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 of whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
New California Law Stiffens Penalties for Trafficking Children for Sex
Antonio Ray Harvey| California BlackMedia
Senate Bill (SB) 14 --legislation that makes trafficking of a minor for purposes of a commercial sex act a serious felony -- is now the law in California.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill on Sept. 25 accompanied by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, State Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), who authored the bill, State Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Merced), as well as survivors and advocates.
SB 14 classifies human trafficking a serious felony, subjecting it to the state’s “Three Strikes” law, which imposes harsher penalties and sentencing enhancements for individuals convicted of the offense.
“Human trafficking is a sick crime. With this new law, California is going further to protect kids. I’m grateful for the leadership of Senator Grove, Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), and Pro Tem (Sen. Toni) Atkins (D-San Diego) in spearheading this bipartisan effort to make our communities and children safer,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom at the signing ceremony. According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency, “Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked worldwide.”
Advocates of SB 14 believe it will be a deterrent for the men and women who exploit children using the internet or force them into labor in redlight districts in major California cities such as the 5.7-mile stretch on Figueroa Boulevard in Los Angeles, Capp Street in San Francisco, International Way in Oakland, Stockton Boulevard in Sacramento, Dalbergia Street in San Diego, and Wilson Way in Stockton.
“We got some stats and numbers from Figueroa from people that work in that area to rescue women and children,”
Grove said at the State Capitol on Sept. 13. “They made comments that this bill disproportionately affects people of color…and it does. (SB 14) gives women and children an opportunity to be rescued and the perpetrator to be prisoned for many years.
The United States operates a national hotline, which serves as a platform for individuals to report suspected trafficking or seek assistance. According to data gathered from the hotline in 2015 through 2021, the number of people trafficking victims nationwide rose from 12,000 in 2015 to more than 22,200 in 2019 and then fell to 16,700 in 2021.
Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), reports that from 2015 to 2021, the share of human trafficking cases involving sex trafficking increased from 87% to 89% in California, and from 85% to 88% nationally.
Statewide and nationally, sex trafficking is most common in pornography, massage parlors, and hotels. Among those trafficked for their labor, about one in five works in private homes, according to PPIC’s data.
SB 14 was hotly debated as it made its way through the legislative process this past summer. Some members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), including
Assemblymember Reggie JonesSawyer (D-Los Angeles), chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee were the targets of threats and racial slurs for not initially supporting the bill.
Jones-Sawyer and other CLBC members on the Public Safety Committee -- Majority Leader Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights) and Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Alameda) – argued that that trafficking was already a crime under California law punishable by 15 years to life in prison. They argued that SB 14 was ineffective as a deterrent to the crime, and that it would perpetuate the poverty-to-prison pipeline.
Jones-Sawyer, who later voted to pass SB 14, said he was never against the bill, only parts of its language, which he deemed unacceptable because he felt it would cause more harm to trafficking victims rather than aid them.
A conviction under SB 14, including previous felonies, would increase prison sentences to 25 years to life. The trafficking of minors currently carries a prison term up to 12 years, or 15 years to life.
“We definitely thought there were a lot of merits to the bill, including how do we make sure these individuals are charged
with serious felonies? We wanted to make sure that actually happens,” Jones-Sawyer told California Black Media. “It’s really about making sure that this doesn’t harm victims of human trafficking.”
SB 14, which passed the Assembly and Senate unanimously, is a bipartisan measure co-authored by 64 members of the Legislature. The legislation is supported by over a hundred local, national and international organizations, including a coalition of human trafficking survivors and advocates.
Since 2019, California has taken a comprehensive approach to fight human trafficking. The state has invested a total of $280.1 million to dismantle trafficking networks and support victims and survivors, according to the Newsom administration.
The state has provided substantial funding to expand support programs for human trafficking survivors and Family Justice Centers — creating a one-stop facility for victims and their families to access various services — and allocated $25 million for the prevention, intervention, and services for minor victims of commercial sexual exploitation.
Newsom has signed several laws aimed at strengthening legal safeguards for victims of trafficking, including measures for vacating convictions and for considering trauma in determining sentences.
“The trafficking of young women and girls is a heinous crime with far too many victims,” Siebel-Newsom stated. “I’ve seen the pain survivors carry for a lifetime and having recently visited the infamous Figueroa sex trafficking corridor, I’ve witnessed the devastating impacts of these crimes — not just on girls and young women — but on entire communities when trafficking persists.”
Gov. Newsom Names Black Woman, Laphonza Butler, to Succeed Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media
first Black lesbian to openly serve in the U.S. Congress. She will join 47 other Democrats and three independents who caucus with the Democrats in the Senate for the remainder of Feinstein’s term, which ends in December 2024.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced that his choice to succeed U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who passed away on Sept. 29, is Laphonza Butler, a labor leader and the president of EMILY’s List – the country’s most extensive resource for women in politics.
“As we mourn the enormous loss of Senator Feinstein, the very freedoms she fought for — reproductive freedom, equal protection, and safety from gun violence — have never been
under greater assault. Laphonza will carry the baton left by Senator Feinstein, continue to break glass ceilings, and fight for all Californians in Washington D.C.,” said Newsom in a statement released Oct. 1.
Butler will make history as California’s first openly LGBTQ+ U.S Senator and the
“An advocate for women and girls, a second-generation fighter for working people, and a trusted adviser to Vice President Harris, Laphonza Butler represents the best of California, and she’ll represent us proudly in the United States Senate,” Newsom stated.
Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), says he is proud of Newsom’s choice.
“As a proud member of @CABlackCaucus and
Assemblymember for #AD65, I am extremely proud that @ GavinNewsom stood by his commitment as he always has,” Gipson wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “And I appreciate him for standing by his word and providing a great successor amidst the passing of the honorable Senator Feinstein,”
“I am always excited when a Black Woman is elevated. Laphonza Butler will represent California well and will bring a perspective to the US Senate that is desperately needed as a Black, LGBTQ+, mother, organizer, and labor leader,” said Kellie Todd Griffin, founding convener of the California Black Women's Collective.
to Succeed Sen. Dianne Feinstein...continued
Gov. Newsom Names Black Woman, Laphonza Butler,
“My goal is to lift up the voices and needs of Black Women throughout state,” continued Todd Griffin. “That's what we did three years ago when we created Keep the Seat and what we did in this case. We will keep pushing for what we believe is right regardless of the outcomes.”
Butler, recognized as a Democratic Strategist and a labor leader, served for seven years as President of SEIU United Long Term Care Workers (ULTCW). The union she led represents over 325,000 nursing home and home-care workers across California. Newsom, who has the constitutional responsibility to appoint a replacement, promised he would select a Black woman if Feinstein chose to step down before her term ended in 2024. He made that statement in 2021 after he chose Alex Padilla to fill the vacancy left by Sen. Kamala Harris when she resigned to become vice president. Black women groups had been urging him to appoint a Black woman to succeed Harris.
Until Butler is seated, the U.S. Senate has no Black women members even though Black women are the most influential – and most loyal – voting group within the Democratic party. More than 90 % of Black women voted for Joe Biden in the last presidential election.
Before Newsom’s announcement that he had been chosen her to succeed Feinstein, Butler expressed her condolences on X. She wrote, “I'm saddened to hear of the passing of Sen.@ DianneFeinstein. Not only was she a titan in the Senate, but a legendary figure for women in politics and around the country. Her legacy and achievements will not be forgotten. My prayers are with her family. She will be deeply missed.”
Since Feinstein’s passing was
announced, pressure had been mounting on Newsom to quickly appoint an interim Senator in her place. Three well known candidates running to succeed her in the 2024 election are Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12), Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-CA-28) and Rep. Katie Porter (D – CA-45). Lee, the only Black woman contending for Feinstein’s seat, congratulated Butler in a post on X.
