News & Entertainment from the Community!
Serving the cities that make up the South Bay in Southern California Published by SPMG Media
Volume 7
Issue 13
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Smiley’s Bookstore/Juice-C-Juice NOW OPEN!
July 15—31, 2013
Carson High School 50th Year Anniversary Celebration for CHS Alumni Set for October 5th
Did you know Smiley's Books (in Carson, CA) was originally opened by Bro. Donald Brown in 1993 in honor of our good friend Marc "Smiley" Williams......Smiley's Bookstore has been affectionately known as the Many authors were here at Smiley's Books before the Bigg box retail stores considered carrying African American fiction..... Many of our great authors have been here..... Dr. Claude Anderson, Amiri Baraka, May May Ali, Eric Jerome Dickey, Mary Honey B Morrison, Zane, Michael Baisden, Kim Wayans, Jewel Diamond Taylor, Dwayne Mooney, Daryl Mooney......and our local authors Yasmeen Z. Christian, Sadiki Bakari, Kolie Crutcher, Zo Williams, Shay Fresh, Omar Bradley,David Hollaway,Michael McGrew, Nyerere Jase, J.D Carr, Karen Williams, and mannnnny many more!! Smiley's Books/Juice C Juice is NOW open! Don't forget to stop by their NEW location.
24th Annual Carson Business Awards Recognized The Best and the Brightest of the City
Smiley’s Books also incorporates Juice-C-Juice, the famous South Bay juice bar. The proprietor Lori has been in business for many years and has also seen it’s share of high profile customers.. Get back in the game with Smiley’s Books/Juice-C-Juice at it’s NEW location 940 E. Dominguez St. Suite K, Carson
Congratulations to Lori and the team at Juice-C- Juice on their recognition!
SoCalGas Warns Customers & Communities about Utility Imposters
FREE COMPUTER CLASSES! Korean Churches for Community Development Offering Free Basic Computer Classes for Low-Income Residents of the City of Los Angeles. Classes are being offered in English and Spanish. Sign Up Today! KCCD in collaboration with 1736 Family Crisis Center is providing free computer classes to low-income residents of the City of Los Angeles. Computer classes will cover basic introductory courses such as how to navigate the internet, Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), and more. Classes will be offered once a week on Tuesdays. Interested individuals must sign up for an appointment to register for a class. Individuals must show proof that they are low-income with supporting documentation. Spaces are limited. Enrollment is on a first-come basis. Dates: July 23, 2013 to September 17, 2013 Time: Tuesdays, 10AM-12PM Spanish Tuesdays, 3PM - 5PM English
Tips Promote Customer Safety & Awareness on Identifying Utility Workers
The following tips can help customers avoid being a victim of utility impostors:
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas ) is alerting customers to be aware of people posing as gas company employees to gain entry to a customer's home for the purpose of committing a crime. SoCalGas wants to assure customers that employees who perform in-home appliance services, work on gas meters, or service natural gas pipelines wear uniforms and carry official photo identification while on the job.
•Customers are encouraged to be vigilant and question anyone who presents themselves as a representative of SoCalGas, especially if the visit is unscheduled.
"SoCalGas encourages customers to verify the uniform and proper identification of utility workers before letting anyone into their home or property," said Jimmie Cho, SoCalGas vice president of field services. “Customer safety is a top priority for SoCalGas and our employees will gladly wait while customers confirm their identity.”
Location: 1736 Family Crisis Center 2116 Arlington Avenue, Suite 200 Los Angeles, CA 90018
•Customers should ask for identification before allowing someone into the home. SoCalGas workers who perform inhome appliance services, work on gas meters or work on gas pipeline wear uniforms. However, some other employees do not. •The majority of authorized SoCalGas field service employees will be in uniform with a SoCalGas company logo, carry an official employee badge with a photo, and most of the time drive a company car bearing the SoCalGas logo. •Most SoCalGas employee visits are in response to a service request. If no one scheduled an appointment, call SoCalDESIGN SERVICES Gas before allowing anyone into the If you need help with home.
designing your newspaper,
To verify the authenticity of anyone we haveto the efffecient, of claiming be most a representative inexpensive graphic service to SoCalGas, customers are encouraged ask for proper identification or call department anywhere! Visit SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200 (or 1-800our site for or help! 342-4545 in templates Spanish) during normal business hours. SoCalGas customer service representatives are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Visit socalgas.com/safety for more information on staying safe.
