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NEWSPAPER A Community Newspaper Serving San Bernardino, Riverside & Los Angeles Counties

January 13, 2022 Thursday Edition

Volume 52 No. 39 Mailing: P.O. Box 837, Victorville, CA 92393

Office: (909) 889-7677

Email: Mary @Sb-American.com

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Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue till they have resisted either with words or blows or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance those of whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)

Gov. Newsom Proposes $2.7 Billion for COVID Response; Activates National Guard

IN MEMORIAM: Legendary Actor, Sidney Poitier, 94, Has Died

Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media

A Broadway play focused on the life of the Miami born star, who earned his first Academy Award nomination in 1959 for his work in “The Defiant Ones,” is in the works.A Broadway play focused on the life of the Miami born star, who earned his first Academy Award nomination in 1959 for his work in “The Defiant Ones,” is in the works.

‘The Measure of a Man’ By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

On Jan. 8, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he is proposing a $2.7 billion investment to boost the state’s COVID-19 response efforts. The request is included in the state budget Gov. Newsom is sending to the State Legislature this week. He is asking lawmakers to take action on it immediately. The emergency response package includes money for more testing, more vaccinations, including boosters, and support for health care professionals. "From day one, California has taken swift and direct action to battle COVID-19 with policies that have saved tens of thousands of lives, but there’s more work to be done,” Newsom said. "Our proposed COVID-19 Emergency Response Package will support our testing capacity, accelerate vaccination and booster efforts, support frontline workers and health care systems and battle misinformation, with a focus on the hardest-hit communities,” the governor added. Michelle Gibbons, Executive Director of the County Health

Executives Association of California, said the new influx of cash comes at a “pivotal time” when the state and country are confronting a new surge in Omicron variant cases. Currently, California has a positivity rate of 21.7%, according to the California Department of Public Health. Omicron variant infections accounts for 80 % of those cases. And over the last seven days, there has been an average of 124.5 cases per 100,000 people. “We commend the Governor for taking these decisive actions to help protect the health and well-being of local communities through the expansion of vaccines, testing, and booster shots and efforts to combat misinformation that has caused unnecessary deaths and illness, Gibbons said. “These actions will ultimately help save lives, which remains a top priority for local public health. This weekend, Gov. Newsom also deployed 200 California National Guardsman at testing sites to assist with the state’s response.

"California is deploying the National Guard to testing sites to help expand capacity. If you’re feeling sick, don’t hesitate to get tested," Newsom tweeted. Last Monday, the FDA approved booster eligibility for children ages 12 to 15. Newsom expressed support for this expansion on Twitter. "Great news -- more protection for more people. Boosters are our best defense against Omicron. If you’re eligible, get yours today," the California governor tweeted. As people exper ience COVID-19 home test kit shortages across California, the state has announced plans to remedy the situation. "California is expanding access to testing for students by providing 1–2 rapid tests for each K–12 public school student to keep our schools safe and open," tweeted Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Surgeon General of California. Harris emphasized that, "Testing is a critical part of California’s pandemic response

and a key reason our cumulative COVID-19 death rate is the lowest of the large states." Newsom's office said the tests are already on their way. “More tests are enroute for California’s students! These at-home test kits arrived last night at our warehouse and will immediately be sent to counties for distribution through county offices of education,” Newsom's office tweeted. The Califor nia County Superintendents Educational Ser vices Association (CCSESA) responded to this claim with anticipation. "Great news! Our county offices are ready to have the torch passed so we can get these important test kits out to our students,” The California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) tweeted. “We pledged to help keep schools open and having these kits distributed quickly is another way our county office teams are stepping up to make this happen.”

Biden, Harris Blame Trump for Jan. 6 Attacks, Saying, ‘America Must Move Forward’ By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Rioters assaulted approximately 140 police officers in the attack, including about 80 U.S. Capitol Police and 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department. On the anniversary of the deadly January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, President Joe Biden

doubled down on his campaign slogan from the 2020 election. He declared the race against former

President Donald Trump as a “battle for the soul of our nation.” “Don’t kid yourself. The pain and scars from that day run deep,” the President said during a morning address from the U.S. Capitol. “We are in a battle for the soul of America. A battle that by the grace of God, the goodness and gracious, greatness of this nation we will win.” In his most passionate and direct blitz against Trump, President Biden accused the former President of orchestrating the deadly attack that left five officers dead in its wake.

Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick collapsed and later died from two strokes following the attacks after rioters sprayed him with chemicals. Four other police officers who responded to the insurrection later committed suicide. “[Trump] and his allies placed a dagger at the throat of American democracy,” President Biden declared. “For the first time in our history, a President not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a continued on page 3

Legendary actor Sidney Poitier, who broke barriers and stood for justice and Black lives during the most tumultuous times of the civil rights movement, has died. Poitier, whose iconic 71-year career, included starring roles in “A Raisin in the Sun,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “Uptown Saturday Night,” was 94. His cause of death has yet to be confirmed. In an exclusive phone call with the Black Press of America, Bill Cosby said he will miss his long-time friend and co-star. “He was honored by AFI. And, along with many stars of the stage, screen, politics and higher education who came out to speak, I brought with me the paperback of his autobiography and I said of all groundbreaking movies that Sidney starred in this book is the real story of this man and his journey,” Cosby remarked. “I am honored to have been close enough to him and work and work on serious matters.

According to PBS, Poitier moved to New York City at age 16 after living in the Bahamas for several years with his family. In the Big Apple, he found work as a janitor at the American Negro Theater in exchange for acting lessons. From there, he took up acting roles in plays for the next several years until his film debut in the racially charged, “No Way Out.” Race and social justice wou ld b e c o m e c e nt r a l themes in much of his work throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s. A Broadway play focused on the life of the Bahamas born star, who earned his first Academy Award nomination in 1959 for his work in “The Defiant Ones,” is in the works. As noted in the New York Post, the nomination was significant to America as he was the first African American to be nominated for Best Actor. That role also earned him a Golden continued on page 4

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Clifton Harris /Editor in Chief Investigative Reporter sbamericannews@gmail.com Mary Martin-Harris / Editor Legal /Display Advertising (909) 889-7677 Clifton B. Harris / Audio Engineering Editor Digital Online Banner Advertising (909) 889-7677 The San Bernardino American News was established May 6, 1969. A legally adjudicated newspaper of general circulation on September 30, 1971, case number 15313 by the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. The San Bernardino AMERICAN News subscription rate is $59.00 per year. The San Bernardino AMERICAN News 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.

Thursday, January 13, 2022

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COMMUNITY/EDUCATION/ADVERTISING

Infoblox Unveils a Diverse Student Certification Program to Grow Minority Representation in the Technology Sector BlackPressUSA News

Zafar Brooks is Infoblox’s Global Leader of Diversity and Inclusion. In this newly created position, Brooks’s portfolio covers strategic planning, talent development, constituent relations, and global alignment for diversity and inclusion of the software company.

The University of La Verne and TELACU Education Foundation join in this initiative, which aims to prepare minority students for technology careers Santa Clara, Calif – Today, Infoblox, the leader in cloudfirst networking and security services, launches the Infoblox Diverse Student Certification program with the University of La Verne, a Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI), in partnership with the TELACU Education Foundation. The program includes two courses to introduce students to DDI (DNS, DHCP, and IPAM) essentials and hands-on product training led by Infoblox specialists. “The technology sector continues to drive the global economy and presents strong career opportunities for young professionals,” said Jesper Andersen, President and CEO

of Infoblox. “The historical u nd e r- r e p r e s e nt a t io n of people of color and women in technology careers inspired us to grow the pipeline with this program. We are connecting the next generation of workers with learning pathways and certifications that open the door to core networking services jobs with our company, channel partners, and 12,000-plus customers.” The Infoblox Diverse Student Certification program integrates the company’s t raining, certification and mentoring into the University of La Verne’s computer science program. The 15 students participating in continued in next 2 columns

The University of La Verne and TELACU Education Foundation join in this initiative, which aims to prepare minority students for technology careers...continued

Roads and Reparations: How Highway Construction Hardened Discrimination...continued

the inaugural class will attend Infoblox courses, previously only available to working professionals. Upon completion of the program, the students are eligible to earn two certifications: DDI Professional, the world’s most popular vendor agnostic DDI certification DDI Config & Admin, Infoblox’s most attended product training certification These classes, certifications, and ongoing mentoring from Infoblox’s Unid@s Blox Hispanic employee resource group (ERG) aim to prepare the students with foundational skills to embark on careers in IT networking and a notable advantage when seeking employment. “We are honored that Infoblox

selected the University of La Verne to be a part of this important initiative,” said Dr. Devorah Lieberman, President of the University of La Verne. “In its over 130 years of history, the university has been dedicated to preparing our students with the skills necessary for success in their chosen fields of study and to prepare them for the needs of the marketplace. With over 7,000 students – 70% from diverse populations and over half the first in their families to attend college – this exciting partnership fulfills our mission to serve the needs of our students and the community.” Visit th is website to learn more about Infoblox’s broader DEI ef for ts.

Better late than never

TV interview with Angelina she said, "I love it. I love it. When I think it's all his words, I can't believe it. It's wonderful. And I feel like I have him here with me."

