Valley's News Observer 2.3.22

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News Observer The Vslley’ Valley’ss

Volume 37 Number 12

Serving the San Fernando Valley for Over 37 Years

Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California

Rams Get “SUPER” Win Over Niners Earl Heath Contributing Sports Writer The Rams came to SoFi Stadium on last week with a feeling that something big had to be done big to the play the Super Bowl right at home.

“There’s no other way I’d rather have that; to play a team you lost six straight time with a trip to the championship on the line,” said Veteran Aaron Donald before the contest. “This is how it’s suppose to be.”

Donald had foreseen the teams 20-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers in front of 73,202 after trailing, 17-7. The come back win sends them to the Super Bowl for the second time in five years.

With the win the team will host Cincinnati at SoFi Sup Bowl Sunday February 13th. The Bengals were a surprise 27-24 winners over Kansas City on the road.

The biggest irony was the date of the clinching win is it was the one-year anniversary of the trade that landed Mathew Stafford in “the City of Angels”. The Rams had gone home for the playoffs so what else was there for them to do.

The team started 7-1 then lost three straight and Stafford looked to be the problem by outsiders. Since, he’s led the team to wins over the Arizona Cardinals the Tampa Bay Bucs and now San Francisco. The veteran QB has six wins over 10-win teams this year. While in Detroit he had five in 12 years.

Jimmie Garoppolo finished the game completing 31 of 45 for 232 yards as he was harassed all day by the Rams defense.

There is so many rumors about this being his Last season with the team to make way for Trey Lance.

“They’re (49ers) tough and physical,” said Rams coach Sean McVay. “They fight until the end. It took everything we had, but

Los Angeles Rams’ Cooper Kupp (10) gets past San Francisco 49ers’ Emmanuel Moseley during the second half of the NFC Championship NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald celebrates after the NFC Championship NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif. The Rams won 20-17 to advance to the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

I’m so proud of our group. So proud of our players, our coaches.

Just proud to be associated with these guys. So many special men in that locker room. And love this team.”

Cooper Kupp finished with 11 catches for 142 yards. That was his 13th 100 yard receiving game breaking the record by the Cowboys Michael Irvin. He also joined Calvin Johnson as the only two players to have 1900 receiving yards in the same season.

Odell Beckum finished the day with 113 receiving yards on nine Catches.

All hands were on deck as Davin Howard LB had a late game interception that sealed the deal after Donald chased around Garoppolo forcing him to throw a desperate pass that was picked off by Howard a second year man out of TCU. Retired safety Eddie Waddle who came out of retirement for a playoff run with the team had nine tackles in the game. He helped out since third year man Jordan Fuller is out with an ankle injury. Fuller was captain and defensive signal caller.

“We have to finish, we’re not done yet,” said Waddle. We do want to do all this work and fall short of winning it all. We need to enjoy this take a break and go right back to work.”

Veteran Vonn Miller will be heading into his second Super Bowl. He was MVP of Super Bowl 50. “It’s like having a a second kid,” said Miller. “You love the first one then you have another and you love the second one too.”

RAM NOTES: Former RAM QB James “Shack” Harris presented owner Stan Kroenke with the George Halas Trophy for winning the NFC.Harris started an AFC game as on opening day 1969 the Buffalo Bills started an All-Rookie backfield with Harris, Bill Enyard and a back named O.J. Simpson. The Grambling All-American later played for the RAMS. Marlin Briscoe of the Denver Broncos was the first black quarterback to start an NFL game. Ironically in 1974, Harris won his debut game with the Rams and defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 37-14.

He was voted to the 1974 Pro Bowl and earned MVP honors for that all-star game .He played under legendary head coach Eddie Robinson from 1965-68. Harris was a record-setting quarterback for the G-Men and won four SWAC titles under Coach Rob. The RAMS will be only the second team play a Super Bowl in their home field.

White House Praises California Model; Says

Equity Is Critical in COVID Fight Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media Last week Dr. Cameron Webb, the White House COVID-19 Response Team’s Senior Policy Advisor for Equity, discussed with California Black Media (CBM) the importance of fairness in the country’s fight against COVID. He complimented California’s pandemic response model.

“There has been a great model in California, which has always been a leader in some of these equitable initiatives,” Webb said.

He praised the work of Deputy Director for the California Department of Public Heath’s (CDPH) Office of Health Equity Dr. Rohan C. Radhakrishna.

“Some of the work they’ve been doing on data collection in California had them tracking [COVID-19] across demographics in preparing to respond to the need. Without having the data, without knowing what the problems are, you can’t find the solution.” Webb said.

California was among the first states to start tracking racial

data to determine why the disease, based on early infection patterns, was disproportionately impacting Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans. Although the rate of infections by race narrowed over time, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and California Department of Health data still show higher COVID death rates for African Americans than the general population.

The COVID-19 death rate is 15% higher for Black Californians than the statewide average. Nationally African Americans, who account for 12 % of the country’s population, they make up about 14% of COVID-19 related deaths.

According to Webb, inequity in health care is one of the many challenges that need to be addressed as the country pushes to end the pandemic.

“Just to address it head on, we have an inequitable health care system,” Webb told CBM. “We have a health care system that does not serve all communities in a way that’s fair and that is rooted in systemic and structural dynamics that are themselves inequitable. We have inequitable risk factors, social

risk, within communities.”

Webb said that the racial disparities that Americans have been struggling with during the COVID-19 pandemic continues to expose deeper, systemic problems.

“COVID-19 really just highlights those inherent inequities and it makes it much more urgent, I would say, for some folks to find a strategy and solution,” Webb said.

During our interview, Webb provided an update on the state of the Black community during this pandemic.

“If you go back to 2021, back in late August, you actually saw that the rate of cases in the Black community was lower than the rate of cases in the White community,” Webb said.

“And that was all through September, all through October, and through most of November until the very end of November when Omicron started to surge. That’s when we saw the case rate jump up again in Black communities to be where it is now which is at 1.6 times the White case rate,” he pointed out.

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New Program Offers $10,000 for Doing Community Service

Edward Henderson California Black Media On Jan. 18, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new $146 million work service program for college students that offers $10,000 stipends for college expenses to more than 6,000 students who participate in local community projects.

The effort called “Californians for All College Corps” requires students enrolled in the program to complete 450 hours of community service over the course of the school year to receive the funding.

“This is about forming stronger connections. Things that have more meaning tend to things that are beyond yourself,” said Gov. Newsom at the kickoff of the event, which was streamed live on Zoom.

“You find a sense of self by finding a sense of responsibility and service to others,” the Governor said.

