Happily Divorced And After

Dorothy Pryor Rose and daughters Tekesha and Tedra

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown (D-San Bernardino) is proud to recognize Mrs. Dorothy Pryor Rose, founder of Mommie Helen’s Bakery, as her Small Business person of the Year. Mrs. Pryor Rose will be acknowledged with an award during the annual California Small Business Day hosted by the California Small Business Association on Wednesday, June 10, in Sacramento.

Mrs. Pryor Rose’s business has been in the Inland Empire for nearly 15 years. Her menu consists of: Sweet potato pie, pecan pie, rose berry pie, peach cobbler, apple cobbler, lemon cake, 7-up cake, sock-it-to-me cake, red velvet cake, and a variety of cookies, all made from scratch.

Her cakes and pies are enjoyed by people around the world, especially by renowned celebrities. Her list of celebrity clientele include: Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Stevie Wonder, NFL players Ronnie Lott  and Willie Gault,  NBA player Dr. J, and her regular customer, NBA legend Magic Johnson, to name a few. One of her most notable achievements include baking and serving 250 peach cobbler pies for the wedding of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and his wife Shaunie O’Neal. Additionally, every year, she participates in the annual Celebrity Golf Tournament hosted by NFL player Marcus Allen.

“Her passion, love and dedication to this community led me to select her as my Small Business person of the Year.  Although other cities have tried to lure her away, she chose to stay here and bring a positive influence to our area. Despite adversity, she is a constant source of inspiration,” said Assemblymember Brown.

In 2000, Mrs. Pryor Rose established Mommie Helen’s Bakery in the city of Colton.

She credits her mother as her inspiration for starting her business.

“My mom’s baking inspired me. She was a very good cook,” said Mrs. Pryor Rose. “As I was praying to the Lord, as I regularly do, He instructed me to open up a bakery. I told him, I don’t know the first thing about running a bakery, but I trusted Him and He directed me.”

She said the most rewarding aspect of her job is witnessing the expressions on the faces of her customers. “Some of our clients are brought to tears when they taste the pies. They say it reminds them of the pies they enjoyed as youngsters.  Many of them no longer have the experience of enjoying the cakes and pies made by their loved ones because they’ve passed on.  It’s wonderful to know that people are satisfied with our products. We put a lot of love into our work,”  said Mrs. Pryor-Rose.

Currently, she serves as a consultant to the business while her daughters, the second generation of family-owned business entrepreneurs, manage the bakery.

Mrs. Pryor Rose and her husband Bobbie currently reside in San Bernardino and have two children, Tedra and Tekesha.

For more information, contact Ashley Jones at (909) 381-3238.

Photos by Naomi K. Bonman

RIVERSIDE, CA- On Saturday, June 6, the City of Riverside celebrated its annual Juneteenth celebration. It was a fun and educational day filled with live entertainment, food from Big Dees BBQ, and plenty of vendors.

By McKenzie Jackson/ California Black Media

Los Angeles County resident, Diyon Clark, is relieved to learn that his Medi-Cal renewal will be automatic this year. In 2014, he remembers his re-certification process being especially confusing and frustrating.

“That’s cool,” said Clark, a 20-year-old who lives in the San Fernando Valley. “That is one thing I hopefully won’t have to worry about.”

Late last year, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced that county human services agencies across the state will renew coverage for most Medi-Cal members by using the information they already have on file. That includes information pertaining to a person’s place of residence, immigration status, and income. If the county is able to verify all of an individual’s information their coverage will be renewed.

In a March 25th email, DHCS spokesperson Anthony Cava said re-certifications begin well ahead of the date members’ plans are set to expire.

“For renewals due January 1, 2015,” he wrote, “the process started approximately 60 days in advance (end of October/early November 2014).”

For Californians who qualify, Medi-Cal offers health care benefits at either no or low cost. The coverage funds a prevention-oriented approach that promotes well-being through 21 managed and county-specific health plans such as Anthem Blue Cross, L.A. Care and Molina.

The health program is open to low-income adults; individuals with disabilities; families with children; senior citizens; children in foster care as well as former foster youth up to age 26; and pregnant women. According to numbers from DHCS, as of last month approximately 927,280 African Americans were enrolled in Medi-Cal.

This year, DHCS expects to renew the insurance plans of about 12 million Medi-Cal members. “If all the information is available and it indicates continued eligibility, the individual’s coverage will be continued for another 12 months,” said Cava. Clark, who is half African American and half Jewish and has been covered by Medi-Cal for most of his life, says the most painful part of his renewal process last spring was completing it by phone.

