California Assembly Approves Constitutional Amendment Abolishing “Involuntary Servitude” – Page A7
Will Smith Assaults Take One! Chris Rock, Then Wins Best Actor Oscar – Page A3
News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 48 Number 30
Serving Kern County for Over 48 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Confirmation Hearings for Judge Jackson Wraps with Independent Witnesses By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent With public hearings, the historic – and mostly despicable – confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson concluded on Thursday, March 24. And the Republican Party punctuated their four-daylong, racially-charged, and otherwise disrespectful digs at Judge Jackson. In the classic “I’m not racist, I have a Black friend” portion of their shameful and spineless public denigration of the accomplished Harvard Law graduate, the GOP trotted out First Liberty Institute associate counsel Keisha Russell, a Black woman. Russell, a favorite of GOP allies Fox News and other decidedly Republican-leaning networks, spent her testimony discussing critical race theory. “CRT makes race the predominant factor,” Russell remarked as she read a prepared statement. “America’s history as a lesson and blueprint as to how we must constantly seek to uphold and protect America’s founding promises. For these reasons, First Liberty opposes the nomination.” Additionally, the GOP trotted out Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and administrative law professor Jennifer Mascott, both opposing Judge Jackson’s nominations, falsely stating that the Biden administration has embraced “ideology of the anti-incarceration and anti-police movement.” Mascott insisted that Judge Jackson “may have a different view than traditionally applied methods of originalism,” a philosophy Republican-appointed judges have embraced. Perhaps more forceful than the committee members, Democratic witnesses pushed back. “We have waited far too long for this day, but we are nonetheless overjoyed that it has finally arrived. Judge Jackson’s presence on the court will matter tremendously,” said Wade Henderson, the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Congressional Black Caucus Chair Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) decried the assault on Judge Jackson because of her gender and race. The congresswoman urged the Senate to consider Judge Jackson’s record. “[This is a] glass ceiling that many Americans believed that they would never live to see broken,” Congresswoman Beatty
Ketanji Brown Jackson (Courtesy Photo)
asserted. “Judge Jackson’s confirmation vote must not be isolated to her gender or her race. Instead, I urge you to examine her credentials and sterling judicial records closely. They read like a storybook for a perfectly prepared jurist to sit on the nation’s highest court.” With the close of Thursday’s public hearings, the Senate Judiciary Committee plans to meet on Monday, March 28. The committee has tentatively scheduled a vote on the nomination on April 4. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said he expects a full vote by April 11. Democrats hope that some Republicans join them in voting to confirm Judge Jackson. Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), one of
the main actors in these hearings, voted in 2021 to confirm Judge Jackson to the powerful D.C. appellate court. Sen. Graham has signaled he’ll vote against confirmation this time. Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine, also voted to confirm Judge Jackson in 2021. If the confirmation vote splits along party lines, Vice President Kamala Harris will cast the tiebreaker, assuring Judge Jackson’s ascension as the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice. “There is nothing in Judge Jackson’s record suggesting that the committee should have difficulty reporting her nomination out,” Schumer demanded.
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Shaq, Curry Win Oscars for ‘Queen of Basketball’ Documentary
By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer The story of Lusia Harris only gets better: It’s now won an Oscar. And just like his longtime Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant did four years ago in another category, Shaquille O’Neal can say he’s an Oscar winner, as well. “The Queen of Basketball” – with a pair of basketball legends in O’Neal and Stephen Curry among the executive producers and top promoters of the 22-minute film – won the Academy Award for short subject documentary Sunday. It comes about two months after the death of Harris, who scored the first basket in Olympic women’s basketball history and was the first woman officially drafted by an NBA team. Ben Proudfoot directed the short, which educated even some ardent basketball fans on the story of the trailblazer. “If there is anyone out there who doubts that there is an audience for female athletes and questions whether their stories are valuable or entertaining or important . let this Academy Award be the answer,” Proudfoot said at the award ceremony in Los Angeles. Harris is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as is O’Neal. But even the four-time NBA champion – widely considered one of the greats in the history of the game – wasn’t familiar with her story. “I didn’t know who she was at first,” O’Neal said earlier this month. Few did. But the film and the involvement of O’Neal and Curry – the Golden State star wore sneakers earlier this month emblazoned with the phrase “Queen Lucy” on them – helped her story be told more and more. Harris helped Delta State University win three straight national championships in the 1970s and earned a silver medal for the United States at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Harris was drafted by the New Orleans Jazz in the seventh round of the 1977 NBA draft, but she was pregnant at the time and never actually went through with trying to make the team. Proudfoot also used the winning Oscar moment to call for the release of two-time Olympic gold medalist and top women’s player Brittney Griner, who has been jailed in Russia. Griner was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport, reportedly in mid-February, after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges allegedly containing oil derived from cannabis. Griner may face up to 10 years in prison under Russian law. “Bring Brittney Griner home,” Proudfoot said.