Josh Fryday, who serves as California’s Chief Service Officer, moderated the kickoff of the “College Corps” program. In 2019, Newsom appointed Fryday, a U.S. Navy Vet and former Mayor of Navato, to “lead service, volunteer and civic engagement efforts throughout California.”

“We see this program as what I like to call a win-win, winContinued on page A2

Take One!

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Ex-AME Zion Church Leaders Charged with $14 Million Fraud

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – A former bishop and lay leader of an historically African American church have been charged with defrauding California congregations by mortgaging their properties in order to obtain $14 million in loans they used for personal expenses, authorities said Tuesday.

A federal indictment unsealed Tuesday accuses Staccato Powell, 62, of Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Sheila Quintana, 67, of Vallejo, California, of conspiracy and wire fraud, with Powell also charged with mail fraud, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of California said in a statement.

The two were arrested Tuesday and appeared in courts in North Carolina and Sacramento, California, prosecutors said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether they had attorneys to speak on their behalf.

Powell was elected in 2016 as a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, which traces its history to 1796 and has about 1.4 million members, authorities said. He headed western U.S. congregations but was disrobed in a church trial last year after officials concluded he had mishandled funds.

The indictment said Powell and Quintana set up Western Episcopal District, Inc., and used the entity to illegally obtain grant deeds to properties owned by congregations in Oakland, San Jose, Palo Alto and Los Angeles.

The congregations had little or no mortgage debt until the pair, without permission, used their real estate as collateral to obtain more than $14 million in highinterest loans, prosecutors said.

Some congregations that had paid off mortgages years earlier ended up saddled with debt, prosecutors said.

Powell and Quintana then diverted money for their personal benefit, including retiring a mortgage on Powell’s North Carolina home, buying real estate there, and making cash payments to Quintana’s spouse, prosecutors said.

Western Episcopal District, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 and listed among its assets 11 churches in California, Arizona and Colorado, authorities said.

UCLA Switches All Classes to Remote Because of Threats

LOS ANGELES (AP) – University of California, Los Angeles, officials ordered all classes to be held remotely on Tuesday due to threats, the school said.

UCLA took the step a day after students returned to in-person instruction and said the move was made out of an abundance of caution.

“UCLA Police Department is aware of a concerning email and posting sent to some members of the UCLA community today and actively engaged with out-of-state law enforcement and federal agencies,’’ the university said in a series of overnight social media posts.

Michel Moore, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said Tuesday that the individual who made the threats is believed to be in Colorado. Law enforcement and UCLA have not yet named the person.

“At this point we believe the campus is safe,’’ Moore said during a meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners.

The FBI’s Los Angeles field office is working with UCLA “to assess the situation,” FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller told The Associated Press.

The Los Angeles Times reported that it obtained emails that were sent to students and faculty showing that authorities are investigating a former UCLA lecturer who allegedly sent a video referencing a mass shooting and an 800-page manifesto with threats against individuals in the philosophy department.

UCLA’s postings did not confirm the details of the Times’ report but said: “Out-of-state law enforcement has confirmed the person who made threats to UCLA is under observation & not in CA. Classes will remain remote today.’’

Bill Kisliuk, the university’s director of media relations, did not address a series of detailed questions emailed to him by the AP but said he would reach out “when we have more.’’ It was not clear when that might be.

The university on social media posted telephone numbers for students, faculty and staff seeking counseling.

Considered one of the top public universities in the country, UCLA is located in the affluent Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. The university has more than 31,000 undergraduate students and 14,000 graduate students.

UCLA’s threats appear to be unrelated to bomb threats made Monday – one day before the start of Black History Month – to at least a half-dozen historically Black universities in five states and the District of Columbia, Eimiller said.

Black University in St. Louis Closes After Bomb Threat

(Shutterstock Photo)

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis closed Tuesday after the historically Black school received a bomb threat, university officials announced.

The threat comes as several other historically Black universities across the country reported bomb threats Tuesday, the first day of Black History month. At least six historically Black universities also reported bomb threats on Monday.

Harris-Stowe officials said in a news release that all facilities were closed “out of an abundance of caution’’ while law enforcement agencies search the campus.

Employees and commuter students were told not to report to campus. The university said it is making plans to provide meals for residential students.

“We are working with the proper authorities to thoroughly investigate this potential threat,’’ the university said. “The safety of our campus community is paramount, and we are taking every step, in conjunction with campus safety, law enforcement and the FBI to ensure the wellbeing of our community.’’

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The Valley’s News Observer

World & Nation

Bomb Threats at HBCUs

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Black History Month Opens w/ More than a Dozen Bomb Threats

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent More than a dozen historically Black colleges and universities received bomb threats on Tuesday, February 1.

The threats, the second such in two days, arrived on the first day of Black History Month.

Howard University in Washington, D.C., again found itself the target of such ominous threats.

The school issued a shelter-in-place order on Tuesday.

“A bomb threat against the university is being investigated,” read a 3:29 a.m. alert from Howard University. “All persons on campus are advised to shelter in place until more information is available.”

The school later issued an all-clear.

The University of the District of Columbia, Morgan State University and Coppin State University in Baltimore, Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia, Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky, Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida, Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, Mississippi, Spelman College in Atlanta, Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, and Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi, all reported bomb threats.

In a statement, Morgan State University President David K. Wilson said he was saddened to confirm that the school had received a bomb threat.

He said several individuals had asked about the veracity of the threat.

“Unfortunately, and sadly, it is,” he said. “The campus is being searched building-by-building this morning with our residential halls being searched first.”

The threats, the second such in two days, arrived on the first day of Black History Month.

Ahmaud Arbery’s Family, Lawyer, Rip Prosecutors for ‘Backroom’ Plea Deal

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

The family of Ahmaud Arbery has lashed out at a plea agreement prosecutors sent to a judge this week that may allow Gregory and Travis McMichael to serve their sentences in federal prison.

The father and son duo convicted in Arbery’s killing reportedly has agreed to serve at least 30 years in what many believe is a more inmate-friendly federal lockup.

Arbery’s family wants the convicts to serve time in the harsher conditions of a state prison.

Attorney S. Lee Merritt said Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, will express opposition to the deal when a judge sets a hearing.

Typically, judges consider the wishes of victims’ families.

“The United States Department of Justice has gone behind my back to offer the men who murdered my son a deal to make their time in prison easier for them to serve,” Cooper-Jones said in a statement.

“I have made it clear at every possible moment that I do not agree to offer these men a plea deal of any kind. I have

been completely betrayed by the DOJ lawyers,” Cooper-Jones asserted.

Merritt referred to federal prison as “a country club compared to state prison.”

