SB American News Week Ending 6/26

Vol. 50 No. 9

June 20, 2019 - June 26, 2019

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 words or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)

Thousands of Police Officers Outed in Slew of Racist Facebook Posts By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia

Far too many law enforcement officers – from rookies to the highest ranking – view African Americans as “dogs,” and some punch in believing that, “it’s a good day for a chokehold.” Others believe women in hijabs are tantamount to “trash bags.” Those of just some of the alarming public posts on Facebook written by police officers in departments across the country – they were identified by the Philadelphia-based Plain View Project, a database that chronicles police use of social media. Already, authorities in Philadelphia and St. Louis said they’ve opened an Internal Affairs investigation into the posts, which number exceeds 3,000, according to the Plain View Project.

The departments thus far implicated are Dallas, Tex; Denison, Tex.; Lake County, Fla.; Philadelphia, Penn; Phoenix; St. Louis, Mo; Twin Falls, Idaho; and York, Penn. The Plain View Project, headed by Philadelphia-based attorney Emily Baker-White, said its analysis determined that at least 328 active-duty police officers posted content that championed violence against Muslims, immigrants and African Americans. “We found a very high and concerning number of posts that appear to endorse, celebrate or glorify violence and vigilantism,” Baker-White said in a televised interview with ABC News. “We included posts that we thought could affect public trust

and policing,” she said. “We also included posts that seemed to emit some sort of bias against a group of people – whether if that’s a minority faith, a minority race, ethnicity, immigration status, whatever it is. We saw a number of posts that appeared to denigrate those groups of people,” Baker-White said. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross confirmed that an investigation is underway in that city. “We have reviewed the social media transcriptions you provided and find many of them to be not only incongruent with our standards and policies, but also troubling on a human level,” Ross said in a statement. While some of the Facebook

posts, which also included images of the Confederate flag, have been deleted, the Plain View Project provided screenshots of the posts in their public online database. Since its establishment in 2017, the group has compiled more than 5,000 posts from current and former officers, both in big cities such as Dallas and in smaller jurisdictions like Lake County, Florida. The St. Louis Police Officers’ Association said it has contacted the Council on American Islamic Relations to set up a meeting but declined further comment. “We strongly condemn violence and racism in any form. The overwhelming majority of our 7(continued on page 8)

SBVC Graduates One of Largest Classes in College's History Community Education News

Publisher’s Corner Email: sbamericannews@gmail.com Clifton Harris Editor in Chief Publisher of The San Bernardino AMERICAN News

Police courts in the Inland Empire often spawned some colorful excuses By Joe Blackstock Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Many years ago, every city had a police court judge handling mostly mundane things like speeding tickets and minor crimes. Sometimes, cases got a little odd. For one turbulent day in 1915, Harry Heap, the police judge in San Bernardino was forced to deal with the Zink-Falkenstein feud. Admittedly this hardly reached the level of the fight between the Hatfields and the McCoys, but these next-door neighbors on Carter Avenue just couldn’t get along. The San Bernardino Sun on Oct. 16 said they had been at “swords’ points” for more than a year, saying and doing all sorts of unneighborly things across their fence. This battle reached a climax a few days earlier when May Falkenstein fired a volley across the fence — drenching Mrs. Zink with her hose. This attack “resulting in a cold which put his wife in bed,” Frank Zink told Heap. Members of each family poured out to Heap all the details of wrong-doing by the other, but the court session didn’t exactly turn out to be Perry Mason TV material. Mrs. Falkenstein pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace with her hose and was fined $10. No word was available if Mrs. Zink’s cold ever cleared up. OK, maybe police court was rarely the most exciting of places, but it did attract all levels of society. Dr. J.W. Callnon, a respected Chino doctor and a future superintendent of the San Bernardino County Hospital, found he couldn’t get away with a little white lie. He was stopped Sept. 8, 1913 by Ontario Officer J.P. Brogan for driving 35 mph, well over the speed limit, reported the Sun on Sept. 9. Callnon told the officer that he had to get to a sick patient and shouldn’t be delayed. Brogan, being a responsible officer, allowed him to leave. But Brogan was also a bit of a suspicious officer. He followed the good doctor and discovered Callnon was actually on his way to the Pacific Electric train station in Upland to pick up his wife and two children. Brogan caught up with the doctor at the station and escorted him to police court to discuss his “sick patient” and pay a fine. Sometimes things were pretty quiet between cases in the police court in San Bernardino. It gave Clinton Harper a peaceful place to sleep off the effects of heavy drinking, the Sun reported May 5, 1936. Officer Mark Black later woke up Harper and told him he had to leave his courtroom bench. “The indignant Harper said he was going to stay where he was,”

said the paper. He was immediately escorted from the court to a slightly more comfortable bunk in city jail. Sometimes creative excuses actually helped. A Los Angeles motorist was stopped for doing 29 mph in downtown Pomona in 1920. He explained his passenger had fainted due to a painful ankle injury so he stopped for some water. That didn’t help much so he figured he should hurry on to Los Angeles for immediate medical attention. Judge Harry H. Mason found the driver guilty but reduced the fine from $15 to $1 because he thought his excuse was rather novel, reported the Los Angeles Times of May 2, 1920. The Sun on Feb. 13, 1968 carried a story about a 19-year-old man in Cincinnati arrested for driving without a license. “He told the judge he didn’t have one because he didn’t know how to drive. He said he was practicing — so he could get a license.” In 1940, C.E. Williams of Los Angeles testified in Upland police court he was not a drinking man. He had been feeling fairly ill one day and tried a new remedy. “He had listened to the advice of an acquaintance who told him a good slug of whiskey would be the best thing he could take for a severe cold from which he was suffering,” wrote the Sun on Jan. 7, 1940. Judge Mildred Puckett added to his suffering, fining him $100 for drunken driving. Of course, most motorists suspect that they were caught in a speed trap when they are cited for speeding. One actually did exist in Claremont in 1911. The city had enacted its first speed limit (10 mph) and stationed an officer on Foothill Boulevard to nab dozens of speeders, sending violators to pay fines at police court. “Now the speeding fines tinkle merrily in the city treasury,” crowed the Claremont Courier in April 1911, “and if the speeders continue to come in such droves our city officials anticipate a reduction in city taxes.” Taxes in Claremont, of course, never did decline, but things soon got out of hand when the Times and other newspapers reported that Foothill in Claremont had become a speed trap. The articles warned motorists to avoid the city, which soon (continued on page 3)

Our Values, Mission, & Vision Statement

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - On May 24, San Bernardino Valley College ushered in its newest class of graduating students, and reflected on the many milestones that were achieved by the college's students, staff, and faculty in the past academic year. Clad in black gowns and a variety of colorful stoles and tassels, the students were led onto

Henley Field by President Diana Z. Rodriguez. She welcomed the thousands of students and family members that filled the stadium, acknowledging the graduate's achievements and congratulating them on years of dedication and hard work. The class of 2019 had 244 students graduating with Highest

Honors, or a 3.9-4.0 grade point average (GPA), and 174 students graduating with Honors, or a 3.73.89 GPA. The graduating class included 685 graduates from Liberal Arts, 260 from Biology, and 177 from Business Administration. There were also 81 Nursing, 59 Psychiatric Technology, and 10 Middle

College High School graduates. In total, 1,672 students received 2,284 degrees and certificates, resulting in one of the largest graduating classes in the college's 92year history. Congratulation, Wolverines! To learn more about San Bernardino Valley College, visit valleycollege.edu.

Our Values: Treat all people with care, respect, honor, and dignity. Tell it as it is with love, truth and integrity. Promote the interests of advertisers and sponsors along their strategic interest for the betterment of the community and beyond. Speak truth to power. Our Mission: To continuously improve communication between all people of the world. Our Vision: To be the best community newspaper in our region and the nation. Provider of: A voice for the poor, the underserved, those that are marginalized, Positive and edifying news about people, places and businesses. Keep San Bernardino, Riverside, and Los Angeles Counties informed about global trends while retaining the consciousness of local events and processes. Memberships and Associations: The San Bernardino American Newspaper is a member of the California Newspaper Publishers Association, National Newspaper Association and addociated with California Black Media.

Visit Us Online: www.SB-American.com

PAGE 2

June 20, 2019

COMMUNITY/EDUCATION/ADVERTISING

Black Ivy League law students want university to fire Central Park 5 prosecutor By Terry Shropshire

After witnessing the implosion of Central Park Five prosecutor Linda Fairstein’s career, Black law students at Columbia University in Manhattan want to see the same happen to Elizabeth Lederer, the lead district attorney on that infamous case. According to Vulture, the Black Law Students Association wants the Ivy League institution to fire Lederer who headed the D.A.’s case to falsely imprison the Central Park Five teens — Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise. Lederer was portrayed by actress Vera Farmiga in Ava DuVernay’s Netflix miniseries “When They See Us.” Vulture and AboveTheLaw.com report that Lederer continues to work at the Lecturer in Law at Columbia and remains employed by the New York County District Attorney’s Office, where she has worked for the past 40 years. Simultaneously, a second Black organization, Columbia’s Black Students Organization, is demanding administrators invalidate an award that Columbia University School of Medicine gave to Lederer’s co-prosecutor in the case, Linda Fairstein, Metro reports. Right now, however, Lederer remains the Black law students’ priority. “Since Lederer’s integral role in the case has received a national spotlight, there have been multiple efforts urging Columbia Law School to take action,” stated a letter from Black law students that they posted on Twitter. “In 2013 a petition was circulated, which gained thousands of signatures and demanded the removal of

Lederer. Instead of taking decisive action to address the issue, Columbia Law School simply removed the Central Park jogger case from Lederer’s online bio.” The letter from the Black law students continues: “Now, with the release of Ava DuVernay’s ‘When They See Us’ on Netflix, Columbia’s inaction on this subject shows a disconnect between the values Columbia purports and the actions the Law School takes. Another petition, circulated by our brothers, sisters, and non-binary friends at Columbia University Black Students’ Organization, has gained thousands of signatures and again demands … the removal of Elizabeth Lederer.” New statement released from the @ColumbiaLaw Black Law Students Association Students call for #CentralPark5 prosecutor Elizabeth Lederer to be fired from her Lecturer in Law position Also call on the law school to center anti-racism in its curriculum and pedagogy pic.twitter.com/U8By81KWBB — Barred and Boujee (@AudreLawdAMercy) June 11, 2019 AboveTheLaw.com reminds readers that Black students also called for Lederer’s firing once before — after the airing of the Ken Burns documentary on the Central Park Five back in 2012. The publication said Columbia University did nothing then. And they have yet to act today. Below is the trailer from the powerful Netflix miniseries “When They See Us.”

