"California Love...In the City...City of Compton....California..." This is the song that comes up to my mind from Tupac whenever I hear about California. I (Sal) decided to do a website on this sunny state today (8/27/05) after a former housemate moved here....
Another friend of mine lived in North Hills for a summer. He worked at CDX Communications (16211 Parthenia St.; North Hills CA 91343), which is a telephone service provider for the city.
"LOS ANGELES � A Metrolink commuter train carrying 222 people collided head-on with a freight train Friday afternoon, killing at least 10 people, injuring dozens and leaving an unknown number of others trapped in a horrifically mangled passenger car imploded by its own locomotive.
Firefighters put out a fire under part of the wreckage and pulled people from the passenger car which was left lying on its side with the Metrolink engine shoved back inside it. Two other cars in the Metrolink train remained upright. Firefighters worked to free victims more than four hours after the 4:23 p.m. wreck.
The engine of the Union Pacific freight was left on its side, with the rest of its train accordioned behind it.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told reporters at the scene that 10 people were confirmed dead and that the toll could go to 15. He said the number of injured was probably more than 100.
"This is the worst accident I've ever seen," Villaraigosa said. "Clearly the injuries are going to mount and so are the fatalities."
Police Lt. John Romero said the death toll was 10 to 20.
Fire Chief Dennis Barry said the Metrolink locomotive was deeply embedded into the passenger car.
"We have victims on top of victims," Barry said.
One of the dead was a Los Angeles police officer, said Assistant Police Chief James McDonnell.
Firefighters treated the injured at three triage areas near the wreck, and helicopters flew in and out of a nearby landing area on medical evacuation flights.
Rescuers worked atop the wreckage and through breaches in the passenger car to reach victims. Dazed and injured passengers sat on the ground and milled about on both sides of the tracks.
Surgeons were sent to the scene.
Eleven victims were taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, including five in critical condition, said spokeswoman Patricia Aidem. The five men and six women range in age from 18 to 56.
"We've had head injuries, chest injuries, abdominal. One man is going into surgery who has a broken leg," Aidem said. "It seems every five minutes another ambulance comes in."
Dr. Stephanie Hall, chief medical officer at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, said three people in critical condition � two females and a male � were being treated at the hospital.
"They are massive injuries," she said.
A male passenger told KNBC-TV he boarded the Metrolink train in suburban Burbank and was talking with a fellow passenger when the crash occurred.
"Within an instant I was in my friend's lap. It was so quick. It was devastating," he said. The man was visibly injured, but able to walk with the aid of firefighters. The man said he was involved in a devastating 2005 Metrolink crash in Glendale and was talking about it with the other passenger when Friday's crash occurred.
The crash "made a terrible sound, like a bomb, a huge noise," said Julio Pedraza, 35, who lives and works at a nearby horse boarding facility. He said he saw passengers emerging from the wreckage, and he and others helped the injured, one with skin peeling off of his forehead.
"They were yelling for help and crying," Pedraza said in Spanish.
The trains collided in the Chatsworth area of the San Fernando Valley. County Sheriff Lee Baca said the alarm was sounded by a sheriff's deputy who was aboard the train but was not hurt.
Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell said there were 220 passengers aboard the passenger train along with one driver and one conductor.
"I do not know what caused the wreck. Obviously two trains are not supposed to be on the same track at the same time," said Tyrrell who broke down crying and was shaking.
Tyrrell said the Metrolink train left Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and was headed northwest to Moorpark in Ventura County.
She said the Metrolink train was being pulled by its locomotive rather than being pushed. The push mode is controversial due to claims that it makes trains more vulnerable in accidents.
The condition of the freight crew was not immediately known.
Union Pacific spokeswoman Zoe Richmond said a freight train usually has a two-person crew.
She also said it is common in California for freight and commuter trains to share the same track.
"You see it a lot in California where commuter trains share tracks with freight trains," Richmond said, adding she couldn't speculate about the cause of the crash.
The federal investigation into the crash will be headed by the National Transportation Safety Board, said Steven Kulm, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration. The FRA will conduct a review of whether any federal rail safety regulations were violated, he said.
