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MUHAMMAD NAEEM: What America Really Means?! | Page B2
Weather: 69o/40o | Volume II | Issue XLVIII
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Real Estate: Property Guide| Page C2
Thursday, December 3 - 9, 2020
A FAITH
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B POLITICS
SUSAN BECKETT: No Parking!
SPORTS | Page D1
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B OPINION
Unveiling economic team, Biden pledges, ‘Help is on the way’
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Homelessness in Hemet – How Did It Start?
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SACRAMENTO
Governor Newsom Releases the Master Plan for Early Learning and Care: California for All Kids CALIFORNIA GOV. CONTACT | CONTRIBUTED
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uilding on his commitment to supporting the state’s young children and their families, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the release of the Master Plan for Early Learning and Care: California for All Kids, which provides a strong research-based roadmap for building a comprehensive and equitable early learning and care system over the next decade. The Plan will help the state better understand the crisis families, children and early learning and care providers are facing amid the COVID-19 pandemic and identifies key policy goals to ensure that all California children can thrive physically, emotionally and educationally in their early years through access to high-quality early learning and care programs. These goals include universal preschool, enhanced workforce development and equitable career pathways for educators and caregivers, and funding reforms to promote equitable access to high-quality early learning and care. “Every child in California de-
serves a shot at opportunity,” said Governor Newsom. “By investing in the development and learning needs of our kids, with a focus on equity, we are investing in the future of our state. The Master Plan for Early Learning and Care translates our aspirations into an actionable roadmap – one that centers on the success of our youngest Californians, their families and the communities and caregivers that lift them up.” From the start of the pandemic in March through the end of October, the Department of Social Services estimates 2,030 family child care homes and 390 child care centers have closed permanently, making it harder for families to work and care for their children. In light of this, the Plan recommends the first steps seek to provide relief to parents, quality care for children and stability to child care providers as the state rebuilds an early learning and care system weakened by COVID-19. Now more than ever it is clear how important child care is to the state’s overall economic recovery. Released by the California Health and Human Services Agency, the Plan was a collaboration of a num-
Courtesy Photo of gov.ca.gov.
ber of experts and practitioners from WestEd, the RAND Corporation, Child Trends, American Institutes for Research, Glen Price Group, the Neimand Collaborative, Low Income Investment Fund, Stanford University and SparkPlace. In addition, the Social Policy Research Associates and Parent Voices were instrumental in engaging families pre-COVID for this project. The Early Childhood Policy Council also provided important input such as access to 3,000 public participants, including over 300 Spanish speakers, and joining various Council meetings and discussions throughout this year.
The Plan builds upon the Assembly Blue Ribbon Commission report and others and is rooted in the understanding that access to high-quality early learning and care improves outcomes for all children and families and helps address racial and economic inequities. The Plan outlines specific recommendations for creating a comprehensive, family-centric system driven by equity, including: • Unifying programs for infants and toddlers and improving access to Paid Family Leave; • Providing universal preschool for all 4-year-olds and income eligible 3-year-olds and those with
disabilities; • Prohibiting suspensions and expulsions in subsidized early learning programs, which has disproportionately impacted young Black boys; • Supporting the development of dual language learners who represent 60 percent of California’s young children; • Building a licensure and workforce development system based on the knowledge and skills of the workforce that supports and rewards the workforce; • Implementing funding reform to address regional cost of care differences, help sustain a high-quality workforce and allow for sliding fees for more private-pay families to participate; • Growing shared services networks to support child care providers and help their small businesses grow; and • Improving data sharing to advance equity, efficiency and continuous improvement. “The Master Plan for Early Learning and Care unlocks the innovative spirit of California, helping us create
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CALIFORNIA
Ruiz Calls on FCC to Close Digital Divide, Help Expand Remote Learning During COVID-19 Pandemic HEMETCA.GOV | CONTRIBUTED
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CONGRESSMAN RAUL RUIZ | Wikipedia in school remotely. In the letter, Ruiz advocates for the FCC to assist school districts with the purchase of hardware and subsidized internet access costs for low-income students. “The digital divide during this
telecommunication and internet access for eligible schools. However, the restrictive use of funds should (for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic) include virtual professional learning opportunities relative to the use of advanced technologies for the nation’s certificated and classified public school staff as well as virtual tutoring for students in mathematics, science, and reading informational texts,” said Superintendent Natasha Baker, Banning Unified School District. “Doing so would not only increase focused opportunities for staff to meet professional learning targets but also assist students in achieving their academic goals using the technologies to which E-Rate provides access.” "The lack of affordable residential broadband in Riverside County and other parts of the state and coun-
try has been revealed to all during the COVID-19 crisis and it reflects the lack of a larger U.S. broadband policy,” said Superintendent Sandra Lyon of Palm Springs Unified School District. “If we are to truly close the digital divide, it cannot be done without E-Rate, which helps schools connect their own infrastructure and create access for students. With E-Rate funds, Palm Springs Unified School District could bring home internet access to our students in need. We currently have deployed 5,600 HotSpots, allowing our students to access their virtual learning platforms in areas where residential broadband is often slow, expensive, and not universally available. All students and all communities deserve access to
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California on brink of new stay-at-home order as COVID-19 hospitalizations nearly double LAUREN LYSTER, CARLOS HERRERA | AP NEWS
A staggering rise in coronavirus cases could overwhelm California’s health system within weeks and “drastic” action such as a widespread stay-at-home order may be needed to combat the threat, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 have increased nearly 90% and could triple by Christmas, officials said Monday.
