California Highway Patrol

May 24 2013

Law enforcement agencies from near and far participate

National Police Week was observed May 13-17, and at Edwards Air Force Base, the 412th Security Forces Squadron sponsored several events, including a K-9 Working Dog demonstration, a children’s drug awareness and security briefing, a multi-agency “End of Watch” ceremony and a National Memorial Fund Golf Tournament.

Members of the Kern County Sheriff’s Department’s K-9 unit joined the 412th Security Forces Squadron at Arnold Field for a joint K-9 unit and Military Working Dog demonstration.

May 14 2013

Woman tells 911 she witnessed police beat man to death

EAST BAKERSFIELD, CALIF. — The 911 call is accusatory. The woman flatly tells the dispatcher she just witnessed several police officers in East Bakersfield, California, beat a man to death.

The woman — identified by the local newspaper as Salina Quair, 34 — happened upon the scene as she left Kern Medical Center, where the father of four would later die.

Feb 1 2013

Second time holding the position

The Palmdale City Council has selected Councilmember Tom Lackey to serve as mayor pro tem for the city. Lackey’s term began on Jan. 9 and will run until the Council selects a new mayor at the January 2014 meeting.

The mayor pro tem assumes the responsibilities of the mayor in his or her absence. Lackey was elected to his first term as councilmember for Palmdale on Nov. 8, 2005. He was re-elected to a second term on Nov. 3, 2009 and served as Mayor Pro Term from Dec. 2, 2009 to Jan. 5, 2011.

Gregg Reese  |   OW Staff Writer
Jun 21 2012

He neither asked for nor enjoyed the spotlight

“People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?” —Rodney King, May 1, 1992

Jun 21 2012

Smartphone camera catches encounter on tape

Two men were in custody Thursday, June 21, in connection with the apparent road-rage beating of another man on the Golden State (5) Freeway near downtown Los Angeles—a brawl that was caught on camera.

California Highway Patrol officers arrested David Mendez, 21, and Edras Ramirez, 27, both of Los Angeles, and booked them on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, according to CHP Officer Ming Hsu of the agency’s public affairs office.
  

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.”