Crenshaw

Sep 18 2011

No injuries reported

A fire broke out in a bungalow at an elementary school in the Crenshaw area, a city fire official said.
 
The fire was reported at 5:31 p.m. at Hillcrest Elementary School, located at 4041 S. Hillcrest Drive, said Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
 
Rescuers arriving at the location reported light smoke showing from the structure, Scott said. With 20 firefighters on the scene, the flames were under control in 14 minutes, he said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
 
No injuries were reported.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jul 7 2011

Changes are a ‘mistake’

According to a new visualization pre-map published last weekend by the California Redistricting Commission, (CRC), South Los Angeles and Malibu have enough in common that they should be lumped together into one voting district.

That bombshell was released last weekend on the web site www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov, and has the African American community reeling and fuming.

Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jun 23 2011

Between the Lines

The California Redistricting Commission, the first civilian redistricting effort in the state’s history, has released the first map after of the 2010 census reapportionment.

The commission’s effort to address federal and state representation, while keeping out major party partisan politics of the usual manipulation and gerrymandering, immediately came under fire from without and within.

May 19 2011

Regional Youth Business Plan

Jamiah Lindsey (second from left) and his partner Robert Molina (third from left) pictured above with their NFTE coach Owen Brown (far left) were one of three semi-finalists in the Network for Teaching Entreprenership (NFTE) contest held at the Downtown Business Magnet High School May 13. The duo will now go on to the Regional Youth Business Plan competition June 3 at USC.

There they will have the opportunity to win $1,500 in scholarships and advance to the NFTE national finals in New York City.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
May 5 2011

Practical Politics

In a classic case of conflict anxiety, Black Angelenos—city and unincorporated folk—will get (or have gotten) the complicated opportunities this week (and before the end of May) to strongly influence political decisions to be made on their future.

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.”