Crenshaw corridor

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
May 3 2012

Saturday and Sunday rides were free

The 7.6-mile Expo Line started its regular service this week between downtown Los Angeles and its last stop at La Cienega Boulevard, and I was among the thousands who jumped aboard on Sunday.

Regular fares on Metro’s first westward light-rail line are $1.50, but that weekend rides were free. Metro officials had logged about 44,000 boardings on Saturday.

On Sunday, the train was full, but not uncomfortably so, and riders seemed to be pretty excited to be a part of the Expo Line’s historic first rides.

Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jun 2 2011

Between the Lines

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority did its usual “rope-a-dope” with the Black community last week on the most important infrastructure investment of the next 100 years.
 

May 26 2011

Supervisor Ridley-Thomas remains determined

According to its own analysis, by realigning existing funds, Metro could cover the costs for two key features of the upcoming Crenshaw/LAX Light Rail Line—construction of a Leimert Park Village light rail station and a tunnel through Park Mesa Heights.

The funding study, requested by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, examines ways to pay for a rail station at Leimert Park Village (estimated cost $131 million) and moving an 11-block section of the rail line along Crenshaw Boulevard below ground (estimated cost $269 million).

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
May 19 2011

Ridley-Thomas urges full community support

Crenshaw District residents, business owners and all those with a stake in seeing that the new Crenshaw-to-LAX light rail line will be a first-rate project have an opportunity to let the Metropolitan Transportation Authority hear their voices.

A petition urging the Metro board to include important design features that will enhance the commuting experience for all county residents is now in wide circulation. It calls for two critical developments: a station stop in Leimert Park Village and running the light rail underground along Crenshaw from 48th to 59th streets.

Damien Goodmon  |   OW Guest Contributor
Apr 28 2011

Crenshaw Subway Coalition Chair & Fix Expo Campaign Coordinator

On May 26, the MTA board of directors will consider Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ motion to keep the entirety of the Crenshaw-LAX Light Rail Line underground on Crenshaw Blvd. and add a station at Leimert Park Village. The implications of the motion are significant. 

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.