The San Bernardino Chamber of Commerce meeting. Left to right: Ernesto Hidalgo, VP RDICO; Mike Gallo, Kelly Space CEO; Carl M. Dameron, Dameron Communications President; RDIC Communty Outreach Left to right: Ernesto Hidalgo, VP RDICO; Mike Gallo, Kelly Space CEO; Carl M. Dameron, Dameron Communications President; RDIC Communty Outreach Left to right: Ernesto Hidalgo, VP RDICO; Mike Gallo, Kelly Space CEO; Carl M. Dameron, Dameron Communications President; RDIC Communty Outreach
Dameron Communications has been selected by the RDCIO to serve as the advertising and public relations firm of record. RDCIO is redeveloping The City of San Bernardino’s 48.2-acre Carousel District site. For more info www.DameronCommunications.com
As soon as you step inside the Long Beach Senior Arts Colony, you feel as though you’ve entered a magical, artistic world, said Josselly Esquivel, resident manager of the community. The 161-unit apartment community offers attainable luxury living for artistic and arts-loving seniors 55 and better.
(Long Beach, Calif.) Seniors who dream of living in a thriving, artistic community close to the ocean now have the perfect opportunity to make the Long Beach Senior Arts Colony their home.
The 161-unit apartment community offers attainable luxury living for artistic and arts-loving seniors 55 and better.
As soon as you step inside the Long Beach Senior Arts Colony, you feel as though you’ve entered a magical, artistic world, said Josselly Esquivel, resident manager of the community.
“We offer all kinds of art classes, including lessons in painting, ceramics, jewelry-making, and gardening,” she said. “We also have an art gallery, and we have a grand piano salon with a coffee bar where musicians sometimes play for residents.”
And for those who love the performing arts, there is a theater-style clubhouse with a proscenium stage fully equipped with theater lights and a modern sound system where seniors have presented plays.
“It’s truly an arts colony because we focus so much on the arts,” Josselly Esquivel said.
The Long Beach Senior Arts Colony is also just a short walk from the East Village Arts District, a neighborhood where visitors can shop, dine and explore art galleries and photography studios.
The smoke-free Long Beach Senior Arts Colony apartment community also features modern amenities to help seniors stay in shape and enjoy their leisure time, including a billiards room, yoga and dance studio, and fitness room with cardiovascular and strength training equipment.
The luxury apartment complex also features elevators, a parking garage, controlled-access entryways, laundry facilities, a computer center with printer, and a mail room.
The apartments themselves are a mix of contemporary studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment homes with modern kitchens featuring a refrigerator, stove and dishwasher, granite countertops and designer finishes and fixtures.
Two bedroom floor plan
The apartment homes also include a private balcony or patio, the perfect place to relax and enjoy a calm Pacific Ocean breeze.
And the Long Beach Senior Arts Colony is less than three miles from the Queen Mary and Long Beach Convention Center, and it’s near shopping, public transportation, churches, a Post Office and banks.
“Once you come into the Long Beach Senior Arts Colony, you feel a caring community where people know one another,” Josselly Esquivel said. “It’s a friendly, engaging community full of interesting activities.”
Two bedroom floor plan
To schedule a tour or learn more about rents and eligible income limits, call (562) 951-1188 or go to LBSeniorArtsColony.com.
“The past weeks have been very traumatizing for African-Americans because it’s Derek Chauvin, who is supposed to be on trial, and yet they were talking about the victim’s life,” saidInternational Diversity ExpertKathleen Dameron.
(San Bernardino, Calif.) Black Americans celebrated this week’s three guilty verdicts in the Derek Chauvin murder trial, hopeful that Minnesota jury’s votes to convict the former policeman for killing George Floyd signal a new era in American justice.
In previous cases of Black people killed by police, it was rare for an officer to be charged with any crime, let alone convicted of murder. And in most cases, the Black victims were scapegoated as though they were to blame for their own murders, explained International Diversity Expert Kathleen Dameron, a Black American.
“As soon as the jury convicted Chauvin of murder, there was an enormous sigh of relief in the African-American community,” she said.
