County Fails To Enforce Federal Hiring Quotas

Words from Damien Goodmon

Folks –

See the article in this week’s Wave Newspaper below highlighting gross non-compliance on county construction projects receiving federal dollars. Black contractors, black workers and women have been cut out of work despite federal laws requiring their participation. I had the opportunity to participate in the meeting with Ms. Pleasant referenced in the article, and first a hat tip to the NAACP, NAEJA and YBCA leaders for being on this issue. The extensiveness of the documentation is impressive and disturbing.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas has been touting the local hire record at the MLK Hospital, which is to be commended. However, the reality is, the bulk of county money is being spent on hundreds of projects elsewhere – everything from sidewalks to courthouses. And the record outside the MLK Hospital complex based on the information I viewed and Ms. Pleasant reported on is abysmal. There are laws that are being broken, and the advocates on this issue have apparently been unable to get even a meeting with Supervisor, let alone agreement to champion enforcement of said laws.

Just like the Crenshaw Line project is being touted as this major job creator. “Thousands of jobs” is the claim of many politicians. The reality is at most the project will employ 250-300 construction workers at any one point. Do the math: if one out of every 3 of those workers is black that is just 83-100 jobs. Far more than 100 jobs will be lost from the 4-5 year long  street-level and cut-and-cover construction period and even more economic loss will occur long-term from the street-level design in Park Mesa Heights.

These are just the facts and intended to help provide a full perspective so that you can hold your politicians on the LA County and MTA board accountable.

Yours In the Struggle,

Damien Goodmon

Crenshaw Subway Coalition

The Wave’s Article 

The Next Prince of Monaco May Be Black

Yeap! Not sure if you guys may have come by this information but with all this royal talk might as well slide this in too, long story, short  back in 2003 the Prince Albert of Monaco got in real quick with Nicole Coste, at the time, a Air France flight attendant and produced Prince Alberts first son Alexandre Coste.  This is actually Prince Albert’s second illegitimate child, a girl by a real estate agent, I believe back in 1997.  Nicole Coste who is a citizen of Togo–a  British colonized African nation seems to have full custody at this point and I believe the father has to see his soon from a far, probably more or so by the royal family’s choice.  However provided what Nicole had to go thru, (just the media attention alone, not even thinking about what schemes or pressure the royal family probably put on her) to prove that Prince Albert was the father, if she didn’t want him to see the kid I wouldn’t blame her.  Forgive the blurriness of the picture but its hard to find a good picture of the boy and his mother together.  Now given the source I listed below, they say that boy will not be in line to become the next Prince, no explanation of why but that the kid would be entitled to the same inheritance, just like Prince Albert’s other kids.

Black Prince of Monaco 

Prince Albert may have a THIRD love child

Has The Expo Line Helped South Los Angeles

The Wave newspaper recently released an editorial on the first of phase of the Expo line connecting Culver City to DTLA via Baldwin Hills and South LA, stating the line brings the city closer together.  I agree that the city seems more unified by the rail lines however I don’t know if I would go as far as to say the Expo Line has actually brought any economic good to South LA.  Given that the last African American Business District can with stand the 5 years of construction, the Crenshaw/LAX Line will do wonders for the community   Well what do you think, do you think the Expo Line has any good for South LA?