Free Republic

Los Angeles was once the epicenter of apparel manufacturing, attracting buyers from across the world to its clothing factories, sample rooms and design studios. But over the years, cheap overseas labor lured many apparel makers to outsource to foreign competitors in far-flung places such as China and Vietnam. Now, Los Angeles firms are facing another big hurdle — California's minimum wage hitting $15 an hour by 2022 — which could spur more garment makers to exit the state. Last week American Apparel, the biggest clothing maker in Los Angeles, said it might outsource the making of some garments to another...

In a long-awaited ruling, a federal judge has sided with plaintiffs who argued it was unconstitutional for Los Angeles County supervisors to place a Christian cross on the county seal. A divided Board of Supervisors voted in 2014 to reinstate the cross on top of a depiction of the San Gabriel Mission, which appears on the seal among other symbols of county history. They were sued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and a group of religious leaders and scholars, who said placement of the cross on the seal unconstitutionally favored Christianity over other religions.

The Louisiana Legislature convened for its 2016 Regular Session on Monday, March 14. Last week, NRA-ILA reported that important pro-self-defense measures were pre-filed in advance of session. Several restrictive anti-gun (and anti-private property rights) bills have also been introduced. All four of these bills have been referred to the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee. Please contact the members of the committee and politely urge them to OPPOSE these restrictive measures! Please click the “Take Action” button below to contact the committee members with your opposition!

A pair of men who staged sloppy armed robberies of two South Claiborne Avenue businesses last October pleaded guilty Tuesday (March 15) in New Orleans' Criminal District Court. The holdups included the robbery of a barbershop the same day the two men got haircuts there, prosecutors said. Jacolby Jarvis and Rodney James stood before Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson and admitted to robbing the Innovators Barbershop on Oct. 24 and the nearby Jazz Daiquiri Lounge one night later. The businesses are at 3700 and 3400 South Claiborne Avenue, respectively. The men were sentenced to 15 years and 20 years in prison, respectively....

CNN projects Trump to win Louisiana. 9:43 EST.

If you need further evidence that Donald Trump is running for president in order to serve the best interests of Donald Trump, here it is from the Associated Press: ...

Thursday, February 11, 2016: GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump will hold a campaign rally in Baton Rouge, LA at the Baton Rouge River Center. The event is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM CST. As the "Capital City", Baton Rouge is the political hub for Louisiana, and is the second-largest metropolitan city in the state, with an estimated population of 228,895 as of 2014. The metropolitan area surrounding the city, known as Greater Baton Rouge, had a population of 820,159 people as of 2013.The urban area has around 594,309 inhabitants. HOW DID BATON ROUGE GET ITS NAME? The French name...

On the afternoon of 31 January, 2016, some ATVs were getting gas at the intersection of Claiborne and Esplanade Avenues in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Richard Macklin pulled up in a white Volvo.  Macklin is believed to have been the aggressor in the incident.  He pulled out a firearm and opened fire on the ATV riders.  Three were wounded before anyone returned fire. One of the wounded was armed.  He drew his legally carried weapon and fired at Macklin, wounding him in the head and stopping the attack.  From  nola.gov/nopd: Based on the initial investigation, detectives learned that a group of...

<p>To woo a new supermarket to South Los Angeles, city leaders offered up roughly two acres of city land for a single dollar - and proposed to sweeten the deal with $750,000 in federal funds to spruce up the site.</p>

A school bus driver caught on video striking a teenage student in the head several times was arrested Friday and booked with simple battery, the Kenner Police Department announced Saturday night (Jan. 23). According to a news release, police received several calls at 7:15 a.m. Friday about a school bus fight in the 1200 block of Veterans Boulevard in Kenner. The driver, identified by authorities as Michelle Bratton, told police the male student refused to sit in his assigned bus seat, so she approached him and told him to leave the bus, which led to an argument between them. Bratton,...

Not long ago, Inglewood's prospect's looked bleak. The city was verging on bankruptcy, its schools were destitute, and it had been a long time since people called it the "City of Champions" - once a nod to the world champion Lakers - without irony. But in recent years, the nine-square-mile city with a population of just 110,000 has shown signs of a stunning turnaround. The Forum, which the Lakers left in 1999, was reopened as a lavish concert venue. Developers announced that the Hollywood Park racetrack, closed in 2013, would be the site of a massive retail and residential complex....