“I wish Laphonza well and look forward to working closely with her to deliver for the people of the Golden State,” she wrote.
On Oct.1, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) wrote a letter to Newsom urging him to appoint Lee.
“She is the only person with the courage, the vision, and the record to eradicate poverty, face down the fossil fuel industry, defend our democracy, and tirelessly advance the progressive agenda,” CBC Chairman Steven Horsford (D-Nevada), stated in the letter to Newsom. “For these reasons, we strongly urge you to appoint Congresswoman Barbara Lee to the United States Senate.”
Newsom had expressed that his appointee would not participate in the 2024 election out of respect for the candidates already running. However, this stance has changed. Now the decision to run in the 2024 election lies with Butler. The deadline for candidates to file for the office is Dec. 8.
Butler, a native of Magnolia, Mississippi, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Jackson State University, an HBCU located in Mississippi.
“I'm honored to accept Gov. @GavinNewsom's nomination to be U.S. Senator for a state I have made my home and honored by his trust in me to serve the people of California and this great nation,”, Butler posted on X.
Submission Deadline MONDAYS by 5 pm
Press Releases can be emailed to: mary@sb-american.com
IMPORTANCE OF THE BLACK
PRESS
It allows black community leaders to disseminate information of the black community
It advocates emancipation and contributes to rebuilding Black communities.
It unites local, regional and national audiences which helps to foster a sense of community and shared interests among African Americans living in different areas of the country.
LACK OF SUPPORT FROM AD AGENCIES
This last week, 32ad agencies created 101 new media plans with a total budget of over $38,000,000.00.
How much of the budget was received by the majority of the Black Press? $0
How can this lack of support be reversed? ADVERTISE WITH THE BLACK PRESS
Advertising can be ‘tricky’ if you do not receive sufficient advertising, it be difficult to increase distribution or pay the cost for certifications or audits or pay for the cost of distribution and salaries.
The end result.....Black Businesses in the Black Community are in jeopardy!
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Helps Protect Coachella Valley Farm Workers and Supports Communities Through Secured Donation
COACHELLA VALLEY—In
response to the record-breaking heatwaves and the alarming rise in heat-related illnesses, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has stepped up to help the United Farm Workers Foundation and Coachella Valley farm working communities by receiving support for 200 double-wall vacuum insulated thermal flasks. These flasks, designed to keep liquids ice cold for up to 24 hours while preventing bottle sweat, will be instrumental in safeguarding the health and well-being of farm workers facing scorching temperatures that regularly exceed 100–110 degrees Fahrenheit.
“What affects our most vulnerable community members directly affects their children— our students—as they struggle to make a living by working in this extreme heat,” Thurmond said. “Farm working communities and the work that they do is vital to our food chain, economy, and children’s well-being.”
Heat-related illnesses are one of the leading weather-related causes of death in the United States. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data and United Farm Workers Foundation data, between 1992 and 2023, heat stress injuries claimed the
lives of over 1,000 US workers and seriously injured more than 100,000. In California, emergency room visits due to heat-related issues increased by 35% from 2005 to 2015, with a disproportionate impact on Black, Latino, and Asian American communities. Riverside County, encompassing Coachella, Indio, and Palm Springs, has some of the highest rates of heat-related ER visits in the state.
Farm and construction workers are especially vulnerable to heat stress injuries, but workers across various industries, including warehouse employees, face risks as well. With temperatures steadily rising year after year, the threat of heat stress–related deaths and injuries is expected only to grow if not addressed urgently.
The thermal flasks secured by State Superintendent Thurmond is an important first step in mitigating these risks. Each flask will include essential heat stress awareness and prevention information to educate farm workers to protect themselves during extreme heat conditions.
United Farm Workers Foundation representatives will coordinate grassroots outreach efforts, aligning with their ongoing heat stress awareness campaign, to
continued in next 2 columns
Students Wear Shirts Spelling N-Word While Standing Behind Mixed-Race Girl
By The Black Press USAState Superintendent Tony Thurmond Helps Protect Coachella Valley Farm Workers and Supports Communities Through Secured Donation...continued ensure that life-saving resources reach those who need them the most.
In addition to heatwaves, Coachella Valley and the surrounding region was faced with high wind and heavy rain earlier this year triggered by Tropical Storm Hilary, resulting in serious flooding and damage. The natural disaster, which led Governor Gavin Newsom to issue a state of emergency for much of Southern California, caused widespread displacement and distress among residents and left numerous homes and communities devastated.
Donations for Coachella Valley Unified School District and other future disaster victims can be made on the SupplyBank. org Disaster Relief Fund web
How is California Beating the Heat?...continued
A photo of Idaho high school students spelling out a racial slur on their shirts while standing behind a mixed-race girl has sparked outrage amongst parents and the community. East Idaho News said the picture was snapped at Salmon High School and uploaded to one of the student’s Instagram accounts. The now-deleted photo shows the mixed-race girl lying on the ground while six other kids stood above her, all of them flipping off the camera. Each one of the standing students’ shirts displays a letter, which put together spells out the N-word.
Dr. Troy Easterday, Superintendent for Salmon School District 291, confirmed in a statement sent to East Idaho News that “disciplinary action” has been taken against the students involved. He also addressed the controversy in a video posted to the Salmon Savages Facebook page Tuesday morning (September 26).
“I am well aware of the current situation happening within a social media post by our Salmon School District students,” Easterday in the video. “At this time, our administrative team at the Salmon School District is investigating this post and
will keep the community aware within the legal confounds of the law.”
Many parents expressed their shock and anger over the racist photo, including one parent who called the students’ antics a “hate crime.”
“The post is disgusting and a hate crime. I’m ashamed and embarrassed. My husband is one of two, maybe three AfricanAmericans in this town,” the anonymous parent told reporters. “I’m afraid if I said too much it would affect my job or my small business.”
Another mother said she’s thinking about pulling her kids from the school over the highprofile incident.
“The reason why there’s hate in this community is because no one does anything about it. Period,” she said. “These kids are old enough to know right from wrong. Parents, do better. But you can’t blame the parents for this, because some of them are 18. They’re adults. It’s disturbing.”
The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app to
in
page. SupplyBank.org, a nonprofit organization, is joining with the California Department of Education (CDE) in collecting financial donations to build up a reserve and then direct funds and resources to areas that need it the most. The CDE will also be coordinating workshops to provide educational resources and needed services to the Coachella Valley farm working community.
The CDE offers a variety of wraparound services for farm working families, including the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) and the High School Equivalency Program (HEP). More information about these services can be found on the CDE Migrant Education Resources page.
Temple Missionary Baptist Church invites the public to a FREE Seniors and Caregivers Workshop
Community/Education News
Temple M.B. Church invites the public to our FREE Seniors and Caregivers Workshop. The topics will include: Senior Rights, Insurance, Veteran’s Benefits, Care Giving Resources, and more! The workshop date
is Saturday October 21, 2023, 9:00am-12:00pm. Temple's address: 1583 W. Union Street San Bernardino, CA 92411. Phone number: (909) 888-2038. Dr. Raymond W. Turner, Senior Pastor.
Book Club HQ 2-year Anniversary Honoring Black Liberation Spaces
Community/Education News
Los Angeles, October 14th – Book Club Headquarters, home of the Noname Book Club and The Radical Hood Library will celebrate two years in the community. In those two years, the space has held all FREE community events and educational workshops such as open mic nights, birthwork training, harm reduction and narcan use, film screenings, the national Noname Book Club
meetings and much more. This Black-led cooperative places prison abolition and Black liberation into all parts of the events, as well as community building.