UC Riverside planning tiny wasp counterattack to looming insect invasion By Jules Bernstein UC Riverside is testing whether a sesame seed-sized wasp can control a pest that could seriously damage California crops including wine, walnuts, and avocados. The pest, a sap-sucking spotted lantern fly, is originally from

China and was first detected five years ago in Pennsylvania. Since then, large populations have spread rapidly to grape vines, apple trees, and other plants in New York, Delaware, New Jersey, (continued in next 2 columns)

UC Riverside planning tiny wasp counterattack to looming insect invasion...continued Maryland, and Virginia. Experts believe the lantern fly is likely to make its way to California soon. Mark Hoddle, director of the Center for Invasive Species Research at UC Riverside, explains why the lantern fly is so harmful. “It secretes copious amounts of “honeydew,” a waste product that encourages black, sooty mold and damages a plant’s ability to grow,” he said. The honeydew also attracts undesirable insects such as ants and hornets. The damage could extend well beyond California. According to industry reports, the state is the world’s fourth-largest wine producer, selling an estimated $35 billion domestically and exporting $1.5 billion annually. Around 44% of nonnative insects arriving in California were first established elsewhere in the U.S. Given the speed with which the spotted lantern fly has spread, Hoddle realized the state needed a proactive approach to this predictable problem. “Normally, when a bug shows up, we try to contain and eradicate it,” Hoddle said. “But by the

time the population is found, it tends to already be widespread and hard to handle.” The state Department of Food and Agriculture recently granted Hoddle $544,000 to test whether a tiny parasitic wasp, also originally from China, could be the solution to the looming problem. Hoddle explained that the wasp has a needle-like appendage it uses to lay its own eggs inside the lantern fly’s eggs. While developing, the wasp larvae eat and kill their hosts, and then emerge after chewing escape holes through the lantern fly eggs. These wasps pose no threat to plants or people, but before they can be used to control the lantern fly, Hoddle must prove they won’t cause unnecessary harm to other native insects. “We can’t just release a Chinese parasite into the wild in California,” Hoddle said. “Chances are low it will harm the wrong targets, but we have to be sure.” Read more: https:// news.ucr.edu/articles/2019/06/17/ looming-insect-invasion-threatens-california-wine-and-avocados

Veterans invited to Honor Flight workshop By Rene Ray De La Cruz Staff Writer VICTORVILLE — In a partnership with Honor Flight - Inland Empire, one local city is working to help veterans travel to Washington, D.C. to visit various war memorials. The City of Victorville will host a community workshop at City Hall with Honor Flight IE representatives to showcase opportunities for local veterans to visit the memorials designated to honor their heroism, city spokeswoman Sue Jones said. Honor Flights provide roundtrip, all-expenses-paid tours to Washington, D.C. for military veterans as a way to honor their service to this country. The Honor Flight network has made it possible for over 150,000 veterans to visit the nation’s capital. Apple Valley resident and Navy veteran Ted Belden, 91, who was part of last year’s Honor Flight, will also discuss his trip during the workshop. Marine Corps and Air Force veteran Hugh Kidd, who has been on the Honor Flight waiting list for nearly four years, was recently notified that he will be able to participate in a September Honor Flight. “I was beyond elated when Honor Flight - Inland Empire President Marva X called and told me that I was going to Washington, D.C.,” said Kidd, 89, who fought in Korea and Vietnam, and flew over 106 combat missions over Laos and Vietnam. “To tell you the truth, I thought I was never going to make that trip.”

Korean and Vietnam Veteran Hugh Kidd photo by James Quigg, Daily Press Not having visited Washington D.C. since the 1950s, Kidd said he’s looking forward to visiting as many memorials as possible, including the Marine Corps, Air Force and Vietnam Veterans memorials. “I really want to visit the Vietnam Memorial Wall,” said Kidd, who lives in Apple Valley. “I was the master of ceremonies when the Mobile Vietnam Memorial Wall came to Hesperia. If the mobile wall was powerful, I can only imagine what the wall in Washington, D.C. will be like.” Other High Desert veterans joining Kidd on the flight include Irvin Kettler Jr., Army, Anthony LaCivita, Air Force and Fred Romero, Navy. After being selected for the trip, Kidd began talking to Marva X and Jones about “spreading the news” to other local veterans about the opportunity to apply for an honor flight. “After we chatted, Sue Jones took the lead in organizing the workshop,” Kidd said. “We need more people like Sue in the High

Veterans invited workshop...continued Desert.” “Since its creation in 2010, Honor Flight- Inland Empire has escorted over 300 veterans to Washington, D.C,” Marva X said. “Those veterans came from an area of Southern California that stretches from Barstow to Temecula and Pacific Ocean to Palm Springs.” This Honor Flight workshop is

to

Honor

Flight

scheduled at 6 p.m. June 20 in Conference Room D at Victorville City Hall, 14343 Civic Dr. Information regarding Honor Flight Inland Empire and the application process can be found at www.honorflightie.org. Reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227, RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com, Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

Neil’s Donuts in Apple Valley robbed Sunday night; suspect sought VVNG Staff

APPLE VALLEY, Calif. (VVNG.com) — Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect who robbed Neil’s Donuts in Apple Valley Sunday night. It happened at about 10:21 pm, on June 16, 2019 in the 20400 block of Highway 18. According to a sheriffs news release, a Black male adult entered the location, demanded money and took the cash register from the counter before running out.

Officials said the register was located behind a nearby business. Authorities released a surveillance photo of the suspect and is described as being 5’6, 150 lbs., with brown hair and a full beard. He was last seen wearing a gray t-shirt, gray shorts, and a black “do-rag.” Anyone with information is asked to contact Deputy K. Peters with the Apple Valley station at 760-956-5001.

State Treasurer Fiona Ma Presents $305,000 in "Scholar Dollar" Grants Across California Educational News SACRAMENTO – California State Treasurer Fiona Ma visited 20 schools and presented $305,000 last month to "Scholar Dollar" winners in a vast trek through California. For a list of winners, visit: myscholardollars.com "Scholar Dollars" supports extracurricular and enrichment programs that in some cases were cut or dropped altogether because of budget cuts. "It was so much fun visiting the schools and seeing their excitement to get money for libraries, computer labs, after school enrichment activities, art, music, and theater for their education," said Treasurer Ma. Schools win "Scholar Dollars"

grant awards by mobilizing their communities to cast votes. This year 377 schools competed and more than 285,000 votes were cast. Studies show that students with a savings account in their name are seven times more likely to attend college than others. Scholar Dollars helps raise awareness about saving for college early, which is important given that the average student loan debt is $36,521. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center, there is $1.48 trillion total student loan debt in the United States www.collegecost.ed.gov.

(continued in next 2 columns)

How does a $50 million charter scam work? Here’s what happened in California (before 11 people were indicted) By Valerie Strauss | The Washington Post Late last month, San Diego officials indicted 11 people in what they described as a charter scam that defrauded the state of California of more than $50 million in education funds. The indictment details a scheme in which an Australian man and his business partner in Southern California opened 19 charter schools throughout the state and then took the public funding the schools received to operate and used it instead for real estate and other ventures. This post explains the scam that the 235-page indictment spells out in detail. This is long but worth the time to read to get an understanding of how easy it is, because of lax charter sector laws in some states, to defraud the public. California, which has more charter schools and more charter school students than any other state, now has one of the most lax charter laws in the country, allowing these schools to operate with little if any accountability or transparency to the public.

The San Bernardino AMERICAN News Staff Samuel Martin Sr.-Founder

San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan is flanked May 29 by her team of prosecutors and investigators for what they say was a statewide charter school scheme that used more than $50 million in public funds. (Nelvin C. Cepeda/San Diego Union-Tribune/AP) A task force headed by California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond just completed a report that was sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) with recommendations on how to tighten California’s charter school

laws. The report includes measures that would give local school districts more say over where and whether charter schools can open. This story was first published by Voice of San Diego, which is a

member-based nonprofit investigative news organization. It gave me permission to republish this piece, written by Will Huntsberry, a reporter at Voice of San Diego who writes about education, schools and children.

Clifton Harris/Editor in Chief/Investigative Reporter Mary Martin-Harris/Editor Clifton B. Harris/Audio Engineering Editor Legal /Display Advertising & Sales (909) 889-7677 The San Bernardino American News was established May 8,1969. A legally adjudicated newspaper of general circulation on September 30, 1971, case number 153913 by the Superior Court, of San Bernardino County. The San Bernardino AMERICAN News, a division of Don Roberto Group, Inc. is published every Thursday by Mary Martin-Harris and Clifton Harris P.O. Box 837 Victorville, CA 92393, Telephone (909)889-7677, Emails: msbamericannews@gmail.com sbamericannews@gmail.com The San Bernardino AMERICAN News subscription rate is $58.00 per year. The San Bernardino AMERICAN New is committed to serving its readers by presenting news, unbiased and objective, trusting in the mature judgment of the readers and, in so doing strive to achieve a united community. News releases appearing in the San Bernardino AMERICAN News do not necessarily express the policy nor the opinion of the publishers. The San Bernardino AMERICAN News reserves the right to edit or rewrite all news releases.

Visit Us Online: www.SB-American.com

PAGE 3

June 20, 2019

WORLD GOVERNMENT/BUSINESS/ADVERTISING

California food stamp program, CalFresh, expanding to include 200,000 elderly, disabled people LA County News

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -California's food stamps program is expanding to include 200,000 more people. Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis announced the expansion of CalFresh on Friday. Under the expansion, 200,000 elderly and disabled people would be eligible for food stamps. The Calfresh program issues monthly electronic benefits that can be used to buy most foods at markets and grocery stores. @HildaSolis In @CountyofLA, SSI/SSP recipients can now apply for #CalFresh benefits. Help us share this great news! Ahora beneficiarios de SSI/SSP ya pueden recibir ayuda de #CalFresh. ¡Ayúdanos a compartir esta gran noticia!

@LACo_DPSS @LAFoodBank @LACareHealth @laccd @SEIU721 Solis is also encouraging everyone who qualifies to take advantage of the program. "Especially at this point when there's so much fear, especially in the immigrant community, not just Latino, but Asian and others, that are fearful for applying for any social benefit. We know that it's not right. We know that we can't stand by and let people starve," Solis said. It is free to sign up and get registered. Reps who speak multiple languages are standing by to help answer phones. L.A.'s Department of Public Social Services provides services to about onethird of L.A. County residents.

California Department of Tax and Fee Administration Announces New Sales and Use Tax Rates Operative July 1, 2019 State/Government News

Sacramento – The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) reminds Californians that new sales and use tax rates will take effect July 1, 2019. The new rates are the result of voter-approved initiatives. The tax rate changes listed below apply only within the indicated city or county limits.

HSBC Bank Contributes $50,000 to Nation’s First Monument Honoring African American Veterans Memorial ...continued the initiative. “This donation from HSBC is a huge step in closing the gap and will allow us to begin construction this summer. We urge the community and both private and public sectors to support its completion, as we are so close to the finish line.” Since 2016, the African American Veterans Monument Committee has been raising funds for this first-of-its-kind monument. Today’s news brings the fundraising total to more than $1.44 million, 93 per cent of the

total needed. The Monument is on track to open to the public by Memorial Day in May 2020. Contributions to honor an individual veteran are available through the purchase of an engraved brick paver that will line the walkways of the monument for $250. Additional information on the African American Veterans Monument can be found at AAVMWNY.org or by calling (716) 800-1137.

Rural jobs are boosted by impact of SNAP By Jordan Rasmussen, policy manager, Center for Rural Affairs A recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture examines the impact of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in rural America. Widely viewed as a program that helps combat urban poverty and food insecurity, SNAP has seen a greater percentage of utilization in rural areas since the late 1990s. SNAP participation grew exponentially, quadrupling between 2001 and 2013. This growth coincided with the Great Recession and its aftermath. Participation peaked in 2013, when more than 47 million Americans received assistance, but has since fallen by roughly 1 million annually. SNAP protected millions of Americans from the extremes of poverty in a moment of crisis. The impact of this investment is multifold in a rural community. The report found for every $22,000 in SNAP redemptions during the recession, there was a creation of one rural job. Rural

areas in the South, Southwest, Appalachia, and on Native American reservations saw the most pronounced benefit. In urban areas, the same level of redemptions during this time created .4 jobs. Overall, recession SNAP spending had the greatest impact on local employment of all government assistance programs, including infrastructure projects—this impact has lessened in subsequent years. SNAP dollars are spent immediately in local grocery stores and retailers, helping keep these community assets open for all residents. Moreover, SNAP purchases stimulate employment in the food processing and distributing industries, which are concentrated in rural areas. Amidst the backdrop of struggling rural economies, SNAP presents a constant for rural Americans and should be protected by our elected officials.

Governor Newsom Announces Appointments State/Government News

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Countywide Tax Rate Increase Old Rate New Rate San Mateo County (the rate applies in all unincorporated areas and in incorporated cities that do not impose a district tax.)

