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SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Rialto resident Vanessa Mendoza, 26, wanted to study literature, write novels, and possibly even become an English professor, but that all changed after her first cultural anthropology class.

At the end of her first year at San Bernardino Valley College, Mendoza began experiencing vertigo spells and migraines. They became chronic, and for almost a year, she was unable to attend classes on campus. During this time, Mendoza says she “began to question and think about the social circumstances that made it difficult for me to obtain a proper diagnosis and treatment.”

Mendoza signed up for an online cultural anthropology course, and upon its conclusion, “felt that I had finally found a lens through which I could understand myself and my experiences related to culture and health.” When she was well enough to return to campus, she enrolled in more anthropology classes, and Professor Melissa King introduced her to other branches of study.

“Through her classes and mentorship, I came across something called medical anthropology, which further confirmed that this was the major I wished to pursue,” Mendoza said. “This branch of anthropology deals with the social, cultural, political, and historical complexities of health and illness. The way medicine and healing are practiced vary tremendously around the world; anthropologists can learn about these complexities through ethnography. In a lot of ways, I felt that I had fatefully ended up where I belonged. Anthropology is the study of what it means to be human, and as a human with a lot of questions, this major seemed like a perfect fit for me.”

Mendoza grew up in Rialto and graduated from high school in 2012. She wanted to attend UCLA, but as an undocumented and first-generation college student, it was difficult to navigate the application process and secure enough financial aid. Mendoza applied to SBVC to stay close to home and save money, and through the Dream Act, was able to receive aid.

At SBVC, she found support from all of her professors, especially King. She was “a crucial part of my academic journey,” Mendoza said, providing everything from book recommendations to career advice. Mendoza graduated from SBVC in 2018 and transferred to UC Berkeley and has found that all of the anthropology classes she took at SBVC “served as a really strong foundation for the upper-division courses that I am now taking.”

Mendoza plans on attending graduate school and is interested in the “critical study of climate change as it relates to health outcomes in vulnerable communities,” with the hopes of one day becoming a professor. She encourages anyone who is thinking about studying anthropology at SBVC to talk to the professors about transfer and graduation requirements and current students about their interests and struggles.

“The staff and students in the anthropology department have always been extremely helpful and friendly,” she said. “They will provide the guidance you need as you embark on your journey as an anthropology major.”

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Deputy David Livi is hosting a free online workshop discussing some of the careers available in the Sheriff’s Department and how to get started on the law enforcement pathway. The session, planned for 9 a.m. March 18, will offer an overview of divisions such as the coroner’s department, aviation, narcotics, and more. It is being presented in partnership with Alliance for Education’s SBConnect Series. Learn more or REGISTER by visiting, www.westsidestorynewspaper.com.

Thank you to Col. Frank Guevara and his team at San Bernardino County’s Department of Veterans Affairs for their tremendous work over the past years. In 2020, the County’s VA department assisted our veterans in receiving over $67 million in new cash benefits. This amount is more than any county in the state, and $20 million more than what San Bernardino County veterans received in 2019! For more information on how to receive benefits for your service, call (909) 382-3290, visit http://hs.sbcounty.gov/va/Pages/default.aspx or e-mail Inquiry@va.sbcounty.gov

“My general philosophy is, have I been? No? Okay, then — let’s go,” Dr. Jeremiah Gilbert said with a laugh. An avid traveler, the San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) mathematics professor has carried a wide-angle lens through more than 80 countries. He enjoys chronicling the places around him — both at home and abroad. This year, a compilation of his circular photographs was published in the local anthology San Bernardino, Singing, and his book of travel tales was published, titled Can’t Get There From Here: Fifty Tales of Travel.

Many people with his level of interest in other cultures and societies might have chosen to live abroad temporarily or permanently, but not Gilbert. He currently resides in Loma Linda and teaches today in the same town in which he was born — San Bernardino, Calif.

