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December 07, 2023 Thursday Edition

Volume 54 No. 34

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Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue till they have resisted either with words or blows or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance those of whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)

Join Us December 16, 2023, for Green Cities: A Matter of Life and Death The Miss Black Awareness

By Selen Ozturk

As humankind grows increasingly urban, planting trees and parks — far from merely beautifying cities — increasingly becomes a matter of life and death.

As humankind grows increasingly urban, planting trees and parks — far from merely beautifying cities — increasingly becomes a matter of life and death.

At a Friday, Dec. 1 Ethnic Media Services briefing, Los Angeles Forestry officials and urban greening experts discussed the city as a case study of the link between green space and human health, and explained how adding nearly a million years of life expectancy in LA County through urban greening could serve as a model for other cities.

Green space and life expectancy The more parks and trees there are in a given neighborhood, the higher the area’s life expectancy, said Michael Jerrett, referring to a July 2023 UCLA study he co-authored, which found that bringing green space in LA County to median levels could add up to 908,800 years of collective

life expectancy to residents in under-resourced communities.

Michael Jerrett, Professor, UCLA Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Co-director, Center for Healthy Climate Solutions, Fielding School of Public Health, shares data on the distribution of green space in Los Angeles and how it correlates to life expectancy.

While the study found that life expectancy in wealthy and verdant Beverly Hills was 90, the median in south LA communities less than 15 miles away was 77.

The total expectancy ranged countywide from 68 years in poorer south-central areas to 93 in affluent places like Malibu, said Jerrett, a UCLA environmental health professor and Center for Healthy Climate Solutions codirector.

In already “very leafy areas, like Brentwood, or parts of West LA, there’s not a lot of impact in adding more green space,” he

added, but in disproportionately less green areas in the east, south and far north — where two-third of LA County’s Black and Latino population resides — merely expanding parks to county medians would add 164,700 years of life expectancy to the region, with Black and Latino residents receiving 72%, or 118,000 of these years.

Healthy trees, healthy people The health benefits that come from more parks and trees depend on more than just planting, said Rachel Malarich, the first City Forest Officer for the City of Los Angeles. “In order to achieve those benefits, we need to have healthy trees, regularly maintained to live their own full lifespan in the neighborhoods which most need them.”

The city’s Urban Forest Management Plan has four pillars, she continued: planting new trees, maintaining existing

trees, preserving these trees amid new construction and development, and engaging the communities who live with these trees.

Rachel Malarich, City Forester for the City of Los Angeles, discusses the city of Los Angeles’ approach to tree planting and urban forest management.

“When we talk to community members, there is often frustration because the trees haven’t been maintained,” Malarich explained. “The industry standard is to inspect trees and trim them as needed every five to seven years; the city’s current cycle is closer to 18 years … we’re now holding community engagement workshops and feedback surveys both to improve inequity of access to green spaces, and inequity in how these spaces are maintained.”

Scholarship Pageant

Community Event News

Greening on-the-ground The most sustainable urban forests are planted and supported by members of their own communities, said Marcos Trinidad, Senior Director of Forestry at TreePeople.

Now in its 50th year, the urban greening nonprofit has been shifting from an allvolunteer model of planting, maintenance and community education to a hybrid model which includes “workforce development,” particularly training youth interested in environmental careers to work with community organizations to green “neighborhoods which need trees the most,” like northeast and southeast LA, he explained.

The finalists of the Miss Black Awareness Scholarship Pageant enjoyed a fun sisterhood day bowling, sponsored by Bolero Bowling Alley.

Save the date for the 55th Miss

Black Awareness Scholarship Pageant, and join us December 16th, doors open at 5p.m. at Historic Landmark Theater on 8443 Nuevo Avenue, Fontana CA 92335.

“The Inland Empire Talk Back” KCAA Radio interviews the Social Lites Beautillion Knights Community News

continued on page 3

Gov. Newsom Appoints Tomiquia Moss to Lead State Agency Tackling Homelessness, Consumer Rights Antonio Ray Harvey| California Black Media

Tomiquia Moss On Nov. 28, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of Tomiquia Moss as Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH).

Moss, a Democrat, replaces Lourdes M. Castro-Ramírez, who started in the position in March 2020.

Moss’s nomination requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $232,858 per year.

“The housing and homelessness crisis is the number one issue facing our state, and Secretary Moss brings decades of deep knowledge and experience

working to move the needle on this challenge in the public and nonprofit sectors,” said Newsom.

“I look forward to her partnership in continuing to implement California’s transformative solutions on these and other priorities for our state.”

On Oct. 2, Castro-Ramírez announced that she was stepping down as Secretary of BCSH. Her resignation took effect on Nov. 2.

Moss will be in charge of and supervise 12 entities, including 40 boards and bureaus. She will be responsible for the preservation and expansion of safe, affordable housing, efforts to prevent and end homelessness, protecting consumers, and upholding California’s civil rights laws.

Since 2020, the agency and its subsidiary departments have delivered more than $31 billion in funding to expand rental and homeownership housing opportunities and more than $11 billion to address homelessness.

In addition, the position requires partnering with state agencies to develop statewide action plans that strengthen consumer protections by licensing, regulating, educating,

and enforcing rules for over four million businesses, professionals, and financial institutions.

“The Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency touches the lives of virtually every Californian,” Moss said in a statement. “I am humbled

by Governor Newsom’s appointment to serve as its secretary, especially for the millions of Californians who are struggling to find and keep a roof over their heads, and for those who are the targets of fraud and discrimination. Leading this multifaceted organization is a sacred responsibility. I look forward to supporting all the good work that’s already under way,” Moss stated.

Moss is the founder of All Home, a Bay Area-focused organization that advances regional solutions that address poverty, homelessness and racial disparities, and aims to create more opportunities for people with very low incomes.

She has served as CEO of this organization since 2019.

Moss was CEO of Hamilton Families from 2017 to 2019 and served as chief of staff of the

Oakland Mayor’s Office from 2015 to 2017. From 2013 to 2015, she was Executive Director of HOPE SF, a San Francisco Mayor’s Office initiative.

Additionally, Moss is Board President of the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California.

She earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Government from Ohio Wesleyan University.

“While I’m excited to take the Administration’s commitment to housing and homelessness solutions even further, I also see how important the agency’s other mandates are to make California a fairer and more equitable place with greater opportunities for all people to thrive. I’m honored to begin this work in early 2024, and deeply grateful for the Governor’s faith in me to do so,” Moss stated.

According to the BCSH website, the agency has over 8,000 employees and a $4.6 billion operating budget.

Front left - Wallace Allen Host of KCAA "The Inland Empire Talks Back", Frank Cox III, Destyn Maurice, Syncere Brackett, Ali Dphepaulezz, Solomon Moore, Darvion McGee, and Choreographer Russell Ward Our 2023 Beautillion Knights were excited to be heard on Radio KCAA with long-time host Wallace Allen. Russell Ward, 1984 Alumni & renown Choreographer for the past 27 years shared how the Beautillion Scholarship Program allowed him to learn how to talk to people, build confidence and to have an excellent jump off point after high school with money and confidence.

Six of the eight Beautillion Knights were able to share their high schools, desires for college and future careers goals with the listening audience. They even answered a very special question which brought further insight into their personalities

and desires for impacting the world.

The Social Lites, Inc. a nonprofit organization that has been in existence since 1968. Our main objective is to provide a program that is a vehicle for senior African American young men to gain the skills to succeed in college by learning public speaking skills, volunteerism and confidence as well as raise money for college. To date we have awarded over $3.5 million dollars in scholarships and prizes to our Knights over the 57 years of existence.

The rebroadcast can be heard at www.kcaaradio.com The airdate is Sunday, November 19th, 2023.

Thursday, December 07, 2023

Page 2

COMMUNITY/EDUCATION/FINANCIAL/ADVERTISING

Seven facts about modern school segregation

By Aziah Siid, Word in Black White-Black segregation increased by 35 percent from 1991 to 2020 in the 100 largest school districts. Black students have the least amount of contact with White students in Chicago, followed by Dallas, Miami, and Prince George’s County, Maryland,” according to the UCLA Civil Rights Project.

With 23 percent of Black students attending schools that are more than three-quarters Black, modern-day school segregation is real.

(Photo courtesy of Unsplash / MChe Lee) Here’s what you probably know about school segregation in the United States: On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously that racially segregated public schools were unconstitutional in the Brown v. Board of Education case.

Many cities across the Jim Crow South refused to comply with the ruling, and so six years later, on Nov. 14, 1960, a brave 6-year-old girl named Ruby Bridges needed U.S. marshals to escort her to her first day of class at all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. At the same time, 6-year-olds Gail Etienne, Tessie Prevost, and Leona Tate integrated nearby McDonogh 19 Elementary School.

Norman Rockwell immortalized Bridges being escorted into the school in his famous 1964 painting, “The Problem We All Live With.”

In the decades since, de jure segregation mandated by law has disappeared, but de facto segregation — what actually

happens in practice — persists, and it continues to impact Black students today. How? Well, here’s what you may not know about modern-day school segregation.

1. Not much has happened since the 1970s Experts at The Civil Rights Project at UCLA say school desegregation “peaked in 1988,” and there have been no major legal or policy advances since that time. It’s been almost 70 years since the high court struck down the“separate but equal” doctrine, but as researchers Gary Orfield and Danielle Jarvie wrote in a recent report, the legal effort to integrate schools has been abandoned and led to increased “isolation of Black students in all sectors of American education.” They go on to note that “New policies are needed, and legislation recently passed by the House of Representatives, the Strength in Diversity Act, could be a positive beginning.”

2. School segregation is getting worse

3. Other racial or ethnic groups are now counted Black students are far more segregated from White students now than in the civil rights era, but schools are also more racially and ethnically diverse. Black kids, particularly in the western states and in the South, attend school with many more Latinos.

4. Schools in blue states are segregated, too.

New York is the most segregated state in the country for Black students, followed

by Illinois, California, and Maryland. In the seven-episode Serial podcast series, “Nice White Parents,” Chana JoffeWalt takes listeners through the influence White parents wield in private and public education and their direct contribution to keeping schools segregated in New York City schools. In-depth reporting on funding allocation, the power of parent-teacher associations, and the ways Black voices are kept out of decisionmaking in the nation’s largest school district are explored as well.

5. Nearly a quarter of Black students attend predominantly Black schools A recent analysis by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that although Black

students are 15 percent of the U.S. public school population, 23 percent of them attend schools that are more than three-quarters Black.

