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SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- The San Bernardino County Public Health Department on Friday (Dec. 17) delivered more than 1,000 over the counter COVID-19 testing kits and face masks to Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (C.O.P.E.), a nonprofit faith-based organization of Black churches in the county.

“Our County is among the first in California to provide these over-the-counter tests to our nonprofits,” said San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “We are leading the way on COVID-19 response by working with trusted community organizations to provide tests kits and masks to keep our communities safe and healthy.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the County has worked in partnership with C.O.P.E. to get people tested and vaccinated, Hagman said.

C.O.P.E.’s mission is to train and develop the capacity of religious and lay leaders in congregations across the Inland Empire to protect and revitalize the communities in which they live, work, and worship.

“On behalf of Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (C.O.P.E.), and Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches (IECAAC), we want to thank Supervisor Curt Hagman, as well as the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health for always being great partners,” said C.O.P.E. Executive Director Pastor Samuel Casey. “This is another layer of great partnership in stemming the tide of the pandemic as we see a rise in COVID cases. These take-home kits are a great resource for the community, especially for those who distrust the testing and vaccination process. This partnership is a positive and powerful way to end 2021.”

Friday’s delivery of testing kits and masks to C.O.P.E. was the first group of free supplies that will go out to eligible nonprofit organizations. Non-profit organizations can request an allocation of COVID-19 tests by submitting a request form here. Test kits will be available for distribution starting the week of Dec. 20.

Rapid antigen tests provide results in as little as 10 minutes. Individuals 14 or older can perform the test directly. Adults can help perform the test for children aged 2 or older. The test can be used for individuals with or without symptoms. People who get a positive test result, should self-isolate at home and avoid contact with others and follow care instructions from their healthcare provider.

“Testing continues to be a priority in San Bernardino County and providing COVID testing resources to our non-profit organizations is another way we can mitigate COVID-19 transmission in our community,” said Public Health Director Josh Dugas. “As we enter the holiday season, we want to ensure that travelers have access to fast, reliable, and easy-to-use COVID testing and be able to provide documentation of their results.”

To learn more about the On/Go rapid antigen kit, call the Public Health COVID-19 Testing Program Coordinator at (909) 501-8285.

ADELANTO, CA— Residents of Adelanto formed the group Adelanto Resident Delegate Committee two weeks before announcing their push for recall efforts against Mayor Gabriel Reyes (shown here) from the City of Adelanto. They have filed the Letter of Intention to circulate the Recall Petition on December 15, 2021, against Mayor Reyes  and the San Bernardino County Register of Voters have verified the signatures required to proceed with the recall efforts.

They are hopeful that neighboring communities will support them in our recall efforts as corruption continues to permeate the local governments of the United States of America. They would like to send a message to all elected leaders. The residents are watching, and we are not afraid to take matters into our own hands.

View the letter here

YUCAIPA, CA— Crafton Hills College (CHC) is offering a one-day, virtual registration event on January 5 to help students who want to enroll for spring classes.

On January 5, CHC will hold the Roadrunner Express Enrollment event to help make it easier than ever to get started at the college. CHC staff will assist students through the registration process, including application, orientation, assessment, advisement and enrollment. Those interested in participating in the Roadrunner Express Enrollment event must register at the link below.

The college is offering a variety of perks for students who register for spring, including a free loaner Chromebook and Wi-Fi hotspot, free parking and free textbook rentals. Spring classes at CHC start January 18.

For more information on this opportunity to fast-track your spring registration or register for the event, visit craftonhills.edu/expressenrollment.

The CSUF Black Student Scholarship Fund application opened on December 6. Together, the Orange County Community Foundation and Cal State University, Fullerton have established a dedicated scholarship program to promote the college aspirations of Black students in our community. If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $1,500 award.

You can also find the requirements listed below, as well as the direct link to the application hosted through the Scholarship America Portal. The deadline to submit applications is February 1, 2022.

Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Self-identify as Black or African American
• Be a prospective, incoming, or current undergraduate student
• Plan to enroll full-time at CSUF for the upcoming academic year
• Have a minimum 2.8 GPA

To apply, please follow this link: https://learnmore.scholarsapply.org/csufscholarship/.

Please feel free to contact Scholarship America with any questions at csufscholarship@scholarshipamerica.org or my colleague Misty Soto, who is leading this partnership, at msoto@oc-cf.org.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— On Christmas morning, Saturday, December 25, Santa Claus was at The Salvation Army Hospitality House for the first time ever and made a magical morning even more special by delivering donated gifts to homeless children. Santa was played by John Berry, long time bell ringer, supporter of The Salvation Army and retried 20-year veteran reporter from the Press Enterprise.

