs to repair bridges, build public schools, roads and highways.

If there was a theme in the presidents’ address last night, it was the urgency of getting his bill passed “right away,” which he repeated eight times.

“I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away. It’s called the ‘American Jobs Act.’ There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation. Everything in here is the kind of proposal that's been supported by both Democrats and Republicans — including many who sit here tonight.

And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything,” said Obama.

It was obvious from the start that the president had two audiences he wanted to address: The American people and Congress, and it would be Congress that would get the president’s wrath for their inaction and partisanship over the past 24 months.

“Some of you have decided that [our] differences are so great that we can only resolve them at the ballot box. But know this: The next

President Barack Obama greets members of Congress prior to making his speech on jobs.

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See OBAMA SPEECH, page 11

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama will speak Oct. 16 at the rescheduled dedication of a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. on the National Mall.

The ceremony had been set for Aug. 28, the 48th anniversary of Kings “I Have a Dream” speech. But the memorial’s organizers agreed to delay the festivities as Hurricane Irene barreled up the East Coast that weekend.

The memorial features a 30foot stone statue of King bearing a stern gaze and crossed arms.

There’s also an inscription wall with 14 quotations from his many speeches and writings.

King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968. He is the first person of color and the first person who was not a U.S. president to be memorialized on the National The memorial to Martin Luther King, Mall.

Jr., on the National Mall.

Feds get key guilty plea from ex-mayoral aide

BY ED WHITE ASSOCIATED PRESS DETROIT (AP) — Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s former top aide pleaded guilty Monday to a broad pattern of corruption and said he’s willing to testify against his old boss at trial next year.

Derrick Miller’s guilty plea was a big catch for federal prosecutors, who claim Kilpatrick ran an “enterprise” of bribes and kickbacks that began even before he became mayor in 2001. They were boyhood pals who attended the same high school and worked together in Detroit as well as the state Capitol.

Miller, who was the city’s chief administrative officer and chief information officer under Kilpatrick, pleaded guilty to corruption and tax crimes. His plea deal says he accepted $115,000 from a real estate broker in connection with the lease or sale of city properties.

The court filing says he also accepted $10,000 from a contractor at Cobo Center, a convention hall, and passed $10,000 from the same contractor to Kilpatrick when

AP Photo/Detroit News, Ankur Dholakia

Derrick Miller, ex-aide to Kwame Kilpatrick, left, looks on as his lawyer, Byron Pitts, speaks to media outside federal court in Detroit on Monday.

Kilpatrick was running for mayor in 2001.

Outside court, defense attorney Byron Pitts told reporters that Miller made mistakes.

“Today is the first day of the rest of his life,” Pitts said.

Kilpatrick’s attorney, James Thomas, declined to comment on Miller’s guilty plea. Kilpatrick resigned from office in 2008 in a scandal involving sexually explicit text messages and an affair with his chief of staff.

“Public officials involved in acts of corruption and blatant greed will be held accountable for their actions,” said Andrew Arena, head

of the FBI in Detroit.

Miller’s plea agreement caps any prison sentence at 10 years, although the U.S. attorney’s office could seek a reduction if it’s satisfied with the cooperation.

Miller, 41, who now lives in McLean, Va., admitted accepting $10,000 from a contractor who got millions from the federal government to install security cameras in Detroit. He also said he pressured other contractors to give business to Kilpatrick pal Bobby Ferguson, who specialized in excavation and demolition.

Ferguson faces his own criminal charges.

metro.net/works

Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Advancing to the Next Phase Metro completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIS/R) for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Project, and it is now available for review online at metro.net/ Crenshaw, and at public libraries as noted on the project website.

A decision is required by the Metro Board to advance the project into the construction phase. The date for the upcoming meeting on this subject is as follows:

Metro Board of Directors Meeting Thursday, September 22, 2011, 9 am Metro Headquarters Metro Board Room, 3rd Floor One Gateway Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90012 Public Transit is Available to Meeting Metro Red, Purple, and Gold lines, Amtrak, Metrolink, Metro bus lines 40, 42, 68, 70, 71, 76, 78, 79, 485, 487, 704, 728, 733, 740, 745, 770, and 910 (Silver Line), Dash B, Dash D, Dash Lincoln Heights/Chinatown, Santa Monica Big Blue Bus Line 10, Torrance Transit Line 2, and Foothill Silver Streak serve Union Station.

Parking is also available on levels P2 and P3.

Special accommodations and information in alternative formats are available to the public upon request. For more meeting information: 213.922.2736 metro.net/crenshaw

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White House: Obama to speak at MLK memorial event

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Thursday, September 15, 2011

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Woman shocked by being taken from plane in Detroit

BY JEFF KAROUB ASSOCIATED PRESS DETROIT (AP) — An Ohio woman who was one of three people taken off an airplane at Detroit’s airport and questioned on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks says she was shocked when armed officers stopped at her row and ordered her off.

Shoshana Hebshi, 35, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday that she

believes she was targeted because of her Middle Eastern appearance. Hebshi, who describes herself as half-Arabic, half-Jewish with a dark complexion, said she endured nearly four hours in police custody that included being forced off an airplane in handcuffs, strip-searched and interrogated.

Authorities say fighter jets escorted the Denver-to-Detroit Frontier Airlines flight after its crew reported that two people were spending a long time in a bathroom — the two men sitting next to Hebshi in the 12th row.

AP Photo/Joey Mentzer

Police detained three passengers in Detroit after the crew of the Frontier Airlines flight from Denver reported suspicious activity on board.

The FBI has said the three didn’t know each other. One man felt ill and got up to use the restroom and another man in the same row also left his seat to go to the bathroom. The FBI said they never were inside together.

Hebshi has written extensively on her blog about the incident, saying she felt “violated, humiliated and sure that I was being taken from the plane simply because of my appearance.” Hebshi told the AP she didn’t notice how many times the men went to the bathroom. “I wasn’t keeping track,” she said. “I really wasn’t paying attention,” said Hebshi, a freelance writer, editor and stay-athome mother of twin six-year-old boys who lives in a suburb of Toledo, Ohio. “I was minding my own business — sleeping, reading, playing on my phone.”

After the plane landed, she wrote several posts on Twitter about what was going on as those aboard waited while police descended. “A little concerned about this situation. Plane moved away from terminal surrounded by cops. Crew is mum.

Passengers can’t get up,” she wrote at one point.

Later she wrote, “I see stairs coming our way...yay!” Her last post said, “Majorly armed cops coming aboard.” It’s then that she says the officers ordered her and the men, whom she described as Indian, to get up.

She said she was patted down and taken by car to a holding cell. A uniformed female officer eventually came in and told Hebshi to take off her clothes.

After the strip search, another officer who identified herself as a Homeland Security agent led Hebshi to another room, Hebshi said. There, a man who identified himself as an FBI agent asked her a series of questions while a female agent took notes, Hebshi said.

Hebshi said that when she asked what was going on, the male agent told her someone on the

AP Photo/Supplied by Shoshana Hebshi

Shoshana Hebshi said she was strip-searched because of her appearance: She is of mixed Arab-Jewish heritage and has a dark complexion. plane reported that she and the men on her row were “conducting suspicious activity.”

FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said the See HEBSHI, page 14

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Thursday, September 15, 2011

Leila Lopes of Angola is crowned Miss Universe

BY BRADLEY BROOKS ASSOCIATED PRESS SAO PAULO (AP) — Newly crowned Miss Universe Leila Lopes wants to help her native Angola further escape a history of war and impoverishment and said she plans to focus on combating HIV around the globe.

Speaking in a timid voice early Tuesday shortly after taking the crown in South America’s largest city, the 25year-old Lopes said that “as Miss Angola, I’ve already done a lot to help my people.”

“I’ve worked with various social causes. I work with poor kids; I work in the fight against HIV. I work to protect the elderly, and I have to do everything that my country needs,” she said.

“I think now as Miss Universe I will be able to do much more.”

Responding to questions, Lopes said that she has never had cosmetic surgery of any kind and that her three tips for beauty were to get a lot of sleep, use sun block even when it’s not sunny and to drink lots of water. She said her smile was her best weapon in the competition.

Asked about racism in light of the fact that she’s one of the few blacks ever crowned Miss Universe, Lopes said that “any racist needs to seek help.”

“It’s not normal in the 21st century to think in that way.”

Lopes is Angola’s first winner. She beat out 88 other competitors to win the title during the 60th anniversary of

the world’s biggest beauty pageant.

She replaces last year’s winner, Ximena Navarrete, of Mexico.