“The trial has been hard to watch. It was very traumatizing for African-Americans because it’s Derek Chauvin, who was supposed to be on trial, and yet they were talking about the victim’s life,” said Dameron, a corporate diversity trainer withoffices in San Bernardino and Paris.
“Why did they have to talk about George Floyd’s life? Why did they have to talk about his health? He was not the perpetrator, and yet the defense argument was that he was inherently not worthy of living because he may have done this,or he may have done that.”
Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted of second-degree unintentional felony murder, third degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter for pinning Floyd’s neck to the ground for 9½ minutes while Floyd pleaded, “I can’t breathe.”
Floyd’s death was filmed by horrified bystanders, who repeatedly told police that Floyd was no longer moving and pleaded with them to check his pulse and resuscitate him, according to court documents.
Video of the incident led outraged viewers to rally against racism and police brutality throughout the United States and Europe.
Dameron said the way police violently responded to protests following Floyd’s death, and the convoluted jury-selection process made people question the U.S legal system and America’s commitment to justice.
“And the image of George Floyd being crushed by someone with a smirk on his face, that was seen literally around the world,” she noted.
Acquittals would have further traumatized Black people, said Dameron, who has more than 30 years’ experience training American, European and Asian executives worldwide.
“If the jury had acquitted the cop, it would have been absolutely devastating for what’s left of the legal system in the United States, because we have so much footage of George Floyd coming out of the convenience store, standing handcuffed, not resisting. We have pictures and videos of what happened from the front, from the side, from the back. You have so many people trying to point out that the man’s life is in danger and he’s not dangerous.”
“He’s on the ground, handcuffed with two policemen on his body. Where is the danger? Where is the need to kill him?”
Before the verdicts, there was a “high level of anxiousness in the Black community around a possible acquittal despite world-wide witnessing and condemnation of the murder,” Dameron explained.
“That’s because of the U.S. track record of acquitting police despite live video footage since the Rodney King beating,” she said.
Many Americans and citizens of many countries, as well as Black people who protested against police killing Black people with impunity, are both surprised and pleased at the verdicts.
“George Floyd’s life cannot be restored, but at least the cop who killed him is being held responsible this time. Let’s hope the guilty verdicts are just the beginning of justice for Black people in America, and not a unique occurrence” she said.
17-year-old Black Glendora High School senior Monique Vobecky has a 4.7 Grade point average, is an award-winning athlete and philanthropist.
17-year-oldBlack Glendora High School senior Monique Vobecky has a 4.7 Grade point average, is an award-winning athlete and philanthropist.
(Glendora, Calif.) Being accepted by just one major university is a life-changing event for many high school students. Monique Vobecky is in a very different position.
Monique Vobecky a 17-year-old senior at Glendora High School, recently received her 18th acceptance letter, this one from another Ivy League University. Many of the universities offered her full scholarships.
“This completed 18-for-18 high profile universities that accepted her as a freshman for the 2021 school year,” said her mother, Bianca Vobecky.
Monique is an excellent student with a 4.67 grade-point average, as well as an athlete and philanthropist.
“This is unreal!” said Monique, who is 17. “I cannot believe all the letters said, ‘accepted.’”
Monique plans to make the most of this fantastic opportunity.
“I want the world to see that Black Girls are capable of amazing things. We must be recognized and accepted for who we are and the talents, skills and passion we bring to the world…no matter how different we are… doctor, scientist, artist, musicians, or even a young poet like Amanda Gorman!”
How did Monique become such a sought-after student?
“She earned it,” said her father, Pete Vobecky.
Monique fell in love with sports and started playing soccer at an early age. She’s been a captain on the Glendora High soccer team where she excelled as the 2017-18 “Defensive player of the year,” and she was selected MVP of the Soccer team for the 2019-2020 school year.
In 2018, Monique, then 14, created the Little Sunshine Foundation. Her start-up was selected by the Glendora Chamber of Commerce as the ‘Nonprofit of the Year’ in 2019.
