Religious

Nov 18 2011

427 reported hate crimes countywide

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Reported hate crimes in Los Angeles County fell by 28 percent in 2010 to the lowest level in 21 years, according to the county Commission on Human Relations’ annual report released.

The commission defines a hate crime as one where hatred or prejudice toward a victim’s race or ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, or sexual orientation was a substantial factor in the crime.
According to the 2010 Hate Crime Report, there were 427 reported hate crimes countywide last year, a decline of 166 from the previous year.

Apr 25 2011

New location unknown

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—KCET, which severed its long-standing ties with PBS at the beginning of the year, announced today that it has sold its Sunset Boulevard production studios to the Church of Scientology.

The amount of the sale was not disclosed.

The station will continue to operate out of the studios at 4401 W. Sunset Blvd. for as long as a year until a new location is found.

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Nov 18 2010

Womanist theology missing at church

“Go touch three people and tell ‘em ‘God can.’” the preacher says on Sunday mornings in a congregation full of God fearing, hand clapping, tongue talking, praise dancing women. Children in the pew watch as Mother So-and-So and Sister Shout compete for the “who can pray the best” title for the week. But in the same instance, the two competitors kneel together, in spiritual arms against wicked and unseen forces.

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Sep 23 2010

Islamophobia in America

In the midst of America’s anger-fueled movement against Islam, a voice hardly acknowledged in the mainstream press is rising and demanding to be heard.

Sep 13 2010

Federal law violated

WALNUT - The U.S. Justice Department has sued the city of Walnut, alleging it violated federal law when the city rejected a conditional use permit to build a Buddhist house of worship.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles alleges that until the Chung Tai Zen Center's application was denied in January 2008, Walnut had not turned down any application for a conditional use permit to build, expand or operate a house of worship for almost 30 years.

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.