City News Service
Mar 11 2013

In front of Sam’s Hof Brau strip club

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The man suspected of crashing a BMW into two men standing in front of a parked Mini-Cooper—causing leg injuries that required amputations—was behind bars this morning awaiting charges, police said.

Terrence Conrad Meeks, 40, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder, with bail set at $500,000.

Mar 8 2013

Billions of dollars for local economy

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Tourists visited Los Angeles in record numbers last year, injecting billions of dollars into the local economy, according to a newly released study commissioned by the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board.

The 41.4 million people who traveled to the city in 2012 represented a 2.5 percent increase over the previous year.

Mar 8 2013

Fired on officers

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A gunman who fired shots at police officers while barricaded inside a house in Watts was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound this morning and investigators believe he also fatally shot the mother of his three young children before turning the gun on himself,
police said.

A man inside a pickup truck outside the house on Grape Street just north of Imperial Highway was also shot to death, police said, but they have not confirmed he was killed by the suspect.

Mar 8 2013

Breach of contract, fraud, copyright infringement

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A producer who claims to have collaborated with Frank Ocean on his Grammy Award-winning debut album sued the singer, his creative partner and record label today in Los Angeles, alleging they cheated him out of performance and production credits.

Mar 8 2013

Genetically modified organisms

Whole Foods Market announced today that, by 2018, all products in its U.S. and Canadian stores must be labeled to indicate whether they contain genetically modified organisms.

According to Whole Foods, which made the announcement at the Natural Products Expo West convention in Anaheim, it is the first national grocery chain to set a deadline for full GMO transparency.

“We are putting a stake in the ground on GMO labeling to support the consumer’s right to know,” said Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market.

Mar 7 2013

John Muir Middle School

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A woman and her two daughters could face assault and battery charges for allegedly fighting with a teacher at John Muir Middle School.

The alleged attack on the campus at 5929 S. Vermont Ave. occurred about 9 a.m. Wednesday in a hallway, Monica Carazo of the Los Angeles Unified School District said.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”