Swimming_Lessons

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- For those “fish” in the family who are of age 11-14 years, the Jerry Lewis Family Swim Center at Perris Hill Park will offer the Junior Lifeguard Program with three-week swimming lessons. This can be a first step toward employment opportunities as a lifeguard. The Swim Center offers “learn-to-swim” lessons for youth ages 3 to 17 years old. City Parks and Recreation’ Beverage Exchange Program provides bottled water and unsweetened tea in exchange for sugary beverages (sodas, juices) as a part of the Network for a Healthy California’s “Rethink Your Drink” campaign at the Jerry Lewis Family Swim Center from 12 noon to 5:30 p.m.

Open recreational swimming is available at the Hernandez, Mill, and Nunez Pools, with open swim afternoon sessions Mondays through Saturdays.  Low-income residents are encouraged to attend FREE learn-to-swim classes and apply for FREE family swim passes at the Hernandez and Mill Pools (Scholarships are available.) Programs supported by a Kaiser Permanente So. Cal. Grant.  Register for swim lessons at the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Dept. main office at 201 North E Street, Suite 301, 3rd Floor (corner of 2nd & E), San Bernardino, CA.  Information: 909-384-5233.

Summer_Day_Camp

REDLANDS, CA – Registrations are being accepted for San Bernardino County Museum Summer Day Camp sessions in late June and July. Each week-long (5-days, Monday through Friday) session at the museum is from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for children ages 7 to 12. Campers will be engaged in our cultural and natural history while expressing their individual creativity. Fee: $155 per child ($135 per child for members of the Museum Association). Registration forms are available at the museum’s front desk or on line at www.sbcounty.gov/museum or call 909- 307-2669. A limited number of scholarships are available by application through the museum’s Education Division. for information. Session 1, June 24 to June 28: Exploring Animals Around Us. Session 2, July 8 to July 12: Playing with History.Session 3, July 15 to July 19: Paper Creations in Art. Session 4, July 22 to July 26: Make It, Play It, Take It, Share It. The San Bernardino County Museum is located at 2024 Orange Tree Ln, Redlands, CA 92374. Information: www.sbcounty.gov/museum or 909-307-2669 ext. 256.

Catholic_Charities_Summer_Meals

Started June 3 and Ends August 2

Catholic Charities Offers a Free Summer Food Program

at the Focus 92411 Hope in the City Youth Center

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Catholic Charities of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties will provide a FREE Summer Food Program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture this summer at the Focus 92411 Hope in the City Youth Center located at 1859 Western Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92411.  The program will operate during the lunch hour from 12 noon until 1 p.m. In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. For more information about the summer meals program, call 909- 806-1544.

Renea Wickman

Denise Fleming

MORENO VALLEY, CA— The California Democratic Party African American Caucus (CDPAAC) will host a “Family Reunion Project” to bring the Black and African American community together for educational purposes surrounding Get Out The Vote (GOTV), Voter Registration, Community Outreach, Community Resources, establish a Political Database, and Increase Membership of each organization represented by the Coalition.  Organizers are anticipating 100-200 guests for a fun and informative experience.  The event is scheduled for August 31, 2013 at Celebration Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  There will be a stage area available in the park for entertainment and focus purposes.

The entertainment will be informational speakers, including local Politicians, Pastors, Dignitaries, representatives of Social Service agencies and organizations, members of the African American Caucus, Business Owners, the National Congress Negro Women, the National Council Black Women, the local chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Cops and Clergy Representatives, Area Fraternity and Sorority chapters, Young Black Contractors Association, as well as local DJs who can be instrumental in getting out the youth vote.

Free food and drinks will be offered.  However, families are encouraged to bring their own food and park recreational items. No vendors are allowed.  Celebration Park is located at 4965 Morgan Avenue, Moreno Valley, CA 92555.  For more information or to co-sponsor the event, contact Black Caucus Regional Director 13, Denise Fleming at 951-259-2581 or Director over RDs, Renea Wickman at 909-567-0222.

Keith Sweat

Award-winning R&B sensation Keith Sweat, will be heating up the San Manuel Auditorium June 27, 2013. Keith Sweat, a man of many talents who started out on Wall Street has wooed the ladies over the years with his silky-smooth vocals. Keith Sweat started performing at nightclubs throughout New York City until he was discovered and offered a recording contract with Elektra Records in 1987. Some of his hits include, “Make It Last Forever”, “I Want Her”, “Something Just Ain’t Right”, and “Nobody”. Get your tickets now! Tickets: $20, $30, & $40 at Ticketmaster. Doors Open at 6:30 p.m.

Nikia Chaney

By Lue Dowdy, SANBERNARDINO, CA – Artist Review: This week I selected the lovely and talented Nikia Chaney. Nikia was select because of the wonderful work she does in the community and at the colleges highlighting Creative Writing. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing this amazing talent recite poetry. I can’t say enough how gifted she is.

