May 05, 2016 

LAWT News Service 

Congresswoman Janice Hahn (CA-44) recently announced that Frontier Communications and Time Warner Cable have accepted her request for a face to face meeting regarding carriage of SportsNet LA. Representatives from both companies will meet in the Congresswoman’s San Pedro office on May 5. The congresswoman hopes that this will be a step toward finding a solution to the Dodgers Blackout currently affecting 60% of Los Angeles region households.

 “I appreciate Frontier Communications and Time Warner Cable for agreeing to meet,” said Hahn. “I am happy to welcome Frontier to the Los Angeles region and I believe this is an opportunity to endear themselves to their new customers and to Dodger fans everywhere.”

 “Dodger fans are sick of this blackout and they want to know that all sides are actively working toward a solution,” she added.  “I hope that other cable companies will follow their example and agree to meet. I am hopeful that this will be a productive meeting and that Dodger games will be back on fans’ TV sets soon.”

 To date, Hahn has met with Time Warner Cable, Dodgers executives, and every major cable and satellite provider in the Los Angeles region regarding the issue, said a Hahn spokesperson.

April 28, 2016 

By James Clingman 

NNPA News Wire Columnist 

Coalition-building is the best way for Black people to make the kind of progress we need to make in this country, especially when it comes to economic empowerment. Some have posited that Black people are swiftly becoming obsolete. From the agricultural economy to the industrial and mass production economy Black folks, in some cases, had it going on. Many individual Blacks did quite well with jobs and businesses in those areas. As we moved through the technology/information economy and now into the knowledge-based economy, the rules for survival have changed.

Are Black people as a group becoming obsolete? Someone said, “All the shoes have been shined and all the cotton has been picked,” which suggests that Black people are no longer needed by White folks, therefore, if we do not change our ways when it comes to business and job development we will indeed become obsolete. Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington and Marcus Garvey spoke of a time when we would have to consider the question of Black obsolescence if we did not awaken from our deep sleep and refuse to be dependent upon the largess of others for our sustenance.

The strength we gain from coalescence will bring about this much-needed change, and one major step is to reach out and connect with other likeminded people of African descent. This should be done on a national and an international level, the closest area being just south of our country—the Caribbean.

One of the greatest Africans in modern history was born in Jamaica. Of course, that would be Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Look across the Caribbean and you will find other Blacks who knew and followed through on solutions; they took action rather than merely talk about their problems. They stood up against aggression, ignorance, and oppression. They understood and followed through on the value of educating their people, and they subscribed to the lessons their elders left behind.

Haitian history shows us strength and refusal to submit to enslavement; it also shows us resolve and a willingness to help others, as in the case of Haitian soldiers going to Savannah, Georgia to fight against the British in the Siege of Savannah on Oct. 9, 1779, during the U.S. Revolutionary War. We also remember the irrepressible Toussaint L’Ouverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and Henri Christophe, Haitians who led the only successful slave revolt in the western hemisphere.

Many Black people came to the United States from the Caribbean and brought with them the same spirit, the same dedication and drive, and the same resolute character that causes men and women to seek for themselves, as Richard Allen taught back in 1767. Our Caribbean brothers and sisters have come with the determination to do for self, to rely on self, to cooperate with one another, and build an economic system within their own ranks. This article is written in an effort to celebrate our people and establish relationships that will engender cooperation among our people.

Marcus Garvey instructed us to do one thing prior to taking on economic empowerment initiatives. He told us to “Organize!” He shared with us the truth about economic empowerment over political empowerment and how we should seek economics first. He said, “The most important area for the exercise of independent effort is economic. After a people have established successfully a firm industrial foundation they naturally turn to politics and society, but not first to society and politics, because the two latter cannot exist without the former.”

Lessons from Garvey and others have led a precious few of us to implement strategies that, in fact, will lead to economic empowerment; we need many more. One such effort is the One Million Conscious Black Voters and Contributors (OMCBV&C), which was established on Garvey’s words, “The greatest weapon used against the Black man is disorganization.” The OMCBV&C movement is underway, actively recruiting that critical mass of Black people who will take action rather than merely talk about problems. The One Million will leverage dollars and votes to obtain reciprocity in the marketplace as well as in the public policy arena.

