Compiled by Arnold Adler outside the Bellflower Post Office.

Sherry Costa
Bellflower
“No way. He’s incompetent.”

Maria Cornejo
Bellflower
“I don’t seriously think he could be.”

Mario Melburne
Long Beach
“Yes, he could. I like him. I think he will lower taxes.”

The post STREET BEAT: ‘Can Donald Trump be elected president of the United States?’ appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump upped the ante again on arguably the single biggest campaign issue that Trump and Hillary Clinton backers are the most anxious about.

That’s who gets to appoint who to the Supreme Court during the next four to eight years. There could be anywhere from two to four vacancies in that time span.

Trump upped the ante in three ways. The first was when he again tossed out the name of the late Antonin Scalia during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.

That was not simply a double down on his praise of Scalia as the judge who along with Clarence Thomas is at the top of his high court hero’s list. It sent the strongest signal that his picks will not just be garden variety strict constructionists, but activists and influencers on the bench.

They will be judges who won’t just base their rulings on the standard conservative playbook, but will cajole, hector and badger other judges to toe the hard conservative line in their rulings. And who will have the gall when it suits their purpose not even to try and hide it.

Scalia was the textbook example of that kind of judge. He didn’t even try to make a constitutional cover for his court push to give the Florida election to George W. Bush in the 2000 election.

As he famously and shamelessly said that “the only issue was whether we should put an end to it, after three weeks of looking like a fool in the eyes of the world.”

Scalia played that part to the max. Nowhere was that on more stunning display then for the two decades that he served as the court schoolmaster for Thomas.

Along the way, he ensured that the other justices looked hard over their shoulders at him when they huddled to craft an opinion in a case. It was no accident that with Scalia gone from the court it looks and even sounds like an almost moderate court on some of its rulings on abortion rights, affirmative action, voting rights and the feds paying for contraceptives at church-owned hospitals. The outcome would have almost certainly been different if Scalia had been there.

Republican vice presidential contender Mike Pence made the Trump-Scalia axis official when he vowed to a campaign crowd in Michigan that Trump’s high court pick would hit the bench with the practically sworn duty to slam down the curtain on Roe v. Wade. That was tantamount to promising to say to heck with law, prior rulings or deliberations, the judge would just knock out abortion rights period.

Pence didn’t stop there. He repeatedly tossed out the mantra that Trump will appoint strict constructionists in his appointments and not just for a Scalia type judicial hit on abortion rights. It was a prime advertisement for unapologetic conservative judicial activism in the cookie cutter mold of a Scalia.

Trump didn’t publicly drop Scalia’s name at the convention solely because he considered him the judge with the right stuff. It was the one name that he knew above all others who was considered a demi-god among party ultra-conservatives, pro-lifers and evangelicals.

They have from time to time voiced big doubts about Trump’s less-than-stout conservative pronouncements about abortion, Planned Parenthood, religious values and law and public policy decisions as translated by the courts. With the non-endorsement of him at the convention by their shining knight Ted Cruz, this makes it even more imperative for Trump to send the signal that he will move mountains to find and nominate Scalia-type activist judges to the high court.

In decades past, many Democratic and Republican-appointed justices have scrapped party loyalties and based their legal decisions solely on the merit of the law, constitutional principles and the public good. Scalia was a judicial horse of a different color.

The tip-off that judges like him would vote their ideology rather than the law came from George W. Bush. On the presidential campaign trail in 2000, Bush was asked if elected what kind of judge he’d look for and nominate. He didn’t hesitate.

He pledged to appoint “strict constructionists” to the court and specifically named Thomas, Scalia and William Rehnquist as the judges that perfectly fit that description. By then, the three had already carved out a hard line niche as three of the most reflexive, knee-jerk, reactionary jurists to grace the court in decades. Their votes to torpedo, water down, eviscerate or erode rights on all issues from abortion to civil rights were so predictable they could have been mailed in.

A Supreme Court judge can sit on the court for years, even decades and watch as legions of Republicans and Democrats come and go in Congress and the White House. Scalia certainly did.

All the while, they are shaping and remaking law and public policy for decades to come with their votes, rulings and opinions.

Trump may not know much else but he knows that a few more Scalias on the bench will ensure that the high court does just that, and his way.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is the author of “How President Trump Will Govern” (Amazon Kindle). He 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: Trump could appoint four Scalias appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

While the Democratic Party is famously diverse, the televised face of the party was notably black and female at the party’s recent national convention in Philadelphia.

In speech after speech touting unity and togetherness, cameras singled out black women, especially during the climactic speech by Michelle Obama in which she explicitly connected the experience of breaking the first lady color barrier with the prospect of Hillary Clinton breaking another barrier by becoming the country’s first woman president.

By the time Clinton took the stage July 28, the message was clear: in this very crucial election, black voter support of Clinton is essential — and black women’s support of the first woman candidate is most essential of all. Eight years ago, they made history by voting for Obama in record numbers and putting him in the history books; they can do the same for Clinton in 2016.

News analysis

Thus far, black women have thrown their vote solidly to Clinton — she won the demographic easily in the primaries, especially in the South. One reason is that this year’s “hope and change” candidate, Bernie Sanders, simply didn’t make enough inroads into black communities to tap the vote Obama mined in 2008. Another reason is familiarity: black folks have been loyal to Bill Clinton since he was first elected in 1992, and Hillary is, in some ways, an extension of her husband.

It helps that Hillary has a track record advocating for families, children and the disabled, and that, as a lawyer, she worked for civil rights. She never had the same warm public persona as Bill — the oft-described first black president — but her seriousness and air of no-nonsense still resonated with black women. Neither was she an Eleanor Roosevelt — who openly championed racial justice when her husband FDR couldn’t or wouldn’t — but Hillary was connected with such notable black women as Marian Wright Edelman, a key mentor.

It was significant that at the DNC convention, black women were not just delegates but held prominent leadership roles: Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake opened the convention, and longtime political strategist Donna Brazile took over for embattled former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

On the second day of the convention, soul singer Alicia Keys gave an impassioned performance of  “Superwoman,” a number dedicated to Mothers of the Movement, a group of black mothers of children who had been slain by gun violence.

The song wasn’t explicitly about Hillary, but it dovetailed with the convention’s theme of Clinton ushering in a new movement herself by being elected America’s first woman president.

But not everyone is buying this heavily marketed picture of cross-racial political sisterhood. As we’ve been hearing throughout the campaign, young people are significantly less enthusiastic about Clinton than older folks — and black women are no exception.

Bernie Sanders’ national press secretary was Symone Sanders, a black millennial and one of many black progressive voices that repeatedly expressed disenchantment not simply with Hillary, but with the Clintons generally. Those voices reject a status quo that they believe doesn’t serve the interests of black folks — and hasn’t for a long time.

Earlier this year, both Clintons were put on the defensive when members of Black Lives Matter and others took Hillary to task for her remark in 1996 that certain gang members were “super-predators” who the government had to “bring to heel” — comments that seemed in step with the law-and-order times.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was joined on the podium at Los Angeles Southwest College in April by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, who praised the former secretary of state during a campaign stop. Waters also spoke last week on Clinton’s behalf at the Democratic National Convention. (Photo by Maria Iacobo)

But now that many people are reviewing how we got to this place of unabated police brutality and mass incarceration, it’s clear that the path was paved with the policies of President Bill Clinton, who despite being popular with black folks, built the success of the Democratic Party largely by tacking to the right. That meant that Democrats and Republicans have converged on many things in the years since, including a push for so-called law and order.

But all these critiques are being somewhat overshadowed by Democratic zeal to defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump. Blacks have their issues with Hillary, but Trump is beyond unpopular; he recently polled at an unheard-of zero percent amongst likely black voters.

While unprecedented, the zero support number should not be too surprising, given Trump’s open xenophobia, his penchant for quoting fascists like Mussolini and his recent declaration that he, like Richard Nixon before him, would run as the law-and-order candidate in 2016.

It isn’t hard for Democrats to sell the idea that Trump would be a disaster for black people — and pretty much all people with a stake in the notion of social justice and equal treatment.  But, once again, black people are being asked to sacrifice ideals for pragmatism, to vote not so much to advance their interests but to avert total ruin.

It’s the familiar lesser-of-two-evils scenario that’s particularly unappealing this year, as Democrats of all colors, including black women, have fought hard to pull the party back to the left.

Most problematic of all, black women are being asked to vote alongside white feminists who see Hillary as a champion of their cause. But black women have a tortured relationship with the feminist movement, to say the least.

Historically, the feminist movement has not stood with black women in their campaigns of racial equality. Time and again, suffragists and other proto feminists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries refused to join arms with fellow black suffragist, anti-lynching activist and journalist Ida B. Wells.

Rep. Shirley Chisholm was the first black and the first woman in either major party to run for president in 1972; and though the National Organization for Women personally endorsed her, it officially endorsed white, male George McGovern (to be fair, black elected officials did the same thing).

We are faced today with the same scenario of voting strategically in order to keep the country out of the clutches of rabid conservatives who exploit racial fears in order to keep themselves in power.