A graduate of Colton High School at the age of 15, Gilbert’s academic journey kept him bound to the Valley as he was too young to move away from home for university. He enrolled at SBVC before transferring on to California State University, San Bernardino where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics. He later earned a Master of Arts in Mathematics from University of California, Riverside and a Ph.D. in Education from Capella University.

He returned to SBVC professionally as a part-time instructor, where he taught classes year-round. In 2005, he became a full-time instructor. With the perk of having summers off, he booked his first trip abroad. In 2006, he celebrated his thirty-fifth birthday on the Great Wall of China on his way to Tibet.

When he first began traveling, Gilbert used an all-purpose lens on his camera, a 28–30 mm. Eventually, he became more comfortable with shooting and noticed something. “As I was going along, I realized I didn’t zoom in a lot, but there were many times I wished I could pull back more,” Gilbert explained.

As curious as they come, Gilbert invested in wide-angle lenses — the wider, the better. Eventually, he picked up an 8 mm circular fisheye lens, the widest angle possible, which literally captures a circular photograph. The style is uncommon and used mostly for medical purposes, but it posed an interesting challenge to him. He learned how to stand without capturing both his feet and stomach. He learned the best conditions to shoot in — “Never a sunny day,” he advised. He learned that the best subjects to shoot were things that were already circular or straight lines.

While he took the lens abroad a few times, he found that the best place to shoot was SBVC’s campus, especially the newer modern architecture that features clean, straight lines.

“With modern architecture, you can bend the lines in interesting ways and create really cool effects,” Gilbert said. “It posed an interesting challenge for me because I both had to learn how to shoot, but also how to edit. Did you know you can crop a circle?”

Gilbert submitted 14 of these circular photographs to the local anthology, San Bernardino, Singing, and all were accepted. The result is a world traveler’s wide-angle perspective on his hometown’s crown jewel.

Gilbert’s website, jeremiahgilbert.com, has always featured photography from abroad. During a trip to London in 2019, he began working on a section of short stories as well — travel tales, he called them. He wanted to share the mishaps and funny occurrences that can only happen during international travel.

He captured the memory of having to be smuggled across a checkpoint in Bolivia due to miscommunication. “We left our passports behind, knowing we weren’t going out of the country,” he explained. “No one told us we would need passports to go through checkpoints.”

He penned the story of his 40th birthday in Paris — a lovely celebration until a pickpocket swiped his money and identification. With the robbery occurring on July 3 and the U.S. Embassy closed on July 4, Gilbert barely had time to acquire a passport before his flight left Paris on July 5.

He worked on these travel tales a little bit at a time, he said. Then in February 2020 while his wife was visiting family in Beijing, news of the novel coronavirus broke. Gilbert’s instinct told him to book a backup flight for her. He was glad he did when her March flight was canceled with no promise of a reschedule until May — but then the backup flight was canceled. With a resolve to not see his wife stranded abroad, Gilbert reunited his family just in the knick of time.

“I’m not sure we would have been able to get her after we did,” he admitted. The original essay, “Can’t Get There From Here“ chronicles his family’s reunion and closes what is now the book by the same title.

With his wife safely home, Gilbert made the most of the historic global pandemic by writing 50 travel tales and publishing them in September 2020. His book Can’t Get There From Here: Fifty Tales of Travel is available on Amazon.com.

Thus far, Gilbert has seen 85 countries. (His wife’s one rule is that she has to stay one country ahead of him; she sits at 86.) But for him, there is really no place like Southern California.

“I’m one of those rare native southern Californians,” he laughs. “I know this area backward and forward. I love the diversity of it, how multicultural it is, and also how much access we have to different landscapes.”

With LAX nearby, he knows that any destination he can imagine is just a flight or two away, and during times like these when he can’t travel? “We have the mountains, desert and beach all within a two-hour drive.”

“It’s everything I need when I’m not traveling.”

