LASALLE-PR-119-PSA
Dickinson started the school in 2000 originally at the San Bernardino Professional Firefighter’s Union Hall. The Academy is currently at a facility near the San Bernardino Airport.
“We have 170 students today, and we are looking at 325 next year,” Dickinson says. “We are also adding on a middle school and grades 6-8.”
Funded by the State of California, the academy's students study the public safety disciplines, police, fire and emergency medical services, in addition to traditional high school courses.
The Academy’s public safety courses also provide students with the required courses needed for entry into the police or fire academies, Dickinson says.
Dickinson says the academy differs from a traditional high school because the school is organized along paramilitary lines. Dickinson is the academy CEO and chief, the vice principal is the deputy chief and a cadet chief serves as head of the students. Students at the academy wear uniforms similar to the ones worn by fire departments. The academy also places a major focus on character development, leadership and ethics among the students, Dickinson adds.
Dr. Albert Arteaga, president of LaSalle Medical Associates(http://www.lasallemedical.com), says the Public Safety Academy’s discipline and small class size have benefited his son Diego who joined last year.
“Some kids thrive in an open environment, while others need a more structured environment before they are ready to use their own judgment,” Arteaga said.
Arteaga is impressed students at the academy have to wear uniforms, keep their hair short and refer to the teachers as “sir” or “ma’am.” “The teachers have a great deal of authority in the classroom,” Arteaga said.
Being exposed to instructors who are former police officers and firefighters has also provided his son with great role models, Arteaga says, adding Diego has expressed an interest in pursing a career in law enforcement in the future. “If he becomes a policeman or firefighter, I would be more than happy with that,” Arteaga said.
Currently a 10th grader, Diego Arteaga says the fire service and paramilitary training are some of the aspects of the academy he enjoys.
“I was interested in being a fireman and they have the instructors who can steer me in the right direction,” says Diego.
Diego also said an important part of the education at PSA is the six pillars of character which are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Although students at the PSA study regular high school courses such as geography, physics and science, the moral leadership training is an important part of the development of a young person.
“Sometimes young people’s lives go in the wrong direction,” Diego says. “The six pillars of character steer you in the right direction.”
Diego says many PSA graduates further their educations at Crafton Hills College which offers an associate of science degree in fire technology.
Graduates of the academy have gone onto careers in the military and with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Dickinson points out.
“The goal of the academy is to open up doors for students so they can achieve a career versus a job,” Dickinson says.
The Public Safety Academy is at 165 S. Leland Norton Way, San Bernardino. For more information call (909) 382-2211 or go to HYPERLINK "http://www.psasb.us" www.psasb.us .
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
GOOD CITIZENS ARE MADE, NOT BORN
IMMUNIZATIONS: SHOTS HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calf.) Across the globe, regular immunizations against otherwise ravishing diseases are helping the world’s population live longer, healthier lives, says Dr. Albert Arteaga, founder of the Inland Empire’s LaSalle Medical Associates.
Back-to-school time is here, and just as school attendance is mandatory, Arteaga wishes immunizations were just as mandatory. But, as yet they aren’t. “Parents do realize how important the shots are to the welfare of their children, but still we will see 80% of our patients in the last two weeks before school starts,” he notes.
Immunizations, often combined in a single injection, help prevent such diseases as pneumonia, polio, diphtheria, hepatitis and meningitis.
“Children are usually afraid of their perceived pain of the immunizations,” Arteaga says, “but that brief, tiny pain is nothing compared to the alarming, often lifelong, impact of the diseases they prevent.”
Parents should plan ahead for their children’s immunizations, he adds. “They need to break the barrier of ‘no time’,” he says. “They simply need to think ahead, and say, ‘Today is a good one for the shots’.”
There’s an important phrase in the medical profession when it comes to immunizations: “herd immunity.” “That’s where we can all be human barriers to these common but serious diseases,” he explains. “When we’re around people who are immunized, they protect the rest of us. And we can all help each other by being protected ourselves.”
While immunizations are routinely up to date only 30% of the time, LaSalle patients, at Arteaga’s urging, are 70% up to date. “Our patients are really good about that,” he says, “but so much more can be done. The problem is that with immunizations nothing seems wrong with kids, and so the parents too often simply put them off until the time is more convenient. You ought to hear the creative excuses we get.”
Under nearly all circumstances, immunizations are free to families, being subsidized by the Federal government for children.
LaSalle welcomes childhood immunizations at all five of their Inland Empire clinics: 17577 Arrow Blvd. in Fontana; 1505 Seventeenth Street and 565 North Mt. Vernon Ave. in San Bernardino; 16455 Main St. in Hesperia; and 31762 Mission Trail in Lake Elsinore.
Appointments aren’t required, but are recommended by calling (909) 890-0407. Usually the immunizations last only 30 minutes.
“A half hour,” Dr. Arteaga says, “can save potentially years of devastating illness.”
EARLY MAMMOGRAMS SAVE LIVES
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Yearly mammograms save women lives. To help more low- to moderate-income women, LaSalle Medical Associates will began mammography at its Mt. Vernon Clinic in San Bernardino this September.
The Department of Health Services now requires mammograms for all women over 40. They are not only simple, quick and risk-free, but are known to lower the chance of fatal breast cancer by 25-35 percent. The tests normally take only five to 10 minutes.
Dr. Albert Arteaga, the founder and president of LaSalle Medical Associates, sees substantial light on the horizon regarding reducing occurrences of breast cancer in Black and Latino women.
“Fifteen years ago, there was a problem. Our friends' wives and daughters were highly reluctant to see a doctor about mammograms, personal breast exams or anything else related to breast cancer. It was all too personal for them, sharing such intimate matters with a medical professional.”
All that has changed, he feels, with so much effort having gone into public awareness programs. “I don’t see that this reluctance is any more prevalent among minority women than Whites. In fact, the figures are nearly identical. Public awareness is working. There’s no longer a need to convince women; it’s now a matter of getting them to come in.”
Sometimes the problem of getting women to come in is a financial one. Low-income Black and Latino women may believe they just can’t afford exams and tests. Women’s health insurance normally covers the expense, though for those without coverage there is that fear of high costs.
LaSalle can help women without insurance find a program to help pay for their mammography, Dr. Arteaga says. “There are many public assistance programs that the vast majority of low- to moderate-income women qualify for. We help them apply, and in many cases receive coverage.”
LaSalle Medical Associates has two reasons for instituting its new mammography
program. “On the one hand,” Arteaga says, “there’s an altruistic purpose. We simply want to help the community by helping women remain healthy and catching any potential breast cancer early enough to prevent its growth.
”On the other hand, it’s good business, and if our clinics are to continue helping patients from year to year, they simply must stay in business. So we help our patients get the care they need through state and/or federal insurance programs created to help people stay healthy,” Arteaga explains.
Occasionally politicians or special interest group opposes government programs that spend money to help the financially disadvantaged. “But, when we show them that programs like these are heavily utilized and help keep people healthy and so we spend less overall on treating sicker people,” he says, “the opposition to them diminishes. The numbers can prove to the naysayers that the state and federal programs are being used, and public funds are actually helping save lives.
“We believe that all women in the Inland Empire should have their annual mammogram and we are working hard to help them do so,” says Arteaga. “The more women we see, the more lives we can help save.”
LaSalle Medical Associates has five clinics in the Inland Empire. Their offices are in five convenient locations; 17577 Arrow Boulevard in Fontana, 1505 17th Street in San Bernardino, 565 N. Mount Vernon Avenue in San Bernardino, 16455 Main Street in Hesperia and 31762 Mission Trail in Lake Elsinore.
For more information or to schedule an appointment call LaSalle’s Mount Vernon clinic at (909) 884-9091.
Photo caption: Dr. Albert Arteaga, President and CEO of LaSalle Medical Associates, was recently awarded the San Bernardino County Medical Society’s Merlin Hendrickson, M.D. Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Community. Arteaga is recognized for his efforts to provide health services to Inland Empire children. (www.lasallemedical.com.) Left to Right - Maria Arteaga, wife of Dr. Albert Arteaga, daughter Sandy Arteaga and Mitzi Arteaga, Lynda Long of LaSalle Medial Associates.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
INLAND EMPIRE AD CLUB LEADS WAY IN EDUCATION
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Celebrating its 25th year, the Inland Empire Ad Club, with offices at 109 Church St. in Redlands, has appointed a new director of education to spearhead student involvement in the real world of advertising promotion. “We invited Micheal Swank from the Art Institute of California – Inland Empire to lead the club’s emphasis on education,” noted Theresa Mesa, the group’s 2007-08 president.
The Web designer and former Ad Club vice president says they want Swank to be a liaison to the schools in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, involving the students in founding their own ad clubs and participating in district and national advertising competitions.