City of Belmont

8.750%

9.250%

9.250%

9.750%

City of Burlingame

9.000%

9.500%

City of East Palo Alto

9.250%

9.750%

City of Redwood City

9.250%

9.750%

City of San Mateo

9.000%

9.500%

City of South San Francisco

9.250%

9.750%

Citywide Tax Rate Increases

Old Rate

New Rate

City of Glendora (Los Angeles County) 9.500% 10.250% To find the correct rate for your home or business location, visit www.cdtfa.ca.gov and click the “Tax and Fee Rates” button. Please note that the new rates will not be available online until July 1, 2019, when they take effect.

HSBC Bank Contributes $50,000 to Nation’s First Monument Honoring African American Veterans Memorial Scheduled to open on Memorial Day in May 2020 at site near the Buffalo waterfront Government News

(Black PR Wire) NEW YORK-(BUSINESS WIRE) -- HSBC Bank USA, N.A., (HSBC) today announced a $50,000 grant to the African American Veterans Monument, the nation’s first-ever memorial dedicated solely to honoring the military service of African-American veterans and service members. “African Americans have fought for their country in every military conflict since the Revolutionary War, and too often their contributions are underappreciated, as are the hardships they faced,” said Jennifer Stryrbel, Chief Operations Officer, HSBC USA. “Their bravery and sacrifice deserve a national memorial, and HSBC is honored to support the construction of such a memorial in Buffalo where so many HSBC employees and customers live and work.” Construction of the African

American Veterans Monument will begin this summer at a waterfront site in the Buffalo & Erie County Naval and Military Park. The design symbolizes the contributions of African Americans who have served or are currently serving in all five branches of the military, during war and in times of peace. When completed, a dozen 10-foot-tall black concrete pillars will represent each of the country’s military conflicts. The spacing between the pillars represent peacetimes between each war. “The committee has worked tirelessly to develop the plans for the African American Veterans Monument and in two years, we have nearly reached our goals,” said Crystal Peoples-Stokes, Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly and spearhead of (continued in next 2 columns)

Becca Prowda, 41, of San Francisco, has been appointed director of protocol in the Office of Governor Newsom. Prowda was director of community affairs at Levi Strauss & Co. from 2009 to 2019. She was deputy director of protocol in the Office of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom from 2008 to 2009, where she also served as confidential assistant to the Mayor from 2004 to 2007. Prowda was events manager at the Robin Hood Foundation from 2000 to 2004. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100,008. Prowda is a Democrat. Kathleen Kelly Janus, 41, of San Francisco, has been appointed senior advisor on social innovation in the Office of Governor Newsom. Janus was a lecturer at Stanford University’s Program on Social Entrepreneurship from 2013 to 2019 and was a teaching fellow at Stanford Law School from 2007 to 2012. She worked as pro bono counsel at Covington & Burling from 2009 to 2013 and was an associate at Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP from 2003 to 2007. She cofounded Spark in 2005. Janus earned a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $60,000. Janus is a Democrat. Rhonda Craft, 59, of Sacramento, has been appointed inspector general for the California Department of Transportation. Craft has served as director of the Office of Traffic Safety at the California State Transportation Agency since 2014, where she was driver safety branch chief for

Rhonda Craft the Licensing Operations Division from 2011 to 2014. Craft was assistant division chief/program manager at the California Department of Motor Vehicles from 2005 to 2011, where she was driver safety manager from 1998 to 2005, principal driver safety officer from 1990 to 1991 and a program technician from 1984 to 1987. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $198,024. Craft is a Democrat. Christina Alicia Spagnoli, 37, of Carmichael, has been appointed deputy secretary of legislation for the Government Operations Agency. Spagnoli was vice president of state government relations at the California Bankers Association from 2018 to 2019. She was capitol director for Assemblymember Blanca Rubio from 2016 to 2018, chief lobbyist and legislative director for Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California from 2014 to 2016 and legislative director in the Office of California State Assembly Majority Whip Jimmy Gomez from 2013 to 2014. Spagnoli was senior legislative aide in the Office of California State Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Nora Campos from 2011 to 2013, scheduler and legislative aide in the Office of Assemblymember Gilbert Cedillo from 2010 to 2011 and a fellow in the Office of Assemblymember Dave Jones from 2008 to 2009. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $145,008. Spagnoli is a Democrat.

Concerns About Homelessness, Infrastructure On The Rise; General Business Outlook Wanes Business/Consumer News

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (June 17, 2019) – The 11th annual poll of Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed) shows that business owners share the same concerns

that most Californians have around homelessness and crumbling infrastructure. The general business outlook has also dipped (continued in next 2 columns)

Concerns About Homelessness, Infrastructure On The Rise; General Business Outlook Wanes...continued for the first time in four years, with caution up and optimism slowed. Homelessness is the fastest rising concern for business owners.In the list of top concerns, homelessness saw the biggest jump from last year’s poll, reaching the #3 spot this year after peaking at #9 in 2018. It was cited by 24% of respondents as one reason why businesses and jobs are moving out of Los Angeles and California. Only 10% of respondents countywide are satisfied in the way local government is reducing the number of homelessness. When asked about their satisfaction with their local government’s performance on a number of issues, business owners were most disappointed with housing affordability and homelessness. 90% of business owners said they were dissatisfied with their local government’s performance on reducing homelessness, while 94% cited housing affordability as the area were local government is performing the worst. Pathways out of poverty identified as technical training and child care. LA County has the highest poverty rate of any California County, according to Stanford’s CA Poverty Measure. In 2018, BizFed announced an initiative to lift 1 million people out of poverty in LA County by 2028. In this year’s poll, 66% of business leaders identified “career technical training and industry specific apprenticeships” as the best way to address poverty in LA. 38% pointed to increased childcare options for working families. Roads and Freeways in dire need of repair in order for business to grow. 66% of respondents said roads and streets are the infrastructure that need attention most critically in Los Angeles County, followed by highways and freeways at 55%. Technology and communications rounded out the top three at 29%. Street repairs were cited as the number one infrastructure investment that would help LA businesses grow. With their major concerns about transportation infrastructure, it’s easy to see why three times as many respondents (59% vs. 18%) said they oppose Governor Newsom’s proposal to withhold Gas Tax funds from cities who don’t meet their housing goals. Business Optimism lowest in four years. 34% of poll takers forecasted significant or slightly better business outlook for 2019. This is a sharp drop over the last three years. Since 2016, positive business outlook figures have been

in the mid-60%. The number of business owners who say they expect growth to be flat this year has doubled from 22% in 2018 to 46% in 2019. Threat of split roll causes nearly half of business owners to consider leaving CA Taxes and fees remain the number one concern of business owners in California for 9 years straight. They are particularly concerned with proposed changes to Proposition 13, which would increase property taxes for industrial and commercial lands. A ballot initiative has already qualified for the November 2020 ballot, causing 40% of survey respondents to say that if passed, it may cause them to consider relocating their business outside of the state. 35% of business owners said that if the initiative passes, it may cause them to consider cutting payroll expenses. 80% of respondents blame high taxes and fees for businesses leaving in California already, far beyond the 59% who cited the state’s rapidly changing regulatory environment. Traffic congestion/transportation and housing costs are cited as the 3rd and 4th reasons that businesses leave the state, respectively. “The recent failure of Measure EE in Los Angeles proves that voters are starting to feel the same frustration that business owners have” said Tracy Hernandez, BizFed’s Founding CEO. “When our elected officials are not good stewards of public resources, it seems the first thing they do is turn to property owners to raise funds. But increasing taxes on homeowners only makes housing more expensive and less attainable. Raising taxes for business means they can’t invest that money in their workforce, and it increases costs for customers. “ “California is an important marketplace but it’s not like businesses don’t have other options,” points out BizFed Board Chair Steve Bullock. “We’ve seen many major employers move to Texas, Florida, Virginia – the taxes are lower not just for their businesses, but for their employees. Their employees find that housing is more attainable, and traffic is less soul crushing in places that have growing economies and well performing schools.” Most and Least Business Friendly Cities for 2019 Santa Clarita, the City of Industry, and Torrance were selected as the most business friendly of LA County’s 88 cities. The Cities of Los Angeles and Santa Monica were for the second year in a row to be the least business friendly cities, followed by Carson.

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Police courts in the Inland Empire often spawned some colorful excuses...continued from page 1 caused local businesses to suffer. One businessman even put up a sign outside of town warning motorists they will face the wrath of the motor cop and police court in Claremont if they don’t slow down. Under pressure from businessmen, the city reduced patrols on Foothill. San Bernardino police court Judge C.V. Roberts was told by Willie Harris of Riverside that he ran four stop signs because “I had to get my girl home in a hurry — she was sick,” said the Sun on Oct. 20, 1935. “That’s too bad. Is she better now?” Roberts asked seemingly concerned. But without waiting for a reply, he quickly said, “Twenty-five dollars or 25 days, Next case.” It was a similar story that

Pomona Judge Mason got from a Los Angeles man. His excuse for speeding was his companion had eaten some bad canned meat and needed to get home quickly. The judge sympathized but still fined him $15, said the Times of June 5, 1919. Mason also listened to A.B. Paige of Chino who said he had no idea how fast he was going because he didn’t have any way to determine the speed on his motorcycle. Mason told him he was citing him only $10 for speeding and told Paige to use the rest of what he would have been fined to buy a speedometer. Joe Blackstock writes on Inland Empire history. He can be reached at joe.blackstock@gmail.com or Twitter @JoeBlackstock.

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June 20, 2019

HEALTH/FITNESS/SENIOR NEWS

John Legend on abortion law boycotts By Amanda Lee Meyers

John Legend says Hollywood should consider boycotting Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama and other states that pass restrictive abortion laws. Legend admits he’s not sure if a boycott would be successful, but says “it’s a conversation that needs to be had. “Particularly when these studios are hiring people and bringing people to the state and saying, ‘Come work with us here in this state,’ but if you get pregnant there you’re going to be treated like a second-class citizen,” he said. “That’s a tough conversation to have with your staff. And so I think hopefully the pressure that the studios are putting on will help Georgia and other states see the error of their ways.” He added: “I don’t know that it will definitely work, but I know that money talks.” Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio have enacted bills barring abortion once there’s a detectable fetal heartbeat, as early as the sixth week of pregnancy. Missouri’s governor signed a bill last month approving an eight-week ban on abortion, with exceptions only for medical emergencies. Alabama has gone even further, outlawing virtually all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest. None of the bans have taken effect, and all are expected to face legal chal-

lenges. Netflix and other major Hollywood studios have said they’re reevaluating filming in Georgia if its abortion law goes into effect. Legend, who has two children with wife and model Chrissy Teigen, said the idea that any state would get involved in making a reproductive decision for a woman “is just unconscionable to me. “There’s no way we can have equality in any other realm if women don’t have the ability to make these kinds of decisions on their own without the state getting involved,” Legend said in an interview Monday while promoting a Pampers campaign to install more baby-changing tables in men’s restrooms. The Grammy, Oscar, Tony and Emmy winner added that people from Hollywood to small towns need to get involved. “It’s a grassroots thing where people let their politicians know what they think about these laws and what they think about the idea of women having freedom to make decisions about their bodies and when they want to have kids,” he said. “The bottom line is we need to respect women and let women make their own decisions.” This article originally appeared in the Atlanta Voice.

