South Valley WorkSource Center to host Valentine’s Day mixer
Open to business owners
The South Valley WorkSource Center (SVWSC), in partnership with Jewish Vocational Services, will host a Valentine’s Day Mixer on Thursday, Feb. 9, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the center at 38510 Sierra Hwy. in Palmdale.
The mixer is free and open to all business owners in the Antelope Valley. The free networking opportunity will also include food and entertainment. A business display table will be available to those who wish to bring information, conduct raffles or giveaways to promote their businesses. Participants may also contribute a gift to the raffle being conducted by the program organizers. Guests are also invited to a post-mixer get together at Crave restaurant in Palmdale. Details will be provided at the event.
Space is limited. Interested persons should RSVP by Monday by calling (661) 265-7421 or e-mailing svwscinfo@goodwillsocal.org.
The SVWSC brings job seekers and employers together in one place and offers no-cost, vital work force development programs and services to the community. Job seekers receive career counseling, assistance securing interviews and employment opportunities, and access to workshops, skills training, computers and job tools. Businesses receive specialized screening and recruitment services. The center functions to reduce unemployment and positively impact the community through the power of work.
The no-cost services offered at the SVWSC are provided through the Federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Palmdale. The WIA provides the framework for a national workforce preparation and employment system. Programs authorized by WIA are provided at the local level to individuals in need of those services, including job seekers, dislocated workers, youth, incumbent workers, veterans, new entrants to the workforce, persons with disabilities and employers.
Palmdale has contracted with Goodwill of Southern California as the operating agency for the South Valley WorkSource Center. Last year, Goodwill served 107,802 individuals with disabilities and vocational disadvantages, including 7,140 businesses, and placed 9,596 people in new jobs through programs and services offered at four WorkSource Centers and 23 job service sites, including three multiservice campuses throughout Los Angeles (north of Rosecrans Avenue), Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Goodwill supports its mission of “Transforming lives through the Power of Work” through operations at 69 retail stores and 44 attended donation centers. To find a Goodwill location near you, please call (888) 4-GOODWILL or visit www.goodwillsocal.org.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a plan to allow homeless probationers and parolees to qualify for government-subsidized housing.
“We believe that this will help increase public safety while decreasing taxpayers’ expenditures,” said Alisa Orduna of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.
The change is just one element of the Housing Authority’s annual plan, which updates program goals and policies as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
PALMDALE—An agreement reached in a discrimination lawsuit between city officials and representatives of Antelope Valley residents who are part of the Section 8 Choice Voucher program is now in the hands of the federal judge overseeing the suit.
The agreement was reached last week, a week after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a similar agreement.
The judge will now have an opportunity to vet the settlements, and when approved, they will go into effect immediately.
A trio of African American actors are sharing their theatrical talents with Antelope Valley audiences as cast members in several plays.
Leandra Marshall and Mahlea Smith are currently appearing in the It’s Only Tuesday Production of “Go Ask Alice,” which continues on stage through Saturday at the Arbor Court Community Theatre.
The play is the true story of a teenager who inadvertently gets involved in taking drugs, runs away and never makes it back.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Reported hate crimes in Los Angeles County fell by 28 percent in 2010 to the lowest level in 21 years, according to the county Commission on Human Relations’ annual report released.
The commission defines a hate crime as one where hatred or prejudice toward a victim’s race or ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, or sexual orientation was a substantial factor in the crime.
According to the 2010 Hate Crime Report, there were 427 reported hate crimes countywide last year, a decline of 166 from the previous year.
LANCASTER, Calif.—A former Antelope Valley College accounting assistant has been arrested on suspicion of embezzling $500,000.
Mandy Borquez, 33, was charged with six felony counts of grand theft/identity theft after a 10-month investigation by the Commercial Crimes Bureau of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, said Sgt. Pauline Panis of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The investigation started after “the college reported the embezzlement in 2010 discrepancies in their accounting,” Panis said.
