WSSN Stories

By Lue Dowdy

Just a Scorpio on the move! Please allow me to re-introduce myself. LuCretia Dowdy is my name but they call me LUE. I tell most folks, you either love me or hate me; there’s no in-between.

Coming out of the Dino, I consider myself to be a true Westside girl. I was born at Community Hospital in San Bernardino and raised on 15th street in between Western and Medical Center. I attended several elementary, junior high, and high schools throughout the Inland Empire. Not always being the smartest, school was difficult for me but I made it.

These San Bernardino streets weren’t no joke. As a kid growing up, I had to learn how to fight, especially being an only child that was partially raised by my grandmother. I’ve made some wrong choices back in my days that landed me in situations that weren’t good. Now that I’m older and wiser I see differently. I’m thankful that I turned my LIFE around for the better. It’s only by the Grace of God that I am here today. Trust and believe that this Child of the Most-High, Widow, Mother, Grandmother, and Entrepreneur, Business Woman, Go Getta, and Hustler will never STOP!

Check my professional bio out below and make sure to follow me @justbeinglue on all social media sites. Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME Scorpios ROCK!

LuCretia Dowdy is an entertainment and public relations professional hailing from San Bernardino, California. As a graduate of UEI’s Business Office Administration program, she serves the County of San Bernardino’s youngest residents and families through early childhood development funder, First 5 San Bernardino. In 2013, Ms. Dowdy was recognized with the Award for Excellence to the department as their Public Relations & Office Specialist.
Ms. Dowdy is most recognized for her roles in the community as a Columnist for Westside Story Newspaper and Founder of LUE Productions.

LUE Productions is an entertainment company founded to highlight emerging homegrown talent and artists in the Inland Empire. LUE Productions specializes in events, media and management with a portfolio of events that include an annual My Music, My Mic Awards Show, Annual Yacht Party, and other platforms for artists to perform and thrive in the entertainment industry. She coordinates yearly projects within the Inland Empire to help feed the homeless.

To learn more about her work, check out her weekly column “What It Do With Lue” in the West Side Story Newspaper. You can contact her at (909) 567-1000, Lue.info@yahoo.com, www.Lueproductions.org, YouTube.com/LUEProductions, Twitter.com/LUEProductions, Instagram.com/LUEProductions, and Reverbnation.com/LUEproductions.

Civics and service were the lessons of the day PAL Center CEO Dwaine Radden Sr. said to student’s volunteering as Supervisor Gonzales hosted a community clean-up day for the city of Muscoy. PAL Center graciously hosted the event as a dump site where residents could bring appliances, tires, furniture, metal, and more in an effort to clean up the community. PAL was one of two sites in the neighborhood for this annual event and their student Ambassadors benefited immensely from the experience.

Onsite planning their campus activities for the 2017 -2018 school year as well as preparing for the upcoming Halloween Festival, PAL Ambassadors took a break from their Saturday agenda to meet with Supervisor Josie Gonzales. She offered a wealth of information as she took a moment for a photo-op and selfie session with this group of High School students.

“The reason it’s important to learn about Civics, Government, and Politics is it teaches you the shortest route to the solutions for everyday problems. You now have the beginning of the answer. Government is there for everyone but not everyone knows how to use it as the solution.” Supervisor Josie Gonzales

Totally unplanned was the genuine act of service extended by this group as they all pitched in to assist a neighbor of PAL in clearing out the large waste items on their property. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and got busy doing the work of service as a real-time example of leadership in motion. The team spent nearly an hour of their day with Supervisor Gonzales clearing out debris while San Bernardino County Code Enforcement officers lent a hand with the heavy lifting and loading of debris onto waste management trucks.

“Cleaning the neighbor’s property is certainly not how we planned to spend our Saturday, but the opportunity and experience was invaluable as we attempt to model and teach the necessity of considering others and not just self. Our Ambassadors are AMAZING and they reaffirmed their awesomeness today through service without complaint. We are incredibly proud of who they are becoming.” Ms. Domonique White, PAL Student Success Coordinator

Supervisor Gonzales left the PAL Ambassadors with this note, “You must look around and take ownership of the answers. You are the boss of the problem. Be the solution you want to see.”

