COLTON, CA- On October 17, 2017 Mayor Richard A. DeLaRosa, alongside the City of Colton’s City Council presented Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes with the keys to the City and proclaimed her a “Key Supporter” of all the citizens within the City of Colton, throughout the Inland Empire Region and the State of California. Assemblymember Reyes was recognized for being a strong and vocal advocate for the people of the Inland Empire and the City of Colton. In her first legislative year in office, she successfully obtained $500,000 from the State of California for a new Colton brush fire engine. The funds have been received, the fire engine has been ordered and it will be delivered to the City of Colton early next year.

Assemblymember Reyes was also recognized by the Fire Fighters Association as an Honorary Colton Firefighter. Mayor DeLaRosa and the City Council presented a proclamation emphasizing that Assemblymember Reyes has been a visionary and continues to serve with great passion, unselfishly giving her time, never losing sight of her ideals, while promoting public service.

“I am so proud and humbled by this honor. As a public servant, I do not serve to be recognized, rather to help others. It is my goal to serve the 47th Assembly District with resources and opportunities,” said Assemblymember Reyes.

Mayor DeLaRosa shared, “the City of Colton is thankful to have Assemblymember Reyes as our representative. This fire equipment will assist our fire department in saving lives and property in our community.”  

By Naomi Riggins

The Community Initiatives for Visiting Inmates in Confinement (C.I.V.I.C), the Inland Empire-Immigrant Youth Collective and the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice presented the #SchoolsNotPrisons tour to Adelanto. The “#SchoolsNotPrison Art and Music Festival” show was held on Friday, October 20 at the Adelanto Stadium. These shows are free, community events. 

At Friday’s show, there was an estimated 1,000+ concert-goers in attendance that came out to support Immigration reform. The MC for the evening was Comedian Cristela Alonzo and performances consisted of Los Rakas, Ceci Bastida and Buyepongo and fan favorite 8-year-old DJ Liva on the turntables, along with her dance crew. Grammy-Award-Winning R&B Artist Miguel blessed us with hits such as, “All I Think of is You” and “Adore,” as well as “Shockandawe,” and “Skywalker,” which are songs from his latest album War and Leisure.

Prior to the event, a press conference was set up directly across from the Adelanto Detention Center, which is the largest outsourced private detention center in California ran by GEO Group. Event organizers and community activist, along with Miguel, passionately spoke on the unethical mistreatment of immigrant detainees.

Miguel stated, “I’m hoping to shed whatever light I can on the families dealing with the cruel and unjust treatment in Adelanto.”

There are over 200 immigration detention facilities in the United States, most are located far from major cities and can house several thousand detainees at one time while awaiting approval requests from the immigration courts to continue living in United States. Currently, Adelanto has approximately 1,600 detainees awaiting judgment.

There have been reports of serious mistreatments of the detainees, such as lack of medical care, withholding medication, physical violence, sexual abuse, discrimination, sanitary conditions, lack of a bed, water, or food and forced to sign documents. The immigration courts have no due process, which means detainees have no idea how long they are going to be there; it could be days, months or even years.

The Community Initiatives for Visiting Inmates in Confinement (C.I.V.I.C) and #SchoolsNotPrions are calling for the closures of immigration detention centers and private-run facilities such as the Adelanto Detention Center. To take a stand today against Immigrant prisons sign this petition www.change.org/immigrantprisons.

LOMA LINDA, CA- Modern Healthcare, the industry’s leading source of health care business and policy news, research and information, has named Angela Lalas, MBA, senior vice president for finance at Loma Linda University Health, to its list of Up and Comers for 2017.

This year, the publication selected 15 outstanding individuals from among thousands of health care executives in the United States age 40 and younger. In choosing the 37-year-old Lalas, it reported that she has provided financial oversight for the $2 billion, 1,071-bed academic health system. 

The publication also pointed out that under her financial leadership, the hospitals have improved financial performance for two consecutive years, citing an increase in combined net operating income from $14.4 million in 2014 to $104.7 million in 2016.

Lalas has previously been recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as a Rising Star in Healthcare — in both 2016 and 2017 — and one of 150 Hospital and Health System CFOs to Know in 2016.

Loma Linda University Health president, Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, said the latest honor for Lalas is a testament to her knowledge and ability to navigate the financial challenges in the health care field.

“Angela is a leader who exemplifies excellence, integrity and professionalism in everything she does,” Hart said. “She is a valued asset to this organization, and we are proud of her accomplishments.”

