RIALTO, CA— Allanah was honored on August 10 by the City of Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson, The State Senate Connie Leyva and the County of San Bernardino Joe Baca for her academic accomplishments. In the words of Madame Mayor “It takes a village.”
“Thank you all so much for demonstrating to my baby that all of her hard work has not gone unnoticed,” Vickie Davis, mother of Ms. Mouton, states. “She has accomplished something that many people will only see on TV or through periodic news stories that make their way into social media pages.”
She continues, “How blessed we are to have a front row seat. I’ve said it at least a hundred times and I’ll say one hundred more, I COULD NOT BE ANY MORE PROUD. Thanks to the love of my family, the beautiful support and encouragement of my community and unmatched joy that I have the privilege of knowing via watching my children grow I AM RICH. #richblessings.”
Paulette Brown-Hinds, publisher of the Black Voice News has been named one of 10 recipients of Stanford University’s John S. Knight (JSK) Fellowship. The JSK Fellowship Program made the announcement August 4.
“As a lifelong learner, I’m excited to join the innovative cohort of journalism professionals — and especially excited to have access to some of Stanford’s finest minds and the JSK community of support as I work on my proposed project,” Brown Hinds said.
The JSK fellowship began in 1984 with a $4 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to provide a permanent endowment for the program. Their goal is to empower seasoned and emerging journalism leaders to close the information gap growing within minority communities. Fellows will receive stipends up to $75,000, advising on strategy and execution, cohort membership, and access to Stanford University resources.
“We’re thrilled by the wide range of experience levels, talents and types of local organizations around the U.S. that our new JSK Community Impact Fellows represent,” said JSK Director Dawn Garcia. “Their news and information projects will provide essential information to communities of people who are too often overlooked.”
With nearly 50 years of service to the Black community in Riverside County and surrounding areas, Black Voice News has been a family venture since Brown-Hinds parents, Hardy Brown and retired California Assemblymember Cheryl Brown became publishers in 1980. Brown-Hinds took over as publisher of the company in 2012 and has since focused on transitioning the print publication to a digital leader driven by what she describes as “solutions-based data journalism.”
During her 10-month fellowship, the information challenge Brown-Hinds proposed builds on the work of two Black Voice News data journalism focused initiatives: Mapping Black California and ‘DaHUB’, a data hub and content sharing platform currently in development.
The fellowship affords her the time, Brown-Hinds says, to explore how to make the visualization tools and datasets needed for solutions-focused data reporting on racial justice accessible to the Black Press in California.
Beyond the fellowship, Brown-Hinds is interested in providing assets for interested publishers.
“This includes a toolkit for news publishers on how to identify the right datasets, evaluate sources and translate statistics and numbers into meaningful narratives identifying solutions to systemic racism,” Brown Hinds says. “And drafting a playbook for Black media and Black community-based organizations interested in pursuing story collaborations utilizing data to solve community and systemic issues.
DJ Khaled’s 2010 hit, “All I Do Is Win” could well serve as the soundtrack for the Russell family’s boxing careers. With three brothers currently competing, they have an imposing combined record of 63–1. Their bond extends outside the sport of boxing, as they all bear the same name, differentiated only by different middle names.
Saturday night, Gary Antonio Russell (18–0) looks for his next win while also seeking the interim World Boxing Association title. Looking to derail those plans is former International Boxing Federation bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodriguez (19–2) with 12 knockouts. Russell will have to put his entire set of skills on display to bring that title back to his residence, the nation’s capital. The highly anticipated bantamweight bout can be seen live on Showtime.
Zenger News was able to get a fight-week reaction from Russell, who explains what he needs to do to walk away with a victory, how the death of his younger brother affected him, why he wears tennis shoes in the ring and more.
Percy Crawford interviewed Gary Antonio Russell for Zenger.
Zenger: You have been locked down training for your fight against Emmanuel Rodriguez on Saturday night. How has camp treated you?
