By Tanu Henry and Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

Last week, Christopher Darden, an attorney, bestselling author, law professor and former L.A. County prosecutor announced his candidacy for L.A County Superior Court judge.

The elections will be held next March.

Darden, 67, a Richmond native, gained national prominence when he served as a co-prosecutor in the 1994 O.J. Simpson murder trial.

San Bernardino County’s Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) contracts with five crisis residential treatment facilities to provide care for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, most commonly for those struggling with psychosis or who may be at risk of becoming a danger to themselves or others. The Wellspring Crisis Residential Treatment Center located in Fontana is one of these key treatment facilities.

Thanks to Assembly Majority Leader Emeritus Eloise Gómez Reyes, $2 million will fund the rehabilitation of the Wellspring Center. This will allow substantial improvements to be made to the building, which will enable our programs to continue to comply with licensing requirements.

This project reflects the department’s commitment to ensuring that individuals in San Bernardino County receive the highest quality of care, especially in a residential environment that will serve as their home for up to 90 days while in this program. The efforts funded by this award will serve to enhance this environment and the services provided by this program.

The main initiative of these improvements will be to replace all the residential appliances with commercial-grade appliances, intended for high-volume use. The appliances have heavy wear since the facility serves over a hundred residents each year. The funding will help replace items such as the stove, dishwasher, refrigerator, washer, dryer, and microwave.

This funding allocation will not only directly impact the client care provided by San Bernardino County but also demonstrates our administration’s support of behavioral health and our resident’s wellness. For more information regarding the Department of Behavioral Health services, please visit www.sbcounty.gov/dbh.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- On Saturday, September 23, San Bernardino High School (SBHS) celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Mr. and Miss Cardinal City Pageants.

Beyond the pomp and circumstance, this event has focused on academics, and it has helped hundreds of former students gain real-world skills that have led to success beyond high school.

Pageant founder and Bilingual School Outreach Worker Jaime Rios conceived of the pageant to promote SBHS and the City of San Bernardino through the young people who he said are the future of the community.

“The Miss and Mr. Cardinal pageant isn’t just about glitz and glamor,” Rios said. “It’s a platform where character is honed, leadership is cultivated, and resilience is fortified. Our participants aren’t merely contestants, they are the embodiment of ambition, grace, and unwavering determination.”

Gustavo Alvarez is one of those former students. He credits the pageant with helping him become the man he is today.

As the SBHS Class of 2012 alum and former Mr. Cardinal City, he is currently a doctoral student in mechanical engineering at Cornell University.

“Being Mr. Cardinal provided a space that encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone. As a truly shy high school student, I was able to gain more confidence in myself and my abilities to give back to the community,” said Alvarez.

Alvarez also works at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source and with Argonne National Laboratory. His research into the study of heat transfer to semiconductors is on the nanoscale.

If all that sounds like rocket science, that’s because it just might be. The applications of Alvarez’s research could lead to space probes that can study the outer corona of our sun.

By Tanu Henry and Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

California State Controller Malia Cohen announced last week that she will chair a “statewide multi-agency task force charged with developing audit criteria and best practices for identifying and preventing fraud in charter schools.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Robert Longstreth formed the task force after the state charged 11 defendants – including a school superintendent — for defrauding taxpayers of nearly $400 million by enrolling fictitious students in A3 Education, an online charter school, to collect state funds to educate each student.

Cohen says the leading defendants in the case Sean McManus and Jason Schrock have agreed to turn over all the assets of A3 Education and its subsidiaries to the state – and $215 million which will be put back in the “state’s coffers.”

“As the State’s chief fiscal officer and the office responsible for developing audit guidelines to be followed by auditors when auditing school district, I could not in good conscience allow this matter to proceed through the judicial system without offering my office’s assistance in drafting guidelines to detect and prevent a recurrence of this untenable situation,” said Cohen. “To do otherwise would be to neglect the confidence placed in my office to safeguard taxpayers’ dollars.”

By Tanu Henry and Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

Last week, San Francisco’s Mayor London Breed issued a statement that reparations – particularly cash payments — for past injustices suffered by Black Americans who are descendants of enslaved people are best handled at the federal level.

Breed issued the statement after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ endorsement on Sept. 19 of a reparations plan submitted in June by an advisory board of Black leaders in the city.

The 400-page plan lists 115 recommendations, including individual payments of up to $5 million per eligible Black resident. It also calls for investments in Black-owned businesses, education, housing and attracting more Black residents to the city.

In her statement, Breed committed to undertake certain city initiatives to address inequity like a guaranteed income program and implementing a plan to allocate $60 million every year for investment in the Black community.

By Cynthia Adams, Carl Chan and Bishop Bob Jackson | Special to California Black Media Partners

We are shocked, perplexed, and furious that the City of Oakland forfeited millions of dollars in crime prevention funding by missing a state grant deadline. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Board of State Community Corrections approved awards for dozens of cities and counties – divvying up $267 million that Gov. Gavin Newsom touted as the largest ever single investment to combat retail theft.

