On Monday morning, a restaurant in the 6200 block of Broadway was robbed by an African-American male, estimated to be 25 to 27 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, and about 170 pounds.

Detectives are asking anyone who might recognize the man caught on tape as he robbed the restaurant to come forward with any information they might have.

In the released footage, the suspect can be seen walking calmly through the door and behind the counter to demand money from the cashier. Once the register is open, the cashier and another employee walk away as the suspect empties cash into his sweater pockets and strolls away.

Police say that the man brandished a gun at the cashier, and are calling for anyone who might recognize him to come forward. He was wearing a black beanie, black pants and a black hooded sweatshirt at the time of the incident.

The LAPD is directing that anyone with information regarding this case come forward via any of the below means:

Call
Newton Area Robbery Detective O’Brien or Detective Medina at 323-846-6572
Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) for anonymous tipsters

Text
Text any information to Crime Stoppers at the number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads)
All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.”

Online
Click here for the LAPD’s Anonymous Web Tips and fill out the form.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced today that six BusinessSource Centers will be reopening across Los Angeles, including a location in South Los Angeles.

The centers are designed to offer real-world expertise, training and support for small businesses in their vicinity, according to a press release from the mayor’s office.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy,” Villaraigosa said. “We are reopening the BusinessSource Centers to give entrepreneurs the tools they need to create jobs and grow their businesses.”

The South Los Angeles BusinessSource Center, which is run by the Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation on Slauson Avenue, will offer services from helping businesses navigate city permits and regulations to marketing and financial management workshops.

Other locations include East Los Angeles, Central/West Los Angeles, the Harbor area and two locations in the Valley.

The centers are part of the mayor’s campaign to create jobs that includes his proposals for improving LAX and the Port of Los Angeles as well as creating a new transportation network in the city.

By Sharita Moon

More than 150 children and adults celebrated the holiday season with Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and participated in the countdown to the lighting of the ” Tree of Hope” Christmas tree at the Second District’s third annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony.

The Ceremony took place at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center in Willowbrook, where children of all ages listened to members of the King Drew Medical Magnet High School Alumni Choir and the Emanuel Turner AME Church Praise Team Choir. They kept warm with hot chocolate and apple cider and munched on cookies and cupcakes before choosing which toy to take home.

“Tonight we are here to celebrate hope, peace, and joy in the Second Supervisorial District,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “This tree is a symbol of a renewed commitment to providing optimal medical care this year and every holiday season hereafter.”

Los Angeles, Calif. —  Verizon awards a $24,900 grant to the Junior Firefighter Youth Foundation (“Foundation”) for its signature Junior Fire Cadet Program (“Program”) enabling the Foundation to include a domestic violence prevention training component. The grant presentation took place on Friday, December 9 at the site of the training – Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists at 706 E.  Manchester Blvd. in South Los Angeles.

“Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists is the first of several schools that provides life-changing training as a part of the Program’s curriculum,” said Foundation Founder Captain Brent Burton of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.“The Foundation’s after school program focuses on making smart choices, and targets 4th and 5th graders, it runs for seven weeks and meets for 1 1/2 hours one day per week on the campus of selected elementary schools,” added Burton who runs the program with the assistance of Firefighters Derwin Pitts and Cliff Taitt.

The Verizon grant will help fund a domestic violence educational training program taught by Dr. Dayatrice Darrington, a clinical psychologist, who will begin the discussion by exploring the five categories of domestic violence – physical aggression, assault, emotions, pain, and shame.“I ask the children how they perceive abuse and if they can give examples,” she explained. “My goal is to educate the children about what is abuse, how to identify abusers, how to take proactive actions, how to react in the situation, where to find and get help, and provide them with coping skills about how to handle their own conflicts.”

“Domestic violence is a troubling issue that affects communities everywhere. Verizon is proud to partner with community organizations like the Junior Firefighter Foundation, who are on the front-lines of domestic violence prevention,” stated Gene Eng, vice president of Strategic Programs for Verizon.

About the Junior Firefighter Youth Foundation
The Program was founded in 2003 by Burton who is the current president of the African American Firefighter Museum and former President of the Stentorians of Los Angeles County.Assisting Captain Burton are LAFD Firefighters Derwin Pitts and Cliff Taitt.For more about the Foundation or the Junior Fire Cadet Program, go to http://www.jrffyouthfoundation.org.

About the Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists
Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists (WAYS) a public elementary charter school. Founded in 2006, WAYS serves kindergarten through grade five students. WAYS has quickly gained a strong reputation as an academically high performing charter successfully serving a population of students traditionally labeled as underperforming.The After School program provides an opportunity to merge the rigor and instruction that occurs during the regular school day during after school hours. For more information about Wisdom Academy of Young Scientists, visit http://wisdomacademy.org.

About Dr. Dayatrice Darrington
Since 1996, Dr. Darrington has worked with diverse children from the age range of infancy to 18 years old who were in the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services’ system as victims of domestic violence. Studies estimate that 10 to 20 percent of children are at risk for exposure to domestic violence.

>b>From the Community Coalition

Innovative Partnership Mixes Traditional and New Community Engagement Tools To Win Neighborhood Improvements

We are all used to mapping tools to locate restaurants or other commercial services in a neighborhood. But some local South Los Angeles residents are using similar mapping strategies and tools to fight crime in their neighborhood. At a Community Public Safety Meeting, 60-75 South L.A. residents will gather to identify and map their public safety concerns and areas for improvement in their neighborhood.

Residents of the Martin Luther King Park neighborhood have employed traditional methods and tools like petitions, community meetings, door-to-door surveys and questionnaires to find ways to improve safety in their community. But a unique partnership between Community Coalition and Healthy City is bringing innovative tools and methods like mapping technology to the mix to continue to impact the transformation of this neighborhood.

WHEN & WHERE: Saturday, Dec. 10th, 2011 from 9am to 12pm at the Martin Luther King Recreation Center [3916 South Western Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90062].

“The traditional methods of collecting data like community surveys and questionnaires still work, but we now have the opportunity to use exciting and innovative technology that can really help us understand residents’ public safety concerns and pinpoint exactly where people feel safe, where they don’t and why,” said Alberto Retana, Executive Vice President of Community Coalition. 

It elevates the voices and perspectives of those who live in the neighborhood by taking their input and using it to advocate for specific policies or resources to address the community’s concerns.”

“Healthy City and Advancement Project are dedicated to leveling the playing field, so that high-need communities can make their most effective case for change. In this case, our partnership with Community Coalition is an example of how our data and mapping expertise supports community mobilization and will increase safety for the residents of South L.A.,” said John Kim, Director of Healthy City, a project of the Advancement Project.

The feedback gained from the Saturday session will help inform the ongoing campaign led by residents of the Martin Luther King Park neighborhood to create a safer, healthier and cleaner neighborhood.

The maps created from the Public Safety Meeting will be available to the public and media.