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- The San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra is preparing for the second concert in their hybrid 92nd season. “Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi & Grieg” will premier digitally Sunday, March 28, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. on the Symphony’s new SBSOtv platform accessible from their website, www.sanbernardinosymphony.org.

The performance will include selections prominently featuring two very special instruments: the Maestro’s recently returned bassoon and an historic 1929 Wurlitzer organ.

Shared Maestro Parnther, “Tchaikovsky and Grieg penned two of the most compelling and deeply expressive works for string orchestra; Tchaikovsky’s Serenade in C Major and Grieg’s Holberg Suite, respectively. We will perform excerpts from both of these incredible works.”

Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto in D minor, one of the Maestro’s personal favorites, will also be performed, but with a creative twist. Specifically, Maestro Parnther will be tackling dual roles as both soloist and conductor on this dazzling work for solo bassoon and orchestra. As mentioned, the bassoon the Maestro will be playing is the very same instrument that was recently returned to him after it was stolen just two days before the March 2020 concert was cancelled due to Covid restrictions.

“For my bassoon to be taken two days before my Mozart concerto performance last year… and gifted back in a time for the replacement Vivaldi concerto a year later… there is a sign in all of this,” said Parnther.

As repairs are still underway to the Symphony’s local performance venue, San Bernardino’s historic California Theatre, the concert will be recorded at Bandrika Studios in Tarzana which is owned and operated by composer Nathan Barr.

Pictured at left, this world class studio is constructed around the 1928 Barr/Fox Wurlitzer Theater Organ, which lived on the famed Newman Scoring Stage at Fox Studios from 1928 to 1998. It can be heard in dozens of classic film scores including The Sound of Music, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Witches of Eastwick, and Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Said Parnther, “With 1,366 pipes and a plethora of real percussion instruments, this organ truly must be heard to be believed.“

Years after the organ was removed from Fox in 1998, Barr purchased it from Ken Crome of The Crome Organ Company in Reno, Nevada, and thus began a four year restoration by Crome’s team. Since Bandrika’s opening in May 2018, the Barr/Fox Wurlitzer has re-entered the world of film music, and can be heard extensively in Barr’s score for Amblin/Universal’s The House With a Clock In Its Walls and also in Danny Elfman’s score for Universal’s hit adaptation of The Grinch (2018).

The Symphony will feature this magnificent instrument on two works in this program, including the Albinoni Adagio, and a solo work that will use every feature on the instrument.

“This concert is not to be missed,” said Symphony Board of Directors President Dean McVay. “We were incredibly gratified with the audience response to our February digital concert, and we believe this one will also please the discriminating musical palates of our patrons.”

A Hybrid Season… and Ticketing Options

The Symphony’s online concerts are presented in high resolution digital format and made easily accessible online through our website’s new SBSOtv platform using the password provided to each purchasing patron.

Following the March concert, a third digital offering, “Mozart and Beethoven,” will premier on May 1, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.

Two live concerts – slated for October 23, 2021 and December 11, 2021, will follow. The live concerts are scheduled to be held at the historic California Theatre of the Performing Arts in downtown San Bernardino.

Single household tickets for the digital concerts are $65, and single assigned-seating tickets for the live concerts ($30-$100) may be purchased online at www.sanbernardinosymphony.org or by calling the box office at (909) 381-5388. Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday.

“In our collective trauma, we still choose not to see our history, our past acts and our current blind eye to injustice. Even as a Christian nation, we still do not pay attention to the well-being of other human beings,” said Kathleen Dameron, (Paris, France) Internationally recognized Cross-cultural Trainer Kathleen Dameron is launching a series of seminars titled, “Healing the Collective Trauma of Racism” as a way to help Americans recognize and move beyond the systemic racism that has plagued society for hundreds of years.

The importance of her sessions became clear when angry white insurrectionists invaded the United States Capitol carrying Confederate flags on January. 6. The insurrectionists were cheered by then-President Donald Trump, who openly supported white supremacists throughout his presidency.