Hillary surely doesn’t have the magic Obama had — the magic that wooed black women away from her to his campaign in 2008. This time, black women will have to bring the magic to Hillary’s cause in order for another kind of history to be made.

The post This year, ‘lesser of two evils’ tough to embrace appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Rep. Karen Bass and Donald Trump are the reasons why the hashtag #DiagnoseTrump has been trending on social media.

Amidst rumors that many top Republicans are frustrated with Trump due to his feud with a gold star family and because of his erratic behavior, the Democratic congresswoman has decided to question the mogul’s mental health openly.

Bass, D-Los Angeles, has started a petition where she is asking for Trump to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. According to Bass, many of the billionaire’s actions make her believe that he might be suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder and is, therefore, unfit to be president. The petition filed on Change.org reads in part:

“Donald Trump is dangerous for our country. His impulsiveness and lack of control over his own emotions are of concern. It is our patriotic duty to raise the question of his mental stability to be the commander in chief and leader of the free world. Mr. Trump appears to exhibit all the symptoms of the mental disorder Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). Mental health professionals need to come forward and urge the Republican Party to insist that their nominee has an evaluation to determine his mental fitness for the job. It is entirely possible that some individuals with NPD can successfully function in many careers, but not the presidency of the United States. We deserve to have the greatest understanding of Mr. Trump’s mental health status before we head to the polls on Nov. 8. #DiagnoseTrump,”

The petition continued: “So far in his campaign for president, Trump has unabashedly exploited fears for political gain. His trolling tweets alone have helped damage our country’s relationship with foreign allies, threatening our national security. His divisiveness has only served to make us less safe. Six thousand lawsuits and one failed Trump University later, we have seen his ruthless business practices on full display, ripping off thousands of hard-working Americans — without remorse — to put an extra dollar in his pocket.

“The American Psychiatrist Association has declared it unethical for psychiatrists and psychologists to “comment on an individual’s mental state without examining him personally and having the patient’s consent to make such comments. I call on mental health professionals to publicly urge the Republican Party to conduct an evaluation of Trump and officially determine if he is mentally fit to lead the free world.

“Trump appears unable to control his compulsion and displays characteristics of all nine criteria to officially diagnose an individual with narcissistic personality disorder. If you believe Trump has publicly displayed characteristics of the nine criterion below, please sign this petition as a call to action to #DiagnoseTrump.”

Bass also started the hashtag #DiagnoseTrump to promote her efforts and thus far more than 12,000 people have signed the petition. Believe it or not, Trump has not yet responded to Bass. But my response to Bass is a big right on!

A coalition of Los Angeles County civil rights leaders including Project Islamic Hope, the National Action Network, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the L.A. Urban Policy Roundtable are calling on state Attorney General Kamala Harris to conduct a probe into the slaying of William Barrows, a white homeless man killed by sheriff’s deputies in Castaic. Reports are the man was unarmed, posed no physical threat to deputies and was not a troublemaker. A Harris probe would provide the independent legal scrutiny of this officer-involved shooting that civil rights leaders have repeatedly demanded in the past.

Eyewitnesses have told me that the killing of Barrows by sheriff deputies was nothing but a cold-blooded murder. Even Sherriff Department officials stated to the media Aug. 3 that they don’t know why their deputies shot Barrows.

It’s important that L.A. County Sheriff Jim Mc Donnell meet with our coalition of civil rights groups. All lives matter to us.

Attorney General Harris was quoted in the media last week saying Minnesota police wouldn’t have shot and killed Philado Castile if he were white. William Barrows was white, unarmed and killed by sheriff deputies in California. Since she has expressed a concern about a police killing halfway across the country, her office should investigate the Barrows case.

In a media statement, Earl Ofari Hutchinson also chimed in with a statement that in part reads: “Attorney General Harris has said that her office has a compelling interest in curbing the use of deadly force by police officers. This is a crucial opportunity for the attorney general to provide that scrutiny. A Harris probe will send a strong message that state officials will play a key watchdog role in holding local police officers accountable for use of deadly force.”

It seems that the killing of unarmed civilians regardless of race unfortunately continues.

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

The post NAJEE’S NOTES: Diagnose Trump proposal picks up steam appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

The Republican Party never tires of pitching the line in a presidential election year that the Democrats take black votes for granted and do absolutely nothing in return for those votes. The line goes that the Democrats alleged job killing, tout of entitlements, promotion of dependency and the dampening down of personal initiative have in effect created a modern-day plantation that traps blacks in perpetual poverty, horribly failed public schools, and run-down crime-ridden slums.

They are for all practical purposes politically disenfranchised by being the handmaiden of the Democrats. Donald Trump is the latest in the long train of GOP presidential contenders to peddle this line at campaign stops in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Now Trump didn’t go much further than this and make the pledge that some of the more delusionary GOP contenders have and embark on a truncated, photo-op, charm tour to court blacks. He knows that there’s no point in this given his hideous racial track record from barring blacks from his apartment buildings, to his campaign for the death penalty for the falsely accused Central Park five, to his phony, fraudulent birther savaging of President Barack Obama.

He’s earned and richly deserves the near universal loathing he gets from black voters.

Yet, Trump’s point still dangles heavily in the air that the Democrats routinely engage in a crude brand of plantation politics in that they win election after election with black votes, but give nothing in return for that ever reliable support. More than a few blacks have echoed this sentiment and ferociously ripped the Democrats for allegedly asking much of black voters and giving little to them in return.

At first glance, there appears to be some ammunition for Trump to get some ink with the charge. The big cities with the highest levels of black poverty, underserved public schools and high crime, as well as thorny issues with police violence such as Baltimore and Milwaukee, have long been run by Democrats, in most cases, black Democrats.

The GOP then endlessly tosses out gerrymandered figures on everything from jobs to jails to purport that blacks have supposedly fared worse under President Obama than they did under GOP presidents.

The absurdity of this is almost laughable. It’s even more laughable to make the case that Democrats and Democratic administrations are the cause of blacks wallowing in poverty.

And one doesn’t have to cite the Bush tax giveaways to the wealthy and big corporations, and slashes in spending on job and education programs. Or cite the GOP-controlled Congress’s slash and burn of all Obama’s job and income initiatives and spending proposals to make the case that the blame finger for black poverty points to the GOP.

According to census data on unemployment and poverty, black families’ income grew far more and joblessness dropped far faster under Democratic presidents than under Republicans. The poverty rate for blacks also showed a major plunge under Democratic administrations while it grew when a GOP president sat in the Oval Office.

Democrats have gotten the black vote for nearly a half century for two brutal and compelling political reasons.

The first is simple pragmatism. Most blacks rely on the Democrats and civil rights leaders to fight the tough battles for health care, greater funding for education and jobs, voting rights protections, affirmative action and against racial discrimination.

Even when black Democratic politicians stumble and engage in borderline corrupt and self-serving feathering their own nest antics, they are still regarded as better bets than Republican candidates to be more responsive to black needs. Black voters generally regard them as the politicians that accurately capture the mood of fear and hostility the majority of blacks feel toward the Republicans.

The other is that many Democrats were the only ones that consistently fought back against Ronald Reagan, and the George Bushes’ draconian cuts in job, education and social services funding and programs, their retrograde nominees to the Supreme Court appointments that would roll back the civil rights clock, and their pecking away at affirmative action, civil rights and civil liberties protections.

The GOP’s relentless and ruthless opposition to affirmative action, its duck, dodge, dither and flat-out obstruction of any and every initiative or legislation by President Obama on jobs, the increase in the minimum wage, strengthening Social Security protections, the dogged opposition to a slew of Obama judicial and administration appointees, and its hectoring and harassing of former Attorney General Eric Holder.

Its manic and never-ending effort to torpedo the Affordable Care Act and the slew of nakedly race-tinged voting rights suppression laws it has dumped on the books in a handful of key electoral states has tagged it as an irredeemable enemy of black voters.

Blacks, however, have been very much in Trump’s political playbook. He’s used them as the perfect foil with his borderline racist digs, jibes and slurs to drive disaffected, conservative and other unreconstructed bigoted white voters to the polls. The hit on Democrats for allegedly running a plantation with black voters is just another cynical and calculated page from that playbook.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is a consultant with the Institute of the Black World and an associate editor of New America Media as well as the weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One. He also hosts the weekly Hutchinson Report on KPFK-Pacifica Radio.

The post THE HUTCHINSON REPORT: The myth about blacks and Democrats appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

There’s been a fierce debate about presidential debates.

The debate is whether they really do make or break a presidential candidate. It started it all over again in the run-up to the three scheduled debates between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The hard political reality is that unless a candidate makes a major misstatement, looks blurry and bleary on stage, or is simply flat-footed and grossly unprepared with their answers, they don’t mean much in deciding who ultimately wins the White House. Most voters cling to their party affiliations, political beliefs and personal likes and dislikes of candidates no matter what the candidates say on the issues.

The mass of voters just aren’t swayed by a candidate’s verbosity, good looks or seeming erudition on the issues.

