Councilman Dennis Zine

Mar 22 2011

No more free lunches

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The City Council, reacting to reports that Housing Authority commissioners charged the city more than $150,000 over the past two years for travel and food, approved a motion today to eliminate per diem pay associated with travel.

"Every dollar counts, and it is outrageous for the city to continue to cover food costs and other incidental expenses,'' said Councilman Dennis Zine, who authored the motion.

All per diem costs associated with city-related travel will no longer be reimbursed.

Jan 28 2011

Filing a false police report

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The City Council voted unanimously today to sue a Los Angeles School Police Department officer accused of fabricating a story about being shot by a burglary suspect in Woodland Hills.

Councilman Dennis Zine, who proposed the lawsuit, said officer Jeffrey Stenroos "not only wasted precious city resources and inconvenienced tens of thousands of people, but he also abused the trust the public places in their police force and shamed the professional standards upheld by law enforcement agencies.''

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.