She deftly handled the interview question that is asked of the remaining top five contestants. She was questioned about what physical trait she would change if she could.

“Thank God I’m very satisfied with the way God created me and I wouldn’t change a thing,” Lopes said.

“I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty. I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family and I intend to follow these for the rest of my life.”

The first runner-up was 23-yearold Olesia Stefanko of Ukraine, and the second runner-up was Priscila Machado of Brazil. The third was Miss Philippines and the fourth, Miss China.

Contestants spent the past three weeks in Sao Paulo, trying to learn samba dance steps, visiting impoverished children and kicking a football around for cameras. Despite battling against a home-country favorite, Lopes won over the audience, speaking in the shared language of Portuguese. Angola, like Brazil, is a former Portuguese colony.

“She captivated the crowd and we were all behind her,” said Brazilian Natalie Bursztyn, 20, who was in the crowd inside Credicard Hall, where the event took place. “It was great that the judges also saw what the fans saw and gave her the crown. Her dress was beautiful and she knew exactly what to say when they asked her the ques-

tion about her looks.”

Another fan in the audience, Carolina Rocha, said Lopes’ win was “well-deserved. We were cheering for her all along … Her smile and her friendliness was what set her apart from the others,” Rocha said. “She also answered her question very well.

That likely helped her a lot.”

U.S. broadcast journalist Connie Chung was one of the celebrity judges, and said before the competition that she was taking the contest seriously. “I know my job and I’ll be tough, but fair,” Chung said. “You have to keep in mind that these women are not objects just to be looked at. They’re to be taken seriously. I want to choose somebody I take seriously and the world takes seriously, too.”

Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe organization, was hyped up for the night. “It’s our 60th anniversary; it’s a very big show,” she said. “We’re anticipating close to a billion viewers from around the world.”

Shugart said it was fitting the globe’s biggest beauty pageant be held in Brazil at this time, as the nation prepares to host some major events in the coming years. “I don’t think there is any doubt in the rest of the world’s mind that Brazil is the place, between hosting the Olympics and hosting the World Cup,” she said. “I love the fact we’re going to kick it off. I always say we’re the ‘World Cup’ of beauty.”

The contestants must never have been married or had children and must See MISS UNIVERSE, page 10

AP Photo/Andre Penner

Miss Angola, Leila Lopes, is crowned Miss Universe 2011 by Miss Universe 2010, Ximena Navarrete, of Mexico, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

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WLCAC gets a makeover Holly Robinson Peete and Maxwell House cut the ribbon for the new renovations at the Watts Labor Community Action Committee community center.

BY BRIAN CARTER SENTINEL STAFF WRITER On Wednesday, September 14, the Watts Labor Community Action Committee Community Center (WLCAC) welcomed actress, philanthropist and “Celebrity Apprentice” star Holly Robinson Peete, along with Maxwell House, in renovating the center with the “Drops of Good: The Maxwell House Community Project.”

Maxwell House, partnering with Rebuilding Together, launched this project to help restore struggling community centers across the country. The WLCAC was selected as one of five centers worthy to receive repairs and a makeover. It was the last of the five renovations done across the country.

The event was well attended by city and state officials, WLCAC staff, organizations and the community, including local representatives from the offices of Councilwoman Jan Perry, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, renowned songwriter and singer Bill Withers, and professional photographer Howard Bingham, whom the WLCAC

named one of their buildings after.

Deanna Johnson, executive director of Rebuilding Together Greater L.A. had a few words to say on the day’s events: “We have been able to give at the [WLCAC], the makeover of a lifetime with renovations that will help revitalize this facility … As the nation’s leading nonprofit working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalized communities, Rebuilding Together is honored to be working with Maxwell House ‘Drops of Good.’”

Theodore Watkins, affectionately known as “Ted,” along with community activists and union members, established the WLCAC after the Watts Revolt in 1965 and served as president.

His son, Tim Watkins, now serves as the president and CEO of the WLCAC. Watkins was delighted at what has taken place.

“It was a national competition so for us to end up in the top five … tells me how they felt about us,” said Watkins. “Symbolically, they could have done us first, but they did us last —[like] their corporate motto …

Photo by Brian Carter

Peete and Maxwell House representatives cut the ribbon on new renovations on the community center.

‘Good to the last drop.’ ” Bingham expressed his feelings on the love and attention being expressed on a center he holds close to his heart.

“To be involved with this, and for other people to come down and help us… that’s always a plus,” he said.

Peete actually took part in the renovations, as she helped paint and patch parts of the WLCAC with volunteers.

“I was panicked about the painting because that is not my forte,” she said, laughing. “So just give me a big thick area in the middle and don’t get me anywhere near the lines.”

She shared her experience about

being a part of a renovating effort within her home of Los Angeles. “I get asked to do a lot of philanthropic projects and giving back,” said Peete. “This was a really unique one, in that it was in L.A., which is my home town, and the community center has such another level of education.”

Peete expressed her awe of the WLCAC richness in culture and history and how important it is to have this kind of center in the community. “This place, it’s not just about vocational training and getting off the street,” said Peete. “It’s also about lessons in [our] history as African-Americans … I can-

not wait to bring my kids down here.”

“It was important to me to be able to support the community right now during this terrible economic time,” said Peete. “Everybody is getting slashed back, all the programs in school, so it was just the perfect fit and I’m just glad to be able to be down here.”

Not new to supporting a cause, Peete is a staunch supporter of educating people on autism after her son, Rodney Jr. (RJ), was diagnosed with the disorder at age 3. “In the African American community, our kids get See WLCAC, page 11

The new Happy Meal® doesn’t fall far from the tree.

At participating McDonald’s. ©2011 McDonald’s.

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F E AT U R E

Thursday, September 15, 2011

L.A. Watts Times WEEKENDER

C O M M E N T A R Y

by Brandon I. Brooks | Co-Managing Editor

September 13, 1996 Tupac Amaru Shakur passed away at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada after being shot several times during a violent drive-by shooting. Shakur survived in the hospital for 6 days before finally passing.

This week marks the 15th anniversary of Shakur’s tragic death. As we celebrate his life, we look back at “2Pac” aka “Makaveli”, a man that has sold over 75 million records worldwide.

2PAC It’s okay to be critical of 2Pac. If he were here today he would want us to be critical but be critical with a conscience. Learn from his life and be critical on how we should avoid his mistakes.

He wouldn’t want us to follow in his footsteps. He is quoted as saying we need more doctors, teachers and people in our community that can really make change.

This is the man that reached so many and wanted a better future for his community and people.

The more I look into the life and career of Shakur, I realize that he wore his emotions on his sleeve. It was his best and worse trait. He didn’t mind living his life on camera and this was before the era of reality television.

He was a walking time bomb and the media played oơ of him and took advantage of his fame.

There are only so many people that can reach you through art and Shakur was one of them.

WHAT DID HE STAND FOR? 2Pac stood for change. He reached a level of success only so many people reach in a lifetime. 2Pac wanted his fans to experience what he experienced as it happened. Most artist go into holes and hide when the going gets tuơ. 2Pac gave interviews while in prison and expressed his innocence. He would never be silent. He was a controversial figure and lived his life to the fullest regardless of public opinion.

TYSON FIGHT!!

Shakur only went to Las Vegas on September 7, 1996 because Mike Tyson was fighting Bruce Sheldon.

Tyson and Shakur developed a bond and close friendship and many people took note. Shakur made sure he was front and center supporting Tyson at the fight against Sheldon. Shakur was seen by many hugging and congratulating Tyson after beating Sheldon in the match.

Shakur was later seen on security camera’s fighting along with fellow crew members and former Death Row Records CEO, Suge Knight at the MGM Grand Casino.

This fight is rumored to be a possible link to 2Pac’s murder.

There are tons of rumors even some that suggest Biggie Smalls may have been involved.

But in a world of social media and the internet, there are thousands of rumors out there. Tupac has even reached the Elvis Presley plateau where a certain cluster of fans feel he may still be alive living on an island somewhere with his feet up waiting to return.

Rumors will continue to swirl and one thing for sure is 15 years later, 2Pac fans have not lost interest in his character and life.

Its important to note that 2Pac helped transcend the rap and hip hop culture to new heights.

No one at that time was selling 5 million records with he number one album in the country and hanging out with the heavyweight champion of the world.

Shakur was a modern day version of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. Instead of the “Rat Pack”, 2Pac was creating the “Rap Pack”. America wasn’t ready for this. Or were they?

Tyson on many occasions would work out to 2Pac’s music and come out blasting his music before boxing fights. 2Pac even went as far as to record exclusive songs for Tyson to walk out to for big fights.