However, this go around the debates do have real significance because Trump and Clinton have a lot to prove to a lot of voters who don’t like either one of them, and are deeply uneasy about the prospect of either one of them in the White House.

Trump’s high mountain to scale starts with Trump. He is loathed by millions as little short of a stupendously unqualified carnival barker who parlayed wild and deliberately inflammatory birtherism, racist, immigrant, Muslim and Obama bashing into the top GOP spot.

The added knock is that he got where he did in great part because of a slavish media that at times has acted as his unofficial public relations team in shoving him down the public’s throats. His job is to try to undue, soften or instill collective amnesia about his dubious history and ploys to get attention. His management team has already given a big hint at how he’ll try to pull off this trick.

He met with the Mexican president. He went to two black churches. He went to Flint, Michigan. He talked about jobs and police abuse both places. He pithily back-pedaled from birtherism vis-à-vis Obama.

He laid out a detailed policy position on child care, promised to lay out even more detailed positions on tax reform, foreign policy, health care and Social Security. He is trying mightily to take off the table that he’s little more than a klansman in a suit, has a zero policy program, less than zero ability to govern, and is totally incapable of being anything other than an arrogant, know-it-all blowhard.

The charm image he will try to project is Trump the reasoned, thoughtful, stick-to-the-script, disciplined, play by the established political rules candidate with the right temperament to work with Democrats, make sound political decisions and show cool judgment on the thorny and at times crisis issues that confront all presidents.

It’s a tall order. But in the debates and everything surrounding them, Trump must convince the independent conservative and moderates in the handful of swing states that will decide the White House and who don’t think much of Clinton, but just can’t bring themselves to pull the lever for a guy who they see as an overt racist and an egomaniacal political neophyte that he is neither one.

Hillary Clinton can use the upcoming presidential debates to show she can grasp the big ticket policy issues from the economy to foreign policy, columnist Earl Ofari Hutchinson says. (Courtesy photo)

Clinton has a high mountain to scale, too. It also starts with Clinton. In the early going, the election seemed almost a forgone conclusion for an easy Clinton win, given the trainload of baggage Trump dumped on the political platform. But the continued pulverizing of her over the emails, the foundation doings, and now health questions all of sudden have turned a seeming rout into a real dogfight.

Clinton’s bigger problem is the nagging perception that millions see her as everything from a congenital liar to a crook. The most charitable in all of this negative voter perception of Clinton is that she is untrustworthy.

Clinton must undue, offset or instill collective amnesia about these negatives.

She must play hard on her strengths: dependability, experience and a cast iron grasp of the big ticket policy issues from the economy to foreign policy. She must tie herself to the Obama positives where needed and project a people friendly, no academic think tank policy wonk, plain English demeanor when answering debate questions.

When the inevitable questions come up about the emails and the foundation and her health, she’ll have to act and show physical vigor, look directly into the cameras, admit that she made mistakes with the emails, learned from the mistakes and it will never happen again. And, while the foundation has done phenomenal work and improved conditions for legions globally, say that she’ll be completely out of the Clinton Foundation business, and that includes Bill and Chelsea, too.

There’s little margin of error for Trump and Clinton in the debates. Both have a lot of hard work to do to try to turn their mountain high pile of negatives into some semblance of positives. Millions will be watching to see if they can do that. This time the debates really do mean something.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is the author of “How ‘President’ Trump will Govern,” (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: This time the debates mean something appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Compiled by Debra Varnado outside Holman United Methodist Church in the West Adams District of Los Angeles.

Patrice Simmons
Gardena
“I am a Jill Stein supporter. I was with Bernie. I did not ever consider Trump being a candidate going this far in the race.”

Ola Ladomi
Windsor Hills
“I think the debate was great. Hilary sounds professional and presidential. … Trump … is a lot like Hitler to me. Nobody wants to say that, but I say if people are not careful, we are looking at another World War.”

Saul Alvarez
Arlington Heights
“It was a lot of fun, like watching a fight. I am actually really happy because it does seem on the surface that Hillary did win the debate and I was hoping for that and it does seem that Trump made a fool of himself.”

Jan McQuain
Van Nuys
“I don’t think they covered a lot of things that are really important. They didn’t even approach what we’ve been doing overseas with our so-called wars.”

Jonathan Woodside
Glendale
“It was a little bit of a horror show. … This is the state of our national debate right now. It is very scary and disturbing.”

The post STREET BEAT: ‘What did you think of the presidential debate?’ appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

LOS ANGELES — There was no immediate reaction Sept. 27 from officials at Los Angeles International Airport, which was derided by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as a “third-world” facility during his debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton.

In the presidential debate Sept. 26, Trump lamented what he called the failures of the North American Free Trade Agreement, pointing to elaborate industrial projects being built in other countries while U.S. infrastructure crumbles.

“You land at LaGuardia, you land at Kennedy, you land at LAX, you land at Newark, and you come in from Dubai and Qatar and you see these incredible, you come in from China, you see these incredible airports, and you land — we’ve become a third-world country,” Trump said.

“We’re a serious debtor nation. And we have a country that needs new roads, new tunnels, new bridges, new airports, new schools, new hospitals. And we don’t have the money, because it’s been squandered on so many of your ideas,” he told Clinton.

Clinton quickly retorted: “And maybe because you haven’t paid any federal income tax for a lot of years.”

Airport and city officials in the past have acknowledged the need for improvements at LAX, which is now in the midst of a $14 billion capital improvement program, the largest public works project in the city’s history.

The crown jewel of the project was the construction of the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which opened in 2013. Efforts are continuing on projects to improve mobility in and around the airport, including a people-mover, a rent-a-car center and a more direct connection to the regional rail system.

On Sept. 29, Mayor Eric Garcetti and other officials will cut the ribbon on the $148.5 million Terminal 4 Connector, which connects it with the Tom Bradley International Terminal, allowing passengers to make faster connections within those terminals and to Terminals 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Individual terminals are also being renovated or have already been renovated as part of the project.

According to Airports Council International, LAX is the third-busiest airport in the United States, and the seventh-busiest in the world, in terms of total passenger traffic.

The post Trump labels LAX ‘third-world’ facility appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

LOS ANGELES — With the Nov. 8 election less than a month away, the two candidates competing to replace longtime U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer say they believe more transparency is needed in law enforcement in light of the recent shootings of African-American men by police officers across the country and in the Golden State.

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said she supports adopting technology such as body cameras that allow law enforcement to be transparent.

“There is a need for transparency if we are going to have trust,” she said. “I run the California Department of Justice, and we possess an extraordinary amount of criminal justice and law enforcement data. I decided to bust open the data, understanding there is a crisis of confidence between law enforcement and the communities we protect. There is a need to speak truth.”

Rep. Loretta Sanchez said trust in the police has declined in some communities. The Orange County politician said in an effort to create a positive relationship between members of her community and police, she and her husband had members of the Santa Ana Police Department attend a late September service at their church, which is predominately African-American.

“Then we broke bread,” she said. “Because to know thy neighbor is to love thy neighbor.”

Both Democrats were responding to a question asked by a moderator during a debate Oct. 5 at Cal State Los Angeles. The hour-long event was the only opportunity voters will have to see Harris and Sanchez square off before election day Nov. 8.

Aside from the presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the competition between Harris, 51, and Sanchez, 56, to replace the retiring Boxer is the top race on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The pursuit of California’s junior U.S. Senate seat pits Democrat against Democrat because the state’s new open-primary system allows the top vote-getters from the primary election, regardless of party, to advance to the general election.

Sanchez said voters should elect her to fill Boxer’s role in Washington D.C. because she has the legislative experience. She has represented the state’s 46th Congressional District, which sits in Orange County since 2013. She represented the same district from 1997 to 2003, and then represented the 47th Congressional District.

“I have cast the tough votes on behalf of Californians,” Sanchez said. “No on the Iraq War. No on the Patriot Act. No on the Wall Street bailout that took away our homes. I’m the only one that has military and national security experience. I am a voting member of the NATO Parliament I have been to Iraq, Afghanistan and the horn of Africa. I know what it takes to defend this country.”

Harris has been California attorney general since 2010. She is California’s first African-American and first Asian-American attorney general. She was San Francisco’s district attorney from 2004 until she became the state’s top cop.

Harris said California deserves and needs bold national leadership.

“One indication of the ability to be bold and to be a national leader is a track record of getting things done,” she said. “I have a track record of fighting for the homeowners of California, fighting for students, fighting for criminal justice reform, fighting for immigrants.”

Whoever is elected to replace Boxer, in the Senate since 1993, will have a six-year term and work with California senior U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. In their new role, either Harris or Sanchez will be responsible for proposing and voting on new national laws and casting votes to confirm federal judges, U.S. Supreme Court justices and many high-level presidential appointments to civilian and military positions.

Harris is ahead in polls by an average of 13 percent and has received endorsements from Boxer, Feinstein, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

Harris and Sanchez touched on a bevy of topics during the debate including water policy, abortion, terrorism, immigration, California’s prison system, and Russia.

They didn’t agree on a few subjects.

