Compton City Council

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Jul 21 2011

With layoffs imminent, unions gear up to fight back

The Compton City Council passed a budget at its Tuesday meeting that officials said avoids a government shutdown but that is expected to result in layoffs.

The city council voted 3-1 to approve the budget, with Janna Zurita, Lillie Dobson, and Mayor Eric Perrodin voting “yes,” and Yvonne Arceneaux casting the only “no” vote. Willie O. Jones, was absent.

The majority of the viewing public was upset with the outcome, and many  yelled and stormed out of the meeting.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Jul 14 2011

Layoffs, furloughs, and cutbacks loom

COMPTON, Calif.—A number of ideas were bounced around Tuesday at the Compton City Council meeting regarding the budget, which the Council postponed voting on until next week’s council meeting.

After listening to the frustration of the public, the mayor suggested that rather than complaining about the budget, which has been presented by the city manager, people should take it upon themselves to come up with alternative solutions to balancing it.

Compton is facing a projected $25 million shortfall.

Dec 3 2010

Election system discriminates

COMPTON, Calif.—Three Compton residents filed a civil rights suit against the city, saying the at-large election system discriminates against Latinos even though they make up the majority of residents in the community.

Felicitas Gonzalez, Karmen Grimaldi and Flora Ruiz brought their case Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging the city's election system violates the state's Voting Rights Act of 2001.

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.