The residents of View Park, Windsor Hills and View Heights have seen the light and are gearing up to take back their communities from politicians and business interests with agendas contrary to their own. They are preparing to throw the rascals out of their United Homeowners Association, who have done nothing but follow the dictates of anti-empowerment politicians, and replace the association’s leadership with people who will function on behalf of the communities they represent. Hallelujah! The UHA’s leaders and members have been at odds over crucial community issues for far too long and a thorough housecleaning is long overdue.

A slate of seven new candidates is being fielded to take over the UHA. They are: Stuart Huggins, president; E. Tony Dawson, vice president; Barbara Dawson, secretary; Rand Paulin, treasurer; and board members, Charles Balls, Sally Hampton and Clifford Daniels. When these seven are elected on Jan. 21, 2010, they will constitute a whole new executive board of like-minded people with a new vision for those upscale communities, which ought to be able to control their own destinies. After all, these residents have money; they ought to have power. What’s the point of having money if they’re going to let penny-ante politicians and their operatives push them around?! The slate is hosting a “Meet the Candidates” forum Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at 5301 Brynhurst Ave. They’ve invited empowerment guru, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who will lead a discussion at the meeting on the importance of community and neighborhood involvement. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, founder of the People’s Council, has also been invited.

I wish I could attend, because I delight in seeing heretofore complacent people get radicalized and fired up and ready to go! I love that stuff! But, alas, I am unable to attend the meeting because I must attend The Wave’s holiday luncheon Saturday. I wouldn’t dare let that many of my co-workers get together without me, because you know we always talk bad about whoever is missing!

THIS IS IT! — All roads are leading to the big MTA board meeting Thursday at which two matters of pressing concern to the community are slated for action at 9:30 a.m. People dressed in black are coming by carloads and church buses along Crenshaw Boulevard north up from Inglewood to the MTA showdown over whether the Crenshaw light rail system will feature a subway under the length of Crenshaw Boulevard and whether a $10 million design contract for the project will be awarded to a White-owned Orange County firm, thus passing over two local Black contractors who have been performing the preliminary work on the project for 15 years. The community is descending upon the MTA to support Ridley-Thomas’ motion calling for a study of the feasibility of extending the planned two-mile Crenshaw Subway an additional mile, to within hailing distance of Inglewood, as requested by a whole lot of affected and determined residents.

FIRST AND LAST — It didn’t take long: Our new LAPD chief, Charlie Beck, had his first disagreement with Councilman Bernard Parks Monday. As chairman of the Council’s Budget and Finance Committee, Parks wants to cancel the Police Academy’s January class to save money — over the protests of Beck. The chief is working with the city administrative officer on a proposal to have a smaller class of cadets next month, rather than eliminate the class altogether.

Saundra Davis attended her last meeting Tuesday as a member of the Culver City Board of Education. Davis has been a school board member for eight years and she made history when she was elected to it in November 2000, as she became the first African-American to be elected to anything in Culver City. She served the school board as president and is currently vice president. The community held a social event in the Culver City Hotel in her honor immediately following her last school board meeting.

LOOKING FOR FELLOWS — Earlier this year, our own Kerman Maddox served as a judge for the regional finals for the first class of White House Fellows Program to be selected to serve under the administration of President Barack Obama. As such, Kerman gained valuable insight into the kind of candidates the fellows program is seeking and he is now actively recruiting qualified candidates from our community to fill the next batch of fellows. The White Fellows Program is considered to be the most prestigious in the nation. Its purpose is to provide highly motivated people with firsthand experience in the process of governing the country. Selected individuals typically spend a year as a full-time, paid fellow to senior White House staff, cabinet secretaries and other top ranking government officials.

Candidates for White House fellows must be U.S. citizens, must have completed their undergraduate education and be working in their chosen professions, should have a record of remarkable professional achievement early in their respective careers and must have a demonstrated commitment to public service. Fellows begin work on Sept. 1 and conclude on Aug. 31. The deadline to apply for the fall fellows class of 2010 is Feb. 1, 2010. Applications are available online at www.whitehouse.gov/fellows and if any potential applicant needs special attention or needs encouraging or hand-holding, he/she can contact Kerman at kkmaddox@aol.com. He’ll help you.

DATEBOOK — Assembly Speaker Bass will host an “End of Year” celebration Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Culver City Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium, 4117 Overland Ave. The celebration will feature a luncheon, music and entertainment and the opportunity to donate to the preparation of care packages for homeless and foster youth. I’d like to go to that, but I can’t because I must attend Arthur and Revé Gipson Parks’ Beverly Hills wedding reception. I can’t miss it. After all, this couple had been going together long enough to have been married and divorced twice — 14 years — when you consider that “seven-year itch” thing!

State Sen. Curren Price and his family will host a holiday gathering and toy drive Dec. 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the California African American Museum in Exposition Park. The senator is asking that each person who attends brings an unwrapped toy of at least $10 in value, which will be donated to local community organizations. I can’t go to that either because I have to do some Christmas shopping at some point — lest I get expelled from my own family! I can hear it now: “You always have time for everything else blah, blah, blah...”

The memorial service for Avery Clayton will be held Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. at Agape International Spiritual Center, 5700 Buckingham Parkway in Culver City. It is open to the public. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum, 4130 Overland Ave., Culver City.

AND FINALLY — So, Tiger Woods’ wife went after him with a golf club because she discovered he was a serial cheater? She beat him up and took his money? I haven’t heard anything bad yet.