Harris accused Sanchez of using language that helps ISIS — a terrorist group that has declared war on the U.S. — recruit members.

“By calling 20 percent of Muslims inclined to committing acts of terrorism,” Harris said of Sanchez, “that is playing in the hands of ISIS and all they are trying to do to recruit young Muslim men throughout our country and around the world suggesting the United States should be an enemy.”

Sanchez said the words she said after last year’s terrorist attack in San Bernardino were misconstrued.

“That is what Mrs. Harris and all of her cronies have been doing,” Sanchez said.

Harris brought up Sanchez’s spotty attendance record in Congress several times, while Sanchez said her opponent does not have a plan for how to improve California’s water situation and said Harris has taken donations from Donald Trump.

Both candidates expressed support for a comprehensive overhaul of federal immigration policies, an active effort in the war on terrorism and protecting abortion rights.

An issue attached to Proposition 64 — the measure that if approved by voters on election day would legalize the recreational use of marijuana – was also discussed. Both candidates said marijuana should be classified as a Schedule I drug, instead of a Schedule II, meaning less criminal penalties can be associated with the drug.

Sanchez said she has been fighting to get marijuana off Schedule I during her time in Congress. She said she supported the closing of several illegal weed dispensaries in the Orange County, which helped clear the way for legitimate medical marijuana businesses.

Harris said far too many black and Latino men have been incarcerated for possessing marijuana.

“We need to change it on the schedule and end the mass incarceration of young people for possessing a small amount of the least dangerous drug,” she said.

The post Harris, Sanchez share views in race for U.S. Senate appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Republican presidential contender Donald Trump has given Democrats something that seemed only the stuff of shop talk, wishful thinking and even fawn dreams a year ago.

That is a real shot at taking back Congress. First, let’s get the presidential race out of the way.

Long before Trump’s campaign came totally discombobulated amidst the sex charge stuff, there was almost no way that he, or any other Republican presidential candidate for that matter, realistically could have won.

Hilary Clinton had nearly 20 states big, little and mid-sized either locked down, or that solidly tilted toward the Democrats. That gave Clinton more than 200 electoral votes before the first voter punched a ballot.

Barring any major Clinton scandal, revelation, near cataclysmic crash of the economy, or a 9/11-style terrorist attack on U.S. shores a week before the election, it didn’t require much for her to net the remaining 60 plus electoral votes in other states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Colorado which have solid Democratic numbers and voted for President Barack Obama twice.

So that leaves the Senate and the House in play.

That requires grabbing five contested Senate seats from the GOP and keeping the ones that are fairly safely in Democratic hands. In the House, it meant taking 30 of the seats that are in play to get full control, or at the very least winning as many of them as possible to dent the Republican’s House majority.

The Senate takeover is eminently doable since the Democratic contenders are either seasoned elected officials, with solid name identification, a solid voter base, financial backing and a fairly good ground game.

The Democratic National Committee and other Democratic funding and organizing committees, are providing solid back up and support to the candidate’s campaigns.

The House is the much tougher nut to crack, since many of the seats appear to be in either lock down or heavily GOP-leaning districts. There are reasons that could change.

One is Trump. His race baiting, woman bashing, immigrant scapegoating, campaign of vilification and deliberate polarization could radically ramp up the number of independent, and even moderate, centrist Republicans, who defect to the Democratic candidate.

Trump almost certainly will energize Democrats to flood the polls to defeat him and in the process boost the vote total for the Democratic congressional challengers.

The most winnable House seats are not in the hard core GOP bastions in the South and the Heartland, but in Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Nevada and Minnesota that are either Democratic-controlled or swing states. The voter demographics in the competitive districts are not top heavy with Trump’s core voter base, namely lower income, blue collar, rural, less educated whites, but are suburban districts with a sizeable number of college degree, or educated, professional, business career voters.

They are conservative, and have voted GOP, but the GOP presidential candidate they backed was a traditional GOP candidate such as John McCain or Mitt Romney, not a race baiting, polarizing Trump. The GOP’s nightmare scenario that the Democrats will dent the GOP House majority or upend it has GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan climbing the walls, and doing everything humanly possible to put a Grand Canyon length distance from Trump.

But a stupendously bad GOP candidate, Trump or voter demographics in flux, alone, won’t guarantee a Democratic walkover in a bid to grab congressional control. That will take a big, well-oiled, laser precise, voter registration, door knocking, social media mobilizing campaign, in the targeted districts to sell Democrats and independents and some Republicans on the merits of the Democratic challenger.

It requires that the Democratic National Committee and local Democratic county organizations pivot from their Clinton focus to a focus on the targeted local House races. It also requires that Clinton push and prod hard the committee and local Democratic party organizations to mount the fully resourced, all out press in the final run-up to election day for the magic 30 plus seats to seize the House.

A Democratic-controlled Senate will give Clinton priceless support for her initiatives and legislative agenda, and blunt at least some of the hard edge of the GOP obstructionism and warfare that marred nearly every year of Obama’s tenure in the White House.

However, it won’t ensure that Clinton’s initiative and legislative agenda pass. A GOP-controlled House is still a wounded beast and even more dangerous. It can clamp near endless gridlock on Clinton.

It would not be exactly what Obama faced but the end result of having to battle every inch of the way for vital legislation and spending would be wasteful and draining.

So, the Democrats can thank Trump for keeping a Democrat in the saddle in the White House. Now it has to do its part to put Democrats back in the saddle in the Senate, and especially the House. 

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is the weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One Network and the author of “How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge.”

The post THE HUTCHINSON REPORT: Democrats could take back Congress appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Dump Trump! A packed house of South L.A. community residents were on hand Oct. 19 to watch the last debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

The debate watch and ballot measure forum was held at Holman United Methodist Church under the leadership of the Rev. Kelvin Sauls. The moderator was KJLH radio personality Dominique DiPrima and the event was co-sponsored by what seemed to be every elected official in our community, many of them who were in attendance.

This united front of elected and community leaders who came out to support Clinton included U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, state Sen. Holly Mitchell, Assemblymen Mike Gipson, Reggie Jones-Sawyer and Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles City Councilmen Herb Wesson and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Los Angeles Community College trustee Sydney Kamlager, and city commissioners Jimmy Woods-Gray, Patt Sanders, Rosa Russell and Mike Davis were all on hand to watch Clinton destroy Trump.

And Clinton didn’t disappoint. She started slow but picked up momentum as Trump continued to misstate facts and couldn’t answer questions properly, ranging from him being accused of sexual assault and groping women to not paying his taxes. It’s clear that Clinton will win in a landslide on Nov. 8.

Clinton has grown so confident that she is working to expand her goals beyond merely Trump and is now trying to flip Arizona and other traditionally Republican states to generate a broader Democratic victory in November. Trump’s erratic debate performances and other flaws are dragging him down in the polls, and the Democrats are working to build an electoral wave that would obliterate Trump’s talk of a “rigged’’ election and perhaps even award Clinton bragging rights to a mandate.

Clinton now has all the momentum heading into the final two-week sprint before Nov. 8, enjoying a solid lead in national polls and most of the traditional swing states, with the notable exception of Ohio. Trump squandered what may have been his last chance to shine on the national stage when he refused in the final presidential debate to say whether he would accept the election results.

That position drew fresh rebukes from members of his own party, including Arizona Sen. John McCain, who said Trump’s comments were un-democratic. It sent his own campaign aides scrambling to explain his stance on morning TV and increased Democrats’ swagger.

Clinton forces are attempting to make incursions into Utah – which GOP nominee Mitt Romney won by 50 points four years ago – and even hope to make headway in Georgia.

Perhaps the biggest symbol of their confidence is Arizona. Democrats believe a win in the crucial border state, where Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the electorate, could accelerate favorable trends they did not expect to solidify until perhaps 2020 or 2024.

The Clinton campaign said it is pouring $2 million of advertising into the state in the final stage of the campaign. On Oct. 20, Clinton’s campaign sent out a fund-raising appeal: “We can’t just beat this guy. We’ve got to beat him so definitively that Hillary’s victory is undeniable.”

A poll released Oct. 19 showed Clinton with a five-point lead in Arizona, something nearly unthinkable in recent elections. The survey, conducted by the Arizona Republic, showed Clinton with 39 percent, followed by Trump with nearly 34 percent. Nearly 21 percent said they were still undecided.

The Arizona Republic three weeks ago endorsed Clinton, the first time the newspaper had backed a Democratic presidential nominee in its 126-year history. Grant Woods, a former Republican attorney general and longtime McCain confidant, has also endorsed Clinton.

Aside from a narrow win by Bill Clinton in 1996, Democrats have not carried Arizona since 1948. Romney won the state by 9 points in 2012.

Democrats have long held out hope that Arizona would be a state they could turn blue. The Clinton team toyed with making a push there early in the campaign only to decide the risk was not worth the resources. Now, late in the game, it suddenly seems like a state in play.

The reasons for their optimism are not only Hispanics — who make up almost a third of the population — but also Mormons, who have been turned off by Trump’s brash behavior and past lewd comments. Mormons, who usually are reliably Republican, make up 6 percent of the population in Arizona, one of the highest concentrations in the country.

