The Justice Department cited an example of a Maricopa County officer slammed a pregnant Latina woman—who was in her driveway—into her car repeatedly. more ›

The smoking ban in Santa Monica could soon take its hold on even more areas, with pending restrictions for lighting up in apartment buildings and in new hotels. "The City Council directed staff Tuesday to prepare ordinances banning smoking in all newly-constructed hotels and requiring landlords to designate apartments in multi-family buildings as either smoking or non-smoking units," explains the The Lookout News. more ›

A combo platter of community groups have announced they're filing suit against Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, on grounds he being a shady secret-keeper by not fully disclosing public information about dealings with immigrations enforcement agents. The National Day Laborer Organization (NDLON), the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), say they have been trying to obtain the info through the California Public Records Act. more ›

Members of the Bus Riders Union will be present at today's City Council meeting to speak out about their objections to the most recent round of Metro service cuts to bus lines. Those cuts will go into effect this weekend, and find numerous lines eliminated, shortened, or merged with other lines. more ›

"This is the beginning of Gay Heritage month in the great city of Los Angeles. It's an historic first," bellowed Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl this morning in City Hall. "We have arrived in this city and we see ourselves with basic human and civil rights as our challenge we still have not met on a national level." Added Rosendahl, the first openly-gay man elected to L.A. City Council, "but we've come a long way in this great city." more ›

Yesterday, LAUSD's Board of Education voted in support of condemning neighbor-state Arizona's controversial immigration law, SB 1070, on the grounds that its enforcement is likely to promote racial profiling. more ›

The federal government wants to know if the nation's second-largest school district "denied educational opportunities to students learning English," according to the Daily News. The Department of Education's civil rights branch is expected to launch an investigation focused on schools in Southeast LA and the west San Fernando Valley to determine if they are complying with expectations of equal opportunity in regards to providing instruction to English-language learners. more ›

The Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968 makes its West Coast debut today at the Skirball Center. It features more than 160 images that were taken by professional and amateur photographers and social activists to chronicle the injustice in America and helped build the momentum for the civil rights movement. more ›

Celebrated jazz bassist Charlie Haden returns to his bluegrass/country roots with his family and friends tonight at Walt Disney Concert Hall tonight at 8 pm. Joining him on stage are his daughters, the Haden triplets (Tanya, Rachel and Petra), son Josh Haden, wife Ruth Cameron, son-in-law Jack Black, and bluegrass greats including Jerry Douglas, dobro. There’s a 25% discount on tickets in the terrace and balcony sections. Use the code HADEN.   more ›

A long awaited decision announced at 10 a.m. on Prop 8 and 18,000 already-married couples proved mostly a loss for the gay community. In a 6-1 vote, the California Supreme Court ruled that Prop 8 was indeed an amendment and therefore remains law, meaning gay marriage in the state is illegal. However, as expected by many, the 18,000 couples who married during the Rainbow Window last year will remain legally married (the full ruling is embedded below). more ›

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's mayor's chief ethics officer and legal advisor, Thomas A. Saenz, has been tapped to head up the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights division: "'I don't think the president or attorney general could make a better selection,' said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the ACLU of Southern California. 'He's a throwback to the great civil rights attorney pioneers, like Thurgood Marshall.'" (via Daily Journal per LA Observed). more ›

“People have a right to participate in the electoral process without fear of intimidation or harassment,” Meg Waters of the Yes On 8 headquarters in Orange County told WeHo News in an investigation of the campaign's claim that their civil rights were violated. To that, Executive director of UCLA’s Williams Institute, Harvard-educated attorney Brad Sears said "They do like to play the victim. The right to participate without fear is not a right that’s recognized by any state constitution, and certainly not in the United States’ Constitution. The right to vote is a recognized right, but it isn’t people who voted being targeted, but those who gave money.” Both the FBI and US District Attorney's Office said they have received no reports about said civil rights violations. more ›

A new ad revealed today shows Senators Barack Obama (D) and Dianne Feinstein (D) together with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) asking people to vote "No" on Proposition 8, which seeks to eliminate same-sex marriage. more ›

Dance Downtown kicks up its heels tonight for the first installment of the summer-long Friday night series. Free admission to anyone who feels like trying a little salsa out on the Music Center Plaza. Beginner lessons are at 6:30, and a live DJ provides the tunes from 7:15-10. more ›

Below, you'll find some short reviews of three documentary films that will only be in theaters for a couple more days. They each tell very different stories in unique ways and all of them are worth your time and money. I've said it before (and I'll keep saying it until my nemesis, Per Degaton, finally manages to capture and neutralize me): if you go to the theater and buy a ticket for a documentary it is virtually certain that you will enjoy the experience. So many people shy away from seeing docs on the big screen, but when they ultimately try it out they are always glad they did. Okay, enough speechifying--onto the reviews! more ›

Yesterday marked 40 years since Dr Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. But did you know this? MLK Jr spoke at a packed congregation in Los Angeles just three weeks before his assassination: more ›