The Little Sunshine Foundation’s mission is to provide underserved youths with the necessary resources to improve their quality of life through tutoring, increased access to sporting gear, civic engagement and leadership.
Monique said she started the foundation because she believes “that every child deserves a little sunshine!”
Her parents said Monique gets to decide which university she’ll attend since she is the one who put in all the work. Although Obama did go to Harvard, one noted.
“We don’t know all the reasons why all the universities accepted her. What we know is that my daughter, a Black teenager from Glendora, California, put in the work to excel academically and take time to shine light in the lives of so many others,” said her mother, Bianca.
Her father, Pete, said, “Maybe it is time for Monique to be given an opportunity to have the light shine brightly on her for a while.”
Monique said she wants to major in medicine and become a doctor “to heal people and help them lead longer, happier lives.”
Pressed to name the lucky university she’s chosen, Monique said she doesn’t know yet. She said she’ll let friends, family and the universities know when she decides.
Carl Dameron, creative director of Dameron Communications. “Sharing your stories is fun. Let me share the secrets of successful public relations and advertising.
(San Bernardino, Calif.) Businesses, government and civic groups that want to liven up their meetings with an interesting and informative advertising and public relations speaker should choose Carl Dameron, creative director of Dameron Communications.
Dameron has run his own public relations firm for more than 30 years, and during that time he has shared his expertise on what makes a good story with everyone from local political candidates to national logistics firms.
“The same elements that make interesting news releases also make good speeches, Dameron said. “In my presentations, I mix humor with a clear, direct message while delivering information you can put to work right away!”
Dameron will explain how important it is to get in front of a story to drive national and regional advertising, public relations and news coverage.
“People who hear me speak should leave with a better understanding of how to improve their own advertising and public relations efforts,” Dameron said. “Sharing your stories should be fun. Let me share the secrets behind successful public relations and advertising.
Getting the attention of the news media is not easy.
Editors, reporters and media managers are constantly bombarded with e-mails from PR people. Most are spiked right away, but releases from Dameron Communications always get a second look.
How? Carl Dameron understands news and knows how to work with busy news professionals.
Dameron Communications has served Southern California clients since 1989
Dameron is available to speak on several advertising and public relations topics including:
Advertising – How to create advertising that works — from flyers to TV commercials and everything in between
Public Relations – How to get media coverage and increase the positive perception of your organization
Government Relations – How to get elected officials to listen and how to leverage their influence
Community Relations – How get the community to understand and support your goals and objectives
The Dameron family 1965 in E. St. Louis, IL. Barbara, Carl T., Crystal (baby), Denise, Carl and Kathleen. “We we integrators,” said Katheleen Dameron.
“When you look at the history of redlining, the history of denying Black people and Native Americans the right to housing, this is a significant step in saying, ‘Yes, we did do wrong,’ and when you do someone wrong, you apologize and you make amends,” Dameron said. “That is the beginning of the healing process.”
(Paris, France). A Chicago suburb recently became the first city in the United States to agree to pay Black residents reparations for slavery and past discriminatory policies and practices.
That decision shows that some communities are beginning to recognize and acknowledge the harm caused by America’s systemic racism, an expert on race relations said.
“It’s a historic decision to do this, and we’re hoping that this is the beginning of people being able to open their minds, open their eyes to what’s happened in the past and the consequences today,” said Kathleen Dameron, an internationally recognized cross-cultural trainer.
The City Council of Evanston, Illinois, recently voted to distribute $400,000 in housing assistance and mortgage relief to eligible Black households. The city will provide $25,000 for down payments on houses or property, home repairs, and interest or late penalties on property in Evanston.
To qualify, residents must either have lived in the city between 1919 and 1969 or be a direct descendant of a black Evanston resident from that time. Those who experienced housing discrimination in Evanston after 1969 are also eligible.
The $400,000 comes from a $10 million reparations fund created in 2019 using tax money from the city’s recreational marijuana program.
“When you look at the history of redlining, the history of denying Black people and Native Americans the right to housing, this is a significant step in saying, ‘Yes, we did do wrong,’ and when you do someone wrong, you apologize and you make amends,” Dameron said. “That is the beginning of the healing process.”