6. Charter schools also struggle with segregation School segregation is not just prevalent in traditional public schools. It’s spread across all school types, including charter schools, private, and magnet schools. The Government Accountability Office found more than 41 percent of charter schools and about 26 percent of magnet schools were predominantly same race/ ethnicity, And although “magnet schools were established to assist in the desegregation, about one in four magnet schools are predominantly same-race/ ethnicity schools.”

7. A lack of Black teachers is tied to desegregation Research compiled by the National Institutes of Health shows after the Brown v. Board decision, “38,000 black teachers and administrators in twenty-one Southern and Southern-bordering states lost their jobs.” In addition, “Official language concerning black-teacher retention was included in neither the Civil Rights Act of 1964 nor the subsequent federal desegregation guidelines of 1966.”

Fast forward to today, and Black teachers make up only 6 percent of the profession in public schools, yet Black people comprise 14 percent of the U.S. population and 15 percent of the K-12 public school student continued in next 2 columns

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Seven facts about modern school segregation...concluded population, according to the 2022 data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Black male educators, in particular, openly speak on how the lack of representation in the classroom from as early as elementary school through the collegiate

By Cedric Jones, Word In Black

Only 2 percent of teachers are Black men. Teach For America recruiter Cedric Jones is on a mission to change that. (Photo Courtesy of Nappy.co/HolisticCare)

I remember sitting in a small classroom in Barrows Hall at U.C. Berkeley when I learned of my acceptance into Teach For America, a national education nonprofit that supports public school systems by sourcing talent to lead as anti-racist educators within the classroom.

Then — as is the case today — only about 2 percent of teachers nationally are Black men. I was both charged to make an impact and also curious if there was infrastructure to nurture my presence as I entered TFA as one of 22 Black educators in the 2014 Bay Area cohort — about 11 of the entire Bay Area class of new TFA teachers that year.

I remember sitting in a small classroom in Barrows Hall at U.C. Berkeley when I learned of my acceptance into Teach For America, a national education nonprofit that supports public school systems by sourcing talent to lead as anti-racist educators within the classroom.

Then — as is the case today — only about 2 percent of teachers nationally are Black men. I was both charged to make an impact and also curious if there was infrastructure to nurture my presence as I entered TFA as one of 22 Black educators in the 2014 Bay Area cohort — about 11 of the entire Bay Area class of new TFA teachers that year.

Nearly a decade later, it’s clear that my time in the classroom was one of the most profound professional experiences I could have chosen. Now, as the Director of Southern California

Recruitment and Retention at TFA Los Angeles, I often reflect on what drew me to the classroom and what about the recruitment process engaged me — and I use those learnings to help me recruit more teachers that reflect the students we serve in L.A. and across the country.

Building relationships I met my recruiter, Raquel Lucente, for the first time at a Black Community event on campus. Seeing folks I looked up to engaging with her authentically and seeing her meet with folks for coffee on my way to classes, it was clear her focus was on creating relationships and going into the spaces where Black students felt most comfortable. While career fairs, resume workshops, and club meetings can be a fine way to meet prospective teachers, I’ve observed that recruiting Black folks into the field requires a more genuine connection, transparency, and support that feels equitable.

Following in Raquel’s footsteps, so much of my time in my current role is dedicated to hosting both one-on-one sessions with Black folks who are interested in joining TFA, as well as those who have already applied. I also hold space for weekly office hours, where folks can pop in to receive specific support or simply process what an offer from TFA might look like for them uniquely.

Addressing financial barriers When candidates are offered admission to the corps, I always like to address the challenges and barriers to joining TFA head-on.

Finances, an area of concern for many, including myself, come up often. Many Black applicants are financially supporting family members or are burdened by student loan debt. In fact, the average student loan debt is continued on page 7

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level impacted their journey through schooling, but also how the disproportionately low numbers of Black teachers have an effect on today’s students.

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The San Bernardino AMERICAN News reserves the right to edit or rewrite all news releases.

Thursday, December 07, 2023

Page 3

COUNTY/GOVERNMENT/BUSINESS/ADVERTISING

Cities: A Matter of Life and Death...

Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Green continued from page 1 Court, has died at age 93 Understanding the needs students.

By Mark Sherman, The Associated Press

Credit: Shutterstock

WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, an unwavering voice of moderate conservatism and the first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court, died Dec. 1. She was 93.

O’Connor died in Phoenix, of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness, the Supreme Court said in a news release.

Chief Justice John Roberts mourned her death. “A daughter of the American Southwest, Sandra Day O’Connor blazed an historic trail as our Nation’s first female Justice,” Roberts said in a statement issued by the court. “She met that challenge with undaunted determination, indisputable ability, and engaging candor.”

In 2018, she announced that she had been diagnosed with “the beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer’s disease.”

Her husband, John O’Connor, died of complications of Alzheimer’s in 2009.

O’Connor’s nomination in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and subsequent confirmation by the Senate ended 191 years of male exclusivity on the high court. A native of Arizona who grew up on her family’s sprawling ranch, O’Connor wasted little time building a reputation as a hard worker who wielded considerable political clout on the nine-member court.

The granddaughter of a pioneer who traveled west from Vermont and founded the family ranch some three decades before Arizona became a state, O’Connor had a tenacious, independent spirit that came naturally. As a child growing up in the remote outback, she learned early to ride horses, round up cattle and drive trucks and tractors.

“I didn’t do all the things the boys did,” she said in a 1981 Time magazine interview, “but I fixed windmills and repaired fences.”

On the bench, her influence

Republican Congressman George Santos expelled amid scandal and charges of fraud Santos, who has faced allegations of lies, fraudulent activities, and bizarre behavior, witnessed his downfall primarily at the hands of fellow Republicans who found his conduct too egregious to tolerate.

by Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent

Credit: Shutterstock

GOP Rep. George Santos of New York has become the third congressman in the last 50 years to be expelled from Capitol Hill.

Santos, who has faced allegations of lies, fraudulent activities, and bizarre behavior, witnessed his downfall primarily at the hands of fellow Republicans who found his conduct too egregious to tolerate.

Among the fabrications, Santos falsely claimed that his mother perished during the Sept.

11, 2001, terror attacks and later awkwardly walked back comments that he was Jewish, adding to a litany of untruths.

His expulsion also follows a sweeping 23-count superseding indictment by the Department of Justice (DOJ), charging him with conspiracy, wire fraud, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), falsifying records, aggravated identity theft and access device

fraud.

On Dec. 1, members of Congress voted to expel him.

The resolution required a twothirds majority vote to succeed.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that 311 members of the House voted to expel Santos, 114 members voted against the expulsion, and two members recorded themselves as “present.”

He is the first member of Congress to be expelled since the Civil War who was not convicted of a felony beforehand.

Expulsion is handled administratively in the same way as a vacancy, such as due to death or resignation, according to a former House parliamentarian.

The House clerk assumes control of the office and makes decisions on behalf of that office.

Among other steps, the clerk will determine the process for continued in next 2 columns

could best be seen, and her legal thinking most closely scrutinized, in the court’s rulings on abortion, perhaps the most contentious and divisive issue the justices faced.

O’Connor balked at letting states outlaw most abortions, refusing in 1989 to join four other justices who were ready to reverse the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that said women have a constitutional right to abortion.

Then, in 1992, she helped forge and lead a five-justice majority that reaffirmed the core holding of the 1973 ruling.

“Some of us as individuals find abortion offensive to our most basic principles of morality, but that can’t control our decision,” O’Connor said in court, reading a summary of the decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

“Our obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate our own moral code.”

Thirty years after that decision, a more conservative court did overturn Roe and Casey, and the opinion was written by the man who took her high court seat, Justice Samuel Alito. He joined the court upon O’Connor’s retirement in 2006, chosen by President George W. Bush.

In 2000, O’Connor was part of the 5-4 majority that effectively resolved the disputed 2000 presidential election in favor of Bush, over Democrat Al Gore.

Bush was among many prominent Americans offering condolences Dec. 1. “It was fitting that Sandra became the first female appointed to our highest court, because she was a pioneer who lived by the code of the west,” Bush said in a statement. “She was determined and honest, modest and considerate, dependable and self-reliant. She was also fun and funny, with a wonderful sense of humor.”

Former President Barack Obama, who awarded O’Connor the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, praised her for

“forging a new path and building a bridge behind her for all young women to follow.”

O’Connor was regarded with great fondness by many of her colleagues. When she retired, Justice Clarence Thomas, a consistent conservative, called her “an outstanding colleague, civil in dissent and gracious when in the majority.”

She could, nonetheless, express her views tartly. In one of her final actions as a justice, a dissent to a 5-4 ruling to allow local governments to condemn and seize personal property to allow private developers to build shopping plazas, office buildings and other facilities, she warned that the majority had unwisely ceded yet more power to the powerful. “The specter of condemnation hangs over all property,” O’Connor wrote.

“Nothing is to prevent the state from replacing … any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory.”

O’Connor, whom commentators had once called the nation’s most powerful woman, remained the court’s only woman until 1993, when, much to O’Connor’s delight and relief, President Bill Clinton nominated Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The current court includes a record four women.

The enormity of the reaction to O’Connor’s appointment had surprised her. She received more than 60,000 letters in her first year, more than any one member in the court’s history. “I had no idea when I was appointed how much it would mean to many people around the country,” she once said. “It affected them in a very personal way. People saw it as a signal that there are virtually unlimited opportunities for women. It’s important to parents for their daughters, and to daughters for themselves.”

At times, the constant publicity

Green equity stewardship

as

green

To invest in more green space for underserved communities means investing in those communities as caretakers of this space, said Bz Zhang, Project Manager of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust (LANLT) — which, since its inception in 2002, has created about 30 parks and gardens across 21 acres of green space for over half a million LA County residents.

Since majority non-white communities “have 64% less access to park space than those in white neighborhoods, and lower income communities have 66% less,” greening LA County best means “doing so explicitly from an equity lens,” Zhang explained. Most crucial to this equity is communitycentered stewardship: LANLT maintains the parks they plant by “hiring part-time stewards from within the neighborhood they’re located.”

Bz Zhang, Project Manager, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, explains how a park stewardship program is ensuring the health of local parks, while also providing opportunities for community members, including

“In these communities we create stewardship training programs … particularly for youth, through our Garden Apprenticeship Program, which has worked with over 350 high school students in south LA since 2013 to arm the next generation with the skills to tend to these spaces which are so crucial to their health … We can always build parks, but we also have to make sure those most impacted by green inequity have access to them,” Zhang added.

