In The News

The last meeting of the year for the Culver City Unified School Board on Dec. 10, 2024 was also the last meeting for two of the board trustees; Dr. Kelly Kent, who served for nine years, and Paula Amezola, who served for four. Both of them chose not to run for re-election; as the school board does not have term limits, board members decide when to step down.

The Mike Balkman Council Chambers at City Hall, which had seen the City Council rotation the night before, was the gathering place for friends, students, colleagues, parents of students, and supporters to offer their thoughts for the end of their service.

Proclamations and accolades citing their many accomplishments were presented from the offices of State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas and Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, from the Culver City City Council and the Culver City Unified School District for both Kent and Amezola.

The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) made history on Dec. 2. For the first time, most of its members are women. Nine out of its 12 current members are Black women, the highest number in the organization’s 57-year-history.

The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) made history on Dec. 2. For the first time, most of its members are women. Nine out of its 12 current members are Black women, the highest number in the organization’s 57-year-history.

There is one African American woman currently serving in the California State Senate, Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Ladera Heights). It’s the same in the U.S. Senate.

In October of 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) to complete the term of Sen. Dianne Feinstein after she passed away in September 2023. Butler will likely be replaced in January by Adam Schiff, who is projected to win the seat after the Nov. 5 general election. Now, two more Black women are on pace to become California State Senators.

One African American woman is currently serving in the California State Senate, Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Ladera Heights). It’s the same in the U.S. Senate.

In October of 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) to complete the term of Sen. Dianne Feinstein after she passed away in September 2023. Butler will likely be replaced in January by Adam Schiff, who is projected to win the seat after the Nov. 5 general election.

Now, two more Black women are ready to become California State Senators.

There is one African American woman currently serving in the California State Senate, Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Ladera Heights).

It’s the same in the U.S. Senate.

In October of 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) to complete the term of Sen. Dianne Feinstein after she passed away in September 2023. Butler will likely be replaced in January by Adam Schiff, who is projected to win the seat after the Nov. 5 general election.

Now, two more Black women are on pace to become California State Senators.

Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) says he supports Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to expand the state’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program from its current $330 million annual budget allocation to $750 million.

For six decades, the UCLA Labor Center has served as a labor research engine and educational pathway behind some of the city’s and state’s most innovative labor policies, and its approaches are often cited as a model of what is possible when data is guided by worker and community needs.

In 2009, for example, the Labor Center incubated the nation’s first Black Worker Center to increase access to quality jobs and to reduce employment discrimination, led at the time by now state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas.