June 18, 2009 

THE SOUTHLAND

Tuskegee Airman Roger Terry Dies in Los Angeles(AP) — Roger Terry, whose conviction for “jostling” a superior was reversed 50 years after he and other Tuskegee Airmen attempted to enter a whites-only officer’s club, has died. He was 87. Theodore Lumpkin, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the World War II black fighters unit, said Terry died of heart failure June 11, at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center. An army lieutenant and bomber pilot, Terry and more than 100 black officers were arrested in April 1945 for refusing a general’s demand that they sign papers admitting they were wrong for protesting the segregated club at Freeman Field, a military airfield near Seymour, Ind. Terry was court-martialed, convicted of “jostling” a white officer, and dishonorably discharged. In 1995, the U.S. military exonerated Terry. He was among 300 Tuskegee Airmen who received the congressional Gold Medal in 1997.    

Judge Wants Assurance Before Ending LAPD Oversight(AP) — A federal judge says the Los Angeles Police Department has made great strides in reforming itself but he will not rescind a decree mandating U.S. Justice Department oversight until several key issues are resolved. Judge Gary Feess on June 15 extended the existing consent decree for another two weeks rather than allowing it to expire June 16. The Justice Department favors ending the decree, which has been in place since 2001, when the government threatened to sue over what it said was a pattern of police abuse dating back decades. The judge, however, wants assurances on requirements mandating policies to eliminate biased policing, establishment of a system for evaluating police officers, and provisions for certain officers to disclose their financial assets. Feess gave Justice and police officials one week to respond in writing. 

Audit: L.A. Probation Staffers Work Excess Overtime(AP) — Los Angeles County supervisors have ordered an inquiry into excessive overtime pay for Probation Department employees. An audit released the week of June 8 found the department routinely exceeds its combined overtime limit of 24 hours a week, costing the department nearly $50 million over the last five years. The audit showed that 366 staff members each worked more than 300 overtime hours in the 2007-08 fiscal year, earning an average of $42,600 in overtime pay. The supervisors on June 9 told the department to find out what went wrong, who was disciplined, and to propose future safeguards. Information from: Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com.   

San Bernardino County to Implement Marijuana IDs

SAN BERNARDINO (AP) — San Bernardino County plans to quickly implement an identification card program for medical marijuana patients. County spokesman David Wert says the program will begin with in 45 days. The county Board of Supervisors issued the directive during a closed-session meeting June 9. It follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear an appeal by San Bernardino and San Diego counties, which argued that federal law outlawing marijuana possession and use pre-empts California law allowing possession and use upon a doctor’s recommendation. Patients have to fill out applications and provide documentation at the county level before the information is sent to the state, which issues ID cards. Information from: The Sun, www.sbsun.com.  

San Diego Newspaper Publisher Succumbs

Geraldine “Gerri” Warren, co-publisher and managing editor of the San Diego Voice and Viewpoint newspaper, passed away June 8 following a long illness. She was 62. Warren was an important presence in a variety of San Diego civic activities, including the NAACP, the Human Relations Commission, United Way and the Black Chamber of Commerce.    A former resident of Washington, D.C., and Florida, Warren contributed to the drafting of a constitution for the District of Columbia’s statehood proposal to Congress, and in 1996 she organized and founded the Florida Tribune newspaper bringing local African American coverage to three south-central Florida counties every week for the past 13 years. Warren, along with her husband John, was also an ordained minister and together they founded Eagle’s Nest Christian Center, where they served as co-pastors until her death. Warren was the mother of four and had been married to her husband for 31 years. 

THE NATION

Gov’t Going Forward With Swine Flu Vaccine Plans

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health secretary Kathleen Sebelius says production of a vaccine for swine flu is being set up in case a vaccine program is recommended. Sebelius says the government is making every effort to be prepared as the swine flu runs its course. She says the good news is that this swine flu seems not to be such a lethal virus. Still, Sebelius says, the government is working with governors as well as health and schools officials in case a major vaccination program is needed. She says that production of a vaccine could start as early as late summer and be ready by the fall. Nearly 18,000 cases of swine flu have been reported across the United States with 45 confirmed deaths. Sebelius, former governor of Kansas, appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” June 14. 

Big Brothers Big Sisters partnering with frats

ATLANTA (AP) – Three of the country’s largest black fraternities are joining forces with Big Brothers Big Sisters to help woo black men to be active in the national mentoring program. The organization is partnering with the Baltimore-based Alpha Phi Alpha, the Philadelphia-based Kappa Alpha Psi and the suburban Atlanta-based Omega Psi Phi. The Philadelphia-based nonprofit has struggled to attract minorities to pair with a growing list of black boys from single-parent homes who are signing up in droves. Big Brothers Big Sisters spokeswoman Kelly Williams say the organization has a waiting list of about 8,500 black boys who are waiting for mentors. But only about 15 percent of mentors involved in the program are black men.   

THE DIASPORA

Gabon Government Swears in Bongo Replacement

LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — The head of Gabon’s Senate was sworn in June 10 as the Central African nation’s interim president, the first time in more than four decades that anyone except the late leader Omar Bongo has held power. Bongo died June 8 at the age of 73 after suffering cardiac arrest at a Spanish hospital where he had been treated for weeks. Senate chief Rose Francine Rogombe’s appointment to the interim presidency follows constitutional procedure and sets the stage for presidential elections she must organize within 45 days. By law, only a natural disaster or catastrophe could delay the poll date, by up to 45 more days, said constitutional court president Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo. Under Gabon’s constitution, Rogombe is ineligible to run for president.Known as one of Africa’s last “Big Men” — leaders who clung to power through fear and corruption — Bongo had dominated the oil-rich former French colony for 42 years. Both loved and feared, he was, at the time of his death, the world’s longest-serving president, the only leader most Gabonese ever knew.