Volume 54 No. 11
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue till they have resisted either with words or blows or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance those
whom they suppress. —Fredrick
NNPA Newswire
“We are pleased with the judge’s decision, and it’s been a long time coming,” NNPA General Counsel Attorney A. Scott Bolden stated. (Photo:
In a definitive and consequential ruling, the Honorable Ebony Scott in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Civil Division, issued on May 10, 2023, a factual “Summary Judgment” in favor of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA).
Today, in an official notice sent out to each member publisher of the NNPA, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr, President, and CEO of the NNPA, confirmed, “In the matters of Dorothy R. Leavell v. NNPA, Amelia Ashley-Ward v. NNPA, and Carol Geary v. NNPA, the courts in the District of Columbia have now ruled in favor of the NNPA.”
The NNPA is the national trade association of the Black Press of America representing over 240 African American-owned newspapers and multimedia companies throughout the United States.
Chavis resoundingly attested, “Finally, after four years of extended and financially costly, frivolous lawsuits against the NNPA, we have good news for the NNPA upon winning these
significant legal victories.”
Chavis concluded, “The NNPA will continue to work diligently to ensure that the voting rights of all our member publishers are protected from any future effort to subvert the overall interests of the membership of the NNPA.”
Leavell, Ashley-Ward, and Geary who are members of the NNPA, disagreed with the outcome of the 2019 NNPA national elections and sued the NNPA, in part, to contest the results of the 2019 NNPA Board Elections.
In 2019, the membership of the NNPA duly elected Karen Carter Richards, publisher of the Houston Forward Times, as the new NNPA Chair.
Leavell was defeated by Richards for Chair of the NNPA.
“As much as I would like to say that I’m excited about this ruling I’m not [because] this should have never happened to our esteemed organization or the wonderful publishers who make up this important entity,” Richards stated.
“This entire ordeal has been a
stain on this organization, led by three individuals who refused to accept the will of the qualified vote of our publishers.”
Richards continued:
“Not only did we have to fight through the COVID-19 pandemic and other changes in the market, but we also had to fight against the frivolous actions of three of our member publishers.
“Now, thankfully after four years, we can put this unjustified action behind us and move forward for the betterment of our organization and continue to do what’s right for the NNPA.”
During the past four years, however, the NNPA continued to make substantial progress even in the face of the continued civil litigation.
“We are pleased with the judge’s decision, and it’s been a long time coming,” NNPA General Counsel Attorney A. Scott Bolden stated.
“There was never any substance to the plaintiffs’ allegations. Unfortunately, it
took four years and a lot of legal expenses to prove that there was nothing there.”
Bolden said Judge Scott also issued a separate order of sanctions – the second during the case – “for some of the conduct of the plaintiffs and their counsel.”
“This isn’t the first time the plaintiffs and their lawyers were sanctioned,” Bolden asserted. “It is fortunate that we were able to emerge victorious.”
Bolden said many lessons were learned about how the lawsuit was brought and how the plaintiffs and prior judges handled it.
“Going forward, we’re looking forward to working with NNPA members and the board members to prevent any future lawsuits against the organization by amending the NNPA Bylaws to ensure that any disputes will require mediation or arbitration,” Bolden said.
He said the two avenues are far less expensive than civil litigation.
Bolden also noted that Carole Geary, publisher of the Milwaukee Courier, lost her lawsuit against the NNPA in 2022, appealed the defeat, and lost again.
“Thanks to our outstanding legal team, our leadership, and Dr. Benjamin Chavis, our president/CEO for pressing forward as we endured such an unfortunate and costly situation,” Richards added.
The NNPA is now preparing to celebrate the 196th Year Anniversary of the Black Press of America at its 2023 Annual National Convention in Nashville, TN, June 28-July 1, 2023.
interest rate. If you have a high credit score, you’re more likely to qualify and receive a lower interest rate, which can save you thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. On the other hand, a low score may result in being denied a loan or a high-interest rate.
At the site where some researchers say half of all African Americans arrived in this country will sit a museum committed to reunifying their descendants with lost histories. (Photo: International African American Museum (IAAM))
In 2019, my daughter Jennifer and I took part in a Congressional Delegation to Ghana that included my good friend, the late Congressman John Lewis. Our visit was to commemorate the 400 years since Blacks were forcibly taken from the continent of Africa and enslaved in America. During that visit, Jennifer and I stood silently in the “door of no return,” holding hands. I never asked her about her thoughts, and she did not ask me about mine. Last Saturday, she and her husband joined me at the dedication of the International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston.
It is fitting that IAAM stands on the site of Gadsden’s Wharf, where nearly half of all enslaved Africans brought to this continent arrived.
When I was asked by thenCharleston Mayor Joe Riley 23 years ago to chair the steering committee to develop his vision of establishing such a museum in Charleston, I thought of the countless slaves that were stolen from their homeland, stripped of their identities, and brought to this strange land in shackles. But I also thought of the African Americans who rose above the circumstances of their ancestors and their countless descendants eager to honor their memories.
profiling and graduated college, Phi Beta Kappa. He became an accomplished lawyer, rose to serve in the United States Congress, and became Chairman of the powerful Oversight Committee. IAAM tells the story of the ancestors and descendants of Scippo Rhame, and countless others with similar backgrounds and experiences.
Those stories are about more than the institution of slavery— they are uplifting experiences that epitomize the varying possibilities of who we are and what we can—and have— become. In that spirit, IAAM has established a one-of-a-kind center dedicated to African American genealogy research. The Center for Family History hosts a growing collection of photos, historical documents, and family histories that the public can comb through to find more information about their family trees.
To help bolster their records, the IAAM Center for Family History has issued an open call for obituaries, photos, family histories, and other historical documents. It is not lost on me that at the site where some researchers say half of all African Americans arrived in this country will sit a museum committed to reunifying their descendants with lost histories.
Buying
home with bad credit.
Benefits to First Improving Your Credit Score
Your credit score plays a critical role in the home-buying process.
Lenders use it to measure your creditworthiness to determine your ability and likeness to repay a loan. This determines whether you qualify for a loan and at what
When buying a home, having good credit can help you in other ways. For example, a good credit score can make getting approved for a mortgage pre-approval easier, showing sellers you’re a serious buyer and helping you stand out in a competitive housing market. A good credit score can also qualify you for better home insurance rates and lower closing costs.
Taking time to improve your credit score before applying for a home loan increases your chances of getting approved and saves money over the long term.
How to Improve Your Credit Score
To improve your credit score, review your credit report to identify any errors or inaccuracies that could be dragging down your score and report any to the credit bureau. Next, focus on paying down high-interest debt and making all your payments on time. Consider looking into credit counseling programs focused on improving credit scores.
I said during my dedication remarks that IAAM tells the story of perseverance through the middle passage, resistance to enslavement, triumphs over Jim Crow, and significant contributions to the greatness of this country.
In the early days of our efforts, there was significant debate about the focus of the museum. But I knew we had to do justice to all 400 years of the Black experience in America. On the day we broke ground on IAAM, another good friend, Congressman Elijah Cummings, was being funeralized in Baltimore, Maryland. Elijah was the great-great-grandson of Scippio Rhame, who, until he was freed in 1868, worked the same land as Elijah’s parents, who were sharecroppers.
There is significant currency in the museum’s acronym, “IAAM.” In my office is a statue of a sanitation worker holding a sign with a simple message: “I am a man.” This statue tells the story of the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers’ strike, born out of anger over the deaths of Black sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker, who were killed on the job by malfunctioning equipment. The primarily Black sanitation force demanded recognition of their union, improved safety standards, and a living wage. It took nearly 2 months and the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but in the end, their demands were met. The museum’s acronym, “IAAM,” serves to recognize their struggle and ultimate success.
Tips for Buying a Home with a Low Credit Score
Improving your credit score can take time. Meanwhile,
Because of his parents’ participation in the great migration, Elijah was born and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where Elijah was placed in special education classes. He overcame that
I often quote George Santayana’s admonition, “Those who do not remember past lessons are condemned to repeat them.” African American
towards a degree.
In the 2017-18 academic year, the College of the Siskiyous enrolled 827 farmworkers over the age of 50 in the program.
This year, the College of the Siskiyous has 11 such students over 50 years old.
Along with consistently low wages, these farmworkers had high rates of COVID-19 infection and few worker protections that ultimately pushed them away from classes, Worthington said.
Community college enrollment decline and competition
page 1
Now, College of the Siskiyous has turned its attention from farmworkers to prisoners, joining the many colleges who seek to enroll more incarcerated students. The college is also preparing for budget cuts. For example, Fields said the college is canceling classes with only five or six students.
waiting to become a homeowner means missing out on homeownership benefits. Some of the homeownership benefits you may be eager to reap include:
Building equity in your home as you make mortgage payments and if the value appreciates.
Stability of homeownership versus renting, where rents can increase dramatically, or landlords can end leases.
The ability to make improvements and renovations to suit your needs and preferences without a landlord’s restrictions.
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) offers loans to qualifying first-time homeowners with lower credit scores. The FHA, part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), insures the loan, so your lender can offer you a better deal. This could mean it is easier to qualify with a lower down payment. You may also have lower closing costs and interest rates. Local programs in your state may also be available.
Grizzled farmworkers are the hot new commodity as community colleges try to reverse a years-long enrollment decline.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the “golden age” of higher education — where more and more adults were attending college every year — came to a halt, and California’s community college enrollment plummeted to a 30-year low.
The state community college system lost hundreds of thousands of students, but it was those 50 years and older who left at the highest rates compared to other age groups.
From Siskiyou County, on the border with Oregon, to the Inland Empire, college leaders told CalMatters how older, lowincome adults often had to work “essential” jobs or to step back into the workforce to support their families. Because of their age, they faced an increased risk of COVID-19. Many were less comfortable using Zoom or they lacked an adequate internet connection for online classes.
