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F p ic y se u e cat dartein er en . rt cu k h iately take Ryen, their illed husban case and fi tors succes er complica that they Chiang sa an sf n p 1 ti d n al 0 la u id n am -y an ll ly ce g y d ea d M th ed D ensure just A new uring the ca law effect 1, that now makesd itin front to re arr-o w e rosecuti cGJan. neighbor C uire sa that DNA - took ys when he ic ons’ claims, m e hristopherld daughter Jessica ifane Doug and Peggy belonging toiana Roper came foprw th p is ev ai e toserv label “atimrisk” ed,”children an al win got out to ch a wom- but testing idence can help la gn. “Not onillegal her former Hughes. Po d as bCalifornia. d with bloo ly isAssemblymember igB. ger thJones-Sawyer Reginald it in w boyfriend ar ec lice foundan 11-year-old inal. She turned p A en th an a house ro n d is fo im y v en rc ca cl al em o se th C w w en o th in the bloodie E h o n o d t g e u v tr estroyed it. solve crimLos was a violen ld come at en though (D-South Angeles) authored ABol413, the “Atcat. evidence ov to an an officeor d rs im es ru is n N , t al er o sh cr b ew h co o to im ed o ld so st spital,ofwhthe Promise” bill. It calls for deletion term “at e ble the police, , m to the stat traum African Am a. the erEducation e it was dth e.” but they issue thathe is treading carefu’sll decision in therisk” ericans, His sections of D the state’s Penal and iagnose Coofrom California y p o er n panics and r. a ca K p se w ri o v te atching. H sti Krause, oters across ntialcodes. other mino ly polarizin sh e a e is keepin ex v th p et ec e er p rities liv- C ts inar2019. olitica specHe firstg introduced thethbill ino February, e 11-p ian, tells th g his focus backan ontinued undof(5it trum arapproved into on fairneslThe Senate amended Au-killast the wildversion e on page A ogra m) cat to sgust af andand te r 2 M it justGov. signed into cG regailaw ice Newsom uire legislation ns sttwo v is rength. it th ed at th months later in October. if he sees it e b o b ca t owe agaiYou n Friday n, he’know “You know how words matter. ll issuhow e a tiand cket for ja. call our young kids — especially African American Latino kids? We call them ‘at risk,’” Jones-Sawyer told After you’ve determined that you California Black Media. “We automatically put them in the school-to-prison pipeline. Many of them, when have a viable business idea and your labeled that, are not able to exceed above that.”

Jones-Sawyer continued, “We need to uplift our market research has given you enough children. insights, it’s important to apply “At risk” will be replaced with the description “at promise” on all official state documents. this information to your business “If you see any magazine, educational document, or document from our criminal justice system that says planning — especially as it relates to ‘at risk,’ it is illegal,” Jones-Sawyer pointed out.

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Plans for a Profitable Business Create Your Business and Financial Plans

money.

Starting a business can be exciting, but that excitement may be overshadowed by anxiety if you start this new adventure without detailed research and plans to guide you along the way. In addition to guidance, a business and financial plan can help to attract investors and open up more options for funding your idea.

After you’ve determined that you have a viable business idea and your market research has given you enough insights, it’s important to apply this information to your business planning — especially as it relates to money.

Create your business and marketing plan Using the results of your market research, you can outline: • Details for your service or product: This means a description of what it is and what the market is for it.

• Branding: This is the personality and messaging behind your business. Maybe you want the public to see your

By incorporating the results of your market research into the overall vision of your business, you can better align your marketing efforts to drive sales and give yourself a competitive edge.

business as innovative and cutting-edge or maybe your business is more about establishing a trusting relationship with customers.

• Market trends: These are the challenges facing your po-

tential industry, what’s most popular with your competition, and how you plan to address those factors.

Continued on page A3

Jeffrey Osborne and Tiffany Haddish Honored by the City of Los Angeles

By Ricky Richardson Contributing Writer Los Angeles- Mayor Eric Garcetti kicked off the annual African American Heritage Month Celebration with a joyous program in the City Hall Council Chambers and outside on the City Hall, South Lawn.

It was a bit chilly and windy throughout the Greater Los Angeles area. In and around City Hall, everyone could felt an atmosphere of warmth and love for the occasion and the honorees as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Our Authors Study Club presented the City of Los Angeles African American Heritage Month Celebration, Wednesday, February 5, 2020, to recognize and honor the contributions of Black History makers and organizations. Countless African American Heritage Month/Black History Month Celebrations are happening across the United States.

During the Opening Ceremony inside the City Hall Council Chambers, Mayor Eric Garcetti, and other elective officials, City Councilmembers Marqueece HarrisDawson, CD 8, Curren Price, CD9, and Herb Wesson, CD 10, presented the Living Legend Award to Recording Artist Jeffrey Osborne. The other Los Angeles Award-The Trailblazer Award was presented to Comedian/Actress Tiffany Haddish.

Tuesday, February 4, 2020, comedians, Tiffany Haddish, Eddie

Griffin and Luenell were honored by the City of Los Angeles, as it coincided with the opening of the exhibit, “Stand Up: The Art and Politics of Comedy,” on display through March 10 at the Department of Cultural Affairs’ Henry P. Rio Bridge Gallery at City Hall.

Mayor Eric Garcetti and other elective officials presented three additional awards to Community LeadersThe Hall of Fame Awards for Economics/Civil Rights, Business and Education, respectively.

The Honorable Michael Lawson, Esq., President, Los Angeles Urban League; Sandra Evers Manly, President, Northrup Grumman Foundation; and Thomas Parham, Ph.D., President, California State University, Dominguez Hills.

The 2020 African American Heritage Month Opening Ceremony moved outside to City Hall, South Lawn. Leslie Sykes, KABC-TV, served as Mistress of Ceremonies. The celebration shifted into high gear, Call to Order, by Mike Davis, President Pro-Tem, Board of Public Works, Chair, African American Heritage Month Committee.

United States Marine Color Guard, Posted Colors, followed by evidence of the WOW factor, as saxophonist David Patterson performed the National Anthem, and vocalist Brooke Brewer led the crowd in singing the Negro National Anthem.

Bishop Craig Worsham, AGAPE Church,

Jefffrey Osborne (Photo Caption: Ricky Richardson)

Mr. Alexander, Ernestine Gordon, Jeffrey Osborne, Leslie Sykes and Mike Davis. (Photo Caption: Ricky Richardson)

delivered the Invocation, followed by Ernestine Gordon, President, Our Authors Study Club, gave a brief history of Our Authors Study Club, and spoke of the occasion.

Mistress of Ceremonies Leslie Sykes acknowledged and recognized Special Guests in the audience. Eryn Friend, Little Miss African American recited a riveting poem to the delight of the appreciative audience.

The Awards Presentation was repeated so that the large, diverse crowd could partake in the celebration on this special day.

There were several outstanding vocalists on the program that did justice to songs from the Jeffrey Osborne catalogs of hits, as Mr. Osborne was beaming with delight front and center. Terrell “TC” Moses, Ellis Hall, Nita Whitaker, followed by a mesmerizing instrument tune, performed superbly by violinist Karen Briggs. Vocalist Elaine Gibbs was able to convince Jeffrey Osborne to join her for a duet that thrilled the audience.

The program concluded with the presentation of the United States Postal Service Black Heritage Staff featuring Gwen Ifill, followed by Closing Remarks.

During both segments of the Opening Ceremony, attendees witness the unveiling of the 2020 African American Heritage Month Calendar and Cultural Guide

by City Officials. The guide is produced by the Department of Cultural Affairs. It is available online at www.culturela. org or www.laheritagemonth.org.

The 2020 African American Heritage Month Kick Off Celebration was sponsored by The Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti; Our Authors Study Club; Nury Martinez, Los Angeles City Council President, and Councilwoman, Sixth District; Los Angeles Board of Public Works and Mike Davis, President, Pro-Tem; City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; 2020 African American Heritage Month Committee; and the Los Angeles Association of black Personnel, Inc.

Bobcat Re After Beincove Police Car g Hi It is Now Illegal to Call Children At Risk in California

Republicans Tapping Into Freelancer Frustration

Two weeks ago, Assemblymember Kevin Kiley (R-Roseville) delivered a binder of articles titled “AB 5 Stories” to every lawmaker in the legislature at the state Capitol in Sacramento.

It contained PDFs of testimonials written by about 200 gig economy workers affected by new restrictions imposed by AB 5, also known as the “Dynamex Law,” which took effect in California Jan. 1, 2020. Freelancers like writers, musicians, dancers, screenwriters, composers and court translators contributed to the narratives that detailed how the law is impacting their lives.

