Your adjudicated newspaper for Riverside County
desert
STAR W E E K L Y
PRESORTED STANDARD
PS Jewish Film Festival Thrives Drive-In Style see page 5. Pictured: Brad Pomerance, Doug Morton, Melanie Garver, Rabbi Steven Rosenberg Photo by Allen Lechtman
US POSTAGE PAID Desert Hot Springs, CA PERMIT NO 00005
November 4, 2020 Vol. 16 No. 87
And the Winner is?
Only 22% of Americans believe 2020’s election will be “free and fair,” according to a September Yahoo News/YouGov poll. (LAWJR/Pixabay) voters to remain calm and said the media needs to be vigilant should either candidate election has been compared the Transition Integrity Project, declare victory before all with fixing a deck of cards, said it is unfortunate President the votes are counted. where one player is guaranteed Donald Trump has sown doubt “It’s going to take days to come out on top. about the election process, and maybe even weeks for all Nils Gilman, vice president telling supporters if he loses it of the relevant ballots to be for programs at the Berggruen means the election was rigged. counted,” Gilman emphasized. Institute, and co-founder of Gilman encouraged “And we need to be patient
Voters of All Stripes Fear 2020 Election Hijinks By Desert Star Staff Unless there’s a landslide for one of the presidential candidates, Americans will go to bed uncertain of the winner. And that has many fearing a “stolen election.” A stolen
with that. That’s the normal process. It just takes time; 10 or 11 weeks between Election Day and Inauguration Day is to allow that process to play out.” Trump also has made it clear he hopes states won’t be allowed to count ballots after Continues on Page 5
Housing Crisis: Could Prop 21 Make a Difference?
By Desert Star Staff SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Groups that advocate for renters are hoping Californians will vote on Tuesday to make it easier for cities and counties to pass or expand rent control. Proposition 21 would allow rent control for properties built before 2005, lifting restrictions that were put in place by the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995. Rene Moya, director of the “Yes on Prop 21” campaign, said even before COVID, unaffordable rents meant too many families, particularly people of color, were being evicted. “Something like half a million renters and their families are being pushed out of their homes every single year,”
said Moya. “The COVID-19 pandemic has, of course, only made that worse.” Opponents - including the California Association of Realtors - say more rent control could backfire, prompting landlords to exit the market and shrinking the housing stock even further. Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes Prop 21, saying a 2019 law that requires “just cause” for evictions and caps rent increases should be given more time to work. Supporters say that law will keep more working-class families in their homes and stem the tide of homelessness. Prop 21 would also allow cities to pass rent control ordinances to cover single-family homes. And
Moya noted that it exempts most small landlords. “It threads the needle between protecting those renters who live in single-family
homes, while ensuring if you own up to two single-family homes, you will not be affected by Prop 21 at all,” said Moya. Moya added that
Proposition 21 also attempts to stop runaway rental amounts, by limiting increases to 15% for the first three years when a new tenant moves in.