“It took about three months for me to get renewed,” said Clark, a college student and wireless phone salesman. “I was told to call and ask for Medi-Cal, then Covered California, then Medi-Cal.”

Clark said needing to have surgery on his torn rotator cuff last year further complicated the process and heightened his frustration. And he was not the only person angered by the 2014 renewal process. There was a significant amount of chatter among health care advocates and Medi-Cal users alike, lamenting the fact that due to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the questions asked on the renewal forms had become too complicated.

Elizabeth Landsberg, director of legislative advocacy at the Sacramento office of the Western Center on Law & Poverty, an organization that works to secure housing, health care, and a strong safety net for low-income Californians, said the renewal process seems to be more streamlined now.

“The process we have been seeing in 2015 is quite different,” she said. “Essentially in the past we had been expecting people to re-apply for Medi-Cal all over again. Now the onus is on the state to check people’s records.

Cava said Medi-Cal users will only have to complete renewal forms if their Medi-Cal service cannot be automatically renewed, for example DHCS cannot verify certain information like income or residency.

“Then, a pre-populated renewal form is sent to them, outlining the information used for the redetermination and what information is still needed from them to complete the renewal process,” he said.

Cava said that any forms must be completed within a 90-day period or a current enrollee could lose his or her Medi-Cal coverage.

“This is our standard Medi-Cal policy,” he said. “If the information is provided within this timeframe, the counties will accept the information as if it had been submitted on time and complete the redetermination process. If the person remains eligible, their coverage will resume and be treated as if there was never a break in coverage.”

Besides providing an opportunity to have surgery on his rotator cuff, Clark says having Medi-Cal also allowed him to have surgery on his broken right hand – all within the past year. Inserting a metal plate into one of his appendages wasn’t cheap, he said.

“Medi-Cal has saved me at least $20,000 in medical bills, easily” he said.

For more information on renewals, visit your local county human services agency, go to www.coveredca.com/medi-cal/renewing-medi-cal-coverage/ online or call 1-800-300-1506.

The article above is brought to you by California Black Media, a coalition of Black -owned media outlets committed to making a difference in our communities.  It is made possible via a grant for public outreach from The California Endowment. We share the common goal in reaching as many residents as possible with useful information that will help expand access to affordable, quality healthcare to all Californians. 

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

In the waiting room – ever been there, I have and it is not easy.  I think that at some point and time in our lives all of us go through a stage in our life where we wonder if God will ever show up. It seems as if we are always falling into a life of constant hard times and nothingness. Every time you turn around there is a different trial, a different problem and a different tribulation. But, year after year, you are told that this is your year. Year after year, preacher after preacher has spoken sermon after sermon telling you to get ready for your blessing. Prophets have called you up and told you to get ready for the move of God in your life, and you wait, and wait, and wait, and wait, and nothing seems to happen. You began to get so frustrated and tired of waiting that you began to lose faith in what God has promised you and that loss of faith eventually turns to disbelief. You began to think that maybe God didn’t tell you what you thought He did, so you decide that you will no longer wait; you have waited long enough!  Guess what, you have just stopped God’s movement in your life and killed your blessings. The reason that God had not moved in your situation so far is because it was not yet your appointed time for a visitation.

What I know is that we as people of God or people in general have a problem with waiting. We want what we want; when we want it and how we want. We are a spoiled generation. It doesn’t matter if it is good for us or not, we just want it. And if it doesn’t happen when we think it should we begin to come up with our own plans on how we are going to make it happen.  We tend to want to move too fast instead of waiting on God.  I tell you we will save ourselves some trouble, hard aches and pain if only we will remember what Ecclesiastes 3 tells us, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.” But we want to pluck the fruit before it has had time to ripen.  I tell you as soon as you do that, Satan will come in with his sneaky conniving self and give you a right now counterfeit blessing; something that will take your mind and focus off God. It always seems to be in our nature to go for the right now thing, instead of the right thing that which God has for us. But as Ms. Aretha Franklin, said, “You better think!”