“Governor Newsom: we are here today to tell you that your vision cannot be reality as long as AB 5 is on the books,” Kiley said, speaking at a rally to organized to repeal AB 5 and referring to the governor’s guiding governing principle “California for All,” which aims to build a state where there is shared prosperity.

Hundreds of freelancers from across the state attended the rally.

“Governor, your own former deputy chief of staff called AB 5 ‘one of the most destructive pieces of legislation in the last 20 years,” Kiley told the cheering crowd.

The law, authored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonazalez (D-San Diego), rewrites California’s labor law, requiring employers based in California to reclassify their contractors to W-2 employees to comply with a 2018 California Supreme Court ruling. Under the new rules, employers will have to offer the standard minimum wage, sick leave and other employee benefits required by state law.

“This is an effort to right a ship that’s gone wrong,” Gonzalez recently told the Los Angeles Times, referring to of AB 5. “And I believe so fully in it that I’m willing to continue to take on what is a lot of piling on. You’ve got to get it right.”

But now Senate Republican leaders, responding to the fallout AB 5 is causing in the so-called “gig economy,” are finding common ground with workers across party affiliations in a state where registered Democratic voters outnumber registered Republican voters by nearly 20 percentage points.

“A bad law has put our hard of hearing and deaf communities at risk of not having access to important services,” said Senate Republican Leader Shanon Grove (R-Bakersfield), referring to freelancers who provide services for disabled Californians.

“Republicans are offering a solution so independent contractors can once again provide services as interpreters, live closed captioners, or court reporters in settings such as medical facilities, courtrooms, or live television. Republicans will continue our efforts to fight for freelancers in the Capitol,” Grove said.

Grove and Senator Brian Jones (R-El Cajon) introduced SB 875. The bill proposes exemptions to AB 5 for interpreters ad translators. Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) introduced SB 867 and SB 868. Her bills call for carve-outs in the law for freelance journalists, newspapers carriers, and distributors. Senator Jones also introduced SB 881which would provide exemptions for musicians and contractors who provide freelance services in the music industry.

“AB 5 has decimated a lot of freelance interpreters and translators who work in a profession that requires them to be on the road often,” said Jones. “These folks thrive in their profession, working with a wide variety of clients and unpredictable schedules. Now, AB 5 forces them into an ‘employee’ category which is wrong and this legislation is the first step in correcting it.”

Man Hopes ThriftStore Urn Filled with Ashes Finds Real Home PEORIA, Ill. (AP) – A thrift-store find in Illinois has prompted its buyer to find the person to whom it rightfully belongs – and might not know it’s even gone.

A bargain-hunting Robert Ray spotted what was labeled a figurine in a Peoria Goodwill store. Upon closer inspection, he recognized it was actually an urn, with ashes still inside, The (Peoria) Journal Star reported.

Ray said he bought the $2.99 jar, decorated with a military-style flag and eagle, with the intention of finding the owner. He bought it in late December, just a day or two after it arrived in the store.

Goodwill officials say they don’t know the source of the donation. Ray hopes someone realizes the urn is mistakenly donated and contacts the newspaper.

“I’m shooting in the dark and hoping the best,” he said.

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THE VALLEY’S NEWS OBSERVER

World & Nation

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Plantation Politics in Minority Broadcasting

Pluria Marshall Jr., President / CEO Marshall Broadcasting Group

By Pluria Marshall Jr., President / CEO

Marshall Broadcasting Group When I tell you that you can count the number of African American commercial TV station owners in the U.S. on one hand, I mean it literally. There are only five – and I’m one of them.

Less than 1% of the nation’s 1,400-plus commercial television stations are owned by African Americans – a shocking and shameful reality in a nation that purports to be the world’s example of a free and diverse press. Minority media ownership is a fundamental part of our commitment to create and support an educated and well-informed society because it allows news and information to be presented by different (and often ignored) perspectives.

Earlier this month in Congress, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing, “Lifting Voices: Legislation to Promote Media Marketplace Diversity,” to shed light on the challenges uniquely faced by minority broadcasters and close the loopholes that allow huge corporations to put these minority voices down. This hearing couldn’t come at a more urgent moment as the 2020 election cycle is well underway, giving broadcasters and station owners enormous influence over the content and information that voters receive.

My own experience as an African American media broadcast owner is a case study in how our system is not supposed to work. I am president and CEO of Marshall Broadcasting Group (MBG), a television broadcasting company that owns three full power television stations in the United States. In 2014, I was contacted by former FCC Chairman Dick Wiley about a potential opportunity

to partner with Nexstar Media Group to acquire one or more TV stations.

As a longtime media executive, I naturally expressed my interest. After several meetings with Nexstar executives, Nexstar agreed to an FCC-imposed mandate to guarantee a $60 million bank loan so I could acquire three TV stations in Texas, Louisiana and Iowa.

Why did Nexstar agree to guarantee the loan? Because they had a $500 million acquisition on the table that was going to be rejected unless they helped a minority business owner get into the TV business (simultaneously helping the FCC honor its diversity mandate).

And that’s not just me talking – that’s exactly what then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told Nexstar: Help a black man get into TV broadcasting – by providing the loan guaranty and other assistance – or the FCC will not approve your transaction. Without MBG’s help, then, Nexstar’s $500 million acquisition would have never been approved. What’s more, Nexstar would have forfeited millions of dollars in fees and deposits.

In theory, Nexstar’s long-term commitment was to help MBG get a secure footing in broadcasting, acquire more TV stations and, ultimately, become a thriving minority broadcaster in its own right. In reality, it was something else. Before the ink on the agreement was dry, Nexstar reneged on most of its obligations under the FCC agreement. Notwithstanding that, Nexstar did call in its marker for FCC approval of a larger, unrelated transaction.

Once Nexstar’s larger deal was approved, it took active measures to sabotage MBG and run us out of business.

They overcharged us for stations, interfered with our opera-

tions, imposed oppressive fees for shared services, withheld working capital, and eventually caused us to default on our credit facility.

This is not how companies that claim to be committed to media diversity should treat their minority broadcast partners. In my opinion, it represents the calculated scheme of a predator who exploits and manipulates the system to subsidize its own interests and ventures – all with U.S. tax dollars and blessing.

The biggest failure was our system – set up by Congress and run by the FCC – that lacks the accountability, follow-up and protections to not only encourage minority broadcasters, but to support us as we grow and thrive. In fact, even when these abuses were brought to the FCC’s attention in the form of a complaint, the FCC ignored them and rewarded Nexstar with approval of an even larger merger, allowing them to purchase Tribune; a company previously denied to Sinclair for similar abuses.

The only thing worse than our government turning a blind eye to minority broadcasters is when government officials actually do something to assist media diversity, only to have those efforts thwarted by the disingenuous actions of corporations like Nexstar.

Starting with the recent hearing – but not ending until we’ve leveled the playing field – let’s demand that Congress take the necessary steps to support minority broadcasters who want to grow and enrich our media landscape, unshackled to bad actors like Nexstar. I’m proud to be a pioneering African American broadcast owner, but our country would be much better off if I was one of many.

Living Black History: Memory, Obligation, Preservation By: Bakari Sanyu OpEd to the Editor It is first and foremost our community’s responsibility to remember our collective history and to learn its many lessons of dignity, self-determination, and struggle.

Each year in February during Black History Month, it is our ancestral duty to rise and answer the call to commit time to learn about our past and honor our Ancestors, as well as to extract lessons from our past so that we may better engage our present and improve it. And we must use our own history to conceive and cooperatively strive towards a more productive future that is forged in the most ethical and effective African way. Our forebears provided a legacy to embrace and left a model for our community to engage. However, it is still dependent upon us to individually and collectively choose to rise and tell our own unique complex narrative, present varied uplifting dignity-affirming imagery, promote positive social cohesion, as well as reject, challenge and eliminate self-destructive, self-debasing, and self-erasure behaviors that result from historical amnesia, cultural alienation, fractured identities, and shattered consciousness.

Our history does not begin in the Holocaust of TransSaharan or TransAtlantic Human Enslavement. Instead the overall context which must be emphasized is that it was imposed systemic enslavement that savagely interrupted African history’s millennia. Centuries of TransAtlantic Enslavement resulted in the widespread forced dispersal of people of African descent throughout the Western Hemisphere.

