Featured
Kings Lose Again; Kobe returns Sunday
Sacramento, CA – It’s like a bad movie you watch over and over again. The Kings lead in the third quarter and then lose the game in the fourth. One of the key components was again on the bench watching Sacramento fall to the Los Angeles Lakers 106-100.
Isaiah Thomas who missed an easy buzzer beating shot that would’ve tied the game against Oklahoma City Thunder this past Tuesday scored 21 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter. Tonight, he missed all four of his shots late in the fourth, two of which were blocked on driving layups.
“When you look at our last five or six loses it gets to be the same old thing sometimes,” Kings head coach Michael Malone said. “We as a team, have to close these games out.”
The Lakers closed the game on a 13-3 run, Jodi Meeks made two huge 3-pointers in the final minutes to finish with 19 points. Sacramento didn’t give up easily, they battled to the end but were out dueled on the defensive end. The Lakers blocked five crucial shots in the fourth that changed the momentum of the game.
Pau Gasol hit a jumper that gave the lakers a 97-95 lead. Meeks knocked down a 3-point shot to extend the lead with 1:09 left in regulation. Wesley Johnson stole the ball from rookie Ben McLemore on the next possession then Nick Young hit jumper to silence the sellout crowd for good at Sleep Train Arena.
“This is just ugly,” said point guard Grevis Vasquez. “There’s no other name. There’s no other adjective I could give to describe this.”
DeMarcus Cousins returned to the lineup scoring 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. But shot 6-for-17 from the field and turned the ball over six times. McLemore added 20 points and Thomas who was hot in the first half with 14 points went scoreless in the second half. The Kings record their sixth straight loss and head to Utah to take on the Jazz.
As for the Lakers, they get finally get their All-Star back this Sunday when they host the Toronto Raptors. What seemed like forever after Kobe Bryant suffered an Achilles’ tendon in a game against the Warriors on April 12, was expected to miss six to nine months. He will be making his season debut right on time.
“We don’t need to stand around and watch him compete,” Lakers head coach D’Antoni said when asked about Bryan’t return to the lineup. “There’s going to be some turbulence ahead, so put your seat belt on and we’ll get through it. We as team have to keep competing once he returns.”
“It’s a really good scenario for when Kobe comes back,” said Gasol. “It’s great that we’ve been playing well. To ease him into the team, with no pressure for him to carry too much weight right away. Now the moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here.”
Barbara Lee
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza
On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.
By California Black Media
On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12).
“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.
The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.
“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.
The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.
Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.
“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.
Community
Financial Assistance Bill for Descendants of Enslaved Persons to Help Them Purchase, Own, or Maintain a Home
California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) vice chair Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood) introduced new legislation related to reparations to the Senate Committee on Housing on April 2 in Sacramento. Senate Bill (SB) 1007, “establishes the Homeowner’s Assistance for Descendants of Enslaved Persons Program to make financial aid or assistance available to descendants for the purposes of purchasing, owning, or maintaining a home,” the legislation states.
California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) vice chair Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood) introduced new legislation related to reparations to the Senate Committee on Housing on April 2 in Sacramento.
Senate Bill (SB) 1007, “establishes the Homeowner’s Assistance for Descendants of Enslaved Persons Program to make financial aid or assistance available to descendants for the purposes of purchasing, owning, or maintaining a home,” the legislation states.
The Senate Housing Committee advanced the bill with an 8-1 vote. It will be re-referred to the Appropriations Committee for consideration.
Sen. Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) was the only member who voted against the bill.
“SB 1007 is about starting a long process of paying back a debt that is not only owed, but that was also promised, and is 160 years overdue, to African Americans,” Bradford told the committee chaired by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley). “It is the first step in closing the wealth and equity gap created by centuries of slavery and racial discrimination policies.”
The bill aligns with one of the 115 recommendations listed in a two-year study conducted by the California reparations task force, of which Bradford was one of nine members.
Bradford said the report reveals that, in the state of California, a typical Black-owned home is 22% less valuable than a White-owned home.
Various advocacy groups from around the state attended the hearing held at the State Capitol Annex Swing Space. The California Housing Partnership, Bay Area Regional Health and Inequities Initiative, Coalition for A Just and Equitable California, Disability Rights of California, the American Civil Liberties Union of California, and California Community Builders all voiced their support of the bill.
Arts and Culture
Faces Around the Bay Dr. Carl Blake, Pianist
Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999. One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.
By Barbara Fluhrer
Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999.
One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.
Blake obtained a Bachelor of Music from Boston University and continued post-baccalaureate studies in Jamaica before earning a Master of Arts in Music at San Jose State University. He was the recipient of two Fulbright residencies in Honduras and completed a third residency at the University of St. Petersburg in Russia. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University.
At age 19, Blake, then an undergraduate piano major at Boston University, was “discovered” by Impresario Dr. W. Hazaiah Williams, who is the Founder and Director of Today’s Artists/Four Seasons Arts.
Williams honored Blake by awarding him the first Marian Anderson Young Artist Award. Anderson personally presented the award at the Masonic Auditorium in S.F. Subsequently, Blake was presented by Dr. Williams in his San Francisco debut at The Herbst Theatre. Williams subsidized a year of study abroad for Blake at the Paris Conservatory of Music. Additionally, Williams sponsored Blake’s New York Weill Hall debut, where he has performed twice since. Blake performed several times at the Yachats Music Festival in Oregon.
Blake continues to perform nationally and abroad. His hobbies are reading, baking and travel. He says, “I’m still pumping ivories, as Belgian pianist Jeanne Stark described the disciplined practice of concert piano.”
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