Happily Divorced And After

Dear President-elect Trump,

We, a group of diverse journalism associations representing thousands of journalists from the nation’s capital to every corner of the country, begin this letter on a hopeful note. Your administration is a blank slate and we are eager to work with you to perpetuate one of this nation’s great strengths: our freedom of the press.

As the new leader of the free world, we expect that you will preserve longstanding traditions that ensure coverage of the Trump presidency. The idea of a press pool that covers all of the president’s movements is one that dates back to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration. Every president of both parties has treated this important tradition with respect. The role of the press pool is critically important to our country, whose citizens depend on and deserve to know what the president is doing. This isn’t about access for the press itself, it’s about access for Americans in diverse communities across the country. Your constituents receive information from a variety of platforms to learn about what our president is doing.

Being president is an enormous responsibility and working with the White House Correspondents’ Association to ensure journalists’ access is one small but important part of that. We call on you to commit to a protective press pool from now until the final day of your presidency. We respectfully ask you to instill a spirit of openness and transparency in your administration in many ways but first and foremost via the press pool. 

We also call for access to you via regular press conferences and pool sprays and to your key decision-makers. You have an opportunity as incoming president to set the tone for your staff speaking on the record for the sake of transparency. We also hope your administration will improve response rates to FOIA requests as a way to show the American people, and the world, that the republic belongs to the people.

A great America depends on having sunlight on its leaders. We expect the traditions of White House press coverage to be upheld whether in Washington or elsewhere. Again we, a joint group of diverse journalism associations, speak as one as we respectfully ask that you take these steps to ensure access to our members covering your administration.

Thomas Burr
President
The National Press Club

Barbara Cochran
President
National Press Club Journalism Institute

Lynn Walsh
President
Society of Professional Journalists

Mizell Stewart III
President
American Society of News Editors

Mike Cavender
Executive Director
Radio Television Digital News Association and Foundation

Delphine Halgand
US Director
Reporters Without Borders/RSF

Courtney Radsch
Advocacy Director
Committee to Protect Journalists

Sandy K. Johnson
President
National Press Foundation

Sarah Glover
President
National Association of Black Journalists

Brandon Benavides
President, Board of Directors
National Association of Hispanic Journalists

Bryan Pollard
President
Native American Journalists Association

Paul Cheung
President
Asian American Journalists Association

Jen Christensen
President
National Association of LGBTQ Journalists

Elisa Lees Munoz
Executive Director
The International Women’s Media Foundation

Allison Sherry
President
Regional Reporters Association

FONTANA, CA- Fontana High School has been re-designated as an AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) National Demonstration School, retaining the status it has held since 2006 as a high- achieving academic organization and exemplary learning center for other schools and districts across the nation to model after.

Fontana High is one of about 5,600 AVID schools in 44 states, the District of Columbia and 16 countries and U.S. territories to achieve the elite status, demonstrating its proven ability to employ AVID tools school-wide to boost the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges and universities.

“It is a tremendous honor to be re-selected as a National Demonstration School and sustain a strong program that has helped catapult our students to post-secondary success and opened up a wealth of opportunities,” Fohi Principal Ofelia Hinojosa said. “We are proud of our teachers, counselors and staff who constantly work to engage and empower our students and are committed to ensuring a college- ready student body.”

Fohi was among 75 schools in the nation to be recognized earlier this year as a Schoolwide Site of Distinction, a new honor given to a select few AVID schools for their extensive commitment to providing students with college preparation resources. The distinction put Fohi’s college and career readiness program in the top 2 percent of all AVID programs in the nation.

RIALTO, CA.– The West Valley Water District (WVWD) recently announced the modification of its recruitment practices to include a Veterans’ Preference component.

The program, modeled after the State of California’s program, will automatically place eligible veterans applying for WVWD jobs in the top ranking for consideration for employment with the agency. 

“This is something that has long been a goal of mine personally,” stated WVWD Board Member Rafael Trujillo, “Helping our veterans find gainful employment when they return home is the least we can do as a grateful nation.”

