Cecilia Renee Withers
Central Avenue
“Yes. I don’t do fireworks. … There are a lot of dry areas around here and I don’t want to see anybody’s house burning up.”

Carol Merriweather
Jefferson Park
“Absolutely. I just think they are dangerous. My daughter got burned on her neck from fireworks that were set off this weekend. She was just watching.”

Rolando Medina
Jefferson Park
“Yes. … The penalties should not be too harsh, but there should most definitely be some restrictions on them.”

The post STREET BEAT: ‘Should there be harsher penalties for using illegal fireworks?’ appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Chuck Kronenfeld
Norwalk
“A little bit, but I don’t intend to change any of my summer plans.”

Princess Surjopolos
Norwalk
“I do worry a lot. I am concerned about the increase in terrorism.”

Paul Apodoca
Norwalk
“It’s always on my mind. If you see something, say something.”

The post STREET BEAT: ‘How much do you worry about terrorism?’ appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Both officers were responding to a call at a convenience store around 12:35 a.m. July 5 after receiving an anonymous tip that a man in a red shirt who was selling CDs had pointed a gun at someone.

A short cellphone video captured by a bystander shows what happened next: Two police officers yelled at Sterling to get on the ground. The officers then pulled him to the ground, pinning Sterling on his back. An officer yelled, “He’s got a gun!”

The video shows an officer holding down Sterling’s left arm, one officer aimed his gun at Sterling’s chest — at what seems to be point-blank range. Within seconds, at least one officer opened fire. Sterling was pronounced dead shortly after.

Shop owner Abdullah Muflahi told numerous media outlets that the officers were “aggressive” from the start, and that Sterling had his permission to sell CDs in front of the convenience store, and that Sterling wasn’t reaching for a gun.

Both officers are on administrative leave, per Baton Rouge Police Department policy, and an investigation, led by the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, is now underway. Both officers were reportedly wearing body cameras, and the police car had a dashboard camera as well.

The legal standard for use of force requires officers to reasonably perceive a threat at the moment of the use of force. Since Sterling was seemingly immobile in the video, he was not a threat and this shooting is another example of excessive use of force against a black man.

Ezell Ford, Tyisha Miller, Joe Joshua, Margaret Mitchell, Irving Landrum Jr., Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Alyana Stanley Jones, Rekia Boyd, Sean Bell, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Ron Settles, Amadou Diallo — the list seems endless of African-Americans who have died in confrontations with police or in police custody. Black people are much more likely to be killed by police than their white peers.

An analysis of the available FBI data shows that U.S. police kill black people at disproportionate rates: They accounted for 31 percent of police killing victims in 2012, even though they made up just 13 percent of the US population. Although the data is incomplete, since it’s based on voluntary reports from police agencies around the country, it highlights the vast disparities in how police use force.

Black teens were 21 times as likely as white teens to be shot and killed by police between 2010 and 2012, according to a ProPublica analysis of the FBI data.

“One way of appreciating that stark disparity, is to calculate how many more whites over those three years would have had to have been killed for them to have been at equal risk,” the analysis said. “The number is jarring — 185.”

There have been several high-profile police killings since 2014 involving black suspects. In Baltimore, six police officers were indicted for the death of Freddie Gray, who died while in police custody. In North Charleston, South Carolina, Michael Slager was charged with murder and fired from the police department after shooting Walter Scott, who was fleeing and unarmed at the time.

In Ferguson, Missouri, Darren Wilson killed unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown. In New York City, NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo killed Eric Garner by putting the unarmed 43-year-old black man in a chokehold.

One of the major problems in police reform is that officers rarely get prosecuted for shootings, and not just because the law allows them wide latitude to use force on the job. Sometimes the investigations fall onto the same police department the officer is from, which creates major conflicts of interest.

Other times the only available evidence comes from eyewitnesses, who may not be as trustworthy in the public eye as a police officer. If police are charged, they’re very rarely convicted.

