Local

Bag, Bags, Bags, Californians have an obsession with plastic bags and many cities have made their way to mandate how each city will deal with how we will reuse, dispose and deal with plastic bags. Seventy cites have already adopted regulations around  single use plastic bags, and 40 more cities are considering how they will regulate   single use plastic bags, so doesn’t it make since to standardize how we deal with this issue statewide?  Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) seems to have found a good solution in SB 405 that will make environmentalist and the business community happy. Protecting our environment while bringing uniformity statewide to this issue is a win-win and only makes since that California moves in this direction.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— 543 students will graduate from Pacific High School this week, led by valedictorian Vanessa Marin, joining many of her classmates as the first in their families to both graduate from high school and go on to attend college or university.

Vanessa was accepted by several schools in the University of California system, but chose Cal State San Bernardino when offered a President’s Academic Excellence Scholarship (established under former CSUSB President Dr. Albert Karnig). Pacific High School graduates have done very well this year, receiving 44 of the 200 Valley-Bound Scholarships issued in 2013 – the most from any one high school in the Inland Empire. That is commendable achievement that reflects the measurable gains that Pacific has made over the last three years in the state of California’s Academic Performance Index (API).

Tex Acosta, the principal at Pacific High has taken a personal approach: on campus with students and encouraging parent participation, and as part of the school district’s Strategic Planning efforts. School Improvement grant funding benefited the school by providing teachers greater access to professional learning opportunities focused on improving student academic achievement.  And in 2012, Pacific High was recertified as a National Demonstration School for the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, a status is achieved by fewer than 100 schools nation-wide, and making it a model for strengthening other AVID schools.

During these same three years, student referrals and suspensions have dropped 66 percent at the high school!

Certainly, more work needs to take place at Pacific and across the San Bernardino City Unified School District to boost students’ chances of success after graduation, in college and in the workplace, and to continue the journey toward excellence.  They deserve support and praise from their community.

When Pacific’s Class of 2013 marches across the stage at Bailey Bowl to receive their diplomas, they will not only represent their personal achievements, but also the achievement of their parents, their teachers, and their administrators. Go Pirates!! (WSSN 5/17/13)

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he summit in which featured Mrs. Cheryl Brown one of the city’s assembly members, was a great experience and provided a lot of knowledge about the city’s current status and where hopefully it will be in the near future.  Mrs. Brown didn’t speak much but she did get up for a couple of 2-3 minute speeches which were more inspirational than anything.  She also handed out an award to Dr. John Husing who was also in attendance.  Dr. Husing spoke for the majority of the time accompanied by an projector screen in which it had slides of different graphs and photos pertaining to the topic he was currently speaking about.  He touch on several topics about the city and its current condition, and where it stack up against other cities.  Dr. Husing stated that currently the city is one of the lowest scoring when it comes to adults who have graduated high school and went on to obtain a master’s/bachelors degree at 18 out of 100 adults who have done so.  Where the average for most cities is 42-43 out of 100 adults who have done so.  Which ultimately leads to them either being more of a successful adult , or less of an successful adult which has an ricochet effect to their family and children in most cases.  In all for adults he was saying we must make sure we further educate ourselves to ensure an better chance at success as individuals.  He also touched on the difficulties for the small businesses in our area and how it is difficult for most to become successful due to the current financial status of our city.  Stating that most of our local businesses are in competition with competitors that they can’t compete against due to the fact they are big companies with more power and money.  Saying the big companies come in and take over small businesses and consume most of the business real estate in our area and they are coming from different states and cities not locally which takes the money out of our city. Stating that small business can’t go to the next level because of most people’s falling financial status in our city, which ultimately plays a part in companies success.  He also touched on the fact that there is a rise in medical cost for the city which also carries a burden for the city.  Stating that there is a significant rise in medical expenses for the latino community due to their rising population.  Saying that now hospitals will have to become more educated about the latino community when it comes to medical research in the field.  Which ultimately cost more money.  The solution they had to counter act the problems was to try to make sure everyone is properly and highly educated so they can achieve personal success by having the proper knowledge to do so.  Assure that all local business had the proper information and resources to provide great service in their field and provide many more jobs also.  To allow more businesses to open up and become a success instead of open and close within the same year.  To have more business that are local be locally owned and operated. To have more business networking with one another in hopes of generating more income and more projects that provides more jobs and provides better living to the people of our city.  Of course this will take time and must be done one step at a time but as long as we all work together and stay on the same track it can be done in due time.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—Seventh grader Isabel Cholbi, the two-time San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) Collaborative Spelling Bee winner will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, May 28 to 30. As the winner of the San Bernardino spelling bee, the Chavez Middle School student won a trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. This will be Isabel’s second time competing in the national event.

