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SAN BERNARDINO — Three schools in San Bernardino County were awarded Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Teacher Advocacy Awards.

“I applaud the three AVID school site teams that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in serving our students, their schools and communities,” said County Superintendent Ted Alejandre. “They are making an incredible impact on the lives of students to ensure success throughout their educational journey.”

The AVID College Readiness System assists first-generation college-bound students and aims to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and beyond.

The Teacher Advocacy Award recognizes and supports outstanding California AVID teachers and site teams each year. This awards program encourages the implementation of AVID schoolwide and allows for sharing of best practices and professional learning by awardees. Each site is awarded $10,000 to be used to further AVID implementation at their schools.

The three schools awarded a 2022 AVID Teacher Advocacy Award are:

• Piñon Hills Elementary, Snowline Joint Unified School District
  • Site team members include Dr. Shannon Avery, Georgina Coonce, Angela Stepp, Nicole Lain and Diane Johnston.
• Vernon Middle School, Ontario-Montclair School District
  • Site team members include Kim Tovar, I-Esha Scott, Bradley Diamond, Kristen Schneyer, Gilbert Correa, Michelle Araneta, Belinda Chicon-Brown and Regina Kranzer.
• Sequoia Middle School, Fontana Unified School District
  • Site team members include Christine Clark, Lisa Hayes, Antonio Viramontes, Ryan Murphy and Tammy Devries.

The sites were nominated by their district director at Riverside, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino (RIMS) AVID.

Each of these three sites has been a model for the RIMS AVID region. They were showcased to visitors from other area sites and used for trainings.

At the elementary level, AVID includes implementing schoolwide strategies where all students are deliberately taught the structures to help them continue to be successful throughout their school experience.

At the secondary level, AVID students are enrolled in an AVID elective class where they are given support to navigate their most rigorous classes as well as access to AVID schoolwide strategies for all teachers and students to utilize.

Both utilize a collection of instructional strategies associated with the AVID College Readiness System to teach students skills in the areas of writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization and reading (WICOR).

For more news and information, visit the SBCSS Newsroom and follow us @SBCountySchools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. #transforminglives.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA —Rep. Pete Aguilar joined local seniors to highlight the passage of the historic Inflation Reduction Act, which will lower the price of prescription drugs and cap out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries. He wasjoined by representatives of the AARP California, SEIU Local 2015 and the California Alliance for Retired Americans.

“After decades of fighting, Congress finally passed a bill to lower the costs of prescription drugs for millions of seniors across the country,” Rep. Aguilar said.

In addition to cutting the costs of prescription drugs, the Inflation Reduction Act will invest $369 billion in clean energy tax credits to address the climate crisis and reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030. The Inflation Reduction Act also contributes $300 billion towards paying down the national debt, which economists say will help cool inflation.

The bill is fully paid for by closing tax loopholes, increasing tax compliance for the wealthiest individuals, implementing an excise tax on stock buybacks, and creating a 15 percent corporate minimum tax. The Inflation Reduction Act creates no new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year or any small businesses.

President Biden is expected to sign the Inflation Reduction Act into law this week.

High school students — Would you like to get involved in the community, but don’t know where to start? Looking to improve your college application? Considering joining our First District Youth Advisory Council!

Members of the Youth Advisory Council will work directly with me and my staff on issues that directly impact the youth of San Bernardino County. Members will attend regular monthly meetings and get involved in local volunteer and community service activities. They may also have the opportunity to present to the County Board of Supervisors.

Each month we explore a different topic with an engaging guest speaker. Subjects have included teen mental health, crime and education. All First District high school students are invited to apply, providing they can attend the monthly in-person meetings at our Apple Valley office. Teachers are encouraged to spread the word to their students.

For more information, please contact Samuel Shoup at 760-995-8100 or email Samuel.Shoup@bos.sbcounty.gov.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools (SBCSS), in partnership with California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB), provided a week-long suicide prevention training for university students.

