September 07, 2023

By Cora Jackson-Fossett

Managing Editor

Demonstrating the tragedy of gun violence, Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-65) will hold the Mothers in Mourning March on Saturday, September 9, at 9 a.m., at Jordan High School, 2265 East 103rd St. in Los Angeles.

Parents, siblings, or friends who have experienced the death of a loved ones due to armed weapons are invited to attend demonstration and dress in black clothing, said Gipson, to illustrate grief and bereavement.

“I believe there is a disease of gun violence that is taking place in my district and taking place far too long,” declared the assembly member.

“So, the purpose of this march is to bring every mother, every grandmother, every aunt, every cousin, and every female who has lost loved ones. We are looking for an atmospheric transformation to take place in this community,” said Gipson, who hopes 1,000 people will participate in the march.

Outlining the factors that motivated him to call for the march, Gipson cited the increase in deaths of young people killed by guns.  Also influencing him was learning that the acronym for Watts that children in the neighborhood use is “We Are Trained To Survive.”

“Our children shouldn’t have to think like that. They should be thinking of living a long, prosperous life and as long as I’m in office, I’m going to do everything that I can to pull people together, to raise the visibility of this disease that plagues our community; and try to make sure that we cut it off at the root so it can die and our children can live on,” insisted Gipson.

The event will include a rally with remarks by several women who lost a child or loved one to gun violence.

Co-sponsors of the march include A New Beginning 4 You Foundation, Brady Community Empowerment Movement, East Side Riders Bike Club, Everytown for Gun Safety, Grieving Hearts Foundation, Justice for Murdered Children, Moms Demand Action, NAACP Compton Branch, Watts Area Ministers, Watts Gang Task Force and Women of Watts.

To learn more or to RSVP, call Mark Fuentes at (310) 324-6408 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

September 07, 2023

By Stacy M. Brown

NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Amidst a news cycle that now routinely features wildfires, former president indictments, and extreme weather events, the world is grappling with the resurgence of COVID-19 as a new and concerning variant, BA.2.86, emerges. This variant, informally dubbed “Pirola,” has ignited alarm among public health experts due to its substantial spike protein mutations.

Dr. Scott Roberts, an infectious diseases specialist at Yale Medicine, warned that Pirola exhibits over 30 spike protein mutations compared to the previously dominant XBB.1.5 variant in the United States.

The spike protein is critical for the virus’s entry into human cells, and such a high number of mutations raises red flags. In an online Yale Medicine article, Dr. Roberts compared the mutation count to the shift from the Delta to the Omicron variant in 2021, which caused a significant surge in cases due to its immune evasion capabilities.

What’s particularly concerning is that Pirola has been detected in at least six countries, and these cases appear unrelated. Experts said that suggests undetected community transmission and international spread, sparking concerns of a potential resurgence.

According to medical experts, BA.2.86 is a designated variant of Omicron, a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19. BA.2.86 stems from BA.2, a previously circulating Omicron subvariant. The variant was first identified in Denmark in late July and made its way to the United States in August. Knowing that cases aren’t linked indicates broader circulation, significantly as COVID-19 surveillance has waned, medical experts asserted.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that current COVID-19 tests and medications, such as Paxlovid, Veklury, and Lagevrio, seem effective against Pirola. However, Pirola may be more adept at infecting individuals who have had COVID-19 or have been vaccinated. There isn’t any current evidence that it causes more severe illness.

The increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. is attributed to XBB lineage viruses rather than Pirola. The multitude of mutations in Pirola raises concerns about its potential to bypass immunity from natural infection or vaccination.

Dr. Roberts emphasized that ongoing studies would reveal the true nature of Pirola’s threat. The unprecedented number of mutations in Pirola is reminiscent of significant shifts seen in other respiratory viruses, such as the 2009 swine flu. However, he noted that these variants sometimes fade away without causing a significant impact.

The critical question now is whether Pirola will follow the explosive growth pattern of Omicron or fade away, as everyone hopes. As of August 30, the CDC has identified Pirola in at least four U.S. states through samples from individuals or wastewater.

Some regions have reinstated mask mandates in response to the spike in COVID-19 cases. Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, is among the institutions requiring masks in clinical areas to protect patients and staff. The CDC reports a nearly 19% increase in weekly new COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S., marking the sixth consecutive week of rising admissions.

The arrival of new COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax in mid-September is expected to offer robust protection against variants. Until then, experts stress that masking remains a crucial tool for safeguarding against COVID-19, even for individuals with normal risk levels, depending on their location and contacts.

Dr. Stephen Thomas of the Upstate Medical University in Syracuse told NPR that the facility has reverted to mandating masks.

“We wanted to, No. 1, protect our patients, and, No. 2, protect the men and women who work in our facility, and take care of them,” Thomas told NPR. “So, we implemented universal masking for staff, visitors, and patients only in clinical areas. So, we’re a university. We’re large. We have a lot of non-clinical regions. Universal masking is not being mandated in non-clinical areas.”

September 07, 2023

LAWT News Service

More than 1,000 new teachers of preschool and early elementary school grades will start work in the Golden State over the next six years thanks to two new programs being launched at CSUDH, following a transformative gift announced today.