And this is what has produced Afro-Panamanians, Afro-Guyanese, Afro-Cubans, Afro-Venezuelans, Afro-Puerto Ricans, Afro-Brazilians, Afro-Belizeans, the AfroCaribbean Islands populations, Afro-Nicaraguans, African Americans, Afro-Hondurans, Afro-Mexicans, Afro-Columbians, etc. These areas were where the various European ships repeatedly docked to historically de-board their vessels overloaded with various captive ethnic groups which were ruthlessly removed from the African continent.

Giving thought to the long-term cultural and psychological damage to our overall community’s well-being and infrastructure development demands that we first recognize that assessment of these historical conditions is not a new, isolated, or coincidental phenomena. Our collective community’s task is to preserve, build on, contribute to, exponentially expand, and continue the unfinished work left in the immense sacrifices, struggle, and legacies of our esteemed Ancestors that addressed the debilitating conditions which were created in this history of forced dispersal.

Our esteemed Ancestor Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875 – 1950), is a pivotal figure that arose to address the absolute need for our community to preserve its “collective memory”. Dr. Woodson is cited as the founder of what initially began as Black History Week in

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THE VALLEY’S NEWS OBSERVER Bakersfield News Observer Los Angeles News Observer 1219 20th St. Bakersfield, Ca 93301 Mailing Address P.O. Box 2341 Bakersfield, CA 93303 Phone (661) 324-9466 FAX. (661) 324-9472 emails- General info: observernews@gmail.com Advertising: observeradvertising@gmail.com Online: www.ognsc. com

1926. His pioneering life’s legacy grew to become a Black History Month commemoration in 1976. Dr. Woodson as a historian, author, and journalist noted that African American contributions “were overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the teachers who use them”. The danger of leaving this situation unaddressed was expressed by the keen insight of the founder of Black History Month in the following quotations: - “Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history” - “If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.”

- “When you control a man’s thinking, you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his “proper place” and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit.

His education makes it necessary.”

Accordingly, Dr. Woodson demonstrated self-determination and took the initiative to contribute to community uplift by deliberately writing about the history of African Americans, and by joining with other committed individuals and organizations to collectively work to document and preserve our history, with the establishment of study groups for research and publication, as well as proceeded to circulate the compiled information to the masses through many Black owned newspapers and magazines. This model of possibility and excellence provided by Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s inspiring legacy, reminds our community that we each have the capacity, duty, and wherewithal to contribute to community uplift, and our efforts can successfully change prevailing conditions if they are undergirded with self-knowledge, cultural values, focused priorities, self-determination, commitment, and continuous action.

Now fast forward to Year 2020 and we are continuing to honor as a collective tradition, Black History Month’s purpose of celebrating our achievements, reaffirming dignity, renewing cultural consciousness, and uplifting community service. During Black History Month, a central message of Dr. Maulana Karenga, Creator of Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture, is that: - “It is our ancestral duty to set aside time and space to celebrate ourselves IN history and AS history. For we are producers and products of this sacred narrative, and the subject and center of the most ancient of human histories. … And we seek and speak truth, do and demand justice, and struggle constantly to have our lives unfold and flourish as a worthy and seamless whole.”

A valuable lesson for Black History Month from Dr. Martin Luther King’s teachings, is that we must always struggle and work for ourselves, history and humanity in such a way that: - “when the history books are written in future generations, the historians will have to pause and say ‘there lived a great people - a Black people - who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization.’ This is our challenge and our overwhelming responsibility.”

Progress and social change originate with individual struggle and sacrifice, and then radiates outward to the family and to our community for organized and sustained collective action. Living Black History requires that we begin action in our own community by presenting, support-

ing, and propelling forward REOCCURRING culturally affirming activities, programs, services, events, celebrations, festivals, marketplaces, and functions via Black-owned and operated media genres. Use these resources to create the much-needed space to exert influence and stature for cir-

ment of an economic base.

Our overall condition will change when enough individuals and families embrace cultural self-knowledge to develop priorities that transform their self responsibility, self-validation, and self-image. Join us on Tuesday – Feb-

culating and elevating our dignity-affirming films, music, literature and cultural artwork that are continually needed to educate, inspire, and transform our community.

Living Black History is validated when we decorate our surroundings with heritage affirming images that reflect ourselves, and actively patronize our community’s newspaper, stores, restaurants, shops, contractors, and vendor services. Black History is internalized when we persistently work to engage and embody the BEST of our collective global history, heritage, African culture, consciousness, traditions, values, and people in thought, speech, actions, and deeds, and extract its many lessons as a necessary, urgent, and prioritized way of life. Institutionalize Black History by owning our community’s properties, businesses, companies, facilities, enterprises, factories, networks, centers, and infrastructure, and instill this practice in our youth as a collective financial empowerment mantra for the establish-

ruary 18th, Wednesday – February 19th, and Thursday – February 20th, for a FREE “Cultural Images Matter” Community Cinema that will occur from 4:30pm to 6:30pm. The film screenings will occur at the Bakersfield Senior Center located at 530 4th Street, Bakersfield, California and refreshments will be provided. The Black History Month Community Cinema is sponsored by The Sankofa Collective and the Bakersfield Senior Center. We look forward to having you join us and view a film screening with our community to learn about and be inspired by the vastness of Black History.

The Our-Story cinema is intended to refocus our memory and obligation on creating and supporting cultural efforts which serve as a catalyst for social transformation, as well as preserve dignity-affirming self knowledgeand positive self-imagery in our community.

Former NAACP Chief Wins Primary

By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire Contributor Former NAACP President and five-term Congressman Kweisi Mfume won big in a Democratic primary contest to replace the late Congressman Elijah Cummings who passed away on October 17, 2019 at the age of 68.

Mfume’s primary challenger in Maryland’s seventh congressional district was Cummings’ widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings. But the contest was not close. The general election will be held on April 28, 2020. Mfume, 71, will be expected to win easily in a heavily Democratic district that includes parts of Baltimore.

Mfume won by a decisive margin winning 43 percent of the vote to Maya Cummings’ 17 percent. Over 28,000 voted for Mfume as Cummings received over 11,000 votes in a field of 12 candidates.

Mfume left the U.S. House in 1996 to lead the NAACP and stayed in the position until 2004.

“I accept your nomination as the Democratic nominee to Congress! Experience matters,” said Mfume from his victory part on the night of February 4.

“This is for him. This is for him!” added Mfume. The two had been friends for 42 years and Mfume delivered a moving eulogy to Elijah Cummings at his funeral last year.

The winner of the Republican primary was Kimberly Klacik, whose produced a video of trash in West Baltimore last summer. The video prompted Trump to call Cummings’s district a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”

Klacik is a member of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee in Baltimore.

“Thank you to the voters of Maryland’s 7th Congressional District for your consideration and to the other candidates for your valiant and inspiring races. I also thank my team, including the hardworking volunteers who dedicated many hours to the campaign. Putting my hat in the ring was a faith walk, a journey I am still on. I deeply appreciate the well wishes and encouragement and look forward to what comes next,” wrote Maya Rockeymoore Cummings on facebook the morning after her electoral loss to Mfume.

Cummings can challenge Mfume again on April 28. It is likely that Mfume will be favored to win given his strong primary showing.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist for NNPA and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is also a political strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

Three generations of Maryland’s 7th District Congressmen (Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, 1996 to present; former Congressman Parren J. Mitchell, 1971 to 1987; and former Congressman Kweisi Mfume, 1987 to 1996) attend the ceremony officially designating the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 6101 Liberty Road in Baltimore, Maryland, as the U.S. Representative Parren J. Mitchell Post Office. (January 2007) (Photo: Office of Congresssman Elijah Cummings / Wikimedia Commons)

Thursday, February 13, 2019

THE VALLEY’S NEWS OBSERVER A3

Features

Plans for a Targeted, Profitable Business Create Your Business and Financial Plans Continued from page A1

• Objectives: What is your top priority in each aspect of your business, including, funding, marketing, and dayto-day operations?

• Strategies: How do you plan to accomplish everything?

Remember to be very detailed.

By incorporating the results of your market research into the overall vision of your business, you can better align your marketing efforts to drive sales and give yourself a competitive edge.

For instance, if your target market is everyday families with toddlers, you’ll have to create a marketing plan to reach them in places they’ll be. This could mean physically locating to where they are, like down the street from a school or park, or paying for ads on websites they use most.

Another example could be dealing with your competition. If you plan to compete based on price, you’ll need to see how price cuts might impact your income. There’s no use making sales while losing money, since your business likely won’t be able to survive it.

Your business plan may also be useful when you reach the stage of hiring staff. You will want to hire people that fit the personality of your business and whose values align with it. Referring to your plan can help guide you in that process.

