December 22, 2016 

Associated Press 

First lady Michelle Obama tells Oprah Winfrey that this past election was “painful,” but says she and her husband will support President-elect Donald Trump’s ongoing transition to the White House and beyond be­cause it’s “what’s best for the country.”

Mrs. Obama sat down with Winfrey at the White House for an hour-long special that was broadcast Monday on CBS.

Michelle Obama was a vocal supporter of Democrat Hillary Clinton during the campaign, one she told Winfrey “was challenging for me as a citizen to watch and experience.”

“It was painful,” she added.

The first lady touched on her emotional remarks on the campaign trail following the revelation of Trump’s graphic and predatory comments about women in a 2005 recording. Obama told a New Hampshire crowd in October that Trump’s remarks about grabbing women had shaken her “to the core.”

“A lot of people have been shaken to their core and still are,” she told Winfrey. “They are still feeling the reverberations of that kind of caustic language.”

Still, Mrs. Obama says she and the president are supporting Trump’s transition because “no matter how we felt going into it, it is important for the health of this nation that we support the commander in chief.”

“It wasn’t done when my husband took office, but we’re going high, and this is what’s best for the country,” she said, a reference to her comments during the campaign that when opponents go “low,” Demo­crats should take the high road.

Some congressional leaders refused to support her husband when he took office, Mrs. Obama said, adding that the strategy was “good for politics, but it wasn’t good for the country.”

As for her own political future, Mrs. Obama says she won't run for public office.

“People don’t really understand how hard this is,” she said. “It’s not something that you cavalierly just sort of ask a family to do again.”

December 22, 2016 

By Brandon Brooks, Managing Editor and 

Jennifer Bihm, Assistant Editor 

Los Angeles Police Depart­ment Deputy Chief William Scott said he will miss home but is looking forward to rising up to new challenges when he takes a position as San Francisco’s police chief in about four weeks. SF Mayor Ed Lee reportedly recruited Scott on the heels of several police shootings in the city involving African Americans and Latinos. His new job, he told the Sentinel on Tuesday, is not to go into the department to make changes, but to implement changes the organization has already established.

“I’m coming in to facilitate what’s already going on,” he said.

“I’m making sure there is a plan and a process to get to where we need to get to in terms of fixing those things that [the shootings] uncovered. What I look at is the process. How the department dealt with those incidents and what did they learn from it. That’s with any department, including LAPD… what do we do moving forward to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“I do think, in my research and everything that I’ve studied and read [I’ve seen that] they have done that. They have made some adjustments. [So] you’ve got to look at the process... what’s the commitment to make sure that those changes really happen. So, those are all challenges but thankfully, they have already started that process…”

For the last 27 years, the 52-year-old officer has led Los Angeles’ South Bureau working assignments in patrol, detectives, gangs, Operations West Bureau, Internal Affairs, Professional Standards Bureau, the Office of Operations, Patrol Commanding Officer and Area Commanding Officer. He is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute of Policing (SMIP), and has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. According to news reports from San Francisco, Mayor Lee may garner criticism of himself for choosing an outside candidate for the position as opposed to the perceived front runner Toney Chaplin, currently SFPD’s acting police chief.

Chaplin is also African American. Meanwhile, Scott said he will always consider Los Angeles home and  that he would be a frequent visitor.

“[San Francisco] is really an honor. I’m humbled. It’s a huge challenge and I definitely understand the responsibilities and the expectations in front of me.  [But that being said] I must also say that I will always love L.A. and the people I’ve met through my journey through LAPD and friends that I’ve made and all that.

“That’s the hardest part of this really, is just leaving those people. I mean I love the organization that I’ve called home for the last 27 years. It’s more about the people though…”

Los Angeles Sentinel Publisher Danny Bakewell Sr. agrees.

"Scott is not only a policeman, he is a community man,” he said.

“What makes him a unique person in this day in age in law enforcement is he can be called upon and relied upon and unfortunately in L.A. he will be missed. We wish him all the best and San Francisco got themselves a hell of a police chief."

Said LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck, "The Bay Area's gain is LA's loss. Bill's tactical skills, intelligence and kindness embody the spirit of our department."

Scott credits many people for his success in law enforcement but none more than his mother, he said.

“Her name was Thelma Scott,” he told the Sentinel.

“She is deceased now but she was an inspiration to me and raised us well and taught me the things that I needed to do to be a productive citizen and a good human being. She was an inspiration.”

Sixty one candidates applied to the job in San Francisco, according to news reports from SFGATE.com.

His longtime administrative experience plus his work dealing with police reform here, figured into Lee’s decision, they said.

They also said Scott’s appointment came at a “crucial moment for San Francisco police.”

