Local

Roxanne Williams

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- On Tuesday, August 11, Roxanne Williams, educator and candidate for the ward six seat on the San Bernardino City Council announced her plan for her first 100 days in office.

The plan is geared toward ensuring communities in San Bernardino feel safe, get vital services and that San Bernardino has a revitalized economic environment. Williams will be a voice for working families. As a member of the city council, she will fight to create jobs in San Bernardino, and restore fiscally sound management to the city –including improved basic services, stopping the threats of the closure of our community centers, libraries and parks, and fixing the potholes and street lights. Her detailed 100 day plan is the first and only among contenders for Ward 6 and is designed to address these critical problems.

“Obviously, we can’t solve everything in the first 100 days, but we can certainly have real conversation and create plans in order to put San Bernardino back on track,” said Roxanne Williams. “We have so much potential in San Bernardino, but we can’t lift our people up if we don’t protect our families, fix our finances and balance our budget, which I hope to bring my experience balancing budgets to this office.”

Williams was a Teacher of the Year in 2001, was a Top 10 Teacher in 2011, nominated for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), and continues to work as a Program Specialist in San Bernardino City Unified School District. As a single mother with five children, ages 13 to 24 years old, she knows how hard San Bernardino families work and what it’s like to struggle. She also knows how to succeed in a tough moment.

You can view Roxanne’s 100 day plan at www.roxannecanwin.com/issues. For more information, visit RoxanneCanWin.com and hear what she’s up to at Facebook.com/roxannewilliamsforcouncil.

Publisher’s Commentary by Wallace J. Allen

Due to last minute complications at the 777 Allen Street venue, the WssNews presentation of “World Class Jazz at 777” scheduled for this Saturday, August 15, featuring the legendary Barbara Morrison has been cancelled.  The venue, the 777 Community Warehouse, recently held a “Save the Warehouse” fundraiser. Apparently under financial pressure, the site manager, Willie Walker, demanded a last minute upfront fee from WssNews in addition to the original income sharing agreement. The fee demand was a deal breaker because paying it would have guaranteed a financial loss for WssNews. We have supported and continue to support 777, and we hope that they can continue operating. We are disappointed that our desire to present a world class show is sidetracked. We are sorry to disappoint the jazz lovers who were looking forward to a world class show.

WssNews will continue the quest to bring “World Class Jazz” to the IE! We thank and apologize to those of you who have purchased advanced tickets to the Barbara Morrison show. We appreciate your support; however, we are in the act of returning your money to you!  If you have not received your refund by the time this is published please call WssNews at (909) 384-8131. If you have any suggestions about bringing “World Class Jazz” to the IE, write me at walleniv@yahoo.com.

Meanwhile you can still hear Mr. Anthony Garcia play spontaneous jazz every Sunday morning on my “Empire Talks Back” radio show. Anthony, while performing the duty of “Mood Master”, plays his bass guitar throughout the talk show. ETB airs at 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings on KCAA 1050-AM radio and streams live video via www.kcaaradio.com.

Ann Clark and Michael

Ann Clark of Rialto doesn’t consider herself a foster care parent as much as a parent to many teens in need over the years. The high school vocational education coordinator and her husband, Michael, a logistics worker, are currently parenting four adolescent girls in their home through Knotts Family Agency.

“It’s very challenging but at the same time it’s very rewarding,” Clark says. “You are able to instill the qualities and values that you would on your own children. What you expect of your own children, you expect of them also.”

Knotts, a foster care and adoption services agency in San Bernardino, will honor the Clarks and other parents at a jazz and wine tasting fundraiser from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, August 15 at Edwards Mansion in Redlands. The other honoree foster care parents are Deborah Martelly of Highland, Belita Foster of Rialto and Jeannette and Charles Howard of San Bernardino.

Proceeds from the annual fundraiser will help support the Knotts Family Agency Educational and Cultural Enrichment Initiative. The program exposes over 75 foster care youths in the Inland region to fun and educational activities, from Magic Mountain to math and science camps.

More than 2,500 individuals and families are served each year by Knotts Family Agency, which was founded in 1992. They receive critical support for resilience, mental health, care coordination, parenting, youth mentoring and leadership development, financial and environmental literacy and job training.