His lies about the election being stolen were a blatant effort to disenfranchise the millions of black voters who voted against him.

“The insurrectionists were so convinced of their impunity, that they took selfies of themselves and then posted them on social media,” Dameron said.

With the horror of that day still fresh in people’s minds, Dameron said it’s time to work toward healing the collective trauma of racism.

“The times, they are a-changing,” she said, quoting Bob Dylan’s iconic song. “We have a perfect window of opportunity. We need to work with whites not to feel ashamed, but to open their hearts so they can recognize how cold and cruel and undemocratic they have been toward their fellow human beings…. and themselves.”  

Dameron’s seminars are ongoing, and sessions focus on everything from enslavement and Jim Crow laws to targeted policing and mass incarceration of Black people and people of color.

In her seminars, Dameron will help participants understand the difference between interpersonal and institutional racism, guiding them to build a feeling of community and healing energy.

Before starting her sessions, she is offering a free, self-paced, one-hour course “First Steps” so each one can build their Racial Literacy. You can enroll by going to www.KathleenDameron.com

“We will take time over six weeks, then six months, to explore the impact of racism in the United States,” Dameron said. “We will take time to open our eyes, our minds and our hearts.  “We will start our individual action, looking at what’s very local around us. And in community, we will walk together toward larger and more impactful actions.”

Kathleen Dameron is an American based in Paris with more than 30 years’ experience coaching, facilitating, and training within multinational companies in French, English and Spanish.

Through KD Conseil, her French consultancy, she coached coach American, European and Asian executives all over the world, helping organizations transform their cultural diversity into a competitive advantage.

Moving beyond America’s systemic racism and even getting some Americans to recognize that it exists will not be easy.

Dameron noted the ongoing drumbeat against Black Lives Matter and the false equivalency of BLM and the violent insurrectionists heard daily on conservative news programs. It is important to listen to different drumbeats.

But her seminars are one step toward healing the collective trauma of racism.

“In our collective trauma, we still choose not to see our history, our past acts and our current blind eye to injustice. Even as a Christian nation, we still do not pay attention to the well-being of other human beings.

“We need to talk often and softly with humor and enthusiasm and begin our transformative journeys,” she said.

Learn more at www.KathleenDameron.com

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians recently donated nearly 10,000 school supplies to at-risk students in the San Bernardino Unified School District (SBCUSD). Just as the district announced that distance learning will continue for the remainder of the school year, the Tribe reached out to students most in need to help them continue achieving academic success. The supplies were donated to the Access to Learning for All Students program which consists of approximately 1,000 students facing homelessness or currently living in foster care.

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On Monday, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians with the help of their partners, School Specialty and Mark- it Smart, delivered supplies to the Community Day School. With the stress of distance learning being top-of-mind for local parents and educators, we thought you would be interested in this feel-good story about an organization reaching out to help out students in the community.

The California-inspired taco shop introduces the #TacoLife to San Bernardino, CA

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Chronic Tacos is excited to announce the successful opening of the fast casual chain’s newest location in San Bernardino, California. The new taco shop opened on March 1, 2021, for take-out and 3rd party delivery.

To ensure the safety of all guests and employees, the brand is taking precautions including social distancing, enforcing masks and the removal of tables.

Founded in 2002, the California-based company has over 50 locations operating across North America and is committed to serving only the highest quality menu items, made with fresh ingredients and 3rd generation recipes.

Chronic Tacos is located at 806 Tippecanoe Avenue in San Bernardino and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Best-known for its line of innovative head-to-toe grooming products developed to meet the needs of Black men, Bevel, a Walker & Company Brand, is introducing two new Hair stylers: Ultra-Defining Curl Creme and a 2-in-1 Pomade for Waves & Beards. The new stylers, designed to moisturize, define, style and shape beards, waves, curls, and coils, join their award-winning Hair line up featuring a Shampoo, Conditioner, Beard Oil and Beard Conditioner.