Percy Crawford interviewed Gary Antonio Russell for Zenger. (Heidi Malone/Zenger)
Antonio Russell: I feel great physically. My weight is low. I am only a few pounds away, so I feel good.
Zenger: Has it hit you yet that you are competing for this WBA interim title, or do you think it will hit you once you’re in the moment?
Antonio Russell: Maybe that’s when it’s going to happen when I’m there, doing my mitts, and then it will probably hit me a little different. But right now, I say it humbly, I expected it. I knew it would come if I stayed grounded and stuck to my everyday thing.
Zenger: He headlined a card that you fought on the undercard. Were you able to watch him once he got in the ring, or was he not quite on the radar yet?
Antonio Russell: Honestly, I didn’t pay any attention at all. Not because I didn’t want to, but I was going through so much mentally at the time. So, right after my fight, I was looking to get out of there. I was and am still dealing with losing my younger brother, Gary Boosa Russell, so after that fight I completely broke down. I just wanted to leave. I didn’t watch anybody after that.
Zenger: I know it’s been tough on the family, for sure. Is this fight against Rodriguez in any way a dedication to your brother who died?
Antonio Russell: Nah, it’s not for anyone. It’s completely for me. I know my team and my family will benefit from it, but right now this is definitely for me. I’m going to be the one in there throwing punches. I do it for my fam and everything, but I ain’t making this fight out to nobody but myself. I feel like I owe that to myself.
Zenger: Rodriguez’s last five opponents have a combined record of 101–1, and you will be his fourth consecutive undefeated opponent. That being said, what do you think of the skill set he brings to the table because he’s obviously willing to face the best?
Antonio Russell: He’s a good all-around fighter. I have watched him several times. He has good hand speed. I feel like he may lack some of the punching power that I possess, as well as some of the hand speed and ring generalship. With him being an ex-champion, I feel as though I have those same champion qualities. I just haven’t had the chance to display it. I feel like on Saturday night, I will be able to.
Zenger: You are 18 fights into your career. Did this opportunity come sooner than you expected, later than you expected or right on time?
Antonio Russell: I had my moments which I felt like it was taking a long time, I had my moments in which I felt like I should’ve been in this position, but everything plays out the way it’s supposed to.
Zenger: What do you have to do on Aug. 14 to assure yourself a victory?
Antonio Russell: I just have to be me. I don’t feel like he possesses anything that I haven’t seen. I tell people all the time, I feel as though the amateurs was tougher than the pros. In the pros you have two months to prepare for just one person. You can look at them over and over. In a tournament, you get a different style every night.
Gary Antonio Russell warms up on the mitts prior to his fight against Juan Carlos Payano last December. Russell won that bout via a technical decision. (Amanda Westcott/Showtime)
Zenger: That makes a lot of sense. Not very many fighters fought twice in 2020 due to COVID, like you did. Some didn’t fight at all. Did those two fights help you stay sharp?
Antonio Russell: I will say this humbly, as well — I don’t think it helped me too much. I think it gave me more time to work on my craft and to perfect more things in my arsenal. Other than that, we train every single day anyway as if we’re getting ready for a fight. We’re always keeping our gears turning.
Zenger: Juan Carlos Payano is a tough outing for any fighter, and you were able to defeat him in your last fight. Did you gain valuable experience during that fight?
Antonio Russell: You always gotta look back at things and see what you did wrong, see what you did right. I definitely took a lot of things from the Payano fight, and a lot of it was not skill-set things. It was more things from me as an individual. I definitely dealt with the loss of my brother that week and had to leave and fight that weekend. I pulled it off, I made it through, I got the victory.
But in my opinion, it was not my best performance — but I got it done. That says a lot about me. I don’t feel like a lot of people would have been able to do the same thing that I did that quickly. So, I applaud myself for that, but I also look at it like, even with that traumatic loss that I took, I should have been able to hold my composure together a little better than what I did.
Zenger: Man, you are definitely a tough critic of yourself, because many fighters may have pulled out of that fight, and no one could question them for it.
