Happily Divorced And After

Publisher Recommends… LOCAL MEASURES & STATE PROPS

SAN BERNARDINO CITY

• Measure Q: The City of San Bernardino is presently locked into utilizing a set formula to establish the compensation for police, fire and emergency safety personnel. Every other city in the state negotiates compensation based on ability to pay. San Bernardino, like all other California cities, should not be subject to automatic pay increases for public and emergency safety personnel!  All San Bernardino employee salaries should be set through collective bargaining, just like the other 481 Cities in the State. Vote For Change. Vote YES on Measure Q. (To read all the measures, visit www.wssnews.com).

• Measure R: Presently any City employee in the classified service that has been suspended, discharged or reduced in classification for disciplinary reasons has the right to appeal that decision and receive regular pay for the appeal period, whether they win or lose the appeal.  In other words, the disciplinary action cannot occur until the appeal decision is made. No one should be paid for creating and losing a long drawn out appeal. That is paying for work not done. Vote For Change. Vote YES on Measure R

HIGHLAND

•  Measure I: The Highland Measure would divide the City into five City Council Districts. To elect members “by district” means that City Council candidates must reside in a specific district and be elected only by the registered voters who live in that district. Currently, the voters elect members of the Highland City Council “at large” which means that candidates may live anywhere in the City and voters throughout the City vote for all five members of the City Council.  If the measure passes with a majority of YES votes, candidates would run and be elected ‘by district’ in 2016. Your Neighborhood should have a voice and City Council Districts are a step in that direction! Vote For Change. Vote Yes on Measure I

•  Prop48   Indian Gaming Compacts. Referendum. Put on the Ballot by Petition Signatures: A “Yes” vote approves, and a “No” vote rejects, tribal gaming compacts between the state and the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians and the Wiyot Tribe. Fiscal Impact: One-time payments ($16 million to $35 million) and for 20 years annual payments ($10 million) from Indian tribes to state and local governments to address costs related to the operation of a new casino. I Do Not Like Casinos, but I Like The Idea Of Reserving The Right To Own Casinos To One Group Of People Even Less! Maybe This Will Lead To A Black Tribe Owning One, Or At Least Benefiting From One! Vote Yes On Prop 48. Not Change, but may lead to it…
•  Prop 46   Drug and Alcohol Testing Of Doctors. Medical Negligence Lawsuits. Initiative Statute. Put on the Ballot by Petition Signatures: Requires drug testing of doctors. Requires review of statewide prescription database before prescribing controlled substances. Increases $250,000 pain/suffering cap in medical negligence lawsuits for inflation. Fiscal Impact: State and local government costs from raising the cap on medical malpractice damages ranging from tens of millions to several hundred million dollars annually, offset to some extent by savings from requirements on health care providers. This would be a great initiative if it included drug testing for Lawyers; however, it is a good start! Vote For Change. Vote Yes On Prop 46
• Prop 45  Healthcare Insurance.  Rate Changes Initiative Statute. Put on the Ballot by Petition Signatures: Requires Insurance Commissioner’s approval before health insurer can change its rates or anything else affecting the charges associated with health insurance. Provides for public notice, disclosure, and hearing, and subsequent judicial review. Exempts employer large group health plans. Fiscal Impact: Increased state administrative costs to regulate health insurance, likely not exceeding the low millions of dollars annually in most years, funded from fees paid by health insurance companies.  Regulation Of Insurance Rates Is A Good thing! Vote For Change. Vote Yes On Prop 45
• Prop47   Criminal Sentences. Misdemeanor Penalties. Initiative Statute. Put on the Ballot by Petition Signatures: Requires misdemeanor sentence instead of felony for certain drug and property offenses. Inapplicable to persons with prior conviction for serious or violent crime and registered sex offenders. Fiscal Impact: State and county criminal justice savings potentially in the high hundreds of millions of dollars annually. State savings spent on school truancy and dropout prevention, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and victim services. There are too many people in prison who should not be there, taking up room that ought to be used by people who should be there! Vote For Change Vote Yes On Prop 47
•  Prop 1   Water Bond. Funding for Water Quality, Supply, Treatment, and Storage Projects. Put on the Ballot by the Legislature: Authorizes $7.545 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects, including surface and groundwater storage, ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration, and drinking water protection. Fiscal Impact: Increased state bond costs averaging $360 million annually over 40 years. Local government savings for water-related projects, likely averaging a couple hundred million dollars annually over the next few decades. Though this money is intended for worthy projects, it will redirect money from our most important program… Education! Vote For Change, Emphasize Education, Vote No on Prop 1

