11 minute read
By ABNER GALINO
The FAPCCA Executive Offi cers and BOD for 2021-2022 were elected virtually via zoom last Sunday January 24, 2021 at 6:00 pm.
The 2021-2022 Executive Offi cers are Thelma Sugay, president; Mutch Carino, 1st VP; Jackie Dayoha, 2nd VP; Lissa Pacheco Chow, Secretary; Rose Sarreal, Treasurer; Aris Duenas, Auditor; and MJ Racadio, PRO.
The new Board of Directors include Abby Amores, Antonette Ang, Nikki Arriola, Rudy Autor, Lorie Deoleo, Catherine Enriquez, Tony Garcia, Pol Joaquin, Gary Paglinawan, Roger Parajes, and Lydia Soriano. The Chairman of the Board is Benny Uy, Immediate Past President.
Co-Founders and President Emeritus Thelma Calabio and Andy Edralin were present to oversee the elections. Outgoing Chairman of the Board and President Emeritus Isidric Panganiban led the offi cial process with great order and with the help of Board Member Lydia Soriano.
FAPCCA welcomes the new year with a signifi cant project as the offi cial collaborating partner of a project called Neighbors in Dialogue. This program hopes to promote Diversity and Inclusion in various communities. This endeavor is sponsored by the Glendale YMCA, with YMCA CEO George Saikali at the helm together with Jeff Ring, a notable psychologist and community health management professional. Other partners include Maxx Promos, Spotlight TV and Blogtalk with MJ Racadio. For more information or membership inquiries, please email thelma@jmasgroup.com or call 747-221-2322.
Remembering Kobe and Gigi
FANS remember former Laker star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi on the fi rst anniversary of their tragic death by fl ocking to a mural — bringing fl owers and lighting up candles — on La Brea Avenue in the City of Los Angeles. More than 400 murals memorializing the basketball icon and his daughter were created by artists around the City of Los Angeles shortly after a helicopter carrying them and seven other people crashed in the City of Calabasas. No one survived the accident.
Photo by Abner Galino
NeWSOm... fROm PaGe 1
us,” adding that the county would walk back its guidelines if the spread of the coronavirus starts deteriorating again.
Restrictions that are being relaxed immediately: a. Personal care services, such as hair and nail salons, can open for indoor operations at 25% capacity. b. Tourism and individual travel has been allowed for hotels and motels c. Outdoor private gatherings involving up to three households and/or a total of 15 people can proceed.
A new health order is set to be issued on Friday (January 29) that would lift restrictions for outdoor dining and other non-essential business operations that were previously banned.
In a statement, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis, expressed elation over the development. "I am pleased with the State of California's timely announcement on ending the Regional Stay at Home Order, which refl ects the hard work of Angelenos these past months to stay home and save lives. Our small businesses have endured tremendous hardships and are struggling to stay afl oat,” Solis said. "We have seen decreases in the number of cases and hospitalizations in Los Angeles County, and that is attributed to our collective sacrifi ces. However, we cannot let our guard down again. We've seen what it means when that happens, when we visit with others in their homes, attend large gatherings, and run errands like we did pre-pandemic. That cannot happen again.” "We must continue to meet the moment and defeat this virus as soon as possible. That means keeping ourselves and loved ones safe with masks, physical distancing, and getting the vaccine as soon as it becomes available to us."
How to sign up for vaccination
At the moment, health workers in L.A. County are giving vaccines to healthcare workers, long-term care facility residents, and people 65 and older.
To begin lining for your vaccine, interested persons should check California’s new My Turn tool (myturn.ca.gov) or by calling the California COVID-19 hotline at (833) 422-4255 (available Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.).
Los Angeles County is reminding residents that the main way to schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments is by logging on to VaccinateLACounty. com to check appointment availability.
For the residents of the City of Los Angeles, sign up on Carbon Health’s website (carbonhealth.com/covid-19-vaccines).