As a result, these older students left their college ambitions to the wayside during the pandemic.
Now they are also trying to reel older students back in with new programs and concerted outreach efforts. While some colleges have managed to buck the downward trends, others have found themselves competing for the same students.
Enrolling farmworkers
During the pandemic, the College of the Sisikyous saw one of the biggest enrollment declines across all age groups.
With roughly 2,500 fewer students total in 2021-22 compared to the 2018-19 academic year, the College of the Siskiyous could lose about $2.3 million dollars — just over 10% of its total funding.
Compared to other age groups, students over 50 years old left at the highest rates. And it’s a problem that’s been happening for years, even before the pandemic: COVID-19 was just “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Samantha Worthington, who oversees adult education at the college.
Instead, the college’s enrollment issues began as a result of competition from other schools.
Similar to many California community colleges, which have looked to out-of-state residents and even international students, administrators at the College of the Siskiyous started to look beyond the county line about seven years ago, especially for older students.
The college partnered with an organization called the Farmworker Institute on Education and Leadership Development to offer classes to farmworkers who live hundreds of miles south in places such as Monterey and Kern counties. Often, these students study to improve their English, to learn new career skills, or work
The decline in students is also because other colleges — faced with their own declining enrollment numbers — saw an opportunity to target the same students.
In 2021, Bakersfield College launched a partnership with the same nonprofit organization to target local farmworkers and declined to sign the collaborative contract it had previously made with the College of the Siskiyous.
In the course of a few years, Bakersfield College launched a flurry of new initiatives, all aimed at boosting enrollment for older students. Administrators opened new teaching centers in South Bakersfield and in the rural town of Wasco. They created a new program to educate people experiencing homelessness and another one, in partnership with the local school district, to teach parents about child development.
From the 2018-19 academic year to 2021-22, the most recent year with verified enrollment data, Bakersfield saw an increase of more than 41% in students over the age of 50, the largest increase of all the state’s 116 community colleges.
Bakersfield College is also a leader in enrolling high school students. In fact, the new California Community College Chancellor Dr. Sonya Christian — a former Bakersfield College president — has said she wants to enroll every 9th grader in a college course, something she first piloted in Kern County.
The key to recruiting and retaining older students lies in the way which classes are taught, but most colleges aren’t making the necessary changes, said Kathy Booth, a project director at the education research group WestEd.
To lure older students to school, community colleges need to offer flexible and engaging courses that have clear and specific career outcomes. “The most frequent award that’s given out is a general studies associate’s degree,” she said. “There are very few employers that are asking for associate’s degrees outside of a few technical fields, so that sort of general education is less valuable to a working adult.”
Instead, adults over the age of 50 often want to take noncredit courses, which do not count toward degrees. Noncredit courses are short, free and typically vocational, covering topics such as HVAC repair.
But across the state, colleges struggled to move many of the most popular noncredit courses, such as those in automotive repair, healthcare, and early childhood development, to an online format.
In the 2021-22 academic year, Mt. San Antonio College had about 34,000 students taking noncredit classes, the largest volume of students in the state. Like most colleges, Mt. San Antonio saw a drop in the number of students over 50 who enrolled since the start of the pandemic.
Madelyn Arballo, the vice president of continuing education, is not worried, though. “The first year of the
Patients from over 32 states have traveled to Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties (PPOSBC) health centers for abortion care since the June 24, 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the federal right to abortion; some have even flown to California for miscarriage care for fear of prosecution in their home state.
centers for abortion care. The vast majority of these patients are traveling from Texas, where abortion is totally outlawed, and Arizona, where constantly shifting abortion restrictions have sown confusion and chaos.
ANAHEIM, CA – June 22,
2023 – Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling on June 24, 2022, ending the federal right to abortion, Planned Parenthood of Orange & San Bernardino Counties (PPOSBC) released sobering statistics about the ruling’s impacts.
Since July 2022, over 20 U.S. states have banned or severely restricted access to abortion, and the impacts are even being felt in Southern California, where abortion remains legal. The cascading effects of abortion restrictions and the resulting climate of fear for both patients and providers have upended abortion care nationwide. Over the past year, nearly 450 people from 32 states nationwide have traveled to PPOSBC health
PPOSBC’s Abortion Aid program, which helps both local and out-of-state patients make arrangements for abortion care, has collected anonymous data and stories since the program launched in January 2022, soon after the passage of SB 8 in Texas (which outlawed abortion after six weeks gestation). The Abortion Aid program includes a confidential call center, where trained patient navigators help abortion patients from across the country make travel arrangements, provide hotel and meal vouchers, and even help arrange logistics like car seats.
“The patients we have had the honor of assisting this year are brave and resilient, but should not be forced to travel thousands of miles for basic healthcare,” said Heeva Ghane, PPOSBC’s Director of Case Management and direct lead for the Abortion Aid program. “We have had patients fly to California during a medical emergency because
they feel safer seeking care here than in their home state. Patients unable to find or afford childcare are traveling across multiple states with small children, so they can make a choice that will enable them to better care for their families. Patients who cannot get time off work are driving 12 hours non-stop for a five-minute procedure, then turning around and driving home. These patients are strong, but they are also scared. They should not be put in the position they are in.”
Patient Stories
Many of PPOSBC’s out-ofstate patients over the past year have been low-income, and had previously never traveled outside of their home state. Said Ghane: “One of our first patients from out-of-state was traveling from Texas. It was her first time ever getting on a flight. She was traveling alone and very nervous. She explained to me how she already had an 18-month-old. Her boyfriend had broken up with her and did not want to be involved with the 18-month-old’s life, and she didn’t have the financial means
Potential tax benefits, such as mortgage interest and property tax payments, which are generally tax-deductible.
Because of the benefits of homeownership, buying a home with a low credit score can have some advantages. It is essential to weigh the potential benefits against the drawbacks and ensure you can afford the mortgage payment before jumping in. Possible disadvantages to buying a home with a low credit score include a higher interest rate and the need to put down a larger down payment to qualify for a loan.
Before applying for a mortgage with poor credit, here are some steps to consider.
Save for a Larger Down Payment
Lenders are more likely to approve borrowers with bad credit if they can put down a significant amount of money upfront. A larger down payment means you’ll have a lower loanto-value ratio, which reduces the lender’s risk. Saving for a larger down payment may improve your chances of getting approved
Look for a Cosigner If your credit score is too low to qualify for a loan, consider finding a cosigner with good credit. A cosigner agrees to take responsibility for the loan if you default, which reduces the lender’s risk. However, keep in mind that if you miss payments or default on the loan, your cosigner’s credit will be affected.
Work with a Mortgage Broker
A mortgage broker can help you find lenders more likely to approve borrowers with bad credit. Brokers can access various loan products and match you with a lender that suits your needs. They can also help you navigate the homebuying process and answer any questions.
Be patient, and don’t rush into buying a home before you’re ready. Improving your credit score and saving for a larger down payment will take time and effort. Finding assistance programs and being approved for a loan may take longer. A mortgage broker can help you with the right approach for your situation so you can put a plan
to support herself, her baby, and a newborn. Luckily on the day of her appointment, I was also working in the health center so I was able to meet her in person, and hold her hand during her appointment.”
“Another patient we had recently was traveling from Florida, and she was also flying for the first time. Luckily her boyfriend was accompanying her, but it was his first time flying as well. She did not have a credit card, and was not familiar with how hotels and rideshares worked. We helped her make a hotel reservation and arranged a rideshare for her, but her inexperience with traveling still made the journey to get to our health center from LAX a stressful time.”
A large number of out-of-state patients at PPOSBC are unable to get abortion care earlier in their pregnancies because their home state imposes so many hurdles on getting an abortion. They often have many other aspects of their life to coordinate, such as time off work, childcare, financial concerns, and finding someone to accompany them.
for a home loan with bad credit and can lower your monthly payments.
Consider FHA Loans
into action and start taking steps towards homeownership.
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PPOSBC: One Year Later, Supreme Court Ruling on Abortion Endangers Patients Nationwide ...continued
The climate of fear around abortion and pregnancy-related care has even led some patients to avoid seeking legal medical procedures in their home state.
“There was a patient traveling from Texas who was experiencing symptoms of a miscarriage, which is a medical emergency,” said Ghane. “She reached out to us in California because she was too afraid to seek help at home. We told her she was able to receive this kind of care in her home state, and urged her to reach out to her local Planned Parenthood. However, because she was so afraid of being prosecuted under Texas law, she ended up flying to California to get care at one of our health centers. At her appointment, she found out she was no longer pregnant–she had passed the pregnancy while on her flight.”
By the NumbersSince July 2022, nearly 450 people from 32 states nationwide have traveled to PPOSBC health centers for abortion care.
The vast majority of these outof-state patients are from two states. 39% stated they are from Texas, 30% stated they are from Arizona.
20% of patients traveling from other states request financial
assistance in order to make the trip.
While the number of outof-state abortion patients represents a very small fraction of the overall number of abortion patients PPOSBC sees each year, the fact remains that more people have been forced to travel thousands of miles for abortion care since the Dobbs ruling on June 24, 2022.
“Well over a year ago, we knew that the Supreme Court would likely overturn Roe v. Wade, so we were well-prepared to absorb more patients forced to travel from out-of-state,” said Nichole Ramirez, PPOSBC’s Senior Vice President of Communications and Donor Relations. “We are committed to providing quality, compassionate care to everyone in our community and beyond. Our doors remain open, as they have for the past 50 years, to any patient who comes to us, regardless of their insurance, immigration status or ability to pay.”
