South LA Christening, First Communion Celebration Turns Deadly



Man dies after being struck by hit-and-run driver in South LA



A 39-year-old transient was transported to the hospital after an SUV hit him on Avalon Blvd. between 83rd and 84th Streets.

Pack your Fourth with festivals, food and fireworks



What are you doing with your day off Thursday? Grab a Frisbee and a picnic blanket and celebrate not just our country but our neighborhood. If you’ve heard about other events, please comment and we’ll share them!

 

Daytime:

The California African American Museum (CAAM) will open at 10:00 a.m., and artist and educator Teresa Tolliver welcomes all ages to an art workshop beginning at the museum at noon.

LA’s Department of Culture Affairs has joined with Bernard Parks’s office to offer Jazz on the Hill at Norman O. Houston Park (Stocker/La Brea). Music starts at noon and ends at 4:00 p.m. Shuttles run for a half hour before the event and an hour after it ends to parking lots at Park Hills Community Church.

Grand Park’s 4th of July Block Party opens at 2:00 p.m.

 

Evening:

CAAM’s Gleaming at Twilight program offers visitors first dibs on seats for Exposition Park’s fireworks show. It’s all music, but the lineup ranges from Broadway stars to jazz instrumentalists to Judith Hill of “The Voice.”

 

Night (Fireworks):

South Gate: South Gate Park, 9:00 p.m.

Commerce: Rosewood Park, 9:00 p.m.

Gardena: Rowley Park, 9:00 p.m.

Lynwood: Lynwood City Park, 9:00 p.m.

Huntington Park: Salt Lake Park, 9:00 p.m.

LA: Exposition Park, 9:00 p.m.

 

Weekend:

The second annual Peace, Love and Family ride departs from Exposition Park at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 6. Stop by early to register and mingle with other pedalers, then set out south on Vermont Ave. Riders are encouraged to join the group at Vermont/Gage around 10:45 a.m. and at Vermont/Manchester around 11:30 a.m. A fair celebrating healthy living follows, featuring live music, free health screenings and bike gear giveaways. Bands will take to the stage at 8619 S. Vermont Ave. around 1:00 p.m.

FDA: Plan B contraceptive available to all – but could price hinder access in South LA?



The Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday it has officially approved the emergency contraceptive Plan B One-Step for over-the-counter sale to all women of childbearing age.

Nearly half of Crenshaw High’s teachers won’t return this fall



Crenshaw High School will lose half its staff in reconstitution this summer. When it reopens, its curriculum will comprise three magnet programs instead of traditional 9-12 content.

 

From Alley to Beach, L.A. Channels Silicon Valley



South L.A.’s teenagers carry Silicon Valley to Silicon Alley, one line of code at a time.

Will AmazonFresh help South LA residents get fruits and vegetables? For now, the answer is no



Residents, Union Workers Protest Closure Of South LA Supermarket



Coliseum deal could go forward today



The California Science Center Board of Directors could vote at its meeting June 5 to approve the latest terms of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum lease agreement with USC.

If approved by the Board, the agreement would give USC full managing rights at the state historical landmark and guarantee the university 70 percent of the parking spaces in the Science Center’s deck on 25 event days per year (33 if the NFL uses the stadium temporarily). It would also extend USC’s lease from 2054, the expiration date agreed upon in a December 2012 plan, to 2111 — a 98-year deal.

But opponents of the deal spoke out at public forums this week, saying that the loss of parking would take both revenue and visitors away from the California African American Museum , the California Science Center and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. [Read more…]

Calls for peace amid the roar of souped-up engines in South Los Angeles