Asked about how the two trains ended up on the same track, Kulm said, "We are nowhere near having any information on that."
The crash happened in an area where the tracks form a "U" shape, about 2,500 feet wide. At the top of the bend is a 500-foot long tunnel that runs beneath Stoney Point Park, popular with climbers for its large boulders.
On the north side of the tunnel, there is a siding, a length of track where one train can wait for another to pass, Tyrrell said.
The area where the crash occured, which is used by freight and commuter trains, has a reputation for trouble, said Najmedin Meshkati, an engineering professor at the University of Southern California.
"That stretch of rail � an 18-mile stretch � has had a lot of crossing accidents, a lot of other accidents in the last 10 years," Meshkati said.
The toppled passenger car was part of a Bombardier BiLevel coach, commonly used for regional railways from Seattle's commuter rail Sounder to New Jersey Transit. Each double-decker car is about 16 feet high and 10 feet wide and can seat up to 160 passengers, depending on its configuration.
The worst disaster in Metrolink's history occurred on Jan. 26, 2005, in suburban Glendale when a man parked a gasoline-soaked SUV on railroad tracks. A Metrolink train struck the SUV and derailed, striking another Metrolink train traveling the other way, killing 11 people and injuring about 180 others. Juan Alvarez was convicted this year of murder for causing the crash."Engineer sent text 22 seconds before fatal train crash (Wednesday, October 1st of 2008) CNN "LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A Metrolink engineer driving a commuter train sent a text message about 22 seconds before the train collided with a Union Pacific freight train last month, the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday...
The bill also limits the hours a week rail crews can work, and prohibits shifts longer than 12 hours, the AP said.
On Wednesday, the NTSB said that Sanchez, 46, sent a text message at 4:22:01 p.m. on September 12, the NTSB said, citing information on his cell phone activity that the safety board subpoenaed from his service provider.
The preliminary estimate of the time for the head-on collision is 4:22:23 p.m., NTSB said, citing Union Pacific train's onboard recorders.
Sanchez last received a text message at 4:21:03 p.m., NTSB said.
Don't Miss
* Human error led to fatal train collision, spokeswoman says
From 3:03 p.m. -- when Sanchez returned from a break that had lasted several hours -- until the collision, the engineer received seven text message and sent five, the NTSB said. The safety board did not identify with whom Sanchez was exchanging text messages.
From 6:44 a.m. until 8:53 a.m. that day, when Sanchez was also in charge of a train, he received 21 text messages and sent two dozen, the NTSB said.
"The Safety Board's Recorder Laboratory is continuing to correlate times recorded for use of the Metrolink engineer's cell phone, train recorder data, and signal system data to a common time base," NTSB said.
After the incident, California Public Utilities Commission banned train operators from texting on the job...."
" The story of William J. Seymour and the beginnings of the Pentecostal Revival in Los Angeles in 1906
This is PHOS Film #3 from underthestairsproductions.com" Azusa Street Centennial (1906-2006)
Articles: AZUSA STREET TIMELINE, from spirithome.com The Lasting Impact of the Azusa Street Revival
By Paul Strand
Washington Sr. Corresponden (CBN News) "...Parham took his beliefs about the Holy Spirit with him to Houston, Texas, where five years later he opened another Bible school. One of his most fervent followers there was a young black pastor, William Seymour.
Because of the segregation laws of the time, though, Seymour could not actually sit in Parham's classroom, but had to listen out from the hallway, through the door that Parham left open for him.
Even though he himself had yet to speak in tongues, Seymour, the one-eyed son of a former slave, became an ardent advocate for Parham's doctrines and moved to Los Angeles to take a preaching job.
"Parham was essentially passing on the baton of the Pentecostal movement to Seymour, who then took it on to Los Angeles," Johnson said.
But after just one sermon, in which Seymour preached about tongues and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, his new congregation -- mightily offended -- padlocked Seymour out of the church.
