Lancaster City Council

Aug 23 2012

Leveraging the power of the sun

Lancaster and the city of San Jacinto have joined forces to create the California Clean Energy Authority (CCEA), a statewide power authority purposed to provide clean energy solutions for municipalities throughout California. The agreement and resolution were approved during a recent Lancaster City Council meeting.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Mar 22 2012

They seek a more open city council

Lancaster is a community whose weather and affordable housing attracts people to settle in and put down roots. That was definitely the case for City Council candidates John T. Kiramis and Michael P. Rives, who moved to the high-desert city four and five years ago, respectively.

As they observed the city government in their newly adopted hometown, the two realized there was a need for change.

Jan 13 2011

Pregnant women sought to participate by mail

A landmark research project by the National Children’s Study that the Lancaster City Council has thrown its support behind will begin recruiting participants this month. The Council encourages eligible residents to participate.

In November 2010, the Lancaster City Council presented the UCLA-based team with a resolution in support of the National Children’s Study (NCS). It is called the largest, long-term study of environmental influences on children’s health and development ever conducted in the United States.

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Nov 4 2010

Defend yourself in public housing

LANCASTER, Calif.—At last week’s Lancaster City Council meeting, Mayor R. Rex Parris asked Dorian Jenkins, deputy executive director of housing programs with the Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles, if there was a way to confiscate Section 8 vouchers from tenants who did not enroll their children in school. He asked Jenkins if he would look into federal enforcement of state laws requiring children to attend school. Parris said that it would be beneficial for the whole community. 
 

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Oct 7 2010

Professionals say it’s worth a second look

LANCASTER, Calif.—Last week, the Lancaster City Council passed Ordinance NB 1, which prohibits street gang members from attending city-sponsored events, with the intent to intimidate, commit a crime, or recruit.

Residents were perturbed by the vote and are anticipating some conflict between themselves and local officers. Many people spoke out at the Lancaster City Council meeting last Tuesday, expressing their concern that the ordinance is unconstitutional. They also claimed the ordinance will give officers free reign to incriminate anyone they want.

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.