“We can reduce the number of students impacted by mental health challenges when we provide support, resources and the necessary tools needed to ensure the well-being of all our students,” said County Superintendent Ted Alejandre. “I am incredibly proud of our community, education and government partners for their dedication to supporting the overall social emotional health of our students.”

During the week of August 8, CSUSB students experienced in-depth training on suicide prevention, leadership skills development and knowledge about mental health challenges.

“I think the biggest talking point here is to be there for somebody,” said CSUSB graduate student Ulises Velasco. “If you notice somebody looking down, you can be that one person that gets them out of their bad day or bad moment or those suicidal thoughts by giving them an ear and by lending them a shoulder to cry on. Everybody is capable of being that support buddy for somebody.”

Students were equipped with the fundamental knowledge and tools necessary to provide support to their peers in times of crisis. They will continue year-round learning with quarterly check-ins to provide updates, program shakeouts and booster training.

At the completion of the week-long training, students gained the ability to recognize early signs and symptoms of someone in crisis and were able to connect individuals to appropriate resources and available supports.

“I am really proud to be part of this group…and I want to actually help people that are in need of help,” said CSUSB student Elizabeth Bagley. “Trainings like this brings hope to people.”

Students who are exploring career paths in the mental health and public service sectors had the opportunity to learn about workforce development.

SBCSS developed this peer support training with the help of two CSUSB psychology professors to address mental health and peer support in our communities.

This training is partly funded through SBCSS, and the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health, Inland Empire Health Plan, Molina Healthcare and Kaiser Permanente.

For more news and information, visit the SBCSS Newsroom and follow us @SBCountySchools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. #transforminglives.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The San Bernardino County Library invites residents to the library for a Library Luau. Enjoy a variety of fun-filled crafts, a balloon artist, face painter, a special character visit, and more.

This event is another opportunity to celebrate and support the Countywide Vision’s literacy campaign, Vision2Read. Visitors should bring their library cards, as every 15 items checked out during the event earns visitors a lei and an opportunity drawing ticket for a chance to win awesome prizes. All activities are free and open to all ages.

The San Bernardino County Library Luau Events will take place in the following locations:

• 6 and 20 from 1 to 3 p.m. The Running Springs Branch Library at 2677 Whispering Pines in Running Springs.
• 9 from 4 to 6 p.m. The Newton T. Bass Library at 14901 Dale Evans Parkway in Apple Valley.
• 9 from 4 to 7 p.m. The Lewis Library & Technology Center at 8437 Sierra Avenue in Fontana.
• 10 from 4 to 6 p.m. The Sam J. Racadio Library & Environmental Learning Center at 7863 Central Avenue in Highland.
• 11 from 4 to 6 p.m. The James S. Thalman Library at 14020 City Center Drive in Chino Hills.
• 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. The Hesperia Branch Library at 9650 7^th Avenue in Hesperia.
• 27 from 42:30 to 4 p.m. The Lake Arrowhead Branch Library at 27235 Highway 189 in Blue Jay.

Special Luau Themed Paint Night Programs will take place in the following locations:

• 2 and 9 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. The Running Springs Branch Library at 2677 Whispering Pines in Running Springs.
• 20 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Rialto Branch Library at 251 West 1^st Street in Rialto.
• 27 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The Yucca Valley Branch Library at 57271 29 Palms Highway in Yucca Valley.

The San Bernardino County Library System is a dynamic network of 32 branch libraries that serves a diverse population over a vast geographic area. The County library system strives to provide equal access to information, technology, programs, and services for all people who call San Bernardino County home.

The library plays a key role in the achievement of the Countywide Vision by contributing to educational, cultural, and historical development of our County community.

For more information on the San Bernardino County library system, please visit http://www.sbclib.org/ or call (909) 387-2220.