Understand the financials Next, analyze what it’ll take to start, grow, and manage your company. A great source for business finance insights is the Hands on Banking® website. Fundamentally, you

By incorporating the results of your market research into the overall vision of your business, you can better align your marketing efforts to drive sales and give yourself a competitive edge.

should know: • Startup costs: How much you’ll need to pay to get your idea going. Free resources like the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) can help you calculate these costs.

You should also consider speaking with current professionals in your industry, such as vendors, suppliers, and industry groups.

• Break-even point: When your business brings in just

enough money to cover expenses. If you need help figuring that out, The Balance offers a good rundown. Setting up a consultation with an accountant to help you estimate costs could also be helpful in the long run.

• Projections for profitability: Predictions about future income. It’s important to be realistic with these: Forbes gives a helpful guide on how to best forecast the revenue your business will likely bring in. This is also where the market research you’ve done can play a big role by helping you determine market size and the demand for your business.

Once you have these estimates, it will be much easier to pin down whether this is a worthy business opportunity.

Evaluate your financing options There are many ways to fund your business, but you have to choose the one that works for you. “You can put in sweat equity, use credit, raise venture capital, or even solicit funds with crowdfunding,” says Dr. Dennis Kimbro, a business professor and best-selling author. “But which way is best for your business?”

The SBA suggests considering both your personal and business resources to help you arrive at the right financing strategy.

For instance, do you have: • Savings that you can draw from to get started?

• Depending on your situation, you may think about investing your own savings. Although this may not pay for everything, doing so shows lenders how much you believe in your own idea.

• Collateral to secure a business loan request?

• If yes, you could be ready for a loan or line of credit from a financial institution. For this option, you’ll want to have a good relationship with your banker so they can assist you in setting it up.

When starting out, all of these questions may not apply to your business just yet. However, if you approach a bank or investors, these are the questions they’ll likely ask.

They’re also factors to keep in mind should your business outgrow your initial plan.

As you get closer to launching, your financial and business plans may change, and that’s OK. Regardless of how they evolve, having a plan in place to guide you on this venture could make all the difference for your success.

The First Black Woman Millionaire in America BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919)

Madam C.J. Walker is shown at the wheel of her Model T. Ford. In the car with her is Anjetta Breedlove, her niece, Lucy Flint, her bookkeeper, and her factory forelady Alice Kelly. They are parked outside of her Indianapolis home/business. Walker is wearing a dark coat and a hat that has a large feather.

Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919) was lauded as “the first black woman millionaire in America” for her successful line of hair care products. Born Sarah Breedlove, she was widowed by age 20 and took work as a laundress.

After seeking treatment for hair loss, she developed the “Walker system” and sold her homemade products directly to black women. A talent for self-promotion helped build a booming enterprise, and she spent lavishly on luxurious homes. Walker also funded scholarships for women at the Tuskegee Institute and donated large sums to the NAACP, the black YMCA and dozens of other charities.

Born Sarah Breedlove, the daughter of Louisiana sharecroppers, Walker was orphaned at six, married at fourteen, and widowed at twenty with a two-yearold daughter to care for. She resettled in St. Louis and went to work as a laundress. Her early years reflected patterns all too common for black women of her generation.

In 1905 Walker, who had been losing her hair, sought a treatment for the condition. The method of beauty culture she developed revolutionized black hair care. The combination of scalp preparation, application of lotions, and use of iron combs became known as the “Walker system.” She distinguished her products from the hair straighteners advocated by white cosmetic firms, arguing that her treatment was geared to the special health needs of blacks. She sold her homemade products directly to black women, using a personal approach that won her customers and eventually a fleet of loyal saleswomen.

Walker trained her “beauty culturalists” after establishing her business headquarters in Denver, with a branch in Pittsburgh managed by her daughter A’Lelia. Her second husband, Charles J. Walker, a journalist, helped promote his wife’s flourishing enterprise. Her lectures and demonstrations won thousands of customers, and in 1910 she moved her headquarters to Indianapolis. Her business employed over three thousand workers, mainly door-todoor saleswomen. Her product line of nearly twenty hair and skin items was widely advertised in the black press.

Walker, whose talent for self-promotion made her one of the best-known black Americans during the first quarter of the century, was lauded as “the first black woman millionaire in America.” Her largesse was legendary, and she spent extravagant sums on her Manhattan townhouse.

When her daughter inherited the mansion in the 1920s, it became a salon for members of the Harlem Renaissance.

Walker also owned a luxurious country home, Villa Lewaro, in Irvington-on-Hudson, designed by black architect Vertner Tandy.

Walker was as generous as she was successful, establishing a network of clubs for her employees and offering bonuses and prizes to those who contributed to their communities through charitable works. She promoted female talent: the charter of her company provided that only a woman could serve as president. She was a standard-bear-

Legal Notices

er for black self-help, funding scholarships for women at Tuskegee Institute and donating large sums to the NAACP, the black YMCA, and dozens of black charities.

Madam Walker’s plans for her headquarters, the Walker Building, were carried out after her premature death at fifty-one. The structure, completed in 1927, today is part of a historic renovation district in downtown Indianapolis.

Madame C.J. Walker stamp is part of the Black Heritage Stamp Series. Initiated in 1978, the USPS continues to issue a stamp featuring a notable Black American every February in conjunction with Black History Month and at other times during the year.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

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PUBLIC NOTICE

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO: 2019332211 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: MOONLIGHT TEQUILA LOUNGE at 14345 Pioneer Blvd, Norwalk, Ca. 90650 Mailing Address: Same County: LA REGISTERED OWNERS(S): MOTHER OF DRAGONS, INC., CA, 14345 Pioneer Blvd, Norwalk, Ca. 90650 The business is conducted by: a Corporation SIGNED: MARIA ELENA ORTIZ BERMUDEZ, President The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 12/2019 This statement filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on: Dec 30, 2019 DEAN C. LOGAN, Los Angeles County Clerk By: SEREIVUTHDA PRAK, Deputy NOTICE: IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES ST THE END IOF FIVE YEARS FROM

THE DATE OF 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 Dec 30, 2025 LOS ANGELES BAY NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: Jan 30, Feb 6, 13, 20, 2020 �������������������������������

PETITION OF: WHITNEY SUZANNE NIELSON MCKEIL TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: WHITNEY SUZANNE NIELSON MCKEIL for a decree changing names as follows: Present name WHITNEY SUZANNE NIELSON MCKEIL Filed a petition with this court Proposed name WHITNEY SUZANNE NIELSEN MCKEIL THE COURT ORDERS: that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted if no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: Mar 24, 2020 Time: 10:30 a.m.

Dept: 44

Room: 418 The address of the court is: Same as noted above.

A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once a week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county LOS ANGELES BAY NEWS OBSERVER Date: Jan 23, 2020 JUDGE EDWARD B. MORETON, JR. JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT CRISTINA GRIJALVA, DEPUTY Petitioner: Whitney Suzanne Nielson McKeil 2638 Griffith Park Blvd Los Angeles, Ca. 90039 Phone: (408) 599-0677 LOS ANGELES BAY NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: Jan 30, Feb 6, 13, 20, 2020 �������������������������������

PETITION OF: CRISTINA JASMINE TARVER TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: CRISTINA JASMINE TARVER for a decree changing names as follows: Present name CRISTINA JASMINE TARVER Filed a petition with this court Proposed name JASMINE CRISTINA LAMITTE THE COURT ORDERS: that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted if no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: Mar 6, 2020 Time: 8:30 a.m.

Dept: 27

Room: The address of the court is: Same as noted above.

A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once a week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county LOS ANGELES BAY NEWS OBSERVER Date: Jan 22, 2020 JUDGE MARK C. KIM JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT SHERRI R. CARTER, EXECUTIVE OFFICER/ CLERK Petitioner: CHRISTINA JASMINE TARVER 1440 W. 9th Street Unit 3 San Pedro Ca. 90732 Phone: (805) 403-8061 E-Mail Address: jasmine.heim@gmail. com LOS ANGELES BAY NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: Jan 30, Feb 6, 13, 20, 2020 �������������������������������

Long Beach, Ca. 90802 Branch Name: Govenor George Deukmejian Courthouse PETITION OF: FREDERIC JEAN-MARC TARVER TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: FREDERIC JEAN-MARC TARVER for a decree changing names as follows: Present name FREDERIC JEAN-MARC TARVER Filed a petition with this court Proposed name FREDERIC JEAN-MARC LAMITTE THE COURT ORDERS: that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted if no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: Mar 4, 2020 Time: 8:30 a.m.

Dept: 26 Room: The address of the court is: Same as noted above.

