Jordan Downs

Apr 17 2013

To serve as housing model

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The City Council approved a plan today aimed at turning Jordan Downs, a 700-unit public housing project in Watts, into an “urban village” with a mix of affordable and market-rate homes, along with retail storefronts and “pedestrian-friendly” features.

Oct 11 2012

Jordan Downs in Watts

Los Angeles City Councilmembers Joe Buscaino (front right) and Eric Garcetti (front left) donated computers to families living at Jordan Downs in Watts last week. The families who received computers participated in technology training classes through Kids Progress Inc., a nonprofit organization established by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) to provide crucial social, educational, and healthcare services to children living in HACLA projects. The computer donation was made possible through a City Council motion authored by Buscaino and seconded by Garcetti.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Nov 3 2011

Housing, employment, public safety key concerns

Ten of the 15 candidates trying to win the right to fill the unexpired term of former L.A.

Councilwoman Janice Hahn turned out for a candidate forum in Watts Saturday, and the common themes they stressed were that the 15th District needs to receive its fair share of funding and resources to address concerns such as public safety, housing, and unemployment.

Feb 12 2009

Gun violence claiming the lives of young Black males

 Los Angeles, CA -- Maurio Proctor, 22, and two friends were standing on Proctor’s grandmother’s porch in the Jordan Downs housing projects in Watts when an unidentified car spotted the trio and made a sharp U-turn.

“They drove up to my son and his friends and fired 17 rounds,” said Reggie Sims, Proctor’s father, who said the shooting occurred on Jan. 28, 2008. “Three of (the) bullets hit my son. One struck him behind the right ear, one on the right arm and another on his shoulder and in his thigh. He died instantly.”

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.