Palmdale

Jun 24 2011

Taken down by federal marshals

LANCASTER, Calif.—A Lancaster 18-year-old wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of a 22-month-old boy and his uncle in South Los Angeles was arrested by federal marshals today.

Jaquain Smith was taken to the ground by federal marshals when he tried to run away from his Lancaster home, the Los Angeles Times reported. The location of the Lancaster residence and time of arrest were unknown.

Jun 20 2011

Racial slurs

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A former Palmdale apartment manager who said he was punched, kicked and pepper-sprayed without provocation in a confrontation with sheriff’s deputies received an additional $6,000 in punitive damages in addition to $575,000 awarded two days earlier by the same jury.

The Los Angeles Superior Court panel deliberated for about one and half hours Friday before assessing the damages in favor of Noel Bender and against Deputy Scott Sorrow.

Jun 17 2011

Stacey Marie Barker

LANCASTER, Calif.—A Quartz Hill woman was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison for the March 2009 death of her 18-month-old daughter, whom she initially claimed was taken from her in a violent kidnapping.

Superior Court Judge Hayden Zacky imposed the term on Stacey Marie Barker, 26, who was convicted May 24 of first-degree murder, assault on a child causing death and child abuse for the March 18, 2009, slaying of her daughter, Emma.

Jun 16 2011

Holly Marie Polson

LANCASTER, Calif.—A female teacher’s aide at a Palmdale middle school was due in a  Lancaster courtroom today on four felony counts of lewd acts for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old male student she was tutoring.

The criminal complaint filed Wednesday against 35-year-old Holly Marie Polson of Palmdale alleges that the crimes occurred between May 29 and June 10.

Polson, who is married, was arrested Tuesday and jailed in lieu of $400,000 bail.

Gregg Reese  |   OW Staff Writer
Jun 16 2011

Proposed district maps available for review

Materializing like clockwork every decade, the Census generally heralds another period of population growth. Following in its wake, but not as widely known, redistricting is the procedure involving the adjustment of boundary lines of individual electoral divisions to fit these changing population shifts.

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.”