A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once a week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county LOS ANGELES BAY NEWS OBSERVER Date: Jan 22, 2020 JUDGE MARK C. KIM JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT SHERRI R. CARTER, EXECUTIVE OFFICER/ CLERK Petitioner: FREDERIC JEAN-MARC TARVER 1440 W. 9th Street Unit 3 San Pedro Ca. 90732 Phone: (847) 271-1981 E-Mail Address:suavelife0025@gmail. com LOS ANGELES BAY NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: Jan 30, Feb 6, 13, 20, 2020 �������������������������������

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CASE NO: 20STCP00305 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES 111 North Hill Street, Room 118 Los Angeles, Ca. 90012 Branch Name: Los Angeles Courthouse

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CASE NO: 20LBCP00021 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES 275 Magnolia Long Beach, Ca. 90802 Branch Name: Govenor George Deukmejian Courthouse

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CASE NO: 20LBCP00022 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES 275 Magnolia

A4

THE VALLEY’S NEWS OBSERVER

Entertainment

Thursday, February 13, 2020

CBS Calls Threats Against Gayle King Reprehensible

Journalist Gayle King recieving death threats and is traveling with security for an interview where she asked about a sexual assault charge against the late Kobe Bryant. (Courtesy photo)

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) – The CBS News chief called threats against journalist Gayle King “reprehensible” Saturday as backlash grew against rapper Snoop Dogg and others critical of King for an interview where she asked about a sexual assault charge against the late Kobe Bryant.

Snoop Dogg issued a warning to King online this week following her interview with WNBA player Lisa Les-

lie about Bryant, the former Los Angeles Lakers star killed in a helicopter crash with his young daughter and seven others on Jan. 26.

“We fully support Gayle King and her integrity as a journalist,” CBS News President Susan Zirinsky told The Associated Press. “We find the threats against her or any journalist doing their job reprehensible.”

CBS would not discuss the nature of any private threats against King. Her friend, Oprah Winfrey, said in an

NBC interview that King had received death threats and was traveling with security.

The rapper had joined with others, including LeBron James, 50 Cent and even Bill Cosby, in criticizing King for asking Leslie whether Bryant’s legacy had been complicated by the accusation that he raped a woman at a Colorado resort in 2003. Bryant said the two had consensual sex, but he later apologized for his behavior and settled a civil suit against him.

In a profane video posted on Instagram and shared on other social media platforms, Snoop Dogg criticized King for attacking “your people.” He told her to “back off ... before we come get you.”

King’s questions had attracted little notice as part of a wide-ranging interview shown on “CBS This Morning.”

But then CBS _ mistakenly, it said later _ posted a video online that focused strictly on the discussion about the assault case.

“The interview with Lisa Leslie was comprehensive and thoughtful,” Zirinsky said. “We are a country where differences of opinion are welcome, but hateful and dangerous threats are completely unacceptable.”

King’s critics essentially voiced some variation of what Leslie answered – that the media should be more respectful of Bryant so soon after his death and not discuss this stain upon his record – although usually in sharper terms.

Besides her boss, other people have begun coming to King’s defense, including Sen. Cory Booker, former U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice and NBC morning show host Willie Geist.

“For those threatening her and inciting violence, stop it immediately,” the New Jersey senator tweeted. “This is unacceptable. We must do better.”

Rice, on Twitter, said Snoop Dogg’s video was despicable and she told him to back off.

“You come against Gayle King, you come against an army,” R ice wrote. “You will lose, and it won’t be pretty.”

On Saturday, Snoop Dogg posted a message on his Instagram that said he meant King no harm.

“I’m a non-violent person. When I said what I said, I spoke for the people who felt that that Gayle was very disrespectful toward Kobe and his family,” he said. “I didn’t want no harm to come to her, I didn’t threaten her.”

He added: “We speak from the heart. Some of you who have no heart don’t understand that.”

Geist, from the “Today” show and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” tweeted that “the threats against Gayle King for asking a fair question in the course of a long interview are absolutely disgusting. Gayle is one of the most thoughtful people in our business.”

New Yorker writer Jelani Cobb tweeted that there was a way to disagree with King’s questions “without lapsing into misogyny, threats and ignorance.”

In an essay posted on the web site The Undefeated, Morehouse College journalism professor David Dennis Jr. wondered why it was two black women _ King and Leslie – who were the ones publicly wrestling with this aspect of Bryan’t legacy.

“We, myself included, have to take time in our healing to try to understand why we either forgave Bryant or never bothered to hold him accountable,” Dennis wrote. “It’s fair to believe that the work Bryant put in for women in sports in the years since the rape allegation have shown true contrition and rehabilitation, but nothing will erase that night ... To demand silence over the case does an injustice to the victims of sexual violence as well as the work Bryant did to try to make it right.”

Hair Love” Oscar Win Boosts Fight to End Hair Discrimination Against African Americans “

By Ronda Racha Penrice, Urban News Service A Division of Zenger News Matthew A. Cherry’s “Hair Love” Oscar win for Best Animated Short Film on Sunday was a victory natural hair.

Cherry’s film features a young father who, in his wife’s absence, does their daughter’s hair for the very first time.

The young dad wears his own hair in locs and the girl’s hair is not chemically processed, something Cherry suggested was intentional when he spoke to a global Academy Award audience. “’Hair Love’ was done because we wanted to see more representation in animation,” he said in his acceptance speech. “We wanted to normalize black hair.”

Cherry and producer Karen Rupert Toliver were accompanied Sunday night by co-directors Bruce A. Smith and Everett Downing Jr.—and by DeAndre Arnold, an 18-year-old student who made national headlines after Barbers Hill High School near Houston banned him from his graduation for not cutting his locs.

New Jersey saw a similar case in 2018 when wrestler Andrew Johnson’s locs were forcibly cut off during a match.

“There’s a very important issue that’s out there; it’s the CROWN Act and, if we can help to get this passed in all 50 states, it will help stories like DeAndre Arnold’s, who’s our special guest tonight, stop to happen [sic],” Cherry said, promoting legislation called the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act California was first to pass it into law last year, ending workplace and school discrimination against African Americans who wear locs or other natural hairstyles. It is also law in New York and New Jersey, and is pending in 22 other states.

Former presidential candidate Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana introduced the CROWN Act in Congress in December.

The House bill has 41 co-sponsors, but the corresponding Senate bill has just six. All 47 members of Congress who support it are Democrats.

Dove, the personal care brand owned by Unilever, has adopted the CROWN act as a corporate cause. It used the “Hair Love” Oscar moment to promote a petition thecrownact.com] on Twitter to end hair discrimination nationwide. The National Urban League and Color of Change are also supporters.

Cherry took every opportunity in the run-up to the Oscars to promote his film’s mission. “We just really just focused on the work and really tried to do something that young kids could see themselves in, and also to do something that just really normalized our hair,” he told Urban News Service at the 11th African American Film Critics Association Awards in Los Angeles. He received the organization’s “Breakout Filmmaker” award at the January 22 event.

“I think we have such a complicated relationship with our hair, and I think the more projects that come out that just normalize us loving it as it is, as it grows out of our head, the better,” he said.

Cherry funded “Hair Love” through a Kickstarter campaign that exceeded $200,000. He has also turned it into an illustrated children’s book, which quickly became a New York Times best-seller.

Smith, the co-director whose credits include “The Proud Family,” said on the AAFCA red carpet that he had a personal reason for pouring himself into the “Hair Love” project.

“Listen, I have a daughter, and I certainly had those lost days of trying to figure out how to do her hair and stuff like that, so I definitely related to the material right away,” he said.

“I’ve never been able to do anything as personal,” Rupert Toliver, who also wears her hair in locs, said there. “It really started to hit me recently about how proud I am.”

Rupert Toliver is executive vice president of creative at Sony Pictures Animation, which ran “Hair Love” at the beginning of its animated feature film “The Angry Birds Movie 2” in August. Her credits as a former FOX executive include work on the blockbuster franchises “Rio” and “Ice Age.” Issa Rae provided the sole voiceover for “Hair Love.”

Other producers include Jordan Peele, Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade and Peter Ramsey, who won the Oscar last year for Best Animated Feature as co-director of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”

Ramsey summed up Cherry’s impact with “Hair Love” at the AAFCA awards. “It was based on something real, and he brought it to life,” he said. “Now it’s resonating with people all over the world.”

Cherry, who briefly played wide receiver on NFL practice squads, is now the second former professional athlete to win an Oscar in the Best Animated Short category. Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who died tragically in a helicopter crash recently with his daughter Gianna and seven others, blazed that trail in 2018 with his animated “Dear Basketball.”

