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(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—- SACRAMENTO, CA—- On Thursday, September 6, Governor Brown signed AB 2568 by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino), a bill that requires county jails to determine a veteran’s status or previous military service when they are processed after an arrest.

The change in processing at jails will connect veterans to Veteran Treatment Courts and other services at the soonest available time. Veteran Treatment Courts are a means of diversion for veterans entering into the criminal justice system and to avoid unnecessary incarceration of Veterans who have developed PTSD and other mental health issues as a result of their service. Veteran Treatment Courts lead to the treatment and counseling for many mentally ill offenders who are veterans of the U.S. military, including those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Military Sexual Trauma, substance abuse, or other mental health problems.

“California has the greatest concentration of veterans in the country and as such, we have a greater duty to serve those who have served our country,” said Assemblymember Reyes. “By inquiring about veteran-designation and military service, we can connect veterans much sooner with required medical treatments and services and potentially find alternative sentencing options that will not require incarceration. We have an extensive network of Veteran Treatment Courts and we will now ensure that our Veterans avail themselves of this option.”

Upon being elected, Assemblymember Reyes formed a Veterans Advisory Committee to discuss the needs of Veterans in the District and throughout California. The committee typically meets quarterly to share their concerns with Assemblymember Reyes.

“During our Veterans Advisory meeting we shared the stories of our veterans who were not given the opportunity to go through Veterans Court. It was wrong. Assemblymember Reyes listened to us and introduced a bill to fix the problem,” said Danny Morales.

Danny Marquez, also a member of the Veteran Advisory Committee was elated to hear of the Governor’s signature on AB 2568.

“From day one Assemblymember Reyes encouraged our Veterans committee to bring forward the most relevant issues and solutions for veterans and their families. She understood the answers were within those who serve the needs of veterans on a daily basis! As a veteran who has worked with our local veterans, I am so glad to know they will be protected. I’m grateful to Assemblymember Reyes for listening to us, believing there was a solution, and acting on it!”

There are currently 33 Veteran Treatment Courts located in 29 different counties throughout the state of California with Los Angeles and Santa Barbara Counties each having two. Five counties have alternative veteran treatment courts: Amador, Kern, Nevada, Santa Cruz, and Trinity. For more information on AB 2568 or to follow it through the legislative process, click here.

Mayor R. Carey Davis

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—- SAN BERNARDINO, CA— On Thursday, October 4, at 6 p.m., a Mayoral Forum between incumbent Mayor R. Carey Davis and challenger Council Member John Valdivia will be held at Ecclesia Christian Fellowship. This event will be streamed live on YouTube at ECF Online.

Council Member John Valdivia

The forum will give both the candidates an opportunity to showcase their views on municipal issues and to share their vision for the city’s future. It will also serve to inform the electorate, as well as motivate the community to get out and vote.

During the general election, which was held on June 5, Valdivia received 35.75 percent of the votes cast and Davis received 27.78 percent. The next election date will be Tuesday, November 6.

Ecclesia Christian Fellowship is located at 1314 E. Date Street in San Bernardino. Everyone is invited to attend. For additional information please contact Rikke Van Johnson at (909) 725-1053. If you would like to submit a question for the candidates, please send it to rikkevanjohnson@msn.com.

J. Boykin will be one of the artists at the first annual Jazz in the Park event put on by Akoma Unity Center

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The Akoma Unity Center is hosting ‘Jazz in the Park’. The free concert will host live jazz and a variety of musical entertainment in an atmosphere the entire family can enjoy. 

The festival will take place at Ann Shirrells Park located at 1367 California Street in San Bernardino on Sunday, September 30. The festival begins at 4 p.m. Guests may enjoy the FREE concert and are able to purchase food from the various vendors located on-site. 

“Akoma Unity Center is beyond excited to bring our First Annual Jazz in the Park to the families of the Westside of San Bernardino,” Co-Founder and Executive Director, Kimberly Calvin, stated. “Why should the community need to look abroad for entertainment and great food? Our goal is to listen and inspire the community to bring what they desire to their backyards. We are committed to creating opportunities for the citizens of the Westside. Don’t miss what is sure to be a phenomenal family fun event.”

Akoma Unity Center is a 501 C(3) Non-Profit organization committed to providing children with high quality, no-cost afterschool structured recreation, and development programs in a safe and supervised environment. 

There are still sponsorship opportunities for business and individuals. For more information on the festival and sponsorships contact us at (909) 217-7956 or email info@akomaunitycenter.org. To RSVP, please visit http://bit.ly/2Qn6NDi.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— SAN BERNARDINO, CA— As the trustee representing Area D of the San Bernardino County Board of Education, Hardy Brown II is running for a second term on the board with goals to continue to build an Inland Empire regional conversation on education, inspire all students in San Bernardino County to master the top skills needed to compete in the 21st Century and graduate well prepared students as they contribute to local, state, national and global communities.