World Health Organization is wrong: Son Launches GoFundMe For Drug price controls hurt patients Mother Who Had Been Living the By Kenneth E. Thorpe The World Health Organization thinks that drug companies are ripping off cancer patients. For every dollar these firms invest in drug development, they supposedly reap excessively high profits. The global health body urges governments to consider "strengthening pricing [control] policies at the national and regional levels." Instead of promoting price controls that deter research, the WHO should bolster innovation and boost access to lifesaving drugs. Consider what it takes to bring drug from the initial research phase to a doctor's office. The WHO claims it costs $794 million to bring a drug to market - and that companies recoup this investment within three years. But this estimate is wildly off; it ignores the high rate of research failures. Just one in 1,000 promising compounds that enters pre-clinical trials makes it to human testing. Only one in 10 of those potential medicines receives FDA approval. Just one in 20 potential oncology medicines advances from Phase I clinical trials to approval. Every drug that makes it to market has to pay for itself and all the company's failures. As a result, the true cost of developing a single medicine is estimated at $2.6 billion. Price controls would steer investment dollars away from such risky endeavors. Without any chance of recouping their upfront costs, drug development would dry up, along with future cures. The United States is the world leader in drug development because we recognize the value of innovative medicines. In 2016, biopharmaceutical companies

poured $90 billion into research and development. More than half of all drugs in development globally spring forth from U.S. laboratories. Americans are healthier for it. U.S. cancer death rates have dropped 26 percent over the past three decades. New medicines are responsible for more than 70 percent of recent cancer survival gains. Over time, these medicines easily pay for themselves. Between 1988 and 2000, improvements in cancer survival generated just under $2 trillion in "social value," according to one study. Cancer drugs are frustratingly expensive. But the key to making these drugs affordable without stifling research and development is to encourage competition. When Sovaldi, a "direct-acting antiviral" that promised to cure hepatitis C, hit the market in 2014, the medicine was criticized for its $84,000 price tag. Today, several similar treatments are on the market -- some cost about 70 percent less. Innovative payment arrangements could make paying for these medicines a bit easier. As one example, several companies are pursuing "outcomesbased contracts" that peg prices to the effectiveness of their drugs. "Healthcare loans" are another model. These arrangements allow patients to pay off the cost of drugs over time, like a mortgage. Drug development is expensive. But in the long run, by improving and extending life, advanced treatments are worth it. Kenneth E. Thorpe is a professor of health policy at Emory University and chairman of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease.

American Dream Despite Having a Debilitating Mental Illness Family hangs on to hope and long-term medical care as the best medical option Health/Fitness News

Dayton, OH — There was no more highly esteemed than the Moore family matriarch Blanche J. Moore when she was up and well. Into her early adult life, she suffered from mental illness and bouts of depression. A devout African American Registered Nurse by education and training, Mrs. Moore had been determined to provide for her two sons whom she practically raised singlehandedly after a short marriage to their father. Despite her illness, she defied the odds and used her savings to buy land in a Dayton, Ohio suburb and build one of the most respected 5-bedroom homes in the area all while raising her two sons. “If there is one thing she has done over the years, is live the American Dream given the cards she was dealt in life”, said one of her sons. “She never gave up and has always been a fighter.” Blanche Moore, some might say

had been a model citizen, was an active member for some time with the Dayton Black Nurses Association and a faithful tither in church whenever she had the funds. She encouraged her sons to always challenge themselves when pursuing academia pursuits and to never give up. One of her sons has started a GoFundMe page to help her and her family cover ongoing costs of her long-term medical treatment, home maintenance and related expenses. She had recently had a heart attack one week before Mother’s Day while attending service and is currently in a coma within a local Dayton, Ohio long-term care facility. How you can help Donations can be made to the Blanche J. Moore and Family GoFundMe page at: https:// www.gofundme.com/moore-family-help

Potentially deadly valley fever is hitting California Seniors: Say no to “free” farmworkers hard, worrying researchers By Twilight Greenaway, Civil Eats genetic tests By Greg Dill This story was produced in partpneumonia. From there, a small

Greg Dill If you’re approached by someone who offers “free” genetic testing or cancer screening, turn them down. Medicare doesn’t cover such tests unless a doctor who’s treating you orders them and they’re medically necessary. Laboratory representatives have allegedly been taking swabs inside the mouths of Medicare beneficiaries at health fairs, senior centers, residential complexes for older people, and veterans’ centers. Some seniors are getting cold calls about genetic testing kits. The caller usually offers to send a “free” genetic testing kit and asks only that you return the completed kit with your insurance information – including a Medicare number. Beneficiaries’ numbers are then used to bill Medicare for thousands of dollars of medically unnecessary genetic testing. More creative schemes involve sending invitations to an “ice cream social” where seniors hear a presentation about “no cost” genetic testing and/or cancer screenings. During the presentation, seniors are asked for their Medicare numbers – and Medicare is later billed thousands of dollars per test. Seniors are also being asked for the Medicare numbers and other private information after being brought into health-fair booths for DNA swabs of their cheeks. In some instances, seniors are given gift cards and told that Medicare will be billed for the tests, even though there’s no physician order for them. Remember: · Don’t give your DNA away to a stranger! Beware of people who cold-call you or show up at your front door uninvited to push

genetic tests and cancer screenings. Watch out for people who claim such tests are “100% covered by Medicare.” Medicare does cover such tests, but only when they are medically necessary and have been ordered by your doctor. · Look for charges on your Medicare Summary Notice statements for unnecessary tests or screenings that you didn’t want or weren’t ordered by your doctor. In general, don’t give out your Medicare number or Social Security number to anyone you don’t know and trust. Be cautious of unsolicited requests for your Medicare or Social Security numbers. If your personal information is compromised, it may be used in other fraud schemes. Medicare will never contact you out of the blue and ask for your Medicare number or other personal information. And don’t consent to any lab tests at senior centers, health fairs, or in your home. Be suspicious of anyone claiming that you’ll pay nothing for genetic tests and cancer screenings. If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, we want to hear from you. Please call us, toll-free, at 1800-MEDICARE (1-800-6334227). You can also report suspected fraud at 1-800-HHS-TIPS. Or you can contact your local Senior Medicare Patrol, a terrific group which educates people with Medicare about how to avoid healthcare fraud and abuse. You can reach Senior Medicare Patrol 1-877-808-2468, or visit https://www.smpresource.org. One last tip: enter your phone number on the Do Not Call Registry https://www.donotcall.gov. Greg Dill is Medicare’s regional administrator for Arizona, California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Territories. You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

nership with Civil Eats, a nonprofit news organization focused on the American food system. LAMONT, Calif. — Victor Gutierrez contracted valley fever, an illness caused by a soil-borne fungus, and he thinks he got it in the summer of 2011 when he worked in the nectarine orchards of California’s dry, dusty Central Valley. “The wind was really strong, and we were almost falling off our ladders,” Gutierrez said. “The dust would rise up in the fields and we would get lost in [it].” Then again, he might have contracted it during that year’s grape harvest. “We would walk out of the vineyard with our faces full of dirt. Only our eyes were visible,” Gutierrez said. When he showered at night, he could see the layer of soil washing off his body. Ultimately, he doesn’t know exactly when he contracted valley fever, a dangerous fungal disease. Gutierrez just knows that late that summer, he started experiencing flu-like symptoms — coughing, night sweats, exhaustion, and a strange feeling that he was burning up on the inside. The father of three ignored it and kept working for fear of losing his job. But when the illness got to the point where he was struggling to breathe, he went to see a doctor, who gave him a dose of antibiotics and told him to buy a humidifier. Tracking Valley Fever, the mysterious illness affecting farm workers JUNE 16, 201908:08 The next day, Gutierrez’s lungs filled up with fluid and he felt so unwell that he went to a local clinic. This time, they tested him for valley fever, and it came back positive. “The nurse called me and told me to rush to the clinic because it was an emergency,” he said. Gutierrez, who was 33 at the time, had never heard of valley fever and was told he might only have six months to live. While Gutierrez managed to beat those odds by taking the antifungal medication fluconazole for more than a year, he has seen

The fungus that causes valley fever thrives in dry, undisturbed soil. Years of climate change-fueled drought has led to a swift rise in the number of people diagnosed with it.Anuj Shrestha / for NBC News valley fever kill many other people he’s known. Of the five people he recalls seeing diagnosed with the fungal infection on that day in 2011, he said he’s the only survivor. Still, valley fever remains dormant in his body — and it could come back at any point. Gutierrez still struggles with regular pain in his lungs and when he gets a cold or flu, he’s in bed for weeks. Years of climate change-fueled drought appear to have led to a swift rise in the number of people diagnosed with the illness across the Southwest. Coccidioidomycosis or cocci (pronounced “coxy”), the fungus that causes valley fever, thrives in dry, undisturbed soil. It becomes airborne when that soil is disturbed — whether it’s by dirt bikes, construction crews, or farmers putting in new fruit or nut orchards. It can travel on the wind as far as 75 miles away. Years of climate change-fueled drought and a 240 percent increase in dust storms appear to have led to a swift rise in the number of people diagnosed with the illness across the Southwest. In California, rates of new cases rose 10 percent between 2017 and 2018, according to the California Department of Public Health, at what will likely be a sizable cost to the state. The state budgeted $8 million for valley fever research in 2018, and about $3 million will go toward the expansion of the Valley Fever Institute at Kern Medical hospital. Three new laws address valley fever reporting, testing, and education in the

state. In 2011, California spent approximately $2.2 billion in valley fever-related hospital expenses. Misdiagnosis and the role of race Getting an accurate count of the number of people affected by valley fever is a challenge because the majority of those who are infected never know they have it. However, new cases are especially concentrated in the San Joaquin Valley, home to the farms that produce two-thirds of the nation’s fruit and nuts and one third of its vegetables. The region is also home to the two cities with the worst particle pollution in the U.S. and most of the state’s farmworkers. In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 14,364 cases of valley fever were reported nationally, but that “tens of thousands more illnesses likely occur and may be misdiagnosed because many patients are not tested for valley fever.” On average, there were approximately 200 deaths associated with the illness each year in the U.S. from 1999 to 2016. Dr. Royce Johnson, director of the Valley Fever Institute and professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, said 60 percent of valley fever cases are misinterpreted as the flu and go undiagnosed. Johnson, who has been working with valley fever patients for more than 40 years, says the remaining 40 percent tend to experience symptoms that are similar to and often confused with a serious case of

percentage — around 1 percent of the total people infected — see the disease spread to other parts of the body, including the brain and the skin. “People with relatively uncomplicated [respiratory valley fever] will usually think this is the worst illness they've ever had,” Johnson said, adding that the symptoms can get quite a lot worse in cases where it spreads. Patients are treated for between three and 12 months and then tracked for an additional two years to make sure the disease doesn’t come back or spread. “A lot of people don't understand how manifold and complicated valley fever can be,” Johnson said. The infection is not passed from person to person, but epidemiologists are still trying to determine what exactly puts people at risk, aside from simply being outside, said Stephen McCurdy, who serves as a professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, Davis, which created the California Center for Valley Fever in 2016. Farms in California's Central Valley, such as this pistachio orchard, contribute to arid conditions and dust problems, according to scientists.Nirma Hasty / NBC News Immune function is one key factor, putting pregnant women, some diabetics, people with HIV, the elderly, and those who are on immunosuppressant drugs or have had organ transplants at elevated risk. Race appears to be another factor, McCurdy said. “It seems that darker-skinned people are more likely if they contract valley fever to get a more severe case of it. In the majority of cases, people knock it back themselves [like a typical flu]. People with darker skin seem to be less able to do that.” It’s not entirely clear just why that is. “I'm sure it’s related to whatever genetic resources those groups have compared to others,” he said. According to a study by the (continued on page 6)

