Thursday, October 8 | Volume 40 No. 30

Thursday, October 8, 2026

League of Women Voters San Bernardino’s 51st Annual Citizens of Achievement and Civic Engagement Awards

SAN BERNARDINO, CA-- -- The League of Women Voters of the San Bernardino Area (LWVSB) 51st annual Citizens of Achievement and Civic Engagement Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, October 18, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., with registration and a pre-reception beginning at 12:30 p.m. at the Sterling Natural Resource Center, 25318 5th Street in Highland. This year’s ceremony honors five exceptional individuals and one community organization whose service, leadership, and vision continue to shape and uplift the Inland Empire. Honorees for 2026 Citizens of Achievement include: • Diana Alexander, • Evelyn Dominguez, • Andrea Galvan, • Cassie MacDuff, • Patricia Plenty Honoree for 2026 Civic Engagement: • 100 Black Men of the Inland Empire will receive the Civic Engagement Award for mentoring, educating, and serving the region’s next generation of changemakers. Tickets are $35 per person or $250 for a table of eight. Proceeds and additional donations help support LWVSB’s ongoing efforts in voter registration, civic education, and protecting the right to vote. To register, visit my.lwv.org/california/san-bernardino-area. For more information, contact Twillea Evans-Carthen, Citizens of Achievement Committee Chair, at [email protected] or (909) 234-4980, or Kathy Ervin, President, at [email protected].

California Enacts New Anti-Hate Training Requirements for State Officials, Private Sector Employees

California is adding new antihate training requirements for elected officials and some private sector employees after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills aimed at strengthening how government agencies and employers respond to hate speech and bias. Assembly Bill (AB) 1578, authored by Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), requires state elected officials and certain elected local agency officials to complete training on responding to hate, de-escalation tactics and confronting hate speech beginning Jan. 1, 2028.

AB 1803, authored by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) and co-authored by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood), requires employers with five or more employees to incorporate anti-hate speech training into existing workplace sexual-harassment prevention training beginning the same year. Newsom signed both measures September 27. The new legislation comes as California continues to record thousands of reported hate-related offenses and bias incidents each See "California..." page 7