Listen, the Scriptures says in Habakkuk 2:3, “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” One of our problems today is that we have lost the biblical perspective of the majestic greatness of God, and we have a completely wrong focus on God.  We are just like Habakkuk… “How long, O Lord, must I call for help?” Habakkuk’s words are a complaint; he has major issues to take up with God. I suspect we do as well, if we are honest. Apparently, Habakkuk had repeatedly called upon God to act, to intervene, to set things right, to just do something. Yet it seemed that God had not heard him and God would not act to save. Finally, out of a deep sense of frustration and confusion, he cries out to God, “How long, O Lord, must I call for your help, but you do not listen?” “Lord, please do something! Act like God. Can’t you see we are weary of fighting against wrong and trying to do good?” I tell you the Lord intends to keep His people dependent upon Him. Amazingly though in the midst of all his crying, Habakkuk decides to takes God at his word. Habakkuk trusts that God is already at work, even if he can’t see it. He trusts that God has more to say, and he commits himself to waiting on God rather than taking matters into his own hands. This is the rub in the story. Habakkuk assumes a disposition of waiting with confident trust in God. We too must be persuaded that God is in control of the timing and intensity of our trials. If you are a child of God I want you to know that you have the means by which to stand firm in the face of any trial. Trust that God has a reason for your sufferings and waiting. Submit yourself to whatever He desires to teach you. The road may be rocky, but a wise response will lead you into the joy He has promised. I’m telling you what I know.  You see, I know about waiting to give birth to the promises of God and never seeing it come forth. I know about waking up in the middle of the night crying and asking God what’s next and not receiving an answer. I know about travailing for a promise, year after year, and having it never come to pass. I know about never ending disappointment but I am here to tell you on today that God has not forgotten about any of us. Galatians 6:9 says at just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t’ give up. I’m so thankful that we have the Bible to help us understand how God works in all the seasons of life to help us find faith and grow and mature. God always have a purpose. I often have to stop and consider this. That all that happens in my life – the bitter things, the hard things, the hurtful things, the triumphs and the victories – can work for good.  I want you to know that waiting is the process of becoming what God wants us to be. What God does in us while we wait is as important as what it is we are waiting for.

If you’re going through a season of life and you don’t think much is happening, be faithful to God; trust Him. The promises of God remain Yes and Amen! The fact that God would send a word like this at this particular time should be confirmation to you that you are close to what God has promised you! I come to tell you to wait on it! Don’t compromise with the devil. Wait on it! Don’t break down your standard, wait on it! No matter how long it takes He might not come when you want Him to come, but He is always on time. Give God the Glory!

GARDEN GROVE, CA- R. Byron Stringer, a Las Vegas Cop for over 26 years, took the stories he saw on the street and created the Toe Tag Monologues.  He presented the Toe Tag Monologues last weekend at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Garden Grove.

The Boys and Girls Club hosted their 1^st Annual Teen Leadership Conference from May 29 to 31, and was pleased to include Toe Tag Monologues.  This performing troop, coming from Las Vegas, consists of teenagers who performed life changing monologues about Bullying, Teen Suicide, Human Trafficking, Gang Violence, Drug Abuse, Drunk Driving, School Violence and much more.  There is no other program like it in our country!

Stringer, a native of San Bernardino, believes that the rest of America is only a moment away from becoming a Ferguson or Baltimore. The Toe Tag Monologues uses Drama to help kids get through their own Drama.

“We have to do what the City of Garden Grove, California is doing and begin to heal our children.  We can no longer just lecture our kids but we have to learn to listen as well,” Stringer said. “This conference, “Turn Up For Success”, is laying a template for others to follow.”

For more information on the Toe Tag Monologues, please visit byronstringer.com.

Front row: Dr. Gloria Fisher, President of SBVC (holding SBVC award); Nickolas Zoumbos, Trustee; Donna Ferracone, Trustee; Board President John Longville (holding SBCCD award); Board Clerk Joseph Williams; Gloria Macías Harrison, Trustee; and Board Vice President Dr. Kathleen (Katy) Henry. Back row: Dr. Donald Singer, Trustee; Chancellor Bruce Baron; Interim Vice Chancellor, Fiscal and Business Services Jose Torres; and Hussain Agah, Kitchell BRj Senior Campus Manager.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The San Bernardino Community College District (SBCCD) and San Bernardino Valley College received the Project Management Award for the renovation of the San Bernardino Valley College Auditorium from the Southern California Chapter of the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA). The award was presented to the SBCCD Board of Trustees at the May 28 board meeting by Hussain Agah, Senior Campus Manager with Kitchell/BRj, which oversaw the construction project.

Chancellor Bruce Baron noted, “The renovation of the Auditorium at San Bernardino Valley College was a complex undertaking of a landmark site and taking into consideration the San Jacinto Fault Zone. Kitchell/BRj was instrumental in the cost-effective, on time, efficient completion of the project. The renewal of this beautiful building resulted in the addition of an elevator tower so the building is now ADA compliant, two outdoor courtyards and the expansion of the restrooms. None of this would have been possible without the support of the community through the Measure M and P bonds. The bonds allow us to maximize our resources as we design a quality learning and working environment for our students and employees.”

