June 23, 2016 

City News Service 

 

Activists on Wednesday criticized the arrest of an 81-year- old black man during Tuesday’s Los Angeles Police Commission meeting, saying police unnecessarily dragged and wrestled him to the ground after his comments were deemed “off-topic.”

 

Police arrested William Hayes —who is also known as “Tut” Hayes — a regular attendee and speaker during the commission's public comment period. Hayes was accused by police of resisting arrest, and was detained in county jail for about two hours before being released.

 

Activists with Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Community Action Net­work, and other groups chastised the commission on Tuesday for allowing police to tackle Hayes, a “senior citizen,” to the ground.

 

They issued a statement saying the commission’s regular “tactic” of stifling free speech “reached a new low” on Tuesday, and also released an edited video of the incident.

 

The footage, which appears to be sped up, shows two officers on either side of Hayes grabbing him by the arms to move him away from the public comment podium. Hayes appeared to be struggling to get out of the officers’ grasp, and at one point Hayes — still being held by officers — was on his knees and falling forward.

 

The video is at https://youtu.be/ nB5LfoGowVE.

 

Activists who regularly attend the meeting complain that the commission regularly seeks to silence members of the public who make critical comments, and called on Mayor Eric Garcetti to “remove” Police Chief Charlie Beck and commissioners who “ordered the arrest and oversaw the brutalization.”

 

Los Angeles Police Depart­ment spokeswoman Liliana Preciado said the department does not have a response to the activists’ criticisms, and police commissioners were not immediately available for comment.

Category: News

June 23, 2016 

LAWT News Service 

 

CBC Chairman G. K. Butter­field (NC-01) and members of the CBC recently joined Democratic Leadership and their colleagues to stage a sit-in on the House Floor demanding House Republican Leadership immediately take up a vote on legislation that addresses gun violence in America.

 

“Today is a historic day in the history of our country as members of the Congressional Black Caucus participate in a sit-in on the House Floor to demand legislative action on gun violence.  Congress can no longer simply hold moments of silence for the victims of gun violence.  We must act, and we will not leave the House Floor or Washington, D.C. without taking action to prevent the next tragedy.  We are proud to stand with our esteemed colleague, Congressman John Lewis, and we stand united in our demand for immediate action on common sense gun legislation!”

 

 

Category: News

June 16, 2016

 

LAWT News Service

 

 

In their ongoing collaboration to promote STEM studies and encourage high school students to pursue careers in the energy industry, Californians for Energy Independence (CEI) and the Los Angeles Urban League partnered to sponsor a half-day tour and behind-the-scenes look at one of the leading companies providing affordable, safe and reliable energy in California.

 

Approximately 22 high school students from Middle College High School in Los Angeles toured California Resources Corpora­tion’s (CRC) THUMS Long Beach facility on Wednesday, June 8.

 

Students interested in science, technology, engineering, math, government, and/or environmental studies found this tour particularly insightful as they plan for upper division high school and college course work.

 

The tour provided a great opportunity for students to:

 

• Learn about the variety of high-paying and fulfilling careers in the energy industry;

 

• Learn how energy is responsibly produced; and

 

• Meet and see first-hand the diversity of the industry’s workforce and the opportunities available to them in the energy industry.

 

Students were motivated by seeing the diversity of the employee base and were able to visualize a future for themselves in the industry.  They discussed their career paths at CRC and heard advice about navigating college life.

 

 In April, CEI and the Los Angeles Urban League sponsored a half-day educational program for more than 80 high school students in Los Angeles to bring the possibility of an energy career into focus.  Students heard from a representative from the California State University, Los Angeles MESA (Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement) program, which helps educationally disadvantaged students attain four-year degrees in engineering or computer science.

 

The ongoing partnership between CEI and the Los Angeles Urban League is committed to providing students with an understanding of California’s energy industry now and in the future.

 

Nolan Rollins, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League said, “To open opportunities you must open your eyes.  The energy industry sees opportunities in communities of color and communities must see economic freedom in fields not often thought of.”

 

The oil and gas industry is responsible for 455,940 jobs statewide, is an important part of California’s economy and at $118,032, the average wage of someone working in the oil and gas industry is more than twice as much as other private industries in California.

 

Background on California Re­sources Corporation’s (CRC) THUMS Long Beach:

 

THUMS comprises four man-made islands in Long Beach Harbor that are owned by the City of Long Beach, as well as onshore facilities. The THUMS islands were named after four astronauts who died in the line of duty in the early years of the U.S. space program.

