OurWeekly: The Importance of an Accurate Count of the Homeless Population

By Ernie Mixon | 4 hours ago Editor’s note: Ernie Mixon is a community activist born and raised in south LA. He is a graduate of UCLA and former chair of the Empowerment Congress Central Area Neighborhood Development Council (ECCANDC). He can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.

LA Focus - On the Word: Inner City Youth Orchestra of L.A. Hosts Uplifting Concert for Wildfire Relief

by Lisa Richardson | February 13, 2025 Los Angeles, CA – The Inner-City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA) presented a Wildfire Benefit Concert at 4 p.m. on Sunday, February 2 to aid those impacted by the wildfires that recently engulfed Altadena, the Palisades, and other areas within our region. The

LA Focus on the Word Navigating Turbulence - Empowerment Congress Tackles Chaos, Democracy, and Resilience With Annual Summit

by Lisa Collins | January 25, 2025 The 33rd Annual Summit of the Empowerment Congress, hosted at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, brought together some of Los Angeles’ most influential political and philanthropic leaders to deliberate on the challenges facing the community and the legacy of Dr.

33rd Annual Empowerment Congress Summit: Where do we go from here - Chaos or Democracy?

As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it is important to remember the reasons for his impactful work and continue MLK’s legacy. The legacy of the Civil Rights Movement throughout America has historically celebrated MLK as a primary leader, but as he would have told you himself, he

Witness LA: Deconstructing the conviction of Mark Ridley Thomas: Part 13 – Appearing Before the 9th & What comes Next

December 30, 2024 by Celeste Fremon As we race through the last of our various 2024 holidays, and toward 2025, WitnessLA has begun to look at what effects the new year may have on the conviction of Mark-Ridley-Thomas.  In the meantime, friends and supporters of Ridley-Thomas, and others who are

Daily News: Departing De León leaves mixed legacy

Councilman felled by scandal first Latino in modern history to be state Senate president By Linh Tat | ltat@scng.com California state Assembly member. California state senator. Los Angeles City Council member. For most of the past 18 years, Kevin de León has held one of these titles. Once viewed

KBLA 1580: The Justice Files - Breakdown of the USA v. MRT Appeal

KBLA 1580: Justice Files0:00/519.1053061× The Sunday, November 24 edition of "The Justice Files" with KBLA 1580 Talk Radio Justice Correspondent Dion Raymond discussed the oral argument before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals of the USA v. Mark Ridley-Thomas case. The hour-long program featured former

Westside Current: As Mark Ridley-Thomas’ Fights for His Freedom, L.A. Remains Deeply Divided

Jon Regardie | Nov 25, 2024  More than 18 months after the veteran politician’s conviction, a key Appeals Court hearing takes place You could have been forgiven last Thursday morning for mistaking the scene inside the Pasadena branch of California’s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for a Hollywood nightclub

KBLA 1580: The Justice Files

Courthouse News Service: Ninth Circuit ponders overturning veteran LA politician’s bribery conviction

The panel appeared puzzled by the government's theory that the $100,000 USC passed on from Ridley-Thomas to his son's nonprofit amounted to a bribe. Edvard Pettersson | November 21, 2024 PASADENA, Calif. (CN) — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday took up longtime Los Angeles

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: USA v. MRT

LA Times: Former L.A. City Councilman Ridley-Thomas’ ultimate campaign: To clear his name

By Matt Hamilton| Staff Writer Nov. 21, 2024 3 AM PT For more than three decades, Mark Ridley-Thomas never lost an election, tapping a well-organized network of supporters to secure victory after victory. Now, the former Los Angeles City Council member and county supervisor is in a different sort of

My News LA: Ridley-Thomas to Ask 9th Circuit in Pasadena to Reverse Fraud, Bribery Convictions

by Contributing Editor | November 21, 2024 Former Los Angeles County politician Mark Ridley-Thomas is expected to ask a federal appeals court Thursday to reverse his fraud and bribery convictions for voting to support county contracts favoring USC while accepting benefits for his son from the university — or to grant a