In the tradition of Marcus Garvey, the One Million is organized, cooperative, and supportive of one another. It is entrepreneurial in its philosophy regarding ownership and control of income producing assets. The One Million is molded in the very practical notion of using our own resources to help ourselves and our children. We are committed, dedicated, sacrificial in our giving, and unapologetically Black as we pursue our ultimate goals of economic and political strength—in that order.

Black people, no matter where we were born or where we live, must appreciate the fact that we started out in the same place and our differences emanate from our experiences in the nations where our ships docked in the western hemisphere.

James Clingman is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people. His latest book, “Black Dollars Matter! Teach Your Dollars How to Make More Sense,” is available on his website, Blackonomics.com.

April 21, 2016 

By Elizabeth Hsing-Huei Chou 

City News Service 

Mayor Eric Garcetti this week unveiled a proposed $8.76 billion spending plan for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, setting aside about $138 million to address homelessness.

The plan is 2 percent, or $175 million, bigger than the current year's budget, with about $5.6 billion coming from the general fund. The budget also sets aside $322 million for the reserve fund.

“My back to basics agenda ... has been resting on the idea of a city that is well-run,” Garcetti said at City Hall. “This budget maintains our increased investments in those basic core services that Angelenos deserve and expect.”

“This $8.6 billion budget is ready to act in the interest of the people of Los Angeles,” he said. “This budget is both bold and prudent.”

This spending plan represents the “first time since the great recession” the city would be expanding the fire department, the mayor said. It calls for the hiring of 230 firefighters to replace retiring ones and to expand the overall number of firefighters.

The budget contains more funding for homeless programs than in previous years and responds to a call by city leaders last year to dedicate more city funds to address the tens of thousands of people living on the streets of Los Angeles.

“This commitment represents a housing first strategy that we know works ... that came from L.A. but that has not been scaled up enough to deal with the ongoing onslaught of new homeless individuals we see on our streets (who) have been pushed out, whether it’s from jails, foster care, whether it’s veterans returning home from war or folks who are pushed onto the streets by rising rents,” Garcetti said.

Nearly half of the money being proposed for homelessness — about $64.7 million — would come from the general fund, plus $6.4 million from special accounts, under Garcetti’s plan.

Much of this funding would go directly to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the primary provider of housing and services for the homeless in the county. Some funds would pay for “smart teams” in the Los Angeles Police Department that are trained in dealing with people with mental illness, and for “hope teams” that will be deployed to remove encampments and refer homeless individuals to services.

City officials said that chunk of the homeless funding comes from “one- time” money, and an ongoing source would be necessary. Garcetti proposed in his state of the city address last week that the city ask voters for more funding.

Garcetti is proposing to come up with the rest of the $138 million for homelessness by charging development fees on projects —which would generate $20 million — and by selling off or converting into affordable housing about $47 million worth of city-owned property.

The remaining funding would go into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which could then be used to build housing for the homeless, though not necessarily during the upcoming fiscal year.

The spending plan also in­cludes $12 million for street cleaning, $14.8 million to maintain the police force at 10,000 officers and offer more overtime hours, and $17.3 million to hire and train 230 new firefighters.

The proposal also calls for expanding the civilian city workforce by 500 people, part of a larger agreement with city employee unions to hire 5,000 new people over the next three years. The new positions would be created in the Bureau of Sanitation, Los Angeles Police Department, Building and Safety and General Services departments.

The budget also includes $31 million for sidewalk repairs, which the city is required to spend under a lawsuit settlement agreement.

The release of Garcetti's spending plan starts a budget hearing process, with the City Council expected to review its details and make recommendations over the next few weeks. The first hearing is set for April 27.

Councilman Paul Krekorian, who chairs the Budget and Finance Committee, called the mayor’s proposal “a solid start.”

“I’m happy to see the mayor supporting the council’s work by funding our newly created sidewalk repair program, improving the way the city serves the business community and rebuilding the ranks of our fire department,” he said. “One area I will examine more closely during the budget hearings is the considerable commitment to fund homeless services. As we continue to chip away at the structural deficit, we have to make sure the city can pay for any new services we want to create. We also have to make sure there is an adequate plan to implement them.”