San Francisco received $17.3 million from the state, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office received $2 million, the San Jose Police Department secured $8.5 million, and 52 other California cities and counties received money.

Oakland got nothing!

According to the Chronicle, the Interim Director of Oakland’s Economic Development and Workforce Department worked with City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas and unnamed community organizations on a grant application but did not submit a complete application in time.

This is a devastating blow to citizens and small businesses who have been clamoring for crime prevention measures which could have been funded by the millions of dollars in grants offered by the state. This money could have been used for extra police patrols, squad cars, and automated license plate readers to track down suspected perpetrators of crimes.

We have demanded that the city declare a public safety emergency and focus its attention on securing resources from the state and others to combat mushrooming crime in Oakland. A major purpose of such an emergency declaration is to cause everybody in government to focus their time and attention on solving our public safety crisis.

The mayor responded that our demands were nothing more than political posturing. This debacle is clear evidence to the contrary. Our elected officials and government staff dropped the ball because they were not focused. And they must be held accountable!

We are tired of hearing excuses from the city government. How is it that San Francisco, the Alameda County DA’s Office, the San Jose Police Department, and 52 other California cities and counties can submit timely grants that award them millions of dollars, but Oakland cannot get the job done? This is especially troublesome when Oakland has the most dangerous and rapidly rising crime statistics in the entire Bay Area.

This was an epic failure. We desperately needed these grant funds, but we got nothing. As Carl Chan told the Chronicle, political promises mean little when the city fails to deliver, nor do excuses and empty promises that it won’t happen again.

Oakland residents are getting murdered, carjacked, and attacked in vicious strong-armed robberies. People are afraid to walk the streets, shop or go to restaurants. We need strong, effective leadership. Shame on all who failed to get desperately needed funding when all they had to do was submit the application on time.

About the Authors

Cynthia Adams is President of the Oakland Branch of the NAACP.

Carl Chan is Oakland’s Chinatown Community Leader.

Bishop Bob Jackson is the Senior Pastor of Acts Full Gospel Church

President Cynthia Adams can be reached at (510) 219-3840. Bishop Bob Jackson can be reached at (510) 567-1300.

By Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media

The conclusion of Suicide Prevention Week on Sept.16, served as a reminder, according to wellness advocates, of the ongoing mental health crisis faced by Black Californians.

Between 2010 and 2019, Black Californians experienced a 31.1% increase in suicide deaths, according to the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that between 2019 and 2020, non-Hispanic White people experienced a decrease in suicide rates by 4.5% while the rate for non-Hispanic Black people increased by 4%.

For Black men, the numbers are more dire. Over the last two decades, the suicide rate for Black men has increased by nearly 60%, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Many of these suicides occur among people aged 10 to 24, prompting schools, colleges and universities to develop programs to reach out to young Black Californians dealing with mental health challenges.

The Claremont Colleges (TCC), a consortium of five private liberal arts colleges and two graduate schools located in Southern California, have implemented programs of their own.

“Across our campuses, we are continuously working to reduce or remove perceived barriers that may prevent people of color from getting services at a counseling center,” said TCC’s Director of the Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services Center (MCAPS), Dr. Gary DeGroot.

DeGroot highlighted several internal obstacles, including a mistrust of treatment and therapy, a lack of confidence in the mental healthcare system’s ability to provide culturally competent care, and fear of stigma.

Dr. Adrienne Hilliard, Senior Staff Psychologist at the Claremont Colleges, spoke about the stigma connected to treatment for mental health issues.

“I think as suicide and mental health stigma decreases, Black men are now more open to identify and report that they are in crisis and instead of silently suffering are now encouraged and willing to seek help,” said Hilliard.

She pointed to some external obstacles to seeking mental health treatment.

“Several institutional factors can contribute to the increase suicide rates for Black men: economic oppression, increased educational disparities, racism and racial trauma across all sectors, racial injustice witnessed with the recent increase in recorded murders of black men by police and others, stigma surrounding manhood and mental illness,” said Hilliard.

Black Californians had the largest increase in firearm suicide rates since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study by Injury Epidemiology.

However, TCC has seen an increase in the number of students participating in their mental health programs.

“More resources, specifically for Black folks are becoming readily available,” said Hilliard. “So, statistically there may be greater representation.”

Hilliard pointed to programs like Therapy for Black Men, Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective (BEAM), Black Mental Health Alliance, and The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation.

DeGroot, who also works closely with the Office of Black Student Affairs (OBSA), stated that students respond positively to having access to Black therapists, connecting with Black organizations and attending Black student events.

Hilliard spoke on the importance of a community-based approach to mental health care for Black students on their campuses.

