Sparks!

Well, I'm back. In my mind is the theme song from the TV show Welcome Back Kotter. Like Kotter, I am motivated by improving the lives of those that follow me. In Kotter's case it was his students, in my case it is my children, my grand-children, my community, and my city.


Sometimes to get me moving in the right direction it takes a spark of motivation. That spark can come in the form of a person, an action, a strong emotional response, a profound event, or being recognized for a job well done.


For a few months I was sparkless. I was dis-satisfied with my job, my mood of transportation, my dogs (one ate my leather saddle bags that were on my motorcycle), and most of all, what seemed like a lack of results for the effort that I put forth.


Recently I gained a second grand-child witch happens to share his name with me, Aric Joseph Isom, III, I got a new job with-in the same company, my Juneteenth Committee activities are moving at full throttle, my minister is back in the pulpit now more then in the past, and other exciting happenings.


Two weeks ago I and others relieved recognition from the city for our work with the Human Relations Committee, and other city groups. I am now being asked to be apart of many great projects and organizations. I will sort threw them and chose were I can fit in and help the most.


Some sparks that might start a fire under my but are event like the Annual Continuum of Care Homeless Conference being held on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at California Baptist University in Riverside from 8:30am to 3:30pm.


They will be having an exciting conference and an in-depth presentation on
the County's 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness. The Key Note Speaker,
is Debra Stein, President of GCA Strategies from San Francisco, CA with
the topic: "Community Relations and Homelessness: “Turning N.I.M.B.Y.
(Not in My Backyard) to Y.I.M.B.Y. (Yes In My Backyard!)" plus more....


We also celebrate Juneteenth on June 7th, I've been working with the committee on this one for a few years now, so all of you are invited to come celebrate the end of slavery in the western United States, enjoy great free entertainment, excellent vendor booths, and a verity of foods. This is also a great community builder, and will be a great place for family gatherings, reunions with old friend, and general reconciliation.


I think that the I.E. can use a few sparks now and then. Something that will keep it moving forwards. People can also be sparks.



A possible spark for the Inland Empire may be . Paul has run for State Assembly in the past. I know Paul from around town, different events we both attended, news articles, and he has visited my church on a number of accessions. People in the know tell me that he deserves my endorsement. Everyone that knows me knows that I don't vote based on political party affiliations, but rather qualification, intent, trustworthiness, and shared values.


Paul Rasso filed to run for State Assembly again this year. He filed his paper work with his nomination signatures only to find that he was short one valid signature and did not qualify for the June 3rd Ballot.

He has now decided to file as a write-in-candidate for the June 3rd primary, otherwise his opponent will automatically win the seat. He will need to garner 1% of the total Democratic voters to write his name on the ballot, which amount to 1089 votes, so he can win the democratic nomination and become the candidate on the November ballot. I believe this to be in the 64th District.


Biographical highlights gathered from the Internet.

Party: Democratic
Occupation: School District Employee
Elected Member, Riverside County Democratic Central Committee
President, Moreno Valley Democratic Club
Past President, California School Employees Association Local 244
Past President, Dad's in Action Wilsonnette Drill and Drum Team
Member of Native American Caucus
Degree in Business Administration
Top priorities if elected as fond on the Internet.
Health Care - He supports affordable, quality heath care for all Californian's.
Environment - He believes that our tax dollars should be used to improve our air and water quality in the Inland Empire.
Transportation – He believes that we must stop politicians from invading our tax dollars.


Again I say that we have lots of very special people out there doing things that I don’t have time to do, don’t know how to do, or don’t want to do. I am very thankful to all of them. Do you know of someone that shows that they care? Let us know about them. As always please post your comments and opinions in the comment section at the bottom of the article on the blog page (http://www.aricisom.com/). You can also post to past articles in there proper location at the bottom of each. I look forwards to your feedback. Please take note of the new features, such as the daily news feed, video clips, visitor polls, outside links, and Java games.