Antelope Valley

Aug 26 2010

Knowing the words gives power

Motivational speaker and trainer Jim Rohn once asked a schoolteacher, “How many languages can a child learn?” The teacher replied, “As many as you will teach them. A child does not lack intelligence, capacity, and definitely not curiosity ….  All they need is a teacher.”

Aug 26 2010

The festival wraps up on Sunday

Last weekend was the kick off of the Antelope Valley Fair and Alfalfa Festival. A parade got the event going and Weird Al Yankovic (pictured above) performed, stunning the crowd with his eclectic talents. The festival wraps up on Sunday at the Antelope Valley Fair Grounds./Photo courtesy of Antelope Valley Fair.

Aug 26 2010

Cause unknown

Bassist Robert Wilson, who founded the legendary American funk act the Gap Band with his brothers Charlie, and Ronnie, died Sunday in his Palmdale home. The cause of death is still unknown pending a full autopsy. Wilson was 53.
 
The Wilson brothers were raised in Tulsa, Okla. and began playing together in 1967, originally under the name of the Greenwood, Archer and Pine Street Band. In the early 1970s, they shortened their name to the Gap Band and began performing with Leon Russell, who produced their debut album “Magician’s Holiday.”

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Aug 19 2010

Answers less than satisfactory

PALMDALE, Calif.—The Antelope Valley Black Chamber of Commerce (AVBCC) hosted a special breakfast town hall meeting with 25th District congressional representative Buck McKeon, and unfortunately, he arrived late and was only able to address a small fraction of the 15 prepared questions community members and AVBCC affiliates submitted. Some of his responses produced no satisfying answer for some attendees.

On the subject of the local economy, he was asked about his vision for Antelope Valley, but said he leaves AV’s economic development to local leaders.

Joseph Wright  |   OW Senior Staff Writer
Aug 19 2010

Administrators look forward to new year

Summer vacation is over for thousands of students in the Antelope Valley. The 2010-11 school year began August 9 for half of the Antelope Valley’s 12 school districts: Antelope Valley Union High School, Eastside Union, Keppel Union, Southern Kern Unified, Westside Union, and Wilsona. Earlier this week, classes started for the Murac Joint Unified School District, Hughes-Elizabeth Lakes Union Elementary, and Mojave unified school districts.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”