SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Yesterday, the Rail to Redlands Working Group held its fifth meeting in a continued effort to bring awareness and build public support for the Redlands Passenger Rail Line project.

Committee members heard a special presentation from the Deputy Executive Director John Standiford of the Riverside County Transit Commission and the lessons they have learned during the expansion of their Perris Valley line. “I wish we had formed a working group like this one before we started our expansion,” stated Standiford. “Finding champions such as you have found in ESRI founder, Jack Dangermond is crucial in being successful with such a major infrastructure expansion.”

Supervisor Ramos was pleased to have RCTC present at the meeting. “I think it is important to collaborate with Riverside County in finding common ground on ways to address some of our transportation challenges.  We need to look at our infrastructure needs from a regional viewpoint and work together to find solutions.”

The working group also viewed a short video clip from Mr. Dangermond where he expressed his strong support of the Redlands Passenger Rail Line. This video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PPrhTxpH1s.  Also in progress is the development of a website for the working group as well as social media outlets.

Mitch Alderman, Director of Transit/Rail Programs at SANBAG, provided an update on the status of the rail project.  In the upcoming months, public hearings will be conducted on the Environmental Impact Statement and the Environmental Impact Report where public comment will be requested. More information can be found at http://www.sanbag.ca.gov/projects/redlands-transit.html.

As always, members of the public were able to provide comments and ask questions at the end of the meeting. Ryan Berk, founder of A La Minute in Redlands, was present at the meeting where he offered support for this project. “As local business owners, I feel it is our job to beautify the City of Redlands and bring a sense of uniqueness to attract visitors to our downtown area. I am very much in support of this project and what it will do for our local economy.”

The next Rail to Redlands Working Group meeting will be held on November 13, 2014, location TBD.  To contact the Rail to Redlands Working Group, please send an email to rail2redlandsworkinggroup@gmail.com.

LOS ANGELES, CA-The California African American Museum (CAAM) encourages all independent filmmakers to submit their short films to be featured in CAAM’s fourth annual Shorts at CAAM. Directors, producers, writers, actors, and editors will be given the opportunity to showcase their work to new and diverse audiences, and speak about the creativity that sparked each film. Shorts at CAAM begins Saturday, August 16 through Sunday, August 17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Submissions accepted will include short films, web-series, narratives, documentaries and music videos which cannot exceed 30-minutes in length.  All films screened are made with an adult audience in mind.

This year’s Shorts at CAAM will feature films by Evita Castine, Dawn Westlake, Moon Molson, David Berget, among others. All film submissions must be mailed to Elise Woodson at 600 State Drive, Exposition Park and must include two copies, by 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 31.  For more information, please contact Elise Woodson at (213) 744-7536.

This event is free and open to the public. CAAM is located at 600 State Drive in Exposition Park. Parking is $10.00 and located at 39th and Figueroa Streets. For more information on CAAM, please visit www.caamuseum.org.

RIALTO, CA- Amos Temple presents the 3^rd Annual Jazz Gospel Dinner Celebration on Saturday, July 26 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., come to the beautiful Benedict Castle in Riverside. The cost is $55 per person and the attire is all white. Call Latanya for more information at (951) 675-0897 (By Noelle Lilley).

Linda L. Smith

RIVERSIDE, CA- If you missed it the first time, no fret you have a second chance to view the documentary film by Reginald D. Brown entitled, “A Profile in Courage: Linda L. Smith”, on Sunday, July 27 at 5 p.m. at The Box located at 3801 Mission Inn Avenue in Riverside. The documentary goes behind the scenes of Smith’s journey to success as the CEO and Founder of Four-D College in Colton. General admission is $8, and students and senior citizens are $5. Tickets will be sold at the door, no pre-sales. Bring a friend or two and enjoy a nice, relaxed evening out.

BOTTOMLINE: Publisher’s Commentary…By Wallace J. Allen

If you are a business person, you are possibly able to supply a service or product to one of the countries in Africa. Africa is host to six of the top ten fastest growing economies in the world! Almost all goods are imported in Africa. You do not have to manufacture in order to be a supplier. You can learn the export process and meet people that you can do business with by attending the Summit.