PAL Charter Academy is providing solutions for student success by supporting students through an individualized approach to learning. PAL is currently enrolling for the 2017 – 2018 2^nd trimester session as well as PCA Middle School, 6^th – 8^th grade which opened fall of 2017. For more information visit the website at www.palcharteracademy.org or call 909-887-7002.

By Charlene Muhammad, California Black Media

Equitable education is a top priority for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which re-emphasized its call for a moratorium on charter school expansion during its California Hawaii 30th Annual State Convention at the LAX Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles October 26 to October 29.

The NAACP contends that charter schools divert already-limited funds from public schools, without the same levels of oversight, civil rights protections, and transparency.  It wants stronger oversight in governance and practice in the system.

In California, of the 175,000 Black students who took the math test for 2017, six percent exceeded state standards, 13 percent met standards, 25 percent ‘nearly’ met standards, and 56 percent did not, according to the California Department of Education.

In English/Language Arts, 44 percent of the 175,000 Blacks tested did not meet state standards, while 25 percent nearly passed, 22 percent passed, and 9 percent exceeded them.

During an invitation-only stakeholders meeting on Oct. 26, CBM sought new NAACP President Derrick Johnson’s thoughts on calling for a moratorium on charter schools, when some families are finding success in these schools.

While not all traditional schools are failing, Black children are suffering greatly in traditional schools, not just from a lack of education, but from criminalization through various disciplinary measures (such as random backpack searches, suspensions, and expulsions), CBM noted.

“The NAACP will continue to advocate for quality education for our children.  We began to notice a trend with charter schools.  We’re clear that anytime you put a profit motive behind the delivery of education there are individuals who would put profit above people,” Johnson replied.

As a result, he said the organization’s position is clear.  It is calling for a moratorium on charter schools, because of the privatization of schools and the lack of transparency in their operations.

Particularly, Johnson said, the NAACP is looking at the impact of how charters operate across the country, which varies under state laws.

“You have scenarios like in Detroit, where the authorizing board, you have 16 of them.  There is no standardization.  There is no transparency in their governance.  And in some cases, we found that schools would open up, receive resources, and close, and parents are left holding the bag,” Johnson stated.

He said that level of instability is found in the majority of Black, Latino and poor neighborhoods.

Johnson said there might be some best practices across the country with charter schools, and the NAACP knows there is not a perfect system with public schools.

That said, it has long advocated for quality education in the public school sector, but the 15-year emergence of the privatization of education is also a problem, he stated.

“We will not be consistent with our mission if we didn’t speak out as strongly against what’s taking place in the privatization process of delivering education in the same vein that we have historically spoken out against the lack of quality in the public setting. That’s why we’ve taken the position that we’ve taken,” Johnson stated.

Rev. K.W. Tulloss, president of the National Action Network Los Angeles Chapter agrees with the NAACP that equity in the overall funding of students per pupil is a worthy fight.

Though his own children attend a charter school, Tulloss advocates for a cap, because he feels the Black community is too flooded with the sites.  He said he is also against a two-tier system that pits charter vs. traditional, because every child matters.

“I don’t particularly agree with the NAACP stance in trying to point out the discrepancies of charter schools, because, when you do that, you talk about my children who attend charter schools.  As a parent, I chose charter schools, because there’s not a one-size-fits-all system,” Tulloss said.

“My child, I feel, is doing a great job in a charter school, Watts Learning Center, which is 70 percent African American students there,” he added.

On the political front, CBM also asked Johnson how he thinks the NAACP’s switch from a 501(c)(3) non-partisan status to a 501(c)(4), allowing it to lobby or campaign politically, may impact its ability to not fall prey to the highest bidder.

He replied the NAACP is a membership-based advocacy organization, with strength in its local units across the country.

They are already 501(c)(4), which means very few restrictions on policies, positions, how they inform the community, and political advocacy around certain measures, Johnson said.

“The NAACP also has an internal policy that we don’t endorse political parties or individual candidates,” he said.   But the national office has been restricted and limited on the type of support it could give to state conferences on certain ballot positions.

“In order for us to have consistency, we’re creating a (c)(4) so we’ll have better alignment with our local units as they advocate for public policy, but we will retain our (c)(3) at the same time,” Johnson concluded.