The National Police Misconduct Reporting Project analyzed 3,238 criminal cases against police officers from April 2009 through December 2010. They found that only 33 percent were convicted, and only 36 percent of officers who were convicted ended up serving prison sentences. Both of those are about half the rate at which members of the public are convicted or incarcerated.

The killing of Alton Sterling remains chilling and one of the most disturbing videos of a human being killed I’ve ever witnessed. I’m not sure whether justice will be found in this case.

History has proven otherwise. But I do believe that if these unjust killings continue, it’s going to be a long, hot, bloody summer, and African-Americans won’t be the only ones bleeding.

Congratulations to Cynthia McClain-Hill. Mayor Eric Garcetti nominated the local attorney to the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners. Her nomination is subject to City Council confirmation.

“We are at an important moment in the history of the Los Angeles Police Department — a time when we are putting more emphasis than ever on building stronger relationships between officers and our communities, and putting transparency and accountability at the center of everything we do,” Garcetti said in a statement issued by his office. “Cynthia is a respected attorney, whose impressive record of service — including at the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, on the California Coastal Commission, and as a leader in the National Association of Women Business Owners — will bring valuable experience to the Police Commission.

“She is an independent thinker with a sharp and analytical mind, and shares my vision for an LAPD that fully embraces the demands of 21st century policing and gives officers the steady support they need to keep our streets safe.”

McClain-Hill is the co-founder of Strategic Counsel, and leads the firm’s land use, environmental law, and regulatory practice. In this capacity, she guides clients through California’s complex regulatory maze, while deftly anticipating and navigating the sophisticated legal issues that arise.

McClain-Hill’s legal, regulatory and public policy expertise has been sought by a number of public-sector boards and commissions throughout the state. She has served on the California Coastal Commission, the California Fair Political Practices Commission, and CalEPA Environmental Justice Advisory Working Group.

In addition, for the city of Los Angeles, she has served on the Community Redevelopment Agency, the Small and Local Business Advisory Commission, and the Los Angeles Mayor’s Economic Advisory Council.

McClain-Hill has also held a variety of civic and private sector leadership positions representing the business community, including president of the National Association of Women Business Owners’ National and Los Angeles Chapters. She also serves as a member of the board of directors of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

McClain-Hill received her juris doctorate  the UCLA School of Law in 1981 and was admitted to the California Bar that year. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from UCLA in 1978.

On a personal note, Garcetti’s nomination of McClain-Hill is huge for our community, which now has two African Americans on the commission. Commission President Matt Johnson will have a more than qualified new ally to help him and his colleagues in the quest for continued LAPD reform.

McClain-Hill is an icon in our community. And I would be remiss if I didn’t personally thank Deputy Mayor Jeff Gorrell, Supervisor, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Project Islamic Hope, National Action Network, Pastor Kelvin Sauls and a coalition of civic leaders from our community who helped in the selection process of McClain-Hill. Thank you, Mayor Garcetti, for being open to our advice.

You can get much more done on behalf of your community with dialogue and key relationships than you can yelling, screaming and making a fool out of yourself at Police Commission meetings. Keep yelling if it makes you feel good. I know were putting great people from our community in seats of power and influence. That’s what true, authentic and effective leadership is all about.

For news tips, email BrotherNajeeali@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter@Najeeali.

The post NAJEE’S NOTES: Another police shooting caught on video appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Describing purpose in those terms overlooks one important necessary element in the idea of purpose.

In deciding your life purpose, the element of a desired end, result or goal must be included. So purposewithout a goal to accomplish is not a purpose. It’s no more than something one likes to do, with no consideration for the quality of the finished product. Purpose is not whatyou do, but rather what you accomplish by what you do.

Purpose can be placed in two categories; earthly purpose and eternal purpose. The latter has both earthly and eternal impact, while the former falls short of any impact in eternity.

In the scriptures God has given us both earthly and eternal purposes. At the very beginning of creation, in Genesis 1:27, 28, he commanded all of humankind to “be fruitful and multiply.”