To sign up for an appointment, call (323) 737-3900 CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
https://docs.google.com/a/kccd3300.org/spreadsheet/viewform? formkey=dERVMmY2WmZrTXJFd2x4LU9DS1h4MHc6MA
2nd Annual Community Dialogue Breakfast ‘The Philanthropic Landscape” The Executive Support Network hosted “ The Philanthropic Landscape “Dialogue Breakfast”,. The discussion centered around the opportunities available to community based non-profits from corporate sponsors, as well as what a non-profit needs to do to be successful with funding opportunities. At-
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Home of Carson/South Bay Community News, Inland Empire Community News, Los Angeles Community News, Authors & Artists Magazine & Christian Community Magazine Your Source for PR & Marketing Services and Community News & Events. Learn more at spmgmedia.com For Advertising and Rates, email info@spmgmedia.com.. Forward your press releases, event photos, engagement or wedding announcements and other celebration info and photos to us at the same email above. Print editions will be distributed throughout service areas by August 2013. 10,000 Print editions will be distributed through service areas via local businesses. Publisher/Publicist/Editor—Gina Smith Accounting—Enjoli Hall Marketing—Chris Smith, Amber Smith, Richard Hall
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Trayvon Martins Are Everywhere By Debbie Hines Trial Attorney, Former Prosecutor and Founder, LegalSpeaks.com
African Americans who are perceived to look suspicious and be "up to no good," like George Zimmerman accused Trayvon Martin, come in all forms from Oscar Award winning 51year-old actor, Forest Whitaker, who was detained, frisked and wrongfully accused of stealing from a New York City gourmet deli in February, 2013 to renowned Harvard Professor Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr. who was arrested at his own home in Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 16, 2009 for suspicious activity of men breaking and entering a residence. Regardless of whether you wear a hoodie or not, come from the hood or are a renowned black actor or Harvard Professor, most African Americans have had some moment where they realize they are being negatively judged by the color of their skin for appearing suspicious. Regardless of one's degrees, awards or cultural status, if a white person suspects a black man of suspicious activity, he could be charged, arrested, convicted or even killed for doing nothing, like Trayvon Martin. That thought was in my mind over a year ago, when my brother called me for help during a medical emergency while driving. He saw a police officer and asked me if he should flag down the officer. I instinctively told him "no" because I feared he would not receive medical attention but might be arrested for suspicious activity. His size of being over 6'1" tall and weighing over 250
Profiling African Americans for suspicious behavior when no crime has occurred is not new but killing an unarmed child brings it to new levels. And racial profiling crosses even political party lines. I attended a Race in America symposium in Washington, DC this year where I heard former Republican National Committee Chair, Michael Steele, tell the story that he tells his son. He lets his son know that when he leaves the confines of his affluent Maryland neighborhood, he is no longer the son of Michael Steele to the world but a very tall young black male who may be viewed with suspicion and presumably "up to no good" based on his looks alone. And on an everyday basis doing everyday tasks, blacks are regarded as appearing suspicious. For instance, when trying to get a cab in Washington, DC, according to a May, 2013 investigative report by WUSA 9's investigative reporter Russ Ptacek, taxi cabs are 25% less likely to pick up black passengers. In some instances, cabs will make U-turns to pick up white passengers immediately after refusing to pick up a black passenger, according to the report, conducted in May, 2013. And the failure of cabs to pick up black passengers in Washington, DC is nothing compared to the stop and frisks in New York where the New York Police Department's practice of stop and frisk amounted to the police stopping more than 4 million persons for street interrogations since 2002, with the vast majority being black and Latino. In 2011, almost 700,000 people were stopped, with the majority being African American and Latino. And in nine out of ten stops, those minorities stopped are completely innocent of any crime, according to the NYPD 's own reports.
In New York, there is a license for the police to stop and frisk any black person who they perceived as looking suspicious and "up to no good" whatever those phrases mean, in regards to African Americans. And in Florida, there is now a license to stop, shoot and kill any unarmed black person who appears suspicious and "up to no good" as long as you comply with Stand Your Ground. Unfortunately, most blacks have at some time, whether they knew it or not, probably looked suspicious and "up to no good" to a white person. Trayvon Martins are everywhere. Follow Debbie Hines on Twitter:www.twitter.com/ Legalspeaks
A Refund from Your Health Insurance Company? Thank the Affordable Care Act
Did you know that 8.5 million Americans are getting a refund this year from their health insurance companies? Thanks to a provision in the Affordable Care Act, if your insurance company isn’t spending at least 80 percent of your premium dollars on medical care, they have to send you some money back.
Carson City Council Member Mike Gibson and Secretary Hilda Solis at Jerome E. Horton's Connecting Women to Power!