Continued Ramirez: “Today’s anniversary is an emotional one, and it reminds us that none of us are unaffected when rights are taken away for anyone in our country. The stories we have to share should make any extremist politician who supports abortion restrictions think twice about the lives they are upending.”
The Black Press is Our Vanguard...continued
purpose.
one defined by working people making and using things they can be proud of again from electric school buses to solar panels.
You’d think that opportunity would be welcomed by all. But the self-interested like Big Oil and Gas companies that are grabbing billions in historic profits and the politicians they support are doing all they can to roll back the commitments made since 2021. They even tied up the recent debate over a U.S. default on its loans to advance their opposition.
That’s an odd political play. A CBS News poll last month found more than half of Americans want the climate crisis addressed right now and more than twothirds want it tackled within a few years.
Ben JealousI traveled recently from Baltimore, the city where my mother grew up, to Portland, Maine, where my dad did. It’s easy for many to see differences between one of the Blackest cities in America and largest city in one of the whitest states in the country.
What always hits me is what unites the two places is the suffering they’ve felt as a consequence of the decline of American industry in the 50 years of my life. My father’s family once operated woolen mills in New England. Those factories no longer exist, across America like 63,000 factories that have shuttered since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was passed three decades ago.
As a result, millions of American families of every color have been locked in a downward spiral of economic mobility for too long driven by the greed of multinational corporations and facilitated over decades by government policies like NAFTA.
In part because of the pandemic and in part because of narrow cushion that’s left before our climate is beyond repair, we’re at a moment when we can turn that around. Over the last three years, we committed as a nation to an unprecedented private and public investment in clean energy and infrastructure in ways that promises to reverse this dreamkilling trajectory.
We’re in a moment when we can finally shift from an economy defined by consumption back to
WASHINGTON, D.C. —
Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein (both D-Calif.) announced that California was awarded over $1.8 billion in funding for broadband access through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, a key component of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This funding will help to deploy affordable, reliable high-speed Internet infrastructure to Californians through President Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative. California will receive just over $1,864,000,000 in BEAD funding.
“This critical funding from the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be instrumental in bridging the digital divide in communities across California,” said Senator Padilla. “Access to high-speed Internet is essential infrastructure, but for too long, low-income and underserved communities have been shut out of educational and economic opportunities due to a lack of affordable and reliable access to Internet. These transformative investments will help address this equity gap and ensure that all Californians – regardless of zip code – can remain connected.”
“California is home to Silicon Valley and many of the largest tech companies in world. Unfortunately, despite leading in technology innovation, approximately one in five Californians lacks access to reliable and affordable highspeed internet,” said Senator Feinstein. “With this additional funding, California will have received nearly $7 billion from President Biden’s Internet for All initiative, ensuring more Californians are able to affordably access the internet to compete in today’s economy.”
That includes 44 percent of Republicans. Given every congressional Republican voted against the clean energy package last year, that large plurality is significant. It's also a sign that many GOP leaders in Washington are increasingly out of step with their own constituents and districts.
When the group Climate
Power looked at the nearly 200 clean energy projects launched since Congress and the President approved the federal spending package last summer, nearly six in 10 of them are in districts represented by Republicans who voted against the package. Those projects mean at least 77,000 new jobs for electricians, mechanics, technicians, support staff, and others.
Not since the days of FDR have we seen this kind of national investment. Back then, building American industry was vital to winning a war against genocide across Europe. Today, our investment to turn our economy away from destruction and toward good jobs in a cleaner economy that sustains our planet is a fight to protect all of humanity.
Ben Jealous is executive director of the Sierra Club, the oldest and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the country. He is a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania and author of “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free,” published in January.
This partial recounting of the great work of the NNPA is not meant to be exhaustive. It is, however, a reminder that the medium is the message and no other media will tell our story with the same passion and desire for Black progress that NNPA members have demonstrated.
Thank you, NNPA, and welcome to the home of
Tennessee State University, Meharry Medical College and Fisk University. I hope you enjoy Southern hospitality at its very best! Michael A. Grant, J.D. is president of United Security Financial, Inc., a full-fledge, Black-owned mortgage company. He is also former president of the National Bankers Association.
Maxim Elramsisy | California Black Media
Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, is a federal grant program that aims to get all Americans online by funding partnerships between states or territories, communities, and stakeholders to build infrastructure where we need it and increase adoption of high-speed Internet. BEAD prioritizes unserved locations that have no Internet access or that only have access under 25/3 Mbps and underserved locations only have access under 100/20 Mbps. The funding comes from the Department of Commerce’s $42.45 billion fund to expand high-speed Internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs nationwide. California has received a total of more than $6.9 billion in federal funding to bolster Internet connectivity during the Biden-Harris Administration. In addition to helping connect everyone in America to high-speed Internet, this new funding will support good paying jobs deploying fiber and by using materials Made in America.
Padilla and Feinstein are committed to ensuring all Americans have access to highspeed Internet. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Padilla and Feinstein supported, invests $65 billion to provide affordable, high-speed Internet to every American. The $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund program—which was included in the American Rescue Plan that Senator Padilla and Senator Feinstein also voted to pass— helped provide relief to millions of students, school staff, and library patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I write this brief essay with two goals in mind: First, I want to extend a warm welcome to the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) to its annual convention in Nashville, Tennessee. And, secondly, to try to share with your readers the powerful impact that the Black Press continues to have on our struggle for total equality in America.
From Frederick Douglas’
The North Star to Ida B. Wells’
The Memphis Free Press and all subsequent members of the Black press, the plight of African – Americans was chronicled and a beacon of hope was provided through the journalistic efforts and trials of the country’s heroic Black Press. I cannot begin to capture the countless ways that the Black Press acted as the vanguard and the persistent battering ram against forces of oppression in this country. What I would like to do is to act as an eyewitness to the enormous contribution that NNPA member papers made during the last thirty years where I had a bird’s eye view of their reporting.
It was around 1992, while serving as branch president of the NAACP here in Nashville, that I had cause to contact NNPA’s office in Washington, D.C. We, at the branch, were reaping the benefits of an initiative to restore the voting rights of felons who had served their time and were interested in enfranchisement. I contacted the local Elections Commission Office and requested that it move its operations one Saturday to the branch office. The campaign was a huge success so we decided to broadcast our efforts nationally in hopes that others would follow suit.
After reaching out to Hazel Trice Edney and Rosetta MillerPerry, the word was disseminated around the country. The rest is history.
My next encounter with the NNPA centered on a marketing
strategy for Athan Gibbs’ TruVote Voting System. Arguably, Athan Gibbs’ ingenious invention of the TruVote validation and verification voting system saved American democracy. I know this is a bold assertion but after experiencing the debacle that was the 2000 Presidential election, I witnessed (as vicepresident of marketing for TruVote), first-hand, how Athan Gibbs’ accounting skills helped the country to move to a voting system where confidence could be restored in the voting process. Although he was not given credit for revolutionizing voting in America, I shudder to think of how the country could have survived the attempted coup in 2020 if our voting systems were as flawed as Athan Gibbs found them to be during of the 2000 Presidential Election. I also noticed, years after Gibbs’ untimely death, that I voted on a system that looked remarkedly like Gibbs’ invention, which was widely covered by NNPA member papers.
Lastly, and again, I had to tap into the journalistic excellence of Hazel Trice Edney to help raise the consciousness of Black Americans about the need for building intergenerational wealth. Three national organizations, with the help of Congresswoman Maxine Waters, kicked off a movement called Black Wealth 2020 in 2015. The founding organizations were the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and the National Bankers Association. The presidents of these groups were Ron Busby Sr., Jim Winston and Michael Grant, respectively. The coalition expanded to several other organizations.
Black Wealth 2020 set three ambitious goals: To significantly increase the number of Blackowned businesses and their gross receipts; to increase home ownership by two million; and to increase deposits in and loans with Black banks. At its Winter meeting, the goals of Black Wealth 2020 were ratified by the National Black Caucus of State Legislators a year after the coalition was formed. NNPA newspapers thoroughly covered the movement and led millions of Black Americans to a realization of their buying strength and the power generated by a unity of
Civil Rights and personal Injury attorneys Benjamin Crump and Carl Douglas announced a $100 million lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles last week for the death of Keenan Anderson, a high school English teacher visiting Los Angeles from Washington D.C.
The attorneys are representing Anderson’s son, Syncere Anderson, and Syncere’s mother Gabrielle Hansell.
The complaint alleges civil rights violations, assault and battery, false imprisonment, and negligence on the part of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers in the death of Anderson.
“They are trying to George Floyd me,” Anderson said as he lay face down on the street in Venice, California on January 3. The 30-year-old died later at a hospital after body-camera footage shows him being tased at least six times by LAPD officers.
“[He is] calling out to the public when he's on the ground being tased and squashed. He’s calling for help. He was anticipating his own injury,” Douglas, said to California Black Media (CBM).
“When you think about Black people, our fear is that every time police stop us, they might do us like George Floyd,” Crump said to CBM.
The LA County Medical Examiner-Coroner reported in early June that Anderson’s cause of death was an enlarged heart and cocaine use and reported manner of death as undetermined.
The attorneys argue the report is irrelevant.
“After they assassinated him, they tried to assassinate his character. That is the strategy, tried and true, in America when the police kill Black people,” Crump said. “Look at that video, your eyes are not deceiving you. What killed [Anderson] was an overdose of lethal force, it’s that simple. If he were not tased, he would be here today.”
They believe the video shows that the use of force by police was inappropriate in this situation.
“It matters not whether there was cocaine in his system, because the actions of the officers were wrong. It matters not why he was in distress, because it's clear from the body camera footage that he was never a threat. He spoke to the officers politely. He was always compliant; he never
balled his fist, he never kicked. He never did anything to give an officer the belief that he was a threat.