MOMENTS IN TIME
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ongressman Raul Ruiz, M.D., Yvette Clarke (DNY) and six other Members of Congress called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expand the E-Rate Program to bring broadband internet access to students and families who are taking online classes while their school districts are closed to in-person learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The letter comes on the heels of a meeting between Dr. Ruiz and Superintendents of Palm Springs, Desert Sands, Coachella Valley, Beaumont, Palo Verde, and Banning Unified School Districts. In the meeting, they discussed the need for additional support for low-income families whose children are
pandemic has put our local students at a disadvantage and elucidates the need for educational equity and closing the digital gap,” said Dr. Ruiz. “That is why, in collaboration with our district superintendents, I am calling on the FCC to modify the E-rate program to help our school districts purchase equipment and provide internet access so that all students can continue to learn and grow during these unprecedented times.” "The distance learning required of pandemic-related school closures further exposes the ongoing digital divide. We must collaboratively build a bridge across the divide so all students can access equitable learning opportunities,” said Superintendent Scott Bailey of Desert Sands Unified School District. “E-Rate provides discounts for
“The red flags are flying in terms of the trajectory in our projections of growth,” Newsom said. The number of COVID-19 cases reported each day in California has been setting records, with the average daily case rate over the last week topping 14,000. The levels are far above those recorded during a summer peak or even in March, when a state public health order restricted people from going outside except for the most essential reasons.
On Dec. 3, 1979 The last AMC Pacer rolls off the assembly line at the American Motors Corporation factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It was hailed as the car of the future when it debuted in 1975.
On Dec. 4, 1928
"Dapper Dan" Hogan, a St. Paul, Minnesota, saloonkeeper and mob boss, is killed when someone plants a car bomb under the floorboards of his new Paige coupe. The first car bomb was a horse-drawn-wagon bomb that exploded in 1920 outside the J.P. Morgan Company's offices in New York City.
On Dec. 5, 1933
The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
That order was later eased. Currently, 51 of 58 counties are in the “purple” tier of the state’s COVID-19 system, meaning they are under the strictest business restrictions. Those counties account for most of the state’s population. A recently imposed curfew in those counties bars most nonessential work, movement and gatherings but only overnight. Although he supplied few details, Newsom said that unless the current trends slow, the surge in COVID-19
cases creates the potential for an order that could place further restrictions on businesses and keep the majority of people indoors in the most seriously-affected counties. Hospitalizations in California have increased 89% over the past 14 days and nearly 7,800 coronavirus patients were hospitalized as of Monday. Public health officials warned that people ignoring distance and mask guidelines and
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is ratified, bringing an end to the prohibition of alcohol. Prohibition did little more than slow the flow of booze, and bootleggers like Al Capone had built criminal empires out of illegal distribution.
Government under the U.S. Constitution took effect on March 4, 1789.
On Dec. 6, 1884
Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress and a lifelong pacifist, casts the sole Congressional vote against the U.S. declaration of war on Japan. She also had voted against U.S. involvement in World War I.
On Dec. 7, 1787
An engineer at General Motors discovers that when he added tetraethyl lead to gasoline, it eliminated the knocking sound of internal-combustion engines. In the 1970s, the Environmental Protection Agency phased out leaded gasoline due to health concerns.
In Washington, D.C., workers place a 9-inch aluminum pyramid atop a tower of white marble, completing the construction of a monument to the city's namesake and the nation's first president, George Washington.
In Dover, Delaware, the U.S. Constitution is unanimously ratified by all 30 delegates to the Delaware Constitutional Convention, making Delaware the first state of the modern United States.
You are invited to a Christmas Concert
On Dec. 8, 1941
Entertainment for the family
On Dec. 9, 1921