In addition, to increase access to their products and offer men a simpler way to shop, Bevel is expanding its partnership with Walmart, bringing their new stylers and Hair, Body, Beard, and Skin lines to additional Walmart stores across the country, starting in February 2021.

“Expanding our partnership with Walmart is incredibly exciting. Bevel’s mission, to make health & beauty simple for Black men and women, truly drives everything we do. The opportunity to bring Bevel’s award-winning Hair (including our new hair stylers), Body, Beard, and Skin products into select Walmart stores represents another great step in making our mission a reality. Our community truly matters to us and we’re not done yet.”
– Tia Cummings, VP Marketing, Walker & Company Brands

The Bevel Hair collection ranges from a sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner designed to cleanse and moisturize hair, to a nourishing beard conditioner to soften and tame, an ultra-hydrating beard oil that sculpts and locks in moisture, a 2-in-1 Pomade for Waves & Beards that locks-in moisture and gives a lightweight shine with a butter-based formula, and the all-new moisture-rich and defining Curl Creme that offers all-day hold. 

The new products and expanded retail access reflect the company’s on-going mission to deliver high-quality head-to-toe grooming products, made with only the best ingredients, to Black men, men of color, and those with curly, coarse, and textured hair, whenever and wherever they need them.

Bevel is committed to creating solution-based products that work to solve the unique health and grooming issues faced by Black men.

Products available at Walmart (in-store and online) will include:

Bevel Curl Creme ($11.95; 7 fl oz) 
The curl creme enables your hair to lock in moisture, while the ultra-hydrating formula leaves your curls lightweight, manageable and frizz-free.

Bevel 2-in-1 Pomade ($11.95; 1.7 oz) 
The unique blend of coconut oil, sweet almond oil, shea butter and cocoa butter locks in moisture, helps nourish hair textures from within, maintains a lasting hold and a grease-free finish. 

Bevel Sulfate-Free Shampoo($9.95; 12 fl oz)
A moisturizing sulfate-free shampoo that gently cleanses thick and textured hair without stripping it of its natural oils or altering the hair’s natural pattern.

Bevel Sulfate-Free Conditioner($9.95; 12 fl oz)
The best cuts come after the conditioner. This sulfate-free formula moisturizes, conditions, and detangles your hair so your lineups and styles are always fresh and clean.

Bevel Beard Conditioner($9.95; 4 fl oz)
The best cuts come after the conditioner. This sulfate-free formula moisturizes, conditions, and detangles your hair so your lineups and styles are always fresh and clean.

Bevel Beard Oil ($14.95; 1fl oz)
Formulated with a non-greasy lightweight solution of ingredients, this premium oil blend packs all the punch without clogging your pores.

For more information on Bevel visit getbevel.com or follow Bevel on Instagram.

By J. Adalberto Quijada, U.S. Small Business Administration’s District Director for the Orange County / Inland Empire covering all of Orange County, Riverside County and San Bernardino County

During Black History Month, we celebrate the achievements of African Americans and recognize the important role they have contributed to U.S. history. At the U.S. Small Business Administration, our role is to support entrepreneurs in achieving their dream of owning a business and our goal is to work with Black entrepreneurs to overcome today’s challenges and come back stronger than ever.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black owned businesses show they have been hit particularly hard across demographic groups as outlined in the SBA’s Office of Advocacy Report.  The decline in business activity among Black owners has been nearly three times the decline among other owners. When an entrepreneur starts their own business, they create new jobs in the community. In fact, small businesses generate two of every three net new jobs and deliver essential goods and services to our community.