With this commandment he revealed his design for family that he expects all of us to follow throughout all of human existence; that male and female procreate and form families. Right behind this commandment, we find our earthly purpose; to provide for and preserve this family structure that he created at the beginning. Paul implies as much in 1Timothy 5:8.

Our eternal purpose perpetuates the idea of family in that its overall goal is constant growth of the family of God through his redemptive plan. Our part in the plan, our eternal purpose, is to partner with God in efforts to redeem those among humankind who will respond positively to witnessing and evangelistic efforts. Their eternal destiny depends on the choices they make.

As with any human endeavor, there are forces that constantly try to impede or completely stop our efforts to fulfill our purpose. The culprit in most cases is a “me first” mindset many of us harbor on the inside which moves us to place our fleshly desires at the top of our priority list.

In his gospel, Luke shares a time when Jesus was faced with this “me first” attitude (Luke 9:59-62).

In his travels he encountered two men who agreed to follow him in ministry. But both expressed a desire to first go back home for personal reasons, one to bury his father and the other to bid his family farewell.

Those do not seem to be unreasonable requests, but Jesus saw them otherwise. His responses seem hard, but they emphasize the level of commitment expected of his disciples.

Jesus’ responses to those two make one thing perfectly clear: commitment to God’s purpose should always be number one on one’s priority list. So, be sure your priorities are in order before you commit.

To go back, or even to look back, as Lot’s wife found out, is a dangerous thing to do. A backward step or glance detracts from one’s ability to fulfill his purpose.

Remember Paul’s advice in Philippians 3:13; forget what’s behind, reach for what’s ahead.

Rev. O.L. Johnson, a retired LAPD lieutenant, is an associate pastor in his home church, Greater New Zion Baptist Church, 501 W. 80^th St. in Los Angeles.

Pastor’s Corner is a monthly religious column that looks at the relevancy of scripture to life today. The column appears on the first Thursday of each month in the Wave and its website, www.wavenewspapers.com.

The post PASTOR’S CORNER: Life’s true purpose appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists report that an estimated 15 million Americans have undiagnosed thyroid problems and one in eight women will develop thyroid problems in their lifetime.

The thyroid gland affects a person’s physical energy, temperature, weight and mood. There are various types of thyroid disease: Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s disease, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, thyroid nodules, thyroiditis, goiter, and thyroid cancer.

Statistics gathered by the American Thyroid Association report that:

• More than 12 percent of the U.S. population will develop a thyroid condition during their lifetime.

• An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease.

• Up to 60 percent of those with thyroid disease are unaware of their condition.

• Women are five to eight times more likely than men to have thyroid problems.

• Most thyroid cancers respond to treatment, although a small percentage can be very aggressive.

• The causes of thyroid problems are largely unknown.

• Undiagnosed thyroid disease may put patients at risk for certain serious conditions.

• Pregnant women with undiagnosed or inadequately treated hypothyroidism have an increased risk of miscarriage, preterm delivery, and severe developmental problems in their children.

• Most thyroid diseases are life-long conditions that can be managed with medical attention.

Three years ago, Janice Marrow-Wright began to have difficulty swallowing food.  She also suffered from: confusion/disorientation, diarrhea, fever, heart failure, an irregular heart beat, nausea and vomiting, a rapid heart rate, weakness, and fatigue.

After about a week of drinking soup through a straw, Marrow-Wright contacted her primary care doctor and was referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist. Marrow-Wright’s specialist ordered a series of tests — blood work, iodine thyroid scan, and an MRI. She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid.

Marrow-Wright was prescribed Methimazole to treat the problem. Unexpectedly, the symptoms continued while she was on the medication. She went back to the specialist with complaints.

“For several months, I was given various medications to determine what might work,” Marrow-Wright said. “However, my condition worsened.”

The International Thyroid Federation states that the treatment of hyperthyroidism is more complex and no single treatment can treat all patients. Case in point are the Marrow twins: Marrow-Wright’s twin sister Ja’neece Marrow started to have throat problems, but her road to treatment and recovery was different. Marrow-Wright has Medi-Cal and Marrow has VA medical benefits.

