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Cooper. can-Americ in han a d an death roquadruple The allegeddcuffs and ha New w inmate in ci Cooper’s 1som’s decision could d en F t wa lori making o da Today reports Hills fam 985 conviction in lead to the over rning of Enough Ouft. Authorities say tt has the poily and their 11-yea the killing of a rutu Your Love” Californiantential, some politir-old house guest. ral Chino and a s. The case cal watcher s Both the C sa y, to divide aliforn and more an a dozenia and United States past appeath lo su w p er re ls. courts have m rejected Ceocourts “I take no p oper’s osition regar nocence at about the h this time,” Newsodming Mr. Cooper’s g uilt igh-profile said in his terest. New casefor executive oor in2. When you see a photo or ad with the Observer 1. Get the app free by downloading that Y h o as rk d rder ra T Sen. Kamal imes’ colum wn internat Interactive logo scan over the whole photo with your it from Google Play or The Apple App a io n is H n al t ar Nic in ri have all ca lled for res -tand reality TV starholas Kristof, U.S.tablet or smartphone. Store forensic te es K ting using im SUL chnology. current, m Kardashian The ACLU gorilla suitPHUR, La. (AP) – P o re se n si an ti v groups hav d other hu e mattress befbroke into a Louisiaol man rights e also urged o n a deeper in an C d alifornia st News ouretl officers arrested ha ves gation ate officialsos cial justice ets quote into Cooper Gov. Newtiso sp o k es to m launch ’s con m’s Mel Est in Sulphu tion issu officers saan Thursday by formerorder Friday expandviction. w Jeremie es test four ed s G p co o Moran wal re v. st v ume. They ious direcrry Brown lowed analpyieces of crime scenJe h ad in so re D ember n looking in ceived callksin to an orange sts to perform DNe evidence. Brownec a to h omes. Estes says prosecutorstowel; and the hanA re-testing on a t’sanorder al- bo M o p ra ro n ac ra h d dies in the n into a say Cooper ed but was le and shea T-shirt; Ry In th new u th charges incl discovered Serving Kern County investigatseiod in the murders. of a hatchet Joshua Ryen, theen’s home with a total u d of hair frois in in g re tr si y, victims’ 8-y sting an hoid wound on meth posses of 143 stab for Over 46 Years ffic button Com the victims’ hannd, analysts will look ea h w si is in ro o g u o n th ld n in an ro d s. so ta at th d In at o s, ck . n w e p s , H b L ea . S er tr ds su lo d sample an e was the o ’s atto ey ring a m uisiana, a p tigators pla in publicoca nly survivffoered a slash the allegations Bernardino County s and a gan Norman oH nted at thrn After Coop reen n be senteerson convicte Cooper’s at r of the at- D.A.’s Angeles C ar il e e e m n sc o m ai t er en n o su s’ ta st e le s n rp o ce. Man . Ex torneys are ced to thre rised about vestigationounty Superior Couof the crime. A reins inves- al gally stayed in a h jail break, investig racial biaffi making ab holidays licekptions are allowed fo . at so y they tire o rt judge wil ses and disy of them frequen out their e H al found eviduse next door to thoers found, he il- complaints tl lo l oversee thd Los familsa cr Cooper, 61 y w een and M r relig It’s unclear ence in the y’s station w are handledimination in the w complain about e invictims. Th , has main years. His la if g an M m R g ay . oran has a ardi G ag en y ta ey Ju p en o th ro t. in st n ’s w ei se ed last month that tied C home and in r cases or cutor Mich For some, G lawye by Gov. N yers hope the resu his innocence u n , o d a o ae er o p th S v. l er an in p e S N ressure for elyem, who Bernardino help prove ewsom, which cou lts of the re-testin over the of g in the case is bein ewsom’s order to bto the murders. m o n ak is so in W ci g crude and h al med g ld ke sev their client’ aden D A resigned him. racist andite, eral monthordered portthere murders Joshuag met with dismay. ro s innocenta test- chelle Obama,ia. His insults target The lone N comments R s, ce y s en w o ed an U il f l an ,S d th fo su B . d e rm fi R la In 1 rvivor nally exon ep. Maxine ck shooting er erate they are disappoRinyens and Hughesfaalmily, friends and su Waters andFirst Lady Mivicti on four co985, a San Diego an unnamed “Unfortunat ted with the gov l across the state p- Lo Thomas R. Parkmer. 26 and an unts of murder. ACt ounty jury convicte s Angeles o ernor’s decis , a former ely, over tim sa fo y es th d r ca C ju e ti o p st o ed m ic ffi p d ion. e e er cord - inclu prison inm This guy is ce, believes Coopereputy head of the F ate. His leonf his arrest, he was no DistrictinAthis case matters eleit seems the victim din . in Pen BI’Wednesday, inno s’ desCalifornia “The eviden ss s gthy cr tt o an nsylvaniag–several burglaries an rn ir d ey “P e Volume 46 Number 25 Observer Group Newspapers of Southern February 26, 2020 le im ri ss Ja o in ,” son Anderso r DNA test ce was placennt,” he told the N San Bernar o n Cooper, form did not help his d the rape of a mal re- claimed th in ew n d te e g isa d st th Y , id an o at h rk d e in M .” case. w inor T r. a w as im erly named in 1958 nea