“I’m excited,” says Swank. “I’ve been in education for a long time, and any way I can get kids actively involved in learning is my professional goal.” Swank, The Art Institute of California- Inland Empire's Academic Director of Graphic Design & Interactive Media, is making plans to create student ad clubs at various area campuses. “That’s what I love about this new position – working with other schools and their students,” he says. “And I want to use the ad competitions to give kids the chance to see what the real world is like in their fields of interest, in this case advertising.”
Mesa explains, “There is a National Student Advertising Competition, sponsored this year by AOL. And when a winning team’s ad campaign proposal is chosen, it, or portions of it, will be utilized by AOL in its own ad programs.”
Students will learn how to understand markets, develop ad campaigns and execute those campaigns for each level of competition, this way learning what companies expect and need when it comes to promoting their products or services to the public.
But Swank has only one year as Ad Club Education Chairman to pull off his expectations for students before he’ll relinquish his position in mid 2008. “The students and I,” he says, “will be working our tails off. The students are loaded with graphic and advertising talent, and here’s a chance to test their creativity in real business situations.” As Theresa Mesa puts it, “Micheal will be developing the entire Inland Empire’s student ad programs and campus clubs.”
“Through the Ad Club’s education plan,” Swank says, “students will gain valuable exposure to what their careers may be like. And along the way, they’ll be making important contacts for their post-education futures in advertising.”
PICTURE PERFECT COOKING IN SAN BERNARDINO
“The faculty, staff and students can attest to the fact that the foods prepared for the photo shoots are as good as they look because every month we are invited into the kitchens to partake in the delicacies,” says Campus President Byron Chung.
Donald and Brenda Lorenzi, the publishers of Inland Empire Magazine along with food magazines Tastes of Italia, a bi-monthly, and the quarterly Healthy Cooking, have included test kitchens in each of their publications for years, creating recipes that make mouths water and have people dashing to the market.
“Our food magazines,” she says, “are recipe oriented publications, especially, of course, Healthy Cooking and Tastes of Italia.” Circulated nationwide, and now expanding internationally, the publications are on more than 5,000 newsstands and in such chains as Borders and Barnes & Noble.
“For years, we experimented with foods in our own kitchen with our own staff,” Lorenzi says, “but, we have a company to run, too. And when the Art Institute’s Culinary Arts department came to me with a proposal to team up, I jumped at it.”
Byron Chung and Chef Eyad Joseph, the Culinary Arts director, founded the Culinary Arts program at the Art Institute of California – Inland Empire in January of this year.
“I want to show our 28 students that there’s more to working in the culinary field than just being an Emeril on TV. It takes a great chef 20 years to attain that level. In the meantime there are sous chefs, private chefs, baking and pastry chefs, corporate chefs, cruise chefs and, naturally, test kitchen chefs,” says Chef Joseph.
This chef knows what it takes to make it in the culinary world. Before joining the Art Institute of California, Chef Joseph served as chef at a five-star and five-diamond hotel, the Fairmount Scottsdale Princess Resort, in Scottsdale, Ariz.
He was also the regional executive chef for the popular Romano’s Macaroni Grill chain, and as executive chef at several other fine dining restaurants in both San Diego and Scottsdale. Chef Joseph was also a regular on many local cooking television shows and is the author of a new cookbook due this spring. He is a graduate of the Scottsdale Institute’s Le Cordon Bleu.
By partnering with Lorenzi’s magazines, Chef Joseph’s students gain hands-on experience with this little-known aspect of the culinary field. “When I met with Brenda and we tossed around the idea of our program taking over her magazines’ test kitchen, I was thrilled. It sounded mutually adventurous.”
The partnership is mutually beneficial, too. The publications gains new, well-tested recipes, the students get real-world preparation and cooking experience, readers are treated to the newest and most savory recipes and the university gathers nationwide exposure. Everyone wins.
The cooking takes place at the Art Institute’s a la carte kitchen, the university’s most elaborate culinary facility. “When they came to see our operation,” Chef Joseph says, “they were astonished with the facility and equipment. We have more than everything we’d need to do the kind of testing Brenda and her readers expect.”
The magazines send the new recipes to Chef Joseph every month. He reviews them with the students and makes a plan. What makes each recipe unique? What ingredients are needed? What equipment is required? How long will each element take? Which student does what? What ingredients do we have on hand?
“We make a shopping list for Brenda, and she picks up what we need. Then we get to work.”
Chef Joseph guides the two dozen or more students for approximately two nine-hour days, staying with them at every step as they create 18 to 20 dishes on day one and another seven to eight on day two.
Healthy Cooking and Tastes of Italia sends a photographer who specializes in taking photos of food to document each step along with the final creations, and their own chef is on hand to take notes for the resulting articles.
One tricky aspect of all this is the advance timing required by publications that must plan each issue, sell ads and get them delivered or created, design page layouts, photograph covers, print and distribute those 150,000 copies.
“We have to work at least a year ahead,” Brenda Lorenzi says. “In the spring we’re thinking Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.” Finding fresh cranberries and turkeys in May can be a bit of a challenge, she adds.
And when it’s all over? “We have a feast,” the chef says. “The proof is in the eating.”
Healthy Cooking and Tastes of Italia are available at newsstands or by subscription at healthycookingmagazine.com or tastesofitalia.com. For more information on The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire call (909) 915-2100 or go on line to www.artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire.
Photo Caption:Chef Eyad Joseph, the Culinary Arts director, who founded the Culinary Arts program at the Art Institute of California – Inland Empire presents a pasta dish for photography.
ART STUDENTS GIVE HIGH SCHOOL LOGO NEW LOOK
(SAN BERNADINO, Calif.) Two Art Institute of California – Inland Empire (http://www.aii.edu/inlandempire) students redesigned the logo for San Andreas High School, an alternative high school in Highland. The students, Dante Guiab of Moreno Valley and Jesus Flores-Rodriguez of Fontana, each won a $200 prize.
“I am proud that our students were rewarded for their work,” says Byron Chung, president of The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. “Although we are a school, we play an active role in the community, whenever we have an opportunity. We often assign our students classwork which has them working with local non-profit agencies. It’s a win-win situation. The non-profit agencies get a great graphic project, like a logo or a brochure, and our students get to work on projects that can help build their portfolios for future employment. The Art Institute shows students you can make a living following your passion.”
Susan Ward, art teacher at San Andreas High School, says she decided to approach the college about the logo redesign project after an Art Institute instructor did a presentation at the school.
“One of the design instructors assigned the project to her class,” Ward explains. “They took on the task of redesigning our logo. We are changing from the Lions to the Quakes.”
The assignment took Art Institute instructor Robin Lindblom’s class about eight weeks to complete, Ward adds.
San Andreas students liked two designs so much they decided to choose elements from both designs to incorporate into their new logo. “They liked the lettering from one design, and they liked the character from the other,” Ward says.
According to Ward, she was impressed that many of The Art Institute students were more motivated by the spirit of volunteerism than the cash prize.
“It was not about the money, but more about the design experience and helping the community,” Ward says. “Dante said the project was extra special for him because his wife attended an alternative high school.”
Lindblom, who teaches concept design, says working on the project provided her students with a glimpse of what it is like to actually work on a real-life design job. “It was a good way of giving them the experience of working with a client. They had to learn how to take suggestions and make multiple revisions.”
For more information about The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, call (909) 915-2100 or visit www.aii.edu/inlandempire. The school is at 630 E. Brier Drive in San Bernardino.
The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of 36 locations throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.
RAINBOW CELEBRATES 12th ANNIVERSARY
(FONTANA, Calif.) Rainbow Community Praise Center International of Fontana combines its anniversary with recognition of its membership October 12 and 13 with its 12th Anniversary and Apostle Appreciation Celebration.
Says Founder and Director Dr. D.C. Thomas, “We want to reconnect all those who have been involved with the church and instrumental in its development this past dozen years. And we want to let the public know,” he adds, “that we are a community church. As much as we are a part of the community, we want the community to become a part of our church that weekend.”
The theme for the celebration is “Exceeding in abundance,” from Ephesians, Chapter
3, Verse 20. The exciting event will be at the Victoria Gardens Cultural Center’s Celebration Hall, 12505 Cultural Center Drive in Rancho Cucamonga.
Leading off the elaborate weekend is:
Youth Explosion – Friday, October 12 at 7 p.m.
Karen Wiggins will open the evening with a praise and worship participation. “Hers is a very anointed praise and worship service,” Thomas says. “The best I have ever heard.”
The guest speaker Friday will be Pastor Marc Raphel of the High Desert Seventh-day Adventist church in Victorville. Bringing praise-filled entertainment to the evening will be Another Peace Music Ministry, consisting of college and university students from all over the Inland Empire.
Sabbath School– Saturday, October 13 at 9:30 a.m.
