Davis is Black Engineer of the Year
Cosby Changes Strategy in Sexual Assault Trial
News Observer FREE!
Los Angeles
Volume 33 Number 19
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
“Everyone In Day” in Los Angeles
The Board of Supervisors voted to proclaim Friday, March 9, 2018, as Everyone In Day throughout Los Angeles County, to encourage everyone to take part in ending the crisis of homelessness. Everyone In Day comes almost exactly a year after voters passed Measure H, which created an unprecedented funding stream dedicated to providing resources for the County’s strategies to end and prevent homelessness. It coincides with the launch of the Everyone In campaign led by United Way of Greater Los Angeles, with support from a coalition of philan-
thropic, business, labor, faith-based and community organizations. Everyone In is aimed at engaging and activating people across the county to help their most vulnerable neighbors obtain the services they need to build stable lives. “Everyone In will create opportunities for education and engagement so that all of us can work together to help those who are as yet homeless in the restoration of their dignity and their purpose in life,” said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. Homeless Initiative Director Phil Ansell said, “I’ve been consistently sharing a quote from the Buddha who said that a
single candle can light a thousand others without diminishing itself. The launch of the Everyone In campaign will be a critical next step in continuing to grow the number of candles that are lit, and to increase the intensity of those burning candles as we work together to bring our homeless neighbors home.” United Way President and CEO Elise Buik noted that in a recent survey commissioned by United Way, 69 percent of respondents from across the County said they would back supportive housing in their own neighborhoods. “The Everyone In campaign is really about harnessing and activating what we see as that silent majority who really want to be a part of the solution,” she said. Though Measure H was approved in March 7, 2017, the County began collecting the revenue only on October 1, 2017. The County has been implementing a range of strategies to address homelessness, including expanding outreach, health and mental health services for persons living on the street; increasing the number of interim housing options with enhanced services; and rapidly deploying home-based support services for formerly homeless people who have moved into stable housing environments. Thanks to the infusion of resources from Measure H, from July-December 2017, the expanded street outreach teams have connected with more than 7,500 people experiencing homelessness. Almost 3,000 people have been linked to essential services, and another 500 people have been safely moved indoors into temporary housing, including motels and recuperative care facilities. Meanwhile, almost 100 people have received their own keys to stable, affordable housing that includes support services. And the County is still ramping up its efforts, creating about 1,000 jobs at its partner community-based organizations to help carry out the work. Measure H is a 1/4-cent special sales tax that would generate approximately $355 million annually over a decade to help 45,000 families and individuals escape homelessness within five years, and prevent homelessness for 30,000 others.
Man Accused of Stealing Oscar By MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A man was arrested and is accused of stealing Frances McDormand’s Oscars trophy after the Academy Awards on Sunday night, Los Angeles police said. Terry Bryant, 47, was arrested on suspicion of felony grand theft, said Officer Rosario Herrera, a police spokeswoman. “After some brief time apart, Frances and her Oscar were happily reunited. They celebrated the reunion with a double cheeseburger from In-N-Out Burger,’’ McDormand’s publicist, Simon Halls, told The Associated Press. McDormand received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.’’ The Oscar statuette was allegedly stolen during the Governors Ball after party, authorities said. Bryant had a ticket for the event, Herrera said. Bryant was stopped as he was leaving the Governors Ball after a photographer took his picture holding the trophy, police said. The photographer didn’t recognize him as a winner and began following Bryant. When he was confronted, Bryant handed back the statuette without a fight, police said. He was detained by security guards at the event and arrested by Los Angeles police officers. The award was later returned to McDormand.
Host of the Academy Awards Jimmy Kimmel poses with Terry Bryant, who just hours later was arrested and accused of stealing Frances McDorman’s Oscars trophy.
The two-time Oscar winner, who swept trophies at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, Independent Spirit and BAFTA ceremonies, beat out Sally Hawkins of “The Shape of Water,’’ Margot Robbie of “I, Tonya,’’ Saoirse Ronan of “Lady Bird,’’ and 21-time nominee Streep of “The Post’’ at Sunday’s Oscars. In “Three Billboards,’’ McDormand played Mildred Hayes, a hardened woman seeking justice for her daughter’s murder in the crime drama. Her first Oscar came for the 1996 film “Fargo,’’ directed by her husband Joel Coen and his brother Ethan. Bryant was being held on $20,000 bail Monday, police said. There was no immediate reply to a message sent to one of Bryant’s social media profiles and it wasn’t clear if had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. A video that posted live on a Facebook page that appeared to belong to Bryant showed him kissing and flaunting a statuette during the Governor’s Ball. “Look it, baby. My team got this tonight. This is mine,’’ he said, turning the trophy toward the camera, before kissing it on the head. As he spun around in a circle, Bryant solicited congratulations from those around him. “Who wants to wish me congratulations?’’ he asked fellow revelers who were walking by, before posing for several selfies. “You know what, I can’t believe I got this.’’ No one named Terry Bryant won an Oscar on Sunday.