“Although our transportation is no longer marked by the kind of explicit racist division that we saw in the past, it continues to entrench racial segregation and limit access to jobs, health, and opportunities,” Archer said. “Safe, accessible, and reliable infrastructure is disproportionately built-in White neighborhoods, connecting those residents to opportunities while Black communities continue to suffer from underdevelopment.” The Federal-Aid Highway Act created 41,000 miles of highways that replaced unsafe roads and poorly designed routes, as well as eradicated traffic congestions, and other obstacles that impeded safe, travel across the country. Archer said that the U.S. Transportation Department estimates that, between 1957 and 1977, nearly 480,000 households across the country were forced out to accommodate the highway construction, which started under the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration. Most of the people displaced resided in urban communities with low incomes and high concentrations of people of color. Black people lost homes, busi nesses, a nd significant economic potential to create generational wealth. Poor air quality resulting from the construction also decimated their property value. The highway system, when it was completed in the 1970s, “fundamentally restructured urban America in almost every

AMAC News

Army Sergeant John Gonsalves penned a letter to his mom and mailed it to her from Germany at the end of World War II. It was found 76 years later in a U.S. Postal Service processing and distribution facility in Pennsylvania in December 2021 and delivered in January 2022 not to his mother, who had passed away in 2015, but to his widow, Angelina Gonsalves, who lives in Woburn, MA and who was overwhelmed, reports the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC]. Her late husband, Johnny, passed away in six years ago. And, in a local continued in next column

Roads and Reparations: How Highway Construction Hardened Discrimination Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

Last month, the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans heard expert accounts explaining how the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 affected residential communities of color in the state. In the last two-day meeting of 2021, the nine-member commission invited guests to help them determine how money from President Biden’s $1 trillion Infrastructure plan, passed into law in November, could be spent to compensate Black Americans for federal and state government decisions that negatively impacted them. Deborah N. Archer, a professor of clinical law and co-faculty director of the Center on Race,

Inequality, and the Law at New York University School of Law, testified. She said the massive federal government highway construction program became a “new system of White supremacy” that sustained “slavery’s legacy.” “The t ranspor tation infrastructure has always been a driver of racial inequality,” Archer told the task force. “The benefits and burdens of our transportation system, from highways to roads, bridges, sidewalks, and public transportation have been planned, developed, and sustained to pull resources from Black communities. Resources that were redeployed (and) invested to the benefit of predominately W hite c o m m u n i t i e s .” Archer, who is also the

president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a leading expert in civil rights, civil liberties, and racial justice, pointed out that Black communities across the nation and in California have always been “sacrificed” when cities, state or the federal government undertakes transportation infrastructure development projects. There is a growing body of documented evidence, empirical and anecdotal, that confirms how American cities have historically isolated Black communities by the placement of railroad tracks, mandated African Americans to sit in the rear of public buses, and denied them accommodations in restaurants, restrooms, and seating areas at transportation hubs. Planning of the highway system Americans use today, which began in the 1950s, “was often motivated by racism and placed little value on Black lives or Black families,” she said. continued in last 2 columns

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region in the country,” Archer testified. It contributed to the low access to resources that is still common in some Black and Brown communities in San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, Fresno, and other California cities. In Los Angeles, for example, Interstate 10 (I-10), the Santa Monica Freeway, sliced the landscape of the predominantly African American “Sugar Hill” section of the West Adams neighborhood to make way for a 10-lane freeway. Sugar Hill was a wealthy enclave where several famous Black people lived, including entertainers Ray Charles, Hattie McDaniel, Little Richard and Lionel Hampton. The area boasted historical buildings and stately mansions. The famed Black-owned, five-story Golden State Mutual Life Insurance building is at 1999 West Adams Boulevard. Opened on August 1949, the structure was designed by Paul R. Williams, the first certified Black architect on the West Coast. Oakland was severely impacted by the design of the federal highway system, according to an August 2016 article published by Entropy, a website that features essays, interviews, poetry, literature and other forms of creative and journalistic writing. Interstate 880 separates downtown Oakland from the Black neighborhoods of West Oakland. The construction of the highway system encircled (and continued on page 6

Thursday, January 13, 2022

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STATE/GOVERNMENT/BUSINESS/ADVERTISING

Remembering Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: A Tireless Champion for Economic Justice By Charlene Crowell

