Youth Los Angeles

In the past they raised hogs, sheep and corn. These days kids in the hottest 4-H project in Los Angeles are trying to raise grades. They are members of innovative after-school education clubs that aim to plant the seeds of scholarship among inner-city youngsters.

Sometimes, it takes a legal system to raise a child. That is one of the saddest commentaries on the state of society in the U.S., and especially Los Angeles, as demonstrated by "Children of the Court," tonight at 8 on the Discovery Channel. But it's happening underneath our noses in mind-reeling numbers: There are more than 50,000 children under the jurisdiction of the L.A. County Dependency Court, a branch of the Superior Court.

Many youngsters in Pico-Union have grown up with the Salvation Army's Red Shield Youth and Community Center. Perhaps a few have grown up because of it. "If the center weren't here they'd be in the streets," Executive Director Irene DeAnda Lewis said as she talked about the children who play and learn Monday through Saturday in the facility at 1532 W. 11th St. Trouble in the form of gangs, drugs and crime lurks in the neighborhood.

My mom has had six knee surgeries from a past job injury. Her life is limited physically, but she tries to do stuff with me all the time. Her keen sense to do well under pressure and give herself completely to her family is intriguing to me. My mom has an inner strength that never subsides. My mom has done so much for me. I have yet to see my mom spend any money on herself.

FROM: Anita DeFrantz, president of the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, pictured above with children playing basketball at foundation office. * DeFrantz's organization uses profits from the 1984 Olympics for various sports programs. A 1976 bronze medal winner in Olympic rowing and the first African American female rower to compete in the Olympics, she serves on the executive board of the International Olympic Committee.

Under fire from homeowners, Los Angeles City Councilman Ernani Bernardi on Wednesday won extra time to formulate his plan for spending $700,000 to help communities affected by the city's Lopez Canyon Landfill. Bernardi has been feuding in recent weeks with homeowner groups near the landfill about how and in which community the money should be spent.

Los Angeles City Councilman Ernani Bernardi said Wednesday he is considering only Pacoima sites for a $700,000 anti-gang program that has drawn criticism from residents of nearby communities who believe the money should be spent in their neighborhoods. Bernardi had said he was also considering sites in Lake View Terrace. But Wednesday, after a City Council committee voted 2 to 0 to recommend approval of the proposal, Bernardi said he is now looking at Pacoima exclusively.

A much-anticipated employment-training program intended to provide city jobs to 250 students considered likely to drop out of school will be delayed for several months because of miscalculations and a slow bureaucracy, officials have acknowledged. As a result, the students, who were to have been employed by the middle of this month, are likely to remain jobless until summer's end.

My mom has had six knee surgeries from a past job injury. Her life is limited physically, but she tries to do stuff with me all the time. Her keen sense to do well under pressure and give herself completely to her family is intriguing to me. My mom has an inner strength that never subsides. My mom has done so much for me. I have yet to see my mom spend any money on herself.

After a critical audit released last week on Los Angeles' anti-gang program, Mayor Richard Riordan on Tuesday said he intends to cut off funding to the initiative, starting in six months. Last Friday, City Controller Rick Tuttle issued a scathing audit, saying the L.A. Bridges program is so poorly operated that it should be shut down and overhauled.

After a critical audit released last week on Los Angeles' anti-gang program, Mayor Richard Riordan on Tuesday said he intends to cut off funding to the initiative, starting in six months. Last Friday, City Controller Rick Tuttle issued a scathing audit, saying the L.A. Bridges program is so poorly operated that it should be shut down and overhauled.