Instead, these officers acted like hammers. And when you send a hammer into a garden, they treat all the flowers like their nails,” Douglas said to CBM.
“They did not know that Keenan Anderson was a schoolteacher of high school students. They didn't know he had a five-year-old boy who loved him and he was engaged in his young son's life. They didn't know he was a role model to dozens of other kids across the country.”
“It resonated with me because I was so close to George Floyds family,” said Crump, who represented the family in a lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis.
“The one thing that I think is similar is just the fact that Black people who have mental health crises, man, we get the death sentence,” Crump said. “When White people have mental health crises, everybody is trying to help them.”
This month the U.S. Department of Justice released a report outlining systemic problems in the Minneapolis Police Department. It said police officers used “unjustified deadly force” and other types of force, and that they “unlawfully discriminate” against Black and Native American people, violate the rights of people engaged in protected speech, and discriminate against people with behavioral health issues.
There were similar findings in Los Angeles Police Department after the Rampart Scandal uncovered corruption.
“20 years ago, there was a finding that there were systemic problems in the Los Angeles Police Department and there was a consent decree,” Douglas said. “The problem is there is a warrior mentality that envelops law enforcement: us versus them; military equipment against citizens instead of a guardian mentality to protect and serve, to help.”
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass discussed the incident with CBM in February.
“People have died at the hands of the LAPD. You had those three deaths in one week, which was
diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in hiring practices.
Version 4.0 of the California Film Tax Credit presents us with a fresh chance to make significant headway in this regard.
Previously, the industry operated mostly within the private sector, making it difficult for the state to evaluate compliance, progress, and enforce reporting requirements as it does with public sector jobs.
As industry insiders, advocates for change, and social justice activists, we are joining forces in this Op-Ed to shed light on the critical need to strengthen California's Film Tax Credit program through community and stakeholder participation and oversight.
Thankfully, Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Hawthorne) have been spearheading this effort in the Legislature, calling for a Film Tax program that reflects the diverse landscape of the California workforce.
The motion picture industry is grappling with a multitude of challenges, including strikes, COVID-19 disruptions, and fierce competition from other states offering enticing tax incentives.
To address these issues and support the ever-evolving industry, California plans to extend the $1.2 billion film tax credit for another five years. While we applaud the commitment of Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature to retain jobs in our state, it is essential that we seize this
opportunity to bring about real change for disadvantaged and underrepresented workers.
We can’t afford to settle for mere job retention or isolated success stories from underrepresented workers; this moment calls for us to strive for true accountability and inclusivity within the industry.
Looking to the future, the very essence of Hollywood as we know it may be at stake. Other states, including Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Missouri, have embraced film tax credit legislation, luring productions away from California.
According to McKinsey & Company's 2021 Study on Black representation in film and TV, addressing persistent racial inequities could unlock an additional $10 billion in annual revenues for the industry. This presents an incredible opportunity for California to not only lead by example in equitable representation, but also bolster our economy and help shield ourselves from recession.
Throughout history, the motion picture industry has lacked the necessary mechanisms to ensure
New form will implement congressional requirements and modernize information collection
The Federal Trade Commission, with the concurrence of the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, is proposing changes to the premerger notification form and associated instructions, as well as the premerger notification rules implementing the HartScott-Rodino (HSR) Act.
The HSR Act and its implementing rules require the parties to certain mergers and acquisitions to submit premerger notification to the FTC and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (the Agencies), which involves completing HSR Forms, and to wait a specified period of time before consummating their transaction.
The proposed changes to the HSR Form and instructions would enable the Agencies to more effectively and efficiently screen transactions for potential competition issues within the initial waiting period, which is typically 30 days. This initial competition review is critical for the agencies to identify transactions that require an in-depth investigation. During an in-depth investigation, the agencies determine whether the proposed transaction would violate the antitrust laws and, if so, to seek to block the proposed transaction and prevent harm to the American public.
Under Version 3.0 of the California Film Tax Credit, the implementation of a Diversity Requirement aimed to increase employment opportunities for underrepresented workers. Unfortunately, this program fell short due to its lack of meaningful reporting requirements, community and stakeholder participation, and institutional support.
Studios receiving the tax credit were allowed to devise their own diversity plans and benchmarks. We firmly believe we can change this by implementing a community- and other stakeholder-led film tax credit task force. This task force would be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the diversity plans of tax credit recipients, using certified payroll data to verify that the industry's efforts to promote diversity lead to tangible changes in its workforce demographics.
The task force would also provide productions with resources to help them implement these requirements through partnerships with nonprofits like Ujima Entertainment Coalition - a Black entertainment professionals staffing liaison, networking alliance, and advocacy group - as well as by offering guidance in using the ‘Inclusion Rider’ as a process for inclusive hiring.
As the state prepares for Version 4.0, let’s make sure that the creation of high-quality film and television content right here in Hollywood is an attainable goal for all aspiring creators, free from the confines of an antiquated ‘old Hollywood’ model that continues to perpetuate exclusion. We want to ensure that the real stakeholders—the workforce and community — are given a prominent seat at the table. We can’t sit on the sidelines as passive observers; we have to show up as active participants who hold the power to enact change. So today, we are using that power to demand community- and stakeholder-led oversight as part of California's Film Tax Credit Proposal.
As an editor, and the Founder of Ujima Entertainment Coalition, I, Dominique Ulloa, remain committed to advocating for a more inclusive and equitable television and film industry.
And, I, Lori Condinus, a labor leader and activist for over 30 years and the President of the National Action Network Los Angeles, have witnessed, firsthand, the amazing progress that is possible through labormanagement-community collaboration, and I look forward to a fruitful endeavor with the Legislature and the other motion picture industry stakeholders. Let’s seize this opportunity to shape the future of California's production landscape together.
About the Authors
Dominique Ulloa is a PeabodyAward winning editor and Founder of Ujima Entertainment Coalition.
Lori Condinus is the President of the National Action Network Los Angeles.
One group of students fled community college in record numbers during the pandemic. Can these schools lure them back...continued from page 2 pandemic was really bad, but the second year, we rebounded,” she said. Arballo expects that the college has already reached prepandemic levels once the final numbers are tallied for the recent spring semester.
Moving quickly
Arballo attributed some of Mt. San Antonio’s success to her department putting together new classes and certificates quickly, such as a course on COVID-19 contact tracing that it offered for just a few months. Of the 103 students who enrolled in contact tracing courses in the 2021-22 academic year, 41% were over the age of 46, she wrote to CalMatters.
Instead of telling prospective students why they should go to college, she tries to tell students what they could earn or do after college: Contact tracers, for instance, were making $25 an hour at the time the class was running.
Even though these adult students often start out taking one or two quick, noncredit classes, they may end up working towards an associate’s degree, or even transferring to a four-year university, once they realize the earning potential of a bachelor’s degree, said Arballo.
Marcelo Baca, 62, started taking noncredit courses last year in an effort to get his GED, but he isn’t stopping there. He plans to graduate with an associate’s degree in business and then transfer to California State University Fullerton to ultimately become a financial advisor.
It’s not his first attempt at a degree. He immigrated from Argentina in 1989 to attend community college in Orange County, but he couldn’t afford it and dropped out. He became undocumented and despite living in the state for decades, he was ineligible for financial aid. When he was finally in a position to restart school, he said he was diagnosed with colon cancer, and later, sent to the ICU for complications due to COVID-19. Now he’s finally pursuing his dream, even if his children beat him to it.
“I may be super old, but I don’t care.”
Adam Echelman covers California’s community colleges in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education.
Adam Echelman COMMUNITY COLLEGE REPORTERThe virtual event is part of an ongoing program
Standifer said.
Key proposals include:
Provision of details about transaction rationale and details surrounding investment vehicles or corporate relationships.
Provision of information related to products or services in both horizontal products and services, and non-horizontal business relationships such as supply agreements.
Provision of projected revenue streams, transactional analyses and internal documents describing market conditions, and structure of entities involved such as private equity investments.
Provision of details regarding previous acquisitions.
Disclosure of information that screens for labor market issues by classifying employees based on current Standard Occupational Classification system categories.
These proposed changes also address Congressional concerns that subsidies from foreign entities of concern can distort the competitive process or otherwise change the business strategies of a subsidized firm in ways that undermine competition following an acquisition. Under the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, the agencies are required to collect information on subsidies received from certain foreign governments or entities that are strategic or economic threats to the United States.
The Notice will be published in the Federal Register later this week. Comments are due 60 days after publication. For more details about the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, please read the related FAQ on the Federal Register Notice page. The Commission vote to publish for public comment the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking containing proposed amendments to the HSR Rules was 3-0. FTC Chair Lina M. Khan was joined by Commissioners Rebecca
Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro M. Bedoya in a statement on the Commission's proposed amendments. The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint. For the latest news and resources, follow the FTC on social media, subscribe to press releases and read our blog.
from page 1
history encompasses far more than the horrors of those who were enslaved. Their countless descendants include historymaking visionaries, and IAAM honors and preserves their struggles and accomplishments and dares us to look toward the future.
I must admit that there were times during my chairmanship,
especially in those early days, when I was not sure we would get this project across the finish line. I am proud that after more than 20 years of hard work and dedicated commitment, we are celebrating its opening, and future generations can learn fuller and more accurate stories of America’s greatness.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., June 27, 2023 (SEND2PRESS
NEWSWIRE) -- On July 17, the Millionaire Mastermind Academy, a leading nonprofit organization addressing the barriers to opportunity for underrepresented businesses, will host an economic empowerment "Diversity in Finance" Fireside Chat. The virtual event is part of an ongoing program and is sponsored by Blaylock Van, LLC, the nation's longestcontinuously operating Blackowned investment firm.