By Joseph Hammond , Urban News Service

Most Americans had not heard of Rep. Frederika Wilson until she accused President Trump of making insensitive remarks in a condolence call to the widow of an American soldier killed in Niger.

But her connection to the military’s often secretive work in work in Niger came as little surprise to intelligence officers who know the Florida Congresswoman as a long-time supporter of U.S. counter-terrorism missions in Africa. Since her election to the House in 2010, Wilson has become one of the staunchest advocates for U.S. support in the fight against the jihadist group Boko Haram.

In an exclusive interview with the Urban News Service days before the attack in Niger, she said she is especially concerned about the threats Boko Haram and other terrorist groups could pose to America’s homeland.  “What you are going to see is little black boys in communities that Boko Haram will [target by] sending people in to change the trajectory of what’s happening in our inner cities and they too will become terrorists,” she said.

African security has long been an issue for the congresswoman. Wilson was part of the first congressional delegation to go into another African country, Nigeria, after Boko Haram abducted 276 girls in 2014 from a school in the town of Chibok, stirring international outrage and inspiring the social media hashtag #bringbackourgirls. Boko Haram has released many of the girls, but 113 remain missing.

In a Facebook posting following the death of four Americans soldiers in Niger at the hands of Islamic terrorist on Oct. 3., Wilson framed their losses as part of a larger struggle against Boko Haram and Da’esh (ISIS) in Africa. She also noted that she had sponsored a successful piece of legislation which directs the United States to aid Nigeria and its neighboring countries, including Niger, in developing a five-year strategy to fight Boko Haram.

Although that legislation did not call for a direct role for American troops. She has outlined financial moves and controversial arms sales as moves the Trump administration could take to help Nigeria.

“We have money in our banks that was confiscated from Nigeria – its dirty money and it’s now up to us to return the money to the Nigerian government so they can use the money to help international displaced people,” she said. “There are thousands of them who have been rooted from their homes because of Boko Haram.”

Like insurgencies around the world, Boko Haram’s ability to launch raids in one country and seek safety in another has made the group especially difficult to confront. Wilson stressed that U.S. must make sure “that the Multinational Joint Task Forces that we put in place is working with Chad, Niger and Nigeria and make sure it’s working and make sure they can cross boundary lines to chase Boko Haram.”

The congresswoman has also supported the controversial sale of warplanes to Nigeria a stance that contrasted sharply with some in her own party.

Nigeria has long sought to purchase a dozen Super Tucano A-29 aircraft for its use in its campaign against Boko Haram. The propeller plane is produced by Brazil and the United States and is designed for counter-insurgency operations and aerial reconnaissance.

The Obama administration initially approved a sale of the aircraft to Nigeria, but put it hold in January after the Nigerian air force mistakenly bombed a refugee camp along the Nigerian-Cameroonian frontier that killed 115 people and 100 people injured.  The Trump administration approved the sale this summer.

The sale has proved controversy for other reasons. Two Senators Corey Booker (D- New Jersey) and Rand Paul of Kentucky (R-Nigeria) have also opposed over the concerns regarding the Nigerian government’s violent treatment of its Shia Muslim minority.

“We are concerned that the decision to proceed with this sale will empower the government to backtrack even further on its commitments to human rights, accountability, and upholding international humanitarian law,” the two senators wrote in a joint letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in June.

Asked about her sale of the warplanes Wilson put the issue in the context of the corruption in the former administration of President “Goodluck” Jonathan Taylor. He was defeated in 2015 elections by the current president, Muhammadu Buhari, a former military strongman who has made defeating Boko Haram a priority. Wilson expressed confidence that Bukhari had addressed corruption and other concerns that had plagued the sale in the past. 

“It takes a while for them to get the planes and it will take a while for Nigerian soldiers to be properly trained,” she said, [but} we should see that very soon in Nigeria.”

 Bukhari is potentially open to military assistance from the U.S., which then President Taylor halted in 2014. Nigeria, however, was not listed on a list of countries where U.S. forces are deployed in a letter the Trump Administration sent to congress this summer.