The 2-year Anniversary party will include free food, DJs, activities and giveaways. Please help Book Club HQ keep events public and free by signing up for our Patreon at www.patreon. com/nonamebooks
How is California Beating the Heat?
By Selen Ozturk Sep 29, 2023At a Sept. 26 EMS briefing, state and community organizations shared how they were adapting to extreme heat on the community level.
Describing the unequal impacts of climate chaos on the most vulnerable populations, said Park. “Even within one city, the heat burden is not shared equally.
Low-income neighborhoods with higher Black, Hispanic and Asian populations experience significantly more urban heat than wealthier and predominantly white neighborhoods, because poor and minority groups live in areas with more buildings, concrete, density, less vegetation, less trees, less heat-absorbing surfaces.”
This burden falls uniquely on the homeless, of which there are 2,319 in San Joaquin County –1,355 unsheltered – as of 2022.
As many unhoused people don’t want to leave their tents and belongings to go to a cooling center, Park said, county public health staff have been approaching them to provide frozen water bottles, mobile shower units, and information about safe food storage, recognizing the signs of heatrelated illness, and tips for cooling down.
For migrant farm workers, another uniquely vulnerable population, Park said the main challenge her staff faces — and is surmounting — is getting “heat materials and education translated into their indigenous languages.”
Community outreach
Multilingual messaging is key to communitywide heat outreach, said Dr. Inés Ruiz-Huston, Vice President of Special Programs & Civic Engagement at Stocktonbased community organization El Concilio.
Both online social media and in-person door-to-door outreach have been key to reaching those “who go to work very early in the morning, who may miss that morning news about how hot it’s going to be and how they can stay safe,” she added.
“Boots on the ground is the most effective method,” said Ruiz-Huston. “Families are afraid to run air conditioners due to the cost of electricity, or fear of power outages,” she said. El Concilio focuses its multilingual messaging on available cooling centers and transportation to those sites.
Also critical is who is reached, Ruiz-Huston emphasized. When it comes to keeping a community safe: “Flyers aren’t enough. What is? Find the talkers representing your neighborhood. The person that knows everything about the community is their first to tell
everybody in it what’s going on.”
Success stories
Sharing success stories of community heat help, Patrizia Hironimus, Executive Director of the Butte Environmental Council, noted the large populations of both wildfire survivors and environmentally active college students in Butte County. Home weatherization and extreme heat awareness workshops — where students and other community members learn to use household materials like cardboard to deflect heat and bounce light from windows — have been a particularly effective way to promote heat resilience, she said.
The best way to reach wildfire survivors displaced from resilience resources like air conditioning has been through resources they do use, Hironimus added, like food pantries and farmer’s markets.
The worse the heat is, however, the harder it makes effective outreach. “If the temperature at a market is 105, the pavement will be past 110, and we can’t table outside. We can’t tell people about the warning signs of extreme heat in the extreme heat because it’s a cognitive dissidence, if we’re saying ‘Don’t be out here.’”
Disabled and older adults
Susan Henderson, Executive Director of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, said disabled and elderly people are a prevalent heat-vulnerable population.
Up to one in four people in the U.S. have a disability. “A large portion of that number are older people, as pretty much all of us age into disability,” she said.
Access to safe and airconditioned housing is key to protecting disabled and older adults from extreme heat impacts, Henderson continued, as is transportation to resources like cooling centers and hospitals, and backup electricity in the event of outages.
Even when heat help is available, however, “disabled people and older adults on fixed incomes often have to bear the cost for it, and choose between electricity and other basic needs.” Key to overcoming this are accessibility audits of community heat resources, she said. “To make accommodations, ask the disabled person what they need, and how.”
Consumers Deserve to Have Choices in the Grocery Store: Lawmakers Should Reverse Course on Misguided SNAP Restrictions
By John BurnettThough summer is ending in California, extreme heat is still worsening long-term. At a Sept. 26 EMS briefing, state and community organizations shared how they were adapting on the community level.
Climate change is climate chaos
Braden Kay, Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program Manager of the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, opened the briefing with an overview of these efforts statewide, which are highlighted at heatreadyca.com.
Although the state was largely spared from record-shattering worldwide heat, he stressed that “the impacts of heat, including heat-related deaths and illnesses, don’t just happen on headlinecatching days; we’re even starting to see them in the winter.
Kay said that as heatwaves intensify, to protect Californians — especially those most vulnerable to the heat like
children, older adults, people with disabilities, outdoor workers, and those who are unhoused — “we need to talk about and prepare for heat not just in deep summer, but also from spring into the fall, or ‘second summer.’”
One key challenge with climate change, “is that it’s not just change, it’s chaos,” he added. “Often, folks say ‘You said it was gonna be hot, but it was less hot this summer.’ It’s not a linear path that every summer is going to be hotter; the weather is going to be more unpredictable.”
Unequal heat burdens
As the weather grows more unpredictable, so do its impacts, said Dr. Maggie Park, San Joaquin County Public Health Officer.
The county numbers about 750,000 people. While 88% of the land is rural, Park said, “only 8% of our population live in those rural areas.”
in next 2 columns
John BurnettAmidst Congress' best efforts to keep the government open, it’s also hard at work to re-authorize affordable food, farmers are able to insure their crops, and ranchers can export their products to foreign markets. It’s not an understatement to say it’s one of the most important bills Congress can send to the president’s desk, which is why it is so important to get it right.
Yet, some in Congress think getting it “right” means restricting certain consumers' food items as “wrong” to buy. According to a recently introduced proposal, Americans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would be prohibited from purchasing
snacks, fruit juice, and soda –including beverages that are low calorie or zero sugar – with their benefits. It’s the equivalent of putting the federal government in between consumers and the products they enjoy.
Bottom line: consumers deserve to have choices in the grocery store. SNAP recipients are Americans in need and are fully capable of making their own food choices, and limiting their options also stigmatizes them as incapable of responsible decision-making. This approach undermines the dignity and selfrespect of SNAP participants, and it puts the government in the position of choosing what people can serve their families. This is a slippery slope that would open the door to a government goodfood or bad-food list that could apply to other everyday items on the grocery list.
Nevertheless, lawmakers like Marco Rubio and others may be seeking to jam this misguided idea into the farm bill. The legislative process is hard
NAREB Launches 60-City Building Black Wealth Tour With 10/7 Event In Houston To Bring Critical Information To Communities
your city and learn what you need to purchase a home. We are helping Black families overcome the biased public policies and private practices that created the vast wealth gap in America today.”
Amtrak San Joaquins to run special discounted trains to Allensworth State Historic Park for 2023 Rededication, October 14
Trains will bring visitors to celebrate site unique to California’s African American history
NAREB Launches 60-City Building Black Wealth Tour
With 10/7 Event In Houston To Bring Critical Information To Communities...continued
not just owning a home. We're owning a part of the future,” Van Jones, author and political commentator, said at the rally.
WASHINGTON – The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) holds its initial Building Black Wealth Tour event in Houston on Saturday, October 7, kicking off activities in more than 60 cities nationwide. The events, which include festive activities for youths, will empower Black communities with steps towards homeownership, property investment, starting a business, and other wealth-building opportunities.
Working with the African American Mayors Association and the National Bar Association, NAREB will sponsor the events in cities nationwide over the next two years. Each event will include classes, workshops, and one-on-one counseling on homebuying, investing, credit, and careers in real estate. The tour will include Birmingham (11/11/23), Charlotte (3/2/24), Mt. Vernon (4/13/24), Little Rock 6/8/24), New Orleans (8/3/24), Atlanta (11/9/24), Miramar (3/25), Beverly Hills, MO (6/25) and Los Angeles (8/25).