San Bernardino County’s 2022 Family and Community Engagement Summit will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. September 21^st to 24th at Cal State San Bernardino.

This free event, which provides parental support for their children’s college and career readiness, includes Continental breakfast and lunch. Past events have included numerous guest speakers and educational resources.

Register here

By McKenzie Jackson | California Black Media

Joseph Thomas, an avid sports fan in the San Fernando Valley, is stretching his texting fingers, anticipating the legalization of online sports gambling in the Golden State.

The retail sales manager enjoys playing fantasy football and wouldn’t mind wagering up to $100 a month on his favorite NFL team or players via the online gambling company FanDuel.

“It is something to do that could make watching the games more exciting,” Thomas said.

On Nov. 8, California voters have a choice between two ballot initiatives to legalize and tax sports betting: Prop 26 would allow in-person-only sports betting at Native American tribe operated casinos and at four horse racing tracks in the state, while Prop 27 would allow major sportsbooks operators to partner with tribes in California to offer sports betting to gamblers age 21 or older whether the bettor is on tribal lands or not.

Kathy Fairbanks, speaking for the Coalition for Safe, Responsible Gaming, a coalition of California Indian tribes and tribal organizations and state and community partners that are proponents of Prop 26, said winning the support of every potential voter, including Black Californians like Thomas, is their goal before the November Election.

“We are reaching out to everybody — we want the support of all voters in California — but the Black community is very important,” she said. “The way we will communicate with them throughout the campaign is similar to the way we communicate with all voters, but a little bit different.”

The Yes on 26 campaign is advertising in all mediums and utilizing direct mail to reach voters. It is urging the coalition’s organizations like the Baptist Ministers Conference of Los Angeles and Southern California, the Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce, and the Los Angeles Urban League to ask their members to mark “yes” for Prop 26 and “no” for Prop 27 on their ballots.

California-Hawaii State Conference NAACP spokesperson Kristine Yabumoto said in an email to California Black Media (CBM) that the civil rights organization endorses Prop 26.

On Aug. 3, the NAACP branch filed a lawsuit against California Secretary of State Shirley Weber in Sacramento Superior Court seeking to remove its name from a No on Proposition 26 opposition statement that would be printed in the state ballot pamphlet. According to the organization the quote from a Los Angeles NAACP member gives the impression the NAACP opposes Prop 26. The lawsuit says the quoted NAACP member, Minnie Hadley-Hempstead, believes she had been misled into giving the quote.

Conference NAACP President Rick Callender said his organization is proud to support Prop 26. He is disappointed that Prop 27 supporters and those opposing Prop 26 would try to use the NAACP’s name deceptively.

“We are suing to have these dishonest statements removed from the ballot arguments, so it does not mislead voters,” he said.

As of press time, the coalition supporting Prop 27, had not responded to CBM inquiries.

Prop 27 is backed by major gambling companies including Bally’s, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, PENN Entertainment, and WynnBet. Tribes such as the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Yokut Tribe, and Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians also support the initiative.

The proposition imposes a 10% tax on adjusted gross gaming revenue. 85% of the taxes goes toward fighting California’s homeless and mental health challenges. Non-gaming tribes get the remaining 15% of tax revenue.

Leo Sisco, Chairman of the Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Yokut Tribe, said Prop 27’s approval would give tribes the economic opportunity to fortify their future for generations and protect tribal sovereignty.

“It is the only measure that will deliver hundreds of millions of dollars each year to help solve homelessness and address mental health in California,” Sisco said.

United Way of Greater Los Angeles President and CEO Elise Buik said that California needs to think big if the homeless problem is going to be solved.

“It could provide hundreds of millions each year in funding for proven solutions that help people experiencing homelessness come off the streets and into housing with supportive services,” Buik said

Fairbanks said Prop 27 would have a negative impact on tribes and all of the state. She said online gambling companies have no effective way to prevent youth from using their apps or websites to place bets and that the proposition does not guarantee funding to tribes.