Two black families took the cash-poor pastor into their homes until he could get enough money to return to Houston. But until then, they had him lead prayer meetings, most of them in a big house on Bonnie Brae Street... Pentecostal Movement Celebrates Humble Roots
L.A.'s Azusa Street to Mark Centennial of Fast-Growing Religion Centered on Holy Spirit
By Marshall Allen
Religion News Service
Saturday, April 15, 2006; Page B09 "
LOS ANGELES -- One hundred years ago, a series of boisterous revival meetings in a converted stable on Azusa Street launched a global movement that overcame differences in class, gender and race to unite around the belief that the Holy Spirit still works miracles....
...The congregation met in the round, with Seymour facilitating the interactive gathering from the center of the room. The meetings were in the style of the black church, with hand-clapping, foot-stomping and shouting. But, at the height of the Jim Crow era, they included blacks, whites, Hispanics and Asians from the Los Angeles melting pot -- up to 1,300 people at a time." Story Behind the Revival, from dunamai.com "n the early morning of April 18, 1906, San Francisco residents were rudely awakened by the deadliest earthquake in North American history. A devastating fire, fed by ruptured gas lines, finished off what the earthquake, later estimated as 8.3 on the Richter scale, failed to destroy in its first deadly seconds. Some 700 people lay dead among the decimated 514 city blocks.
Angry men and women blamed God and the unstable earth sitting atop the unpredictable San Andreas Fault. A gospel tract, rushed to the printer and widely circulated in the area, called the tragedy a judgment and a warning from the God some were cursing.
That same morning, 400 miles south, the world took notice of another movement—one with aftershocks still spreading today. In a skeptical front-page story titled "Weird Babel of Tongues," a Los Angeles Times reporter attempted to describe what would soon be known as the Azusa Street Revival..."
Miscellaneous: Wikipedia "...The group from Bonnie Brae Street eventually discovered an available building at 312 Azusa Street, which had originally been constructed as an African Methodist Episcopal Church in what was then a black ghetto part of town.[10] The rent was only $8.00 a month.[14] A newspaper referred to the downtown Los Angeles building as a “tumble down shack...."
-Follow-up Report: Christians Sweep Up Calif. Firestorm Mess
By Jeremy Reynalds
Correspondent for ASSIST News Service (Sunday, November 4, 2007 ) "SAN DIEGO, CALIF. (ANS) -- News about the widespread California wildfire have faded from the headlines, but Christian organizations and churches are still there helping clean up the destruction left by the fires.
At one point up to a million people were estimated to have been evacuated.
The Christian Post reported that Christian Reformed World Relief Committee�s Disaster Response Services (CRWRC-DRS) said it was holding a house-to-house needs assessment and reconstruction response among 1,800 homes and businesses that were destroyed. The church relief group is in contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the American Red Cross and other agencies to plan to assist homeowners.
With church groups from other parts of the country ready to assist, we are coordinating possible follow-up work with evacuees to help assess their losses, their eligibility for aid, and their available resources,� the Christian Post reported CRWRC-DRS Director Bill Adams said.
They plan to focus on the most vulnerable survivors � those without insurance, the elderly, handicapped, and those surviving below the poverty line.
CRWRC-DRS also rebuilt homes in low-income neighborhoods in the East hills near San Diego after wildfires in 2003.
According to the Christian Post, international Christian relief and development agency World Vision is also working among survivors. It is distributing household basics to area families including bottled water, face masks, bedding and blankets, clothing, personal hygiene products, diapers and baby food, ground coffee and cleaning supplies.
World Vision will distribute the goods to local churches and community organizations who will in turn distribute them to evacuees.
The Christian Post reported that corporations which have donated supplies to World Vision�s California fire effort include Cardinal Health, Cypress Medical, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, KIDS and others to amount to an estimated $2 million worth in product.
It will take time for life to return to normal here,� said Jo Carcedo, World Vision's area director for Southern California.
World Vision is especially concerned about families whose homes have been completely destroyed, who didn�t have insurance, who may have lost their jobs or who were already struggling financially,� the Christian Post reported Carcedo said.
Carcedo added, �We�ll continue working closely with our church partners in affected communities to make sure these families receive the support they need to get back on their feet.�
Saddleback Valley Community Church has also pitched in to help provide food, housing, comfort and counseling to victims.
