Dr. Judy White

MORENO VALLEY, CA- Dr. Judy D. White began her tenure as Superintendent for Moreno Valley Unified School District in February 2011 and immediately began connecting with the community, ultimately moving her family to the city. With over 35 years of experience in education she came in with a wealth of ideas and has embedded her heart and soul to the students and families of Moreno Valley.
She has procured several outside grants for literacy, volunteerism and closing the achievement gap. She serves on the Board for National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST), Moreno Valley Cultural Arts Commission, ACCESS to the Future, and United Way of the Inland Valleys and serves on the UCR Citizen’s Advisory Committee for Teacher Education.
She was recently awarded the 2013 Woman of the Year for Moreno Valley by the 61st District Assemblyman, José Medina. Some of her other involvements include Optimists, Relay for Life, Music Changing Lives and Fighting for the Family Ministries. She developed a formal Adopt-a-School program to engage the business and faith communities into the school district to support the students.
Dr. White embraces a united effort of “Excellence on Purpose” and has become known as an inspirational advocate for all students. She has made a name for herself in the community for reaching out, embracing change for the better and holding the district accountable for student success.
The Chamber would like to acknowledge all those who were nominated and thank them for their significant contribution to the growth and development of the City of Moreno Valley.

Nelson Mandela

Next week we will be releasing a special tribute issue on #NelsonMandala and we want to include quotes, statements, etc from our readers and the community on the achievements and legacy of Mr. Mandala. How has he impacted your life? How has he inspired you to change?

J Anthony Brown

LOS ANGELES, CA- J Anthony Brown and the J Spot Comedy Club will be hosting a Jazz and Comedy Art Exhibit entitled, ‘One Diva and the Dudes’, on December 6 to December 8. The featured artist will be Annie Lee along with Ken Gatewood, Larry Poncho Brown, John Toms, La Shun Beal, Melvin King, Charles Bibbs, Charlie Black, Frank Frazier, Andre Hines, Robert Stevenson and J Anthony Brown. On December 6 there will be a VIP reception and the exhibit will kick off at 6 p.m. An RSVP is required for this night. On December 7 at 4 p.m. there will be a question and answer session with the artists and the exhibit will start at 11 a.m. and go on all day, and on December 8, the exhibit will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, please visit www.janthonybrown.com or call 310-801-4503. The J Spot is located at 5581 W. Manchester Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90145.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- For those who love to travel and have the time, then you should be at the San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce information meeting where they will be discussing the details for a trip to Russia, cruising Moscow to St. Petersburg. The meeting will be taking place on Tuesday, December 3 at the Chamber office, 546 W. 6th Street, San Bernardino. The trip is scheduled for September 22 to October 4, 2014 and includes round trip airfare from LAX, 13 days, tour guides, cruise ship and port charges and 27 meals. The trip itinerary includes Moscow, Red Square, Volga River, St. Basil’s Cathedral, Blini and Caviar and the Kremlin with Armory Museum. In addition, there will also be local school and family home visits, a Piroshki Tea Party, a visit to the St. Petersburg Hermitage Museum, Vodka tasting and a visit to Catherine Palace and Kizhi Island. Those who are interested should attend the meeting where they will be given an information packet. To RSVP call Lupe Castaneda at 909-885-7515 or email sba.chamber@verizon.net.

LOS ANGELES, CA – Women of Color, Inc. will be presenting their 3rd Annual Girls Night Out, “Shopping 4 a Cause” (benefit fundraiser) on Thursday, December 5 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the California African American Museum, 600 State Drive (Exposition Park) in Los Angeles. This is a night to enjoy with you girls as you guys enjoy cocktails, live entertainment, gourmet foods and much more. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, which includes a gift bag. For more information, please call 310-674-6700 or visit www.woci.org.