He said federal prisons are less populated, have better funding, and are “generally more accommodating” than state lockups.

The McMichaels received life sentences without the possibility for parole in a Glynn County, Georgia, court for murdering Arbery.

A third man, William “Roddy” Bryan, also was convicted but wasn’t listed in the latest plea deal.

On Saturday, January 29, prosecutors sent the plea agreement to the US District for the Southern District of Georgia for consideration.

“By admitting they were motivated by hate when they hunted and murdered Ahmaud Arbery, these men get to transfer to safer, less crowded, and more orderly federal detention facilities,” Merritt stated.

“In essence, they get to brag about their hatred publicly and then be rewarded by the federal government.”

Merritt continued, calling the agreement a “backroom deal.”

“This is an example of the Department of Justice literally snatching defeat from the jaws of victory,” he said.

The father and son duo convicted in Arbery’s killing reportedly has agreed to serve at least 30 years in what many believe is a more inmate-friendly federal lockup.

News Observer Equity Is Critical in COVID Fight The Valley’s

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Continued from page A1

Webb said that vaccination rates in the Black community are improving.

“In the earliest days of the vaccination effort, we saw pretty wide gaps emerge between White adults and Black adults. But

by September of 2021, those rates were equivalent,” he said.

Webb pointed out that his team found that local communities around the country are taking steps to address racial disparities, too. However, challenges remain.

“We still see some gaps in who has been boosted. We see some gaps in pediatric vaccination rates. We need to apply the same strategies that got our adult vaccination rates up to get kids vaccinated, and also to get more folks boosted,” he said. “We’re seeing communities take the lead on that, and we are being as supportive as we can from the federal side because we know that it works.”

According to Webb, income inequality, housing instability, food insecurity, and educational inequity all correlate with health outcomes.

All of those factors, he said, contributed to communities of color facing disproportionate challenges during the pandemic.

“They leave a significantly higher burden of chronic illness in communities of color which leads to higher risk of poor outcomes with COVID-19,” Webb said.

Lastly, Webb described the White House’s approach to inequity in health care.

“We can’t solve all of the challenges that have developed in our society, in terms of structural inequity since 1619, but what we can say in the short term: ‘what are the acute needs that we can address in a way that we can create workarounds to get more resources to the Black community and other hardest-hit communities; what are the medium term fixes that we need to

offer to make sure these communities are more protected; and, finally, how do we change this system so that 5 to 10 years from

now, my kids are not saying we have an inequitable health care system,’” Webb emphasized.

New Program Offers $10,000

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win,” said Fryday, as he described how 45 colleges and universities across the state had partnered to implement the initiative that will start in the fall of 2022.

“It’s a win for the student who helps them pay for college, gain valuable skills, social capital, and exposes them to different careers. It’s a win for the University because it keeps students engaged, reduce their financial strain and reinforces the reality that universities are essential pillars of their community,” said Fryday.

“It’s a win for the community who will benefit by the critical service being performed by the College Core. And it’s a win for society which will benefit from a new generation of civic minded leaders,” he added.

Black and Latino Californians have the highest rates of student loan default and delinquency and owe an estimated $147 billion in college loan debt, according to the Governor’s office.

Universities across the state will collaborate with local government, community service organizations and non-profits, pairing College Corps fellows with causes that are priorities in their participating communities. Service opportunities will include initiatives around fighting climate change, solving economic disparities, assisting the state’s COVID-19 economic recovery, and more.

Students will receive credits towards graduation as well for their service. And since the program is state-funded, Dreamers will be allowed to participate – unlike Job Corps, a similar but federally funded service program that only accepts students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

College Corps is modeled on a pilot program started at San Jose State University last year.

Ian Chavez, a junior and Computer Science major was a participant in the Civil Action Pilot Program at San Jose State.

He shared some of his experiences with the Zoom audience.

“I was able to join with a team of like-minded individuals with an intense diversity of cultures and majors. The San Jose State fellows are opening doors to people who may have never found their love for coding or other stem topics because of their circumstances,” he said. “If someone pursues a stem major and helps diversify the industry at the expense of several hours of my time, then I think that is an amazing exchange and so worthwhile.”

Chavez also participated in a service project where volunteers knit sock monkeys for the children of refugees settling in the Bay Area.

Chavez said he heard about the program during his freshman year in a service-learning course while living at home with his parents to help cut down the cost of his education.

He credited the program for not only providing much-needed funds to make his education more affordable, but also lauded the experience for deepening his sense of civic responsibility and grounding him emotionally.

Chancellors from the University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), California Community College (CCC) and the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU) systems spoke at the launch program. All of them committed to support and facilitate the launch of College Corps and each of them has committed to expanding the program in the future.

“The University of California is pleased to partner with Governor Newsom on this innovative program, which will help thousands of students pay for college while they give back to their communities,” said University of California President Michael V. Drake. “Providing more pathways to a debt-free degree while empowering students to pursue service-oriented career paths is a reflection of our shared commitment to access, affordability, and public service.”

Newsom pledged his continued support for the program and says he looks forward to seeing it serve the needs of more students and communities around California.

“We have 6,500 opportunities to create more Ians and expand to thousands more. That’s exciting,” he said.

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Entertainment

The Valley’s News Observer A3

Sundance: ‘Descendant’ Chronicles a Black History Uncovered

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) – Rarely have past and present mingled in a documentary the way they do in “Descendant,” a nonfiction account of the last known ship to bring African captives to the American South for enslavement.

Margaret Brown's “Descendant,” which recently premiered at the virtual Sundance Film Festival, chronicles the discovery of the ship, a 90-foot-long wooden schooner that was secretly burned and sunk near Mobile, Alabama, after it was used to illegally take and enslave 100 Africans on a trip across the Atlantic in the mid-19th century, decades after the international slave trade had been outlawed.

“Descendant” closely documents the finding of the Clotilda, which was confirmed in 2019. For locals, it's a long overdue affirmation of a long-obscured history that for a century was little spoken of. The Mobile River site is effectively a 160-year-old crime scene of America's original sin, where in 1860 Timothy Meaher, their enslaver, and the ship's captain, William Foster, submerged the evidence.

But Brown's expansive, ruminative documentary is more focused on the questions of heritage, history and justice that the Clotilda unravels for its descendants and the community of Africatown, the town outside Mobile created by many of those

enslaved from the Clotilda.

“The story of the ship is just the tip of the iceberg,” Brown said in an interview. “It's not even really the story. The ship is kind of like the inciting incident.”

Africatown was designated as a historic district in 2009 but has been long blighted by a paper plant and pollution; zoning protections came much too late for its residents. In “Descendant,” the Africatown's present is deeply and plainly related to its past.

