Western Avenue

Apr 16 2013

79-year-old aunt

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A 60-year-old woman was ordered today to stand trial for the shooting death of her 79-year-old aunt, who was the mother of a Los Angeles Police Department training officer.

Barbara Jean Davenport is charged with murder and robbery in connection with the June 2, 2012, slaying of Cleo Hughes.

The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation that Hughes was killed during a robbery or attempted robbery.

Jan 16 2013

Crimes occur along an eight-mile stretch of Western Avenue

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A violent serial robber who for more than a year has terrorized victims along a stretch of Western Avenue from Hollywood to South Los Angeles was suspected today in two more crimes.

Detectives believe the “Western Bandit” was responsible for a Jan. 8 armed robbery in which a witness was shot and wounded, and for an attempted robbery on the same day, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Jun 21 2012

Charged with attempted murder

A man suspected of sexually assaulting a woman at a bus stop at Manchester and Normandie avenues was charged Wednesday with attempted murder and other charges, the District Attorney’s Office announced.

Allen Phillip Crews, 22, was arraigned at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Department 30. Prosecutors asked that bail be set at $1.56 million.

Crews is charged with one felony count each of attempted murder, assault with intent to commit a felony, sexual penetration by a foreign object and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury.

May 31 2012

Western Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard stations at issue

A month after Metro’s Expo Line opened, safety questions are being raised about several street crossings along the light-rail route, including an intersection that forms a maze of track, traffic signals and warning signs for the public to navigate, it was reported today.

Najmedin Meshkati, a professor and safety expert at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering, asserts that precautions at three crossings along the 7.9-mile route between downtown Los Angeles and the Westside are “woefully inadequate,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Nov 22 2011

Police looking for second suspect

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A 17-year-old boy was fatally shot in southwest Los Angeles today, and police arrested one of two suspects believed involved in the crime.

Paramedics sent to Manchester and Western avenues shortly before 8 a.m. picked up the wounded teen but could not save him, authorities said. He was declared dead a hospital, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Tim O'Gorman of the 77th Street Station.

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.”