Veterans will be granted preference under the program as follows: Any veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran, who achieves a passing score in an entrance examination, shall be ranked in the top rank of the resulting eligibility list. 

All open exams/eligibility lists will award Veterans’ Preference, regardless of the classification.

Any veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released is not eligible for Veterans’ Preference.

Veterans’ Preference is not granted once a person achieves permanent status.

WVWD Board President Dr. Clifford O. Young, Sr. noted, “The Board of Directors is pleased to partner with our veterans and honor their sacrifices for our country.”

Lexington, KY—University Press of Kentucky author Bernard LaFayette Jr., whose memoir In Peace and Freedom: My Journey in Selma was released in paperback earlier this year, has been awarded the 2016 Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace. He is also co-editor of The Chicago Freedom Movement: Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights Activism in the North. The award is presented by theGandhi Development Trust. The GDT was founded in 2002 by Ela Gandhi, the social activist granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi. The Gandhi Development Trust’s mission is to promote a culture of peace, justice, non-violence, and ubuntu (human kindness); promoting Gandhian values of ahisma (non-violence), self-sufficiency, love, sarvodaya (good of all), compassion, and universality in order to reach their core vision of a peaceful, just, and non-violent world.

The Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace was established in 2003 to honor people who have surmounted religious and ethnic obstacles to promote democracy, peace, and justice through non-violent measures. GDT believes that the award should not merely be seen as an annual event, but rather a catalyst for initiating non-violence, ubuntu, and nation building under the influence of non-violent leaders. LaFayette was chosen as this year’s winner in recognition of his outstanding work towards the promotion of peace, reconciliation, and justice both locally and internationally in his capacity as a civil rights activist.

LaFayette’s memoir, In Peace and Freedom, recounts that career as an activist. He was a cofounder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a leader in the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins, a Freedom Rider, an associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the national coordinator of the Poor People’s Campaign. At the age of twenty-two, he assumed the directorship of the Alabama Voter Registration Project in Selma—a city that had previously been removed from the organization’s list due to the dangers of operating there.

LaFayette was one of the primary organizers of the 1965 Selma voting rights movement and the Selma-to-Montgomery marches, and his memoir, written with Kathryn Lee Johnson, shares the inspiring story of his struggles there. When he arrived in 1963, Selma was a small, quiet, rural town. By 1965, it had made its mark in history and was nationally recognized as a battleground in the fight for racial equality and the site of one of the most important victories for social change in our nation.

The award was presented on November 7, 2016, in Durban, South Africa.

LOS ANGELES, CA- A Gospel Stage Explosion that will keep you on the edge of your seats from beginning to end is coming to Los Angeles Thanksgiving Weekend. On Saturday, November 26, Unsung Reporter Tyrone DuBose will be bringing his talents to the stage along with special guest Ernest Thomas from “What’s Happing Now.” The show will kick off at 7 p.m. at the beautiful West Angeles Theater located at 3020 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles. There will also be a red carpet arrival is about one hour before the show.

Tickets can be purchased at Box office or by phone at (323) 733-8707 (With Credit Card). For more information on tickets, please call (310) 665-0125.

This Production is produced, directed, and written by veteran of stage/films, Johnny Cox Jr.

Dianna “Dee” Dela Cruz

By Lue Dowdy

The Queen of L.P. SEXY BBW Model – Dianna “Dee” Dela Cruz is WHAT IT DO! This Plus Size model has the coldest walk ever! She slay’s the audience and the runway every time.

She was born on December 27 in the Philippines as a little girl she always wanted to be a Nurse and a Fashion Model. Now doing both this DIVA is making a name for herself. Raised in Orange County, Dee recently moved to San Bernardino. Yep the IE! Graduating from Rancho Alamitos High school in Garden Grove, CA and receiving her AA degree in Nursing from Pacific College in 2006, she became a Licensed Vocational Nurse. Soon she will be taking classes to be a Physician Assistant Certified at Western University of Health Sciences. Can you say Brains & Beauty!