Cherry ended his Oscar acceptance speech with a remembrance of the late NBA great. “This award is dedicated to Kobe Bryant. May we all have a second act as great as his was,” he said.

Karen Rupert Toliver and Matthew A. Cherry accept the Oscar® for Animated Short Film during the live ABC Telecast of The 92nd Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, February 9, 2020. (Courtesy photo)

Michelle Obama, Oprah Headline Arena like Rock Stars

By MESFIN FEKADU AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) – Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey headlined Brooklyn's Barclays Center like an A-list duo Saturday, getting a rock-star like applause from a feverish audience of fans on a stage typically reserved for pop, rap and basketball stars.

It was the fifth tour stop of “Oprah's 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus,” Winfrey's full-day wellness event with WW (Weight Watchers Reimagined) that had the New York venue usually holding concerts at night buzzing with bright-eyed attendees lined up as early as 8 a.m.

It marked Obama's return to Barclays just 14 months after appearing at the arena for her own sold-out tour to promote “Becoming,” which has sold more than 11.5 million units worldwide and won a Grammy Award last month.

“Does this feel like deja vu for you?” Winfrey asked.

“Because you were here wearing those bad, Balenciaga gold boots!”

“Barack is like, `Where are those boots?”' Obama said.

“I was like, `They're put away, honey. Just settle down.”'

The former U.S. president was one of the main topics discussed during the wide-ranging, hourlong conversation which, at times, had the former first lady coming off like a comedian headlining a sold-out show.

“All of the people in this room paid money to come out, to give up a Saturday...,” Winfrey said before Obama chimed in with: “And as I said _ ain't nobody twerking onstage.”

The audience erupted in laughter.

Obama cracked more jokes when she told Winfrey that she and her husband were now empty nesters since their 18-year-old daughter, Sasha, began college last fall (Malia, 21, is a junior).

“We tried to hold it together, to get (Sasha) in the car so she wouldn't start crying, and then me and Barack, we bawled like little babies. Barack gets that ugly, loud cry,” Obama said, imitating his cry and earning laughs from the crowd.

“He did that at Malia's graduation,” she added. “We're sitting there, and he had his glasses on and speeches are happening and we're all chatting, and we hear,” she said, imitating his cry again while laughing herself.

“And I'm looking at him like, `Are you OK?”' she recalled. “He's going to kill me.”

When Winfrey asked if the energy in their home was different now that the kids are gone, Obama exclaimed: “It is so good, y'all.”

“OK, you guys, get out of the gutter!” Obama added.

“Parenting takes up a lot of emotional space. And my husband was busy being president,” she said as the audience cheered loudly.

“Don't we wish. Don't we wish,” Winfrey said.

“Just vote y'all, that's all I'm saying,” Obama continued. “Just vote.”

The conversation turned slightly political, again, when Winfrey asked Obama what the next chapter of her life would entail.

“President,” some audience members yelled. Others screamed, “White House!”

Obama, 56, said she didn't want to get political during the chat but that she wants to spend her career empowering young people, calling them the “next generation of leaders.”

“To help them understand a broader sense of values that they can operate within because I do think that we are short on that right now, that are leaders are not paving a good path for what we want our kids to be,” she said. “I'm sorry to say that. I don't want to make this political in any way.”

She also opened up about her marriage, saying that going to therapy taught her that she is responsible for her own happiness.

“I didn't marry Barack for him to make me happy,” she said.

“We're coming back to the point where we see each other again because some of the hardest times in our lives we just escaped it, we survived it,” she added. “And we went through a tough time. We did some hard things together and now we're out on the other end and I can look at him and I still recognize my husband. He's still the man that I fell in love with.”

This year the couple is celebrating 28 years of marriage.

Winfrey's event featured the mogul discussing her own wellness journey, a dance exercise from choreographer Julianne Hough, a pre-show dance party and a performance from Grammy-winning gospel singer and WW Ambassador Tamela Mann. Winfrey also honored Tara Deckert, a lieutenant in the New York Police Department, as well as her colleagues and city employees for their wellness transformation as part of the WW-WorkWell NYC partnership.

One person onstage said she lost 140 pounds.

Celebrity guests in the crowd included Lupita Nyong'o, Niecy Nash, Hoda Kotb, Nate Berkus, Merle Dandridge and Winfrey's BFF Gayle King, who faced backlash this week for asking WNBA star Lisa Leslie about a sexual assault charge against the late Kobe Bryant.

Winfrey, who said in an interview Friday that King

Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey headlined Brooklyn’s Barclays Center like an A-list duo Saturday. (Courtesy photo)

is facing death threats, sort of referenced the drama when she told the audience Saturday, “I had no peace this week.”

But Winfrey put the main focus on Obama and encouraged the audience to make 2020 their year of transformation and triumph.

When the topic turned to health and Winfrey asked Obama what she appreciates about her body, she said: “It's mine. All mine. It's a healthy body that works every day and I try not to judge it.”

“As a child growing up with a father with a disability who could not walk; my father would have given anything to have any one of my legs, for me to judge that and not to just embrace it and be happy that I am alive, moving, able to move, I have to tell myself: `Appreciate what God gave you and take care of that, and be balanced about it,”'

she added.

The women also discussed aging and how some people go to great lengths to try to look younger.

“And then you have all of these frozen faces,” Winfrey said.

“When you're in the photo line and everybody looks the same and you're like, `Didn't I just meet you?”' Obama said, laughing. “Y'all just have the same lips.”

“And the same forehead,” Winfrey replied.

“Stop it. Let it go,” Obama said.

“That's pretty funny,” Winfrey said, laughing in her seat. “I just met you. No I didn't.”

Sports

Thursday, February 13, 2020

THE VALLEY’S NEWS OBSERVER A5

The 2020 NBA Trade Deadline

By Cameron Buford whatsgoodinsports.com Each season teams across the NBA have an opportunity to improve their rosters for the season’s upcoming playoff race. The trade deadline is often one of the best ways most teams improve their rosters, though this season the trade deadline has been moved up to early February. Most teams use this as an opportunity to get better, whereas other teams use this time as an opportunity to unload players and/ or salaries in preparation for the upcoming offseason.

Among the many highly sought-after players of this trade deadline were the New York Knicks Forward Marcus Morris Sr., Detroit Pistons Center Andre Drummond and Memphis Grizzlies Andre Iguodala. Morris Sr. was actively sought after by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Clippers simultaneously. There has been banter for much of the season about either LA team acquiring the services of 3-time champion Iguodala. Though the size of Drummond has been ignored by most of the NBA. Stunningly, the forever tinkering Daryl Morey, GM of the (32-19) Houston Rockets, surprised the NBA by trading away their only playable Center in Clint Capela.

For Capela, the Rockets acquired Robert Covington, 20172018 NBA First Team All-Defensive player, and Jordan Bell from the (16-35) Minnesota Timberwolves. To round out this 4-team trade, this past Wednesday night, Capela and Nene Hilario were sent to the (14-39) Atlanta Hawks, while Gerald Green and the Rockets 2020 first-round pick were sent to the (37-16) Denver Nuggets.

What makes Covington’s so coveted is that he is one three players to have averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.0 3 pointers made in a game. Additionally, he is also one of three players to amass 4,500 points, 2,000 rebounds, 500 assist, 600 steals and 300 blocks sinc3 2014-2015. So, his ability to play solid defense while being able to knock down shots from the perimeter adds to more versatility to this unique lineup that the Rockets will be playing.

The (19-36) Detroit Pistons send their best active player Andre Drummond after he made it clear he wanted to stay, in a salary dump to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In

Marcus Morris Sr.takes a shot vs the Cavaliers on February 9. (Courtesy Photo)

return, the Pistons pick up Brandon Knight, John Henson, and the Cavaliers 2023 second-round pick. With the Pistons currently in 11th seed in the Eastern Conference, this team would need more than a miracle to get in the playoffs this season.

In a move that wasn’t discussed much in NBA circles, the (16-35) Minnesota Timberwolves partnered with the

(12-41) Golden State Warriors to shock the NBA world with their last-minute trade. The Warriors sent D’Angelo Russell to the Timberwolves for the enigmatic Andrew Wiggins. By acquiring the #1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, the Warriors hope to have Wiggins’ length and athleticism serve as a complement to their perineal All-Stars Stef Curry and Klay Thomson. Conversely, the

Timberwolves hope to appease their franchise player Karl Anthony Towns by bringing in pick-and-roll point guard which should be a better-paired duo.