Over 50 Indian tribes oppose Prop 27 and are supporting Prop 26, which allows roulette and dice games at tribal casinos.

Fairbanks said Prop 26 extends the promise California voters made to tribes in 1998 when they authorized tribes to have gaming in the state.

“Tribes have been able to lift themselves out of poverty,” she said. “They’ve built casinos. They contribute annually to jobs, wages, and taxes in California. Proposition 26 will continue that and expand that by introducing in-person sports betting in a responsible manner.”

Tribal casinos annually employ over 150,000 Californians, generate $12.4 billion in wages, and have a $26.7 billion economic impact. They pay $5.1 billion in taxes and revenue sharing to federal, state, and local governments. Prop 26 will grow those figures, its supporters argue.

“Tribes will continue what they have been doing, which is sharing the prosperity,” Fairbanks said. “Sharing it with their tribal members; sharing it with their local communities; and sharing it through contracts tribes negotiate with the state.”

Fairbanks said polling Yes on 26 conducted suggests that voters are skeptical of online gambling and worry about underage gambling.

“Voters believe tribes have done a good job of being the only people in California, who can do Nevada-style gambling,” she said. “The casinos are well run and responsible. If you want to do sports gambling, look at Prop 26 as the more responsible vote. You can do it in-person to your heart’s content.”

By Edward Henderson | California Black Media

Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus and Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, has proposed legislation that would restrict prisons from holding people in solitary confinement, or all-day isolation for more than 15 consecutive days and no more than 45 days total, in a 6-month period.

Assembly Bill (AB) 2632, a.k.a ‘The California Mandela Act’, would prohibit the practice entirely for persons belonging to a “special population,” including pregnant women, persons with a developmental disability or a serious mental disorder, and individuals under 25 and over 60. It would also establish the procedures and reporting requirements for segregated confinement.

Last week, the Senate Appropriations committee sent AB 2632 to the suspense file.

Bills meeting the committee’s suspense threshold, i.e., the cost of a bill is determined to be $50,000 or more to the state’s General Fund or $150,000 or more to a special fund, are often placed on the suspense file after committee testimony is taken and not passed directly to the Senate for a vote. Instead, a vote-only suspense hearing will be held prior to the deadlines for fiscal committees to hear and report bills to the Senate Floor.

The bill will either move on to the Senate Floor for further consideration or be held in committee.

If the bill passes the Legislature, California would be the first state to ban the practice in private immigration facilities. Since 2017, 14 other states have limited or ceased the practice for certain groups.

“Rehabilitation is lost once you put someone in a solitary confinement setting,” said Holden in a press release. “Our constitution prohibits torture, and I believe that the use of prolonged solitary is wrong, both morally, and also with respect to the rehabilitation of individuals in jails and prisons.”

The bill is named after Nelson Mandela who was famously detained in solitary confinement for 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment in South Africa. In 2015, the United Nations also named its standards of imprisonment after Mandela and deemed any period of isolation beyond 15 days torture.

Opponents of AB 2632 argue that suspending solitary confinement would complicate housing decisions and lead to dangerous living conditions for detainees and staff.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reports the bill would necessitate a one-time cost of $775 million to double the programming space at each institution and a one-time cost of up to $512 million to expand exercise yards by approximately 50%. CDCR also reported the increase in custody staffing required to implement the bill across its 31 institutions would cost about $200 million annually.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reports ongoing costs of about of $3.8 million would be incurred to establish 25 new permanent positions to assess CDCR facilities in accordance to AB 2632 and report the findings to the Legislature.

AB 2632 is estimated to add millions in operating costs to the Board of State and Community Corrections, the Department of Justice, and county jails.

However, a recent fiscal report titled “The Cost of Solitary Confinement: Why Ending Isolation in California Prisons Can Save Money and Save Lives” drafted by the Immigration Defense Advocates and Berkeley Underground Scholars highlights potential savings from implementing the Mandela Act. The report used figures from the 2016 state budget and cost estimates from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. It predicts savings between $60 and $300 million, while impacting more than 150 facilities in the state.

