Roderick Wright

Nearly three years after he was indicted on voter fraud and perjury charges, state Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood)   is scheduled to stand trial starting July 15. The date was set this week by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy, who also presided over the public corruption trial of former Bell elected officials earlier this year. Wright, who previously served in the state Assembly and was elected last fall to a second term in the Senate, was indicted by a county grand jury on eight felony counts in September 2010.

SACRAMENTO -- State lawmakers are jumping into the middle of a dispute over who should control state-owned parking lots at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The state Senate voted unanimously Thursday to prohibit the California Science Center from delegating to USC the power to operate the center's parking lots at the Coliseum. SB 695 by state Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Los Angeles) also prohibits the center from selling or entering a long-term lease of the parking lots, the Coliseum and the Los Angeles Sports Arena without legislative approval.

A political consultant convicted of election fraud in the aftermath of a bitter 1985 Compton runoff election was fined and placed on probation for violating the Political Reform Act. Roderick Wright, a political consultant with Wright-Lester & Associates in Inglewood, was sentenced to three years' probation for admitting his part in a violation of the Political Reform Act. Wright will also have to pay a $2,500 fine for his efforts to help Compton City Councilman Floyd James win a 1985 election.

Nearly three years after he was indicted on voter fraud and perjury charges, state Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood)   is scheduled to stand trial starting July 15. The date was set this week by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy, who also presided over the public corruption trial of former Bell elected officials earlier this year. Wright, who previously served in the state Assembly and was elected last fall to a second term in the Senate, was indicted by a county grand jury on eight felony counts in September 2010.

SACRAMENTO -- State lawmakers are jumping into the middle of a dispute over who should control state-owned parking lots at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The state Senate voted unanimously Thursday to prohibit the California Science Center from delegating to USC the power to operate the center's parking lots at the Coliseum. SB 695 by state Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Los Angeles) also prohibits the center from selling or entering a long-term lease of the parking lots, the Coliseum and the Los Angeles Sports Arena without legislative approval.

A legislative staffer has agreed not to pursue his complaint against Assemblyman Roderick Wright (D-Los Angeles) for allegedly shoving the staffer against a wall and threatening him during an argument over a bill, parties to the dispute said Tuesday.

In a rare action, a legislative staff member has filed a complaint charging Democratic Assemblyman Roderick Wright of Los Angeles with assaulting him and threatening to break his jaw in an alleged dispute over a gun bill. Staffer Geoff Long filed the charge with the Assembly Rules Committee on Thursday night against Wright, a freshman legislator who represents a district in South-Central Los Angeles.

Roderick D. Wright's bid to win the 8th District City Council seat in Los Angeles received a boost Friday when four of his opponents in last week's primary election announced that they are endorsing him. Wright, 38, whose surprise second-place finish was largely credited to the support he received from Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), will face civil rights activist Mark Ridley-Thomas in a June 4 runoff.

Does Los Angeles-area state Sen. Roderick Wright live in the district he represents? Where the veteran Democrat currently makes his home doesn't actually matter under state law, elections experts say. Where he lived while running for office is the key question. The residency matter, and the issue of whether Wright correctly reported his address while seeking the 25th District seat he won last year, surfaced last week when the Los Angeles County district attorney's office confirmed it is investigating Wright.

A new generation of black leaders began to emerge this week from free-for-all elections in two largely black City Council districts, where the stage has been set for runoffs between candidates who are more vocal about minority issues than their predecessors.

Almost two years after his grand jury indictment on eight felony counts of voter fraud and perjury, state Sen. Roderick Wright has yet to stand trial. The longtime Inglewood Democrat may not get his full day in court before voters decide this fall whether to give him another term in the Legislature. Wright's next court date is Sept. 26, for a pretrial conference. Both sides say it's possible his trial could begin shortly before the Nov. 6 election, and they expect it to last two to three weeks.

Thirteen-year-old Stephanie Cota pulled up her sleeve and glanced at the needle. "Is it gonna hurt?" she asked. "You'll feel it, but you look like a strong girl," said Yadira Guerra, a licensed vocational nurse. "Just turn the other way. " When Cota started 7th grade this month, school officials told her she needed a whooping cough vaccine. On Saturday, she and her family came to a free health fair at Jesse Owens park in South Los Angeles to get the immunization. Hundreds of families attended the event, which included the vaccinations, along with vision, hearing and dental screenings.

The state Senate secretly paid $120,000 to settle a claim by a legislative aide that she was sexually harassed by Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood), according to her attorney and government documents released this week. Senate leaders acting behind closed doors approved the payment to Fahizah Alim, who was a district coordinator for Wright, in an agreement that required "no publicity. " The document, approved last year, said the deal was made "to avoid the costs, uncertainty, and operational burden of a further dispute.

A judge on Thursday dismissed two of eight felony counts in the voting fraud case against state Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood). However, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy declined to throw out the entire grand jury indictment, as Wright's attorneys had asked. One of Wright's attorneys, Fredric D. Woocher, said they would appeal the judge's refusal to dismiss the case. Deputy Dist. Atty. Sandi Roth said she would appeal the judge's dismissal of the two counts, which have to do with the two elections Wright voted in after he was in office.

A Los Angeles County grand jury on Thursday unsealed an eight-count felony indictment against state Sen. Roderick Wright (D- Inglewood), accusing him of filing a false declaration of candidacy, voter fraud and perjury beginning in 2007, when he changed his voter registration to run for the Legislature. Wright listed as his residence a home in the district he wanted to represent, but county authorities allege that he did not live there as required by state law. The indictment also alleges that Wright fraudulently voted in five elections in 2008 and 2009.

Los Angeles gamblers may have bet big on their Lakers winning the NBA championship, but they could not do it legally in California, and the cash-strapped state did not get a piece of the action. What if Californians could place such bets in the future without having to drive to Vegas or break the law by calling the local bookie? A state legislator who wants to legalize Internet poker says California should consider sanctioning sports betting too to help fill government coffers. State Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood)

In the battle to capture the 8th District City Council seat, candidates Roderick Wright and Mark Ridley-Thomas have often found themselves on opposite sides of the issues. But on paper, at least, the two campaign combatants share a common fate--large debts. The cost of running busy campaigns with glossy mailers, phone banks and staff members have pushed both camps into the red, according to recently released financial reports.

Businesses might have an easier time dealing with the state bureaucracy soon. Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill Friday that overhauls the California Office of Small Business Advocate and sets up a task force that would help business owners cut through red tape. The author of Assembly Bill 505, Assemblyman Roderick Wright (D-Los Angeles), recently discussed how he expects the legislation to affect small business.

Does Los Angeles-area state Sen. Roderick Wright live in the district he represents? Where the veteran Democrat currently makes his home doesn't actually matter under state law, elections experts say. Where he lived while running for office is the key question. The residency matter, and the issue of whether Wright correctly reported his address while seeking the 25th District seat he won last year, surfaced last week when the Los Angeles County district attorney's office confirmed it is investigating Wright.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has searched two homes in a probe of whether Democratic state Sen. Roderick Wright lives in the district he represents, officials confirmed Monday. David Demerjian, who heads the D.A.'s Public Integrity Division, told The Times that investigators searched two homes early Wednesday morning, but he would not divulge the addresses. One of the homes is in Wright's 25th Senate District and the other is in the neighboring 26th District.