SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The Diocese of San Bernardino held their Migrant Mass at our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral this past Sunday. Bishop Barnes celebrated the mass with priest and practitioners from all over the diocese. During the homily Bishop Barnes emphasized the importance of the census and our role as people of faith.

“This year we are going to have the census, and, in the census, everybody counts, everybody!” Bishop Barnes explains. “So that the benefits can come to everyone, so we are going to help promote the census.”

Leaders from Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC) were in attendance to collect pledge cards from churchgoers as they left mass. Collecting over 80 pledges. The census is important because it gives everyone a voice no matter their immigration status. Parent and youth organizers with ICUC helped organize the collection of census pledge cards.

“We are all a part of this community and we all belong, we all deserve to be counted,” Miguel Rivera, ICUC Organizer, states. “Let’s bring in the resources that we need for our communities. Having the bishop pledge to do the census is an honor and it shows just how important it is.”

If you would like to learn more about the census, please visit censusie.org.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Mr. Joseph G. Paulino, Chief of Police for San Bernardino City Unified School District Police Department spoke to participants of the Social Lites, Inc. Beautillion program on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at the Center for Youth in San Bernardino on leadership and facts about police youth contact.  Chief Paulino emphasized, “when people see you they see your history” using visuals of his identification cards from grade school, middle school, high school, military, and current identification card as Chief of Police.  Future leaders were encouraged to guard their history.  It was important for future leaders to be reminded, “don’t let an uninformed person speak into your life.”  As leaders, Chief Paulino shared the importance of relationships, “it’s not who you know, but who knows you.”

Mr. Neuman Sneed II, Sir Knight 2019, sophomore at University Merced also guest speaker was in the audience prior to speaking appreciated Chief Paulino words of wisdom.  Sneed II entered college as a sophomore. He shared with future leaders “college is hard.” He earned an Associate of Arts Degree while in high school and assumed college would not be as challenging as earning the AA degree while in high school.  Sneed II plans to be an Optometrist.  He shared living on his own, experiencing dormitory life, learning various faculty style has been challenging, one in which he welcomes and looks forward in the upcoming semester.  Both Chief Paulino and Mr. Sneed II inspired the youth to “be good stewards as they pursue their goals in life.”

The 2029/2020 Beautillion Scholarship program will commence on Saturday, March 28, 2020.  For more information regarding the Beautillion Scholarship Program, please telephone chairperson, Mrs. Tina Darling at tribicu2@msn.com or Ms. Lisa Blacksher, President at lisasocialities@gmail.com or Mrs. Bettye Brewster, Business Manager, bettyebrewster@yahoo.com

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- San Bernardino Valley College welcomed Senator Connie Leyva and Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes for a ceremonial presentation of a $35 million check towards the renovation of the Applied Technology building on campus.

After championing the building’s renovation as a state budget priority earlier this year, these elected officials celebrated the project with other dignitaries on the grounds that will house a new 21st century training center for Inland Empire students. The $35 million check matches the state funds approved to build this nearly 100,000-square-foot modern career training hub, where students will receive the necessary preparation to sharpen their skill sets to meet the needs of today’s tech economy. Built in 1964, the current 78,000-square-foot technical facility is one of the oldest on campus. With the $70 million in state and Measure CC funds, it will be a huge boon for SBVC students to be able to not only learn but do hands-on training with state-of-the-art equipment. 

“A new cutting-edge job training facility will elevate career technical education training in the Inland Empire and create pathways to the highly skilled, good paying jobs that our communities deserve,” said Senator Leyva to the San Bernardino Community College District. “I am proud to partner with Assemblymember Reyes and SBVC to bring good jobs and quality public education to the Inland Empire.”

Approved by 61 percent of voters last year, Measure CC will generate $470 million for upgrades to classrooms and job training facilities in the San Bernardino Community College District. The new Applied Technology Building is expected to begin construction in July 2021, with its final debut anticipated for 2023.

To learn more about San Bernardino Valley College, visit www.valleycollege.edu. 

By Joseph Hammond, Urban News Service (A Division Zenger News)

Claressa Shields made boxing history in Atlantic City on January 10th when she earned a third world title becoming the quickest fighter ever in the sport to win world titles in three different weight classes in just 10 fights. The Michigan pugilist is set to have a breakout year with a Hollywood biopic and cross-over fights in the UFC set to take place.