Antonio Russell: I guess it’s just me being hard on myself, but you’re right, it wasn’t easy. I just feel like I should have held myself together more. I shouldn’t have let it affect me as much mentally.
Zenger: You are probably the only fighter that wears tennis shoes to the ring to box in. Why not boxing shoes?
Antonio Russell: Honestly, they stopped making my favorite boxing boots a long time ago. Once they discontinued them, I couldn’t find a shoe that had that same good feel. So, I always worked out in my tennis shoes anyway. They’re comfortable, most of the time they’re basketball shoes, so you have that ankle support for me to move around in. I got little feet, bro, so none of my shoes are heavy. And they look good with my uniform (laughing).
Zenger: What would capturing this belt mean to you?
Antonio Russell: Man … it would mean a lot. It would also mean that I’m in line with the universe the way I’m supposed to be, and that my manifestation is on, and I’m where I need to be. I’m on the right track and I know if I stay consistent, I will be good.
Gary Antonio Russell, right, lands a right to Juan Carlos Payano’s head in their December bout. (Amanda Westcott/Showtime)
Zenger: When the name Emmanuel Rodriguez was initially brought to you, what did you think?
Antonio Russell: It was a no-brainer, but of course we had to process it and weigh out our options. My pops brought it to me, we talked about it, I asked him what he thought about it. He liked the fight; I liked the fight, and we went from there.
Zenger: When you look at the bantamweight division, where would you like a win over Rodriguez to place you within the division?
Antonio Russell: If I win this belt, I feel it should definitely put me in position to fight a champion. If not, if I have to fight again before I actually see a champion for whatever reason, we will go with that. I’ll talk to my team about it, and we will go from there.
Zenger: After Saturday night, would you like to fight again before the year is out?
Antonio Russell: I’m getting familiar with how things work in the pros, and I understand at any given set date something can happen in which it pushes fights back or anything. So, I really don’t think about it too much. Of course, I would love to fight again. God willing, I get through this fight injury-free and victorious, I would love to go back.
Zenger: For anybody watching Gary Antonio Russell for the first time on Saturday night, what can they expect to see?
Antonio Russell: They can expect me to be exciting and to be sharp. And for the ones who have watched me before, they can expect to see more of my arsenal that they didn’t get a chance to see in my earlier bouts due to the competition. In most cases when you have better people in front of you, you can perform better because they’re not going to lay down. They are actually gonna fight.
Zenger: I am looking forward to this fight, good luck, and we will speak afterward. Is there anything else you want to add?
While some cooling off is expected, demand for gasoline in the U.S. remains steady enough for the time being to prevent prices dropping, analysts told Zenger.
Travel club AAA estimated the average national retail price at $3.18 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline on Tuesday, a figure relatively unchanged from a week prior.
Crude oil prices, which account for the bulk of prices at the gas pump, have been on a downward trajectory this month, with the price of Brent crude oil down nearly 7 percent.
But gas prices have not followed suit.
Healthy demand levels seem to be justifying higher gas prices, analysts said. (Wikimedia Commons)
Denton Cinquegrana, the chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, said crude oil prices have been remarkably volatile. But he noted that’s not been the case for gas.
“Want to know what the most common gasoline price in the U.S. is? $2.99 per gallon. Want to know what the most common price in the U.S. has been since late June? $2.99 per gallon,” he said. “Prices are high, but are really remarkably stable.”
AAA’s national average is skewed by the West Coast, where prices are above $4 per gallon. Several states along the US Gulf Coast, meanwhile, are posting prices around $2.80.
With the stability that Cinquegrana referenced, consumers may be acclimated to higher prices at the pump. The latest reading from the federal government on the total amount of refined petroleum products supplied to the market, including gasoline, has been steady for weeks. That data is a loose proxy for demand and remains above pre-pandemic levels.
(U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Matthew Kohlman, an associate director for refined products pricing at S&P Global Platts, told Zenger from Houston that there might be a bit of a floor under commodity prices in general because of that continued strength in demand.