Brown grew up in Mobile, and has previously documented its racial histories. Her 2008 film “The Order of the Myths” thoughtfully depicted the segregated tradition of Mardi Gras while also delving into the history of Africatown and the Clotilda. She was moved to return to the subject when journalist Ben Raines first thought he had found the wreck, leading news media and others to flock to Mobile. (Raines' initial discovery was wrong, but he soon after found the right ship.)

“Stanley Nelson once said, `It's time for white filmmakers to make movies about their ancestors.' Like: Stop making movies about our ancestors. And that really resonated with me,” says Brown. “'Order of Myths' is kind of like white anthropology.

I thought this movie would be more like that. That's not what it wanted to be. At a certain point was like: I think this untold story is the story.”

Brown was instead guided by Clotilda descendants who appear in the film like Lorna Woods, Emmett Lewis and Joycelyn M. Davis, co-founder and vice president of the Clotilda Descendants Association. Conversations flow about the importance of knowing one's history and not being cut off from it. Reparations are discussed. With the Clotilda's discovery potentially bringing tourism and investment in the area, a community rallies to seize its history and its future at once.

“The ancestors are working,” folklorist and University of South Alabama professor Kern Jackson says in the film. “The ancestors are moving everybody.”

While he doesn't appear in the film, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is an executive producer of the film. He, too, is a Clotilda descendant, something he learned as a guest on PBS' “Finding Your Roots,” with Henry Louis Gates. It took the show's researchers more than two years, Thompson said, to track down his family history.

“It's important for me to know where I came from,” Thompson said in a streamed Sundance conversation. “There's an idiom saying you don't know where you're going unless you know where you came from. Just to know that I came from somewhere really did something to me that was a paradigm-, life-changing experience. Getting involved in this project, I was ecstatic to do so because I was hoping I could learn even more.”

For Thompson, “Descendant” shares a connection with his 2021 film, “Summer of Soul (Or... The Revolution Will Not Be Televised),” which documented how footage of a staggering Harlem 1969 music festival was ignored for decades.

“Black erasure is sort of a common theme that's been happening in my life the last two and a half years,” said Thompson. “With both of these projects, I'm learning different extremes of Black erasure.”

“Descendant,” which is up for sale at Sundance, was made

by Participant Media, the socially-minded production company behind films like “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Spotlight” and “John Lewis: Good Trouble.”

A virtual Sundance has put a damper on many movies that might have had their moment before a packed theater, but it's especially painful for those involved with “Descendant.” While there are a number of projects about the Clotilda and its legacy upcoming _ a planned museum, a National Geographic special, a new book by Raines _ the standing ovation “Descendant” and its subjects would have surely received would have been a deserved moment of recognition.

“I think everyone was coming. Participant was bringing some of them and then other people were just coming,” sighs Brown. “It was going to be a lot of people.”

Family Says Lax Security Allowed the Killing of Rapper Drakeo

By ANDREW DALTON AP ENTERTAINMENT WRITER LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A lack of security allowed dozens of men to ambush rapper Drakeo the Ruler, who was beaten and stabbed to death backstage at a Los Angeles music festival, his family and their lawyers said Thursday.

Drakeo, 28, an acclaimed West Coast rapper whose legal name is Darrell Caldwell, was stabbed to death on Dec. 18 while he was backstage waiting to go on at the Once Upon A Time in LA festival at Exposition Park, which also featured Snoop Dogg, Al Green and 50 Cent.

“How did these people get through? How did these people get access, backstage, to an artist?” Tianna Purdue, the mother of Caldwell's 5-year-old son, said at the news conference announcing a planned wrongful death lawsuit. “Where was anyone? Where was anyone there to help him?”

Video played at the news conference of the moments leading up to the stabbing, which his attorneys called a “targeted assassination,” showed men in red pouring into into the fenced-off backstage area and attacking Caldwell and his small entourage. No security guards or police officers can be seen. Caldwell, who had knife wounds to his neck, died hours later at a hospital, authorities said.

“Mr. Caldwell was lynched by 40 to 60 people,” said attorney James Bryant. “This would never have happened if those promoters had the proper security protocol. The world lost an amazing artist, a beautiful human being, a father.”

The attorneys said that on Monday they will file a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against the festival's promoters, which include Live Nation and Bobby Dee Presents.

The promoters did not directly address the allegations in response, saying in a statement that “Once Upon a Time in LA joins Drakeo's family, friends, and fans in grieving his loss.

The festival is continuing to support local authorities in their investigation as they pursue the facts.”

Live Nation was also a promoter of November's Astroworld music festival in Houston, at which 10 people were killed and hundreds injured when a large crowd surged during a performance by the rapper Travis Scott.

Police said they are investigating Caldwell's killing, but no arrests have been made or suspects publicly named in the five weeks since.

Music journalists and fans delighted in Caldwell's unique sound, which combined the gangsta rap he was raised on in Los Angeles with an ironic and darkly comic sensibility.

Writer Jeff Weiss, who covered Drakeo the Ruler closely, became friends with him, and witnessed his killing, called him “the West Coast's most original stylist in a quarter-century.”

After the killing, Snoop Dogg posted condolences to Caldwell's family on social media. “I'm praying for peace in hip hop,” he said.

Caldwell started releasing mixtapes in 2015 and last year dropped his first album, “The Truth Hurts.”

Features

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The Valley’s News Observer

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Celebrity Hair Stylist Richard Glass:

Legal Notices

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF BRYAN SHARY CASE NUMBER: 22STPB00387 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of BRYAN SHARY A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by RICHARD SHARY in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES 111 N. Hill Street, Los Angeles, Ca. 90012 Branch Name: Stanley Mosk Courthouse THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that RICHARD SHARY be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval.

Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be

granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: Date: Feb 17, 2022 Time: 8:30 a.m. Dept: Room: Address of court: same as noted above IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the deceased, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within four months from the date of first issuance of letters as provided on Probate Code section 9052. The time for filing claims will not expire before four months from the hearing date noticed above.

YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (for DE-154) of the filing of

an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate code section 1250.