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PAGE 5 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN Number: 20190006194 Filing Type: FBN Filing Date Filed: 5/21/2019 Began Transacting Business: N/A Filing Expires On: 5/21/2024 Business is Conducted By: A Limited Liability Company Fictitious Business Name(s): 1. DREAMLINE HERBAL CENTER 2. MBA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS Business Address: 15091 KITFOX LANE VICTORVILLE, CA 92394 County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Registrant(s)Address: DREAMLINE BRANDS LLC 15091 KITFOX LANE VICTORVILLE, CA 92394 A1#: 201817210501 State: CA Signature/Officer Title: Santosh K. Bagga/Member Manager BY SIGNING, I DECLARE THAT ALL INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of Business and Professions Code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).) NOTICE - IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES AT THE END OF FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE ON WHICH IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, EXCEPT, AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (b) OF SECTION 17920. WHERE IT EXPIRES 40 DAYS AFTER ANY CHANGE IN THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17913 OTHER THAN A CHANGE IN THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF A REGISTERED OWNER. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published In The San Bernardino American Newspaper June 20, 27, July 4, 11, 2019.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN Number: 20190005708 Filing Type: FBN Filing Date Filed: 5/08/2019 Began Transacting Business: 5/08/2019 Filing Expires On: 5/08/2024 Business is Conducted By: An Individual Fictitious Business Name(s): ROSE LOVE ELECTRIC Business Address: 24883 NATIONAL TRAILS HWY ORO GRANDE, CA 92368 County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Registrant(s)Address: ELLIOT S. MORALES 24883 NATIONAL TRAILS HWY ORO GRANDE, CA 92368 Signature/Officer Title: Elliot S. Morales,Owner BY SIGNING, I DECLARE THAT ALL INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of Business and Professions Code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).) NOTICE - IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES AT THE END OF FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE ON WHICH IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, EXCEPT, AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (b) OF SECTION 17920. WHERE IT EXPIRES 40 DAYS AFTER ANY CHANGE IN THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17913 OTHER THAN A CHANGE IN THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF A REGISTERED OWNER. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published In The San Bernardino American Newspaper May 30, Correction June 6, 13, 20, 2019.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN Number: 20190005880 Filing Type: FBN Filing Date Filed: 5/13/2019 Began Transacting Business: 5/14/2009 Filing Expires On: 5/13/2024 Business is Conducted By: A Limited Liability Company Fictitious Business Name(s): FOUR WINDS APPRAISAL Business Address: 9038 BASELINE RD. RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA 91701 County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Registrant(s)Address: MLK HOME SERVICES LLC 9038 BASELINE RD. RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA 91701 A1#: 201328310223 State: CA Signature/Officer Title: Michael Kihm, President BY SIGNING, I DECLARE THAT ALL INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of Business and Professions Code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).) NOTICE - IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES AT THE END OF FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE ON WHICH IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, EXCEPT, AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (b) OF SECTION 17920. WHERE IT EXPIRES 40 DAYS AFTER ANY CHANGE IN THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17913 OTHER THAN A CHANGE IN THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF A REGISTERED OWNER. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published In The San Bernardino American Newspaper May 30, June 6, 13, 20, 2019.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FBN Number: 20190006703 Filing Type: FBN Filing Date Filed: 6/04/2019 Began Transacting Business: N/A Filing Expires On: 6/04/2024 Business is Conducted By: A Corporation Fictitious Business Name(s):1. LEAP COLOR PRINTING 2. LEAP RECYCLED PLASTICS Business Address: 3100 E. CEDAR ST. UNIT 15 ONTARIO, CA 91761 County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Registrant(s)Address: LEAP INTERNATIONAL TRADING US CO., LTD 11100 VALLEY BLVD., SUITE 108 EL MONTE, CA 91731 A1#: 820716547 State: CA Signature/Officer Title: Xiao Zhou, COO BY SIGNING, I DECLARE THAT ALL INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of Business and Professions Code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).) NOTICE - IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES AT THE END OF FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE ON WHICH IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, EXCEPT, AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (b) OF SECTION 17920. WHERE IT EXPIRES 40 DAYS AFTER ANY CHANGE IN THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17913 OTHER THAN A CHANGE IN THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF A REGISTERED OWNER. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published In The San Bernardino American Newspaper June 13, Correction 20, 27, July 4 , 2019.

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LEGALS/CLASSIFIEDS/NEWS Filing Expires On: 5/07/2024 Business is Conducted By: A Corporation Fictitious Business Name(s): MECHANICAL AIR CLIMATE CONTROL/MACC Business Address: 15082 CROMDALE STREET HESPERIA, CA 92345 County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Registrant(s)Address: MECHANICAL AIR CLIMATE CONTROL, INC. 15082 CROMDALE STREET HESPERIA, CA 92345 A1#: C4236487 State: CA Signature/Officer Title: Eustacio Gutierrez, President BY SIGNING, I DECLARE THAT ALL INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of Business and Professions Code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).) NOTICE - IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES AT THE END OF FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE ON WHICH IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, EXCEPT, AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (b) OF SECTION 17920. WHERE IT EXPIRES 40 DAYS AFTER ANY CHANGE IN THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17913 OTHER THAN A CHANGE IN THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF A REGISTERED OWNER. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET. SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE.) Published In The San Bernardino American Newspaper May 30, June 6, 13, 20, 2019.

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SUMMONS SUMMONS (CITACION JUDICIAL) CASE NUMBER (Número del Caso): CIVDS1830875 NOTICE TO DEFENDANT (AVISO AL DEMANDADO): BERNARDA DIAZ YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF (LO ESTÁ DEMANDANDO EL DEMANDANTE): MERCURY INSURANCE COMPANY NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court. There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court's lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. ¡AVISO! Lo han demandado. Si no responde dentro de 30 días, la corte puede decidir en su contra sin escuchar su versión. Lea la información a continuación. Tiene 30 DÍAS DE CALENDARIO después de que le entreguen esta citación y papeles legales para presentar una respuesta por escrito en esta corte y hacer que se entregue una copia al demandante. Una carta o una llamada telefónica no lo protegen. Su respuesta por escrito tiene que estar en formato legal correcto si desea que procesen su caso en la corte. Es posible que haya un formulario que usted pueda usar para su respuesta. Puede encontrar estos formularios de la corte y más información en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (www.sucorte.ca.gov), en la biblioteca de leyes de su condado o en la corte que le quede más cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentación, pida al secretario de la corte que le dé un formulario de exención de pago de cuotas. Si no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el caso por incumplimiento y la corte le podrá quitar su sueldo, dinero y bienes sin más advertencia. Hay otros requisitos legales. Es recomendable que llame a un abogado inmediatamente. Si no conoce a un abogado, puede llamar a un servicio de remisión a abogados. Si no puede pagar a un abogado, es posible que cumpla con los requisitos para obtener servicios legales gratuitos de un programa de servicios legales sin fines de lucro. Puede encontrar estos grupos sin fines de lucro en el sitio web de California Legal Services, (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California, (www.sucorte.ca.gov) o poniéndose en contacto con la corte o el colegio de abogados locales. AVISO: Por ley, la corte tiene derecho a reclamar las cuotas y los costos exentos por imponer un gravamen sobre cualquier recuperación de $10,000 ó más de valor recibida mediante un acuerdo o una concesión de arbitraje en un caso de derecho civil. Tiene que pagar el gravamen de la corte antes de que la corte pueda desechar el caso. The name and address of the court is (El nombre y dirección de la corte es): SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO, 247 West Third St, San Bernardino, CA 92415-0210 The name, address, and telephone number of plaintiff's attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is (El nombre, la dirección y el número de teléfono del abogado del demandante, o del demandante que no tiene abogado, es): REESE LAW GROUP, Breanne L. Reese, Esq., Bar #314663, 3168 Lionshead Avenue, Carlsbad, CA 92010; 760/842-5850 (File No. 284298) DATE (Fecha): NOV 27 2018 Clerk (Secretario), by ELIZABETH MARTINEZ, Deputy (Adjunto) (SEAL) NOTICE TO THE PERSON SERVED: You are served 1. as an individual defendant. 6/20, 6/27, 7/4, 7/11/19 CNS-3264109# THE SAN BERNARDINO AMERICAN

New Graduates, Here’s Where to Move to Make the Most Money Originally posted on June 18, 2019 10:23 am Updated on June 18, 2019 10:26 am Best Metro for Each Job Congratulations, all new graduates! If you are one of those who just graduated from college or will be, these are exciting times! You no longer have tons of papers to finish, reading material to complete, waking up at the crack of dawn to attend a lecture, and most importantly: no more student loans! However, you now have some other, new daunting tasks in front of you, and that is getting a job, and for a lot of people that require relocation as well. Did you know that for some occupation fields, you might be able to get a higher annual salary than compared to other metros? Our dedicated research team here at RentHop took on the task of finding which metro you could potentially get paid the most and least based on your occupation field! Metro Profiles Before jumping into each occupation, let us first take a look at each of the top 50 metro areas in the U.S. After all, population growth and macroeconomic trends have a huge impact on your future career. The interactive map below outlines each metro’s population count and growth, employment growth, current unemployment rate, median income, the average time to work, and one-bedroom median rent, which is calculated using RentHop’s proprietary data. Get the code to embed this interactive map!

Of all metros included in this study, the Austin metro area has seen a population growth of 25.5% in the past 10 years! Pittsburgh, PA, on the other hand, has experienced negative population growth. The total population has gone down to 2.3 million, or by 1.4%. In terms of employment growth, while all metros have experienced positive growth in the past year, thanks to the booming U.S. economy, the Orlando metro saw the most robust growth of 3.5%. Virginia Beach, meanwhile, saw only 0.2% growth from April 2018 to April 2019.

Where You Should Live if Your Goal is to Make the Most Money For this study, we took a deeper look into 12 different major occupation fields that will most likely require a bachelor’s degree or higher and the annual income by occupation field at a metro level. To make sure that we take employment opportunities into consideration, we included only occupations with a location quotient above 1. Location Quotients quantify how concentrated industry or occupation is in a region compared to the nation. As measured by BLS, the location quotients show the occupation’s share of an area’s employment relative to the national average. Therefore, if an occupation has a location quotient above 1, it indicates that the occupation employs more people within that metro area relative to the U.S. and that people will more likely find a job related to that occupation field. See table below for the metros with the highest annual salary in each occupation field.

The table above is sorted alphabetically and gives an idea of where you should move if you are looking to move to an area where the job market is good in terms of job availability and annual salary. For those educated within the field of Architecture and Engineering, we see that the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro has the highest annual salary of $117,010. For those looking for jobs in Life, Physical, and Social Science, you might want to move to the Washington D.C. metro. Management Occupations enjoy the highest pay on this list. Of all metros, people in the management occupations in San Jose-SunnyvaleSanta Clara receive an annual salary of $168,830. Before you make up your mind, however, be sure to take into account the cost of living. While fashion designers, graphic designers, and media professionals make the most in the New York metro, the cost of living is so high that they will have to spend around 34% of their monthly income on rent to afford a one-bedroom apartment. Sounds scary, doesn’t it? That does not mean, however, that you have to spend more than a third of your income on rent. You can always find roommates to share an apartment with. In fact, across the US, one can expect to save on average 40% off their monthly rent by sharing a two-bedroom versus having a one-bedroom alone.

