Compton

Insane California Supreme Court Ruling Lets Compton's Omar Bradley Off the Hook For Playing Golf on Taxpayer Dime

What was the California Supreme Court thinking? In a piece about the Compton mayoral race, the Los Angeles Times skimmed over the fact that former Compton Mayor Omar Bradley, who was found guilty in 2004 of illegally spending thousands of taxpayers' dollars to pay for golf balls, cigars, and hotel ... More >>

Bludso's BBQ on La Brea Opens Today: Brisket, Ribs Mint Juleps on Tap

For all of you who make the regular trek down to Bludso's in Compton for, perhaps, the sole purpose of eating Kevin Bludso's justly celebrated barbecue, you can cut down on your carbon footprint (although maybe not that of Bludso himself; and your BBQ carbon joke here: ____ ), as of about 5 o'clock ... More >>

Kendrick Lamar's Mood Music

The Compton rapper carries the expectations of his city on his shoulders. It's tiring

Charley Ford, Noted Skateboarder, Murdered In Compton

An up-and-coming skateboarder named Charley Ford was fatally gunned down as he sat in a car in his hometown of Compton over the weekend, authorities said. The 24-year-old's death was quickly lamented by local skaters and friends on Facebook, who started an RIP Charley Ford page. Here's what sherif ... More >>

Compton Party Shooting Leaves One Dead; Deputy Shoots an Alleged Gunman

When you're at an illicit party in the middle of the night, you gotta think the cops are coming sooner or later. That notion didn't seen to occur to a party-goer who allegedly whipped out his gun just as deputy arrived to festivities in the 500 block of South Long Beach Boulevard in Compton about 2 ... More >>

Feds Dig Up Leaky 10,000-Gallon Tanks From Under Compton Gas Station Razed in L.A. Riots

There used to be a combination Arco gas station and AM/PM market at Rosecrans and Alameda in Compton -- a smoggy little spot beneath the train-track overpass. During the L.A. Riots, however, 20 years ago to the month...

'Parent Trigger' School Reform Effort in Adelanto Attacked by Charter-Fearing Parents, Teachers, L.A. Times (Deja Vu)

Update, February 22: "'Parent Trigger' Petition Rejected by Adelanto School District After Teacher-Backed Rescission Campaign." A historic first for K-12 school reform might be chronicled tomorrow in the small desert town of Adelanto, two hours east of Los Angeles. If the Adelanto Unified Elementa ... More >>

The Top Ten Los Angeles Albums Of 2011

​The best albums of 2011 from Los Angeles artists came from a suitably diverse Angeleno cast of characters; there are rappers and singers, legends and transplants, folks with great careers in front of them, and those who may have peaked this year. One thing's clear: it was unquestionably a gre ... More >>

Justin Bua's Paintings Of His Most Influential Rappers

Justin Bua​Justin Bua is a hip-hop painter; you may have seen the print of his painting "The DJ" (see below), at Target, of all places. It's been out for over a decade, and has been selling ridiculous amounts of copies for years. He's done portraits of everyone from Nas to Kool Herc to Quee ... More >>

Marijuana Worth $120,000 Found at Compton Warehouse, L.A. Sheriff's Officials Say

​Stash. You know you have it, somewhere. But authorities doing a Business and Professions Code compliance check on a Compton warehouse found $120,000 worth of marijuana stashed there. What were they saving all that bud for? The street corner, or ...

Music to Pick Up/Download

Patricia Rucker, Teachers Union Lobbyist and California Board of Education Member, Accused of Conflict of Interest

California Teachers AssociationRucker, to the right.​One of the first things Governor Jerry Brown did upon taking the wand from Schwarzenegger -- aside from woo the people on a Southwest flight -- was sweep out the Governator's entire State Board of Education, a full house of radical reformist ... More >>

Un-Gerrymandering Los Angeles

Get ready for the brawl of cutting Southern California in pieces, on paper

SoCal 'Parent Trigger' Pushers Travel to Sacramento, Tell State Board of Education: Don't Let Teachers Have a Say

California Teachers AssociationPatricia Rucker, right, is both a Board of Education member and a CTA lobbyist​If the battle over California's new parent-empowerment law was only vicariously between the California Teachers Association and the growing charter-school business before, it just got ... More >>

'Parent Trigger' Saved in Court by First Amendment; Charter-School Petitioners Brace for More Compton District Stall Tactics

PHOTO BY TED SOQUIOne small step for McKinley​The last few months have been a painstaking uphill battle for Parent Revolution, the group of organizers and McKinley Elementary School parents trying to turn one vastly underperforming Compton campus into a charter school. Though the group does ha ... More >>

Compton School Board Rejects 'Parent Trigger' Petition, Cites Insufficient Staples, Typos

Simone WilsonA McKinley Elementary student looks up at the CUSD Board of Trustees​Updated after the jump: We've got the PDF -- and a lot more questions. Finally, over two months after it was filed, Compton school board members responded to a parent petition at their meeting last night: After ... More >>

At Last: 'Parent Trigger' Troop Files Lawsuit Against Compton Unified School District

PHOTO BY TED SOQUIThings just got real in Compton​Updated after the jump: Judge grants parents a restraining order against the Compton school district! Right after two big NorCal and SoCal newspapers released battling editorials on California's extreme "Parent Trigger" law -- the LA Times say ... More >>

