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News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 46 Number 48
Serving Kern County for Over 46 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Absentee Voting
Groups Aim to Shoot Down Rule That Would Let Lawmakers Vote When Absent Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media Lobbying firms, public interest advocates and some California constitutionalists are concerned about what would happen if the legislature approves a rule that would allow lawmakers to vote in their absence. They are also urging Californians to vote no on similar measure that might make it to the November ballot as a proposition. “It has been widely reported that the Assembly is going to consider a ‘rule’ allowing ‘proxy voting’ on the Floor,” wrote Thomas W. Hiltachk, the attorney for the Institute of Governmental Advocates (IGA) in a letter to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) and Diane Boyer-Vine, the legislative counsel at the State Capitol. The IGA is a nonpartisan organization that represents professional lobbyists and lobbying firms in Sacramento. “The proposed rule is clearly unconstitutional and threatens the legality of any bill passed using proxy votes,” Hiltachk’s letter continued. “The Legislature cannot now by rule, [do] that what can only be achieved by amending the Constitution.” The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how people in California live and transact business in almost every aspect of life – from personal activities like grocery shopping and dining out to social and civic duties like voting and serving on juries. It is no different for the legislature. “Given a spike in COVID-19 cases across the state, the Assembly is obliged to pursue safety with more stringent measures,” Speaker Rendon said in a statement explaining the rationale of allowing members to vote when they are not present for a vote. “As a result, we will implement very limited proxy voting for floor sessions to allow our most vulnerable members to participate without being physically present on the Assembly floor.” When state lawmakers returned to Sacramento on July 27 from an extended, two-week recess, Assembly Majority Floor Leader Ian Calderon (D-Whitter) introduced House Resolution 100 (H.R. 100). If the proposition makes it to the November ballot – and if voters approve it -- the measure would allow California legislators, from a distance and without physical contact, vote in a legislative proceeding -- or to vote by proxy in a legislative proceeding. The vote will have to be permitted by the Assembly or Senate in the event of a state of emergency declared by the governor or the President of the United States. The measure was put into action after California Black Legislative Caucus (CBLC) member and Assemblywoman Autumn Burke (D-Inglewood) contracted COVID-19 in June. Burke said in a Twitter post at the time that she had “mask to mask” exposure to COVID-19 on June 26 and was tested for coronavirus on the 4th of July. She was present on the Assembly floor on June 10, she said, when she voted in favor of allowing a measure to be placed on the ballot that could reverse Prop 209, a 24-year-old law that bans Affirmative Action in the state. Burke, 46, who was elected to represent California’s 62nd
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
97% of People Busted for Pot in Albany Were Black
ALBANY, NY (AP) – A year after Albany’s police chief vowed to examine racial disparities in marijuana arrests, 97% of people arrested or ticketed for pot offenses in the city since then have been Black, according to a review by the Times Union. Only four white people were charged with marijuana crimes from July 9, 2019, to July 9, 2020, out of the 134 times city police made arrests or wrote tickets during that time period, the newspaper reported Sunday. About 30 percent of Albany’s population is Black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “Questions still exist,” said Debora Brown-Johnson, president of the Albany NAACP branch. “What’s going here, is this a targeted group?” Brown Johnson called on Mayor Kathy Sheehan to address the problem. Sheehan said in a statement that city officials would examine the marijuana arrest data as part of a broader, state-mandated overhaul of the city’s police force. “The city of Albany Police Reform Collaborative will be undertaking a comprehensive review of the Albany Police Department data associated with arrests by race, gender, and other demographics,” she said. Police Chief Eric Hawkins said his vow to examine the racial disparities has been delayed by the police department’s focus on matters related to the coronavirus.