On Monday, January 17, the nation will pause to honor the life of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The only Black American to be honored with a national holiday, many will recall his historic civil rights achievements. But Dr. King also stood as a tireless champion for economic justice. His last public speech, delivered a day before his 1968 assassination, was before a Memphis audience in support of a lengthy strike for fair wages among its largely Black sanitation workers. That prophetic oration, often referred to as his “Mountaintop” speech, also noted the city’s economic disparities.. “It's all right to talk about "long white robes over yonder," in all of its symbolism,” said Dr. King. “But ultimately people want some suits and dresses and shoes to wear down here! It's all right to talk about "streets flowing with milk and honey," but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can't eat three square meals a day.” When Dr. King moved his family into the city’s Lawndale neighborhood, he described it as “an island of poverty in the midst of an ocean of plenty”. “Chicago boasted the highest per capita income of any city in the world, but you would never believe it looking out of the windows of my apartment in the slum of Lawndale,” said Dr. King. “My neighbors paid more rent in the substandard slums of Lawndale than the whites paid for modern apartments in the

suburbs. The situation was much the same for consumer goods, purchase prices of homes, and a variety of other services.” For example, the King family paid $94 per month for four rundown, shabby rooms. During the campaign’s open housing marches on Gage Park and other predominantly white places, new and larger apartment dwellers paid only $78 a month for five rooms[. Fast forward to today and the cost of rental housing remains a challenge for millions of families[RP6] . The average fair market price for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,295 per month. Yet the highest rent affordable to an average full-time worker is $977, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLHIC). Its recent report entitled Out of Reach exposes the mismatch between wages people earn and the price of decent rental housing in every state, metropolitan area, and county in the U.S. Over 7.5 million extremely low-income renters are severely housing cost-burdened, finds the report, spending more than half of their incomes on housing. On average, someone who works 40 hours per week all year round must earn $24.90 per hour to afford a modest two-bedroom home without becoming housing costburdened. The average renter’s hourly wage is just $18.78 per hour, however, and minimumwage workers earn even less. Additionally, ample research documents how consumers seeking to transition from renters to homeowners face

even steeper financial barriers to building family wealth. In 2019, prospective buyers of a median-priced home of $321,500 needed to save 11 years to accumulate a 5% down payment of $26,000 on that home, found the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) in its independent and recent report . But buyers seeking the least costly loans, conventional mortgages, needed a 20% down payment of $64,300 plus another $9,663 for closing costs. “There is a huge disconnect between our collective view of America as the land of opportunity and this data, which show renters face a steep climb in saving for homeownership,” said CRL researcher and report author Christelle Bamona. “This climb is especially steep for Black and Latino Americans, essential workers, and people weighed down by student debt.” The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) underscores CRL’s findings. Its 2021 research, the State of Housing in Black America: Emerging from the Pandemic Recession (SHIBA) found that although homeownership generates the largest part of building household wealth, fewer than 45% of Black households own their homes, compared to nearly 75% of whites. Further, Black homeowners captured only $198 million in savings from the Federal Reserve’s lowering of interest rates during COVID. Nationwide, the savings due to this policy change totaled $5.8 billion.

“Blacks have made little, if any, strides at closing the disparate homeownership gap between those of our White counterparts,” noted NAREB President Lydia Pope in the report’s foreword. “Systemic discriminator y regulations and policies continue to thwart any meaningful effort at closing the homeownership gap.” For example, mortgage pricing, and under-appraisal of home values are examples of how the growth of Black homeownership and, in turn, wealth is systematically suppressed. Since 2019, the rate of mortgage loan denials to Blacks (16%) has consistently been double that of whites (7%). While access to mortgage credit remains a central housing issue, housing affordability has worsened for a record 117 months of yearover-year increases, according. to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The November 2021 median price of existinghomes was $353,900, up 13.9% from November 2020 ($310,800). Today the quest for economic injustice continues. Just a few weeks before Dr. King’s assassination, his prophetic voice remains as timely as it is timeless: “Do you know that most of the poor people in our country are working every day? They are making wages so low that they cannot begin to function in the mainstream of the economic life of our nation. These are facts which must be seen. And it is criminal to have people working on a full-time basis and a full-time job getting part-time income.”

Biden, Harris Blame Trump for Jan. 6 Attacks, Saying, ‘America Must Move Forward’...continued from page 1

Biden, Harris Blame Trump for Jan. 6 Attacks, Saying, ‘America Must Move Forward’...continued

violent mob breached the Capitol.” “[Trump] did nothing for hours as police were assaulted, lives were at risk, the nation’s Capitol under siege,” President Biden asserted. The President did not use Trump’s name throughout his speech, only referring to him by title and gender. In the aftermath of the attack that disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming the presidential election results, the government has continued its investigation. According to a May 2021 estimate by the Architect of the Capitol, the attack caused approximately $1.5 million worth of damage to the U.S. Capitol building. The Department of Justice insists that it remains resolved to hold accountable those who committed crimes on January 6, 2021. There have been more than 725 arrests in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia. According to the Department of Justice, more than 225 people faced charges with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including over 75 individuals charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing

through them where they were and what they were doing when our democracy came under assault,” Harris said. “Dates that occupy not only a place on our calendars, but a place in our collective memory: December 7, 1941, September 11, 2001, and January 6, 2021.” President Biden concluded that

serious bodily injury to an officer. Rioters assaulted approximately 140 police officers in the attack, including about 80 U.S. Capitol Police and 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department. Also, authorities arrested ten individuals on a series of charges related to assaulting a member of the media or destroying their equipment. Vice President Kamala Harris also addressed the attacks on the solemn anniversary. She spoke of her experience on that day. “My staff were converting filing cabinets into barricades after we were evacuated from chambers,” Vice President Harris noted, adding that she could emphasize how the fragility and strength of democracy were represented on January 6, “The fragility of our democracy is this: if we are not vigilant, if we do not defend it, democracy simply will not stand,” the vice president said. “It will falter, and it will fail.” She also compared the at tack to Pearl Harbor. “Certain dates echo throughout history, including dates that instantly remind all who have lived continued in next 2 columns

it’s crucial America moves forward. “The way you have to heal, you have to recognize the extent of the wound. This is serious stuff… You’ve gotta face it. That’s what great nations do. They face the truth, deal with it, and move on,” he said.

Local Black Media in California Will Benefit From New Funding Tanu Henry | California Black Media

Two organizations have made commitments to invest in local Black-owned media in California. Last year, The California Endowment, a foundation dedicated to promot i ng environments that support healthy living in the state, committed $300,000 to California Black

Media (CBM) for the next two years. The money will be used to expand a program that provides direct grants to support the local news reporting capacity of Black media news outlets across the states. “Information is as important as the air that we breathe and the water continued in next 2 columns

Local Black Media in California Will Benefit From New Funding...continued we drink,” says Regina Wilson, Executive Director of California Black Media. “Supporting our Black Media Sustainability Initiative (BMSI) helps our partners across the state continue the work we do to empower the public with information and news that are vital to the decisions Black Californians make and it determines how – and how well -- we live,” said Regina Wilson, Executive Director of CBM. Last week, Experian, one of the country’s top credit and information services companies, also donated 75,000 to CBM to support the program. The gift is part of a broader global initiative the company is undertaking to “empower vulnerable people to improve their financial health through education and action.” Experian supported three other nonprofit organizations that serve Black communities across the United States: The United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the National Newspaper Publisher Association (NNPA), and the LaGrant Foundation (TLF). Experian donated a total of $375,000 to the organizations.

“Nonprofits have been a critical resource for underserved communities and continue to be resilient in the face of the health and financial crises caused by the pandemic,” said Abigail Lovell, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility at Experian. Globally, the company employs 20,000 people in 44 countries. “In addition to our work together and reaching out with the message of financial inclusion for all, this is an opportunity to provide real support with their general operating expenses. We hope the funds will enable them to strengthen their impact in the communities that need help the most and lessen the wealth gap in society,” Lovell said. Experian says the company’s donation to the four nonprofit organizations will directly support African American communities at a time when so many people are recovering from the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The money will be used to cover operating expenses and to contribute to the development of innovative continued on page 4

Experian Contributes $375,000 to Four Multicultural Organizations Serving the African American Community The New Year brings strong support for underserved communities during the pandemic. Business/Consumer News COSTA MESA, Calif. (January XX, 2022) – Leading information services company Experian announced today a $375,000 contribution to four nonprofit organizations that directly support African American communities, as they emerge from challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. These donations will help organizations with operating expenses, and allow for the development of new programs and initiatives. “Nonprofits have been a critical resource for underserved communities and continue to be resilient in the face of the health and financial crises caused by the pandemic,” said Abigail Lovell, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility for Experian. “In addition to our work together and reaching out with the message of financial inclusion for all, this is an opportunity to provide real support with their general operating expenses. We hope the funds will enable them to strengthen their impact in the communities that need help the most and lessen the wealth gap in society.” Experian has contributed to the following four nonprofit organizations: • United Negro College Fund (UNCF) – UNCF’s mission is to build a robust and nationallyrecognized pipeline of underrepresented students who, because of UNCF support, become highlyqualified college graduates and to ensure that UNCF’s network of member institutions is a respected model of best practices in moving students to and through college. • National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Fund – The NNPA Fund promotes scholastic and professional initiatives designed to honor the historic mission of the Black Press: to explore and celebrate black culture, fill the void in news