While multiple teams were in limbo waiting to see what the (26-26) Memphis Grizzlies were going to do with the 3 time-champion Andre Iguodala. This threeteam trade had (34-17) Miami Heat winning the Iguodala sweepstakes while receiving Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill.

The Minnesota Timberwolves receive Justise Winslow and James Johnson while the Memphis Grizzlies get 28-yearold Dion Waiters. The lone fallout from this trade is that Dion Waiters has been released by the Grizzlies.

The apparent winner of this week’s trade deadline is the (36-15) Los Angeles Clippers. Not only do they beat the (39-12) Lakers to the draw, by signing Forward Marcus Morris Sr. by bringing in the talented Morris, who is averaging 32 mins per game along with 19.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists with the (17-36) New York Knicks. Though they have added more of a scoring punch to their lineup, they give up some defense prowess by removing Harkless from their lineup. Moe Harkless was packaged with a 2020 first-round pick in exchange for the 8-year veteran Morris as part of a three-team trade.

Completing the three-team trade of Harkless and Morris Sr. also saw the (18-32) Washington Wizards Isaiah Thomas get swapped with 2nd-year Clippers Guard Jerome Robinson. With a now jam-packed backcourt, the Clippers subsequently waived veteran guard Thomas, once the deal was completed. I thought the Clippers actually could’ve used the true point guard Thomas however, their backcourt was just too crowded Share your thoughts on the NBA Tradeline and who you believe to have made out with the best deal with us by simply commenting in the comment section of this article on www.whatsgoodinsports.com or by following me on Twitter @whatsgoodnsport for immediate engagement.

Additionally, 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. As always, we certainly appreciate you for making our voice your choice!

The XFL Kicked off this past weekend in four cities across the country. (Courtesy Photo)

The Introduction of The New XFL

By Cameron Buford whatsgoodinsports.com By starting their season one week after the NFL’s Superbowl, the XFL seeks to quench the thirst of the many football fans across this football-crazed nation. This iteration of the XFL has committed to delivering football fans a brisk, up-tempo game, with fan-centric innovations including an affordable game day experience. Real-time Audio is intended to bring the fans closer to the game by allowing them to hear plays calls, before plays running on the field and they will be able to hear from players immediately after plays are made on the field.

The XFL’s reimagined version of football kicked off this past weekend. This league is comprised of 8, centrally owned and operated, teams that will compete in a 10-week season with a 2-week postseason to include two semifinal

playoff games and the championship game. Unlike its predecessor, this new version of the XFL will boast a faster simpler play of football versus the entertainment elements of the pro-wrestling inspired antics of the 2001 league.

Learning from the mistakes of the previous rendition has positioned this league for long term success. This second venture of the XFL has a much better chance of succeeding with its partnership support. Vince McMahon, XFL Founder and Chairman, is personally funding the new league and building the XFL with the same commitment and resolve that he has demonstrated building WWE into a global media and sports entertainment powerhouse.

Though Quarterbacks will get paid more in this league, the other are roughly paid the same. On average, players will receive $55,000 not including a $1,685 activation fee, if they are activated for a particular game. Additionally, if

their team wins, they get an extra $2,222. The 8 teams, 45-man active rosters, kicked off this past weekend in four cities across the country and the week 1 matchup was as follows; Saturday’s matchups Seattle Dragons at D.C. Defenders and Los Angeles Wildcats at Houston Roughnecks Sunday’s matchups Tampa Vipers at New York Guardians and St Louis Battlehawks at Dallas Renegades Out drawing the now-defunct Alliance of American Football in their debut, the XFL’s debut edged the firstever broadcast for the AAF. Their viewership compared favorably to ESPN’s Toronto Raptor vs Boston Celtics Christmas Day matchup. Their viewership peaked at 4 Million 5 pm EST this past Saturday evening. Because this

is an affordable ticket in each city, all four games announced a crowd of over 17,000 in attendance.

I am eager to see the turn out for the Los Angeles Wildcats as they have their home opener next week against the Dallas Renegade, on February 16, at Dignity Health Sports Park; visit XFL.com for tickets. Let us know if you plan on tuning in to the game or even go to see the Wildcats play in person by simply commenting in the comment section of this article on www.whatsgoodinsports.com or by following me on Twitter @whatsgoodnsport for immediate engagement. Additionally, 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. As always, we certainly appreciate you for making our voice your choice!

Kobe Bryant Helicopter Almost Cleared Clouds LOS ANGELES (AP) _ The pilot of the helicopter that crashed and killed Kobe Bryant and eight others was almost out of blinding clouds when he suddenly plunged and crashed into a Southern California hillside, investigators and aviation experts indicated.

Ara Zobayan had told air traffic control he was climbing to 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) and he rose to 2,300 feet (701 meters), according to an investigative update released Friday from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The helicopter was just 100 feet (30 meters) from the cloud tops and conceivably would have broken through into clear air in a matter of seconds. Air traffic controllers had advised Zobayan that the cloud tops were at 2,400 feet (731.5 meters.) Camera footage later reviewed by the NTSB showed nearby clouds at that estimated height.

The NTSB update didn't make any conclusion about what caused the Jan. 26 crash in Calabasas, northwest of Los Angeles, because the investigation remains underway and a final report isn't expected for a year or so. However, the update did say there was no sign of mechanical failure based on wreckage examined by experts at the scene.

Investigators also believe that since a tree branch at the crash site was cut, the twin engines were working and the rotors turning at the time of impact. All four of the helicopter's blades had similar damage, the update stated.

An unidentified witness told the NTSB the hillside

where the crash occurred was shrouded in mist when he heard the helicopter approaching. It sounded normal and he then saw the blue-and-white aircraft emerge from the fog moving forward and down. It started to roll to the left, and he caught a glimpse of the aircraft's belly. Within 2 seconds, it slammed into the hillside just below him.

Veteran pilots have suggested that Zobayan became disoriented in the thick atmosphere.

The pilot's last maneuvers suggest he tried to pop up above the clouds, and he did ascend for perhaps a minute before turning left, said Mike Sagely, a helicopter pilot in the Los Angeles area with 35 years of flying experience.

When pilots inadvertently enter clouds and try to turn instead of still ascending, “probably in the neighborhood of 80 to 90 percent of the time, it's catastrophic,'' Sagely said.

“When he went into the clouds, he had a full-on emergency,'' Sagely said.

The helicopter was descending at 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) per minute and slammed into the hillside at more than 180 mph (290 kph).

Air safety consultant Kipp Lau said the speed of the aircraft's descent indicated “you've certainly lost control of the aircraft.''

The crash occurred as Bryant and the other passengers were flying from Orange County to Ventura County to attend a girls basketball tournament at Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy. He coached his 13-year-old daughter

Gianna's team. She and two teammates died.

A public memorial for Bryant and the other victims is scheduled for Feb. 24 at the Staples Center, where Bryant starred for the Lakers. The date 2/24 corresponds with the No. 24 jersey he wore and the No. 2 worn by Gianna.

Zobayan was a regular pilot for Bryant and the chief pilot for Island Express Helicopters, with more than 8,200 hours of flight time. He was certified to fly solely using instruments _ a more difficult rating to attain that allows pilots to fly at night and through clouds when the ground isn't visible _ and was a pilot to other celebrities including Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard and Kylie Jenner.

During the flight with Bryant's group, Zobayan did not report any equipment problems and sounded calm while communicating to air traffic controllers. His final transmission said he was going to climb above the clouds.

Eight seconds after reaching peak altitude, he started the fateful descent.

Former Island Express pilot Kurt Deetz, who regularly flew Bryant to games at the Staples Center, said reading the NTSB's report reinforced how dangerously fast the helicopter was traveling in conditions that had prompted the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to ground their smaller copters.

“Normally in those conditions, you're pretty cautious.

You're proceeding slowly,'' Deetz said.

The impact tore the helicopter apart. All aboard died from blunt force trauma.

The 50-year-old Zobayan's most recent flight review included training on inadvertently flying into bad weather conditions. It covered how to recover if the aircraft's nose is pointed too far up or down and what to do if the helicopter banks severely to one side. He earned satisfactory grades in the review, which took place in May 2019.

Deetz said Zobayan previously had told him that he did not have actual experience flying in clouds, despite being certified. Deetz said that isn't uncommon.

Bryant's helicopter did not have a device called the Terrain Awareness and Warning System, known as TAWS, that signals when an aircraft is in danger of hitting ground.

The NTSB has recommended the system be mandatory for helicopters, but the Federal Aviation Administration only requires it for air ambulances. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Brad Sherman, both California Democrats, have called for the FAA to mandate the devices.

