SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- Last week, the First District Youth Advisory Council met. They are a group of 10 bright and enthusiastic students who will meet monthly to identify and discuss issues impacting young people in our county, while serving as a direct link between First District teens and our office.
The students were chosen from Sultana, Apple Valley, Granite Hills, and University Prep high schools. Youth Council members will participate in a volunteer/community service project while learning about local government and civic engagement.
Congratulations to all of the students who were chosen to serve on the panel!
When Michael Jordan returned to the Chicago Bulls in 1995 following a brief retirement, his return message was short and sweet: “I’m Back!”
Dave Mays was once looked at as the Michael Jordan of hip-hop publications, and… he’s back! As a 19-year-old sophomore at Harvard, he founded The Source magazine, which began as a monthly newsletter, eventually becoming one of the world’s longest-running rap/hip-hop magazines.
Mays had a vision to put hip-hop on the forefront of all genres and succeeded immensely turning his newsletter into a full-fledged publication. That ride ended in 2005, when he and Raymond “Benzino” Scott were forced out in a dispute with investors.
Understanding today’s needs, Mays returns with Breakbeat Podcasting network, which will host several culturally diverse podcasts with a variety of hosts. Mays also hosts his podcast, “The Dave Mays Show.”
Breakbeat will also produce docuseries, starting with the “Unsigned Hype,” a popular series in The Source magazine that introduced several hip-hop and R&B acts. He also plans a series on Gangster Disciples leader Larry Hoover.
During a recent conversation with Zenger, Mays opened up about mistakes he made during his time with The Source, and how he plans to not repeat those same errors with his newest venture.
Percy Crawford interviewed Dave Mays for Zenger.
Zenger: How is it going, Dave?
Mays: Going well. I’m excited. This is something I have been thinking about and trying to put together for a minute now, and it’s finally coming to life.
Zenger: Where did the concept of Breakbeat come from?
Percy Crawford interviewed Dave Mays for Zenger. (Heidi Malone/Zenger)
Mays: A few things I have been thinking about for the last few years, there’s not one platform that the hip-hop community can say represents their point of view comprehensively across the wide range of subject matters. In a way similar to what The Source did in its heyday in the ’90s and early 2000s, when we were the magazine of hip-hop music, culture and politics.
We covered everything: fashion, sports, health, news, diet and fitness. But it was all done in a style and perspective that the hip-hop community can relate to and identify with as their own. As hip-hop and the media has grown in the past 20 years, it has become fragmented into different segments. It’s everywhere, but you can find one particular thing that you like over here, a couple of things that you like over on this platform, but there’s not one platform. That’s part of the void that I was seeing.
Another part is, I feel like there has been a narrative pushed through the music industry that’s divided the older and the younger sides of the hip-hop community. This narrative that mumble rap is not real hip-hop. The other side says, you’re just mad, bitter and old. Because the music is by far the most visible, commercial aspect of the culture, the music can become prevalent.
But what I see is, underneath those differences, somebody that is 51 that grew up on hip-hop, might not like Young Dolph or think 21 Savage is dope, and vice versa for the younger people. But I would argue that if you dig beneath the surface there, and you think about how the 51-year-old and the 21-year-old were to look at social justice, look at the way we watch and take in sports, I think we share a unique perspective on things. When you are part of hip-hop, you tend to see things in a certain way that’s different from people who haven’t had that experience. I looked at it as an opportunity to create a platform with diversity in content, voices, talent and subject matters that will appeal to the broad hip-hop community, from 15 to 55.
Then it became a question of, how do I find the right strategy and entry point of how to get into the marketplace because the media business has been so tumultuous? Ever since the onset of the internet in the late ’90s and early 2000s, we have seen all forms of traditional media basically mowed down.
