Local Issues

The row house on Cecil Avenue was just like any other in the East Baltimore neighborhood where Rafiq Shaw lives. But one chilly day in December 2015, he had the bad luck to be walking by right as the police were getting ready for a raid.

"All out of the blue a bunch of police cars pulled up and grabbed me," Shaw said. "They threw me to the wall and put cuffs on me." The officers insisted he had come out of the house, which Shaw just as vehemently denied. "They thought I was someone else," he said. "That's what they thought the whole time. They called a name out that wasn't me."

Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D | Los Angeles County) issued the following statement in light of the announcement that alt-right movement leader and Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon will be Chief Strategist for President-elect Trump’s White House:

Lawmakers representing the Southland are joining the chorus of politicians calling on the Pentagon and the California National Guard to stop demanding repayment of enlistment bonuses that were granted incorrectly to service members.

Some legislators have also called for a House of Representatives probe into the matter and for a legislative fix to be passed.

Los Angeles residents will be able to vote in November on a measure that would build 10,000 housing units over 10 years for homeless individuals.

Proposition HHH would lend $1.2 billion to developers from general obligation bonds paid by property taxes. One third of the developers’ housing projects’ costs would be covered by the loan and they would raise the other two-thirds of their planned costs through state, federal and private sources.