“Strong gasoline demand and profit margins aren’t only in the U.S., they’re global — seen also in Europe, which is also on holiday season, as well as parts of Asia,” Kohlman said.
Still, the period between the July 4 long weekend and September’s Memorial Day usually sees a lull in demand. Meanwhile, the rapid spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 could also have a negative impact demand if social restrictions are put back in place.
Patrick DeHaan, the senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, told Zenger from Chicago that there’s “definitely” room for prices to move lower.
“Peak summer demand is over,” DeHaan said.
A federal report published Tuesday predicted the national average retail price for a gallon of gasoline will be around $2.88 by the fourth quarter of the year.
Finding someone who could fill the shoes, or more accurately the iconic white suit, of Latino legend Ricardo Montalban in his role as the mysterious but always courteous, courtly and cultured Mr. Roarke on “Fantasy Island,”which ran from 1977 to 1984, had to be a daunting task. But the series has proved it repeatedly: dreams do come true.
The producers of the show’s new incarnation, which premiers on FOX on Aug. 10, may have taken a secret trip to the tropical paradise and asked the island to send them a star to take Montalban’s place.
Roselyn Sánchez (“Act of Valor,” “Without a Trace”) has managed in only four episodes to make the role her own.
Elena Roarke is the grand-niece of Mr. Roarke. She continues the Roarke dynasty that owns and runs Fantasy Island. Ms. Roarke wears in every episode a sleek, feminine, custom-tailored white suit that replicates Mr. Roarke’s right down to the vest.
In every episode, Ms. Roarke helps her guests realize their fantasies with friendly persuasion, gentle encouragement and tough love with a velvet touch. But, as the storyline develops, she finds that accepting the responsibility of becoming the new Roarke comes with a price of personal loss and self-sacrifice.
Different fantasies, different voices
A film crew dominated by highly skilled women artists and technicians in front of and behind the camera is shooting the classic’s new version.
The dynamic writing duo ofElizabeth Craftand Sara Fain, who previously teamed up to work on“The Shield,” “The Fix”and “66 Park Avenue,” has infused the “Fantasy Island” remake with a feminine point of view. Thanks to Craft and Fain, new visitors to “Fantasy Island” explore their feelings, desires and uncertainties in a more nuanced way, permeating the lessons they learn and the decisions they make.
In Episode One, Kiana Barnes (“The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Stick with You”), as Ruby, experiences loss, self-sacrifice, and the painful realization it often takes more strength to let go than it does to hold on. Ruby ultimately finds herself forever transformed.
Craft and Fain have created a wide range of ethnically diverse visitors to Fantasy Island, allowing them to tell their stories in their distinctive voices. They also have found creative twists for tried and true story structures.
“Da plane” is not just a plain plane
The show no longer opens with Tattoo ringing the bell announcing the arrival of new guests with the two most imitated lines in TV history: “Da plane! Da plane!” In the new series, “da plane” still arrives but without all the previous fanfare.
However, the plane puts a twist on the plot.
John Gabriel Rodriguez (“The Vampire Diaries,” “NCIS”) plays Javier, the handsome, hotshot pilot who brings anxious fantasy-seekers to the mystic isle.Javier harbors a desire of his own involving the lovely Elena Roarke.
Unlike the old series, in which Mr. Roarke seemed like an unapproachable, mythical, almost godlike being, Ms. Roarke is a real woman. Despite her powers to make things happen on her island, she has vulnerabilities and desires of her own. Sánchez has not only instilled Ms. Roarke with beauty, intelligence and lots of moxie, but also with a huge dollop of humanity.
“What can this Island do for you?”
Ms. Roarke’s humanity is evident when she asks all the excited arrivals, “What can this island do for you?” The question reflects her generosity and willingness to share the island’s mysterious gifts with those seeking answers or wishing to change something in their troubled lives.