The economic empowerment program is designed for minority female entrepreneurs and seniorlevel professionals interested in strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) outreach. Speakers include Eric Standifer, President and CEO of Blaylock Van; Dr. Velma Trayham, CEO and founder of the Millionaire Mastermind Academy and Thinkzilla Consulting; and Trisha Oreta, Senior Vice President, of Blaylock Van. The Diversity in Finance Fireside chat will share innovative best practices, resources, and opportunities for minorities to succeed in the financial services industry.
"Blaylock Van is committed to empowering, educating, and providing opportunities for minority female business owners and professionals, and diversity, equity, and inclusion will always be a core component of our work. Partnering with leading organizations such as the Millionaire Mastermind Academy helps our firm reach more underserved populations and provide critical resources,"
In the financial services industries, progress on gender diversity and other DE&I initiatives has been slow, but more organizations are recognizing the value of working with diverse suppliers, building a diverse workforce, and taking steps to improve.
"Diversity is not only good for business, but also the right thing to do, and to achieve true diversity in the financial services industry requires collective action. This is why we serve thousands of underserved and excluded populations annually with resources, tools and technical assistance programs to move forward and create more meaningful opportunities," added Dr. Trayham. "We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Blaylock Van, which offers economic impact for diverse women and for the industry as a whole."
Since its inception in 2017, the Millionaire Mastermind Academy has served more than 8,000 individuals and has led successful programs directing more than $100 million in economic activity into underserved communities. Awarded more than $500,000 in scholarships and issued more than $50,000 in seed funding. Thanks to title sponsors including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Truist Bank, American Landmark Apartments, Country Financial, and Blaylock Van, among others.
In addition, Millionaire Mastermind Academy provides engagement models for corporations and government entities interested in strengthening DEI or ESG goals by engaging underserved populations.
To register for the Diversity In Finance event, visit eventbrite. com/e/diversity-in-financefire-side-chat-empoweringwomen-entrepreneursregistration-661381930157
For more information: millionairemastermindacademy. org
the BET Awards in Los Angeles on
The 2023 BET Awards took place in Los Angeles, Calif., on June 25.
The star- studded affair included appearances by hip-hop legends such as The Sugarhill Gang and Big Daddy Kane.
Latto performed, along with Coco Jones and Master P, who wowed the audience with his performance honoring hip-hop’s 50th anniversary.
“I just want to thank God so much for keeping me when I didn’t understand and for all of my Black girls—we do have to fight a little harder to get what we deserve but don’t stop fighting,” said Coco Jones, during the broadcast, which aired on BET. “Even when it doesn’t make sense and you’re not sure how you’re going to get out of those circumstances, keep pushing because we are deserving of great things.”
Winners for the night included Burna Boy, who took home the award for “Best International Act,” and SZA, who claimed the top spot as “Best Female R&B/ Pop Artist”.
It was no surprise that Beyonce took home more trophies, as she was nominated for “Viewers Choice Award,” “Best Female R&B/ Pop Artist” and a multitude of other awards. Queen “Bey” took home the award for “Album of the Year” and the “BET Her Award”.
Aside from the glitz and glamour, there was also a bit of drama. City Girl Jatavia“JT” Johnson, caused a raucous when
she got into a spat with boyfriend Lil Uzi Vert while sitting in the audience.
Johnson was caught on camera physically assaulting her partner while cussing at the rap star. In the video, another audience member can be heard saying the altercation was a result of Lil Uzi Vert allegedly talking with artist Isis “Ice Spice” Gaston.
Though the commotion was disturbing, the show went on, with tributes and performances to artists that have left an indelible mark on the culture.
The ceremony included time to remember the late Tina Turner, who passed on May 24 in Switzerland. Kirsnick “Takeoff” Ball, one-third of the rap group
“The Migos,” was also honored for his contributions to the rap genre. Ball was shot to death in Houston on Nov. 1 of last year, after his groupmate and uncle Quavious “Quavo” Marshall got into a verbal altercation outside of a bowling alley.
The awards show also dedicated time to honoring the genre of hip-hop, which has officially been around for 50 years come Aug. 11. Artists, producers, museums, creative groups, elected officials and communities around the country have been celebrating the birth of hip-hop all year and the BET Awards were no exception. The hip-hop tribute during the 2023 BET Awards included Fabulous, Fat Joe and Trick Daddy, and Busta Rhymes was given a Lifetime Achievement Award.
FOLAR’s 2nd Annual “River Fest”
Celebrates The L.A. River Through A Free Open-Air Film, Art, And Community Festival
Free Ticketed Event…Available Now, All are Invited
Angel City Football Club to be One of 20+ Community Booths
It ain’t gonna be nothing nice. Mercy would have left the building, and each man and woman will be judged according to their works which will culminates in the fierce wrath of God with unending torment [Revelation 20:12-15].
Yes, America the sister of Sodom and Gomorrah, who leads the world in every abomination known to man will be destroyed by God for their wickedness and rebelliousness. For God raised up many prophetic voices to call America to repentance and to warn that continued rebellion will lead to doom. America has refused to listen. Because of that, America has passed the point of no return, the point of “dread release”. Therefore, America will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning, and a horror to the rest of the world, declares the Lord. [Ezekiel 5:15]. From judgment to wrath, from discipline to doom. America, a nation that CANNOT be saved even by the prayer of the Righteous! Read [Ezekiel 14:12-20].
For as Nahum pronounced it is one thing for a nation to ignore God and another for it to rebel against God. Both actions will provoke the judgment of God. But when a nation goes to war with God, that nation beckons the wrath of God and thus seals its doom. America is in trouble. God has lost His patience with
His unfaithful, disobedient, and covenant breaking people.
As God informed Abraham in [Genesis 18:16-21], that a great outcry against the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had come up before Him, and so He was going to destroy the cities if they were as wicked as He had heard, and so will it be for America, who hate God, who hate the things of God, who are filled with their own lust and with their own desires. America will be transformed from a lush and fruitful ground to a place which just screams death. For as surely as I live, declares the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, surely Moab [America] will become like Sodom, the Ammonites like Gomorrah−a place of weeds and salt pits, a waste land forever. [Zephaniah 2:9].
Oh, When the Wrath of God Touches America!
Then Abraham started negotiating with the Lord. He said, “If you can find fifty righteous people will you spare the city. The Lord said if I find fifty righteous people in the city, I will spare all the people for their sake. [Genesis 18: 26]. Abraham continued to negotiate with God. He dropped the number of righteous people to forty, then to thirty, then to twenty. Then in [Genesis 18:32], Abraham said to the Lord, “If I can find ten righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah will you spare the cities? The Lord said if He could find ten, He would not destroy it for the ten’s sake. But not even ten could be found in these cities. Tragic!
WITNESS FOR JUSTICE #1157
Elizabeth
On June 15, the Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978 is constitutional, despite challenges to it from three non-Native families and three states. The Washington Post characterizes the ICWA as a law “passed to remedy what Congress said was a disgraceful history in which hundreds of thousands of Native American children were removed from their homes by adoption agencies and placed with White families or in group settings.” While “disgraceful” certainly understates the generations-long governmental practice of removing Native American children from their homes, tribes, and communities and placing them with families who knew nothing about their language, culture, or needs, the purpose of this law was and is to strengthen tribal community and affirm the tribes’ political sovereignty.
Dilleyfamily courts to make decisions that directly conflict with what those courts may deem as “in the best interest of the child.” Yet the ICWA serves to protect the best interest of the child and their tribe to retain cultural and family ties in the midst of foster care or adoption placements. There do not appear to be indications that the White families in this case (or the states who were parties) attempted to maintain relationships with a child’s tribal community to strengthen those relationships in the midst of a traumatic foster or adoption placement. That is hardly in the best interest of those children!
BURLINGTON, Vt.
and Nepal, June 27, 2023 / PRNewswire/ -- For a mere 91 cents, individuals contributed to transforming social norms that hinder child marriage, enhancing adolescent reproductive health, and reducing violent discipline for children in Nepal.
Students in Nepal listen to PMC radio drama This groundbreaking achievement was made possible by the Population Media Center (PMC), an organization dedicated to creating life-changing popular entertainment for a more equitable and sustainable world.
PMC's recent collaboration in Nepal resulted in the creation of an entertaining fictional radio show called Rope Guna Fal ("You Reap What You Sow"). This captivating program successfully engaged an estimated 325,026 Nepalis every week, with PMC spending only $0.91 per loyal listener. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and The Kendeda Fund provided funding for this initiative, which was produced in partnership with Antenna Foundation Nepal. Throughout the 104-episode story, the show inspired loyal listeners who eagerly awaited each episode, ultimately becoming local change-makers themselves.
Rajan Parajuli, PMC's Country Director in Nepal, remarked, "We have observed significant shifts in intention and behaviors on parenting, child marriage, and adolescent reproductive health among regular listeners. PMC's multi-issue approach allows for nuanced and varied storylines."
Rope Guna Fal focused on
addressing crucial local needs in Nepal, including reducing child marriage, improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and strengthening parenting skills to enhance child well-being.
While the Nepalese government has implemented various programs and policies to tackle these issues, deeply entrenched cultural norms and traditional practices continue to impede progress. PMC recognizes that sustainable change requires collaboration among government bodies, health organizations, schools, service providers, and community members, to create an enabling environment for transformation.
The show prompted 54,000 listeners to intend to stop child marriage, 88,000 listeners to believe in open discussions about sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents, and 72,000 listeners to reject violent discipline as a form of child rearing. In fact, listeners were 3.8 times more likely than nonlisteners to take action against child marriage.
PMC's role in the ecosystem is clear: to create awardwinning, popular entertainment for TV, radio, or the web that positively transforms lives. By tapping into human hearts and minds, PMC stories featuring relatable characters and familiar communities empower listeners to understand their own agency and make impactful choices.
