Happily Divorced And After

The San Bernardino County Library invites you to strengthen your superpowers and participate in our Summer Reading Program: Heroes Assemble!

Throughout the summer, we will be hosting amazing programs and activities as well as giving away fantastic rewards at all 32 of our branch libraries. Participating is easy: fly in to your local San Bernardino County Library to sign-up and become part of this read for rewards program to earn exciting weekly incentives. Reading for rewards is just the beginning. The Library will be hosting various super hero-themed programs including storytime, crafts, discovery time as well as awesome performers who provide exciting, entertaining and educational shows the whole family can enjoy. The Summer Reading Program is open to all ages so come on in and sign up the entire family. The best part – this program is absolutely free!

The fun doesn’t stop there. The County Library will offer special drawings for children and teens who meet the County Library Reading Challenge. The children’s challenge is to read at least 45 books or the equivalent in pages and minutes to receive a ticket. For teens, the challenge is to read at least eight books or the equivalent to get a ticket. New this year: each kid and teen who reached the challenge will receive a ticket for a chance to win a Kindle Fire 7” tablet at their branch library. Also, for every 25 items checked out this summer, receive a ticket for our countywide drawing to win one of the grand prizes which include Samsung Galaxy Tablets, a WiiU gaming system, a super hero-themed bike, and a kids Spider-Man Dune Buggy.

Check out the San Bernardino County Library website for details on the kick-off events and program information. Come sign up for the program and be a part of our Summer of Reading Challenge to increase summer reading participation among youth by 15 percent throughout the county.

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 www.sbclib.org/ or call (909) 387-2220.

By Steven Owens, MD, MPH, MA

May is Lupus Awareness Month and on May 20th specifically, health advocates and those directly or indirectly impacted by the disease called lupus will Put On Purple to raise awareness and to support the millions of people who are affected by the disease. For far too long, many Americans have remained unaware that more than 1.5 million people, mostly women, are affected by lupus, and that it is the leading cause of kidney disease, stroke, and heart disease.

How many people know that women of color are two to three times more likely to develop lupus than Caucasian women? Sadly, many in the communities most affected, and even those within the medical community, are far less educated about the signs and symptoms of lupus than other equally and less threatening medical conditions.

Lupus has been called “a mystery disease” by researchers and physicians. It is a chronic, autoimmune disease with no cure that can damage any part of the body, including skin, joints and organs. It can even lead to death. It can take up to six years to diagnose if the medical provider is not familiar with its symptoms. There is no cure for lupus but there is hope! With early detection, managed care, reducing stress, and following a healthy diet and exercise plan, individuals with lupus, especially women, can strive for optimal health.

The Directors of Health Promotion and Education (DHPE), along with other national and community-based organizations, is leading a campaign to increase awareness of the signs and symptoms of lupus, to improve rates of early detection and early treatment so that patients with this condition have a better chance of living long, healthier lives.

The campaign targets women of color who are at an increased risk for lupus and focuses on educating public health professionals and primary care providers of the signs and symptoms of lupus as well. Individuals experiencing the following symptoms should discuss the possibility of lupus with their health care provider:

• Achy, Painful or Swollen Joints;
• Extreme Fatigue or Weakness;
• Sudden, Unexplained Hair Loss;
• Photosensitivity or Sensitivity to Sunlight;
• Chest Pains; and
• Anemia.

This May, DHPE and other partner organizations want to be sure that lupus doesn’t take the back seat but rather gets just as much attention as other chronic medical conditions that disproportionately affect women and minority populations.

In the same way that we support awareness and the funding of research for other diseases that devastate families, we need many more community leaders, health care institutions, health educators and medical professionals to rally around this effort to raise funds and support lupus awareness activities. Secondly, there is a need for increased participation in clinical trials from within the African American, Hispanic/Latina, Asian and Native American communities so that we can better understand this disease and more effectively diagnose and develop treatment plans.

