Earnest “Bear” Spencer completed his 10-month sentence at the Kalamazoo County Jail in October 2024. Now, he has hopes of going back – but for a different reason. 

He recalls visitors to the jail, themselves formerly incarcerated and involved in street violence but now building a mentorship program to help people identify self-worth and change their choices. 

It’s a local implementation of a national program first created in a Michigan jail and now operated by the National Sheriff’s Association. National data shows it is effective in reducing violence in prison and recidivism when inmates are released. In Kalamazoo County an unlikely partnership is led by the sheriff’s office, the nonprofit Urban Alliance, and a burgeoning street outreach team.

Spencer was among the first cohort to graduate from the program, which connected them with community resources for things like housing and employment services, offered therapy sessions, and helped participants identify their post-release goals. 

He looks forward to being able to report to his mentees what he can accomplish, in a future when he can reflect on the steps of his progress. “Maybe, I could say, ‘I don’t have a place to stay yet, but I did find a job,’ and then maybe I could come back in that third month and say, ‘well I got a job and a place to stay,’ then six months later… ‘hey, I just got a car.’ If they can see that, then it gives them something to aspire to.”

Click here to go inside the jailhouse program with reporters Kristie May and Raine Kuch.

It’s that time of year again

Midway through mosquito and tick season, the Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department is warning that a third of the ticks submitted for testing last year came back positive for the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease or other serious illness. From April until the first frost, ticks and mosquitos are in a prime environment.

The department issued an advisory to the public to protect themselves from tick- and mosquito-related illnesses by eliminating standing water, making sure window screens don’t have holes, wearing clothes that cover skin and use insect repellent with DEET, and checking yourself for ticks after being outdoors.

Lyme Disease symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a distinctive skin rash, that starts as a small spot and grows to look like a bullseye. If untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system, sometimes causing permanent disabilities. Earlier this month, county officials warned a mosquito that was tested was positive for Jamestown Canyon encephalitis, which is rarely deadly but has flu-like symptoms. – James Sanford, NowKalamazoo

Authority Board members appointed for youth sports complex

Kalamazoo County Commissioners have appointed the members of the new Authority Board that will govern the $40 million youth sports complex to be built between U.S. 131 and Drake Road. The project is to open in 2027. It is funded by a new 4% room occupancy fee being assessed on area hotels, which have the option of tacking it onto customers’ bills.

The 11 members will be responsible for making the plan a reality over the next few years, guiding construction and infrastructure to support it, hiring staff and turning it into an operating facility. The building is envisioned to host basketball and volleyball tournaments on the weekend and provide a space for local youth during the week. 

The members are:

• County Commissioner Monteze Morales
• City of Kalamazoo Vice Mayor Jeanne Hess
• Oshtemo Township Supervisor Cheri Bell
• Discover Kalamazoo Director of Business Development Brian Persky
• Discover Kalamazoo President & CEO Jane Ghosh
• Fairfield Inn & Suites Area Director of Sales & Operations Fred Rahme
• Comfort Inn & Suites Downtown Kalamazoo Regional Manager Devshya Patel
• The Hinman Company Chief Operating Officer Rich MacDonald
• Southwest Michigan First Executive Vice President Jill Bland
• United Pursuit and Pursuit of Excellence Director Corey Person
• Next Level Sports Center General Manager and Integrator Annemarie Boarham.

– John McNeill, NowKalamazoo

Lake Placid’s Cascade Builders youth minor baseball team won its league championship on Friday, July 11, against the other Lake Placid-based team, Holzer Spray Foam. The game was played at the Lake Placid Youth Athletic Association fields. Pictured from the Cascade Builders from left, in the front are Brody Langford, Jace Marra, Cole Cassidy, Tyler Bruce, Grayson Castonguay, Jacob Ano and Craig Jopling. In the middle are Shannon Corliss, Calvin Piorkowski, Wyatt Thomson and Hollis Hobday. In the back are coach Todd Corliss, coach Lee Jopling and coach Andrew Thompson. (Provided photo — Alicia Brandes)

SUVA (Fiji) – The FIBA Foundation Youth Leaders Program has concluded in Fiji with 20 participants from 11 nations across the Oceania region taking part in the 2025 edition of the program. 