The magical place will fulfill a fantasy for viewers, who will witness the birth of a Latina superstar, Roselyn Sánchez. Her refreshing Latin charm, vitality and down-to-earth humanity make Sánchez the likable and logical heir to the Roarke legacy.
The crew is shooting “Fantasy Island” in Puerto Rico, Roselyn Sánchez’s birthplace. The island is a lush tropical Caribbean gem whose warm sea breezes carry the whispered allure and promise of fantasies yet unrealized.
Hundreds of police officers and members of the community honored slain Chicago Police Officer Ella French on Monday night on the city’s southwest side.
French, 29, was fatally shot on Saturday night, Aug. 7, during a traffic stop. Her partner, also a member of the Chicago Police Department’s Community Safety Team, was hospitalized in critical condition. The man, who was not named, was said to be “fighting for his life.”
“Tonight in the 6300 block of South Bell, 10th District & Community Safety Team officers organized a prayer service and balloon release in loving memory of fallen Officer Ella French. #NeverForget,” the Chicago Police Department posted on Twitter, with photos, on Monday night.
“We will continue on in your honor Officer French,” the department tweeted.
“Officer Ella French was murdered by cowards while conducting a traffic stop with her partners. We lost a sister in blue. Today, Ella’s family, friends, and fellow officers mourn and our hearts go out to them. What an incredible loss for this city, state, and the entire nation,” the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police — Chicago Lodge 7 tweeted on Monday night.
Officer Ella French, 29, was shot and killed during a traffic stop Aug. 7 in Chicago. (@Chicago_Police/Zenger)
Two brothers have been charged in French’s death.
Emonte Morgan, aka Monte Morgan, 21, is charged with first degree murder of a peace officer, attempted first degree murder of a peace officer (two counts), aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Eric Morgan, 22, is charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, and obstruction of justice for his role in the alleged crime, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
A balloon release on Monday was part of the vigil in honor of fallen officer Ella French. (@Chicago_Police/Zenger)
Police allege that Emonte Morgan shot and killed French and shot her partner three times. Eric Morgan, police allege, drove the car that officers had pulled over because it had expired tags.
Both men were ordered held without bail on Tuesday.
After French’s partner was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, dozens of uniformed police turned their back to Mayor Lori Lightfoot when she visited the hospital.
French, the mother of a 2-month-old daughter, is the first female police officer to die in Chicago in the line of duty since Irma Ruiz in 1988.
Ten people were shot and killed and 73 were injured in Chicago over last weekend, police said.
WASHINGTON — Netflix, on Aug. 6, 2021, released the second teaser for the upcoming season of supernatural series, “Stranger Things,” which confirmed that season 4 would debut in 2022, nearly two and a half years after the July 2019 release of season 3.
The new 30-second teaser features classic moments from the first three seasons of “Stranger Things” mixed with quick snippets from season 4 footage, including a glimpse of the new monster, an amusement park, and a creepy old clock.
The teaser also will air on Aug. 13, 2021 night during the National Broadcasting Company’s (NBC) Tokyo Olympics coverage.
The first season 4 trailer, which was released on Feb. 14, 2020, teased fans with the return of David Harbour’s Hopper. The second trailer, released in May 2021, hinted at the rumored return of Dr. Martin Brenner, played by Matthew Modine.
However, a month after “Stranger Things” started production on season 4 in February 2020, it was suspended due to the escalating coronavirus pandemic. It resumed in September 2020, as per reports.
The show’s season three concluded with the heroes of Hawkins triumphant once again, but they suffered a loss.
Hopper (Harbour) perished due to Joyce (Winona Ryder) closing the door to the Upside Down below the Star Court Mall. And during the battle with a monster, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) lost her powers. Following Hopper’s death, Joyce took Eleven and moved with the Byers family, including Will (Noah Schnapp) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), out of Hawkins.
Teasing its fan, during a credits scene set in Russia, “Stranger Things” revealed Russians had a Demogorgon and “the American” captive. Could Hopper be alive? That remains to be seen.