‘A matter of life and death’

This access to urban greenery is ever-more crucial as humankind becomes an increasingly urban species, said Jon Christensen: “As of 2007, over half of us live in cities, and that’s expected to go up to 70% by 2050. Cities are our habitat and our resilience to climate change — the resilience of our own health as a species — requires that we invest in cities, which means remedying the inequities which have shaped our urban environment. It’s a matter of life and death.”

In its efforts to remedy green inequity, “Los Angeles is a model of global concern for understanding urban ecosystems,” said Christensen, adjunct assistant professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment, Luskin Center for Innovation, and Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies.

In California alone, he continued, “$100 billion dollars will be spent on green infrastructure, urban greening and climate resilience over the next several years — half of it from the federal government and half from the state.” As governments worldwide begin to implement similar measures, “We need to recognize that planting trees is not enough; we need to ensure that the communities which most need them can thrive with them.”

continued on page 6

Republican Congressman George Santos expelled amid scandal and charges of fraud...continued clearing Santos’ office, while his district office would remain fully operational to address the needs of its constituents.

The chamber’s clerk will inform the governor of New York that there is now a vacancy in the third district of New York.

It is then up to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to schedule a special election to replace him.

“We don’t know who he is at all. He’s a dedicated, committed con man in the halls of Congress and has access to government secrets, to a lot of things that could be damaging to this country. He has to go,” said Republican Rep. Brandon Williams of New York.

Santos faced criticism from both sides of the aisle. GOP Rep. Marc Molinaro said, “George Santos is doing what every con man and 4-year-old does, which is to ignore the truth, take no responsibility and point at others and suggest they are worse.”

The expulsion process faced initial uncertainty, with some questioning whether a vote would occur.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, criticized Santos and the GOP for engaging in what she described as a distracting “dueling expulsion” rather than addressing crucial issues like the migrant crisis or passing a budget.

House Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest, R-Miss., denounced Santos for criticizing the Ethics Committee’s report that advocated for his expulsion, stating, “George Santos would have you believe that the process that he endorsed in May is fatally flawed and that he instead is the subject of a political witch hunt.”

and priorities of areas lacking trees and greenery is key to successfully incorporating them into greening efforts, says Marcos Trinidad, Senior Director of Forestry, TreePeople.

Though TreePeople is based in LA County, Trinidad said that its model of community investment in “what is needed to have sustainable, sustainable urban forests” — namely planting, maintenance, preservation and education — is meant to be shared well beyond LA: “We’re currently in the Inland Empire and Antelope Valley … and want to share our process with the rest of the world.”

In his defense, Santos argued that he had not been convicted of any crimes, emphasizing the lack of precedent for expulsion without a criminal conviction.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also expressed reservations about setting such a precedent.

However, the DOJ’s indictment revealed a complex scheme Santos allegedly executed during the election cycle. Prosecutors accused him of conspiring to obtain money for his campaign by submitting materially false reports to the FEC and inflating campaign fundraising numbers to qualify for financial and logistical support from a national party committee The scheme involved falsely reporting significant financial contributions from family members, never making loans, and misrepresenting financial stability. “Santos allegedly led multiple additional fraudulent criminal schemes, lying to the American public in the process,” said FBI Assistant Director-inCharge James Smith.

Added Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, “Santos is charged with stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign. Santos falsely inflated the campaign’s reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen.”

Santos, elected to Congress last November, was sworn in as the U.S. representative for New York’s Third Congressional District on Jan. 7, 2023.

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Thursday, December 07, 2023

Page 4

STATE/HEALTH//LIFESTYLE NEWS

Scientists Discover New HIV Strain In 20 Years State/Health /Lifestyle News

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As if HIV and AIDS wasn’t scary enough… The disease has stricken the Black community for decades and was starting to see some action against the disease, but for the first time in nearly 20 years, a team of scientists has detected a new strain of HIV. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that mutations in a virus can significantly change a pathogen’s infectiousness and severity of disease.

Now, new research from the University of Oxford finds a new variant of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, that is potentially more infectious and could more seriously affect the immune system.

So far, 109 people, most of whom live in the Netherlands, have the variant.

New HIV variant causes illness twice as fast The new strain, called the VB variant, damages the immune system, weakening people’s ability to fight everyday infections and diseases much faster than the previous HIV strains, scientists say.

It also means that people who contract the new variant may develop AIDS faster.

Researchers also found that VB has a viral load (the amount of virus detected in blood) 3.5 to 5.5 times higher than the current strain, indicating that it could also be more infectious.

Other HIV Strains The last strain that was found, called HIV-1 group M subtype L, is extremely rare and can

be detected by Abbott Lab’s current screening system. The company’s tests screen more than 60 percent of the global blood supply, she adds, noting it must detect every strain and “has to be right every time.”

In the early days of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s, some blood donors unaware that they had HIV added the virus to the blood supply. A large number of patients who needed regular blood transfusions—among them, many with hemophilia— ended up contracting HIV and often dying. The supply has been essentially clear of HIV for years, and Rodgers says efforts such as Abbott’s will help keep it that way.

“It can be a real challenge for diagnostic tests,” Mary Rodgers, a co-author of the report and a principal scientist at Abbott, said. Her company tests more than 60% of the world’s blood supply, she said, and they have to look for new strains and track those in circulation so “we can accurately detect it, no matter where it happens to be in the world.”

More than 37 million people live with HIV worldwide—the most ever recorded. “People think it’s not a problem anymore, and we’ve got it under control.

But, really, we don’t,” Sacha says.

Antiretroviral drugs inhibit the virus’s reproduction and spread, but they have significant side effects, he says. Even when drugs keep HIV under control, patients are at higher risk for blood cancer, cardiovascular complications, and other problems.

The danger from the virus

Fried Catfish Recipe Lifestyle News

persists. A radically new viral strain could evade detection in the blood supply, avoid being controlled by drugs and render future vaccines ineffective, Sacha says. “Viruses break through all the time, and we’re not ready to deal with them,” he adds, “just like what happened with the original HIV.” For scientists to be able to declare that this was a new subtype, three cases of it must be detected independently.

The first two were found in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1983 and 1990.

The two strains were “very unusual and didn’t match other strains,” Rodgers said. The third sample found in Congo was collected in 2001 as a part of an HIV viral diversity study (Notice, that all these strains were found in Africa).

The sample was small, and while it seemed similar to the two older samples, scientists wanted to test the whole genome to be sure. At the time, there wasn’t technology to determine if this was the new subtype.

New Strain Of HIV Discovered. Should We Be concerned?

Many viruses and bacteria that cause disease have different strains or genetic varieties.

Right now, we are in flu season.

We get flu vaccinations each year because the main strain responsible for the flu changes every year and we must develop a new vaccine. The Human papillomavirus which causes genital warts, cervical and anal cancers, and head and neck cancers has over 100 strains referred to as genotypes. Most of these strains are harmless to people, but other specific genotypes are able to cause the diseases I listed.

The Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has six major strains, also referred to as genotypes. One of the most striking differences between these genotypes is their response to treatment.

For example, when we used a drug called interferon to treat hepatitis C, patients with genotype 4 could expect to get cured by treatment whereas

patients with genotype 1a or 1b were far less likely to experience such a benefit. Fortunately, we now have easy to take medicines that can cure all genotypes of HCV in most cases with just a couple months of treatment (more on this topic in the future).

So what about HIV? There is a lot of variation in HIV strains.

First of all, you should understand that there are two major types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. For the most part, whenever you hear HIV, it is referring to HIV-1. It is by far the major virus that infects people all over the world. HIV-2 is only found in parts of West Africa.

Describes Terrifying Medical Experience!

HIV-2 is a deadly virus just as HIV-1 but it causes disease slower than HIV-1. It is also spread sexually, through birth and coming into contact with infected blood. It is possible for a person to be infected by both HIV-1 and HIV-2 but fortunately that isn’t very common. The biggest concern with HIV-2 is that there are some classes of HIV medicines that do not work against the virus. None of the drugs in the Non-nucleoside class (efavirenz, rilpivirine, etravirine, doravirne) can suppress HIV-2.

Also, some protease inhibitors don’t work (e.g. atazanavir) while others do (e.g. darunavir).

For HIV-1, the largest category of viruses are in group M and the different strains are referred to as subtypes. Subtypes are based on their genetic similarity and diversity. They are found in different geographical areas.

What is amazing to observe is that most developed countries have the same HIV subtype.

Throughout North America and Europe but also Latin America and the Caribbean, the predominant strain is HIV-1 subtype B. This is quite significant because the most research has been done in subtype B virus.

Diagnostic tests were developed to detect subtype B and all the drugs we used were developed for their effectiveness against subtype B virus. However, continued in next 2 columns

Opinion Today: The heavy cost of reporting the truth

By Tenzin D. Tsagong Editorial Assistant, Special Projects, Opinion

Credit: Shutterstock

Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 10 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 2 Ingredients ½ cup buttermilk ½ cup water salt and pepper, to taste 1 pound catfish fillets, cut in strips 1 ½ cups fine cornmeal ½ cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning 1 quart vegetable oil for deep frying Directions

Mix buttermilk, water, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Pour mixture into a flat pan large enough to hold fillets. Arrange fillets in a single layer in the pan, turning to coat each side.

Set aside to marinate.

Combine cornmeal, flour, and seafood seasoning in a 2-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add fillets to the bag, a few at a time, and tumble gently until evenly coated.

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).

Fry fillets in hot oil until crisp and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Work in batches to avoid overcrowding, so fillets have room to brown properly.

Drain on paper towels and plate with your favorite sides. Enjoy!

It’s a cruel fact of war that at any moment, a journalist covering the story could become part of it. Another casualty.

Another headline. And yet war journalism has perhaps never been more dangerous or more important.

Since the Israel-Gaza war began on Oct. 7, over 60 journalists and media personnel have been killed — the deadliest conflict for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists began tracking such data 30 years ago. In comparison, in the nearly two years of the war in Ukraine, 17 journalists and media workers have been killed.

Perhaps none are more aware of and prepared for the perils of war reporting than journalists themselves. Nonetheless, the reporter Lama Al-Arian writes in a guest essay for Opinion that nothing could have prepared her for the death of her friend Issam Abdallah, a Reuters video journalist who was killed in southern Lebanon on Oct. 13 after an airstrike from the direction of the Israeli border struck him and other journalists.

