Santa Rosa Snippets by Elaine B. Holtz - June 2019
Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) Releases First Record Under SB 1421
The Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) has released its first case record under Senate Bill 1421. This bill requires, notwithstanding any other law, certain peace officer or custodial officer personnel records and records relating to specified incidents, complaints, and investigations involving peace officers and custodial officers to be made available for public inspection pursuant to the California Public Records Act. Lt. Ryan Corcoran has been assigned to assure that SRPD is available to answer all questions along with making sure Santa Rosa is in compliance.
According to the SRPD Lt. Ryan Corcoran, this is part of their ongoing effort to be transparent, and the department has released its first ever Community Briefing Video to accompany this initial release of its first record of such a case. The Community Briefing Video will provide additional information and insight about this incident. Reports and images are available for viewing on the Police Department’s new Transparency Information webpage.
Additional responsive records will be added to the transparency webpage as review and compilation of each case record is completed. Items not included on the webpage may be requested through a Public Records Act request. For further information or requests, contact Lt. Ryan Corcoran at (707) 543-3647 or RCorcoran@srcity.org.
49TH Celebration of Juneteenth Festival – A Celebration of Freedom at Martin Luther King Park in Santa Rosa.
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863.
Along with vendors, basketball, arts and crafts, dominoes and lots of Kids activities and good food, this year there will be a special interactive event, “ CHILDREN OF AFRICA,” A Play of Children Slave Narratives. This is an interactive performance between actors and audience, which will provide a deeper understanding of what children experienced during the time of slavery. Presented by: Legacy Showcases, The Drum Ghana & Dance Ensemble and Rebel Blues Radio. This interactive event will take place from 10 AM to 12 PM.
This year’s Scholarships presented by Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow (EOT) at the event will be given to New World ballet, a young energetic dance company in Santa Rosa, California which is dedicated to providing a serious and enriched dance education for students who desire to become professional dancers, as well as those who simply wish to enhance their quality of life through dance. “Dance can give children a sense of pride and accomplishment, whether they just completed a performance, or they finally master a step they have been working on, the emotional benefits of dance education are priceless,” reports Victor Temple, the Director of New World Ballet.
The Juneteenth festival will take place at the Martin Luther King Park, 1671 Hendley St., Santa Rosa on Saturday, June 16 from 10am-6pm. This is a free event.
Santa Rosa Students Head for Kung Fu Competition
From June 14 – 18 Santa Rosa students, Keelyn Walker, age 12, Yvette Tran, age 13 and Liana Semet, age 12 and Michelle Semet, age 12 will travel to China to compete in the “8th World Kung Fu Championships” held this year in Emei mountain, Sichuan province, China.
The mountain is one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Mt. Emei sits at the western rim of the Sichuan Basin. The mountains west of it are known as Daxiangling.
All four of the women having been learning martial arts at the Wu Academy under the guidance of the Wu Academy founder and USA Team Coach, Justin Eggert who will be travelling with them to China. The women will be competing in the following areas: Keelyn is competing in shaolin Kung Fu saber, Liana is competing in Kung Fu straight sword, and Yvette is competing in shaolin Kung Fu staff, and Michelle is competing in Tai Chi. They all qualified at the national team trials in April and are now on Team USA Kung Fu Team.
A special shout out to the Redwood Empire Chinese Association President Nancy Wang who provided me with the information and will be travelling with her granddaughter Keelyn, This is another proud moment for Santa Rosa. I will have the results of the competition in next month’s snippets. For further information go to http://wu-academy.com/ The Wu Academy is a professional Chinese Martial Arts School specializing in Kung Fu, Tai Chi, and Qigong classes for Wellness, Personal Development & Fun.