17th Annual PARTY IN PALM SPRINGS
WEEKEND GETAWAY
JULY, 26-28 2013 VIP Champagne Welcome Reception
Bronco Riding
CITY OF INDUSTRY – The exciting Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, the only nationally touring Black Rodeo, brings two days of enjoyment for the whole family for days on Saturday and Sunday July 20 and 21 at the Industry Hills Expo Center, and featuring Urban Cowboys and Cowgirls performing feats of bravery and expertise. It is by far “The Greatest Show on Dirt!” These competitors will also be joined by horse riding celebrity cowboys like actors Glyn Turman, Bill Pickins, Jr., and Delroy Lindo. In fact you never know who is going to show up to celebrate the historical cultural legacy of Black Americans shaping America’s Western heritage at the Bill Pickett Rodeo!
Events will include Bare Back Ridin’, Tie Down Ropin’, Ladies Steer Undecoratin’, Barrel Racin’, Bull Ridin’, Muttin Bustin’ (for kids), and of course Bull Doggin’ the rodeo stunt invented by none other than the Legendary Black Cowboy from Texas Bill Pickett!
“Bull Dogging” is when horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by grabbing and twisting its horns. Pickett also used his teeth, as a dog would do. His exploits also made Mr. Pickettl one of America’ s first stunt men. He provided the vision for all those cowboy movies where the hero jumps from his horse to stop wild horses or a runaway stage coach.
Born in 1870, Pickett was also a ranch cowboy and he and his brothers also operated Pickett Bros. Bronco Busters and Rough Riders Association in Texas. Pickett became very famous for his work on the rodeo circuit where he was often billed as the “Dusky Demon.” In 1905 the Miller Brothers who operated the famous 101 Ranch Wild West Show, hired Pickett for their show and moved him and his entire family to Oklahoma. Pickett performed across the U.S. as well as in Madison Square Garden in New York and across the seas in England, and appeared in at least one cowboy movie.
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma inducted Pickett into its Hall of Fame in 1971, and the museum (www.nationalcowboymuseum.org) hosts a regular Bill Pickett Program every Saturday where children learn all about the feats and exploits of this pioneering Black rodeo cowboy. In 1987, a large bronze statue depicting Pickett bulldogging was unveiled at the Fort Worth Cowtown Coliseum and a . The National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (www.cowboysofcolor.org ) features displays and programs on prominent figures in American history, including African American, Native American and European trailblazers from the Old West and the Buffalo Soldiers and inducted Pickett into its Hall of Fame in 2003. The Texas Historical Commission and the Woodson-dickey History Club erected a monument plaque to Pickett in 1991. Mr. Pickett is also depicted on a U.S. Postage stamp (so is his brother Ben due to a photo mix-up.) Pickett died in 1932 and is buried on White Eagle Monument Hill in Oklahoma.
The Saturday show starts at 7 p.m. and the Sunday show starts at 3 p.m. Tickets: Children $17 Adv/$20 at gate; Adults $20 Adv/$24 at gate; Arena $30 Adv/$35 at gate. Tickets for the Bill Pickett Rodeo are available at Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com, Black Voice News in Riverside-San Bernardino; in Carson, CA at Venni Mac’s M&M Soul and at the Postal Annex on E. University Dr.; in Inglewood at Inglewood Tickets on S. Market Street, at Ms. B’s M&M Soul Food on W. Manchester Blvd at Zahra’s Books N. Things on N. La Brea Ave., and also at A Cultural Affair Boutique also on N. La Brea Ave.; in Long Beach at Shades of Afrika on E. 4th St.; in Los Angeles at Zambezi Bazzar on Degnan Blvd. in Leimert Park and at Simply Wholesome on W. Slauson Ave..