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June 20, 2019

LEGALS/ LOCAL/NATIONAL NEWS

San Jacinto ranch accused of starving, neglecting retired racehorses Animal control officers could suggest criminal charges against the California Equine Retirement Foundation, after the removal of about 40 horses from the sanctuary By DAVID DOWNEY Riverside Press Enterprise

Ribs and other bones are visible on Truly a Judge, a 21-year-old bay gelding, as Helen Meredith, founder and president of United Pegasus Foundation, gets his attention at her 27-acre ranch in San Jacinto on Friday, June 7. Meredith recently brought over 38 horses from the California Equine Retirement Foundation to her ranch after raising concerns about their treatment. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Retired racehorses have long thrived at a respected Riverside County sanctuary, but the operator of the ranch now stands accused of starving horses, many of whose ribs and other bones visibly protrude through their skin. As animal control officers investigate and weigh whether to suggest that criminal charges be filed, a nearby sanctuary says it rescued about 40 of the nearly 70 horses that lived there. The operator of the California Equine Retirement Foundation in San Jacinto acknowledges some need to be fattened up, but denies any horses are critically underweight. Orange resident Jenny Earhart, who helped move the horses, said she was shocked on a recent visit to the retirement foundation. “I made a comment about one — ‘That one looks horrible,’” Earhart said. “He was emaciated. You could count every rib.” And, she said, “there wasn’t any feed on the property.” Carrie Ard, CEO of California Equine Retirement Foundation, countered that her ranch has provided plenty of hay and other feed all along. Ard attributed the weight loss to an exceptionally rainy winter and ranch flooding, a string of bad alfalfa lots that failed to nourish horses, and the difficulty aging horses had maintaining weight. She said the rain curbed some horses’ appetites, and damaged their feed to the point that it reduced the nutrition they were receiving. “I have never in the past had a problem,” Ard said. “My horses have always been in excellent condition.” However, Ard said, “It was a bad winter.” The challenges come a little more than two years after the foundation lost its nonprofit status. Jennifer Parsons, animal control supervisor for the Ramona Humane Society, said her agency is investigating the animals’ treatment and will decide soon, in consultation with police, whether to recommend the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office pursue charges of animal cruelty or animal neglect. The society handles

animal control services in San Jacinto and Hemet. The potential for animal neglect charges is “very high,” Parsons said. Animal control officers also are monitoring the horses that were relocated, she added. Helen Meredith, president of the nearby 27-acre United Pegasus Foundation ranch, which also is in San Jacinto, said she brought over 38 horses between May 26 and June 4 after learning of their condition at the retirement foundation, which she said ranged from fair to poor to critical. Meredith said she got permission from horses’ owners to move them.One owner, however, said he declined to give permission after visiting his horse and finding him well. Meredith had help from Earhart, who said she took three horses to her Premier Equine Rehab facility in Orange, where she retrains retired racehorses for second careers in rodeos, shows and trail riding. Earhart said she previously had delivered several horses to the retirement foundation in recent years because of its stellar reputation. And Earhart visited the foundation ranch a few weeks ago because a horse she had taken in, Aguas, had suffered a significant injury racing and wasn’t a good candidate for retraining. She thought it would be better if he were sent to a sanctuary for retired racehorses. Earhart said she was horrified by what she saw but dropped off the horse anyway, thinking that would give her a way back in to help other horses there, in addition to retrieving Aguas. Ard, the retirement foundation CEO, said she found Earhart’s behavior to be peculiar. “If she felt that my horses were in that bad of a condition … why would you leave horses?” Ard said. Ard disputed Meredith’s numbers, saying that 36 horses were removed, not 41. She also disputed Meredith’s contention that some horses were in critical condition. Ard acknowledged some were

underweight, saying the rain was partly to blame. The horses are fed whether it’s raining or not, she said, but “you can’t control how wet it gets their feed and how much they eat.” Ard said the ranch also bought several lots of alfalfa that turned out to be of poor quality. “It was too green, and it was just going through the horses,” she said. Meredith said she didn’t accept either argument “because we’re just down the street,” and she had no problem maintaining her horses’ weight. She said she believes the horses are thin because they were underfed. While walking across the sprawling 30-acre retirement foundation ranch Monday, June 10, Ard said she is working to pack weight on the 22 horses still at her facility, which had 67 before the removal. There appeared to be plenty of hay in stall troughs. “You can see all the horses are being fed plenty of feed so they can gain weight,” she said. On Monday, a small amount of hay was scattered on the concrete floor of a large three-sided, covered storage shed. However, on Tuesday morning, June 11, Ard said, a fresh delivery of 60 hay bales arrived. The degree to which a horse is well fed is measured by something called the Henneke Body Condition Scoring System, a widely used benchmark. It uses a 1-to-9 scale, with 1 being skinny, 9 fat and 5 ideal. After animal control officers evaluated the horses, Parsons estimated a few were at 1 or 2 on the scale, and that the majority were at 3 or 4. Some were at 5, she said. Described as “poor” condition, a score of 1 indicates a horse’s ribs and other bones are protruding prominently and the bone structure in the neck, withers and shoulder is “easily noticeable,” among other details. A score of 2 is characterized as “very thin” with the ribs prominent and bone structure of the neck, withers and shoulder “faintly discernible,” according to the Habitat for Horses website. The system describes 3 as “thin” with “slight fat over ribs” and “ribs easily discernible,” and 4 as “moderately thin” with a “faint outline of ribs discernible.” A score of 5 is “moderate” or “ideal weight” and ribs aren’t visible. Parsons said none of the horses was in danger of dying. But, she said, “These horses need fattening up.” At her ranch, Meredith pointed out one horse that she said was in especially bad shape. That was a 21-year-old gelding named Sigfreto, whom she said won more than $500,000 in his racing days. His hip bones poked through his gray-white coat and rib cage was clearly visible. Grace Belcuore, 91, who founded the California Equine Retirement Foundation in 1986

and was pushed off the board in a bitter fight for control in 2014, visited Meredith’s ranch Wednesday, June 5. “She was in tears when she saw Sigfreto,” Meredith said. “His bones were just sticking out,” Belcuore said in a recent interview. “It broke my heart.” Ard acknowledged Sigfreto was underweight, but disagreed with Meredith’s characterization. “If Sigfreto was in critical condition, don’t you think that animal control would have done something to me at that very time?” she said. Ard said she had Sigfreto on a special diet for older horses “to try to bulk him up.” “Even before this ranch, Sigfreto’s always had an eating problem,” she said. “It was always hard as he got older to put on weight.” Meredith said another malnourished horse she moved was a 21year-old bay gelding named “Truly a Judge,” who won $764,342 between 2000 and 2007. “He’s such a big horse,” Meredith said. “And he’s just a rack of bones.” At the retirement foundation, several horses appeared to be well fed. Others appeared to be skinny. Ard permitted each to be photographed except for one: a dark brown horse with bony hips and clearly visible ribs. A strip of duct tape was pasted over the name plate on its stall. “That belongs to somebody who doesn’t want her horse to be brought into this,” Ard said. Another owner, Dominick Fazzio of La Quinta, discussed the condition of his aging former racehorse at the retirement foundation. He said he and wife, Mary Agnes, visited Justfortherecord after hearing of concerns being raised about treatment. “He’s been where he needs to be, in a retirement community,” Fazzio said. And he said Justfortherecord looked good. “I thought he was in really good condition for a 30-year-old horse with arthritis,” Fazzio said. “His eyes were bright. His skin was shiny … . We saw no reason to move him.” Meredith said other owners have told her “they were devastated to see what was being done with their horses.” The concerns are being raised after state officials revoked the retirement foundation’s nonprofit charity status in February 2017, according to the state Attorney General’s website. Ard said attorneys are working to restore that status. Ard declined to reveal the group’s annual budget, but said it spends about $90,000 a year on feed. Daily, she said, each horse is fed two flakes of alfalfa in the morning, two flakes of alfalfa in the afternoon, plus oat hay and supplements. “We have no intentions of shutting down,” she said.

How well does California care for children? New report ranks state just below Kentucky BYMICHAELFINCHII

Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing to double the California Earned Income Tax Credit to help low-income families stay out of poverty. The governor's wife visited a Fresno resource fair to spread the word about available help. BY CRAIG KOHLRUSS California’s efforts to improve health care for children is being dimmed by high rents and housing prices, poorly performing schools, expensive child care and a host of other challenges, ac-

cording to a new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In many ways, the report reflects a familiar story for the state: Prosperity is unevenly divided, the education system is inadequate

and families are worse off because of the shortcomings in public programs. The report found that more than 13 million U.S. children live in poverty. California made only small gains compared with last year in the foundation’s Kids Count report, which evaluates child well-being based on 16 measures that rate health, education, family and community, and economic wellbeing. The report found California had more than 1 million children living in impoverished areas, and more children than in any other state living in households where the parents or guardians lacked a high school education. Overall, the state’s ranking changed from 36th to 35th. Kentucky ranked one place higher, and Tennessee ranked just below California. Almost all of the

states with lower rankings than California were in the South and Southwest, with Mississippi and New Mexico ranked as the worst. Kelly Hardy, who oversees health and research for the nonprofit Children Now, said housing costs are “a huge piece of the puzzle” when calculating economic well being. The report, citing the American Community Survey, found that 43 percent of California households are burdened by high housing costs. “We need to be doing better in California and nationwide to support kids and families and we can’t act like unwell or unhealthy adults fall out of the sky,” Hardy said. “We’re building them by not having those systems to help children on the front end.” California received low marks in (continued in next 2 columns)

How well does California care for children? New report ranks state just below Kentucky...continued every category except for health for which the state was ranked 7th place. That’s largely due to the number of children who now have health coverage in the state’s Medicaid program MedCal. The report estimated that only 301,000 children did not have health insurance in 2017. But that success poses yet another challenge for the state. A state audit released in March found that more than half of children covered by Med-Cal did not receive sufficient preventative health services and new federal data showed enrollment shrank by 3 percent at the end of 2018 — a drop off of about 150,000 beneficiaries. Hardy said some falloff is to be expected as the economy improves and families move onto employer-sponsored health plans. But many advocates believe fear from changes in federal immigration policy is also to blame. Some of it is the fact that there is such a toxic environment toward immigrants, many feel it’s no longer safe to be on Medi-Cal,”

Hardy said. “We always say insurance is one piece — it’s fundamental — and yet it’s just the start.” The report also noted that nearly seven out every 10 of state’s fourth graders are not proficient in reading. More than 70 percent of eighth graders are not proficient at math. And the number of high school students not graduating on time fell from 24 percent in the 2010-2011 school year to 17 percent in 2016-2017. The numbers suggest an unfortunate outcome, Hardy said that was confirmed in one of Children Now’s previous reports on how prepared students are for college and careers. “Overall, we’re seeing that only 41 percent were college and career ready in 2017. We go from a high in Santa Clara County of 60 percent to ow in Lassen County of 17 percent,” Hardy said. “We may be graduating kids fairly well, but many of them don’t appear to be ready for the next step. “What does that mean if you get a diploma but you’re not ready for the next step?”

Potentially deadly valley fever is hitting California farmworkers hard, worrying researchers...continued from page 4 California Health and Human Services Agency, African Americans and Hispanics in California are more likely to be hospitalized with valley fever than whites. “A contributing factor to this finding may be the large populations of Hispanics living and working in the endemic region counties of California,” wrote the study’s authors, who added that the connection between race and risk for the disease “is not well

understood and may be attributable to variations in genetic susceptibility.” Another challenge with gathering data, said Carol Sipan, a public health lecturer at the University of California, Merced, is the fact that, “many [farmworkers] would go back to Mexico if they got really sick.” In Mexico, she added, valley fever is not a reportable disease.

Victim identified in fatal North Hills crash where other driver fled By CITY NEWS SERVICE

At 5:39 a.m. on June 16, 2019, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a reported traffic collision at 8711 N Haskell Av. Firefighters extricated two patients from vehicles in critical condition and transported a third patient with non-life threatening injuries. One patient was determined dead on scene. (Photo by Greg Doyle, courtesy of the Los Angeles Fire Department) LOS ANGELES — The driver of an SUV who was killed in a twovehicle crash in North Hills was publicly identified Monday. Francisco Hernandez Rivas, 48, was a North Hills resident, coroner’s Lt. Larry Dietz said. It happened about 5:35 a.m.

Sunday when a vehicle going north on Haskell Avenue struck a vehicle traveling west on Parthenia Street, said Officer Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Section.

