Now comes the latest player: Lit Up Music Festival, an independent hip-hop event debuting this weekend at the RC Cola Plant in Wynwood.
More here:
Lit Up Music Festival Is the Latest Player in Miami's Competitive Festival Market
Now comes the latest player: Lit Up Music Festival, an independent hip-hop event debuting this weekend at the RC Cola Plant in Wynwood.
More here:
Lit Up Music Festival Is the Latest Player in Miami's Competitive Festival Market
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Embattled Los Angeles Unified School District board member Ref Rodriguez is expected to admit next week that he executed a money laundering scheme to further his 2015 campaign for his school board seat. Rodriguez is expected to go before the Los Angeles Ethics Commission Monday, admit his wrongdoing, and agree to pay a $100,000 fine. FILE — LAUSD Board member Ref Rodriguez appears in court on Sept. 19, 2017, on campaign fraud charges. (CBS2) According to a proposed stipulation set to be voted on by the Ethics Commission, Rodriguez and his cousin, Elizabeth Melendrez, admit they reimbursed 25 political contributions to Rodriguez’s campaign committee, violating the City Charter’s “prohibition against political money laundering.” The 46-year-old Rodriguez is also due in court Monday for a preliminary hearing in his criminal case stemming from the alleged campaign-fund laundering scheme. He pleaded not guilty to the felony charges last October. He stepped down from his position as school board president in September 2017 after the allegations came to light, but remained on the board, ignoring calls to resign. It was not immediately clear whether Rodriguez plans to enter a plea agreement with prosecutors Monday to resolve the criminal case. It was also unclear whether his admission to the Ethics Commission would affect his seat on the Board of Education. A spokeswoman for the LAUSD declined to comment, since the matter pertained to Rodriguez’s campaign. In March, Rodriguez was arrested at Pasadena restaurant for public drunkenness . He was released without being cited or charged, however. Prosecutors allege Rodriguez raised more than $50,000 during the first campaign reporting period that ended in December 2014. Prosecutors say that 25 donors, most of whom were family members and friends, were allegedly paid back $24,250 by Rodriguez and Melendrez. He is facing three felony and 25 misdemeanor counts — including perjury, conspiracy and falsifying documents — based on allegations he lied about the source of $25,000 in contributions to his school board campaign and solicited donations with a promise to reimburse the donors. The criminal case against Rodriguez stemmed from a whistleblower complaint given to the Ethics Commission in 2015 about his fundraising activities, according to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office. Melendrez is also charged in the case, facing one felony count and 25 misdemeanors. Neither Rodriguez nor his attorney could be reached for comment. The donors’ names had been listed on a campaign finance report that was allegedly signed by Rodriguez under the penalty of perjury and submitted to the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission. Rodriguez would have been allowed by law to donate the money to his own campaign directly, but the alleged scheme could have been an effort to make his financial support from donors look stronger than it really was. Rodriguez was elected in 2015 to the District 5 seat on the LAUSD board, representing areas including Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Los Feliz, Mount Washington and Silver Lake. He is a co-founder of Partnerships to Uplift Communities, a series of charter schools in northeast Los Angeles and the northeastern San Fernando Valley. (©2018 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
Excerpt from:
LAUSD Board Member Expected To Admit Wrongdoing In Campaign Laundering Scheme, Pay $100K Fine
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – For more than eight years, drivers who use the Van Wyck Expressway have dealt with frustrating delays as the cost of the project has soared. What’s taking so long? CBS2’s Political Reporter Marcia Kramer asked the master building himself, Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “I am a Queens boy,” the governor said right before cutting the ribbon for the newly repaired Queens Midtown Tunnel , damaged during Superstorm Sandy . But if you want bragging rights for having Queens roots, you have to take the pain with the acclaim, Kramer reported. Right now, there are some borough residents who have a bone to pick with “Andy from Queens.” “Construction is horrible around here. You can’t go nowhere,” one driver said. “Very annoying,” said another. “It’s not easy to travel everywhere,” another said. “I’m always late,” a man added. “I have to leave an hour earlier to get on the Van Wyck.” The work began in 2010, but that was just phase one, which, according to the state’s records, was a year and a half late and millions of dollars over budget. They’re now working on phase two, phase three and the yet-to-be started phase four to replace six decaying overpasses, rehab four more and widen the highway from six lanes to eight – a complex and intricate project that first required widening everything else to accommodate more lanes. As the phases have multiplied, so has the cost. When CBS2 first examined the project in March 2016 , it had a price tag of $300 million. In October 2016 , when the state Department of Transportation took CBS2 on a tour, it was $400 million. Now, it’s $700 million. Kramer: “What’s taking so long, governor?” Cuomo: “We have been widening all the bridges and overpasses and moving the exit and entrance ramps to allow for an additional lane… a massive undertaking.” “Takes time,” he added. The time part frustrates Cuomo, who built the new Tappan Zee and Kosciuszko bridges in record time. “Look, I’m not big on patience,” he said. “We are doing the impossible… And you had to operate the road in the meantime.” Officials now say the end date is March 2021, which is either possible or an impossible dream. A spokesperson for the governor said phase one took so long, because “time was not a focus then.” She said the rest of the contracts are on time and on budget.
Read the original here:
Demanding Answers: What’s Taking So Long With The Van Wyck Expressway?
GRANADA HILLS (CBSLA) — City firefighters, with an assist from L.A. County Fire Department, battled a brush fire in Granada Hills Saturday afternoon. The blaze burned about a half acre in a half hour, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The blaze broke out near 16650 W. Knollwood Drive about 3:20 p.m., fire department spokeswoman Amy Bastman said. The fire was also threatening some structures along a nearby golf course, Bastman said. Some residents were visible fighting back flames with fire hoses. As least one home was damaged heavily. At least three other homes had exterior and roof damage. Two cars were reportedly destroyed. (credit Adrianna Weingold/CBS2) Los Angeles County Fire Department has sent four camp crews, one water- dropping helicopter and a battalion chief to assist city firefighters. CBS2’s Adrianna Weingold reported from the scene. She said it was a scary situation for residents in the Knollwood Country Club Estates area. One resident told Weingold she was in the pool with her kids when she first saw ash falling. In the distance she saw flames and a huge plume of smoke and called 911. She also said she went door-to-door alerting neighbors. “This kind of weather and this kind of heat, you’re terrified, ” said resident Kay Radford. “Oh my God,” said resident Ken Gosselin, “I was in the house and all of a sudden I saw flames rise above the golf course and we were scared to death. The flames came right up to my back lawn. Firefighters said it took 102 of them to put the blaze out. One firefighters was treated for heat-related medical complaints.
Read this article:
Brush Fire Gets Dangerously Close To Homes In Granada Hills
Newcomer Ella Mai's “Boo'd Up” hits No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B Songs chart, as it climbs one rung on the chart dated May 22. The tune becomes …
See original here:
Ella Mai's 'Boo'd Up' Hits No. 1 on Hot R&B Songs Chart, Top 10 on Streaming Songs