Free Republic

South County is abuzz with news about the McCain/Obama forum slated for Aug. 16 at Saddleback Church. Our staff writers hit the streets this week to ask residents what they'd like the presidential hopefuls to mention during the moderated event. To read what they had to say, click on "more photos." To join the discussion, leave a comment below.

The two senators have agreed to attend a forum the evening of Aug. 16 at the Saddleback Church south of Los Angeles — the church is so large it has four locations — where each candidate will spend an hour answering questions from the pastor, Rick Warren. The broad subjects, the church says, are compassion and leadership. The participants stress that this will not be a debate; the campaigns flipped a coin, and Obama will go first.

About 50 protesters marched in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday to decry violence by illegal immigrants and to demand that the Los Angeles Police Department change its controversial policy limiting when someone can be questioned about their immigration status. The marchers, including anti-illegal-immigration Minutemen and local community activists, also called for justice for Jamiel Shaw II, 17, a black athlete who was shot and killed in March by an alleged gang member who was in the country illegally.

A Fight broke out at the Jamiel Shaw Rally today. It was pretty serious. Muslim headgear guy ended up on the ground with what might have been a broken nose. A member of our group was repeatedly assaulted in the face. The police were called and they asked "Do you seen any weapons? and "Is it an equal fight or is a bunch of people on one"? Finally, a car came out briefly but no one was arrested and no report was taken. Now we know why the crime rate is down in Los Angeles - the police don't take...

LOS ANGELES — Jamiel Shaw Sr. never gave much thought to the immigration status of gang members in his South Los Angeles neighborhood. With his military wife deployed to Iraq and two sons to raise, there were football practices to manage, shoes to buy, college applications to consider. But in the two months since his older son, Jamiel Jr., was gunned down by a man the police say is a gang member who was here illegally from Mexico, Mr. Shaw has been able to think of little else. “I don’t care about illegal people who are working here and taking...

LOS ANGELES, (AP) -- The community solidarity that followed the killing of high school football star Jamiel Shaw Jr. did not last. A prosecutor has been pulled from the case after clashing with Shaw's parents, who are demanding hate-crime charges against the suspect, believed to belong to a violent Hispanic gang. And the family is fighting suggestions that an affinity for a rival gang was what led to Shaw's slaying March 2. At the heart of the friction is the polarizing issue of race in a city known for its diversity of cultures. Shaw, 17, was black; prosecutors say the...

The Next Court Day for Pedro Espinoza is http://www.lasd.org/inmate-information.html May 15, 2008 210 W. TEMPLE STREET Los Angeles, CA 90012 8:00 AM This is in Downtown Los Angeles. Be prepared to pay for parking The Media and the Family enter through the rear entrance. I will be at rear entrance at 7:00 a.m. The courthouse opens at 7:00 am and the courtroom opens at 8:00 am, but the proceeding may start later. If you arrive late, go to the second floor. Posted on the doors are the location of the various court proceedings that day. The Shaws are a wonderful...

There was a plaque dedication on Saturday in memory of promising young athlete Jamiel Shaw. The 17-year-old was slain two months ago by a gang member who was also in the country illegally. Now there is a push for a law to get killers like him out of the country before they commit crimes. Leelila Strogov has the details in this video report.

Local Media was there, KTLA and FOX, so watch the news. Lots more pictures: http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm86/wendylajamielshaw/?albumview=slideshow This was very emotional event. The marker marking the spot where Jamiel Shaw was shot down is just three doors down from their family home. Attending was Terry Anderson, Jesse Lee Peterson of BOND, Sheriff Lee Baca and City Councilman Zine. Sheriff Lee Baca spoke briefly of the need for "intervention programs" to prevent young people such as Pedro Escobar from joining gangs. This was generally met with groans and eye rolls. City Councilman Zine spoke of his initiative to amend Special Order 40. He...

The TERRY ANDERSON SHOW.. Articulating the Popular Rage! Sundays - 12-1 AM EDT, 11-12 PM CDT, 10-11 PM MDT, 9-10 PM PDT KRLA - 870 AM - Los Angeles -- KDWN - 720 - Las Vegas -- KFNX - 1100 - Phoenix "If You Ain't Mad, You Ain't Payin' Attention!" Call-In Number - (866) 870-5752 Don't miss Terry's May 4th show with guest ... JAMIEL SHAW Sr., father of Jamiel Shaw, age 17, a young man with an exceptionally promising future who was murdered in Los Angeles by an illegal alien, a known gang member. Jamiel’s murder was preventable, and...

Americans rallied in support of Jamiel's Law in front of Los Angeles High School. There was a heavy police presence - five cars parked across the street and regularly driving around the block. The passersby were overwhelmingly positive. The black ralliers spoke of their frustration with their elected officials such as Bernard Parks, Herb Wesson and Maxine Waters who have abandoned them in favor of hispandering to the illegal aliens. Members of www.tip-compton.com were there with a long list of unsolved murders in the Los Angeles area. Speakers included Steve Ipsen, Candidate for Los Angeles District Attorney. He is currently...

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is off his rocker. This weekend residents of Los Angeles waited with bated breath to hear the State of the City Speech from the mayor. Most Angelenos looked forward to seeing the Mayor once again since it had been while: in the wake of a sex scandal he had all but permanently relocated to the Hillary Clinton campaign bus for the last year and a half. Most residents already knew the State of the City: the City of Angels had become a much harder, more violent place what with the recent murder of Jamiel Shaw...

Los Angeles debates the treatment of illegal immigrants. Sometimes a solitary tragedy can weave all the tangled threads of a far-ranging debate into a sharply focused picture, one that only the willfully blind can claim not to see. Here in Los Angeles, one such tragedy has been the murder of Jamiel Shaw, 17, a high-school student and star athlete who was shot to death on March 2 of this year. Pedro Espinoza, a 19-year-old gang member, has been charged with Shaw’s murder. More than 100 people have been murdered in Los Angeles so far this year, and if this was...

A proposal to change the LAPD's controversial policy dealing with undocumented immigrants picked up a powerful ally today, the Los Angeles Police Protective League. The union, which represents more than 9,000 LAPD officers, said it is backing a motion introduced last week by Los Angeles Councilman Dennis Zine that would require officers to check on the immigration status of gang members suspected of being undocumented immigrants -- even if they are not under arrest. That motion would change LAPD's Special Order 40, which restricts officers' ability to inquire about a person's immigration status. Zine introduced the motion after the parents...

Los Angeles is currently caught up in a battle against two threats -- the Paparazzi and street gangs. It has chosen to do battle with the paps; it has chosen to duck the problem with street gangs. Let me first tell you about Jamiel Shaw. Shaw, was, by all accounts a good kid, the story would be unremarkable, except that this story takes place in the city of Los Angeles, a city that has its fair share of lost kids. But Jamiel was different; he was an athlete and a good guy. He was a star footballer at Los Angeles...

A 19-year-old reputed gang member charged in the March 2 shooting death of standout Los Angeles High School football player Jamiel Shaw Jr. pleaded not guilty today to murder. Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Henry J. Hall ordered Pedro Espinoza -- who was arrested March 7 and charged March 11, just before Shaw's funeral -- to remain jailed without bail.