Witness LA: Deconstructing the Conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas: Part 12 – Headed to the 9th

November 20, 2024 by Celeste Fremon Thursday, November 21, the team of appellate lawyers representing Mark Ridley-Thomas will argue his case before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the Richard H. Chambers U.S. Court of Appeals building, which

USA v MRT: Acquitted Conduct Key to Understanding Success of Appeal (PART 3)

UNDERSTANDING ACQUITTED CONDUCT Former Los Angeles City Council member Dr. Mark Ridley-Thomas (MRT) was tried by federal prosecutors in the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) on 19 various counts of illegal corruption in March 2023. Of these, MRT was convicted on seven:  one count of federal bribery, one count

USA v MRT: Snyder, the Distinction Between Bribes and Gratuities, and the Fatal Flaws (PART 2)

Before federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and appellate lawyers for Dr. Mark Ridley-Thomas completed the exchange of written briefs in MRT’s appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) handed down a potentially game-changing decision on a case that may have a significant impact on the

USA v MRT: Two Competing Narratives (PART 1)

CD10Voices.com Editor’s Note: In anticipation of Thursday’s oral argument before the three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, we have prepared a three part series that will provide background on the USA v MRT bribery case. The United States of America versus

USA v MRT: Appeals Court Panel Selected, Argument Set for November 21

By OW Staff | 11/13/24 The random selection of the three judge panel that will hear Dr. Mark Ridley-Thomas’s appeal of his conviction on bribery, conspiracy and honest services mail and wire fraud charges before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has been made public. The

LA Times: No “pattern of corruption” in contracts inked during Ridley-Thomas’ tenure, probe finds

By Rebecca Ellis Staff Writer | Oct. 30, 2024 3 AM PT The bulk of contracts Los Angeles County inked during the 12-year tenure of former Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, the formidable politician convicted last year on corruption charges, were untainted by fraud, according to a years-long outside investigation. “We did not

LA Focus: Date Set for Oral Arguments in Ridley-Thomas Appellate Case

By Lisa Collins | October 24, 2024 With the final exchange of briefs between the lawyers in USA v. Mark Ridley-Thomas over the past few weeks, oral argument before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appellate is set for November 21. Following months of filings, a three-judge panel will hear and weigh

KBLA Talk 1580: Tavis Smiley Says It’s Finally Oral Argument Time

MRT NOV. 21 APPEAL EDITORIAL AUDIO 0:00/167.3142861× By: Tavis Smiley "With a KBLA Talk 1580 editorial, I’m Tavis Smiley. October marks the third anniversary of Mark Ridley-Thomas’s indictment and suspension from the Los Angeles City Council. Recently, I authored an Op-ed about various media

LA Focus: Blogger’s Biased Screed Against Ridley-Thomas Lacks Credibility

By: Tavis Smiley | October 11, 2024 As we approach the three-year anniversary of Dr. Mark Ridley-Thomas’s indictment on charges of bribery, conspiracy, and fraud, media actors continue to abdicate their responsibility to truthfully and accurately cover developments in the case. Consequently, prosecutors have been able to propagate exaggerated claims

OurWeekly: Continued Engagement, Not Cowering, Is What We Need

By: Michael Bustamante Recently, a so-called “journalist” wrote a lengthy blog post in her news space that ostensibly thought out loud about why Dr. Mark Ridley-Thomas was engaging in community events rather than cowering in prison like a good boy should as a result of having been found guilty on

WHERE WE STAND - Ready for Oral Argument November 21 at 9:30 AM

With the final exchange of briefs between the lawyers in USA v. Mark Ridley-Thomas over the past few weeks, oral argument before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is set for November 21. Following months of filings, a three judge panel will hear and weigh the arguments of government prosecutors

Snyder Case Supplemental Brief Submitted

Last week, lawyers for Dr. Mark Ridley-Thomas submitted a supplemental brief on the impact the U.S. Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) Snyder decision has on MRT’s case now pending before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In June, the Court clarified the meaning of the main federal bribery statute