It's been a busy, busy week,� the Christian Post reported Saddleback senior pastor Rick Warren said on CNN's "Larry King Live" show. The 128-acre campus served as an evacuation center for refugees and as a �refreshment center� for about 500 firefighters.
We have been housing animals, pets, feeding people,� noted Warren.
The Christian Post reported the megachurch pastor said more than 600 people from his church's college ministry went into the hardest-hit areas of San Diego to pray, clean up and offered help.
In total, there were 23 wildfires in Southern California which was blamed for at least 14 deaths, more than 508,000 scorched acres, and the destruction of over 1,600 homes. "
1960s: Death and Rebirth
In 1963, winds of change were blowing mightily through San
Francisco. Nowhere were these forces of transformation more
visible than at Glide Memorial Church. That year, a young
African-American minister named Cecil Williams came to Glide
determined to bring life back into the dying congregation. Cecil
changed both the policies and practices of the conservative
church, helping to create the Council on Religion and
Homosexuality in 1964. In 1967, Cecil ordered the cross removed
from the sanctuary, exhorting the congregation instead to
celebrate life and living.
"We must all be the cross," he explained. As the conservative
members of the original congregation left, they were replaced
by San Francisco's diverse communities of hippies, addicts,
gays, the poor, and the marginalized. By 1968, the energetic,
jazz-filled Celebrations were packed with people from all classes,
hues, and lifestyles. That year, San Francisco State University
erupted in protests over demands for ethnic studies and
affirmative action. Cecil and the Glide community helped lead the
demonstrations; the church became a home for political, as well
as spiritual, change. Glide offered a safe space to groups ranging
from the Hookers Convention to the American Indian Movement
and the Black Panthers. In the midst of their political work, Glide
never forgot the basic needs of the community. The meals
program was launched in the 1960s, serving one free dinner
a week to all comers. As a decade of clamoring change came to a
close, Glide further added to the joyful noise: The world-renowned
Glide Ensemble choir held its first rehearsals in 1969. And Janice
Mirikitani, a noted poet and dancer, had also just been appointed
Coordinator for Glide's programs. The church would never be
the same again....
2000s: Our Time is Now
But there is still so much for Glide to do.
Poverty, drug abuse, violence, and despair persist in San Francisco
as they do across the country. By working to combat these
problems, Glide serves as an oasis in a desert of hopelessness,
marching to the edge where victories for social justice are won.
Glide is a place where old, destructive ways of being are thrown
out and new ones created. Where names are named and love is
celebrated and a simple call goes out to all races, classes, genders,
ages, and sexual orientations: It's recovery time. It's time to love
unconditionally.
Glide Memorial Church
Related Sites: Glide Memorial Church
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "...Recently, the movie The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith and his son Jaden, depicted the real life rags-to-riches story of Chris Gardner and his son. Once homeless, they turned to Glide's services for support to help them get back on their feet. Cecil Williams and his wife Janice Mirikitani, the leaders of the church's services for over 40 years, can be seen briefly in the movie as can a number of homeless people employed as extras.[citation needed]...
*see GoodnewsEverybody.com Social Issues: Needy, Poverty, Poor, etc...
"Watch the principles of law to the proud, grace to the humble get put into practice as Kirk witnesses to hardened gang members at Santa Monica, Southern California."
"SAN FRANCISCO (ANS) -- Out to break the commonly-held notion that Christianity is about judging others, a group of San Francisco Christians braved the rain on Saturday to show tangible evidence of God�s love to the city's needy.
In a story by Katherine Phan, the Christian Post reported that the part music-festival, part-outreach �I AM LOVE�360" event mobilized dozens of youth volunteers from local San Francisco Bay Area churches to Civic Center Plaza to show the love of God in a practical way by handing out free meals, blankets and prayers to the homeless and needy.
�God's love is complete and worldwide. Christians should be the first to reach out to whomever, wherever,� Living Grace Fellowship pastor Rodgar McCalmon, who organized the event, told the Christian Post.
�San Francisco is just a starting point. Hopefully, people see what this event is and go into other towns,� he added.