How to get your second dose
Carbon Health Twitter : “For your second dose appointment, you will be auto-booked within the appropriate timeframe from your fi rst dose. We will also send you a message with the opportunity to reschedule your appointment within a 4-day window. You will receive communication from us.”
“For residents who received the vaccine at a large county run site, emails confi rming second dose appointments will be sent before your next appointment. They will be at the same location and time as your fi rst dose, 21 days later. We appreciate your patience,” the LA County Department of Public Health said on Twitter.
95% of those vaccinated got or intend to get all required doses
By THOM FILE AND ABINASH MOHANTY
About 8% of American adults reported they had received a COVID-19 vaccination and around half of adults who haven’t (51%) indicated they would definitely get a vaccine, while an additional 26% said they probably would, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released today.
The latest revision to Phase 3 of the Household Pulse Survey was implemented on Jan. 6, 2021, and included a new series of questions about COVID-19 vaccinations and attitudes toward the vaccines.
This article is based on analysis of Phase 3 data collected Jan. 6 through Jan. 18, a time period in which the Census Bureau sent invitations to 1,037,972 households and received a total of 68,348 responses.
This content was added in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Based on survey self-reports, these data may differ from other administrative information, particularly those collected during different time periods.
The new vaccination series asks respondents if they had received a COVID-19 vaccination. Those who had are then asked if they plan to receive all required doses.
Adults who have not been vaccinated are asked if they plan to get a vaccine once available. Respondents who express uncertainty are asked the reason(s) for their reluctance.
The data show:
About 95% of the estimated 19 million who reported receiving a COVID-19 vaccination said they had received or plan to receive all required doses.
Around half (51%) of the approximately 226 million adults yet to receive a vaccination said they “definitely” plan to receive it when available.
An additional 26% of adults yet to be vaccinated reported they would “probably” get a vaccine once available, compared to approximately 14% who said they would “probably not,” and 10% who said they would “definitely not” get vaccinated.
Overall, these results indicate that around a quarter of all unvaccinated adults will probably not, or will definitely not, receive a COVID-19 vaccine once one is available to them. Age Factors
During this initial collection period, the reported likelihood of eventually receiving a COVID-19 vaccination once available varied by age and older adults appear to be more certain they want to get vaccinated.
While about 71% of adults ages 65 and over reported they would “definitely” get a vaccine once available, around half (51%) of those ages 45-64 said the same.
Meanwhile, among those ages 30-44 and 18-29, only 41% indicated they would “definitely” get a vaccine once available (The percentages for these two youngest age groups were not statistically different.)
Racial differences
The reported likelihood of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination once available also varied by Hispanic origin and race.
About two-thirds of unvaccinated non-Hispanic Asian adults indicated they would “definitely” get a vaccine once available, compared to around 56% of non-Hispanic Whites.
In contrast, only about 47% of Hispanics, 37% of non-Hispanics of other races or two or more races, and 30% of non-Hispanic Blacks said they would “definitely” get a vaccine once available.
Health Insurance coverage
Attitudes about receiving a COVID-19 vaccine also varied according to health insurance status. Those without insurance were less likely to say they would get vaccinated.
Among the unvaccinated, over half (56%) of insured adults and 34% of uninsured adults said they would “definitely” get a vaccine when available.
Respondents who indicated uncertainty about receiving a vaccination (49%) were also asked the reason(s) for their reluctance.
The most frequently selected answers included:
Concern about possible side effects (51%) and plans to wait to see if the vaccines are safe (50%). The percentages for these two reasons were not statistically different.
Feeling that other people might need the vaccine more right now (28%).
It should be noted that respondents could provide more than one response to this question.
All respondents were also asked whether they had received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis from a medical professional; around 14% indicated they had.
As more Americans are vaccinated, Household Pulse Survey data will allow for meaningful analysis of demographic differences in vaccination rates and positive COVID-19 diagnoses. Additional information about the number of COVID-19 vaccines administered is available from the CDC.