“The Mandela Act builds on the decades of work done by detained individuals, activists and organizers to shed light on the darkness that is solitary confinement and allows for constructive alternatives. This bill promotes accountability, safety, and human decency and I hope others will see that too,” said Holden.

By Tanu Henry | California Black Media

As the monkeypox virus outbreak spreads across the globe, Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will need to galvanize “forces” across regions and relax some state regulations and statutes to combat a disease that poses a threat greater than local authorities may be able to respond to effectively.

“California is working urgently across all levels of government to slow the spread of monkeypox, leveraging our robust testing, contact tracing and community partnerships strengthened during the pandemic to ensure that those most at risk are our focus for vaccines, treatment and outreach,” the Governor said Monday night as he declared a State of Emergency in California.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has begun to collect and report racial and other demographic data, tracking how the disease is impacting various groups across the state.

The Governor’s State of Emergency follows similar actions taken in San Francisco, New York City and Illinois. On July 23, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a “public health emergency.”

Last Thursday, the federal government also declared monkeypox a national public health emergency.

“We are prepared to take our response to the next level in addressing this virus and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary and former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás J. Aragón says he welcomes the federal health emergency because it opens up channels for California to get more access to resources to slow the spread the disease.

“We hope today’s action injects additional federal funding and resources into our collective response efforts. The state remains focused on slowing the spread of the virus in impacted communities, administering the limited number of vaccine doses we have, and raising awareness about prevention measures and access to treatment,” Aragón said, before adding that California is “well-positioned” to tackle the outbreak.

Although monkeypox is not considered deadly, the disease can be fatal for some categories of people, according to public health authorities. Symptoms of the disease, lesions and blisters, can be extremely painful in some cases as well.

“Over 99% of people who get this form of the disease are likely to survive. However, people with weakened immune systems, children under 8 years of age, people with a history of eczema, and people who are pregnant or breastfeeding may be more likely to get seriously ill or die,” the CDC reports.

According to the governor’s office, CDPH has taken a number of steps to expand access to vaccinations and the state has launched a public information campaign, mostly relying on webinars and town hall meetings to get information about Monkeypox out to people across the state.

“CDPH is also expanding treatment options. Access to the antiviral prescription drug tecovirimat (Tpoxx) used to treat monkeypox is limited, but the treatment can now be administered at more than 30 facilities and providers across the state,” a press release issued by Newsom’s office states.

As of August 2, the state had distributed nearly 1,713 treatment courses and 168 IV doses of Tecovirimat to health centers in various locations across the state.

So far, the CDPH has received a little over 109,000 monkeypox vaccines – of which 51,000 doses have been distributed to local health departments across the state.

Among Black Californians, there have been 129 cases reported so far, accounting for about 11% of all confirmed cases in the state. African Americans make up about 6.5% of the state’s total population.

As of Aug. 5, CDPH reports that there have been 1,310 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the state with the most confirmed cases being reported in Los Angeles (431) followed by San Francisco (398) and Alameda County (83). There have been 7,509 confirmed cases in the United States and 28,220 across the world.

Shortly after the Governor declared a State of Emergency, Shane Harris of the Peoples Association of Justice Activists, a San Diego-based advocacy group, called on San Diego County to release demographic data on monkeypox cases in that county.

“The governor has declared a State of Emergency as of last night and constituents deserve to know the truth about this virus in our region,” said Harris speaking at a press conference. “My office led this argument during COVID that we needed more demographic data, and the county’s response is that we did not have enough cases at that time. I want them to know that response will not work this time. There is never too few of cases.”

At the state level, the CDPH has begun to disaggregate the Monkeypox data it is collecting by race, city, hospitalizations, gender, age and sexual orientation.