•  Prop 2   State Budget. Budget Stabilization Account. Legislative Constitutional Amendment. Put on the Ballot by the Legislature: Requires annual transfer of state general fund revenues to budget stabilization account. Requires half the revenues be used to repay state debts. Limits use of remaining funds to emergencies or budget deficits. Fiscal Impact: Long-term state savings from faster payment of existing debts. Different levels of state budget reserves, depending on economy and decisions by elected officials. Smaller local reserves for some school districts. Though this money is intended for worthy projects, it will redirect money from our most important program… Education! Vote For Change, Emphasize Education, Vote No on Prop 2

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- It is with great expectation that The Fire Center Church of San Bernardino will host a special event with world renowned guest speaker Bishop & Prophet William Tomusange. The message will take place on Thursday, October 23 at 6 p.m. at 1700 W. Highland Avenue in San Bernardino. For more information on the church please visit www.facebook.com/thefirecenterchurch.

Bishop Tomusange grew up in Kampala Uganda Africa, where at the age of 12-years-old he was an orphan who was eventually taken in and cared for by a deeply spiritual Bishop that raised him in the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Bishop Tom, as he is affectionately called by his family fellow ministers and co-laborers in the gospel, received the Holy Spirit at the age of 15. He preached his first sermon two years later at the young age of 17 at Mount Carmel Church in Uganda Africa.

Currently, Bishop Tom travels all over the globe speaking the prophetic heart of God to people of many nations. His prophetic Mantel is unparallel and news of the anointing that flows through his vessel is spreading like Holy Ghost Fire. Founder of Joy Mission International Ministries and Joy Christian Center, Bishop Tom is also C.E.O of 98.0 Kampala Uganda Joy FM radio.

He also continues traveling around the globe raising funds for Source of Hope Orphanage, which is filled with Uganda’s precious and most desperate children left abandoned and orphaned by the ravages of civil wars. S.O.H.O continues to rescue children forced to live in deplorable conditions in Africa.  To visit the orphanage’s website, please visit www.facebook.com/sourceofhopeorphanage .

“Bishop William Coming to our humble Church is a grand blessing of epic proportions. I had the pleasure of serving with this man when I visited Africa and I personally witnessed firsthand his endless passion for Christ and compassion for God’s people,”           The Fire Center Church Apostle Ulysses Watson said.

He continues, “I am extremely excited for those here in America who will have the opportunity to see a move of God such as this in our homeland, and I’m blessed beyond words to host such an amazingly honorable man of God at The Fire Center.”

Gwaap Fam Ent

What it do! What it do! What it do! Let me introduce a talented group out of my city, the Inland Empire (I.E.). Love, Loyalty, Family, and Perseverance; these are just a few of the words that accurately describe the core values of “Gwaap Fam Entertainment.”

Founded in late 2007, “Gwaap Fam Entertainment” has been giving the I.E. Quality music since its creation. The Gwaap Fam was formed on The Northside of San Bernardino, California with the thought process that GOD is over everything, family under God and money over everything else.

The sound of this group, well they don’t really have a sound. This talent refuses to be marginalized. From turn up club music to deep thought provoking conscious rap, The Gwaap Fam is multi-faceted and won’t be tied down by titles of sounds. The group now consists of four main artists, which includes, “Cedric Acrie a.k.a. Bigg Cedd,” “Joshua Rodgers a.k.a. I.E. Swaag,” “Cedric Greene a.k.a. Cedro Mossberg,” and “Jamal Davis a.k.a. King Davis.”

Gwaap Fam Entertainment is a team without a leader. Everybody involved is looked at as their own captain. Some of the musical influences of Gwaap Fam include 2pac, Nipsey Hussle, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, J. Cole, Young Jeezy and Eminem

Please make sure to check out their music on all social media sites under “THE GWAP FAM ENT.”  I totally look forward to hearing more from this group. Until next time, keep it musical!

Darralyn

Explain exactly what you business is.         

I’m in the beauty industry.

What type of services or products do you offer?

I perform all phases of hair care; however, I specialize in natural hair. I use products containing natural ingredients like sea kelp, vanilla bean etc, that add shine and promote growth and health, and that are free of parabens and sulfates and other ingredients which have been shown to be harmful.

Why did you start this particular business?

I’ve always been intrigued by fashion and hair makes a statement in fashion all its own, from there I learned the importance of beautifying hair in the most healthy way.

What in your background or what did you have to do to prepare for this business?

I always welcome a challenge; I have a creative mind so those things along with education and experience allow me to assist clients with special circumstance to abusive their desired results

What are the special or unique features of your business that distinguish you or are different from your competitors?

