Herb Wesson

Dec 29 2011

Perry and Parks did not attend

The City Council unanimously elected Councilman Herb Wesson to be the panel’s first Black president on Nov. 23.

Councilman Ed Reyes was chosen to serve as president pro tempore. Both will assume their new posts Jan. 2.

Cynthia E. Griffin  |   OW Managing Editor
Dec 29 2011

National, state, local

National Newsmaker
Without a doubt, the 27-year campaign to build a national monument to honor civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. that came to fruition this year is more than worthy of all the words of praise, acknowledgment and congratulations that have been previously spoken.

But in the eyes of Our Weekly, this feat to enshrine the first non-president and African American on the National Mall deserves much more recognition. That is why we have selected Alpha Phi Alpha as our national newsmaker of the year.

Stanley O. Williford  |   OW Editor
Dec 15 2011

Becoming first African American City Council president

The first thing on Herb J. Wesson’s agenda after his swearing-in as president on Jan. 3, could be whipping the Los Angeles City Council into shape, although those are not his words. Actually, what he wants to do is make the Council “run more smoothly—no multiple issues on the agenda, no lengthy debates and just work on streamlining things and making it more effective.”

Nov 23 2011

Jan Perry and Bernard Parks absent for vote

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The City Council today unanimously elected Councilman Herb Wesson to be the panel’s first Black president.

Councilman Ed Reyes was chosen to serve as president pro tempore. Both will assume their new posts Jan. 2.

Nov 14 2011

City Council members are among the highest paid in the nation

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Assemblyman Gil Cedillo said today he will run for the 1st District seat on the Los Angeles City Council.

“Growing up here, I learned from a very early age that Los Angeles was a city of opportunities for anyone who had a dream of living a better life for themselves and their families,” Cedillo said. “I am announcing my candidacy for City Council District 1 because we need bold and experienced leadership to strengthen and protect the 'Los Angeles Dream.”’

Across Black America

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

California
Allied Integrated Marketing recently announced it is launching a new African American marketing division, Allied Moxy. The new division will create innovative campaigns that integrate publicity, promotions, digital and grassroots outreach to speak directly to the full diversity of African American consumers. Spearheading Allied Moxy are industry veterans Kim Walters and Gloria Jones. Walters will oversee national strategy from Los Angeles, while Jones will oversee regional/local strategy from Washington, D.C. Walters brings more than a decade of marketing experience working with entertainment companies such as Codeblack Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and A&E Lifetime Television, as well as consumer brands such as KIA and L.A. Gear and awards programs such as NAACP Image Awards and Soul Train Music Awards. Jones has been with Allied for five years running publicity and promotional campaigns for clients, including Universal Pictures, Focus Features and Relativity Media, and previously worked for WBDC-TV in D.C. and MTV Networks’ Nick @ Nite and TV Land.

 

Representing Los Angeles and Center Theatre Group, Tyler Edwards, a senior at the Orange County High School of the Arts, placed third at the national finals of the fifth annual August Wilson Monologue Competition (AWMC) at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre in New York City. “I am thrilled . . . I’m so glad that I took it for L.A. the first time we got up . . . that’s what we’re talking about!” said an elated Edwards following the competition. Edwards, an aspiring actor, describes the soaring, lyrical monologues found in the plays by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson as “very inspirational,” and said prior to the Los Angeles Regional Finals of the August Wilson competition, “I would love to share a bit of that inspiration with any audience, in hopes that they leave with more appreciation than they walked in with.”

 

Georgia
Bounce TV, the nation’s first-ever over-the-air broadcast television network for African Americans, will launch a second new original comedy series, “Uptown Comic,” on June 18, immediately after the series premiere of the just-announced sitcom “Family Time.” “Uptown Comic” is a half-hour series featuring stage and skit performances by some of the hottest up-and-coming comics in the country. The show is currently in production in front of a live studio audience at the longest-running African American comedy club in the U.S.—Uptown Comedy Corner in Atlanta. Actor and comedian Joe Torry (Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam) hosts. “Family Time,” a half hour situation comedy created by Bentley Kyle Evans ( “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Martin,” “Love That Girl”) and produced by Evans and partner Trenten Gumbs is set to launch Monday, June 18, at 8 p.m. The series premiere of “Uptown Comic” will follow and be seen weekly at 8:30 p.m. (All Times Eastern.)