“The time for action on Black Wealth is now,” exclaimed NAREB President Dr. Courtney Johnson Rose. “NAREB is urging our Black communities to take the journey towards wealth. Come to our events in
Dr. Rose noted that the Federal Reserve says, on average, Black families own about 24 cents for every $1 of White family wealth. Homeownership, a critical component of Black wealth, declined for Blacks every quarter since the pandemic, leaving Blacks with the lowest percentage of homeowners in America.
Despite the contributions of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, 55 years later, the racial homeownership gap has widened. In 1960, 38% of Blacks owned homes, while White homeownership was 65%, a 27-point gap. Today, the gap is nearly 30%, the most extensive spread since 1890.
Yet, the NAREB State of Housing in Black America (SHIBA) report says there are more than two million mortgageready Black Americans. These families and individuals have the credit and income to qualify for a home mortgage. The NAREB Building Black Wealth Tour will go to communities nationwide, find these families and individuals, educate them, and inspire them to build wealth.
“Systematic racism has plagued our communities and impeded our ability to gain wealth,” Dr. Rose said. “but we can overcome these challenges by working together.”
NAREB hosted a Building Black Wealth Tour rally at the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Caucus last month. “When talking about owning a home and fighting for Black homeownership, you're
New Survey Shows that California’s Water Reality is Important to Black Businesses
84% of those surveyed expressed interest in hearing and doing more to conserve
SACRAMENTO, CA — California’s Save Our Water Campaign today announced the results of its survey of 35 Black chambers of commerce and Black-owned business leaders.
The survey was the first step in a statewide effort to listen to leaders in the community, understand the best ways they can conserve water, and motivate others to do the same.
The survey assessed general knowledge and interest by Black business leaders about water conservation and sought to learn how the campaign could best support their efforts to conserve.
Save Our Water’s goal is to make water conservation a way of life for all Californians, which includes the state’s business community.
“We are excited to share the results of the survey, which helped us to better understand how to engage Black-owned businesses and business leaders as part of Save Our Water’s statewide effort,” said Ashley Williams, Press Secretary for Save Our Water.
The results show clear evidence that Black business leaders are eager to play a role in disseminating information to their networks and communities about water conservation.
“I was not aware of watersaving measures for small businesses or rebates offered to assist us,” said Madame M. C. Townsend, President of the Regional CAL Black Chamber of Commerce San Fernando Valley. “I am excited to partner with Save Our Water to educate
(Stockton, CA) – Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park is holding a celebratory “rededication” event on Saturday, October 14 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. In partnership, Amtrak San Joaquins has scheduled a special stop at the park for multiple trains, bookable at a 50 percent discount rate to bring travelers to the historically significant Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park.
The town of Allensworth was established in 1908 by Colonel Allen Allensworth and at one point was home to more than 300 families. The park is a California state treasure because it was the first town in California to be founded, financed, and governed by African Americans. Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park became a historical landmark in 1974.
The re-dedication is one of four major annual events hosted by Friends of Allensworth (FOA), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose mission is to support, promote, and advance the educational and interpretive activities at colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. According to FOA, the re-dedication is “presented to renew the commitment of the citizens of California to help the Department of Parks and Recreation preserve the history of the ethnically diverse contributions made in the development of the state of California and our nation.”
The festival will feature historical re-enactments, storytelling, square dancing, food vendors, crafts, and more.
"We are thrilled to partner once again with Amtrak San Joaquins to reconnect Californians with the historic town of Allensworth," stated FOA President, Sasha Biscoe. "As a cornerstone of California's rich history, Allensworth deserves to be experienced by all. Amtrak San Joaquins continues to provide a convenient, cost-effective,
and enjoyable journey to this significant location. Mark your calendars for October 14th to partake in a day of historical immersion, as we recommit to preserving this invaluable site, all while traveling in the comfort and style that only Amtrak San Joaquins can offer."
The southbound trains that will be running for the event include trains 702, 710, 712, and 714. Northbound trains include trains 713, 715, 717, and 719. When purchasing train tickets, a 50 percent discount will automatically be applied to the ticket purchase. Riders can save an additional 50 percent on up to five companion tickets by using the Friends and Family Discount code (V302). Additional discount programs regularly available to riders includes:
Infants under 2 years of age ride for free
Children 2-12 years old ride half-price every day
Seniors (62+ years of age) receive 15% off Veterans & active military members receive 15% off Disabled riders save 10% off
Visitors attending the rededication will be able to take Amtrak San Joaquins trains to the Allensworth station. From there, riders will be met by a free shuttle for the short ride to the main property. The Allensworth station is normally a whistle stop on the San Joaquins available to be booked by groups desiring to visit the park.
Train tickets to Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park can be booked online at amtraksanjoaquins.com. For more information on how to book a group trip to Allensworth, please contact Carmen Setness, community outreach coordinator for San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (SJRRC), at Carmen@sjjpa.com.
“We need to own the future in this totality. We need to stabilize our communities, own our communities, bring proper education for the 21st century to our community so that our kids are not just downloading apps that somebody else made and moving their thumbs around on somebody else's app.”
NAREB signed agreements with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity at the event to support the tour.
“We're excited to launch this new partnership, which furthers our Financial Fortitude initiative and elevates the work we do to empower our communities through economic development,” said Delta National President Elsie Cooke Holmes. Also speaking was Dr. Joseph Lonzer, General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; Mayor Shawn Howard Patterson,
President of the African American Mayors Association; Phyllis Dickerson, Chief Executive Officer of the African American Mayors Association; Dr. Meghan Venable-Thomas, Director of Birmingham Community Development; Bobby Henry, Board Chair, National Newspaper Publishers Association; and Dominque Calhoun, President of the National Bar Association.
“The Black community has lacked the resources of other communities, and our goal is to end disparities and help Black communities thrive,” Dr. Rose said. “The Building Black Wealth Tour will provide critical data, information, and advice to community members. We will ensure that community members know about homeownership opportunities, heirs and estate property, and real estate investing. And cutting-edge tools that can help them take the next step.”
Consumers Deserve to Have Choices in the Grocery Store:
the Black business community about doing our part to conserve water.”
While the majority (84%) expressed interest in learning more about water conservation techniques, many businesses were not aware of water-saving measures for small businesses (32%) or were not aware of rebates offered by their local water agency (44%). As such, nearly all (92%) mentioned not yet having accessed rebates at their place of business to help conserve water.
"California for all means hearing and learning from the many groups who contribute to our state's vitality and economic strength, including Black businesses. This survey is an important springboard for them to play an even bigger role in increasing awareness among California business leaders about water-saving measures and local rebate-programs, in partnership with Save Our Water,” said Nefretiri Cooley, Deputy Secretary of Communications & External Affairs for the California Environmental Protection Agency.
Save Our Water will enhance our regional outreach and education programs in partnership with the Black chambers of commerce and business leaders to support water conservation in the business community, said Williams.
More information, resources, and tips are available for business owners and individuals at SaveOurWater.com.
Submission Deadline is MONDAYS by 5pm Email Press Releases to: mary@sb-american.com Submit legals to website: sb-american.com
Saunders: ‘There Is Work To Do To Ensure That We Don’t Face Another Race Against The Clock’
WASHINGTON, DC –American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) President Lee Saunders released the following statement in response to the bipartisan deal to avert a government shutdown: “We can breathe a sigh of relief – for now.
“Once again, extremists in Congress played a dangerous game, manufacturing an unnecessary crisis that would have imposed reckless cuts to programs working families depend on every day for food, health care, child care, housing
and more.