CEO Gwen Knotts says that education positively changes the direction of a young person’s life. “We really emphasize that with education and tutoring, we’re hoping to change the outcomes when the youth are emancipated or transition back to their biological family.”

Knotts provides social services to foster care families and stay in constant contact during the child’s stay. “They really go the distance to make sure these kids have what they need,” Clark says.

For tickets to the Knotts Family Agency jazz and wine tasting fundraiser, contact Sandy Oquin at (909) 880-0600. Tickets are $50/$65 at the door. Table sponsorships are also available.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Last week, Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown (D-San Bernardino) and other local officials took the “Ice Bucket Challenge” to raise awareness about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) disease. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that renders patients unable to use their voluntary muscles. Those afflicted with ALS, including 300,000 people in the United States, lose their ability to walk, talk, move, and breathe. Assemblymember Brown took the challenge in honor of her husband, Dr. Hardy Brown, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2002. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is held annually in August until a cure is found.

AGED Summit Brings Decision Making Africans to Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA- President Obama visited Kenya to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit — a gathering of over 1,000 entrepreneurs from around the world, convening to discuss how small business, with an emphasis on technology, will drive Africa’s economy forward.

This was a meeting that attracted the senior leadership of companies like IBM, Google, Microsoft, General Electric, etc. Africa is home to five of the ten fastest growing economies in the world, and Nairobi is considered the Silicon Valley of Africa.

The African Global Economic Development Summit (AGED) will also focus on the African Nations who are the world’s fastest growing economies…  But you don’t need to go to Africa to participate. AGED takes place August 6, 7 & 8 in Los Angeles on the USC Campus.

The Third Annual African Global Economic & Development Summit (AGED) is focused on Africa’s fastest growing economies. It will highlight what is driving them, and how Americans can engage in trade and find prosperity on the mighty continent of Africa. The summit will explore Africa’s fastest growing economies from 2013 to 2015. Africa is home to eleven top GDP producing nations among the World’s Top Twenty Fastest Growing Economies.

The Summit will disclose and highlight the African Nations which have, or are undergoing regulatory reforms to provide an enabling environment and solid footing for foreign investment. The African Global Economic Development Summit assists Americans to uncover and access the hidden investment opportunities in Africa.

The AGED Summit, a comprehensive Africa-focused business event, annually brings business and government officials from African nations to California to showcase their trade-ready projects in need of technical and investment partners. Financial institutions and investors are prepared to offer funding support.  Government entities offer export assistance, and information on public initiatives to help Americans do business in Africa. During the Summit, immediate business matchmaking between U.S. and African businesses occur because the event provides businesses functional access to contracts and potential African partners. Opportunities exist for micro-enterprises, small businesses, multinational corporations and global conglomerates. Financing is available on site. Business representatives in the United States will have a rare opportunity to connect with Africa, right here in America. This event puts decision makers in the same room. Some deals will be made and many doors will be opened!. Follow-up activities include trade missions to Africa, logistical assistance and excursions to local project development sites.

For more information and registration, visit www.agedsummit.com.

LOS ANGELES, CA – Southern California McDonald’s restaurants are partnering with California State University (CSU) to provide local students with resources needed to make the goal of higher education a reality. For the third year, McDonald’s is sponsoring CSU Super Saturday, by providing free transportation from a McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino to the event at CSU Dominguez Hills in Carson on Saturday, August 8.

Students and their families from San Bernardino County will be transported from the local McDonald’s restaurant located at 1575 E. Highland Avenue in San Bernardino. The bus is scheduled to depart at 7 a.m. with a complimentary breakfast provided from 6 a.m. until 7 a.m. for those who are registered for transportation.

Super Saturday provides an opportunity for students to learn everything they need to know about attending college. Representatives from CSU’s 23 campuses, as well as other colleges and universities, will be on hand to provide information about admission requirements, obtaining financial aid, campus life, choosing a major, and showing the advantages of a college education. It is produced by the CSU African American Initiative – a program of the Chancellor’s Office’s External Relations department. Last year’s event attracted a multicultural audience of more than 2,000 students.

Super Saturday attendees will also be able to visit with McDonald’s representatives at the event to learn about Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California’s College Scholarship Program and employment opportunities that aid students in supplementing their college costs.

