Tropical Storm Now Threatens Earthquake Ravaged Haiti
Late Author Alex Haley Honored by Maryland City on 100th Birthday
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News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 47 Number 50
Serving Kern County for Over 47 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Family of Congressman John Lewis Carrying his Legacy by
Fighting for Voting Rights By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent The late Democratic Congressman John Lewis lived every moment of his life doing for others. And, as the world knows, the Congressman gave every ounce of his time, energy, blood, sweat and tears, in fighting for the right to vote for all people. This month, family members of the renowned freedom fighter visited the nation’s capital, hoping to meet with lawmakers to push two crucial pieces of legislation to blunt voter suppression efforts in many Republican-led states. “When you see something unfair and unjust, you have a moral obligation to do something,” Lewis’ niece, Angela Lewis Warren, told NNPA Newswire. Lewis Warren joined her uncles, Henry Grant Lewis and Samuel Lewis, on the trip to Washington. The family said they wanted to continue the Congressman’s legacy by pushing the “For The People Act” and the “John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.” Both pieces of legislation have lingered in an evenly divided Senate, where Democrats like West Virginia’s Joe Manchin have stubbornly refused to consider abolishing or bending filibuster rules to push the bills through. “By any means necessary, they have got to get those bills passed,” Samuel Lewis, the 8th of 10 children in the Lewis family. Samuel Lewis, who served for 28 years in the U.S. military, forcefully opined that Democratic leadership should abolish the filibuster if needed to pass critical legislation. “I think they should,” he stated. His brother, Henry Grant Lewis, agreed. “Our dream is to keep the Congressman’s dream and to move his legacy forward,” Grant Lewis, a retired auto industry worker and the 9th of the 10 Lewis siblings
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The family of the late Congressman John Lewis is carrying on his fight for voter rights for all. From left, niece Angela Lewis Warren, brothers Henry Grant Lewis and Samuel Lewis. (Photo: Mark Mahoney, Dream in Color Multimedia)
Biden Gives Newsom Thumbs Up on School Vaccine Mandate Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom held a press conference to announce new COVID-19 guidelines for California’s K-12 public schools. Two days later, President Joe Biden praised the new mandate in a tweet. “Gov. @
GavinNewsom is leading California t h r o u g h unprecedented crises -- he’s a key partner in fighting the pandemic and helping build our economy back better,” the POTUS said about Newsom, who is facing a recall election Sept. 14. “To keep him on the job, registered voters should vote no on
the recall election by 9/14 and keep California moving forward,” Biden continued. Newsom’s new mandate requires all school employees to either provide proof of vaccination or submit to weekly testing. “This is a state that very proudly was among the first states in the country to mandate mask wearing in the public education system, before this school year and before the CDC aligned with that standard; before the Academy of Pediatrics aligned with that strategy. And before the controversies that have subsequently ensued,” Newsom said when he made the announcement. In July, COVID-19 cases among children under17 nearly tripled. Conservative talk show host Larry Elder, who is African American and the frontrunner among candidates vying to replace Newsom in the upcoming recall election said, if he wins, he would not mandate state workers to wear masks or get vaccinated. “When I become governor, assuming there are mandates for masks and statewide mandates for vaccines, they will be suspended right away,” Elder said. “This is America. We have freedom in America.” Elder said he does believe people in high-risk categories should be vaccinated. “But there are many Americans who disagree with me, feel that the vaccine was done too quickly,” he continued, explaining that COVID vaccines have been approved for “emergency use.” As of Aug. 15, the 7-day average of new COVID cases in California was 12,031. So far, there have been 4.02 million cases in the state since the beginning of the pandemic and 64,183 deaths, according to the California Department of Public Health. About 51% of all Californians have received both vaccines.
The same day, Newsom tweeted a graph comparing California’s new COVID-19 hospitalizations to those of Texas and California, two states vaccine skeptics and “profreedom” activists have held up as counterpoints to the California governor’s strict coronavirus policies. The data the graph visualized showed that California hospitalization rates are currently much lower than both states. Texas and Florida both have outspoken Republican governors who have enacted looser policies in their fights against COVID. “CA is reporting 141.1 new COVID cases for every 100,000 residents over the last 7 days — a rate HALF of Texas (297.8); and less than ONE-FOURTH of Florida’s rate (653.8), according to data from the CDC,” Newsom tweeted. Many businesses have either loosened their COVID-19 restrictions or done away with them altogether while many public schools returned to in-person instruction at the beginning of the month. Despite to growing number of COVID cases among children, some California parents still have reservations about vaccines and masks, even going so far as to sue the state to drop mask mandates in schools. Newsom’s strategy for addressing these kinds of criticisms, as well as others that have arisen in the midst of his recall election, has been to associate them with the farright political movement empowered by Former President Donald Trump. Newsom employed this strategy in his response to Biden’s praise. “Grateful for your support, Mr. President. There’s simply too much at stake -- vote NO on September 14th to reject this Republican led recall,” Newsom tweeted. California Black Media’s coverage of COVID-19 is supported by the California Health Care Foundation.