Even though $25,000 is not enough to pay for a house, paying reparations is still important for the city, said Dameron, a Black American now living in Paris.
“It’s not reparations in the sense of, ‘We denied you a house, so we’re going to give you a house now,’ but it is acknowledgement of the damage done, of the impact on the generations of that damage,” Dameron said. “It recognizes and it acknowledges that we did harm consciously, in policy, in law and in practice and we’re seeking to recognize it and to make amends.”
Dameron said that getting national reparations or getting some areas to agree to reparations is still a difficult process.
“One of the problems we have is that there are some people in the United States – and this happens consistently across the United States – they would rather close the swimming pool and have no swimming pool in the community than to have Blacks have access to the swimming pool, so as desegregation started throughout the South, public swimming pools disappeared, public parks disappeared,” she said.
“Some people thought, “I’d rather have nothing than have Back people share in this,” she said.
“That mentality makes it extraordinarily difficult to say, ‘We did you wrong. As human beings, we did not give you a fair environment. We persecuted you. We banned you. We burned your houses down and we killed people.’ ”
So even though Evanston is making amends and recognizing and acknowledging that they caused harm, “that acknowledgement is still difficult for many Americans to make,” Dameron noted.
Dameron is currently leading a series of seminars on “Healing the Collective Trauma of Racism.” In her sessions, she helps participants recognize the difference between interpersonal and institutional racism.
Participants build a feeling of community and energy to create social justice.
To introduce people to her sessions, she is offering a free, self-paced, one-hour course. You can learn more by going to www.KathleenDameron.com
Dr. Albert Arteaga, president and founder of LaSalle Medical Associates, speaks with Baron Jordan, of San Bernardino, March 20,2021 at the LaSalle Medical Associates medical office located in Rialto, Calif. Jordan is sitting in the observation area after receiving the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine. After receiving the vaccine, patients are observed for 15 minutes for any immediate adverse effects. (Photo by Valda Wilson)
“I had to try to get around the bureaucracy myself, so I appreciate that our health partner LaSalle engaged with trusted community partners like churches… “It’s good to offer clear access from familiar people to the community. It helps” said Dr. Michael Andrew Owens, pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church
(Rialto, Calif.) Nurses from LaSalle Medical Associates vaccinated more than 220 people Saturday during a Rialto clinic designed to give the Black community better access to COVID-19 vaccinations.
LaSalle teamed up with San Bernardino’s New Hope Missionary Baptist Church and The Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches to put at a recent clinic, part of an innovative approach in which the church gathered a list of interested people, and LaSalle staff members contacted them to make appointments.
Alicia Cazenave of San Bernardino was happy that her church worked with LaSalle to bypass the bureaucratic roadblocks she experienced earlier when trying to make appointments for family members through government agencies.
She arrived early Saturday morning and was third in line to get her shot.
“I am relieved to be getting it,” said Cazenave, 59. “Having the church organize it helped as far as access. The church gave us better access.”
She was also happy to be getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is just one dose.
“The shot was good. No pain,” she said after being inoculated.
Dr Michael Andrew Owens, pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, was thankful that LaSalle worked directly with the church to set up vaccination appointments.
“I had to try to get around the bureaucracy myself, so I appreciate that our health partners engaged with trusted community partners like churches, and I appreciate the respect for the church, knowing that we have influence in the community,” he said. “It’s good to offer clear access from familiar people to the community. It helps.
“And the one shot, that sold itself. I think a lot of people were waiting,” he said.
“Today we are giving Johnson’s vaccine. It’s just one shot and you’re done. We just got it last week,” said Dr. Albert Arteaga, LaSalle’s president and founder. “It’s as effective as the others at preventing serious disease or death. That’s up to nearly 100 percent.”
During Saturday’s clinic, he stood outside, answering questions and sharing light-hearted banter with people waiting in line.