Open Praise and Worship is the heart of the Sabbath School that Saturday with recording artist Sonya Griffin-Lemon. Additionally, there will be a special message from Dr. Jerome Crichton, Senior Pastor at Every Word Ministries in Antioch, California.
Worship Service – Saturday, October 13 at 11:00 a.m.
The Abundant Living Praise Team joins in the festivities that morning along with the Greater Los Angels Cathedral Choir. Guest speaker will be Dr. La’Chelle Woodert, the famous Los Angeles area civil rights defense attorney. “She is a powerful woman of God with a prophetic anointing,” Thomas explains. “She ministers healing and deliverance throughout the country.”
Sensational ‘60s Party – Saturday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m.
The weekend is capped off by comedian Ron G, the second-place winner of Bill Bellamy’s “Who Got Jokes” television show. This extremely talented and youthful comedian from Atlanta, Georgia is unique in the business – he tells clean jokes.
Along with enjoying Ron G and other entertainers Saturday evening, you can share a gourmet Italian dinner and dancing, plus karaoke and Name That Tune contests.
Tickets are required for the Sensational ‘60s party at $12 for adults and $7 for children, and are available by going online to rainbowcommunity.org, or calling Rainbow at (909) 972-9467. Call, also, for the weekend’s details or stop by the Rainbow Community Praise Center International at 15854 Sierra Lakes Parkway in Fontana.
“We’re celebrating our first dozen years,” Dr. Thomas says, “and paying tribute to all those who have made it possible. Come and join us; you’ll have an unforgettable time.”
-End-
ART INSTITUTE LENDS ITS EXPERTISE TO BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire (http://www.artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire/) isn’t just an academic island. It’s a vital part of the local community, and one of its goal is to help the Inland Empire’s many nonprofit organizations whenever possible. That’s where the university’s Summer Studios program comes into play. The Summer Studios are four-day workshops for high school juniors and seniors assisted by the university’s teachers.
“The idea behind the Summer Studios program,” says President Byron Chung, “is two-fold: On the one hand, it lets our students and high school participants explore the real world of fields that interest them. And on the other, the Art Institute works with the area’s non-profit groups that can use the help.”
Take, for instance, San Bernardino’s Boys & Girls Club. The 40-year-old group, part of the 100-year-old national organization, has 2,000 young people it helps in its three area facilities. Clifford Hackney, the chief professional officer of the San Bernardino club, says their objective is to “enhance their quality of life.” He says, “Kids now have a safe place to do their homework, and there’s adult supervision for all activities. This is a one-stop shop for these kids. We offer them what will deter them from the negative element.”
However, Mark Davis, the executive director of the San Bernardino club says, “Our brochures and web site have never looked professional. There’s never been a cohesive appearance to any of it. So, when the Art Institute contacted us to help, we leaped at it.”
From June 26-29, the university will coordinate about 20 students, high schoolers and institute members, to improve the club’s printed materials, web site and even improve the meal offerings.
Santosh Oommen, the academic director of the university’s Media Arts & Animation department, heads the brochure and web program for the club. “While assisting with the Boys & Girls Club material, we’re also introducing kids to what real-life work is like. They don’t just sit in a classroom all day, but are actually ‘on the job,’ creating, developing and administering what this nonprofit needs,” Oommen says.
From the 125 students in all his programs, Oommen has a select handful who will be designing a new club brochure and other printed material to present the myriad facets of the club’s services. No easy task, but, he adds, “The high school students who have enrolled in the Summer Studios will be working with our top institute students to pull it off.”
“Our web site,” Davis said, “has always been a hodgepodge. It’s been worked on here and there, but it’s hard to manipulate, update and use. The Art Institute will solve that problem perfectly. The site and materials have never looked professional or standardized in any way.”
“The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire boasts one of the finest and most complete Culinary Arts departments in the state”, says Chef Eyad Joseph, the program’s director. He has about 30 culinary students garnering real-world experience for careers as sous chefs, baking and pastry chefs, corporate chefs, cruise chefs, restaurant chefs and more.
For the rest of the year, the Culinary Arts Department plans to create new lunch menus for about 125 children who daily attend the Boys & Girls Club of San Bernardino’s main facility (1180 W. 9th Street).
The Art Institute’s Summer Studios program has been in operation for more than five years throughout the university’s 34 campuses across North America. Currently in its second year, the San Bernardino campus’ Summer Studios program brings the school’s full potential and experience to numerous Inland Empire non-profit organizations. “We want to help the community whenever and wherever we can,” Chung says. And so they do.
For more information about The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, call at (909) 915-2100.
For more information about the San Bernardino Boys & Girls Club, Call Mark Davis at (909) 888-6751.
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Photo Caption: Left to Right; Jerold Faust, Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Monica Jeffs, Director of Admission, The Art Institute of California - Inland Empire and Mark Davis Executive Director of the boys and Girls Club of San Bernardino and Rialto.
STATE TOXIC SUBSTANCE CONTROL DEPUTY HEADS SOLUTIONS PANEL
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Leonard Robinson, Chief Deputy Director for the California Department of Toxic Substance Control, (http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/) will lead a panel discussion on the California Take It Back! Partnership, Monday, Oct. 8 from 2-3 p.m at the Hazardous Materials Management Association’s Annual Conference. The conference is in San Diego at the Bahia Resort Hotel in San Diego
The California Take It Back! Partnership is a consortium of state and local government, retail stores, businesses, academia, non-profit organizations and energy utilities that are providing, or making provisions for, California residents to properly recycle their used fluorescent lights, used alkaline batteries and used electronics at locations that are free, local and convenient.
Robinson says, "The residents of California take pride in their environment. It is important for government and business to team up and provide locations for Californians to properly manage their used fluorescent lights, alkaline batteries and electronics at locations where they live, work, shop play or go to school.
“These items, if improperly managed, can pollute drinking water and soil as well as negatively impact public health."
Representatives from Wal-Mart, Pacific Gas and Electric and a local agency will participate on the panel with Robinson.
Robinson is available as a keynote speaker or topic speaker on e-waste and issues regarding Toxic Substance Control. For more information call Kim Smith at (916) 322-2198 or e-mail kim.smith@dtsc.ca.gov.
Leonard E. Robinson was appointed to the position of Chief Deputy Director for the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in September of 2004. He has over thirty (30) years experience in the environmental management.
Currently serving as DTSC’s Chief Deputy Director, Mr. Robinson oversees the day-to-day operations of the Office of Legal Affairs; Hazardous Waste Management and Statewide Compliance Program; Site Mitigation and Brownfields Reuse Program; External Affairs; Legislative Affairs; and the Science, Pollution Prevention and Technology Program. DTSC‘s mission is to protect public health and the environment. Mr. Robinson is spearheading the “California Take It Back! Partnership”. This Partnership is a consortium of State and Local Government, retail stores, non-profit agencies and utilities that provide free local and convenient locations for California consumers to recycle their universal wastes. Robinson has been a featured speaker at several functions and conferences including the California Waste Association (CWA), Air & Waste Management Association, California Certified Unified Program Agencies (Cal-CUPA), Steel Manufacturers Association, Law Seminars International, Environmental Industry Summit and the Product Stewardship Council.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Robinson was the Environmental/Safety Manager at TAMCO Steel. Located in Rancho Cucamonga, it is California’s only steel mill. While at TAMCO Steel, Mr. Robinson started a program that recycled used oil filters into steel reinforcing bar (rebar) for use in the construction industry. Another recycling program started by him was named “Project Isaiah,” a program where firearms delivered by Southern California law enforcement agencies were melted and also recycled into rebar.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Robinson also taught leadership and executive management classes. He was a daily radio talk show host on KTIE 590 AM, a lecturer and a motivational speaker. He has authored two books: “PositivitY” and “Getting Back To Abnormal” that are waiting to be published. Mr. Robinson served as Principal of UC Riverside’s Saturday Academy, which was a program that placed low income children on track for college.
Mr. Robinson’s past Board and Committee activities included:
• Board Member - Scholarship, Opportunities, Achievement and Responsibility (S.O.A.R.)
• Board Member - California Waste Association (CWA)
• Board Member - Public Broadcast Station WETA Advisory
• Board Member – Keep California Beautiful
• Chair - Steel Manufacturers Association Environment Committee
• Member - National Environmental Justice Advisory Council
• Chair - Moreno Valley Ecological Protection Committee
• Adjunct Instructor - Environmental Technology at Chaffey Community College
• Member – Governor’s Emergency Operation Executive Committee
• Member - "Leadership for the Government Executive " Advisory Committee
Saturday, August 11, 2007
DIVERSITY JOB FAIR BRINGS BUSINESS TO THE PEOPLE
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) The Inland Empire Diversity Career and Job Fair gets underway Sept. 5 in San Bernardino, bringing together more than a dozen major area businesses that want to meet minorities, looking for the best Inland Empire employees.
