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Inside This Issue
Tri County’s Only MulticulturalNewspaper Newspaper TheThe Tri County’s Only Multicultural
TRICOUNTY COUNTY TRI
ENTRY ENTRY VOL. XXVI NO. 15
JANUARY 26, 2018
Gospel Star Edwin Hawkins, Known for ‘Oh Happy Day,’ Dies n See page 12
Parole Denied for Manson Follower Van Houten By Andrew Dalton The governor of California once again denied parole Friday for Leslie Van Houten, the youngest follower of murderous cult leader Charles Manson who blamed herself at her parole hearing for letting him control her life. Gov. Jerry The 68-yearBrown said in old Van Houten his decision that Houten still is serving life for Van lays too much the murders of of the blame wealthy grocer Leno on Manson, died two LaBianca and his who months ago at wife, Rosemary, 83. B r o w n when Van Houten acknowledged was 19. that Van Houten’s youth at the time of the crime, her more than four decades as a model prisoner and her abuse at the hands of Manson make it worth considering her release. n Van Houten, see page 2
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CBC members gather during a press conference outside of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. in September 2016.
Photo courtesy Freddie Allen
CBC MEMBERS PLAN STATE OF THE UNION PROTEST DURING MEMBERS-ONLY MEETING, CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS PLANS PROTEST OF TRUMP AT STATE OF THE UNION By Lauren Victoria Burke During a lengthy, membersonly meeting on Capitol Hill on January 19, members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) discussed various options to protest the current President of the United States. Their protest plans centered around the annual State of the Union address.
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RESIDENT Donald Trump’s second State of the Union address is scheduled for January 30. The meeting the CBC held to talk over State of the Union protest plans occurred only hours after 66 members of the House voted to act on impeaching the President. That effort was led once again by Black Caucus member Rep. Al Green (D-Texas). Rep. Green’s second impeachment try failed 355-66. Three Democrats voted “present.” Weeks after Donald Trump reportedly called Haiti, El Salvador and the continent of Africa “shithole countries” during a meeting on immigration with members of Congress in the Oval Office, many members have had it.
CBC members who attended the discussion confirmed that several options of protesting President Trump were discussed including walking out, wearing African themed garb and even not showing up to the State of the Union at all. The more vocal members included Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.). During an interview with Buzzfeed on January 17, days before the meeting, Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) mentioned the CBC might hold its own State of the Union. “We will…discuss how we want to respond to the president’s State of the Union. We could go, we could go and walk out, we could go and hold up fists... or we could not go, or we could hold our own ‘State of the Union,’” Richmond said. A few Black Caucus members have already stated that they will not attend the president’s State of the Union address. They include Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.). Some CBC members are concerned about Congress’ largest caucus not being unified in protest, whatever form n Protest, see page 7
Suspect in Fatal Shooting of 3-Year-Old Turns Himself In COMPTON—Sheriff ’s homicide detectives continued their efforts today to prevail on the suspect in the shooting death of a 3-year-old boy to turn himself in, authorities said. Detectives were negotiating with the suspect’s family and his attorney to facilitate his surrender, sheriff ’s Deputy Wally Bracks said. The department declined to name the suspect. The shooting occurred at 7:44 p.m. Saturday in the 2800 block of West Alondra Boulevard in Compton, said Deputy Charles Moore of the Sheriff ’s Information Bureau. Franklin Ponros died at a hospital, the coroner’s office reported. n Police, see page 7
More Accusers Want to Testify at Bill Cosby’s 2nd Trial
By Michael R. Sisak Prosecutors this week asked a judge to let jurors at Bill Cosby’s spring retrial hear from 19 other accusers. They want to show that even though he is charged with drugging and sexually assaulting one woman at his home near Philadelphia, it was part of a pattern over five decades. The women are among about 60 women who came forward to accuse Cosby of drugging and molesting them. At Cosby’s first trial, which ended in a deadlock, prosecutors had tried to call 13 other accusers to testify. The judge allowed only one to take the stand. Last Thursday, they renewed their request to have the 13 women testify, and added six more to the list. The new potential witnesses n Bill Cosby, see page 2
Mudslides Take Heavy Toll on Immigrants Serving Upscale California Town By Julie Watson Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe give Montecito its star power, but it’s people like Antonio and Victor Benitez who keep the wealthy Southern California community running. The Mexican brothers are gardeners and part of the town’s working-class immigrant population, which suffered outsized losses from the recent mudslides that killed at least 21, injured dozens and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes. Antonio and Victor Benitez suffered broken bones and each
lost a child. Antonio’s wife was killed. Victor’s wife was killed—her body was found Saturday—and his toddler son was injured. Nearly a third of those killed in the Jan. 9 mudslides were from immigrant families working in service jobs in the largely white and retired Pacific coast town of 9,000. Many of these families are from developing countries seizing the opportunities provided by the area’s wealth to make a better life for their children. Among them was 30-year-old Pinit Sutthithepa from Thailand who worked at a Toyota dealership
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We’ve let everyone know the importance of being available to one another to share their grief. REV. PEDRO LOPEZ
in Santa Barbara and sent money to his wife and two children for years before being able to bring them to the United States in 2016. The mudslides killed him, his
6-year-old son and his 79-yearold stepfather. Crews are still searching for Sutthithepa’s 2-yearold daughter. His wife and mother were working at a grocery store when rocks and rushing water obliterated their home, Mike Caldwell, Sutthithepa’s boss wrote on a GoFundMe page seeking help for the family. Martin Cabrera Munoz, 48, worked long hours as a landscaper so he could send money to his children in his native Guanajuato, Mexico. He was sleeping in the room he kept at his boss’s home
when an avalanche of mud ripped through the property. “He wanted to give his kids a better life,” his youngest sister, Diana Montero, told the Los Angeles Times. His funeral was held last week at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Santa Barbara, where people are also mourning the deaths in the Benitez family. The Rev. Pedro Lopez has tried to offer words of comfort to his tightknit, Spanish-speaking parish—but he knows the healing will be slow and painful. n Immigrants, see page 7