Gov’s Relief Plan Would Send Over $9 Billion in Direct Payments to Californians Tanu Henry California Black Media Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed an $11 billion relief package to assist Californians struggling with the skyrocketing costs of gas, food and other commodities. The plan includes a mix of direct payments to individuals; suspension of public transportation fares tax rebates; and support for state, county and municipal programs that align with the governor’s goal to make California a zero-emissions state by 2035. The state will provide about $9 billion in funding to cover $400 direct payments to car owners whose vehicles are registered in the state -- with a limit of two rebates per person. The payments will be sent to car owners on debit cards. “We’re taking immediate action to get money directly into the pockets of Californians who are facing higher gas prices as a direct result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” said Newsom. “But this package is also focused on protecting people from volatile gas prices and advancing clean transportation – providing three months of free public transportation, fast-tracking electric vehicle incentives and charging stations, and new funding for local biking and walking projects,” he added. The plan includes nearly $500 million in funding for clean transportation alternatives and supporting pedestrian and bicyclerider safety programs. Shortly after Newsom announced his plan, Republicans slammed it, calling it “out of touch,” pointing out oversights and explaining why they think their proposal is better. Last week, California Assembly Republicans introduced legislation that would temporarily suspend the state’s 51-cent-
(Shutterstock Photo)
per-gallon gas tax. Democrats unanimously voted against the bill 40-18, arguing that, if the legislation passed, funding would be taken away from important transportation projects without a guarantee from gas stations that they would lower prices. “You can’t make this stuff up,” tweeted Assembly Republican leader James Gallagher, whose district includes Yuba County and other Sacramento Valley counties, including all of Glenn and
Tehama and parts of Butte and Colusa. “I’m losing count … is this now the 5th plan from Capitol Democrats in the past couple of weeks? Why not take #50centsoffnow?” Gallagher’s tweet continued. Gallagher also found fault with the governor’s plan for providing relief to people who own electric vehicles and leaving out military personnel who live and serve in California but whose cars may not be registered in the state. California has the highest number of active-duty military personnel in the country. Assemblymember Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) said, “Corrupt politicians will always prefer ‘rebates’ to actual tax relief because that keeps them in charge of who gets the money and when it’s delivered.” Kiley who refers to Assembly Democrats as “the Supermajority” said the Republican proposal to cut the gas tax “entirely” wouldn’t cost the state “any loss of funding for roads.” “That money would be backfilled from the state’s general fund, and we are said to have a $45 billion - maybe as high as $60 billion surplus right now,” Kiley told “The Issue Is,” a Fox 11 Los Angles news show that covers “the most controversial and interesting issues impacting California.” Newsom says his plan, which could go into effect by July after the state Assembly and Senate approve it, would bring relief to tens of millions of Californians. “This direct relief is on top of the $10-plus billion we have distributed over the last year with the Golden State Stimulus,” said Newsom. “All told, close to $20 billion in direct tax relief here in the state of California.
