Standing on Sacred Ground - Dirxion

1 Standing on Sacred Resource for Over 50 YearsThe Community s Newspaper Serving Riverside County, Eastern Los Angeles County & San Bernardino I wholly disapprove ofwhat you say, butI will defend tothe death yourright to say it Voltaire(See Page A-4)Thursday, February 18, 2016 Vol. 51 - No 30 Westside Community Garden GrowsBy Dianne AndersonStaff Writer For at least six months out of the year, Terrace West families can put some good nutritious food on the table for only $20 the catch is that there is a little elbow grease involved.

2 Charle Jacobs is calling on people who aren t afraid to get their hands dirty and come out a few times a week to Nicholson Park gardens to help grow dinner. Once the trees and garden start producing fruit, it s all you can eat, said Jacobs, president of Terrace West Neighborhood Association, at the border of San Bernardino and days, real food is hard to find, aside from the health food store where produce usually runs high. She said it s sad that most city kids have never seen how food grows.

3 They are totally disconnected from nutrition. They need to know where it comes from, and what it looks like. Many kids don t know, she said. Above Ground and in- Ground planting starts in about four weeks. Last year, a handful of residents participated, some pulling bumper tomato crops. Others tried their hand at square-foot gardening. You can get a pretty good haul, she said. We re totally organic. At Nicholson Park, Terrace West also hosts its fruit orchard. At one time, they had about 30 trees, but she wasn t completely surprised that some people got greedy.

4 They stole 11 trees. They were in the Ground , and small. We knew it was going to happen. The trees are big now, they would have a heck of a time, she laughed. Still, she is not interested in policing the food. They provide it for the the trees start producing fruit, everyone can access the food. For the most part, people respect the gleaning process, but she would like to see more residents get involved helping those who are less the next few weeks, they will prepare the Ground under a master gardener from Cal State San Bernardino to give tips on best growing techniques.

5 The garden is located 2750 W. 2nd Nicholson Park, Meridian and 2nd Street. Around the city, she has seen other community gardens flourish with increased participation from residents, but she said Terrace West has been slow to get in on the action. Because the area is off the beaten path of San Bernardino, she said it s up to local residents to pick up some of the slack as the city fights through the city doesn t have adequate staff, resources or the time to keep on top of all of the local issues. But there s a lot of things we can do for ourselves to make our community better, she said.

6 Whenever residents see any negative activity related to blight, graffiti or trash, she said they should call in complaints frequently at In the past, the area has had vacant (Cont. on Page A-3)UCR New Black Law AssnBy Dianne AndersonStaff WriterGetting into the legal field isn t all about the coveted esquire designation, or even the potential to earn a six-figure African Americans, the legal system has become synonymous with the pipeline to prison, and hardly any fair representation from Black law month, Mekdelawit Tsehay said that UCR Black Student Law Association will spotlight important stories of how local African Americans made it through the tough study and are now making a difference in their so few Black students pursuing legal careers, she said the new law club is focused on extra support for students that may feel law school is beyond their February 27, the UC Black Student Law Association hosts its Professional Speaker Series: So you want to be a Lawyer?

7 The event will be held at INTS 1134 from 6:10 to 8:00 , featuring guest speakers from the Richard T. Fields Bar Association, along with attending judges. Tsehay, co-president of the association, said she wants to share their stories. Especially for African Americans because there is a different obstacle you face in law. It s important to hear how they got where they got, and how they bounced back from the obstacles, she club, co-founded last year by By George E. CurryEditor-in-ChiefGeorge Curry MediaWashington - President Obama will select a nominee to succeed the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia despite fierce opposition by Republican leaders who prefer the seat be left vacant for nearly a year so that it can be filled by the next said in a statement Saturday, I plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time.

8 There will be plenty of time for me to do so, and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote. These are responsibilities that I take seriously, as should everyone. They re bigger than any one party. They are about our democracy. Scalia, one of the most conservative members of the court, died of an apparent heart attack over the weekend while on a hunting trip in Texas. He was part of the 5-4 conservative majority on the nation s highest court.

9 Were he to be replaced by a moderate or liberal jurist, that would shift the balance of the court, something Republicans had pledged to fight the constitution, the president has an obligation to appoint the Supreme Court justice, who must then be confirmed by the Senate. However, conservatives who normally boast of being strict adherents of the Constitution, are altering that stance in a presidential election Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who had already pledged to block any Obama nominations prior to Scalia s death, urged President Obama not to submit a nominee and said if Obama does, the Senate will not act on the nomination prior to the expiration of Obama s term next January.

10 The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice, McConnell said in a statement. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President. Democrats countered that the American people made their voice heard in the last two presidential elections, voting Obama into office in 2008 and re-electing by a wide margin in Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) issued a statement saying, The President can and should send the Senate a nominee right away.