From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the San Bernardino Boys & Girls Club, 1180 West 9th St., company representatives will be at tables, waiting to meet serious potential workers looking for local openings instead of having to dread that miserable daily commute to Los Angeles or Orange County.
Companies such as Lowe’s, The University of Phoenix and Patton State Hospital will be on hand to meet and greet hundreds of potential employees. They’ll personally discuss their firms’ needs, what they look for in staff members and review attendees’ backgrounds and resumes.
The Inland Empire Diversity Career and Job Fair is the perfect place for those needing jobs to let companies know why they’d fit in and how they could contribute their skills and experience.
Attendees are urged to dress the part and bring detailed, updated resumes to hand out to those firms that interest them.
Job Fair sponsors supporting the effort include the Inland Empire African American Chamber of Commerce, KOLA radio 99.9, The NAUA, 909models.com, Hispanic Connect, The Black Voice News, The Precinct Reporter, El Chicano and Dameron Communications.
Friday, August 10, 2007
BIOS
Carl Dameron
Agency Principal
• Carl is the founder and owner of Dameron Communications a full service advertising and public relations agency. The company’s former and current clients include: Argosy University/ Inland Empire, Argosy University/Orange County, Education Management Corporation, California Portland Cement Company, LaSalle Medical Associates, The African American Health Initiative, The Inland Empire Diversity Career & Job Fair, Jose Gonzales for Supervisor, Bill Beatty for Moreno Valley City Councilman, the County of San Bernardino, the County of Riverside, the City of Colton, the City of San Bernardino, the State of California, The Salvation Army, 909Models.com, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and Tri-County South Tobacco Free Coalition.
• Carl’s experience include: editor of a weekly newspaper the Black Voice News, marketing director for KFRG/KOOJ radio, vice president of Communications for Dukes-Dukes & Associates, a real estate developer, marketing director for AutoSound an electronics retailer and as a media relations executive for the nations leading financial relations firm, the Financial Relations Board.
• Carl is a resident of San Bernardino and is active in several local community organizations such as Miracles in Recovery, an organization that helps pregnant women with substance abuse problem, get their lives back together and give birth to healthy babies, The Salvation Army, the Inland Empire African American Chamber of Commerce and the Victor Valley African America Chamber of Commerce.
• Carl graduated from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona in 1985. He studied electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, psychology, computer science, economics, oceanography, public relations, radio, journalism, television and print production graduating with a bachelor of science degree in Communications.
Jim Crockett
Senior Writer
• Jim has worked in advertising, public relations and journalism since 1958. He has written thousands of articles, five books and is currently working on a screenplay about the first female jazz band.
• Jim has written for The Livermore Independent, The Caymainan Compass Daily and The Antelope Valley Press Daily. He was also CEO of GPI publications for 19 years where he oversaw Guitar Player magazine.
• Jim has taught broadcasting and public speaking at the University of Idaho and International College of The Cayman Islands.
• An accomplished auto racer and scuba diver, Jim has also appeared on The Today Show, The Merv Griffin Show, Nashville Now, MTV, CBS Tonight and CNN.
• He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication from the University of Stockton.
Thomas Salisbury
Art Director
• Thomas has 25 years experience as an art director and artist. Previously, he was the senior art director for Pacific Coast Sportfishing, a national full-color monthly magazine focusing on sport fishing on the West Coast, including Alaska and Mexico.
• He has also worked for The San Bernardino Sun, The Long Beach Press-Telegram and Donrey Outdoor Media of Las Vegas. At The Sun Thomas’ used his creative talents on major accounts including San Manuel Indian Casino in Highland, and the former Harris Department Store.
• Thomas prides himself in providing creative work that emphasizes branding and effectively reaches the client’s customer and encourages them to buy products or services.
• Thomas has a degree in fine art from Saddelback College and also studied art at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and California State University, Long Beach.
Carlos Trujilo
Graphic Artist/Web Programmer
Carlos grew up in Colton and is a graduate Cal State University, San Bernardino. He also has a master’s degree from the University of Redlands. Carlos has more than seven years experience in web development, programming and graphic design. Previously employed by Imageway Digital Media, Carlos lives in San Bernardino.
Ebony Stewart
Executive Assistant
Ebony grew up in Fontana and Alta Loma and is a graduate of Valley View High School in Ontario, Calif. She also attended Chaffey College. She has previously worked in the real estate and mortgage business. Before joining Dameron Communications she worked at United Title Co. in Riverside. She currently resides in San Bernardino.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY HONORS LOCAL ACTIVIST
(San Bernardino, Calif.) Phyllis Clark, founder and director of the Healthy Heritage Wellness Conference, has received statewide recognition for her efforts to fight cancer in the Black and Latino community.
Clark will receive the Harold P. Freeman Outreach Award from the American Cancer Society California Division at a luncheon in Oakland, Thursday, June 28. She is one of three people in California who will receive the honor.
The award honors individuals for exemplary achievement in bringing cancer awareness activities to diverse and medically underserved populations.
Clark has been fighting cancer for 20 years since she lost her mother to colon cancer. She has channeled her energy into raising awareness about cancer, and other health issues, in the African American community. Clark is also corporate partners and events manager for the Blood Bank of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.
“I’m honored and humbled to receive this award because I feel am doing what I was called to do since I lost my mother,” Clark said. “I’m trying to do whatever I can to eliminate cancer. Receiving this award confirms I am doing something right and touching lives.”
Clark is also the founder of the Healthy Heritage Wellness Conference, an interactive Afrocentric health fair. Currently in its third year, the next conference is at California Baptist University, located at 8432 Magnolia in Riverside, from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturday, July 28.
Clark said the goal of the conference is to encourage African Americans to lead healthier lifestyles.
“Many of the diseases that African Americans suffer from are lifestyle related,” Clark said. “If we change our behavior, and change the behavior of the next generation, we can prevent many of these life-shortening health problems. The goal of this conference is to provide African Americans with the tools to make better lifestyles choices.”
“Although the information is targeted at the African American community, the conference is open to all nationalities,” Clark said.
For more information about the Healthy Heritage Wellness Conference call (951) 565-4431 or e-mail hhwcmovement@yahoo.com.
ART INSTITUTE SCHOLARSHIPS HELP IE STUDENTS FOLLOW THEIR DREAMS
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) It might be the dog days of summer, but it is time for many young people to start thinking about how to pay for college.
Recognizing that many Inland Empire residents are the first in their families to attend college, The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire (www.artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire) has awarded $130,000 in tuition scholarships toward undergraduate degrees. Thirteen area students will receive the awards.
The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, located in San Bernardino, is a private university which offers degrees in such creative careers as graphic design, interior design, culinary arts, culinary management, interactive media design, media arts & animation and game art & design.
“The Art Institute of Californian – Inland Empire feels that if people have the talent and drive, then paying for their education should not be an obstacle,” says President Byron Chung. “The scholarships will help many Inland Empire students receive an education that can help them pursue careers they love.” Chung says the scholarships range from $5,000 to $15,000.
In Culinary Arts, Lizeth Talavera-Benitez of Phelan received two scholarships, one of $15,000 and another of $3,000 as Best Teen Chef. She says, “These will cover fully half of my tuition for the first year at the university. It meant a lot to me,” she adds, “My parents didn’t have much money to pay for college. I was really excited when I found out I got the scholarship. My parents are very happy, too.”
She says the funding goes a long way toward helping her pursue her dream of owning her own restaurant.
Phillip Bosco, a graduate of Faith Community Christian School in Victorville, said his $10,000 scholarship for first in Media Arts & Animation will be an important aid in paying back student loans. “It really takes a big load off,” he says, adding, “It really takes a big load off. The scholarship works out to be several months, if not a full year, of loan payments.”
He plans to study Media Arts & Animation at the Art Institute. He said his major can open doors to a job as a 3-D forensic artist for crime investigations, a special effects artist or a storyboard artist.
Bosco’s future plan is to work in visual effects in the movie industry, and eventually be directing his own films. “I’ve always had a passion for film and directing,” he says.
Other well-earned scholarships are $15,000 for Logan Feliciano of Pomona, first in Game Art & Design; Jacob Webber of Grand Terrace, $10,000 for second in Game Art & Design; Colton’s John Escobar received a $15,000 funding for placing first in Graphic Design with Matthew Morales of Redlands garnering $10,000 for second.
Victorville’s Amanda Kibler was granted a $15,000 scholarship for first in Interior Design while Allison Williams of Alta Loma received a $10,000 aid for second place; LaTosha Banks of Rialto was awarded a $10,000 scholarship for first in Culinary Arts; Upland’s Ryan Wardlow received a $10,000 honor for first in Game Art & Design while Jonathan Ortiz was presented a $5,000 scholarship for second.
A poster design competition yielded $3,000 in school funds for Daniel Gonzalez of Garden Grove, and a $2,000 award to Moreno Valley’s Therisa Anderson.
