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Above the clouds
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Black pilots climb to new heights
Flying high
Veronica Harris is a commercial pilot
By Shirley Hawkins
OW Staff Writer
Life can be full of strange twists and turns.
Just ask Los Angeles native Veronica Harris, who a few years ago had an “epiphany” that radically changed her life. Four years ago, the ambitious Harris went from toiling as a payroll clerk to flying high as a certified commercial pilot.
As a payroll clerk for United Airlines several years ago, Harris eventually realized that she was bored with the job. “I loved the airlines, but being a payroll clerk was just not for me,” Harris recalled.
“Someone told me to read a book called The Aladdin Factor,” Harris recalls. “Six years ago, I bought the book and it was all about setting goals. One of the exercises in the book was to outline 101 things I would like to accomplish, no matter how outrageous.”
As she was writing goals on her wish list one day, Harris peered up at the sky and noticed an airplane flying overhead.
“I had never thought about flying before,” said Harris. On the spur of the moment, Harris jotted down what she thought was an impossible goal–to learn how to fly.
It wasn’t long before Harris’ high-flying dream began to take wings. “A few weeks later while I was driving in my car, I saw a plane flying low overhead, so I followed it,” said Harris, who at the time was living in Seattle, Washington. “The plane led me to a small flight school called Spanaflight. I asked the guy behind the counter, ‘How much does it cost to fly?’ The price was reasonable, so I signed on for an introductory flight.”
As a flight school co-pilot manned the small Cessna 152 and they soared above the clouds, Harris knew she had found her calling. “It was love at first flight,” said Harris. “I loved the freedom and challenge of flying.”
Harris attended the school for two years, juggling her job as a payroll clerk as she took flight lessons. “I would work from 2 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. at night as a payroll clerk, and then I would go home and go to bed. I’d rise at 5 a.m., get to the airport at 6 a.m. and go to flight school until 12 p.m. I kept it up for a couple of years,” said Harris.
But Harris said that the grueling schedule was worth it. “The flight instructors taught me how to take off, land, how to navigate the weather, and about aerodynamics. I also learned how to use my gyroscopic instruments, about vertical speed, and how to use my heading indicator, how to use a compass, and how to use flight controls.”
“I got my private pilot certificate, my instrument and commercial rating, and my multi-engine and flight instructor rating while at the school.”
But Harris didn’t stop there. Determined to earn her wings as a commercial airline pilot, Harris traveled to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and enrolled in another flight training school, The Gulf Stream Academy.
“The training was intense, because it was Federal Aviation Administration regulated,” said Harris, who said she was the first African American female who had ever trained at the school.
After graduating with her commercial pilot certificate, Harris’ dream to join the commercial pilot ranks became a reality in 2004. “After I left Gulf Stream Academy, Continental Express hired me. We fly Continental’s smaller jets,” said Harris, who pilots an Embraer EMB-145, a continental 50 passenger jet. She regularly flies passengers to Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, and throughout the United States.
The airline pilot got an extra added bonus when she met the love of her life while flying for the airlines.
“I met my fiancé, Jason Brown, at Continental, who’s also a pilot,” said Harris. “We knew each other, but one day we ran into each other outside of work and the sparks flew.”
The two pilots are now planning a September 6 wedding. The wedding theme will include airplanes, of course.
As for being a commercial pilot, Harris said that it is not always smooth sailing. “There’s always challenges,” said Harris, who said that her home base is now Houston. She said her biggest challenge as a pilot is the weather. “We have to understand that there’s turbulence, if we are going to go into a headwind or a tailwind. We’re always looking at the weather and constantly making decisions, but we go through mental preparations in our minds,” she said.
Harris said that although the ranks of African American pilots has grown, it is still a rarity for most travelers to see an African American female pilot. “They are used to seeing old, white men,” Harris affirms, “but the response I get has been very favorable. I have people of all races come up to me who want to talk to me about flying or want to shake my hand.”
Harris said that female passengers are particularly proud, and that she often gets the “thumbs up” sign or words of encouragement. “They say things like, ‘You go, girl!’ or ‘Girl power!’” Harris says, nodding.
And Harris, who is currently headquartered near the NASA headquarters in Houston, is already dreaming of another goal: joining the astronaut program.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” Harris maintains. “Everyone looks at your age, race, and gender, but that’s never been a barrier for me. I realized that the only limitations are the ones we recognize.” Looking resolute, Harris adds, “I choose not to recognize any limitations.”
[More...] |
Ray Charles’ family in battle over father’s fortune
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Full disclosure of dad’s estate demanded
By Shirley Hawkins
OW Staff Writer
The family of music legend Ray Charles is gearing up for a battle over their father’s estate, which they allege has been tied up in legal disputes between the estate’s management and his family members.