The estimates in this analysis are based on survey self-reports from a specific time period and may not align with published counts generated from other sources.
For more information, data users are encouraged to explore the Household Pulse Survey tables, Technical Documentation and Public Use File (PUF) microdata.
Thom File is a sociologist in the Census Bureau’s Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division.
Abinash Mohanty is a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division.
GARCETTI KICKS OFF FREE TAX PREP L.A.
Mayor Eric Garcetti today launched the Free Tax Prep L.A. (FTPLA) 2021 campaign, an initiative to provide working families with free tax preparation services and help them claim state and federal tax credits.
Partnering with the Los Angeles Housing + Community Investment Department (HCID), L.A. County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA), the Koreatown Youth + Community Center (KYCC), and United Way of Greater LA, this effort will open the door to up to $10,000 in tax credits for hard-hit, low-income households. This year, for the first time, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) immigrant filers will be eligible for California’s Earned Income Tax Credit and the Young Child Tax Credit.
“Year in and year out, local families leave hundreds of millions of dollars on the table –– refunds they are entitled to receive and credits that can make the difference between security and despair for our struggling neighbors,” said Mayor Garcetti. “Every dollar recovered can help hard-hit Angelenos pay the bills, cover the rent, and put food on the table –– and with COVID-19 wreaking havoc on so many in our city, there has never been a more critical time to provide these free tax prep services to our most vulnerable households, regardless of immigration status.”
This year, tax season begins on February 12, two weeks later than usual, creating a delay for Angelenos hit hardest by COVID-19 to file their taxes and receive a refund. To help alleviate economic hardships and prevent residents from resorting to predatory lenders, FTPLA is expanding its services for eligible filers through COVID-safe drop-off and drivethru locations, virtual and phone bank assistance, Facebook Live Q&A panels with the IRS, and more.
“I implore our City’s immigrant community to take advantage of these new tax credits that reward their hard work and put potentially thousands of dollars back in their hands,” said Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez. “This past year has been one of the most trying years in our City’s history, especially for heavily impacted low-income Angelenos. Through our free tax preparation program, we are providing them with critical assistance. We want to make sure they receive every last dollar they are entitled to.”
Mayor Garcetti has long been an advocate of extending California’s Earned Income Tax Credit and Young Child Tax Credit programs to all of the state’s households. To that end, he led a coalition of eight Big City Mayors to successfully advocate for Governor Newsom and the State Legislature to extend these credits to ITIN filers, a change that was ultimately adopted and signed into law last fall. This step will make 600,000 more Californians, including 200,000 children, eligible for these programs.
“Beginning February 8th, we’ll have a week-long activation to help get the word out. Everything from livestreamed panel sessions with the IRS answering frequently asked tax questions and tips to avoid tax scams, partnerships with DREAMERS to encourage ITIN filers to access cash-back tax credits, multilingual online tutorials, and more,” said Audrey Casillas, Manager of Community Economic Development Services at KYCC.
ELIGIBILITY
Individuals earning $57,000 or less can claim the state and federal earned income tax credit (EITC) where they may be eligible for up to $10,000 cash back.
Families with children should inquire about California’s Young Child Tax Credit where they may be eligible for up to $1,000 with qualifying children under age 6.
ITIN filers are newly eligible for the CalEITC state credit and Young Child Tax Credit, totaling up to $4,000.
FTPLA LOCATIONS & HOURS | COVID-19 SERVICES
For a list of locations and hours, visit www.freetaxprepla.com. Drop-off services require appointments. Assistance available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Persian, Armenian, and Korean.
Stimulus check assistance is also available for those who have not yet received their payment.
Supportive resources during COVID-19 include online tutoring, hygiene kits, food banks, tenant/low-income housing support, CalFresh assistance, and more. Visit www.freetaxprepla.com for a list of FamilySource Centers.