Recently, Shields earned a dominate win over Croatia’s Ivana Habazin to earn the WBC and WBO junior middleweight titles. Shields had promised to knockout Habazin but, had to settle for an unanimous decision victory. Earlier she won the middleweight and super-middleweight titles.

“Congratulations to Clarissa Shields, the 2019 Women’s Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year, and now the quickest fighter, male or female, to win world titles in 3 different divisions,” tweeted Tennis icon Billie Jean King.

The Urban News Service caught up with Shields in London earlier this month, where she was doing her final training for the the Habazin fight.

London has been good to Shields where she became the youngest Olympic boxing champion since 1924 when she won a gold-medal there in 2012 at the age of 17. In 2016, she won a second Olympic gold medal at the Rio Olympics becoming the only American boxer to win multiple gold medals in the sport.

During an interview at a fight card held at York Hall, a historic venue dating to the 1929, which is the heart of the London boxing scene, Shields acknowledged her close ties to the United Kingdom.

“I love the fans – the York Hall fans, the British fans, I would love to fight here in the United Kingdom,” said Shields. “I love the atmosphere here. Maybe in 2020 or the year after she said.”

Many female boxers come to the sport from comfortable middle-class backgrounds. Shields’s life hasn’t been easy. Her life story is one of turning to tragedy to triumph. Born in Flint, Michigan, a town full of poverty, despair and though it was not known at the time, poisoned water. Her father spent time in prison for dealing drugs and she didn’t start speaking until the age of five. That same year she was molested by one of her alcoholic mother’s boyfriends.

She was picked-on at school and started boxing at age 11. She chooses the sport after overhearing her father lament he had never pursued his passion for the sport – though he initially objected to her boxing dreams. Despite that she soon joined a gym where she was the only female fighter. In boxing she found personal resilience and found further strength when at 13 she was baptized into a local church.

Not surprisingly her rise through adversity to world champion has attracted the interest of Hollywood filmmakers who are looking to turn the life of the 24-year-old into a major feature film. It was announced last year that Ryan Destiny, perhaps best known for her role in Fox’s television show “Star,” will play Claressa Shields in Universal’s biopic “Flint Strong” which is currently in production.

The fight most British fans would like to see is a rematch between Shields and the United Kingdom’s Savannah Marshal. Marshal defeated Shields in the amateurs. By chance the two crossed paths at the York Hall event and posed for a promotional stare down.

The leading boxing promotional agency MTK Global released a press-release after the encounter in which Marshal described being “amused” by the face-off with Shields, “our rematch could 100% be the biggest fight in women’s boxing,” she said.

As a professional, Marshal, like Shields, is undefeated. While Shields has accomplished more in her brief boxing career, Marshall at least according to their professional records, could be the harder puncher. Shields has 10 wins with two coming via knockout.  Six of Marshall’s eight wins have come by  knockout.

Another potential blockbuster fight in her future could be with UFC star Amanda Nunes. Shields is training for a mixed-martial arts debut later this year. If all goes well, she would like to fight a series of fights – one in the boxing ring and one in the UFC octagon against the Nunes. Shields believes such fights could have a cross-over appeal similar to the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Connor MacGregor fight in 2017.

 “My [MMA] debut is going to happen, and that fight is most likely going to be in September and October,” she told Urban News Service. Shields will most likely take a tune-up fight in the octagon before challenging Nunes.

As a child, Shields was teased over her skinny arms and called “T-Rex” after the proportions of that extinct dinosaur. Shields has embraced the name as ring moniker, but her recent ring victories have led her to start using a new nickname “GWOAT” the acronym for “Greatest Woman of All Time.”

By California Black Media

Next year, expect big fights among state government officials and your representatives in the state legislature about how the huge windfall of cash in the state’s savings account should be spent.

California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) recently predicted that the state will have a $7 billion surplus by the end of this fiscal year. The following year, California’s savings account is projected to grow to more than $18 billion.

“As Washington soaks Americans with a trillion dollars in debt to pay for tax cuts that benefit the wealthy and destroys the social safety net, our state is now doing more than ever before to provide opportunity for all California families, especially those who are not equally sharing in our nation’s prosperity,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom, responding to the news.

 “We are taking important steps so that growth is broadly shared, doing it all while saving record amounts for a rainy day,” he added.

The LAO is recommending that legislators commit no more than $1 billion of the “estimated $7 billion surplus to ongoing purposes in 2020?21.”