A request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Petitioner: Richard Shary 57492 29 Palms Hwy Yucca Valley, CA 92284 (760) 820-2236

transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 01/2022 This statement filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on: Jan 21, 2022 DEAN C. LOGAN, Los Angeles County Clerk By: M. CARRASCO, Deputy NOTICE: IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES AT THE END OF FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE ON WHICH IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK EXCEPT, AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (b) OF SECTION 17920, WHERE IT EXPIRES 40 DAYS AFTER ANY CHANGE IN THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17913 OTHER THAN A CHANGE IN THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF A REGISTERED OWNER. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION. EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2014, THE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY THE AFFIDAVIT OF IDENTITY FORM. This statement expires on Jan 21, 2027 LOS ANGELES BAY NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: Feb 3, 10, 17, 24, 2022

LOS ANGELES BAY NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: Jan 20, 27, Feb 3, 2022

������������������������������� FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO: 2022 014103 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: TAURO CAPITAL ADVISORS, INC. at 444 S. Flower Street Suite 620, Los Angeles, Ca. 90071 Articles of Incorporation or Organization Number (if applicable): 3707143 Mailing Same REGISTERED OWNERS(S): TAURO REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS SERVICES, 444 S. Flower Street Suite 620, Los Angeles, Ca. 90071 The business is conducted by: a Corporation SIGNED: TAURO REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS SERVICES Title: PRESIDENT If COPR or LLC, Print Name: STEPHEN STEIN The date registrant commenced to

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Vaccine Helped Me Get Back to Work

Manny Otiko California Black Media Richard Glass is a Los Angeles-area hairstylist, who is known to fans and clients as the “hardest working man in hair.”

Glass has worked with clients such as Debbie Allen, Wood Harris, Garcelle Beauvais and Phylicia Rashad. He started training in hairstyling at 17, and his work has been featured in magazines like People, Oprah and Playboy.

The Style Network show “Split Ends” has also featured Glass’s work and his signature line, Glass Hair Products.

Grammy Award-winning singer Faith Evans is a spokesperson for the haircare line.

Currently, Glass is featured in a campaign encouraging African Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine. He was vaccinated as part of an initiative titled VaccinateALL58.com, California’s statewide COVID-19 safety and awareness effort.

In a video, he said getting the vaccine was important for him because it was a matter of safety.

“Safety is key as a hairdresser,” said Glass. “Once the vaccine was readily available, I knew things would sort of open up and get back to normal.”

Because there is a lot of misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccine, Glass advises African Americans to seek information from medical professionals, not their friends or social media.

“I’m not going to take advice from someone who failed 7thgrade health,” he jests.

African Americans have a long history of distrust of the medical community because of many historical incidents,

including the Tuskegee Experiment. That federal government medical project involved African American men who were used as guinea pigs in the study of syphilis. The experiment ended in 1972 and President Bill Clinton apologized for it in 1997.

Glass added that getting vaccinated is about public health and community safety.

“We have to be here for each other,” he said.

This message is echoed by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

“Getting vaccinated not only protects ourselves, but also our family and friends. This is especially helpful in protecting people who are not vaccinated and those at higher risk of getting severe disease if they get COVID-19, such as older adults and those with certain medical conditions,” according to a statement from the agency’s website.

Medical scientists who have studied the disease say the virus constantly mutates and changes as it encounters new hosts. The key to ending the pandemic is stopping the virus from finding new hosts (unvaccinated bodies.)

According to data from the Center for Disease Control, about 75 percent of Americans are vaccinated. But African Americans and Latinos lag in national vaccination rates, although that gap is decreasing.

“The current authorized COVID-19 vaccines offer a high degree of protection against severe disease, hospitalizations, and death, even from the new Delta variant. The vast majority, over 90 percent of hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 are unvaccinated people,” reports the VaccinateAll58 website.

Richard Glass is a Los Angeles-area hairstylist, who is known to fans and clients as the “hardest working man in hair.” (Courtesy Photo)

Features

Thursday, February 3, 2022

The Valley’s News Observer A5

Tributes Continue to Pour in For Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent As a lawyer, Cheslie Kryst worked pro bono for low-level drug offenders, founded White Collar Glam, a fashion blog dedicated to helping women dress professionally for office jobs, and modeled for Express’s retail company.

Kryst, who won the 2019 Miss USA pageant and worked as a correspondent for the entertainment news television show “Extra,” reportedly committed suicide on January 30.

Authorities said the beauty queen, 30, jumped to her death from her 29th floor New York apartment.

“In devastation and great sorrow, we share the passing of our beloved Cheslie,” the Kryst family wrote in a statement.

“Her great light was one that inspired others around the world with her beauty and strength. She cared, she loved, she laughed, and she shined.”

The statement continued: “Cheslie embodied love and served others, whether through her work as an attorney fighting for social justice, as Miss USA, and as a host on EXTRA. But most importantly, as a daughter, sister, friend, mentor, and colleague — we know her impact will live on.”

Tributes poured in through social media and other outlets for the beauty queen, who famously wore her crown atop her naturally curly hair.

“Such incredibly sad news,” Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, tweeted.

“Depression creates deep despair and an overwhelming illusion that there’s no way forward in life,” King advised. “Remember, looking good and doing good doesn’t equal feeling and thinking

Authorities said the beauty queen, 30, jumped to her death from her 29th floor New York apartment.

good.”

Officials at Miss Universe also tweeted their devastation.

“We are devastated to learn about the loss of Miss USA 2019, Cheslie Kryst. She was one of the brightest, warmest, and most kind people we have ever had the privilege of knowing,” pageant officials tweeted.

“Our entire community mourns her loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family right now.”

The 68th Miss USA, Kryst was born in Jackson, Michigan, to Rodney Kryst and April Simpkins.

She was raised by her mother and stepfather, David Simpkins, and Kryst had four brothers and one sister.

In 2013, Kryst won the 1L Trial Bar Competition Finals and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and human resource management.

A track and field star Kryst turned her attention to law and beauty pageants.

She began work at the Poyner Spruill firm as an attorney in civil litigation.

In 2016, she earned fourth runner-up at the Miss North Carolina USA pageant.

In 2018, she finished in the top 10 in the Miss North Carolina USA competition but earned her law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law. She won the Miss North Carolina USA title a year later and then became a correspondent for EXTRA. “She was sunshine personified,” stated CBS Journalist and Kryst friend Nathaniel Burleson.

For assistance, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

Judge J. Michelle Childs Heads List of Potential Black Women Supreme Court Nominees

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Black women stood on the frontlines to help push President Joe Biden over the top in the 2020 election.

As the nation awaits word on whom the President nominates to fill the newly vacant Supreme Court seat, there’s little debate whether an African American woman will be that pick.

Among the few remaining questions is whether that individual will deliver progress on a high court that will maintain its 6-3 conservative advantage.

“As a longtime advocate for Diversity and Inclusion at the highest levels of leadership in our nation, I am looking forward to the President’s appointment of a highly-qualified and experienced jurist to our nation’s highest court,” said Congressional Black Caucus Chair Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio).

