City Council

May 3 2013

The city’s new bus plant expands its clean image

Lancaster continues to frame the national debate about the merits of green technology as it welcomes Chinese automaker BYD Co. here to produce electric buses. The city is rapidly becoming known as the “solar capital of the world,” and local officials believe the new manufacturing deal will provide an economic boost on both sides of the Pacific Rim.

BYD Co. (Build Your Dreams) opened shop Wednesday at 46147 BYD Blvd. (formerly 7th Street W., just north of Avenue H) to make the “K9” electric bus destined first for Long Beach Transit.

Mar 27 2013

Was not used as an attack or promotion

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A federal appeals panel ruled that an informal citizen-led invocation referring to Jesus that opened Lancaster City Council meetings for years did not endorse Christianity, according to a decision obtained today.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded Tuesday that a local bishop’s single reference to Jesus in an invocation in April 2010 was not unconstitutional because it was not used as an attack or promotion of any one religion or government with a particular faith.

Sep 21 2012

They paid themselves up to $40,000 annually

COMPTON, Calif.—Two former Lynwood city councilmen were sentenced today to state prison for misappropriating public funds.

Compton Superior Court Judge Eleanor Hunter ordered Louis Byrd, 80, to serve five years in prison, and Fernando Pedroza, 47, to serve four years behind bars.

The two were convicted July 27 of one count each of misappropriation of public funds.

Jul 17 2012

BongHwan Kim joins charitable foundation

Two months after announcing plans to run for City Council, Department of Neighborhood Empowerment General Manager BongHwan Kim said he will take a job in San Diego instead.

In an email to supporters, Kim said he would resign Aug. 4 and would be moving to San Diego to become executive director for civic engagement at the San Diego Foundation, an organization that matches charities and philanthropists with community needs.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jan 26 2012

Be inclusive, leaders tell candidates

African Americans are the third largest ethnic group in the city of Lancaster. At 19.2 percent of the population (29,263 people), they trail Whites (56.5 percent) and Hispanics (36.5 percent).

Like Black communities around the nation, Lancaster residents experience highs that they applaud and challenges they feel need addressing. As the April 10 elections draw closer, some key community leaders spoke out about what they want from the candidates.

Across Black America

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

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.