It was a struggle starting off her modeling career. Her busy schedule from nursing and taking care of her mom and dad financially really took a toll on her. Being turned away and told that she was ugly, short, and fat by so many agencies did not stop this beauty. Her dedication and determination to make it as a plus size model made her STRONG. Discovered by Timmy T of Fashion Overdose as a print model in 2006 to 2009 her modeling career began to take flight.

“I will work on helping young women out there to love and accept themselves and love every curve they have,” she stated.

She continues, “And I have a big heart from young girls and women who are being or got bullied because I was bullied when I was a young girl and being a young woman because of my weight.”

LUE Productions is happy and honored to have her as our 1st B.B.W. Queen. Dee is available for booking. The next time you need a host, speaker, or a diva to rock your runway please hit us up at (909) 567-1000 or email Lue.info@yahoo.com. Love the skin that you’re in BIG or SMALL! Until next week L’zzz!

More about DEE DELA CRUZ:

• Model for Plush cat Club and Big on Batik 2008 to 2010 2013 Rock your curvy style model (1st Asian Plus size Runway Model)
• 2014 Model for Dede Allure ( 1st Asian Plus Size Runway Model)
• 2014 1st Asian Plus Size Runway Model to walk for LAstyle fasion Week ( 1st plus size models to walk that runaway ever) we made history!
• 2014 Walk for New York Fashion Week
• 2nd Runner for Miss Plus Top Model 2015 Competition.
• Ms. Anaheim Plus America 2015. She helped out with low income senior for free nurse wellness checkup, and assisted with Children’s Hospital of Orange County & Los Angeles Children’s Hospital.
• 2015 signed to Maverick Artist Agency for Fit Modeling!
• 3rd Runner up for Ms. California Plus America 2015!
• Miss Congeniality – Plus America 2015!
• Miss Rock your Curve 2016!
• 2016 Lue Productions 1st Big Beautiful Woman Queen!
• 2016 guest speaker for young women empowerment For Diabetes Awareness and got awarded by City of San Bernardino, Mayor, Congressman, State Assembly and Senate!

By John Coleman

The Riverside Branch, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(s) celebrated its 46th Annual Anderson Copeland Memorial Veterans Recognition Luncheon on Veterans Day/Armistice Day, Friday November 11, 2016.

To accommodate the increasing attendance, the event was relocated from the facilities of the Kansas Avenue Seventh Day Adventist Church to the auditorium, John W North High School, Riverside.

Waudieur “Woody” Rucker-Hughes, President, NAACP Riverside Branch offered the welcome and introduced the Master of Ceremonies.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The Inland Area Kwanzaa Group with San Bernardino Valley College will host the 50^th Anniversary Kwanzaa Karamu 2016 on Saturday, December 10, 2016 at 4 p.m. at San Bernardino Valley, Business Building Room B-100.

The Karamu celebrates family, community and culture with an African feast of fine foods, dance, song and poetry. This year’s event will be held in memory of Ratibu Jacocks, the Kwanzaa Group’s Co-Chair.

Kwanzaa is an African-American Cultural Holiday, celebrating family, community and Culture and is celebrated throughout the world African Community December 26 to January 1. As an African American and Pan African holiday celebration, the ancient and cultural traditions reflect the best in African and African American thought and practice.

To purchase tickets for $10 each and/or reserve a table for ten, please contact Sheila Umbaji Futch at umbaji@me.com (951) 235-5123 or Wilmer Amina Carter at amina@ef-cbs.com (909) 820-4406.

By Lou Coleman

He will ensnare you and destroy your soul [1Peter 5:8] Make no mistake about it! The Devil does not want you to sell out to God. He wants you to sell out to him. And he will give you every reason in the world to justify the things he wants you to do. Then when you have followed him and are out of God’s will and in trouble, he will discard you like a piece of trash and leave you to rot in your sins! He will chew you up and spit you out! You better know that you know! You see [2 Corinthians 2:11] tells us that Satan desires to gain an “advantage” over us and to do this he will use every trick in the book to get us to follow him into failure. Be careful! For [1 Peter 5:8] tells us that the devil wants us. He wants our family. He wants our testimony. He wants our church. If you have it and it’s from the Lord, he wants it, and to get it, he will do anything! “Don’t Compromise with the Devil!” If you do he will get you into such a shape that the Lord cannot bless and use you at all! If you don’t believe me just read about David, the sweet singer of Israel, the man after God’s own heart, what the devil can do to your life. You follow the devil and you, like David might find yourself in a place of prayer begging God just to restore the joy of your heart and life [Psalms. 51:12].