Here are the top resources that small business owners can utilize today to leverage all available financial resources to be not only resilient but come back stronger:

1. Funding: The small business community faced unprecedented economic disruption due to the Coronavirus. SBA provides several relief funding options through the Payroll Protection Program. The PPP is a forgivable loan if 60 percent is used to payroll.  Independent contractors, self-employed and workers part of the gig-economy can apply.  The PPP has a First Draw and a Second Draw, meaning two loans that can be 100 percent forgiven. You can apply for a PPP Loan until March 31, 2021.
2. Covid-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is a separate program from PPP and delivered through SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance. Applications can be submitted through December 31, 2021.
3. Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program will be available soon for live venue operators/promoters, theatrical producers, live performing arts organizations, some museums, zoos and aquariums, and other entities. Eligible applicants may qualify for SVO Grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue, with the maximum amount available for a single grant award of $10 million. $2 billion is reserved for eligible applications with up to 50 full-time employees.
4. Lender Match is our online program that connects entrepreneurs with financial institutions to provide business loans backed by the SBA. Small business are encouraged to find a local lender that meets their needs.
5. Business Counseling: The Orange County Small Business Development Center Network offers free, Covid-19 resources, one-on-one counseling, training services, market research and more. Assistance is free or low-cost.
6. Mentoring: SCORE provides free mentoring, Covid-19 resources and education to business owners to learn from others who have been through the entrepreneurship journey. SCORE is a network of thousands of volunteer business counselors around the country who mentor and educate small business owners. SCORE provides online counseling as well as educational webinars. We have three chapters in our district to assist you: Orange County SCORE; Inland Empire SCORE; Coachella Valley SCORE.
7. Scaling Up their Business: SBA’s Emerging Leader’s program is a no-cost “mini MBA,” that assists entrepreneurs to take their business to the next level. The Orange County / Inland Empire District Office is proud to offer this program in 2021. Stay tuned for upcoming details on the application process!
8. Assistance to Woman Entrepreneurs: Across the U.S., Black women start their own business at record rates. Women’s Business Centers assist women in starting and growing small businesses. They provide a full range of services for women entrepreneurs at all stages of planning, implementation and growth. We have two centers in our district: Inland Empire Women’s Business Center; Coachella Valley Women’s Business Center. Additionally, SBA recently launched Ascent, a first-of-its-kind, free digital e-learning platform geared to help women entrepreneurs grow and expand their businesses. 
9. Support to Veterans with Starting their Own Business: Boots to Business is an entrepreneurial education and training program available to active duty service members (including National Guard and Reserve), veterans and their spouses in starting or growing their business. Veterans Business Outreach Centers provide business development services to transitioning active duty service members, Guard, Reserve, Veterans and military-connected family members.
10. Taking their Business to the International Market: Export Assistance Centers help small businesses entering the international marketplace. Entrepreneurs can learn how to export, participate in foreign trade missions and trade shows, translate websites, and design marketing campaigns.
11. Accessing Government Contracts: The 8(a) Business Development Program helps provide a level playing field for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people or entities. Women-owned business certification helps women business owners, as the government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses certified as women-owned. Our office presents informational webinars to help understand the programs and application process.
12. Online Resources: SBA.gov includes online resources and information about upcoming webinars to assist entrepreneurs in overcoming common business challenges.
13. Local Support: The SBA Orange County / Inland Empire District Office can connect you to local SBA resources, mentors and training. Visit https://www.sba.gov/offices/district/ca/santa-ana for more information.
14. Join our office on February 25, 2021 along with SCORE, the Orange County Black Chamber of Commerce and the Riverside NAACP where we will share resources available to Black owned small businesses. Register at https://score.tfaforms.net/17?EventID=a105a000006dG4d

As the director for the SBA Orange County / Inland Empire District, SBA recognizes the contributions of the Black community, the job-creating entrepreneurs and their families for their daily hard work in keeping local economies thriving. We encourage you to reach out to SBA.

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SBAs’ participation or support is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products, or services of any Co-sponsor or other person or entity. All SBA programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.  All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!   This is a great place where ideas and information are shared with the small business community.  Your feedback, questions, and comments allow us to better serve the needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs.