Vol. 63 No. 18 | Thursday, May 04, 2023

California Black Media Political Playback

Your roundup of news stories you might have missed last week.

By Tanu Henry CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA

Assemblymember Mike Gipson Demands Sac County Remove Foster Children From Former Jail

Last week, Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson) demanded Sacramento County officials stop housing foster children in a former juvenile correction center.

Covid-19 cases in southeast

The lawmaker, who authored Assembly Bill (AB) 175 that expanded and clarified the Foster Youth Bill of Rights, says what Sacramento County is doing is “unacceptable” and is in violation of state law.

Biden’s Re-election Announcement to test Resolve of Black Voters

Are We Out of the Woods

with covid?

Omicron variants are killing 200-300 people a day but population immunity in the U.S. is higher and more stable than a year ago.

By Peter White ETHNIC MEDIA SERVICES

The Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco says the number of new COVID-19 cases is decreasing, wastewater infectiousness is relatively low and hospitalizations are going down.

“The state of COVID, at least as far as I can tell, feels reasonably mild

compared to what we’ve seen in the past 3 years, and remarkably stable,” says Dr. Robert Wachter.

Wachter briefed reporters on an Ethnic Media Services conference call last week. He said the biggest surprise about new variants driving the pandemic in the last 18 months has been the relative lack of surprises.

See COVID page 2

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA NEWSWIRE SR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

The white woman who testified that a Black teenager named Emmett Till had made inappropriate approaches toward her, which led to his lynching and murder in Mississippi in 1955, has died. According to a coroner’s report, Carolyn Bryant Donham, 88, died while receiving hospice care in Louisiana.

A death record issued on Thursday, April 27, in the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office noted that Donham died in Westlake, Louisiana, two nights earlier. Donham’s false claims against Emmett Till set off a chain of events that sparked the modern civil rights movement.

After the teen’s mother insisted his casket remain open during the

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA NEWSWIRE SR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

The news that President Joe Biden will seek re-election has many curious about how well he will perform among African American voters. According to the results of a recent poll conducted by TheGrio and KFF, black people had a positive opinion of both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

There remains some debate among Black Americans about whether or not

they will support Biden for president in 2024. According to the results of the poll of one thousand Black voters who were registered between August 24, 2022, and September 5, 2022, 69% of respondents were pleased with Biden’s performance. When asked whether the Democrats should select someone other than Biden in the next presidential election, 58% of Black voters answered that they would rather see another candidate run than Biden.

See BIDEN page 2

funeral and photos of Till’s battered and mutilated body appeared in Jet Magazine, the world received a birdseye view of the brutality of America’s rampant racism. In August 1955, Till traveled from Chicago to Mississippi to spend time with relatives.

Donham, then 21 years old and going by the name Carolyn Bryant, accused Till of making inappropriate approaches toward her while she worked at a grocery shop in the small town of Money.

According to the Reverend Wheeler Parker, a cousin of Till who was present at the time, the 14-year-old Till whistled at the woman, which was an act that violated the racist social standards that were prevalent in Mississippi. Evidence suggested a lady identified Emmett Till to Donham’s then-husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam, who

were responsible for Till’s murder. An all-white jury acquitted the two white suspects, but the men later confessed their guilt in an interview with Look magazine. In 2022, the Associated Press secured a copy of Donham’s unpublished memoir, in which she claimed that she had no idea what would become of Till. The outlet noted that the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting was the first organization to reveal the contents of the 99-page book titled “I am More Than A Wolf Whistle.”

See TILL page 16

PHOTO: Courtesy of EMS

ARTICLE CONTINUATION

Additionally, the results of the survey suggested that an astounding seventy percent of Black voters would cast their ballots for Harris if she were to run for president, revealing the possibility that African Americans would offer more support to Harris than Biden.

Further, there remains a greater degree of disagreement among Black voters who identify as Democrats or who lean toward the party.

The poll reveals a consensus among respondents (49%) that the party ought to put forward Biden as its candidate for another term. The remaining half of voters have indicated that they would want the Democrats to select a different candidate for president in 2024.

Even among Black voters, there’s a wide range of viewpoints about the question of whether Biden should be the nominee. Those under the age of 50 and those who lean Democratic are more likely to seek a different candidate than those over the age of 50 who want Biden to run for a second term. This is especially true of Black Democrats.

Fifty-seven percent of Black Democrats and Democrats-at-heart aged 50 and over want Biden as the nominee, however only 42% of all Democrats and Democrats-at-heart want the party to choose someone else. Meanwhile, the Republican Party has struggled to win Black voters, and the poll shows that this pattern hasn’t changed.

The anger and obstruction that Republicans have shown toward Barack Obama throughout the years, in addition to their resistance to a voting rights law in Congress, make gaining the Black vote an uphill battle for the GOP. By identifying themselves with Christian nationalists and organizations with roots to white supremacy, some Republicans have made it

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impossible to gain the support of Black voters.

The track record that Biden has on racial issues has also been debated in the Black community. His efforts to pass a comprehensive voting rights package and reduce gun violence have been unsuccessful, but he has honored campaign vows to select a Black woman as his vice president and appoint one to the Supreme Court.

Additionally, Biden has fulfilled his promise to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court. Biden also must overcome the problems caused by some of his supporters privately and publicly bashing Harris, an issue that has alienated some Black voters. Four years after announcing his campaign for the 2020 election that finally resulted in the defeat of the criminally indicted and twice-impeached Donald Trump, Biden again seeks to beat back a run by the MAGA leader.

Reportedly, Biden’s most prominent supporters have been invited to a financial summit in Washington, D.C, in the days running up to his planned announcement, which has kicked off a wild race to stock the president’s war chest. The meeting, which was planned for Friday April 28, is viewed as an important first step in a campaign that is going to try its best to fly under the radar for at least one year. After that, Biden expects to start the process of hiring a team that will be able to function independently of the White House.

The team will include a campaign manager, communication assistants, state campaign directors, pollsters, finance managers, volunteers, and others. According to reports, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, a top White House adviser and the granddaughter of the late American labor leader Cesar Chavez, is in the running to oversee the re-election campaign. Chavez counted as a prominent figure in the labor movement in the United States.

Gipson Also Pushes Two Tax Bills

Last week, at a rally at the State Capitol, Gipson also discussed AB 1498, legislation he authored that would establish an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) minimum of $300. According to the California Budget and Policy Center, 78% of people who qualify for EITC are people of color.

Gipson also expressed his support for another EITC-related legislation, AB 1128, at the rally. AB 1128 would “remove the requirement that a qualifying child has to be younger than 6 years of age as of the last day of the taxable year.”

Democrats Shoot Down GOP-Backed Fentanyl Bills

Democrats on the Assembly Public Safety Committee last week voted down several bills aimed at addressing California’s Fentanyl crisis. The measures would have strengthened penalties for Fentanyl dealers who possess large quantities of the drug — or kill or injure people they sell the drug to.

Bonta pointed to the major criminal justice reform efforts the state is undertaking, as well a $61 billion investment in harm reduction programs, including distribution of test trips and drug overdose medication.

Biden Highlights Importance of the Black Press at White House Correspondents’ Dinner

At the 2023 White House Corres-pondent’s Dinner, President Joe Biden spoke about the importance of the Black press and the tragic death of Emmett Till, an event that helped galvanize the civil rights movement in the 1950s.

Biden told the roomful of journalists that during Black History Month this year he hosted the screening of the film “Till.”

On Aug. 28, 1955, while visiting family in Money, Mississippi, Emmett Till, a 14-yearold African American teen from Chicago, was lynched for allegedly flirting with a White woman a few days earlier.

The story of Till and his mother Mamie TillMobly is a “story of a family’s promise and loss”

and the country’s “reckoning with hate, violence, and the abuse of power,” Biden said.

“It’s a story that was seared into our memory and our conscience — the nation’s conscience — when Mrs. Till insisted that an open casket for her murdered and maimed 14-year-old son be the means by which he was transported,” Biden said. “She said, ‘Let the people see what I’ve seen.’”

Biden also commended Black publications for their reporting on the lynching and its aftermath, Till’s funeral, and the ensuing trial that freed the perpetrators.

“The reason the world saw what she saw was because of another hero in this story: the Black press,” Biden said “That’s a fact. JET Magazine, the Chicago Defender, and other Black radio and newspapers were unflinching and brave in making sure America saw what she saw. “And I mean it.”

Two Black Women Among New Appointees to Emerge California Board

Two Black women are among four new appointees to the board of Emerge California, an Oakland-based body that describes itself as “the state’s premier organization that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office.”

Brittni Chicuata and Alana D. Matthews are the two new Black women members of the 9-member board. The organization had a 70%win rate out of the 125 candidates it supported in last November’s general election.

The other two new board members are Stacey Owens and Marina A. Torres.

Chicuata is Director of Economic Rights at the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. Matthews, an Emerge alumna, is an Assistant District Attorney and Policy Director for the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office. She is also an Adjunct Professor at McGeorge School of Law where she founded the Racial Equity and Justice Summer Practicum program.

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“We are still on the same Greek letter that we were since December 2020,” Wachter said, referring to the Omicron variant whose name derives from the Greek alphabet.

Since March, the World Health Organization has been monitoring the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16, aka “Arcturus.” The variant has a higher transmissibility than previous ones but doesn’t appear to be more dangerous. The new strain accounts for about 10% of COVID-19 cases worldwide. People who get it tend to have a fever and some get pink eye. Both symptoms don’t last very long.

“The last year or so really feels like new variants are a little scary and then they turn out not to be that big a deal. And so I think, if past is prologue, that’s likely to be what happens with this newest variant,” Wachter says.

Staying safe even as COVID-19 restrictions fade

Dr. William Schaffner, Professor and Chair, Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, says that while Covid can still be deadly, the risk of severe infection has diminished. Schaffner still wears a mask in crowded places, as does Wachter.

“Many of our population have experienced COVID. Many people have been vaccinated, and of course many people have experienced both, and so our level of protection is very high, and these Omicron variants seem to be spreading, producing milder disease,” Schaffner says.

“The therapies, the testing, the treatments that we’ve gotten used to all work about as well as they have for the last 18 months. In some ways the biggest changes are political and sociological. It’s clear that any rules and restrictions are pretty much gone,” Wachter says. Americans have largely stopped wearing masks

or hung them on their car mirrors just in case they may need them.

Schaffner says we need to keep our guard up. Older and immunocompromised people, as well as the unvaccinated, are the COVID patients who end up in the hospital. Vulnerable people need to get vaccinated, boosted, and wear masks.