“Although it’s not all good news for our ‘American’ (Hopper); he is imprisoned far from home in the snowy wasteland of Kamchatka, where he will face dangers both human…and other,” said Duffer brothers, the series creator to a media outlet in 2020.
“Meanwhile, back in the states, a new horror is beginning to surface, something long-buried, something that connects everything. Season 4 is shaping up to be the biggest and most frightening season yet, and we cannot wait for everyone to see more,” they said.
The series, homage to 1980s genre films, first premiered on Netflix in 2016 and has since swept away many award nominations, including 31 Emmy nominations and seven wins. The Duffers, writers, directors, and showrunners of the series, previously worked on the Fox series “Wayward Pines” and wrote and directed the post-apocalyptic horror film ‘Hidden.’
Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, “Stranger Things” is produced by Monkey Massacre Productions & 21 Laps Entertainment. The twin brothers serve as writers, directors, executive producers, and showrunners on the series alongside executive producer/director Shawn Levy and executive producer Dan Cohen of 21 Laps and executive producer Iain Paterson.
A man who performs backflips in slow motion is a hit on social media.
Micah Moeller’s videos on TikTok have 155,000 followers. Numerous videos have drawn more than 1 million views.
“I have been flipping since I was young and my family bought a trampoline, but I never took it seriously until I met my friend Kendan Smiley,” said 20-year-old Moeller, of Bellingham, Washington. “We would do trampoline tricks daily during the summer of 2017. I learned how to flip over years of practice and repetition. I never had traditional coaching, like gymnastics or cheerleading.”
In one TikTok clip viewed 3.4 million times, Moeller is standing in a garden before performing a backflip in slow motion that extends over two days and one night.
A similar video filmed in a living room has been viewed 3.7 million times on TikTok. Moeller flips backwards as the camera turns 360 degrees.
“Shorter-term content usually takes about two days for me to produce (one day filming and one day editing). But some of my short content has taken up to 80 hours to produce,” Moeller said.
“My longest project was a video on my YouTube channel about creating a trampoline park in my backyard. This video took about 800 hours to edit.
“Most of my VFX videos are use practical effects (in camera effects), but sometimes I will use cross dissolves or motion blur to make the final product smoother,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to create videos professionally, and I have been for the past four years. So you could say this is a childhood dream.”
Micah Moeller performs one of his popular backflips. (@micah.moeller/Zenger)
However, Moeller draws the line at competitions.
“I haven’t competed in any flipping events, but I have filmed for a few. I find that competing takes the fun out of how open the sport is,” he said.
“The flipping community is more about supporting others for their own progression rather than how good someone is compared to the top athletes in the sport. The events are lots of fun though and usually have about 60 to 80 people competing.”
For any wannabe flippers out there, Moeller has some advice.
“Flips are definitely dangerous and should be learned in a proper facility if you have access to one,” he said. “Lots of gymnastics and cheerleading gyms have open gyms, and there are also trampoline parks available. These are great places to learn how to flip.”
Time-lapse footage by a Turkish drone artist shows views of Mount Nemrut, a World Heritage Site since 1987. The mountain is believed to be a royal tomb from the first century B.C.
The 7,001-foot mountain in southeastern Turkey is noted for having large statues around its summit.
In 62 B.C., King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene built a tomb-sanctuary on the summit flanked by huge statues of himself, two lions, two eagles and various Greek and Iranian gods. The statues once had the names of each god inscribed on them. The heads were removed from their bodies at some point and are now scattered throughout the site.
Antiochus I was the son of King Mithridates I Callinicus and Queen Laodice VII Thea of Commagene. He was half Armenian and half Greek, a distant member of the Orontid Dynasty. Although the Roman Republic was annexing territories during his reign, Antiochus used diplomacy to keep Commagene independent. He made peace with Pompey in 64 B.C, when the Roman general invaded Syria, eventually becoming an ally.