Dr. Michael Andrew Owens, pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, speaks with Edward Hoffman III, of Redlands, March 20, 2021 at the LaSalle Medical Associates medical office located in Rialto, Calif. Hoffman is sitting in the observation area after receiving the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine. After receiving the vaccine, patients are observed for 15 minutes for any immediate adverse effects. (Photo by Valda Wilson)
“After your shot, you may get a slight fever tonight. But don’t worry. It’s just a case of Saturday Night Fever,” he joked with one man.
Vicki Creighton, from Riverside, said she was eager to get vaccinated Saturday.
“I feel confident, and I feel it’s going to be great. My mom and dad are 88 and they had their shots,” she said.
Deborah Neal, from Lake Elsinore, said she learned of Saturday’s clinic when a friend shared a flier from New Hope.
“I sure am relieved, especially since it’s one shot,” she said.
Dr. Arteaga told her, “You notice that we are taking everyone who comes and not finding reasons to turn people away.”
The Rialto clinic, San Bernardino clinic on Mount Vernon Ave., and Hesperia clinic are certified vaccination centers. For more information on LaSalle Medical associates at http://www.lasallemedicalassociates.com
About LaSalle Medical Associates LaSalle Medical Associates is one of the largest independent minority owned healthcare companies in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The corporate office is in Redlands.
“I understand people’s anger at being told to be less white,” said internationally recognized cross-cultural trainer Kathleen Dameron. “Be less white. What are the qualities?
“I have a lot of empathy for people being told to be less white,” she said. “I know it hurts. As a Black child and as a grown-up, I have been told to be less Black, straighten your hair, dress to look like a nice corporate person. I can understand how being told to be less white hits you in your identity, because I was told be less Black.”
(Paris, France) Americans should not get upset over reports saying Coca-Cola was asking its employees to “be less white” as part of its mandatory diversity training.
“I understand people’s anger at being told to be less white,” said internationally recognized cross-cultural trainer Kathleen Dameron. “Be less white. What are the qualities?
“Be less oppressive. Where’s the problem? Listen more. What’s the problem? Be less defensive. where’s the problem?” she asked. “But people get upset the minute they hear, ‘Be less white,’ because it hits them in their identity. It hurts and they reject it.”
Dameron said it might be more effective to say, “We’re asking you to create a JEDI society, to create Justice, Equality, Dignity and Inclusion.”
The training course at the center of the Coca-Cola backlash was titled “Confronting Racism.” It advised whites to listen more and be less oppressive, less arrogant, less certain, less defensive and less ignorant,” according to the New York Post.
Coca-Cola denies that it was part of their required training.
“That’s not the point,” said Dameron, who has more than 30 years’ experience training American, European and Asian executives worldwide but is not involved in the disputed training.
“Coca-Cola should have said, ‘We are committed to a fair, equal workplace environment,’” she explained. “It’s not corporate training that makes workplaces fair. It’s offering equal pay and equal opportunities for hiring and advancement regardless of race or gender. That’s how you change.”
Dameron understands why the issue triggered some people’s emotions.
The Dameron family 1965 in E. St. Louis, IL. Barbara, Carl T., Crystal (baby), Denise, Carl and Kathleen. “We we integrators”
“I have a lot of empathy for people being told to be less white,” she said. “I know it hurts. As a Black child and as a grown-up, I have been told to be less Black, straighten your hair, dress to look like a nice corporate person. I can understand how being told to be less white hits you in your identity, because I was told be less Black.”
Dameron is currently leading a series of seminars on “Healing the Collective Trauma of Racism.” In her sessions, she helps participants recognize the difference between interpersonal and institutional racism and build a feeling of community and energy.
To introduce people to her sessions, she is offering a free, self-paced, one-hour course. You can learn more by going to www.KathleenDameron.com
“This is an amazing, beautiful luxury apartment designed for seniors in La Puente,” said Kim Pollack, vice president of WSH Management, the manager of Arboleda Senior Apartments.
(La Puente, Calif.) La Puente is the home to a thriving new luxury apartment complex for seniors featuring energy-efficient kitchens, a large community room, fitness center, computer center, library and more.
