Family affair in runoff election - Broadcast Interactive Media

A2 Thursday, May 12, 2011 Inglewood/Hawthorne/Gardena/Lawndale Wave • Southwest Wave/Southwest Topics/Angeles Mesa & Tribune • Central News/Southside Journal/Compton/Carson/Wilmington Wave
P LICE ACTIVITY
Blotting out crime, one call at a time
Two held in string of shotgun robberies
Two people were arrested Wednesday in connection with a series
of armed robberies in the Koreatown, Harvard Heights and West Adams
areas, but a police captain said detectives have not linked the
hold-ups to the slaying of an MTV music coordinator.
Late Wednesday morning, offi cers swarmed a parking lot in the
area of Washington Boulevard and Tenth Avenue and took two people
into custody at gunpoint. They also impounded a light blue sedan
that appeared to match the general description of a vehicle used in
the crimes.
By late afternoon, one of the suspects who had been detained was
arrested, and information he provided led them to a second suspect,
police said. The names of the suspects were not immediately released.
Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Matt Blake said police believed
the same suspects may have been involved in as many as nine
robberies that occurred in the area beginning April 29. The robberies
included at least one instance in which a victim fought back, prompting
one of the suspects to open fi re, Blake said. The victim was not
injured.
Blake insisted, however, that police have not connected the robberies
to Sunday’s slaying of MTV music coordinator Gabriel Aron
Ben-Meir in the mid-Wilshire area. Blake also noted that a person
was killed by a shotgun blast in the area on April 30 during an apparent
attempted robbery.
“When he (the victim) didn’t give up his property, he (the suspect)
turned the shotgun on him, and he is deceased,” Blake said.
Blake said the robbery suspects also had not been linked to that
killing, although he conceded there were similarities in the crimes
and that “shotguns are kind of a rare weapon to be used in a street
crime.”
The search for suspects in the robberies had prompted a tactical
alert for Los Angeles police offi cers early this morning. Offi cers had
been looking for two Black men in their late 20s or early 30s, 5 feet 9
inches tall, with an average build and dark clothing. Victims said one
of the suspects was armed with a rifl e or shotgun. The suspects were
driving a silver or blue American-model sedan.
In one of the robberies, the suspect was described as having a duffel
bag with a rifl e or shotgun inside.
The most recent robberies included on that occurred at about 6:15
p.m. Tuesday near Eighth Street and Normandie Avenue, Los Angeles
police Detective John Skaggs of the Olympic Station said.
In a second robbery, the suspects approached a pedestrian on the
street about 9:40 p.m. Tuesday near Sycamore Avenue and Westhaven
Street, Skaggs said.
In a third robbery, a pedestrian was robbed about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday
in the 1800 block of South Oxford Avenue, near Washington
Boulevard, Skaggs said.
Victims of all three robberies had the same description of the suspects,
Skaggs said.
Public assistance program puts
focus on healthier food choices
BY LEILONI DE GRUY
STAFF WRITER
A little more than half of
county residents who qualify for
the federally funded supplemental
food benefit, formerly known
as food stamps, take advantage
of the program, according to the
county Department of Public
Social Services.
Marking May as CalFresh
Awareness Month, the department
is joining with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, the
California Department of Social
Services and more than 25 community
partners to get the word
out to the public.
They will be scouring community
centers, recreational centers,
worksource centers, senior
centers, Social Security offices,
schools, churches, faith-based
organizations, food banks, food
pantries and farmers markets in
order to reach those who are eligible
for the program, but either
do not know it or are hesitant to
apply due to a lingering stigma.
“These are places that we
know are important gathering
points where we can do outreach,”
said Bill Taylor, director
of intergovernmental relations
for the county Department of
Public Social Services. “There
is a misconception that food
stamps signify a certain kind
of person. But we know that by
looking at our data that a lot of
people who receive CalFresh
benefits are employed or underemployed.”
Yet, they are not the only ones
in need, Taylor added, noting
that senior citizens, immigrants
and the homeless also rely on
the program.
The food stamp program
became CalFresh last year in
an effort to encourage healthy
food options. Instead of the old
food stamp coupons, recipients
are now issued electronic debit
cards that can be swiped at most
grocery stores and food marts
when purchases are made.
The Department of Public
Social Services is using mobile
vans to enroll qualified people
into the program at various
farmers markets and other places
within the next month.
“That helps with the stigma
or the way they may feel if they
have to walk into one of our
offices and wait in line,” said
a CalFresh representative. “We
are doing whatever we can to
make the program convenient.”
The campaign — which
includes television and radio
advertisements featuring national
civil rights organizations that
Whitney Houston
enters drug rehab
BY ALAN DUKE
CNN
Whitney Houston is
getting new help for her
much-publicized struggle
with drugs and alcohol, her
representative confirmed
Monday.
“I can confirm that
Whitney Houston is currently
in an outpatient rehab
program for drug and alcohol
treatment,” Kristen
Foster said. “Whitney voluntarily
entered the program
to support her long-standing
recovery process.”
No details about the treatment,
or what led to the
singer’s decision to start it,
were released.
Illness forced Houston
to postpone several shows
on the European leg of her
“Nothing But Love” comeback
tour a year ago.
represent the poor — is a coordinated
effort to increase access
and participation in food assistance
while reducing food instability
in the most populated parts
of the county. According to the
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
the number of homes lacking
adequate food has more than
tripled in the last four years.
When the recession began,
unemployment was slightly
over five percent, said Phillip
Browning, director of the
Department of Public Social
Services. With the unemployment
rate now between 12 and 13
percent — and in some minority
communities even higher than
that — CalFresh participation
rates have increased dramatically.
“Too many people have lost
their homes, they have lost their
jobs or have had to go part-time,
instead of full-time,” Browning
said. “We have added around
400,000 new individuals to the
program but estimates show
that there are hundreds of thousands
of individuals still in Los
Angeles County who are eligible.”
Understanding that there are
language barriers, the campaign
will produce a special message
for Spanish speakers and will
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Singer Whitney Houston, who has
had a well-documented struggle with
substance abuse, is in an outpatient
rehabilitation program.
Call for details! 1-888-817-0471
Promo Code: TN111578
answer questions about immigration.
“We are trying to hammer on
the fact that immigrants can be
eligible and that their immigration
status does not affect eligibility
in that regard,” Browning
said, “nor does it affect their
citizenship.”
When asked what the partners
will do to target the African-
American community, who are
considered highly eligible but
less likely to apply, a CalFresh
representative said “we are not
targeting any group specifically,
we are targeting anyone that
may be eligible that we cannot
reach otherwise.”
Added Browning: “We hope
this campaign shines a light on
the critical role CalFresh plays
to help folks struggling to make
ends meet and keep nutritious
food on their tables.”
For more information visit
http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/
foodstamps.
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