Local

Photo caption: Pictured (L to R) is San Bernardino County Librarian Leonard Hernández; Executive Director Linda Jackson, NID Housing Agency; San Bernardino Mayor Carey Davis; Assemblymember Brown; and San Bernardino County Deputy Superintendent Ted Alejandre.

MUSCOY, CA- Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown (D-San Bernardino) recently held a back to school symposium in the unincorporated area of Muscoy to give a legislative update on state education initiatives and to distribute over 400 backpacks stuffed with school supplies for students residing in the 47^th Assembly District.

The event was proudly sponsored by the San Bernardino County Library, NID Housing Agency, Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County, Staples, Westech College, IEHP, Molina Healthcare, Incredible Edible Community Gardens, Stater Bros Markets, First 5 San Bernardino, Al-Shifa Clinic, and the San Bernardino Valley Links.

SAN BERNARDINO – Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown (D-San Bernardino) issued the following statement today on the shooting of San Bernardino Police Officer Gabriel Garcia:

“I am praying for a speedy and full recovery for San Bernardino Police Officer Gabriel Garcia.  As I stated at his vigil last Friday, we must control the violence rising in our communities.  We must begin to address the underlying factors, which create an atmosphere that breeds violence.  I call on every citizen to help us stop this steady increase of violent actions, which begins with all of us respecting and helping our law enforcement officers keep our communities and cities safe.

It is imperative that the community leaders, law enforcement and public safety officials come together to discuss and work on a comprehensive plan to stop the violence.  This is a problem that can only be solved by everyone respecting each other and working together for a common goal and purpose.”

Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown represents the 47th Assembly District, which includes Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Rialto, San Bernardino, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy.

Website of Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown: http://www.asmdc.org/members/a47/       

Mr. Dwaine E. Radden, Sr. was appointed CEO of Provisional Educational  Services, Incorporated (PESI) at the July Corporate Board Meeting. Radden  served as Chief Operating Officer before his recent appointment as the second  CEO in the 29 year history of the organization. Mr. Radden, is also a  Businessman and long-time Community  Leader, which brings considerable  business knowledge to the position and the PAL Center.

Founded by Dr. Mildred Dalton Henry in December 1984, PESI, DBA The PAL  Center and Charter Academy, has continuously provided education, employment,  and social services since that time.  For additional information, call The PAL  Center,  909-887-7002.

PAL Center CEO Community Message:

“I am excited to be the Chief Executive Officer at the PAL Center, following in the footsteps of our founder, Dr. Mildred Dalton Henry with a torch established more than twenty-nine years ago.

As the company’s new Chief Executive Officer, it is my goal and my commitment to continue to provide the exceptional dedication and solutions our community has come to expect from our campus. I am fortunate to have worked my way up in the company and I look forward to the new challenges with a sense of excitement and resolve to continue, and expand, our founder’s vision, “Dare to do the impossible.”

As I settle into my new role, the PAL team and I are working on streamlining our processes to introduce new services and expand our abilities here on campus — but we will never lose sight of our responsibility to our youth and community.

As we move forward, we will be building on a tremendous foundation, built upon integrity, professionalism and pride in the caliber and tenure of the people we employ. With a history of consistent, reliable and convenient service, we’ve never been stronger than we are today. That strength comes not only from our exceptional knowledge of the areas we serve, but our strategic on-site location here in San Bernardino, which also plays a critical role in our past, present and continued success.

As we continue our quest to lead the education industry in developing and bringing new solutions and services to our community, I am very excited about the future of our company. It is my goal to exceed expectations through the continued execution of our vision and strategy.”

And as always, we thank you, our community and partners, for your on-going support and feedback.

Hey, Hey, Hey in my Dwayne Nelson voice! It’s me again, here to tell ya’ What It Do!Laughter is what it do! This Saturday, August 30 at the Sports Bar and Grill (25597 Main Street) in Barstow. I need you to come out and laugh out loud with upcoming Comedian Mac Rome and a host other hilarious comedians from all over. Barstow is doing it BIG yawl!

Founder and owner of the original “Wing It” restaurant in San Bernardino and owner of “Artistically Clean Cleaning Services”, Bennie Fredrick, along with Comedian Mac Rome have teamed up to bring laughter to the community. Unlike anger or sadness, comedy can be an escape from reality even if it’s for a short moment. In my opinion, laughter soothes the SOUL. It allows you to release and let go of the day to day hustle and bustle.

I’m so thankful for comedians such as Red Fox, Richard Prior, Rodney Dangerfield, George Lopez, Bill Cosby, Moms Mabley, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldburg, and George Burns. That’s only a drop in the comedy bucket of GREATS. So with that being said, I hope you can make it to Barstow this Saturday. Remember a frown upside down turns into a smile. Have a blessed and safe holiday.