On Wednesday night, the Police Commission in San Francisco addressed a new set of use-of-force policies sharply opposed by the police union, they said.

For instance, “officers would be prohibited from shooting at moving vehicles — a mandate that has been adopted in many places but, according to the police union, would leave officers with no option if a homicidal motorist started running people down.

“The neck hold known as the “carotid restraint” would also be barred. But without first supplying officers with stun guns as an alternative, the cops would have no choice but to use more lethal force, the police union argued…”

"We are changing as a city," Lee said. "We are changing on the standards of what we expect the officers to do."

“I’m happy for the people of San Francisco, I think they couldn’t have made a better choice than Bill Scott,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson.

“He’s been a real asset to the South Bureau of LAPD, with supportive community policing, deep community relationships as well as stellar crime prevention numbers. I call on the mayor and Chief [Charlie] Beck to ensure that we get commiserate leadership that has a high regard for community policing, community relations and crime prevention like Chief Scott. We really let a good one get away.

“South Bureau is very important to the city of L.A. People say as South Bureau goes, so goes the entire Los Angeles Police Department. With Chief Scott’s leadership, he helped bring about very good public safety numbers at a time when crime was dramatically going up across the country. It’s a bureau that has a disproportionate amount of officer involved shootings and homicides but he’s been able to keep people involved and keep people talking…”

December 15, 2016 

By Kimberlee Buck 

Contributing Writer 

Imagine having one of your children killed in an accident by a police officer, as a result you begin self-medicating and experience what it is like to be incarcerated. When you are ready to stand on your feet, there aren’t any resources or services in your community. What are you going to do?

A New Way of Life Re-entry Project (ANOWL) founder Susan Burton, didn’t have to imagine, she lived it.

“Following the death of my son, I medicated my grief and pain with alcohol and it progressed to illegal drugs and I was incarcerated for it,” said Burton. “Every time I was released back into the community of South L.A. there were no resources or services available to help me create a new path or a new life for myself.”

After Burton was released, she received services in West Los Angeles. But, she still remembered the lack of services available to women in her own community. This inspired her to create a community-based organization whose mission is to provide solutions for women and families effected by incarceration.

The organization provides housing for women upon release, family unification, organizing policy and political education.

ANOWL has partnered with UCLA’s Critical Race Studies Department, which allows ANOWL to house six attorneys to help with the post-conviction release of clients.

During the beginning stages of ANOWL, Burton received very little support from her friends and family.

“It was a group of women pulling and supporting one another but over the last five years, there has been quite a bit of support,” said Burton. “In 2010, I was named one of CNN’s Top 10 Heroes, and that gave a lot of visibility and legitimacy to what I was doing and that brought a lot of people on board. “

At many times Burton felt alone.

“People actually threw rocks at our house in the night. So, there are times when I feel challenged but what I do is rise to the challenge. I remember one day when I felt so discouraged, I went to my mailbox and got a letter out from 116 Jewish little children at a Jewish school. They said they collected nickels, dimes, quarters and dollars to help support the women at ANOWL. The check totaled about thirteen hundred dollars. I said, if these little kids can believe and have faith, what’s wrong with me,” said Burton.

As Burton looks back at her ANOWL journey, she is pleased with how far she has come.

“Looking back over, one thousand women have come through the doors of ANOWL. Of those ­thousand, nine hundred have made it and have been successful. I am very pleased and proud of what we have accomplished,” said Burton.

The ANOWL founder is still in touch with some of the women today. In fact, on Sunday, December 4, a few of the women who received support from ANOWL attended the New Way of Life Re-Entry 18th Annual Gala and Awards, at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel. 

This year over 500 people were in attendance, making it the largest attendance for the organization yet. During the gala, the following nominees were honored, New York Times Best-Selling Author, Michelle Alexander, Filmmakers Emma Hewitt and Tessa Blake, Dr. Cheryl Tawede Grills, Ph.D. Vasanté Bailey and Carolyn Robinson.

Hewitt and Blake were honored for the documentary they made on ANOWL tilted, “Susan.” The documentary can viewed on www. anewwayoflife.org/. The documentary is also available on YouTube.

Burton hopes viewers are able to take away the struggle and victory of re-entry, the determination of women who are finding themselves, community acceptance and the heartache of the journey.

Aside from the release of her documentary, the ANOWL founder has a special announcement, in May of 2017, the public will be able to purchase her memoir, “Becoming Ms. Burton.”

“I see this book bringing attention to women and the lack of services. The memoir will be promoting, enhancing and duplicating the model of A New Way of Life, said Burton.

To find out more information on how you can get involved with A New Way of Life Re-entry Project, visit www.anewwayoflife.org/  or call (323)563-3575.