“It turns out that the quality of the mask and the fit is important,” says Schaffner. The N-95 mask fits securely around your nose and chin. In the early days of the pandemic they were hard to find and controversy about wearing masks created a lot of confusion. Masks are no longer mandated except in hospitals and other places where the risk of infection remains high and it remains high for certain people.

“The other early mantra – that it’s really about protecting others and not you – it’s also wrong. It is about protecting others, but it certainly protects you, too.

It’s probabilistic. It lowers the chance of getting infected,” Schaffner says.

“If we’re not masking… I would say condoms prevent babies, masks prevent infectious disease. You’ll hear a lot of arguments about wearing both of them. But that doesn’t mean they don’t work,” says Dr. Ben Neuman, Chief Virologist of the Global Health Research Complex at Texas A&M University.

Arcturus variant likely not a game changer

Neuman said the Arcturus variant is different enough from the current vaccine strains that it has the potential to evade them because “it’s about as different from Omicron as Omicron was different from Delta and so just like we saw the Omicron wave come through, there is at least the potential for that.” See COVID page 16

Now That We Have The Special Election

By Dr. John E. Warren PUBLISHER, THE SAN DIEGO VOICE & VIEWPOINT

This week the San Diego County Board of Supervisors heard from the people and approved a special election to fill the vacant seat anticipated with the scheduled resignation of Supervisor Nathan Fletcher.

It is expected that the election itself will cost the county between 3 and 5 million dollars.

There will be no interim appointments. The staff of Supervisor Fletcher, according to the County Chief Administrative Officer, will carry on the duties of that until the special election set for August 15, 2023. If there is a run off between the two highest vote getters, then the matter will go to a November Special General Election. While many African American residents of the Fourth Supervisorial District would like to see a Black person

once again fill that position, the reality is that it will take a coalition of the voters including all races represented to win the seat. While the City Council’s Fourth District is located within the Fourth Supervisorial District, that will not be enough to elect any Black candidate without a cross section of support. There will have to be major improvements in voter registration between now and August 15th if a Black candidate is to have a chance to win. The Voice & Viewpoint is endorsing Council Member Monica Montgomery Steppe for the position since she already represents a portion of the Supervisorial District in which her present District is located.

The real issue is not who is running, but who is going to vote and how many of those who are not currently registered, will do so to allow their votes to make a difference.

Now would be a good time for everyone to start talking to each other in preparation for making a collective impact with this special election. It is also a time to send a message that we will be voting and that our votes will make a difference. The question is: will you be involved in the process or will you be another one of those persons who thinks our votes do not matter? The reality is, every vote counts, including yours.

Senator Dianne Feinstein Needs To Step Down

By Amelia Ashley Ward PUBLISHER OF THE SUN-REPORTER

Obesity Is Not a Hopeless Fight for Black America

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr NNPA PRESIDENT AND CEO

Whether we accept it or not, obesity continues to be a complex, chronic disease that kills thousands of Black Americans every year. Indeed, nearly half of Black Americans live with obesity, so we cannot afford to ignore this national emergency any longer.

The public discourse around weight loss that has taken over recent headlines has entirely missed the mark. Our mainstream media, social media, and content providers are all either dissecting whether a movie star used weight loss medication or analyzing whether these medications are safe to take, even though they’re FDA approved.

The fact of the matter is that we are squandering a critical moment to focus on the deadly disease of obesity, and missing the opportunity to save thousands of lives, particularly Black lives. Within the next seven years, researchers anticipate that half of American adults will live with obesity.

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a trade association of more than 250 Black-owned community newspapers and media companies from across the United States, has consistently been the voice of the Black community since its founding 83 years ago.

I serve as the organization’s President and CEO and right now, we’re calling on our members to elevate the conversation on the obesity crisis to one that clarifies the facts, shares reliable resources, and advocates for impactful changes for the benefit of our community’s health and longevity. We can address obesity in a way that gives hope, because this is not a hopeless fight.

The Sun-Reporter would like to be added to the growing list of supporters calling for United States Senator Dianne Feinstein to resign.

The 89-year-old Senator, representing California, has been sick for months and unable to fulfill her duties. She has missed voting on dozens of critical issues, some having an impact on women’s reproductive rights.

This paper has supported Senator Feinstein throughout her stellar career in politics. We supported her election for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, stood with her when she became Mayor of the City on that tragic day in November of 1978 when Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by Supervisor Dan White. At that time, we were also coping with the Jonestown massacre, where many of the 900 victims were from SF. Her leadership guided us through turbulent times. Senator Feinstein had a good 10-year run as Mayor, even surviving a recall. Our supporters joined us to eagerly support the first woman to lead our city. This paper also supported her unsuccessful run for Gov-

ernor, and then later joined the people to elect her this state’s longest-serving Senator.

As a member of some powerful senate committees, particularly the Judiciary Committee, where extremist judges are stripping away the rights of women, she has been absent for months. This country is in a crisis and Senator Feinstein is no longer doing what the people elected her to do; to be present, speak out and vote. Now is not the time to let loyalty and entitlement live in the space where the fight for justice should reside. Too much is at stake, we should not sit by, remain silent and wait for a new Senator to be elected in 20 months.

There are no Black women serving in the US Senate. What a disgrace! We fought hard to send now Vice President Kamala Harris to Washington, D.C. We were disappointed when Governor Gavin Newsom didn’t appoint another Black woman to replace her. He chose then Secretary of State Alex Padilla to replace Senator Harris and shut some of us up by giving our community the state’s first Black secretary of state, Dr. Shirley Weber. Thank you, but that wasn’t a fair swap. Governor Newsom has promised to appoint a Black woman if a Senate seat becomes available. Senator Padilla told us he would also support a Black woman. Well, now is the time to poke them both. Ask them to join the call for Senator Feinstein to resign, and to support and appoint a Black woman.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee is in the race to replace Feinstein in 2024. She has 35 years of experience as a California member of Congress. The Governor should appoint her.

We are grateful to Senator Feinstein and are the beneficiaries of her lifetime of public service.

We now ask our longtime friend and historic leader to go out on top and leave them applauding and cheering.

To start, it’s vital that we correct the misinformation. Too often, people don’t know that obesity is a chronic disease and a longterm illness, with multiple contributing factors outside of a person’s control: environmental circumstances, inherently racist healthcare programs, poverty, and genetics. In cities across the country, like Washington, D.C., where nearly half the population is Black, food deserts and food swamps have become the norm in Black communities. This makes it nearly impossible for many Black residents to eat well even if they wanted to.

It’s also important to note that obesity is a complex disease that may require more than diet and exercise. Our understanding of the disease has changed drastically over the years thanks to scientific research and advances. Just as many of us take medications to manage hypertension, diabetes, or cholesterol — conditions you may have inherited — medications for chronic weight management may be needed as well.

Further, combating severe obesity may even require bariatric surgery.

To be clear, the perception that people who live with obesity just need to take better care of themselves is false and dangerous, as it prevents thousands from receiving or seeking the care they need.

From less access to quality healthcare, to the exclusion of anti-obesity medications from Medicare, and most Medicaid and general insurance coverage, our healthcare systems under-prioritizes the well-being of Black Americans. And we’ve learned from history that until we make our voices heard, this crisis will continue to be brushed aside.

Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an expert on obesity, noted that we have been living through three pandemics: COVID-19, racism, and obesity. We must prioritize combating the obesity pandemic with the same energy we use to combat COVID-19 and racial injustice. Our lives depend on it.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr is President and CEO of the NNPA and can be reached at dr.bchavis@nnpa.org

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. PHOTO: Los Angeles Sentinel via Sun-Reporter

Amelia Ashley Ward. PHOTO: via Sun-Reporter

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Reparations Task Force to Recommend “Genealogy Branch” to Prove Eligibility

By Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media

Th e California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans is recommending that the State Legislature fund a governmental department dedicated to assisting reparations applicants prove their ancestry to enslaved people in the United States.

The task force’s proposal to establish a “genealogy branch” within the proposed California American Freedmen Affairs Agency (CAFAA) will be included in the task force’s final report, which is scheduled to be submitted to the Legislature by the end of June 2023. The branch would provide access to expert genealogical research to confirm reparations eligibility for an estimated 2.5 million Black Americans in California who are likely to seek restitution.

The task force will recommend that the CAFAA be headquartered in Sacramento and have satellite offices all around the state. California is in line to become the first state in the United States to provide Black Americans reparations, or restitution for slavery and other state-sanctioned discrimination or exclusion.

As the determining factor for compensation, the task force narrowly decided in March 2022 that lineage, not race, will determine who will be eligible for reparations to align with Proposition 209, a state law prohibiting the consideration of race in public policy decisions or determinations.

During that March 2022 meeting, the task force listened to the per spectives of 11 genealogy experts

State Taxes

ment will receive $3.3 billion in revenue from the holic Beverage Tax Program, Tax on Insurers Program and Private Railroad Car Tax.

The Alcoholic Beverage Tax Program gar nered $429 mil lion. The program is a pergallon excise tax collected on the sale, distribution, or importation of alcoholic beverages to the state. The monies from this tax are placed into the Alcohol Beverage Control Fund and are withdrawn to be used by the state’s general funds or to pay refunds under the program.

The Tax on Insurers Program, administered by the board, State Controller’s Office, and California Department of Insurance, generated $2.9 billion for the state. Insurance com-

By McKenzie Jackson California Black Media

Schools across the Golden State received a windfall of $44.6 billion in local property tax revenue, according to the 2021-22 California Board of Equalization’s (BOE) Annual Report released late last month.

The funds collected from property owners for the 2021-22 fiscal year, which ended last June, was an increase of 3.8% from the previous fiscal year. Overall, local property tax revenues increased 4% or $3.2 billion to $83.1 billion total. In addition to schools, the funds were funneled to the coffers of local governments throughout California.

who offered insights on qualification for reparations before voting 5-4 in favor of eligibility.

In August 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 189, legislation that would facilitate processing lineage-based reparations claims using state data. SB 189 authorizes the State Controller’s Office and the Department of Human Resources to disaggregate Black employee demographic data in an effort to identify who has immigrant origins and who descends from enslaved people in the United States.

The task force will hold its next meeting May 6 in Oakland at Lisser Hall, which is located at 500 MacArthur Boulevard, Mills College at Northeastern University. It will

BOE Chairman Antonio Vazquez said in an April 18 statement that property taxes are a steady and reliable revenue stream for government services and schools that Californians depend on daily.

“The BOE’s critical role protects these dollars through its oversight of property tax assessments and that they are done fairly, uniformly, and consistently,” he said.

The board released a 26-page report weeks after California Democratic lawmakers proposed Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 11 to abolish the board and reassign its duties to other state tax agencies effective Jan. 1, 2026.

The is responsible for overseeing property tax collection in all 58 California counties. It also makes more than 13 million tax assessments every year.

The report, released yearly to provide information on revenue collected by the fivemember tax body and detail its accomplish -

ments, made no mention of the amendment.

In addition to Vazquez, who represents the BOE’s Third District, other members are: State Controller Malia M. Cohen; Ted Gaines (First District); Sally J. Lieber (Second District); and Mike Schaefer, Vice Chair (Fourth District). Yvette M. Stowers, who was appointed by the Board, serves as Executive Director.

Cohen, the first African American woman to chair the BOE, was voted State Controller last November. She took office in January this year.

This year’s report found that the total net statewide county-assessed property value increased by 7% to $7.6 trillion in fiscal year 2021-22, up $500 billion from the previous year. The assessed property value has increased annually for the past 10 years from $4.6 trillion in 2013. For example, it was $5.8 trillion in 2017, $6.9 trillion in 2020, and $7.2 trillion in 2021.

Schools receive a lion’s share of property tax revenues. The 2020-21 fiscal year, $38.5 billion went to counties ($11.7 billion), cities ($10.4 billion), and special districts ($16.3 billion).

Local governments also received $2.2 billion from state-assessed property tax revenues. Last May, the board set the values of 339 state-assessed properties — mainly public utilities and railroads — at $133.9 billion, an increase of $10.8 billion from the previous year. This property tax revenue together with the county-assessed property tax monies will give local municipalities $85.3 billion in property tax funds.

The report also informs Californians of the Taxpayers Rights Advocate (TRA) Office, which is independent of the BOE.

The TRA Office receives contacts from taxpayers and others who are either seeking assistance with a problem or a disagreement they have in the assessment and collection of property taxes or a concern with a program administered by our agency,” the report reads. “Generally, the TRA Office assists taxpayers who have been unable to resolve a matter through normal channels and seek confirmation that they were treated fairly under the law.”

The BOE report found that the state govern -

panies con ducting business in California are subject to as many as three taxes — a tax on gross premiums, a retaliatory tax, and the ocean marine tax.

The Private Railroad Car Tax, an in-lieu property tax on railroad cars owned by nonrailroad companies and operated upon California railroads, generated $9.8 million in funds.

Schools Received $44.6B of Last Fiscal Year’s

“Generally, the TRA Office assists taxpayers who have been unable to resolve a matter through normal channels and seek confirmation that they were treated fairly under the law.”

–TRA Office Report

PHOTO: By nakigitsune-sama via stock.adobe.com

ECC Hosts First CA Reparations Task Force Community Discussion

By Amara N.

The California Reparations Task Force held a community discussion Saturday, April 29th, in the Education Cultural Complex (ECC) Theatre on Ocean View Boulevard in San Diego. This was the first community discussion on California reparations that the Task Force has held since their first meeting in June 2021, with the purpose of informing the community of what reparations mean for Black Californians as well as what the Task Force is and what they’ve been doing these past two years.

A presentation by San Diego District 4 Councilmember and Task Force Member Monica Montgomery Steppe followed the fifteen-minute welcome and introduction, centering around the Task Force Interim Report. The thirteen-chapter, 483page report’s purpose is to provide a general survey of the “harms” the state of California has committed against Black people since the institution of slavery.

Monica Montgomery Steppe and

members of the Coalition for a Just & Equitable California (CJEC) Friday Jones, Chad Brown, and Marcus Champion paneled a discussion during the latter half of the two-hour meeting where members of the community were given the opportunity to pose their questions and concerns. The CJEC is one of seven anchor organizations the Reparations Task Force selected to conduct community outreach and raise awareness for California Reparations.

Despite many of the ECC Theatre seats being empty, with just over 20 San Diego residents in attendance, plenty of thought-provoking questions and comments were raised.

“We don’t really know who’s who [regarding opposition during the upcoming election season] for the Black community,” 20-year resident Jacqueline Clark passionately stated. “The oldest generation that should have received reparations [is] dying off. Dying off… And you got people telling us we don’t deserve [reparations].”

“Look at all these empty seats. The

May is CalFresh Awareness Month

By Cassie Klapp County of San Diego

May is CalFresh Awareness Month in California and the County of San Diego, with our community partners, are celebrating.

Several community events are scheduled throughout the month of May to provide people with information about CalFresh and offer free, in-person eligibility and application help to determine if they are eligible. A full list of the free events is available online on the County’s CalFresh website at www.sandiegocounty.gov.

“CalFresh is a safety net for many of our neighbors and we see how it helps people every day,” said Rick Wanne, director of San Diego County Self Sufficiency Services. “We are seeing more families enroll as they navigate inflation

and the housing crisis. We want to make sure everyone eligible signs up and receives this nutritious benefit.”

CalFresh is California’s federal food assistance program, C alifornia’s version of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It is designed to increase access to fresh and healthy food. The program also aligns with the County’s Live Well San Diego commitment to healthy, safe and thriving communities. Over the past decade enrollment to CalFresh has climbed 68% and as of April 2023 it was serving 375,928 San Diegans.

People can find out if they qualify for CalFresh anytime by calling call 2-1-1 or applying online at GetCalFresh.org or www.mybenefitscalwing.org.

seats in this auditorium should be full. They should be full. We need to be doing the work to get the word out grassroots style to get our reparations. It’s been time,” stated another long-time resident.

One of the key questions that was posed was, “Who would qualify for reparations?” In March of 2022, the task force voted 5-4 on a lineage standard for persons eligible for reparations. Lineage-based is determined by an individual being an African American descendant of a chattel enslaved person or the descendant of a free Black person in the U.S. prior to the end of the 19th Century.

The individual will need to have been a resident of California by the signing of AB 3121 on September 30, 2020, by Governor Newsome. Other questions and comments were brought forth. It is important that if you have questions or concerns about the Reparations, you must send an email to the Reparations Task Force. We must stay informed and ask those pressing questions.

The California Reparations Task Force is the first task force to recommend reparations for Black people in the nation. CJEC has worked tandemly with the Task Force, ensuring

they engage the public as much as possible.

The Interim Report in its entirety can be found on California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s webpage https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121.

The last two meetings, where attendance is encouraged both in-person and on the livestream, will take place May 6th (Lisser Hall; Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland) and June 30th (Sacramento; subject to change). The final Task Force report will be issued by July 1, 2023.

Yvette Porter Moore contributed to this article

Changes Related to the End of State and Local Emergencies

On March 3, 2023 , the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced updates to several state public health officer orders that have guided Californians on how to best protect themselves and their families throughout the pandemic. CDPH is making the following changes to existing COVID-19 guidance:

• Effective March 13, 2023, CDPH has updated recommendations regarding isolation for persons infected with COVID-19; updated definition of infectious period in alignment with updated recommendations regarding isolation of persons infected with COVID-19; included definition of confirmed case.

• Removed requirements in Mega Events and K-12 Schools and Child Care

• Effective April 3, 2023 , CDPH no longer requires vaccination for healthcare workers.However, per Federal Guidance for Staff Vaccination Requirements , all Medicare-and Medicaid-certified providers must ensure that all applicable staff are vaccinated with COVID19 primary series. Federal regulations 42 CFR 483.80(d)(3) and 42 CFR 483.460(a)(4)(i) also require that Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICFs-IID) must offer COVID-19 vaccines to residents, clients, and staff onsite when supplies are available to the facility and in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) COVID-19 vaccine schedule, which includes bivalent booster doses.

• Removed masking requirements in high-risk settings though allow healthcare facilities and local health jurisdictions to customize and locals plans and implementation to recommend or require universal masking based on risk of exposure for high-risk individuals and settings. County Public Health Services strongly recommends masking in acute healthcare settings (i.e., hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and longterm care facilities) when engaged in direct patient care. For infor-

mation on masking in the general population, please visit the Face Coverings webpage at sandiegocounty.gov.

• Rescinded an order that required hospitals statewide to accept transfer patients from facilities with limited Intensive Care Unit (ICU) capacity as needed.

• Rescinded an order that required providers to ask patients for their email addresses and/ or mobile phone numbers when receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

• Rescinded the August 5, 2021 State Public Health Officer Order

State and Local Health Officer Orders San Diego County and California public health officials have issued orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

• E nd of California’s COVID-19 State of Emergency

The statewide State of Emergency proclaimed on March 4, 2020 is terminated effective February 28, 2023. Any Executive Orders related to the terminated State of Emergency are no longer in effect as of February 28, 2023. Prior Health Officer Orders have been rescinded . Isolation and quarantine actions are in alignment with the CDPH.

SOURCE: SANDIEGOCOUNTY.GOV

Beaty Voice and Viewpoint Staff Writer

Photo: Amara N. Beaty / Voice & Viewpoint

Photo: Courtesy of Jacqueline Clark

Image: CalFresh

PHOTO: Unsplash

Zambian Activist Who Fought Mining Giant Wins Goldman Justice Prize

By Lisa Vives Global Information Network

The San Francisco-based Goldman Environmental Foundation announced six recipients of its 2023 Environmental Prize, the world’s foremost award for grassroots environmental activists.

The War in Sudan is Coming After Your Coca-Cola

By Lisa Vives Global Information Network

The conflict in Sudan has left international consumer goods makers without a key ingredient for fizzy drinks and other things from chewing gum to pharmaceuticals.

About 70% of the world’s supply of gum arabic, for which

there are few substitutes, comes from the acacia trees in the Sahel region that runs through Africa’s third-largest country and which is being torn apart by fighting between the army and a paramilitary force.

Companies dependent on the product, such as CocaCola and Pepsi, say they have stockpiled supplies, often keeping between three-tosix months worth to avoid being caught short.

Depending on how long the conflict continues, there may well be shortages of the finished product on the shelf. Current stockpiles could even run out in five-

to-six months.

Global production of gum arabic, worth $1.1 billion, lies mostly in the “gum belt” that stretches 500 miles from the East to the West of Africa.

Right now, it looks impossible to source additional gum arabic from rural parts of Sudan because of the turmoil and road blockages, said Mohamad Alnoor, who runs Gum Arabic USA, which sells the product as a health supplement.

Mohammad Zarrag, an exporter of gum arabic, underscores the point: “No other ingredient can do what gum arabic does. People have tried but have not been successful.”

The Africa prize was awarded to Chilekwa Mumba of Zambia who confronted a major UK-based mining company linked to the devastation of the Kafue Riverthe primary water source for thousands of local villagers.

In 2011, an internal company letter revealed that the Kafue’s river water and local aquifers had become so polluted from toxic discharge from the Konkola Copper Mine that it was not safe for human consumption.

The water supply, contaminated from toxic waste spills and discharges, left villagers unable to drink, bathe, or irrigate their farms. Crop yields were decimated, animals were sickened, and villagers suffered from headaches, nose bleeds, rashes, abdominal pain, blood in urine, and burns.

Lawsuits against Konkola were routinely dismissed by the local courts as were suits against the parent company,

Vedanta Resources, in the UK.

Community organizer Chilekwa Mumba sought help from the law firm Leigh Day, persuading them to take the case against Vedanta.

From 2015 to 2021, Chilekwa served as a facilitator between the communities and Leigh Day lawyers. He translated materials for non-English speakers and gathered information on how each of the 2,000 villagers in the lawsuit was affected by the pollution. He gathered water quality samples during the rainy season, braving encounters with water cobras, crocodiles and hippos.

He faced harassment from the mining company including his arrest at a public gathering while speaking with villagers about the lawsuit. Police arrived in a Konkola company jeep.

The court’s judgment, that Vedanta owed the villagers “a duty of care” was successful and set a legal precedent—for the first time an English court ruled that a British company could be held liable for the environmental damage caused by its subsidi-

ary-run operations in another country.

This precedent has since been applied to hold Shell Global—one of the world’s 10 largest corporations by revenue—liable for its pollution in Nigeria.

With the victory, 2,500 Zambian villagers are to receive an undisclosed settlement from Vedanta Resources for their pollution claims although Vedanta and Konkola were allowed to agree to a settlement “without admission of liability.”

This year’s other Goldman Prize winners were Zafer Kizilkaya of Turkey, Alessandra Korap Munduruku of Brazil, Tero Mustonen of Finland, Delima Silalahi of North Sumatra and Diane Wilson of the U.S.

Africans Bid Farewell to a Hero and True Friend

By Lisa Vives Global Information Network

Yusuf Bangura will always remember the legendary calypso singer, actor and social activist, Harry Belafonte for “bringing happiness and hope to many people around the world.”

Although many Americans know of Belafonte’s activism to end apartheid in South Africa, the whole story of his no-holds-barred diplomacy is still to be told.

Kenyan independence hero Tom Mboya first met American stars Harry Belafonte, Jackie Robinson and Sidney Poitier when he was coordinating an airlift of 81 Kenyan students to the United States.

That was the beginning of a warm friendship between Belafonte and Mboya. With funds from an “African Freedom Dinner” and with the help of Martin Luther King and other African sympathizers, Mboya was able to raise enough money to fund the airlift.

A Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF where he served for 36 years, Belafonte’s dedication and generosity of spirit helped set a high standard for the role – meeting with world leaders to secure support for the issues that impact children’s lives, said UNICEF director Catherine Russell.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed deep sadness on the eve of the country’s Freedom Day Celebration.

“He was an influencer of his time who spared no energy in supporting our liberation struggle and in campaigning for human rights in many other parts of the world. We will remember him as a hero and true friend of South Africa that we must celebrate during our National Orders ceremony and for many

years to come”, Ramaphosa said. Banning Eyre, lead producer of the Peabody Award-winning public radio program Afropop Worldwide also shared a memory.

“It is impossible to overstate the enormity of the loss of this icon of global entertainment and social activism, around longer than most of us have been alive. His story will be told many times and in many ways in the days to come and most beautifully told in his 2011 memoir, My Song.

In 1987, Belafonte traveled to Dakar and Senegal where he served as chairperson of the International Symposium of Artists and Intellectuals for African Children. In 1994, he went on a mission to Rwanda and launched a media

campaign to raise awareness of the needs of Rwandan children. In 2001, he visited South Africa to support the campaign against HIV and Aids. In 2002, Africare awarded him the Bishop John T Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award for his efforts to assist Africa.

The Beninese-French musician Angélique Kidjo called Belafonte “the brightest star in every sense of that word. Your passion, love, knowledge and respect for Africa was unlimited.”

Finally, Ittu Aba Farda contributed this to the Ethiopian ZeHabesha. com: “ To us above all he was a friend of the country that produced us all. He was by her side during her deadly rainy days. May he rest in eternal peace!!!!”

Drug Companies Consider Move to Africa for Locally-Manufactured Vaccines

By Lisa Vives Global Information Network

African leaders have begun exploring the possibility of building manufacturing facilities for critical vaccines in their countries and ending their reliance on foreign countries for high-priced drugs.

Moderna Inc said this week it would set up a facility in Kenya - its first in Africa - to produce messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, including COVID-19 shots.

Moderna expects to invest about $500 million in the Kenyan facility and supply as many as 500 million doses of mRNA vaccines to the continent each year.

It took a pandemic to expose the fact that African countries import 99% of their vaccines. Africa has around ten vaccine manufacturers, but most do not make a vaccine’s active ingredients, and instead ‘fill and finish’ imported products.

Late last year, a South African drugmaker announced a deal to make the first Covid-19 vaccine in Africa for Africa.

The company, Aspen Pharmacare, agreed to produce its version of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 shot. At the time, the continent’s immunization rate lagged well behind Western countries almost a year after their vaccines were first rolled out.

African leaders, including President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, who had grown tired of being at the mercy of other gov -

ernments for shots during the pandemic, hailed the agreement as a milestone in the continent’s effort to set up its own vaccine-production facilities. A lack of manufacturing is one rea

son that only 11% of the continent’s people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. African leaders, meeting for their annual summit in Addis Ababa last week, reiterated a target of vaccinating 70% of their populations this year.

So far, only Mauritius and Seychelles have met the 70% target, and COVAX, an initiative to provide vaccines for low- and middle-income countries, is running out of money.

Currently less than 1% of vaccines administered on the continent are manufactured locally, leaving countries unable to quickly respond to pandemics and other crises. Vaccines currently needed in Africa include those for chickenpox, diphtheria - tetanus, flue, measles, mumps, polio and shingles.

Strive Masiyiwa, African Union special envoy on COVID-19 and head of the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust, commented on the new developments.

“It gets us one step closer to securing Africa’s future vaccine production,” he said, “and ensures that the gross vaccine inequality we witnessed in the early part of the pandemic is not repeated.”

PHOTO: Courtesy of GIN

PHOTO: Courtesy of GIN

PHOTO: Courtesy of GIN

PHOTO: Courtesy of GIN

“It gets us one step closer to securing Africa’s future vaccine production.”

–Strive Masiyiwa

it takes a village to build a community

& FIGHT BACK

Our Community is Dying!

In a 2019 study, it was shown that Southeast San Diego has the shortest life expectancy in the county. Its crucial that we focus our attention on ways to reverse these statistics.

JIREH Providers is a dedicated team of community advocates with equity in healthcare at the forefront of our mission.

Our Current Focus:

Covid-19: Black, Hispanic, & *NHPI community people still have the highest rates of infection, hospitalization, and death.

Heart Disease - #1 leading cause of death in the Black community.

Maternal/Infant Health - Black women are dying at 3x the rate of white women.

What We Do:

Health Advocacy Health Education

Preventative Care Services

Through all of our program initiatives we find innovative ways to wrap our arms around the community with preventive care services that say - We Care.

Visit jirehproviders.com for more information.

Our mission is simple but critical… to empower generational healing.

But we can’t win this fight alone. It MUST be done through the Collective Impact of our community. To learn how to get involved & join the fight for our community go to jirehproviders.com or call/text 619-500-2385

And Remember…. It doesn’t just take a village to build a community… It takes a village to heal one too.

San Diego Second Chance 30th Anniversary Celebration

By Darrel Wheeler

Contributing Writer

Second Chance, a San Diego nonprofit dedicated to helping people facing the barriers of justice involvement become empowered members of society held its 30th Anniversary Celebration last Thursday evening, April 27th at Balboa Park’s Air and Space Museum. The event, a fundraiser, was themed “Where Success Takes Flight”. The Second Chance Board of Directors was able to give appreciative recognition to their many donors, sponsors and supporters at their annual fundraiser celebration. They also took the opportunity to acknowledge program graduates that used the resources of Second Chance to improve their lives for the better.

“I’m living proof that Second Chance works. I know it definitely worked for me,” DJ Branden Noel shared. “I think it’s cool to have programs like Second Chance that can help guide you [towards] a better direction and change your life forever.”

Second Chance works in partnership with the San Diego judicial system and many

other organizations to help correct some of the problems that at-risk individuals confront every day.

The organization honored their award recipients with plaques, generous applause from the crowd, speeches of encour agement, and recognition for their tire less work in the community. This year’s Leadership in Service award was awarded to Judge Desiree Bruce-Lyle for her dedi cation to service and commitment to the community

The celebration included a dinner, auctions, live entertainment, proclamations from local dig nitaries including an appear ance from Mayor Todd Gloria and City Council member Monica Montgomery Steppe, and much more.

PHOTOS: Darrel Wheeler

Left to Rightt: San Diego County DA Summer Stephan, The Honorable Judge Desiree Bruce-Lyle, Second Chance award recipient.

City Council member Monica Montgomery Steppe and Mayor Todd Gloria with award recipient (center).

F.A.N.C.Y. Teen Girls Expo a

By Amara N. Beaty VOICE AND VIEWPOINT STAFF WRITER

A sunny Saturday at Valencia Park Elementary is what set the scene for yet another successful year for the DETOUR Empowers F.A.N.C.Y. Teen Girls Expo. Over 200 girls from kindergarten to the twelfth grade were seen laughing and dancing, and the Southeast community definitely showed out to celebrate and uplift our incredible, beautiful and joyous young girls. Girls adorned in afros and afro puffs, colorful box braids, beads and barrettes were seen all over Valencia Park’s blacktop. Music was played all day, setting the stage for tons of dancing, including the family-get-together classics the Cupid Shuffle and the Wobble.

“Events like these are needed in our community,” says a community member in attendance at the Expo. “They provide a safe place for our girls and our children to be themselves and, beyond that, resources for our kids and even ourselves.”

Workshops were set up throughout the day to encourage, inform, and support all of the girls from elementary to high school. There was also a parent-geared workshop that helped the adults to learn how to best support our LGBTQ+ youth.

The expo was jam-packed with over 40 vendors

in attendance in cluding the com munity favorite Write Juice Truck, the San Diego Fire Department and the ABC Youth Foundation.

DETOUR Empow

ers, spearheaded by Founder & Executive Director Tinesia Conwright, is a program that has continued to mentor our young girls of col or, aiming for “equity and inclusion” for teens in higher education and priority sector em ployment. The Focused And Naturally Confi dent Youth (F.A.N.C.Y.) Leadership programs include Saturday’s annual Expo, their Leader ship Academy, and Ambassador Internships. The 2023 Teen Girls Expo was definitely a year for the books!

On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, there was a mural unveiling of Johnny Ritchey at San Diego High School near the entrance of the SDHS baseball field.

The San Diego Padres commissioned artist Andrea Rushing to paint a mural of the legendary and groundbreaking baseball player Johnny Ritchey who broke the color lines in the Pacific Coast League a few months after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the Major Leagues. Ritchey was the Padre’s

first Black player and a professional baseball catcher.

The mural unveiling was a surprise gift to the Ritchey family, students, and the community. Ritchey is recognized as one of the first African Americans to play Minor League Baseball in the twentieth century.

Johnny Ritchey was born on January 5, 1923, and graduated from SDHS where he played baseball. He also was a pre-law student at San Diego State, where he also played baseball. Ritchey was called to military service, leaving SDSU to serve as an engineer in the army during WWII. He earned various medals for his service.

He won batting titles in both the Negro Leagues and Minor Leagues.

Johnaa Ritchey Battle, the daughter of Johnny Ritchey stated “We are proud and grateful that ‘Pop’ is getting the recognition and honor he is getting now and should have gotten when he was playing baseball. It is a result of his perseverance and character. My father had a strong character, and drive to persevere. He believed we should always be [good people].”

Johnny Ritchey passed away on January 14, 2003, and has been honored on various occasions. Ritchey was recognized for integrating

the PCL & there is a bronze bust in Petco Park Commemorating Mr. Ritchey. Some of the people in attendance were family members; John Talley (son), Johnaa Ritchey Battle (daughter), grandchildren Carlee Battle, Cameron Turner, and son-in-law Carlos Battle. Community members and elected officials in attendance were SDUSD Superintendent Dr. Lamont A. Jackson, School Board member Richard Barrera, SDHS Principal Franny Del Carmen-Aguilar, SDHS Alumni Association, SDHS Foundation, and the Padres organization.

Annual Children’s Book Party Brings 39 Years of Joy

By Amara N. Beaty VOICE AND VIEWPOINT STAFF WRITER

Last Saturday, April 29th, Balboa Park’s Organ Pavilion hosted the 39th Annual Children’s Book Party yet another year! Reading is important and has the power to change the course of one’s life forever. For nearly forty years, that’s the sentiment that drove Mr. Roosevelt Brown, Program Director of the Children’s Book Party and founder of Reading Literacy Learning, Inc., to continue his annual book drive in the San Diego community.

Beginning in the backyard of his Emerald Hills home, Mr. Brown’s “pickup truck” load of books has grown into a tremendous collection

of books that have come home with groves of San Diego children for generations. This overcast Saturday morning was no different, with hundreds of children and their families in attendance awaiting their turn to bring home two free books.

“I used to come here with my oldest when they were little,” commented one of the attendees.

“Now I’m back with my other babies years later!

It’s definitely a full-circle moment.”

Mr. Brown, who will be 80 years old this year, started the Children’s Book Party because he grew up with a speech impediment that kept him fearful of being called on in class to read. That fear kept him away from the world of reading.

“I spent all my life in elementary school and high school in fear. I missed out on a lot of social events and I missed out on a lot of learning. I didn’t want that to happen to any other kid,” Mr. Brown shared.

That fear, though, was clearly a blessing in disguise as it inspired the

charitable event that has changed lives and brought joy to many.

It’s evident that the hundreds of children who were in attendance appreciated the selflessness of Mr. Roosevelt Brown’s act, as smiling children anxiously looked for and found their coupled books.

“My book came with a magnify ing glass! I can’t wait to go home and read it!” an elementaryaged child anxiously shared, excited to show off his new book.

The day was lead by performances from the Visionary Dance Theatre and Ballet Folklorico en Aztlan. Roosevelt’s son, JaMarr Brown, MC’d the Party as well. After the day’s events, the children were able to grab their books and some light refreshments.

PHOTOS: Amara N. Beaty

Mr. Roosevelt Brown (center) and volunteers.

28th Annual Flo Jo international youth Track & Field Invitational

By Darrel Wheeler

Contributing Writer

On the last Saturday of April, while the National Football League was wrapping up its annual selection draft, there was also another annual event taking place on the fast track of Mt. Miguel High School. Some of San Diego’s brightest track & field stars from Pre-School to High School were seen flexing their skills at the 28th Annual Flo-Jo International Track & Field Invitational.

San Diego’s GodSpeed, Rockets, Flo-Jo, Mercury, Step-Academy, SD-Elite, Waves, and the Time Machine were some of the local teams representing America’s finest city.

Out-of-towners Imani from Compton, Black Lightning of Lakewood Ca., Menifee’s Mustangs and the Arizona Track-Stars were a welcomed infusion of talented teams that got on the free-

ways to participate in SD’s most prestigious youth invitational.

Local kids were able to test their skills against competition beyond 619.

Once again, SD-Elite’s speed-racer Lilah Black held her own against the competition in the 100200 meters.

“I like running because it’s fun and I like the competition and it’s a sport I want to do in the future,” SD Elite’s shy speedster Lilah Black shared. “Today was an absolute blessing. I think the meet went well,” event coordinator Elizabeth Tate, CEO of Flo-Jo, said about the busy event. “It’s not easy putting on an event of this size, but it’s worth it when you see the families enjoying themselves and supporting their kids.”

There was good competition and good vibes at the 28th Annual Flo-Jo Invitational.

By Traci Wooden

The journey, challenges, and triumphs of Angeles Echols, CEO of Educating Young Minds, Inc. (EYM), and that of her staff and the students her organization served are captured in a new book, “The Me I See in You.” Local residents had the chance to meet Echols at a book signing on Saturday, April 22, 2023, at the La Mesa Christian Bookstore, 4695 Date Avenue, La Mesa, CA.

The book portrays, through photos and words, the first impressions, experiences and life-altering moments of 21 students who flourished under the tutelage, mentorship and whole-life embrace of the staff at EYM. The book will encourage readers to look at education in a new way. The students were American children and young adults who had been labeled ‘least likely to succeed’, marginalized, miscategorized, underserved or from households with parents who were in need of encouragement and better options, especially in today’s climate.

Echols started EYM more than 35 years ago with $50 and a dream filled with an abundance of love, in a one-bedroom apartment.

EYM grew, child by child, textbook by textbook, parent by parent, and meal by meal. Some former students came back to help tutor, create remote learning and teacher/ student-interaction, online programs, offer resources for funding and encourage Ms. Echols as she encouraged them before they understood their potential.

EYM’s students are taught to be responsible for their own learning and achievement and parents/teachers are held accountable. Educating Young Minds, Inc. is located in Los Angeles, CA.

“I have seen children from foster care grow and succeed. I have seen children of drug addicts go off to some of the top universities in the country. I have seen boys who could have so easily drifted off to the streets instead find their strength and their focus.

I have seen girls traumatized by neglect or abuse learn to believe in their own future and their own potential. The answer, of course, is education,” states Ms. Echols, whose book is available on Amazon.

Photos: Mike Norris

Photos: Darrel Wheeler

Beating Inflation If Disability Strikes

By Brandpoint

The Social Security Administration implemented its highest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in four de cades earlier this year. This annual COLA is based on increases in the Consumer Price Index as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This means former workers receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits saw an increase of 8.7% in their monthly benefits in 2023.

Why is this so important to U.S. workers? More than 159 million workers are already insured for this vital disability coverage. If you experience an illness or disability, you need to be familiar with this federal benefits program. Social Security Disability Insurance provides U.S. workers with a combined monthly disability benefit if you have to stop working, plus a returnto-work program called Ticket to Work, that supports you when you reach medical stability and want to

go back. It’s a dual benefit that many workers miss out on, simply due to lack of information.

In addition, SSDI alone may not be enough to support people with disabilities, especially in these inflationary times. When a severe medical condition strikes and you need to apply for disability benefits, it also is essential to find representation that can account for the other financial challenges you face, including securing or ensuring you have healthcare coverage, help with debt, and other financial resource support.

Last year, over 1.8 million people applied for SSDI benefits after a work stoppage due to illness or injury. Here are four things you need to know to safeguard your finances when faced with a long-standing health issue.

No. 1: Federal disability insurance is structured to provide financial help. The SSDI program provides monthly income, dependent benefits and inflationary adjustments through COLA.

EDUCATION

No. 2: SSDI unlocks other substantial financial benefits. Besides the financial benefits mentioned already, SSDI comes with Medicare health insurance, an option to extend COBRA coverage, as well as access to employment assistance through Ticket to Work.

No. 3: You can get savings on things you use every day like healthcare, prescriptions, food and utility bills. This type of assistance is vital for former workers who apply for disability benefits, in part because it can take s everal months for their claim to be reviewed and approved. When offered a choice of financial solutions, disability claimants reported these were the top types of assistance they wanted to use: utility bill assistance, rent and mortgage assistance, and health care assistancewhich includes help with prescription costs, medical bills and access to health insurance.

No. 4: Get SSDI and get out of debt. If you haven’t explored your options, take a closer look at debt

reduction in the course of applying for SSDI benefits as well. Specific services will help you to deal with medical debt and credit card debt, often settling the debt for a fraction of what you owe.

The types of financial issues former workers experience after a disability can be incredibly stressful and distressing. And with inflation at its highest since 1982 and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, you

Spelman Senior Receives Prestigious Scholarship From Retired

A senior at Spelman College received a STEM scholarship Thursday from retired astronaut Joan Higginbotham – the third Black woman to travel to space.

Higginbotham presented the prestigious scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation to graduating senior Kathleen Bostick, who said she’d had a passion for space since high school – when she created plans for a manned mission to Mars. She presented the plans at NASA’s Langley Research Center.

NASA Astronaut

Bostick said Higginbotham is one of her “biggest inspirations.” She added she has her own mission to be part of the representation

STEM and go farther than anyone has ever gone before.

“We are not just as capable as everyone else but we are even more than that because we know how to problem solve in a way that no one else does and I think that... is truly the key to getting us to Mars, getting us anywhere in terms of new inventions, and the future in general,” Bostick said.

Higginbotham also spoke to students of Spelman about how to venture into their career paths.

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Teenager Dennis Barnes has shattered multimillion-dollar records and is gaining interest from colleges and universities everywhere.

Barnes, who goes by his middle name Maliq, is a senior at International High School in New Orleans and has earned more than $9 million in scholarship money during the college application process.

In shattering the previous record of $8.7 million, Barnes received 170 acceptances from 200 applications. Barnes told the New Orleans NBC News station, “I started to apply to schools, and as I’ve gone through the process, the numbers just started increasing.”

Barnes and school counselor Denise James worked to shatter the $8.7 million record after Barnes realized he was close. The record is further impressive because there are no third-party scholarships. Instead, all his offers came directly from the schools. Barnes first spent many hours applying to schools around the country, he told NBC News.