Sunset over Mount Nemrut, captured in time-lapse video by Isa Turan. (@jesus_tr/Zenger)
To capture a broad range of views of Mount Nemrut, Isa Turan took time-lapse footage, which he posted online.
“The video starts with the sunset on the western face of Mount Nemrut on the evening of July 10,” he said. “Later, it becomes night and the Milky Way and the stars are visible. Finally, after continuing with night scenes on the eastern terrace, the sun rises.
“All night long, we were alone with the statues under the stars,” said Isa Turan, who filmed time-lapse video of Mount Nemrut, near Ad?yaman, Turkey, on July 10. (@jesus_tr/Zenger)
“We didn’t even close our eyes for a minute during the 30 hours that passed until we went from Izmir to Nemrut and completed the shooting,” he said. “We were one of the few lucky people who experienced the sunset, starry nights and sunrise at the same time in Nemrut, which we arrived at in the evening.
“All night long, we were alone with the statues under the stars. It is really difficult for me to express my experience and my feelings into words. We have officially made a journey into history among these ruins built thousands of years ago.
“It was an extraordinary experience to be so close to the sky in the pitch black of night, with the howling of the strong wind and the stars seemingly within touching distance.”
SBVC Launches Machinist Training Pilot Program for?Individuals with AutismSAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Among Americans with disabilities, there is a high rate of unemployment and underemployment — something San Bernardino Valley College and the Uniquely Abled Project are working to change. This August, Valley College will launch a pilot program providing Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machinist training to individuals with autism. This first cohort of eight students will receive on-campus instruction and hands-on work experience using SBVC’s state-of-the-art machinist technology, with San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board later providing job placement. The program will be made possible thanks to a $10,000 award from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, $15,000 from the San Bernardino Valley College Foundation, and $10,000 from Goodwill. This $35,000 will cover the cost of a job coach who will assist students enrolled in the program.
“We are committed to equity in education and ensuring all students have access to educational opportunities at SBVC that will improve their quality of life,” SBVC Foundation Interim Director Mike Layne said. The Uniquely Abled Project’s Uniquely Abled Academy Program offers vocational training and job development for high-functioning adults on the autism spectrum and has successfully placed more than 90 percent of its graduates with jobs. Using funds provided by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Goodwill purchased the Uniquely Abled Academy curriculum for SBVC. “The Uniquely Abled Project is delighted to partner with SBVC to extend the benefits of a Uniquely Abled Academy to the manufacturers and uniquely abled individuals of the Inland Empire,” Uniquely Abled Project Founder and President Ivan Rosenberg said. “Manufacturers get the skilled CNC operators they need, and individuals with Level 1 autism will have good paying career jobs that will enable them to live productive and fulfilling lives. Our hope is that this will be the first of a number of UAAs in the Inland Empire.” Machinist Prof. Miguel Ortiz first learned about the Uniquely Abled Project in 2017, and thought it would be a good avenue for SBVC to explore. A CNC machinist operates equipment that produce parts and tools made from plastic, metal, and other materials. There is a shortage of qualified CNC machinists in the manufacturing sector, and when students complete the Uniquely Abled Academy, they can get matched with jobs paying anywhere from $33,000 to $54,000 annually. “For the individual and the industry, it’s a win-win,” Ortiz said. “Being a CNC operator is the most prevalent job and easiest way to get into the industry.” The California Department of Rehabilitation will provide participant referrals to SBVC, and before starting the Uniquely Abled Academy Program, students will go through a screening process to ensure this is the right fit for them. Layne said the hope is to have a second, larger cohort start in 2022, and because of the key partnerships with the Department of Rehabilitation, Goodwill, and San Bernardino County Workforce Development, SBVC should be able to “successfully launch, grow, and sustain the project in future years.” Jonathan Weldy, chairman of the San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board’s Special Populations Committee, said the organization “applauds Valley College, the Uniquely Abled Project, and all of the supporters of this model program that will create great career opportunities for a segment of the population that is often left out. At Workforce Development, we look forward to working with program graduates and our business community in providing job placement services.”
Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
