In the News
Rep. Maxine Waters isn't about to play "Let's Make a Deal" with the House ethics committee.
Cop a plea? Not a chance.
Instead, the Los Angeles Democrat is training her fire on the ethics panel, saying the allegations are as thin as the paper on which they're printed — and she contends she'll prove it in an open trial.
"I don't think she's going to be very diplomatic about this," said a source who knows Waters well. "I think she's going to call them out in very stark terms."
BY GARY WALKER
Wireless communications provider T-Mobile has canceled its plans to install a cellular tower in a Westside residential neighborhood following the intervention by Rep Maxine Waters (D-Westchester) and a united opposition against the proposal.
The Argonaut reported on Aug. 12 a proposal by the wireless company to install a 43-foot cell tower outside the Westchester home of Jeffrey and Candace Yip, who promptly rallied their friends and neighbors in an effort to force T-Mobile to abandon its plans for the tower.
By LEILONI DE GRUY
Jury deliberations in the trial of a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer accused of killing an unarmed Black man in Oakland on New Year's Day 2009 are expected to resume Thursday after they were restarted Wednesday.
The jury began deliberations for 2 1/2 hours last Friday, but when jurors reassembled Tuesday after the long weekend, one of the original jurors had been excused because of a pre-planned vacation and another juror was ill.
by Jim Abrams
Congress has not updated the program since 1994. In the ensuing years the once-solvent program had to pay out some $17 billion in Katrina-related claims and had to deal with FEMA flood zone remapping that has thrust thousands of homes and businesses into areas where they are required to buy flood insurance.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the chief sponsor of the bill, said it helps reduce the sticker shock of FEMA remapping by delaying the mandatory buying of insurance for five years and then phasing in full premiums over another five years.
by Arthur D. Postal
President Obama on Friday morning signed into law an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program until Sept. 30.
The bill is H.R. 5569, the "National Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010."
The bill is retroactive to June 1, when the authorization for the program lapsed for the fourth time in several years.
The bill also reduces the borrowing authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which runs the program, by $50 billion to $20.725 billion.
The state of civil rights was the focus of the 39th annual conference of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and Citizen Education Fund which was held June 12--16 at the Hyatt McCormick Place in Chicago. The conference, themed "A More Perfect Union--The State of Civil Rights", focused on leveling the playing field for women, minorities and the underserved through the enforcement of civil rights laws, a commitment to economic justice, and the pursuit of diversity and inclusion.
by Brian Watt
The Theme Building's signature arches make it look futuristic, but the historic landmark was built 50 years ago. Its observation deck offers a 360-degree view of takeoffs and landings at LAX and beyond. That's why authorities decided that leaving it open was a security risk after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
By Bob Fernandez
Comcast Corp. will appoint a Latino to its board of directors within 24 months of closing a deal to acquire control of NBC Universal Inc., the Philadelphia cable company said Wednesday.
Having a Latino director is part of a broader agreement with Hispanic groups to win support for the NBC Universal deal. Comcast corporate directors earn about $300,000 a year, according to company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
By Michael Doyle
The drug gangsters who grow marijuana and cook meth in Sierra Nevada forests would face stiffer penalties under a bill introduced Wednesday by a San Joaquin Valley lawmaker.
Amid fears that public lands have become riddled by illicit drug plots, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, authored a bill to impose 10-year prison sentences for drug production in national parks, national forests and other federal properties.
"There are a lot of dangers up in the forests," Nunes said Wednesday, "and I think this will make a dent in that."