The sight of an officer holding his knee on George Floyd s neck for more than nine minutes until he died from asphyxiation triggered nationwide protests in 2020.
It wasn t the first time there was national outrage about a Black American being killed by police (see: Stephon Clark, Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, the list goes on).
But it
was the first time that the talk of police reform moved beyond incremental steps to include widespread, mainstreamdiscussions about foundational change.
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Suddenly, officials were talking about ideas once considered beyond the pale like defunding police departments and ending qualified immunity for officers.
For years, Shawn Pleasants did nothing but rise up.
He was high school valedictorian, went to Yale, landed banking jobs on Wall Street, started his own business.
And then, for years, he did nothing but fall.
Lost his business, his home, the car he was living in, and landed on the streets of Los Angeles.
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For about six years, home for him and his common-law husband was a lean-to near 7th and Hobart in Koreatown. And like a lot of L.A.’s sizable homeless population, Pleasants was addicted to methamphetamine, a cheap and abundantly available drug.
“It always felt to me like I’d fallen off a fire escape, and once you get on the ground, the ladder is 12 feet up in the air,” Pleasants told me. “I always thought, ‘If I could just get to that first step.’ But the first step is so far away.”
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KJ Allen, who was one of the featured players for East Los Angeles College on the inaugural season of
Last Chance U: Basketball, announced on Instagram that he has flipped his commitment from USC to Texas Tech. After careful consideration these last few weeks with my friends and family I have decided to De-Commit from USC, Allen wrote. I thank [USC head men s basketball coach Andy Enfield] and his staff for their belief in me. I wish them the best. I would like to thank all the schools that have recruited me and am very appreciative. At this time, I would like to announce that I will be committed to Coach [Mark] Adams and the Texas Tech Red Raiders#WreckEm.
Updated 4 hours ago
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An East Los Angeles clinic will offer nearly 1,000 first and second doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to local residents without appointments on Monday, April 12.
The Center for Family Health & Education will dispense the walk-in shots from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday at East Los Angeles College, 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez in Monterey Park, according to the clinic s Cesar Landeros. Download our mobile app for iOS or Android to get the latest breaking news and local stories.
The event is focused in an area where the vaccination disparities continue to affect minorities, Landeros said. We are aware of the several obstacles that prevent these communities from accessing the vaccine.