This week in the East Room, President Obama explained that “last year, millions of Americans opened letters from their insurance companies -- but instead of the usual dread that comes from getting a bill they were pleasantly surprised with a check. In 2012, 13 million rebates went out, in all 50 states." Another 8.5 million rebates are being sent out this summer, averaging around $100 each, he said. Morgan, a woman from Maryland who has been purchasing her own health insurance for many years, introduced the President today. She said that after she got a rebate for the first time, “it felt like someone was actually being held accountable for the dollars I was spending on health care.” That’s one of core principles of the Affordable Care Act, President Obama said today – “holding insurance companies and providers accountable so that we all get a better deal.” So that’s just one way this law is helping middle-class families. But it represents everything the Affordable Care Act means for folks who already have insurance: better benefits, stronger protections, more bang for your buck -- the basic notion that you ought to get what you pay for. Learn more about the Affordable Care Act is saving Americans billions of dollars. Visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/thepress-office/2013/07/17/fact-sheetmiddle-class-americans-saving-billionsunder-health-care-law-
Long Beach Awarded BUSINESS PROFILE: $4.9 Million Grant to IHOP Improve Recreational Water Quality
IHOP traces its roots back to the opening of the first International House of Pancakes restaurant in 1958 in Toluca Lake, a suburb of Los Angeles. The American eating public and investors quickly took to the concept of a restaurant based on pancakes - one of America's favorite foods.
The City of Long Beach has been awarded a $4.9 million grant from the State Water Resources Control Board Clean Beaches Initiative Grant Program to reduce the amount of bacterial pollution and contaminated stormwater runoff from reaching the coastline. "We've made great strides to improve recreational water quality in recent years, and this funding will help us to continue the progress we’ve made," Mayor Bob Foster said. The funds will be used to construct three Low Flow Diversion (LFD) Systems and two Vortex Separation System (VSS) devices that will affect three beach outfalls along Ocean Boulevard. Both of these systems divert pollution such as motor oil, dog waste and lawn fertilizer away from waterways, which helps to ensure that people will be able to enjoy the beach. “I'd like to thank the State Water Resources Control Board for this grant funding, which will make our beautiful coastline cleaner and even more enjoyable for residents and visitors,” said Councilmember Suja Lowenthal, who represents the 2nd District.
Within four years, the number of units had increased to more than 50. The 1960s and 1970s were decades of continued expansion for the company as it entered new markets across the country, concluding with the appointment of Richard K. Herzer as president of IHOP Corp. in 1979. The 1980s would prove to have international flavor for IHOP, including brief ownership by a Swiss company and expansion into the Japanese market. The company reverted back to American ownership in 1987 when Herzer and other investors purchased the company. In the 1990s, IHOP continued its successful strategy of expansion, primarily through franchising increasing the number of restaurants from 490 to more than 800. Awareness of the International House of Pancakes brand exceeded 80 percent, making IHOP one of the most popular family restaurant chains in America. Visit IHOP in Carson at 21716 Avalon Blvd, CARSON, CA 90745-3301 (310) 830-5872 , Open 24 Hours!!
Cinemark to build 14screen movie theater at Carson Mall
Artist rendering Cinemark’s proposed multiplex at SouthBay Pavilion will give the nations third largest theater chain one of its highest profile location in the region. Vintage Real Estate, which owns and manages SouthBay Pavilion at Carson, said it had recently signed a lease with Cinemark to bring a 14-screen theater to the mall. STAY TUNED….
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Carson
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Carson's (BGCC) mission is to enable all youth, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as responsible, caring, productive citizens. The BGCC believes that every child has the potential to BE GREAT. We foster academic and personal success for youth in a positive place, full of hope and opportunity for every child. Visit them at 21502 Main Street, Carson, CA 90745 (310) 549-7311 . http://www.bgccarson.org/
Long-Time Vice President for Student Services at Cal State University, Long Beach Announces Retirement Effective Aug. 1
Douglas W. Robinson, vice president for student affairs at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB), has announced his decision to retire from the university. He will officially leave his position on Aug. 1. Robinson has been at the campus since 1989 and began his duties as vice president in 1991. He is currently the longest serving vice president in the CSU system. When Robinson steps down, Mary Ann Takemoto will assume the vice president’s role on an interim basis. Takemoto currently serves as the associate vice president for student services, and Alexander said her experience will ensure a smooth transition in leadership.
CONGRATULATIONS Torrance High School Teacher of the Year!! SUSANA GONZALES, English teacher TUSD Secondary Certificated Teacher of the Year Christine Reif, Mathematics teacher
Carson High API is up!
An official API score of 689 with a 37 point gain, the highest of LAUSD South Bay High Schools! Way to go, Colts! Carson Girls Softball 2013 City Champions!
The Torrance High community is very proud of these teachers.
Applications Accepted for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is designed for business owners with limited resources who have a business poised for growth. Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to growing their business and creating jobs within their community. Participants attend a highly practical 11session business management education program that meets from 8:30am to 5:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays at Long Beach City College. Participants also commit 6-8 hours per week for out-ofclass activities geared towards their business. RSVP for an upcoming Information Session today! Call (562) 938-5054 or e-mail 10000sb@lbcc.edu.