Charles was gravely ill with cancer in 2002 when he called a meeting with his 12 children shortly before Christmas of that year. He then outlined what would be done with the family fortune: the bulk of the money would be left to The Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders, but $500,000 had been placed in trusts for each of the children to be paid out over the next five years.
“He cleared the room of all the waiters,” recalled the Rev. Robert Robinson, 46. I was taking pictures and recording,” recalls Robinson.
“I had my video camera going and my father told me to turn it off. Now I regret that I didn’t keep it running,” said Robinson, who said the videotaped document would have cleared up a lot of confusion over the will.
Many of the family members recall that Charles said there would be more money for them “down the line.” Some felt that meant that they would eventually be able to license his name and likeness for profit.
Ray Charles died at age 73 on June 10, 2004 after a long battle with cancer.
After his death, family members never received a full accounting of their father’s estate. The family has filed lawsuits against Joe Adams, Charles’ former manager, and others associated with Ray Charles Enterprises, which holds the rights to his music and the Ray Charles Foundation.
The family wants accountability for thousands of videotapes, musical recordings, and other artifacts produced by their father during his career. Observers estimate that Charles held about $50 million in securities and real estate. His original master recordings total an additional $25 million.
Charles’ children declare that they want to have a greater control in the marketing of their father’s name and image, and a greater voice in foundation affairs. [More...] |
‘A river of tears’
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Mothers weep for slain sons at Mother’s Day Breakfast
By Shirley Hawkins
OW Staff Writer
It was a sight that moved the audience to tears at the Crystal Park Casino in Compton, California.
Hosted by Compton Mayor Eric Perrodin and organized by Project Cry No More and the Southern California Cease Fire Committee, approximately 50 mothers lined up Saturday morning in the ballroom of the casino at a Mother’s Day Breakfast entitled “Bridging the Bond.” As the mothers wiped away tears, they announced the names of their sons who had been slain by gun violence. As many of the mothers sobbed uncontrollably, members of gang interventionist groups showered them with hugs and handed the women roses.
Members of the clergy, law enforcement, educators, politicians, and concerned citizens joined in the effort to comfort the mothers.
Although Compton recently reported the lowest homicide rate in thirty years, shootings have once again surged in the last few months. A surge in shootings has also resulted in increased deaths in the city and county of Los Angeles and surrounding communities, leaving many residents shaken and wondering if and when the violence will stop.
For years, a number of gang interventionist groups have worked to quell the rash of gun and gang violence that has decimated so many communities.
Mother’s Day is a special occasion when children shower their mothers with kisses and hugs, but for many Southland mothers who have lost children to gun violence, Mother’s Day is a painful reminder of the tragic loss of their loved ones. [More...] |
Gardena residents protest sex offenders
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Want to rid neighborhood of ‘unwanted guests’
By Shirley Hawkins
OW Staff Writer
The residents of a quiet Gardena neighborhood are demanding that the County Board of Supervisors and the County Sheriff’s Department investigate the legitimacy of housing sex offenders so close to their homes.
A home has been converted to house sex offenders that occurred without the neighborhood resident’s knowledge. “We cannot believe these sex offenders have moved into our neighborhood,” declared Sharon Cruse, a 30-year resident of the neighborhood and president of the East Gardena Neighborhood Watch.
The neighborhood, which is bound by Redondo Beach and Alondra Boulevards and Main and San Pedro Streets, is home to families raising children and a number of senior citizens.
Cruse said that she was stunned when she discovered that the couple who had lived in the house three doors from her home for 45 years had moved out and leased their home to an Edward Marquez. Marquez converted the home into a residential facility for sex offenders. “Nobody gave us a notice that (these sex offenders) were moving into the neighborhood,” said Cruse. “When we called the Compton Sheriff’s station and notified them that these sex offenders had moved in, they pointed their finger at the probation department, then they both started pointing their fingers at each other.”
Capt. William Ryan of the Compton Sheriff’s station said he met with the Neighborhood Watch group. “We also asked state parole to come and talk to the group. They explained that all sex offenders must register with the local law enforcment agency because it is a state law.”
Ryan said that the Compton Sheriff’s station conducted compliance checks on the house. “We’re keeping an eye on the house and ensuring from our end that the individuals are in compliance,” said Ryan.
Cruse, who lives three doors down from the home, said she first noticed a number of “strange-looking residents” moving into the home at the end of February. “They would arrive at the house late at night. Some of them were pushing a shopping cart. One of them was walking with a big black trash bag. They looked like transients. My neighbor came over to my house and said, ‘Who the heck has moved next door to me?’ and I was thinking, What the heck is going on?” [More...] |
Mother’s Day meals and memories
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No matter how you’ve celebrated Mother’s Day in years past, why not try something new this year - cooking with your kids. It’s never too early to begin creating meals and memories in the kitchen. Perhaps you remember the sights, smells and tastes associated with a special relative who taught you how to bake your first cake or knead dough for a loaf of freshly baked bread; now is the time to pass on these memories. You can create a Mother’s Day menu with easy, delicious recipes, all prepared in under 10 minutes.