Among believers, the Christian Post reported, the word �love� has become synonymous with Christianity. It is rare to hear a sermon in which the pastor fails to mention the love of Jesus and the love of God.
However, that �love� is not being observed by many outside the church. The Christian Post reported that while many Christians say the most important thing in their faith is a relationship of love with God and their neighbors, non-Christians still hold negative perceptions of present-day Christianity. According to a 2007 Barna study, 80 percent of non-Christians view evangelical Christianity as judgmental and hypocritical. ..."
Events
Bayside Church Come Together Oct 7 2007
"Here is a video of the 2007 Bayside Church Come Together at Arco Arena California approx 16,000+ people in attendance This event happens every two years, to rehab inner-city schools. Ray Johnston , Lincoln Brewster"
"American pastor and evangelist, Greg Laurie, hit a �home run� for Christ during his annual �Southern California Harvest Crusade with Greg Laurie� that attracted some 102,000 people to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, representing more than 30 countries around the world....
I was dizzy pretty much every night, but when I spoke, I did not feel it at all. In fact, preaching was the one time of relief. I thought about just staying at the pulpit till the next night!
When I led people in prayer at the back of the stage each night, I was careful to not stand too close to the edge so I would not fall over!
I was reminded of the Scripture where Paul wrote that God�s strength was made perfect in weakness, and that certainly was the case for me this weekend. I was totally dependent on the Lord each night to get up and do something I take for granted- preach....
Laurie continued, �Jesus doesn�t see a crowd in this stadium. He sees you here tonight. Do you want to change your life? You can leave this place a different person if you give your heart to Christ.� Laurie concluded each night�s program with an invitation for those in attendance to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Over the course of the weekend, 9,521 people walked down to the field of Angel Stadium to make such a profession.
Music lent support to the talks presented by Laurie each night at the Harvest Crusade, reinforcing the message of God�s love. From raucous hip-hop and rock from multi-platinum band P.O.D., to lively pop-infused music and dance steps from tobyMac, to an audience sing-a-long with the David Crowder Band, the Christian music represented at the crusade kept audiences on their feet. Other crusade musicians included Leeland, Crystal Lewis, Phil Wickham, and Dennis Agajanian."
"Are you prepared for an EarthQuake? (Video produced by the USGS)" California ban on same-sex marriage struck down, updated 5:04 a.m. EDT, Fri May 16, 2008 (CNN.com) "..In a 4-3 120-page ruling issue, the justices wrote that "responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation."..
*see Homosexuality-Sodom &Gomorrah ("Get off the Internet.org, 7th Day,
Archives:
The Great San Francisco EarthQuake of 1989
"A film produced by the USGS with our tax dollars."
"About 800 homes, ranging from multimillion-dollar mansions to modest mobile homes, have been razed by wind-whipped fires that have erupted through the region since last Thursday.
At least 50,000 evacuation orders have been issued and nearly 8900ha have been destroyed in the blazes, which have stretched from Santa Barbara to southeast of Los Angeles. ..
" SAN FRANCISCO - Firefighters from neighboring states arrived to help Monday after an "unprecedented" lightning storm sparked more than 800 wildfires, from Big Sur to wine country to Humboldt County.
Thousands of firefighters battled the blazes on the ground and from the air and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he was alarmed by the number of fires that kept erupting.
He said he was told late Sunday evening that the state had 520 fires, and he found it "quite shocking" that by morning the number had risen above 700.
Moments later, a top state fire official standing at Schwarzenegger's side offered a grim update: The figure was actually 842 fires, said Del Walters, assistant regional chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. All but a couple were in the northern part of the state.
"This is an unprecedented lightning storm in California, that it lasted as long as it did, 5,000 to 6,000 lightning strikes," Walters said. "We are finding fires all the time."
The assistance, mostly firefighting aircraft, arrived Monday from Nevada and Oregon after being requested over the weekend. Schwarzenegger said he had enlisted the help "because you can never prepare for 500 or 700 or 800 fires all at the same time."
Part of the reason for the swelling number of wildfires was that local and state officials were still counting after the fierce thunderstorm Friday night that touched off the blazes.
