Councilman Herb Wesson

Mar 22 2013

Crenshaw and Jefferson boulevards

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A proposal to name the intersection of Jefferson and Crenshaw boulevards in Jefferson Park for Bishop Charles E. Blake, the pastor of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ, is expected to be approved today.

The more than 24,000-member church is adjacent to the intersection.

Blake has also been presiding bishop of the General Assembly of the 6.5 million-member Church of God in Christ since 2007.

Stanley O. Williford  |   OW Editor
Mar 22 2012

Councilman for the 13th District wants to be mayor

“You can plop me down anywhere in this 4-million-person metropolis, and I have a personal and intense connection,” Councilman Eric M. Garcetti said. 

Taken on its face, the statement seems brash, or just so much braggadocio. At the very least, it sounds like political hyperbole, but the statement is pretty well documented.

He is of Russian-Jewish descent on his mother’s side and Mexican-Italian descent on his father’s side. But there are also Irish genes from a great-great grandfather. 

Oct 28 2011

Lack of quorum

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—For the third time this year the Los Angeles City Council today was forced to cancel its meeting because not enough members showed up.

Another meeting was canceled less than a month ago on Sept. 29.

Council President Pro Tem Jan Perry apologized to the public for not having enough members to legally hold a council meeting and said the items on today’s agenda would be added to Tuesday’s agenda.

Aug 8 2011

Call Center Services

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks lost his bid today for a new trial on allegations he owes more than $60,000 for automated calls made to potential voters during his failed 2008 campaign for a seat on the county Board of Supervisors.

May 20 2011

“The rent is too damn high”

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—One year after scuffles broke out in City Council chambers, about 80 housing advocates protested around City Hall today, urging the council to block rent hikes for rent-stabilized housing.

Members of the Los Angeles Right to Housing Collective want changes to the city law that governs how much landlords can raise rents each July.

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.