Lalas, who grew up in a Seventh-day Adventist family, told the publication that her choice of career in health care was a matter of faith, and that it is in the health care industry that she is able to positively impact the most lives. “I help support our providers in delivering top-quality care through faithful fiscal stewardship,” she said. 

She added that she is honored and humbled to be chosen to represent Loma Linda University Health on the Modern Healthcare list. “I am so grateful to God for blessing me with the privilege of serving with an outstanding team of mentors, colleagues and coworkers here at Loma Linda,” Lalas said.

The complete list is available at  www.modernhealthcare.com/community/up-and-comers/2017/.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- When Alma Lopez of Moreno Valley was a student at San Bernardino Valley College, she received guidance and encouragement from English instructor Dolores Moreno and counselor Laura Gomez.

Today, she works alongside them both as an English instructor and Co-Coordinator of the Puente program with colleague Elizabeth Banuelos, who is also a former student and mentee of the program.

At 19 years old, Alma knew that she wanted to work with adult learners at the community college level, but she was far from certain about her future. After a “disastrous” year at another local college, Alma switched schools to attend Valley.

“I didn’t seek academic counseling while I was at Chaffey,” Lopez said. “I didn’t feel any kind of connection to the campus. I knew I had to change when I came to SBVC. I had to do things differently if I wanted to be successful.”

It was the right move for Lopez, who “loved” her time as an SBVC student.

“I was always a quiet person in high school, and I slowly came out of my shell by being involved in student government, MEChA, working in the library, successfully completing my year in Puente, studying abroad in Spain, and being selected Homecoming Princess?—?I still can’t believe that one! Because I wasn’t involved in high school, it was important to me to be involved with my college.”

Lopez had wanted to study history, then sociology, but being a member of Puente, a program that works with under-represented students to make them leaders and mentors, and working with English Professor Dolores Moreno, made Lopez switch her focus to literature when she transferred to UC Santa Cruz. There, she earned her bachelor’s in literature, then her master’s in English from UC Riverside, and was excited to return to SBVC as an adjunct instructor in English in 2007. She became a full-time instructor in 2012, and earned tenure in 2016.

“SBVC is my home,” Lopez said. “SBVC is also my mother’s home?—?she studied at SBVC from 1955 to 1957 before transferring to the University of Redlands to earn her BA and her lifelong teaching credential. That’s my favorite part?—?these are my stomping grounds.”

Lopez has also enjoyed forging new relationships with her former professors and counselors, who are now her colleagues, and jokes that she “can even call them by their first names now. I can’t express how much it means to still have Laura Gomez and Dolores Moreno as my support system. They helped me realize my potential and claim my education when I was a student. They continue to offer their support, encouragement, and consejos as I navigate through my career.”

She also credits Dr. Horace Alexander and Prof. Colleen Calderon with her success, as their “passion for their subjects helped plant the teaching seed in me, too.”

For students who, like her, knew what they wanted to do after college, Lopez has some suggestions: Get to know your professors, get involved with student associations in your chosen field, and attend academic conferences. Most of all, “Don’t give up on your dream,” she said.

Lopez appreciates that she was able to come full circle.

“That I get to teach at my alma mater and my mother’s alma mater is one of the largest blessings of my life,” she said. “SBVC has saved me several times. I must give back what I have been given?—?I must.”

Alma Lopez (left) and Elizabeth Banuelos (right), SBVC’s Puente Coordinators, are both alumni of the program they now lead at San Bernardino Valley College.

Alma’s colleague in the Puente program, Elizabeth Banuelos, has a similar story.

Banuelos, who lives in Fontana, attended four colleges during her educational journey, but it was her experience at San Bernardino Valley College that made her return as a counselor to inspire others.

A native of Tijuana, she had moved to San Bernardino from Perris, and went with her mother to enroll in college classes at SBVC. Once she arrived, she was blown away by the kindness she encountered.

“Everyone was so warm, so it created a positive impact to stay at SBVC,” Banuelos said. As a first-generation college student, she said it took a “strong village” of faculty, staff, and tutors to help with her “success not only in academics, but in life as well.”

While an SBVC student, Banuelos was part of MEChA and Puente, which work to promote and increase the number of under-represented students at colleges and universities. She credits Laura Gomez and Mary Beth Barrios?—?another Puente counselor?—?for being the mentors who prepared her to succeed in higher education, including the possibility of transferring to a UC.

After continuing to work with Puente’s outreach program, she witnessed firsthand the incredible impact community college counselors make in the lives of so many students. “I was able to connect to my own experience, and decided to enroll in a counseling program,” she said.