Last fiscal year, California had a record-breaking $21.5 billion surplus of which the state spent about half on paying down the debt and bolstering reserves. It invested about $4 billion on ongoing projects and used to rest to fund one-time programs, including initiatives to solve the state’s homelessness crisis.

By state law, the governor has until January 10, 2020, to present his initial budget to the legislature.

By Lou Yeboah

“… I’m not after the blessings ¬ I’m not after things ¬ I’m after Your presence.  My hands are raised because¬ I surrender¬ After coming to grips with the reality¬ that You love me so much so¬ that You thought I was worth saving¬ You thought I was worth keeping¬ You thought I was worth dying for¬ that You sacrificed Your life¬ so that I can be free ¬ so that I can be whole ¬ so that I can tell everyone I know ¬ Love lifted me when nothing else could have¬  Lord, I tell you, all I want is You¬ You are my God and my hallelujah belongs to You, and You only. So withholding nothing – I Surrender ¬ Everything I give to You¬ I give myself away so that You can use me¬ My life doesn’t belong to me¬ My life is not my own¬ To You I belong¬ Fill me up Lord¬ until I overflow¬ I’m hungry¬ I’m thirsty¬ I’m desperate for You¬ take my heart¬ take my life¬ as a living sacrifice¬ all my dreams¬ all my plans¬ Lord I place them in Your hands¬  Here I am to worship¬ here I am to bow down¬ here I am to say that You’re my God – For You are altogether lovely¬ altogether worthy¬ altogether wonderful to me¬ and all of my days I’m gonna serve you. Wherever you want me to go Jesus, I’m gonna go¬ Whatever you tell me to say, I’m gonna say it¬ I’m gonna move when you tell me to move¬  Have Thine own way Oh Lord¬ Thou art the Potter¬ I am the clay¬ mold me and make me after Thy will¬ while I am waiting yielded and still.”

Oh, I tell you, when I think about the goodness of God, my soul cries Abba Father. Sometimes, I can feel overwhelmed when I realize how much sin and wrong I have done in my life. I think of the time when I rejected what God wanted me to do. I rebelled against His authority. But then I remembered, that “where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more” [Romans 5:20]. Only God has been able to make payment for my sin. Only God has been able to put me in a right relationship with Him. God did this through the death of His Son Jesus on the cross. So when I say My hallelujah belongs to Him ¬ My hallelujah belongs to Him! He is the reason for my being, and He deserves all my love ¬ all my adoration ¬ all my devotion ¬ all my praise ¬ all my worship ¬ all my obedience ¬ my everything. Ultimately, I owe my life to Him.

Tell me, have you every thought of God as generous towards you? Can you believe that when He looks at you with all your baggage, all your junk, all your hang-ups, He says, “I want to be generous to you. I can’t wait to pour out on you that which will make you happy – not because you deserve it, but because there’s something about Who I am that loves to overflow in extravagant ways upon you. He gives us grace – [what we don’t deserve] and extends mercy – [not giving us what we do deserve] – We are indeed blessed by God. How majestic He is – how loving patient, and kind He is. How gracious He is – How he puts up with us and blesses us in spite of ourselves.

I tell you as the Jews were so moved by what the Lord had done in them and for them that they could not contain their praise for Him, I’m too awestruck for what the Lord has done for me. I praise Him because of one reason: He is worthy! You see, God moved in grace and power to deliver my soul from the torment and bondage of my sins. He delivered me from an eternity in Hell and He adopted me into his family when He saved me out of the shame, sentence, and sorrow of my sins.

I tell you, He is worthy. He is worthy of our love. He is worthy of our devotion. He is worthy of our obedience. He is worthy of everything we can offer to Him. Therefore, I challenge you to praise the Lord and to magnify His name. When we praise Him we acknowledge that we are nothing without Him. – we give Him homage, respect, reverence for loving us when we are so undeserving of that love. David said I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. David understood clearly his shortcoming – He knew he was messed up – He knew he was wretched before a Holy God and that his righteousness was filthy – but He blessed God because he recognized that God loved Him in spite of his way.

I tell you, there is no reason in us that he should bless us. He has every reason to justly destroy us. Yet he chooses to bless us and put his name on us and claim us as his own. We ought to praise God for being God… merciful, just, righteous, holy, omnipotent, immutable. It is a prayer of nothing but praise to God. There is no supplication, no request, no petition or plea in this prayer. It is pure unadulterated praise to God. We need to give great consideration to this because He deserves it! 