That was part of the genius of Tupac Shakur. He knew that by having Tyson walk out to his song, this would attract an entire new fan base to his stable. The 2Pac brand became heavyweight instantly as Shakur positioned himself as the best rapper in the business.

When you have the best fighter in the world working out to your music and millions are witnessing, you can bet on it that millions of kids and adults will be influenced.

2Pac and Tyson’s bond was best described by Tyson himself on the ESPN Films 30 for 30 special titled, “One Night in Vegas.”

TUPAC SHAKUR | 1971 - 1996

Tyson discusses 2Pac saying, “What really touched me about him is he was only about 125 pounds (smiles), he wasn’t a big guy but he was just fearless, and that was an uncomfortable feeling to be around. When someone is just absolutely just fearless and not conscious of any repercussions like that. I never met nobody like that before.”

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN? Its sad that Shakur died at such an early age because like so many who die young, we are left to think, what could have been of this man?

Some people say he was interested in politics and would have been best in that arena. Some people say he would have been an oscar winning actor. Maybe he would have been a great director and focused on writing scripts and screenplays?

I think he would have had a career similar to that of Ice Cube and dabbled in front and behind the scenes in Hollywood.

Shakur gave us unforgettable

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Thursday, September 15, 2011

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TUPAC AMURU SHAKUR DIED AT THE AGE OF 25. THIS YEAR MARKS THE 15 ANNIVERSARY OF HIS PASSING. years and that we are thankful for. 15 years after his unsolved murder, his legacy and popularity are stronger than ever. Let’s hope in the next 15 years his murder is solved.

CELEBRITIES REMEMBER TUPAC ON TWITTER Marlon Wayans - “2day marks the 15th year anniversary of the murder of my boy TUPAC SAHKUR. Pls join me in my HOUR of TWITTER SILENCE.” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson - “ RIP Tupac. Memphis. Wrestling for $40 a night.

My ring entrance son: “All Eyes On Me.” Thank u brother.

Rev Run “RIP Tu p a c . . I o f t e n wonder what the Tupac twitter f e e d would r e a d like if he as

still with us.

Carmelo Anthony - “For every dark night, there’s a bright day’ - Tupac Shakur Swizz Beatz - I want to take this time out to thank God for another year wow I’m 33 today!! I was just 18:) also RIP to 2pac MC Hammer - “Unconditional Love...Gone to soon.”

Ciara - “RIP 2 my favorite rapper of all time! 2 pac! “Shed So Many Tears” my most favorite song of his.”

Timbaland - “RIP Tupac ” Sean Kingston - “RIP Tupac” Funkmaster Flex - “Remembers the LIfe of Tupac Amaru Shakur 6/16/71 - 9-13/96)” Omarion - “R.I.P. 2PAC SHAKUR!! 1 of the most influential not only 2 us young brothers on the west coast but 2 the world! He was a prophet!”

Paul Wall - “RIP 2Pac” Kimora Lee Simmons - RIP Tupac Amaru Shakur. Long loved never forgotten!”

Quincy Jones III - “2 my dear comrad @2Pac, thanks for showing me how to pursue my dreams, salute to one of the best human beings I’be been blessed to know.”

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Thursday, September 15, 2011

NBA labor: Talks fail to make progress

BY BRIAN MAHONEY AP BASKETBALL WRITER NEW YORK (AP) — The long looks on players' faces and the anger in Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver's voice made it obvious: There was no progress Tuesday in talks to end the NBA lockout.

And with less than three weeks until training camps, the latest setback may be a tough one.

"I think coming out of today, obviously because of the calendar, we can't come out of here feeling as though training camps and the season is going to start on time at this point," players' association president Derek Fisher of the Lakers said.

Still divided over the salary cap structure, owners and players decided to pass on talking again Wednesday, and no further meetings are scheduled at this point.

"Well, we did not have a great day, I think it's fair to say that," Commissioner David Stern said. "On the other hand, we did say that it is our collective task to decide what we want on the one hand on each side, and two, what each side needs if we choose to work ourselves in such a way as to have the season start on time. That's still our goal."

Training camps have been expected to open Oct. 3 and the regular season's opening night is scheduled for Nov. 1.

"We're a bit pessimistic and discouraged at one, the ability to start on

time, and we're not so sure that there may not be further damages or delay trying to get the season started," union executive director Billy Hunter said.

"The owners are not inclined at this stage to move off the position where they've anchored themselves."

Stern and Silver countered that the union insisted the current soft cap system remain exactly as it is before they would agree to discuss anything else.

"Frankly, we're having trouble understanding why the label of a hard cap is what's breaking apart these negotiations right now, and that's what we discussed for a long time as a committee and then discussed together with the players," said Silver, his voice rising as he spoke.

After three meetings among small groups in the last two weeks, full bargaining committees returned to the table Tuesday. They could also have met Wednesday, but Stern said it was best the two sides step away and meet with their own membership groups on Thursday.

Though owners are seeking an overhaul of the league's financial system after saying they lost $300 million last season and hundreds of millions more in each year of the previous collective bargaining agreement, the salary cap appears to have emerged as the biggest obstacle to a new deal.

The current system allows teams to exceed the ceiling through the use of various exceptions if they are willing to pay a luxury tax, giving bigmarket teams such as the Lakers — who can take on added payroll — an advantage over the little guys.

But Hunter said a hard cap is "highly untenable," referring to it as a "blood issue" to the players. He added the players were prepared to make a "significant" financial move, but they would only agree to give on dollars if they got a win on the system.

"For us, if we give on one, we have to have the other. It can't be just a total capitulation," he said.

The league said players wanted owners to guarantee they would concede on the cap as a condition of talking about anything further, but Stern said "all of the owners were completely unified in the view that we needed a system that at the end of the day allowed 30 teams to compete."

Added Silver: "That should be the goal of both the owners and the players in this negotiation, not to come in and say that that's off the table, and we

won't discuss it and it's a precondition of us making an economic move."

The recent meetings had been cordial, sparking hopes that progress was being made. Instead, Fisher and Hunter sat in the middle of a row of players who looked dejected, and now may have to wonder if they need to look harder at finding a job overseas.

A sign of how the day went: Owners spent the majority of about five hours behind closed doors caucusing among themselves.

"We can't find a place with the league and our owners where we can reach a deal sooner rather than later," Fisher said.

Besides the cap, the other main issue remains the division of revenues.

Players were guaranteed 57 percent under the old deal and had offered to lower that to 54.3 percent before owners locked them out on July 1. They say the league's proposal would have them a percentage in the 40s, and Hunter said if the owners are serious about a hard cap, he'll give it to them if players get 65 percent.

Owners are scheduled to meet Thursday in Dallas, and Stern again said there won't be any decisions to cancel training camps at that session.

But that would have to come sometime later this month without a deal.

The opening of camps was postponed on Sept. 24 during the 1998 lockout, which reduced the season to 50 games.

The union will update players Thursday in Las Vegas, and Fisher said he will tell them that "the way it looks right now we may not start on time." He stressed that players are still committed to the process and "not walking away from the table," but Hunter repeated that they "have instructed us that they're prepared to sit out" rather than accept owners' current proposals.

Progress should come eventually over finances. Settling the cap issue could take longer.

"We know how to negotiate over dollars when the time comes, but they so conditioned any discussion on our acceptance of the status quo, which sees a team like the Lakers with well over $100 million in payroll and Sacramento at 45," Stern said. "That's not an acceptable alternative for us.

That can't be the outcome that we agree to."

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney.

MISS UNIVERSE Continued from page 6 be at least 18 years of age and under 27 years of age by Feb. 1 of the competition year.

The pageant, hosted by NBC “Today” anchor Natalie Morales and the Bravo network’s Andy Cohen, was broadcast live on NBC and distributed to about 170 countries. The contest is co-owned by Donald Trump and NBC, and the celebrity judges included Chung and two prominent Brazilians, supermodel Isabeli Fontana and Indy race car driver Helio Castroneves.

Morales, who is half Brazilian, said that “what’s most important is for the women to be beautiful inside and out.”

For Cohen, the task of hosting was an easy one.

“It’s a fun job. All I have to do is stand there, smile and scream the

names of countries,” he said.

Sharply dressed women and men jostled for chances to have their photos taken with stars on the red carpet.

Some traveled from across the globe to support contestants.

There were no headline-grabbing gaffes going into this year’s competition, as opposed to past years, which have seen controversies of various stripes. The show itself went off without a hitch.