Hyperthyroidism tends to run in families. One year after Marrow-Wright was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, her twin sister experienced swelling, pain and throbbing on both sides of her throat and difficulty swallowing, which continued for about a month. Marrow thought she had a sore throat. Her symptoms were not identical to her twin sister and she was unaware of the need and purpose of the neck check.

Marrow was tested with an MRI and blood work. The results were hyperthyroidism like her sister. A VA physician prescribed Methimazole, which is designed to interfere with the thyroid gland’s ability to make its hormones, and scheduled her for check-ups every three months.

“In January 2015, I started to experience the same throat symptoms again,” Marrow said. “Within two weeks, I was seen by the same VA doctor at the Jerry L. Pettis Medical Center in Loma Linda.”

Marrow was an E-4 sergeant in the U.S. Air Force for three years and nine months with an honorable discharge in 1979.

After additional testing with ultrasound, x-rays and iodine scan, it was discovered that Marrow’s overactive thyroid gland had enlarged. Antenlol, a stronger medication was prescribed. Within a few months, she had severe side effects and by July 2015, the medication did not seem to keep her thyroid in check.

“I rapidly lost weight, had an irregular heartbeat, diarrhea, and nausea for about 120 days,” Marrow said. “By October, I could not swallow any longer.”

For three months, Marrow could only get her nutrition from liquids.

Because the VA serves millions of active and retired service men and women, Marrow could not be scheduled until December for her next step in treatment.

“Although my wait to get treatment was a little long; I am fortunate to be 100 percent covered by the VA Administration Healthcare,” Marrow said.

Little is known about why specific individuals get thyroid problems.
(Infographics courtesy of NaturalHealthZone.org)

According to thyroid researchers and medical specialists, the treatment options are anti-thyroid drugs, radioactive iodine radiation, surgery, a permanent cure for hyperthyroidism; and beta blockers.

In December 2015, Marrow opted for the radioactive iodine radiation therapy, which is a widely recommended permanent treatment of hyperthyroidism because it causes the thyroid to dissolve and be eliminated through body waste.

While Marrow was thyroid–free, able to enjoy solid food and have the energy to exercise daily, her sister Marrow-Wright had a different experience navigating the Medi-Cal system.

“From April to September 2015, my care was substandard to my sister’s VA care and it took longer to resolve my issues and several trips to the hospital,” Marrow-Wright said. “My overactive thyroid landed me in the hospital for two weeks and again on Dec. 22, 2015 — three days before our birthdays.”

Based on Marrow-Wright’s medical history as a two-time cervical cancer survivor, she was not advised to undergo the radiation therapy like her sister.  The options were slim. However, after a thorough review of her eating habits and sedentary lifestyle, Marrow-Wright was given a health coach and an exercise and nutrition plan.

“For daily thyroid health, I eat one serving of berries to strengthen my immune system, one serving of cruciferous vegetables — broccoli, cauliflower, kale and cabbage — to decrease the amount of hormones my thyroid produces, salmon and eggs for the omega 3 and vitamin D, and three servings of dairy — cheese, yogurt or milk — to keep my bones strong,” Marrow-Wright said. “I keep my stress level to a minimum and get plenty of rest, which has contributed to my improved health.”

For the past seven months, the new food plan combined with medication and her sister’s suppport has Marrow-Wright back on track.  The twins have survived the thyroid storm of problems and continue to thrive.

For more resources and information about thyroid disease, contact the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons: http://www.endocrinesurgery.org/; American Thyroid Association: http://www.thyroid.org/; International Thyroid Federation: http://www.thyroid-fed.org/tfi-wp/; Light of Life Foundation: http://checkyourneck.com/; National Institute of Health/Medline Plus: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/thyroiddiseases.html and Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association: http://www.thyca.org/.