Hey Inland Empire, it’s ya’ girl back with “What It Do with Lue!” So many families have been displaced and left out in the cold due to the downfall of the economy, and I truly believe that you haven’t lived until your experience the joy of helping someone in need. With that being said, our entertainment company, along with several others in the community and neighboring cities that came together to provide and distribute Thanksgiving meals for the homeless population in downtown San Bernardino.
We are living in harsh times and it is all about survival. While driving down the streets in downtown San Bernardino you will spot several makeshift homes located in dirt fields and under freeway passes. Our mission was to prepare and pass out 300 or more hot meals. I can’t begin to tell you how quick the plan manifested, and how giving people were.
I want to give a special thanks to the artists, entertainment companies, local businesses and LUE Productions artists (Paul Douglas and Speaker Junkiez), Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce, Fanbase Entertainment, Team SP (Sdot Freaky, Daneisha and Nya Banxx), PAC Entertainment (Misfit), B.A.F. Family (Chubbs), Westside Story Newspaper, Krystal Yvonne, Knock it Off Ladies Car Club, Stree Free Living (Lea Noir) Cold Cutz Barbershop (Mike), Freddie Washington Photography, Stene’s Southern Kitchen (Ruby Holmes), Three Kings Catering (Lawanna Lee) and Youth Build Charter School. (Photo by Naomi Bonman)

Tyrone Jones helped establish the Westside Nubians in 2007 to help stop the violence in his San Bernardino West Side community. The Nubians patrolled the streets, gave block parties and held community meetings with the goal of helping to keep the peace among the area’s youth. About six weeks ago, on October 14, Jones was shot while sitting in the carport of his home.  According to the police report, the killer leaned over and looked into Tyrone’s face before shooting him in the back of the head.  He is described as about 5 feet 8 inches tall, stocky, approximately 200 pounds and was seen wearing a black t-shirt and camouflage shorts. Tyrone stood up for his community. It is now time for someone to stand up for Tyrone!
If you have or think you have any information that can help capture Tyrone Jones’ killer, contact Sgt. Gary Robertson at the San Bernardino Police department.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Volunteers and staff from the San Bernardino Boys & Girls Club packed Thanksgiving food baskets for the underserved community on Tuesday, November 26. Over 500 food baskets were prepared and given away. Director of the Boys & Girls Club, A. Majadi, said that he was extremely proud of the volunteers and very thankful to the sponsors, and that this event was successful because of the support from the Community Action Partnership, The Westside Action Group and Stater Bros.

MORENO VALLEY, CA – The California School Boards Association (CSBA) recently recognized the Moreno Valley Unified School District as a winner of the prestigious Golden Bell Award for 2013. This award recognizes the academic success of Health Careers Academy on the campus of Canyon Springs High School. The CSBA recognized 59 public school programs in the state this year. It created the Golden Bell Awards program in 1980 to recognize innovative and successful programs that make a difference in students’ success, and focus on meeting the needs of all students. Health Careers Academy is the oldest of several vocational academies Moreno Valley Unified School District has created.
While students in these programs receive a well-rounded education, by following a recommended pathway of courses, they can either begin an entry-level career in their area of interest, or more easily transition to a college or university level education in the health career field after high school graduation. Students enter the Health Careers Academy as sophomores. In the academies, students have the same core requirements, such as English, social studies, and science as they would in a regular high school program, but take these courses from teachers at the academy. Students also take vocational education courses through the academy.  In the introductory course, Introduction to Health Care, students learn medical technology, learn how to take vital signs, research health careers, develop resumes and are certified in first aid and CPR. The academy also offers extra-curricular organizations.
The students usually have between 160 to 240 hours of internship experience by the time they graduate from high school. In the 2012-2013 school year, 27 of the 31 seniors had internships with either Riverside County Regional Medical Center, the Riverside County ROP/CTE, Charter Hospice or medical clinics.
“The Canyon Springs Health Careers Academy has consistently produced students with a plethora of knowledge, genuine concern about all health issues and most importantly a passion to be proactive and responsive,” Dr. White said. “The level of student engagement and compassion for others has propelled this program above the rest. Students participating in this program live and breathe commitment to health.”

LOS ANGELES, CA-  Transitioning to college will be a bit easier for 30 Los Angeles-area students as they receive a $1,000 college scholarship and a tablet, courtesy of Aio Wireless’ 30 Days, 30 Dreams program, designed to reinvigorate nonprofit programs that create opportunities for future leaders in the communities it serves, 30 Days, 30 Dreams enables Aio to collaborate with community-based organizations to identify the recipients. For more information visit www.aiowireless.com, www.facebook.com/aiowireless and www.twitter.com/aiowireless.