Students Give Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief
Ivon Alcime, a graduate communications major, helps build a cement wall at the School of Good Samaritans as part of a previous Alternative Spring Break in Haiti after the country was struck by an earthquake that devastated much of the island. (Justin D. Knight/Howard University)
By Tatyana Hopkins NNPA Special Correspondent WASHINGTON—When Oluwakanyinsola Ade-
bola signed up to do community service as part of Howard University’s Alternative Spring Break, she knew she wouldn’t be joining her classmates and thousands of other
college students who use their week off to party and play in the sun and surf of Jamaica or Aruba or any of a half dozen other Caribbean locations. Instead, Adebola would be part of the hundreds of Howard students who, each year for more than 20 years, have given up their traditional spring breaks to serve in communities in need in places like Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Memphis and New Orleans. Ironically, Adebola will travel to a Caribbean island after all. She will be in Puerto Rico aiding the millions of U.S. citizens still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria, which hit the island on September 20. The storm, which had 155 mph winds, caused at least $90 billion in damage, destroying thousands of homes, killing at least 60 people and decimating the island’s already deteriorating power grid. Currently, about 1,200 generators power some of homes, hospitals and schools while seven larger, more powerful energy centers, called microgrids, provide energy to key areas near important buildings like hospitals and schools. Electricity, however remains a challenge. Recurring blackouts plague the island, and about 340,000 people, are still without power. The blackouts have upset traffic and interrupted water service to dozens of neighborhoods, including the historic Old San Juan in the nation’s capital. The Federal Emergency Management Administration has been providing relief and rescue efforts, providing meals and water to residents. Adebola and 47 other students, accompanied by two faculty advisors, land in Puerto Rico Friday, March 9, and begin a week of work on Monday, March 12. The ASB participants will paint schools and fix homes and churches in and around San Juan, the island’s capital. Howard students will also visit and assist in the daily activities at two Boys and Girls clubs in Las Margaritas and Bayamón about 20 minutes outside of San Juan. Students and faculty will be staying about an hour west of San Juan Continued on page A2
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Maxine Waters: “I Certainly Expected Trump’s Racist Remarks”
WASHINGTON (AP) _ A black congresswoman says President Donald Trump is racist for joking about her intelligence and again called for his impeachment. Democrat Maxine Waters of California fired back after Trump referred to Waters’ previous calls for his impeachment at the Gridiron Dinner this weekend in Washington. Trump said at the dinner: “Maxine Waters, ‘He must be impeached!’ That’s all she knows how to say.’’ He added, “She has to immediately take an IQ test.’’ Waters said Sunday on MSNBC: “He has been name-calling. He’s been saying all kinds of things. And I certainly expected him to come out with some racist remarks about me. So, he did exactly what I expected him do.’’ The White House did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment on Waters’ allegation.
More Civil Rights Groups Support Appeal in Voter ID Lawsuit
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) _ More civil rights groups are challenging a federal judge’s ruling that an Alabama voter ID law is not discriminatory. Alabama has required voters to present government-issued photo identification since 2014. The Alabama NAACP and Greater Birmingham Ministries sued over the law in 2015, arguing that it disproportionately affects minorities. U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler ruled in favor of the state in January. He concluded that the state helps voters get IDs and Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill offered a mobile service to make home visits. The plaintiffs appealed the ruling on Feb. 21. The ACLU of Alabama, ACLU Voting Rights Project, Lawyers’ Committee and Campaign Legal Center submitted a brief in support on Thursday. Plaintiffs are asking for a rescheduled trial before the state’s primary elections in June.
Alabama’s ‘Bloody Sunday’ Racial Violence of 1965 SELMA, Ala. (AP) _ Several members of Congress joined civil rights activists and others Sunday afternoon for the annual commemoration of a day of racial violence in Selma dating to 1965. A bipartisan group including Rep. John Lewis of Georgia led the crossing of the Edmund Pettus Bridge. It was to recall “Bloody Sunday,’’ when voting rights protesters were attacked by police as they attempted to cross the bridge. “It’s very meaningful to come back here, to come back to this historic site and be here with so many wonderful people. It’s a beautiful day here today in Selma,’’ Lewis said as he was surrounded by his peers, the Selma Times-Journal reported. Lewis, then a young organizer, was among those injured then. That violence set the stage for the Selma-to-Montgomery march, which helped build support for congressional approval of the Voting Rights Act months later. Sen. Kamala Harris from California, who spoke at the Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast, said she felt a mixture of emotions walking across the bridge. “It’s bittersweet,’’ Harris said. “It’s sadness and pain at the thought of what they endured 53 years ago, but it’s also inspiration about again fighting for the best of who we are and honoring those who have been heroes and are still heroes.’’ The annual celebration drew tens of thousands of people in 2015, when then-President Barack Obama spoke near the base of the bridge as former President George W. Bush listened.
1 of Last Survivors of 1921 Tulsa Race Riot Dies at Age 99
TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ One of the last known survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race riot has died. The daughter of Hazel Smith-Jones of Tulsa, Yolanda Mitchell, says Jones died Sunday. She was 99. Smith-Jones was not yet 3-years-old when the May 31June 1 riot destroyed much of a neighborhood called ``Black Wall Street.’’ She had said she remembers her family being taken to the local fairgrounds and held for two or three days before being released. The violence began after a black man allegedly assaulted a white woman in an elevator. The number of deaths were never confirmed and vary from about three dozen to 300. 1921 Tulsa Race Riot Centennial Commission director Jamaal Dyer says two known survivors of the riot are still living, one in Chicago and one in New York.