Moments before his death, they were reporting on increasing skirmishes since Oct. 7 between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces.

Al-Arian’s essay is a moving

tribute to her friend and his fervent commitment to reporting the truth, even when it meant risking his life. It’s also a story of their friendship, of her grief and of the collective need to bear witness during a time like this.

Most important, it is a demand to protect our fellow journalists in Gaza, especially as more and more continue to risk their lives, increasingly unconvinced that the vests marked “Press” that they wear are the guarantor of safety that they should be.

As Al-Arian reminds us, it’s only because of the courage of journalists like Abdallah that we have the brutal and unvarnished images of war that we do — the images of tiny bodies covered in white burial shrouds, of young children weeping and grieving after their dead parents, of a child’s leg wedged between bricks, dangling in the air.

As a member of the media, I keep grappling with these questions: What do we owe our frontline journalists? What does it mean to do right by them when our very work relies on their endangerment? I’m not sure what that entails, but I’m grateful that Al-Arian’s words so powerfully put into words the urgency of this moment and the heavy responsibility we all have to protect our journalists.

Scientists Discover New HIV Strain In 20 Years... continued other subtypes predominate in developing countries. The most widespread strain of HIV is subtype C. It is found throughout Southern Africa, parts of East Africa, India and other parts of Asia. Approximately half of all HIV infections in the world are from subtype C virus. As I just mentioned, diagnostic tests early on were developed to detect subtype B virus and oftentimes were not able to recognize infections from other subtypes because of minor differences in their genetic makeup.

This created a problem where HIV infections were sometimes missed here in the US if the person had been infected with a different subtype and may have come from another country. I would say that in the last couple of decades, the tests have been improved such that this is no longer a problem. There are differences between different subtypes in how easily they are transmitted sexually and through birth and also how aggressively they cause disease. For example, in the country of Uganda, most people have either subtype A or subtype D virus. But these two are NOT the same! Subtype A viruses have a significantly higher rate of heterosexual transmission than subtype D viruses.

However, in the absence of treatment, subtype D virus causes more damage to the immune system and progresses nearly twice as fast to AIDS as subtype A. The good news is that unlike the case for HIV-2, for HIV-1, all HIV medicines work in all subtypes for the most part.

Now back to the story at hand.

The new subtype identified has been designated subtype L. It has been isolated from the Congo in

central Africa. From what we can tell so far, all medicines should be effective against this strain.

We don’t think this strain is very widespread but we just don’t know yet because its discovery is so recent. There were specimens that had this virus that were from almost 20 years ago, but a new method of molecular genetic testing (called next-generation gene sequencing) allowed scientists to recognize the unique features of this virus and classify it as a new subtype.

HIV originated in Africa and spread to other parts of the world. Some scientists believe that HIV came into the human species from chimpanzees, yet HIV is very seldom found in wild chimpanzees. HIV-2 is found in a type of monkey called the Sooty mangabey, but it doesn’t cause disease in these monkeys. HIV doesn’t cause disease in most apes and monkeys because their bodies produce compounds which block infection by HIV. These compounds are specialized proteins called restriction factors, and they can work in a variety of ways along with the immune system to fight HIV naturally. Humans also produce a variety of restriction factors which can seriously slow down the virus in our bodies and helps explain why HIV takes several years to progress to AIDS and cause death. Perhaps, by studying subtype L virus and people who are infected with that strain, we may discover new ways that our bodies can fight the virus through restriction factors or the immune system and possibly develop new treatments.

I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about subtype L HIV in the near future.

6 Reasons Why You Should Take Your Mental Health Seriously

By Stan Popovich Many people underestimate the impact that mental illness can have on an individual or family. It can be difficult to admit that you have a mental health problem in your life. Secondly, it can be just as difficult in getting the people you know to understand your situation without making any kinds of judgments.

As a result, here are six reasons why you should make your mental health an important priority in your life.

1. Your situation will improve if you get help: Your anxieties and fears can be challenging to manage and more than likely you will need some help. Just as you talk to your doctor about your regular health, you should not be hesitant in seeking help for your mental health. If left untreated, your anxieties and fears may not go away.

2. Drugs and alcohol are not the answer: Drugs and alcohol can make your problems more complicated. Many people have said that drugs and alcohol will only add more problems to your situation. Be smart and learn how to cope with your mental health issues by talking to a qualified professional. There are many health professionals in your area that can give you some ideas on where you can go for assistance.

3. You will save time and money: Eventually, you will have to confront your fears and mental health issues. Save yourself the time and heartache and confront your problems now rather than later. You will save months of struggling by getting help right away. The sooner you get assistance the faster you will start getting some relief.

4. You are not alone: Everyone deals with fear, stress, and anxiety in one’s life whether your friends and others care to admit it. In addition, do not be embarrassed that you are getting help. We all learn new things from others on a daily basis and learning how to manage your anxieties is no different. In addition, your goal is to get your life back on track and not to get everyone’s approval. If people start asking you questions, just say your dealing with stress.

Most people can relate to dealing with stress and anxiety!

5. Do not make the mistake of doing nothing: There are many people who struggled with anxiety and other mental health related issues, and they tried to ignore their problems.

As a result, some of these people struggled on a daily basis and eventually things became more difficult. It can be scary asking for assistance, but the key is to take things one day at a time.

6. You have a variety of options: There are many mental health support groups, organizations, and counselors in your area that can help get your life back on track. Talk to your doctor to get more details on where you can go for some assistance. Help is available but you must be willing to make the choice of getting better. Remember that every problem has a solution.

You just have to make the effort to find the answers.

BIOGRAPHY Stan is the author of "A Layman's Guide to Managing Fear" which covers a variety of techniques that can drastically improve your mental health. For more information, please visit Stan's website at http://www. managingfear.com

Thursday, December 07, 2023

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LEGALS/CLASSIFIEDS/NEWS FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011560 Date Filed: 11/20/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/20/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg APLUS CARPET County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 11561 FOOTHILL BLVD STE 103. RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA 91730 #of Employees: 1 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: PRIMO FLOORING AND MORE State of Inc./ Org./Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No.: C4711052 Residence Street Address: 11561 FOOTHILL BLVD STE 103 RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA 91730 This business is/was conducted by: A Corporation Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Apr 02, 2021 Bilal Bechara, President, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper December 7, 14, 21, 28, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011323 Date Filed: 11/13/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/13/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): LONG DOG LOCALE LLC County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 5151A CRACKER JACK LANE FORT IRWIN, CA 92310 # of Employees: 1 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: LONG DOG LOCALE LLC State of Inc./Org./Reg.: AR Inc./Org./Reg. No.: 202359118417 Residence Street Address: 737 TOWN AND COUNTRY DRIVE BOONEVILLE, AR 72927 This business is/was conducted by: A Limited Liability Company Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Sep 08, 2023 Ivy Nicole Gonzalez, CEO, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 30, December 7, 14, 21, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011470 Date Filed: 11/16/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/16/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): ANN’S CUPBOARD County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 14742 BUTTERFLY CT VICTORVILLE, CA 92394 Mailing Address: 15437 ANACAPA RD VICTORVILLE, CA 92392 #of Employees: 1 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: ANNS CUPBOARD LLC State of Inc./Org./Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No.: 202358014083 Residence Street Address: 15437 ANACAPA RD VICTORVILLE, CA 92392 This business is/was conducted by: A Limited Liability Company Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Oct 01, 2023 Laura A. Mathews, CEO, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 30, December 7, 14, 21, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011622 Date Filed: 11/20/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/20/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): IT’S A BERRY DESIGN & PRINTING County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 46850 NATIONAL TRAILS HWY NEWBERRY SPRINGS, CA 92365 Mailing Address: PO BOX 398 NEWBERRY SPRINGS, CA 92365 #of Employees: 0 Name of Individual Registrant: THERESA A BERRY Residence Street Address: 46850 NATIONAL TRAILS HWY NEWBERRY SPRINGS, CA 92365 This business is/was conducted by: An Individual Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Jul 06, 1990 Theresa A. Berry, Owner, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 30, December 7, 14, 21, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230010823 Date Filed: 10/25/2023 Filing Expires On: 10/25/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): BUSY BEEZ CRAFTS County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 19195 SADDLE LN APPLE VALLEY, CA 92308

