Leimert Park

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.

Jun 23 2011

Named businessman of the year

Frank Denkins, (center shown accepting the award, along with his wife Rosemary) CEO of Office Furniture L.A., was recently named businessman of the year by State Senator Curren Price (left) during a Sacramento ceremony. Denkins opened his first business, a gasoline station, in the Leimert Park area in 1956. From there, he opened a cleaners in 1969 that eventually morphed into a chain of 12 stores. The highlight of that business was being named the official dry cleaners of the 1984 Olympics. That enabled Denkins to provide services to more than 6,800 athletes from 140 nations.

May 25 2011

City Council approves $50,000 reward

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Los Angeles City Council today approved a $50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the murder of nightclub owner Alonzo "Dicky'' Ester in front of his Baldwin Hills home.

Ester, 67, was fatally shot May 13 in his white Rolls-Royce Phantom as he arrived home in the 4300 block of Hillcrest Drive about 2:30 a.m. that Friday.

Initial reports suggested the gunman may have fled in a silver-colored BMW.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
May 19 2011

Ridley-Thomas urges full community support

Crenshaw District residents, business owners and all those with a stake in seeing that the new Crenshaw-to-LAX light rail line will be a first-rate project have an opportunity to let the Metropolitan Transportation Authority hear their voices.

A petition urging the Metro board to include important design features that will enhance the commuting experience for all county residents is now in wide circulation. It calls for two critical developments: a station stop in Leimert Park Village and running the light rail underground along Crenshaw from 48th to 59th streets.

Damien Goodmon  |   OW Guest Contributor
Apr 28 2011

Crenshaw Subway Coalition Chair & Fix Expo Campaign Coordinator

On May 26, the MTA board of directors will consider Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ motion to keep the entirety of the Crenshaw-LAX Light Rail Line underground on Crenshaw Blvd. and add a station at Leimert Park Village. The implications of the motion are significant. 

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.