C st o framed, th es. W per’s guilt.” uld exonerate him ooper sought, agre atement. e cops lied months old r Pittsburgh, PenRichard Goodman, have all con ed to and a federalhat has kept the case n w , ap sy fi g h as Y o rm lv e p et in b el an w orn ed Mr. Coo g - and Co la court’s as persuasive ia. When h During h - ecution and reviete arguments e was six monies and al childhoodad, opted and renamed LAKE FOR and he spis w the casedecision in 2004 tooper alive - is b as le h K g ed is at ev G p io o re in o EST ar en n n v. as en is recoverin w stay his exs C conflicting onable ques Newsom’s of evidence ith more sc ooper. ts physicall juvenile det t a good part of D g after bei,nCalif. (AP) – Offici N d te ti ie ta y ec A o n st m n ab ti is ig te s p fi io at ad u ab st er c en y se n o o in o ev in o rs d ti n le u to g g id o u t sc h ro , n se co th en im k al en ad centers. In a mental d to ail Co ee e ethods low another m ce. ce living in in Southern g struck by a poli and storiesp raising California Governoes early in the term oper. Threm several attack, and in nsw round of c California. L ag Californiah. ealth facility in Pen1982, Cooper esca u n e h in r av w w o v ea f the progre estie high expec hose suppo orn testimo pons were u ped from three attacker nsylvania b the Orangea Beach Police Offi rt ta ss er n se iv ti y, s d o e o s ce ef Josh Duri in th n the politi wh ore moving NA test g ns. someone’s p County Register h r Thomas cal Left to could have been Hoiswere White. He lautea Ryen said he sawe solve “D gued that ng his murder trial, e itially th should imm et when th the Ryen in p r prosecutors F an te eb. 19. F st ic u e cat dartein ifi . ed rt ed h ia Ryen, theirCooper killed husban ca er complica tely take p that they Chiang sa se and final successfully d in front an 1 ti d n 0 la id n am -y an ly ce g d ea d M th ed en u to rearr-o w ring the ca e rosecuti cGuire says neighbor C D sure justice that DNA ons’ claims, m hristopherld daughter Jessica ifane Doug and Peggy belonging toiana Roper came foprw w th p is h ev ai e en animal was he got out a wom- but testing idence can help la gn. “Not only is served,” her former Hughes. Po d d with bloo to chec it proven in this case w enforcem boyfriend ar lice foundan 11-year-old inal. She turned Animal Cobigger than a house dy clothin w w en th the bloodie E h o n o d t g ca e u v tr es so w ld en ev t. o to troyed it. as a violent lv l idence over co o th an e ffi m cr o ce u an e im d g rs at im h New es, tr no st to th shed the ble cr - is bold, he is to the poli auma. al hospital, where itruw African Am e state.” treading casom’s decision in co e ce, but thim is su ericans, His e as th that Califo ey refully on a e Cooper ca diagnose D panics and r. rn K p ia se w ri o v te at st ote ntially pola ching. He other mino she ex ects i Krause, a veterin is keeping rs across the politica ri rities liv- C the 11-pou l spectrumzing back inpto his focus o ontinued nd (5-kiloarian, tells the ar n fairness an the e on page A d justice 2 McGuire wvild after it regainsgstram) cat to isited rength. that if he se es it again, the bobcat on Fri day he’ll issue a ticket for ja. By Stacy M. Brown Washington, D.C., was the most gentrified city by gentrification is defined as the process of repairing and NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent percentage of eligible neighborhoods that experienced rebuilding homes and businesses in a deteriorating area, From a dowdy provincial city in the 1980s, gentrification; New York City was the most gentrified by such as an urban neighborhood, accompanied by an influx Philadelphia has become a world-class urban center sheer volume, study authors noted. of middle-class or affluent people and that often results in through gentrification – primarily through landmark According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Continued on page A2 architecture that now sets the city center and University City, apart. First a model, Smith later was known for her TV “Over 50, and retirees, are moving back from the show and her home decor, and then for going public suburbs where they raised their children into Center City with her condition. and the Italian Market where I have lived since 1980,” Barbara Smith, the TV personality known as B. stated Dr. Margaret J. King, the director of The Center for Smith who was one of the country’s first high-profile Cultural Studies & Analysis in Philadelphia. black models and went on to become an author, “Of course, gentrification brings money into the city, restaurateur and lifestyle maven, has died after a sevenwhile it also drives up home prices – some houses have year battle with Alzheimer’s. She was 70. multiplied their asking prices 15 times over 40 years,” King Dan Gasby said in a Facebook post that Smith died noted. Saturday night of Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease in “Housing is being restored and renovated, making their home in Long Island, New York. more of the city habitable and in fact desirable. Now the “Heaven is shining even brighter now that it is suburbs have flipped into a working-class magnet as well as graced with B.’s dazzling and unforgettable smile,” a market for Millennials who can’t afford center-city prices Gasby wrote. yet,” King stated. Smith began her career as a model before going Gentrification isn’t just an issue in Philadelphia – not on to host the syndicated television show “B. Smith by a long shot. With Style,” a half-hour show about home decorating According to a March 2019 study by the National and cooking. She owned three restaurants, all called “B. Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), more than Smith,” wrote three cookbooks and launched several 135,000 Black and Hispanics around the nation were lines of home goods, including lines at Bed, Bath & displaced between 2000 and 2012. Beyond, La-Z-Boy and Walmart. Gentrification and displacement of long-time residents “I want to give people the license to not be perfect,” were most intense from 2000 to 2013 in the nation’s biggest Smith told the Sun-Times in 1999. “I want you to break cities, and rare in most other places, according to the study. the rules. It’s not about perfection.” During those years, gentrification was concentrated in Barbara Smith promotes a book at Marshall Field’s larger cities with vibrant economies but also appeared in State Street in 1999. Sun-Times file smaller cities where it often impacted areas with the most Her celebrity friends and fans mourned on social amenities near central business districts. media as the news spread Sunday. In Washington, D.C., 20,000 Black residents were ”The elegance. The grace. The style,” director Ava displaced, and in Portland, Oregon, 13 percent of the DuVernay tweeted. “#BSmith was one-of-a-kind.” Black community was displaced over the more than decade Al Roker praised Smith and Gasby for being at the period that was studied. forefront of Alzheimer’s research for people of color, Seven cities accounted for nearly half of the while Dr. Mehmet Oz wrote that she approached her gentrification nationally: New York City, Los Angeles, “with a spirit that made her light shine bright.” Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Diego, Philadelphia, PA, USA - March 6, 2018: Community members, activists and students protest the then fightFollowing a 2013 Alzheimer’s diagnosis, which and Chicago. she revealed in 2014, the lifestyle guru’s world grew proposed $130 million, 30,000-seat stadium on Temple University’s campus in North Philadelphia, more private, though she opened up about living with Pennsylvania. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA) the disease in a 2016 book, “Before I Forget: Love, Hope, Help, And Acceptance in Our Fight Against Alzheimer’s.” “I’m still myself. I just can’t remember things as well as I once did,” she wrote in the book co-authored by husband Dan Gasby and Vanity Fair contributing editor Michael Shnayerson. Smith and Gasby used the platform to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s, particularly within the black community. “Alzheimer’s is a 21st-century civil rights issue,” Gasby told USA TODAY in 2016 in a video Skype interview with Smith at his side. “Two out of three people with Alzheimer’s disease are women. Blacks are two to three times more likely to have Alzheimer’s. … And it drives people into poverty, in many cases taking away the gains that a sizable and growing portion of By Curtis Bunn, with “Beauty Beyond The Hair” clinics. people in the African-American community have made.” Urban News Service A Division of Zenger She travels the country up to 20 times a year to run Controversy ensued in Smith’s later years, when When Najah Aziz nodded off during an annual job four-hour “look and learn” sessions, three-hour business Gasby sparked outrage over acknowledging his performance review, she knew she had to make a move. seminars for salon operators and a seven-hour “Short Hair relationship with another woman as he served as his She wanted out of the insurance business and into the hair Boot Camp.” wife’s caregiver. salon, feeding a passion she developed as a child styling her Students get a crash course on business etiquette, Gasby said his wife of nearly three decades six sisters’ hair. marketing, community service and client retention and encouraged him to move on with his life after she Quitting the security of corporate America after 16 growth. learned of her diagnosis during a 2019 appearance on years, she told Zenger News, came with a second ambition: “The model for African American salons has been “The View.” to inject a new sense of professionalism into the African broken for a long time,” she said. “It’s been broken in ”When we got the diagnosis at Mount Sinai … she American hair industry. the way the businesses operated, the way business was stopped me, put her hand on my arm and … she said to Aziz eventually took the leap and put her evening conducted, the way stylists presented themselves, the me, ‘I want you to go on,’ “ Gasby said at the time. “I’m cosmetology classes to work. Fifteen years later she is a