Especially in minority communities, it is well known that women are usually the backbone and the glue that keep their families together. So, there is even more at stake if we don’t bring lupus to the forefront of community health advocacy. We must all play our part to increase funding and education about lupus, early diagnosis and treatment, and participation in lupus research in support of the people we love.

DHPE calls on women of color and health practitioners to join us on Put on Purple Day on Friday, May 20th, to raise awareness about lupus and in particular how women of color are disproportionately impacted by this disease. Encourage your organization, friends and loved ones to wear purple, in unity with and support of, those living with lupus.

Grab your camera, phone, or tablet and share your own “This is Why I Put On Purple” story with a photo! Be sure to share your organization’s Put on Purple participation on social media and use the hashtags: #dhpePOP and #dhpelupus. Whether you are living with lupus, caring for patients, researching a cure or know someone with the disease, it touches everyone. Join DHPE and the lupus community and learn the signs and symptoms of lupus today!

DHPE, a national public health association, was recently funded by the Office of Minority Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, to implement a national lupus health education program. To learn more about lupus, visit www.lupus.org. For more information on the DHPE LEAP Program, visit www.bit.ly/dhpelupus or email LEAP Program Manager Thometta Cozart, MS, MPH at info@dhpe.org.
Steven Owens, MD, MPH, MA is director of Health Equity, Directors of Health Promotion & Education.

Metrolink and Riverside County Transportation Commission officials recently announced service along the 91/Perris Valley Line (91/PVL) will begin Monday, June 6. The 91/PVL is the first extension of Metrolink service since the Antelope Valley Line was built in 1994.

 “We are very excited the residents of the Perris Valley will soon be able to board Metrolink stations in their community and reach areas through Southern California,” said Metrolink Board Vice-Chair Daryl Busch, who is also the mayor of the City of Perris and a member of the Riverside County Transportation Commission. “Metrolink and RCTC staff has worked incredibly hard to make this concept a reality.”

The extension of the 91 Line will serve four additional Riverside County stations: Riverside-Hunter Park/UCR, Moreno Valley/March Field, Perris-Downtown and Perris-South.

Weekday 91/PVL trains 701, 703 and 705 will all originate at the Perris-South Station with service beginning at 4:37 a.m. In the evening, trains 702, 704 and 706 will all return to Perris with the last train reaching its final destination at 7:50 p.m. There will also be three round trips each weekday between Perris and the Riverside-Downtown Station. There will be no weekend service to or from the four new stations.

The 24-mile 91/PVL extension enhanced 15 at-grade crossings in Riverside County.  The variety of safety measures includes: flashing warning devices, gates, raised center medians, striping and pavement markings. The project also added pedestrian crosswalks at two railroad crossings and permanently closed two others.

To increase awareness of the dangers of crossing railroad tracks, a continuing public outreach program, “See Tracks? Think Train,” was launched in 2014 to select Riverside County schools, neighborhoods and community groups. Also, an extensive outreach campaign with the University of California, Riverside is ongoing.

For more information about Metrolink and the new service, please visit www.metrolinktrains.com/pvl.

By Eric Easter, Urban News Service

In a third-floor loft a few blocks from Madison Square Garden, the wine merchants at Banville & Jones are deciding which wines New Yorkers will drink. Andre Mack has been selling his Mouton Noir wine through these distributors for 10 years, but today they make him wait.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, Banville & Jones’ staffers swirl, sip and spit around a conference table as global winemakers pitch new vintages and hope that these experts will push their wares just a little harder.

First this morning is an Italian maker, with a new portfolio of Barolo and Chianti. Then a French maker, who runs way overtime. Next up is Mack.

He sets out his bottles and begins to spin the tales of his own collection of “garage wines.” The “Bottoms Up” white blend (75 percent riesling, 8 percent viognier and the rest pinot blanc) has opening notes of diesel and kerosene with floral tones. “It’s light, easy, not too angular,” Mack says.