The second oldest building on the SBVC campus, the Auditorium is an academic, performance and community space. Its historic architecture created construction issues as all historic buildings do; the original construction documentation was unreliable and the project team was continually uncovering unforeseen conditions. Kitchell/BRj was involved in an exhaustive reconnaissance effort, working with numerous municipal and state agencies to ensure work could proceed on time and according to the budget. The project team also had to be especially resourceful in locating and even fabricating materials to fit the specifications of a 76-year-old building.

Started in July 2013 and completed in August 2014, the project came in under budget (less than $10 million), and included making the building earthquake-safe. The Auditorium is the closest of any building on campus to the San Jacinto Fault zone. A highly valued historic and visual landmark on campus, demolition and replacement was not an option. Due to the fault and folding zones, the new elevator tower was designed to split from the main building if an earthquake were to occur. In addition, a unique solution was utilized to minimize structural intrusion into the existing building. Fiberglass reinforcing was added to several walls to increase their structural capacity, which meant that no columns had to be added to building, which would have cut space and altered the building’s design.

Kitchell was originally tasked with providing Program Management services for the San Bernardino Community College District’s Measure M Bond program. The bond program was passed in 2008 for $500 million, but the SBCCD saw the available bond funds shrink by nearly half in the midst of the economic recession. The SBCCD and Kitchell worked together to eliminate non-essential projects from the Master Plan. Opportunities for the SBCCD to save money and even offset costs were identified so that much needed improvements to the San Bernardino Valley College campus, such as the Auditorium, could be completed.

Dorella Anderson

By Naomi K. Bonman

Family members, extended family, friends, and community residents came together on Friday, May 29 to celebrate the life of Riverside community trailblazer, Dorella Anderson, better known as Dorie to most, or Mrs. And Sis. Anderson to others. The homegoing services were all that the late community leader would have wanted. The sanctuary of Park Avenue Baptist Church in Riverside was overflowing to capacity, filled with those that loved and cherished Dorella, Godmother Dorie (as I called her).

Mrs. Anderson, 79, served has a champion and advocate for families and youth on the Eastside of Riverside for the past 35 years at the Community Settlement House, just minutes away from Downtown Riverside. She played a pivotal role in assisting immigrants adapt and settle into life in the States by helping them obtain citizenship and addressing issues that assited them to remain in the country legally. Her work with families on the Eastside spans two generations.

“She led a life that supported the Eastside children for more than 50 years. She was talented, beautiful, athletic, and had a confidence that drew people towards her. The events at Lincoln Park and the Community Settlement Association continued the work of a prior generation of local families who truly made the area a community,” Dorella’s cousin, Craig Goodwin stated.

Anderson was the founder and lifetime member of the Riverside African American Historical Society and will be remembered for bringing “Toys for Tots” to Riverside, teaching crafts, dancing, and for her involvement in numerous community affairs.

As a personal extended family and church member of Anderson’s I will miss her gentle and sweet spirit and her willingness of speaking her mind to anyone and saying how she felt, and because she was not afraid to speak her mind and speak out you felt even more comfortable around her.

She will definitely be missed among Riverside and surrounding cities, but she lives on in our hearts forever until we all meet again.

Tracy Holmes visits EMPIRE TALKS BACK radio

Review written by Alexis Reaves

This self help book is one of three books in the authors series of “Say it Twice Books”. To begin with, the author introduces the reader to the primary colors in Spanish as well as providing a pronunciation and an illustration of the color on each page. As you read, you will learn not only what each color is in English, but how to say each color using an English guided pronunciation tool. The author proceeds to add learning interaction into the book by  including  a fun quiz for children that  ask them to fill in the correct color on the page. This gives its readers an opportunity to assess their learning and unintentionally helps children to remember what they have learned. Colors works as a tutorial book, teaching children Spanish beginning with the basics. The goal of this book is to educate the youth on different languages, thus increasing the amount of bilingual children. This book is beneficial to children and will work as a start up for Spanish learners in the future.

COLORS is available online from Amazon and Barnes And Nobles. The author of COLORS, Tracy Holmes is scheduled to be at the Montclair Plaza Barnes And Nobles on June 13th for a 2 p.m. book signing.