"We didn't get real lucky with this lighting storm," Walters said. "It wasn't predicted � which often happens with these storms that come in off the Pacific, there's no history of the weather as it approaches the shore � and so we got hammered."
In Mendocino County alone there were 110 fires, with just 17 contained.
Two of the biggest fires had each charred nearly 6 square miles.
One started in Napa County and quickly moved into Solano County, and threatened about 250 homes about 40 miles southwest of Sacramento, said Kevin Colburn, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It was 60 percent contained Monday.
The other was in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, about 160 miles north of Sacramento, and threatened about 1,200 homes. The largest of the fires threatened about 1,200 homes, and several youth camps and forced evacuations. The governor declared a state of emergency in Monterey and Trinity Counties on Monday.
Along the coast in the Los Padres National Forest, a 2,000-acre wildfire burning south of Big Sur since Saturday forced the evacuations of 75 homes and businesses, destroyed one house and threatened hundreds of others.
It also led to an emergency airlift Sunday of eight endangered California condors. U.S. Coast Guard helicopters transported the seven juveniles and one adult bird from a wildlife center to the Monterey Airport.
A second fire in the Los Padres burned more than 57,000 acres and has injured nine firefighters.
Two blazes about 25 miles south of San Jose had forced hundreds of residents to flee over the weekend, but most were being allowed to return Monday. One fire was 90 percent contained and the other 50 percent.
In southern Arizona, two new human-caused wildfires were burning Monday but not threatening homes. A 700-acre fire in the Rincon Mountains east of Tucson was fully contained. Lightning sparked that fire."
Malibu and Southern California Wildfires 10/21/07
"On the morning of October 21, 2007 a series of wildfires broke out in Southern California and quickly spread which led to the evacuations of Pepperdine University's campus in Malibu and several hundred homes in the area. The fires are being further fueled and spread by the Santa Ana Winds which have been gusting up to 80 mph."
"...25 members of the Community Presbyterian Church had to piece together their own worship service because their interim pastor couldn't get a resident's card, the crucial piece of identification needed to drive past roadblocks.
A sign outside the church said, "Life is Fragile; Handle with Prayer."
Members hugged and rejoiced over the congregation's fortune: The fire had spared all local members' homes, a woman had given birth to a healthy boy while evacuated, and power had stayed on for those who disobeyed the order to leave town.
"Praise the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; we have lucked out much more than we deserve," said Bill Lange, a scientist who led the service. "Dear Lord, thank you for sparing us again and thank you for helping all the people who needed the help."
As the organist started playing "Here I Am, Lord," several women wiped tears from under their glasses.... "
"SAN DIEGO - Faced with unrelenting winds whipping wildfires into a frenzy across Southern California, firefighters conceded defeat on many fronts Tuesday to an unstoppable force that has chased more than 500,000 people away...."
"
USA (MNN) ― For the first time in a week, firefighters in Southern California seem to be getting the upper hand in fighting the wildfires. The fires scorched 500,000 drought-stricken acres and displaced close to a million people.
It's the largest mass migration in the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina and more than were evacuated during the 2003 San Diego wildfires--previously considered California's worst. Property damage has reached at least $1 billion in San Diego County alone, and President Bush signed a major disaster declaration for California.
Many of the displaced are in a state of shock. Although the region boasts expensive real estate, there's a large segment of the population who will find it nearly impossible to recover from the fires.
"Churches always serve as a first response for people to turn to in times of crisis," says World Vision's Jo Carcedo (carSAYdo). She says they're partnering with their church network to help those left destitute by the fires.
"We have personal care items, hygiene, diapers, things that people need most immediately in crises like this where frequently they have to vacate their homes. We're working through our networks to bring those resources as they may be needed."
The initial shipment also included tents, cooking sets, a water purification system, bottled water, face mask filters and clothing. Their team is also assessing the further needs of vulnerable, low-income populations who might not have ready-access to insurance or other resources.
It's times like these when the spiritual needs become evident, too. "One of the things that World Vision does particularly well is engage people in a way that's supportive of the crises and some of the concerns that they have. We also walk with them on their journey, as many of them might be reaching out to God, perhaps for the first time."