Then comes the Oregogne pinot noir (“My workhorse”). Mack details the source of the barrels and the location of the vineyard used for his 2013, and how he has the grapes picked early to yield less sugar.

Mack ends with “Horseshoes and Hand Grenades,” a syrah/cab/merlot blend that “Shows my creativity as a winemaker,” he says.

Mack’s stories compose his narrative. He gets lots of press for being one of the few blacks in the industry. But that’s not just marketing. He is a craftsman.

How important are Mack’s stories to selling his wine?

“Hugely important,” says Vincenzo Guglietta, Banville & Jones’ sales manager. “Andre tells a compelling story. Let’s face it, there are a whole lot of wines out there. Without a story, it’s just juice.”

For the rest of the day, and the next several weeks, Mack tells his story again and again — at a food-industry incubator that afternoon, at that evening’s launch of eBay Wine — a new website that Mack is curating — a TV show taping at his house that weekend, then tastings in Boston, dinners in Milwaukee, more distributors in Kentucky, and then a few days in Texas.

It’s a grueling schedule, but as Mack sees it, more fuel for the wine’s story. “At some point, Robert Mondavi was walking from store to store carrying bottles in a bag, too.”

Mack has no paid assistants, no sales staff. The wines are about a singular taste, a singular vision. So much so that Mack also designs the stark, black-and-white labels that vie for attention in a market where many drinkers judge wines by their covers. “I wasn’t able to convey what I wanted to other designers,” Mack says, “so I taught myself.”

“For now, it’s just me,” Mack says. “I’m the best person to tell my story and the story of the wine. So far, it’s working.”

And it’s a good story. Wine steward at The Palm in San Antonio. Winner of the Best Young Sommelier competition and the first African-American to do so. Recruited by chef Thomas Keller to head the wine program at Manhattan’s four-star Per Se, where wines can climb to $24,000 a bottle. Then a calling to strike out on his own, a risky move from a safe gig, self-training, self-doubt, mistakes.

In just under 12 years, Mouton Noir (French for “Black Sheep”) has grown from 36 cases shipped in its first year to more than 33,000 cases in 2016. That puts Mouton Noir at the very high end of the small-winery business, a category in which most wineries sell fewer than 2,000 cases per year.

Mack also sells a lifestyle, a concept of fun and approachability backed by disarming quality. “I’m trying to create something that is not just a wine company, but an experience. Something you can remember after the wine is finished.”

A husband and father of three boys, Mack says what he’s really doing — the hard work, the tough schedule, the constant hustle — is building a family business. “My children taste my wine. I want them to know what I do and where it comes from. They travel with me to the vineyards, touch the grapes, walk the farms. That’s what it’s all about.

“This is what I want to be remembered for. This is my legacy.”

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The non-profit organization, Youth Action Project (YAP), has received a $5,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to help support YAP programs to provide work-based learning opportunities for local college students.

Some of the programs YAP provides include academic support, mentoring and positive youth development activities for high school students in the San Bernardino City Unified School District. YAP, which is based in San Bernardino, also provides work experience and professional development for more than 50 volunteers each year, most of them local college students.

“Bank of America is a valued community partner, as they have continuously supported the youth of our community,” said Joseph Williams, YAP Chief Executive Officer.

“Supporting Youth Action Project is an important part of strengthening our community by providing important resources critical for the next generation to succeed and thrive,” said Al Arguello, Inland Empire market president, Bank of America.

The Youth Action Project, which administers an AmeriCorps program in San Bernardino, works to help San Bernardino’s youth develop the skills and habits needed to experience economic and social success. The work is done primarily through tutoring, mentoring and other positive youth development activities for local high school students.

For more information, please visit www.youthactionproject.org.

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Paul summarizes it in [Romans 7:15-16, 18], “My own behavior baffles me. For I find myself doing what I really hate, and not doing what I really want to do…” Can you relate to this? He’s saying all the things I don’t want to do I end up doing and all the things I do want to do I end up not doing. I want to do what’s right, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what’s bad, but I do. Even though I know what the right thing to do is, why can’t I bring myself to do it?

