Download the Observer Interactive app today! Deeper content. Story videos. Active ads. Live shopping.
In any edition, simply scan images or ads with the O Interactive logo using a smartphone or tablet!
News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 46 Number 51
Serving Kern County for Over 46 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Bill Wants to Force Food Delivery Apps to Get
Restaurants’ Approval First
Tanu Henry California Black Media Jonathan Burgess co-owns Burgess Brothers with his twin brother Matthew. It is a popular American bistroslash-barbecue restaurant and food supply company based in Sacramento. Locals treasure them for their delicious waffles; handcrafted gourmet barbecue sauce; sweet and spicy smoked sausages; among other specialties.
The African American entrepreneur says small familyowned businesses like his are tempted by what digital food delivery services might offer them: A broader customer base and online advertising on highly trafficked apps. But that exposure comes with a crippling cost. “There’s only like a very thin 5% profit margin for most small restaurants. It’s simple math. If you give Uber, Doordash or one of the others a nice chunk of that, it just doesn’t work out for you.”
Burgess says food delivery services should offer special rates for mom and pop shops that are lower than what they charge chain restaurants. Those corporationowned eateries typically buy their ingredients wholesale at much lower costs and they can make up for losses on delivery fees by what they make in volume. Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) has written a bill to address the challenges food delivery apps have posed for small restaurants like Burgess’s across California. When the chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee and Latino Caucus introduced Assembly Bill 2149, the Fair Food Delivery Act in February, she did not know the COVID-19 pandemic would shutter restaurants across California, and around the world, about a month later. Now, more than five months since the World Health Organization declared the international health crisis a global pandemic, more Americans than ever, faced with limited dining-out options, are relying on food delivery apps to purchase meals from restaurants. Grubhub, one app-based food delivery service, reports that it has more than 27 million active users and its orders have increased by over 32% over the last year. But Gonzales says those large tech companies like Grubhub and its competitors Uber Eats, DoorDash, Postmates and others -- all of them earn billions of dollars each year -- take advantage of small struggling restaurants when they deliver those eateries’ food without their consent or an agreement. “When food delivery companies take advantage of small mom and pop restaurants by delivering their food without permission, it can damage the customer’s experience and the restaurant’s reputation,” Gonzalez said, adding that food delivery companies have created “significant disruption” in the food service business. If passed, AB 2149 would require all food delivery companies in California to get the “express written consent of a food facility before delivering the business’ food,” according to a statement Gonzalez’s office released. “This bill will put the power back in the hands of small restaurant owners by ensuring they have agreed to the delivery arrangement beforehand,” Gonzalez continued.
Continued on page A2
$300 Extra a Week in Unemployment Benefits Tanu Henry California Black Media On July 25, the federal government’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program ended for most states, leaving millions of Californians without the extra cash many of them had been relying on for months to make ends meet. The $600 extra in federal stimulus pay was added cushion to the amount states already provide for their residents in unemployment insurance payments. Created for Americans who lost their jobs due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the program was authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) act, which was signed into federal law in March. Then, last week, the California Employment Development Department (EDD) announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved California’s application to participate in the federal Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program -- funding that President Donald Trump authorized by memorandum Aug. 8. The LWA program provides $4.5 billion to California from which $300 extra in unemployment insurance benefits will be paid to individuals for three weeks. “Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have sought to maximize federally funded unemployment benefits to Californians. These benefits are critical for the basic
security of families and communities and for our economy, which have been so devastated by the virus and its financial impacts,” said California Labor Secretary Julie A. Su after the EDD’s announcement. To qualify, unemployed Californians would have to already be eligible to receive at least $100 each week in unemployment benefits and they would have to provide
proof that their job loss resulted from the coronavirus crisis. Although the U.S. House of Representatives has approved a fifth stimulus bill, the $3-trillion-dollar “Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, the Senate has not brought it up for debate or vote. That bill includes an extension of the $600 federal supplement through Jan. 31, 2021. Senate Republicans have countered the $600-a-week proposal in the HEROES act with a $400 weekly payment in UI benefits. Democrats turned down that offer in negotiations. Some Republican Senators opposed to the $600 payment approved in the last stimulus package argued that it does not provide an incentive for workers who were laid off to look for work. “We cannot encourage people to make more money in unemployment than they do in employment,” Sen. Tim Scott (D-SC) pointed out. While the U.S. Congress decides what should be included in the next stimulus package, for now unemployed Californians can apply to get $300 a week extra in unemployment benefits dating back to Aug. 1. “As we modernize and strengthen the state’s unemployment insurance delivery system, we will continue to leverage any additional resources the federal government makes available,” Su said.