coverage of the Black experience, and provide compelling content that educates, engages, inspires and empowers consumers. • California Black Media (CBM) – CBM exists to facilitate communication between the Black community, media, grassroots organizations, and policy makers by providing fact-based reporting to a network of over 21 Black media outlets on leading public policy issues. • T h e L AG R A N T Foundation (TLF) – TLF’s mission is to increase the number of ethnic minorities in the fields of advertising, marketing, and public relations by providing scholarships, career and professional development workshops, mentorships, and internships/entry-level positions to African American/Black, Alaska Native/Native American, Asian American/Pacific Islander and Hispanic/Latino undergraduate and graduate students. Experian’s contribution will support the development of a new financial literacy program by The LAGRANT Foundation. The TLF-created program will provide ethnic minority college and university students, as well as young professionals, seeking careers in the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations with the knowledge, guidance and resources needed to become financially literate while gaining an understanding of proper credit card use and financial planning. Investing in underserved communities is a key pillar of Experian’s Corporate Social Responsibility program, which is committed to investing time, resources and partnerships to create a better tomorrow by helping millions gain access to essential everyday services, facilitating inclusion and diversity, and managing Experian’s e nv i ron me nt al foot pr i nt responsibly.

Thursday, January 13, 2022

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ENTERTAINMENT/ LOCAL/FINANCIAL/ADVERTISING

FILM REVIEW: The 355 (**1/2)

1.4% Of Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Residents Have Side Hustles...continued

By Dwight Brown, NNPA Newswire Film Critic

Penélope Cruz, Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong’o in The 355 Need a break from COVID mania and winter melancholia? A dose of pure escapism may help. For 122 minutes this often generic but surprisingly engaging espionage action/thriller may take your mind off your troubles. You’ll suspend disbelief for James Bond and all his improbable stunts. You’re perfectly OK with Shang-Chi fighting a dozen men at time when that’s really impossible. So, show some respect for the five petite women in this adrenalinerush who kick ass like MMA champs. Is it plausible? No. Fun to watch? Yes. Part of the captivation is the script by Theresa Rebeck (TV’s Smash and NYPD Blue) and writer/director Simon Kinberg. They spin a tale full of intrigue, seasoned with enough plot twists and betrayals to keep you guessing and guessing until the mayhem careens to false ending after false ending. Normally this kind of contrivance is folly. Here, it takes attention away from the film’s B-movie qualities. Director Kinberg’s filmography is impressive: Producer of Deadpool and The Martian. Writer for Mr. and Mrs. Smith and X-Men: Apocalypse. His only previous feature film direction was on X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Now, tasked with guiding a cast and crew and choreographing

action scenes, it’s obvious he’s still working out some kinks. It’s most notable when the kinetic movement dies down and the four or five heroines just sit and talk. E.g., after a small victory, the women have drinks at a bar and converse, way too much. Other misguided exposition-heavy scenes flounder too. A cleverer director would always give the ensemble a “bit of business” to do. As they talked, they’d load guns, demolish a room, or make cookies—something to keep the viewer’s attention off the film’s shortcomings. Sitting idly is a no-no. Some nutjob has invented a data key drive the size of a mini-iPhone that can remotely down a plane, hack computers and destroy the world bit by bit. Mace’s (Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty) job as a CIA agent is to buy and confiscate the device. As is said, “…the enemy is invisible like ghosts … they can destabilize entire countries from the simple reach of their keyboards.” She and fellow agent Nick (Sebastian Stan) arrange a lunchtime rendezvous at an outdoor Parisian café. It’s a simple cash for weapon pickup with Luis (Édgar Ramirez, Carlos), a rogue operative. Nothing goes right. Nothing. They and others

are in hot pursuit of a mechanism that can wreak precision havoc. The chase starts in Europe, heads to Morocco and then Shanghai. Find the deadly gadget before time runs out or—ya-da-ya-da-ya-da… In so many action films, if the good guys don’t win the world will be annihilated. In this instance, impending horrific chaos will be as selective as a surgeon’s scalpel. Determining who is zooming who and where the plot will go next is paradoxically predictable and unpredictable. International locations traveled by a multicultural cast add dimension. Toss into the mix a deadly German BND agent (Diane Kruger, In the Fade), an ex-British MI6 cyber tech head (Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave), a Colombian psychologist (Penélope Cruz, Parallel Mothers) and a mysterious Chinese saboteur (Bingbing Fan, X-Men: Days of Future Past) and the female casting is tight. Add some cranky evil villains (Jason Flemyng, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; Pablo Scola, The Queen’s Gambit) who are eager to kill, and the good fight is on. FYI Kruger is the most convincing, Nyong’o the most alert, Cruz is stiff at first, but then finds her strength when her character becomes angry, scared and sad. Fan has the proper amount of mystery and Chastain

