Palmdale

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
May 12 2011

Doing business with the city

PALMDALE, Calif.—Although there are rumors of the economy moving toward recovery, many businesses and individuals continue to suffer financially. In the nation, the overall unemployment rate is currently at 9.2 percent while the African American unemployment rate is rising at 16.1 percent. In California, unemployment is 12.3 percent.

In a time of desperation, there’s room for innovation. So Palmdale is offering workshops to entrepreneurs and businesses to show them how to make a way out of no way by working with the city.

May 12 2011

Areas outside Metro service area

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will hold a Social Service Transportation Advisory Council meeting and a Transportation Development Act Article 8 Hearing Board meeting in Palmdale to review oral and written comments previously made in the North County and the city of Avalon public hearings. These meetings will follow up on the Article 8 Unmet Needs Public Hearings held in April.

May 10 2011

Kathleen Joanne Fredette of Desert Willow Intermediate School

PALMDALE (CNS) - A Palmdale intermediate school teacher was one of six educators from across the country chosen to work with scientists aboard a NASA astronomy lab housed in a converted 747 airplane, the space agency announced today.
Kathleen Joanne Fredette, a teacher at Desert Willow Intermediate School, is part of the first group of educators chosen for the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program aboard NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA.

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Apr 28 2011

Section 8, arrests, expungements, other issues

LANCASTER, Calif.—The Community Action League (TCAL) will host the Community Justice Forum on Saturday, May 14, at the Palmdale Moose Lodge from 12-4 p.m.

The forum and civil rights seminar will educate citizens about their Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights, as well as address police harassment and criminal records.

V. Jesse Smith, co-founder of the organization, says the AV is in need of this workshop, especially due to the high volume of complaints and issues individuals have shared with TCAL.

Apr 21 2011

Emergency shelters

PALMDALE, Calif.—Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford and American Red Cross Antelope Valley Chapter CEO Jeff Baumgartner signed two new agreements on April 7 allowing the Red Cross to utilize the City of Palmdale’s buildings and facilities during an emergency. With formal agreements in place, the Red Cross will be able to more quickly open shelters during disasters.
 

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.