Choice of Harris Praised by Many By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Senior National Correspondent Amelia Ashley Ward, publisher of San Francisco’s Sun Reporter newspaper, could hardly contain her emotions when Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) was announced as the running mate for Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden. “I cried,” said Ward, who has remained close friends with Sen. Harris for more than two decades. “I know that she is qualified, and she is for the people,” Ward proclaimed. “I’ve always felt that God had a little something special for her.” Marcela Howell, the president and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Reproductive Justice Agenda, called Sen. Harris highly qualified with a proven record of fighting for human and civil rights. “As a Black woman born to immigrant parents, Sen. Harris understands, personally, how devastatingly unjust the Trump-Pence administration’s attacks on our most basic rights have been. She knows how it feels and what it means to be targeted because of race, gender, and national origin,” Howell stated. NAACP President Derrick Johnson called Biden’s selection of Sen. Harris a “defining moment.” “Sen. Kamala Harris, as the first vice-presidential candidate of a major political party, breaks down one of these barriers in historic proportions,” Johnson declared. “This announcement is even more powerful as it comes at a time when Black Americans face dueling threats – a global health crisis and ingrained racism. This moment is long overdue.” Back in the Bay area, Ashley Ward said most people are thrilled and proud that their native daughter can lead America’s future. “I believe many of us will work overtime to help elect President Biden and Vice President Harris,” Ashley Ward said. “I believe once elected November 3, Vice President Harris will work alongside President Biden to immediately put this country back on track. She is no stranger to controversy, and she certainly is not afraid of working to
make the country better.” In recent weeks, supporters of the president and many in the GOP have ramped up attacks against Sen. Harris and the other Black women considered by Biden. In an open letter by nearly 700 Black women leaders, the attacks were roundly denounced.
“Black women are many things. We are business executives, political strategists, and elected officials, philanthropists, and activists,” the letter, circulated throughout the media and posted to various social media accounts, read. Continued on page A2
Free!
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Police Shooting of Jacob Blake
DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement in response to yesterday’s horrific police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin: “A bullet in the back. A knee on the neck. When will it end? Yet again, our nation is hurting. Yet again, Black communities are hurting. Our hearts go out to Jacob Blake and his family as we pray for his recovery. Sadly, we know he is not the first to be viciously gunned down by law enforcement. He is one of countless Black Americans who have suffered at the hands of bigotry with a badge. When I was assistant attorney general for civil rights during the first term of the Obama-Biden administration, we worked tirelessly to change the culture of police departments from Seattle to New Orleans to Puerto Rico. This administration has refused to continue that work and has been downright hostile to progress. We need meaningful action and accountability to end police brutality and racial injustice – for Jacob Blake, for George Floyd, for Breonna Taylor, and for so many others. So long as Black men and women cannot breathe, we cannot rest.”
Off-Duty Deputy Kills Man in Pizza Parlor Gun Battle
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) – An off-duty Kern County sheriff’s deputy killed a man after a gun battle outside of a pizza parlor, authorities said Friday. The shooting occurred Thursday evening after a man who had been driving erratically lost a tire and pulled into the parking lot of Tony’s Firehouse Grill and Pizza in Bakersfield, authorities said. The man drove to the rear of the business where the car became disabled, then got out and tried to get into the back door but employees inside held it closed, according to a Sheriff’s Department statement. The man then went to the front of the business and tried to break the window of a car. Several people were eating outside and they approached the man, who pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at them, according to the statement. An off-duty deputy who was at the business saw what was happening and confronted the man, leading to a gun battle. The man fell to the ground but still held the gun. The deputy shot him again and he died at the scene, police said. His name wasn’t immediately released. Nobody else was injured, police said.
Kanye West Short on Signatures CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia’s secretary of state says rapper Kanye West’s bid to get on the ballot for president came up short on qualified signatures. Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office told media outlets Friday that West needed 7,144 signatures from registered voters in West Virginia. West submitted 15,000 signatures, but only 13,865 were legible, and only 6,383 were confirmed West Virginia registered voters, according to Secretary of State spokesperson Mike Queen. State law requires the secretary of state to certify the ballot by Tuesday. Elsewhere, Wisconsin election officials on Thursday decided to keep West off the ballot because his nomination papers were turned in moments after the deadline. He has qualified in Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Utah. West announced a presidential bid in July, saying he’s seeking the nation’s highest office on a ticket he calls the “Birthday Party.” West has since been gathering signatures to get on the ballot in several states. Democrats claim Republicans are pushing West’s candidacy in several swing states to siphon Black votes away from Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. West, who once backed Republican President Donald Trump, announced last month that he had broken with Trump and would launch his own presidential bid.
Mural Highlights Dolly Parton’s Black Lives Matter Quote NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tourists are flocking to Nashville to see a new mural of Dolly Parton that celebrates her position on Black Lives Matter. Mural artist Kim Radford had already decided to paint the mural of the country music icon on the side of a local music club called The 5 Spot, which was made famous for being one of the many filming locations for the TV show “Nashville.” But as she was finishing the mural, Radford saw an article from Billboard in which Parton said she supported the Black Lives Matter movement, saying “Of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white (expletive) are the only ones that matter?” So Radford quickly added the quote to the top of the mural, replacing part of the curse word with butterflies and soon enough, pictures started spreading on social media. The mural features cascading waves of Parton’s signature high-volume blond hair surrounded by butterflies and wildflowers. “I looked at her quote in particular and it was so sassy and a sensitive comment about something’s that got a lot of friction in the air right now,” said Radford. “And she just treated it just like Dolly does: lovingly. And it was just perfect.” The mural features cascading waves of Parton’s signature high-volume blond hair surrounded by butterflies and wildflowers. “I wanted it to be a real display of an icon, fun, bright, artistic way,” said Radford. “It’s a representation of an icon that Americans and really people across the globe are really proud to know and love her music.” Now less than a week old, the mural has become a hot spot for tourists visiting Music City to get a selfie. Radford herself got stopped by Dolly fans in front of the mural to pose for pictures. “I’ve had fans reach out from as far as Dubai,” said Radford. “A lot of women. And I have to say, 95% super positive.”