However, as a teenager, school, and extracurriculars took precedence over his pursuit.

“I was still doing other things,” Barnes said. “I did incorporate it into my schedule one way or another, but I just did it whenever I had time.”

Barnes’ participation in track and basketball and serving as the National Honors Society executive president made him a well-rounded applicant. He has a 4.98 GPA and speaks Spanish through an immersion school. That primary school founda-

tion was imperative in his decision to attend International High School.

“That school was very important for me and my journey,” he told the network. “They set a strong foundation for me going into high school, and I think that’s a big reason I could say I am where I am today.”

International High School opened in 2009, when Barnes graduated from middle school. He attended Riverdale, a public high school outside the city, while many of his class -

“I always tell students, or even adults, who are looking to venture into areas – where there’s not many people that look like us or people who have not chartered those path(s), I always say, ‘Have faith in yourself and your abilities,’” she said. “Always use your voice as a conduit to speak the truth and to have confidence in what you’re saying.”

According to Higginbotham’s NASA profile, she has actively participated in 53 space shuttle launches during her nine-year tenure as an

owe it to yourself and your family to be prepared by understanding the financial advantages of federal disability insurance. The benefits available for American workers through the Social Security Disability Insurance program and additional disability financial solutions can provide a critical financial backstop just when you need it most.

Learn more at allsup.help/inflation.

mates attended International. The school’s strong language department, which provides French, Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin, was a big lure for him, as he wanted to practice his Spanish.

“There are plenty of options at the school that I could have chosen from to continue with my languages, be able to strengthen them, and continue to learn,” Barnes said.

Barnes immediately impacted the charter school despite combining his sophomore and

engineer at the Kennedy Space Center. She began her career in 1987 and then took her career to new heights when she flew on the STS116 mission – before retiring in 2007.

junior years into one with a dual enrollment at Southern University in New Orleans. He also noted International High School’s academic reputation.

“They are known for putting out million-dollar scholars, so whenever the idea was presented to me by my counselor, I hopped on board,” he said.

Barnes advised prospective college students to value education, especially African American students.

“There’s always something in the news for athletics. And I think there’s a stigma put on African Americans — probably others, too,” he said about academic success. “I think that doing well in school and understanding the importance of education is something that could break that stigma.”

Barnes credits his parents and James for his success. James helped him apply to institutions, prepare for college, and dual enrollment.

“She has guided me and instructed me in my best interest; that will move me forward,” he stated. “James has helped me get where I am.” Barnes said he’s grateful and excited about all scholarships and acceptances. Still, he insists that he’s incredibly proud of those from wellknown institutions like Xavier and LSU and other schools that traditionally don’t provide many scholarships.

Barnes now aims to exceed $10 million in scholarships and acceptances in the coming days.

With 170 acceptances, he said he’s being more selective and won’t hedge on which school he’ll choose. Barnes plans to decide by May 2.

PHOTO: RODNAE Productions via Pexels

PHOTO: NASA

Retired astronaut Joan Higginbotham (left), Spelman senior Kathleen Bostick (right).

PHOTO: Courtesy of WXIA/11 Alive International High School student, Dennis Maliq Barnes. PHOTO: NNPA

PHOTO: By kirasolly via stock.adobe.com

Statement of Withdrawal from Partnership

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner

Reza Behrou filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME:

Reza Behrou

PROPOSED NAME: Ryan Anderson

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: June 5, 2023

Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. C-61

(To appear remotely, check in advance of the hearing for information about how to do so on the court's website. To find your court's website go to www.courts.ca.gov/find-mycourt.htm)

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE.

The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, driver license, passport, and other identification, a certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree

Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

Notice is hereby given that the San Diego Unified School District, acting by and through its governing board, will electronically receive bids for the furnishing of all labor, materials, transportation, equipment, and services to: REROOF AND WOOD

electronically at or before 1:00 p.m. on MAY 25, 2023. Firms interested in submitting a bid package must go to tinyurl.com/SDUSD-PlanetBids then search under “Bid Opportunities” for “Invitation number” CP23-0941-52-00-00 Reroof and Wood Rot Repair at Jefferson Elementary School. For new vendors, please register under “New Vendor Registration.” The project estimate is between $40,000 and $80,000. This is not a PSA project and does not require prequalification. The District requires that Bidders possess any of the following classification(s) of California State Contractors License(s), valid and in good standing, at the time of bid opening and contract award: B or other appropriate license, subject to District approval. SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, Linda Hippe, Director, Purchasing and Contracts, Strategic Sourcing and Contracts Department CP23-0941-52-00-00

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

then search under “Bid Opportunities” for “Invitation number” CP23-0973-23-00-00 Blinds at 13 Sites, Remove and Replace (Group 2). For new vendors, please register under “New Vendor Registration.” The project estimate is between $320,000 and $345,000. This is not a PSA project and does not require prequalification. The District requires that Bidders possess any of the following classification(s) of California State Contractors License(s), valid and in good standing, at the time of bid opening and contract award: C-61/D-52 or other appropriate license, subject to District approval. SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, Linda Hippe, Director, Purchasing and Contracts, Strategic Sourcing and Contracts Department CP23-0973-23-00-00

of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issue the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree

Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree

Changing Name and Order

Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee. Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for the information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is:

330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 4/27, 5/04, 5/11, 5/18

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego

1100 Union St. San Diego, CA 92101 Central

37-2022-00018183PR-GP-CTL Petitioner or Attorney:

Maria Angelica Guillen

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner

Maria Angelica Guillen Lilie Pinales Margarita H. Guillen filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME:

Eva Reina Sanchez

PROPOSED NAME:

Eva Reina Guillen-Cortes

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: July 12, 2023

Time: 8:45 A.M.

Dept. 503

(To appear remotely, check in advance of the hearing for information about how to do so on the court's website. To find your court's website go to www.courts.ca.gov/find-mycourt.htm)

The address of the court is: 1100 Union St. San Diego, CA 92101 4/27, 5/04, 5/11, 5/18

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego 330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Civil Division 37-2023-00016081CU-PT-CTL Petitioner or Attorney: Guadalupe Nunez Luna

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner Guadalupe Nunez Luna filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME: Guadalupe Nunez Luna PROPOSED NAME: Luna Nunez Herrera

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. NOTICE OF HEARING

specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is: 330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 4/27, 5/04, 5/11, 5/18

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego

330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Hall of Justice Courthouse 37-2023-00015292CU-PT-CTL

Petitioner or Attorney:

Kaiden Michael Bass

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner

Kaiden Michael Bass filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

NAME:

PRESENT

Kaiden Michael Bass PROPOSED

NAME:

Kaiden Michael Bernhardt THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: May 31, 2023

Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. 61

(To appear remotely, check in advance of the hearing for information about how to do so on the court's website. To find your court's website go to www.courts.ca.gov/find-mycourt.htm)

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE. The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, driver license, passport, and other identification,

a certified copy of Decree

Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree

Changing Name and Order

Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issue the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree

Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree

Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee. Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for the information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is:

330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 4/20, 4/27, 5/04, 5/11

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego

330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Civil 37-2023-00013944CU-PT-CTL Petitioner or Attorney:

Tasha Marie Bonutti

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner

Tasha Marie Bonutti filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME:

Tasha Marie Bonutti

PROPOSED NAME:

Tasha Grace Bonutti

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: May 18, 2023

Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. 61 (To appear remotely, check in advance of the hearing for information about how to do so on the court's website. To find your court's website go to www.courts.ca.gov/find-mycourt.htm)

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE.

The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the

Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, driver license, passport, and other identification, a certified copy of Decree

Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree

Changing Name and Order

Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issue the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree

Changing Name and Order

Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee. Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for the information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is:

330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 4/13, 4/20, 4/27, 5/04

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego

330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Hall of Justice

37-2023-00013067CU-PT-CTL Petitioner or Attorney: Alan W. Cheung, Esq. 185615

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner Cyrus Shahadi filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME: Cyrus Shahadi

PROPOSED NAME: Kourosh Shahedi

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: May 15, 2023

Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. C-61

The address of the court is: 330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Hall of Justice

(To appear remotely, check in advance of the hearing for information about how to do so on the court's website. To find your court's website go to www.courts.ca.gov/find-mycourt.htm) 4/13, 4/20, 4/27, 5/04

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego 325 S. Melrose Dr. Vista, CA 92081 North County Division 37-2023-00013285CU-PT-NC Petitioner or Attorney: Solveig Kathrine Henn

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is: 325 S. Melrose Dr. Vista, CA 92081 4/13, 4/20, 4/27, 5/04

date

PRESENT NAME: Solveig Kathrine Henn

PROPOSED NAME: Solveig Kathrine Kinzel

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: May 30, 2023

Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. 25

The address of the court is: 325 S. Melrose Dr. Vista, CA 92081 (To appear remotely, check in advance of the hearing for information about how to do so on the court's website. To find your court's website go to www.courts.ca.gov/find-mycourt.htm)

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE.

The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, driver license, passport, and other identification, a certified copy of Decree

Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree

Changing Name and Order

Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issue the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee. Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for the information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO 2851 Meadow Lark Dr. San Diego, CA 92123

CITATION FOR FREEDOM FROM PARENTAL

CUSTODY AND CONTROL

Attorney or Party without Attorney: Armando Solis Barrios

Case Number: 23AD000134C

IN THE MATTER OF Xareni Yezel Zapien

(Date of Birth: 11/30/2007 A Minor)

To (name):

GUATI ORANIO ZAPIEN

You are ordered to appear in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Diego, in Department JC-02 at the court location indicated above on June 09, 2023, at 1:30 PM, to show cause, why (names) XARENI YEZEL ZAPIEN should not be declared free from parental custody and control as requested in the petition. This hearing will be conducted by video or telephone through the 2851 Meadowlark Drive San Diego, CA 92123. See attached instructions and call the court to have the video link emailed to you.

IMPORTANT:

GUATI ORANIO ZAPIEN please call the court promptly for instructions on how to attend this hearing.

(858) 634-1671

M-F 8:30am - 11:30 PST

At the hearing, the judge will read the petition and, if requested, will explain the effect of the granting of the petition, any term or allegation contained therein and the nature of the proceeding, its procedures and possible consequences, and may continue the matter for not more than 30 days for the appointment of counsel or to give counsel time to prepare.

The court may appoint counsel to represent the minor whether or not the minor is able to afford counsel. If any parent appears and is unable to afford counsel, the court shall appoint counsel to represent each parent who appears unless such representation is knowingly and intelligently waived.