Pray that the fires in Southern California will cease. Pray also for those affected by the fires, including families driven from their homes, those who may face loss of livelihood, children, the elderly, and others vulnerable to respiratory problems because of poor air quality. Click here if you can help.
World Vision
Phone: 1.888.56.CHILD
URL: http://www.WorldVision.org
PO Box 9716, Dept W Federal Way, WA
98063-9716
This Story in Audio
1min 2min 4.5min
How Can You Help?
Fire Storm
"After seeing all the media coverage, on the Fires in California, I thought to myself, Dear GOD please protect those brave fighters, while they do battle with fire and brimstone, so I made this video, so those who watch or read can all together pray as one... GOD BLESS.."
ACTION POINT:
*referred by P.O.D. on Sunday, October 28th of 2007
-State (Minnesota):
MN Woman To Fight Emotional Battle In Calif. Fire, from WCCO.com"
...Chapters in Minnesota have sent nearly 60 volunteers to California, for the emergency response work because of the wildfires...help others deal with the psychological side of the fires. She'll talk with other volunteers who are under...",
Oct. 27, 2007, 7:00 p.m. CT Minn. Firefighters Headed To Calif. To Help, Oct 26, 2007 6:28 pm US/Central "Friday morning, a strike team composed of 15 firefighters and five fire trucks left for Los Angeles from Cambridge, Minn..."
"Mimeistry is an international arts organization that seeks to restore the arts to the Church in excellence through performance, discipleship and missions. Mimeistry has a full time School of Ministering Arts located in Pasadena, California offering degrees in %&#xoc;iates and/or Bachelor's in Ministering Arts"
"The Los Angeles riots of 1992, also known as the Rodney King uprising or the Rodney King riots, were sparked on April 29, 1992 when a jury acquitted four police officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a high-speed pursuit. Thousands of people in the Los Angeles area rioted over the six days following the verdict. Widespread looting, assault, arson, and murder occurred, and property damages totaled one billion dollars. Many of the crimes were gang-motivated or perpetrated. In all, 53 people died during the riots....
What started the L.A. riots in 1992
"Los Angeles, CA - In an unexpected climax to a year of racial strife surrounding the alleged L.A.P.D. beating of Rodney King, a jury of six men and six women found the officers not guilty. The jurors were unable to reach a conclusion regarding one charge against Officer Laurence Powell, age 29, for using excessive force under the color of authority. A mistrial was declared by Judge Stanley Weisberg on that one count, with eight jurors voting for acquittal and four for a guilty verdict.
Sgt. Stacey Koon, Officer Theodore Briseno, and Officer Timothy Wind were found completely not quilty on all counts of official misconduct, excessive force, filing false police reports, and assault with a deadly weapon. District Attorney Ira Reiner said that no decision had been reached in regard to whether or not to retry Officer Powell on the one count that was declared indecisive.
An eighty-one second video tape, captured by a concerned citizen, sparked the controversy regarding police brutality and led to eventual indictments of the officers. Many months of investigation, charges, and counter-charges followed the release of the video tape. Various segments of the community in Los Angeles were polarized as the details of the played out daily on local television stations.
A trial ensued. It was moved to suburban Simi Valley, CA, due to pre-trial publicity and the seemingly premature release of the now "infamous" tape of the police wielding batons and striking King repeatedly. A jury was chosen that contained eleven white jurors and one of Philipino descent. Black civil rights activists complained that no blacks were chosen for the jury and that the choice of jurors was another example of racism.
The trial and surrounding investigations also sparked unprecedented criticism of Police Chief Daryl Gates and the entire Los Angeles Police Department. The Christopher Commission was formed and did find occasions of racism and institutional brutality. Police officers in Los Angeles were also found to have used official computer systems for insensitive and racist remarks. Calls were received for the resignation of the Chief Gates.
Lawyers for the officers charged in the allegations argued that the policemen believed that King was acting under the influence of the animal tranquilizer PCP, which often causes violent and unpredictable behavior that has resulted in the injury of numerous emergency responders and law enforcement officers. They also testified as to King's combativeness that didn't appear on the tape. King was not found to have been using PCP, but was found to have a blood alcohol level of.19, which is more than double that allowed in most states as indicative of "drunken driving". The evidence was weighed and the jury found the four officer not quilty after seven days of deliberations.