Name of Individual Registrant: SAMANTHA N SNAPE Residence Street Address: 19195 SADDLE LN APPLE VALLEY, CA 92308 This business is/was conducted by: An Individual Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Not Applicable Samantha N. Snape, Owner, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 23, 30, December 7, 14, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011764 Date Filed: 11/27/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/27/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): ALL AROUND SERVICES County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 15055 BEAR VALLEY ROAD SUITE #F HESPERIA, CA 92345 Mailing Address: 7850 KENYON AVENUE HESPERIA, CA 92345 #of Employees: 3 Name of Individual Registrant: RITA L. CAMARGO Residence Street Address: 7850 KENYON AVENUE HESPERIA, CA 92345 This business is/was conducted by: An Individual Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Nov 27, 2023 Rita L. Camargo, Owner, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper December 7, 14, 21, 28, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011314 Date Filed: 11/13/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/13/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): CCL DURABLE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT SUPPLY County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 9033 BASELINE ROAD SUITE C RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA 91730 #of Employees: 2 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: CINDERELLA’S CLOSET YOUR SPECIALTY LINGERIE BOUTIQUE State of Inc./Org./Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No.: 4327008 Residence Street Address: 9033 BASELINE ROAD, SUITE C RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA 91730 This business is/was conducted by: A Corporation Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Oct 19, 2020 Dana Shartia Walker, President, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 23, 30, December 7, 14, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011258 Date Filed: 11/09/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/09/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): ELECTRICAL INNOVATIONS OF CALIFORNIA County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 12524 GOLD DUST WAY VICTORVILLE, CA 92392 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg INNOVATIONS OF CALIFORNIA State of Inc./Org./Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No: 4570301 Residence Street Address: 12524 GOLD DUST WAY VICTORVILLE, CA 92392 This business is/was conducted by: A Corporation Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Not Applicable Emmanuel Tshuma, President, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 30, December 7, 14, 21, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011333 Date Filed: 11/13/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/13/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): CARNITAS Y TAQUITOS CISNEROS County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 18108 MAIN ST HESPERIA, CA 92345 Name of Individual Registrant: PEDRO CISNEROS Residence Street Address: 18108 MAIN ST HESPERIA, CA 92345 Name of Individual Registrant: LIDIA ISELA ESCOBEDO Residence Street Address: 18108 MAIN ST HESPERIA, CA 92345 This business is/was conducted by: A Married Couple Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Jul 31, 2023 Pedro Cisneros, Owner, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 16, 23, 30, December 7, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011182 Date Filed: 11/06/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/06/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): LISAS MARKET County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 600 E D STREET ONTARIO, CA 91764 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: SHIV DADA CORPORATION State of Inc./Org./Reg.: Inc./Org./Reg. No.: Residence Street Address: 600 E D STREET ONTARIO, CA 91764 This business is/was conducted by: A Corporation Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Feb 28, 2019 Bhavi Patel, President, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper December 7, 14, 21, 28, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011400 Date Filed: 11/15/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/15/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): 1. CALIFORNIA SURGICAL SPECIALISTS MEDICAL GROUP 2. CALIFORNIA SURGICAL SPECIALISTS County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 500 NORTH EUCLID AVENUE UPLAND, CA 91786 #of Employees: 1 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: ALI ABIDALI DO PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL CORPORATION State of Inc./Org./Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No.: 5902279 Residence Street Address: 500 NORTH EUCLID AVENUE UPLAND, CA 91786 This business is/was conducted by: A Corporation Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Not Applicable Ali Abidali, CEO, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 23, 30, December 7, 14, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011776 Date Filed: 11/27/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/27/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): JOSHUA TREE RV & CAMPGROUND County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 6225 SUNBURST AVE JOSHUA TREE, CA 92252 #of Employees: 3 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg. : JT SUNBURST HOLDINGS, LLC State of Inc./Org./ Reg: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No.: 202110510312 Residence Street Address: 7190 WEST SUNSET BLVD. #90E LOS ANGELES, CA 90046 This business is/was conducted by: A Limited Liability Company Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: April 12, 2021 Christopher Haydon, Managing Member, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 30, December 7, 14, 21, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011499 Date Filed: 11/16/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/16/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): INLAND EMPIRE PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 15632 BEAR VALLEY RD SUITE 106 VICTORVILLE, CA 92395 Mailing Address: 6086 LOS ALTOS CT RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA 91739 #of Employees: 3 Name of Individual Registrant: Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: INLAND EMPIRE PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY State of Inc./Org./Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No.: 5853026 Residence Street Address: 15632 BEAR VALLEY RD SUITE 106 VICTORVILLE, CA 92395 This business is/was conducted by: A Corporation Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Not Applicable Hani Ghawi, President, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 23, 30, December 7, 14, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011926 Date Filed: 12/01/2023 Filing Expires On: 12/01/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): AUTO KINGS County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 1697 N. 2ND AVE UPLAND, CA 91784 #of Employees: 1 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: ANETICA INTERNATIONAL LLC State of Inc./ Org./Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reb No.: Residence Street Address: 1697 N 2ND AVE UPLAND, CA 91784 This business is/was conducted by: A Limited Liability Company Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Nov 30, 2023 Amir Jafari, President, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper December 7, 14, 21, 28, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230011404 Date Filed: 11/15/2023 Filing Expires On: 11/15/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): PIRTEK OF VICTORVILLE County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 13425 RODEO RD OAK HILLS, CA 92344 # of Employees: 0 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: MR UNITED INC. State of Inc./Org./Reg.: CA Inc./ Org./Reg. No.: 5678183 Residence Street Address: 13425 RODEO ST OAK HILLS, CA 92344 This business is/was conducted by: A Corporation Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Not Applicable Martha A. Barron Carrillo, President, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 30, December 7, 14, 21, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230010030 Date Filed: 10/02/2023 Filing Expires On: 10/02/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): E&C AUTO BODY AND PAINT SOLUTIONS County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 14543 HESPERIA RD VICTORVILLE, CA 92395 #of Employees: 2 Name of Individual Registrant: Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: E&C AUTO BODY AND PAINT SOLUTIONS State of Inc./Org./Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No.:5885617 Residence Street Address: 14543 HESPERIA RD VICTORVILLE, CA 92395 This business is/was conducted by: A Corporation Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Oct 02, 2023 Cesar Arreola Gonzalez, President, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 23, 30, December 7, 14, 2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN 20230010959 Date Filed: 10/30/2023 Filing Expires On: 10/30/2028 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): SCOUT FRAGRANCE County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 1381 NORTH PICO AVE SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92411 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: SCOUT BRAND CO LLC State of Inc./Org./ Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No.: 202358118047 Residence Street Address: 1381 NORTH PICO AVE SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92411 This business is/was conducted by: A Limited Liability Company Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Not Applicable Eric Green, Managing Member, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct.

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 FORT 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. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper November 23, 30, December 7, 14, 2023.

PETITION/PROBATE NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: PHEBE ANN SULLIVAN DECEDENT CASE NO: PROVA2300299 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of: PHEBE ANN SULLIVAN A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by BRIAN EDWARD SULLIVAN in the Superior Court of California, County of SAN BERNARDINO THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that: BRIAN EDWARD SULLIVAN 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: Jan 11, 2024 Time: 9:00 a.m.

Dept: F1 FONTANA SUPERIOR COURT 17780 Arrow Blvd.

Fontana, CA 92335 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 decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code.

Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

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 (form 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.

Attorney for Petitioner: Christina Ferrante, Attorney At Law 10700 Civic Center Dr., Suite 200 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 (909)989-9923 Published in The San Bernardino American Newspaper December 7, 14, 21, 2023.

SUMMONS SUMMONS (CITACION JUDICIAL) NOTICE TO DEFENDANT (AVISO AL DEMANDADO): ELIZABETH MEDINA, an Individual, CRISTINA GARCIA ALVEZ. an Individual, BREYANNA RONEY ANAYA, an Individual and Does 1-25, Inclusive YOU ARE BEING SUED

BY PLAINTIFF (LO ESTÁ DEMANDANDO EL DEMANDANTE): HERMOGENES MALAGUIT an Individual, SHARON LIZ ESCARA MALAGUIT, an Individual NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below.

You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response.

You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www. courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court.

There are other legal requirements.

You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online SelfHelp Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association.

NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case.

The court's lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. ¡AVISO! Lo han demandado. Si no responde dentro de 30 días, la corte puede decidir en su contra sin escuchar su versión. Lea la información a continuación.

Tiene 30 DÍAS DE CALENDARIO después de que le entreguen esta citación y papeles legales para presentar una respuesta por escrito en esta corte y hacer que se entregue una copia al demandante. Una carta o una llamada telefónica no lo protegen.

Su respuesta por escrito tiene que

estar en formato legal correcto si desea que procesen su caso en la corte. Es posible que haya un formulario que usted pueda usar para su respuesta. Puede encontrar estos formularios de la corte y más información en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (www. sucorte.ca.gov), en la biblioteca de leyes de su condado o en la corte que le quede más cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentación, pida al secretario de la corte que le dé un formulario de exención de pago de cuotas. Si no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el caso por incumplimiento y la corte le podrá quitar su sueldo, dinero y bienes sin más advertencia.

Hay otros requisitos legales. Es recomendable que llame a un abogado inmediatamente. Si no conoce a un abogado, puede llamar a un servicio de remisión a abogados. Si no puede pagar a un abogado, es posible que cumpla con los requisitos para obtener servicios legales gratuitos de un programa de servicios legales sin fines de lucro.

Puede encontrar estos grupos sin fines de lucro en el sitio web de California Legal Services, (www. lawhelpcalifornia.org), en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California, (www.sucorte.ca.gov) o poniéndose en contacto con la corte o el colegio de abogados locales. AVISO: Por ley, la corte tiene derecho a reclamar las cuotas y los costos exentos por imponer un gravamen sobre cualquier recuperación de $10,000 ó más de valor recibida mediante un acuerdo o una concesión de arbitraje en un caso de derecho civil. Tiene que pagar el gravamen de la corte antes de que la corte pueda desechar el caso.

CASE NUMBER (Número del Caso): CIVSB 2108333 The name and address of the court is (El nombre y dirección de la corte es): SAN BERNARDINO SUPERIOR COURT 247 W. Third St. San Bernardino, CA 92415 The name, address, and telephone number of plaintiff's attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is (El nombre, la dirección y el número de teléfono del abogado del demandante, o del demandante que no tiene abogado, es): Fernando D. Vargas Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas 8647 Haven Ave., Ste. 200 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 (909) 982-0707 DATE (Fecha): Jun 28, 2021 Clerk of Court (Secretario), by Alma Vallejo Garcia, Deputy (Adjunto) (SEAL) NOTICE TO THE PERSON SERVED: You are served Published in The San Bernardino American Newspaper November 16, 23, 30, December 7, 2023.

COMPLAINT-Personal Injury, Property Damage, Wrongful Death SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO 247 W. Third Street San Bernardino, CA 92415 San Bernardino Justice Center PLAINTIFF: HERMOGENES MALAGUIT an Individual, SHARON LIZ ESCARA MALAGUIT, an Individual DEFENDANT: ELIZABETH MEDINA, an Individual, CHRISTINA GARCIA an Individual, BREYANNA RONEY ANAYA an Individual and DOES 1 to 25, Inclusive CASE NUMBER: CIVSB 2108333 COMPLAINT-Personal Injury, Property Damage, Wrongful Death Type: MOTOR VEHICLE Personal Injury ACTION IS AN UNLIMITED CIVIL CASE (exceeds $25,000) 1.

P l a i n t i f f : HERMOGENES MALAGUIT an Individual, SHARON LIZ ESCARA MALAGUIT, an Individual alleges causes of action against defendant: ELIZABETH MEDINA, an Individual CRISTINA GARCIA ALVEZ, an Individual, BREYANNA RONEY ANAYA, an Individual and DOES 1-25, Inclusive 6. The true names of defendants sued as Does are unknown to plaintiff. a. Doe defendants 1-25, Inclusive were the agents or employees of other named defendants and acted within the scope of that agency or employment. b. Doe defendants 1-25, Inclusive are persons whose capacities are unknown to plaintiff.

8.This court is the proper court because: c. Injury to person or damage to personal property occurred in its jurisdictional area.

10. The following causes of action are attached and the statements above apply to each : a. Motor Vehicle b. General Negligence 11. Plaintiff has suffered a. wage loss b. loss of use of property c. hospital and medical expenses d. general damage e. property damage f. loss of earning capacity g. other damage: Costs of suit herein and any other Court may deem just and proper.