Miss USA Alyssa Campanella, from California, failed to end a long losing spell for the U.S. in the competition. An American has not been named Miss Universe since Brook Lee won the title in 1997.

The pageant started as a local bathing suit revue in Long Beach, CA, organized by a swimwear company.

AP Photo/Dave Martin

In this Feb. 21, 2011, file photo, former Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Manny Ramirez looks down at his bat after practice during spring baseball training at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Fla. Ramirez, a former World Series MVP, was arrested and booked Monday, Sept. 12, 2011, in Florida, but no charges were listed.

Ramirez told to have no direct contact with wife

BY CURT ANDERSON ASSOCIATED PRESS FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Former World Series MVP Manny Ramirez made his first court appearance Tuesday after authorities arrested him over a domestic dispute at his South Florida home and was ordered to have no direct contact with his wife.

Broward Circuit Judge Jon Hurley set bail at $2,500 on the domestic battery charge, but it wasn’t immediately clear when Ramirez would leave Broward County Jail.

Broward sheriff’s officials say 39-year-old Ramirez was arguing with his wife, Juliana, Monday afternoon when he slapped her face, causing her to hit her head on their bed’s headboard. She told the deputy she was afraid the situation would escalate.

Authorities say Ramirez denied hitting his wife.

Ramirez retired in April from the Tampa Bay Rays after he tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Rather than face a 100-game suspension for a second violation of Major League Baseball's drug policy, the 12-time All-Star left the game.

Ramirez previously served a 50-game ban in 2009 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Second-time offenders get double that penalty.

One of the games great sluggers, Ramirez was named MVP of the World Series in 2004 and helped Boston end an 86-year title drought.

He was selected 13th overall by the Cleveland Indians in the 1991 amateur draft out of New York City and rose quickly through the minor leagues with a youthful exuberance and natural charisma.

He broke into the majors in 1993 and played his first full season the following year, when he finished second to the Royals’ Bob Hamlin in voting for Rookie of the Year. Ramirez went on to establish himself as one of the game’s most feared hitters, adopting a dreadlock hairdo that seemed to mirror his happy-go-lucky demeanor.

He signed with the Red Sox as a free agent in December 2000, helping the long-suffering franchise win the World Series a few years later, then doing it again in 2007.

The Red Sox traded him to the Dodgers in July 2008. He instantly became a fan favorite on the West Coast, with “Mannywood” signs popping up around town, as he led Los Angeles to the NL West title and a sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs. The clutch performances earned Ramirez a $45 million, two-year contract.

All that goodwill fizzled the following May, when Ramirez tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin, a banned female fertility drug often used to help mask steroid use.

The Rays had hoped Ramirez could add some pop to a lineup that lost several key pieces off last year’s AL East champions, but he played in only five games for the Rays, with one hit in 17 at-bats.

Ramirez was a .312 career hitter with 13 seasons of 100-plus RBIs and 555 home runs, 14th on the all-time list.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

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Serena Williams fined $2,000 by US Open NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams was fined $2,000 by the U.S. Open on Monday for berating the chair umpire during the final.

Tournament referee Brian Earley issued his ruling a day after Williams was cited by chair umpire Eva Asderaki for a code violation for verbal abuse during a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Sam Stosur in the women's singles championship match at Flushing Meadows. A statement issued by the U.S. Tennis Association said the fine “is consistent with similar offenses at Grand Slam events.”

Williams earned $1.4 million at the U.S. Open: $900,000 for finishing as the runner-up, plus a $500,000 bonus for having come in first place in the U.S. Open Series standings, which take into account results at hardcourt tune-up tournaments.

The USTA also said Grand Slam committee director Bill Babcock conducted his own review and determined “Williams’ conduct, while verbally abusive, does not rise to the level of a AP Photo/Matt Slocum major offense under the Serena Williams talks to the chair umpire, Grand Slam Code of Eva Asderaki, during the women’s champiConduct.” onship match against Samantha Stosur of That means Williams Australia at the U.S. Open tennis tournament does not face further discipli- in New York. nary action — which could have included a fine and suspension YouTube.”

In 2009, Williams’ profanityfrom a Grand Slam tournament — under the “probationary period” she laced outburst at a line judge led to was put under after yelling at and an immediate $10,000 fine from the threatening a line judge after a foot- U.S. Open and later a record fault call at the end of her loss to $82,500 fine from Babcock. At the Kim Clijsters in the 2009 U.S. Open time, Babcock said that if Williams committed a “major offense” at a semifinals.

On Sunday night against Stosur, Grand Slam tournament in 2010 or Williams faced a break point while 2011, her fine could be doubled and serving in the first game of the sec- she would be barred from the following U.S. Open. ond set.

Williams ripped a forehand that she celebrated with her familiar yell of “Come on!” But Asderaki ruled that the scream came while Stosur Continued from page 7 was reaching for a backhand, so the point wasn’t finished. Based on the diagnosed much later than other comhindrance rule, Asderaki awarded munities, and it is key to get that diagthe point to Stosur, putting the nosis early,” said Peete. “The earlier you can intervene, the better chance Australian ahead 1-0 in that set.

That set Williams off on a series you have getting your child through of insults directed at the official, a that ‘autism window.’ ” She took a little time to address scene far less ugly than — yet remiher time with the TV talk show, “The niscent of — her tirade on the same Talk,” and her experiences with the court two years ago. show. “Launching a daytime talk show A sampling of what Williams is very, very difficult,” said Peete. “We said, prompting Asderaki to call the started with mom-bloggers, the premcode violation: ise of the show [being] five moms get— “You’re out of control.” ting together.

— “You’re a hater, and you’re “So, whenever you’re in the first just unattractive inside.” year, you have to get people …

— “Really, don’t even look at remember we replaced ‘As the World me.”

Turns,’ so we had some angry soap Asked at her news conference opera fans. When we came in, we Sunday night whether she regretted started to win them [soap fans] over, any of her words, the 13-time Grand and I think what connected with audiSlam champion rolled her eyes and ence was our chemistry.”

Peete also addressed why she didreplied: “I don’t even remember what I said. It was just so intense out n’t return for another season of the there. ... I guess I’ll see it on popular show. “For my personal point

SPORTS BEAT

BY BRAD PYE JR. SPORTS WRITER Notes, quotes and things picked up on the run from coast to coast and all the stops in between and beyond.

One-game suspended USC tailback Marc Tyler returned to the Trojans in a big way, as he scored on a six-yard TD and ran 24 times for 113 yards to pace the Trojans to a 23-14 “hold on” victory over Utah in the Pac-12’s first game of the season. Tyler and QB Matt Barkley, the sensational record-setting receiver Robert Woods (6 for 120yards) will be on display Saturday at the Coliseum.

Yes, UCLA finally broke into the win column with a 27-17 decision over San Jose State. The Bruins will be back at the Rose Bowl Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against Texas. Derrick Coleman (135 yards and one TD) and captain Johnathan Franklin did most of the running for the Bruins (1-1) on the season.

Oregon’s celebrated pair of superstars, QB Darron Thomas and running back LaMichael James, will have to make room for Crenshaw High’s freshman De’Anthony Thomas. QB Thomas passed for a record-setting six TDs and James rushed for 67 yards, scoring on a TD pass from QB Thomas and returning a punt for six to help the Ducks win their 17th straight victory at Autzen Stadium.

Well, Crenshaw High’s freshman De’Anthony Thomas got into the scoring act as he snatched a pair of passes for TDs for a total of 93 yards.

Three African American NFL head coaches came up winners in their 2011 openers. Hue Jackson’s Oakland Raiders rolled over the Denver Broncos, 23-17, as QB Jason Campbell passed for one TD and ran for another one. The big men in the rushing department for the Raiders were Darren McFadden and Marcel Reece.

Marvin Lewis’ Cincinnati Bengals got off on a winning foot with a 27-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals travel to Denver Sunday. Lovie Smith’s Chicago Bears beat up on the Atlanta Falcons, 30-12. The Bears trek to New Orleans Sunday to face the Saints, 42-34, losers to the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

The shocker of the day was Mike Tomlin’s 35-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens’ defense collected a

WLCAC

of view — and I have said this in my official statement — I didn’t know for some time and I don’t know why,” said Peete. “I’m grateful for the opportunity… grateful to… have given a fresh African American voice on daytime, which, a lot of times, we don’t get to see.

“I got a chance to interview Myrlie Evers, Marian Wright Edelman … some people that don’t get to be on daytime talk shows, and I fought for that. So, even if it was short but sweet, at least I got that in … I look forward to the future.”

The WLCAC provides health services, skills training senior services, child care, community transportation, educational courses and community beautification. The center also holds enrichment classes for the culinary arts, technology and communication.