“My goal as your trustee is to continue supporting over 400,000 students in San Bernardino County, as the Vice President of the County Board of Education, Area D covers the cities of Highland, San Bernardino (San Bernardino Unified School District), Rialto (Rialto Unified School District), Wrightwood, Phelan, Pinon Hills and Oak Hills (Snowline Joint Unified School District),” Brown stated.

Brown continues, “It has been an honor to be a part of the “Operation Recognition Veterans Diploma Project”, to support the heroes of San Bernardino County. During times of war, thousands of young men and women across this country left high school and the comforts of home to serve gallantly in the armed forces.”

Hardy Brown II with his wife (far left) and his daughters (middle)

“Their sacrifices ensured our freedom and shaped the course of history throughout the world. After the wars ended, many of these veterans were not able to finish high school for various reasons but led productive lives and helped build our communities. Offered in partnership with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools and the county’s Department of Veterans Affairs, we recognize veterans from World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War. This event is for veterans or family members of those who are deceased, awarding high school diplomas to those who met the qualifications.”

“I was also humbled that the regionally recognized District Student Advisory Committee (comprised of 24 middle and highs school students) in the Rialto Unified School District selected me as one of their mentors/leaders who advocates for them.”

“I have consistently worked with thousands of students, introducing them to college and career opportunities including college acceptance and scholarships at the annual college fair. I have worked with education leaders in both San Bernardino and Riverside counties on increasing graduation rates and lowering suspensions among our most affected communities and led the San Bernardino County Board of Education efforts to study best practices of effective teachers that have been successful in teaching African American students. This effort produced the African American Task Force, the first of its kind in San Bernardino County,” he said.

Brown has over 22 years’ experience in Social Impact, Community Relations, Fundraising, College Career Development and solicitation of major gifts for multiple national and regional organizations. He serves as the Board Chair of the Black Voice Foundation where he manages all programming, including an annual Footsteps to Freedom Underground Railroad Tour for educators. And has led conversations on empathy and history with hundreds of teachers and thousands of students where learners gain knowledge and expertise of freedom movements. Hardy himself is a lifelong learner. He continues to research and acquire thousands of historical artifacts in order to promote the importance of empathy through history.

An alumnus of the nation’s first HBCU, Wilberforce University, Brown recently returned to school after 24 years to complete his Master of Arts degree from Claremont Lincoln University. One of Brown’s goals was to teach young scholars, including his daughters, that it is okay to find your passion.

Brown has volunteered his time as a board member for the Girl Scouts, United Way, the Legislative Committee for the California School Board Association, and serves on the Board of Advisors for Executive Education at Howard University in Washington D.C.  Brown has been a diversity columnist for the National Association of Colleges and Employers and the Black Voice Newspaper and is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.  

Hardy has been married to his wife Sonietta for 22 years, and together they have two daughters, Peyton, 10-year-old dancer and scholar and Jordan, a Senior History Major at Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga.

Hardy Brown for San Bernardino County Board of Education #1368845

Lue Dowdy

By Lue Dowdy

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— Entertainment Services in the I.E. is what it do! Do you need entertainment or assistance at your next event? Well, look no further because LUE Productions got you!

We pride ourselves in offering quality entertainment at affordable rates. We also provide platforms for aspiring artists and models. Contact us today for your free consultation. Allow one of our REPS to get you going in the right direction.

We offer the following services: Promotion (Get more Exposure), let us help get the word out about your project through social media and other platforms; Management (Models, Artists, Comedians, Actors), let us help take the pressure off. Team Work Makes the Dream Work; Event Coordination & Production (We can assist or take the reins), let us plan your next community, private or corporate event; Variety Shows (Bringing the entertainment directly to you), our shows are provided with professionals that are unique and talented. Each individual is handpicked by our company. You’re able to select your own line up, or our team of experts will put together a show that caters to your needs. Each show comes with a show host.

For more information please text us (909) 567-1000 or email us at Lue.info@yahoo.com.

Pageant founder and director Jamie Rios (front, center) with the Miss Cardinal City contestants.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— SAN BERNARDINO, CA— On Saturday, September 15, 18 young ladies from San Bernardino High School (SBHS) will compete for the title of Miss Cardinal City and the privilege to represent SBHS, aka Cardinal City, and the community for a year.