Proceeds also benefit the Bill Pickett Memorial Scholarship Fund which provides scholarships to Black high school and college students involved or interested in pursuing careers in Rodeo or animal Science. The Industry Hills Expo Center is located at 16200 Temple Ave. in the City of Industry, CA 91744. For Information and Group Sales call 310-674-6700, or the Hotline at 310-599-5555, and visit online at www.billpickettrodeo.com, 866-LVRODEO. (L.E. Pezant, WSSN 7-11-13)
Michelle Myers-Heard and Pastor Artis Glass, Jr.
Leap of Faith Community Baptist Church, Inc. is a small congregation that has rejoiced in the money it has saved on its electric bill. Established in 1997, the Inglewood, Calif., church has saved about $3,500 in less than two years by simply changing 91 of its lights to compact fluorescent ones as part of Southern California Edison’s (SCE) energy-efficiency program.
The arrival of summer and high temperatures brings higher electric bills, and Pastor Glass believes it is important that organizations, businesses and individuals take advantage of money-and-energy-saving programs.
Pastor Glass learned about SCE’s Energy Efficient Express Solutions program from a church member. Brother Rutherford is a contractor who mentioned that the church lighting was very dim and that a simple solution would be programs offered by SCE to increase lighting and generate savings.
“Signing up for the program was easy,” said Pastor Glass. “The program was free and it is paying for itself.”
The pastor of the congregation of 50 admitted that he did not know much about other programs offered by SCE, but that he was interested in learning more.
Michele Myers-Heard is an SCE account executive who focuses on helping faith-based organizations use energy wisely. In addition to switching the lights, Myers-Heard also discussed other energy solutions with Pastor Glass, such as the Summer Discount Plan.
“Get the information and make a decision on whether or not a program would work for you or your business,” said Pastor Glass. “The program we have at Leap of Faith is working for us and that is something that I can stand behind.”
But the savings aren’t limited to places of worship, according to Myers-Heard.
“Whether you are a business or a resident, we want to help our customers save money on their bills by helping them partner with us,” she said. “We want to help our customers be a part of the solution by making sure we have enough safe and affordable energy for all of us.”
For more information on ways to conserve energy and save money, go to SCE.com/save.
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Retirement_Planning
LOS ANGELES , CA— This presentation on retirement planning will be held on Thursday, July 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.. Topics and discussions will cover what steps business owners should take both pre and post-retirement. It combines investment strategies with non-registered strategies and products. Includes strategies on how to plan for the future; Fundamentals of Asset Allocation, shifting from Asset Accumulation to Asset Distribution, and financial concepts every business owner needs to consider for retirement. The presentation will be held at New York Life Insurance Company, a co-sponsor of the event, located at 6300 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048. FREE for GLAAAC members FREE: $10 for Non Members. Expedite registration by pre-paying online at http://glaaaccnylseminar.eventbrite.com/. RSVP by emailing to info@glaaacc.org by Tuesday, July 16, 2013. . Information: 323-292-1297| www.glaaacc.org. [GLAAC is located at 5100 W. Goldleaf Circle, Suite 203, Los Angeles, CA 90056]
SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The Center for Employment Training (CET) will host an Open House on Tuesday, July 16 to inform our community about CET’s vocational courses and training programs to offer individuals in order to help them get back into the job market and obtain employment. CET programs are open to all. CET is located at 1430 Cooley Court, San Bernardino, CA 92408. Information: 909-478-3818, www.cetweb.org.
MURRIETTA, CA— In a global-knowledge based economy, the success of each citizen and the productivity of our nation depend on reinforcing and expanding our role as a world leader in discovery and innovation. That role is determined by how we educate each student, in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics [STEM]. InSoCal Connect (www.insocalconnect.org) will present the topic “Why STEM Education Matters” as part of its Thought Leadership Series, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
The keynote speaker will be Dr. Pamela S. Clute, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Educational and Community Engagement, the Executive Director for the ALPHA Center at the University of California, Riverside. Dr. Clute established the ALPHA Center in 1998 and her work at the Center allows her to champion her passion: motivating young people toward success in STEM careers. She is also working to create an intellectual climate that promotes and improves education opportunities for ALL students and a well trained workforce.