For further information about the programs at the Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, call (909) 915-2100 or (800) 353-0812.
The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire Offers Life Drawing Classes for Public
(SAN BERNADINO, Calif.) Ever wondered what drawing from a live human model is like? The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire will show attendees of its new Life Drawing workshop on Saturday, August 8, 2007, from 1 - 5 p.m. The workshop will be open at no charge.
Byron Chung, president of The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, says, “We created these classes to give budding young artists the instruction they need to draw better. We are committed to helping artists in the Inland Empire improve their talents.”
The Life Drawing workshops are usually offered on the third Saturday of every month. There are 21 seats available in each class. Students must bring their own pencils and drawing papers. The workshop is open to the public to those 15 years old or above, and the classes are offered at no charge.
“Many people have great creative talents,” Chung says. “The workshop offers people a chance to focus that raw creative talent into directed creativity. Our goal is to help make better artists.”
Santosh Oommen, academic director of animation at the school, says the workshop involves drawing from a live figure and covers topics such as anatomy and gestures. To sign up for the Life Drawing workshop, or for more information, call The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire at (909) 915-2100.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Art Institute Scholarships Help IE Residents Follow Their Dreams
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) It might be the dog days of summer, but it is time for many young people to start thinking about how to pay for college in the fall.
Recognizing that many Inland Empire residents are the first in their families to go to college, The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire (http://www.artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire) has awarded $130,000 in scholarships for undergraduate degrees. Thirteen area students will receive the awards.
The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, located in San Bernardino, is a private university, which offers degrees in creative careers such as graphic design, interior design, culinary arts, culinary management, interactive media design, media arts & animation and game art & design.
“The Art Institute of California - Inland Empire feels that if people have the talent and drive, then paying for education should not be an obstacle,” said President Byron Chung. “The scholarships will help many Inland Empire residents receive an education that can help them pursue careers that they love.”
Chung said the scholarships include awards of $15,000 - 5,000 and 50 percent tuition reductions. The scholarships can only be used for tuition at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire.
Lizeth Talavera-Benitez of Phelan, a recipient of two scholarships, said the awards covers half of her tuition for the first year of college. “It meant a lot to me,” said Talavera-Benitez, who is the first in her family to go to college. “My parents didn’t have much money to pay for college.”
“I was really excited when I found out I got the scholarship,” she said. “My parents are happy too.”
Talavera-Benitez said the scholarship award goes a long way to helping her pursue her dream of owning her own restaurant. She also received a scholarship for winning The Art Institutes Best Teen Chef local competition. The Art Institutes organizes the contest, which is a showcase for local budding chefs.
Phillip Bosco, a graduate of Faith Community Christian School in Victorville, said his $10,000 scholarship will go a long way to paying back student loans. “It really takes a big load off,” he said. “The scholarship works out to be several months, if not a year, of loan payments.”
Bosco plans to study media arts & animation at The Art Institute of California- Inland Empire. He said the major can open doors to a job as a 3-D forensic artist for crime investigations, a special effects artist or a storyboard artist.
Bosco says his future plan is to work in visual effects, in the movie industry, and eventually direct his own films. “I’ve always had a passion for film and directing,” he said.
For more information about The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire call (909) 915-2100 or (800) 353-0812.
Scholarship recipients:
Winners name City Scholarship Amount
1. Lizeth Talavera-Benitez Phelan $15,000 1st $ 3,000 1st
2. Logan Feliciano Pomona $15,000 1st
3. Jacob Webber Grand Terrace $10,000 2nd
4. John Escobar Colton $15,000 1st
5. Matthew Morales Redlands $10,000 2nd
6. Amanda Kibler Victorville $15,000 1st
7. Allison Williams Alta Loma $10,000 2nd
8. LaTosha Banks Rialto $10,000 1st
9. Ryan Wardlow Upland $10,000 1st
10. Jonathan Ortiz Banning $5,000 2nd
11. Philip Bosco Victorville $10,000 1st
12. Daniel Gonzalez Garden Grove $3,000
13. Therisa Anderson Moreno Valley $2,000
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Jim Crockett Former Publisher of Guitar Player and Keyboard Magazine Targets the Music Industry
(Newport Beach, CA) (PRWEB) August 6, 2007 -- Music legend Jim Crockett, with decades of music industry writing experience behind him, launches new effort at Dameron Communications (http://www.DameronCommunications.com) to attract potential new public relations and advertising accounts with guitar, keyboard, drum, instrument accessory and other manufacturers.
"Jim virtually wrote the book on writing for musical instruments at Guitar Player Magazine. He knows the music industry and he knows the consumers! And he knows what we can do to help build successful businesses with our public relations, marketing and advertising experience," says Carl Dameron, president of Dameron Communications.
Crockett joined Dameron Communications two years ago and has worked with Dameron on a variety of PR efforts. The two decided to use Crockett's renowned prowess in the music industry after an inquiry from a music mastering company requesting Crockett to write articles about their process. Crockett and Dameron quickly realized there was a demand for Crockett's experience.
For 19 years, starting in 1970, while at the helm of GPI Publications Crockett took the company from a $40,000/year business with one semi-monthly magazine titled Guitar Player to a $15 million business producing five monthlies, four quarterlies, books, newsletters and recordings.
The former CEO of GPI has counted as his friends B.B. King, Andres Segovia, Mike Bloomfield, Howard Roberts, Les Paul, Chick Corea, Frank Zappa, Tal Farlow, Herbie Hancock, Chet Atkins, David Gilmour, Leo Fender, Barney Kessel, Jerry Garcia, Joe Pass, George Benson, Billy Gibbons, Tony Iommi and many others.
Crockett has worked with many public relations firms over the years including internationally respected BSMG. He has nearly 20 years experience in producing musical publications, heading such international magazines as Guitar Player, Keyboard, Frets, Drums & Drumming and Bass Player magazines.
He has had a half-dozen newsletters and more than a thousand articles, features and interviews published.
In the TV world Crockett has produced and hosted specials for MTV and has appeared on all major television networks and cable systems including NBC's "Today Show," CNN and the former Nashville Network.
The prior Media Relations Executive with the nationwide Financial Relations Board has hosted countless press conferences, media tours, interviews and seminars.
Crockett is also the author of five books: Putting A Band Together, Guitar Player Book, Fix Your Axe (instrument repair), Great White Shark and Why-to Of Scuba Diving.
A former communications professor at the University of Idaho and The International College of the Cayman Islands, Crockett's knowledge of education, music, broadcasting, publishing and business management is substantial.
Jim has kept a low profile the last few years enjoying his five-acre ranch in Los Angeles County and spending time with his family. But he has kept busy. He has a movie script in development, "Great While It Lasted," based on the world's first female jazz band, and is in the middle of another book, a biography of actor Spenser Tracy's son, co-founder of the John Tracy Clinic for deaf children in Los Angeles, while he continues to write stories for Dameron Communications' key clients.
"I love to write and I love to play music," says Crockett. "So I write about music, musicians and equipment. And I love what I do. I've been in music, in one form or another, all my adult life."
Dameron Communications has handled the advertising and public relations needs of California businesses since 1989. As founder and director Carl Dameron puts it, "While I am a good writer, Jim is a great writer. He is the best writer I have ever worked with."
Jim and Carl can be reached at Dameron Communications (949) 999-0881. The Web site is www.DameronCommunications.com.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
EARLY MAMMOGRAMS SAVE LIVES
(San Bernardino, Calif.) Yearly mammograms save women lives. To help more low to moderate income women, LaSalle Medical Associates, will begin mammography at it’s Mt. Vernon Clinic in San Bernardino this August.
The Department of Health Services now requires mammograms for all women over 40. They are not only simple, quick and risk-free, but are known to lower the chance of fatal breast cancer by 25-35 percent. The tests normally take only five to 10 minutes.
Dr. Albert Arteaga, the founder and president of LaSalle Medical Associates, sees substantial light on the horizon regarding reducing occurrences of breast cancer in Black and Latino women.
“Fifteen years ago, there was a problem. Our friend’s wives and daughters were highly reluctant to see a doctor about mammograms, personal breast exams or anything else related to breast cancer. It was all too personal for them, sharing such intimate matters with a medical professional.”
All that has changed, he feels, with so much effort having gone into public awareness programs. “I don’t see that this reluctance is any more prevalent among minority women than whites. In fact, the figures are nearly identical. Public awareness is working. There’s no longer a need to convince women; it’s now a matter of getting them to come in.”
Sometimes the problem of getting women to come in is a financial one. Low-income Black and Latino women may believe they just can’t afford exams and tests. Women’s health insurance normally covers the expense, though for those without coverage there is that fear of high costs.