Brittany Evans

Just a couple of weeks ago we ran an article on Brittany Evans, a local Fontana teen who overcame bullying by following her God given potential who is not only a motivational speaker but is also a inventor with her patent pending innovation Sparkbudz. She has recently been promoting her invention, as well as sharing her testimony to teens and young adults in her community. Her latest endeavor includes a speaking engagement that she will participate in at her local church during their “Millionaire Boot Camp” on Saturday, September 13.

She says, “God has done many amazing things in my life, not only has he blessed me with an amazing supportive family, but he has brought people in my life to help promote the invention he has blessed me with. There have been times were I felt I have been tested but I allowed those tests to become my testimony”.

Brittany who balances school and work, also gives back by volunteering has a junior trainer for an organization called B.O.S.S The Movement. She motivates and inspires to tell teens to follow their path and be unique.

If you want to hear more about her story go to www.Sparkbudz.com.

LOS ANGELES, CA-While addressing the issues of myth and tradition within albinism, the California African American Museum’s (CAAM) exhibition Visibly Invisible is sure to spark dialogue about the issues faced by people of African descent living with this condition – discrimination, prejudice, mutilation and murder. Visibly Invisible opens at CAAM August 29, 2014 and is ongoing through March 1, 2015.

Visibly Invisible highlights Jamaican-born, Los Angeles-based, artist Yrneh’s Gabon Brown’s international journey while researching and documenting the devastating effects of prejudice, ignorance and violence inflicted upon people with albinism in Tanzania, Jamaica and, to a lesser degree, the United States. Albinism is defined as an inherited condition present at birth, characterized by a lack of the pigment that normally gives color to the skin, hair and eyes.

Through videos recorded during his journeys and artwork created in various media (photography, collage, assemblage, sheet metal, cast bronze and ceramic sculpture), Brown shares the inspiration from his trips and the heartfelt devotion he has developed towards children and adults living with albinism.  In his first solo exhibition at a major Los Angeles museum, Brown has produced powerful work intended to effectuate change through artistic exploration, social engagement and public discourse.

The artist, a former model, singer and actor, is a recent graduate from the University of Southern California’s Roski School of Fine Arts program. He had a passion for the visual arts and a desire to combine his many talents with his interest in albinism in USA and abroad. Upon the completion of his degree at USC, Brown traveled to Tanzania, Eastern Africa, where he found first hand-account of the reality experienced by people with albinism.  In Tanzania it is believed that those born with albinism possess magical powers and that their body parts can generate great wealth.

Ultimately, Brown’s goal is to debunk the myths attached to people with albinism and continue to lend his support.

Programs in association with Visibly Invisible include the following;

WALK-THROUGH and CONVERSATION

Saturday, September 20, 2014, 1:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Join artist Yrneh Gabon Brown and exhibition curator Mar Hollingsworth for a dynamic walk-through of the exhibition Visibly Invisible, and an additional informal conversation with local scholars, advisers and supporters, Paul Van Blum and Karen Koblitz. Light refreshments will follow.  RSVP preferred at 213.744.2024

DANCE AND POETRY PERFORMANCE

Sunday, November 2, 2014, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Inspired by his experiences in Tanzania, Yrneh Gabon Brown performs a unique piece accompanied by professional dancers from JazzAntiqua Dance & Music Ensemble. Choreography: Pat Taylor.

FILM SCREENING: BLACK AND WHITE: CRIMES OF COLOR (58 min)

Saturday, January 10, 2015, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

This film documents the efforts of Vicky Ntetema, a BBC radio journalist, as she begins an investigation into the black market traffic of body parts of persons with albinism.  Film courtesy of Under the Same Sun, an organization devoted to helping people with albinism in Tanzania.

PANEL DISCUSSION:  ALBINISM IN TANZANIA

Saturday, February 7, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

CAAM is proud to present a panel discussion exploring the genetics behind albinism, and the social-political factors leading to the plight of the albino people.  Panelists include Dr. Murray Brilliant, PhD., senior scientist and director at the Center for Human Genetics at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, Wisconsin, and Dr. Rebecca Kammer, clinical consultant, Optometric Education at VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies, and founder of Low Vision U, Orange County.

Exhibitions and events at CAAM are free and open to the public. Parking is $10 in the lot adjacent to CAAM, at  39^th and Figueroa Streets.  CAAM is located at 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, 90037. For more information on CAAM visit www.caamuseum.org.

