Los Angeles City Councilman Tim McOsker on Tuesday, August 27 called for immediate testing, reporting and remediation to address alarming levels of lead contamination in drinking water found in homes in the Watts area.
The legacy and history of Watts informs the present, showcasing the resilience of a community determined to thrive PBS SoCal and KCET, Southern California’s flagship PBS stations, will premiere “10 Days in Watts” from actor and Emmy® -nominated filmmaker Raphael Sbarge. An urban garden called MudTown Farms is about to open in the Los Angeles community of Watts, built and nurtured by dedicated residents who see more than economic hardship, social inequality and environmental racism in their future. The series chronicles three generations of activists in the Watkins family, as well as students, farmers, and community leaders committed to healing
Community leaders, teachers and parents recently launched the Healthy Families Coalition to demand the Los Angeles City Planning and Environmental Health Departments immediately condemn Atlas Metals in Watts.
Watts is a historic place. It’s where oppressed people from the Deep South and, more recently, from around the world, have come to start a new life in fabled California. They fled the remnants of slavery, Jim Crow, the Klu Klux Klan, lynchings, and corrupt political and legal systems. They fled oppression and political exclusion and came with great hope in search of a new life.
While this is a pivotal moment in our nation’s history, it is also a pivotal moment in the history of Los Angeles. Although it is a time of crisis, we need to use it as time of great opportunity, a time to breathe new life into the marvelous minority communities of South-Central Los Angeles. In short, we need to embark on what may be called an Urban Marshall Plan designed to expand political power to minority communities and to promote fairness in the distribution of public resources. This is an opportunity to bring new hope to the poor and underserved who are suffering the most in these times of crisis, as they do in all times.
While a compelling case can be made for a significant expansion of the Los Angeles City Council, a more modest and immediately doable approach to demonstrating our concern with minority rights in these turbulent times would be to free Watts from Council District 15 and join it with Council District 9.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019, Congresswoman Maxine Waters held a hearing entitled, “Examining The Homelessness Crisis in Los Angeles” to discuss ending homelessness with key stakeholders in Los Angeles County.
The moderated morning discussion will include Martin Zogg, Director of the International Rescue Committee L.A.; Eliane Fersan, Director of the Initiative on Immigrants & Global Migration, USC Gould School of Law; Patricia Ortiz, Project Director at Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project; and Rigoberto Reyes, Acting Director for the L.A. County Office of Immigrant Affairs.