LaSalle can help women without insurance find a program to help pay for their mammography, Dr. Arteaga said. “There are many public assistance programs that the vast majority of low to moderate income women qualify for. We help them apply, and in many cases receive coverage. ”
LaSalle Medical Associates has two reasons for instituting its new mammography
program. “On the one hand,” Arteaga says, “there’s an altruistic purpose. We simply want to help the community by helping women remain healthy and catching any potential breast cancer early enough to prevent its growth.”
”On the other hand, it’s good business, and if our clinics are to continue helping patients from year to year, they simply must stay in business. So we help our patients get the care they need through state and or federal insurance programs created to help people stay healthy,” Arteaga said.
Occasionally politicians or special interest group opposes government programs that spend money to help the financially disadvantaged. “But, when we show them that programs like these are heavily utilized and help keep people healthy and we spend less overall on treating sicker people,” he says, “the opposition to them diminishes. The numbers can prove to the naysayers that the state and federal programs are being used, and public funds are actually helping save lives.”
“We believe that all women in the Inland Empire should have their annual mammogram and we are working hard to help them do so,” says Arteaga. “The more women we see, the more lives we can help save.”
LaSalle Medical Associates has five clinics in the Inland Empire. Their offices are located in five convenient locations; 17577 Arrow Boulevard in Fontana, 1505 17th Street in San Bernardino, 565 N. Mount Vernon Avenue in San Bernardino, 16455 Main Street in Hesperia and 31762 Mission Trail in Lake Elsinore.
For more information or to schedule an appointment call LaSalle’s Mount Vernon clinic at (909) 884-9091.
IMMUNIZATIONS: SHOTS HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD
(San Bernardino, Calf.) Across the globe, regular immunizations against otherwise ravishing diseases are helping the world’s population live longer, healthier lives, says Dr. Albert Arteaga, founder of the Inland Empire’s LaSalle Medical Associates.
Back-to-school time is rapidly approaching, and just as school attendance is mandatory, Arteaga wishes immunizations were just as mandatory. But, as yet they aren’t. “Parents do realize how important the shots are to the welfare of their children, but still we will see 80% of our patients in the last two weeks before school starts,” he notes.
Immunizations, often combined in a single injection, help prevent such diseases as pneumonia, polio, diphtheria, hepatitis and meningitis.
“Children are usually afraid of their perceived pain of the immunizations,” Arteaga says, “but that brief, tiny pain is nothing compared to the alarming, often lifelong, impact of the diseases they prevent.”
Parents should plan ahead for their children’s immunizations, he adds. “They need to break the barrier of ‘no time’,” he says. “They simply need to think ahead, and say, ‘Today is a good one for the shots’.”
There’s an important phrase in the medical profession when it comes to immunizations: “herd immunity.” “That’s where we can all be human barriers to these common but serious diseases,” he explains. “When we’re around people who are immunized, they protect the rest of us. And we can all help each other by being protected ourselves.”
While immunizations are routinely up to date only 30% of the time, LaSalle patients, at Arteaga’s urging, are 70% up to date. “Our patients are really good about that,” he says, “but so much more can be done. The problem is that with immunizations nothing seems wrong with kids, and so the parents too often simply put them off until the time is more convenient. You ought to hear the creative excuses we get.”
Under nearly all circumstances, immunizations are free to families, being subsidized by the Federal government for children.
LaSalle welcomes childhood immunizations at all five of their Inland Empire clinics: 17577 Arrow Blvd. in Fontana; 1505 Seventh Street and 565 North Mt. Vernon Ave. in San Bernardino; 16455 Main St. in Hesperia; and 31762 Mission Trail in Lake Elsinore.
Appointments aren’t required, but are recommended by calling 909/890-0407. Usually the immunizations last only 30 minutes.
“A half hour,” Dr. Arteaga says, “can save potentially years of devastating illness.”
Thursday, July 19, 2007
RED ALERT! FIRE, POLICE SEEK DIVERSE RECRUITS
Attendees of a previous Inland Empire Diversity Career and Job Fair fill out job applications. The Fire and Police Job Fair on July 30 is geared towards recruiting more Blacks, Latinos and Asians into area fire and law enforcement agencies.
(San Bernardino, Calif.) Fire service and law enforcement can be lucrative careers. However these are careers which many Blacks, Latinos and Asians have not considered. Carl Dameron, producer of the Inland Empire Diversity Career and Job Fair (http://www.iejobfair.com), said the Fire and Police Job Fair, on July 30, is geared towards increasing the numbers of people from ethnic groups in both of these fields. The Diversity Career and Job Fair is held at the San Bernardino Boys and Girls Club, located at 1180 W. 9th St. in San Bernardino, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Fire departments have not hired as many persons from ethnic groups as other places,” Dameron said. “Fire departments seems to have a problem finding applicants who can complete the application process.”
Applicants for fire and police jobs must be American citizens, or permanent residents who are eligible to apply for citizenship, and have to pass a rigorous background check. They must also meet certain physical and psychological standards.
“Our goal is to help them find Blacks, Latinos and Asians who can complete the process required for a career in fire services and law enforcement,” said Dolores Armstead, vice president of the Inland Empire African American Chamber of Commerce.
Armstead said area law enforcement agencies are facing a huge increase in demand for their services as the population of the Inland Empire soars.
“All of these police departments are looking for diverse recruits,” she said.
“The goal of the Job Fair is to help these agencies find those people who are looking for careers in law enforcement and fire service.”
Armstead also said that Inland Empire police departments are not the only ones looking for recruits. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Police Department also recruit new employees from the Inland Empire. She said careers in law enforcement often have lucrative pay and benefit packages.
The Riverside Police Department is currently offering a $5,000 signing fee for new officers and $1,000 referral fee. Riverside police offers start at $56,000 per year. Starting pay for San Bernardino Police officers is more than $50,000.
For more information about the Inland Empire Diversity Fire and Police Job Fair call (909) 888-0017 or go to http://www.iejobfair.com.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
‘GREEN CZAR’ BAGS LONG BEACH AWARD
Workers load e-waste onto a truck as part of a recycling effort organized by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), Goodwill Industries and SuCasa, a domestic violence shelter, in March. Leonard Robinson, chief deputy director of the DTSC will be honored for his efforts to encourage the recycling and proper disposal of e-waste items such as outdated electronics, fluorescent light bulbs and alkaline batteries, by 8th District Councilwoman Rae Gabelich on July 17.
(San Bernardino, Calif.) Riverside’s Leonard Robinson, appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as the chief deputy director for the Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC), was honored Tuesday, July 17, by 8th District Councilwoman Rae Gabelich.
On March 10, DTSC’s partnered with Goodwill Industries and SuCasa, the domestic violence shelter, to collect e-waste in the North Long Beach area, and collect they did – 8.8 tons of old computers, discarded television sets, cell phones and other electronic waste that otherwise would go into city landfills.
The Long Beach City Council Recognition award will be presented to Robinson that evening at 5 p.m. during the city council meeting at 333 W. Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach.
Says Jonathan Kraus, aide to Councilwoman Gabelich, “These nearly nine tons of otherwise hazardous waste will first have the hazardous elements removed, the rest being recycled as possible. All of this is being diverted from our landfills.”
“It’s that time of year,” said Gabelich, “when I present my recognition awards to people who have done something outstanding for the Eighth District and given of themselves for the good of the community.”
DTSC Chief Deputy Director Robinson goes throughout the state lecturing on the proper management of used residential: fluorescent light, batteries, cell phones, computers and other household electronic devices (Universal Wastes). As a part of the California Take It Back! Partnership, he forms partnerships with businesses, utilities, retail stores and non-profit organizations to provide free, local and convenient locations for California residents to take their Universal Wastes.
These items, if improperly disposed can contaminate drinking water and soil with heavy metals and other toxic substances. Reduction of solid and toxic wastes is an element of the Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Environmental Action Plan.
ACTIVIST DISCUSSES HIS LIFE JOURNEY IN NEW BOOK
(San Bernardino, Calif.) Ratibu Shadidi, entrepreneur, veteran of the Civil Rights movement and activist for African American cultural heritage, is the guest speaker at the Inland Empire African American Chamber of Commerce (www.ieaacc.com)’s meeting from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Tuesday, July 24.
The meeting is held in the conference room of Dameron Communications located at 255 N. D. Street in San Bernardino.
Shadidi, also known as Bill Jacocks, talks about his two-year struggle to write and publish his new book “Ratibu Shadidi: Incidents, Struggles and Divine Interventions.”
The book details Shadidi’s life from a small boy in Virginia to a successful business owner in California. Shadidi was active in the Civil Rights movement and has encouraged African Americans to get in touch with their African roots through cultural events such as Kwanzaa.
A community leader for more than 20 years, Shadidi is owner of Elegant Floors, a carpet store, and a former field representative for California State Sen. Ruben Ayala. He is married to California State Assembly member Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto).