If you believe that He deserves it, “…Lift your hands wherever you are, and tell the Lord Yes¬ Tell Him, you won’t be afraid¬ You’ll step out on His Word and declare His glory¬ Open up your heart and tell the Lord Yes¬ Say Yes¬ Say I’ll obey Jesus¬ I won’t stray Jesus. This time I’ve made up my mind¬ I’ll say Yes¬ My soul says Yes¬ My mind says Yes¬ My heart says Yes¬ Yes, I’ll do what you want me to do¬ I’ll say what you want me to say¬ I’ll go, if you lead me¬ Yes I will¬ I wanna do your will Jesus¬ I wanna do your will¬ My soul says, Yes!

“…Flowing from my heart are the issues of my heart is¬ Gratefulness…” All I want is You Lord!

Excepts: [You Deserve It – J. J. Hairston & Youthful Praise] … [Worth – Anthony Brown & group therAPY]…[Tasha Cobbs Leonard – You Know My Name ft. Jim Cravity]… [Tasha Cobbs – Fill Me Up Until I Overflow]…  [I Give Myself Away/Here I Am to Worship – William McDowell]…  [Withholding Nothing Medley] [Yes – Shekinah Glory Ministry][Truth in You – Anthony Brown & group therAPY][Grateful (Reprise) – Hezekiah Walker & LFC]

 RIALTO, CA – Under the authority of the Board President, President Channing Hawkins initiated a special meeting to review and scrutinize professional services contracts. The direction by the Board President is the next step of strengthening transparency and accountability at West Valley Water District. 

President Channing Hawkins stated, “As President, I will continue moving forward in ensuring our community and ratepayers are given the opportunity they deserve to review, scrutinize, and provide input on how their funds are spent.” He added, “This is an additional step I have directed towards achieving the Transparency Certificate of Excellence.” 

The special meeting held by the Board was live streamed for the public view. It provided the public and ratepayers an opportunity to review contracts approved by the Board or within the $25,000 authority allowed by the General Manager per district policies. Fifteen contracts were reviewed or considered by the Board, which included professional services for software integration, engineering, and employee recruitment among others. 

Vice President Kyle Crowther stated, “Together, our Board of Directors are moving to develop new policies and procedures to ensure the ratepayers funds are spent wisely. We will hold consultants accountable for their agreements with the District.” 

During the meeting, the Board of Directors sought additional information and clarification for scope of services, length of agreements, and a timeline of deliverables. The public scrutiny by the Board is historic as continued action is taken towards gaining the public trust. 

On December 19, 2019, the Board of Directors took action to immediately develop a plan towards earning the distinguished Transparency Certificate of Excellence. The certificate is recognized by the Special District Leadership Foundation (SDLF). These steps include: 

? applying for a Transparency Certificate of Excellence Award. The certificate covers all general, website and outreach best practices and requirements regarding transparency for special districts. The certificate is administered by the SDLF, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides recognition and certifications to special districts and officials to enhance services to the public. 

? live-streaming the meeting for customers and community stakeholders. New meetings and workshops will now be live-streamed for the public on the WVWD website and Facebook page. 

? producing digital copies of Board of Directors meetings for the public in compliance with the California Public Records Act. 

? publishing a master calendar for scheduled meetings of the Board of Directors and Committees. 

? reviewing our human resources policies. The agency will be conducting a hiring freeze while we are taking action to ensure our policies are fair, transparent, and consistent. 

? review and scrutinize third party consultant/professional services contracts in special public meeting. 

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- A weekend of celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. life and legacy started on Saturday, January 18, 2020 for the participants of the Social Lites, Inc. Beautillion program learning from Mr. Derek Williams, Chief of Police for the City of Ontario and ending on Monday, January 20, 2020 performing community service at the 40th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. prayer breakfast held at California State University, San Bernardino Coussoulis Arena.  Dr. Anthony Blacksher professor at San Bernardino Valley College, former Beautillion Sir Knight  who took time to mentor young men in the program along with Mr. Rikke Van Johnson, former Knight and Councilmember for the City of San Bernardino along with Mr. Hardy Brown II, San Bernardino County Board of Education Trustee.  It takes a village to help youth become the best of the best.  “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’

The Beautillion Knights and their court (Fairmaidens, Squires, and Pages) are participants in a mentorship program sponsored by The Social Lites, Inc. of San Bernardino. The five-month extracurricular program centered around academic and community service projects, is focused on leadership, character, life development skills and health education for students of color from elementary to high school.  