The others killed included Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri and daughter Alyssa; Bryant's friend and assistant coach, Christina Mauser; and Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton, 14.

A public memorial for the Altobelli family will be held Monday at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

A6

THE VALLEY’S NEWS OBSERVER

Local

Several members of the California Legislative Black Caucus Sen. Steve Bradford ( D-LA) Assemblymember Kevin McCarty ( D-Sacramento) Holly Mitchell ( D-LA) Assemblymember Dr. Shirly Weber ( D-San Diego) Assemblymember Reggie Jones Swayer (D-LA). (Photo Caption: CBM Staff)

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Assemblymember Mike Gibson(D-Los Angeles), Lanae Norwood, activist and community organizer and David M.Carlisle, president and CEO, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science sharing there thoughts on “building a bench” at the State of Black California February 8. Photo Caption: CBM Staff)

Black Caucus Hosts “State of Black California” at UCLA On Saturday, Feb. 8, the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) in partnership with the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA hosted a daylong series of panel discussions titled the “State of Black California” in Los Angeles.

African-American members of the California state Assembly and Senate served as moderators of the discussions that covered education, public safety, civic engagement, economic empowerment, political organizing and the upcoming 2020 census.

“We need your support. For us to be successful and do the all the things we do in the state legislature, we need you to back us,” Assemblymember Shirley N. Weber (D-San Diego), who is chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, told the audience.

About 200 people attended the event held at the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center on the campus of UCLA. Weber thanked the audience for attending the “State of Black California” and encouraged African Americans to get engaged in politics at the close of the conference themed “Building a Bench.”

The CLBC invited panelists from different walks of life in California to talk about the work they are involved in, and how their efforts help to improve the lives of African Americans across the state.

“I long for the day when Black people have the luxury to not engage. Black people need government as our employer, as the educator of our children, as our health care provider, as our houser, as our CalWORKS provider,

as our SNAP provider,” said Senator Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), speaking at the conference. Mitchell represents the 54th Assembly District which includes Culver City, Exposition Park, Ladera Heights and parts of Crenshaw, downtown and Florence.

“We still rely on government, good, bad or different,” Mitchell pointed out.

Guest panelists included Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction; Malia Cohen, member of the California Board of Equalization; Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter; Patti Colston, Information Officer, California Student Aid Commission; Adonai Mac, Senior Director of Federal Relations, Association of California School Administrators; Margaret Fortune, CEO of the Fortune School, a network of K-12 charter schools in California focused on closing the African-American achievement gap; Lanae Norwood, an activist and community organizer based in Los Angeles; among others.

Every year, the members of the California Legislative Black Caucus provide funding through the state for the Ralph J. Bunche Center. The research institution at UCLA is named for the African-American diplomat who grew up in Los Angeles and was the first person of African descent to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

“I’m always encouraged when I attend the “State of Black California,” said Regina B. Wilson, Executive Director of California Black Media, who spoke on a panel that explored the obstacles and opportunities California faces as it prepares for the 2020 Census, which begins April

1.

“I joined Kevin Cosney, who is strategizing and working in the trenches with the group ‘My Black Counts’ to help increase Black participation in the 2020 Census,” Wilson said. “We had a chance to inform the audience about some of the ways they can get involved to help prevent a census undercount in our communities.”

In 2018, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Wilson to serve on the California Complete Count Committee for Census 2020.

“The dollars that we deserve that we have over generations been denied, we have an opportunity every ten years to claim that,” said Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles). She encouraged the audience to mobilize their friends, family members and loved ones to complete census forms this year.

Members of the California Legislative Black Caucus include: Assemblymember Shirley N.Weber (D-San

Diego), who serves as chair; Senator Steven Bradford (D-Los Angeles), the group’s vice chair; Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles), secretary; Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Sacramento), treasurer; Assemblymember Chris R. Holden (D-Pasadena); Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Los Angeles); Assemblymember Autumn Burke (D-South Bay, Los Angeles); Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Sr. (D- South Los Angeles); Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento); and Senator Holy J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles).

“You meet Black Californians — as well as our friends and allies — from so many different disciplines and from different parts of state. We connect, share ideas, pat each other on the back, and imagine a way forward that continues the legacy of so many that came before us,” said Taisha Brown, chair of the California Democratic Party African American Caucus.

CA Census 2020 Campaign Partners w/Black-Owned and Operated Media Partners SACRAMENTO – Today, the California Census 2020 campaign announced expanding its outreach to Black Californians through a multimedia effort in partnership with Black-owned and operated media partners across California. Voice Media Ventures, a multimedia company and strategic communications firm, is working with these media partners, leveraging trusted messengers to motivate California’s hardest-to-count communities to participate in the 2020 Census.

“We are attempting to move the needle to address the traditional issues of distrust and educational gaps around the Census that impact participation rates of the Black community in California,” said Ditas Katague, Director of the California Complete Count – Census 2020. “Through our trusted partners, we are creating a surround-sound strategy to help ensure the hardest-to-count Californians complete the Census form.”

Voice Media Ventures has been leading community convenings and holding focus groups to assess Black Californians’ gaps in knowledge about the Census and what will motivate them to participate in the 2020 Census count. The information collected from these gatherings are being used to create culturally relevant messages for Black media partners to share with local communities.

“While the overall strategy for the communications campaign is to ensure the state is reaching the hardestto-count Californians through trusted messengers, for outreach to the Black community, it was especially important to also work with Black owned and operated partners,” said Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds, founder of Voice Media Ventures. “This is not only a partnership that involves innovative tactics, but also a social justice issue to ensure trusted partners on the ground are involved with Census work in California.”

Media partners involved in the campaign include: KDEE, Sacramento HUB, Sacramento Observer, East Palo Alto Today, Post News Group, Richmond Pulse, San Francisco Bay View, Sun Reporter Publishing Company, The Bay Area Review, 99One FM KJBU-LP, California Advocate, Central Valley Voice, Observer News Group, ONEMEDIA Central Valley, Inland Valley News, San Bernardino American News, The Precinct Reporter Group, Black Voice News, IE Voice, Westside Story News, Carib Press, Compton Herald, Inglewood Today, KJLH, LA Focus, LA Sentinel, LA Watts Times, LA Wave, Our Weekly, Pace News, Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley Journal, San Diego Monitor, and San Diego Voice & Viewpoint.

In addition, Voice Media Ventures is working with the newly created Mapping Black California Census Lab, a collaborative community mapping project, incorporating technology, data, geography, and place- based study to better understand the African American community in California.

Research conducted on behalf of the Census campaign shows that African American communities may be more inclined to participate if the Census is framed as being

done on behalf of their community.

This announcement builds on the Census campaign’s foundation of trusted messengers – community leaders, organizations and influencers who are working together to motivate California’s hardest-to-count communities to participate in the 2020 Census.

For example, My Black Counts is an education and awareness initiative convened by California Calls as part of The California Black Census and Redistricting Hub Project. As one of California’s outreach partners, California Calls has done outreach to Black populations throughout the State using door-to-door canvassing, phone banking, and digital communication strategies.

“Throughout history, the Black community has fought for equity and to be represented on our own terms.

We are always ready to unite in power to ensure that we are all counted,” said Kevin Cosney, Special Projects Manager of California Calls. “In order to ensure we get our fair share of resources and representation, Black Californians must stand up and be counted in the 2020 Census – and that’s the reason we’re working so hard to get the word out-- so the community trusts and accepts ownership in the anthem, ‘My Black Counts.’”

The California Census has joined efforts with these partners in recognition of the need for more effective engagement with the Black population about the 2020 Census count. The Black population has historically been undercounted in past Census enumerations and the state is committed to changing that trend.

Last month, the campaign announced four Census Ambassadors who will leverage their voices and their networks throughout the campaign to educate and empower the hardest-to-count Californians to take part in the upcoming 2020 Census.

California is considered the hardest-to-count state in the nation, with high populations of immigrants, renters, individuals living on homes without a broadband subscription, people living close to or below the poverty line, and children younger than five years old. With billions of dollars in federal funding on the line, the campaign has assembled a historically diverse coalition comprising hundreds of partner organizations to help reach the hardest-to-count populations in California.

The California Complete Count – Census 2020 Office Once each decade, the U.S. Census Bureau attempts to count every person in the United States. Californians will be receiving an invitation to complete the Census form starting on March 12, with this enumerating being the first to rely heavily on online responses. California leaders have invested $187.2 million toward a statewide outreach and communication campaign. For more information, please go to https://californiacensus.org/.

DATA: To see data on the hard-to-count populations in cities, counties, congressional and legislative districts in California, please visit: https://census.ca.gov/htcfactsheets/

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