The competition begins on May 28 with the Preliminaries Test for all 281 competitors.  The test includes spelling words and vocabulary questions. Competitors who misspell a word in round two or three of the preliminaries, on May 29, are eliminated. A maximum of 50 competitors will qualify for the semifinals. The preliminaries will be broadcast on ESPN3 on Wednesday, May 29 at 8 a.m. and at 1:15 p.m. EDT (5 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Pacific Time). The semifinals will air on ESPN2 on Thursday, May 30 at 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. Pacific Time). The finals air on ESPN on Thursday, May 30 at 8 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. Pacific Time).

Every competitor will receive Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged and, courtesy of Jay Sugarman, a 2013 United States Mint Proof Set, plus and Award Certificate. The SBCUSD Collaborative Spelling Bee is affiliated with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, giving Cholbi access to official study guides and materials.

Isabel is not only an accomplished speller, she also builds websites and is learning computer programming languages; she has also competed in the regional science fair every year since 2010; placing fourth in 2013. The talented Isabel is also a musician and plays the xylophone, glockenspiel and vibraphone.

We will be tuning in on ESPN next week to cheer Isabel on.  We hope the community will join in and show support for one of the many special young people coming up in the Inland Empire, and in San Bernardino particularly! (WSSN-5/17/13)

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—Gabrielle Mays graduated from California State University San Bernardino in 2011 with a communications degree, and she has already been honored as the recipient of the 2012 Broadcasting Award of Excellence for news reporting by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB).

Mays, who grew up in Redlands, works as a news reporter for WLUC-TV 6 in Houghton, Michigan.. The station’s website highlights her work at Cal State San Bernardino where she gained most of her experience as the producer for the campus news station segment ‘Local Matters.’ Mays entered the MAB’s news reporter category with three feature stories she produced in the Houghton/Hancock region. “What makes this award so special is that all of the stories I entered were about the people in this area,” said Mays.

“It’s particularly impressive that Gabrielle graduated from CSUSB in 2011,” said Michael Salvador, chair of the university’s communications studies department. “To win this award in her first year speaks to Gabrielle’s talent and the quality of her professional preparation here at CSUSB.”

Her entries consisted of a story about a young girl with brittle bone disease who wanted an outdoor wheelchair to aid her in getting through the snow; a group called the Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly who assisted senior citizens in their everyday lives; and a fire that broke out in a senior living complex.

“People in the community trusted me enough to tell their story; and to win an award based on how amazing, kind and generous the Houghton/Hancock community truly is; makes me smile,” said Mays.

The award, which she received this March, now sits in the front office of the Houghton news station among the station’s other awards. “I came into this job not being the best on-camera personality, but I learned that if you want to be a reporter, you have to get good at telling the stories of the people that watch you every single night,” Mays added. (WSSN-5/17/13)

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Sixth Ward Councilman Rikke Van Johnson launched his campaign for Mayor of San Bernardino last Thursday May 16 with a kick-off meeting held on the lawn of his home.  Johnson announced that both his campaign and his vision for the city were inclusive, with the theme “Campaign for L.I.F.E.” (Leaders, Investors, Friends and Everyone).

He states his goal is to help “create, grow, and maintain economic value in the city, which will aid the community in realizing and accessing all the necessities that define quality of life.”  He laid out a vision for the city as a safe and prosperous community, offering a wide range of housing, recreation, education, cultural, and employment opportunities for all who come to live and work here.

He also said that San Bernardino residents need to continue to provide a strong sense of community for each other in these economically trying times.  He also laid out three primary areas he would focus upon as the Mayor:

     1. Public Safety to reduce crime rates with a two pronged strategy of, a) Decreasing gang violence and gang activity,; and b) Increasing Citizen Engagement in local government, realizing that a government goes bad when it’s citizens are not engaged;

2. Economic Stimulation through Job Creation, and helping to retain and maintain Local Business by helping them grow and strengthen their Consumer Base;

3. Beautification of areas of the city that have experienced neglect, thereby raising the esteem of both residents and businesses, and providing an attractive environment for consumers, potential home-buyers, and potential new businesses.

Johnson said he would also partner with area school systems to ensure an educated workforce, and would simplify the city’s system of government which he says has become “ambiguous and antiquated.”

“I truly believe that this is the frame work for a pathway to strengthening, sustaining and restoring our City to once again be that proud ‘City on the Move.’  This will be achieved by working together with vision, planning and hope,” he added. (WSSN 5/23/13)

Mayor Patrick J. Morris