atmosphere in salons. not doing anything we didn’t discuss. ... I could have nationally recognized stylist, owns the Like The River “I was a client long before I became a hair care easily placed her into a facility and I would not do that. Salon in Atlanta and wages a one-woman national crusade professional and so I noticed all the issues. I sat in a salon This notion of vows, I’m keeping my vows. … Vows are for six hours to get my hair done. I watched stylists talk to protect, to care for.” on the phone as they worked. I saw people coming in off the street selling products to clients, while listening to rap music blast away. “And none of it felt right. In fact, it was all disappointing.” Aziz hosts some sessions at her award-winning salon where she coaches stylists one-on-one and in groups. And she offers hour-long telephone mentoring to share business advice. “I believe in her mission of being more professional in PORTERVILLE, Calif. (AP) – Murder charges our culture because it allows us to move in arenas that were have been filed against two 13-year-old boys suspected not available to us,” Loriane Robinson, stylist and owner of starting a blaze that killed two firefighters at a central of In God’s Hands Beauty Salon in Chicago,” told Zenger. California library. “We were completely blinded to the fact that the beauty Police said the boys were arrested after they were industry is bigger than making money doing hair.” seen running from Porterville City Library shortly after Robinson first spotted Aziz on Instagram and Najah Aziz. (Photo courtesy of Najah Aziz) flames erupted on the afternoon of Feb. 18. embraced her teachings in a 2016 session in Chicago. The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office “I’ve learned that our industry also has to first be about have limited wait time because there is no double-booking. on Friday filed two counts of murder with special being professional, on time for work, building your image, Aziz flexes her community-service muscle three times circumstances of multiple murders and arson, the social media presence, continuing to be a student,” she each year, offering complimentary hair care services to Visalia Times Delta reported. said. “When we apply her knowledge, create new habits, homeless women in Atlanta. “I believe in giving back,” she The boys denied the charges and remain in jail, the we can experience this multibillion-dollar industry in a said. newspaper said. Their names were not released because fresh and new way.” Her formula seems to work. More than 285,000 fans they are minors. They are scheduled to return to juvenile Jasmine Ashley, owner of a Los Angeles salon that follow her on Instagram, hair magazines feature her work court on March 11. bears her name, said, “Every time I see Najah she drops a and annual industry mega-events like the Premier Hair Firefighters Patrick Jones, 25, and Raymond jewel or several. I’ve learned from her that staying relevant, Shows and International Beauty Show give her platforms Figueroa, 35, were killed as they battled the flames current and professional at all times holds more weight to teach and tell her story. that gutted the library in the town about 50 miles (79 than stylists know.” “Najah is so amazing,” Brooklyn stylist Gillian Garcia kilometers) north of Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Aziz said she started slowly with one or two clients told Zenger. “I support her mission. It’s time the ‘black Valley. a day. But she studied hair videos in her off-hours and salons’ treat our gifts, talent and purpose with a little more The library was built in 1953 and did not have observed other stylists’ work, gradually building her respect. sprinklers, said Fire Capt. Joanne Bear. clientele. “I totally love that Najah continually references her It was not immediately known if the boys have “My intent was always to educate myself,” she said. corporate experience because we are professionals also. She attorneys who can speak on their behalf. “Even now, all this time later, I’m excited about learning has shown you can be creative, professional and business In California, children under 14 can’t be tried as savvy. She’s released an inner power within me and I have adults, even if they are charged with serious and violent Najah Aziz and Jasmin Ashley. (Photo courtesy of and improving.” Her salon is a soothing environment where clients not been the same since I met her.” felonies, such as murder. Najah Aziz)
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Man in Go Breaks in r Hides UndH e
Celebrating BLACK HISTORY Month
News Observer Bakersfield
Gentrification For Blacks is More a Curse than a Blessing
Bobcat Re After Beincove Police Car g Hi
Style Expert B. Smith Dies of Alzheimer’s Disease
Hairstylist on a One-Women Crusade to Turn Black Hair Salons into Business Powerhouses
Najah Aziz quit corporate America to become a beauty industry influencer, teaching other stylists about client retention and growth, business etiquette, marketing and community service.
Boys, 13, Charged with Murder in Library Fire