“We know that when America’s boardrooms, legislatures, and even the Supreme Court start to resemble America, we all benefit,” Beatty stated.

“I will continue to push in my capacity as a member of Congress and Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus to ensure that the President upholds his promise to the American people and that the Senate confirms a Black woman to the Supreme Court without any unnecessary delay.”

One candidate has already emerged.

The White House confirmed the candidacy of South Carolina U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs.

A 1992 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, Judge Childs was appointed in 2010 by President Barack Obama to serve as a United States District Court Judge for the District of South Carolina.

Upon graduation from law school, Judge Childs went to work as an associate attorney at Nexsen Pruet Jacobs and Pollard law firm, becoming the first Black female partner in a major law firm in South Carolina.

She earned two gubernatorial appointments to become the Deputy Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (2000-02) and a Commissioner on the South Carolina Worker’s Compensation Commission (200206).

Judge Childs then won election from the South Carolina General Assembly as an at-large Circuit Court Judge (2006-10).

“In law school, you learn early on that your reputation and credibility will follow you throughout your career,” Judge Childs said in an interview with her alma mater.

“Your classmates will be on opposing sides in cases or matters and will be leaders in various firms, agencies, and organizations in the state, so you always want to be known for having good character as your reputation can affect your ability to resolve matters entrusted to you.”

In a statement, the White House said “multiple individuals”

South Carolina U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs (Photo: University of South Carolina Law)

are under consideration along with Judge Childs.

DC Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, and civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill count among those under consideration.

Others reportedly being considered include 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Holly A. Thomas, federal Circuit Court Judge Tiffany P. Cunningham, civil rights attorney and 11th Circuit Court candidate Nancy G. Abudu, 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Arianna J. Freeman, NYU law professor Melissa Murray, 7th Circuit Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, District Judge Wilhelmina “Mimi” Wright, North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, and 2nd Circuit Judge Eunice Lee. President Biden said he would make his selection by the end of February.

“Our process is going to be rigorous. I will select a nominee worthy of Justice Stephen Breyer’s legacy of excellence and decency,” the President said.

“While I’ve been studying candidates’ backgrounds and writings, I’ve made no decision except one: The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court.”

February is Black History Month

A6

Features

The Valley’s News Observer

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Framework for Reparations Eligibility Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber shared her thoughts on who should be compensated for the injustices of slavery during the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans’ sixth meeting.

To open the first discussion of 2022, Weber testified virtually in front of the nine-member panel. She said eligibility should be based on “the impact of slavery” on enslaved Black people and their descendants as opposed to “those who were never slaves.”

“Reparations is designed to repair and heal the damages done to Africans for 400 years and (suffered) through Jim Crow (laws),” Weber said. “Recent immigrants do not share our common oppression at the same level. Reparations are for those of descendants of slavery. Their ties are permanently severed from their homeland and their ability to return to Africa is almost impossible. We are truly Americans.”

Weber (D-San Diego) authored Assembly Bill (AB) 3120 which established the task force while serving in the Assembly before her appointment to be the state’s first African American Secretary of State in January 2021. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the state’s historic reparations bill into law in September 2020.

The great-granddaughter, granddaughter, and daughter of Black sharecroppers, Weber’s 20-minute testimony set the stage for the reparations meeting held on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28.

The sixth of 10-planned meetings, the agenda covered topics, including public health, mental health, technology, and physical health.

In order to gain a better perspective on the issue of eligibility, Weber suggested that task force members listen to recordings made in the 1930s of former slaves. The slave

California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber (Courtesy Photo)

narratives were recorded as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s

Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Writer’s Project.

“When slavery ended, when slavery was no longer legal, they (the formerly enslaved) literally had nothing, nothing but the scalps on their backs,” Weber said. “They did not own any property, any equipment, they owned no land, they had no sense of direction, no place to sleep, or no place to stay. They had nothing.”

Weber explained that the call for reparations is based on the fact that Black people provided free labor for over two centuries.

When they were freed in 1865, an estimated 3.9 million formerly enslaved people had no shelter, workforce skills, education, or financial means to function in society.

A small portion of the enslaved that were working in the cotton and tobacco fields and in the “Big House” of the enslavers had options, but it kept them tied to slavery in one form or another.

“As a result (of freedom), most of them only had the skills of farming, which became the foundation for the sharecropping system,” Weber said. “A few Africans who lived in the ‘Big House’ knew how to serve, iron clothes, and wait on individuals. They sat in the house and listened to those plans of sharecropping and knew it was another wave of slavery … a different kind of slavery. Those who had skills left. They went north (for better opportunities).”

Task Force member Lisa Holder, a Los Angeles civil rights trial attorney, said Weber basically set the “framework” in terms of settling the eligibility issue. She pointed out that slavery was factually a “Western hemispheric economy” where Black people were also traded in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean islands.

“Don’t get me wrong, the impact of slavery was universal around the world,” Weber responded. “But many of those

places have intact much more cultural relevance than we have.

I’m dealing with what the United States’ responsibility is. If we decided to solve all the problems around the world, we’d probably get 50 cents each and that would be the end of it.”

Weber continued, “I think those in other countries should also be dealing with the countries that they come from (where) they put their labor in. We looked at the fact that we worked for free (in the U.S.) for over 100 years and built this nation.

I am not in favor of opening this up to all folks. It gets too complicated.”

Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) asked Weber for her perspective on a comment Andrew Young, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. protégée, former Congressman, mayor of Atlanta and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, made to him. Young said some White people were enslaved and may be entitled to reparations, too.

“There were various levels of servitude that existed in this country but none as pervasive or upheld by law as it was for Africans in this country,” Weber said. “We were visible. If there was a White person who remained in slavery they’ve must have wanted to stay because they could have run away. I appreciate Andrew Young and his desire to be compassionate to the world but oftentimes our compassion has not served us well.”

AB 3121 charges the task force with studying the institution of slavery and its lingering effects on African Americans who are descendants of persons enslaved in the United States.

In addition, the task force will suggest appropriate compensation, rehabilitation, and restitution for African Americans.

By statute, the task force will issue its first report to the California legislature by June 1 of this year, which will be available to the public.

California Launches $185M Youth Job Corps LOS ANGELES (AP) – California on Thursday launched a $185 million jobs program aimed at putting disadvantaged youth and young adults to work helping their communities while improving their prospects for future success.

The Californians For All Youth Jobs Corps was funded in Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's 2021-22 “California Comeback Plan.”

The first phase makes $150 million available to 13 large cities and phase two will make $35 million available to smaller counties and cities selected through a competitive process, state Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday told an online briefing.