“But bipartisan majorities have shown grown-up, responsible leadership, avoiding the pain and disruption of another government shutdown. Federal employees, thousands of whom are represented by AFSCME, will be at work on Monday to continue serving the nation.
“The Congressional Resolution passed and signed Saturday night is just a short-term stopgap, of course. There is work to do to ensure that we don’t face another race against the clock right before the holiday season.”
Lawmakers Should Reverse Course on Misguided SNAP Restrictions...continued from page 2 enough as it is, but it becomes significantly more difficult as individual members of Congress and D.C. special interest groups seek to attach pet projects or priorities to what should be bipartisan legislation. And in Congress, it’s easy for a few lawmakers to derail the progress on must-pass legislation.
The basis of the idea is about removing choice, but the authors of the so-called “Healthy SNAP Act” claim it’ll help reduce spending, but the data doesn’t support it. SNAP recipients will still have the same amount of benefits.
On the SNAP side, lawmakers could look at generating savings by capping benefits, implementing work requirements, or reducing the overall size of the program.
We all want Americans to make good choices that promote healthier eating habits, but restricting the treats parents buy their kids is not the solution. It's a shortsighted and ineffective approach that infringes on individual freedom, further stigmatizing lower-income communities, and won’t yield the savings
Senator Rubio is promising. Instead, we should focus on real policies that improve access to nutritious foods and empower all individuals, regardless of their income, to make healthier choices.
As Republicans, we are proud to be the party of individual choice and freedom. These foundational principles are essential to the promise of liberty for all – that we trust our fellow Americans to make their own life choices, even if we don’t agree with them. I’m proud to subscribe to these values, which is why it is important we push back on ideas from within our party that restrict the ability for us to make our own decisions.
These values should apply at the grocery store, so lawmakers should reverse course on their misguided SNAP restriction proposal. The last thing Americans need is more nanny state decrees from politicians who think they know best for them.
John Burnett is a business and political analyst and an adjunct assistant professor at New York University.
COVID-19 Was 'Bloody Sunday' for America's Racial Health Disparities, Yet, There is Little Progress
By Hazel Trice Edney (TriceEdneyWire.com)Thousands of Black people had protested and many had died at the hands of police, White supremacists and racists as they engaged in non-violent campaigns to win the right to vote.
Still, America did not fully sit up and hear their cries until “Bloody Sunday”, March 7, 1965. On that day TV cameras showed protestors being brutally attacked and beaten by the Alabama State Police as they marched peacefully from Selma to Montgomery across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
It was only then that the United States government took decisive action. President Lyndon B. Johnson, a week after “Bloody Sunday”, adopted the words of the civil rights leaders and declared before the nation in a televised speech to Congress, “We shall overcome.”
Within a few months, the United States Congress adopted the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 and it was signed into law by President Johnson on August 6 that year. In a nutshell, the VRA prohibited any activities by anyone to abridge the right to vote.
More than 58 years later, Black doctors on the front lines against racism in medicine across the U. S. had hoped that the revelation of racially disparate suffering and death amidst the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID 19) would become the “Bloody Sunday” for revealing the truth about health disparities in America and escalate the long struggle to end them. But that has apparently not happened.
“I compare this now to the civil rights movement. We were really burdened with discrimination
-
and brutality etcetera for many years,” says Dr. Louis Sullivan, founder of the Morehouse School of Medicine, and pioneer of the 15-year-old government agency now known as the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities.
“But, the incidents such as the Birmingham police treatment of Blacks on the Edmund Pettus Bridge revealed to the nation those things that had existed for a long time. So, in a way, I see that the Coronavirus has had the same impact. Health disparities has been an issue for years. But people have not been aware or haven’t really understood or taken it as seriously as many of us who were working with disparities have taken it. But now we are confronting this. And I am hoping that this really results much more in resources and attention and research and care to be devoted to the elimination of these disparities.”
Dr. Sullivan is among leading Black physicians and HBCU administrators who agree that health disparities in the Black community – and the racism at the root of it – has been revealed to be far worse than anyone thinks. They say the disparities still must be dealt with through racial and cultural coalitions, increase in Black medical professionals and strengthening of public policies.
“Covid 19 has really pulled the scab off the sore of the underbelly of our mistreatment as Black Americans,” says Dr. Rahn Bailey, chief of the Psychiatry Department at Louisiana State University. “It’s a long story, but a pertinent and a salient one. So when an additional stresser like the COVID 19 or the Coronavirus presents itself, we already have a
Poverty just jumped— and it was no accident... continued
These are just a few of the structural obstacles low-income people face every day. But there are solutions. The advocates I work with reported enormous relief after politicians finally agreed to invest in helping children and families during the COVID-19 crisis.
The expanded Child Tax Credit cut child poverty nearly in half. Expanded food programs through SNAP lifted more than 3 million people out of poverty and staved off an expected spike in hunger. Housing subsidies kept nearly 2.5 million people out of poverty and in their homes. And Medicaid enrollment protections
reduced the number of uninsured people by 1.5 million.
The year those programs were implemented, the Supplemental Poverty Measure fell to 7.8 percent — its lowest ever level. But when politicians rejected continuing this vital help for families, it increased by a record amount.
This is a failure for families across the country. We need to renew and expand those programs as soon as possible. Poverty is solvable. We know what works. Why don’t we do it?
This article was originally published by OtherWords.org.
subscript in American life where whatever is bad happens worse to African-Americans. We have less health care access; we have fewer hospitals in our communities; we have less access to providers or specialists; very often we get less optimal medication or management. We have data to support that.”
The data indicates racial disparities across the board:
Exact numbers on COVID 19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths are fuzzy, largely because states initially did not track the pandemic by race. But, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported last year that though racial disparities narrowed as the pandemic subsided, during the surge associated with the Omicron variant in winter last year, disparities in cases once again widened with people of color, including African-Americans at 2,937 per 100,000 people, compared to cases among White people at 2,693 per 100,000. This number is astronomical given that America is approximately 12 percent African-American and 59 percent White. The New York Times reported that "during the height of the Omicron variant, Covid killed Black people in rural areas at a rate roughly 34 percent higher than it did white people."
The broad disparities continue among other diseases:
According to the National Cancer Institute, Black men die of prostate cancer at twice the rate of White men.
Although Black women have a 4 percent lower rate of breast cancer diagnosis, the death rate for Black women is 40 percent higher than White women,
according to the American Cancer Association.
America’s leading cause of death, heart disease, causes one of every three deaths in the U. S. But African-Americans and Latinos experience “double the rate of premature deaths” from heart disease compared to their White counterparts, according to the National Institute of Health.
According to the CDC, “Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancyrelated cause than White women. Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as variation in quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias.”
Black children have a “500 percent higher death rate from asthma compared with White children”, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.
The disparities even persist in treatments and care. For example, of amputations, Black patients lose limbs at three times the rate of White patients, despite progress in diabetic research, according to the NIH.
Despite the COVID 19 disparities that drew a new focus to the issue of racial health disparities, ending the racial gaps in deaths is still a struggle, says Yolanda Lawson, MD; an obstetrician and gynecologist, who serves as president of the National Medical Association, which has a membership of more than 50,000 Black physicians.
“It's not that as a Black OB/ GYN I didn't know this. I've always known” of the disparities, Lawson said in an interview. “But, I thought with awareness we would see a turn around. We would see changes.”
continued in next 2 columns
Poverty just jumped— and it was no accident
By Lakeisha McVeyVisit our website: sb-american.com to subscribe
COVID-19 Was 'Bloody Sunday' for America's Racial Health Disparities, Yet, There is Little Progress...continued
She pointed out that after the videotaped killing of George Floyd by now imprisoned Derek Chauvin, “everybody got onto the equity bandwagon. Yet, here we are still talking and we know that there's still this wide gap.”