The age group with the highest number of reported monkeypox cases (482) are 25-to-34-year-olds, who make up about 36.8 % of all confirmed infections in California.

“We’ll continue to work with the federal government to secure more vaccines, raise awareness about reducing risk, and stand with the LGBTQ community fighting stigmatization,” Newsom added.

Aragón echoed the governor’s statement.

“Our team is also committed to reducing stigma among the LGBTQ community, which has been singled out and treated unfairly because of this outbreak. No single individual or community is to blame for the spread of any virus,” Aragón reinforced.

When it comes to race, Harris said it is important to approach the containment and treatment of monkeypox with the same “perspective and passion” that characterized the state government’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Race and ethnicity were very important during COVID because we studied the very impact of cultural competency pertaining to COVID – how different communities dealt with it. It is still significantly important today,” Harris emphasized.

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jerry Jimenez, Navy Office of Community Outreach

GREAT LAKES, Ill. – Sailors are some of the most highly-trained people on the planet, according to Navy officials, and this training requires highly-dedicated recruit division commanders.
At Recruit Training Command (RTC), otherwise known as “boot camp,” hard-charging Navy professionals, who guide recruits in the transformation process, from civilians, into disciplined, qualified U.S Navy sailors.

Petty Officer 1st Class David Garcia, a 2003 Cajon High School graduate and native of San Bernardino, California, is a recruit division commander (RDC) at RTC, who trains and mentors the future of the fleet.

“I joined because I wanted to go to college and travel the world,” said Garcia. “I wanted to be the first in the family to serve our country.”

RDCs are highly-qualified, fleet sailors, specially selected for their leadership and teaching abilities to mold tomorrow’s sailors. They must represent and teach Navy tradition, customs and discipline and be intimately familiar with instructional techniques, principles of leadership and administrative procedures.

In order to become an RDC, they must pass a highly rigorous, 13-week course of instruction, which takes place at RTC.

According to Garcia, the values required to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in San Bernardino.

“Growing up I learned to make sure you surround yourself with positive people, so you can have positive impacts in your life,” said Garcia.

In 1994, RTC Great Lakes became the Navy’s only recruit training facility. The mission of RTC is to transform civilians into smartly disciplined, physically fit, basically trained Sailors who are ready for follow-on training and service to the fleet while instilling in them the highest standards of Honor, Courage, and Commitment.

Recruit training involves a change in the mental and physical capacity of the new recruit, according Navy officials. From the first day at RTC through graduation day when new sailors board the bus to depart, recruits find themselves in a whirl of activity. Every recruit entering the Navy today will remember RTC as their introduction to Navy life.

Boot camp is approximately eight weeks and all enlistees into the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. Their basic training curriculum is comprised of five core competencies: firefighting & damage control, seamanship, watch standing, and physical fitness. Through a hands-on learning approach, recruits ‘train how they fight’ and receive critical warfighting skills during the sailor development process. The command consists of more than 1,100 staff members, with an average of 6,000 recruits in training at any time.

With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea, and 95 percent of the world’s international phone and internet traffic carried through fiber optic cables lying on the ocean floor, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity and security of the United States is directly linked to a strong and ready Navy.

According to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday, four priorities will focus efforts on sailors, readiness, capabilities, and capacity.

“For 245 years, in both calm and rough waters, our Navy has stood the watch to protect the homeland, preserve freedom of the seas, and defend our way of life,” said Gilday. “The decisions and investments we make this decade will set the maritime balance of power for the rest of this century. We can accept nothing less than success.”

Serving in the Navy means Garcia is part of a team that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.

“The Navy is important to national defense because our job is to protect the seas and prevent attacks on our nation,” said Garcia.

Garcia and the sailors they serve with have many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during their military service.

As Garcia and other sailors continue to train and perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy.

“Serving in the Navy means serving my country with honor, courage and commitment,” added Garcia.