Antelope Valley

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Nov 25 2010

Unusual storyline for AV

PALMDALE, Calif. -- The Palmdale Playhouse is thinking outside of the box this coming season with a highly unusual production for the Antelope Valley called “The African Company Presents Richard III.” Directed by Anastacia Baron. The production is scheduled to debut on Jan. 28, 29, and 30 and will continue through the first week of February.

Based on the historical past of freed American Blacks in the 1800s, the play depicts a Black theater company in New York working to throw on their rendition of a classic Shakespearean play, “Richard III.”

Nov 25 2010

Supervisor Michael Antonovich recommended that the rewards be extended for 90 days

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Board of Supervisors has renewed separate $20,000 rewards for help tracking down the hit-and-run driver who killed an Alhambra man and whoever set fire to two churches in Lancaster and Palmdale.

Supervisor Michael Antonovich recommended that the rewards be extended for 90 days.
The first reward was offered in exchange for information leading to the motorist who hit and killed Shih-Siang Ho on the afternoon of Dec. 1.

Nov 25 2010

18-year-old Erwin Velasquez

PALMDALE, Calif.—The victim of a fatal stabbing was identified by the coroner’s office as 18-year-old Erwin Velasquez of Palmdale.

Velasquez was stabbed to death last Wednesday in the 38500 block of Larkin Avenue in Palmdale, said Jerry McKibben of the coroner’s office.

Authorities responded to the assault in progress at about 8:15 p.m. a few blocks West of Sierra Highway and found Velasquez suffering from stab wounds, said Lt. Steve Gross of the Palmdale Station.

Marisol Aguilar  |   OW Contributor
Nov 18 2010

Horace Mitchell has long education background

Horace Mitchell, Ph.D., president of California State University Bakersfield believes in excellence. Serving his seventh year as president of the 8,000-student campus, Mitchell is also an advocate of higher education.

“Education is a prerequisite for individuals to be able to fully take advantage of opportunities, not just locally but in the world,” Dr. Mitchell said. “It provides a foundation for a good quality of life and supports economic development in the region.”

Nov 18 2010

Firefighters’ Highway

LANCASTER, Calif.—Two firefighters who were killed trying to protect their fellow firefighters stuck in the path of last year’s Station Fire had a section of highway through the burned area named after them.

The Angeles Forest Highway, also known as County Road S-2, was given the honorary name of the “Capt. Ted Hall and Engineer Arnie Quiñones Memorial Highway” at a ceremony at a Lancaster fire station.

Across Black America

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

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.