Marie Y. Lemelle, MBA, a public relations consultant, is the owner of Platinum Star PR and can be reached on Twitter @PlatinumStar or Instagram @PlatinumStarPR. Send “Health Matters” related questions to healthmatters@wavepublication.com and look for her column in The Wave.

The post HEALTH MATTERS: For thyroid problems, get your neck checked appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

SIX-INGREDIENT GRILLED SHRIMP

Makes 4 servings

These light and easy shrimp are a quick way to add a flavorful touch to a summer meal.  They’re great hot off the grill or served chilled as a salad topper or appetizer.

Skewers, metal or wooden

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 pound large shrimp (about 24), peeled and deveined  

Cooking spray for grills

Lemon wedges

Put wooden skewers in a pan, cover with cold water and soak for 30 minutes.

Mix paprika, garlic powder and cayenne together in a medium bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and canola oil.

Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Add to the bowl with the spices. Toss well to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Remove shrimp from refrigerator and thread onto skewers.

Lightly spray cold grill with Cooking Spray for Grills, following can directions. Heat grill to medium-hot.  Put shrimp on grill and cook, turning until each side is opaque, about 4-6 minutes. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Or, cool to room temperature and refrigerate, covered, in clean bowl for up to 2 days.

Nutrition information per serving: 160 calories; 6 g fat; .5 g saturated fat; 170 mg cholesterol; 170 mg sodium* ; 2  g total carbohydrate; 0 g dietary fiber; 0 g sugars; 23 g protein; 10% RDA Vitamin A; 10% RDA Vitamin C; 6 % RDA Calcium; 15 % RDA Iron

Sodium Savvy: Sodium levels in shrimp can vary greatly. For the most accurate sodium info, ask the counterperson to show you the packaging the shrimp came in.

Photo courtesy of Oleksandra Naumenko

CARROT RAISIN SALAD

Makes 4 servings

You’ll serve this luscious salad again and again.  Make it at least a few hours in advance and refrigerate so the flavors have a chance to come together and the carrots can soften a bit.

Dressing

1 ¼ cups plain nonfat Greek yogurt

½ cup fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon Crystal Diamond Kosher salt

¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Small pinch ground cloves

Whisk dressing ingredients together in large measuring cup. Set aside.

Salad

1 (10-ounce) bag shredded carrots, about 4 ½ cups

8 cups boiling water

1 cup chopped tart apple

1/3 cup raisins

½ cup chopped walnuts

Put carrots in a large colander. Place colander in the sink. Pour boiling water over the carrots and stir well. Cool to room temperature.

Pat carrots dry and place in a large bowl. Add apples and raisins. Stir. Pour dressing over the top and stir well.

Refrigerate, covered, at least three hours or up to overnight, stirring occasionally.  

Sprinkle with walnuts at serving time.

Nutrition information per serving: 190 calories; 5g fat; 0g saturated fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 155 mg sodium; 29 g total carbohydrate; 4g dietary fiber; 10 g sugars; 10 g protein; 240% RDA Vitamin A; 30% RDA Vitamin C; 10 % RDA Calcium;

4 % RDA Iron

Photo courtesy of GraphicStock

CREAMY BERRY CONES

Makes 4 servings

Filling the cones with sweet berries makes a classic summertime treat twice as good!

1 cup mixed fresh berries – blueberries, raspberries, and coarsely chopped strawberries

2 cups low fat frozen yogurt or reduced fat ice cream

4 ice cream cones, cake or sugar

Spoon berries into cones, dividing equally. Top each cone with a ½ cup scoop of frozen yogurt or ice cream. Enjoy!

There’s no nutritional information for this recipe since the berry mix, frozen treat selection and cone are all up to you.

If you’re diabetic, calculate your numbers.  If you aren’t diabetic, make sure you measure the frozen yogurt or ice cream and you’ll be in good shape.

Cooking questions? Email me at kitchenwithcarla@hotmail.com. Visit Carla’s blog in kitchenwithcarla.blogspot. com for more tasty info!