The event is Free and lunch will is provided. The event, presented by will be held at the Murrieta Valley Unified School District, 41870 Mcalby Courtt, Murrieta, CA 92562. Reserve your seat: RSVP ccaldwell@insocalconnect.org.
Seeker_Nanotechnology
SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The no-cost Nanotechnology Technician’s Training begins on Monday July 8 and ends August 22, 2013, and the classes have space for more trainees. The training is now open to both Unemployed persons as well as under-employed workers as long as they have either work experience or a science related degree. The classes have always been available to currently employed or self-employed persons.
The training includes classroom lectures as well as on-the job-training in the fundamentals of nano-materials, nano-energy and nano-medicine. The training will be held at the Center for the Advancement of Nanotechnology (NanoCenter), Applied Technology Training Center, 114 S. Del Rosa Drive in San Bernardino; plus some of the hands-on and on-the-job training will be conducted at the University of California, Riverside and at industry partners’ locations. For specific minimum qualifications, a registration packet, or further information: www.attctraining.org, 909-382-4001 or 909-382-4076 .
SACRAMENTO – In response to forecasts for excessive heat through Monday throughout much of California, state emergency and public health officials are urging Californians to drink plenty of water, wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing and take other actions that will reduce their risk of death or heat-related illness.
This warming trend has prompted the issue of Excessive Heat Warnings by the National Weather Service (NWS) through Monday for parts of Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties and Special Weather Statements for most of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley and foothills, as well as the east Bay Area.
“Prolonged exposure to excessive temperatures can be extremely dangerous, if not deadly, particularly for infants, small children seniors and those with health problems,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health. “Last year was the hottest year on record in the United States. Heat waves in California are projected to occur earlier in the season, be more intense and last longer.”
He noted that at on average heat-related emergencies cause 56 deaths in Californians each year and prompt 3,800 people to seek treatment at hospital emergency rooms for heat-related symptoms, with approximately 500 cases per year requiring hospitalization. At least 136 Californians died due to illnesses prompted by the 13-day heat wave that struck the state in July 2006.
“Cal EMA and its partner agencies have been preparing for excessive heat in many areas of the state this summer and fall by reviewing internal procedures, updating cooling center data bases, identifying state fairgrounds and facilities that serve as cooling centers and taking other actions to help cities and counties throughout the state ensure the safety of their residents, but it’s important that every Californian who is able do the simple, but important things that can make the difference between life and death,” said California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA Secretary Mark Ghilarducci.
Key actions residents and visitors of California can take to reduce their risk of heat-related death and injury include:
The recommendations from state emergency and health officials come as state agencies implement the “Heat Alert” phase of the state’s Contingency Plan for Excessive Heat Emergencies.
Actions taken by Cal EMA and other state agencies as part of the implementation of “Heat Alert” phase activities include:
Additional information on preparing for heat-related emergencies is available at:
By Mickey MacIntyre and Sean Crowley
Imagine your 90-year-old mother has Alzheimer’s disease and is near death. But before she became mentally incompetent, she gave you power of attorney to sign a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order so medical personnel would honor her wishes to die peacefully, without aggressive medical interventions in her final days.
Then your worst nightmare unfolds: your mother goes into cardiac arrest, and is subjected to the very treatment she had been determined to avoid: aggressive, traumatic Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation, and other extreme measures, including having a hole cut in her throat, being injected with paralyzing drugs, having tubes forced down her throat and into her stomach, and having air forced into her lungs.
Two days after this aggressive, traumatic resuscitation, you are in the indescribably horrifying situation of having to direct that your mother’s ventilator be removed so she can finally die and her suffering end. But she lingers on in a slow decline for another five days while you maintain a heartbreaking, bedside vigil each day and night until she finally passes away. Then to add insult to injury, the hospital hands you a bill for this unwanted medical treatment totaling thousands of dollars.