In this area I’ve heard that clients with locks or other natural hairstyles must travel a distance, but I do service those clients.

If, through this article you could reach out and touch just one person and aid them in turning their lives around, what would you say?

I would stress the importance of regular maintenance if only once per month or at least every 6 weeks have a professional look at your scalp to help alleviate long term damage from dryness, buildup, split ends or other conditions that may not be really detected

Miss UVI Elisa Thomas made history when she won the title of Miss National Black College Alumni (NBCA) Hall of Fame – becoming the first Miss UVI to win that crown. Thomas competed against 20 other college queens from Historically Black Colleges and Universities from across the nation on Sept. 27, in Atlanta. In addition to winning the crown, Thomas won the “Hats and Heels” segment of the competition.

“Being crowned Miss National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame is an amazing feeling,” said Thomas. “To hear my name and school be called literally brought tears to my eyes. I’m proud that I was able to achieve this national recognition not only for the prestigious University of the Virgin Islands, but also for the United States Virgin Islands.” She continued, “I’m honored to represent an organization geared toward the relevance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, promoting African American achievement, individual school pride and collective HBCU pride.”

“We are elated Elisa will be representing our HBCUs during the next twelve months as Miss Hall of Fame,” said Thomas Dortch, Jr., NBCA Hall of Fame Foundation founder and board chairman. “She has proven herself to be very capable of conveying the message of educational excellence that our HBCUs send. I am also happy that the University was able to have one of its queens to hold this coveted title.”

“I am extremely proud of Elisa Thomas, Miss UVI, for achieving this outstanding honor of being selected as Miss National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame,” said UVI President Dr. David Hall. “She represented UVI in an excellent way, and now she will represent Historically Black Colleges and Universities.” He continued, “When we consider the number of HBCUs and the important role they have played in the past and will continue to play in the future, this honor takes on an even greater significance. Elisa’s accomplishment is a compelling reminder that UVI prepares our students to take on and lead the world.”

“The entire UVI Division of Student Affairs is especially proud of Elisa,” said Doris Battiste, dean of students on the St. Thomas Campus. “This is something that we dreamed of for many years and we finally got it. We believe that she will represent UVI and the NBCA Hall of Fame well during her reign.”

“This win increases awareness that our students are second to none,” said Battiste. “Although we are geographically isolated from other HBCUs, our students measure up and do very well academically and socially. They assume leadership positions locally, regionally, nationally and internationally and serve their communities admirably.”

Thomas traveled to the Miss NBCA Hall of Fame Queens competition in Atlanta with UVI Student Activities Supervisor Leon Lafond and UVI Chaperone Marisel Melendez. She also had a group of 10 supporters, including two integral camp members Sheldon Turnbull and Lorna Freeman that assisted her in the journey and attend the show.

“To see Elisa successfully advance in the competition was superb,” said Lafond. “The various standing ovations that she got from her talent during the preliminaries and the final competition definitely spoke for itself. She is the true definition of a queen.”

Lafond thanked “Team Bubbles” – Thomas’ team of supporters who assisted her during the competition. “Without everyone’s support, none of this would be possible,” he said. “Team work makes the dream work.”

Thomas is a communication major at UVI. She said that her communications classes solidified her presentation skills.

“Communications has definitely helped me,” said Thomas, who plans to own and host her own talk show. She also plans to start an organization geared toward pre-adolescent girls entitled the “Building Blocks of Empowerment,” become a published writer and start a college fund for students in need of financial assistance. “I just think it’s imperative that we always ask ourselves what we can do for others, because any of us would not be where we are today, if it wasn’t for someone assisting us along the way,” she said.

The NBCA queen contestants are judged in four categories, including talent, poise, image and personal and private interviews. In the interviews the contestant has up to two minutes to introduce herself and discuss her platform. As Miss NBCA Hall of Fame, Thomas will serve as a national representative and advocate of HBCUs, and was awarded an academic scholarship and other prizes.

“Elisa is unquestionably a person who is the essence of beauty and intellect,” said Prince Brown, NBCA Hall of Fame Foundation executive director. “We look very much forward to having her represent us.”

During her reign as Miss NBCA Hall of Fame, Thomas plans to be an advocate promoting the importance of HBCU’s, serve as an effective panellist at the various seminars, campus tours and the events she attends. She will also promote more awareness and preventative measures to Domestic Violence. Her platform as Miss UVI and Miss NBCA Hall of Fame is “Combatting domestic violence by Building Stronger Women from a Young Age.” “If I’m able to positively influence at least one person, then I feel I have efficiently carried out my duty as a true queen – a humble servant,” said Thomas.