Nikia is a wife and a mother of five beautiful children. Nikia is currently an educator, teaching English composition at San Bernardino Valley Community College and a community service leader, organizing and working with several literary organizations here in the Inland Empire.

Receiving two MFAs in Creative Writing, Nikia’s life is filled with literature, teaching, reading to children, and writing. While the subjects of her writing vary, Nikia finds herself writing about the places here in Southern California and the Inland Empire. “I’ve been in San Bernardino/Rialto for over 15 years.  I have been a poet for only a few years.  I have always loved to read.  But when I discovered poetry I couldn’t let go. I also love teaching and working with in the community”- Says Nikia.

Nikia pays respect and homage to the women that have paved the way for her such as, writers, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker. Inspired by the wonderful women entrepreneurs and community organizers surrounding her, she’s currently working on a few projects.     Nikia is editing an anthology of “call and response” poetry for Black History Month with Orange Monkey Publishing.  The book launch is scheduled for Feb, 2014.

She has two chapbooks published: Sis Fuss (Orange Monkey Publishing, 2013) and ladies, please (Dancing Girl Press, forthcoming). She’s also in the process of partnering with Salt + Spice and organization that creates community events.  They’re planning to open up a small venture called Local Treasures that can feature the artwork of local artists. Please check out her online magazine, shufPoetry, which showcases experimental poetry.  Nikia will be conducting poetry workshops at a local bookstore coming soon. What an amazing woman!

For more on Nikia and her work, visit these links: www.nikiachaney.com,http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0615752373, www.callanthology.com, www.shufpoetry.com, www.saltandspice.wordpress.com,www.orangemonkeypublishing.com, www.inlandiajournal.org,www.localauthorpe.com.

Dinah Washington

LOS ANGELES, CA— LA’s ‘Queen of Jazz & Blues’ Barbara Morrison relives the stories of the legendary Dinah Washington through her music in an excellently staged performance piece written by Michael Cornier and Ms. Morrison herself, and directed by Keenan Zeno. Backed by the excellent John Stephens and his 18 piece orchestra, Barbara Morrison commands the stage embodying the mood and sensibilities of the great Dinah Washington, who died suddenly at the age of 39 in 1963, while married to her seventh husband, NFL Hall of Famer Dick “Night Train” Lane..

“I Wanna Be Loved: The Stories of Dinah Washington” shows why Barbara Morrison is called a living legend “one of the living links to the era of Ella, Billie, and Ms. Dinah W.”  Dinah (born Ruth Lee Jones in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) was known as “The Queen of Blues” but her range of hits included R&B and Jazz, and in addition to vocals, Dinah could playthe piano and the vibraphone. She led an exciting life, married seven times, with sons by her second and third husbands, became a star with the Lionel Hampton Band, and had some of the greatest hits of her era “Teach Me Tonight,”  “I Wanna Be Loved,” and two very popular duets with Brooks Benton:  “Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes)” and “A Rockin’ Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall in Love),” and recorded with Cannonball Adderly.

World renowned across Europe, Asia and Australia, Barbara Morrison’s reputation is immense in the world of jazz singers. With over 20 recordings to her credit, she has performed with the A-List in jazz and blues, such as Gerald Wilson, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Etta James, Esther Phillips, David T. Walker, Jimmy Smith, Johnny Otis, Kenny Burrell, Terence Blanchard, Joe Sample, Nancy Wilson, Mel Tormé, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett, and Keb’ Mo; and has guest-starred with the Count Basie Orchestra, the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra and Doc Severinsen’s Big Band.

She continues to wow audiences at jazz festivals worldwide, and she performed in San Bernardino when she and bluesman Taj Majal headlined the Juneteenth Jam presented by the Westside Story Newspaper and the Improve Association at Perris Hill Park in 1998. This Michigan native, who has made Los Angeles her home, is s a fighter and a survivor, coming back strong from illness and complications due to diabetes, she is staying busy and is already booked for cruise line performances in 2014.

Miss Barbara Morris continues to impress audiences and critics alike with this uniquely crafted show paying tribute to Dinah Washington, and proving “What a Diff’rence a Day Makes.”  The show will be performed on stage at the Barbara Morrison Performance Art Center on Sunday June 23, 2013. Cover $40, includes champagne and snacks.  Reservations only at 310-462-1439. Tickets sale fast for each performance so hurry to get tickets to the upcoming performance on June 23.  Performances will continue on June 30, as well as July – 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21.

