COMMUNITY MEETINGS, FORUMS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Leaves of Carson Nomination Period Extended

The nomination period for the City of Carson’s Leaves of Carson volunteer recognition program has been extended to May 8.

Leaves of Carson, a project of the Public Relations Commission, is a program in which individuals who live or work in the city of Carson or local-based organizations are recognized for their contributions as volunteers in the Carson community.

Seven categories are open for nomination, including business, education, public safety, public sector, Carson resident, nonprofit organization and posthumous category. The program is open to residents, as well as individuals that work in Carson who devote unpaid, volunteer hours in the Carson community.

The Leaves of Carson awardees will be recognized at an awards ceremony scheduled for July this year. Each of the awardees will get a gold leaf bearing their name on the Carson Tree, which is displayed at the lobby of the Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald Community Center.

With the exemption of the posthumous award, which is to be selected by the City Council, the awardees are to be selected by a panel of judges composed of city commission, committee and board chairpersons, based on the information provided by the nominating party.

Nominations forms are available at the city of Carson Public Information Office, 701 E. Carson St., Carson. All nomination forms must be received by 6 p.m. on May 8 to be considered for the award.

Information: (310) 952-1740.

Non-responsive Perspective Jurors Ordered to Appear at Sanctions Hearing

As part of the Los Angeles Superior Court’s coordinated program to encourage voluntary participation in jury service, Southeast District Assistant Supervising Judge Raul A. Sahagun will convene May juror sanction hearings for Southeast District citizens who did not respond to jury-service notices mailed on three separate occasions to their last known address.

The sanction hearings begin at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays during May—May 13, 20 and 27— in Department C, third floor, Norwalk Courthouse, 12720 Norwalk Blvd., Norwalk.

The jurors to whom notices were mailed in the Southeast District are among thousands who may face stiff fines, plus a new jury service assignment.

“Sanctions are a last resort, but even at that late date, monetary sanctions may not be imposed if a person agrees to serve. The Court’s priority is having the people cooperate with us to ensure that jury service is shared by all eligible citizens in Los Angeles County, as mandated by the Legislature,” said Presiding Judge J. Stephen Czuleger.

“The court has no interest whatsoever in using these sanctions as a source of money,” said Czuleger.

Because a 1999 court rule established One Trial Jury Service, jurors now summoned for jury duty need only be present at s courthouse for s single day of jury selection. Although members of a jury panel may be asked to return the following day, all others in the jury assembly room will be excused at the end of the day with their jury duty obligation completed for at least 12 months.

If chosen a jury however, a juror must serve until a decision is reached.

YWCA/GLA to Salute Phenomenal Women

YWCA Greater Los Angeles (YWCA/GLA) will host the Phenomenal Women Awards luncheon at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles on May 14. The luncheon will recognize and spotlight more than 200 Los Angeles area businesswomen from the corporate and nonprofit sectors.

This year, Maria Contreras-Sweet, founding chairwoman of Promérica Bank, the first Latino-owned bank in California in more than 30 years, will deliver the keynote address. Contreras-Sweet was the first Hispanic female member of a California governor’s cabinet, Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing, and is also founding president of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality. Leading corporations joining to recognize and salute their phenomenal corporate women include: Southern California Edison, WaMu, Union Bank of California, AEG and Farmers Insurance, among others.

Information: (213) 365-2991, ext. 1328.

Bavubuka Foundation USA Prepares to Launch the Bavubuka Girls Project

Rejecting the concept that outsiders have all the answers to “saving Africa,” the Bavubuka Girls Project is a new kind of nonprofit organization committed to empowering, educating and enriching the lives of girls ages 6-16 in the Kampala district of Uganda. Promoting sisterhood and leadership, Bavubuka Girls provides girls with a forum in which they can define themselves, discover their self-worth, and determine their futures.

The Bavubuka Girls curriculum is based on four target initiatives: writing, literacy, black baby dolls, and the arts. “Far too often, young girls in African nations do not have access to baby dolls that reflect their distinct and diverse physical features. In order to provide Ugandan girls with a stronger sense of identity and pride, we have developed the Black Baby Dolls Initiative, which will provide girls in Uganda with black baby dolls of all shades and hues,” says Divinity Barkley, the founder of the Bavubuka Girls Project and current student at the University of Southern California.

Set to launch in October 2008, Bavubuka Girls will feature a curriculum that includes group discussions, musical and artistic performances, one-on-one mentoring relationships, writing workshops, educational lectures, skills-training workshops, cultural exhibitions, health seminars, public speaking workshops, and recreational activities.

The organization is searching for women from the United States and Canada to serve as program coordinators. The application deadline is May 23. To request an application, e-mail bavubukagirls@gmail.com.

LA NAACP Fetes LA Clippers’ Owner

The Los Angeles NAACP will honor Donald T. Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s annual Roy Wilkins Freedom Fund Awards Gala, May 15, 7 p.m., at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, downtown Los Angeles. The theme for this year’s event is “Civil Rights: No Turning Back.”

Sterling will receive the President’s Award for his personal commitment to community activism and instilling a spirit of corporate philanthropy within the L.A. Clippers’ organization.

An attorney and real estate developer, Sterling supports 170 charities and provides direct benefits to more than 15,000 kids in the Greater Los Angeles area, with the help of the Clippers Foundation. Currently, the Sterling family is creating a multi-million dollar homeless center in downtown Los Angeles.

The Clippers’ owner has been honored by numerous organizations and selected humanitarian of the year by several charities. Sterling and the Los Angeles Clippers organization provide substantial support to a number of African American charities including the Los Angeles NAACP, United Negro College Fund (UNCF), Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC), the Black Business Association (BBA), and Bishop Charles E. Blake’s Community Development Center (CDC).

In addition to Sterling, the NAACP will recognize Bishop Charles E. Blake, pastor of West Angeles Church, with the Trailblazer Award, actress Victoria Rowell, the Humanitarian Award and Alice Huffman, president of the California State Conference, the Sojourner Truth Award.

Information: (323) 857-0869.