It started with the newspapers, then magazines, now we’re seeing it with television and radio. We’re at a time when technology is still evolving, business models are still being figured out. It’s s time of great opportunity. I started looking at podcasting the last few years and seeing how dynamic it is. It reminds me of underground hip-hop back in the ’80s. It’s this bubbling thing that has all this energy and talent. Things emanate out of it, TV shows and movies. Just a real dynamic space. It’s a fertile ground to introduce the type of content and voices that I was talking about.
I started to think of a podcast network as an answer that everyone in publishing has been searching for, for 20 years now. How do you make a digital magazine? Everybody has been throwing that term around for 20 years. “We’re taking our magazine digital.” It’s never worked. A podcast network in some ways is what a digital magazine could be. The same way you used to be able to flip through a magazine and see a fashion section, a sports section, a fitness section, those are all podcast topics now.
Dave Mays founded the groundbreaking The Source magazine in the 1990s. (Courtesy of Dave Mays)
Zenger: How instrumental was Kendrick Ashton during this process?
Mays: I had to give my business partner a lot of credit. He was very instrumental in helping come up with the name, the concept to launch as a podcast network. I met Kendrick a few years ago in D.C. We’re both D.C. natives. I got introduced to him at an event by a mutual friend. We started talking and just really hit it off. I started telling him about what I saw as this opportunity in the marketplace. We ended up partnering and here we are.
Zenger: Has it been a difficult transition from paper to digital, or just an adjustment?
Mays: I have tried to stay as abreast as I can with new technologies and things going on out here with social media. It’s still very early on. We will see how things go with Breakbeat. I’m excited and confident with what we’re doing. I think it’s going to resonate widely. Once I figured out the right approach to getting in the game and establishing a brand like Breakbeat, it wasn’t that difficult. I had to learn a lot about podcasting in the last couple of years. I have been studying and talking to lots of people just trying to understand it. I didn’t understand it at first.
Zenger: What type of shows can we expect under the Breakbeat umbrella?
Mays: The brand will come through with the authenticity of the content. Authenticity will be the key ingredient. Bringing something that’s needed because I feel like the voices out here in hip-hop… there is room for so many more voices and perspectives than what we are getting with the current media landscape.
Business guru and Breakbeat partner Kendrick Ashton. (Courtesy of Kendrick Ashton)
Zenger: Did you make mistakes or things you could have done differently with The Source Magazine that you will use as experience and not repeat with Breakbeat?
Mays: Oh absolutely! There were a lot of mistakes I made with The Source. Some that I recognized at the time, and others it took me some years after leaving The Source to understand the mistakes that I made. The last 5 years or so have been a period of reflection for me. Really thinking about everything that I went through and try to understand things better. I feel empowered going into this because I’m already doing things in a smarter way. I think Kendrick Ashton is going to prove to be an incredible partner. He fills some of the shoes that I can’t fill with his knowledge. He has a strong finance background.
One of the things that messed me up at The Source… I started The Source when I was a college student. Granted, I was at Harvard, but I wasn’t there for business or media. I was a government major, and I learned as I moved along. The Source was bootstrapped. I’d take $200 and use that to make the next $200, work up to $600, and use that to make the next newsletter.
We never had capital. I never dealt with banks, loans, investors and private equity funds. One of the biggest mistakes I made was basically betting the farm on the internet in the late ‘90s, when dot-coms first came out. Back in those days, every commercial was dot-com this and dot-com that. Wall Street was throwing hundreds of millions of dollars into dot-coms. I got caught up in the excitement. I had the vision. I saw the internet as a pathway to the hip-hop community, globally and directly. The Source was a part of bringing hip-hop to many countries in the ’90s because we had international distribution. I mortgaged the magazine business to invest in the internet.
Also, I wanted to maintain ownership. That’s something I took a lot of pride in with The Source. I built the company from the ground up and never gave up anything to any outside companies, until I got into the problems with the dot-coms. I took out a big loan. I had people that would have partnered with me, but I was like, I can get this loan and own everything 100 percent.