The 2019/2020 Beautillion Scholarship Program is in its 53^rd year.  The program will commence on Saturday, March 28, 2020 at the National Orange Show of San Bernardino.

For more information regarding the Beautillion Scholarship Program, please telephone chairperson, Mrs. Tina Darling at tribicu2@msn.com or Ms. Lisa Blacksher, President at lisasocialities@gmail.com or Mrs. Bettye Brewster, Business Manager, bettyebrewster@yahoo.com.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Redlands High School extended its record for San Bernardino County Mock Trial championships to 16 on Saturday, January 18 as it defeated Rancho Cucamonga in the 38th annual competition.

The victory marked Redlands’ fifth title in the past seven years as it advances to the state competition in March in Los Angeles.

For Rancho Cucamonga of the Chaffey Joint Union High School District, it was the team’s first time reaching the finals in the competition.

Presiding Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs congratulated both teams for their knowledge and determination during the two rounds of the finals held at the Foothill Law and Justice Center. County Superintendent Ted Alejandre also congratulated both teams for their spirited competition.

Approximately 450 students representing 32 high school teams have participated in the Mock Trial competition this year. This year’s case was the People v. Matsumoto, a murder case. The county Mock Trials competition is co-sponsored by the San Bernardino County 

Superintendent of Schools and the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office.

Under the direction of coach Donna St. George, team members for Redlands include: Julia Baroi, Santino Calvanico, Vidushi Dwivedi, Hailey Farrokhi, Isabella Farrokhi, Lauren Garcia, Ashlynn Lenertz, Alison Marshall, Emma Moralez, Luca Moralez, Anagha Nambisan, Ria Perencksik, Jude Rafter, Matthew Risley, Shaida Shahmohammady, Jackson Shamp and Neha Vijay. For Rancho Cucamonga and coach Arik Boles, team members are: Sebastian Bendezu, Anelly Brown, Brendan Carbone, Brian Donaldson, Riley Espaerza, Alexis Gamboa, Dylan Gono, Zane Gonzalez, Laila Khalilieh, Soffee Khalilieh, Uesli Kuli, Eisen Loc, Jett Otska, Karam Oumran, Lauren Roushin, Devon White and Ophelia White.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Experience a NEW renaissance inspired by Harlem’s late nights and hot jazz, at The Cotton Club 2020, Saturday, February 15. Come dressed in your 1920’s inspired attire and take a step into an unforgettable era of art, culture and music in the prestigious Renaissance Room at the National Orange Show, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Garrett Management Group (GMG), LLC is pulling out all the stops Valentine’s Day weekend, where guests will enjoy a divine 3-course dinner, dancing and dynamite jazz performances by j.dee and the Big Time Band, songstress Helena V. and Harlem Night Dancers. Guaranteed to be the hippest event of 2020!

Tickets are on-sale now and can be purchased at www.gmgevents.net, and for additional information by calling 1-866-514-3391. VIP Access is available for $100 where guests can expect to enjoy a 3-course pre-fixe dinner in the best seats in the house. VIP Access includes reserved seating, waiter service and a complimentary bottle of champagne at each table. A limited supply of VIP tickets is available, and guests are encouraged to purchase their tickets early. General Admission tickets are $75. General Admission tickets are available for a discounted rate of $70.00 when purchased as a group of 6 or more.

The Cotton Club 2020 celebrates a great turning point in history where blacks began to control their social culture, music and artistry– what is recognized as the Harlem Renaissance. GMG is not just creating the music from this era, but they are creating the space and platform to make it happen. The infamous jazz clubs of the 1920’s were usually run by white gangsters selling bootleg liquor during Prohibition. Black people were not typically stakeholders in the clubs where they performed. However, this Cotton Club is from the black perspective, OUR point of view—reclaiming what makes us great. The event also allows a younger generation to experience the rich history of the Harlem Renaissance. GMG understands this event is different than anything else they have produced. “We’re recreating a historic moment in time, says Managing Partner, Alton Garrett. “From the fashion and costumes of the evening, it is the personal participation that will drive the excitement and energy around this event. Better believe people are going to show up and show out!”