is quite able as the ringleader. Cinematographer Tim MauriceJones is best at filming the gorgeous location shots, almost as good with the combat sequences and knows how to light the lavish interior sets. Production designer Simon Elliott, art director Jack Berk and set decorator Anna-Lynch Robinson make all the props, hotel rooms, boudoirs, offices, etc. look just right. Stephanie Collie’s costumes exhibit a good color sense and a contemporary style that flatters the beautiful women. Producer/musician/ composer Junkie XL’s (Mad Max Fury Road) driving musical score turns the mayhem up several decibels. The only scenes that drag are the slow aforementioned dramatic ones, otherwise editors John Gilbert (Hacksaw Ridge) and Lee Smith (Dunkirk) give the footage a steady manic pace. Yes, some of this movie just doesn’t gel, like a white woman walking through a medina in Morocco without being stared at. Never happens. Or a woman entering a men’s hammam (Muslim steam room) nonchalantly. Never happens. Some action scenes look hopelessly nondescript too, but you’ll get over it. In a theater those transgressions may matter. But when this film hits a streaming service or VOD it won’t. Viewers will be stuck to their sofas and skip bathroom breaks for two hours and two minutes. Like The 355 for what it is. Not for what it isn’t. Escape into it and enjoy the performances of five skilled international female actors who bring it. In

theaters

n o w.

Visit N NPA Newswire Film Critic Dwight Brown at Dwig htBrow n I n k.com and Black PressUSA.com.

Local Black Media in California Will Benefit From New Funding...continued from page 3

Grammy Awards Show Canceled, Officials Cite Omicron Variant as Reason By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

programs that improve the lives of people in those communities. CBM’s BMSI program currently supports local news reporting at four Black-ownedand-operated news publishers across the state, including the Sacramento Observer, San Diego Voice & Viewpoint, Inglewood Today and the Inland Valley News. Over the last six months, local news reporting at media outlets participating in the program has increased by more than 90 %. More than 130 original news stories have been published. Wilson says this year she expects to regrant money to more news publishers to support

their local news reporting. “When we began raising money to support the Black Press about 10 years ago, pitching the idea of how important it is to help sustain strong and accountable local media -- and Black local media in particular -- was a much harder sell than it is today,” says Wilson. “There is so much more interest and understanding of how critical those things are to the strength of our communities and democracy now,” Wilson added. “We look forward to working with more organizations to continue to do this work to strengthen journalism that serves the public interest.”

The Recording Academy and CBS Television have postponed the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards Show scheduled for January 31 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo: grammy.com)

1.4% Of Riverside-San BernardinoOntario Residents Have Side Hustles

It could be a while before the music artists find out winners in categories like Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist. The Recording Academy and CBS Television have postponed the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards Show scheduled for January 31 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. “After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards

Entertainment/Local News

Show,” the Academy and CBS officials wrote in a statement on Wednesday, January 5. “The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience, and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority,” the statement continued. “Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31st simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating Music’s Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon.”

The term “side hustle” generally refers to a job on the side of a full-time job that brings in supplemental income for the worker. Side hustles often begin as a means to provide extra spending money or cover bills, but some eventually turn into fullfledged businesses. According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 3 million full-time workers (2.5% of total) had side hustles in 2019 and earned a median $6,800 annually from this extra work. These numbers are likely to increase

amid the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside record numbers of new business applications. Interestingly, certain privately conducted surveys show that up to a third or even as many as 45% of Americans perform work on the side. Census Bureau estimates are likely lower due to several factors pertaining to how side hustle work is defined and hesitancy among respondents to report side income on government forms. For one, the Census Bureau survey continued in next 2 columns

questionnaire asks respondents specif ically about “selfemployment income” from their “own businesses.” Less serious side hustlers or side hustlers who earn only a minimal amount of money may not view their efforts as actual businesses and thus might not report their side hustle earnings. In addition, workers may be hesitant to report under-thetable pay to a government agency for fear of being taxed. As such, the side hustle estimates calculated using Census data reflect those more legitimate business ventures that workers are willing to report to a government agency. These factors perhaps contribute to the fact that higherincome workers are much more likely than low-wage workers to have side hustles, based on Census Bureau data. Over 5% of full-time workers earning over $100,000 per year have side hustles, twice the rate of workers earning $50,000– 75,000, and more than six times the rate of workers earning less than $25,000. Having a side hustle is also correlated with educational attainment. Almost 4% of workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher have side hustles, compared with just 1.2% of high school graduates. The prevalence of side hustler workers also varies by location across the U.S. Some of the Midwestern and Great Plains states have much larger shares of side hustlers than other parts of the country. At the state level, South Dakota (4.6%) and Nebraska (4.2%) have the largest percentage of workers with a side hustle. Workers in these two states tend to earn more from their side businesses as well, with median incomes of $7,500 and $8,000 respectively. To determine the metropolitan areas with the most residents who have side hustles, researchers from BackgroundChecks.org analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Metro areas were ranked by the

