Vol. 60 No. 35, August 27, 2020

Page 1

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE

60

th

PAID

Anniversary

www/facebook.com/ SDVoiceandViewpoint

PERMIT NO 585 SAN DIEGO, CA

@VoiceViewpoint

¢ 50 Plus Tax “People Without a Voice

ThursdayAugust Vol. Vol.60 57No. No.35 35    | |Thursday, August27, 31,2020 2017

www.sdvoice.info

THE TOUGH QUESTIONS

SEE LOCAL

Pushing California COVID-19 UPDATES ON To An Eviction Cliff PAGE 10 COVID-19 CASES IN SOUTHEAST 827 1,223

843

92105

92102 1,412 92113

92115

Cannot be Heard”

Serving Serving San Diego SanCounty’s Diego County’s African & African AfricanAmerican & African Communities American57Communities Years 60 Years

OLYMPIAN JACKIE THOMPSON DUNN IMMORTALIZED – see page 9

BAYSIDE GOSPEL CONCERT JAMS – see page 8

$300 Extra a Week

in Unemployment Benefits -- for Now

1,144

92114 629

By Tanu Henry

92139

California Black Media

Source: County of San Diego a/o 8/25/20

On July 25, the federal government’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program ended for most states, leaving millions of Californians without the extra cash many of them had been relying on for months to make ends meet.

CALIFORNIA’S

By Matt Levin CALMatters

Governor Gavin Newsom doesn’t want it to happen. Neither do powerful leaders in the state Legislature. Tenant groups desperately want to prevent it, and landlord associations say they also want to avoid it so long as they don’t bear an unfair portion of the cost. Seemingly all of the important actors trying to find a solution to the so-called “eviction wave” looming over California have a strong incentive to strike a deal. As the novel coronavirus pandemic has shuttered wide swaths of the economy and key federal unemployment boosts expired last month, housing experts warn that millions of California renters have already missed or are about to miss rent payments. Landlords fear those lost rent checks will precipitate their own wave of missed mortgage payments and foreclosure.

NEIGHBORS JUMP IN TO HELP STATE BEAT BACK

WILDFIRES

See UNEMPLOYMENT page 2

LEAP Ban Would Increase

Police Interaction with Black Community

A combination of local, state and federal eviction moratoriums, combined with the $600 unemployment boost provided as part of the federal government’s CARES Act, has for months kept a roof over California renters’ heads despite unemployment figures not seen since the Great Depression.

See EVICTION page 2

Then, last week, the California Employment Development Department (EDD) announced

Warns Potential Menthol

What’s at stake?

Should evictions resume unfettered, Californians can expect the state’s highest-in-the-nation homeless population — at least 150,000 — to swell considerably. Public health experts warn that mass evictions could spread novel coronavirus, as renters double up in overcrowded households or enter homeless shelters. Landlords caution that without state or federal dollars, forcing property owners to keep tenants in their units without rent will inevitably lead to missed mortgage payments and a wave of foreclosures.

The $600 extra in federal stimulus pay was added cushion to the amount states already provide for their residents in unemployment insurance payments. Created for Americans who lost their jobs due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the program was authorized by the Cornonavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) act, which was signed into federal law in March.

BRUTAL

But with less than two weeks before the state court system ends its temporary moratorium on eviction cases, state lawmakers are confronting a host of thorny legal, political and practical questions that are making a workable compromise difficult.

But with the unemployment boost expiring last month, and state eviction courts set to resume Sept. 2, housing experts fear an avalanche of missed rent payments in the months ahead. A UC Berkeley analysis estimates that nearly 1 million renter households have had a member lose their job due to the pandemic, and 25% of small landlords (managing under 20 units) have already had to borrow money to meet mortgage payments, utilities and other costs.

NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE CELEBRATES BLACK BREASTFEEDING WEEK – see page 7

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

There is little question that cigarette smoking is harmful.

By Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media

Over 14,000 fire firefighters are continuing to battle fires in different parts of Northern California, where six deaths have been reported, according to officials from the state’s fire department. Over 30 people have been injured. California’s Secretary of State Alex Padilla praised the men and women for their efforts and valor on the “front lines.” Padilla also acknowledged See WILDFIRES page 2

However, a growing number of organizations led by Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) believe a ban would further endanger Black lives because it could potentially increase interaction with the police. Many within the African American community have voiced concern over California’s Senate Bill 793. This measure would ban menthol products, but critics said it would probably increase racial profiling by law enforcement, based on statistics suggesting that menthol cigarettes are overwhelmingly preferred by African Americans who chose to smoke.

“Smokers, like any people who use drugs, are unlikely to respond to bans by suddenly changing their preferences. Prohibiting the sale of these cigarettes could, therefore, further criminalize communities of color,” the website filtermag.org noted. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)

“Whether it is real or perceived, there is a distrust of local police,” said Commissioner Jiles Shipp, the president of NOBLE. “The ban will have a counter effect and further damage community-police relations.” See LEAP page 2


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.