Someone over the age of 18 - not the petitioner - must serve the other party with all the forms and complete a proof of service form, such as Proof of Service of Citation (Adoptions) (SDSC Form #JUV-300), telling when and how the other party was served and file that with the court.

If you wish to seek the advice of an attorney in this matter, you should do so promptly so that your pleading, if any, may be filed on time.

Date Filed: 4/11/23 4/20, 4/27, 5/04, 5/11

Standard Classified: $3.75 [per line]

Fictitious

Business Name: $25 [4 weeks]

Name Change: $85 [4 weeks]

By Phone: (619) 266-2233 By Email:

BLACK HISTORY

1961

FREEDOM RIDES BEGAN

Following the student-led sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee in early 1960, an interracial group of activists, led by Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Executive Director James Farmer, decided to continue to challenge Jim Crow segregation in the South by organizing “freedom rides” through the region.

Led by Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Executive Director James Farmer, CORE organized a dozen activists who were paired into two interracial sets of Freedom Riders who would travel on Greyhound and Trailways buses from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans, Louisiana. The Freedom Riders left Washington on May 4, 1961, and traveled across Virginia and North Carolina.

The Freedom Rides lasted seven months before ending December 7, 1961. The Freedom Rides inspired rural southern blacks to embrace civil disobedience as a strategy for regaining their civil rights, inspiring campaigns such as Mississippi’s Freedom Summer in 1964 and the Selma Movement in 1965 as well as in dozens of much less heralded efforts to register to vote or to integrate the region’s public schools.

1941

ASHFORD OF ASHFORD & SIMPSON BORN

The Bake with Paris – Chocolate Strawberry Pizza

By Paris Brown NNPA NNPA NEWSWIRE CONTRIBUTOR

Hello, and welcome back to the bake! I was craving pizza for this bake, but not your regular cheese pizza.

I wanted a dessert pizza! I’m a colossal pastry lover, so this chocolate-covered strawberry pizza was right up my alley. It’s super simple and a great party piece.

All I did for this bake was prebake my pastry, sugar my strawberries, and melt my chocolate. After that, I put it all together, and boom! Complete perfection. This bake is simple yet very effective. I hope you try it out and have a great bake!

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup white chocolate

1/2 cup dark chocolate

The legendary composers, lyricists, vocalists, and actors Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson dominated the R&B industry for over four decades. Ashford was born on May 4, 1941, in Fairfield, South Carolina, and Valerie Simpson was born in the Bronx, New York, on August 26, 1946.

The duo wrote many hit songs for artists including “Your Precious Love,” (1967), “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (1968), and “You’re all I Need” (1968), all performed by legendary artists Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

Their biggest hit of the 1980s came in 1984. “Solid” after leaving Motown Records and signing with Warner Records.

Ashford and Simpson were married on November 30, 1974, in New York City. They had two daughters, Nicole and Asia.

ARTICLE CONTINUATION TILL:

Continued from cover

Author and historian Timothy Tyson of Durham, North Carolina, gave reporters a copy of the book. Tyson claimed he received a copy from Donham in 2008 while interviewing her, the Associated Press reported. Though Tyson claimed to have provided the FBI with the text, the agency ended its lengthy investigation into Donham in 2021. The book was deposited in an archive at the University of North Carolina with the promise that it would only be made public for a while.

Tyson stated that he decided to make it public after individuals performing research at the Leflore County courthouse in Mississippi in June 2022 discovered an arrest warrant on abduction charges that were issued for “Mrs. Roy Bryant” in 1955 but were never served or executed. Leflore County Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill told The Associated Press that the documents were kept inside boxes marked by decade. Still, this was the first time anyone else could indicate where the warrant, dated August 29, 1955, might have been.

“They narrowed it down between the ’50s and ’60s and got lucky,” said Stockstill, who certified the

warrant as genuine.

In March 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act of 2022, making lynching a federal hate crime. Earlier, the bipartisan measure passed both chambers of Congress. The legislation received pushback from three Republicans – Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Chip Roy of Texas.

Each was the lone vote against the bill.

“I could not have been prouder to stand behind President Biden as he signed the Emmett Till AntiLynching Act into law,” National Urban League President Marc Morial stated.

“The act of lynching is a weapon of racial terror that has been used for decades, and our communities are still impacted by these hate crimes to this day,” Morial continued. “This bill is long overdue, and I applaud President Biden and Members of Congress for their leadership in honoring Emmett Till and other lynching victims by passing this significant piece of legislation.”

According to the bill’s text, “Whoever conspires to commit any offense…

shall (A) if death results from the offense, be imprisoned for any term of years or for life.” “(B) In any other case, be subjected to the same penalties as the penalties prescribed for the offense of the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy.”

Specifically, the legislation makes lynching a federal hate crime, punishable by up to life in prison. The measure had faced defeat for over 100 years, with lawmakers attempting to pass the legislation more than 200 times.

The House finally passed the bill on a 422-3 vote. It passed unanimously in the Senate.

The Mississippi search group included Emmett Till Legacy Foundation members and two Till relatives: cousin Deborah Watts, head of the foundation, and her daughter, Teri Watts, the Associated Press reported.

Keith Beauchamp, whose documentary film “The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till” preceded a renewed Justice Department probe that ended without charges in 2007, was also part of the search. He said there was enough new evidence to prosecute Donham.

3 tbsp melted butter

Instructions:

1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2 Cut the pastry sheet into a circle and butter the surface. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until just golden brown.

3 Cover the strawberries in sugar and let sit for 5 minutes.

4 Melt the white and dark chocolate with 1 tbsp butter or neutral oil.

5 Flatten the puff pastry in the center, leaving a “crust.” Pour the white chocolate onto the pastry as the “sauce.” Place the strawberries on top of the pastry.

6 Put the pastry back in the oven for 3-5 minutes on broil or u ntil the strawberries bubble.

7 Drizzle the top with dark chocolate.

8 Enjoy!!

COVID:

Continued from page 2

Wachter doesn’t think the new variant will be a game-changer though. For one thing, enough people have immunity now so the possibility of a superspreader event is unlikely.

“The vaccine and the booster still work reasonably well in about the same way that we have thought for the last 18 months or so.” Paxil still works reasonably well, your home test still works reasonably well, Wachter says.

“The risk of getting very sick is probably not any different now than it will be in 3 years… so we all have to come up with strategies that allow us to live our lives as fully as we can while mitigating the risks in a way that’s practical and sustainable. And that’s different than two years ago, when we were all trying to get through it,” he says.

Wachter and Schaffner told reporters that they get boosted regularly. They are waiting for new vaccines that will b e available in a few months for flu, COVID-19, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

Long COVID

Dr. Robert Wachter, Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, discussed what medical professionals and researchers have learned about long covid and what they’re still working to understand.

For people who get re-infected, the danger of long COVID increases, especially for women. Wachter’s wife, a former reporter who now writes books, has long COVID and she is learning to live with it.

“A year ago she was not disabled in any way in terms of getting through her days. Certainly, many people have it worse than she does,” Wachter says. “But most days at about one or two in the afternoon, she will text me and say I’m hitting a wall. I need to take a nap. She never had to do that before.”

A little bit of brain fog is making her “a little less good than she was” but it’s a consolation to know what’s causing it, he says.

Mod attack on Freedom Riders traveling by bus, Anniston, Alabama

PHOTO: NNPA

YOU CAN NOW EXPERIENCE EAGLE’S NEST TEACHINGS ON YOUTUBE!

Search: Pastor John E. Warren San Diego

We are a non-denominational full fellowship of believers dedicated to reach our community with the gospel and providing a place for believers to workship, learn, fellowship, serve and grow into the fullness of Christ Jesus. This ministry is to build people of Purpose, Prayer, Power, Praise and Prosperity. This mandate is being fulfilled by reaching the reality of the gospel in a simplistic fashion, and a result, learning how to apply it in everyday life.

“We are waiting for You”

ARRANGEMENTS BY ANDERSON-RAGSDALE MORTUARY

Funeral services were held on 04/05/2023 at Bethel Baptist Church, with a burial following at Greenwood Memorial Park. Final arrangements were entrusted to Anderson Ragsdale Mortuary.

Robert Theotis Camper was called home to be with the Lord at the age of ninety-four on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at his residence in San Diego, California following a long courageous battle with dementia.

Robert was born on May 30, 1928, in Pinola, Mississippi. He was the second oldest of five boys to the late Embra and Lillian Camper.

Robert served two years in the U.S. Army and fought in the Korean war where he received the UN Service Medal and the Korean Service Medal (W/3 Bronze Service Stars).

In 1957 Robert moved to San Diego, California. He met the love of his life; Fannie F. Camper and they were united in Holy Matrimony in 1965. Together they raised two beautiful children, Harry and Denise.

Robert was employed by Solar Turbines for 27 years where he retired in 1991. In 1993, Robert and Fannie joined Bethel Baptist Church.

Robert enjoyed fishing, traveling and spending quality time with family and friends. He was a very loving, caring and devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

He was preceded to death by both of his parents, wife, and his brothers.

Robert is survived by his son, Harry Williams (Elaine) of Chula Vista, CA; his daughter, Denise Camper-Williams (John) of Portsmouth VA; grandchildren, Bryana, Johniece and Jamal; and a host of relatives and dear friends who will mourn his passing, yet celebrate his life.

Mays, Sr.

SUNRISE 11/27/1942

SUNSET 03/22/2023

ARRANGEMENTS BY ANDERSON-RAGSDALE MORTUARY

Funeral services were held on 04/07/2023 at Christ Ministry Center with a burial following at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Final arrangements were entrusted to Anderson Ragsdale Mortuary.

Evena Metelus was born on June 11, 1994 in Les Cayes in Southern Haiti, in the second section of Fond Fred around Nikola. She attended Saint Jean-Baptiste Episcopal School for her primary schooling followed by College Espoir in Castel Paix, Haiti.

Evena left Haiti on April 19, 2017, to go to Chile where she met Winchelson Etienne in 2019. Evena left Chile for Mexico on September 7, 2021, and arrived on October 22, 2021. She later arrived in the United States on January 19, 2022, and immediately began an affiliation with the Haitian Methodist Church in San Diego where she became part of a big family.

Evena and Winchelson married on March 13, 2022. From this union came their little girl, Winchise Etienne. Evena was the oldest girl in the family. She was adored by her family and spoiled by her older brothers and her many aunts, uncles and other relatives.

Evena passed on March 20, 2023.

ARRANGEMENTS BY ANDERSON-RAGSDALE MORTUARY

Funeral services were held on 04/11/2023 at Memory Chapel of Anderson Ragsdale Mortuary with a burial following at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Final arrangements were entrusted to Anderson Ragsdale Mortuary.