COPYRIGHT 2016 CARLA F. Williams ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The post IN THE KITCHEN WITH CARLA: Lazy bites of summer appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

The FBI announcement that there will be no criminal charges against Clinton July 5 was pure anti-climax. There weren’t going to be.

Yet, Republican presidential contender Donald Trump was so happy he couldn’t jump high enough when Bill Clinton met briefly with Attorney General Loretta Lynch. This supposedly was irrefutable proof that Lynch, and by extension President Obama and Hillary Clinton, were in cahoots to cook the books on the FBI and Justice Department probe into Hillary’s alleged misuse of State Department related emails.

Trump got what he wanted; namely much GOP lambasting of Bill for alleged deal-making to scuttle the probe, the quick recusal of Lynch from any direct hand in the probe, much chatter that Clinton was shady and a liar, and much media attention to the meeting that Hillary had with the FBI.

The three-hour meeting at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. was the icing on the attack Hillary cake. It supposedly was even more proof that Clinton was in real hot water, and maybe, just maybe, there could actually be charges brought against her.

As I said, that was never going to happen. For the simple fact that’s been a fact from the moment the whiff of scandal arose about Clinton’s use of a private server to read and send State Department related emails, there was no wrongdoing involved.

There was never a shred of evidence that Clinton jeopardized national security by the use of her private server. The protocols about the use of a private email server to conduct official government business were tightened after Clinton’s State Department tenure.

However, there is indeed some momentary political fall-out from Bill’s meeting with Lynch.

The fact that Clinton did meet with Lynch at all, no matter what the circumstances and no matter that there wasn’t a word spoken about the probe, gave Trump and the Republican Party more ammunition to plant the seed even deeper in the general public that the Clintons are the personification of sleaze, and that President Obama is anything but a neutral arbiter in the Justice Department probe.

That in turn reinforced the very widespread notion that Clinton is prone to shade the truth about embarrassing or compromising issues. That all comes on top of incessant polls that practically join Hillary at the hip with Trump as the two presidential candidates who have the highest negatives in living presidential memory.

The presidential campaign is fast getting the moniker of the race to the bottom and the impression that if Clinton wins, it won’t be about her sterling political competence, qualities, leadership, experience and acumen, just that fewer people held their noses about her than Trump.

The Bill-Lynch meeting was also a case of horrible timing. It came days after the report on the Benghazi debacle that found that Clinton had no culpability in and for the attack. That seemed to presage the expectation that the same finding would be made with the email flap. The probe would find nothing on Clinton.

Bill’s meeting with Lynch hitting the news cycle hard drowned that notion out at least for the moment.

Then there’s the recent polls. Trump’s stock has been going south in most polls. And virtually every time he lets fly a fresh zinger about firing TSA employees with hijabs, slandering a Mexican judge, or tweeting with an anti-Semitic construed emblem about Hillary, this knocks another point or two off his popularity.

That makes the anti-Trump panic among many GOP party regulars and potential donors and handlers soar higher. So, for the moment, Bill’s meeting and the FBI interview seemed to offer welcome pause in the downhill run for Trump.

The single slender thread that Trump clings to about the email probe is that Clinton is indicted in the days before the election. That won’t happen. But it won’t stop Trump from dropping strong hints every chance he gets that it should happen and if it doesn’t, he’ll circle back and plop the blame for this on the alleged collusion to kill charges by variously, Bill, Hillary, Obama and Lynch.

The great pity is that the continued GOP, media and public obsession with Clinton’s emails at times blur, ignore and flat out dodge any real talk about tax reform, job growth and the economy, health care, wealth and income inequality, civil rights, environmental concerns and criminal justice reforms. These are the issues that any election should be about, and what the media and the public should care about.

Bernie Sanders famously said at one of the early debates with Clinton that he was sick and tired of hearing about the damn emails and said the only thing that should be on the table for debate and discussion were the real issues. He got loud cheers from the mostly Democratic audience for telling the truth.

