Thursday, September 3 | Volume 40 No. 25

Westsidestory Newspaper

County Library Takes Families on a Wild Adventure at Galaxy Nights: Wildlife After Dark

California Black Civil Rights Leaders Mobilize to Defend Voting Rights

By Solomon O. Smith | California Black Media

SAN BERNARDINO, CA---- Things got a little wild after dark as the San Bernardino County Li brary (SBCL) welcomed families to Galaxy Nights: Wildlife After Dark, transforming the Lucerne Valley Janice Horst Branch into an after-hours destination filled with live wildlife, science, star gazing and hands-on discovery. Held Saturday, Aug. 15, the event drew approximately 200 visitors from across the High Desert and beyond, with some traveling from as far as Pasadena to experience an evening designed to ignite curios ity and prove that learning doesn't stop when the sun goes down. “Galaxy Nights gives us an op portunity to reimagine the library and create experiences that spark curiosity in children and fami lies,” said Library Events Coor dinator Jenni McCormick. “Wild life After Dark brought learning to life by giving our community an opportunity to explore nature, sci ence and the night sky in a fun and memorable way.”

One of the evening's biggest at tractions came courtesy of High Desert Falconry, which intro duced guests to an extraordinary cast of creatures, including Ni codemus, a Eurasian eagle-owl; Blue Daba Dee, a blue-tongued skink; Ssspagetini, a Mexican granite kingsnake; and Saphira, a greenbottle blue tarantula. The encounters gave families an upclose look at wildlife while learn ing more about the animals and their unique adaptations. The exploration continued as budding scientists dissected owl pellets to discover what owls eat, while aspiring astronomers turned their eyes skyward to explore the night through high-definition telescopes. Interactive activities and entertainment throughout the library rounded out an evening where science, literacy and dis covery took center stage.

To read more, visit westsidestorynewspaper.com.

Black voting rights advocates in California convened virtually Aug. 28 after a federal court tem porarily blocked new U.S. Postal Service restrictions on mail bal lots, a ruling civil rights leaders described as an important but temporary victory ahead of the November election. The restrictions are tied to Presi dent Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14399 and the Postal Ser vice’s “Ballot Mail for Federal Elections” rule. Among other requirements, the rule calls for election officials to use a federal portal and comply with new standards for federal ballot-mail en velopes. A federal judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining or der blocking key provisions while the court considers a request for a preliminary injunction. Rick Callender, president of the California-Hawaii State Confer ence of the NAACP, said the dis pute is part of a broader challenge to mail-in voting and warned against allowing the Postal Ser vice to interfere with states’ ad ministration of elections. “The bottom line here is that the postal office should deliver bal lots, not decide who receives one or which votes do not count,” Cal lender said. “We're going to fight this attack at every point; at the mailbox, on the voter rolls and in the protection of personal data.” The postal dispute comes as California is already engaged in an other federal legal battle over vot er information. In United States v. Weber, Secretary of State Shirley Weber refused to provide the fed eral government with the state’s full, unredacted voter-registration list, citing privacy concerns and state and federal law. The League of Women Voters of California, the NAACP and the ACLU inter vened in that case in support of California. A federal judge dis missed the lawsuit in January, and the U.S. Department of Justice ap pealed.

To read more, visit westsidestorynewspaper.com.