Ongoing Exhibitions in CAAM’s Galleries

Recent Acquisitions: Curatorial Selections ongoing through September 7, 2014

Curvature: Lines and Shapes ongoing through November 2, 2014

Visibly Invisible opening August 29, 2014 through March 1, 2014

Lookin’ Back in Front of Me: Selected Works of Mark Steven Greenfield, 1974-2014 opening September 25, 2014 through April 5, 2015.

Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company: More Than a Business Extended Exhibition

ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM

The California African American Museum (CAAM) is a state agency charged with researching, collecting, preserving and interpreting for public enrichment the history, art and culture of African Americans. Collaboratively operating in partnership with its 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Friends, the Foundation of the California African American Museum, CAAM houses a permanent collection of over 4,000 objects of art, artifacts and historical documents, and a publicly accessible Research Library containing more than 20,000 volumes.

To bring its mission to life, CAAM hosts up to 13 exhibitions annually and tours several of its organized exhibitions nationally.  CAAM also presents a wide variety of more than 80 annual public programs ranging from educational and curriculum-driven lectures and tours with scholars and experts to art workshops, film screenings, and its highly popular signature series of monthly live performances Target Sundays at CAAM.

In furtherance of its value-driven commitment to mentor the next generation and give back to the community, CAAM proudly trains and employs high school students year-round through its Young Docent program; offers Buses & Docents as a source of equitable access to field trip opportunities for school and community groups that otherwise could not afford the transportation; fosters cross-issue, cross-town and cross-cultural learning and dialogue through its Young Voices at CAAM school exchanges; actively advocates literacy, book reading and written expression through Heads are Turning, Children are Learning; and, creates small business development and customer outreach opportunities for artists and craft-makers through its on-site Artpreneur vending program.

Officer Gabriel Garcia

The WSSNEWS organization offers sympathy and encouragement to the family and friends of Gabriel Garcia, the San Bernardino Police officer who was wounded in a shooting early Friday morning.  According to the SBPD, the incident resulted in the death of a known member of a criminal gang based in Redlands.  At the time of this writing, Officer Garcia was recovering from surgery at Arrowhead Medical center.

Officer Garcia started with the San Bernardino Police Department in March 2008. He served as a Patrol Officer for six years, and was highly commended and recognized for his work with San Bernardino Graffiti Task Force. He also participated in SBPD’s Baker to Vegas relay. Garcia was 31-years old and a father to one. His the son of SBPD Captain Ron Garcia.

“Gabe is an outstanding officer, a great team member and a great man.  He has always displayed extreme professionalism and a great attitude toward his job, earning the utmost respect from fellow officers and the department as a whole.  His calming and compassionate nature has earned multiple letters from citizens thanking him for his assistance with crimes such as armed robberies and carjackings.  He is exemplary in every sense of the word”, S BPD Chief Jarrod Burguan stated.

(From left to right): Danielle Oehlman from Stater Bros. Charities; Lindsey Holderness, Corporate Events Coordinator from Stater Bros. Market; Victor Ruiz, Stater Bros. Meat Supervisor for District 4; Patricia L. Nickols, Butler and CAPSBC CEO; and Dr. Joshua Beckley, CAPSBC Board Chairman.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA-Stater Bros. Charities presented a check in the amount of $20,000 to the Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County  Board of Directors on July 15. Over the summer months when food reserves are traditionally low and children are also out of school, not receiving meals through school food programs, Stater Bros. Charities steps in to help.  These funds were generously donated by Stater Bros.’ customers and employees this past holiday season during from their Harvesting Hope Summer Campaign.

Stater Bros. Markets Chairman and CEO Jack Brown stated, “We are in the business of helping our neighbors and right now, some of our neighbors need a little bit more help than the rest.  It’s our hope that these donations will have a major impact in their lives.”

The food items donated by Stater’s is redistributed through the CAPSBC Food Bank network of over 200 agencies.   These agencies include community centers, schools, and faith-based locations such as Salvation Army, The Rock Church, Boys & Girls Clubs, domestic violence shelters, adult re-entry sites, and churches.  This food also supports 30 soup kitchens serving daily meals to the homeless and disadvantaged. (To read more, visit www.wssnews.com).

LUE PRODUCTIONS TEAM

MARINA DEL REY, CA – What Up IE! It’s ya’ girl  LUE and I’m happy to be back in the thick of things. So many wonderful things have been going on with our production company, LUE Productions. Our purpose is to highlight the talent within the Inland Empire and surrounding cities that may get over looked. We pride ourselves in providing UNIQUE platforms for all artists while providing entertaining shows for the community.