AP Photo/Paul Connors

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, left, greets Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett after an NFL football game on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won 28-21. record-setting seven turnovers. Ray Rice ran for 107 yards and scored two TDs. Jim Caldwell’s Indianapolis Colts minus its four-time MVP winning QB Peyton Manning, who may be out for the season, by the Houston Texans, 347. The Colts will try to get back on the winning road by hosting the Cleveland Browns, 27-17, losers to the Bengals.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ Michael Vick, 2010 Comeback Player of the Year, and the Carolina Panthers rookie Cam Newton, had some sparkling performers in their 2011 openers. Vick sizzled as he hit on 14 of 32 for 187 yards and three TDs to beat the St. Louis Rams, 31-13.

Now here is the day the Panthers’ Cam Newton had in his NFL debut.

Newton posted 422 yards, the most by any rookie in his debut and tied for most for a rookie in any game. And yes, Newton passed for two TDs in a 28-21

loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Donovan McNabb, the Minnesota Vikings transfer from the Washington Redskins, had the most embracing game of his NFL career as he passed for only 39 yards—yes, only 39 yards, in the Vikings’ 24-17 loss to the San Diego Chargers, the team that may be playing in L.A. next season.

Coach Jellybean Bryant’s L.A. Sparks won their last two games of the season without superstar Candace Parker. The Sparks (15-19) knocked off the Chicago Sky in their final game of the season, 74-67, as DeLisha Milton Jones led the way with 15 points.

Former Nebraska QB Turner Gill is on a roll in his first two-game winning streak as head coach at Kansas.

Jordan Webb’s six-yard strike to B.J. Beshears on fourth down with nine seconds remaining gave the Jayhawks a See SPORTS BEAT, page 14

OBAMA SPEECH Continued from page 3 election is 14 months away. And the people who sent us here — the people who hired us to work for them — they don’t have the luxury of waiting 14 months. Some of them are living week to week; paycheck to paycheck; even day to day.

They need help, and they need it now,” said Obama.

The American Jobs Act has tax credit provisions laden with incentives for small businesses. For example, the plan would give a tax credit of $4,000 to small businesses when they hire new workers or raise current workers’ salaries. The president also wants to cut payroll taxes in half for small businesses.

“It’s not just Democrats who have supported this kind of proposal. Fifty House Republicans have proposed the same payroll tax cut that’s in this plan. You should pass it right away,” said Obama.

The president plans to pay for his jobs package with an additional $1.5 trillion in spending cuts on top of the cuts the bipartisan Deficit Reduction Commission is expected to review.

“The agreement we passed in July will cut government spending by about a trillion dollars over the next ten years. It also charges this Congress to come up with an additional $1.5 trillion in savings by Christmas,” said Obama.

However, while the president lost the battle over raising taxes on the top 1 percent to raise revenue during the debt talks last month.

He seems to have every intention to revisit the issue. He reminded Congress, “Warren Buffet pays a lower tax rate than his secretary — an outrage he has asked us to fix.

We need a tax code where everyone gets a fair shake and where everybody pays their fair share.”

The president made the case that his proposals are, in fact, proposals Republican and Democrats have worked together to support in the past.

He concluded his speech by firmly defending consumer and environmental protections and the social safety net that his rivals have opposed.

“I reject the argument that says for the economy to grow, we have to roll back protections [regulations] that ban hidden fees by credit card companies, or rules [regulations] that keep our kids from being exposed to mercury, or laws that prevent the health insurance industry from shortchanging patients,” said Obama.

C Stone Brown is the former Washington Bureau Chief of DiversityInc and Contributing Editor of Crisis Magazine. He currently lives in Washington, D.C. He can be reached at cstonebrown@aol.com.

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Thursday, September 15, 2011

Jermaine Jackson reveals Diverse Web series grows through escape plan for Michael social media

BY STACY A. ANDERSON ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP photo/ Hans Punz

Jermaine Jackson speaks LONDON (AP) — Jermaine Jackson says his family had secretly arranged to fly Michael to Bahrain if the pop icon was found guilty of child molestation.

Jermaine was quoted as telling The Times magazine out this past Saturday that a private jet financed by a friend was on standby to whisk his late brother to the Gulf emirate if the 2005 court case ended with a conviction.

Bahrain does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S. Jermaine says his brother did not know about the escape plan but Michael would have “done it in a heartbeat” because “why should he go to jail for something he didn’t do?”

The singer was found not guilty on all charges.

He later spent a year in the emirate as a guest of a son of Bahrain’s king.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After growing tired of watching stereotypes of people of color on U.S. television screens, Issa Rae created her own vision of reality with “The MisAdventures of Awkward Black Girl.”

The Web-based show follows J, played by Rae, and her mishaps and successes in work and love.

“The Web series came about because I really didn’t see anybody like me on the screen, nobody that I could relate to,” said Rae, the show’s producer, writer and director. “There’s just so many limited archetypes for black females in particular, and just people of color in general, and it's frustrating to look at the screen and only be able to relate to people like Tina Fey or Amy Poehler, people who don’t look like me.”

Since the series first posted online in February, the debut episode has garnered more than 240,000 hits. Subsequent episodes have received more than 100,000 hits and 1,000 viewer comments. Nearly 17,000 people are dedicated to the show’s Facebook page. Rae said she and co-producer Tracy Oliver are packaging “Awkward Black Girl” as a half-hour comedy to sell to a cable network but are strongly thinking about keeping it online to build the audience and maintain stronger contact with viewers.

“Social media is what made the show honestly,” Rae said. “Had it not been for social media, this show just wouldn’t have been what it is today. I couldn’t have done this 10 years ago.”

Susan Fales-Hill, who produced and wrote for the long-running NBC situation comedy, “A Different World,” called Rae’s work fresh, incisive and nonstereotypical.

“She is showing an educated, African-American woman leading an integrated life and a professional woman with friends of many different nationalities and backgrounds, and just trying to make her way,” FalesHill said.

She said Rae’s guerrilla approach to TV making is brilliant and an inspiration to veterans in the industry like her.

“A lot of us came up during a time when there was a studio system, more jobs and you came up through the ranks,” FalesHill said. “So for us, it’s a culture shock. ... I find it very liberating that she has created her own show. She’s definitely making a lot of us think about how we can do things and how much more aggressive we should be.”

Rae, 26, born Jo-Issa Rae Diop, created the concept for the show two years ago while on a public theater fellowship in New York. A Los Angeles, California, native, she didn’t know anyone in New York, and that provided many awkward experiences. After returning to the West Coast, Rae gathered a few friends to help her begin shooting the series with her own camera equipment in January.

“I knew if I didn’t shoot it myself it was never going to get done,” said Rae, who attended Stanford University and the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles.

Rae recruited her friend Andrew Allan James to star as A, her annoying co-worker and admirer. The diverse

Producer, director and writer Issa Rae, creator of the YouTube series “The Mis-adventures of Awkward Black Girl.”

AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

cast now includes J’s best friend CeCe, an Indian-American, played by Sujata Day, and her love interests White J, played by Lyman Johnson, and Fred, an African-American, played by Madison T. Shockley III. “Diversity is important to the series just because it exists in my life,” Rae said. “In real life, I do happen to have a Bengali-American best friend.”

As the show’s fan base has grown, so has its production. By episode four, Oliver, who plays J’s co-worker and rival Nina, joined in as a producer and helped pull together a full crew for the show. The episodes grew from about four minutes to 12.

See WEB SERIES, page 14

Naomi Campbell to be honored for charity work

BY ALICIA QUARLES AP ENTERTAINMENT WRITER NEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Campbell has made plenty of headlines for her bad behavior, but next month, the spotlight is set to shine on the model for something positive — her charitable work.

Campbell and her boyfriend, Russian billionaire Vladislav Doronin, are going to be honored at the annual Angel Ball, which supports cancer research.

“She really is amazing woman and she does a lot for charity. She has her own charity. She raised a lot of money this summer for Haiti and for AIDS relief,” said Denise Rich, the songwriter who started the Angel Foundation after her daughter, Gabrielle, died of leukemia.

Rich spoke about Campbell during a party hosted at her home Saturday night.

It was co-hosted by Jade Jagger. Tina and Solange Knowles were also in attendance, as was Rich’s best friend, singer Natalie Cole.

Cole said people should not be shocked that Campbell, who has pleaded guilty several times to assault, is being honored, and that the model is misunderstood: “She has been behaving herself.

She is a good girl. I think there are just AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau certain people who get on her nerves and I understand that.”