There was never much chance though that the email scandal would fade to the non-issue that it is and should be. But Bill notwithstanding, whenever it’s dredged up it’s still much ado about nothing.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is the author of “Let’s Stop Denying Made in America Terrorism” (Amazon Kindle). He also is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One and the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles and the Pacifica Network.

The post THE HUTCHINSON REPORT: Still much ado about Hillary’s emails appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

She chose L.A. for our leadership in technology and social media; I was proud to share our successes in building stronger relationships between the Los Angeles Police Department and everyday Angelenos, and tell her about our plan to increase transparency and accountability by becoming America’s largest city to put body cameras on all patrol officers.

But we didn’t want the attorney general to go back to Washington without a firsthand look at a program that is a crown jewel in our work to reduce gang violence: Summer Night Lights. The program — which now keeps nearly three dozen recreation centers open until 11 p.m. during the summer months, with special activities, sports, job opportunities and meals for young people and families — grew out of a program that I started as a City Council member.

I started “At the Park After Dark” at Glassell Park in 2007 after the senseless killing of 16-year-old Melissa Paul. She was walking with her boyfriend near that park, when she was struck in the back by a bullet that her killer meant for a gang rival.

The following year, the program was renamed and expanded to parks throughout L.A., focused specifically in neighborhoods that have struggled with gang violence.

Attorney General Lynch was impressed by the success of Summer Night Lights, and she has every reason to be, because there’s no questioning the program’s value and effectiveness: despite an uptick in crime that hit L.A. and other large cities in America over the last year, 20 of the 32 neighborhoods with Summer Night Lights saw no change or a decrease in crime.

Since its inception, Summer Night Lights has hosted more than 4.9 million site visits and last year alone served more than 452,000 meals. This year’s program will create over 800 jobs, including 352 positions for youth squad members between the ages of 17 and 24.

That’s an incredible record, but it also speaks to something that I believe very strongly: At its heart, this work is about stories, not statistics. It’s about the things that we can’t always count: the bullet that won’t be fired, the young man who won’t get mixed up in a gang, the families that feel safe enjoying a summer evening outdoors in their own neighborhood.

It’s about Angelenos like Jermaine Edwards.

Jermaine is a father of three who made some mistakes in life and ended up behind bars for seven years. When he came home, the Summer Night Lights program at Slauson Recreation Center gave him a place to enjoy time with his family and find resources that helped him start to rebuild his life.”

“When I got out of jail, I had hopes of doing right. … I was able to take my kids [to Summer Night Lights] and be an active participant in their lives, show them a different route than the route that I took,” he said. “Summer Night Lights opened up new doors for me to meet new people that could assist me on my transformation, show me certain programs like Community Build and PV Jobs, which helped me get into the construction field.”

Today, Jermaine is on the construction crew that is putting in the new Crenshaw-LAX rail line, which is now more than halfway complete. He’s building L.A.’s future, and feeling good about his own.

“I feel like I’m giving back to my community after causing havoc,” Jermaine said. “I’m providing for my family, making a living and setting an example for my kids, and their kids’ kids.”

Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “Community Report” column runs the first Thursday of every month in The Wave. For more information about Summer Night Lights 2016, go online to lamayor.org/snl. Learn more about Jermaine’s story at lamayor.org/jermaine.

The post COMMUNITY REPORT: Changing lives under L.A.’s brightest ‘Lights’ appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Frances Davis
Vermont Knolls
“Independence Day in the ’hood just means fireworks and M80s and loud noises. But really Independence Day probably means a day to remember that you are free.”

De’Ana Cooper
Mid City
“Being free, open and … yourself. Back in the day … my ancestors were so closed in. They could only do a small amount of things. So, now we can actually be us and go out and strive.”

Flora Wiley
Exposition Park
“Independence Day is the blessing to be in the land of the living. I am glad of that. I am 87. I can go out and have some cake … for my birthday on the sixth of July.”

The post STREET BEAT: ‘What does Independence Day mean to you?’ appeared first on Wave Newspapers.