Aligning with FIBA’s strategic priority of Youth Development, the core focus of the program is to facilitate, and empower the next generation of leaders on, and off the court through Basketball For Good initiatives. 

“It was an inspiring week to be amongst other youth leaders from the region,” Cook Islands Youth Leader Brianna Lewis said. “Learning about how we can make a difference in our communities through Basketball For Good highlighted the important role we play in educating the next generation of ballers about more than basketball.” 

The in-person component of the program followed four online sessions that introduced and elaborated on topics that included communication, diversity, inclusion, leadership, and personal development. 

“Having the in-person component of the program compliment the online sessions was highly beneficial,” Ms Lewis said.  “The sessions on gender equality, and diversity was really eye-opening, and I think we all sat up, and listened to how we can positively influence our communities back home.” 

Hosted in Suva, Fiji, this was the first time the program was hosted outside of Australia, and New Zealand, with the host country providing participants with insight into grassroots basketball development in the region. 

“As a visual learner, watching the Hoops for Equality program in action on our first day was a game-changer,” Vanuatu Youth Leader Terrence Coleman said.  “That initial observation, combined with their explanations and my peers’ insights, drove home a crucial point: the success of the drills isn’t just about the movements, it’s about the powerful message embedded within them.” 

Supported by the FIBA Foundation and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), the extended collaboration significantly boosted the regional offering with FIBA Executive Officer – Oceania, Amanda Jenkins highlighting the importance of these partnerships to elevate program sustainability in the region. 

“The FIBA Foundation Youth Leadership Program is an important initiative within our region, and the added support from MFAT this year enabled us to really elevate how the program was delivered and can be sustained when Youth Leaders return to their home countries,” Ms Jenkins said.  “Longevity of FIBA grassroots programs in the region like Youth Leaders this will not only underpin the future of basketball, but provide communities with a unique way to educate, inform, and empower the next generation.” 

Acting Head of Mission, New Zealand High Commission, Suva, Alex Shahryar-Davies, attended the opening ceremony of the workshop and emphasised the importance of youth leadership programs being integrated through sports. 

“New Zealand is proud to support FIBA’s Youth Leadership program through our Pacific Sport for Development Fund, reinforcing our long-standing commitment to sport in the Pacific,” Mr Shahryar-Davies said. 

“We believe sport is a powerful, unifying force, capable of transcending divides, fostering positive change, and engaging youth in critical issues.  This is especially true in the Pacific, where sport is often woven into the community fabric.  We recognize the immense talent, energy, and potential of Pacific youth, and by providing them with the right tools, we are confident they will become the leaders who will positively transform their communities and the world.” 

Youth Leaders will now return to their home countries to put into action their program learnings by conducting their own Basketball For Good projects with mentorship from FIBA staff. 

About FIBA Youth Leaders 

The FIBA Foundation’s Youth Leadership program is a global Basketball For Good initiative giving youths the skills and opportunities to create a brighter future for themselves and their communities. The Youth Leaders are supported to create their own community impact project, growing the Basketball For Good family worldwide. 

About MFAT 

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trading (MFAT) is New Zealand’s link to the world, shaping foreign policy, trade, and providing development support, especially in the Pacific. They champion youth development and international cooperation for a better global future. With a commitment to youth development and regional partnerships, MFAT’s strategic objectives aligns with the FIBA Foundation Youth Leaders program goals of fostering leadership and creating positive social impact across the Pacific. 

For 55 years, the ESSENCE brand has proudly driven meaningful impact through intentional, locally rooted activations, and this year’s ESSENCE Festival of Culture is no exception.

