Jurors in Mark Ridley-Thomas’ federal corruption trial reconvened for a fourth session of deliberations on Wednesday, March 29, as they decide whether the suspended L.A. City Councilman is guilty of steering lucrative county contracts to USC’s school of social work in exchange for a slate of benefits for his son.
A former dean of the USC School of Social Work has agreed to plead guilty to a federal bribery charge in a political corruption case involving suspended Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas.
A former dean of the School of Social Work at USC is expected to be arraigned today on federal corruption charges in an alleged bribery scheme involving City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas that resulted in the university receiving lucrative county contracts.
Marilyn Louise Flynn, 83, is expected to plead not guilty via Zoom in Los Angeles federal court to charges that she conspired with Ridley-Thomas when he was a member of the Board of Supervisors. Flynn’s attorney, Vicki I. Podberesky, said her client “has not committed any crime, and we believe that the evidence in this case will ultimately support this conclusion.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom trampled his Republican competitors to emerge victorious in the gubernatorial recall election, which means that he’ll serve the remainder of his term.
Dr. Akilah Weber, the daughter of Dr. Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), has announced that she is running for the 79th Assembly District seat that her mom will soon vacate. If she wins, the younger Dr. Weber would have the opportunity to carry on a family legacy in California politics known for strategic consensus building at the state level that’s rooted in – and deeply connected to — local grassroots organizing at home.
The 2020 Census will ensure there is an accurate count of California residents. A complete count would determine the number of U.S. House of Representatives seats California will receive. The Census is also used to distribute federal financial resources to local communities. According to the CA Census 2020 website, there are 70 CA federally-funded programs in the areas of education, health, and human services that will benefit from a complete count.
USC said it turned the matter over to the feds because the School forwarded the donation to the United Ways of California, directing it be used for an African American voter research project run by his son, former California Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas.
At face value, the previous weeks headlines seemed disturbing: University of Southern California had referred a donation, made to the School of Social Work by LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, to federal officials for investigation.
Supervisor Ridley-Thomas says: “He was surprised to learn that his donation to USC has become an issue.”
Bradford made a pointed remark about the makeup of law enforcement organizations. During public testimony, supporters of the bill shared their support for the bill and their stories, including the uncle of Oscar Grant (who was shot in the back in the San Francisco area).
Prior to former Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas’ resignation in December 2017, he spent the past four years serving the South Los Angeles community by taking on the state’s homelessness crisis, mental health and environmental issues. Although he is no longer serving in the assembly, Ridley-Thomas continues to be a voice and face of the community. This time however, he is taking his voice to the polls by encouraging California residents to register to vote!
Kamlager’s career began at the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) in Venice, CA, where she programmed public art programs in each of the city council districts throughout Los Angeles. In 2002, she became the director of External Affairs at Crystal Stairs. She was responsible for the agency’s legislative, advocacy and public policy agendas as well as for its parent and provider advocate program, Community Voices. While at Crystal Stairs, she trained and mobilized community advocates, fought against state budget cuts to child care and helped raise the local profile of the organization and child care’s contribution to the local economy.
This past weekend, a community celebration was held for California’s first and only Black millennial legislator.
Assemblymember Sebastian Ridley-Thomas speaks with Brandon I. Brooks, managing editor of the Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper and the L..A. Watts Times Newspaper on sabotage of Affordable Care Act.
The Full List of 2017 Honorees