Dead

Nov 1 2011

Cause of death unknown

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Film and stage director-producer Gilbert Cates, who helmed 14 Academy Awards shows and headed UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television in the ‘90s, was found dead in a parking garage at the university, authorities confirmed today. He was 77.

Cates, who produced the Oscar broadcast most recently in 2008, was found dead at 820 Westwood Plaza about 6:30 p.m. Monday, according to a coroner’s investigator. The cause of death was not immediately available.

Aug 3 2011

The popular actor was found dead in his home in Baldwin Hills.

Former NFL player and actor ``Bubba'' Smith has been found dead at his home in the Baldwin Hills area, according to the coroner's office. Smith, 66, won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Colts in 1970, and later played with the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers. He portrayed police recruit Moses.

Jun 24 2011

Gins Liquor Store

INGLEWOOD, Calif.—A shooting outside an Inglewood liquor store early today left a 22-year-old man dead and a woman hospitalized with several gunshot wounds.

The shooting at Gins Liquor Store near 110th Street and Crenshaw Boulevard was reported at 12:28 a.m., Inglewood police Sgt. James Kirk said.

Shawn Bryant of Hawthorne, his girlfriend and several family members went to the liquor store for meter change, NBC4 reported. They were going to the beach to celebrate a birthday when two men robbed the group.

May 16 2011

Silver-colored BMW at scene

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Los Angeles police were looking for clues in the shooting death of an Inglewood nightclub owner found shot to death in his Rolls-Royce outside his home in Baldwin Hills.

A silver-colored BMW seen parked in the area may be related to the roughly 2:30 a.m. Friday killing of Alonzo "Dicky'' Ester in the 4300 block of Hillcrest Drive, police said. It was unclear if he was robbed.

Ester, 67, owned the Dynasty lounge at 206 S. Locust St. in Inglewood.

May 13 2011

Sitting in his car

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The 67-year-old owner of an Inglewood night club was shot to death early today while sitting in his car—reportedly a white $300,000 Rolls Royce—outside his home in the Crenshaw District.

The shooting occurred around 2:30 a.m. in the 4200 block of Hillcrest Drive, said Officer Lyle Knight of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations office. The man died at a hospital, said assistant chief Ed Winter of the coroner's office.

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.