Banuelos earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Riverside, and went on to receive a master’s degree from the University of Redlands. When she completed her counseling internship at Chaffey College, she felt inclined to return to the positive environment at SBVC.

Banuelos applied for an adjunct counselor position at SBVC, and has held that position on campus for the past two years. She also serves as a co-coordinator for the Puente program. “My experience at SBVC was remarkable,” she said. “I found it to be the most positive higher education environment I have experienced in my life. Everyone was willing to go above and beyond to support me in many ways.”

She now loves welcoming students into her office so that she can give the same encouragement she received as a student years ago. Banuelos says the counselors are making students “feel that this is a place that is so involved in their success, making a positive impression of faculty and staff, and reassuring students that they can and will complete their goals at SBVC.”

She also finds enjoyment from working alongside the same faculty members that helped her as a student, including her former counselor Laura Gomez, who “has been so supportive of my professional journey,” Banuelos said. “Laura has been a very important person in counseling and she has been so helpful since day one. Even if she has appointments booked, she will make the time to give a smile and answer any questions or share advice.”

Banuelos wants students to always keep their eyes on the prize, to know that it is possible to finish their degrees and find their dream jobs.

“I enrolled for my first semester in college somewhere else and SBVC made a difference between giving up or staying motivated to achieve my goals,” she said. “Everyone makes a difference. Please, let’s make a positive impact!”

LOS ANGELES, CA- On Thursday, October 12 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, celebrities gathered to support the The Eva Longoria Foundation’s (ELF) work to empower Latinas through education and entrepreneurship. Attendees included: Eva Longoria, Terry Crews (“Brooklyn Nine Nine”), Felicity Huffman (“American Crime”), Melanie Griffith,  Mario Lopez, Jaime Camil (“Jane The Virgin”), Angelique Cabral (“Life In Pieces”), Edward James Olmos (Blade Runner), Bernard David Jones (“The Mayor”), Chandler Kinney (“Lethal Weapon”), Eva Gutowski (Influencer/YouTuber), Ana Brenda Contreras (“Blue Demon”), Eva LaRue (“CSI: Miami”), Robin Antin (“The Pussycat Dolls”), Kendall Schmidt (“Big Time Rush”), Diana Maria Riva (“Man With A Plan”), and Alex Meneses (“Telenovela”).

Guests arrived at The Four Seasons Beverly Hills for cocktails and h’ors d’oeuvures followed by a sit-down dinner and program. Mario Lopez introduced Eva Longoria, who spoke about the foundation’s work to reach girls facing education inequality, and language, immigration and economic barriers. Bernard Boudreaux, Director of Corporate Responsibility for the Target Corporation, and the event’s premiere sponsor, spoke about Target’s continued support for the foundation’s programmatic work reaching low-income Latina girls in south Texas. Actress Alex Meneses introduced participants in ELF’s Latina mentorship program at Gertz-Ressler High School in Los Angeles. “Jane the Virgin’s” Jaime Camil spoke about the importance of supporting minority women business owners, and a local Latina entrepreneur spoke about receiving capital from the foundation’s microloan fund.  Together Longoria and Mario Lopez orchestrated a Call-to-Donate and gave closing remarks. Other event sponsors included College Track, The Gilbert and Jacki Cisneros Foundation and Somos Healthcare. 

The Eva Longoria Foundation was established in 2012 by actress, activist and philanthropist Eva Longoria. Latinas are a rapidly growing group with extraordinary potential, yet they disproportionately lack educational opportunities and face economic challenges. Latinas will make up nearly 15% of the United States population by 2060, and their success is critical to the future of the country. However, nearly one-third of Latinas live below the poverty line. By providing Latinas with the resources to succeed in school and business, the foundation works to improve their lives, empower their communities and shape the national conversation about leveling the playing field for minority girls and women.

If you would like to donate to the Eva Longoria Foundation, please visit www.evalongoriafoundation.org/donate.

By Lue Dowdy

Ge-ho of C.H.E.F. Music Studio is What It Do! Having the right producer and studio to record in can be vital to an artist’s project. Relationships and trust is an important factor as well. To create you must be in an environment that makes you feel comfortable. I’d like to take a moment to give thanks to one of the BEST producers/engineers in the game, Mr. Ge-ho of C.H.E.F. Music.