Africa is looking for American companies to do business with; for example, there is a 7 billion dollar funding initiative to help double power generation capacity in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and Tanzania, which includes oil and gas funding support in Uganda and Mozambique.

The African Global Economic & Development Summit 2014 is featuring the following industries: Power Generation; Mining; Renewable Energy; Oil and Gas; Bio Fuels; Finance; Agriculture; Telecommunications; Building Construction and Development; Environmental Remediation; Medical Facilities; Education; Public Works; Hospitality; and Wastewater Treatment.

If you are interested in doing business in Africa, you are encouraged to attend the summit on Thursday, August 7 at 7 a.m. to Saturday, August 9 at 5 p.m. The event will be held at the University of Southern California (USC)/ (Hedco Auditorium – Seeley G. Mudd Building) located at3620 McClintock Avenue in Los Angeles (90089). Use entrance 6 off of Vermont Avenue and 36^th Place.

For more information, call Mary Flowers at (909) 396-5141.

BATB SWAG Lounge 2014 Team

LOS ANGELES, CA-Last Tuesday on July 15, Westside Story News Editor, Naomi K. Bonman, had the pleasure of working alongside a fabulous group of people Trea Day Management and Publicity and BMB Entertainment held the 2nd installment of the Beauty and The Beast SWAG Lounge in honor of the 2014 ESPYS at Red Carpet Systems in downtown Los Angeles where over 250 special guests attended.

The luxurious event was hosted by Michael Johnson of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Grammy Nominated artist Charli Baltimore, China Upshaw of WEtv’s LA Hair, RaVaughn Brown and the LA Temptations football team. The event also celebrated the 10 year anniversary of producer and founder Trea Davenport‘s boutique PR and reputation management agency, Trea Day PR.

The BEAST and BEAUTY themed party featured celebrities and special guests such as pro athletes, daytime soap stars, reality TV personalities, actors and performers from a variety of entertainment sources. Some of these stars included: Gary Owen, Think Like a Man Too; Claudette Ortiz, former member of City High and TV One’s R&B Diva’s LA; Sundy Carter, VH1?s Basketball Wives LA; Cocoa Brown (OWN’s  For Better or For Worse; actress Nancy Lascala; Kelly Perine, (UPN’s One On One); Cornelius Grant, original member of the Temptations; Glen Davis, LA Clippers; and a handful of others.

In lieu of the red carpet, there were special performances by singer/songwriter RaVaughn Brown; BET Comic View’s Hope Flood; a few indie acts; and 90s R&B royalty Brownstone reunited after 20 years to pay tribute to group founder Nicci Gilbert‘s (Co-creator of TV One’s R&B Divas) lifelong friend, Trea Davenport, noted industry fixer and PR Maven, for a decade of service to her clients.

Other festivities included an awareness opportunity for Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Michael Johnson’s MJ93 Fund, which promotes youth involvement in athletic and fitness activities and educational support programs. Johnson, a long time Trea Day PR client, was honored with 2014 Beauty & The Beast “Savage of Service” Award.

Johnson wasn’t the only one that walked away with something special from BATB 2014. VIPs enjoyed SWAG gifts bags from a variety of sponsors at the event. For more information on TREA DAY PR, please visit treadaypr.tumblr.com.

From left to right: WSS intern Noelle Lilley; rising musician Philip Michael Jr.; WSS editor Naomi Bonman; WSS intern Mitchell Young; and WSS intern Ernest Carter

SAN BERNARDINO, CA – Philip Michael Thomas Jr., son of popular 80s TV series Miami Vice actor, was coddled at birth by the likes of legends Betty Wright and the Bob Marley Family. Entertainment runs through his veins.

After perfecting his craft and recording over 10 albums worth of material with some of music’s elite Grammy Award winners which include Akon, Tank, and Shakespeare; there is little mystery why this universal artist has such a diverse sound and fan base.