Clinton has been weighing whether to visit the state in the final days of the campaign. She dispatched Bernie Sanders here on Oct. 18 and her daughter, Chelsea, on Oct. 19, and first lady Michelle Obama campaigned in Phoenix on Oct. 20.

Democrats are also hoping to defeat Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the anti-immigration firebrand who Trump has held up as a chief validator for his calls for a tighter border with Mexico.

Arpaio is running for re-election in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. He trails his Democratic opponent by 15 points in the recent Arizona Republic poll. That’s great news as far as I’m concerned on all fronts.

At the start of the campaign I was lukewarm for Clinton. But after watching her growth as a candidate for the most important job in the world, I’m with her!

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

The post NAJEE’S NOTES: Debate watch is pro-Clinton crowd appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

LYNWOOD — Shouting campaign slogans and hoisting life-size cardboard replicas of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, more than 1,000 Lynwood High School students on Oct. 11 received an up-close glimpse of the democratic process during a mock presidential election inside the school’s gymnasium.

The participatory lesson in civics was designed to teach Lynwood students about the real-life issues confronting voters on Nov. 8, with booths and placards for not just the presidential contenders, but also California’s U.S. Senate seat and the myriad propositions and initiatives on the 2016 California ballot.

“The Lynwood High staff is to be commended for putting together such an elaborate, detailed and engaging event,” Lynwood Unified School District Superintendent Paul Gothold said. “It’s a proactive approach that really resonates with the students, enabling them to immerse themselves in the democratic process and debate freely with each other.”

The mock election was jointly organized by Social Studies Department Chairperson and government teacher Claudia Alfaro, economics teacher Lorraine Abbass and government teacher Sheila Ingram. U.S. history teacher Nick Koza provided authentic campaign signs he collected while attending the Republican and Democratic conventions during the summer.

“We have over 250 students who have researched candidates and propositions and are prepared to argue their case,” Alfaro said. “The rest of the student body comes to listen, make an informed choice and vote.”

Students chosen as advocates relished their roles, shouting and screaming, holding signs aloft and engaging in boisterous dialogues as classmates worked their way through a horseshoe-shaped gauntlet of candidate and ballot measure booths in shifts throughout the day.

Though they were role-playing, many students chose positions that allowed them to express their own views.

“I’ve been interested in politics since Barack Obama was elected in 2008,” Lynwood senior and Trump advocate Luis Pescador said. “Our foreign and economic policies need to be changed. That is why I am supporting Donald Trump.”

Lynwood senior and Hilary Clinton advocate Daniela Penaloza vociferously disagreed.

“I am a firm believer in education and Clinton wants to provide quality education for all students,” Penaloza said. “We need Hillary. She is the only candidate who can lead us through these tough times.

Preparations for the mock election have been ongoing since the start of the fall term. In Alfaro’s AP Government class, students have been studying the issues, watching television ads and researching their positions, often coming to class early and staying late, and even working through their lunch periods. In Abbass’ economics class, students reviewed and critiqued the debates and identified the impact of each presidential candidate’s economic plan.

The mock election had a light side to it, as students dressed as Republican nominees Trump and Mike Pence were shadowed by students acting as Secret Service agents. And, as in a real-life convention, there was much shouting and chanting, with students using their debating skills to better emphasize their position.

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The early voting returns show two unsurprising things.

One is that black voters are turning out in smaller numbers in some areas than they did in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. The other is that the relatively lighter turnout is in marked contrast to the near record turnout among black voters for candidate Barack Obama in 2008 and President Obama in 2012.

Much shouldn’t be made of this for the simple fact that Hillary Clinton is not Obama. Clinton doesn’t need to match his total among black votes to win the White House.

Clinton could never duplicate the euphoria that Obama generated among blacks. His candidacy was not seen as a candidacy, but a crusade, a history-making crusade. Blacks did not just see this as a chance to put a black president in office, but a chance to snatch a piece of history along the way.

Obama was seen not as a distant, remote, traditional presidential candidate but almost as a family member, someone to embrace and take personal pride in their accomplishments. Many blacks in the past were apathetic, lethargic and indifferent to the political process because they thought their vote made no difference, or because of their antipathy to the Democrats, whom they accused of plantationism for taking the black vote for granted and giving little in return.

But the Republican Party threw down the gauntlet with its crudely disguised, full-throated effort to suppress the black vote, especially in the must win swing states such as Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. This stirred deep anger and resentment among even the wayward black voters at the GOP’s naked suppression ploy and drove even more to the polls for Obama.

Even if none of those pluses and minuses for Clinton were in play, her big political ace in the hole to ensure that she got close to the same overall percentage of the black votes as Obama got in 2012 was Donald Trump. His naked race baiting, polarizing digs, insults, cracks and history of bigotry against blacks quickly materialized in some polls showing him getting zero percent of the black vote.

His few showy, media photo op spectacles at a few handpicked black churches with a thoroughly sanitized audience, fooled no one and simply added more insult to injury with blacks.

The story wouldn’t have been much different for any other GOP presidential candidate. In fact, the GOP would always have been one of her greatest strengths and selling points with black voters, as it has been for Democrats during the past half century.

During that time, every GOP presidential candidate has gotten no more than a marginal percentage of the overall black vote. Its half century of race baiting, racial exclusion and relentless and brutal assaults on affirmative action, voting rights, civil rights protections, and near eight-year unbroken record of hectoring, harassing and obstructing every program proposed by Obama has earned it the undying enmity of black voters.

The lip service by the Republican National Committee about making the GOP a more diverse and inclusive party bumps up hard against the brutal political reality that the GOP is rightly regarded as a nesting ground for bigots, extremists and assorted racial haters. It relies on them to be its back-door shock troops to rally millions of backers in the South and the heartland.

Without them, the GOP has no chance to make the White House race competitive. GOP presidential contenders have routinely appealed to them, and have had success.

It’s that success that has reaffirmed the worst suspicions and fears of black voters, and that’s that the GOP is even more a hopeless captive party of kooks, cranks and unreconstructed bigots.

This would have been the case if Trump never existed.

The Hail Mary toss of casting more dirt and suspicion on Hillary Clinton in her email flap could do nothing to damp down black fury at Trump, let alone have any impact whatsoever among blacks about her candidacy.

If anything, it simply confirmed the conspiracy notion that GOP dirty work was at play in trying to do anything at the 11th hour of the campaign to sabotage her run to the White House.

It wouldn’t take Obama, not being the White House candidate, though for blacks to turn out on Election Day in sufficient numbers to give Clinton the edge in the key swing states. Lawsuits were filed in North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania alleging that the GOP has been up to its usual voter suppression tricks.

One of the lawsuits, in North Carolina, was successful. This would help clear some of the barriers to black voting in these states. The ease of early voting in other states would also ensure that adequate numbers of black voters cast a ballot.

So, it never mattered whether Clinton could do what Obama did in energizing black voters. All she had to is do what Democrats have done in presidential elections for the last half century, and that’s be seen as a good Democrat. That is more than enough to ensure that the black vote will still be Clinton’s key to the Oval Office.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One Network and the author of “What We Can Expect from President Hillary Clinton” (Amazon Kindle).

The post THE HUTCHINSON REPORT: Clinton doesn’t have to be Obama appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

LOS ANGELES — On a day that saw Donald Trump elected the 45th president of the United States, California voters sent the second African-American woman to the U.S. Senate.

State Attorney General Kamala Harris defeated Orange County Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is retiring. Harris received 62.5 percent of the vote to easily defeat Sanchez.

Carol Moseley Braun represented Illinois in the Senate from 1993 to 1999.

Statewide voters also voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults, but voted down a bill that would have required actors in adult films to wear condoms during sex scenes.

Proposition 64, the marijuana ballot measure, was approved by 56 percent of voters statewide.

Proposition 60, the adult film measure, was opposed by 53.9 percent of voters.

Statewide voters also defeated a measure that would have abolished the death penalty, while approving Proposition 63 that restricts the sale of firearms and ammunition.

County voters approved a parcel tax that would provide additional funds for parks and open space and a sales tax increase to fund transportation projects.

Measure A, the park fund measure, received 73.5 percent of the vote. Measure M, the transportation tax measure, received 69.8 percent of the vote. Both required approval by 66.7 percent of the voters.

Los Angeles city voters approved three of four ballot measures.

The only measure that failed was Measure RRR, which would have amended the City Charter to expand the Department of Water and Power board from five to seven members, and make other changes in how the department operates. It was opposed by 51.7 percent of voters.

Measure HHH, which would authorize the city to issue up to $1.2 billion in bonds to buy, build or remodel facilities to provide housing and services for the homeless, received more than 76 percent of the vote.

Measure JJJ, which would require certain residential projects of 10 or more units seeking general plan amendments or zoning changes to provide affordable housing and meet training, local hiring and wage requirements, won with 64 percent of the vote.

And Measure SSS, which would enroll all new airport peace officers in Tier 6 of the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions Plan, won a close contest with 50.3 percent of the vote.