By harnessing the power of storytelling, PMC challenged child marriage norms, improved reproductive health for adolescents, and strengthened parenting skills in Nepal.
LOS ANGELES (June 27,
2023) Friends of the LA River (FoLAR) invites everyone to its 2nd annual River Fest, a FREE, all-ages, open-air film festival at the scenic LA State Historic Park on Sunday, July 23, 2023 from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. Through a range of storytelling mediums like film, performance, art, and education, the event will showcase the nexus of nature, health, climate change, art, and the LA River. In addition to short films on a large outdoor movie screen, River Fest will offer a Story Slam, interactive art and education activities, local food trucks, drinks, live DJ, several raffles, and 20+ booths with local environmental, arts, indigenous, and partner organizations like Angel City Football Club. While free, registration is required, and tickets will go fast. Registration
is now open on the FoLAR Eventbrite.
"The LA River runs through so many communities in our region, and this year we’re excited to celebrate that in new ways at River Fest. Making River Fest 2023 more interactive and offering community members even more ways to connect with nature through art gets to the heart of our goal of bringing the people to the River and the River to the people,” states Candice Dickens-Russell, FoLAR CEO.
The films and activities at River Fest will share stories of environmental justice, community leadership, challenges faced by the River, and Indigenous perspectives on nature and the River. In addition to the noted festivities, FoLAR’s River Rover, a 38 ft. mobile
The ICWA created practices to ensure that when Native American children are not able to be cared for by their parents, they are placed in kinship settings or Native American foster homes. Additionally, according to SCOTUSBlog, “The law gives tribal courts exclusive jurisdiction over childcustody proceedings involving Native children who live or have their permanent residence on tribal land. However, ICWA’s minimum standards apply in child-custody proceedings in state court for the millions of Native American children who do not live on tribal land.” This means that Native American children who are removed from their homes, whether on tribal land or elsewhere, find suitable placements with families who are committed to the survival of Native American cultures, beliefs, languages, and practices.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote a dissent in which he decried this decision as “compel[ling]”
To see this law affirmed by the Supreme Court is indeed a victory—but we must continue to pay attention to the attempts to proscribe tribal sovereignty that underscore White privilege and bolster a culture of White supremacy in this nation. All of this comes amidst a renewed reckoning with the abuses experienced at Indian boarding schools in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, where children were removed from tribes and families in attempts to eliminate their tribal connections and force assimilation into a White culture. Many of these boarding schools took as their mission “kill the Indian, save the man [sic]” and attempted to achieve this through physical abuse, sexual abuse, and severe punishments for speaking the languages of their families and tribes. The General Synod of the United Church of Christ will take up a resolution related to Indian and Hawaiian boarding schools at its next General Synod in Indianapolis from June 30— July 4.
Rev. Elizabeth Dilley serves as the Minister and Team Leader for the Ministerial Excellence, Support and Authorization (MESA) ministry team in the national setting of the United Church of Christ.
FOLAR’s 2nd Annual “River Fest” Celebrates The L.A. River Through A Free Open-Air Film, Art, And Community Festival... continued visitor and education center will be on hand along with FoLAR’s education team.
All free general admission tickets for River Fest 2023 cover entrance into the festival, access to this year’s films and performances, and a complimentary raffle ticket.
Food, drinks, and other items or services offered by River Fest vendors may be purchased at the event. A limited number of VIP tickets are available, providing VIP parking, VIP check-in, a VIP gift bag, two drink tickets, five complimentary raffle tickets, and a VIP seating area during the festival.
River Fest was created to replace the idea of a ‘gala’, offering a more equitable and accessible community celebration of both FoLAR and the River that runs through so many of the region’s communities, and thereby supporting FoLAR’s mission to build capacity for communities, students, and future leaders to advocate for nature, climate, and equity on the LA River.
FoLAR recently celebrated its 33rd annual Great LA River
CleanUp which featured extra activities like habitat restoration, nature walks, and education to ensure opportunities for everyone to help support the River and make meaningful connections to it. Additionally, the expanded nesting range of an endangered species, the Least Bell’s Vireo, was discovered along the LA River this Spring, which is exactly the type of resurgence of wildlife that FoLAR has worked toward in their three decades of hosting CleanUps and volunteer events on the River.
The 2023 River Fest is made possible through major supporters M2O, Bank of America, Metabolic Studio, Glendale Arts, City of Long Beach, and Elysian Valley Arts Collective.
While the event is FREE, registration is required. To register for River Fest and get more information, please visit https://folar.org/riverfest, or the Eventbrite page.
Ride-sharing and use of the Metro’s new regional connector project are encouraged. Limited paid parking will also be available at LA State Historic Park.
the U.S. Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes were included in the data, but since Type 2 is far more common, most of the trends represented in the analysis reflect the rates of Type 2 diabetes.Line chart showing rate of diabetes in the U.S. between 2000 and 2021. It has risen across the board, and Black and Hispanic people have the highest rates.
Diabetes rates in the US
Diabetes is a disease about which there are countless myths, misconceptions, and even moral judgments. Widespread cultural beliefs about who develops diabetes—as well as how and why—contribute to stigma and shame around the illness while obscuring its real, and very troubling, social determinants.
To many, diabetes— particularly Type 2—is associated with bad decision-making: It is seen as a consequence of unhealthy dietary and lifestyle choices, and therefore somehow different from other chronic illnesses like cancer or Crohn’s. Others may consider diabetes a product of body fat or even a disease specific to the biology of certain racial or ethnic groups.
Diabetes stigma is pervasive. Two studies published in 2020 in association with the University of Connecticut’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health found this to be the case not only socially but within medical settings as well. In one study, 53% of surveyed adults with Type 2 diabetes believed they could have prevented developing the condition, and nearly 1 in 2 experienced judgment for their dietary choices and felt the need to hide their condition from others.
A second study showed that 44% of diabetic adults felt judged by their health care provider for their weight and condition. In an earlier 2017 study of people with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, 81% of those who reported stigmatization indicated they felt perceived as having a character flaw, or that having diabetes was a “failure of personal responsibility.”
Yet medical researchers have debunked factors like individual choice, body fat, or ethnic biology as the driving forces behind diabetes. Instead, the disease is one of many health conditions that expose existing racial and class-related health disparities. The impacts of social inequities, including conditions created by systemic racism and poverty—like access to quality, affordable health care, nutritious foods, and a clean environment—as well as other factors like family history, have been shown to heavily influence diabetes rates.
These inequities continue to also impact the treatment of those who have already been diagnosed with diabetes. The price of insulin in the U.S. has exploded by more than 600% over the past two decades, far surpassing inflation rates. Reports have accused pharmaceutical companies of taking advantage of the fact that insulin is a lifesaving drug for millions of people, knowing that it will likely be bought at any price.
The increasingly high cost of insulin disproportionately impacts low-income and uninsured populations, putting them at higher risk of dangerous complications and death. The Inflation Reduction Act capped copays on insulin for Medicare subscribers at $35, but set no limit for Medicaid, employerprovided, or individually purchased insurance coverage.
Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Bank, Northwell Health looked at racial disparities in the prevalence of and morbidity from diabetes in
The U.S. has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world, but the disease does not fall across the population evenly.
According to the CDC, Black and Hispanic populations experience much higher rates of diabetes than white populations; Asian populations have diabetes rates just above the U.S. average.
Native Americans also experience disproportionately high rates of diabetes, according to data from the Indian Health Service. As much as 14.5% of American Indian and Alaska Native populations suffered from diabetes in the 2018-19 year— the highest rates of diabetes of any racial or ethnic group.
Studies of racial disparities in diabetes rates have shown that a range of economic, social, and geographical factors linked to systemic racism impact diabetes prevalence. According to the American Journal of Public Health, poverty, high exposure to toxins, limited access to affordable nutritious foods, and inaccessible health care services are just a few of the risk factors that have been shown to elevate the risk of diabetes—risk factors that Black and other nonwhite Americans experience at disproportionate rates.
Despite the higher rates of the disease among non-white populations, these populations are not always accounted for in clinical trials for treatment.
A 2017 analysis of diabetes treatment testing revealed that, out of 19 individually tested drugs, only four were tested in Black, Latino, and Asian populations (the others were selectively tested among those populations, but not in each of them), even though these groups make up a large percentage of
those who suffer from diabetes in the U.S. Native Americans’ participation in clinical trials for diabetes treatment was not included in the analysis.County map showing Southern U.S., especially South Carolina, Mississippi, and Alabama have the highest prevalence of diabetes.
Northwell Health
Regional disparities
Diabetes rates are particularly high in the Southeast and Appalachian regions of the U.S., a cluster that the CDC dubbed the “diabetes belt” in 2015. Determined using county-level data, regions were included in the diabetes belt if at least 11% of residents were diagnosed with the disease. Overlapping heavily with the so-called “stroke belt,” the disparity in diabetes rates in this region mirrors specific population concentrations—a majority of Black Americans live in the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, according to Census data.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, many of the factors associated with greater diabetes prevalence are particularly concentrated in this region. Many of the counties with high diabetes rates are rural, where accessing health care is more difficult due to far distances between residents and providers, limited public transportation, and lack of affordability. In addition, many states in the region have not adopted expanded Medicaid access, which would cover more low-income individuals and offer an enhanced federal matching rate, making affordable health care even less accessible. Bar chart showing diabetes prevalence by territory compared to U.S. average of 10.7% in 2021. American Pacific territories show highest prevalence of diabetes. The Northern Mariana Islands had the highest rate of 23.4%.
Over the past several decades, Pacific island nations have experienced some of the highest rates of diabetes in the world,
“In his late teenage years, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and I noticed some periods of sadness and that stabilized quickly,” said Love. “Some of a person’s inner life, you really don’t know.”