In partnership with hometown hero Master P, ESSENCE’s “We Love Us” Community Day brings together leaders and organizations of all backgrounds to offer a wealth of resources to New Orleans youth and families who may be unable to attend other ESSENCE Festival of Culture programming and events that typically take place in the heart of the city. To switch things up a bit and cater to the broader community, this impactful and carefully crafted event takes place at the University of New Orleans (UNO) Lakefront Arena, where Percy “Master P” Miller was recently named president of basketball operations and is affectionately known as “Coach P.”

Arguably one of the greatest and most prolific hip hop artists of all time, Miller says he is closing his music chapter – after his farewell performance on the final night of the 2025 ESSENCE Evening Concert Series – to focus on giving back to the city that made him who he is today. “I’m going to coach basketball and make history again, helping kids get into college and doing the right thing,” Coach P says. “It was an amazing ride. I put my faith and trust in God and I’m ready for the next chapter.”

One of the main attractions at the all-day, multi-generational community experience was the youth basketball clinic, designed specifically for the next generation of New Orleanians. Coach P and his all-star lineup of coaches – including “Coach” Spectacular Smith of Pretty Ricky and rookie team members of the New Orleans Pelicans – run some simple yet intense drills with the young ballers, while also giving them life skills they can transfer outside of the game, like the importance of teamwork, taking care of yourself and never giving up.

“This is the place to show the kids that there’s more to life than just entertainment, sports,” Coach P shares. “We want to be able to show them the importance of education and making sure you’re taking care of your health. This is the way we’re going to save our kids.”

As youth participation climbs inside UNO’s practice gym, families explore the ultimate health and wealth pavilion inside the main arena, where various resources are being offered by several community organizations, including the Black Heart Association (BHA), Bexa Equity Alliance (BEA), Operation Restoration, and more. 

“Wherever our people are is where we want to be,” says Frederick Robinson, co-founder of BHA, whose mission is to save lives and eliminate heart disease in the Black community. “We’re trying to change the narrative of heart disease and bring access, information, education, and empowerment to our people and anyone who wants to take advantage of what we’re offering.”

Robinson and his wife Tara, a three-time heart attack survivor, founded BHA together in 2016 after her final near-death experience. He says God sent her back to do this work, and they have been hitting the ground running and filling the gap within the community ever since.

“We started off just raising awareness…because believe it or not, we, as Black people, are at risk. But the beautiful thing about it is 80 percent of heart disease can be prevented just by lifestyle changes. So we’re just trying to let people know that none of this is a death sentence if we’re willing to kill old habits, old behaviors, old ways of thinking…and put our health at the forefront of our thinking and what we do and how we move. It’s not for us but for the people that we love and the people that depend on us.”

Alongside free heart health screenings, breast cancer screenings were available to guests at no cost as well, thanks to BEA. “We are deeply honored to partner with ESSENCE to bring vital, lifesaving Bexa breast exams directly to the heart of New Orleans,” says BEA’s executive director and six-year breast cancer survivor, Tiara Neal. “This inaugural, community-led event is more than just a service; it is a movement rooted in purpose, equity, and love…because when we meet people where they are – with compassion and care – we help build healthier, stronger communities from the inside out. Thank you to ESSENCE for showing up and showing out for the local community.”

Another community partner helping curate this family-friendly initiative is Operation Restoration, a New Orleans-based nonprofit that supports women and girls impacted by incarceration. “Our work is rooted in supporting and empowering women, making this partnership with ESSENCE even more impactful and meaningful,” says Syrita Steib, the organization’s founder, president and CEO, and cousin of Coach P. “It was really important that we create an opportunity to give back to the community and support the children in the neighborhoods that are adjacent to where the ESSENCE Festival happens. Together, with the help of ESSENCE, Coach P, and all of our community partners, this shows how we are being intentional about how we engage and show love to our community.”

