Palmdale has begun a new program of distributing Rider Relief Transportation Program discount coupons to eligible Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA) bus riders from 2 to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and from noon to 3 p.m. Wednesdays in the lobby of the Larry Chimbole Cultural Center at 38350 Sierra Highway. This is an effort to give assistance to lower income people who rely on the city’s public transportation system, officials say the program will continue indefinitely. The coupons are also only good for use on AVTA buses.

Melanin is recognized as the chief element that protects the skin from the rays of the sun. Because Blacks have a greater abundance of this compound (although it varies within the African American population) than their lighter complected non-Black citizens, especially Whites, it is assumed by many that they are basically immune to skin cancer and other sun damage. This is especially true, when it comes to  those who are dark-skinned. However, contrary to the widely-held belief, there are facts that Blacks must be aware of as the hotter summer temperatures approach.

Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris recently insisted that a new ordinance setting fines for parents whose children repeatedly engage in deviant, criminal behavior be rewritten. He said that the possible effects on citizens would be “asinine.”

The rewriting is intended to identify the specific types of conduct to be considered punishable and to outline the process for warning parents of potential penalties. The ordinance, drafted at the request of Vice Mayor Ron Smith, was based on a measure already in place in Norwalk.

In Los Angeles broadcast news, the presence of Blacks on-camera has been an on-going struggle. Gaining prominent positions in front of the camera has been a battle that Black newscasters have not asked for but have had to deal with for over 50 years.

The first prominent Black on-air newscaster was the late Ken Jones, who was promoted to weeknight anchor of the KTTV (now FOX 11) evening news in 1972. A local product, who was editor of his school newspaper at Fremont High in the mid-1950s, Jones was a solid, credible newscaster.