Compton 'Parent Trigger' Pushers Refuse to Verify Signatures in Person; Superintendent Calls Truce to Sparse Crowd

PHOTO BY TED SOQUIOver 60 percent of McKinley Elementary parents signed a petition in December to convert their children's school to a charter​Compton Unified School District's acting superintendent, Karen Frison, changed her game at last night's district board meeting. She released a "media ... More >>

Born and raised in Compton, Kendrick Lamar Hides a Poet's Soul Behind "Pussy & Patron"

First Day Of School Moved To Middle Of Hot L.A. Summer; On-Campus Ads Given The Thumbs-Up

School in August? Hot!​The Los Angeles Unified School District board did more in one meeting last night than it's done in months. (Still, theirs couldn't compete with Compton's. Hot damn.) Board members passed two major changes to L.A. schools: 1) The academic year will now start on Aug. 15, ... More >>

'Parent Trigger' Supporters Face Intimidation Tactics in School Reform Battle in Compton, Antonio Villaraigosa Jumps into Fray

Ted SoquiMcKinley Elementary School in Compton​UPDATE: L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says school reform in Compton "isn't about pointing fingers or dragging our feet." More comments from Villaraigosa after break. First reported at 7 a.m. As expected, the battle over control of McKinley Ele ... More >>

Two Missing Akita Show Dogs Worth $350,000 Found In Compton; Corgis Still At Large

puppydogwebAre you my mother?​Update: The remaining Corgis show up in Compton! Stay tuned for how, and by whom, they were found. Trace and Didi, two fluffy show dogs who were stolen Tuesday -- one worth $250,000 and the other $100,000 -- jumped into the arms of owner Kristina Rickard yesterda ... More >>

Chick-fil-A vs. Honey's Kettle: Sandwiches, Strips, and Hierarchy

When a new Chick-fil-A opened near USC last month, people seemed to get pretty excited about it. Part of it may have been the company's flair for self-promotion, but another part felt like something more. People, it seemed, had either eaten Chick-fil-A in their youth, or were eager to try the chicke ... More >>

Whatever Happened to N.W.A's Posse?

The Eazy-E True Hollywood (or True Compton) Stories behind the legendary L.A. hip-hop cover

Monet's Briskets: Bludso’s

At Compton BBQ joint, meat is high art

Man Turns In 58 Guns; Has 99 Problems But A Snitch Ain't One

KTLA News​A mystery man turned in 58 guns, including 14 rifles, some of them assault-type weapons, to a "gifts for guns" exchange in Compton Tuesday. The scene was witnessed by KTLA News, but the man did not want to speak on-camera. The exchange, run by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Depart ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Don't Call Him "Padre" Sheik Qazi Asad has become the LAPD's first Muslim chaplain. The Pakistani-born cleric had previously worked as a Sheriff's Department liaison to the county's Islamic community. L.A. Times Time to Pay Los Angeles County's sales tax jumps half a percent to 9.75 percent on July ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Some Came Running Kenya's Wesley Korir set a finish-time record for the 24th Los Angeles Marathon, which got very lucky with cool weather despite its latest start yet in the calendar. L.A. TimesFootball Prospect Shot Dead Dannie Farber Jr., a promising football player who had just graduated from Nar ... More >>

The Day the Muzak Died

Muzak has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection -- but it doesn't put the blame on illegal downloads of its marzipanny melodies. Instead, the company pointed to longstanding debt and the cancellation of contracts by companies put out of business during the recession. A New York Times notice men ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

City of Industry Votes for NFL Bait A majority of City of Industry Voters (all 82 of them) passed a measure allowing the sale of $150 million in bonds, whose money could be used to build an NFL stadium. The vote was 60-1 on the scheme proposed by developer Ed Roski.Belkin Admits Plug n Pay Scheme Th ... More >>

The Election That Wasn't

With Tuesday's expected turnout at historic lows, electors are being treated like superdelegates, and missing out on the juicy infighting.

N.W.A: A Hard Act to Follow

Hip-hop and hype from the streets of Compton (reprint of May 5, 1989, Weekly cover story)

Music Picks

For the week of June 8 - 15

Colorblind Jobs

Coming to terms over who gets hired on Compton project

The Conversation

A Coroner's Cross Section

Twenty-three people who died on December 13

Street Justice

Remembering a 19-year-old African-American killed by police

Sharing Tookie’s Day: A Coroner’s Cross Section of December 13

Quik As F**k

The violent life, tumultuous career and fundamental goodness of DJ Quik

Letters

Bringing Over There Closer to Home

The politics in FX’s new series may be polite, but the war is still hell

Chicanos and the Man

Comedian Paul Rodriguez and his skateboarding son, Paulie, are rich and famous. But where would they be without Pablo?

California Love

The Game and Daz bring gangsta back where it belongs

Politically 4th Street

Casino Nation

Indians and tribal war over a club in Compton

What a Difference a Digit Makes

The No. 1 rule of American politics

Arrested Developments

Omar and company finally get nabbed by the D.A. But will Compton get a clean start?

Support Your Local Independents

A selected list of L.A.-area labels, all of which will deliver right to your door:

Held Back

The Miserable State of Black Education

Malign Neglect

A Weekly Roundtable discussion on black L.A.