Don’t Miss a chance to see this great lady, a master of jazz performance. The Barbara Morrison Performance Art Center is located at 4305 Degnan Blvd #101, Los Angeles, CA. 90008. Information: 310-462-1439, www.barbaramorrison.com. (L.E. Pezant, ENN)

Amy Okonkwo of Etiwanda High School has been named to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin’s All-Valley Girl’s Basketball First Team. Okonkwo is also the player of the year. Thomas Cordova/Staff photographer (Thomas R. Cordova)

What coaches appreciate most in their players is the ablity to rise to the occasion. Etiwanda High School’s Amy Okonkwo did just that every time out.

The 6-foot-1 junior forward scored a season-high 28 points in the Eagles’ 73-72 win over Mater Dei,

then ranked No. 1 in the nation, in the CIF Southern Section semifinal. Included in that point tally was a 3-pointer in overtime that gave her team a 67-64 lead it never relinquished.

She also registered 19 against Corona Santiago in the CIF championship game and 18 against Long Beach Poly in a state playoff loss.

Okonkwo, 16, is the Inland Valley Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

“She rose to the occasion time and time again against the better teams,” Etiwanda coach Anders Anderson says. “She isn’t cocky or

overconfident but she has an air of confidence about her. The other girls know she is going to deliver.”

Okonkwo, who is being recruited by a bevy of Division I schools, many of those Pac 12, averaged 15.7 points and 9.5 rebounds her first year with the Eagles (28-4) after transferring from Baseline League rival Los Osos along with junior

Cherce Harris.

Sometimes moving into a new environment can be difficult but that didn’t prove to be the case, with Okonkwo already having played with most of the Etiwanda players in travel ball or at Day Creek Middle School.

“I really wasn’t that nervous about it because I already knew the girls,” she said. “They accepted me right away and made it easy.”

Anderson says the player’s demeanor was a factor in the smooth transition.

“She didn’t come in here with an attitude or telling us what she had done,” Anderson said. “She just wanted to do her part and help us

win. She fit in from the very start.”

Okonkwo, who plans to major in kinesiology, is preparing for the next level. Anderson says she needs to work on conditioning. Competing in track this spring helps. She is looking for a third straight league title in shot put.

Okonkwo also want to work on her ball-handling skills.

“In college I might have to be a guard,” she said. “I can’t just count on being tall because at that level everyone is pretty big. I want to be able to do whatever they want me to do.”

By Michelle Gardner, Staff Writer

Posted:   04/17/2013 07:00:00 PM PDT

http://www.sbsun.com/preps/ci_23035547/2013-all-area-girls-basketball-team-etiwandas-amy

Jeff Pendergraph #29 of the Indiana Pacers dunks the ball during the game between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)

An economics major at Arizona State, he arrived on campus early in the summer of 2005 to get a head start on classes and the life around Tempe…he plays the piano…he has a younger sister, Samantha, and a younger brother, Tim…he was a teammate of Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Nate McMillan’s son, Jamelle, in his final two seasons at Arizona State…he is a 2005 graduate of Etiwanda High School in Etiwanda, California, where he played alongside former Pacers’ teammate Darren Collison…he averaged 9.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game for an Etiwanda squad that went 31-2 in his senior year and was ranked second in the nation…his team started the season 13-0…Etiwanda went 31-3 in his junior year, including 10-0 in the Baseline League, and reached the southern California regional final.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jeff_pendergraph/bio.html

darren collison

Darren Collison was born August 23, 1987 to parents, June and Dennis Collison. He attended Etiwanda High School where he was McDonald’s All-American Top 40 candidate and the No. 2 point guard in the West. He was also an All-CIF Southern Section I-AA Player of the Year and a Los Angeles Times All-Star. Collison led Etiwanda (31-2) in points (20.7), three-pointers, steals (2.1), assists (4.0) and added 4.0 rebounds per game.

Collison attended UCLA, where he was considered one of the top point guards in the nation and led them to three consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances and became the UCLA record holder for games played during his career as a Bruin.

Collison was named third team All-American and selected to the All-Pac-10 Defensive Team during his collegiate career. He was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player of the Pac-10 Tournament and was the recipient of the 2009 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (an award given to the nation’s outstanding senior male collegian 6’0 and under who has excelled both athletically and academically). He also received his Bachelor of Science degree in History from UCLA.

Darren was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets as the 21st overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft. Collison handed out a rookie-record 18 assists for the Hornets in January 2010 and averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists per game on his way to NBA All-Rookie First Team honors.

In August 2010, Darren was traded to the Indiana Pacers and immediately took his place as the team’s starting point guard, averaging 13.2 ppg and 5.1 apg.

On July 12, 2012, Collison and Dahntay Jones were traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Ian Mahinmi. Collison became the Mavericks’ starting point guard, replacing Jason Kidd who left as a free agent

the off season, Darren is available for corporate appearances, motivational speaking engagements, VIP meet and greets, autograph signings, basketball camps and product endorsements.

http://www.darrencollison.com/