Naomi Campbell The Angel Ball will be held on October 17 and will feature performances by Patti LaBelle and Eve.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

13

Jamie Foxx to host Oprah Winfrey chats on Facebook Live talk show Michael Jackson tribute concert LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jamie Foxx has been named to host the Michael Jackson tribute concert planned for October in Wales.

Foxx’s spokesman said Monday that the Oscar-winning star of “Ray” would host “Michael Forever — The Tribute Concert.”

It is scheduled for Oct. 8 in Cardiff, Wales.

Smokey Robinson, Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera are among the show’s announced performers.

The show is not affiliated with Michael Jackson’s estate, but Jackson’s mother, Katherine, and other Jackson family members are scheduled to attend.

Organizers had to AP Photo/Chris Pizzello rescind an offer to the band Kiss last month Jamie Foxx after fans and Jackson’s estate noted that singer-bassist Gene Simmons had harshly criticized the pop singer over the years.

AP Photo/Jim Cooper

Singer Corinne Bailey Rae

BY MESFIN FEKADU ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK (AP) — Corinne Bailey Rae was married just two days before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, then lost her husband to a drug overdose seven years later.

“I think that it’s very sobering being here today ,and I have a lot of empathy with people who lost family and lost partners in that tragedy,” she said Sunday from the front row of a New York Fashion Week show for Edun.

“A huge part of being human is losing people; for these people who lost someone, it’s especially more painful because it didn’t need to happen. I was thinking about that

Corinne Bailey Rae’s heart is with 9/11 loved ones today, ‘How does that complicate their grief?’ ” Rae, 32, was among a pack of celebrities who turned out to support the label founded by U2’s Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson.

Bono bandmate the Edge, Sting, models Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington, and Courtney Love also sat on the front row.

Grammy-nominated Rae said she's been able to move on since her husband's 2008 death and hopes for the same peace of mind for those affected by Sept. 11.

“I hope that the way in which they lost people hasn’t stopped them from processing what’s happened and moving forward and having new things develop in their lives,” she said.

NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey got plenty of ‘likes’ on Facebook last Thursday from fans who tuned in to watch a live online chat with the social networking site.

The TV personality gave a onehour interview to Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg at the company’s Palo Alto, CA, headquarters. The chat took place in front of an audience of Facebook employees who cheered and took photos on camera phones when she walked out.

Winfrey covered a variety of topics, including how Rosie O’Donnell has done some remodeling to Harpo Studios in Chicago. (O’Donnell will host The Rosie Show for Winfrey’s OWN network beginning in October.)

“One of the first things she wanted was ... the walls taken down...everybody’s out in the open and her offices are dogs and kids and music is playing and there’s a candy bar and a cookie bar ... .”

Life has not slowed down since wrapping up “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in May. “I think everybody thought I was gonna sit at home and relax ... Every time I run into people they say ‘How is it? How's retirement?’ First of all, I was never intentionally retiring. It’s a little more frantic. The days were a little more organized. I feel a little out of body some days.”

Winfrey is now focused on developing her OWN television network.

She serves as its chairman, CEO and chief creative officer.

“It’s a lot harder than I ever imagined. If anybody asks you if you want a network, think about that,” she joked.

She also said she never felt fear until she decided to launch OWN. “The fear is getting this right and the fear is whether or not I’m ahead of my time.

I fundamentally believe people are yearning for some- Ms. O. thing more but if I look at — if you look at what’s on television right now, it doesn’t look that way. The fear is I hope I’m right.”

Viewers tuning in posted comments like, “Oprah, I love listening to you” and “I totally get it.” One posted her phone number and asked for a call.

Winfrey responded to a special lightning round of random questions where she shared she likes thin crust pizza over deep dish, Chai tea to coffee and the iPad to actual books or the Kindle.

Winfrey toured the Facebook

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

offices prior to her live chat and brought along employees from O magazine, OWN and Harpo because she believes they can learn from the social media site. “Facebook’s goal is to connect everybody in the world; my goal is to connect with people so they see for themselves the greater possibilities of their lives.”

Facebook Live has hosted a number of big names for online chats including President Obama, Bill Gates and singer Katy Perry.

14

SPORTS BEAT Continued from page 11 45-42 victory over Northern Illinois.

Notre Dame hopes it never sees Michigan QB Denard Robinson again.

Robinson threw a 16-yard TD to Roy Roundtree to give Michigan a 35-31 victory over the Irish. Last season Robinson had a school record setting 502-yards against Notre Dame.

Prep Report: The Marine League is reportedly loaded with outstanding QBs. Norborne High’s Troy Williams might be the best of them. Included in this talented group of signal callers are San Pedro High’s Darrell Santiago; Carson High’s transfer Kevin McMahon; San Pedro High’s Kenny Potter and others.

They still remember the great Rickey Bell at Fremont High, his alma mater. Fremont dedicated its newly renovated football field in honor of Rickey Bell, the former USC all-American and No. 1 draft choice of the Tampa Bay Bucs. Bell’s No 00 jersey was retired during a ceremony at the San Pedro Street School.

Another Fremont grad the school should consider honoring is the fabulous Willie Crawford, the all-city track, football and baseball star and the $100,000 Los Angeles Dodgers rookie.

San Diego had better get a new stadium for the Chargers in a hurry or the team may be headed back to L.A., the home of its birth. Reason: A move back to L.A. would increase the value of the Chargers by $200 million.

Money talks, procrastination walks.

Mark Jackson, the Golden State Warriors’ recently named head coach, is also a preacher. Jackson is a pastor at the nondemonational True Love Worship Center here in L.A., according to USA Today.

And the beat continues.

The International Association of Athletics Federations says the falsestart rule will continue throughout the 2012 London Olympics.

Pardon me. But I still think the false start rule should go by the boards forever and a day.

Did you know that the Milwaukee Brewers’ Prince Fielder is the youngest man in MLB history to smack 50 or more home runs in a season?

Fielder hit 50 at the age of 23-years and

Thursday, September 15, 2011

139 days in 2007. Fielder topped such greats as Willie Mays, Jimmie Foxx, Ralph Kiner and Mickey Mantle.

Fielder has the NL Central Divisionleading Brewers on the road to the playoffs.

Will the L.A. Angels’ Jerome Williams, a recent call up from the minors, be the man who pitches the Angels into first place in the AL West?

He’s 3-0 at the moment. Williams pitched eight innings for one run and one hit in his last outing. The one hit was a homer. However, Maicer Izturis keyed a three-run double to give the Angels a 3-1 victory. Williams’ win moved the Angels to within 2-1/2 games behind Ron Washington’s defending AL West champions.

Darryl Strawberry, ex-Crenshaw High great and New Mets and New York Yankee World Series star, is part owner of Strawberry’s Sports Grill near the old Shea Stadium. Strawberry is a frequent motivational speaker.

Former Crenshaw High star Trayon Robinson, the ex-Dodgers No. 1 prospect who went to the Seattle Mariners in a trade, has found happiness and success in Seattle. He started the week batting .272, with a homer, 10 doubles and nine runs batted in, in 24 games. Robinson could become another Jackie Robinson or a Darryl Strawberry, the World Series star for both the New York Mets and the New York Yankees.

Green Bay’s rookie Randall Cobb’s 32-yard TD catch from Aaron Rodgers and his 108-yard kickoff return for six and a record-tying NFL record will undoubtedly be the highlight of his NFL career for years to come.

Yes, the Packers edged the New Orleans Saints, 42-34.

Hold it for a moment. The San Francisco ‘49ers Ted Ginn. Jr., returned a kick-off (102 yards, the second longest at home and the fourth longest in team history and a punt for a TD) to give the Bay Area bunch a 33-17 win over the hapless defending NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks.

Will ex-Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard end up with the Indianapolis Colts before this edition hits the streets? I think so.

And the beat ends.

Brad Pye, Jr., can be reached at Switchreel@aol.com.

HEBSHI Continued from page 5 three passengers were questioned but not arrested before federal authorities determined there was no reason to suspect or hold them. She also said FBI agents who questioned the passengers were not involved in any strip searches.

“We received a report of suspicious activity on that particular plane,” Berchtold said. “We did not arrest ... these passengers. ... We didn’t direct anybody to arrest them.”

Airport police are under the supervision of the Wayne County Airport Authority, which operates Detroit Metropolitan Airport. In an email to the AP, agency spokesman Scott Wintner said airport police “responded appropriately by following protocol and treating everyone involved with respect and dignity.” Wintner said the decision on how to respond was a call made by the Airport Authority’s CEO, who he said is Arab American.