One of the main attractions inside the Lakefront Arena was the Lux Laboratory Neauxla – a new entrepreneurial venture created by the young women part of Operation Restoration’s mentorship program, Operation Girls. Through creativity and connection, these bosses-in-the-making – whose parents have been touched by the criminal legal system – got to explore the meaning of being self-made by debuting their line of lip glosses, candles, and perfumes they all made with their own hands during the ESSENCE Festival of Culture. Nearby, financial educator and strategist, Dr. Jatali Bellanton, hosts a workshop to share key insights on building generational wealth. In addition, L’Oréal Groupe – in its shared commitment to promoting a more inclusive vision of beauty through Black joy, artistry, and resilience – joins in on the fun by giving back and offering free products to community day attendees. 

“In New Orleans, culture, community and commerce come alive like nowhere else,” says Varsay Sirleaf, ESSENCE’s senior director of community and global engagement. “Our goal with this inaugural Community Day activation is to give back to a city that has given so much to us. By creating a culturally rich, high-impact day of service rooted in wellness, empowerment and community joy, we are not only amplifying ESSENCE’s social mission but also demonstrating the true meaning of loving and taking care of one another.”

ATLANTA — In the parlance of the internet, this is not a real place. There are certain cities in America where the sheer size, scope and variety of absurdity that goes on every day often makes the concept of everyday life feel like it’s happening in some combination of a fever dream and simulation that you just couldn’t make up if you tried.

When it comes to ATL, that entire ridiculous meme actually makes sense. On July 10, at a lounge downtown, surrounded by hookah smoke and sauteed crab claws, comedians were cracking jokes while highlight clips of youth baseball players rolled in the background.

At the fundraiser event for Minority Baseball Prospects — an organization born out of the pandemic and boasts a plethora of showcase events, tournaments and other programming for baseball and softball in the African American community — the realization hit me like an invisible car prototype popping up outside the club.

The state of Black baseball in 2025: critical.

While there are many definitions of that word for multiple contexts, that’s exactly why it’s appropriate today.  

At the big league level, the numbers are not getting particularly better. There are teams like the Washington Nationals, who have multiple brothas at every level of their organization, and others like the Philadelphia Phillies, who seem like if they have more than one Black player on their roster it’s a miracle.

These are loose generalizations, but very rarely is it more palpable than All-Star Week, when guys from all of walks of life show up to alumni-type events, and a good amount of them are Black players who even the most dedicated of fans have likely never heard of.

It’s a constant reminder that there was a time when All-Star Week was the space many of us occupied in the big leagues. Not necessarily superstars everywhere, but a much higher proportion of everyday players who were solid contributors to their teams.

Black players often index disproportionately in glamour events: James Wood, Byron Buxton and Jazz Chisholm in the Home Run Derby, or any number of players who showed up for the MLB All-Star Futures Game. Former big-leaguer Marquis Grissom managed in the game against his son, who at one point pitched against Harry Ford, the catching prospect for the Mariners playing in the game for a third time.

One of the Futures Game teams had a Black manager, but there is a total of two Black managers in the entirety of the big leagues (Dave Roberts, Ron Washington) — and they both manage in the same city (Los Angeles) at that.

If you aren’t acutely paying attention to every single effort that MLB is making through camps and its various programs, it feels like we’re hanging on as a culture as much as cultivating crops to grow. A lot can change in a few years, and a lot has. Maybe it’s because we lost Willie Mays last year that it feels like there is an irreplaceable void, because there is, spiritually.

Don’t get me wrong, there are bright spots. The Red Sox picked three Black pitchers on the first day of the recent MLB draft, which was an eye-opener. In the college game, there seem to be as many impact Black players as ever on the Power Four level of conferences. Coaches on the other hand? That’s another matter, still.

But the more this nation continues to show itself as a place hellbent on isolationism and exceptionalism, the fundamental structures that are required for growth in any industry seem increasingly scant. When you apply that to what it takes in proverbially watering the plants necessary for growth of the game, nevermind Black folks, the feeling becomes quite grim.