Tracy was a guest on the April 19, 2015 EMPIRE TALK’S BACK radio program with host Wallace Allen. You can see the video of the show by following this link  http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/61303982

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Whitney Houston asked the question, “How will I know … How, will I know if he really loves me… I say a prayer with every heart beat…  I fall in love whenever we meet… I’m asking you what you know about these things… How will I know if he’s thinking of me…? Falling in love is so bitter sweet… How will I know?”

How do we know when someone really cares about us? How do we know if someone loves us? There are a lot of things that we can do to show others that we care for them.  But the ultimate expression of care and love takes place when somebody sacrifices a part of themselves or all of themselves for you. Jesus put it this way, “Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Ah, this is good… {John 15:13}. When somebody does something like that there can absolutely be no doubt in your mind they care for you, they love you!  I want you to know that the Cross is God’s exclamation point! The Cross is the exclamation point at the end of a sentence in which God is screaming, “I love you and I’ll do whatever it takes to get your attention.” Hear me and hear me good… God paid an unbelievable price to send an unbelievable message.  Inseparable love {Romans 8: 35-38} who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  When God wanted to demonstrate His love for us, He did it on a much higher level. He was willing to risk our rejection by first being honest about our behavior.   And even though we have messed things up with Him through our actions and sin, He continues to stand by us…  If there is any doubt in your mind that God is interested in you; if there is any doubt in your mind if God loves you, please look again at the Cross. For it is good to look through history and see how God, time and time again, demonstrates His love for us.  Sometimes it is almost as if He is shouting, “I LOVE YOU!”  But do you hear Him?

In Luke chapter 2 verses 8-14 it tells us that there was “a shout of love in a dark night!” This is one of the texts that some of you need to hear today.   It should help you be reminded that God loves you, because ‘this shout in the dark of night’ sets the stage for how we can understand God’s interest and love for us. The angels were proclaiming God’s wonderful plan and praising His name as He began to demonstrate His love for us through His One and Only Son Jesus… Can you hear it…?  “I have sent my Son, He is here for you, and I love you that much.” Knowing the intensity of this, never wonder again if you are loved.  God loves you to the point he sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for all your sins and mine. I don’t know whether you remember or not, but in Malachi 1:2 Jesus had a complaint against us too. He said, “So you want to complain, you want to know if I love you, well let me tell you something, I got a complaint against you too. I have loved you deeply, but you got the nerves to ask Me, wherein have I loved you… Really!  My answer… The Cross… Now what have you done for me lately? I can’t hear you…. What you say…. That’s what I thought… Never question whether I love you again! {Paraphrased by me}

Now I know that sometimes life’s circumstances don’t seem fair. That’s when it’s easy to start to doubt God’s love for you. Moments of disappointments, fear, frustration, struggle, and uncertainty can make you feel that God has failed you. In reality, God knows what you need, and has everything under His control. He may have a different time, place, process, or way to move you through life that you may not have expected, but it doesn’t mean He doesn’t love you. I tell you, we need to come up with a different definition of God’s love. We need one that is not so narrow as to suggest that the only true love from God is that which makes us happy. We need to see the boarder perspective, from God’s view, where the ultimate sign of love does not have to do with this life, but with the life to come. This perspective lets us see suffering of this life in a different perspective {Romans 5:3-5}. Don’t allow Satan to distort God’s love for you. There is nothing like the love of God! It is the most overwhelming thing I have ever encountered in my life. It is the greatest thing God ever did for any of us! You should be shouting right now for God’s overwhelming love! There is no greater love than the love that God has for you.  Will you believe it?  Will you accept it?  Will you live through it? I want you to know that God’s love is such that it cannot be comprehended through the mortal and corruptible mind of man. It must be spiritually conveyed. My question for you today is simple, it is not,   “What if God loves you?” but, “What if you believe, really believe it?” You see no matter how much God loves you and no matter how much He does for you, you must accept the truth of that love and accept His son Jesus as your Savior and Lord. I will say it one more time, God loves you!  We need to be reminded of what God did — more than anything else — even as He could smell the stink of sin all over us, He allowed His perfect Son to be sacrificed for us.  We are the reason Jesus died; we are the reason Jesus hung on the Cross.  Don’t question if God loves you. . , know that He was willing to send His Son Jesus to die for you while you were still in sin. We all play a part in the crucifixion of Jesus.  Each of us, because of our sin, led Him to be killed so that we could be forgiven. Oh, how He loves you and me, He gave His life, what more could He give.  I don’t know about you, but that sure does encourage my heart!  Jesus loves me this I know!