In addition to racism, pure and simple, researchers have often laid health disparities at the feet of what is called “social determinants;” which, in a nutshell, means common lifestyles of particular groups of people that often stem from systemic racism.
For example, at least one report written jointly by researchers at KFF and the Epic Research Network, said Blacks and Hispanics suffered more infections and deaths during the height of the COVID 19 pandemic because they were at greater risk of exposure to the virus “due to their work, living, and transportation situations. They are more likely to be working in low-income jobs that cannot be done from home, to be living in larger households in densely populated areas, and to utilize public or shared modes of transportation.”
Likewise, economic and social circumstances such as poverty and food deserts often lead to illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
out how to communicate this particular matter to the General Assembly so they support it financially to save lives,” Thomas told WAVY Radio in Virginia during a rally. “We are not building roads, we are not building casinos,” Thomas said. “We are trying to ease human suffering and save lives.”
In an interview, Thomas pointed to observations made by former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, concerning the Commonwealth's underfunding of HBCUs - both public and private. In a recent op-editorial, Wilder quoted a Goldman Sachs report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch titled, “Historically Black, Historically Underfunded.”
Wilder's op-ed stated that “public HBCUs have 54% less in assets per student" than public predominately White universities while "private HBCUs have 79% less than private" predominately White universities.
Lakeisha McVey is a bereaved mother, social justice advocate and leader of the Experts on Poverty Program at RESULTS. (Photo courtesy of Results.org)
I’ve lived and studied poverty most of my life. But you don’t have to be an expert to see why it’s spiking after lawmakers let antipoverty programs expire.
After hitting a record low of 7.8 percent in 2021, new data shows the government’s Supplemental Poverty Measure jumped to 12.4 percent last year. That’s a nearly 60 percent increase. And it’s all because politicians allowed proven income support programs
to expire. I’m an expert on poverty. I’ve lived it most of my life in Iowa. I studied it as a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow in rural West Virginia and in Washington, D.C. Now I help people experiencing poverty across the country tell their own stories to change policy.
People can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, get an education, and work multiple
jobs. But in the face of rising prices, low wages, high rents and a broken healthcare system, it’s often not enough. Without a safety net and a level playing field for families, financial security is often out of reach.
When I was growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, my mom had a stable job with the state, but her pay wasn’t enough for a real home for my two siblings and me. Iowa, like every state, has a low-income housing crisis. And families of color like mine experience greater challenges obtaining affordable housing. We bounced around shelters, churches, and motel rooms.
Despite a stigma about accepting public assistance, we benefited from SNAP (aka “food stamps”) and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. But like other low-income families, we had to navigate the “benefits cliff.” When my mother made just $10 more, we’d lose the benefits we needed for sufficient, regular meals.
My father suffered from opioid addiction. When he was eventually able to get stable employment and rejoin our family, we finally got an apartment where the schools
were decent. But a brain aneurysm suddenly took his life and we ended up back on the opposite side of the city where the underfunded schools offered less opportunity. I wanted to stay in my school, so I spent four hours a day commuting on public buses and on foot. I knew I needed to get into college to be able to help my family financially. Now I have a steady job, and so does my husband.
But everyday struggles don’t end. The brokenness of our healthcare system burst into my life again when our baby was born with a fatal condition. The medical costs ran nearly $1 million in just the first few months of his tragically short life.
What could prepare someone for that?
Thankfully, my employer pays 100 percent of my health insurance. That’s a rarity. If I’d been out of work or worked elsewhere, we would’ve gone bankrupt as we suffered the most tragic thing that could ever happen to us as parents.
“And even when there are solutions such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which assured that approximately 20-35 million adults, who previously had been uninsured, received coverage by Medicaid, there would still be cracks in the system,” says, Dr. Randall Morgan, an orthopedic surgeon who is president/CEO of the Cobb Health Institute, the research arm of the National Medical Association.
“So, it’s a tough problem. Oh, it’s huge. It’s horrible. In some cases it’s inhumane,” Morgan said. “But, people have to accept what’s available for them. And so much of that depends on where you live and what your income is and what your level of education is - the social determinates of health.”
Despite the glaring disparities, advocates on the front lines have often run into brick walls when trying to call attention to them and trying to raise funds to end them.
For example, Bill Thomas Jr., an advocate for proton therapy treatment at the Hampton University Proton Therapy Cancer Institute, has been leading a near-futile battle for more money to end cancer disparities as the HBCU's associate vice president for governmental relations.
“We are just trying to figure
Like Wilder, Thomas asks the question, "'why the legislature and the current administration cannot redress the wrongs of legal discrimination?'" Support to undergird the programs of HBCUs could indeed be one of the key answers to the problem of health disparities, Lawson says. With an increase in Black doctors, more hospitals in Black neighborhoods and more medical programs at HBCUs, health disparities could begin to close, she said.
An NMA program called Project Impact 2.0 has two goals, Lawson says - first, to increase the number of African-American researchers and to increase the numbers of Blacks included in research studies.
But, just like with the civil rights successes, Lawson adds, the battle will take people of all races and walks of life working together.
“We at NMA hope to become a unifying voice. I think one of my strengths is building alliances with others. I think by building alliances, you create louder voices. And I want to call people to task so that it's not just words and great manuscript. I want to see impact at my community level. I think NMA lends to that. We have over 130 state and local societies; we're divided into six geographic regions and we have 26 different medical specialties that are represented within the organization," Lawson says, "We have the infrastructure to do this - to not only bring a voice to the national level in the way of policy and advocacy, but again, make a community level impact. It just has to happen.”
San Bernardino Valley College welcomes first Latino astronaut for Hispanic Heritage Month celebration
NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: CAROL M. TOYRA aka CAROL MARIE TOYRA aka CAROL TOYRA DECEDENT: CASE NO: PROSB 2300199
San Bernardino, Calif., Oct. 3, 2023) -- As part of its celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) is hosting Hasta La
Raiz: Rooted in Excellence featuring guest speaker José Hernández, the first Latino astronaut, on October 12 on the college campus. This event is open to the public. Those who attend can engage with Hernández during a discussion and gain insights into
space exploration, engineering and perseverance. Hernandez’s space exploration journey began in 2001 as a materials research engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. He was selected by NASA in 2004 to become an astronaut, setting him up for the significant milestone of serving as a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle's STS-128 mission in 2009.
Throughout his career, he was recognized for his many
LEGALS/CLASSIFIEDS
NOTICE INVITING BID
INVITATION TO BID
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Coachella Valley Unified School District, acting by and through its governing board (“District”), will receive sealed bids for the CNG Expansion Project - Transportation
Site Construction Project. Value of contract is estimated at $1M - $1.1M.
The project generally consists of adding two generators to the existing CNG bus fueling station. Work will include new fencing, light poles, power and data, and concrete flatwork.
To bid on this Project, the Bidder is required to possess the following State of California Contractor
License: B
Each bid must conform and be responsive to the contract documents which may be obtained at: https://colbisecurebids.com/o/cvusd/CNG167. Please SUBSCRIBE to the Opportunity to receive automated emails of any changes/addenda & results.
A mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. Bidders may choose to attend in person at the CVUSD District Office Board Room, 87-225 Church St., Thermal, CA 92274 or online at https://colbi.zoom. us/j/84070099916?pwd=HOXtDjCECUBbna5wr5F kfV45qw6oAe.1 followed by a non-mandatory job walk on Wednesday, October 18, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. at 87050 Avenue 57, Thermal, CA 92274.