Denver Neighborhood Drops Name With Ties to KKK Assemblymember Autumn Burke (D- Los Angeles) is shown wearing a face mask on the floor of the California State Assembly chambers on June 8, 2020. (Photo: Antonio Ray Harvey)
Assembly District in 2014, went into quarantine with her six-year-old daughter. “I was shocked, disappointed, and heartbroken,” Burke said after she learned she tested positive for coronavirus. “It’s been a tough journey. For us, my daughter and I were symptom-free. So, (it was) much less for us about actually having it. But the heartbreaking feeling that you will feel is when you know that you have affected somebody, put their life in jeopardy, will destroy you.” The main focus of H.R. 100 is to have the California State Assembly adopt a rule to allow proxy voting during the COVID‑19 state of emergency. Like Burke, the pandemic has affected other members of the legislature and staff. But even with the risks, some advocates say the process of making laws is too important to not follow standard procedures. “We know there’s a crisis, but we have to hold people voting on legislation that will impact all of our lives accountable,” said Salena Pryor, founder of the Black Small Business Association. “One of the dangers of rewriting the voting rules is that you shake up the entire process and we have no guarantee that the public will have a chance to give our input and let our elected officials know how we feel
about the legislation.” HR 100 first was introduced into the California State legislature as Assembly Constitutional Amendment 25 (ACA 25) on May 21. The Assembly voted 60 to 13 to pass ACA 25 on June 10. The California State Senate did not vote on ACA 25 before the deadline on June 25 or the extended deadline of July 1, 2020. Then, on June 26, the Assembly voted 47 to 16 to pass Senate Bill (SB) 300. SB 300 allows for more time to place ACA 25 and two other constitutional amendments on the ballot for Nov. 3. On June 29, the Senate voted 29 to 8 to pass SB 300 and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed SB 300 into law the following day. Hiltachk insists that proxy voting is unconstitutional, arguing that legislators have a duty to make the sacrifice to vote in person even if there is danger involved. “Many Californians have been classified as ‘essential’ workers. They show up to work every day, many caring for the sick, disabled, aged, or infirmed. Many work to keep our communities safe and others work to keep the engine of the State’s necessary economy running. In our view, Members of the Legislature are also ‘essential,’ and adequate safeguards can be put in place to protect all of us,” he wrote.
COVID-19 Disparities in Blacks By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent During a 30-minute interview with BlackPressUSA that was streamed live over Facebook, YouTube, and www. BlackPressUSA.com, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke of the importance of convincing African Americans to participate in clinical trials. He also said that school reopenings should depend mainly upon the location and the infection rate in a given area. Fauci also said a viable coronavirus vaccine is likely only a few months away. “The fundamental principle is that we should try as best as we possibly can to get children back to school because we know the psychological aspect of that and the unintended consequences for mothers and fathers who may need to stop working, so we should try to get back to school,” Dr. Fauci said when asked about the impact of the pandemic on the upcoming school year. “However, paramount needs to be the safety, health, and welfare of children, teachers, and families,” Dr. Fauci added.
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“We live in a big country. Some places have low incidents and can open schools while some are high. Some areas rate of infection is so high where it’s not prudent to open schools. You don’t want to endanger their health.” A member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Fauci has at times found himself at odds with President Donald Trump. For example, earlier this year, the president announced that he would withdraw U.S. funding and support for the World Health Organization (WHO). However, Dr. Fauci told BlackPressUSA that he still maintains a close relationship with the organization. “I still work closely with the World Health Organization,” said Dr. Fauci. “I’m on a weekly phone call with them, and I signed a memorandum of understanding. We’re all in with the WHO.” During the interview, which included National Newspaper Publishers Association President and CEO, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., Dr. Fauci also demonstrated the proper way to wear a facemask. “Early on, there was a shortage of masks because we didn’t want to take masks away from health providers who needed them,” Dr. Fauci remarked. “It’s easy to get a cloth
During a live interview with BlackPressUSA, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and considered by many to be the nation’s foremost infectious disease expert, demonstrates the proper way to wear a face mask. (Courtesy Photo)