Hebshi said that finally, after being fingerprinted and allowed to call her husband, she was told she and the men were being released and that nothing suspicious was found on the plane. She

said an official apologized and thanked her for understanding and cooperating.

Hebshi said she received another call of apology from an FBI agent Monday, before she wrote her blog post.

“I can understand they were just doing their job,” she told the AP. “My beef is with these laws and regulations that are so hypersensitive. ... Even if you’re an innocent bystander, you have no rights.”

AP left email and phone messages seeking comment Tuesday night with Frontier Airlines.

The flight was one of two for which fighter jets were scrambled Sunday after crews reported suspicious activity on Sunday, officials said. In both cases, it involved bathroom use. In neither case did authorities find anything to substantiate the suspicions.

On Tuesday, a US Airways flight from New York to Phoenix was diverted to St. Louis after crew became concerned about the activities of three male passengers, all three of whom were Israeli citizens. Investigators determined there was no terrorism involved.

President Obama Treated Like Rodney Dangerfield

BY GEORGE E. CURRY NNPA COLUMNIST Like the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield, President Obama does not get any respect. In fact, no modern United States commander in chief has been disrespected more than the nation’s first AfricanAmerican president.

The most recent example was House Speaker John Boehner’s decision to deny the president’s request to address a joint session of Congress on Sept. 7. It so happens that one of 20 Republican debates was scheduled that evening, prompting Boehner to suggest moving the address to the next night.

According to Betty K. Koed, associate historian of the Senate, “The Senate Historical Office knows of no instance in which Congress refused the president permission to speak before a joint session of Congress.”

Boehner aides defend him by saying the speaker didn’t technically refuse the president permission to speak, he just offered the date.

According to the dictionary, however, that’s exactly what Boehner did.

Merriam-Webster defines “refuse” this way: “to express oneself as unwilling to accept <refuse a gift> <refuse a promotion>.”

Dictionary.com lists this among five definitions: “to decline to give; deny (a request, demand, etc.)”

Hair-splitting definitions aside, there is no denying that President Obama has been disrespected from coast to coast.

Marilyn Davenport, a member of the Orange County Republican Party in California, emailed a cartoon last April with the face of President Obama superimposed on a chimpanzee. He was accompanied by two older chimpanzee “parents.” The inscription on the cartoon: “Now you know why – No birth certificate.”

The New York Post was roundly criticized for publishing a controversial cartoon in the wake of Connecticut police shooting a pet chimpanzee that had viciously attacked its owner’s friend. The cartoon features two cops – one with a gun in his hand, still smoking and standing over a dead ape. The caption read, “They’ll Have to Find Someone Else to Write the Next Stimulus Bill.”

Al Sharpton observed, “Being that the stimulus bill has been the first legislative victory of President Obama … and has become synonymous with him, it is not a reach to wonder: Are they inferring that a monkey wrote the last bill?”

The racist stereotypes were not limited to animals.

Dan Grose, the appropriately named former mayor of Los Alamitos, Calif., sent out an email shortly after Obama was inaugurated as president in 2009 under the headline, “No Easter Egg Hunt This Year.” There was an image of the White House lawn covered with watermelons.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich tried to dismiss Obama as “the food stamp president” and said Obama “knows how to get the whole country to resemble Detroit.”

George E. Curry Oklahoma Senator Tom Colburn, a Republican, said to have a good relationship with the administration, exploited welfare when discussing Obama. He said of the president, “His intent is to create dependency because it worked so well for him as an African American male.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tells everyone who will listen that his primary goal is defeating President Obama in 2012.

Rep. Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, interrupted a presidential address on health care to Congress in 2009 by shouting, “You, lie!”

In many instances, the president is not accorded routine courtesy.

At the height of the deficit-ceiling standoff, President Obama telephoned Boehner, only to have his call not promptly returned. “The president of the United States calls the Speaker of the House, in the midst of an economic crisis, and the speaker won’t pick up the phone?

You don’t refuse a call from the president. No matter how deplorable you find his policies,” wrote Michael Kinsley, a member of the editorial board at Bloomberg News.

“Everyone knows that, by the rules of telephone tag, it would be

Boehner’s obligation to make the next call even if it wasn’t the president of the United States who was trying to reach him.”

After making the first call at night, Obama placed a second call the next day to Boehner, only to be told that Boehner would call him back at 5:30 p.m.

And why was Boehner so busy that he didn’t have time to return President Obama’s call?

Part of that time was spent “chatting with reporters in the Capitol, joking with one guy about his tan and puffing on a cigarette,” according to the Washington Post.

The disrespect has extended to First Lady Michelle Obama and their two daughters – targets normally considered off-limits in partisan political discourse.

Both Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck mocked Malia Obama on air.

Beck did so a couple of days after stating a politician’s family should not be criticized in the public arena.

Michelle Obama is often portrayed as an angry Black woman. Bill O’Reilly said she looks “like an angry woman” and Sean Hannity said that she “sounds angry.”

Some of the fireworks have been generated on the left as well.

Former President Bill Clinton has violated the custom of former presidents of not criticizing or offering advice to their successors. And the supposedly liberal New Yorker ran a cover image, said to be a joke, of President Obama dressed in Muslim garb, with an American flag burning in the fireplace of the Oval Office and a photo of Osama bin Laden adorning the wall. Michelle Obama, wearing an Afro and pictured with a rifle strapped to her shoulder, is giving her husband a fist bump.

Except for standing up more forcefully to his Republican critics, there is not much Obama can do about the disrespect. But there is plenty we can do – kick the bums out.

George E. Curry, former editor in chief of Emerge magazine and the NNPA News Service, is a keynote speaker, moderator and media coach.

He can be reached through his website, www.georgecurry.com. You can also follow him at www.twitter.com/currygeorge.

WEB SERIES Continued from page 12 After episode six, Rae and Oliver, former Stanford classmates, realized they could no longer afford to fund the series. Rae, on a temporary worker’s salary, said she could not cover the 12hour-day shoots and production costs.

The two had received a couple emails from people offering to donate to the show, so they decided to start an official campaign for viewers to donate through the online fundraising platform Kickstarter.com. By the end of day one, Rae said the show had received $4,000.

“It was just overwhelming,” she said. “We just knew that we had something on our hands and that people really believed in our project and that

was just extremely touching.”

After about a month, the show had more than $56,000 from nearly 2,000 donors.

Since “Awkward Black Girl” launched, Rae has signed with United Talent Agency and 3 Arts Entertainment. She hopes her success will lead to more opportunities for minorities to tell their stories.

“I think it sends a message to mainstream media that we don’t have to have these white male and female leads for everybody to relate to them,” Rae said. “It’s sort of unfair to think that, so I hope that this show influences future casting decisions just based off what we’ve been able to do so far.”

Thursday, September 15, 2011 T.S. No.: 10-10546 Loan No.: 1067 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED 10/23/2009. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. A public auction sale to the highest bidder for cash, cashier's check drawn on a state or national bank, check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, or savings association, or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state will be held by the duly appointed trustee as shown below, of all right, title, and interest conveyed to and now held by the trustee in the hereinafter described property under and pursuant to a Deed of Trust described below. The sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the note(s) secured by the Deed of Trust, with interest and late charges thereon, as provided in the note(s), advances, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, interest thereon, fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee for the total amount (at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Sale) reasonably estimated to be set forth below. The amount may be greater on the day of sale.

Trustor: VIRGIL EVERAGE, AS TRUSTEE OF JUDY B. MCGEE TRUST UTD SEPTEMBER 15, 2008 Duly Appointed Trustee: American Trust Deed Services Corp. Recorded 10/30/2009 as Instrument No. 20091641080 in book , page and rerecorded on --- as --- of Official Records in the office of the Recorder of Los Angeles County, California, Date of Sale: 9/14/2011 at 10:30 AM Place of Sale: AT THE FRONT ENTRANCE TO THE MID VALLEY LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY REGIONAL BRANCH, 16244 NORDHOFF STREET, NORTH HILLS, CA 91343 Amount of unpaid balance and other charges: $159,121.79 Street Address or other common designation of real property: 1531,1531 1/2, AND 1533 EAST 81ST STREET, 1604 E. 81ST ST., 1617 E. 81ST ST., AND 1617 EAST 81ST ST. #B (GARAGE), 1507 EAST 24TH ST. LOS ANGELES, California 90001 A.P.N.: 6028-007-016;6027-003-002;6027-002-016;5118-020014 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address or other common designation, if any, shown above. If no street address or other common designation is shown, directions to the location of the property may be obtained by sending a written request to the beneficiary within 10 days of the date of first publication of this Notice of Sale. Date: 8/17/2011 SECTION 1692(E): THIS COMMUNICATION IS WITH A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE American Trust Deed Services Corp. 9016 White Oak Avenue Northridge, California 91435 (818) 781-9800 Kim Kaufman, Trustee Sales Officer Ad #14803 2011-08-25 2011-09-01 2011-09-08

Pre-Proposal Conference on a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Design-Build Project The Port of Long Beach and the California Department of Transportation invite interested sub-contractors, material suppliers and subconsultants, including Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE), Underutilized Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (UDBE) and small businesses, to participate in a Pre-Proposal conference for the design and construction of a cablestayed bridge connecting Ocean Boulevard to the Long Beach Freeway (State Route 710), to replace the existing Gerald Desmond Bridge in the City of Long Beach, California. The estimated four year, $700+ million design-build project has an 11% UDBE goal.

