May is Mental Health Month, and San Bernardino County’s Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) is gearing up for its 17th Annual Evening with the Stars. DBH is inviting the community to nominate a deserving individual who has made a difference in the field of behavioral health. You may nominate yourself, staff members, colleagues, friends or agencies by 4 p.m. Friday, April 23, by filling out the form on www.westsidestorynewspaper.com.
Vaccinating our veterans, seniors and active military members has been an important goal of mine ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began. I’m excited to report that the VA Loma Linda Healthcare System has announced this week that enrolled veterans of ALL AGES can now get vaccinated.
VA Loma Linda has limited doses of the Johnson and Johnson Janssen vaccine, and is also receiving regular shipments of the Moderna vaccine. The brand of vaccines that Veterans will receive depends on supply at the time of appointment.
Call 909-825-7084 ext. 5085 to make an appointment. If you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, call 909-825-7084 ext. 4225.
A congratulations goes out to Hesperia Police Department’s Deputy Clarence Harris on his Sheriff’s Lifesaving Award. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department recently honored Deputy Harris for his outstanding work during his response to an assault with a deadly weapon. When Deputy Harris arrived on the scene, “he found a man suffering from a gunshot wound and bleeding profusely from his thigh. Harris applied a tourniquet to the leg and successfully slowed the bleeding. Medical personnel arrived, and the man was flown to the hospital.” Thank you, Deputy Harris, for your quick thinking and service to our community. It is much appreciated!
Ada Mae Garth was born on January 30,1934 the 4th Child of 15, to the late Charlie Lewis Wilson and the late Carrie Sturdivant Wilson in Dadeville, Alabama. Ada lived in the Dadeville and Birmingham, Alabama location until her marriage to the late Jervis Leon Garth, Sr. in 1952, in which the military afforded them to travel and live in many states abroad until they moved to San Bernardino, CA.
Ada was a resident of San Bernardino, CA location for over 55 years. She was known for her kindness, generosity, and infectious Smile. Her home was a revolving door of Love. She treated everyone’s child that entered her home as though they were her own. The love of the Lord shined thru her.
Ada departed this side of life on February 19, 2021. She leaves behind to cherish her precious memories, 5 daughters and 2 Sons: Kathleen Washington, Rialto, CA; Ernestine Archie; Jervis Garth Jr, Birmingham Alabama; Louise (Glenn) McMillon, Stockton, CA; Edward (Althea) Abdullah, Atlanta, GA; Caroline Garth, San Bernardino, CA, Helen Garth, Stockton, CA.; (Bernadette, Abdullah, Seattle, Washington), 4 surviving siblings; Charles Wilson of Montgomery, Alabama; Geraldine Wilson, Lagrange, Georgia; Donald (Alma) Wilson, Birmingham, Ala; Connie (Harold) Brown, Pinson, Ala; a host of 1, 2, 3 and 4 generation grandkids, nieces and nephews. She will truly be missed and not forgotten.
Viewing and Service at The Community Memorial Chapel 738 E Highland Ave, San Bernardino, CA 92404. Viewing April 20, 2021 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Service April 21, 2021 11:00 am. Interment immediately following at Montecito Memorial Park.
Every tax season there seems to be a new scam. The IRS is warning the community that scammers are impersonating IRS officials in an attempt to steal your identity or access your financial information.
Please remember that the IRS will not:
Call to demand an immediate payment.
Ask for bank account, credit, or debit card information over the phone.
Call and threaten legal action or to contact local authorities.
San Bernardino County Museum will reopen to the public on Thursday, March 18, featuring the exhibit, “Here Comes the Sun: Solar Science and Spirituality.” The exhibit features dramatic, large scale footage from NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory. Temporarily modified hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m.Tuesday-Sunday.
The museum is also seeking artists and musicians to participate in their virtual exhibit, “Inside the Lines: Voices of the Civil Rights Movement.” Residents are invited to post their art or music online using the hashtag #SBCMCallAndResponse or #VVMCallAndResponse for an opportunity to be highlighted on the museum’s social media platforms. Submissions can also be received via email at museum@sbcounty.gov.
Can COVID vaccines affect fertility? Were Black people used in the COVID vaccine research studies? Do you still need to get vaccinated if you’ve already had COVID-19? What is emergency use authorization?
These are just four out of about 50 resurfacing questions a group of Black doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals’ answers in a video intended to penetrate clouds of misinformation about COVID-19 as it provides vital information that address lingering questions, still unanswered, that many people have about COVID-19.
The video titled “A Conversation: Between Us, About Us,” is moderated by Palo Alto native, comedian and San Francisco resident W. Kamau Bell. The video is produced with the support of a partnership between the Black Coalition Against COVID (BCAC), a national advocacy group, and the San Francisco-based Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a philanthropic non-profit focused on generating data and resources to equip policymakers and the general public with important health information.