 

Under the terms of an agreement between THUMS, the City of Long Beach and the State of California, the THUMS islands were designed to blend in with the surrounding coastal environment. Drilling rigs and other above-ground equipment are camouflaged and sound-proofed, and wellheads and pipelines are located below the islands’ surface to enhance the appearance of the harbor and skyline.

 

THUMS’ unique combination of production functionality, visual appeal and environmental and safety features has garnered the facility dozens of awards and recognition from local, state and national organizations. All four THUMS islands have been recognized for commendable wildlife habitat management. Since 2004, the environmental team at THUMS has worked with environmental and community groups to establish and maintain California plant habitats on the islands.

Category: News

June 16, 2016 

By TAMARA LUSH 

Associated Press 

Patience Carter lay bleeding on the floor of the bathroom in club Pulse. She recalled looking into the stall next to her, and seeing bloody handprints on the wall and people draped over a toilet. Some were dead, others moaned in agony. She turned her head to see her best friend, lifeless.

 

Then she heard the voice.

 

“Where is it?” the man demanded when he heard a ringing cell phone. “Give it up.”

 

She was safe now — reclining in a hospital chair, a white blanket draped over her lap and legs as she told her story Tuesday to a packed news conference at an Orlando hospital. Her words transported a rapt audience to the horrific moments of early Sunday June 12, when a nightclub turned into a slaughterhouse.

 

Carter, a 20-year-old Philadel­phian, was visiting Florida for the first time, vacationing with her two friends. Her friends’ parents drove them to Pulse that evening after they saw it had five-star reviews on Google. When they walked in, they started chatting with others immediately.

 

“The sweetest face greeted me,” said Carter. “I told her that her shoes were the cutest I’ve ever seen.”

 

That woman let Carter be her plus-one, so they could save on the cover charge.

 

Amanda Alvear, the kind woman with the cute shoes, would not survive the night.

 

Carter and her friends, Tiara Parker and Akyra Murray, danced and laughed.

 

“We were just all having the night that we dreamed of,” she said. “It was the most beautiful bonding experience three girls could have on their first night on vacation.”

 

At 2 a.m., just before the club was about to close, Carter tapped at her phone to order an Uber ride.

 

“That’s when we started hearing the gunshots,” she said. Maybe, she thought, it was something the DJ was playing to get people to leave. “I was so confused.”

 

She and Murray had separated from Parker and were in the outdoor patio area. Carter insisted on going back inside for her friend.

 

The shots continued and the trio ran to a bathroom with other panicked clubgoers.

 

It all seemed so unreal.

 

“I was even Snapchatting in the bathroom stall,” she said.

 

And then, the unthinkable: The shooter entered the bathroom and sprayed bullets. Blood was everywhere.

 

“At that point, we knew this wasn’t a game. This was very real. It was shock; we just went from having the time of our lives to the worst time of our lives in a matter of minutes.”

 

Carter was shot in the leg, and tried to wedge herself into the next stall. She heard the shooter make a phone call to 911. He said he wanted America to stop bombing his country.

 

“We knew what his motive was. He wasn’t going to stop killing people until he was killed,” she said.

 

She thought she heard the shooter talk with other co-conspirators. He said he had snipers outside. She could not believe one man could cause all this mayhem.

 

The gunman walked out and they heard more gunshots. Over the next long minutes, people texted loved ones and tried to call 911 themselves. The man came back into the bathroom and ordered all to silence their phones.

 

She watched as his feet backed into the stall where she was lying.

 

“Hey you,” he said to one man.

 

Then he shot him.

 

And another person, and another.

 

One of those people shielded Carter, sparing her life but losing her own.

 

Then a SWAT team broke through a concrete wall with a battering ram, busting the water pipes. The shooter and police exchanged gunfire and water flooded the floor.

 

“If they don’t get to me soon, I’ll die in pile of bloody water,” she recalled thinking.

 

She managed to pull herself into the other stall and sit up. She’d already been talking to God.

 

“I really don’t think I’m going to get out of there,” she thought. “I made peace with God. Just please take me, I don’t want any more. I was just begging God to take the soul out my body.”

 

But then, she was free. A SWAT team member picked her up and dragged her by the arms through the grass.

 

Akyra, her friend, didn’t make it. She had just turned 18.

Category: News

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