In local races, U.S. Rep Janice Hahn was elected to a seat on the county Board of Supervisors where her father, Kenneth, served for 40 years from 1952 to 1992.

Hahn defeated Steve Napolitano, an aide to outgoing Supervisor Don Knabe, to win the Fourth District seat, receiving 56.1 percent of the vote.

Hahn’s 44th Congressional District seat went to Nanette Barragan, who defeated state Sen. Isadore Hall. Barragan received 51.2 percent of the vote.

Hall gave up his 35th state Senate Seat to run for Congress and former Gardena City Councilman and Assemblyman Steven Bradford won that seat, defeating former Assemblyman Warren Furutani. Bradford received 54.3 percent of the vote.

In other local races, U.S. Rep. Karen Bass received 82.1 percent of the vote in the 37th Congressional District to defeat Chris Blake Wiggins.

In the 43rd Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters received 75.7 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Omar Navarro.

In the 54th Assembly District, Democratic incumbent Sebastian Ridley-Thomas received 81.9 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Glen Ratcliff.

In the 62nd Assembly District, Assemblywoman Autumn Burke received 77.5 percent of the vote to win re-election against Republican Marco Antonio Leal and Libertarian Baron Bruno.

In the 64th Assembly District, Democratic incumbent Mike Gipson received 73.9 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Theresa Sanford.

The post Kamala Harris wins U.S. Senate race; Trump beats Clinton appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

SOUTH LOS ANGELES — The sound was turned down on the huge television screen showing the 2016 presidential election returns just outside the Community Coalition’s headquarters. Instead, music blared from the Latin band that was playing on stage. This was a party after all.

While children, teens and adults stood in line for food, or chatted with each other at the election block party, Beatrice Acy’s eyes remained glued to the set.

“Oooh! “The Dow [Jones Industrial Average stock market] is down more than 600 points!” she said as the results turned more and more in Donald Trump’s favor. Her vote was for Hillary Clinton, but not because Hillary is a woman.

“Oh no, I don’t care about that,” she said.

Instead she pointed to work Clinton had done with children in her early years of public service.  As for Trump, she acknowledged that four bankruptcies out of 500 businesses didn’t sound as bad as she’d heard, but still considered Clinton as the lesser of two evils.

“It’ll be all right, whoever wins,” said Acy, a member and volunteer with the Community Coalition since 1997, long before the organization expanded into the spacious facility on 81st Street and Vermont Avenue. Down the building’s glass-enclosed hallway, children played election-themed games, colored and did arts and crafts as their parents went to canvass the neighborhood and make phone calls to voters.

Block party organizers were more concerned about the results of local initiatives, anyway. They could publicly discuss ballot initiatives, but their nonprofit status prohibits them from endorsing any candidate.

For Justice Policy Coordinator Patricia Guerra, the night was all about highlighting the work of volunteers to make sure state Propositions 55, 56 and 57 passed.

The organization had coordinated get-out-the-vote efforts for more than a month, making contact with 24,000 people and reporting that 20,000 in South L.A. planned to vote yes on the ballot initiatives.

Proposition 55 extended the practice of taxing those making over $250,000 as a way to fund schools and health care. Proposition 56 raised taxes on tobacco to fund health care for low-income Californians, and Proposition 57 eased the sentences for non-violent felons and allowed juvenile court judges to decide whether juveniles would be prosecuted as adults.

After the polls closed, coalition officials congratulated volunteers and shared with the nearly 400 party-goers that a majority of Californians had voted in favor of all three propositions.

“In culmination of all those efforts, we want to celebrate them and we want to celebrate our community, our resiliency, and as well as making sure that coming up after the election that we’re still together, black and brown people united to change the conditions in our community and [providing], a healthier future for our children,” Guerra said.

Coalition staff member Anthony Hunter, who shared his story on stage of staying on the straight and narrow the past two months, following a 13-year prison sentence for armed robbery, said even though not everyone would agree with all the propositions, he felt they benefitted the South L.A. community.

Hunter said he hoped the story of his work at both the coalition and at Homeboy Industries as he turns his life around, would inspire others who might find themselves heading down the path he was on of gang involvement and violence.

“I do feel that it’s important for me to stick around to try to help my community, don’t just turn my back on them and just walk away,” he said. “I feel like the best way I can be an asset is come home, do the right thing.”

County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, right, addresses the crowd at the Community Coalition’s election night block party Nov. 8 in South Los Angeles. At left, is his son, Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas. (Photo by Tyrone Cole)

Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, his father, county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, and Eighth District City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson spoke at the event.

The local dignitaries applauded organizers for putting together the block party.  Harris-Dawson said he hoped party-goers left with a renewed sense of unity.

“I hope they build relationships, I hope people hug each other, I hope people talk to each other, I hope people love each other, I hope people appreciate each other,” Harris-Dawson said. “The more we get to know our neighbors, the more connected we are, the better community we can build.”

The partiers had left by the time the presidential race was called for Donald Trump in the wee hours of election night, but beforehand, the elder Ridley-Thomas said the path was clear if Hillary Clinton won the election.

“If Hillary wins, we go to work.  We celebrate today.  We work tomorrow.  That’s the way it has to be,” Ridley-Thomas said.

And if Donald Trump won?

“We go to work on Wednesday all over again, if that should happen.”

The post Election night block party brings South L.A. residents together appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

(Editor’s note: The following was written by columnist Earl Ofari Hutchinson last December.)

There’s no shortage of chatter about Republican presidential contender Donald Trump campaigning. But almost nothing has been said about how a “President” Trump would actually govern.

While there’s no consensus that he can win the GOP nomination, let alone the White House, there is a consensus that he has a real shot at being a real threat to win the GOP nomination and make a real run for the White House. It’s based on these very real facts.

Since he officially declared for the presidency last June, except for one brief moment, he’s consistently gapped every other GOP contender in poll ratings; no expected implosion has happened.

He has fired up a big swatch of the GOP base, conservatives and white evangelicals, but more ominously he’s stirred passion and zealotry among millions of disaffected, alienated white blue collar workers. He’s been a rating’s and a cash cow bonanza for much of the media and a sound bite dream machine for newsrooms.

They will continue to play up every Trump quip, dig and inanity big. That will further cement his name, reputation and even appeal to millions.

Despite predictions that his backers will resoundingly shut down on him when they get in the voting booth in the primaries, there a good likelihood many won’t. The GOP presidential nominee needs 50 percent plus one of the 2,470 delegates to bag the nomination.

Party leaders gloat and nervously plot that Trump will crash and burn long before he gets anywhere close to that number. Maybe, but 11 states have winner-take-all primaries, 10 states assign delegates proportionally, and 17 states use a caucus and convention to hand pick delegates.

With only Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio flirting with double-digit poll support, it’s no stretch to see Trump netting hundreds of committed delegates from more than a handful of states. Though Trump has seemingly warred with the GOP establishment, the fight has been mostly over his style, personality, and comportment, but not on the key issues from abortion and Planned Parenthood to the economy and foreign policy. Take Trump’s rough edge off his bluster about these issues, and his stance on them is mostly in line with the party’s on those issues with some curious exceptions.

So the question that once seemed absolutely ludicrous to think let alone ask is now a question that can be seriously asked and even to an extent answered. Just how would Trump govern?

There’s little reason to think Trump is suited to patient, give-and-take negotiation and compromise to get his initiatives through Congress. His style is to bellow, bully and harangue to get his way.

As for the issues, Trump has been on the political scene long enough to have enough of a paper trail to piece together from his statements in debates and interviews and speeches a fairly accurate picture of what he will say and do on the big-ticket issues. Those issues are the budget, government spending, civil rights enforcement, the environment, crime control, the military and foreign policy.

He’ll be totally hand’s off Wall Street and the banks on regulatory matters, slash corporate taxes to “0” percent, impose no cap and tax on big oil, and radically slash funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Education. But he’ll also cut funding for the Defense Department.

On civil rights and civil liberties, he accepts the Supreme Court decision in support of gay marriage, says he’s “fine” with affirmative action, and will enforce the laws on hate crimes. He’s disparaged the Black Lives Matter movement, but did acknowledge that black lives do matter.

He’ll let states decide what they will do about medical marijuana, legalizing marijuana, and the drug laws.

On the one hand, he derides climate change as a “hoax” but on the other hand acknowledges that there may be some need to take some action.

He repeats the GOP party line that the Affordable Care Act is a “disaster.” So, he will, of course, try to repeal and replace Obamacare.

He reminds all that he opposed the Iraq War, but will put boots on the ground against ISIS and take a hardline confrontational stance in confronting North Korea and Iran on their nuclear capacity.

On the signature issues that got him and gets him raves from millions, he’ll do everything to further erode labor unions, flatly oppose any minimum wage increase, try to wall off the borders, and crack down on Muslims coming and going in the country.

Trump hasn’t as of yet laid down a specific blueprint for how he’ll work with congressional Democrats or even congressional Republicans, let alone foreign leaders, if elected, but there’s really no need to do that at this point. It would actually hamstring his free-wheeling, shoot-from-the-lip approach to campaigning.