14. Plaintiff prays for judgment for costs of suit, for such relief as is fair, just and equitable; and for a. (1) compensatory damages The amount of damages is: (1) according to proof Date: 03/30/2021 Donald W. Matejka SIGNATURE OF PLAINTIFF OR ATTORNEY

FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION--Motor Vehicle ATTACHMENT TO Complaint. Cross – Complaint Plaintiff: HERMOGENES MALAGUIT an Individual, SHARON LIZ ESCARA MALAGUIT. an Individual MV- 1. Plaintiff alleges the acts of defendants were negligent, the acts were the legal(proximate) cause of injuries and damages to plaintiff; the acts occurred on: 04/05/2019 at Orange St. at or near Union Ave. in the City of Redlands, CA 92374

MV-2 DEFENDANTS a.

The defendants who operated a motor vehicle are: ELIZABETH MEDINA , an Individual, BREYANNA RONEY ANAYA. an Individual and Does 1 to b.

The defendants who employed the persons who operated a motor vehicle in the course of their employment are: Does 1 to c.

The defendants who owned the motor vehicle which was operated with their permission are: Costs of suit herein and any other the Court may deem just and proper.

Does 1 to d.

The defendants who entrusted the motor vehicle are: Does 1 to e.

The defendants who ere the agents and employees of the other defendants and acted within the scope of the agency were: Does 03/30/2021 f.

The defendants who are liable to plaintiffs for other reasons and the reasons for the liability are: Does 1 to 25, Inclusive FIRST CAUSE OF ACTIONGeneral Negligence ATTACHMENT TO Complaint GN-1 Plaintiff: HERMOGENES MALAGUIT an Individual, SHARON LIZ ESCARA MALAGUIT, an Individual alleges that defendant: ELIZABETH MEDINA, an Individual, CRISTINA GARCIA ALVEZ, an Individual, BREYANNA RONEY ANAYA, an Individual and Does 1 to 25, Inclusive Was the legal (proximate) cause of damages to plaintiff. By the following acts or omissions to act, defendant negligently caused the damage to plaintiff on 04/05/2019 at Orange St. at or near Union Ave. in the City of Redlands, CA 92374 (description of reasons for liability) Plaintiffs, HERMOGENES MALAGUIT an Individual, SHARON LIZ ESCARA MALAGUIT, an Individual, suffered serious bodily injuries and related damages when ELIZABETH MEDINA, an Individual, CRISTINA GARCIA ALVEZ, an Individual, BREYANNA RONEY ANAYA, an Individual and Does 1-25, Inclusive while operating the vehicle in a reckless, negligent and unlawful manner cause a violent collision with Plaintiffs’ vehicle.

Published in The San Bernardino American Newspaper. November 16, 23, 30, December 7, 2023 SUMMONS (CITACION JUDICIAL)

servicios legales sin fines de lucro.

Puede encontrar estos grupos sin fines de lucro en el sitio web de California Legal Services, (www. lawhelpcalifornia.org), en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California, (www.sucorte.ca.gov) o poniéndose en contacto con la corte o el colegio de abogados locales. AVISO: Por ley, la corte tiene derecho a reclamar las cuotas y los costos exentos por imponer un gravamen sobre cualquier recuperación de $10,000 ó más de valor recibida mediante un acuerdo o una concesión de arbitraje en un caso de derecho civil. Tiene que pagar el gravamen de la corte antes de que la corte pueda desechar el caso.

The name and address of the court is (El nombre y dirección de la corte es): Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino 247 W. Third St. San Bernardino, CA 92415 CASE NUMBER (Numero de Caso): CIVSB 2318953 The name, address, and telephone number of plaintiff's attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is (El nombre, la dirección y el número de teléfono del abogado del demandante, o del demandante que no tiene abogado, es): Bryant C. MacDonald Esq. 300 E. State Street, Suite 450 Redlands, CA 92373 (909) 793-7995 DATE (Fecha): Aug 11, 2023 Clerk of Court (Secretario) by Abrianna Rodriguez, Deputy (Adjunto) (SEAL) NOTICE TO THE PERSON SERVED: You are served Published In The San Bernardino American Newspaper November 23, 30, December 7, 14, 2023.

STARTING A NEW BUSINESS?

NOTICE TO DEFENDANT (AVISO AL DEMANDADO): Shirley Byrd

PUBLISH

YOU ARE BEING SUED

BY PLAINTIFF (LO ESTÁ DEMANDANDO EL DEMANDANTE): Green Solution Environmental Services, Inc.

YOUR

NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below.

You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response.

You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www. courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court.

There are other legal requirements.

You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online SelfHelp Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association.

NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case.

The court's lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. ¡AVISO! Lo han demandado. Si no responde dentro de 30 días, la corte puede decidir en su contra sin escuchar su versión. Lea la información a continuación.

Tiene 30 DÍAS DE CALENDARIO después de que le entreguen esta citación y papeles legales para presentar una respuesta por escrito en esta corte y hacer que se entregue una copia al demandante. Una carta o una llamada telefónica no lo protegen.

Su respuesta por escrito tiene que estar en formato legal correcto si desea que procesen su caso en la corte. Es posible que haya un formulario que usted pueda usar para su respuesta. Puede encontrar estos formularios de la corte y más información en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (www. sucorte.ca.gov), en la biblioteca de leyes de su condado o en la corte que le quede más cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentación, pida al secretario de la corte que le dé un formulario de exención de pago de cuotas. Si no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el caso por incumplimiento y la corte le podrá quitar su sueldo, dinero y bienes sin más advertencia.

Hay otros requisitos legales. Es recomendable que llame a un abogado inmediatamente. Si no conoce a un abogado, puede llamar a un servicio de remisión a abogados. Si no puede pagar a un abogado, es posible que cumpla con los requisitos para obtener servicios legales gratuitos de un programa de

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Thursday, December 07, 2023

Page 6

WORLD/POLITICAL NEWS/LEGAL/CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

Court document claims Meta Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, has died at age 93...continued knowingly designed its platforms “When (someone) lights a fire, most large law firms did not hire we invariably are asked to attend women. to hook kids, reports say to the blaze. We may arrive at the One Los Angeles firm offered

By Associated Press staff

An unsealed legal complaint alleges that Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, targeted children with ads. Credit: Shutterstock Facebook parent Meta Platforms deliberately engineered its social platforms to hook kids and knew — but never disclosed — it had received millions of complaints about underage users on Instagram but only disabled a fraction of those accounts, according to a newly unsealed legal complaint described in reports from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

The complaint, originally made public in redacted form, was the opening salvo in a lawsuit filed in late October by the attorneys general of 33 states.

Company documents cited in the complaint described several Meta officials acknowledging the company designed its products to exploit shortcomings in youthful psychology such as impulsive behavior, susceptibility to peer pressure and the underestimation of risks, according to the reports.

Others acknowledged Facebook and Instagram also were popular with children under age 13 who, per company policy, were not allowed to use the service.

Meta said in a statement to The Associated Press that the complaint misrepresents its work over the past decade to make the online experience safe for teens, noting it has “over 30 tools to

support them and their parents.”

With respect to barring younger users from the service, Meta argued age verification is a “complex industry challenge.”

Instead, Meta said it favors shifting the burden of policing underage usage to app stores and parents, specifically by supporting federal legislation that would require app stores to obtain parental approval whenever youths under 16 download apps.

One Facebook safety executive alluded to the possibility that cracking down on younger users might hurt the company’s business in a 2019 email, according to the Journal report.

But a year later, the same executive expressed frustration that while Facebook readily studied the usage of underage users for business reasons, it didn’t show the same enthusiasm for ways to identify younger kids and remove them from its platforms, the Journal reported.

The complaint noted that at times Meta has a backlog of up to 2.5 million accounts of younger children awaiting action, according to the newspaper reports.

This article was originally published by the Associated Press.

Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, has died at age 93...continued from page 3 was almost unbearable. “I had never expected or aspired to be a Supreme Court justice,” she said.

“My first year on the court made me long at times for obscurity.”

Following her retirement, O’Connor expressed regret that a woman had not been chosen to replace her.

O’Connor remained active in the government even after she retired from the court. She sat as a judge on several federal appeals courts, advocated for judicial independence and served on the Iraq Study Group. She also was appointed to the honorary post of chancellor at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

O’Connor cited her husband’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease as her primary reason for leaving the court. After moving into an assisted living center, John O’Connor struck up a romance with a fellow Alzheimer’s patient, a relationship experts say is not uncommon among people with dementia. The retired justice was relieved that he was comfortable and happy at the center, according to her son, Scott.

On the bench, O’Connor generally favored states in disputes with the federal government. She often sided with police when they faced claims of violating people’s rights. In 1985, she wrote for the court as it ruled that the confession of a criminal suspect first warned about his rights may be used as trial evidence, even if police

violated the suspect’s rights in obtaining an earlier confession.

A 1991 decision written by O’Connor said police do not violate the Constitution’s ban against unreasonable searches and seizures when they board buses and randomly ask passengers to consent to being searched. In a 1994 decision, O’Connor said police officers need not stop questioning and seek clarification when a criminal suspect makes what might have been an ambiguous request for legal help.

O’Connor wrote for the court in 1992, when it said prison guards violate inmates’ rights by using unnecessary physical force even if no serious injuries result, and in 1993, when it ruled that employers may be guilty of illegal sexual harassment even in the absence of any psychological harm.

In 2004, O’Connor wrote the majority opinion that went against the Bush administration in ruling that an American citizen seized on the Afghanistan battlefield can challenge his detention in U.S. courts. “We have long since made clear that a state of war is not a blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of the Nation’s citizens,” O’Connor wrote.

O’Connor once described herself and her eight fellow justices as nine firefighters: continued in next 2 columns

scene a few years later.”

O’Connor announced her retirement in a one-sentence written statement. She cited her age, then 75, and said she “needs to spend time” with her family. Her official resignation letter to Bush was similarly succinct. “It has been a great privilege indeed to have served as a member of the court for 24 terms,” the justice wrote. “I will leave it with enormous respect for the integrity of the court and its role under our constitutional structure.”

“For an old ranching girl, you turned out pretty good,” Bush told her in a private call not long after receiving her letter, an aide said. Then, in the Rose Garden outside the Oval Office, he praised her as “a discerning and conscientious judge and a public servant of complete integrity.”

O’Connor was 51 when she joined the court to replace the retired Potter Stewart. A virtual unknown on the national scene until her appointment, she had served as an Arizona state judge and before that as a member of her state’s Legislature.