Struggling with sin is frustrating. You want to change. But you just can’t. You have the motivation. But you don’t have the determination. You have the desire to do what is right. But for some reason, you can’t do it. Paul says it’s because evil is right there alongside of us. Evil — not just bad choices, Evil itself. We live in that kind of world. A world where the force of Sin, the force of Evil has rubbed off on us. We’re affected by it, tainted by it and we can’t help it. We can’t avoid it, we can’t outwit it. No matter how much we may wish to serve God in our minds, we find ourselves sinning in our bodies. As Paul describes his frustration in [Romans 7], with his mind he desires to serve God. He wants to do what is right, but his body will not respond. He watches, almost as a third party, as sin sends a signal to his body and as his body responds, “What would you like to do?” Paul finds, as we do that while our fleshly bodies refuse to obey God and do that which we desire and which delights God, it quickly and eagerly respond to the impulses and desires aroused by sin. The interaction between the soul (mind, will, emotions) and our Spirit and our Body is where the decisive battles take place. It is a battle of rulership.

It is one thing to have our body not do what we tell it to and quite another to realize that our body is very obedient to something else. That is the frustration of Paul in [Romans 7]. Every Christian who reads [Romans 7:14-25] should immediately identify with Paul’s expression of frustration and agony due to the weakness of his fleshly body: “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” [Romans 7:24]. We are confronted with a dilemma as we try to live righteously. Thanks be to God though, there is a solution!

Jesus said in [Mark 14:38], “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” If you’ve felt this way, have I got good news for you! You can change. The power is there. The Bible makes the principles very clear. GOD’S PROMISE… “Jesus said, ‘When you know the Truth, the Truth will set you free. ’Set you free.” Jesus said that the way you break free from a hurt, from a hang up is by knowing the Truth. How? The way you think determines the way you feel. The way you feel determines the way you act. God says you start with the way you think. Bad beliefs cause bad behavior. Everything you do, good or bad, is based on a belief. If you want to change the way you act, you have to change the way you believe, the way you think. You’ve got to have the truth. And what is the Truth? Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Me” [John 14:6]. Truth personified. He is the source of all truth, the embodiment of truth and therefore the reference point for evaluating all truth-claims. Who wants to be free? Jesus is on the mainline, tell Him what you want… You just call Him up and tell Him what you want!

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Boys & Girls Club of San Bernardino (BGCSB) will host San Bernardino’s Got Talent at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, to launch a new Teen Multimedia Program. This program is a collaboration between BGCSB and CHORDS Enrichment Youth Program.

This year, the city of San Bernardino has had 26 homicides, forcing the community, law enforcement and city officials to come together to address the increase of violence and to find solutions. The BGCSB has many programs for the youth however due to the escalation of violence in the city and the risk it poses to local teens the BGCSB decided to partner with CHORDS to provide programs that are engaging and appealing specifically to teens. CHORDS at the Boys & Girls Club of San Bernardino will provide the youth of San Bernardino a safe place to express themselves creatively. It also serves as an outlet to cope with social and economic challenges.

The talent show will begin with an open house. The open house starts at 2 p.m. BGCSB members and the community are encouraged to tour the Club and the newly renovated Teen Center. Club renovations were made possible by donations from Wells Fargo, Genesis Glass Installations and Lowe’s Home Improvement.

By Sarai Garrett

Elizabeth McSwain, Founder of Caramel Connections Foundation, (CCF) recently announced the launch and upcoming fundraiser for her non-profit foundation. Elizabeth will host ‘Bidding for Health’ a Quartermania fundraising event on Sunday, May 22 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 215 N. Laurel Avenue in Ontario. Quartermania is a fun event in which high quality items will be up for auction, participants bid up to eight quarters per item, once all bids are placed, and a randomly chosen number is called. Admission is $55 dollars per person, all proceeds benefit the CCF scholarship program.