“Ratibu’s story serves as inspiration to our members,” said Delores Armstead, vice president of the Inland Empire African American Chamber of Commerce (IEAACC.) “He has seen it all, from the Civil Rights struggle to the modern-day movement to teach African Americans their true heritage.”
Founded in 1990, the IEAACC helps African American businesses, families and professionals succeed in the Inland Empire.
For more information about the IEAACC call (909) 888-5223 or go online to www.ieaacc.com.
ACTIVIST DISCUSSES HIS LIFE JOURNEY IN NEW BOOK
(San Bernardino, Calif.) Ratibu Shadidi, entrepreneur, veteran of the Civil Rights movement and activist for African American cultural heritage, is the guest speaker at the Inland Empire African American Chamber of Commerce (www.ieaacc.com)’s meeting from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Tuesday, July 24.
The meeting is held in the conference room of Dameron Communications located at 255 N. D. Street in San Bernardino.
Shadidi, also known as Bill Jacocks, talks about his two-year struggle to write and publish his new book “Ratibu Shadidi: Incidents, Struggles and Divine Interventions.”
The book details Shadidi’s life from a small boy in Virginia to a successful business owner in California. Shadidi was active in the Civil Rights movement and has encouraged African Americans to get in touch with their African roots through cultural events such as Kwanzaa.
A community leader for more than 20 years, Shadidi is owner of Elegant Floors, a carpet store, and a former field representative for California State Sen. Ruben Ayala. He is married to California State Assembly member Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto).
“Ratibu’s story serves as inspiration to our members,” said Delores Armstead, vice president of the Inland Empire African American Chamber of Commerce (IEAACC.) “He has seen it all, from the Civil Rights struggle to the modern-day movement to teach African Americans their true heritage.”
Founded in 1990, the IEAACC helps African American businesses, families and professionals succeed in the Inland Empire.
For more information about the IEAACC call (909) 888-5223 or go online to www.ieaacc.com.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
DR. ARTEAGA AWARDED FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE COMMUNITY
(San Bernardino, Calif.) Dr. Albert Arteaga, President and CEO of LaSalle Medical Associates, was recently awarded the San Bernardino County Medical Society’s Merlin Hendrickson, M.D. Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Community. Arteaga is recognized for his efforts to provide health services to Inland Empire children.
The award was presented during the San Bernardino County Medical Association’s Installation of Officers and Outstanding Awards dinner at the Mission Inn, in Riverside.
“I accept this award not just for me but for the team of doctors, nurses, and staff at LaSalle’s five clinics. This is recognition of the entire companies dedication to our patients and our communities we serve,” said Arteaga.
“The award represents an endorsement by the medical society of the work we have been doing,” Arteaga said. “It shows we are appreciated and well regarded by our peers.”
Arteaga has offered free health care for Hurricane Katrina survivors, donated funds to local pastors towards hurricane relief and served as Commissioner for First 5 Children and Families Commission and the Latino Health Collaborative.
Born in San Diego, Arteaga grew up in various locations following his father, a Seventh-day Adventist minister. Arteaga’s family also lived in Argentina while his father was doing missionary work. Arteaga spent over four years in northern Mexico.
Arteaga is dedicated to providing the best healthcare possible for his patients. He also demands his staff, from the receptionist to the doctors, treat people with dignity, compassion and respect.
“It has always been our policy to help families in need. Since I have been in practice we have never turned away a patient because they could not pay. As the son of an Adventist minister I know that I have an obligation to help whenever I can. That is what we do,” Arteaga said.
This is not the first time LaSalle Medical Associates has been honored by local healthy agencies. The clinics are also recognized for their quality of service. LaSalle Medical Associates was selected by Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) as one of Riverside and San Bernardino’s best healthcare provider.
The African American Health Initiative also selected LaSalle as a model provider in a two-year study of Black healthcare in San Bernardino County. LaSalle has also been the number one enroller in the state of California for Healthy Families, an insurance program for children from low to mid-income families. The program provides medical, dental and vision coverage for children without insurance.
The father of three children, Arteaga lives in Grand Terrace with his wife, Maria, one son and two daughters. For more information about LaSalle Medical Associates contact (909) 890-0407, or go to www.lasallemedical.com.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
OPEN CALL JULY 21, 2006
(San Bernardino, CA) 909Models.com, one of the Inland Empire’s fastest growing modeling agencies, will hold an open call for models Friday, July 21.
We work with agencies, casting directors, and industry professionals, who are seeking new faces with little or no experience. Our clients are looking for:
• Fashion Models - Models who walk the runway and promote clothes and cosmetics in magazines, billboards and newspapers.
• Commercial Print Models - Models who advertise hundreds of non-beauty type products in magazines, newspapers, billboards, sales ads and store advertisements.
• Promotional Models - Models who work in conventions, promotional events, and sporting events.
• Street team Models – Models who assist with the promotions they are working by distributing promotional materials.
• Actors - To appear in commercials and as bit parts or extras in TV shows and movies.
• Dancers – for videos, movies, shows and live appearances.
To find out more about the open call, telephone 909models.com at (909) 888-0017, or visit our website, www.909Models.com.
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Friday, July 13, 2007
BUSINESSES HONORED FOR ‘KEEPING IT GREEN’
(San Bernardino, Calif. ) Leonard Robinson, Chief Deputy Director for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, will present awards to businesses for their commitment to pollution prevention at the 2007 Sacramento Business Awards Ceremony, Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 9 a.m. at the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District office in Sacramento, Calif.
As the keynote speaker for the 2007 Sacramento Business Awards Ceremony, Robinson will commend the efforts of these business that are leaders in the area of pollutin prevention.
"These businesses are demonstrating the governor's vision of a healthy environment and a healthy economy" Robinson says. "They have developed with creative solutions for wastes and are examples to be replicated by other businesses."
ROBINSON TO KEYNOTE AUTO DISMANTLERS CONVENTION
(San Bernardino, Calif.) The Inland Empire‚s Leonard Robinson is Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s appointed Chief Deputy Director for the California Department of Toxic Substance Control.
On Friday, Sept. 14 Robinson will be the keynote speaker for the Southern California Auto Dismantlers Association (SCADA) Convention, held this year at the Stanford Court Hotel in San Francisco.
"There’s a voluntary partnership among these companies," he says, "Companies that are willing to protect our environment. For example, automobiles contain mercury switches to control various automobile functions.”
“Mercury is toxic to the environment. These businesses voluntarily go through the effort of removing these switches and recycle them for later safer use." Reduction of toxic waste is an element in Gov. Schwarzenegger's environmental action plan.
As the state’s leader in toxic substance control, Robinson is the perfect choice as the convention’s 2007 keynoter.
AREA’S STATE SPOKESMAN HEADS ANTI-POLLUTION PANEL
(San Bernardino, Calif.) The Inland Empire‚s Leonard Robinson is Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger‚s appointed Chief Deputy Director for the California Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC).
The League of California Cities‚ Annual Conference, held in Sacramento on
Thursday, Sept. 6, has asked Robinson to participate in a panel discussion about the used alkaline battery collection segment of the California Take It Back! (TIB!) Partnership. The conference is a held at the Sacramento Convention Center and will be attended by mayors; city council members and city officials from across the state.
He will participate in a dialogue on the unique ways that cities are addressing the challenge of collecting used alkaline batteries from their citizens.
As of Feb. 8 of last year, these batteries could not be discarded in the trash.
Robinson said, “The California Take It Back! Partnership is a consortium of state and local government; retail stores; businesses; utilities; academia; and non-profit organizations that are providing or making provisions for California residents to properly recycle their used fluorescent lights; used alkaline batteries and used electronic devices.”
“The goal of the partnership is to provide locations for California residents that are free, local and convenient.”
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
LASALLE CEO SEES MEDICAL WORK AS HIS CALLING
(San Bernardino, Calif.) Dr. Albert Arteaga, a career-long pediatrician and founder and president of the Inland Empire’s LaSalle Medical Associates, has said his primary goal for LaSalle’s five clinics is making office visits as simple as possible.
“I wanted everyone to feel that going to the doctor was no more intimidating than going to the grocery store,” he said.
Born in San Diego of a Seventh-day Adventist missionary father from Michoacan, Mexico, Arteaga came by his love of, and care for, people honestly. It was almost pre-ordained that the young man would feel naturally urged to enter medical practice, and for more than two decades he has specialized in treating children.
After the family returned from ministering to Adventists in Argentina, Arteaga’s medical training came at Universidad LaSalle in Mexico City. Graduation in 1976, was followed by four years of internship. In 1984, after his pediatric residency at Loma Linda University’s Medical Center, he embarked on individual practice in Fontana.
As the practice grew, doctors were added to the staff and what was now called LaSalle Medical Associates expanded facilities, ultimately adding two in San Bernardino, and others in Hesperia and Lake Elsinore. Today, LaSalle serves more than 100,000 patients annually.