His mother, however, wasn’t the only one who noticed.
and much higher rates than the continental U.S. But it has not always been this way: Studies have shown that colonization of the islands had a seismic impact on health outcomes, as well as economic and social well-being.
Before Japanese, Spanish, American, and German forces occupied the Pacific islands, Indigenous Pacific Islanders mostly ate native staple foods like taro, breadfruit, yam, and cassava. The arrival of colonizing powers meant the replacement of many of these foods with heavily processed foods and different types of starches, which caused a fundamental shift in general nutrition.
Adding to the influx of less nutritional foods into Pacific island nations was the intentional sale of nonnutritious (but affordable) food waste, like turkey tails, by the U.S. to the islands, enabling American industries to profit while causing enough health issues that American Samoa banned turkey tail imports in 2007. These profound changes to diet are thought to have helped catalyze a rapid increase in diabetes in a population that previously had very low rates of the disease. Column chart showing death rates from diabetes in the U.S. Native Americans and Black
people are most above the national average.
Northwell Health Disparities in mortality
In 2021, diabetes was the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S. Indigenous Americans, Alaska Natives, and Black Americans have disproportionately high diabetes death rates compared to the national average. Diabetes is not usually a deadly illness, so long as it is treated and monitored carefully. It can, however, develop into a fatal disease if it goes untreated, and can also result in complications like heart disease and a higher risk of stroke.
Studies have shown that diabetes mortality is influenced by the same risk factors that put Black and Indigenous Americans at higher risk for diabetes in the first place: segregation, poverty conditions created by systemic racism, and lack of access to affordable health care. For those without equitable access to affordable treatments and monitoring by doctors for potential complications, diabetes is more likely to become deadly. This story originally appeared on Northwell Health and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
World/Health News
Health care coverage for the over 15 million Californians currently on Medi-Cal will be up for renewal over the next year and Covered California wants to make sure everyone takes the right steps to stay insured.
It’s been nearly 10 years since Lee Thompson Young, who starred in the kids show “The Famous Jett Jackson” and had a recurring role on the popular television program “Rizzoli & Isles,” was found dead at the age of 29 from an apparent suicide.
In 2013, the young actor took his own life and died from a selfinflicted gunshot wound.
“Lee was more than just a brilliant young actor, he was a wonderful and gentle soul who will be truly missed,” said Young’s long-time manager Jonathan Baruch in a statement.
Lee’s mother, Velma Love, remembers her son well.
“He would just kind of seek out where ever he could get an audience,” Love said. “And he would perform – he would tell stories. He would do poetry. He would do speeches.”
It might have been a phase for any other child, but Young took his passion for performance into his own hands.
“The next thing he asked was if he could have some business cards made,” Love remembered.
“And I said ‘what will they say?’ And he said, ‘Lee Thompson Young, actor, poems, stories, and speeches.’ And I had the cards made and he would just hand them out to whomever, where ever, we’d go to church, at school, where ever.”
Born in Columbia, Young persuaded his mother to move to New York at the age of 12. There, he was quickly signed by a talent agent.
“I remember being in a meeting when I got the phone call about the Big Mac and I jumped up,” Love said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God! This is it! This is it!'”
Young would earn roles in prime time television shows, movies, and commercials. He would eventually land the starring role in ‘The Famous Jett Jackson,’ but there were some things he could not predict or control.
“He would sometimes call me and say he was feeling a little sad again,” Lewis said. “It was always a quick recovery and I, too, feel that he was always concerned about us. He was always protective of us.”
With medication and therapy, Young continued on his road to success and the roles got bigger. By the age of 29, he was …a regular on another popular television show, playing Detective Barry Frost on TNT’s ‘Rizzoli and Isles.’
In August 2013, something changed.
“After we knew that Lee was found dead in his apartment from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, we, of course, were stunned,” said Love. “I guess that’s the question that everyone would ask. And we really don’t know those answers and there’s really no way to know.”
After almost a year of silence, Young’s family is finally opening up about his life and tragic death. They’ve just launched the Lee Thompson Young Foundation to try to help remove the stigma surrounding mental illness.
“I do feel like having someone like Lee impacted by it and it
being in the news and that sort,” Lewis said, “It sort of kind of makes it okay. People know that Lee wasn’t the only one. And for them to see everything he accomplished in the 29 years, it’s more than some people accomplish their whole lives. He was able to do that with a mental illness and, yes, it ended tragically but, through that we’re inspired.”
Since then, Lewis and Thompson sister have formed the Lee Thompson Young Foundation to address the mental health needs of the community. You can find out more more by going to LTYfoundation.org
What’s The Difference Between Bipolar Disorder & Depression?
A man in a red sweater rubbing his temples with his fingers Both depression and bipolar disorder are serious illnesses that can impact your quality of life. While they have their similarities, its their differences that really matter when it comes to treating either one of them.
Depression is more than just feeling low. It’s a deep sadness or emptiness you can’t shake. You might feel hopeless, worthless, and restless. You might lose interest in things that you used to enjoy. Depression (also called major depressive
The eligibility of Californians enrolled in the state’s Medi-Cal program has not been reviewed since 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. In April, with the end of the federal continuous coverage requirement, MediCal resumed the renewal process for its more than 15 million members, and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), which oversees the Medi-Cal program, estimates between 2 and 3 million Californians will no longer be eligible for coverage. As this process continues into 2024, Covered California is here to help enroll eligible Californians transitioning out of Medi-Cal.
“Covered California is working closely with DHCS to help keep Californians who lose their Medi-Cal coverage enrolled in quality, affordable coverage and to support them every step of the way,” said Jessica Altman, executive director of Covered California. “While everyone’s renewal date is different, there are important steps that Medi-Cal members can take now to keep themselves and their families covered.”
Current Medi-Cal members should update their contact information if it has changed in the last three years by logging in to their online account through BenefitsCal.com or MyBenefitsCalWIN.org.
Members can also contact their local Medi-Cal office or visit KeepMedi-CalCoverage.org to learn how to get started.
While many Californians no longer eligible for MediCal will transition to other forms of health insurance, such as coverage offered through their job or a family member’s employer, others will be eligible for coverage through Covered California, and they may be eligible to receive financial help to lower the cost of their coverage.
Covered California offers quality health plans, all of which provide many of the same benefits and services as MediCal, including free preventive
care and screenings, doctor visits, prescriptions, hospital stays, behavioral health care, and more. Based on pre-pandemic trends, nearly half of the consumers who transition from Medi-Cal to Covered California will be able to get quality coverage at little to no cost. Covered California is the only place Californians can go to receive financial help to make their health coverage more affordable. Right now, 90 percent of Covered California’s 1.7 million enrollees receive financial help, with over a million consumers paying $10 or less per month for their health insurance.
“We know how much MediCal members value their health coverage, so we want to make sure they know what their options are if they no longer qualify for Medi-Cal,” said DHCS Director Michelle Baass. “Through Covered California, many will continue to have access to the comprehensive care they need and deserve.”
Covered California and DHCS have been working together to ensure that the process of transitioning to Covered California will be as simple as possible. Over the next 12 months, Covered California will reach out to eligible consumers through email, direct mail, and text messaging to let them know they can stay insured through Covered California. Covered California will automatically select a plan for the consumer that provides the most financial help. Consumers will need to confirm their plan selection for their new coverage and make their first payment, if required, or opt-out.
Eligible consumers will also be able to choose a different plan or be connected to someone who can help them at any point in the enrollment process.
Multilingual assistance, including in Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Punjabi and Hindi is available online, over the phone, or in-person from one of the more than 11,000 Covered California enrollment partners embedded in communities across the state and the help is always free and confidential.
“Keep an eye out for these messages and mailings to make sure you stay covered,” Altman said. “Your health depends on it.”
State/National News
Having finagled over several billion in TK-12 cuts and settled other bigger, non-education differences, the Legislature will vote this week on a $310 billion 2023-24 state budget. It will provide slightly less funding for schools and community colleges than last year, yet assures school districts will have a sizable increase in general operating money by fully funding a cost of living increase.
Funding for Proposition 98, the formula that sets the portion of the state general fund going to TK-12, community schools and some child care funding, will be $108.3 billion. That is $2.1 billion less than the Legislature adopted a year ago for the current year.
$250 million in one-time money to double funding for reading coaches and materials in the state’s poorest schools.
$20 million in professional development grants for bilingual teachers.
However, details on the nature of the rate increases remain unclear pending bargaining with the Child Care Providers United, a union that represents 40,000 home child-care providers across the state.
Fontana resident R. Dale Evans, Sr. Was installed as the 99th President of the California Nevada District Exchange Club.
R. Dale is the immediate past president of the Exchange Club of Fontana and Past President of the Exchange Club of Joliet, Illinois. Evans said " It is an honor to be serve as the 1st
African American President of the California Nevada Exchange Club. I look forward to supporting and promoting the District Clubs and building new Clubs in the Inland Empire and beyond. Interested in learning more go to rdaleevans2000@gmail.com
Suicide At 29...continued from page 7
disorder or MDD) often goes hand-in-hand with sleep problems, changes in appetite, and trouble concentrating. It can lead to suicidal thoughts or actions. People who suffer from depression might have some days that are better than others. But without proper treatment, their mood tends to remain low.
Bipolar disorder (sometimes called manic depression) is different. If you have it, you have extreme mood swings. You experience periods of depression (similar to MDD). But you also have periods of great highs.