If anything, the absence of such a blueprint adds to his take-no-prisoners, tough-talking, rip the establishment, allure.

As for Trump’s hyped up, disgruntled, vengeful backers, they see all of this as the prescription for a new type of White House — and better still, a change in the substance and style of governance.

That would be nothing short of a monumental disaster and turn Washington into a laughingstock. But in a political season of wide voter rage and discontent, to many how Trump will actually govern is less important than that he will govern.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He 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: How President Trump will govern appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Donald Trump is the president-elect of the United States. That is something I never dreamed I would ever write.

Trump, in my mind, is a reality T.V. star and businessman. But in a couple of months he will be the most powerful man in the world.

This is mind boggling for me. I never took Trump or his campaign seriously.

Even when he won the nomination of the Republican Party, I thought Hillary Clinton, with her name recognition and political resumé, would demolish Trump.

I couldn’t have been more wrong about anything in my life. If we are looking for a group of voters to blame, then we can start first with white women.

According to CNN, 53 percent of white female voters voted for Trump. Fifty-three percent.

More than half of white women voted for the man who bragged about committing sexual assault on tape, who said he would appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade, who has promised to undo legislation that has afforded health insurance to millions of uninsured Americans, who has spent his campaign dehumanizing Latino’s, African-Americans, Muslims, the disabled and veterans.

More than half of white women looked at the first viable female candidate for the presidency, a wildly competent and overqualified career public servant, and said, were with him.

How any  woman with self-respect could  vote for a man like Trump, who has made it very clear that he believes  women are beneath him and sex objects, is incredible.

Of course, the biggest and saddest reason white women chose Trump over Clinton is simple: racism. Trump tried to pit straight white men against everyone else — women, people of color, people in the LGBTQ community, immigrants — and white women decided they didn’t want to vote on the side of “everyone else.” They wanted to vote on the side of white men.

White women decided that defending their position of power as white people was more important than defending their reproductive rights, their sexual autonomy, their access to health care, family leave and child care. White women bought into Trump’s lies about immigrant rapists and decided they would rather have the respect of their angry white fathers, brothers, and husbands than the respect of literally everyone else in the world.

The shocking results of the election prove that most white women don’t consider themselves part of the coalition of non-white, non-straight, non-male voters who were supposed to carry Clinton to a comfortable victory. Most white women still identify more with white men than they do with black women, Latina women, Muslim women, transwomen, and every other woman who will have good reason to fear for her physical safety under a Trump regime.

And while it’s non-white and queer women who have the most to lose under Trump, white women will have to live with the consequences of their own actions in a country without a right to abortion, without access to health insurance and without an adequate family leave policy.

White women sold out their fellow women, their country, and themselves. Most white women don’t want to be part of an intersectional feminist sisterhood. Most white women proved they just want to be one of the guys. And we will all suffer for it.

State Sen. Isadore Hall lost to Nanette Diaz Barragan in the congressional race for the harbor area congressional seat vacated by Rep. Janice Hahn, who was elected in her race for the Board of Supervisors, replacing termed out Supervisor Don Knabe.

With all 358 precincts reporting and mail-in votes counted early Wednesday, Barragan captured the seat by slightly more than two points, with 51.1 percent of the vote to Hall’s 48.8 percent.

Needless to say, the loss by Hall, who was favored with the support and endorsement of the California Democratic Party, Gov. Brown,and every major elected official in the area, has sent shockwaves in the community. Hall and his staff will all be unemployed on Dec. 5.

The only way he can reassume his political career is to listen closely to what many Compton residents are posting on social media and that’s to run for mayor of Compton. Stay tuned for further developments.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Nov. 10 began his 2018 bid for governor, confirming his entrance into what is expected to be a competitive race. After a three-year hiatus from the political limelight, Villaraigosa joins a growing field of candidates.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor, launched his campaign in February 2015, and has been raising money ever since. State Treasurer John Chiang also has jumped into the race, as has Delaine Eastin, who served eight years as California’s top education official. This is going to be a race that will be watched closely over the next two years.

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

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LOS ANGELES — Republican Donald Trump’s victory in the Nov. 8 presidential election left some local Hillary Clinton supporters stunned, but Democratic-leaning Southland elected officials tried to maintain a positive attitude as they looked to the future.

“As a supporter of Secretary Clinton, this was a painful, even heart-breaking conclusion, but that is the way democracy works,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank. “We have a peaceful transition of power, and for those of us that got knocked down, we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves of and live to fight another day.

“We also do everything we can to make the country successful with its new president, to find common ground when we can, to energetically oppose him when we must, but always to work for the common good,” he said. “The country faces enormous challenges — both at home and abroad — and all Americans must now come together to lift up the country we all cherish.”

Mayor Eric Garcetti spoke at a Clinton election-night gathering in downtown Los Angeles, trying to provide some optimism.

“Let me just speak for a moment from my heart, because I know for a lot of people tonight, your heart is heavy,” Garcetti said. “I know it is in the little girls who I talked to this morning who joined their mothers and fathers at the ballot box to try to change history. I know it’s in the faces and the conversations I’ve had with immigrants, who are so fearful about their future in this America.

“Let me tell you, America is in this room tonight. Our America is right here. We’re an America that says each one of us has worth,” Garcetti said.

“We’re an America that doesn’t ask you where you come from or what your religion is. We’re an America that doesn’t degrade you or insult you.”

Garcetti said he and other Democrats who supported Clinton “will stand up for who we are and what this campaign has represented” and show that “we can come together across those divisions.”

City Councilman Paul Koretz said Trump’s victory gave him pause.

“I’ll have to take a deep breath and think about what things will be like for a city in a Trump administration,” he said.

He called the prospect of a Trump presidency “pretty frightening,” but said he was encouraged that voters backed a $1.2 billion bond for homelessness and were narrowly approving another half-cent tax for transit and transportation projects.

“I think that’s particularly important because I don’t think the federal government is going to be giving us a lot of help, so we need to be self-reliant,” he said. “And that’s what these initiatives are about.

“It would certainly be better to get the federal help that we were hoping for, too, but it makes these measures more important than ever,” Koretz said. “I think if we knew that we were going to wind up with a Trump administration, I think more people would have even voted for [Measures] M and HHH.”

Sue Dunlap, CEO of the Los Angeles chapter of Planned Parenthood, an organization that has been criticized by Trump and other Republicans, told Clinton supporters that the election results simply means they need to “roll our sleeves up and keep on working.”

“At Planned Parenthood, we know what it is to work hard,” she said. “We know that we don’t win and lose, but that we stand up each and every day and do hard work.”

More than 300 teenagers and young adults rallied outside Los Angeles City Hall Nov. 9 to protest Trump’s win.

Some protesters chanted “Not my president,” and at least one had a sign that stated: “Trump Equals Death.” Other signs read “Epic Fail,” “Rapist President” and “Artists Against Trump.”

The protest was noisy but peaceful, and appeared to be growing.

Several motorists honked their horns when they saw the crowd of protesters. A helicopter hovered above the crowd, and a row of about eight police officers stood at the top of the stairs.

The rally started about 11 a.m. as a walkout at several Los Angeles Unified School District campuses, according to 16-year-old Gerson Macias, a student at Ramon Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts.

Macias said he joined the protest after seeing other students march past their school because Trump’s policies could affect him as a Hispanic and gay person.

“I believe this man cannot split families apart anymore, and cannot take away our rights as LGBT people, because we have been fighting for this for years, and this man cannot come in and just take that all away,” he said.

Alexa Orozco, 16, said she feels personally affected by this election because she has friends and family who are “not born here.”

Because she was unable to vote, the rally was her way of expressing her opinion on Trump, she said.

“I feel like a lot of our generation, we feel strong about certain things and I feel like that it’s devastating to not be able to do something like vote,” Orozco said. “But we’re not going to let that stop us from trying to do something, and that’s why we’re here today.”

Seeing Trump win in other states, such as Florida, was a “wake-up call to me, realizing that I haven’t been anywhere else besides California,” Orozco said.

Since the results were settled, she says she has been obsessed with looking at what demographic groups voted for which candidate.

“It’s sad to see that sexism, racism, it’s all over the place,” Orozco said. “Maybe we don’t see a lot of it here.”

Some of the protesters said they learned about the rally on Instagram, via hashtags such as “notmypresident.”

After rallying outside of City Hall, the protesters moved across the street to the front of Los Angeles Police Department headquarters at 100 W. First Street and chanted, “Black Lives Matter.”

As of 2:45 p.m., the protest was noisy but peaceful, as the group moved east on First Street.

In the evening the protest grew to as many as 5,000 people. The crowd headed west and after 10 p.m. began blocking traffic on the Hollywood (101) Freeway.

The freeway was shut down for several hours and as many as 30 protesters were arrested.

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LOS ANGELES — On a day that saw Donald Trump elected the 45th president of the United States, California voters sent the second African-American woman to the U.S. Senate.

State Attorney General Kamala Harris defeated Orange County Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is retiring. Harris received 62.5 percent of the vote to easily defeat Sanchez.