Since February is Black History month, we asked our friends at Eso Won Books in Leimert Park to recommend ten history books that would provide a balanced overview of black history, filling in any gaps in the American educational system. Included are a number of books that specifically focus on the history of African-Americans in Los Angeles. more ›

Today marks Jackie Robinson's 89th birthday, and the Dodgers are celebrating it by educating the youngins. more ›

The community of Watts seems to be undergoing a shift in atmosphere, reports the Daily News, as the area's gang violence has been decreasing, thanks in part to the Watts Gang Task Force. In terms of statistics, homicides were halved last year from the year before--11 in 2007 as compared to the 24 in 2006, and 2007 saw "a three-month stretch without a single slaying. Gang homicides for the approximately 1-square-mile home to an estimated 2,000 gangsters dropped from 13 in 2006 to eight last year." The larger area, known as the South Bureau, which includes 35,000 Watts residents, also saw a marked decrease in homicides from 2006 to last year. more ›

Science and art rarely mix. And yet, despite the near polar opposite natures of these two fields, there's something that makes a collaboration between science and art undeniably captivating. Perhaps it's because behind the often sterile and calculated shell of the world of science, there lies the same human stories we find in every other area of life. And while we regularly see tales of greed, corruption, triumph, racism, fame, and passion acted out in the political arena, or on the athletic field, or in the celebrity sphere, the scientific world has just as storied a past, rife with conflict, competition and courage. more ›

The courts once again sided with the Bush administration in its warrantless spy tapping program. This time, the liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to rule against the government in its handling of the war on terror. Somewhere, Abbie Hoffman is crying. Following an incident at Cal State Fullerton, in which nooses appeared on a clothesline at an anti-hate rally, civil rights leaders are calling for a federal investigation. College officials quickly took... more ›

He seems so nice on tee vee, but in real life Dog The Bounty Hunter is more like Dog The Hate Mongrel. The National Enquirer has just released audio of the A&E star explaining that he wants his son to break up with his "nigger" girlfriend. TMZ reports that Rev. Al Sharpton has already been notified and has begun polishing his black ass for the upcoming press summit and standard butt-smooching slash apology slash... more ›

In 1966, Huey Newton & Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party. A militia organization, made up of black men & women to fight for their rights, and defend themselves against “capitalist pigs” (the US government). more ›

Cornell Greathouse was shot in the throat with a stray bullet from a gangster's gun in 1993 that left him paralyzed. He was dancing at the time. The injury made him a quadriplegic and confined him to a wheelchair. In January of 2005 while he was being arrested by four Pasadena police officers, he was removed from his chair and hung across a concrete wall so he could be searched. Because the quadriplegic are... more ›

Most Gay and Lesbian literature uses the initials LGBT to describe the community. It stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. But the bisexual part doesn't usually get a lot of attention. MTV's new dating show, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, has made bisexuality public. I normally would not have watched a show with some random Myspace chick, but this set-up, with straight guys and lesbians duking it out for the same woman, was irresistible. At the end of the first episode, when Tila outs herself to both parties, there is a distinctly different reaction from the men and the women - or am I projecting? Whereas the men clearly were shocked and amazed, the women seemed betrayed. more ›

The only one of the accused 6 to not post bail, Mychal Bell, is expected to receive his sentencing today in Jena, Louisiana. Local officials tried to impede the traveling march from entering the small town of Jena (population: 2,971) by limiting 5 buses to enter the city limits per 12 minutes. Most locals have fled the city, businesses have closed down. While the arrest stems from the fact that 6 black teens beat a... more ›

2,000 DWP customers lost power today in Sun Valley. At noon, power was threatened to be cut from large energy consumers. But as the afternoon progressed, the Stage 2 was unlikely to happen. Yes, this is a heat wave. At age 18, having a DUI conviction, being a tagger and dealing in drugs is bound to get you caught up in murder charges in Van Nuys. A brush fire broke out in Castaic today... more ›

Last night the Pasadena City Council voted unanimously to abandon a proposed Ordinance which would have prohibited cyclists from traveling more than two abreast on any city street. The proposal was championed by Police Chief Melekian and was a direct response to the popularity of the Rose Bowl area for cyclists who ride Peloton style on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Melekian and Rose Bowl Management have claimed that user group conflict between the pedestrians and... more ›

As Bill Moyers and his guests, constitutional law expert Bruce Fein and political journalist John Nichols, made abundantly clear in their discussion on PBS' Journal (catch the whole episode here), the question that ought to be asked isn't, "should we be discussing impeachment?" but, "why haven't we seriously started discussing impeachment yet?" Even though a recent public opinion poll from the American Research Group revealed that 45% of Americans favored impeachment hearings for Bush... more ›

Starting today, audiences in Los Angeles can take their first worthwhile break from the summer blockbuster madness with one of the few award-worthy pics released so far this year (other than Ratatouille). First, a disclaimer. Do not let the trailers for Talk to Me, the new biopic starring the always excellent Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor, mislead you. This is not a film about the civil rights movement, or race in America. Those who are expecting to be preached to or to learn some profound lesson about racial injustice had best look somewhere else. more ›