How much can we really achieve in this sector of one single sport when it feels like, as a country, we won’t be able to pull off organizationally a World Cup, Olympics or World Baseball Classic because of fear of the authorities? Hell, we can barely keep kids in summer camp safe because indifference is so prevalent.

Watching “The Sandlot” on ABC Sunday night — a story that revolves around the childhood coming of age of a neighborhood group of kids whose lives revolve around a plot of land for public recreational use, flanked by the lot of an old blind Black man who lives on his own with his dog — felt like more than just a nostalgic fantasy but genuinely unimaginable today. Hell, we can barely get through a media day without people losing their minds because a question was asked about why the All-Star Game was moved out of Georgia in the first place in 2021.

Pair that with the fact that half of my For You Page on TikTok is either a real or fictitious depiction of some travel ball scam or a parent blowing up on an umpire in a disgusting fashion and you think to yourself: Well beyond the money, it’s completely understandable why Black folks do not want to be involved with many of these operations. With headlines like “Private Equity Taking Notice of Youth Sports,” in the New York Times, it ain’t great.

Yet, I digress.

Back in Atlanta on Saturday, some familiar faces graced the MBP All-American Game, held at Marietta High School. Matt Kemp, 40, exactly the kind of player who used to be far more prevalent in the bigs in terms of production, was there to see his nephew.

Kemp was a three-time All-Star with the Dodgers and won a couple of Silver Sluggers and Gold Gloves. He even dated pop singer Rihanna at one point, to give you an idea of his popularity then if you didn’t know. He knows he comes from a different generation, somewhat, but is happy that the experience exists, even if still fledgling in its growth.

“We didn’t have the chance to play in something like this growing up, which I’m kind of jealous, but it’s good for, you know, my nephew, and all these other kids that I know, and I’m close to, and then some of their parents that I know, it’s for them to be able to experience this, and for the minority baseball guys to put this on for them,” Kemp said, wearing a vintage Milwaukee Braves hat. “Just a beautiful thing, man, just to see all these, you know, these wonderful-looking Black people here doing this.”

As basic as it seems, it’s understandable. A safe space for Black kids to play, grow and potentially be seen by a larger audience is ultimately the goal in the short term, but it’s still so much of a business that heart and determination aren’t all it takes. Thankfully, they’ve gotten some assistance from Adidas, which helped them look and feel like they belong. But the environment is comfortable enough that even famous parents aren’t getting hounded like celebrities, per se.

Codey Gauff — yes, that Gauff, Coco’s brother — is playing behind the dish at the All-American Game as well, with his travel ball teammate Josiah Kemp. The two only could show for a couple of innings before hauling it back to Hoover, Alabama, for another tournament. Gauff’s dad Corey was there, just like any regular supporter in the family.

“He wants to bring kind of a speedy, athletic catcher to the game, which not to say there’s none, but they’re not that many brothers, for the most part, outside of the Atlanta Braves,” Corey Gauff, also the father of two-time major winning tennis player Coco Gauff, said of his son.

Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin made his MLB debut this season after being a non-roster spring training invite. Corey Gauff is aware of the dearth of players we have at that position, noting that former big-league catcher Charles Johnson, someone his son looks up to, is a familiar face to them.

“He lives not too far from us (in Florida), so he used to throw the first pitch out all the time at our Little League,” Corey Gauff explained, before telling a story so familiar to many people. His father-in-law played at Bethune Cookman. His pro career bounced him around the bus leagues, then he gave back.

“So my father-in-law started the Little League in 1971. Delray Beach American,” Corey Gauff said. “He had a charter, one of the few Black charters out. He might be the only remaining Black charter still left. He started the league because they wouldn’t let us play in their league back when he was young. After he finished traveling the minor leagues, he did it.”