Carol Moseley Braun, who represented Illinois in the Senate from 1993 to 1999, was the first African-American woman to serve in the Senate.

In Culver City, voters approved three of four measures placed on the ballot by the City Council.

The city of Culver City also has placed four measures on the ballot.

The only measure defeated was Measure CA, which would have amended the City Charter to change authority over the fire chief and police chief from the City Council to the city manager. That change was rejected by 64.8 percent of the voters.

Measure CW, which establishes a $99 parcel tax to protect groundwater supplies, fund infrastructure improvements related to drainage and preserve open space, was approved by 73.9 percent of the voters. It required the approval of at least two-thirds of the voters.

Measure CB, which prohibits anyone who has resigned from the city council from running for the council for two years following their resignation, was approved by 70.1 percent of the voters.

And Measure CD, which gives the City Council the authority to determine the dates of regular council meetings, was approved by 72.6 of the voters.

Statewide voters also voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults, but voted down a bill that would have required actors in adult films to wear condoms during sex scenes.

Proposition 64, the marijuana ballot measure, was approved by 56 percent of voters statewide.

Proposition 60, the adult film measure, was opposed by 53.9 percent of voters.

Statewide voters also defeated a measure that would have abolished the death penalty, while approving Proposition 63 that restricts the sale of firearms and ammunition.

County voters approved a parcel tax that would provide additional funds for parks and open space and a sales tax increase to fund transportation projects.

Measure A, the park fund measure, received 73.5 percent of the vote. Measure M, the transportation tax measure, received 69.8 percent of the vote. Both required approval by 66.7 percent of the voters.

Los Angeles city voters approved three of four ballot measures.

The only measure that failed was Measure RRR, which would have amended the City Charter to expand the Department of Water and Power board from five to seven members, and make other changes in how the department operates. It was opposed by 51.7 percent of voters.

Measure HHH, which would authorize the city to issue up to $1.2 billion in bonds to buy, build or remodel facilities to provide housing and services for the homeless, received more than 76 percent of the vote.

Measure JJJ, which would require certain residential projects of 10 or more units seeking general plan amendments or zoning changes to provide affordable housing and meet training, local hiring and wage requirements, won with 64 percent of the vote.

And Measure SSS, which would enroll all new airport peace officers in Tier 6 of the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions Plan, won a close contest with 50.3 percent of the vote.

All local elected officials were returned to office by voters.

In the 33rd Congressional District, incumbent Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu received 66.3 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Kenneth Wright.

In the 37th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Karen Bass received 82.1 percent of the vote to defeat Chris Blake Wiggins.

Democratic Assemblyman Richard Bloom was given another term in the 50th Assembly District. Bloom received 75.3 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Matthew Craffey.

And in the 54th Assembly District, Democratic incumbent Sebastian Ridley-Thomas received 81.9 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Glen Ratcliff.

The post Kamala Harris wins Boxer’s U.S. Senate seat appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

LOS ANGELES — On a day that saw Donald Trump elected the 45th president of the United States, California voters sent the second African-American woman to the U.S. Senate.

State Attorney General Kamala Harris defeated Orange County Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is retiring. Harris received 62.5 percent of the vote to easily defeat Sanchez.

Carol Moseley Braun, who represented Illinois in the Senate from 1993 to 1999, was the first African-American woman to serve in the Senate.

Statewide voters also voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults, but voted down a bill that would have required actors in adult films to wear condoms during sex scenes.

Proposition 64, the marijuana ballot measure, was approved by 56 percent of voters statewide.

Proposition 60, the adult film measure, was opposed by 53.9 percent of voters.

Statewide voters also defeated a measure that would have abolished the death penalty, while approving Proposition 63 that restricts the sale of firearms and ammunition.

County voters approved a parcel tax that would provide additional funds for parks and open space and a sales tax increase to fund transportation projects.

Measure A, the park fund measure, received 73.5 percent of the vote. Measure M, the transportation tax measure, received 69.8 percent of the vote. Both required approval by 66.7 percent of the voters.

Los Angeles city voters approved three of four ballot measures.

The only measure that failed was Measure RRR, which would have amended the City Charter to expand the Department of Water and Power board from five to seven members, and make other changes in how the department operates. It was opposed by 51.7 percent of voters.

Measure HHH, which would authorize the city to issue up to $1.2 billion in bonds to buy, build or remodel facilities to provide housing and services for the homeless, received more than 76 percent of the vote.

Measure JJJ, which would require certain residential projects of 10 or more units seeking general plan amendments or zoning changes to provide affordable housing and meet training, local hiring and wage requirements, won with 64 percent of the vote.

And Measure SSS, which would enroll all new airport peace officers in Tier 6 of the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions Plan, won a close contest with 50.3 percent of the vote.

In other races, U.S. Rep. Janice Hahn, defeated Steve Napolitano in the race for the Fourth District seat on the county Board of Supervisors being vacated by Supervisor Don Knabe. Hahn received 56.1 percent of the vote. Her father, Kenneth Hahn, served on the Board of Supervisors for 40 years, 1952 to 1992.

In the Fifth Supervisorial District, Kathryn Barger, chief assistant to retiring Supervisor Mike Antonovich, received 58.9 percent of the vote to defeat Darrell Park, a budget specialist from Pasadena.

Both Antonovich and Knabe were forced out of office by term limits.

In area congressional races, Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, received 68.7 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Jack Orswell, a businessman from Monrovia, in the 27th District.

Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, received 78.7 percent of the vote to defeat Democrat Adrienne N. Edwards, a housing counselor from Los Angeles, in the 34th District.

Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Cerritos, received 70.4 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Ryan Downing, an evangelical from Whittier, in the 38th District.

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Commerce, received 72 percent of the vote to defeat Roman G. Gonzalez of Downey, who listed no party preference, in the 34th District.

And in the 44th Congressional District, Nanette Diaz Barragan, an attorney from San Pedro, defeated Democratic state Sen. Isadore Hall in the race to replace Hahn.

Barragan received 51.2 percent of the vote.

In area Assembly races, incumbent Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, received 86.5 percent of the vote to defeat Sandra Mendoza, a community advocate from Los Angeles, in the 53rd District.

Incumbent Ian Calderon, D-Industry, received 62.4 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Rita Topalian of Whittier in the 57th District, in a rematch of the 2014 election.

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-South Gate, received 76.7 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Adams J. Miller of Lakewood, a documentary producer, in the 63rd District.

Several area communities have ballot measures regarding school bonds or other issues.

In the Downey City Council race, incumbent Alex Saab received 81.9 percent of the vote to easily win re-election in District 5, the city’s at-large district.

Attorney Blanca Pacheco won election in District 1 with 50.4 percent of the vote, replacing Luis Marquez, who was termed out of office.

Security firm owner Rick Rodriguez was elected in District 3 with 43.8 percent of the vote. He replaces Roger Brossmer, who also was termed out of office.

Downey voters also approved Measure S, which raises the city sales tax by half a cent for 20 years to fund a host of city services including police, fire and paramedics after-school and senior programs and street repairs. More than 62 percent of the voters favored the measure.

In the Alhambra Unified School District, Measure AE, which would authorize the district to issue $110 million in bonds to repair and upgrade elementary schools and attract and retain teachers was approved with 75.7 percent of the vote and Measure HS, a $149 million bond measure to repair and upgrade high schools, was approved with 75.6 percent of the vote.

Both measures required 55 percent of the vote for approval.

In the city of Bellflower, Measure D, which changes the way city council members are elected, was approved with 51.2 percent of the vote.

Measure W, which approves the sale of the Bellflower Municipal Water System to California-American Water Company, was approved with 54.5 percent of the vote.

In the East Whittier School District, Measure R, which would authorize the district to issue $70 million in bonds to upgrade aging schools, and Measure Z, which would authorize the district to issue $24 million in bonds to modernize classrooms, labs and computer systems, were both approved with more than 72 percent of the vote.

In the El Rancho Unified School District serving most of Pico Rivera, Measure ER, authorizing the district to issue $200 million in bonds to upgrade schools, was approved but Measure RR, which would have established an annual $99 parcel tax for nine years to improve schools and raise teacher salaries failed.

Measure RR required a two-thirds vote but only received 64.7 percent approval.

In the city of Lynwood, Measure PS, which raises the city’s sales tax by one cent for 10 years to fund city services, was approved with 74.1 percent of the vote. Measure RD, which establishes a rainy day fund into which 10 percent of 2016 authorized tax revenues shall be deposited and spent only in cases of financial hardship, was approved with 65.6 percent of the vote.

In the Lynwood Unified School District, Measure N, authorizing the district to issue $65 million in bonds to repair and upgrade classrooms and other school facilities, was approved with 78.2 percent of the vote.

In the Paramount Unified School District, Measure I, authorizing the district to issue $106 million in bonds to repair and upgrade classrooms and other school facilities, was approved with 83.1 percent of the vote.

In the South Whittier School District, Measure QS, authorizing the district to issue $29 million in bonds to repair and upgrade classrooms and other school facilities, was approved with 82.2 percent of the vote.

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