Two graduate students win nearly $100,000 in fellowship awards First-generation college students in sociology and education received the Ford Foundation awards to support their research By Tess Eyrich RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Two graduate students at the University of California, Riverside, have been named 2019 Ford Foundation Fellows. The fellowships, awarded in a national competition administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, provide UCR’s recipients — both firstgeneration college students — with a combined total of nearly $100,000 in funding to support their original research. Katherine Maldonado, a doctoral student in UCR’s Department of Sociology, received the Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, which includes $72,000 in graduate funding over three years. A Watts native and UCLA graduate, Maldonado examines the experiences of formerly ganginvolved women who are now mothers. In her research, she explores how these women — who often bear stigmatizing marks of their previous gang affiliations, such as tattoos and criminal records — navigate their lives after leaving gangs, as well as what

kinds of resources are and could be made available to better help them succeed. Maldonado will use her fellowship funding to expand the breadth of her research, which until now has focused primarily on women living in Los Angeles. She’ll cross the border, traveling to Tijuana for a better understanding of what happens to formerly gang-involved mothers who are deported from the U.S. and separated from their families. Arturo Nevárez, a doctoral candidate in the Graduate School of Education, received the Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, which includes $25,000 in graduate funding over one year. In his doctoral studies, Nevárez looks at the classroom-level implementation of ethnic studies courses for high schoolers. He aims to build on ethnic studies scholarship to highlight what needs to be part of these courses — as well as who should be teaching them — to maintain their transformative potential for stu(continued on page 8)

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Page 7

June 20, 2019

LIFESTYLE NEWS/ADVERTISING/RELIGION

How the NBA 2K League has become a lucrative business By A.R. Shaw

Coaching a team is like coaching a regular sport. You deal with personality management and managing all of the players on the team. I draw up plays in different situations. We practice eight hours a day. It’s a career for these guys. I have to decide which players will be on the roster. What can players earn each year by playing in this league?

In 2018, the NBA teamed up with Take-Take Interactive Software Inc. to launch the NBA 2K League, an esports (or electronic sports) league where gamers battle on XboxOne. Each of the league’s 21 teams drafts six players to compete as unique characters in 5-on-5 play in regular-season games, in-season tournaments, and playoffs. With the Hawks Talon Gaming Club, the Atlanta Hawks become the first Atlanta professional sports club to have its own

esports team. Rolling Out recently sat down with Wes Acuff, head coach of the Hawks Talon GC.

up in New York to play games and compete for a championship.

How did you get involved in this league?

There is no trick in getting better at NBA 2K. Like anything you want to get good at, you have to put the hours in. You have to work on moves that will make you better.

I started out as a player, and I qualified as one of the top 200 players in the world. That’s where my journey started. There are 21 teams in this league. The goal is to have all 30 teams in the NBA with an esports league. We meet

Film sequels, including ‘Shaft’ and ‘Men In Black’ flop at box office By Defender News Service

Brand familiarity isn’t everything when it comes to attracting audiences to the multiplex, and Hollywood is learning that lesson the hard way this summer with a slew of underperforming sequels and reboots. That so-called franchise fatigue came to a head this weekend with the releases of “Men in Black: International” and “Shaft.” The writing may have been on the wall after neither an X-Men movie (“Dark Phoenix”) nor a Godzilla movie (“Godzilla: King of the Monsters”) could get moviegoers enthusiastic enough to turn out. But this weekend, down over 50% from last year, is the worst yet. “This was a rough weekend,” said Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “We’ve had some big franchises that are not resonating with audiences or critics.” And there’s a common denominator between all the recent disappointments: Poor reviews. All four have been certified “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes. “Men in Black: International” took the No. 1 spot in North America, but it’s a dubious distinction for the Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth-led reboot which isn’t exactly the franchiserevitalizer it hoped to be. Sony Pictures on Sunday estimates the F. Gary Gray-directed film earned only $28.5 million over the weekend against a reported $110 million production budget. The three previous “Men in Black” films all opened to over $50 million not accounting for inflation. However, international audiences are helping the bottom line with the film earning $73.7 million from 36 markets, bringing its global total to $102.2 million. The weekend’s other big new release, “Shaft,” which introduces another generation to the franchise, couldn’t even manage to carve out a place in the top five, which instead was populated mostly by holdovers. “The Secret Life of Pets 2” got the No. 2 spot in its second weekend with $23.8 million. Disney’s “Aladdin,” now in weekend four, took third with $16.7 million. “Dark

Phoenix” placed fourth with $9 million and “Rocketman” coasted to fifth with $8.8 million. “Shaft,” a Warner Bros. release, placed sixth on the charts, with a disappointing $8.3 million. Directed by Tim Story, “Shaft” features Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role from almost 20 years ago and Jessie T. Usher as his son. It was made for around $30 million. Although critics did not praise the film, audiences who turned out (54% of whom were women) were more enthusiastic, giving the film an A CinemaScore. Even some originals had a tough time this weekend. Amazon Studios expanded its Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson comedy “Late Night,” which it acquired the North American rights to for a Sundance record of $13 million , to 2,220 theaters where it earned $5.1 million. “The real bright spots have been the smaller indies,” Dergarabedian said. “We think of summer as blockbuster season, but it’s turned into indie film season.” Jim Jarmusch’s star-studded zombie comedy “The Dead Don’t Die” mostly survived its mixed reviews and opened to $2.35 million from 613 locations. Documentaries like “Echo in the Canyon” and “Pavarotti” have been making a modest mark in limited release, and the acclaimed drama “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” expanded to 36 locations and earned $361,120. It expands further next weekend. But the marketplace is hurting and it’s not a problem with the weekend, which last year saw “Incredibles 2” open to over $182 million, but with the major movies themselves. The disappointments have come, mostly, from “movies that just don’t deliver,” according to Dergarabedian. But it’s too simplistic to fault all franchises and next weekend the marketplace will be singing a different tune when “Toy Story 4” opens. “‘Toy Story 4’ is going to erase (continued in next 2 columns)

How do gamers get better?

What are your tools to motivate the team?

Every tournament there is big prize money, so I constantly remind these players what they are playing for, which is $90,000 that six players get to split. There are three tournaments throughout the year where players compete for a large amount of money. They are playing for about $15,000 of bonus money apiece. I remind these guys that this is a dream job. Everyone can’t get up and play a video game for work every day. I focus on drafting winners. The highest salary is like $40,000 for six months, plus the bonus money. Last year, a player won two tournaments and nearly took home a six-figure salary. He made about $98,000 in six months. This article originally appeared in Rollingout.com

Film sequels, including ‘Shaft’ and ‘Men In Black’ flop at box office...continued the memory of this very tough weekend,” Dergarabedian said. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

($24.2 million international).

1. “Men in Black: International,” $28.5 million ($73.7 million international).

8. “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum,” $6.1 million ($6.2 million international).

2. “The Secret Life of Pets 2,” $23.8 million ($8.5 million international).

9. “Late Night,” $5.1 million ($255,000 international).

3. “Aladdin,” $16.7 million ($47.5 million international). 4. “Dark Phoenix,” $9 million

5. “Rocketman,” $8.8 million ($8.5 million international). 6. “Shaft,” $8.3 million. 7. “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” $8.1 million ($14.1 million international).

10. “Ma,” $3.6 million ($2.3 million international). This article originally appeared in the Defender News Network.

I Don’t Know About You.... But I’m Sho Glad God is a Forgiving God......continued shackled, bound, disenfranchised, and incarcerated. Despite how many times we might say, “This is the last time I will do this.” It is often that very thing we find ourselves doing! Paul wrote in [Romans 7:19-21], “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. Paul even asks in [Romans 7:24], “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” I submit to you today my brothers and sisters, freedom can be attained. For th Lord says, “Come now, and let us reason together, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool [Isaiah 1:18]. Tell me, what is it that is keeping you from walking out of your prison doors? Jesus wants you to be free [Acts 16:16-34]. Don’t you want to be freed from your shackles today? If so, do what David did in [2 Samuel 12]. Come clean with God. Ask God for forgiveness. Own responsibility for your sin. Accept God’s forgiveness and cleansing. Request a fresh work of grace. Then resolve to use past failures for ministry. David tells God, when you do this new work in me

“then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Open my lips, Lord and my mouth will declare your praise. [v. 13, 15]. Over and over in Scripture we are reminded that we serve a God who, although doesn’t treat sin lightly, understands that we are mortal and struggle with sin. And out of His love for us, He wants to forgive us. I want you to know that God promises forgiveness for our sins. Jesus said in John 8:36, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” I admonish you to “Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” [Isaiah 55:6-7] “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [1 John 1:9] “ ...Let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted.” [Isaiah 43:25-26] “Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.” [Revelation 7:12]

Witness For Justice #949

The Rise of Ghettos and Concentration Camps Tracy Howe Wispelwey Minister for Congregational and Community Engagement

I Don’t Know About You.... But I’m Sho Glad God is a Forgiving God... By: Lou Yeboah

Lou Yeboah

You see, as one hymn writer put it: I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more, but the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry, from the waters lifted me, now safe am I.... Yes, Love lifted me, when nothing else could help... Love lifted me...” Death bound me with

chains, and the floods of ungodliness mounted a massive attack against me. Trapped and helpless, I struggled against the ropes that drew me on to death. In my distress I screamed to the Lord for his help. And he heard me from heaven; my cry reached his ears [Psalm 18:4-6]. “Amazing grace—how sweet the sound—that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”[Amazing Grace - John Newton]. And what I see is that Sin has many people today (continued in next 2 columns)

I traveled to the US/Mexico Border as another migrant caravan arrived this winter. I worked to identify particularly vulnerable persons such as unaccompanied minors, those with imminent threats on their life, those with life-threatening health concerns, and LGBTQ persons. Measuring the vulnerability and suffering of people who had walked thousands of miles for months, universally united in their plight against the violence of poverty, gangs and other armed groups throughout Central America, seemed somewhat arbitrary. Our pastoral call is to meet any suffering with care and healing, from the person left for dead and cared for by the Good Samaritan, to the charge in Matthew 25 to give the thirsty water, visit the prisoner and care for those who have lost their loved ones and support networks. However, not only are we failing to meet suffering with care and healing, the machinations of the nation’s “border security” mechanisms and institutions have given rise to what are, by all measures, concentration camps and ghettos—facilities into which migrants are confined, crowded, dehumanized, and isolated from public view or community support. We must refuse this dehumanization, this death and evil, risking body and material comfort to see its end. Children and the vulnerable and trans siblings continue to die in the custody of border security. Basic human care is being stripped, including education and legal support for children. Overcrowding and exposure to life-threatening heat and cold go unaddressed. And thousands of reports by children of abuse and sexual abuse at the hands of officials go ignored. I have been deeply troubled, an-

gered and anguished by many things happening at the US/ Mexico Border and to undocumented human siblings, from the rollback of protective policies like DACA to white supremacist militias patrolling the borders to the human rights abuses of border patrol and ICE officers. It’s necessary for us to draw all the pieces of what has been happening— over generations and in the last two years—into sharp relief. “The German-Jewish political theorist Hannah Arendt, who was imprisoned by the Gestapo and interned in a French camp, wrote a few years afterward about the different levels of concentration camps. Extermination camps were the most extreme; others were just about getting ‘undesirable elements … out of the way.’ All had one thing in common: ‘The human masses sealed off in them are treated as if they no longer existed, as if what happened to them were no longer of interest to anybody, as if they were already dead.’” (Johnathan M. Katz) We are all deeply interconnected, our histories entwined, and our futures interdependent. The hope of this moment is that we can claim this connection with one another, in solidarity with those seeking life and justice, pursuing self-rescue by migrating, and work with them to find life and security for all of us. We can demonstrate living relationships with our human siblings wherever they may be found, as the gospel mandates us to. We can act no matter where we are, on the border or from Central Virginia where I live and where there are daily arrivals of migrants at bus stops. But we must act. We must name this evil for what it is. We must declare the sacred humanity of our human siblings. We must.

