Ohio

Feb 10 2011

A mother’s jail term discussed

“When my house got broken into, I felt it was my duty to do something else.”

That statement to ABC News by Kelley Williams-Bolar, 40, a single mother of two school-age daughters, 12 and 16, threw her world, the city of Akron, Ohio, and many of the nation’s school districts into a dither.

Jan 12 2011

Daughter angry

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The formerly homeless Ohio man who became a media sensation thanks to his "golden voice'' will be heading to rehab amid allegations that he has been drinking daily.

Ted Williams, 53, has been in Los Angeles making appearances on "Dr. Phil'' and other shows. His visit to the Southland made headlines when he was briefly detained by Los Angeles police after a Monday night altercation with his daughter.

Donjai Richardson  |   OW Guest Contributor
Dec 23 2010

Connie Sparks lifting up small businesses

You don’t need to light a fire under Connie Sparks. She provides her own, well, you know... The 43-year-old entrepreneur is the founder of the Wade Institute, a business consulting firm with clients as far away as Hawaii, New York, Ohio, and, of course, in her home state of California.

“I help small businesses define their businesses,” said Sparks. “I help them restructure their business and strategic plans. I also help them with business development and business financing. I’m pretty much hands-on with my clients.”

Dec 6 2010

55 reports in a month have been confirmed

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Bedbugs, which have bedeviled the East Coast, have shown up in upscale Beverly Hills and homes and apartments in more than two dozen Southland communities, it was reported today.

"It's really all over the county," Angelo J. Bellomo, director of environmental health for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, told the Los Angeles Times.

Health officials began tracking reports of bedbugs last spring after seeing an increase in reports from tenants, property owners and businesses.

Sep 30 2010

Acquittal of Timothy Thomas’ murderer

On Sept. 26, 2001, police officer Stephen Roach was acquitted of all charges in the shooting death of an unarmed 19-year-old Black man—Timothy Thomas.

The shooting occurred on April 7 in Cincinnati, Ohio, when two off-duty police officers spotted the young man walking down the street. Thomas had 14 outstanding warrants out for his arrest, 12 of them for traffic violations. The other warrants were for evading the police. After noticing the police, the young man began to run. Within minutes, 12 officers were in pursuit.

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.