Jumpstart makes a difference in children’s lives early on, which puts them on a path to success. So, when you support our efforts, you make a direct impact on the life of a child and his or her future. This has a ripple effect that makes a difference in the community, city, and the entire country at large. Learn more at http://jstart.org/
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RINGLING BROS Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus presents BUILT TO AMAZE!
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Presents Built To Amaze!, the 143rd edition of the Greatest Show On Earth. Surprise and wonder delights audiences with over the top feats of strength, agility and courage. As the momentum builds so does the anticipation, anything can happen when Ringling Bros. Presents Built To Amaze! Circus performers from across the globe create the perfect blend of athleticism and bravery, where power meets fearlessness and amazement has no bounds. Magnificent elephants, ferocious tigers, astonishing acrobats and awe-inspiring aerialists are engineered into one spectacular performance. Celebrate the tradition TODAY and experience it's modern flare of twists and turns where excitement and suspense are so intense you'll be tempted to cover your eyes. From the blueprints to the band, the crates to the clowns, the hammer to the high wire, witness the spectacle as we measure out the perfect mix of marvel and majesty in an imagination equation where the impossible comes to life. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Presents Built To
The All Access Pre-show is your chance to feel what it’s like to be part of The Greatest Show On Earth®! You and your family are specially invited to an amazing circus experience and FREE ADMISSION comes with your ticket! Step Right Up and be part of the All-Access Pre-show where Children Of All Ages are invited down to the show floor to try on costumes, learn circus skills, meet the performers and get their picture taken with the clowns! Then, enter for a chance to win an original pachyderm painting, which is painted right in front of you by one of the world famous Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® elephants! All this and more when you arrive an hour early, and remember, Experience Built to Amaze at The Honda Center, July 26th through August 4th. For more information and tickets, visit http://www.hondacenter.com/ Schedule.aspx
‘Girlfriend’s
Rock in Color’ Luncheon Set for July 28th at Marina Del Rey Marriott
I LOVE My Girlfriends! The Annual Girlfriends Luncheon "Girlfriends Rock in Color' is just around the corner - Sunday, July 28th. There will be the power of GIRLFRIENDS, great entertainment, great vendors, prizes and MORE! We're hoping you'll rock your FAVORITE solid or combination of VIBRANT summer colors. They're gearing up to help the Back To School Drive, so bring any type of schools supplies for student less fortunate (K-12). Get YOUR tickets and let's have GIRLFRIEND POWER!!! Learn more or get your tickets at http://www.heygirlfriendnetwork.com/ CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO PROMO
Get Ready for the 23rd Annual Fellowship of International Christian Word of Faith Ministries Conference Among those who have graced the convention as theme speakers are Dr. Art Aragon (Heritage International Fellowship, Anaheim, California), Dr. Apostle Beverly “BAM” Crawford (Bible Enrichment Fellowship Int’l Church), Dr. Bernard Grant (Showers of Blessing Christian Center, Rocky Mount, NC), Dr. Creflo Dollar (World Changes Church, Atlanta, GA), Dr. Michael A. Freeman (Spirit of Faith Christian Center, Temple Hills, Maryland), Dr. Anthony Herrin, Jr. (Grow 2 Go Christian Center, St. Louis, Missouri), Dr. Sammie Holloway (Breath of Life Christian Center, Memphis, Tennessee), Dr. Phillip Phillip Goudeaux ( Calvary Christian Center, Sacramento, CA, Dr. Casey Treat (Christian Faith Center).
FICWFM's operating year runs from January to December, with our premiere event, the Annual Convention taking place the fourth week in July each year. The annual convention is held at Crenshaw Christian Center - the home of the Faith Dome.
In addition to fellowshipping and worshipping together, another goal of the convention is to strengthen and build the local ministry through a series of worship services and indepth workshops and seminars designed not only for the pastor/minister, but church staff and auxiliary workers as well. A series of excellent ministerial and staff development workshops conducted by highly skilled professionals specializing in key areas of ministry operations are conducted during convention week. These include operations such as new members assimilation and retention, church administration, Christian school development and education, finance. Learn more at http://crenshawchristiancenter.net/ default.aspx
The primary purpose of each annual convention is for pastors, ministers and congregations of like precious faith to come together to rally around God's Word. Convention delegates receive the teaching ministries of our Fellowship Founders, Apostle Fred and Betty Price, and other noted ministers of the Gospel as well. and youth ministries. A variety of seminars targeted at developing and expanding the ministry of helps are also held. A broad scope of information and training in the practical min-
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