The Westside Story News team had the pleasure of interviewing the rising star where he shared his successful endeavors, what he is currently working on and what he has in store for his fans in the future. To view the interview, please click here.

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

It’s a darn shame that some of us have to hit rock bottom before God can get our attention. But it is only when the bottom falls out that we finally look up and cry out to God in desperation. Years ago I heard it said this way: “You’ll never know if Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have. When Jesus is all you have, then you will know that Jesus is all you need.”  Man do I know that all too well. I have hit rock bottom several times throughout my lifetime, and I am sure many of you have too. Those times when sorrow seems to overpower, or self-pity has you in its clutches. Those times when you feel the most helpless to benefit those you love, or yourself. Those periods when you sense that trying to rectify your circumstances is pointless, and you lose all hope. You understand the feeling. We all have moments when we have that devastating desire to throw in the towel and give up. That feeling that being happy is impossible, and accepting that life is too difficult seems like the solution. After striving and vowing in your own strength… then failing… after piously telling others how to act …then failing…after judging others… then failing. Times when it seem like everything goes wrong and the bottom falls out of life. I tell you, Hitting rock bottom is hard! And when you’re at the bottom, life is not quiet and peaceful, serene and orderly; life is crowded and dark, scary and disordered. 

We expect life to have a few bumps, but not constant roller-coaster rides full of pain, misery and bruises, one after another, after another and another. Suffering and sorrow are a part of life, but knowing this, however, do not make it any easier to cope with when you find yourself in the midst of the deepest, darkest trials of faith. If you are suffering to the point of despair, let these words of encouragement help you hang on to your faith. The good news is in the Scripture. God says, “I have observed the misery of my people… I have heard their cry… I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them” (Exodus 3. 7-8).

God’s word is full of examples of men and women who hit rock bottom: David, Elijah, Manasseh, Jonah, Judas, The Rich Young Ruler, Tax Collectors and Sinners, the Sinful Woman, the Prodigal Son, Job, Peter and Paul just to name a few. Elijah’s rock bottom was different from Jonah’s, which was different from the Prodigal’s Son, which was different than Paul’s. You know, when I was in a pit, I thought that if I could just get my act together I would be okay and just snap out of it and be healed. That process took over 3 years and the whole time I was too stubborn to surrender it all to God, but the moment I let go, life became so much more joyful and finally I saw the worth in living life again. In those times when your joy or abilities are stripped away and you realize that all you have left is Jesus, you’ll discover, as I have, that Jesus is all you need. When I was so far down that all I could do was look up, I always found that God was there with me. Perhaps this is the only answer I have to offer to the perplexing question of God’s presence in the tragedies of our lives. Scriptures affirm that God will always compassionately respond. But we want miracles. We want answers. We want all those things which seldom seem to come our way. Until we step back; until the emotions have been rescued from anxiety; until confusion has been transformed into calm; only then will we realize, even at the bottom of our barrel, God was, and God is, always there.

When God finally got a hold of my heart and opened my eyes I saw the situation in a whole new way and realized that although it was a hard few years, He had still protected me and I came out stronger, knowing the purpose and mission in ministry He had for me. {When a person hits rock bottom, and they reach the lowest point in their lives, they are awakened to the reality that their lives must change}. God brought beauty from ashes. And the amazing thing about God is that His power is never ending and has no limits. He will go through everything with us, so if you take a leap of faith and turn the moments of weakness into moments of total surrender, God will use you to do awesome things to further His kingdom! So rather than being discouraged, be encouraged, remembering the promise of God, that He will work all things together for good for those who love Him.

Today, if you’ve hit rock bottom, call out to God. If you have not come to Jesus, let today be your rock bottom. If you are weary, tired, discouraged, need a fresh start, if you know your life is going nowhere, if you want your sins forgiven, if you want to know God, drop what you are doing and surrender to the Lord. Don’t delay, don’t put it off, and don’t make any excuses. Drop everything and do it now!  Do it right now!  You do not have to be like the Manasseh or the Prodigal Son; you do not have to go that low before you open your eyes to Christ. You can be like Paul or the Philippians Jailer, have a crisis of conscience, and give your life to Christ today.