I tell you I wonder: Just what did the devil tell David to get him to sleep with Bathsheba? Just what did the devil tell Cain to get him to kill Abel? Just what did the devil tell Judas to get him to betray Jesus? I wonder: just what has the devil told you? Because sadly, there are many in the church today that live a compromised life. Being too friendly with the enemy! You cannot walk with God and hold hands with the Devil. You better read the story of Lot. Lot started out with Abram and like him enjoyed the blessings of God, but, he exchanged what Abram could offer for what the world could offer and in the end he lost out! You know Jesus said in [Matthew 6:24] No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. I wonder: Which direction is your tent pitched – toward Bethel [God’s house] or towards Sodom [The world]?

I tell you it is crucial that you take the steps that are necessary to defeat the devil and walk in victory. You do not have to roll over and play dead while the devil molds you to his will. You need to be like Jesus, who when He was tempted turned to the Word of God and confronted Satan with the truth of the Book and caused the devil to have to flee from His presence. General Rule: “Do Not Give the Devil a Foothold” [Ephesians 4:26-27] To Hell with Satan!

By Lou Coleman

I tell you David said sometimes you just got to encourage yourself. Just look back over your life, yesterday, last week, last month, last year, five years ago, you will discover that you have already gone through enough stuff that should have caused you to lose your mind; but you are still standing. There are others who have gone through less than you went through and committed suicide. Given up on life! But you made it through. Still Standing! Although you’ve been lied on, talked about, criticized, misunderstood, mistreated, you are still standing. Hurt, wounded, knocked down, sick spells, buried loved ones, had to say goodbye to acquaintances, left alone, heartbroken… and you are still standing.  Even though the pain hurts, even though your heart is still healing, even though you still have some tender spots, and your memory is still playing tricks on you… you are still standing. Who am I talking too? May not have as much money as you ought to have, may not have as many friends as you think you deserve, but one thing you can say, “I’m still here.”  And by being here that says one thing, you still have a chance.  You still have an opportunity to reach goals that you have not reached. You still have a chance to get closer to God, and let him use you. Hurt but still standing; Misunderstood but still standing. Almost lost your life but survived the attack, still standing. What the devil meant for evil God turned into good. “They said you wouldn’t make it. They said [you] wouldn’t be, here today. They said [you’ll] never amount to anything…But [you’re] still holding on. Holding on to God’s [unchanging hand] [Lyrics Luther Barnes] though the road has been rough and the goings been mighty tough…” You are still standing!

I tell you when you can persevere through something that should have killed you, and still remain standing; when you can go through crises, and still remain standing; when you can weather the storm and still remain standing; Ah…. Perseverance, preserved, kept in the fire, not kept from the fire… Had to cry yourself to sleep, but you’re still standing. I want you to know that the purpose of this message is to encourage you to know that these can be your words of victory as you face whatever comes your way this week, that at the end you can say, “I’m still standing!” Understanding that you have to go through some things to get to where God wants you to be; betrayal, denial, crucifixion – you’ve got to go through it to get new life.

Let me tell you something, in spite of the issues that came my way, I knew that I had enough in me to withstand it all. And when you know that beyond a reasonable doubt you have what you need inside of you, there is a certain confidence that calms your nerves which is why you don’t have to panic and get hysterical. Why should you crumble under the pressure? When the Word says to you, “Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” So go ahead and declare that you were built for this. You were built to handle whatever life throws your way. Knowing that the devil tried this before, but the last storm that you came through left you with praise. A praise that the devil couldn’t shake, because it was deep in the Rock. Joy that the devil could take, because it was deep in the Rock. Power that the devil couldn’t defeat, because it was deep in the Rock. And when you’re built on the Rock, Hell can’t move you. Water can’t drown you. Hallelujah! Can I get a witness?