mask now.” Dr. Fauci explained further that, “when there are droplets when someone sneezes or coughs, you [are protected]. You can take it and wash it with soap and water or stick it in the washing machine.” Addressing the disparities surrounding COVID-19 and other illnesses, Dr. Fauci pointed to many African Americans, Latinx, and Native Americans occupying essential jobs that provide employees with little — or no — protection. “On the one hand, there’s a greater opportunity and risk of getting infected, but even as important is that once you get infected, you have prevalence and incidence of co-morbidities that make it more likely you’ll get a severe outcome from the infection,” Dr. Fauci noted. “Those co-morbidities are like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, and lung disease. It’s very clear that African Americans have a higher incidence, and the reality is that you suffer more.” The hospitalization rates per 100,000 people are stunning when comparing African Americans and Caucasians, Dr. Fauci proclaimed. “In many respects, it’s unacceptable that it should be that way,” he said, noting that the hospitalization rate per 100,000 African Americans stands at 247, compared to 53 per 100,000 whites. “In other words, that’s almost five times the chance of getting hospitalized even though African Americans comprise just 13 percent of the [U.S.] population,” Dr. Fauci observed. “That’s more than something we need to deal with.” Dr. Fauci added that there are five fundamental things everyone could do to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. “Wear a mask, avoid crowds of more than 10, keep a distance of at least six feet, locations should seriously consider closing bars and getting people who go to bars to stop or do it outside, and wash hands frequently either with soap and water or alcohol Purell.” Clinical trials are vital, Dr. Fauci said. “We hope that we will have an effective vaccine by the end of the year, which means that as we get into 2021, we want to distribute it for those who could benefit,” he added. “We need to spend extra effort to protect African Americans, and the way you find out if the vaccine is effective is the enrollment in a vaccine trial. It would be a terrible shame if African Americans stayed away from clinical trials, and they didn’t provide for themselves the vaccine that could protect them.” Dr. Fauci suggested that he wears a mask everywhere goes and demanded that doing so shouldn’t be about politics. “This is about protecting each other. We’re all in this
DENVER (AP) – A Denver neighborhood has voted to change its name after a yearslong debate over its association with a former mayor who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Stapleton residents voted Saturday to rebrand the neighborhood as Central Park, The Denver Post reported. Central Park, an ode to the green space that runs through the area, beat “Skyview” in the final round of voting by community members, earning 63% of the more than 5,800 votes cast. “It’s our sincere hope that each one of us . treats this moment with fresh eyes and a common goal to treat each other with kindness, compassion and respect,” said Amanda Allshouse, the president of the board of Stapleton United Neighbors. The neighborhood was named for Benjamin F. Stapleton and was built on the site of the former Stapleton International Airport. Stapleton was Denver’s mayor for 20 years between 1923 and 1947. More than 65% of voting property owners opted to retain the Stapleton name in a referendum last summer. But the death of George Floyd and the ensuing unrest renewed the debate. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck while he was handcuffed and lying on the ground. His death prompted protests across the U.S. and around the world against police brutality and racial injustice. JuJu Nkrumah has been fighting to change the neighborhood’s name since the 1990s, before people had even moved in. She long avoided going to the area, viewing the name as a slap in the face to Black people such as her. “I give thanks and appreciation to my ancestors,” Nkrumah said. “I’m so sorry they had to live with that in their face for so long. It’s finally going to be over.” Walker Stapleton, the great-grandson of the former mayor, tweeted in June that he was disappointed the democratic process represented by previous resident votes was being overlooked. But Walker Stapleton _ a former gubernatorial candidate and state treasurer _ said he supported the name change if it “brings more equity, fairness and opportunity” for Denver residents and Colorado residents of color.
Navy Investigates Video of Dogs Attacking Kaepernick Fill-in
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – The U.S. Navy is investigating an incident in which dogs attacked a “Colin Kaepernick stand-in’’ during a K-9 demonstration during a 2019 fundraiser at the Navy SEAL Museum in Florida. The Navy said in a statement posted on Twitter that officials became aware of the video on Sunday. Kaepernick is a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who began kneeling during the playing of “The Star Spangled Banner” before games to protest social injustice and police brutality. He played his final NFL game in January 2017. He offered support to those protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers in May, and the NFL’s commissioner has apologized for not listening earlier to players’ concerns about social injustice. The videos show four dogs attacking a man, who is wearing a red Kaepernick football jersey over heavily padded gear as people stand nearby watching. In a second video, the man is laying on the ground when he’s approached by men wearing fatigues and holding rifles, saying, “On your belly.” The man replies, “Oh, man, I will stand,” as he rolls over, followed by laughing from the crowd. The videos were apparently posted on Instagram last year and resurfaced over the weekend. “The inherent message of this video is completely inconsistent with the values and ethos of Naval Special Warfare and the U.S. Navy,” the statement said. The Navy said the “initial indications” are that no active duty personnel or equipment were used in the demonstration at the “independent organization’s event.” The Navy SEAL Museum is located in Fort Pierce, Florida, which is north of West Palm Beach on the state’s Atlantic Coast. According to its website, the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum is the only museum dedicated solely to preserving the history of the U.S. Navy SEALs and their predecessors.