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The Salvation Army put on the event to restore hope to desperate families and children in dire circumstances. In this pandemic Inland Empire, we are called to Restore Hope and share joy through unique opportunities such as this with those who are most vulnerable.

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The San Bernardino Board of Supervisors unanimously approved ordinances allowing Code Enforcement to immediately issue citations related to illegal cannabis grows and make it easier to abate or clean up those sites.

Over the past several months the County has taken an aggressive approach in fighting against illegal cannabis grows with Operation Hammer Strike. Illegal grows negatively impact the wellbeing and safety of area residents and have devastating impacts on the environment.

When the sites are abandoned or shut down, they leave behind a blight on the community.

The vote taken by the Board Tuesday will do several things to help mitigate the impacts of illegal cannabis sites in unincorporated San Bernardino County. The new ordinance creates streamlined and expedited procedures for abatement and passes the cost of clean-up on to the property owners, not the taxpayers. It will also authorize issuance of immediate administrative citations where there are proven violations related to the illegal cultivation of cannabis. Moreover, it allows for the items used in the cultivation of illegal cannabis to be declared a public nuisance and therefore subject to abatement and discarding.  Items include things such as trailers, hoop houses, electrical equipment, fencing, greenhouses, sheds, and irrigation systems.

“This vote is a big step forward in our fight against illegal cannabis and the dangers associated with it,” said Dawn Rowe, Vice Chair of the Board of Supervisors. “While we continue to make significant progress in shutting down these sites, we need to do more to ensure that we clean up the mess that these criminals leave behind. All of our residents deserve to live in safe and clean environment.”

#OperationHammer Strike Completes 14 Weeks of Enforcement

The Sheriff’s Department completed a 14th week of #OperationHammerStrike in the areas of Lucerne Valley, Helendale, Johnson Valley, Hinkley, El Mirage, Rancho Cucamonga, El Monte, and San Gabriel.

From Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, the Sheriff’s Marijuana Enforcement Team along with deputies from several patrol stations served 22 search warrants after receiving numerous complaints about large outdoor and indoor marijuana cultivations in these areas.

Sheriff’s personnel located and arrested 21 suspects.  Investigators seized 19,117 marijuana plants, 10,844 pounds of processed marijuana, nine guns, and over $99,000. A total of 312 greenhouses were eradicated from these locations and four indoor grow locations.  Investigators mitigated one electrical bypass and one THC extraction lab.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is urged to contact the Sheriff’s Gangs/Narcotics Division at (909) 387-8400 or NARC-MET@sbcsd.org. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463), or you may leave the information on the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com.

RIALTO, CA—- California’s Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Natalie Palugyai as Secretary of California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) in July 2021, making her the first Latina to ever serve in this post. Last Thursday, Secretary Pulagyai visited the Inland Empire with the California Workforce Development Agency leadership in tow to learn more about High Road Training Partnership grant recipient, IEWorks, a regional water/wastewater workforce collaborative delivering equitable water/wastewater career pathways.

 “I really want to recognize the hard work and partnerships that have come together to make this training program happen,” stated Secretary Palugyai in her opening remarks. “Let’s use these opportunities to break down barriers and do things differently and be ok with testing those new approaches.”

Secretary Pulagyi visited West Valley Water District to explore their operations at the Olivier P. Roemer Water Filtration Facility and to meet participants from IEWorks. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, roughly one-third of the water sector will be eligible to retire in the next ten years. In the Inland Empire, experts project a total of about 835 openings in critical water industry occupations due to workers retiring or transferring to new careers.

“We were thankful to host Secretary Pulagyai and the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency to share our progress within the region on building equitable pathways to water/wastewater careers,” shared IEWorks cofounder and West Valley Water District President Channing Hawkins. “Our goal with IEWorks is to create a unique model that involves collaboration amongst water/wastewater agencies, underrepresented communities, and harnessing our collective resources to ensure we create meaningful opportunities for Inland Empire families.”

IEWorks was created from an unprecedented partnership between seven local water agencies, works to address this expected shortage of skilled workers by creating a qualified pipeline of aspiring local water and wastewater professionals. IEWorks also partners with Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) and BAYWORK, a consortium of Bay Area water and wastewater utilities, to leverage their successes and best practices. Through a $1 million state grant, the High Road Training Partnership assists IEWorks in recruiting and training 100 jobseekers in underrepresented areas of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Today, 12 interns have participated in the program, with one being hired after their internship. Funding is utilized to provide wraparound services and alleviate burdens associated with job training and attending school, such as transportation vouchers, childcare, and providing livable wages to participants.