The intent of the two-year plan is “to increase youth employment in our underserved and underemployed

populations, developing meaningful career pathways for young people and helping our communities tackle local priorities,” Fryday said.

The Jobs Corps will work with the cities to recruit thousands of Californians between the ages of 16 and 30.

“This program will be intentional about focusing hiring on underserved populations like low-income youth, youth who are unemployed or out of school, youth who are justice-involved or transitioning from foster care or are engaged with mental health or substance abuse systems,” Fryday said.

All participants will receive at least $15 an hour, but cities will be able to increase those wages. The program also includes so-called wrap-around services such as special job training, case

management and resume preparation.

Cities may use the funds to create new programs or expand existing programs such as those run by community-based organizations.

“Young people across California are going to be able to get a job, they will be able to gain critical job skills and they will be serving our state at a time of great need,” Fryday said.

Among a half-dozen mayors participating in the briefing, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said her city will use its nearly $6 million allocation to create 90 summer jobs and 150 year-round jobs “with a focus on our disconnected youth.”

“We are ready to fuel the recovery from this pandemic,” Schaaf said, adding that Oakland businesses have been clear in

what they expect from an equitable recovery.

“They want to see a city that is clean, that is green, that is resilient, that is safe,” she said.

Los Angeles will receive $53 million, said Mayor Eric Garcetti.

“This is really California at its best and our best shot to save and restore the California dream,” he said.

Other big cities receiving funds include San Diego, $19.1 million; San Jose, $13.9 million; San Francisco, $11.8 million; Fresno, $7.4 million; Sacramento, $6.9 million; Long Beach, $6.3 million; Bakersfield, $5.3 million; Anaheim, $4.7 million; Santa Ana, $4.4 million; Riverside, $4.4 million and Stockton, $4.3 million.

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Sports

Los Angeles News Observer A7

NFL Fans to Converge on Los Angeles for Super Bowl LVI

By Cameron Buford Whatsgoodinsports.com With the return of the NFL to Los Angeles, it was only a matter of time before the innovative SoFi Stadium would host a Super Bowl. The season football fans were welcomed back into stadiums around the league, the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals earned their spot in the most anticipated game of the NFL Season. For only the second time, in the Super Bowl era, will the host team compete the league’s Championship on their home field.

Led by their young talented quarterback Joe Burrow and his former college teammate Ja’Marr Chase the Cincinnati Bengals reach the pinnacle game of the NFL for only the third time in franchise history. Under Shawn McVay, the hosting Los Angeles Rams have reached the big game at the end for the second time in four seasons. This time, McVay has his chosen signal-caller in quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade in the off-season.

As the sports world descends on Southern California, amid this nasty pandemic, the city of Inglewood, in conjunction with Los Angeles, will host one of America’s highly anticipated spectacles. Multiple events will be held across the Southland for NFL fans and party-goers to attend. This article will inform those interested in some of the events happening in the coming weeks for the football fans and party-goers.

The newly renamed Crypto.com Arena will host a threeday concert, known as the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Festival.

Halsey and Machine Gun Kelly kick off this event on Thursday, February 10th. The music festival continues on Friday, February 11th, as Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, including Mickey Guyton take the stage. Green Day and Miley Cyrus wrap up the Music Festival at the downtown Los Angeles hot spot the night before the big game.

The City of Inglewood, home of the state-of-the-art SoFi Stadium, will be hosting their Taste of Inglewood Big Game Festival during the week leading up to the NFL’s big game. On their downtown Market Street strip, the downtown section of Inglewood will host three days of live performances as they would during this popular summer event that includes vendors, food trucks, and some special guests. This musical extravaganza will feature Latin artist Poncho Sanchez and his tribute to Vincente Fernandez. Soul and R&B musicians Con Funk Shun, Jon B, and Chante Moore. Lakeside, Loose Ends, Club Nouveau and Toni, Toni, Tone wrap up the weeks of musical events.

The Los Angeles Convention Center will host the Super Bowl LVI Experience beginning Saturday, February 5, 2022, and will continue through Saturday, February 12, 2022. Fans planning to attend this event must download The NFL OnePass app, which would be required for entry into the Lowe’s Super Bowl Experience. With that One Pass, fans would have access

to games and activities such as the Two-Minute Drill, the QB Scramble, and the infamous 40-yard dash.

Also included in the Super Bowl LVI Experience will be the NFL Play-60 team. They will encourage the youth to be active for 60 minutes each day. Additionally, the youth in attendance can try on NFL equipment and feel like a professional player while experiencing the skills that make a great NFL Player. Fans will also get to see the various exhibits that highlight the history of the NFL through Evolution of the Shield, where they will learn how the NFL Shield has evolved since 1960. The NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats initiative is also a worthy exhibit to enjoy, as it highlights the NFL player’s commitment to the community and how they displayed the charitable causes they champion on their gameday cleats.

Lastly, Eventbrite is promoting multiple events leading up to Super Bowl LVI. These events range from parties with celebrities in attendance to Super Bowl viewing parties across the City of Angels. Including comedy shows, networking events, and various concerts are also among the multitude of promoted events coming up over the coming weeks.

Because we are still in a pandemic, guests will still be required to comply with all LA County COVID-19 health and safety protocols to enter the LA Convention Center. Attendees, age 2+ must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative PCR test within 48 hours or negative antigen (rapid) test within 24

hours of entry. Attendees 18+ are required to display governmentissued ID as verification. All attendees age 2+ will be required to wear a face-covering except while actively eating or drinking, regardless of vaccination status. Certification of prior COVID-19 infection does not exempt attendees from the vaccination or negative test verification requirement.

The youthful Bengals will be getting points in this matchup against the Rams in this highly anticipated contest. Not only do the Rams have the most notable players, their ownership has also pushed all their chips to the middle of the table to win a championship for the city. So, the consensus from much of the football world is that the Rams should convincingly win this game. What are your thoughts on this season’s Super Bowl matchup and how do you see the game playing out? Let me know by reaching out to me on Twitter @whatsgoodnsport or email or voiceofthefans@outlook.com.

Lastly, be sure to subscribe to our weekly “Voice of the Fans Podcast,” which is available for you on most podcasting platforms; Apple and Google Podcasts, including Spotify, TuneIn, and iHeart Radio. On our Podcast, we have passionate banter about everything NFL while addressing current NBA topics, in addition to discussing multiple issues in and around the world of sports. Thank you, as always, for spending time with me and Making Our Voice, Your Choice!

NASCARS Bushlight Clash Rolls Into L.A. Earl Heath Contributing Sports Writer It will be a one of the premier events of the season as NASCAR kicks off its 2022 CUP series at the Coliseum.