A prime objective of the meeting is to facilitate networking between interested DBE/UDBE sub-contractors and the four prequalified proposers who will submit proposals for the prime design-build contract. Please pre-register online before 5 p.m. on Friday September 30, 2011 at www.polb.com/bridgeprebid. The PreProposal Conference will be held: Date: Tuesday, October 4, 2011 Time: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Location: Hotel Maya 700 Queensway Drive Long Beach, CA 90802 Parking for the conference at the Hotel Maya will be validated. Additional information on the project can be found at http://www.polb.com/bridge.

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2011049999 The following person (s) is (are) doing business as:(1) LEGAL PROBATE LITIGATION ATTORNEY, 4515 AUGUST STREET, #2. LOS ANGELES, CA. 90008. County of Los Angeles. Registered Owner (S): JOSEPH GENTRY, 4515 AUGUST ST. #2 LOS ANGELES, CA. 90008. This business is conducted by: an individual. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on JUNE 8-11 . I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct.

(A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/ JOSEPH GENTRY, OWNER This statement was filed with the County Clerk of LOS ANGELES County on JUNE 20, 2011 . NOTICE-in accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920 A Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk except, as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 17920. Where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of 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).

Original 9/15, 9/22, 9/29, 10/6/2011.

LA Watts Times 430764

15

NOTICE INVITING BIDS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Long Beach, California, acting by and through the City’s Board of Harbor Commissioners (“City”) will receive, before the Bid Deadline established below, sealed Bids for the following Work: TERMINAL BUILDINGS DEMOLITION AT PIERS D AND E LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA AS DESCRIBED IN SPECIFICATION NO. HD-S2429 Bid Deadline:

Prior to 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 Bid packages will be time/date stamped on the 4th floor or in the Lobby and shall be submitted prior to 10 a.m.

Place for Submission of Bids: 1. By Delivery Any Calendar Day Before the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building 4th Floor, Plans and Specifications/Program Management Office 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 2. By Delivery on the Same Calendar Day as the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building Lobby 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Bid Opening: As soon as practical after the Bid Deadline Harbor Department Administration Building 6th Floor Board Room 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Contract Documents Available: Date/Time: Beginning Thursday September 15, 2011 Monday –Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Location: Harbor Department Administration Building 4th Floor, Plans and Specifications 925 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting: Date/Time: Wednesday, September 28, 2011, 10:00am Location: 5th Floor Conference Room, Harbor Department Administration Building. This Pre-bid meeting is MANDATORY. Project Contact Person: Dale Holdmann Senior Civil Engineer Program Management Division No phone calls….fax or email only Fax: 562-901-1763 Holdmann@polb.com NIB -1 Contract Documents. Copies of Contract Documents in DVD format may be obtained, at no cost, at the Plans and Specifications Office, 4th floor, Harbor Department Administration Building, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, CA 90802 during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. To arrange to receive a DVD of the Contract Documents by courier at the expense of the Bidder, call (562) 590-4146.

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

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

NIB -2 Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting. The engineering staff of the City’s Harbor department will conduct a pre-bid meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 in the Conference Room, 5th floor, of the Harbor Department Administration Building. EACH BIDDER MUST ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING. FAILURE TO ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING SHALL DISQUALIFY YOUR BID AND YOUR BID WILL BE RETURNED, UNOPENED. NIB -3 Summary Description of the Work. The Work required by this Contract includes, but is not limited to, the following: 1. Abate hazardous materials before the demolition of the buildings designated to be removed.

2. Sawcut, remove, and dispose of existing asphalt concrete and Portland cement concrete pavement to Port Asphalt and Concrete Recycle Area.

3. Remove and legally dispose of buildings, loading docks, platforms, canopies, guard posts, slabs, ramps, foundations, retaining walls, electrical, utilities, emergency power generators, and miscellaneous appurtenances in their entirety off-site. Deliver sewer lift station control panels and pumps to Port Maintenance Yard.

4. Disconnect underground utilities.

5. Backfill and compact fill material.

6. Haul, place, and compact Port furnished crushed miscellaneous base.

7. Install guard posts.

GOVERNMENT

will be opened and publicly read. Bids received later than the above date and time will be rejected and returned to the bidder unopened. Each bid must be sealed and marked Bid No.PS127140608.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (METRO)

You may obtain bid specifications, or further information, by faxing Linda Wasley at (213) 922-4186.

9/15/11 CNS-2172971# WATTS TIMES

INVITATION FOR BIDS Metro will receive bids for Non-Inventory Paper Supplies per specifications on file at the Office of Procurement & Material Mgmt, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (12th Floor).

All Bids must be submitted on forms furnished by Metro, and must be filed at the reception desk of the Office of Material on or before Tuesday, October 11, 2011 by 2:00PMPacific Time, at which time bids

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR A MASTER DEVELOPER FOR JORDAN DOWNS REDEVELOPMENT RFQ NO. 7556 The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles invites Statements of Qualifications from qualified for-profit or non-profit developers of affordable housing to act as the master developer and to partner with the Authority and City of Los Angeles for the d l t f th J d D bli h i

NIB -4 Contract Time and Liquidated Damages. The Work shall be completed within two hundred forty (240) calendar days as provided in Paragraph SC - 6.1 of the Special Conditions, from a date specified in a written “Notice to Proceed” issued by the City and subject to adjustment as provided in Section 3.1 of the General Conditions. FAILURE OF THE CONTRACTOR TO COMPLETE THE WORK WITHIN THE CONTRACT TIME AND OTHER FIXED DEADLINE WILL RESULT IN ASSESSMENT OF LIQUIDATED DAMAGES IN THE AMOUNTS ESTABLISHED IN THE SPECIAL CONDITIONS. NIB -5 Contractor’s License. Each Bidder shall hold a current and valid Class ”A” California Contractor’s License to bid this Project.

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

NIB-7 SBE/VSBE. This project is subject to the Port of Long Beach (POLB) Small Business Enterprises (SBE)/Very Small Business Enterprises (VSBE) Program. The combined SBE/VSBE participation goal for this project is thirty percent (30%), of which a minimum of five percent (5%) must be allocated to VSBEs. POLB expects all Bidders to achieve the combined SBE/VSBE participation goal. Award of the Contract will be conditioned on the Bidder submitting an SBE-2C Commitment Plan demonstrating the Bidder’s intent to meet the combined SBE/VSBE participation goal. If the Bidder’s Commitment Plan does not demonstrate intent to meet the combined goal, the Bidder shall demonstrate that it made an adequate good faith effort to do so, as specified in the Instructions to Bidders (ITB 18). The Port’s SBE Program staff is available to provide information on the program requirements, including SBE certification assistance. Please contact the SBE Office at (562) 499-3472 or sbeprogram@polb.com. You may also view the Port’s SBE program requirements at www.polb.com/sbe.

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

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

Authorization of a substitution is solely within the discretion of the City.

NIB -10

NOT USED.

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

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

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

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

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

Issued at Long Beach, California, this 29nd day of August, 2011.

Richard D. Steinke Executive Director of the Harbor Department, City of Long Beach, California

redevelopment of the Jordan Downs public housing site in the Watts community of Los Angeles. copy of the RFQ may be obtained beginning September 7, 2011 via www.hacla.org/ps or call (213) 252-5405 or 252-1832. Submittals will be accepted until 2:00 P.M. (Pacific Time) by November 4, 2011.

9/8, 9/15/11 CNS-2169695# WATTS TIMES

Black Facts September 16, 1990 Keenan Ivory Wayans’ “In Living Color” wins an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Source: blackfacts.com

HELP WANTED/DRIVERS Drivers: Flatbed.

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Thursday, September 15, 2011