The pageant, which is in its 14th year, promotes school pride, self-esteem, and community involvement. Pageant director and founder Jamie Rios takes the young ladies to read to younger children, volunteer in soup kitchens, and attend community functions.

“They need to learn more about their own community and the diverse people and diverse needs of its residents in order to truly represent Cardinal City,” Rios said.

This year’s contestants are: Allysa Duque, Stephanie Galaviz, Lucia Vejar, Karina Leanos, Lucero Beltran, Karyna Robles, Katie Ortiz, Sofia Dominguez, Rosa Santana, Jessica Navarro, Biviana Vega, Marianela Vivar, Silvana Mazun, Emely Ruiz, Miranda Maestas, Jhunelyn Parafina, Sarah Garcia, and Jennifer Ramirez.

The young women also recognize that the pageant would not be possible without the civic-minded people and businesses who support Miss Cardinal City, including the sponsors, judges, and their families.

Community members are invited to show their support by attending the Miss Cardinal City Pageant. Tickets for the September 15 event are available by calling Jamie Rios at (909) 881-8217 or from any Miss Cardinal City contestant.

This year’s sponsors include: Mr. James R. Valdez Jr.; Daniel Pham, photographer; and staff; Mr. & Mrs. Obershaw; Stater Bros. Markets; San Bernardino City USD; D’Arca Formal Wear; Angel’s Closet Charities; Virginia Marquez; Mr. Michael Osborn; Toyota of San Bernardino; Gutierrez Carpet; Dr. Michael A. Lawrence and Mrs. Lawrence; Irma Bravo, makeup artist; San Bernardino County Probation Department; El Chicano newspaper; Miss California Plus America Pageant; First Presbyterian Church; Mr. Jim Smith; Ms. Cher Rue; Mrs. Gloria Macias Harrison; Mr. & Mrs. Frank Hernandez; Mrs. Terri Bunch; Ms. DeJonae Shaw; Ricardo Tomboc; Ruben Rinza Makeup 101; Dr. Harold Vollkommer and Mrs. Vollkommer; Revolution Youth Advocates; THREADZ; Kurves by KIMI Attitude Upgrade; Robert Hemmingway; Sturges Center for the Fine Arts; Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Cummings; Miss Greater Southern California Pageant; Sharon Doyle; The Sun newspaper; San Bernardino High School; Trophy House San Bernardino; SBCUSD CAPS Expanded Learning; Michelle Thames; and Elizabeth Cahue, Cahue Enterprises HR Consulting Inc.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— SAN BERNARDINO, CA—Social Lites, Inc. of San Bernardino launch the 52nd Beautillion Scholarship Season under the leadership of Mrs. Tina Darling, Beautillion Chairperson. Young men seeking scholarship opportunities in addition to being mentored by leaders in the community are encouraged to attend the upcoming briefings to learn more about the program.  Parents are encouraged to attend briefing meetings to gain better insight about the program.

Bring a friend and tell a friend to join you in attending the two scheduled briefings.  Briefings will be held on Sunday, October 7 and Sunday, October 14 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Center for Youth and Community Development (formerly Boys and Girls Club of San Bernardino) located at 1180 W. 9th Street in San Bernardino.

The program will officially start on Sunday, October 28 and commence on March 30, 2019 at the National Orange Show of San Bernardino.

For more information, please telephone chairperson, Mrs. Tina Darling at knight.beautillion@gmail.com or Ms. Joyce Smith, President at (909) 881-5841 or Ms. Bettye Brewster, Business Manager, (951) 204-0022.

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— SAN BERNARDINO, CA— It’s that time of year again! The San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation, Inc will be presenting the 2018 Black Rose, Humanitarian, and Community Service Awards on Friday, September 14 at 6 p.m.  at the Doubletree Hotel in San Bernardino located on Hospitality Lane.

This year’s honorees include: Humanitarian of the Year-Chehab and Bricia Elawar; Community Service- Rev. Reginald Woods; Black Rose- Richard Goldson, Jonathan Buffong and Ezekiel Adeleeke. Tickets are $65.

By Erica Chayes Wida

Spanish moss draped over St Helena Island, South Carolina, as Elting Buster Smalls and his children hummed down the earthen path in their 1960s station wagon. It was the summer of 1974, and the harvest from the Smalls’ 20-acre farm – passed down since the late-1800s through their family of newly freed enslaved and runaway West Africans – was bountiful. Smalls and his children packed baskets of fresh honeydew, peanuts and sugar cane, and fish they’d caught in the river, to drop on the porches of local elders who were no longer able to work the land.

But today, nearly 50 years after Elting first taught his young daughter Victoria Smalls about the traditions integral to their identity, many Gullah Geechee can no longer work the land, as the land – and thereby the Gullah Geechee way of life – is being rattled by climate change.