“I was a part of the expert African American panel, which is a group of providers like myself – with doctors, nurses, community people, et cetera. This is a group that was created through National Institutes of Health to review the various vaccine protocols for the different companies that were developing the vaccines,” said Orlando Harris, a public health researcher, during the introduction of the video featuring him.
The healthcare professionals’ push to educate African Americans with the intention to reduce “vaccine hesitancy” is just one of many other similar campaigns around the country organized by civil rights organizations, government agencies, professional organizations, community groups, foundations and others.
The information they are providing comes at a time when California is taking major steps to relax social isolation guidelines, reopen large businesses like theme parks and restart in-person learning for children attending K-12 public schools. Last week, Gov. Newsom announced that the state is investing $6.6 billion into recovery efforts that include facilitating the safe reopening of schools.
On Friday, Mark Ghaly, California Health and Human Services Secretary, said he believes as more Californians become vaccinated the safter it would be to change the state-issued guidance on restricted activities. Theme parks could reopen as soon as April 1, he said.
“We feel like now is the appropriate time to begin to reintroduce these activities in some fashion and, again, in a guarded way, in a slow and steady way, with the other protective factors of the blueprint all sort of wrapped around it,” Ghaly said during the news briefing.
The medical professionals who participated in “Conversation” project say the information they share in the videos will facilitate discussions among family members and arm health workers with credible information they need to answer questions patients may have.
“Taking off my hat as a clinician and a researcher, I have to go home and have conversations with my mom, with my dad, and my grandparents about the vaccine and why taking the vaccine is important,” explained Harris, who is also a family nurse practitioner and assistant professor at the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing.
“Being on that panel with the rest of my colleagues and reviewing the protocols, gave me great insights,” he continued. “So, now I can have the conversation with you. I can have it with my family, and I can say, actually, we were represented in the trials and these are the numbers, et cetera.
Black Americans are among groups least likely to get the vaccines even though their COVID-19 mortality rates are among the highest in the U.S., according to KFF. The report states that 34 % of Blacks across the country say they will “wait and see” if the vaccines are working on others before they take it.
“As Black health academicians, researchers, and clinicians, we understand our empathy-based responsibility to provide our community with the resources and guidance on surviving this pandemic,” said Dr. Reed Tuckson, a member of BCAC. “As such, we appreciate this partnership with KFF to produce one of the largest of its kind campaigns to creatively provide trustworthy information that will save Black lives.”
In California so far, there have been 54,128 COVID-19 deaths as of March 7. Across the state, there have been about 3.8 million confirmed cases with about 1.2 million of them registered in Los Angeles County alone.
Dr. Pamela Simms-Mackey is chair of Pediatrics and Chief of Graduate Medical Education at Alameda Health System in Oakland. She says much of her work has been centered around promoting equity and reducing health disparities for African Americans and other minorities who have been underserved.
“When people in their minds think of side effects, they think of something that happens that is not supposed to happen,” she said. “Soreness at the injection site, headaches, fever, a swollen lymph node. Those are vaccine-anticipated reactions. That shows your body is reacting to the vaccines. Those are good signs. You want to see that. That shows that the vaccine is working in your body.”
Dr. Rhea Boyd, a physician at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Chief Medical Officer of San Diego 211, a community health organization, says she believes roadblocks that prevent African Americans from getting COVID-19 vaccines have little to do with hesitancy.
“The barriers are accessible facts about the COVID-19 vaccines and convenient access to receive a vaccine,” said Boyd. She co-developed the project with KFF and the Black Coalition Against COVID.
“This is a comprehensive effort on behalf of Black health care workers across the country,” she said.
Below you will find the City of San Bernardino employment opportunities list for the week of March 15, 2021. If you are interested in advancing your career or if you know someone that may be interested in joining the City of San Bernardino, we invite you to take a closer look at our employment opportunities. For more information please visit the City’s website at www.sbcity.org/jobs or call 909-384-5104. For a complete list of job requirements and to apply visit www.sbcity.org/jobs or call 909-384-5104.
MORENO VALLEY, CA—– In the blink of an eye, it has been a year since Shango Moreno Valley first opened its doors to cannabis lovers throughout the Inland Empire. Not even a pandemic stopped the multi-state cannabis company from growing a large and loyal customer base. To celebrate the dispensary’s success, Shango will be hosting a two-day birthday party on Saturday, March 20, and Sunday, March 21.
“Over our first year, we were able to build hundreds of quality friendships with our customers and now we’re going to reward them for their loyalty,” says Shango Controller Julie Dubocq. “It’s time to party.”
Highlights include food trucks, giveaways and specials on flower, vapes and edibles galore to light up the weekend of fun.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Good Times Ice Cream truck will be on hand from noon to 3 p.m., followed by the TK Burgers Truck for the dinner rush between 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Prize raffles for the day include products from Puffco, Huni Badger and more. Patrons get a free raffle ticket with every purchase.