This is one of those things that spark entertainment a s drivers will race around a converted Coliseum ground. The first of four heat races and two last-chance qualifying races that will determine the field of 23 cars for the main event. Shortly after 2 p.m. PST, Pitbull will perform and set the stage for the 150-lap main event, which begins at 3 p.m. PST. DJ Skee will perform during the caution breaks and Ice Cube will perform during the race break and RAMS HALL of FAMER Eric Dickerson will be Grand Marshal. What else do you expect from Hollywood.

The million-dollar conversion to put in the temporary track 1400 ft. of race track fencing,1400 ft. of safe barrier, 3800 ft. of temp walls.

Kyle Larson last year’s CUP series winner was in town a few weeks back reviewing the scene of where one of NASCARS new embarkments will take place.

Larson had a special 2021 after joining Hendricks Motorsports racing in the #5 car. In just the 4th race of the season he took the checkered flag in Las Vegas. That made him the fastest team member to gain a win. He then won in Sanoma, California and followed that by a new event in Music city USA Nashville.

“This is going to be a little crazy” said Larson. “Right now I don’t have a strategy. The native of Elk Grove, California is a 5-1 favorite around the oval.

Tyler Reddick is another Cali driver who will be testing his skills. The Corning native rides for Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, No. 8. He’s running his second full season in the NASCAR Cup Series. He is a back-to-back NASCAR Xfinity Series champion (2018-’19). He hoisted the championship trophy in 2018 for JR Motorsports and 2019 for Richard Childress Racing, making him the first driver to ever win back-toback titles with different teams Martin Truex the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion and in his third season driving the No. 19 for Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is ready to go. The two-time a twotime Xfinity Series champion (2004-05) and has 13 career wins in that division.

“I think — especially if you’re at the front with some guys that you raced with before — I think there will be a decent level of respect and guys trying to do it kind of the right way,” Truex Jr. told HEAVY.com. “We’ll see. I mean, I don’t know. It could turn into just a crash fest, which I would hate to see. But you never know. I really don’t have high expectations for either way. I just think we’re gonna go there and race and see what happens.”

Sara Medina contributed to this Article and photo’s.

Eric Dickerson seen here at SoFi will be the Grand Marshal for the BUSH Light Clash. (Photo: Sara Medina)

Local NFL Green, Super Bowl Host Committee and Verizon Partnered to Spruce up a Community Garden A8

By Ricky Richardson Contributing Writer Inglewood, CA.- NFL Green kicked off Super Bowl LVI community greening projects last fall in Inglewood, by planting 56 trees at Edward Vincent Jr. Park and concluded Green Week events in the City of Champions, Super Bowl Host City.

On Saturday, January 29th, 9am-12pm, The City of Inglewood partnered with NFL Green, The Super Bowl Host Committee and Verizon for the Queen Park Improvement Project. A group of energetic, enthusiastic volunteers replaced soil and planted twenty raised gardens beds, planted camphor trees, painted picnic tables, benches, planter boxes, cleaned and beautified the quaint Queen Park Community Garden, on a nice, cool overcast day. Queen Park Community Garden is located 652 E. Queen Street, a half block west of Prairie Avenue.

The Social Justice Learning Institute overseas the garden and uses it for classes and activities. Derrick Steele, Nicole Steele, Rafael Sanchez, Ashley Laville, and Paul Terry of The Social Justice Learning Institute led volunteers in the garden planting. This consisted of top-dressing planting beds and planted new beds.

The garden features spinach, egg plants, tomatoes, artichokes, herbs, lots of flowers and California native plants.

The program got underway with welcome remarks from Jack Groh, Director, NFL Environmental Program, followed

by James T. Butts Jr., Mayor, City of Inglewood, Susan Groh, Associate Director, NFL Environmental Program, Erica Jacquez,

The Valley’s News Observer

Verizon, and Christopher Hicks, Los Angeles Super bowl Host Committee. Sabrina Barnes, Director, Inglewood Parks, Recreation and Community Services were acknowledged for the outstanding job in putting together today’s program.

The Queen Park Community Garden was initially constructed in 2011 and is part of a neighborhood park. The garden in maintained by the City of Inglewood with support of community volunteers. This project brought together a diverse group of volunteers, Fraternities, Sororities, high school and college students and local organizations to revitalize the garden and create a safe place for children to play, learn and grow.

Offerings in the “new” garden space will include gardening, cooking and composting classes. Volunteers were from the following orgs/groups: American Legion Post 578, Boeing, Brentwood School, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Los Angeles Rams, NFL,NFL Media, NFL Network, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., One For All-OFA, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., Queens With Goals, Inc., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., Sigma Zeta Council, Social Justice Learning Institute, SoFi Stadium at Hollywood Park, The Dobby garden, The Essix Experience, UCLA, University High School Charter, Urban Scholar Academy, WLM Financial/ WLM Realty, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. The National Football League has incorporated environmental projects into their management of tent pole events for nearly 30 years. NFL Green is the NFL’s sustainability

program which aims to reduce the environmental impact of events and leave a positive “green” legacy in host communities.

These efforts include food recovery, and distribution, recycling and solid waste management.

Super Bowl LVI NFL “Green Week” featured a variety of events prior to the Queen Park Community Garden. Here is a rundown of “Green Week” events: City of San Fernando Street Planting, Saturday, January 22nd, at 502 N. Huntington Street, San Fernando, CA. Championship Dive Kelp Forest Restoration, January 24th, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro, CA. Super Kids-Super Sharing sports equipment book and school supply donations project, Thursday, January 27th, Collins and Katz Family YMCA, 1466 S. Westgate Avenue, Los Angeles, CA. During Super Bowl LVI, a unique fan engagement project called “Green and Win” will be implemented. Fans caught in the act of recycling may win a unique Super bowl hat and have their photos posted on NFL social media.

The final “passing of the golden shovel” community greening event will take place later this year. That event will mark the passing of Super Bowl community greening projects from Los Angeles to Phoenix, site of Super Bowl LVII.

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Mayor James T. Butts Jr., accepts a gift of a Golden Shovel from Jack Groh, NFL Green, as Christopher Hicks, and Susan Groh looks on. (Photo: Ricky Richardson)

Christopher Hicks, Super Bowl Host Committee and Staff. (Photo: Ricky Richardson)

Mayor James T. Butts Jr., Parks, Recreation & Community Services Staff along with representatives from NFL Green, Super Bowl Host Committee, Verizon and Social Justice Learning Institute. (Photo: Ricky Richardson)

Nicole Steele addresses volunteers for Super Bowl LVI Garden Project. (Photo: Ricky Richardson)