Eric Bellinger with DJ Mpress

On Thursday, August 7, we held our first “ALL WHITE MASQURADE HIP-HOP & R&B EVENT” in Marian Del Rey. With GOD’s help and other supportive entities, our company was able to pull off its biggest event ever, in the beautiful city of Marina Del Rey. We wanted to do something over the top

The Real Freeway Rick Ross with a couple of the ladies

and extreme! We wanted artists who may have never experienced performing outside their city, or on an event such as this one, to see what it feels like and to know it can be done. We wanted them to feel like the stars they are. So we rented a multi-million dollar yacht for our talented LUE P. artists and other talented artists to perform on.

The event was amazing! The networking was righteous too. We had live performances from our amazing artists Paul Douglas, Speaker Junkiez, and Mack Pepperboy. Other artists included Yung Miss, Tae The Gifted, Killa, Mrs. Dynasty Dino, Sp’s, Hazel, and many more.

The night was beautiful and elegant like the yacht. Attendees were dressed in their all white with their masks ready to get it in. People had four levels to choose from and tasty entrees to enjoy. We sailed off into the moonlight on the calm waters and turned up!

Our DJ’s for the night were DJ Muda and DJ Mpress along with host Radio Personality 5 Cent. They each kept the crowd going and engaged. The celebrities were in the building, or should I say on the Yacht, included R&B singer Eric Bellinger, The Real Freeway Ricky Ross, celebrity producer Bugsy On Da Beat, rapper Av LMKR, and rapper White Dogg.

  Celebrity producer Bugsy On Da Beat with a couple of the ladies

CEO and Founder of LUE Productions, Lue Dowdy (left); and Supervisor of LUE Productions, Deeveetva Foy

I want to give a special thanks to Tammy Martin-Ryles, President of the “Black Chamber of Commerce Inland Cities” for making an appearance and not being afraid to network with all walks of life, as well as to our LUE Productions Core: Darrell Mattison, Freddie Washington, and Deeveatva Foy. Special thanks to WillieWill of Family First Entertainment, and a special thanks to our LUE P. media team: Freddie Washington, LUE P. Media Director/Photographer; Aaron Swift, mymoma.tv; and Michael Napper, Mike TV.

Our message was simple! You can accomplish whatever you want to accomplish with works. Stop hindering yourself with doubts. This will definitely be an annual event. We hope to see you next year on the waters of the marina. Oh, did I mention, the yacht is the same yacht, Snoop Dogg got married on. Please follow LUE PRODUCTIONS on Twitter and Facebook for more events. Swoosh and one luv!

So Cal Black Chamber-Inland Cities President Tammy Martin-Ryles with Lue Productions Marketing Director Darrell

Family First Entertainment

LUE PRODUCTIONS YACHT PARTY

Center for Employment Training (CET), a leading, nationally accredited, non-profit provider of career and technical education broke ground on its latest center located at 1099 N. Pepper Avenue in the City of Colton. The event took place on August 14th and was attended by several community and elected leaders including Josue Castillo, representing the Office of Assembly Member Cheryl R. Brown, City of Colton Mayor Ms. Sarah S. Zamora, City of Colton District 1 Council Member David J. Toro, City of Colton District 3 Council Member Frank Gonzales, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Chetay Catalano, CET CEO Hermelinda Sapien and CET center directors from Coachella, El Centro, Oxnard, and San Diego. The new center will more than double the number of programs currently offered by CET to the Inland Empire region. Once in full operation, the center is expected to annually enroll about 300 students for training on in-demand occupations and have a significant and positive socio-economic impact on the community.

At the event, CET leadership was presented with a resolution by the Office of Assembly Member Cheryl R. Brown and a certificate of recognition by the City of Colton. Throughout the event, the new center location was visited by various community partners and local citizens eager to learn about the new center and the training programs that will be offered. Juan Pollo and Sushi Miguel’s Style provided a little taste of Colton to everyone in attendance while Home Depot proudly showed their support by providing shovels used for the ground breaking.

Scheduled to open late fall, the new center will offer several industry-driven programs including Automotive Technology, Business Office Administration, Electrical, Logistic Technician, HVAC Technician & Green Technology, Machinist Technology-CNC, and Welding Fabrication. The programs will be affordable and accessible to individuals seeking skills that are in demand by industry. CET leadership is excited about the new campus and looks forward to working with the community to make this new endeavor a success for the City of Colton and the Inland Empire.

Founded in 1967, CET has been nationally recognized for excellent outcomes in program completion and job placement assistance. With a national network of 15 centers across California, Texas, Illinois, Virginia, and North Carolina, CET successfully provides job placement assistance to over 3,000 individuals per year.