Sound preposterous? Unfortunately, it’s not. It is Sharon Hallada’s real life, front page news nightmare. It prompted the leading national organization dedicated to ensuring that medical professionals honor patients’ end-of-life choices, Compassion & Choices, to help Sharon file a lawsuit against a hospital and a nursing home in Lakeland, Florida, for failing to honor her mother’s wishes, despite the fact that they had been clearly and legally specified in the DNR. Sharon sued on behalf of her deceased mother, Marjorie Mangiaruca, to ensure no else’s parent has to endure this kind of traumatic experience.
In fact, medical professionals override or ignore many patients’ decisions in the weeks and months before their deaths. It happens for a variety of reasons and can lead to invasive and fruitless testing, needless suffering, unrelenting pain and a prolonging of the period before death. Patients are tethered to monitors and machines despite their determination to reject treatment and desire to die at home in the embrace of loved ones.
A recent study published in Journal of the American Medical Association found that between 2000 and 2009 treatment in intensive care units in the last month of life increased from 24 percent to 29 percent. The accompanying editorial concluded, “The focus appears to be on providing curative care in the acute hospital regardless of likelihood of benefit or preferences of patients. If programs aimed at reducing unnecessary care are to be successful, patients’ goals of care must be elicited and treatment options such as palliative and hospice care offered earlier in the process than is the current norm.”
To stop this disturbing trend, policy makers can and should provide both the carrot and the stick to ensure that patients’ wishes are honored: financial incentives for honoring advance directives and financial disincentives for disregarding patients’ expressed wishes.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) should deny payment to providers when there is clear evidence that patients were subjected to treatments they didn’t want — just as current policies deny payment when patients receive unnecessary treatment.
The Justice Department is investigating hospitals and doctors’ groups for unnecessary treatment and taking legal action against the perpetrators when they find evidence of such treatment. The same diligence should be trained on unwanted medical treatment. It is always unnecessary and should never be considered acceptable.
Compassion & Choices recently recommended CMS initiate several steps to improve the quality of conversations among health care professionals, patients and families about end-of-life decisions, including:
1. Reimbursing medical providers for participation in advanced care planning with patients and their families well in advance of illness or before facing end of life;
2. Providing financial incentives and training to encourage medical providers to offer all the information and counseling necessary for a patient’s decision making when they secure informed consent;
3. Ensuring that the full range of medical care and treatment decisions, including curative care, palliative care and medical assistance in dying, are freely available to patients without institutional or reimbursement barriers.
The explosion of the aging population coupled with the nation’s financial and moral commitment to providing health care to an ever-increasing number of Americans reveals that the scourge of unwanted medical treatment must be an urgent priority for our nation.
Mickey MacIntyre is the Chief Program Officer for the nation’s leading end-of-life choice advocacy group, Compassion & Choices. He recently testified before the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Transforming End-of-Life Care.
Sean Crowley is Media Relations Manager for Compassion & Choices and a former press secretary for U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal health care programs.
Residents are advised to stay cool, stay hydrated, and stay informed
San Bernardino: County Health Officer, Maxwell Ohikhuare, M.D. has issued an extreme heat alert for San Bernardino County, due to high temperature forecasts for the inland and desert regions. Residents are urged to take precautions that will prevent heat-related illness.
Extremely high or unusually hot temperatures can affect your health. Most vulnerable are the elderly, those who work or exercise outdoors, infants and children, the homeless or poor, and people with a chronic medical condition.
Take the necessary precautions to prevent serious health effects such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
Stay cool
Stay hydrated
Stay informed
Additionally, the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health encourages all residents to learn the signs and first aid response for heat-related illness. Warning signs and symptoms vary but may include:
Heat Exhaustion
Symptoms
Heat Stroke
Symptoms
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