The NBCA queens competition is sponsored by the NBCA Hall of Fame organization, which is dedicated to the growth and development of HBCUs through scholarships, internships, training and technical assistance, alumni recognition, and programs to encourage humanitarian involvement.

“We are excited to launch the next phase of our grantmaking,” said Judy Belk, president and CEO of The California Wellness Foundation.  “Advancing Wellness builds on the Foundation’s long history of responding to the needs of California communities and addressing the root causes of health and wellness inequities.”

The process for submitting letters of interest to the Foundation has been streamlined with the introduction of an online grants application process to increase efficiency and support grantees’ efforts. Grantseekers can apply here.

Building upon its legacy, the Foundation remains committed to responsive, statewide grantmaking; core operating support; funding of direct services, public policy and capacity building; and improving the health of underserved populations.

Grants made under the Bridging the Gaps in Access and Quality Care portfolio will be related to: the equitable implementation of the Affordable Care Act; the health care safety net; oral health care for low-income adults, including seniors; and increasing diversity in the health care professions.

Grants made under the Promoting Healthy and Safe Neighborhoods portfolio will be related to: ensuring that effective systems, infrastructures and resources are in place to support healthy living and to minimize trauma and injury resulting from violence, particularly gun violence.

Grants made under the Expanding Education and Employment Pathways portfolio will be related to: charting a path to greater access to resources, opportunities, and support for adolescents and young adults whom Cal Wellness defines as “resilient youth,” i.e., young people who are in, or have exited, the juvenile justice system; are current or former foster youth; have been or are currently homeless or runaways; or are pregnant and/or parenting youth. The goals of this portfolio are also to ensure that there is access to sufficient income and other resources through fair employment and appropriate government benefits, as well as the building and protection of financial assets for resilient youth, military veterans and formerly incarcerated adults.

The Opportunity Fund will support capacity building, public policy and innovation among nonprofit agencies and philanthropic organizations working to improve the health of Californians.

To view a video and other materials on the grantmaking program, please visit the CalWellness.org newsroom.

The California Wellness Foundation is a private independent foundation created in 1992 with a mission to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention. Since its founding in 1992, Cal Wellness has awarded 7,523 grants totaling more than $899 million.

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

I tell you we should all be like Habakkuk… Instead of standing staring in the face of his problem he backed off from the problem and he stood on solid ground. He gave up on what he didn’t know and started remembering what he did know and instead of worrying about why things were going the way they were going, and why in the world God was allowing this and allowing that, he just stood back and said, “Now wait a minute, my God is an eternal God, He’s a righteous God, He hates sin and He never does wrong, He always does right.” Once he had established what he knew about God then it was much easier to cope with what he didn’t know about the events around him.

Habakkuk’s attitude was: God I don’t understand everything; I don’t understand why you let Israel go. I don’t understand why you’re bringing the Chaldeans to judge them. I don’t understand why you’re going to wait to judge the Chaldeans after that. I don’t understand any of the things, but I know one thing God, You’re the God that is righteous. You’re the God that’s eternal. You’re the God that never makes a mistake. You’re the God that hates sin. You’re the God that never does anything wrong and I’ll stand on that and praise you anyhow.

In Chapter 2, Habakkuk is standing in the midst of an absolute dilemma. He is afraid. He is afraid for himself, he’s afraid for Israel. He can’t seem to justify and rectify all the parts of the situation, though he understands that God who allowed the situation is always right. He’s caught in a dilemma, but he does not ask for deliverance, he does not ask for personal escape, he does not ask for ease, he does not pray that God should spare Israel, he doesn’t even pray that there would be no victory for the Chaldeans and that they would lose the battle, he doesn’t pray that Jerusalem wouldn’t be sacked, he doesn’t pray any of these things because he knows in view of the kind of God that God is, God must judge. So he doesn’t even bother with those things. What he does pray is this: that God will do His work and that God will have His way…. What a tremendous prayer. He knows how to pray, contrary to most of us. He knows what to pray for. He’s not praying selfishly, he’s not praying biased in favor of his flesh or his people. He is praying singularly that God’s work come to fulfillment.

I tell you when you can arrive at that kind of position in prayer you have arrived. When you can look at the problems around you and the problems in your life and the problems in your world and say, “God I don’t care about those things, all I care about God, that you be glorified.” What a tremendous, tremendous prayer. Habakkuk had one thought in his mind and that was that God receive the due glory for doing His work. He says, God, if you’ve got to do it that way I want you to do it, revive your work in the midst of the years. His one desire was that things be right according to God’s plan, not comfortable according to his desires. Not peaceful, not easy, not happy, just right like God would have them. He wanted things to be the way God wanted them, and if you want a New Testament equivalent to that kind of a prayer you’ll find it in the prayer commonly called the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come.”