All bids will be received by the District in the Office of the Superintendent, CVUSD at 87-225 Church St., Thermal, CA 92274. Bids are due on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, no later than 2:00 PM, after which time the bids will be opened and publicly read aloud.
The successful Bidder and its subcontractors shall pay all workers on the Project not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages and the general prevailing rate for holiday and overtime work as determined by the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations, State of California, for the type of work performed and the locality in which the work is to be performed per sections 1770 et seq. of the CA Labor Code. Prevailing wage rates are on file with the District and are available to any interested party on request or at www.dir.ca.gov/ oprl/statistics_and_databases.html. Bidders and Bidders’ subcontractors shall comply with the DIR registration and qualification requirements per CA Labor Code sections 1725.5 & 1771.1.
Each bid must be submitted on the bid form provided in the bid documents and accompanied by a satisfactory Bid Bond executed by the bidder and surety company, or certified check, or cashier's check in favor of the Coachella Valley Unified School District, or cash, in an amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the bid. The successful Bidder shall be required to furnish a 100% Performance Bond and a 100% Payment Bond if it is awarded the contract.
The successful Bidder may substitute securities for any monies withheld by the District to ensure performance under the Contract, in accordance with the provisions of Public Contract Code section 22300.
The District reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive any irregularities or informalities in any bids or in the bidding. No bidder may withdraw his bid for a period of 45 days after the date set for the opening of bids. For questions, please contact Jana Mills at jmills@colbitech.com.
Board of Education of the Coachella Valley Unified School District 10/5/2023, 10/12/2023
Publication: San Bernardino American News
achievements, including receiving the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists' 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award for his professional and community contributions. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of the Pacific and a master's in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California-Santa Barbara. Hernández's accomplishments continue beyond his time with NASA. After leaving the agency, he served as the Executive Director of Strategic Operations at MEI Technologies in Texas and ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. Currently, as the CEO of Tierra Luna Engineering, LLC, he continues to contribute to the fields of engineering and space exploration.
Event details:
What: Hasta La Raiz: Rooted in Excellence
When: Thursday, October 12, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Where: SBVC Campus, SBVC Auditorium
To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of: CAROL M. TOYRA aka CAROL MARIE TOYRA aka CAROL TOYRA
A Petition For Probate has been filed by: APRIL M. LAROCCO in the Superior Court of California, County of SAN BERNARDINO. The Petition For Probate requests that: APRIL M. LAROCCO be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils
PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by: STEPHEN A. CALVERT in the Superior Court of California, County of SAN BERNARDINO. THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that: STEPHEN A. CALVERT be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. THE PETITION requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.
THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent
PETITION/PROBATE
examination in the file kept by the court. THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows:
Date: 10/26/2023 Time: 9:00 a.m.
Dept: V-12
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO 14455 Civic Drive Victorville, CA 92392 Victorville District/Probate Division
IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.
IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to
Keeping it Real:Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Scandal: Victims Speak Out Against “Hush Money”
by S.E. WilliamsConsumers Are Voicing Concerns About AI... continued
applied by third parties in the real world. In this piece, we summarize a few key areas of harm we reviewed.
It’s worth noting that these findings are a sampling, and not necessarily representative. This is not a deep dive into the technical details or underlying facts of each complaint we have received that cites AI or related technologies. Rather, we aim to get a pulse on what consumers are worried about or are experiencing in the marketplace.
Concerns About How AI is
Built: Data, data, and more data
#MeToo[a] is a social movement and awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.
The #MeToo movement erupted in late 2017 following the explosive sexual-abuse allegations levied against celebrated film producer Harvey Weinstein by some of Hollywood’s A-list actresses–and the world paid attention.
Meanwhile, every year women are sexually coerced and/or abused in county and state prisons across the country and in response to their vulnerabilities and abuse, we typically hear crickets.
When we learned last week that Riverside corrections deputy Christian Heidecker was arrested on suspicion of extorting female inmates for sex, it was just one more scandal for our already scandal-ridden sheriff’s department.
The serious allegations however, were made more unseemly by the fact that women in custody’s ability to say “no” is limited by their status as detainees which can often leave them vulnerable to other harms and possible retaliation, victimizing them even further.
In this instance, these women were then further victimized but in a different way. In recent days an LA Times report broke the news that Riverside County had sought to buy these victims’ silence.
“What does it mean to feel constantly harassed, where they think it’s consensual and we think it’s not but we can’t ever say it?”
Amika Mota, Formerly Incarcerated Advocate
Certainly, on one level we understand the county/sheriff departments’ desire to perform their fiduciary responsibilities and protect taxpayer dollars by seeking to curtail costs related to these cases by settling them for little to no money ($1K to $3K).
But, seeking to silence women who were sexually harmed while entrusted to the sheriff’s
department—before they’ve had their day in court and before the perpetrator was even arrested— seems a bit inappropriate. Although the county may be well within its rights to offer these settlements, the question is whether it is morally the right thing to do.
For a county official to declare the “pre-litigation settlements do not contain nondisclosure language” still does not make it right. This is especially true since the women are claiming they felt they were being pressured to take the money.
Another part of this scenario that also raises red flags are reports stating the outside attorney for the county involved with the “hush money” negotiations is possibly the wife of a high ranking official in Sheriff Chad Bianco’s organization.
The victims in this case are speaking out because they want other women not to be afraid to come forward. “We just want justice,” one of the victims shared while also claiming there are crimes being committed inside the jails.
With so much going on regarding failures of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department it is important that we continue to shine a light on the organization.
California Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley) is calling for Attorney General Rob Bonta to expand his current patterns and practices investigation into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is encouraging others who may be victims of sexual abuse in a Riverside County jail or who have information that may be useful to this case to come forward and share your story. You are encouraged to contact Riverside Sheriff’s Master Investigator R. Deanne at (951) 955-2777.
Consumers Are Voicing Concerns About AI
By Simon Fondrie-Teitler and AmrithaOctober 3, 2023
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Over the last several years, artificial intelligence (AI)—a term which can refer to a broad variety of technologies, as a previous FTC blog notes—has attracted an enormous amount of market and media attention. That’s in part because the potential of AI is exciting: there are opportunities for public progress by enhancing human capacity to integrate, analyze, and leverage information. But it’s also, perhaps in larger part, because the introduction of AI presents new layers of uncertainty and risk. The technology is altering the market landscape, with companies moving to provide and leverage essential inputs of AI systems, such as data and hardware – opening a window of opportunity for companies to potentially seize outsized power in this technology domain. AI is also fundamentally shifting the way we operate; it’s lurking behind the scenes (or, in some cases, operating right in our faces) and changing the mechanics
Today’s leading AI models require massive amounts of data for training. The power and breadth of these models have implications for both consumer protection and competition. There are two areas of concern highlighted in Sentinel by consumers, which touch on risks around consumer privacy as well as risks from power aggregation— in the form of data aggregation and access—of these AI tools:
Copyright & IP. As has been discussed previously by the FTC, some reported concerns about
Human Trafficking: An Affront to God...continued
Jayanti
by which we go about our daily lives. That can be unsettling, especially when the harms brought about by that change are tangible and felt by everyday consumers.
With the flurry of AI products deployed to hundreds of millions of people and reports about the potential harms of AI, the FTC is interested in understanding what consumers are concerned about and what harms they are experiencing. One way we go about that is by looking at FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network.
[1] We queried Sentinel, using search terms we thought could best capture AI related interactions in the marketplace[3]—returning thousands of submissions from the past 12 months alone. The bottom line? Consumers[2] are voicing concerns about harms related to AI—and their concerns span the technology’s lifecycle, from how it’s built to how its
copyright infringement stem from the scraping of data from across the web, and many consumers consumer reports expressed concern that content they post to the web may be used to train models that could later supplant their ability to make a living by creating content and contribute to large firm advantages— and without their consent. The agency continues to do outreach to understand how this issue impacts communities.
