A / LA Weekly Flickr pool

No big surprise here.

As we bid adieu to our May heat wave, new research has "discovered" that minorities tend to live in hotter communities throughout the nation. Why is this no big surprise to us?

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CNN

See coverage of the Arias case from our sister publication Phoenix New Times here.

There was a time when using the term "Mexican" was thought to be impolite. Perhaps that sentiment stems from the Chicano identity movement of the 1960s and '70s, when activists wanted it known that not every suspect wanted by police was Mexican. Not every dark-skinned American with a Spanish surname was Mexican. And what about those of us who were born here? We are American.

Thus began a delicate hat dance of terminology that has grown to ridiculous proportions. Witness L.A. celebrity attorney Mark Geragos comparing Jodi Arias to Casey Anthony on CNN yesterday:

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File photo by Ted Soqui for LA Weekly

See clarification at the bottom.

When police descended on a USC-area house party attended by African American students over the weekend, some were quick to claim racial profiling.

After all, a more white-oriented event across the street didn't elicit the same response, including cops in riot gear. But the LAPD this week put out a different story:

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LAPD file photo by Ted Soqui for LA Weekly.

Some USC students were angry with the LAPD over its riot-gear response to a student party near campus over the weekend.

The end-of-the-school-year event appeared to be attended by African American students. Another party, across the street, did not meet with the same response, according to one report:

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ABC 10 San Diego

A Southern California sorority was under fire this week after members posted photos on social media showing some sisters dressed up as cholas and throwing fake gang signs.

One thing you don't want to do on the streets of SoCal is throw up fake gang signs. Lucky for the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, discipline was not planned by Cal State University San Marcos (nor by local gangs) . It wasn't a Cinco de Mayo prank, either:

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Cesar Chavez via UFW

Cesar Chavez was no saint, but he did do the Christian thing when he saw an entire class of people, Latino and Filipino farm workers, suffering in slum-like living conditions, putting in grueling hours under the sun, getting paid illicit wages and soaking in pesticides in Central Valley fields.

He embraced the huddled masses, the meekest of the meek, the undocumented who had no right claiming any rights:

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Lupe Ontiveros, courtesy of the Ontiveros family

Updated at the bottom with a response from the Academy. First posted at 9:08 a.m.

The family of Lupe Ontiveros ripped the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for failing to include the late actress in its "In Memoriam" segment during the Oscars telecast Sunday.

A family statement signed by son Elias P. Ontiveros says the move "displayed an indifference to the Latino community and made a statement about the lack of regard for Latino talent in film."

Ouch:

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LAPD Chief Charlie Beck

In the shadow of Christopher Dorner's reported allegations of racism within the LAPD, the department says that 2012's complaints and allegations of biased policing were up 6.4 percent compared to 2011.

Chief Charlie Beck has vowed that his department will conduct a thorough review Dorner's firing, one widely believed to have triggered his psychotic reign of terror earlier this month. In the meantime, Beck is set to present the latest "biased policing" statistics to the L.A. Police Commission this morning:

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Brian Bentley

See also: Joe Jones Manifesto: Black Ex-LAPD Cop Says Of Dorner, 'I Understand.'

See clarification below.

A third African American with experience at the LAPD has come out to express empathy with Christopher Dorner's charges of cop racism.

Not only that but Brian Bentley, who wrote about his experience on the job in One Time: The Story of a South Los Angeles Police Officer, says he knew three other cops who had manifestos of their own:

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thehutchinsonreportnews.com

Sgt. Guillary.

See also: Joe Jones Manifesto: Black Ex-LAPD Cop Says Of Dorner, 'I Understand'

Another African American cop, this one still on the force, has reached out to disgraced ex-LAPD Officer Christopher Dorner, telling him to call a TV station before he surrenders so that the event is filmed and he is "not harmed."

Sgt. Wayne K. Guillary posted a "personal appeal" on the website of Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable president Earl Ofari Hutchinson overnight. In it the sergeant says he still has ongoing concerns about racism in the department but that Chief Charlie Beck is a rare top cop "trying to make LAPD a better organization:"

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Joe Jones / Facebook

Added at the bottom: Jones wants to make it clear that he is NOT a supporter of Dorner's.