A person suffering from major depression has experienced a period of at least two full, consecutive weeks of several of the following:
Depressed mood or anger
Significant changes in appetite
Changes in sleeping patterns
Decreased libido
Feelings of worthlessness or helplessness
Difficulty concentrating
Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities
In severe cases, thoughts of suicide
The individual with bipolar disorder may have several of the same symptoms as someone with depression for the same duration of time, but in addition, there is a period following the depressive episode where they may experience several of the following:
An elevated sense of self
Decreased need for sleep
Engage in impulsive behaviors
Distractibility
Rapid speech and thoughts
In addition to the above symptoms, I have had patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder describe the manic period as the Energizer bunny at fullthrottle, with no way to slow down. A person with bipolar disorder may not always or ever experience depressive episodes, but do experience periods of manic behaviors that may be present from several days to weeks. A qualified mental health professional can make an accurate diagnosis and recommend the most appropriate treatment depending on the individual.
If you have a friend who was just diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she will need your shoulder to lean on. She not only has to come to terms with therapy and any prescribed medication, but also a pendulum
The final deal also offers more immediate relief for struggling child care providers that Gov. Gavin Newsom had offered and help for parents of young children by capping the amount of their income they must pay for child care.
For higher education, the budget spares delays and cuts to construction and student housing projects by shifting costs to bonds, provides debt-free college to foster youth, and assures that the current $289 million for the middle-class scholarship program will continue through 2024-25.
But it is also $1.5 billion more than Newsom had proposed in January for 2023-24. The difference is in higher projected revenue from local property taxes going to the state for Prop. 98, enabling the Legislature to substantially reduce cuts in onetime funding that Newsom had suggested. Instead of reducing $1.8 billion from the $3.6 billion arts, music and instructional grant program, the cut will be only $200 million. Instead of cutting $2.5 billion from the $7.5 billion learning recovery block grant, the cut will be $1.6 billion.
$1 million to fund a screening instrument to identify students at risk for dyslexia and other reading difficulties. Starting in 2025-26, all districts and charter schools must implement screening.
Child care
California’s beleaguered child care sector will finally be getting a raise, in the form of up to $2.8 billion to boost subsidies to care for low-income children as well as a cap on family fees, under the new state budget agreement.
“We are still in wait-and-see mode because decisions are being made in union negotiations,” said Mary Ignatius, statewide organizer of Parent Voices, a California parent advocacy group. “If we come out with short-term stipends that won’t go to every provider or program that needs it to maintain the current workforce or attract new early educators, we’ll remain in crisis.”
Higher education
of moods swinging from anger and depression to confusion and sadness.
It’s possible that your friendship may never be the same again. The new and ongoing stress your friend may feel while battling bipolar disorder could change her behavior toward you. She may lash out at you randomly, or even distance herself at times.
You must keep in mind that it’s the mental illness talking, not your friend. She still loves and cares about you as much as she did before. Now, you must be supportive of her struggle.
Here are some ways to help your friend while maintaining a strong relationship through the fight against bipolar disorder:
1. Learn about the illness.
There are a lot of misconceptions about people suffering from bipolar disorder. Don’t believe everything you hear. Read up on bipolar disorder and learn as much as you can about the illness. This will lead to a better understanding of what your friend and the 5.7 million other U.S. adults are going through.
2. Learn the early warning signs of an episode.
The warning signs of a manic or depressive episode vary per person. Pay attention to your friend’s attitude and habits, such as eating and sleeping changes or excessive shopping. When you get to know the signs, you can warn your friend and her physician about the episode before it happens.
3. Positive influence.
It’s important that you help your friend make healthy choices. Instead of a bar, suggest cooking dinner or going to the movies. It may help, too, if you exercise with your friend or engage in healthy eating together. Make your activities a collaborative effort instead of something your friend has to suffer alone.
4. Attend treatments.
Let your friend know that she isn’t alone in her struggle by going to doctor visits with her. That way, you can also alert the physician of any habits or concerns that your friend may not recognize as a problem. You’ll also benefit directly from the visits, too, as you’ll learn more about the illness and how you can better help your friend.
The new state budget, which takes effect July 1, marks a retrenchment from three years of record education funding supplemented by tens of billions in one-time federal and state Covid relief, which together set in motion ambitious new programs. These include $4.4 billion for community schools and $4 billion for after-school and summer programs for low-income children through the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program.
Funding for all of those Newsom priorities remains intact in the new budget, as does an 8.2% cost of living for the Local Control Funding Formula, special education and other ongoing programs — the top priority of school districts and charter schools.
The COLA will raise the funding formula, which is the primary source of funding for general expenses and additional money for high-needs students, by 4.5% to $79 billion. The additional funding takes into account a projected 3.16% decline statewide in average daily attendance, including fewer students than projected enrolling in traditional kindergarten.
Other additional spending items in the education budget include:
$300 million in ongoing money for the funding formula to create what Newsom is calling the “equity multiplier” program; it will require several hundred of the state’s highest poverty schools to create individual learning plans for the lowest performing racial and ethnic student groups, students with disabilities and English learners in those schools.
By Dr. Amit Arwindekar, Medical Director, UnitedHealthcare Global lifestyle may have positive impacts on your mental wellbeing too.
Summer is a great time to focus on fitness, especially for men. While for some men their health may be a secondary concern, the summer months offer an opportune time to help raise awareness of the health challenges men face and encourage them to take action to improve their well-being.
For instance, compared to women, men may experience some health conditions at higher rates, including heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. By highlighting this fact and encouraging men to take an active role in their well-being, it may be possible to help address these health issues earlier and avoid complications that may diminish quality of life.
Here are three tips men can consider that may help improve their well-being this summer and throughout the year. Stay active and enjoy the summer weather. Getting active may be a great way to prioritize your physical health and mental well-being, and you may have fun while doing it. Federal guidelines recommend men ages 18 to 64 get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, 75 minutes of vigorous activity or a combination of both per week, along with strength training. For men 65 and over, it’s good to add in balance activities that may help reduce the risk of falls. To help make physical activity as fun as possible this summer, consider golfing, kayaking, tennis, swimming or hiking to get moving and spend time with family and friends. Along with the physical benefits, an active
Know when to take it easy. Taking time to destress may be a beneficial part of any healthy lifestyle, whether it’s a backyard barbecue, a staycation or working on a hobby. Taking time to rest and recover may support physical and mental well-being. Importantly, research shows that men may be less likely to get care for mental health concerns, so it’s important to look for signs that you or someone you love may need support. Potential indicators of depression may include irritable or angry moods, unexplained aches and pains, selfcriticism and bad or dangerous behavior. Additionally, some men may be more inclined to push themselves during physical activities. Whether you’re engaging in a friendly pickleball match or training for an upcoming endurance race, like a 10K, listen to your body and take it slow if you need to.
Don’t forget about preventive care. In a recent survey, 50% of men said annual wellness visits are part of their regular care routine. In fact, men across all ages may be less likely to engage with a primary care physician compared to women, with this gap most pronounced among men in their 20s and 30s. Preventive care is an important addition to any wellness routine, even if you feel healthy, and may help detect potential health issues earlier. Men should be on the lookout for a variety of health
“This budget is a great victory for child care,” said Scott Moore, head of Kidango, a nonprofit organization that runs many Bay Area child care centers, “The huge reduction in child care copay fees is a giant win for lowincome families.”
Early childhood advocates are calling this much-needed progress toward helping child care providers, many of whom subsist on survival wages. Family fees will be capped at 1% of family income.
“Subsidized child care providers should get a big bump in pay from this budget deal,” said Moore. “It is a giant step in the right direction.”
There is also a provision to develop an alternative rate model because current rates are outdated, many experts say, pegged to 2016 costs. This has put great financial pressure on child care providers, a sector already strained by the pandemic.
California currently pays some child care providers as little as a quarter of what the service costs, research suggests.
The agreement approves 5% base funding increases for both university systems — $215.5 million in ongoing general fund support to the University of California and $227.3 million to California State University. Both increases come with a stipulation that each system increases its enrollment targets. UC would be expected to add 7,800 full-time students this fall. CSU would be expected to add 4,057 more full-time students this fall and increase enrollment by 9,866 students in 2024 and 10,161 students in 2025.
The budget agreement remains the same as the May revision for community college funding. The 116 campus system’s base funding is tied to Proposition 98, which determines the portion of the state’s general fund that goes to education.
The agreement also includes the shift in funding Newsom proposed for several projects, including student housing, to use community college-, UC- and CSU-issued bonds. The state would cover the debt payment for those bonds.
Three Tips to Help Men Make Health a Priority This Summer
issues that tend to increase in frequency as they age, including kidney stones, gout and certain cancers. If getting to the doctor is a challenge due to a packed schedule or other issues, consider a virtual visit, which may be a good option for both primary and urgent care. Virtual visits can help manage chronic conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes
as well as common acute issues such as fever or rash, making it possible to get medical support from the comfort of home or on the go. As we celebrate summer and the important role men play in our families and our communities, considering these tips may be a good way for men of all ages to make health a priority this year.
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really horrific from my point of view,” Bass said. “With my medical background, I looked at those tapes unedited, and I saw two people in serious crisis.”
Bass also described assurances she received from Los Angeles Police Chief Michael Moore. She said, “Part of my agreement in supporting him was that we identified a group of objectives of what I want to see done. I am insisting that every officer be trained in mental health to spot crises.”
“The Commitment I made to the chief was to work to increase the funding for mental health, social workers, so that they can go out and be part of these assessments, because I believe if those officers had been
accompanied by a mental health professional that it may not have escalated the way it did.”
A June 23 statement from Mayor Bass’ office to CBM stated, “The Mayor’s approved budget has money to continue funding the SMART teams. The primary challenge isn’t lack of funding for these positions but a shortage of licensed clinicians who work alongside the officers to respond to people experiencing mental health crises. The Mayor's Office is working with our partners at LAPD and LA County Department of Mental Health to pursue strategies to hire additional licensed clinicians.”
The LA City Attorney declined to comment for this article, citing pending litigation.