Willie Logan was born on March 30, 1957 in Stuttgart, Arkansas to the late Ophelia Logan and Clarence Logan (Muhammad Bey). Willie confessed and hoped in Christ at an early age and continued to love the lord until his passing on March 25, 2023. Originally from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, he came to San Diego in 1974 while in high school. He graduated from Lincoln High School as part of the class of 1977.

Willie held numerous jobs over his lifetime in San Diego before retiring from a local recycling company in 2015.

Willie was preceded in death by his mother, Ophelia Mays Logan; Father, Clarence Logan (Muhammad Bey); and siblings, Allie (Melanie) Logan Dubose, Patricia Gonzalez, and Clarence Logan, Jr.

He leaves, his brother and lifelong roommate/companion, Keith Ervin; Karen Willis, sister of San Diego, CA; Doris Smith, sister of Dallas, TX; James Logan, brother of Atlanta, GA; Charles Logan, brother of Oklahoma City, OK; Lee Curtis Logan, brother of Omaha, NE; R.L. (Ron) Logan of Craig, CO: and Broderick Logan of Moriarty, NM, and a host of nieces and nephews to mourn his passing yet celebrate his life.

ARRANGEMENTS BY PREFERRED CREMATION & BURIAL MORTUARY

Floyd R. Mays, Sr. was born on November 27, 1942, in Round Rock, Texas to the late Jeanette Cleveland Mays and Roger Mays, Sr. He accepted Christ at an early age at Sweet Home Baptist Church.

He graduated from Hopewell School in Round Rock, Texas and worked until he was drafted into the United States Army. After serving two years, Floyd joined the United States Navy. He served his country in the Vietnam War. He was a crew member on the Strike Assault Boat Squadron (STABRON) 20 serving on Racing Danger 14 deemed The Fastest Boats in Vietnam 1969-1970 (2nd Captain EN3 and 1st Engineman (EN3) Because of his valor, he is known as a true Vietnam hero.

After the war, Floyd was stationed in Kingsville, Texas, where he met Rogelina P. Allen. They had three children; Tanya Mays, Floyd Mays, Jr. and Theresa Mays between duty stations in Kingsville, TX, Long Beach, California and San Diego, CA.

Floyd completed his military career retiring as a Chief Petty Officer (E7) from the United States Navy. Floyd continued working Civil Service for the Federal Government after retiring, then decided to pursue work around his home delighting in working on cars and teaching others.

Floyd was affectionately known as “Papa” to many young people in San Diego. He enjoyed having family and friends over for gatherings for barbecues.

On March 22, 2023, Floyd Mays, Sr. was called to be with The Lord, Jesus Christ.

Floyd was preceded in death by his parents; Roger Mays, Sr. and Jeanette Cleveland Mays, brothers; William Robinson, Dan I. Mays, Ernest Mays, sisters; Minneola Scott, Dora Fowler Mays, daughter; Tanya Mays-Williams, step-son; Kevin Spelmon, and grandson; Tyree Manor.

He leaves his legacy to be cherished by his siblings; Roger Mays, Sr., Paralee Sanders, Vernetta Seamster, Loyd Mays, and Boyd Mays, children; Floyd Mays, Jr., Theresa Mays, step-daughter Shalonda Spelmon, grand and great-grandchildren; Sherry Allen, Kih’Arrah, Tavaris, Jr., Cymiah, Tempestt Allen, Nasir, Makai, Alona, Dante Carter, Brandon Carter, Kevin Mitchell, Kevon Mitchell, Jamal Dickerson Nyasia, Malaki, J, Antonio Williams, Jr., Ari Williams, Jonas Mays, LaMarr Crowder, Jr., Kai and a host of nieces, nephews, family, and friends.

SUNRISE 06/26/1982

SUNSET 03/22/2023

ARRANGEMENTS BY PREFERRED

CREMATION & BURIAL MORTUARY

Funeral Services were held on April 17, 2023, at Greater Life Church.

Joshaie Brown was born in San Diego, California to Wanda Mae Ralph and Moses Brown on June 26, 1982. He was the oldest of their five children and had a joyful personality and spirit.

He had special many gifts and loved using his gifts in churches, concerts and the community. He was a maestro musician and singer who played the drums at three years of age and the piano/organ at age seven. His talents were inherited from his grandmother; Charlie Mae Ralph, who was a legend in her own right, an anointed woman of GOD! Her gift lived through him without a doubt. Joshaie played with the groups Steps of Praise, Disney and The Bobby Jones Show and preached his first sermon at fourteen.

He attended Valencia Park Elementary, St. Stephen’s Christian School, Morse High School and graduated from San Diego High School. He loved sports and played football for the Skyline Tigers, Morse High and Semi-Pro Football for the Bears and San Diego Thunder.

Joshaie loved the WWE and the WWF, he had a joyful spirit, was a people person, full of humor that was out of this world. He could make the Grinch laugh and loved to imitate people.

Joshaie passed on March 22, 2023, and was preceded in death by brother: Walter Leon Smith (Buggas); sister: Savorrey Ciciely Brown; mother: Wanda Mae Ralph; father: Moses Brown; aunt: Brenda Ralph; grandmother: Charlie Mae Ralph and grandfather: John Wesley Ralph.

Joshaie leaves behind to mourn him his son: Joshaie M. Brown, Jr; siblings: Quiana M. Brown, Shawntreece Smith, Daniel C. Johnson; two uncles: Charles Ralph, and John W. Ralph, Jr.; six cousins (raised like siblings): Khalia, Khadedra, Brennetta, Brittney. Angela, and Aniesha; three nieces: Latreece, Saniyah, and Daniesha; three nephews: Davon, Darnell, and Carter; and a host of family and friends.

“

Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.

First Republic Bank seized, sold in fire sale to JPMorgan

NEW YORK (AP) - Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday, making it the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, and promptly sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase in a bid to stop further banking turmoil that has dominated the first half of this year. It’s the third midsize bank to fail in less than two months. The only larger bank failure in U.S. history was Washington Mutual, which collapsed at the height of the 2008 financial crisis and was also taken over by JPMorgan in a similar government-orchestrated deal.

Attacks on delivery drivers add fears among gig workers

Ride-hailing and food delivery companies say extreme violence is rare among the millions of trips completed each week by gig workers. But three attacks in Florida last month sent ripples of fear among some app-based drivers, who have long demanded better protection from companies whose safety policies they say are more geared toward customers than workers. Ridehailing and delivery driving are among the deadliest occupations in the country, according to occupational fatalities and injury data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. While most deaths and injuries are from traffic accidents, the data also shows drivers are more at risk of assaults than other occupations.

May Day: World’s workers rally, France sees pension anger

PARIS (AP) - Workers squeezed by inflation and demanding economic justice marked May Day with rallies around the world. They called Monday for higher salaries, reduced working hours and better working conditions. May Day is observed in many countries as a day to celebrate workers’ rights. This year’s events had bigger turnouts than in previous years as COVID-19 restrictions were loosened and opposition centered on how governments’ economic plans will affect workers. In France, unions organized large protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s recent move to raise the retirement age. In Indonesia, rally-goers demanded the government repeal a job creation law they argue would benefit business at the expense of workers and the environment.

May, which is National Small Business Month, is the ideal opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of small business owners, take a closer look at the challenges they face, and connect them with valuable resources.

“Being a small business owner within an ever-changing landscape can feel intimidating without support,” says Michelle Van Slyke, senior vice president of sales and marketing at The UPS Store, Inc. “Fortunately, a variety of resources exist to help business launch and thrive.”

With more than 5,100 locations across North America, The UPS Store network comprises the nation’s largest franchise system of retail shipping, postal, print and business service centers, and is leveraging its expertise to offer new and seasoned entrepreneurs alike these small business tips: 1

Find a one-stop shop. One of the first steps in creating a business is sending out paperwork for the business formation and acquiring the licenses or permits needed. Save time and effort by using a one-stop small business services shop to have documents notarized, faxed, copied, scanned and securely shredded.

2

S implify correspondence. Consider using a private mailbox rental, so you can give your small business a real street address, as well as establish a central location to pick up mail and packages. Consider a mailbox service that offers package acceptance from all carriers, receipt confirmation, mail forwarding and holding, and easy delivery updates. 3

Get out the word. Be sure to regularly let your customers and prospective customers know when you’ve added new products and services to your portfolio with both print and digital marketing. Update the company website, blog and social media channels regularly and be sure to use tried-and-true methods of promotion as well, like direct mail services. The UPS Store, which can help you design, print and mail postcards, flyers and other marketing materials, offers two direct mail options, one that provides total market coverage, and another, more targeted option to reach a specific list of customers.

4

Don’t pay full price for business services. Some vendors may have discounts for qualifying businesses, so be sure to inquire about that. You can also access deals and promotions on packing, shipping, logistics management, printing, marketing consultation, secure mailboxes and more by joining The UPS Store email program.

5

Get inspired by the work of other small business owners. The UPS Store and Inc. Magazine have teamed up to host the 2023 Small Biz Challenge, an opportunity for entrepreneurs to win up to $25,000, one-on-one mentoring with a business expert, an editorial feature in an upcoming issue of Inc. Magazine and Inc.com, and a trip to the final event in New York City. Recognizing the inspiring business skills and expertise of entrepreneurs, this year’s competition requires entrepreneurs to demonstrate their unique problem-solving skills and innovative thinking.

“Every day we see entrepreneurs overcome obstacles on their path to success. Our goal is to find the most unstoppable business owners across the country,” says Van Slyke.

To learn more about the contest, the nine semifinalists, and to vote for your favorite entrepreneur, visit https:// www.theupsstore.com/ smallbizchallenge.

For more tips and resources, visit The UPS Store small business blog at: https:// www.theupsstore.com/ small-business-services/ small-business-blog.

Running a small business presents new challenges every day. However, finding the right resources can help you focus on the big picture, so you can grow your business and see your vision through.

StatePoint

AROUND TOWN

PHOTO: By Vlad Kochelaevskiy via stock.adobe.com

PHOTO: By Daisy Daisy via stock.adobe.com

PHOTO: By Beboy via stock.adobe.com

Offering the community more ways to go

We’re always looking for ways to support people’s choices in the communities we serve. That’s why Bank of America is adding charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) to over 90 financial centers nationwide. We’re also supporting the choices our teammates make with employee rebates on EVs.

I am proud of the steps we’re taking in the San Diego community to help people pursue what matters to them. The same goes for my teammates, as many have chosen to participate in My Environment,® one of our employee engagement initiatives.

Rick Bregman President, Bank of America San Diego

See all we’re doing at bankofamerica.com/sandiego

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