Black News

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jan 31 2013

Bass’s website contest helps send six to Washington

For seven residents of the 37th Congressional District, history became a living, breathing entity thanks to their unique opportunity to attend the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C.

Teacher William Pulgarin and his student Karla Espinoza and Wanda Sanders and her son Mark won tickets in the seated section of the event in a contest sponsored by Congresswoman Karen Bass ( D-Calif.), and for each the occasion was an amazing once-in-a-life time opportunity.

Stanley O. Williford  |   OW Editor
Jan 31 2013

Gulf between MTA proposal and community’s vision

A meeting of the First Community Development Council at First Church of God . . . Center of Hope in Inglewood with representatives from the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) illustrated just how wide the gulf is between the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Line the MTA wants to build and the line the community wants.

That gulf seemed almost as wide as the distance from where the train starts to where it ends—a distance of about 8.5 miles.

Jan 30 2013

Four arrested

LANCASTER, Calif.—The raid of a drug house in Lancaster led to four arrests and the seizure of counterfeit $5 and $20 bills, as well as cocaine, methamphetamine, pot and psilocybin mushrooms, sheriff's deputies said today.

Jan 30 2013

Body found in alley

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Authorities have identified a man who was found fatally shot in an alley in an unincorporated area abutting South Los Angeles.

The man identified by the coroner’s office as Richard Backner, 23, of Los Angeles, was discovered in the 9400 block of Normandie Avenue in Westmont at 7:36 p.m. Sunday, and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Deputy Mark Pope of the sheriff’s headquarters bureau.

Jan 30 2013

Farmers cut back production

No matter if they’re honey-dipped, sauce-slathered, mild or volcanic, chicken wings will cost more for Super Bowl party hosts and pub patrons across America this year.

That’s mainly because the most severe and extensive drought in 25 years blazed a path of destruction through the Midwest during the sizzling summer of 2012. It damaged and destroyed major portions of fields, caused crop prices to rise and created a domino effect on overall food prices.

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.”