Elizabeth’s vision for serving a community of underserved children has piqued the interest of key community partners. When asked why she started her nonprofit Elizabeth replied, “We all know that we are heading in a dangerous path when it comes to healthy eating habits. We have to come together as a community and understand that enough is not being done to educate, help and aid our children and their parents in making the right choices.”

Caramel Connections Foundation’s scholarship program is geared towards middle school aged children. The curriculum is designed to engage children in healthy eating habits by learning about food, kitchen safety, agriculture, and math which includes measuring, science and more. CCF’s mission is to make learning enjoyable by using food as a way to connect and build lasting relationships with their students and community.

The American Diabetes Association estimated that one out of every three children born after the year 2000 in the United States will be directly affected by diabetes.  Data collected from the American Heart association and the American Diabetes Foundation suggest that an estimated 35% of children in the Inland Empire are prediabetic.

“It is no longer a matter of knowing there is a problem, but a matter of acting to ensure the future we leave for our children and their health is a priority for generations to come,” said Elizabeth McSwain. CCF invites you to participate in their ‘Bidding for Health’ Quartermania event in an effort to raise awareness and funding for a healthier tomorrow.

For more information on CCF’s Launch Fundraiser, Sponsorship and or Volunteer Opportunities, or to make a Donation, contact Caramel Connections Foundation at www.CaramelConnectionsFoundation.org.

RIVERSIDE, CA-The Riverside Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. joined the San Bernardino Valley Chapter of the Links, Inc. at its 38th Annual Scholarship Ball to award scholarships to high achieving African-American male students. The awards ceremony, where the Fraternity was recognized as an Emerald Donor, took place on Saturday, May 7, 2016 at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, CA.

Community and educational leaders were in attendance to acknowledge the academic accomplishments of the high school seniors, who are among the top performers in their graduating classes. Superintendents Dr. Dale Marsden of the San Bernardino City

Unified School District and Dr. Judy White of the Moreno Valley Unified School District were on hand to celebrate as the Fraternity awarded a total of $4,000 in scholarships, $1,000 each to four Inland Empire students.

“Collaboration with the Links has allowed the Riverside Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity to combine resources and ensure that students attain a sufficient amount of support for their educational goals,” says Polemarch Demarius Carmichael, head of the Riverside Alumni Chapter of the Fraternity.

During their acceptance speeches, award recipients Christian Coston, Adetola Soyemi, Ryan Laudermilk and Halbert Beaver gave special thanks to the Riverside Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., and the Links, Inc. for their academic scholarships. For more information about Riverside Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. visit www.rackapsi.com.

Ericca Cross

BIG BEAUTIFUL WOMEN (B.B.W.) What it Do I.E. and everybody! This week I would like to highlight the beautiful Ericca Cross, an aspiring full figure model here in the Inland Empire. With the modeling industry finally taking notice of plus size/full figure ladies, LUE Productions decided to put on the 1st B.B.W. Model Competition/Fundraiser here in the City of San Bernardino. The goal is to highlight beauty in all shapes and give back to the community at the same time. The event is scheduled to take place Saturday, June 11 at the San Bernardino Women’s Club located at 503 W. 31st Street in San Bernardino. Doors open at 2 p.m. Tickets are only $15 now and $20 after June 1.

Ericca Cross, born in Fontana, now resides in the beautiful City of Highland. She is pursuing her dream at the age of 35. Inspired by her mother, twin daughters, and other family members, Ericca hopes to gain the experience and exposure needed to help her further her desire to be a plus size model.

Appreciative of the opportunity provided by LUE Productions she comments, “In my eyes we are all winners.”

So major props to Ericca Cross for going after her dream and that $500.00 cash prize along with a crown. Good luck Ericca! Until next week folks L’z! For more information please visit our Face Book page under LUE Productions or our website at www.lueproductions.org.