Transportation provided by Southern California McDonald’s increases exposure for students who would not normally have the opportunity to attend the event. Local owner/operators support the company’s belief that learning doesn’t take place only in the classroom. Community partnerships with institutions of higher-learning, like CSU, helps to further extend that message.

The college fair will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 8. Students and their families can register for transportation at http://ow.ly/PQZr0, or by contacting L. CaCera Richmond at (310) 754-4808. For more information, visit www.mcdonaldssocal.com/ or Tweet to @McDonalds_SoCal on Twitter.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Time for Change Foundation (TFCF) and community volunteers gathered to conduct a FREE PROP. 47 FELONY REDUCTION CLINIC, which was held on Saturday, July 25, at The Way World Outreach Downtown Mission in San Bernardino.  After almost 2 months of outreach efforts, those in need of assistance came out on droves to have their felonies reduced to misdemeanors at this one day event. Hundreds of Petitions were completed which will reduce barriers to employment and housing while strengthening families in the Inland Empire!

“We both got our felonies reduced today.  I can get a better job, make more money and buy our first house,” said one gentleman while waiting with his 2 children for his wife to finish with the attorneys.

Over 33 volunteers came together to help the community including teams from the San Bernardino and Rancho Cucamonga Public Defender’s offices, Attorney Allison Bracy (Ivie, McNeill & Wyatt), Attorney Claudia Lopez (IELLU), Renea Wickman (Political Activist and Community Organizer), Donna Ferracone (Board of Trustees SBCCD and TFCF Advisory Council Member), Roxanne Williams (6^th Ward Candidate for San Bernardino City Council), Dov Cohen, University of Redlands students Emma Wade and Jewel Patterson, all TFCF staff and clients.

The San Bernardino County Department of Public Health brought their 40’ van to provide health screenings and Budget Mobile was on hand with free phones. Lunch was provided by TFCF and prepared by The Way World Outreach volunteer food team.  Computers for the event were provided by Tracey Holcomb from SGDIG.

This event was a part of CHAMP47 (Creating Healthy Alternatives Mobilizing Prop. 47), an initiative of TFCF created to implement Proposition 47, The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, which was approved by voters in last November’s election.  The CHAMP47 campaign will help to improve health and safety of our community which has been devastated by mass incarceration. It will also help rebuild families by removing underlying barriers to employment, access to health care, and education in San Bernardino.

LOS ANGELES, CA- The Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is ready to take moviegoers on a cinematic journey with international film screenings from around the globe with the announcement of its Call for Submissions. The 24th annual PAFF, the nation’s largest and most prestigious Black film festival will be held on February 4^th to the 15^th, 2016 in Los Angeles. Over the years, it has showcased films from all parts of the world, representing such countries as Angola, Nigeria, Jamaica, New Zealand, Rwanda, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, England, Mexico, Japan, France and of course, the United States. With the pulse on the international film market, PAFF has opened the minds of its audiences, and transported them to faraway lands and back home again.

“Over the years, the filmmakers from around the world have become more sophisticated in telling their stories,” says Asantewa Olatunji, the director of programming for PAFF. “In our ever shrinking world, it is so important to understand the experiences and points of views of other peoples and cultures.”

Last year, more than 40,000 people attended the film festival, which has long been a highly anticipated event in Los Angeles attended by local, national and international guests. Currently, PAFF is accepting submissions of features and shorts; narrative and documentary films made by or about people of African descent. You can currently apply by going online to the PAFF website at www.paff.org and clicking onto “Submit Film”. Fill out the online application and either upload your film with your completed application or send in a DVD to PAFF at 6820 LaTijera Blvd. Ste. 200, Los Angeles, CA 90045.

PAFF is currently accepting applications for films and videos made by and/or about people of African descent. (Please note: the filmmaker need not be of African descent.) Preferably, films should depict positive and realistic images and can be of any genre – drama, comedy, horror, adventure, animation, romance, science fiction, experimental, etc. PAFF accepts features and shorts both narrative and documentary.

The PAFF competition categories are: Best Narrative Feature, Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary, Best Director – First Feature, plus a variety of Audience Favorite Awards. Films in competition must be copyrighted no earlier than 2014. With the exception of Audience Favorite Awards, films are judged by industry professionals. In addition to competition awards, other programming and festival special prizes will be awarded.