Before getting started, review these simple tips from the French’s test kitchens:
Always wash your hands; be sure activities are age appropriate; consider the child’s attention span as well as dexterity; demonstrate proper techniques for common cooking terms such as beating, stirring, chopping, dicing, etc.; use this opportunity to introduce new foods--see our recipe for Crunchy Onion Veggies, which makes eating vegetables more appealing; take advantage of the educational messages, from a geography lesson about where certain foods come from to simple science lessons inherent in baking; and measuring skills also teach math, spelling and reading can also be incorporated into the culinary experience.
Crunchy Onion Chicken
Makes 4 servings. Prep Time: 5 minutes. Cook Time: 20 minutes
1 1/3 cups French’s Original or Cheddar French Fried Onions
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 egg, beaten
[More...] |
Tablescapes
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Chance encounter with old-fashioned art leads to new business
By Cynthia E. Griffin
OW Staff Writer
Once upon a time, setting the family table was a very exacting exercise with cutlery, dishes and napkins arranged just so. Today that preciseness is basically a relic except at county fairs around the state.
And it was in just such a setting that Marian “Fifi” Locke began a hobby that is slowly blossoming into a business.
“I was at my cousin’s house, and she had all these dishes (in preparation for entering the Ventura County Fair tablesetting competition). I said I want to play with the dishes, and she told me do a center piece for me,” remembers Locke, with the humor that is evident from your first conversation with her. “The theme was winter wonderland, and she took it to the fair, and we won second place.”
The Gary, Indiana, native was hooked. The next year she gathered up her supplies to create a setting for the theme African Safari and won fifth place.
“I was so disappointed,” recalled the effervescent Los Angeles resident. “My cousin said go to the public library and get book and study them.”
Locke, who is known as Ms. Fifi, did just that, and what she discovered was just how technically precise a show table must be.
“Judges take out their rulers and measure,” remarked Locke.
She jumped into the fray once again, this time working on the theme of Mardi Gras, and lost first place to her cousin by just one point.
Locke continued setting show tables and winning awards in the Santa Barbara, Ventura, Orange and Los Angeles County fairs, and then one day a friend asked her to submit a proposal to do a workshop teaching girls at public libraries etiquette and tablesetting. [More...] |
Community rallies over massive healthcare cuts
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Fears for impact on Medi-Cal expressed
By Shirley Hawkins
OW Staff Writer
Majority Leader and speaker-elect Karen Bass of the California State Assembly was the keynote speaker at the a luncheon hosted by Californians for Patient Care Friday at the grassroots organization Community Coalition.
Bass said that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing massive cuts that will provide millions less in state and federal-matching funds to doctors, hospitals, outpatient treatment centers, as well as those who depend on Medi-Cal for their healthcare needs.
Nearly seven million of California’s most vulnerable populations – including children, senior citizens, and the disabled – will be impacted by these drastic cuts which will be unveiled on May 15. Nearly $1.2 billion is being proposed to be cut from Medi-Cal.
“If the cuts go through, they will severely affect medical providers,” observed Bass, who pointed out that medical providers needed a rate increase instead of cuts. “Every day, Gov. Schwarzenegger is coming up with a new deficit. I’m concerned that the cuts will be made on the backs of the most vulnerable Californians. We have to ban together and say, ‘You can’t balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable.’”
Bass paused, then said that she was disappointed that previous legislation for healthcare failed to pass the legislature. “It is ironic that we are talking about all of this when last year we were talking about healthcare reform and universal healthcare,” she observed.
Bass urged attendees to form a coalition to voice their concerns regarding the budget cuts. “When you do it as a group, that’s how you have power,” she said. [More...] |
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01.MAY.08 Rev. Della Reese speaks out on diabetes
01.MAY.08 From tragedy to triumph
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01.MAY.08 A fiesta of flavor!
24.APR.08 Cloning the new frontier
24.APR.08 Compton man rescues victims of plane crash
24.APR.08 Blessing of the Bikes and a healthy life
24.APR.08 Remembering sister soldiers overseas
24.APR.08 Dr. Verna B. Dauterive bestows $25 million to USC
24.APR.08 Villaraigosa releases L.A. gang reduction plan
24.APR.08 Busy Mom’s Family Favorite
17.APR.08 Creme de la creme
17.APR.08 Mayor appoints five African Americans to posts
17.APR.08 Hospitality industry
17.APR.08 Black Writers on Tour
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