The woman who had climbed higher in the legal profession than any other woman did not begin her career auspiciously. As a topranked graduate of Stanford’s prestigious law school, class of 1952, O’Connor discovered that

her a job as a secretary. Perhaps it was that early experience that shaped O’Connor’s professional tenacity. While workweeks typically stretched to 60 hours or more, she found time to play tennis and golf. Before her husband developed Alzheimer’s, they danced expertly and made frequent appearances on the Washington party circuit.

In late 1988, O’Connor was diagnosed as having breast cancer, and she underwent a mastectomy. She missed just two weeks of work. That same year, she had her appendix removed.

O’Connor was embarrassed in 1989 after conservative Republicans in Arizona used a letter she had sent to support their claim that the United States is a “Christian nation.” The 1988 letter, which prompted some harsh criticism of O’Connor by legal scholars, cited three Supreme Court rulings in which the nation’s Christian heritage was discussed.

O’Connor said she regretted the letter’s use in a political debate. “It was not my intention to express a personal view on the subject of the inquiry,” she said.

O’Connor’s survivors include her three sons, Scott, Brian and Jay, six grandchildren and a brother.

Funeral plans were not immediately available.

Executions are on the rise in the U.S., even as public support wanes Vanessa Romo NPR (12/01/23) Phillip Hancock on Thursday became the fourth death row inmate executed in Oklahoma this year. The state's parole board had voted 3-2 to recommend clemency for Hancock, who was convicted for the 2001 murders of two men, but the governor declined to intervene.

Nationally, executions climbed for the second year in a row in 2023, with Texas and Florida accounting for more than half, according to a year-end-report by the Death Penalty Information Center. The increase comes as public opinion continues to turn against the death penalty.

Twenty-four people have been put to death so far in 2023, up from 18 in 2022 and 11 in 2021.

The center found that the increase can be attributed to Florida's return to executions after a three-year pause "as [Gov. Ron DeSantis] launched a presidential campaign." The state carried out six executions — Florida's highest number since 2014 — and it imposed five new death sentences, the highest number of any state this year.

More than a third of executions in 2022 were 'botched,' a report finds NATIONAL More than a third of executions in 2022 were 'botched,' a report finds As NPR previously reported, following the Parkland shooter trial, DeSantis made it easier for juries to impose the death penalty after signing a bill undoing a unanimous vote requirement. Now, an 8-to-4 jury vote is sufficient to recommend a death sentence. It is the lowest threshold in the county.

Meanwhile, Texas continued its streak as the nation's busiest capital punishment state, conducting eight executions this year.

The remaining courtordered deaths were limited to three states: Alabama, which killed two inmates after three botched executions last year; Missouri carried out four death warrants, including the first known execution of an openly transgender woman, Amber

McLaughlin; In Oklahoma, after a brief moratorium and internal investigation into failed execution attempts the previous year, the state carried out four of its 11 scheduled executions.

Americans believe the death penalty is unequally applied But despite the uptick in statesanctioned deaths, a majority of the public is turning against executions.

For the first time since it began surveying Americans on the death penalty in 2000, a Gallup poll found that more people believe that the death penalty is administered unfairly (50%) than fairly (47%). Support for the death penalty, at 53%, is the lowest since 1972, the poll showed.

"The data show that most Americans no longer believe the death penalty can be imposed fairly," Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), said in a statement.

The DPIC reports that given those shifting attitudes, as well as changes in the law and prosecutorial decision-making, most of the prisoners who were executed over the last 11 months "would likely not have been sentenced to death if tried today."

Instead, the prisoners would likely receive life sentences because contemporary juries are typically presented with comprehensive biographical and psychological histories of the defendant, the DPIC argues.

And it adds that defense attorneys today make more compelling arguments for an alternative sentencing.

Alabama sets January execution date using nitrogen gas LAW Alabama sets January execution date using nitrogen gas The study found that jurors now hear much more evidence of a defendant's mental illness, developmental impairments, and severe trauma during court proceedings, and therefore, are more likely to consider their effects before imposing the ultimate punishment.

According to data analyzed by the DPIC, 79% of the death row continued in next 2 columns

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Executions are on the rise in the U.S., even as public support wanes...continued inmates executed in 2023 had some disability or impairment, including serious mental illness, brain injury, developmental brain damage, or an IQ in the range considered intellectually disabled; and/or chronic serious childhood trauma, neglect and/ or abuse.

The report adds: "One-third or eight of the people executed had all three. At least three prisoners were under the age of 20 at the time of their crimes."

DPIC's Maher said the changing attitudes toward the death penalty also extend to conservative lawmakers and elected officials who, in recent years, have expressed "an unprecedented show of support for death-sentenced prisoners" moving some to "oppose use of the death penalty in their state."

For the first time since it began surveying Americans on the death penalty, a Gallup poll found that more people believe that the death penalty is administered unfairly (50%) than fairly (47%).

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Oklahoma Republicans rally for a new trial for Richard Glossip That is evident in Oklahoma, where Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond and a bipartisan group of 62 Oklahoma lawmakers — 45 of whom are also Republicans — are calling for the courts to vacate the conviction Richard

Glossip, who they say was unfairly tried.

In 1997, Justin Sneed, a handyman at an Oklahoma City motel killed his boss, Barry Van Treese, with a baseball bat during a robbery attempt. Sneed was soon captured and admitted to the murder. When the case went to trial, Sneed claimed that Glossip promised to pay him $10,000 in a murder-for-hire plot.

Sneed's testimony was the only evidence implicating Glossip and it spared him the death penalty.

In the end, Sneed received a life sentence without parole and is now serving time in a medium-security prison, while Glossip, who has maintained his innocence, faces death.

Glossip's first conviction was overturned on appeal due to ineffective counsel. In 2004, a second jury also found him guilty, issuing the death penalty.

Virginia hid execution files from the public. Here's what they don't want you to see INVESTIGATIONS Virginia hid execution files from the public. Here's what they don't want you to see But questions about Sneed's testimony and the absence of evidence against Glossip have undermined the legitimacy of the death sentence, leading to four stays and two independent investigations.

One of those revealed that continued on page 7

Thursday, December 07, 2023

Page 7

INLAND EMPIRE/ ENTERTAINMENT/RELIGION NEWS are on the rise in the U.S., even as public Making teaching sustainable for more Black men Renaissance: A Film By Executions support wanes...continued like me...continued Beyoncé review a secret toll on workers — then decades of maintaining their Black perspectives must classrooms, and students need

By Dwight Brown Film Critic for DwightBrownInk.com and NNPA News Wire

changed their politics He added: "I am good with the death penalty as long as we have a pure process all the way through, and we can say for sure, for certain, that we're executing guilty people. But if we have any ability for someone to get through there and be an innocent person, then I will fight against the death penalty here."

The DPIC's latest report notes that cases like these, combined with instances in which death row inmates are exonerated after

innocence, raise new concerns about the fairness and accuracy of the death penalty itself.

Another factor moving some lawmakers to enact moratoriums or pauses on executions is the continued difficulties states face in obtaining lethal injection drugs. As of now, 29 states have either abolished the death penalty or paused executions by executive action. Some who wish to forge ahead with scheduled death warrants have explored untested methods of executions.

inform the evolution of the teaching profession to make it a more inclusive and sustainable career path for us.

By taking an individualized approach to recruiting Black educators, I’m positioned to invest in those ready to inspire — and educate — our youth. I’ve seen firsthand how crucial it is for those closest to the communities we serve to be at the forefront of educational change and accountability.

The country’s schools,

more Black educators. To make that possible, Black perspectives must inform the evolution of the teaching profession to make it a more inclusive and sustainable career path for us. I’m proud to have not only followed in my grandfather’s footsteps, but also built upon his legacy by working with TFA and our school partners to create a pathway for more Black educators to thrive.

This article was originally published by Word In Black.

Lenny Kravitz Sets the Record Straight “Today, You Have A Very Serious on Black Awards Controversy Choice to Make!”

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

By Lou K. Coleman

Lou K. Coleman

Mother/wife, CEO and performer. Beyoncé knows who she is. Now the rest of the world will too. Just like her Beehive, a fan club that she showers with love and devotion: “My heart is full. My soul is full.”

The Destiny’s Child lead singer has some news. She’s grown as a solo artist. From a vocalist who can dance her ass off, to a leader who can knit together a family of musicians, dancers, designers and stage crew members and produce an astonishingly beautiful concert tour. One that cataloged 56 dates in 39 cities grossing $579M. Eighth highest grossing concert tour—ever. Highest grossing Black tour—ever. Furthermore, she’s written, co-directed (James B. Merryman, Mark Ritchie) and stars in this doc/concert film.

For those who couldn’t get (afford) tix to the tour, here it is.

Best seat in the house. Front row when you’d want it. Views from afar when you need perspective.

Even in midair when she rides a silver horse figure up into the rafters (cinematographers Dax Binn and Kenneth Wales). Most of the well-known songs from her career are sung, danced to and choreographed to a T. Favorites from her recent Grammy-winning album Renaissance, including the chart-topping hit “Break My Soul” and the powerful “Cuff It,” are performed and echoed by audiences that numbered up to 70,000 in one stadium.

The song interpretations are astutely and artistically clipped together from several concerts.

As one routine is in full display, magically the singers and dancers’ costumes change color.

Same song, same vocals pulled together from different venues.

Unfortunately, the editors’ judicious snipping doesn’t include the film’s length. At 2h

49m, forward momentum ebbs and flows. Axing 30 minutes of footage would have made everything more consistently mesmerizing and rhythmic.

Delving into Beyonce’s personal life becomes quite intimate. Mom, kids, husband and her much loved but deceased Uncle Johnny, a gay man who introduced her to house music and made her costumes, are all part of this portrait. Sometimes she’s profound: “I created a space where everyone is free.”

Sometimes not so much: “A diva is female hustler.” Hearing her philosophize about her life, time, artistry and psyche is good for the most part but in the long run it bloats the footage. Though the Beehive may beg to differ.

The clear highpoints are the dazzling performances. Hard to name another singer/dancer who can top what she does, bring that energy on tour and be even better in concert than she is on record.

Second billing must go to the eye-catching lighting design, glittery costumes and astounding scenery. This is a show of shows.

Add in guest performances, by Megan Thee Stallion, Kendrick Lamar and Diana Ross, and the star quotient is heavenly.