Over both days, 29 items will feature discount prices or be offered for $1 with purchase of two of the same item.
Shango is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is located at 11875 Pigeon Pass Road, STE C-1, in Moreno Valley, CA 92557. Call 1-866-4SHANGO for more information.
By Manny Otiko and Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media
Fourteen California Black Democratic elected officials serving at the federal, state, county and city government levels joined hands in a virtual show of support for Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday during a news briefing on Zoom. In one-minute statements, each one explained why she or he is standing behind Newsom as a Republican Party-led effort to recall California’s 40th governor gains ground across the state.
The two main organizations spearheading the recall effort, RescueCalifornia.org and RecallGavin2020.com, announced last week that they had collected the signatures of more than 2 million Californians for the petition they expect will soon trigger a recall election.
To begin the process of removing Newsom from office, the governors’ opponents must collect 1.5 million signatures – or 12 % of the total number of people that voted in the last gubernatorial election. They must also submit the signatures to registrars in all 58 counties by close of business on March 17.
“This is the beginning. Let’s hope this is the last time we come together to talk about this. But mark my words, if this recall does qualify, we will crush it because we will be united. We will not fall for a trick,” said U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA-37), pointing out that Gov. Newsom has done nothing that should warrant him being removed from office.
Bass said based on the price tag of past attempts to recall California governors, most recently Gov. Gray Davis in 2002, an election to remove Newsom from office would cost taxpayers over $100 million.
A total of 9.4 million voters cast ballots in the special election that ended Davis’ governorship.
Because the state, will hold a gubernatorial election next year, Bass says, it not fiscally responsible to hold one this year.
U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA-13) said there is “no reason to recall the governor of the state of California.”
“There will be an election in June 2022 and people will have a chance to vote. So, I urge everyone to join us in this unfair recall against Governor Newsom,” she said.
Sen. Steve Bradford (D-Gardena) said Gov. Newsom has been a “friend of the African American community.”
“This governor has stood with us on criminal justice reform. He has eliminated and paused executions because he realized the majority of people of death row are minorities – Black and Brown individuals who are over-sentenced and over-prosecuted all the time and many times are innocent,” said Bradford. “So, we stand with this governor. He has stood with us.”
So far, recall supporters say they have over 2 million signatures – well over the minimum required by the state. The Secretary of State’s office has until April 29 to verify the signatures.
Many supporters of the recall effort say their plan to oust Newsom has been motivated largely by frustration over the strict coronavirus lockdown the governor imposed on the state. Some of the leading supporters are the California Republican Party, 2018 Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and the Republican National Committee. Both Cox and Faulconer have put their names forward to replace Newsom, if he’s removed from office.
“We’ve proven we can win. And I did it twice in San Diego. San Diego’s registration mirrors that of California — 24 % Republican — it’s the same in San Diego as it was statewide,” Faulconer said in an interview with the conservative magazine National Review. “So, I know how to build coalitions and win and get results. I know how to use the power of the bully pulpit to go out and win the argument publicly and then win the vote. That’s what you have to do to be successful in California and you have to get not just Republicans but independents and a portion of Democrats as well.”
But according to Ballotpedia, Republicans have had it in for Newsom for a while. This is the sixth recall attempt against Newsom since 2019. But the previous five weren’t successful.
In addition to Bass, Lee and Bradford, the other African American California elected officials who joined the media briefing to express their support for Newsom are: State Sen. Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles); Assemblymembers Autumn Burke (D Inglewood), Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles) and Mike Gipson (D-Carson); San Francisco Mayor London Breed; Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell; California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond; California Board of Equalization Member Malia Cohen; Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe; Los Angeles City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas; and Los Angeles City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson.
Gov. Newsom, who has said very little publicly about the recall, spoke up in an email to supporters Monday.
“I am not going to take this recall attempt lying down,” Newsom said. “I’m going to fight because there’s too much at stake in this moment.”
The governor also took to Twitter.
“I won’t be distracted by this partisan, Republican recall — but I will fight it,’’ he tweeted. Getting Californians vaccinated, our economy safely reopened, and our kids back in school are simply too important to risk.”
Breed said Newsom had led the state through a difficult time. She said Newsom showed more leadership than former President Donald Trump. According to Breed, Trump had abandoned San
Francisco during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. She dismissed the recall effort as a “right-wing attack.”
In Washington, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) all came out in full-throated support of Newsom the same afternoon. Shortly after, Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams also voiced her support for California’s governor.
“This governor was duly elected and deserves to serve his full term,” said Cohen. “A recall is the ultimate statement of voter suppression. Citizens of California came together and voted disproportionately to support Gov. Newsom. It is our duty to fight this baseless, senseless recall.
Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