Inspired by his father’s calling to the ministry, Arteaga has been driven to serve, especially those with low income. “For the 20 plus years I have been in practice, we have never turned away a patient because they couldn’t pay,” Arteaga said. “As the son of an Adventist minister, I know I have an obligation to help whenever I can.” As a result, the five LaSalle clinics are California’s enrollment leader in the state’s Healthy Families program, offering low and no-cost health care to uninsured children.
And when it came to aiding Inland Empire survivors of Hurricane Katrina, Arteaga was Johnny-on-the-spot with totally free services, plus donating $1,000 to support the various pastors helping with hurricane relief.
Arteaga is also unique as a leader in welcoming Medi-Cal patients, those low-income adults and children, the elderly and the disabled. Numerous physicians refuse Medi-Cal patients simply because doctors make very little money doing so. For Arteaga
it’s one more chance to give something to the communities he serves while helping people in need who are reluctant to seek medical care because they feel they just can’t afford it. “Ultimately,” he says, “it’s the children who would suffer. And I don’t want that.”
LaSalle Medical Associates doesn’t stop there, either. For seven years Arteaga’s
facilities have offered free immunization clinics for Inland Empire’s children twice a year at their “Immunization Fairs” in San Bernardino. Arteaga and his staff, which is about 200 people, also organize health care exhibitors to introduce the public to such important life-saving issues as car safety for children, pregnancy health, childhood obesity and more.
“Our objective,” says Ruthy Argumedo, LaSalle’s marketing director, “is to inform the area’s parents about the importance of preventative health for their children. Prevention is so much easier than healing later problems. Our goal with these fairs, and with all our clinics, is to help parents understand how to keep their children well in the first place.”
How has LaSalle’s practice changed over the past year? “Everyone seems to want everything fast,” Arteaga says. “We want patients to be on their way as quickly as possible, of course. But first, we want to get it right, get it pleasant, then get it fast. There are times, though, when people just have to wait. We don’t want that, and patients don’t want that.”
A woman may have made an appointment for one child and bring in three, Arteaga said. An earlier patient might have come in for a simple check up and find they have other problems that must be dealt with on the spot; a mother may have brought in her daughter for a basic immunization then lay out paperwork from the school for a full physical.
As a natural evolution for LaSalle, the clinics now include family and internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics/gynecology along with the on-going pediatric care. Again, serving the health care community in every way they can, harkening back to Arteaga’s “obligation to help whenever I can.”
LaSalle Medical Associates’ five Inland Empire clinics are at 17557 Arrow Boulevard in Fontana, 1505 17th Street and 565 North Mount Vernon Avenue both in San Bernardino, 16455 Main Street in Hesperia and Lake Elsinore’s on 31762 Mission Trail. For more information about LaSalle Medical Associates contact (909) 890-0407 or go to www.lasallemedical.com.
Monday, July 9, 2007
TIME TO GET BACK TO WHAT SHE LOVES BEST
(San Bernardino, Calif) Helen Yuman spent most of her life as a professional singer. Now, after a few years off, it’s time to get back to work doing what she loves most singing in front of a live audience at churches, weddings, banquets and events.
“I started out with my two sisters in New Brunswick, New Jersey, during the ‘60s,” she recalls. “We were the Georgettes, performing for our church and doing lots of backup singing. We made about 10 records. None became national hits, but were big in the New Jersey, New York area. We did a lot of that sort of work, just to keep singing.” And “keep singing” she did. “We were on radio a lot and did a ‘Bandstand’ TV show.” The Georgettes even performed at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem during a talent search series, winning the top spot on Week One.
Then, twenty years of experience later, she was asked to join the famed Clara Ward Singers. “Mrs. Ward had heard me singing at an event at Norton Air Force Base.” The facility, in San Bernardino, was a prominent military operation until it was closed in the ‘90s. “She came up to me afterward,” Yuman remembers, “and asked me to audition for her. As a result, I joined the group and performed with them for five years.”
Clara Ward’s Ward Singers reached fame for bringing gospel music out of the church and onto stages and into nightclubs, introducing audiences to often their first taste of gospel and spirituals, even playing Las Vegas and Disneyland in the process.
Before her hiatus from the stage, Helen Yuman sang for churches throughout the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Nevada and on much of both coasts. Venues included NAACP events, appearances with the gospel great Prof. James Cleveland, yearly Martin Luther King celebrations and the annual conference of the Christian Methodist Episcopal churches held in Los Angeles and Oakland. Critics have said, “She is brilliantly able to reach the masses with her spiritual uplifting voice.”
It’s time now for Yuman to get back to what she loves best – singing. “I want to perform for the ‘people’ again. I don’t any longer need big stages and large groups. I like the intimacy of singing for weddings, banquets, church functions and community organizations. My voice and enthusiasm are as strong as ever.”
To reach Helen Yuman for bookings, call her at 909/888-0017.
Friday, July 6, 2007
909MODELS.COM HELPS TALENT GET FIT FOR BUSINESS
(San Bernardino, CA) Recognizing that the modeling industry is often based on trim bodies and good looks, Inland Empire-based modeling agency 909Models.com is offering its models a free exercise class. The classes will be from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. starting on Tuesday, July 10. Classes are conducted by certified personal trainer Malaika Jacocks Dameron. The classes are open to both men and women.
Dameron got into personal training after she had a baby and was trying to lose the pregnancy weight.
“I began a workout program in my home and lost four dress sizes,” she said. “I loved it, so I studied for three years, now I am a certified personal fitness trainer. I help other people stay motivated, lose inches and meet their own personal fitness goals.”
“These classes are for members of 909Models.com,” said Carl Dameron, agency owner. “We help local people break into the world of modeling. The goal is to help local models find work with local firms who are looking for local models.”
Applicants interested in participating in 909Models.com have to pay a one-time $100 membership fee.
“There is no $1,500 fee for modeling classes or photos,” Dameron said. The agency currently has more than 100 models on its books of all shapes, races and sizes.
Dameron said 909Models.com is offering the free training class as a benefit to its models. “We know sometimes it can be difficult to pay for gym memberships when you are getting started in this business,” he said. “This service helps our models stay fit and learn the correct exercise techniques. To keep a great looking body.”
For more information call (909) 888-0017 or go www.909models.com
Thursday, July 5, 2007
KEEPING JOBS WHERE THEY BELONG – AT HOME
Tired of those 3-4 hours a day commutes to and from work down below? “Who isn’t?” asks Carl Dameron, head of the Inland Empire Diversity Career and Job Fair. “We should be spending that valuable time with our families, our communities, not slugging through tens of thousands of other cars every morning and evening. Leaving at six or seven and getting home at seven or eight. What a waste of time and energy.”
It’s that goal that drives San Bernardino’s Dameron Communications to do all possible to get the word out about terrific job opportunities in the Inland Empire, utilizing radio, on line media and print..
Five days a week, at 4:55 a.m., KOLA-FM, 99.9, announces three of the best local job opportunities with descriptions, salaries and application details selected from the best of more than 250,000 area listings. “The whole idea,” Dameron says, “is to help commuters find jobs closer to home.”
On line, employers and potential employees can just go to www.iejob.com for listings and links to positions in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. And CalJobs shows statewide positions for people ready for a career relocation. Employees may post their resumes for companies and departments to review, or simply apply for an appropriate opening. And it’s all free to both employers and employees.
In print, let’s say you’re an employer looking for local workers. Dameron Communications has arranged the simplest way to buy announcement ads in area minority publications. All you have to do is call them at 909/888-0017 and your ads will appear in Black Voice News, Precinct Reporter, West Side Story, Inland Valley Daily News, La Prensa, El Chicano and Hispanic News.
There’s more job opportunities, too. The Inland Empire African American Chamber of Commerce, the coordinator and sponsor of the Inland Empire Diversity Career and Job Fair, with Dameron Communications, presents fall and spring job fairs where as many as a hundred employers send recruiters to welcome the thousands of attendees searching for area positions. They’ll sit with people and discuss their experiences and career desires, review resumes and see if there’s a possible “fit” within their operation.
For instance, the area’s 62nd Assembly District member, Wilmer Carter, is sponsoring a U.S. Department of Forestry job fair July 28 at the Santa Barbara Boys & Girls Club, 1180 West 9th Street. The Forestry department has 3,000 immediate openings in positions from offices to outdoors. Then on July 30 the Boys & Girls club will be the site for a Law Enforcement and Firefighters Job Fair. Again, it’s all free.
As Dameron puts it, “The Inland Empire is loaded with job openings, while thousands and thousands of area residents either yearn to stop all that time-consuming and expensive driving or just want to stay closer to home to devote time to family and friends. Listen to our radio spots, check our on line listings or read the ads in the minority media. Thousands of jobs are awaiting the most interested and aggressive employees.”
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