economy

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Sep 23 2010

State of the City address

PALMDALE, Calif.—At the Hilton Garden Inn on Monday afternoon, a banquet room packed with Palmdale city workers and Antelope Valley Black Chamber of Commerce members, heard Mayor Jim Ledford make his annual State of the City address.

The City of Palmdale has recently undergone many improvements as well as budget cuts and program reductions, however Ledford emphasized the importance of looking forward to the future, despite California’s declining economy.

Joseph Wright  |   OW Senior Staff Writer
Aug 19 2010

Companies remain slow to hire

Many United Sates companies and businesses displayed their lack of confidence about hiring for the third consecutive month in July, giving indications that the nation’s economy will continue to grow slowly for the rest of the year. As a result the unemployment rate held steady at 9.5 percent.

Private employers added a net total of 71,000 jobs last month, which is well below the 200,000 or more jobs needed each month to reduce the unemployment rate.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Mar 4 2010

Hearing sheds light on how the creative sector fuels employment in state

Art, music, dance, drama, and fashion produce jobs. In order to keep the creative sector that these industries are part of growing strongly, however, the state needs to step in and offer a helping hand.
That was among the suggestions offered last Thursday during a hearing held in the midst of Culver City’s thriving arts district by California State Senator Curren Price (D-26).
The event was the first meeting of the Joint Committee on the Arts since 2003, and it drew a standing-room crowd in excess of 100 people.

Jun 18 2009

Botswana commits human catastrophe

Most of us enjoyed seeing Jill Scott play the lead role in the show “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.” Other than Ms. Scott physically playing the appreciated Afrikan woman, the image of Botswana, where the show was filmed, was very positive. The open environment reflected a beautiful place to be. We now see that it may have been used as a propaganda cover-up.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jan 10 2009

10 percent rumored to be on the table to tackle $14 billion deficit

California is facing a $14 billion budget shortfall for the 2008-09 fiscal year, and among the ways Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger intends to address the problem is to call for across-the-board-budget cuts.

In his State of the State address Tuesday, the governor placed the blame for the shortfall on overspending by the state.

Across Black America

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

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”