For information about the festival, submission procedures, fees and registration, click www.paff.org or email submissions@paff.org. Early submissions will be accepted beginning July 20 through August 7; regular submissions begin August 8 and run through October 2, 2015. Late submissions will be accepted from October 3 to October 31

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Thanks to an initiative first recommended by Board of Education member Danny Till­man, with full support from fellow Board members, 5,000 socio-economically disadvantaged families in the San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) will receive 21st Century technology through a program designed to close the digital divide.

SBCUSD is offering the Family Chromebook Initiative beginning July 6 in partnership with California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF). CETF is providing $100,000 in funding, as well as its School2Home curriculum in support of the Initiative. Through the Board of Education’s Family Chromebook Initiative, SBCUSD will provide free Chromebook computers and T-Mobile Internet service to 5,000 SBCUSD families. Eligible families were contacted by the SBCUSD automated phone system to identify those interested in the program. About 5,000 were willing to participate in the pilot program.

“So much of our society is going digital and we want to provide families who don’t have devices and Internet access at home the resources they need to help their children be successful,” said Barbara Richardson, the director of Accountability & Educational Technology for SBCUSD. “The Chromebook Initiative and School2Home program help provide those with the most need and the fewest resources a chance to even the playing field.”

As part of the Board-led Initiative, one adult and one student from each family must attend the School2Home training program in July. The Board of Education felt the program would only be successful if it included a training component for students and parents. The initial training focuses on basic computer literacy skills and helps participants set up a free email account and connect to Internet-based educational services, such as the SBCUSD Parent Portal. Additional, optional School2Home computer training will also be offered throughout the school year to help parents and students develop their computer skills and build a closer connection to the school community.

All School2Home training will be provided in English and Spanish. Parents and students who need additional accommodations, including services in other languages, will receive those services upon request. SBCUSD will loan participating families one Chromebook and provide limited, home Internet service for one year, as long as they attend SBCUSD schools. The home-based Internet access will have the same protections as school-based Internet access.

LOS ANGELES – Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital (“MLKCH”) announced that the privately-owned, non-profit hospital is now fully licensed, accredited, and opened to the public as of Tuesday July 7, 2015.  An opening dedication is scheduled for August 7, 2015.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital is a brand new state-of-the-art facility, with all new equipment, technology, staff, and administration. MLKCH has a total of 131 beds, including 93 medical/surgical beds, 20 intensive care beds and 18 obstetrical beds. Inpatient specialties will include Anesthesiology, Cardiology, Emergency Services, Gastroenterology, General Medicine, General Surgery, Infectious Diseases, Neurology, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Otolaryngology, Pathology, Radiology, Pulmonary Medicine and Urology.  The hospital’s medical staff includes six hospital-based physician groups that will be on-site 24/7.

“After much hard work and dedication, we are excited to open our doors to the public,” said MLKCH’s Chief Executive Officer, Elaine Batchlor, MD, MPH. “We designed this hospital from the ground up to meet the urgent health needs of our community, and we are eager to welcome them. Working with our staff, physicians, and partners at the County of Los Angeles and the University of California healthcare system, we are bringing compassionate, collaborative, quality care to South Los Angeles.”

MLKCH has completed licensure by the California Department of Public Health, and accreditation by The Joint Commission, a national agency that monitors health care organizations and promotes the highest standards of quality and patient safety.  The Emergency Department, Labor and Delivery, and other hospital services will be open for patient care on July 7^th.

“MLKCH will be a leading model of innovative, collaborative, community health care,” added Dr. Batchlor. “We have assembled a world-class healthcare team that includes highly-qualified clinical leaders and a diverse, multilingual staff.  MLKCH will be a leading force in addressing the long-standing health disparities in our community.”

ABOUT MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital is a private, non-profit, safety-net hospital, administered by the Martin Luther King, Jr. – Los Angeles Healthcare Corporation (MLK-LA), a 501(c)(3) organization.  The 131-bed community hospital has a 21-bed emergency department, 20 ICU beds, and 18 labor, delivery, and postpartum beds.  The hospital’s mission is to provide compassionate, innovative and quality care, and collaborating with providers and our community to create a healthier South Los Angeles. The hospital will serve 1.35 million residents of South Los Angeles regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.

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