So, I gambled on myself and the internet, and obviously it was a bad gamble. That’s one of the biggest mistakes, but also one of the ways I’m doing things differently. If I would have had Kendrick Ashton around back then, I’m quite sure I wouldn’t have made those mistakes with the bank loans and the private equity deals that all contributed to the demise of The Source in those last few years.
Zenger: Good luck with Breakbeat. I’m sure you will make it a force to be reckoned with, and I can’t wait to see the finished product. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Mays: I have my “Unsigned Hype’s” of Breakbeat. I have “Don’t Call Me White Girl.” She’s a superstar. She is so funny and so smart. She’s got a strong fan base already. I think she will be a big star. We are going to do the “Funny Marco” podcast. I think he is another incredible talent who has built up a name for himself on social media. We are bringing him into the podcasting world with his own show. These are the younger emerging talents who we are discovering. Then I have the more veteran voices like my show, “The Dave Mays Show,” and Kierna Mayo show, “Culturati,” which is incredible. It’s going to be very different from the other podcast that are out there now.
Then we have these documentary series that we’re doing. They are going to be huge. We’re doing the “Unsigned Hype,” story. It’s an eight-part podcast series. Telling the whole backstory of that column, from Biggie, DMX, Common to Mobb Deep, to Eminem — all the people we discovered. I’m also doing the Larry Hoover story. That will be a 10-part series. His is an amazing story. We have his exclusive rights to tell that through podcast. He and his family have never participated in the telling of the story before. It’s a very relevant story in today’s world and a story that expands generations.
Edited by Matthew B. Hall and Judith Isacoff
CORRECTION: Oct. 12, 2021, 5:54 p.m.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly described Dave Mays as co-founder of The Source. Mays is in fact the sole founder. Zenger regrets this error.
SAN BERNARDINO, CA— San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) students in the Class of 2021 spent their entire senior year in distance learning, having to overcome difficulties such as distractions at home, slow internet, and a host of other issues. But despite all of that, the SBCUSD Class of 2021 walked away with $11,031,077 in scholarships and grants, and many of them have already started college.
A total of 209 Cajon High School seniors earned $3,713,914 in scholarships and grants, which includes $1.5 million in military scholarships and enlistment bonuses. Arroyo Valley High School seniors also showed their academic chops with 385 graduates, or 73 percent of their graduating class, earning $3,266,600 in scholarships, including a four-year military scholarship.
“San Bernardino City Unified graduates have a distinct advantage over many other area graduates when it comes to earning scholarships,” said Chief Communications and Community Engagement Officer Ginger Ontiveros. “In addition to competing against seniors of area private and charter schools for the many scholarships available to graduates across the state and nation, SBCUSD graduates are eligible for hundreds of scholarships just for seniors in our District.”
At San Bernardino High School, 100 graduates earned $1,359,680 in scholarships and grants, and 136 of San Gorgonio High School’s graduates earned a cumulative $1,159,817 in scholarships and grants, including $513,996 in military scholarships and signing bonuses. A full 100% of Middle College High School’s 68 graduates shared in $970,000 in scholarships and grants.
Rounding out the scholarship and grant numbers are $386,480 earned by 112 Pacific High School graduates, $112,150 earned by 59 San Andreas High School graduates, $33,300 earned by 82 Indian Springs High School graduates, $18,986 earned by 17 Sierra High School graduates, and $10,150 earned by 10 Inland Career Education Center graduates.
The District has a long-standing partnership with the non-profit San Bernardino Community Scholarship Association, which coordinates local donors who have created scholarships just for SBCUSD graduates. Each scholarship has its own criteria. Some are for graduates of specific high schools, some are for students pursuing a career in education or medicine, while others reward students for their community service efforts during high school.
“What all of the Association scholarships have in common,” said Association President Blythe Anderson, “is that you must be graduating from San Gorgonio, San Bernardino High, Pacific, or one of the District’s other amazing high schools to apply.”
The Making Hope Happen Foundation, a non-profit supporting the District’s educational mission, awards $3,000 mentor-supported college scholarships to approximately 100 SBCUSD graduates each year. What makes these scholarships unique is that in addition to money, scholarship recipients are paired with a mentor, who is an upperclassman in college and also an SBCUSD alum, to help guide them through the college experience, helping them register for classes and navigate this new phase of their lives.
To enroll your child in the San Bernardino City Unified School District so they are eligible for these scholarships, visit the website or your local SBCUSD school. To donate to the Making Hope Happen Foundation, visit https://makinghope.org/. To create your own scholarship or donate to one of the many existing Association-managed scholarships, contact Susan Zavala, Communications/Community Relations Department secretary, at susan.zavala@sbcusd.k12.ca.us.
PHILIPPINE SEA (Sep. 27, 2021) Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Marcus Lopez, from Ontario, Calif., stands ready during a Twin Boom Extensible Crane training evolution in the mission bay aboard Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Charleston (LCS 18). Charleston, part of Destroyer Squadron Seven, is on a rotational deployment, is operating in the U.S. 7th fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force in support of free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan M. Breeden/released)
MORENO VALLEY, CA—- Shango Cannabis will sell its signature line of pink merchandise, including Shango T-shirts and other swag throughout National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. Proceeds will benefit The Pink Ribbon Place.
The Riverside Community Health Foundation, a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization, established The Pink Ribbon Place in 2009. The program provides Inland Empire families impacted by cancer with bras, hats, scarves, breast prostheses and wigs, as well as support services, education and other resources, all at no cost.
“Shango is honored to serve these brave cancer survivors,” Shango Controller Julie Dubocq said. “Providing resources that can help them succeed on their journey to recovery has become an essential part of our charitable giving.”
The Pink Ribbon Place also offers counseling sessions for those diagnosed with cancer, their immediate family members and their primary caregivers to build skills and confidence they need to cope with the emotional hardships on this difficult journey.
“The Pink Ribbon Place team is so grateful for businesses like Shango, whose teams truly understand the value of giving back to charities who offer direct services,” said Terri Akens, director of Community Health Programs. “These efforts directly impact our ability to continue offering quality services at no cost to individuals and families impacted by cancer throughout the Inland Empire.”
Shango will donate 100 percent of pink merchandise profits at its Moreno Valley dispensary to help pay for items patients need immediately after surgery, such as wigs, bras and prostheses.
“Funding programs like The Pink Ribbon Place is an integral part of our overall commitment to the Inland community,” Shango Founder and CEO Brandon Rexroad said. “This is the one of the most effective ways we can help breast cancer survivors.”
Shango is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is located at 11875 Pigeon Pass Road, STE C-1, in Moreno Valley, CA 92557. Call 1-866-4SHANGO for more information.
Other programs offered by The Pink Ribbon Place include:
Aquamotion Water Aerobics: A pool aerobics class, which includes steady state aerobics, circuit training and high-intensity intervals that strengthen the cardiovascular system.
Iyengar Yoga: A form of yoga that incorporates all the components of physical fitness with a focus on structural alignment of the body, as well as mental relaxation. The class, taught by volunteer, certified yoga instructors, is tailored to those undergoing or recovering from cancer treatment and in remission.
Support Groups: A place for cancer survivors, newly diagnosed and years into survival, to connect with others, to share experiences and resources.
Pink Ribbon Thrift: A boutique style thrift shop inside Pink Ribbon Place where the community comes together to support local families impacted by cancer.
The Pink Ribbon Place is located at 4275 Lemon Street., Riverside, CA 92501. Phone (951) 823-0261 or email pink@rchf.org
About Shango
Shango is a well-established vertically integrated cannabis brand offering a full range of award-winning products, including flower, extracts, concentrates and cannabis-infused edibles. The company has operations in Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, California, Michigan and Missouri.
The Shango brand has full-service recreational and medical cannabis dispensaries in Las Vegas, Nevada; Portland, Oregon; Moreno Valley, California; Lapeer, Bay City and Hazel Park, Michigan, as well as medical dispensaries in Joplin and Springfield, Missouri. Shango is building two extraction facilities, a commercial kitchen and an indoor cultivation facility in Michigan, as well as a cannabis manufacturing facility in Missouri. Shango also operates a state-of-the-art cannabis distribution operation in Southern California. Shango Las Vegas, a fully integrated state of the art, cultivation, manufacturing and dispensary facility, is the crown jewel of the Shango brand.
A recognized leader in the cannabis industry, Shango sets the standards for product quality, consistency and business conduct. Global Health & Pharma named Shango the Best Multi-State Medical Cannabis Dispensary in the U.S. in its 2020 Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Awards. Macias Gini & O’Connell named Shango to its 2021 Cannabis 50 list, recognizing companies that are reshaping and inspiring the continued growth of the cannabis and hemp industries. Shango is committed to cannabis education and is a fierce advocate of the safe and responsible use of cannabis products. For more information, visit www.goshango.com.
La-Kyshia N. Reddick was born on May 13 in Fontana, California. Currently, she resides in Highland, California. She is inspired by her parents and grandparents who have supported everything that she has done since she was little. The support and love have given her the green light to run the race and become a force to reckon with in the world of dance.
She’s always been an honor-roll student and was placed on the Dean’s Lists at San Bernardino Valley College. She began performing in preschool; her first dance performance was Salsa, and Boy George, ” I tumble for ya”.
La-Kyshia has always loved to work-out at home. Jane Fonda and her dad were her inspirations. She was part of Jr Mission, Usher, Choir, worked in the nursery and praise dance team at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church as a youth- teen.
She has modeled hairstyles for a beauty salon, and has been part of the Coronoid Girls as Eastern Star in San Bernardino. She participated in Talent shows at Fresno State University as she attended Grand Session for the youth supervised by Eastern Stars yearly until the age of 17. She attended San Bernardino Valley College as a Liberal Arts/Arts/Graphic Design major. Taking jazz dance classes there is when her hobby became a career.
La-Kyisha began dancing with multiple choreographers doing different styles of dance such as Jazz, Modern, Caribbean, Brazilian, West African, Afro-Jazz, Hip Hop, and Praise Dance. During this time, she also modeled for WNOPhotography.
La-Kyshia’s hobbies are: organizing, Dancing, cleaning, creating looks: Fashion, nails, and interior design, museums, art, festivals, gathering with family, impacting children, working-out, having a good time everywhere she goes, teaching zumba/dance at the gym, fashion shows, and reading.
She has always been a lead/supervisor at jobs that she has had from past to present. She enjoys everything she does in her career. She works for the county and has been running successful after-school programs for the past 18 years at 12 different schools for CAPS in San Bernardino. She is a huge impact in her program to her leaders and students.
La-Kyisha has taught dance, fashion design, fitness, sign language and art to students. She has run one of the biggest after-school programs since 2018. She has been able to show students that they can show off their talents right here in San Bernardino, by performing at Cal State University, Arroyo, and other schools and theaters. She is currently a coordinator at Paakuma’ helping to build strong leaders and expanding the children’s education. She currently is attending school in San Bernardino County.
La-Kyisha lets her work speak for itself. She considers herself as a “canvas on a daily”. Make sure you follow THE DANCE PRINCESS on all social media platforms. Until next week. L’s!
Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, because they have not listened to My words, and as for My law, they have rejected it [Jeremiah 6:19]. Oh, how great and bitter it is going to be for those who refuse to repent, when it is forever too late. You will cry, “Lord, Lord, open unto [me] and I will say, “I know you not.” [Genesis 27:34; Genesis 27:38; Matthew 25:11, 10, 12]. Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols [Ezekiel 6:9]. Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover, so you have dealt treacherously with Me… [Jeremiah 3:20]. “You neglected the Rock who begot you and forgot the God who gave you birth. [Deuteronomy 32:18]. Consider this, I will tear you in pieces.
They were not concerned about His message of salvation. He wanted so desperately to lead His people to everlasting life, but they were not only blind, but they were also willfully blind and willfully ignorant. Repeatedly He would say with tears in His voice, “Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees. Woe unto you who have ears and hear not. Woe unto you that are full, for you shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh, for the time is coming when you shall mourn and weep.” [Luke 6: 24-25]. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem how I’ve wanted to save you and gather you as a hen gathereth her chicks, but you would not listen” [Matthew 23:37].
I gave you cleanness of teeth by sending you famine and drought so that you would turn back to Me – yet you have not returned to me. I withheld rain from you so you would return back to Me – yet you have not returned to me. I sent blight, mildew, and locust – so that you would return unto Me, but you have not returned. Your young men were killed in battle with a sword – yet you did not return to me. Because you will not return to me, prepare to meet your God.” And meet Him without ever turning to Him in life on earth. Meet Him – Condemned. [Amos 4:6-12].
I ask you, what are you waiting for? Repent NOW before it is too late! For, “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there “is” such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” [Martin Luther King, Jr.] Repent NOW before it is too late!
The Bible warns that every human being is subject to sudden death. No one has the promise of another day or hour. Our days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle like flowers that quickly fade [Job 7:6; Job 14:2], and like a mist that appears for a little time then vanishes. [James 4:14]. Consider this, you who forget God.
My spirit shall not always strive with man” [Genesis 6:3].
But they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy. [2 Chronicles 36:16]
“And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So, the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them” [Genesis 6:6-7; Genesis 7:22–23].
Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So, the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them… One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things. Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” So, the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, day, month, and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And thus, I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire, the smoke, and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. [Revelation 9:1-21].
SACRAMENTO, CA—Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 796. Authored by Senator Bradford (D-Gardena), SB 796 authorizes the County of Los Angeles to return the beachfront property known as Bruce’s Beach to the Bruce family.
“A century ago the Bruce’s had their land stolen,” said Senator Steven Bradford. “Now there is nothing holding back the County from doing the right thing. In the face of racism and violence by the KKK, the Bruce’s were steadfast, but ultimately could not stop the City from seizing their land and forcing them away. When the land is returned to the Bruce’s, we will have proven that it is never too late to correct injustice and that there are a multitude of ways to do so. Today, due to the leadership of so many, including Supervisors Janice Hahn and Holly Mitchell, the City’s inherited debt to the Bruce’s can finally be paid. SB 796 passed with bipartisan support and I must thank my colleagues in the Legislature for their recognition of injustice and desire to remedy it. This bill sets the tone for the future of reparations in California. I look forward to working on many more of these types of issues and solving them with the Newsom Administration.”
“This is a milestone for us, and I want to thank not only Governor Newsom for signing this bill into law, but Senator Bradford for his leadership and the entire state legislature for their unanimous support,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “We have already begun the groundwork, but now that LA County officially has the authority to transfer this property, the real work on our side begins. My goal over the next several months will be to transfer this property in a way that not only works for the Bruce family, but is a model that other local governments can follow. Returning Bruce’s Beach can and should set a precedent for this nation and I know that all eyes will be on Los Angeles County as this work gets underway.”
“Today’s bill signing is a significant and necessary step in the process of returning Bruce’s Beach to its rightfully owners, the Bruce family,” said Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. “Thanks to Governor Newsom, Senator Bradford and the state legislature, the County of Los Angeles now has the legal standing to give this land back – an action I look forward to supporting. This moment brings to the forefront past harms and more importantly shows us what’s possible when we are committed to correcting them.”
In 1912, Willa and Charles Bruce, a young black couple, purchased property in Manhattan Beach and built a resort run by and made for Black residents. It was one of only a handful of beaches where Black residents could go because so many other local beaches were off-limits to people of color. But the Bruces and their customers were harassed and threatened by white neighbors as well as targeted by the KKK. The Manhattan Beach City Council later seized the property using eminent domain, purportedly to create a park. The City ultimately took the property in 1929 but it remained empty for decades. In 1948, the property once owned by the Bruce family was transferred to the State, with conditions. In 1995, the County accepted control of Bruce’s Beach and other lands from the State. In 2006, the City finally began to recognize the actual history of this land by renaming Bruce’s Beach after its rightful owners. This was a result of the work of the City’s first Black City Councilmember, Mitch Ward.
In addition to authorizing the property to be sold and transferred, the language specifically updates the deed and exempts the land from several statutory restrictions that date back to when the land was first transferred to the County. On April 20, 2021, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved motions by Supervisor Janice Hahn and Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell to sponsor SB 796 and to begin the County’s work to return Bruce’s Beach to its rightful owners.
The legislation includes an urgency clause which means that it will go into effect immediately.
SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- Serving seniors during COVID has been a priority for Assembly Majority Leader Reyes. She has held a Senior Advocacy Week every year since she was elected in 2016. This week Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Reyes visited several senior living facilities for her 5th Annual Senior Advocacy Week from September 27th to October 1st, providing them with facemask, hand sanitizer and food resources that will help them during the Covid-19 pandemic. Earlier this year the Majority Leader’s Office hosted a Senior Check-in Project where her office called to check-in on seniors and encouraged them to reach out to others. To complement the check-in calls, the Majority Leader sent out postcards to seniors across the 47th District expressing her appreciation for seniors and to remind them of the constituent services her district office provides.
Senior Advocacy Week would not have been possible without the partnership with UNITEEE, Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County (CAPSBC), State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCCD), Autism Society, and Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP). Through this collaboration, Senior Advocacy Week served over 1300 seniors and provided them with food boxes and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including facemasks, hand sanitizers, stress balls, and literature with different local and state resources for seniors. A senior from one of the visits remarked, “I received a red bag and food box. The items were lots of help because I don’t have to go out to get certain things. It was so helpful and now I have sanitizers and lots of facemasks.” – Mrs. Wynona Francis
“It is critical that we continue to check-in on our seniors. We are not out of this pandemic yet and our senior community must not be forgotten,” said Assembly Majority Leader Reyes. “This is my 5th year of Senior Advocacy Week and I am thankful to our partners that helped us provide the important resources and food boxes for our seniors.”
The mission of Senior Advocacy Week is to listen to the issues that are affecting our seniors and provide resources to help them. We must continue to take a proactive approach to address the issues that affect their daily lives.
“I want to first start by thanking you and your team for providing these amazing resources to our residents. I received tremendous feedback from our residents who appreciated the opportunity to meet Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Reyes. It’s nice to have someone who is willing to actually put in the work to take care of their district.” – Dameon Cutrer, Property Manager I, Blue Mountain Senior Villa, Grand Terrace
“Our seniors here at Heritage Park really enjoy our visits from the Assemblymember, it makes us feel important that she continues to keep us and our issues in mind, and they loved the red bags with the PPE and were very appreciative of the food boxes that were donated to us by her office, this year. Thank you all for the work you do!” – Andrea Rangel, Heritage Park Apartments, Rialto
“We often take for granted the basic necessities of life; food! For our Seniors, that’s often a thought that’s on their mind. We at Bloomington/Lilian Court apartments appreciate the efforts of Assemblymember Reyes and her team to ensure that they are constantly advocated for. Thank you.” – Margarito Cuen, PATH, Bloomington
On Saturday, November 21, at the Adelanto Stadium, Fathers in Hip Hop will be honoring the Westside Story Newspaper publisher, Wallace Allen IV, during the Blessed in the Mess Giveaway and Concert. Allen will be given the Acknowledgment award for his commitment to the community. Those that want to attend the show, please RSVP to fathersinhiphop@gmail.com.
Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