Biometric and personal data. Again mirroring a past FTC warning, other reports mention the use of biometric data, particularly voice recordings, being used to train models or generate “voice prints” (the equivalent of a fingerprint but for unique characteristics of a person’s speech). A consumer expressed reservation about continuing with customer support calls after hearing a message indicating the call could be recorded, expressing a fear that the recording could then be used to train an AI using their voice.
continued on page 8
JOB OPENING:
CUSTODIAN POSITION:
NEW HOPE CHURCH is accepting applications for a part-time Custodian position at the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, San Bernardino; CA. Applications are available at the New Hope Church Office. For additional information, resume is desired; please contact the Church Office at (909) 887-2526.
The individual must possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities and be able to explain and demonstrate that he or she can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of skills and abilities.
• Ability to read, listen and communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Must have strong janitorial knowledge and experience.
• Ability to work independently and complete duties and projects with little direct supervision.
• Ability to accurately work under pressure in meeting deadlines.
Basic Duties:
Clean sanctuary, classroom, offices, fellowship hall, conference room, kitchen, restrooms, and other assigned areas including facilities owned and operated by New Hope Missionary Baptist Church during an assigned shift or an assigned cleaning crew; perform minor repair and maintenance and assure cleanure of the during assigned hours.
WITNESS FOR JUSTICE #1171
Human Trafficking: An Affront to God
Sarosh Koshy
Slavery in its various forms is an age-old institution, as old as human civilization itself, and it appears that the world will continue to pursue ways to keep this scourge alive and profitable. Talking about human trafficking is certainly not a happy occasion, and it is not an issue faced just by the countries in Asia and Africa alone, but by the entire world, including Europe and North America. The United Nations’ “Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2022”[i] reported a drop in confirmed cases of human trafficking for the first time since the issue began being tracked twenty years ago. The reason, however, traces back to the restrictions implemented all over the world due to the Covid pandemic. Despite the drop in confirmed cases of human trafficking, the report not only sheds light on the persistent nature of this issue. It also reflects the fact that the report only tracks confirmed cases, while providing no data on people who go through various stages of trafficking, whose cases are never confirmed for various reasons.
The churches across the world identify human trafficking as a serious affront to both God and humans. In Matthew’s Gospel,
of the world that are commonly traded are assembled together with the trade of slaves and that of human lives (Rev. 18:1113). The alternative translation that the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible provides for the very end of the thirteenth verse is instructive for contemporary discussions on human trafficking. Instead of the regular translation of “chariots, slaves—human lives,” the alternative translation given in the footnote of NRSV is “chariots, and human bodies and souls.” This verse informs us that until the reign of God is fully among us, the trade of human bodies and souls will continue in some form and fashion. If, until the eschaton, history will always be beset with the sale of human bodies and souls, then the proclamation of the church’s faith and hope in Christ that does not account for and address this tragic nature of human reality and the lived experience of the multitudes will fail to be a genuine proclamation of the lordship of Christ. If human trafficking is trading of human bodies and souls against one’s own will, the world presents us with plenty of opportunities to voluntarily sell our bodies and souls. The challenge for Christians is to be able to live in this world, be able to make a living, and yet not to be conformed to the ways of this world as Saint Paul urges us: “Do not be conformed to this
By Lou K. Colemanworld, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2, NRSV).
These insights from Scripture should not dampen our spirits or make us lose our resolve in persisting with this holy trouble of confronting the torment of human trafficking. Rather, they should remind us that the one who was crucified and resurrected is the eternal symbol and sacrament that calls us to boldly encounter all situations where people suffer for no reason or choice of their own, and to proclaim in and through all those situations that Christ is indeed Lord, and that for a Christian there is no other Lord besides Christ—neither self-avowed emperors of this world, nor the social systems of our respective lands that we inadvertently and/ or unknowingly subscribe to and support and often actively affirm and consider as lord.
Dr. Sarosh Koshy serves as the Global Relations Minister for Southern Asia with Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ.
[i] UNODC, Global Report on Tracking in Persons 2022 (United Nations publication, Sales no.: E.23.IV.1), available at https:// www.unodc.org/documents/ data-and-analysis/glotip/2022/ GLOTiP_2022_web.pdf
Lou K. Colemanwill laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh…
[Proverbs 1:24-28].
Will not the land tremble for this, and all who live in it mourn?
we hear Jesus’s command to “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mt. 22:21, NRSV).
This command explicitly states that since humans bear the image of God, they belong to God alone, and no humans, be they the emperor or a social system, cannot, and should not, be allowed to own and possess any individual human being or a group of them. By extension, this command demands that churches emphatically pronounce that the emperor or socioeconomic system can only lay claim to materials and instruments of their own making, such as money and other transactional apparatuses of a societal arrangement, and never to anything that God has made, and certainly not on humans who bear the image and title of God. The challenge before us as churches and groups that strive to address human trafficking is to understand it as part of the overall state of the economy and of late capitalism, and to discern the worth that the current socioeconomic system confers to individual human lives.
In the book of Revelation to John, it is instructive to read the verses where all commodities
You’re going to wish you had taken heed. Look at the Bible. Look at Noah and his generation. In [Genesis 6:3], the Lord says, “My spirit shall not always strive with man.” For 120 years, God said, Please.” For 120 years, God said, “I want to save you.” For 120 years, God said, “Listen to Noah.” For 120 years, God was long-suffering. For 120 years, God was patient. For 120 years, God was merciful. But then the day came when God said, “I’ve had enough. I’m fed up. My patience is gone.” Noah’s people were destroyed by the wrath of God in the flood. Oh, I tell you, when God says I’ve had enough that’s it, no more warnings, you’re going to wish you had taken heed!
You know, there is one unusual thing about Esau; the Bible says, Esau sought repentance with tears, but God said, “No.” Why did God say No? Because prior to God saying No, God begged Esau. God said, “Esau, I beg you. I gave my Son to die for you. I love you Esau. I’ll blot out every sin you’ve committed, I’ll make you, My child. Please, Esau.” And Esau said, “No.”
Then one day, God said, “Okay, Esau, I’ve had enough. I’m fed up.” And God, in His mercy, turned that mercy to wrath and God’s long-suffering was turned to indignation and God’s forgiveness was turned to vengeance. Esau came and said, “Oh, God, I’m ready to get saved now.” And God said, “Not on your life.” “But, God, You are merciful.” “No longer.” “But, God, you are long-suffering.”
“I’m fed up.” “But, God, forgive me.” “No.” “Please forgive me.”
Tears of remorse flowed down his cheeks and God said, “No, Esau. You said no for the last time.
I’m fed up with you.” “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel and would none of my reproof: I also
The whole land will rise like the Nile; it will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt. “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your religious festivals into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.
“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. “In that day the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst. [Amos chapter 8].
The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget anything they have done. [Amos 8:7].
Then I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Bring them down on the heads of all the people; those who are left I will kill with the sword. Not one will get away, none will escape. Though they dig down to the depths below, from there my hand will take them. Though they climb up to the heavens above, from there I will bring them down. Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, there I will hunt them down and seize them. Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them. Though they are driven into exile by their enemies, there I will command the sword to slay them. I will keep my eye on them for harm and not for good.” [Amos chapter 9].
Oh, When God Says I’ve Had Enough… You are going to wish that you had taken heed!
“Oh, When God Says I’ve Had Enough… That’s It… No More Warnings!”