A reaction to the acquittal of the four officers was immediately received from blacks and civilrights activists. The Mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley, said; "We must express our profound anger and outrage (at the acquittal), but we also must not endanger the reforms that we have made by striking out blindly". He continued, "We must demand that the L.A.P.D. fire the officers who beat Rodney King and take them off the streets once and for all".
California State Senator Ed Smith said that he was also shocked. Smith was quoted by the United Press as saying, "It's hard to beleive that there was no sustaining of the charges at all...the world saw the videotape and if that conduct is sanctioned by law in California, then we have to re-write the law". Exec. Director Ramona Ripston of the American Civil Liberties Union called the verdicts "a travesty of justice". "
"The term Watts Riots refers to a large-scale race riot which lasted six days in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in August 1965. By the time the riot subsided, 34 people had been killed, 1,032 injured, and 3,952 arrested. It would stand as the worst riot in Los Angeles history until eclipsed by the Los Angeles riots of 1992..." Watts Riots Remembered
By Jessica Gresko
August 06, 2005 in print edition B-3 "..California Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally brought a brick Friday to a gathering just steps away from where the Watts riots began nearly 40 years ago.
Back then, Dymally, who has represented the area since 1962, arrived on the second day of the riots and was handed the brick by a teenager and told to throw it if he was �with the people,� he said.
�What did I do with it? I will never tell,� he said.
The brick was thrown, he acknowledged Friday, but not by him.
Dymally was one of about a dozen people � including riot participants, eyewitnesses, current residents and community activists � who held a news conference Friday adjacent to where the Watts riots began Aug. 11, 1965.
That was the day white California Highway Patrol motorcycle Officer Lee Minikus pulled over 21-year-old Marquette Frye, who was black, at Avalon Boulevard and 116th Street on suspicion of drunk driving. They scuffled and a large crowd gathered.
The ensuing confrontation between police and residents expanded into six days of rioting that resulted in 34 deaths, more than 1,000 injuries and $40 million in property damage.
Friday�s event was part of a series planned in commemoration of the riots...."
Television
Looking Unto Jesus
"Looking Unto Jesus is a 30 minute broadcast on KTLN68 every Wednesday evening at 830 pm. Rev. Ed Stewarts powerful messages from God are televised throughout the Bay Area and Northern California in hope that it will transform the lives of those in our community. Looking Unto Jesus is also aired on San Franciscos public access channel 29 check your local listings!
"Mt.Whitney (Elevation 4421m/14505ft), Sierra Nevada Mountains, Sequoia National Park & John Muir Wilderness, California, USA.
The highest summit in the contiguous USA. August 2nd, 2008. 1PM.
Mount Whitney
Prominence 10,075 feet (3,071 m) " Mt. Whitney Summit, Base Camp, and a Marmot, from youtube.com "Here's a taste of some things you can see if you summit Mt. Whitney. " Mount Whitney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "...is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m).[1] It is located at the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, just 76 miles (122 km) west of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park (282 feet (86 m) below sea level). The western slope of the mountain lies within Sequoia National Park and the summit is the southern terminus of the John Muir Trail which runs 211.9 miles (341.0 km) from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley..."
-Physical Attractions
"My mom, sis, and brother went on a "hip-hop" (car radio music) tour of the famous "Golden Gate Bridge". Our relatives took them a tour of some popluar sites of this bay "town""
HOLLYWOOD SIGN Secrets Revealed really UP CLOSE & PERSONAL!
"Sign is a lot longer than a football field!
KABC7 Los Angeles feature reporter George Pennachio takes us on a tour of the famous Hollywood sign.
In his secrets revealed report you will learn that this is a well protected landmark complete with night vision cameras and high powered microphones.
It was also noted that Playboy founder Hugh Hefner helped in saving the sign from being torn down for good. His restoration drive set up an organization that now protects the sign as a historic landmark.
Vintage video shows the original Hollywoodland sign before it was shortened...
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