In the heart of Los Angeles, Calif. lies a dream of 28 year old Christian Leath. His passion is the artistry of Japanese Anime. His current project, six years in the making, is the story of a young girl in Japan who uses martial arts to survive with her current status. It’s a Japanese story, but Leath says, it’s read in an American way, meaning from left to right. Leath hopes to one day take his book to a publisher and get it out to bookstores.
Hunger- The OTHER side to the Homelessness Dilemma
Homelessness is a problem in Los Angeles, but it’s not the only one that pledges our state, our country, and even the world. World Vision sponsors local groups in promoting and hosting 30 hour famine, where for 30 hours people go hungry in a hope to collect money for hungry children in various areas of the world.
Autism Awareness And The LAPD
One out of 88 children have autism as the number consistently grows each year. As part of Autism Awareness Month this April, the Autism Society of Los Angeles teamed with the Los Angeles Police Department to accomplish two missions for the officers as well as for the children.
Watch now, to see just how the children and the police officers are being educated to deal with each other in Los Angeles County.
Pet Expo 2012
The Twenty-Third Annual America’s Family Pet Expo offers many different things to Southern California Residents. Watch now to see what new things this year’s expo has to offer.
Restoring State Parks—- Earth Day 2012
In Celebration of Earth Day 2012 and as part of a statewide initiative of The California State Park Foundation, nearly 100 Los Angeles residents came out on the second Saturday in April to work on preserving and restoring the natural side of Los Angeles. They worked in groups to remove Fennal plants as well as nonnative California plants, cleaned up and preserved trees, removed dead trees and planted new trees and shrubbery for future generations to enjoy its beauty.
Santa Monica Pier: More Than Just A Beach
The Santa Monica Pier in Southern Calif. is more than just a place to relax next to the Pacific Ocean. The Pier was first opened September 1909. It was originally built to allow its residents to “walk above the waters of the Pacific Ocean”. Now, the pier offers residents as well as tourists the opportunity to visit unique shops, restaurants and a mini amusement park including the Heal The Bay Aquarium. In addition, some residents have chosen to make the beach their home.
Watch now, to see just what this unique beach in Southern California has to offer for all ages.
Life After College- A look into the professional life of a recent college graduate in California
Twenty four year old Jovi Hinojosa says his ultimate dream job is to be a crime scene investigator. Graduating from Cal State University Los Angeles nearly two years ago, he tells of his inspiration behind pursuing this career path despite the obstacles in his way.
A Musician With a Different Instrument
Roderick Muro is a musician of a different sort. His Musical talents lie within the magic of the computer and his fingers. Listen now to learn more.
For more Information, Follow him on Facebook.
The Ultimate Experience of a First Time College Student
- Roxana Jimenez says she is determined not to let anyone, who believes in her, down.
Los Angeles resident, Roxana Jimenez, says living in the dorms is a way to experience life on CSUN’s (Cal State University Northridge) campus. She says it is easier for her to wake up and not have to worry about the two-hour bus ride from Los Angeles.
Jimenez lives with three other first time freshmen and says the biggest challenge is “getting used to habits.”
But she adds, glancing at her wall of inspiration, there’s a family aspect to dorm life. “We all motivate each other to do well,” she says.
Students, like Jimenez, are busy throughout the week with studying and other social life, and Jimenez says, “You don’t have time to pick up after yourself.” So on Fridays, she says, she likes to “clean up before going home to L.A for the weekend.”
Lewd Acts: How does one measure it?
“It’s called, they’re not getting an education right now, because (they’re) closing down a school that students have gotten used to having teachers in and a school that they’ve gone to, to where it’s not fair on the kids and it’s not fair to the kid’s parents because they’re used to the teachers that come to them, telling them the problems of their kids and it hurts the teachers more than it hurts anybody in the world.”
Nicole Johnson, a resident in North Hollywood Calif. says, in regards to the teachers that have been accused of lewd acts on minors, some of which have officially been charged.
Over the past month beginning January 31, news sites have reported a number of teachers and workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District that have been accused of committing Lewd Acts on young children. It started with a teacher at Miramount Elementary in South Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times reported that former teacher Mark Berndt was charged with lewd acts on 23 children ages seven to ten. Using what he called to be a game, Berndt would tie the children up and fed them spoonfuls of semen and in some instances would blindfold students and put cockroaches on their faces.
From this accusation, more were soon to follow and the Los Angeles Unified School district made the decision to close down Miramount after a second teacher was arrested just four days after Berndt, for fondling a girl.
Residents, like Johnson, were unhappy about the superintendent’s decision. Johnson also said, she didn’t think the teachers should have been laid off, because, “there are still good ones even given the bad ones.”
Even more Los Angeles residents say they are disturbed at the number of teachers that are admitting to these crimes.
Judi Schmidt of North Hollywood Calif. says, “It’s disgusting.” She says, she first heard about the Miramount teacher during lunch, and she was so appalled that she couldn’t eat.
Similarly a local grandparent in Pacoima Calif., Bobbie Johnson says she is surprised at how many teachers have come out and thinks there should have been more signs of the abuse.
LAUSD’s Code of conduct states, no teacher is allowed to touch or have “physical contact with a student that is not age appropriate or within the scope of the individual’s responsibilities.” Teachers are expected to read and adhere to this strict code.
Subsequently, the California Penal Code says that anyone, even teachers, “who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd act on a child under 14 is guilty of a felony”. According to the standard dictionary definition, the term lewd is any acts that are deemed to be “crude and offensive in a sexual way.”
Once convicted in California, under the Megan’s Law, sex offenders will be publicly registered so that the community will know where they are at all times.