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June 20, 2019

NEWS/ AD VER TISING ADVER VERTISING

Gas prices in Sacramento have dropped, but a new California tax will change that soon BY VINCENT MOLESK

Increases to California's gas tax were approved in 2017 and will continue for years. BY EMILY ZENTNER Although gasoline prices in Sacramento keep falling, a statewide tax set to take effect next month may change all that. Prices dropped 8 cents in Sacramento last week amid a continued decline, bringing the average cost for a gallon of regular-grade gas to $3.74, according to fuel price tracker GasBuddy. But beginning July 1, drivers may see a change in the trend, when a new California gas tax

kicks in. The current statewide tax on a gallon of gas is 41.7 cents, while the new tax will be 47.3 cents per gallon, a 5.6-cent increase. California’s latest gas tax increase is about to kick in. Here’s what you can expect. JUNE 17, 2019 12:05 PM Right now, gas in Sacramento is 25.3 cents cheaper than it was a month ago, but 14.7 cents more

Two graduate students win nearly $100,000 in fellowship awards...continued from page 6 dents. As part of his dissertation research, Nevárez works with ethnic studies teachers and their students at a high school in L.A., tracking what students learn based on the backgrounds and teaching approaches of their instructors. Maldonado and Nevárez are among 133 recipients of 2019 Ford Foundation Fellowships. The awards seek to increase the

diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. Read the full story here: https:/ /news.ucr.edu/articles/2019/06/ 18/two-grad-students-winnearly-100000-fellowship-awards

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expensive than a year ago, according to GasBuddy. The cheapest place to get gas in the city is either at Bonfare Market at 3120 Northgate Blvd. or at the Snacks and Gas & 76 Station at 2199 El Camino Ave., where a gallon is $3.17, according to GasBuddy. The average per-gallon price in Stockton in $3.69, while in Modesto it is $3.76 and in Oak-

land it is $3.86, according to GasBuddy. Gas in Sacramento County is relatively cheap at an average price of $3.71 per gallon, while California’s current average is 10 cents higher, according to AAA. The cheapest gas in the state can be found in Imperial County, where a gallon costs $3.65 on average, and the most expensive gas can be found in Mono County, where a gallon averages $4.74, according to AAA. Prices in the United States fell 6.2 cents in the last week, bringing the national average to $2.67 per gallon, which is 19.3 cents lower than a month ago and 22.2 cents lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy. “For the sixth straight week, gasoline prices have declined nationally, a feat not often seen heading into the prime of summer driving season,” GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick DeHaan, said in a news release. “For some states like California, Illinois and Ohio, the party may partially end in just two weeks as those states prepare to raise gasoline taxes a noticeable amount, sending their gas prices higher just in time for July 4.”

5 Ways States Can Unify Behind Marijuana And Reap The Benefits...continued by growers to patients or caregivers was deleted.” Patient confidentiality. “The Act preserves confidentiality of patients and caregivers, making the handling of all records subject to all relevant state and federal laws, including HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996),” Parrish says. Employment Issues. The Act permits employers to refuse to hire workers for safety-sensitive jobs, examples of which are listed in the legislation. It provides that employers are not required to permit or accommodate the use of medical marijuana at the place of employment. “It also recognizes employers’ right to establish written policies about drug testing and impairment in accord with current Oklahoma law,” Parrish says. Seed-to-sale quality and safety checkpoints. The Act requires a

medical marijuana seed-to-sale inventory tracking system, and mandates quality testing by licensees. “This includes testing for contaminants and THC/CBD content,” Parrish says. New licenses. The Act creates a medical marijuana transporter license, a testing laboratory license, research license, a caregiver license and an education facility license. “These components show how the Unity Act represents a concerted effort to create a working framework for regulation and oversight,” Parrish says. “It’s encouraging to see both sides of the aisle work together to achieve a common goal,” Parrish says. “Oklahoma is on its way to becoming a thriving cannabis industry, and that’s good news for everyone.”

Can A Bill With Very Little Teeth Stop the Loan Sharks Profiting on High-Interest Car, Payday and Other Personal Loans? By Manny Otiko | California Black Media

5 Ways States Can Unify Behind Marijuana And Reap The Benefits Health/Fitness News

Medical marijuana is now legal in 33 states, but some have been slow to reap the economic benefits. Advocates say this is because of a long legislative and legal process that delays the rollout of legalization and results in numerous restrictions. “How the states regulate marijuana varies greatly,” says Sarah Lee Gossett Parrish (www.sarahleegossettparrish.com), a cannabis industry lawyer. “Each state has to decide how much a patient can possess, where and how they can obtain it, and what medical conditions warrant a physician’s recommendation for its usage. “The more permissive state regulatory systems result in more patients and usually in more dispensaries.” Oklahoma, though regarded as a conservative or red state, is viewed as one of the most liberal when it comes to medical marijuana laws, Parrish says. And about a year after voters approved medical cannabis in Oklahoma, business is booming in the state. Now comes Oklahoma’s “Unity Act,” signed into law in March.

Parrish says it was designed to streamline state regulation of medical marijuana without impeding commerce and imposing too many restrictions. “The Unity Act further develops Oklahoma’s medical marijuana program, an exemplary model for states that seek a more permissive regulatory scheme,” Parrish says. “There are compromises added for employers, but overall it benefits the patients and entrepreneurs. Oklahoma rolled out its medical marijuana program quickly and efficiently, wisely avoiding the quagmire of regulations that strangle the industry in other states.” Parrish explains some key provisions of the Unity Act that promote the industry’s growth while ensuring proper oversight: Sale of seeds. “The Act includes language allowing commercial growers to sell seeds or clones to other commercial growers, thereby providing a muchneeded legal way for new growers to obtain seeds and clones,” Parrish says. “Language that would also have allowed the sale (continued in next 2 columns)

Can A Bill With Very Little Teeth Stop the Loan Sharks Profiting on High-Interest Car, Payday and Other Personal Loans...continued plus the fees they had accrued. In the end, he paid Cash Net Loans USA a whopping $7,000 for the $3,000 he originally borrowed. Although he shelled out more than 100 percent in interest and fees, Criner says he is still happy Cash Net came through for him when he was in a terrible bind. He hopes, though, that he never finds himself in an emergency again that forces him to borrow cash at such high interest rates. Some lawmakers in Sacramento want to protect Californians like Criner by limiting how much lenders can charge in interest. Also known as the California Financing Law, the bill would cap the interest on consumer loans ranging from $2,500 - $10,000 to 36 percent plus the federal funds rate. Two weeks ago, the Assembly passed AB 539 with a 60-4 margin. Sixteen members did not vote. It has now moved to the state Senate for debate and is scheduled to be heard Wednesday, June 26. “This piece of legislation is about tackling one of the hardest issues this state has had to tackle,” said Assemblymember Monique Limon (D-Santa Barbara) at a rally in support of the bill at the Capitol last week. She stood with a group of interfaith leaders and other supporters of the legislation, including Californians who had been burnt by predatory loans. Limon says the bill would not end poverty in the state but it would send strong message to lenders. She says one in every three people who borrows high interest loans defaults on them. “They are targeting poor people. People who are working paycheck to paycheck – more month than there is money,” said the Reverend Shane Scott, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church in Watts and a supporter of AB 539. “Its like getting on a ship with pre-drilled holes in it.” Although a sweeping majority of legislators voted for the bill, there are many outside of the Capitol opposing it. Critics say the bill would only place restrictions on interest rates tagged to the principal of the loan, leaving borrowers open to charging for other add-on products like insurance or hidden fees. Each year about 10 million borrowers in the United States take loans ranging from $100 to $10,000 from sub-prime loan or “consumer loan” companies. They end up paying back a total of about $10 billion, according to Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit dedicated to improving public policy. The same report reveals that the five largest lenders reported earning $450 million in one year just from insurance, fees and other products associated with money borrowed – not counting the principals. Alice Huffman, president of the California-Hawaii NAACP, said the legislation could hurt African Americans in particular because many Blacks who borrow money in emergencies are struggling fi-

nancially. “The rate cap proposed by AB 539 would simply push responsible, licensed companies out of the market, and would leave millions of people without the loan options they need and deserve,” said Huffman in an Our Weekly editorial. California has the highest poverty rate in the United States at about 19 percent. That number accounts for about 7.5 million people. When the high cost of living in the state is factored in, that number more than doubles to about 20 percent, which is nearly half of the state’s 39-million-plus population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. More than half of Black Californians live in census tracts of the state with the highest poverty levels. “Californians deserve real access to capital, not exploitative loans that trap them in perpetual payments and compounding debt,” said Grayson, one of the co-authors of the bill. “We must do more to protect financially vulnerable, hardworking families from predatory lenders who profit off their devastation.” In California, licensed lenders approve about 350,000 high interest loans every year. About a third of them have interest rates that exceed 100 percent, according to the California Department of Business Oversight. Grayson, along with Assemblymembers Lorena Gonazalez (D-San Diego) and Limon first introduced AB 539 in February. Roger Salazar, a spokesperson for a coalition of loan companies operating in the state says a lastminute deal the bill sponsors cut with lenders that specialize in insurance and other ancillary products would favor some finance companies while locking out others. “Not only does AB 539 cut off access to credit for millions of non-prime Californians,” he said. “It does so by attempting to create a monopoly for three legislatively favored companies that engage in deceptive, predatory practices. If we want to be serious about protecting consumers, then we must protect access to safe, transparent loans for all Californians.” In California, the back-andforth about predatory loans echoes a long-running national conversation about consumer financial protection that has been one of the hallmark issues of presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), for example, and championed by others like Pres. Barack Obama. The debates generally wrestle with finding a balance between fair business profits and providing a sliding scale of access to loans and some legal cover for borrowers. Those conversations, mostly focused on the tug between government controls and the guarantees of the free market, always expose one thing: the need for more financial literacy, especially for the most vulnerable Americans.

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Thousands of Police Officers Outed in Slew of Racist Facebook Posts...continued from page 1

In 2009, LaHaven Criner badly needed some extra cash. The Sacramento radio personality and insurance agent, who is 39 now, said his wife was a fulltime student at the time and he was the only bread winner. Plus, he made some bad financial decisions before that, trying to live above his means. His credit rating would not have scored him a traditional low-interest bank, credit union or credit card loan. “I ended up taking out six $250 payday loans from Check Go Loans and California Check Cash-

ing – one after the other to pay off the last one - - and each one of them had really high interest rates and built-in fees and penalties,” he said. Soon, Criner found himself caught in cruel cycle of back-toback due dates, unaffordable late fees and threatening phone calls from aggressive bill collectors. Luckily, he said, he came across Cash Net Loans USA. That company consolidated all six debts into a single $3,000 loan that covered all the principals he owed (continued in next 2 columns)

thousand officers regularly act with integrity and professionalism,” Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5 President John McNesby said in a statement. Baker-White told the New York Times that the Facebook posts are far from isolated incidents and are very disconcerting. “One of the reasons that I don’t think it’s an individual problem is that these folks are talking to each other. There are a lot of posts that have eight comments underneath them, and three of those comments are by other police officers, and in those long comment threads you often see a kind of piling on,” Baker-White said. “If one guy makes a comment that’s sort of violent, another guy will say, ‘Oh, that’s not enough, I

would have hit him harder.’ ‘I would have shot him. ‘I would have killed him.’ “It creates a space where officers feel like this is what they should do or think, and I fear that leads more officers to do and think this stuff,” she said. Baker-White acknowledges the tough job of law enforcement in general. “Yes, police officers have an incredibly hard job,” she said. “There’s probably an incredible amount of PTSD; there’s an incredible amount of stress. But, it’s not OK then to say, ‘Let’s go get these animals tonight.’” To view the entire report, visit h t t p s : / / www.plainviewproject.org/