Burglary Can’t Stop Oakland Post From This 20-Year Streak By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Paul Cobb has experienced setbacks and uphill battles before. As a young man, he eagerly joined the voter registration fights in Selma and boldly spoke out for civil rights. For 39 years, Cobb served as a newspaper columnist, putting pen to paper on some of the most pressing issues in the Black community. When he purchased the Oakland Post in 2004, Cobb immediately ordered an audit of the newspaper and determined never to miss a deadline. So, it’s little wonder that following a late-night break-in at the Oakland Post on Wednesday, March 23, Cobb remained firm in his resolve. “We have never missed getting the newspaper out, and this will not stop us either,” he said in a telephone call with NNPA Newswire. “We are racing over time, but we will get the newspaper out,” he insisted. A burglar entered Cobb’s Oakland Post, leaving the downtown office in disarray and covered in glass. Reportedly, police have obtained video of the incident that includes the suspect. “The place was ransacked,” Cobb remarked, adding that it
appeared the thief attempted to steal a television, some computers, and rifled through files and desks. A National Newspaper Publishers Association member, attorney Thomas L. Berkley, and wife Velda M. Berkley founded the paper in 1963. With a weekly publication run, the newspaper remains dedicated to covering African Americans’ major issues in Oakland – education, civil rights, crime, employment, and the fight against racism. According to the Post’s website, the newspaper became the largest African American newspaper in Northern California, circulating over 55,000. In addition, it counted as the central paper of the Post Newspaper Group, which included five Bay Area newspapers, including the Richmond Post and the Spanish language newspaper El Mundial. In 1972 the newspaper moved its business offices and printing facilities from Berkeley, California to 630 20th St. in Oakland, California. Following Thomas Berkley’s death, Cobb purchased the Post in 2004. A community organizer who once led the Oakland Citizens Committee for Urban Renewal and served as a mayoral appointee on the Board of Education, Cobb said the burglary proved disconcerting. It also occurred only weeks after officials renamed a part of
14th Street after Chauncey Bailey, the late Post reporter killed in 2007. “I’m happy none of our staff was hurt,” Cobb stated. “I’m really to go to press now.”
The Oakland Post following a late-night break-in on Wednesday, March 23, Cobb remains firm in his resolve. (Courtesy Photo)
Proudfoot also used the winning Oscar moment to call for the release of two-time Olympic gold medalist and top women’s player Brittney Griner, who has been jailed in Russia.
Three Plead Guilty to Burning Las Vegas Police SUV Amid 2020 Protest By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) – Three men have pleaded guilty to reduced federal charges in Las Vegas, admitting that they set fire to a police vehicle during a May 2020 racial injustice protest in the days following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Tyree Walker, 23, Devarian Haynes, 23, and Ricardo Densmore, 24, will each face two years in federal prison, three years of federal supervision following their release, 100 hours of community service and a $100 fine, according to plea agreements filed this week in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. Each had faced conspiracy and arson charges in a fourcount indictment filed in June 2020 that could have gotten them five to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Each pleaded guilty to one count of civil disorder and remained free Friday on supervised release pending sentencing June 22 before U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon, records showed. Attorneys for the three men did not immediately respond to email messages about the pleas. Walker appeared in court Monday, Haynes entered his plea Tuesday and Densmore pleaded guilty Thursday. Densmore recorded and posted video on social media showing Haynes pouring a flammable liquid from a fuel can through a missing window of a marked police patrol SUV, Walker dropping a flaming paper object inside, and Haynes dropping the gas can into the vehicle, according to an affidavit filed by a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent. After arrests and during questioning, each man admitted his participation with the other two, according to the affidavit. The early May 31, 2020, incident occurred during more than a week of racial injustice protests that sometimes drew thousands of people in downtown Las Vegas, on the resortlined Strip – which was nearly deserted following closures due to the coronavirus pandemic – and in other Nevada cities. Some protesters threw rocks and bottles, police used tear gas, several injuries were reported, some downtown Las Vegas businesses were vandalized and police made dozens of arrests. On June 2, 2020, an armed man was shot and killed by Las Vegas police after a crowd was ordered to disperse near the Las Vegas federal courthouse, and a Las Vegas police officer was wounded and left paralyzed in a shooting during a separate protest near a Strip hotel-casino.