“Although each campus has individual resources and services, we encourage a more community-oriented mindset when it comes to our students of color,” said Hilliard. “We understand that community is extremely important for Black students, so we maintain connections with faculty and staff across departments, such as counseling, student health, housing, etc., to ensure our students are supported on every front.

Last Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office released a statement announcing that the state, through the the California Department of Health, is investing $16.3 million in “Youth Suicide Prevention efforts” through grants dedicated to tribal entities and community-based organizations.

“Suicide ideation amongst youth has increased nationwide, especially among girls, LGBTQ+ youth, and youth of color,” said First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. “Knowing this, California’s new investments in youth suicide prevention resources are absolutely critical as we work to destigmatize mental health and improve access to mental health support for young Californians and their families.”

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. and Edward Henderson | California Black Media

On September 12, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state is making a $267,118,293 investment to combat organized retail crime.

This sum represents the largest-ever single investment ever made by the state to aid law enforcement in fighting crime. As part of a competitive grant process, the funding, if approved, would be allocated for 55 local law enforcement agencies across California.

The initiative, part of the Governor’s Real Public Safety Plan, is slated to be dispersed on Oct. 1, 2023, to police departments, sheriffs’ departments, and district attorney offices in every region of the state to prevent and investigate cases of organized retail theft and arrest and prosecute more suspects.

“Enough with these brazen smash-and-grabs. With an unprecedented $267 million investment, Californians will soon see more takedowns, more police, more arrests, and more felony prosecutions. When shameless criminals walk out of stores with stolen goods, they’ll walk straight into jail cells,” Newsom said in a statement.

The funding would be used to create fully staffed retail theft investigative units, increase arrests, install advanced surveillance technology, train loss prevention officers, create new task forces, increase cooperation with businesses and the community, target criminals in blitz operations, as well as crack down on vehicle and catalytic converter theft.

The next day, following the announcement of the grants, the Governor’s office held a news briefing featuring four law enforcement leaders whose offices will benefit from the program: California Highway Patrol Commissioner Sean Duryee; San Francisco D.A. Brooke Jenkins; San Francisco Police Department Chief Bill Scott; and Los Angeles County Assistant Sheriff Holly Francisco.

“I want to thank Governor Newsom for making this issue a priority, for allocating resources from our state to ensure we are able to set a new tone in the state of California: that this conduct is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” said Jenkins.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. and Edward Henderson | California Black Media
Former L.A. Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas has filed a notice of appeal challenging his convictions for voting in support of county contracts that would favor USC while accepting benefits for his son from the university.

The notice sets the stage for appellate arguments in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that could possibly go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ridley-Thomas was sentenced to serve a prison term of three years and six months beginning Nov. 13. Marilyn Flynn, a former head of the USC School of Social Work, pleaded guilty to a bribery charge in the case, has been sentenced to 18 months of home confinement and ordered to pay a $150,000 fine.

In a statement, Alyssa Bell, a member of Ridley-Thomas’ appellate team said the lawyers who handled the former councilman’s 12-day trial in Los Angeles “laid the groundwork for what we believe to be an exceptionally strong appeal. We are already examining and analyzing several potential grounds that could result in reversal of Dr. Ridley-Thomas’ convictions.”

Those grounds included a claim that the government failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the jury’s guilty verdicts.

By Lou K Coleman

A New World Order; Global initiatives; International law, and Social Revolution, I tell you, your spiritual antenna should be beeping; Beep; Beep; Beep; Beep, alerting you that Time is Almost Up! The current world chaos is too well orchestrated to be a mere coincidence. Read the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians which provides a glimpse into Satan’s master plan. It speaks of an evil, sinister force working behind the scenes. It speaks of a villainous, devious, charismatic world-leader, whom Paul identifies as ‘the man of lawlessness,” who in the last days will ascend to power out of nowhere and would usher the world into a global economy and a universal religion. I tell you; your spiritual antenna should be Beeping. Beep; Beep; Beep; Beep; Beep! For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work. [2 Thessalonians 2:7]. This is how we know it is the last hour. [1 John 2:18]. The UN 2030 AGENDA –Recognize – Be sober and be vigilant, Time is Almost Up!

God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them has turned aside. [Psalms 53:2-3].

Then, I looked, and there before me was a white horse! It’s rider held a bow, and he was given a crown and he rode out as a conqueror bent on a conquest. [Revelation 6:2].

Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. It’s rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. [Revelation 6:4].

Then I looked, and there before me was a black horse! It’s rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine! [Revelation 6:6].

Then I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green like a corpse. And Death was the name of its rider, who was given authority over one-fourth the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals” [Revelation 6:7-8].

Then there was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like a sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth. Then the sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. [Revelation 6:12-14].

Because they did not listen, the destruction that DID come found the people unprepared. [Luke 17:26-30].