“The need to modernize and enhance our operations and infrastructure is fueled by the impact of the climate crisis,” stated IEWorks cofounder and Western Municipal Water District Vice President Gracie Torres. “With forthcoming retirements, droughts, and a need to meet our region’s water needs, we must address the upcoming gap by creating a qualified and prepared workforce that will be able to staff these facilities and lead us into the future of water/wastewater.”

Pictured (from left to right): 1 California Labor Secretary Natalie Palugyai is pictured with IEWorks cofounders, West Valley Water District President Channing Hawkins, and Western Municipal Water District Vice President Gracie Torres.

Representatives from San Bernardino Community College District, local water and utility districts, California Workforce Development Board President Dr. Angelo Farooq, and California State Senator Connie Leyva were amongst the guests in attendance and participated in a tour that highlighted the process which treats surface water from Lytle Creek and the State Water Project delivered through Lake Silverwood. The Olivier P. Roemer facility is scheduled to expand through a $25 million investment to increase capacity by 7.2 million gallons per day (MGD) to meet regional water demands, address water supply reliability, and support regional groundwater sustainability management efforts.

For participants interested and agencies looking to join, visit IEWorks.org to learn more or contact program manager Scott Goodell at scott@ieworks.org.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- At its December 15 Council meeting, City Manager Robert Field introduced two recently hired members of the city leadership team – Human Resources Director Rene Anderson and Director of Information Technology Rolland Kornblau.

“Both Rene and Rolland bring a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge to San Bernardino,” said City Manager Robert Field. “We are very pleased to have them both as part of the team serving our residents.”

In the role of Director of Human Resources, Rene Anderson oversees the recruitment, employment, classification, compensation, employee relations, training and development, performance evaluation, benefits, and workers’ compensation for San Bernardino.

When asked about her decision to come to San Bernadino, Anderson replied, “I am thrilled about the opportunity to connect with the resilient employees here at the city. It’s exciting to be a part of the revitalizing of the community while rebuilding its workforce.”

Anderson joins the city after spending 19 years at the City of Los Angeles and fifteen years in the private sector. While at L.A., she worked for the Public Works, the Port of Los Angeles, Department of Water and Power, and Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). As the Employee Relations Manager for LAWA, she handled a workforce of over 3,500 sworn and civilian employees. Anderson holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from University of Phoenix and bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from California State Dominguez Hills

As Director of Information Technology, Rolland. Kornblau is responsible for leading the City’s technology strategy and managing overall IT operations, including customer service.

For the past five years, Kornblau was the Director of Technology at the El Rancho Unified School District in Pico Rivera, where he was directly responsible for seventeen locations including fifteen school sites. Under his direction, the district replaced all network hardware, replaced wireless hardware and software, installed a voice over internet protocol phone system, and transitioned many applications to the cloud for security and redundancy.

Kornblau has 23 years of Technology experience working in all levels of Information Technology. Prior to his role at El Rancho, he served in several roles, including Director of Technology for the Whittier City School District. He holds a BA degree in Information Systems from American Sentinel University and a MPA from California State, Northridge.

INLAND EMPIRE, CA—- On December 20, 2021 the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC) adopted the final maps for California’s Congressional, State Assembly, State Senate, and Board of Equalization boundaries for the next ten years. IE United facilitated community-based organizations through the Inland Empire Redistricting Hub to ensure the needs of low-income communities of color and working families in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties were uplifted and considered throughout the 2021 redistricting process. “Though the maps are not perfect, we feel there is a lot of good accomplished with our new state and congressional districts. Communities of color across the region are kept together in key districts from San Bernardino and Rialto to Jurupa Valley and Riverside, to Moreno Valley and Perris,” said Sky Allen, program director for IE United.

The Inland Empire Redistricting Hub submitted over 100 communities of interest, delivered dozens of public comments, and submitted 5 region-wide draft maps since June of 2021. Participating partners facilitated numerous community education meetings and led a grassroots effort to ensure that the political boundaries used to elect public servants were truly reflective of communities in the region.

Sky Allen, who facilitated the Inland Empire Redistricting Hub on behalf of IE United, responded to the final state and congressional maps adopted by saying, “Though we are disappointed to see the High Desert Split at the Senate level and the Coachella Valley split at every level, overall, we are proud of all that our community partners were able to accomplish through their advocacy this past year. It has not been easy and of course we could not get every district to look the way we wanted them to, but there is not a doubt in my mind that we influenced the process and the districts for the better!”