“Glee” actor Mark Salling was arrested Tuesday after an LAPD Internet Crimes Against Children task force unit served a search warrant at his Sunland home, Crime Watch Daily reports. The crimes against children warrants were served and a search took place at a home in the 9900 block of Helen Avenue, Liliana Preciado of the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to KTLA. Sources told Crime Watch Daily that Salling lives at the address and was arrested. The actor is best known for his role in the hit television series “Glee,” where he plays Noah “Puck” Puckerman.

An owl flew into a Covington police officer's cruiser early Thursday (Dec. 24), pecking and scratching the officer and leading him to drive into a ditch, Chief Tim Lentz said. Officer Lance Benjamin received only minor scratches from the odd Christmas Eve encounter and was able to finish his shift. Lentz said he thought someone was playing a joke on him when he received a 1:45 a.m. text message that Benjamin had been in an accident involving a nocturnal bird of prey. "Surely nothing as outrageous as an owl flying into a police car could happen. I imagined the next...

A 15-year-old girl is dead and a 16-year-old boy is in guarded condition after a shooting shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening (Dec. 22) in Harvey. The victim who died was identified as Shamairie Joseph of Harvey, according to a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office news release. Responding officers found Joseph suffering a gunshot wound to the chest in the 1600 block of Apache Drive, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. The boy was found suffering a gunshot wound to the abdomen about a block away, in the 1000 block of Inca Drive. Preliminary indications are that "both victims...

Jail was the last place wife, mother and churchgoer Jacqueline Renell Charles expected to spend two weeks of her life. The 50-year-old manager of tax preparation offices in the New Orleans area was on her way home from work late in the evening Nov. 18 when a law enforcement officer pulled her over for speeding. He told her the stop was taking a long time because when he checked her license, he found a warrant for her in Mississippi. She couldn't imagine why. Her son is in school at Millsaps College, so she does go to Jackson occasionally for ball...

Few imagined such a crime could happen -- a triple murder and suicide -- in a middle-class Marrero neighborhood so thick with law enforcement officers that residents call it Cop Land. It's the kind of place where everyone waves hello but no one gets in each other's business.When family gathered outside the yellow crime-scene tape Sunday (Nov. 29) in the Oak Forest subdivision, they comforted the sobbing teenager who had returned from a hunting trip to find her mother and stepfather dead in their living room at 4805 Brandi St. What she hadn't seen, when she ran out to call...

Systematic changes are in effect now for all those accessing The Highway of Holiness for Truly as you meet each waypoint in Steps of Faith , your "Knowing" what has changed from where you were to where you are now shall be entrusted to you for your hands have been found clean and your hearts free from guile for this is the road for all those that "HAVE" Overcome ! 2 Peter 1:1-11 1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle (special messenger) of Jesus Christ, to those who have received (obtained an equal privilege of) like precious faith with ourselves...

Louisiana isn’t anywhere close to belonging on a list of swing states, yet Republican David Vitter is at risk of losing not only his gubernatorial race this month, but also his Senate seat next year. The Pelican State’s senior senator has struggled to unify the Republican vote after finishing second in the Oct. 24 jungle primary with just 23 percent. He trails Democrat John Bel Edwards in multiple public polls heading into the Nov. 21 runoff. Vitter’s numbers have dipped to a point where, should he lose, some Republicans will want him to drop his bid for re-election to the...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Teachers in the nation's second largest school district say a new policy aimed at reducing suspensions is also having another effect: More unruly students in their classrooms. Los Angeles Unified School District was the first to ban suspending students for defiance in California and began instituting restorative justice policies that emphasize counseling and conflict resolution.

Who is the 'Wet Prince of Bel-Air'? LA resident infuriates his neighbors by using a 11.8 MILLION GALLONS of water a year despite the severe drought as a 'posse' sets out to identify him Residents of a posh Los Angeles neighborhood furious after their neighbor used 11.8million gallons of water while others cut back to preserve the precious resource in the middle of California's drought. Authorities have refused to identify the 'Wet Prince of Bel Air' , whose home used roughly 90 times the amount for an average household during the year that ended in April. Some more rural communities...