Victoria, the 13th of Elting and his wife Laura’s 14 children, grew up Gullah – a word she didn’t actually learn until after college in the early 1990s. (Colloquially, Gullah distinguishes whether a Gullah Geechee individual lives north of the Savannah River, while those south of it are referred to as Geechee.) For Victoria, Gullah Geechee wasn’t the mystic, isolated culture of inherited Africanisms and Southern landscapes that had become of interest to 21st-Century academics, tourists and hungry land developers.

“It was just our way of life,” said Victoria, who later moved from St Helena to Charleston, South Carolina, to work on the International African American Museum, which, when it opens in 2020, will illuminate South Carolina’s global historical significance and show the role enslaved Africans and free blacks had in shaping the US.

The Gullah Geechee are descendants of Central and West Africans who are believed to have been trafficked into what is known as the Low Country for their expertise in coastal rice farming and irrigation systems. After the American Civil War ended in 1865, Union General William T Sherman established Special Field Order 15, which designated 400,000 acres of land along the coastline of the Southern US, from South Carolina to Florida, to newly freed black families in parcels of roughly 40 acres each. The isolated geography, which is spread out over 12,000 sq miles known as the Gullah Geechee Corridor, created insulated coastal and island communities, most of which were at least 90% black, with well-preserved cultural traditions.

Gullah Geechee religion incorporates Christianity with African belief systems, much of which was reflected in the lessons Victoria was taught as a child. Respect for nature, as well as elders and community, was sacred. African crafts were passed down for necessity, like cast nets and flat-bottomed boats known as ‘bateau boats’, which Victoria said are based off the West African dugout and redesigned to easily navigate shallow shores and waterways. The craft of sewing pieces of cloth into large, colorful patterns was combined with European quilting to become a creole art form that also allowed Gullah Geechee women to sit and socialize.

The Gullah Geechee are descendants of freed African slaves who inhabited coastal lands in the Southern US (Credit: Gado Images/Alamy)

“We didn’t have a bridge on [St Helena] until 1939. The island was like an incubator for the culture, the language. You don’t hear it now, but when I was growing up I had a very thick accent,” Victoria said.

The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, which strives to preserve the Gullah Geechee sites and stories, describes the Gullah Geechee language as a creole dialect that sprung from the linguistic influences of “European slave traders, slave owners and diverse African ethnic groups”.

“Beaufort was only 7 miles away, and when I was four, five, up to 10 years old, people would laugh at me in Beaufort, even the blacks who were still Gullah Geechee people,” Victoria said. “The nurturing you received on St Helena Island was so wonderful that the language and the way of life and working the land, farming, living off the water and living in tight-knit communities – it was so different than that just 7 miles inland on the mainland.”

The Gullah Geechee Corridor’s isolated geography created insulated coastal and island communities (Credit: David Lyons/Alamy)

Today, the pejorative perception of the Gullah Geechee being uneducated or backcountry has shifted to one in which the identity is celebrated, both by academics and those who grew up in the culture. Yet the Gullah Geechee ways are slipping away.

According to Dr Albert George II, director of conservation at the South Carolina Aquarium who was raised Gullah Geechee, individuals residing in the more isolated communities such as St Helena still subsist on their own agriculture, sourcing food from their farms and gardens and fish from the waterways rather than going to the grocery store. But due to environmental changes, such as rising sea levels and salt water erosion, connecting to the earth through food is becoming a complicated feat.

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By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— “Blow the trumpet and warn the people. Say unto them, as I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked: but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die?” [Ezekiel 33:11]. Judgment is about to come to the earth like never before. The storm is about to break in all of its fury. Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. [Luke 13:3].

“For if you go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” There will be no salvation. If you reject Christ, there’s no way to be saved. [Hebrews 10:26]. That’s what the writer is saying. There is no other sacrifice, there is no other provision. All you have then is a “certain terrifying expectation of judgment.” This is described as the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries, the fiery furious judgment of hell where the worm dies not, the fire is not quenched, blackness and darkness forever, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth in eternal torment. Repent while it is still day!

The Lord clearly points out that the time is short and what is about to come to pass in the fulfillment of His prophecy. He says, as He slew the first-born of Egypt from the Pharaoh to the cattle, so it will be to those that refuse to turn from their evil and wicked ways and seek his gift of salvation.

The warning to repent has been given! 

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live…” [Deuteronomy 30:19]

“Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water… the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night. Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!” Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. The sixth angel sounded: demonic army of horsemen released to kill a third of mankind…But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.”

 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” [Luke 10: 1-16]