Ballmer Group is committing a historic $22 million to CSUDH over six years, marking the largest donation ever given to the university. The majority of the gift will fund scholarships for students through the university’s Toros Teach L.A. program, which will help address California’s severe shortage of early childhood educators by preparing, graduating, and placing culturally competent, racially diverse teachers and leaders in schools across the Los Angeles region.

“This program, supported by a generous gift from Ballmer Group, will have an outstanding impact on communities with a high need for credentialed preschool and early childhood educators,” said CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham.

“It will support communities of color by creating a pipeline of teachers working and staying in the area, and improve those educators’ ability to create positive outcomes for their students through the use of culturally competent pedagogies.”

California’s early education workforce faces a serious shortfall of teachers, with some estimates putting the need at nearly 10,000 educators as the state expands access to transitional kindergarten to all 4-year-olds by the 2025-26 school year. CSUDH’s Toros Teach L.A. program will include two initiatives to address this need: Early Childhood Excellence and Black Educator Excellence. Through these, the university will build equity-embedded credentials, help districts recruit and support their Black educators and all educators of Black children, and enable educators to forge successful teaching careers with less debt and improved career retention.

“We are excited to work with Ballmer Group toward educating and mentoring culturally responsive teachers for the preschool-3rd grade classrooms of the Los Angeles region,” said Jessica Zacher Pandya, dean of the College of Education at CSUDH. “With this generous gift, we can offer this training to more future teachers, who can then serve the communities they come from while helping to alleviate this critical need for the state.”

The grant supports scholarships for up to 1,200 students, allowing them to earn bachelor’s degrees and PK-3 or K-8 teaching credentials. The program also includes training and upskilling for current teachers, including new units needed for the PK-3 credential once it becomes available and certificate coursework for current teachers who want to improve their ability to teach ethnically diverse learners.

“This significant, impactful gift accelerates our rollout of the new PK-3 credential, while also fostering a diverse pool of future educators,” said Mi-Sook Kim, dean of CSUDH’s College of Health, Human Services and Nursing, which houses the Department of Child Development. “Our Child Development program will also support current teachers looking to upgrade their learning and earn a new credential to progress in their career.”

Ballmer Group’s grant to CSUDH was paired with a gift of $11 million to California State University, Long Beach, to support similar programs on that campus.

“Early education is a game-changer for giving kids a fair shot in school and life,” said Kim Pattillo Brownson, Director of Strategy and Policy for Ballmer Group. “Teachers are vital to this work, and CSUDH and CSULB will now be able to support LA’s future early educators through scholarships, degree programs, and partnerships to support our children’s learning.”

Connie and Steve Ballmer co-founded Ballmer Group in 2015 to focus on improving economic mobility and opportunity for children and families in the United States who are disproportionately likely to remain in poverty. Ballmer Group directs its philanthropy to help ensure that a person thrives through a healthy birth and stable family, a safe childhood and adolescence, a good education, and a career that can support a family.

August 17, 2023

LAWT News Service

On Tuesday, August 8, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy Christopher A. Coes (U.S. DOT) met with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) executives, local authorities and community members to celebrate the recently awarded grant funding for the “RAISE Up Watts:

Catalyzing Connectivity through Active Transportation” project in Los Angeles.

The group met at the Watts Towers Art Center for a brief walking tour where Coes had an up close and personal look at the Watts community and heard, first-hand, about the direct impact the funding will have on the community.  

The walking tour concluded with a Community Fair at the Watts Towers Amphitheatre, featuring booths from community partners including LAUSD, Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative, LA Neighborhood Land Trust, Eastside Riders, We Care Outreach and the Watts Rising Street Team. Coes took time to visit each partner booth.  

Funded from the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity” (RAISE) grant program, under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the award, totaling $6,967,923, will be used to plan and construct improvements to the Wilmington Avenue Corridor and Rainbow Bridge, intersection improvements, traffic calming measures, landscaping, sidewalks, public art, wayfinding signage, bulb-outs, utility relocation, and ADA ramps. 

Following the fair, a press conference was held with remarks by Senator Steven Bradford, Lynn Von Kock-Liebert, executive director of Strategic Growth Council for the State of California, and Hamilton Cloud, special projects director for Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

Yumi Kawasaki, principal of Markham Middle School, was also joined by local parents to emphasize the importance of these pending infrastructural changes and the positive impact they will have on the students as they transport to and from school daily. The event concluded with a check presentation from Coes. 

“The Watts Rising Collaborative has provided us with significant feedback from local community organizations that will allow us to address very specific needs in the Watts community,” said HACLA President/CEO Doug Guthrie.

“RAISE Up Watts is a continuation of our commitment in Watts to link arms and work together to achieve what this community has long deserved – better jobs, safer streets, clean air, and long, healthy lives.”  

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is delivering safe, reliable and sustainable infrastructure improvements, and this grant will help enhance mobility, safety and the quality of life for residents of the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles,” said Coes.

“The $6.9 million RAISE grant for improvements along the Wilmington Avenue Corridor, which includes the replacement of the Rainbow Bridge connecting to the Watts Cultural Trail, will increase access to employment, education, shopping, healthcare and other services while making it easier for residents to walk or bike to their destinations.”