Inland Empire United (IE United) is a collective impact table of community leaders and agents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. IE United brings movements together around a progressive vision for the region and advocates for transformational change within the counties. IE United coordinated the efforts of the Inland Empire Redistricting Hub with external partners through the Integrative Vote Engagement (IVE) Redistricting Alliance.

To learn more about IE United and Program Director Sky Allen visit www.ieunited.org

By Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media

The Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. Van Hook, pastor of Community Church in Oakland, says when COVID-19 vaccinations were first released late last year he did not want to get the shot.

“As African Americans, we have a healthy distrust of the government based on our history,” said Van Hook.

But after some soul searching, there was a shift in his spirit, says Van Hook. It led to a change of his heart.

“It came to me through God’s visitation of the holy spirit that not only do I need to get vaccinated, but I need to become an ambassador in the community where we live work and worship. So that’s how my journey began.”

A little over a year ago, Van Hook joined hands with 38 other Black pastors from around California and formed the African American Community Empowerment Council (AACEC). With help from the state, members began setting up testing and vaccination sites at their churches.

“It is an initiative led by African American pastors, realizing that we need to pay special attention to our community – an affirmative action plan, if you please — for Black Californians who are understandably skeptical and don’t want to get vaccinated,” Van Hook said.

“Our healing, our hope, come through vaccination,” he continued. “That is how we will push past this pandemic in a healthy way to get to our new normal.

Now, ahead of the holidays Van Hook and other pastors are encouraging Black Californians to get vaccinated and tested before traveling and getting together with relatives.

“A majority of the cases and deaths are among those who are unvaccinated,” said Van Hook. “For those of us who have been waiting to see what was in it, what it was all about, we now have over a year of vaccinations and nobody’s eyes have fallen out. No bug has been placed in us where we can be tracked. There are so many stories we have heard in social media.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that Black people in the United States are being hospitalized for COVID-19 2.6 times more than Whites. According to the agency’s website, Black people are also dying of COVID-19 at nearly twice the rate of White mortalities.

During the thick of the pandemic, the AACEC website says the pastors “stepped up” responding to a call to action by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who asked all Californians to deploy every resource available to them to confront and defeat the deadly virus.

“Through this effort, testing of at-risk, underrepresented, and under-resourced African Americans, and all community members appearing for a test, will be phased across the state beginning in Alameda County and extending in regular intervals to encompass San Francisco, Sacramento, Solano, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Gabriel, and San Diego counties,” the AACEC website reads.

There are now also testing sites in San Bernardino County. Vaccination sites are located in Oakland, Pasadena, Sacramento and San Francisco.

Across the country, another organization called Choose Healthy Life (CHL) has similarly united Black religious leaders to battle COVID-19, opting to focus on tackling misinformation and increasing vaccination rates.

Black clergy members and civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, Pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York, are leading the charge for this program.

“Covid-19 has exposed health disparities, and more disturbingly, the impact of misinformation among our own people.  But I have looked beyond the horizon of today’s headlines. After 750,000 deaths in America and more than 5 million worldwide, the pendulum is beginning to swing —and Choose Healthy Life is at the vanguard of that change,” Sharpton said.

CHL spokesperson Judy Klym detailed the program’s scope.

“After launching CHL in 50 churches in five major cities in January 2021, the program’s expansion has led to more than 50,000 members of the public being educated and empowered,” she said. “Through this collaborative effort, more than 6 million people have been impacted. Choose Healthy Life now has 120 participating churches in 13 states.”

Klym cited the new omicron variant as part of the reason for the urgency of this program’s implementation.

“As the threat from COVID continues with the emergence of the Omicron variant, the ongoing nature of the pandemic seems inevitable. CHL is rising to meet the challenge by building a sustainable infrastructure to help Black communities throughout the pandemic and future health crises,” Klym stated.

Debra Fraser-Howze, founder of CHL, says the Black church’s involvement in the COVID-19 fight is critical.

 “The Black church and clergy have been a steadfast center of strength and leadership during so many of our crises and struggles in the past. Now, through the Choose Healthy Life Action Plan, they are once again leading the way by ensuring that Black communities are better informed and safer throughout the pandemic,” she said.

Van Hook says when vaccination began at his church earlier this year on Resurrection Sunday, he drew a parallel.

“Vaccinations equal resurrection. Both of them give life as opposed to the death that this invisible, deadly virus has ministered all over the world,” he said.