As Under-17 Cases Spike (Shutterstock Photo)
New Census Data Shows Changing Complexion of California;
Political Power Shifts Edward Henderson California Black Media Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau held a press conference to announce its first local level findings from the 2020 data collection cycle. The new numbers -- which drill down to provide demographic information at the county, city and block levels -- reveal that California is more multiracial, more urban and facing population shifts that will likely lead to redrawing the boundaries of the state’s congressional and legislative districts. Based on estimates the Census Bureau released in April, California is already losing a seat in the United States House of Representatives for the first time in the state’s 171year history, bringing the state’s congressional delegation down to 52 members. That loss of one seat will also equate to a decline in the amount of federal funding California receives every year. Since August of 2020, the 14 members of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission have been working on the once-in-a-decade project of redrawing the lines of the congressional, state Senate and Assembly and State Board of Equalization districts. There are five Democrats, five Republicans and four people who are not members of either party serving on the commission.
(Shutterstock Photo)
“The redistricting data provides population counts as well as well as demographic characteristics of ethnicity, race and voting age at all levels of geography,” said James Whitehorne, chief, Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office, U.S. Census Bureau. “While the primary purpose of these data is for states to redraw their districts, these
statistics will also tell us how many people live in each city, each county and each block.” Those numbers also determine how – and how much -- state and federal funding will be allocated to counties and cities in the state. Based on the numbers, most of the changes coming to the state’s legislative districts are expected to happen where there has been population increases, slow growth or a loss of residents – areas in the rural northernmost regions of the state and in Southern California counties around or below Los Angeles. Growth across the Los Angeles area, for example, over the last 10 year has been slow, but some cities like Irvine in Orange County are now among the fastestgrowing in the country. Over the last 10 years, the complexion of California has changed significantly. Driven mostly by population growth among Hispanics, the state joined Hawaii, the District of Columbia and New Mexico as places in the United States where Whites are no longer the majority. The state’s Hispanic population grew from 37.6% in 2010 to 39.4 % in 2020 while the White population dropped from 40.1% to 34.7%. The state’s Black population has also seen a decrease
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Free!
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Stevie Wonder and Common Team for Cancer Fundraising TV Special LOS ANGELES (AP) – Stevie Wonder and Common will perform together for the seventh Stand Up To Cancer telethon, with Anthony Anderson, Sofia Vergara and husband-and-wife Ken Jeong and Tran Ho as hosts. Brittany Howard also will perform on the hourlong special on Aug. 21 (8 p.m. EDT), with Matthew McConaughey, Chandra Wilson, Kate del Castillo, Jennifer Garner, MJ Rodriquez, Tony Hale, Jaime Camil and Max Greenfield among the celebrities helping to raise money for cancer research. Reese Witherspoon and her media entrepreneur husband, Jim Toth, are serving as executive producers. The event, which is held every other year, will be carried simultaneously and commercial-free on 60plus U.S. and Canadian broadcast, cable and streaming outlets, including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. Families who have been affected by the disease, including that of an 11-year-old boy with leukemia, will share their stories. As prelude to the TV special, the group is holding a week-long fundraising initiative starting Friday, with celebrities and social media stars “joining forces across social platforms” for the cause, Stand Up To Cancer said. Since its founding in 2008, Stand Up To Cancer said it has raised more than $600 million for research that has contributed to federal approvals for nine new cancer therapies and 258 clinical trials. In 2017, the organization began developing a health-equity initiative to help underserved communities by increasing the diversity of enrollment in cancer clinical trials and fund research that addresses cancer inequities. Also known as SU2C, the organization is a division of the charitable Entertainment Industry Foundation. Katie Couric, among its founders, is set to appear on the special.
SD Man Sentenced for Bringing Firebombs to Protest
SAN DIEGO (AP) – A man who brought Molotov cocktails to a Southern California police brutality protest was sentenced Friday to 33 months in federal prison. Zachary Alexander Karas, 29, of San Diego could have faced up to 10 years in prison for bringing two gasoline-filled bottles with wicks to a protest outside the La Mesa police headquarters last year, federal prosecutors said. Karas was arrested about 2 a.m. May 31, 2020, hours after police in the San Diego suburb had declared an unlawful assembly. Police ordered a crowd to disperse after several fires were set that burned two banks. The violence came after nightfall and followed a mainly peaceful daytime protest over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. La Mesa was the location for the protest because of an incident earlier that week in which an officer repeatedly pushed a black man at a trolley station. The incident was caught on video and posted to social media. According to prosecutors, Karas told law enforcement authorities that he had intended to use the Molotov cocktails to set fires but changed his mind. Several other people were arrested and charged with setting fires or stealing goods from stores. Karas was convicted in May of possessing an unregistered destructive device, which carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.
AEG Presents to Require COVID-19 Vaccines for Concertgoers LOS ANGELES (AP) – AEG Presents, a major tour and festival promoter, announced that COVID-19 vaccines would be required for concertgoers at its clubs, theaters and festivals. The vaccine requirement is set to go into full effect no later than Oct. 1, the company said in a news release on Thursday. The decision comes as coronavirus cases are surging throughout the United States. AEG is either an owner or a partner in Webster Hall and Brooklyn Steel in New York, The Roxy in Los Angeles, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Coachella Music & Arts Festival. The company said the policy would also apply to event staff and anyone who enters their venues or festivals. Leading up to Oct. 1, AEG said it would implement a policy of showing proof of vaccination or a negative test taken within 72 hours of a show date. Jay Marciano, chief operating officer and chairman, cited the delta variant and vaccine hesitancy as reasons for the policy. “We also are aware that there might be some initial pushback, but I’m confident and hopeful that, at the end of the day, we will be on the right side of history and doing what’s best for artists, fans, and live event workers,’’ Marciano said.