The fact that you can draw a straight line from a French Open tennis champion to a town in Florida with segregated Little Leagues shows you exactly how little infrastructure we truly have to work with in the most agrarian major sport in the U.S. On top of that, armed ICE agents are raiding baseball practices in the hometown of the President of the United States of America.

Talent isn’t enough. Nor is it all we have. In order for Black baseball to survive, nevermind thrive, the time is now more than ever for the vested parties to commit to their investments. College scholarship allowances are up, but that doesn’t mean every school wants to spend money on Black baseball.

After a weekend in Hotlanta, the mecca of Black baseball in America, it’s clear what it will take to make our participation in the sport great again.

LAND O’ LAKES, Fla. — “Flip the switch. I’m beast-mode. I’m ready.”

That’s how local martial artist Sebastian “Bash” Reyes describes his mentality when he enters competition.

WATCH: 9-year-old Pasco County martial arts prodigy eyes more gold

9-year-old Pasco County martial arts prodigy eyes more gold

He’s only nine years old, but Reyes says martial arts are his passion.

“This is what I want to do when I grow up,” he said frankly. “I want to go to the Olympics and win a gold medal.”

Martial arts runs in Sebastian’s family. His father and coach, Gabriel, has trained championship-level fighters across the sport. But he admits he still gets a little uneasy when he switches hats from “Coach” to “Dad.”

“I’ve [coached fighters] all the way to the UFC, and I wasn’t nervous then,” Gabriel said before a training session. “But when I have my nine-year-old out there and I’m just hoping he doesn’t stumble, doesn’t fall. But it’s hard to be nervous when you see all the work that he does.”

His relentless work ethic earned Bash a second nickname.

WFTS

“They like to call me a perfectionist because I want to make everything perfect,” he joked. “Every little move. Just practice it thousands and thousands of times to make it the best one ever.”

U.S. Martial Arts Team coach Tyree’ Wright also trains Bash across multiple disciplines in the sport. He said he realized Bash and Gabe were a successful combination from the moment he saw them training.

“I love to see where they start, where they start to go. And I love for them to start to see the belief in themselves,” Wright said before a practice. “Especially coming off a couple of losses or something like that. I tell them all the time ‘We don’t lose, we learn. Hey what did you learn today?’ So I love to keep that mindset with them, through and through.”

Bash is ranked #1 in the country in Traditional Forms and Weapons (sword is his weapon of choice), and #2 sparring. His family’s living room- which doubles as a dojo- is filled with gold medals and trophies. Gabriel says his son’s success has been shaped by the ups and downs of youth sports.

“He’s learned how to win. He’s learned how to lose. To watch how he handles that is better than anything,” he said proudly. “[Bash] can win three golds in a day, and come back and be just as humble as if he didn’t win one. Everybody knows who he is when he goes to tournaments because he’s friendly to everybody. And I think it’s bringing his personality to the surface even better.”

WFTS

Win or lose, Bash says he knows his parents, coaches, and teammates always have his back.

“If I do something wrong, I know that all my teammates and my parents are going to support me,” he explained. “So I’m not mad or disappointed at all in myself. I’ll always have another opportunity to get another gold.”

Bash’s resume includes being a standout flag football player, an accomplished piano player and vocalist, and a straight-A student. When asked about his variety of interests he just shrugs his shoulders and says it’s all part of finding balance.

“I know that education is also even more important. So I need to stay well-rounded between my education and my physical athleticism,” Bash said. He’s was also quick to point out the importance of having fun- especially in martial arts. “That’s probably the best part. Is making new friends and being able to get on the mat and sometimes be able to compete with them.”

WFTS

“He knows now that he can do anything,” Gabe quickly added. “I don’t know if he’s ever going to know there’s limits out there.”

This week, Bash competes at the U.S. Open ISKA World Martial Arts Championships in Orlando.

He’s also gearing up for a trip to Norway for the World Martial Arts Games. There, he’ll represent Team USA against some of the best competition in the world.

His family set up a GoFundMe page to help get him and his father to the world stage.