9th District candidate profiles
Part II
David Roberts remembers when the 9th District was dubbed the “Great 9th” by former Gilbert Lindsay, and he wants to bring it back to that greatness, where “citizens are empowered to create positive change.”
To bring back the vitality, Roberts says he will call on his 20-year history of working within the district and with the leadership of the businesses, institutions and organizations to bring in resources and investments.
He will also call on his economic development expertise to address the top five concerns in the district—job creation, stronger educational opportunities for youth and adults, investment in the modernization of the area’s transportation infrastructure and the development of more parks and green space.
Additionally, Roberts sees a need for more affordable housing as well as cleaner and safer streets.
The former associate director for local government relations at USC believes job creation is tied to expanded access for residents to education and skills training and he intends to work with the district’s universities and colleges to develop more opportunities for career and technical programs.
In order to facilitate safer, cleaner streets, Roberts wants to make sure the city has funds to hire police, install security cameras, trim trees, increase lighting and fix sidewalks.
Increasing the availability of affordable housing should be tied to developing more mixed-use neighborhoods, believes Roberts, and he thinks partnering with state and private organizations is the way to do this.
To keep in touch with his constituents should he win the election, the Los Angeles native said he will hold regular districtwide town hall meetings and utilize Facebook and other forms of social networking to enable constituents to send him their ideas and concerns.
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Ana E. Cubas describes herself as the epitome of the American Dream. She arrived in America at age 10—an escapee from the civil war in El Salvador—and credits the city’s libraries, public parks with their after-school programs, and public schools with enabling her to become the first in her family to graduate college.
She is running for the 9th District City Council because she wants to ensure that the American Dream that she took advantage of is still available to working-class families.
Cubas wants to create a movement of young leaders with a positive vision, and her key concerns for the district involve creating jobs and pushing economic development by attracting clean tech/bio-med industries and revitalizing major commercial corridors; working with private and public entities within the district to bring systemic educational reform by establishing educational opportunities zones modeled after President Barack Obama’s Promise Neighborhoods; and to focus on greening initiatives such as creating community gardens, pocket parks and planting trees to reduce pollution and help reduce the rate of asthma.
Additionally, she wants to ensure residents have access to basic city services and to focus on reducing the city’s budget deficit.
Cubas also sees public safety focused on prevention and intervention as another big need for District 9.
With more than 14 years of experience in L.A. City Hall, combined with stints in Sacramento (for the Legislative Analyst’s Office) and in Washington, D.C., in the Department of Education, Cubas understands how the system works and says she will hit the ground running and not have to worry about “on the job training.”
At the same time, she is a community activist with a passion for helping low-income and working-class communities.
If elected, Cubas want to ensure that the district has clean streets and alleyways, and will work to hold departments and their general managers accountable for tasks they need to fulfill.
Neither Mike Davis nor Ron Gochez responded to Our Weekly’s repeated requests for information.
Los Angeles police say two suspects have been arrested for the murder of 5-year-old Aaron Shannon, and are being held without bail. Leonard Hall Jr., 21, was taken into custody today (Friday) about at 2:10 a.m. at an apartment in the 200 block of West. 27th Str. Marcus Denson, 18, was arrested Thursday evening by Sheriff’s deputies in the 1100 block of East 83rd Street. Law enforcement officials say both suspects are active gang members.
This is the beginning of a series of articles about street gangs in our nation. Gone are the days back in the 1960s and before when gangs were social organizations and were geographically linked. Beginning in the 1970s, these street gangs evolved into criminal organizations. They are the generators of murder, drugs, robbery, etc. No longer are they cool or cute. They are pure savages craving fast money and a fast lifestyle. This week let’s take a look at Detroit.
One of the earliest gangs was the Errol Flynns. They took the name from the Caucasian movie star.
A new community plan for the West Adams, Baldwin Hills, Leimert Park and Hyde Park communities is proposing to roll back current limits on the number of stand-alone fast food restaurants in Council District 10 for up to 20 years.
In 2008, the City Council passed an ordinance restricting new fast food restaurants from being constructed within 0.5 miles of an existing fast food restaurant.
Bill Gates is putting out a call to inventors, but he’s not looking for software, or the latest high-tech gadget. This time he’s in search of a better condom.
On its Grand Challenges website, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is offering a $100,000 startup grant to the person who designs “the next generation condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure” and promotes “regular use.”
Your child has caught some bug that’s going around.
He has a terminal case of The Gimmes, and he’s not getting any better. It’s “Gimme that” and “Buy me this” all day long. It’s Gimme Gimme Gimme, usually accompanied by whining, pleading, and a maddening inability to understand the word “no.”
