First Lady to fundraise, talk to military families during Southland visit
2012 reelection campaign
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—First Lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to hold fundraising events for President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign in Pasadena and Bel Air today and speak in Beverly Hills on a panel about military service.
A $1,000 per-person lunchtime fundraiser will take place at a home in Pasadena. Organizers expected about 500 people. For $10,000, a couple can have their picture taken with Obama and have “private time” with her, according to organizer Lena Kennedy.
A $1,000 per person dinner will be held tonight in Bel Air, according to Wilshire and Washington, the political website of the entertainment trade newspaper Daily Variety.
Obama will join Katherine Fugate, creator of the Lifetime series “Army Wives,” in a panel discussion on the unique challenges faced by military families.
Obama is expected to share stories about the work of Joining Forces, an initiative she and Jill Biden, wife of vice president Joe Biden, started in April, intended to help volunteers who want to help military families find service opportunities.
“You see, these women—and men—they are heroes,” Obama told a Long Beach crowd in October. “And it’s time that we recognize that the challenges they face and the obstacles they overcome and the contributions they make, all of that isn’t just a military issue. It’s an American issue.”
Director J.J. Abrams will moderate the panel, which will also discuss ways television and film can better reflect the reality of military families.
“We have to talk about this,” Obama said. “Their needs, and their concerns, should be on the agenda of every woman and every American, because they represent the very best this country has to offer. And it’s time that each of us did our part to give them the support they need, the recognition they deserve and the gratitude they’ve earned.”
Obama plans to make additional California stops Tuesday in Oakland and San Francisco before returning to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Millions of dollars would flow back into the economy of the Greater Los Angeles area if just half of the high school students who dropped out last year completed their education, according to a study released today.
The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metropolitan statistical area was among 16 MSAs in the state analyzed by the nonprofit Alliance for Excellent Education, which studied the economic returns lost as a result of young people leaving school early.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Compton was ranked as the nation's eighth most dangerous city, but three in Orange County—Mission Viejo, Lake Forest and Irvine—ranked in the top 10 safest cities, according to a report released today.
The latest edition of City Crime Rankings is one of five annual reference works published by CQ Press that analyze and rank states and cities in various categories.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—First lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to conclude a two-day visit to Southern California today by taping an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and speaking at her third fundraiser in two days for her husband’s re-election campaign.
During her appearance on the NBC late-night talk show, Obama will discuss leading the U.S. delegation for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and life at the White House.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Los Angeles is America’s second-worst driving city when it comes to frequency of vehicle crashes, according to Allstate Insurance Co.’s annual Best Driver’s Report released today.
Los Angeles drivers as a whole average a crash every 6.6 years, a figure that nationally trails only Philadelphia drivers at 6.5 years, according to Allstate.
San Francisco will play host to 100 Black Men of America, Inc. and the mentoring organization’s 25th Anniversary Annual Conference from June 9-12, 2011. The conference will mark the 25th anniversary of national incorporation; as an organization it is nearing 50 years of service to the community.