Under Bukhari, the Nigerian military in concert with its regional allies has put Boko Haram on the defensive in Nigeria. Boko Haram first emerged in 2002 amongst disaffected members of the Kanuri tribe.  Ironically the place where Boko Haram may have its best chance to regain the initiative is in Niger.

The recent withdrawal of Chadian forces from Niger could mean that Boko Haram could potentially form a tactical alliance.  Niger is the only country in Africa where Boko Haram, Da’esh and Al-Qaeda have all launched attacks.

It remains unclear if members of Al-Qaeda, Da’esh (ISIS), or another terrorist group operating in Niger were responsible for the attack.

A Pentagon statement linked the attack to Al-Qaeda. As of press-time, no terrorist group has taken responsibility for the deadly October 4^th attack.

By Lue Dowdy

Looking for the Next Plus Size/BBW Queen is WHAT IT DO!
Who will be crowned our 2018 Plus Size/BBW Queen? LUE Productions 2nd
annual BBW (Big Beautiful Women) Model Competition and Fashion Show will be a must attend event. It will be a night of girl power at its finest! The winner will walk away with the following: $500 cash, a crown, a trophy, a photoshoot opportunity, a magazine/newspaper feature, hosting gigs, and exposure and promo for one year or more.

If you want to compete, please register today! Registration is $50 before January 1, $100 after February 1, and $150 after April 1. The requirements to compete include: Must be a size 14 and up, must be 18 years and older, must be willing to participate in all activities surrounding the promotion and success of the event, and must register no later than May 1.

You can register in person or by texting (909) 567-1000, (909) 556-7637, or (714) 833-3196. Once we receive your registration fee, our application will be emailed to you requesting the following: 2 head shots and 1 full body shot.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—Television and Film and can seem like reality, although most of the time its fiction, but just imagine if what was depicted on television happened in real life. This is the synopsis behind the upcoming film, “Full Method” written, produced, and directed by San Bernardino native Katz Carter.

“Full Method” tells the story about two friends who are preparing to play a serial killer for a new television drama series, but end up accidently becoming killers themselves. The film was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s, ‘Rope’ from playwright Patrick Hamilton.

This upcoming Suspense-Thriller will feature an award-winning cast which includes: Aiden Davari (Matthew Campbell), Shane Cervantes (Frank Genger), Cara Kluver (Liz Riley), Caroline Lee Sanchez (Caroline Prescott), and Terri J. Freedman (Janet Witt).

The film is currently in pre-production mode and in the process of accumulating all the funds necessary to make it a success.  There is currently a GoFund me page set up, so if you love a great, juicy thriller and love supporting local talent, please don’t hesitate to donate at www.gofundme.com/KatzCarter1st.

Katz started acting at a young age trying to follow in his father’s footsteps, doing community theater. In high school, he realized he can make a living from his love of movies and started considering camera work. In college when everyone else around him was acting, he figured someone had to write and direct so that everyone else can act, and that is what started his 15-year journey into the life of filmmaking. He developed a real love for directing and left acting behind to pursue a career in directing and producing.

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

[Boo] your homie, let me in.   I don’t know any [Boo]. Man it’s me, let me in. I tell you, you better not open that door. You better let [Boo] stay where [Boo] is… On the outs. You see, [Boo] ain’t really [Boo]. [Boo] is Satan himself in disguise. He ain’t your homie and he show ain’t your friend. If you let [Boo] in, make no mistake about it, you will pay the piper. You better take heed to what [Ephesians 4:27] and [1 Peter 5:8] says, “Do not give Satan a foothold. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” If you open that door, you can be assured that once he enters and establishes his ground, he will build a fortress of lies around himself to protect and maintain his presence and control. Satan wants nothing more than to enter certain areas of your life so he can gain a stronghold. He’ll try anything to throw you off center, distract you from your focus, and render you ineffective for the Kingdom of God. Don’t be deceived: the devil will never come to benefit you! He will never come to bless you or to give you life, he comes to kill, steal and destroy. He is good for nothing but always up to something. Don’t let the devil in, and don’t give him a key! Don’t do it! Keep his behind on the outs!

Don’t be like David. The devil came knocking, and David opened the door.  It was as if he turned the light on, opened the door, shook the dust off the welcome mat and asked him to come in. You and I never have to fall prey to the devil! If we can shut every door, close every window, and seal every place in our lives through which the enemy would try to access us, we can prevent him from getting in.  You see when the devil came knocking during Jesus 40 days of fasting, Jesus didn’t open any doors. In fact, he slammed them shut [Luke 4].

I tell you following in the footsteps of Jesus, we must refuse to make deals with Satan, no matter how attractive the trinkets. We must refuse to be a commodity that is for sale to the highest bidder. We must refuse Satan’s insistence to relax in the passenger seat of our life. For me, I want no part of Satan’s negotiations, and I don’t need any arbitration either. We are not friends. We are and forever will be enemies. And, I am okay with that. Don’t open that door! Decide and Conquer [Revelation 3:7-13]. That’s it and that’s all!

On Tuesday, October 24, the world lost another great music legend. Fats Domino departed the earth, but his musical attributes will live on for decades.

In honor of his life, filmmaker Joe Lauaro’s 2016 documentary “American Masters: Fats Domino and the Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll” is currently streaming on the American Masters website located at pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters.

The films digs into how Fats Domino’s brand of New Orleans rhythm and blues became rock ‘n’ roll. As popular in the 1950s as Elvis Presley, Domino suffered degradations in the pre-Civil Rights South and aided integration through his influential music. A production of HISTORIC MUSIC LIBRARY. 

Check local listings for encore broadcasts nationwide on PBS.

By Lue Dowdy

Ge-ho of C.H.E.F. Music Studio is What It Do! Having the right producer and studio to record in can be vital to an artist’s project. Relationships and trust is an important factor as well. To create you must be in an environment that makes you feel comfortable. I’d like to take a moment to give thanks to one of the BEST producers/engineers in the game, Mr. Ge-ho of C.H.E.F. Music.

Working with Ge-ho over the years has been magical. He truly has a heart for artists. As soon as you step in the building, there he is ready to greet you with his chef hat and coat ready to work. His fire beats make artists want to serve it up in the booth. Never holding no punches, Ge-ho tells it like it is to inspiring artists in the game. The advice is worth paying for but he offers it for FREE.

With Ge-ho being talented in several areas, he will be departing C.H.E.F Music as the producer/engineer and will be taking on other duties in the company. Taking his place, the company has hired two replacements, Andrew Cook and Daniel Phillpot. I am looking forward to working with these two as well.

Don’t forget to book with the best and that’s Chef Music, C.H.E.F. standing for “Creativity is Heard Emotion is Felt.

Until next week keep it 100% always.

Chef Music, LLC is located at 14425 Seventh Street, Suite 5 in Victorville. Hours of Operation 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. You can email them at info@chefmusic.com or call (844) 484-2433.

Publisher’s Commentary by Wallace J. Allen

Who is coming to help your neighborhood after the earthquake, fire, flood, or mudslide?  Trained ‘first responders’ will start where they stand!  If there are trained ‘first responders’ in your neighborhood during or immediately after a disaster, your neighborhood will be in better hands than those neighborhoods that do not!               

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members are trained to put out small fires, assess buildings, and help with first aid to family, friends and neighbors, as well as provide leadership during a time of crisis. During a disaster, CERT members often become regarded as heroes and superheroes to those people that need immediate help!

The City of Rialto Fire Department is hosting its final scheduled 2017 CERT training session, covering 20 hours over three days on October 27, 28 and November 4. The classes are FREE and all materials are provided! You too can train to become a ‘super hero’! I highly recommend the classes to everyone who has the time available. The Friday, October 27, class is from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and the other classes, October 28 and November 4, are on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Classes are held at Rialto Fire Station 203, 1550 Ayala Dr.  The classes are sponsored by the Rialto Fire department and the Advanced CERT Volunteers.

Register for the classes on line at rialtocert@gmail.com leaving your contact information or by calling the Rialto CERT hotline at (909) 421-4964.

We do not look forward to having a disaster, but that does not mean one will not occur!  In California, we can be sure it is coming, but not when. We need to be prepared at home, in the car and at work! We all need to store extra water, food, blankets, flashlights, a first aid kit, fire starter, etc. Our choice is either to prepare, or, depend on being near a super hero when surprised by disaster!