Working with Ge-ho over the years has been magical. He truly has a heart for artists. As soon as you step in the building, there he is ready to greet you with his chef hat and coat ready to work. His fire beats make artists want to serve it up in the booth. Never holding no punches, Ge-ho tells it like it is to inspiring artists in the game. The advice is worth paying for but he offers it for FREE.

With Ge-ho being talented in several areas, he will be departing C.H.E.F Music as the producer/engineer and will be taking on other duties in the company. Taking his place, the company has hired two replacements, Andrew Cook and Daniel Phillpot. I am looking forward to working with these two as well.

Don’t forget to book with the best and that’s Chef Music, C.H.E.F. standing for “Creativity is Heard Emotion is Felt.

Until next week keep it 100% always.

Chef Music, LLC is located at 14425 Seventh Street, Suite 5 in Victorville. Hours of Operation 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. You can email them at info@chefmusic.com or call (844) 484-2433.

Publisher’s Commentary by Wallace J. Allen

Who is coming to help your neighborhood after the earthquake, fire, flood, or mudslide?  Trained ‘first responders’ will start where they stand!  If there are trained ‘first responders’ in your neighborhood during or immediately after a disaster, your neighborhood will be in better hands than those neighborhoods that do not!               

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members are trained to put out small fires, assess buildings, and help with first aid to family, friends and neighbors, as well as provide leadership during a time of crisis. During a disaster, CERT members often become regarded as heroes and superheroes to those people that need immediate help!

The City of Rialto Fire Department is hosting its final scheduled 2017 CERT training session, covering 20 hours over three days on October 27, 28 and November 4. The classes are FREE and all materials are provided! You too can train to become a ‘super hero’! I highly recommend the classes to everyone who has the time available. The Friday, October 27, class is from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and the other classes, October 28 and November 4, are on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Classes are held at Rialto Fire Station 203, 1550 Ayala Dr.  The classes are sponsored by the Rialto Fire department and the Advanced CERT Volunteers.

Register for the classes on line at rialtocert@gmail.com leaving your contact information or by calling the Rialto CERT hotline at (909) 421-4964.

We do not look forward to having a disaster, but that does not mean one will not occur!  In California, we can be sure it is coming, but not when. We need to be prepared at home, in the car and at work! We all need to store extra water, food, blankets, flashlights, a first aid kit, fire starter, etc. Our choice is either to prepare, or, depend on being near a super hero when surprised by disaster!

RIVERSIDE, CA- Each year, the NAACP Riverside Branch hosts a luncheon on Veterans Day to recognize and honor our brave heroes of war. The 47th Anderson Copeland Memorial Veterans Recognition Luncheon will take place on Friday, November 10 at 11 a.m. (Veterans Day) at Mount Rubidoux Seventh Day Adventist Church located at 5320 Victoria Avenue in Riverside.

Special guest speaker will be retired United States Air Force combat nurse, Lieutenant Colonel Sandra Jones. Decorated war heroes and other special invited guests from various military branches will also be present.

Veterans and their families will be treated to a complimentary southern-style lunch. Additionally, all veterans will also be honored with a special medal as a small token of appreciation for their dedicated service to our country. For information call (909) 229-4825 or (909) 456-0786. Visit www.Naacp-Riverside.org.

By Naomi K. Bonman

LOS ANGELES, CA- As usual, the Taste of Soul brought out thousands of Southern California residents to the Crenshaw area on Saturday, October 21.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Taste of Soul, it is one of the largest street festivals in Los Angeles where of variety of ethnic food vendors from in and around Los Angeles County come out to promote their restaurants. The Los Angeles Sentential is the main media producer that puts on the event every year with the help of sponsors, such as.  Other business and entities also come out to promote as well, but the scope of the afternoon is centered around the delicious food that you will embark on.

In addition to the food vendors, there are several stages that bring out top notch talent. This year among those stages was StarQuest. StarQuest held a competition between adults and children where they gave one adult winner $500 and one child winner $500. They also had headlining performances from household entertainers that included Brandy, Melanie Fiona, Kenny Lattimore, Doug E. Fresh, and Kool Moe Dee. In between performances, Danny Bakewell explained the importance of supporting black owned businesses, which is the purpose of way Taste of Soul was put on and has been successful for the past 12 years.

(Photo Credit: Kristina Dixon/11:One Visuals)

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

Talking ‘bout can’t touch this! Well, “Can’t Touch This,” I got One Word for you: Kryptonite…. ….That’s right…. Kryptonite…. What? What you say? I can’t hear you…. “Can’t Touch this” talk to me…..Hello…. my point exactly… True enough, the Man of Steel is an iconic character and he is as powerful as they come.  Bullets can’t hurt him.  Nothing is faster and he is the strongest that there is. But don’t get it twisted, even Superman has a weakness. That mysterious green substance called Kryptonite. Yes, Kryptonite renders Superman useless. 