Construction already is underway on the 74-unit Arboleda Senior Apartments at 1040 N. Unruh Avenue, close to La Puente’s parks, shopping, dining and transportation hubs. Many medical services also are located nearby.
“This is an amazing, beautiful luxury apartment designed for seniors in La Puente,” said Kim Pollack, vice president of WSH Management, the manager of Arboleda Senior Apartments.
From the outside, the apartment community evokes California’s classic Mission heritage with Spanish-style architecture, featuring white walls with wrought-iron accents, red tile roofs and a large central courtyard with shade trees and outdoor seating – the perfect place to relax during one of the region’s many beautiful days!
“It’s a big deal for the city, and they are really excited by it,” Pollack said. “It’s really beautiful, with the look of a boutique resort with affordable rents for seniors.”
The comfortable one-and two-bedroom apartments each have individual heating and air conditioning units, as well as full-size closets, bathrooms and kitchens. The units and common areas also are spacious, beautifully decorated and handicapped-accessible.
Arboleda residents will enjoy the San Gabriel Valley’s beautiful weather year-round, thanks to terraces on each ground-floor unit and balconies on each second-floor unit.
Many restaurants are a short distance from the Arboleda apartment community, including the famous Donut Hole, a popular Southern California landmark in which patrons drive through the center of two giant doughnuts to place their orders.
Construction on the Arboleda Senior Apartments is expected to be finished early this summer, and Pollack said residents will start moving in June of 2021. The luxury community is for seniors 62 and better, and Pollack said.
“Rents range from $845 to $1,267 per month, which was partly funded by state and federal housing funds. The maximum allowable annual income is $47,340 for one person and $54,060 for a two-person household,” Pollack said.
The company already has started a pre-qualification process and is gathering basic information from people interested in making Arboleda Senior Apartments their home.
For more information contact WSH Management at ArboledaSeniorApts.com or by calling (626) 423-6995.
Family members can rest easy and be confident, knowing their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles are enjoying comfort and good company at Arboleda Senior Apartments.
“It’s really beautiful, with the look of a boutique resort with affordable rents for seniors.” said Kim Pollack, vice president of WSH Management, the manager of Arboleda Senior Apartments
(La Puente, Calif.). Seniors and family members looking for safe, comfortable living for themselves or their loved ones will find what they’re looking for at Arboleda Senior Apartments in La Puente.
The beautiful 74-unit apartment community features energy-efficient kitchens, a large community room, fitness center, computer center, library and more. It’s a great place where seniors 62 and better can call home.
“It’s really beautiful, with the look of a boutique resort with affordable rents for seniors.”
said Kim Pollack, vice president of WSH Management, the manager of Arboleda Senior Apartments.
From the outside, the apartment community evokes California’s classic Mission heritage with Spanish-style architecture, featuring white walls with wrought-iron accents, red tile roofs and a large central courtyard with shade trees and outdoor seating – the perfect place to relax during one of the region’s many beautiful days!
The comfortable one-and two-bedroom apartments each have individual heating and air conditioning units, as well as full-size closets, bathrooms and kitchens. The units and common areas also are spacious, beautifully decorated and handicapped-accessible.
Arboleda residents will enjoy the San Gabriel Valley’s beautiful weather year-round, thanks to terraces on each ground-floor unit and balconies on each second-floor unit.
The senior apartments are also close to medical centers, parks, shopping and dining and many of the services that seniors regularly need and enjoy.
Family members can rest easy and be confident, knowing their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles are enjoying comfort and good company at Arboleda Senior Apartments
Construction on the Arboleda Senior Apartments is expected to be finished early this summer, and Pollack said residents will start moving in June of 2021.
“Rents range from $845 to $1,267 per month, which was partly funded by state and federal housing funds. The maximum allowable annual income is $47,340 for one person and $54,060 for a two-person household,” Pollack said.
The company already has started a pre-qualification process and is gathering basic information from people interested in making Arboleda Senior Apartments their home.
For more information contact WSH Management at ArboledaSeniorApts.com or by calling (626) 423-6995.