Habakkuk had made a fantastic transformation from fear to fate. He started out shaking like a leaf in Chapter 1, but he come to the consciousness of faith in a God that he knows is doing right. Our prayer ought to sound something like Habakkuk’s. We ought to be praying daily God be glorified in my life. God be glorified in my church. God be glorified in this world. That should be the cry and the prayer on the heart of every believer. Habakkuk had the right perspective. He had first things first. What really mattered to him were not the circumstances in the world around him, or his problems, although there were unbelievably bleak. The thing that really mattered to him was that God receive the glory. And that ought to be the thing that matters number one to us. Our concern should be the things of God that God’s work is coming to its fulfillment. What a tremendous lesson here. What can a person do in a state of human weakness? What can you do when you’re faced with all sorts of problems? Habakkuk said,” I’m going to stand here and love God and just keep on loving Him and praising Him no matter what happens.” Job said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

Unless we see the big picture of what God is doing through the difficulties of life, the suffering, the pain, the iniquities, the injustices of life, we will miss the profound and foundational truth that God is using all of it for our ultimate good and His glory. So when all hell breaks loose in your world; when the worst comes to the worst; when everything is lost, step back from your problem, remember your God and start to rejoice with a holy joy based on love and adoration that nothing will ever touch. That you’re His and He’s yours and He cares for you and nothing will ever affect that in anyway. The sweetness of the spirit of Habakkuk. His problems were solved, not because he understood everything, but because he knew his God and he put his trust in Him. His circumstances caused him to shake, but his relationship to God was absolutely unshakeable. “Praise God Anyhow!”

After months of waiting, the official arrival is now here! While teens are surrounded by a world of social media, selfies and hashtags, one teen in Fontana is making a difference by breaking the mold of conformity. Her name is Brittany Evans, 18, unlike most teens Brittany would rather be about business than taking tons of pictures to show off to her friends.

She not only has beauty and brains but she is the first in her family to become an inventor. Her invention is called Sparkbudz (patent pending) it is an all new earphone in which you can magnetically attach and detach when you are alone or with a friend.

The product is now available through IndieGoGo. She is asking for your support. For more information, visit www.Sparkbudz.com or www.Facebook.com/Sparkbudz.

Comedian Tamiko Kirkland

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood and this is What It Do! This week I want to shout-out my girl and the very, very funny comedian Tamiko Kirkland, straight out of COMPTON.

This talented young lady is the TRUTH. She is a loving wife and mother who is slaying folks all over the Inland Empire and beyond with the funnies. How they say keeping it real, that’s exactly what she does.

She is not afraid to talk about her personal relationships in her sets. Tamiko has a unique way of capturing the audience through her sassiness mixed with a little gangsta’, which keeps the crowd laughing. I have seen folks fall out of their chairs with laughter after she has told a joke. She can go there if need be too. Her joke about the SMART CAR is one of my favorites.

You can catch her performance this month at our LUE Productions “TOP COOK COMPETTION/COMEDY FUNDRAISER” as a judge on Friday, October 24 in San Bernardino at 114 S. Arrowhead Avenue. Tickets are on sale now for 8 bucks. Don’t miss out! You can find her performing in Barstow and Victorville this month as well.

I need everyone to pay attention to the name “TAMIKO KIRKLAND”! A COMEDY QUEEN ON THE RISE! I say it all the time that comedy is good for the soul. Laughter is something that is needed in everyone’s life. It’s a great stress reliever. Until next week! Please follow LUE Productions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter under LUE Productions. 1 LUV!

REDLANDS, CA- The “Pink and Green Divas” team of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc., Eta Nu Omega Chapter participated in the Stater Bros. 7^th Annual Believe Walk.  The walk benefits several cancer fighting organizations in the Inland Empire where Eta Nu Omega is chartered and their members reside.

“It is very important for us to participate in this walk because all of the funds generated will go to support cancer patients and their family’s right here in our community,” stated Team Captain Kimberly Isaac.

The members of Eta Nu Omega are very invested in health education and awareness and participate in many activities such as health fairs, monthly health education tips for members and even ran a Men’s Health Month campaign to spread the word about prostate cancer by visiting barbershops, men’s groups, and churches where they distributed materials from the Prostate Cancer Foundation. For future events, please visit www.etanuomega.org.