I want you to know that my journey contains glimpses into the most real places of my heart as it intersects with God, others, and the world around me. My paths have often taken unexpected twists and turns. As I walk those paths, I deeply long too share in such a way that will strengthen and encourage those who travel with me. Hope you’ll join me on the journey. I invite your comments and love it when you recommend www.wssnews.com to your friends.

H. Frank Dominguez Elementary School

San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) will welcome students back for classes on Monday, August 4, the same day it opens the new H. Frank Dominguez Elementary School and the renamed W. R. “Bob” Holcomb Elementary School.

Dominguez Elementary School, located at 135 S. Allen Street, will serve 408 students in grades kindergarten through six. It is named for Vanir Group of Companies founder H. Frank Dominguez, who passed away in 2004 and left a legacy of community and philanthropic service.

Dominguez Elementary will be an exploratory school, where students will begin learning about potential careers while developing 21st-Century skills, like creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and civility, said Principal Alejandro Hernandez.

“We’re not going to put limits on our students,” said Hernandez, who previously served as principal of Muscoy Elementary School. “Our job is to help them explore the world and find their passion, whether it be engineering or culinary arts.”

Dominguez Elementary will hold a weeklong open house for parents and students starting on July 28 from 9 to 11 a.m., Monday through Friday.

The former Little Mountain Elementary campus, located at 1345 West 48th Street in San Bernardino’s north end, has been renamed W. R. “Bob” Holcomb Elementary School in memory of the man who went on to become the city’s longest-serving mayor.  Holcomb, who championed civil rights and helped bring Cal State San Bernardino to the city, died in 2010.

Superintendent Dr. Dale Marsden believes both schools will be a renewed source of pride and hope for San Bernardino.

“The namesakes of these two schools were great community leaders who dedicated their lives to instilling hope in our city,” Marsden said.  “Their legacy will remain alive as students learn about them and are inspired to aim for a bright future of their own.”

LtoR-Natia Martin, Sydne Soloman,Chelsey Gore of Nashville ,Tenn-Nighthawks

Photos and story Earl Heath

FORT COLLIN, CO-As summer seasons brings out the best in most of us, Triple Crowns Sports brings together the best young softball from around  the country and  the world. The Sparkler tournament for ages 16U and 18U had more than 500 teams from the USA, Guam, Canada and Australia.

The Junior Sparkler (14U and 12U) took place in the Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley area. It had more than 200 teams from 38 different states. The tournament had some of the most talented young people anywhere. We will bring you some of the highlight of the Junior Sparkler.

The Players included The Nashville Night Hawks 14U who had a trio that would make many college coaches take notice. Shortstop Chelsey Gore made back handed plays, threw runners out from deep in the hole and on offense had several stolen bases.

“The tournament gives me a chance to play with my friends,” said Gore. “We get a chance to be together and show what we can do as a team.”

Gores father has a horse farm with some 15 horses and she likes horseback riding during her spare time.

 “The game is fun for me” said 14 year old Syde Soloman. “I really like playing with my friends, we all help each other out.” Soloman plays catcher and third base for the Nighthawks. She bats clean-up and is a true leader- her teammates look up to her for inspiration. She already has plans for the future. “I want to play college softball. I like Florida I’ve seen them on TV I think it would be a cool place to play.”

Nataia Martin is the third member of the fantastic trio. The athletic center fielder excelled on offense and defense. She played center-field like a seasoned pro. She chased down line drives that appeared to be hits. In two games she threw out two runners headed to third base and gunned down two more headed for home.

 “I practiced long tossing  with my 12 year-old sister,” said Martin. “That helped me make accurate throws in a game.”

She has jackrabbit speed – She scored all the way from first base on a single to the outfield. She’s is extremely athletic as a freshman played on the girls varsity basketball team at Bowling Green (KY) High School.

 “I want to play softball and basketball in college. This tournament gives all of us good exposure”.