See also: Wayne K. Guillary, LAPD Sgt., Appeals To Dorner, Says Cop Racism Remains

A former LAPD officer who wrote a Christopher Dorner "manifesto" of his own supporting claims of racism at the department told the Weekly today that "I understand why he snapped."

Joe Jones' essay about his police experience, which was circulated by the likes of hacker group Anonymous today, mentions at least three incidents on-the-job in which the 48-year-old believes he was wronged by the department in part because he's African American. He writes:

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Disgraced ex-LAPD cop Christopher Dorner has been described by police and experts as a delusional and perhaps even psychopathic killer.

But in the African American community he's often viewed in a different light -- as a victim of racism who became unhinged only after exhausting legitimate avenues to fight the good fight against his firing. Some are even calling him a hero.

How can distinct communities view a man so differently?

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stu_spivack / Flickr

When we got a statement from the San Diego Sheriff's Department last week regarding a crackdown it called "Operation Guacamole," we automatically assumed that it was a reference to America's favorite dip in anticipation of Sunday's Super Bowl.

Nope. It's about a crackdown on ... a Latino gang. Yep.

Isn't that a little racist? What if they conducted "Operation Fettuccine" against an Italian American crime organization? Or "Operation Kung Pao" against an Asian American group?

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Rosario Dawson / Latina

This is the year Latinos will overtake whites as the largest ethnic group in California.

(Pete Wilson is turning in his grave. Wait, he's still alive?!).

So says the office of Gov. Jerry Brown in a "Demographic Information" report attached to its new budget plan, released this week.

In fact, the gov's office has pinpointed the Golden State's ethnic tipping point:

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Yokelgibes / Flickr

Why do black and brown people love 20-inch chrome rims, iced-out watches, and the names of second-rate "designers" (Tommy Hilfiger!) pasted across their chests?

Insecurity, it seems.

But, says a new study on bling, this stuff isn't just for minorities this holiday shopping season. Nope:

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Latina!

Sorry, white folks, but your golden era of majority rule will come to an end this century, the U.S. Census predicts.

In honor of your achievements, including the greatest democracy on the planet, prosperity and world domination after World War II, and Kate Upton, we thank you for your leadership and pray the rest of us can fill those huge Jimmy Choos of yours.

But don't bristle when we do:

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JMRosenfeld / Flickr

Looks like UCLA, ranked one of the best universities in the world, has a serial idiot on its hands.

On the day we reported that someone posted a racist, sexist message outside the offices of the Vietnamese Student Union and the Pacific Islanders Student Association, a similar scrawling was discovered.

Police seem to think the two are related:

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UCLA

Kerckhoff Hall.

UCLA police were considering hate crime allegations after someone posted a hateful, racist and sexist message outside an on-campus office shared by the Vietnamese Student Union and the Pacific Islanders Student Association, sources and officials told the Weekly.

Vietnamese Student Union external vice president Uyen Hoang says fellow members believe the vandalism happened between 8 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday because the group had people around the office except during that time.

The printed message, posted on a bulletin board, reads:

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Barrientos / YouTube

See highlights from our short conversation with the comedian, at the bottom.

If you ever felt sorry for the African American, Asian and Latino actors who have to use fake language and accents to get acting jobs playing gangsters and delivery boys in Hollywood, Southern California comedian Jose Barrientos has a prank you'll probably enjoy.

During a fall "speech 101" class, apparently at Los Angeles City College, Barrientos faked a Mexican accent during most of the course:

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Disney

Sofia.

Updated below. Um. Maybe she's not Latina after all. First posted at 2:04 p.m. Oct. 18.

Disney has a black princess (Tiana, from New Orleans -- yeah), a native American one (Pocahontas) and an Asian one (Mulan).

But, until now, America's largest minority group has been shut out of this me-to pageant.

So, like a politician running for president, Disney executives revealed that princess Sofia, to be debut on a Disney Channel show next month, ...

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