By film’s end, minus a couple of lapses, Queen B has pulled you in. She’s self-assured, loving, sensitive, thoughtful, imaginative, determined and ready for the next phase in her life. Joy. Joy is what Beyoncé brings to this very entertaining and tender doc. A contagious sense of optimism and acceptance for everyone. Moviegoers who weren’t ardent fans before, will be now. Brava.

Trailer: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=BGYIXarTNbA Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.

Executions are on the rise in the U.S., even as public support wanes...continued from page 6 the district attorney's office at the time had told police to destroy a box of evidence before Glossip's second trial and that crucial surveillance video information had also disappeared. Additionally, in the intervening years, letters written

by Sneed, in which he asks his now-deceased attorney about recanting his testimony, have also surfaced, throwing another wrench into the legitimacy of the court proceedings.

All of that has prompted the state attorney general to intercede on Glossip's behalf.

"While the State has previously opposed relief for Glossip, it has changed its position based on a careful review of the new

information that has come to light," Drummond wrote to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in April.

The evidence has also moved Oklahoma state Rep. Kevin McDugle, a Republican, who told NPR he believes Glossip is innocent and deserves a new trial.

McDugle said that after digging into the case and watching a documentary about Glossip, he "saw zero evidence that this guy actually had anything to do with the murder."

Carrying out executions took a secret toll on workers — then changed their politics INVESTIGATIONS Carrying out executions took continued in next 2 columns

Lenny Kravitz

Iconic rock star Lenny Kravitz has clarified his comments regarding his absence from Black Awards programs, emphasizing that his concerns were not directed at Black-owned media companies. In response to his comments to Esquire, the

National Newspaper Publishers Association’s Let It Be Known digital news broadcast had taken Kravitz to task, questioning whether Kravitz or his publicists and handlers were ignoring Black media. The National Newspaper continued on page 8

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Making teaching sustainable for more Black men like me...continued from page 2 more than $37,000, almost the same as the average starting teacher salary. Given the racial wealth gap, Black applicants, as a whole, want to make sure they can sustain themselves and avoid entering — or reentering — a cycle of poverty.

Though, as an organization, we’ve been able to provide more than $12 million annually in transitional support grants, as well as emergency and needbased financial aid, the average entry-level salary of teachers can still leave recent college graduates anxious about their future.

In many states, credentialing exams for subject matter and basic skills competency exacerbate the financial barriers to entering the profession. I’m proud of the efforts TFA has made to address these concerns in the short term through grants, as well as our work to advocate for legislation that improves teacher pay, reduces educator student loan debt, and investigates innovative ways to make teacher housing

more affordable.

Listening and integrating the community Nationwide, actively listening to the needs of our Black applicants has resulted in salary negotiations with our school districts and charter management organizations, clustering corps members at sites with strong retention of Black teachers, and placing folks where pro-Black programming is on-site.

In 2022, I launched our School Partner Pipeline initiative, which supports instructional aides and paraprofessionals who already have a bachelor’s degree and work in one of our partner schools to earn their teaching credentials. These folks, who often come from the community, are then able to continue as classroom teachers in a setting where they already have deep relationships with students and their families continued in next 2 columns

The same choice that was offered to the Israelites, in [Deuteronomy 30:11-20] is the same choice being offered to you today. The choice of life or death.

I admonish you to choose life.

Don't be on the fence like the children of Israel who refused to stand for the Lord at Mount Camel until they saw the power of God. Make your stand known today by making the right choice.

Choose life!

Listen, we have been told in the Word of God that there would come a time when this world, as we know it, will end. Don’t wait until it’s too late, things are about to come to a screeching halt. God said it and He is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.

[Numbers 23:19]. Choose life, so that you and your descendant may live. Don’t presume on God’s goodness in sparing you

or conclude that you can keep on ignoring His warnings. Because over the years, God has been speaking to you, and so far, you have turned your back on Him. But don’t keep doing it because, you don’t know when your life will end—and once it does, it will be too late. The Bible warns that there is no second chance after death! It says that “man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” [Hebrews 9:27].

Today, you have a very serious choice to make. Choose wisely!

Because there will come a point when God gets fed up and He will not relent from His judgment.

[Amos 7:1-9]. For thus saith the Lord, I will spare them no longer.

I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing, and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

[Genesis 6:3-7].

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses.

Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make.

Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!”

Slowing Down for Justice

by Amy Johnson While I was pregnant with our second child, our local church held an Advent Fair where we all made Advent wreaths out of cardstock, paper greens, and small candles.

We took ours home and I reverently placed it on our dining room table.

“Let’s try something,” I said to my spouse. “Let’s use it for grace every night during Advent.

Each week, we’ll say a prayer for hope, peace, love, or joy. I know our three-year old will probably say something about hoping for a fire truck, but that’s ok. Let’s give it a go.”

At the time, my brother-in-law was going through treatment for brain cancer. Our three-year-old knew he was sick.

The first night, we lit the first candle, each saying what we hoped for. Out of our young child’s mouth came, “I hope Uncle Brian gets better.”

This practice of how we said grace each Advent became such a tradition that years later, when our younger child served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, he brought the practice to his chosen community that year.

We still get out that old Advent wreath, spruce it up with cedar branches and greens from our yard, replace the candles, and pause each night to consider what we hope for, where we want peace, what we feel joy about, and what we love.

When Rosalyn Carter passed away recently, we lost a quiet and consistent hope-bearer in our country. I believe it’s important we not underestimate the power of quiet and consistent hope.

In order for us to create any justice in the world, we must consistently make space for hope.

This year, as I contemplate the state of the world, I’ll admit it is difficult to feel hope. Destruction rages in the Middle East, war continues in Ukraine, and deadly conflict, famine, and injustice reign in places that don’t make news headlines. There is an abundance of ignorance, finger pointing, Christian nationalism, white supremacy, climate destruction, and an epidemic of loneliness. There is illness in our bodies and minds and even in our very souls.

Hope is not passive; it is an action, or repeated actions.

Continuing to hope in the midst of relentless injustice is an act of profound resistance. When we intentionally slow down, breathe, reflect, and hope, we radically counter that which empire strives to create. Instead of working ourselves to exhaustion, we reclaim our belovedness, if only for a moment at a time.

However you choose to acknowledge Advent this year, my hope for you is that it includes slowing down. I hope you are able to connect with the spirit deep within you that is more than your body or your racing thoughts or your tumultuous emotions. Though seemingly counterintuitive, it’s actually an effective way to embody a practice of dismantling systems of oppression and violence and supremacy.

So this Advent, if you’re looking for me, I’ll be sitting around a beloved Advent wreath, taking deep breaths and resisting empire, one prayer at a time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rev. Amy Johnson is the Minister for Sexuality Education and Justice for the United Church of Christ.

Thursday, December 07, 2023

Page 8

LOCAL/NATIONAL/NEWS/ADVERTISING

Kravitz Sets the Record Straight on Black Sports Illustrated Names Deion Sanders Sportsman Lenny Awards Controversy...continued from page 7 of the Year for 2023

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

NNPA NEWSWIRE — After all the controversy that came with his decision to leave an HBCU, Jackson State University, Sanders remains a winner even after a losing season. The Colorado Buffaloes record is 4-8. But the excitement around the Buffaloes, despite the record, led to excitement for all of college football New Colorado Buffaloes Coach Deion Sanders has been named Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Year.”

After all the controversy with his decision to leave an HBCU, Jackson State University, Sanders remains a winner even after a losing season. The Colorado Buffaloes record is 4-8.

But the excitement around the Buffaloes, despite the record, led to excitement for all of college football.

Even though the Colorado Buffaloes did not make it to the Pac-12 championship and have lost their last six games, Sanders’ short time as head coach

has brought attention and money to a failing sports program in Colorado. Sanders’ son, star quarterback Shedeur Sanders, did not finish the season for the Buffaloes after a leg injury.

But the excitement around Deion Sanders, 56, despite the team’s record, has been undeniable. Sanders’ had already been a legend because of his exceptional skills on the field and his impact on the sports world as a multi-sport athlete and a charismatic personality. Sanders was the first time two-time Super Bowl champion after winning with the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX and the

Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX. Sanders was known for his exceptional speed and coverage skills, which earned him the nickname “Prime Time.”

Deion Sanders attended Florida State University, where he played both football and baseball. In football, he played as a cornerback and a punt returner.

He won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in college football. Sanders was also an outstanding baseball player, playing as an outfielder.

The New York Yankees drafted him in the 30th round of the 1988 MLB Draft.

Even after a season with an

unimpressive record, Sanders remains optimistic. “Coach Prime” is causing excitement in the same way he did at Jackson State, even though the population at Colorado is only 1.3% Black. Sanders is promising improvement next year.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the publisher of Black Virginia News.

She is a political analyst who appears regularly on #RolandMartinUnfiltered. She can be contacted at LBurke007@ gmail.com and on twitter at @ LVBurke

Publishers Association is the trade association of over 230 AfricanAmerican-owned newspapers and media companies comprising the 197-year-old Black Press of America. The show also tweeted at Kravitz on X, inviting him to explain why he chose to take his beef to mainstream media if he had been concerned about the Black Press.

In a statement, Kravitz expressed the importance of setting the record straight. “It is important to me to set the record straight on recent media reports based on an interview I did,” Kravitz asserted. “My Black musical heritage means a lot to me, and I owe my success to my supporters who have taken this journey with me over the span of my career.” He went on to clarify the specific nature of his comments, stating, “The comment I made was not about ‘Black media’ or the ‘Black community.’ I was specifically referring to black award shows in particular.” Kravitz, whose biggest hits include “American Woman,” and “It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over,” insisted that his comments were meant to express concern about ensuring

that Black artists are recognized for their work in what is now being called ‘non-traditional’ Black music. “Rock and Roll is the music we were instrumental in creating and is a part of our history,” he stated. “We must retain our heritage and celebrate that together.”

In his comments to Esquire that initially raised comments, Kravitz, a four-time Grammy winner, questioned why Black entertainment publications didn’t celebrate his success and expressed disappointment at never receiving invitations to events like the BET or Source Awards. “Here is a Black artist who has reintroduced many Black art forms, who has broken down barriers—just like those that came before me broke down.

That is positive. And they don’t have anything to say about it?” he stated in the interview.

Kravitz later acknowledged the contributions of networks like BET and others. “BET and countless others have paved the way for this type of recognition,” Kravitz asserted. “I hope that by sharing my concern, a spotlight will be shone on this issue. Love and peace.”

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