Listen to him as he is faced with Kryptonite…. “At that moment far out in space, strange…., I feel so weak…. No strength at all! Dizzy… faint… as though I’m near Kryptonite! May be an asteroid containing it nearby, I’ll check with my X-ray vision! WH—What? This ship… It-its lined with Kryptonite…. And over that, a layer of lead… the only substance my X-ray vision can’t penetrate… Th-this is a trap… a flying coffin that will carry me helplessly through space forever.” Now ain’t that ‘bout nothing….. Can’t touch this….

I tell you, you better listen to Superman because Satan has also placed traps out for you to get caught in. Pitfalls to fall into [Psalm 119:110]. As [Hebrew 2:1] says, “It’s crucial that you keep a firm grip on what you’ve heard so that you don’t drift off. Don’t be fooled…. Kryptonite will destroy you.  Don’t look up; don’t look back; run for your life!” [Genesis 19:17b]. You have not a moment to lose. “Escape,” the angels says, “for your life- it is now or never. A few more minutes, a few more hours, and it will be too late.”

You see the Bible tells us in [Ephesians 6:11] that we fight an enemy that uses “wiles” to get his way in our lives. Satan would like nothing better than to trip you up and cause you to fall into one of his traps. Just before Jesus died, remember He told Simon Peter that Satan desired to have him that he might sift him as wheat, [Luke 22:31-32]. Satan wants to do the same to you and me. He wants us to fall. He wants us to fail, and he will stop at nothing to bring that to pass.  So, beware of every impulse, temptation that comes down the line. Check out everything by the Word of God and by the will of God and the Lord will always lead you in the right way!

Realize your danger. Don’t trifle with your own soul, with hell and heaven, with God and His bleeding, inviting Son. Now, now, now! “Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die and not live.” There is but a step between us and death. [John 3:36]. Know that Lady Wisdom only allows a window of time to show your love for truth and wisdom. If you neglect or reject her offer, she will withdraw and neglect or reject you in your great hour of need when you call upon her for help [Proverbs 1:20-32]. Don’t delay! Destroy what steals your strength, because Satan will use slick and enticing speech to get you to yield to his plans for your life. He practiced this kind of trickery in the Garden of Eden when he talked to Eve, [Genesis 3:1-6]. He told her that she could question God’s Word; He told her that God did not really mean what God has said; He told her that God was really just holding out on her. In other words, Satan will give you every reason in the world to justify the things he wants you to do. Then when you have followed him and are out of God’s will and in trouble, he will discard you like a piece of trash and leave you to rot in your sins! You better know that you know! Don’t be deceived. You see, [2 Corinthians 2:11] tells us that Satan desires to gain an “advantage” over us and to do this; he will use every trick in the book to get us to follow him into failure. Be careful because the Enemy can be deceptive. He can be destructive. You do not have to fall for everything the devil tells you! He is a liar and the father of it, [John 8:44]. The Bible tells us in [Ephesians 4:27], that we are not to give “place” to the devil in our lives. We must always be on guard to avoid his attacks. Don’t even let him have so much as a foot in the door! Take the steps that are necessary to defeat the devil and walk in victory!

David writes: “The proud have hid a snare for me…” [Psalm 140:5, emphasis mine]. The trap that the devil or the wicked are setting for you is something you can’t see. It is laid in secret: “…they privately [secretly] laid a snare for me” (142:3). “…they commune of laying snares privately…” (64:5). Perhaps you are caught in a snare right now – trapped by the enemy. At one time, you were like a bird, flying about, singing a sweet song. You spread your wings of faith and soared into the heavens. You knew what it meant to be free in Christ. But the enemy set a trap for you – he laid out his net and placed the corn nearby – and you went for it. You flew down, caught your foot in the fowler’s net, and the trap sprang. You were caught! And today you sit in bondage, feeling trapped by your sin.

Don’t worry be happy; I have incredible news for you. If you’ve been trapped by the enemy – if you have fallen into his snare, yet you know you love God with all your heart – the Lord will not allow you to be the enemy’s victim. He will not let you remain in the devil’s teeth. You are about to be set free! “Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth” (Psalm 124:6). The snare is broken-and we have escaped! [Psalm 124:7] Yes & Amen to that!