percentage of workers with a side hustle, defined as full-time workers who have positive selfemployment income that is less than their wage and salary income. Researchers also calculated the number of total workers with a side hustle, median total income for workers with a side hustle, median side hustle income, and median total income for all workers. Only the 100 largest metros in the U.S. were included in the analysis. The analysis found that in the Riverside-San BernardinoOntario metro area, 1.4% of workers have a side hustle, compared to 2.5% at the national level. The median total income for Riverside-San BernardinoOntario metro workers with a side hustle, including wage and salary income, is $80,000. Here is a summary of the data for the Riverside-San BernardinoOntario, CA metro area: Percentage of workers with a side hustle: 1.4% To t a l w o r k e r s w i t h a sid e hu s t le: 20,79 0 Median total income for workers with a side hustle: $80,000 Median side hustle income: $10,0 0 0 Me d ia n t ot a l i nc ome for all workers: $45,000 For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States: Percentage of workers with a side hustle: 2.5% Total workers with a sid e hu s t le: 2 ,86 6 ,0 8 0 Median total income for workers with a side hustle: $75,000 Median side hustle income: $6,800 Me d ia n t ot a l i nc ome for all workers: $50,000 For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on BackgroundChecks. org’s website: backgroundchecks. org/cities-with-the-most-residentswho-have-side-hustles.html

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Private Party loans generally have higher interest rates, points & fees than conventional discount loans ‘The Measure of a Man’-Sidney Portier...continued from page 1 Globe win and a BAFTA Award. Poitier broke even more barriers in 1963 with his hit film “Lilies of the Field.” The following year, Poitier became the first African American to ever win the Best Actor at the Academy Awards. His career continued to climb for several more years. In 1967 he starred in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” an interracial romance comedy that ruffled feathers in America. Then came other memorable films, “They Call Me Mister Tibbs,” the sequel to the controversial blockbuster “In the Heat of the Night,” and “Uptown

Saturday Night” opposite Cosby. He released several more works; “The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (2007)” “Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter (2008).” “As I entered this world, I would leave behind the nurturing of my family and my home, but in another sense, I would take their protection with me,” he said in “Measure of a Man.” “The lessons I had learned, the feelings of groundedness and belonging that have been woven into my character there, would be my companions on the journey.”

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Page 5

LEGALS/CLASSIFIEDS/NEWS FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20210012435 Date Filed 12/20/2021 Filing Expires On: 12/20/2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): CALIFORNIA TRUCKING COMPANY County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 12693 WHISPERING SPRINGS RD. VICTORVILLE, CA 92395 Mailing Address: 9319 SVL BOX VICTORVILLE, CA 92395 Name of Individual Registrant: JONATHAN CORA Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: State of Inc./Org./Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No.: Residence Street Address: 12693 WHISPERING SPRINGS RD. VICTORVILLE, CA 92395 This business is/was conducted by: An Individual Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Dec 01, 2021 Jonathan Cora, Owner, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct. 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 FORT 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 January 13, 20, 27, February 3, 2022. FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20210012648 Date Filed: 12/27/2021 Filing Expires On: 12/27/2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): TAYLOR POE PRODUCTIONS County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 13737 BURNING TREE DRI VICTORVILLE, CA 92395 Mailing Address: 13737 BURNING TREE DRI VICTORVILLE, CA 92395 Number of Employees: 0 Name of Individual Registrant: LLOYD B. POBER Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: State of Inc./Org./Reg.: Inc./Org./Reg. No.: Residence Street Address: 13737 BURNING TREE DRI VICTORVILLE, CA 92395 This business is/was conducted by: An Individual Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Not Applicable Lloyd B. Pober, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct. 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 FORT 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 January 13, 20, 27, February 3, 2022. FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20210012290 Date Filed 12/14/2021 Filing Expires On: 12/14/2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): INFUSION FOR HEALTH County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 440 N. MOUNTAIN AVE. SUITE 103 UPLAND, CA 91786 Mailing Address: 135 S. STATE COLLEGE BLVD. SUITE 350 BREA, CA 92821 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: INFUSION MANAGEMENT INC. State of Inc./Org./Reg.: Inc./ Org./Reg. No.: C3731180 Residence Street Address: 135 S. STATE COLLEGE BLVD. SUITE 350 BREA, CA 92821 This business is/was conducted by: A Corporation Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: May 05, 2021 Dan McCarty, CEO, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct. 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 FORT 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 December 23, 30, 2021, January 6, 13, 2022. FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20210012298 Date Filed 12/15/2021 Filing Expires On: 12/15/2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): REGAL TERMITE SERVICES County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 56816 ZUNI TRAIL YUCCA VALLEY, CA 92284 Number of Employees: 2 Name of Individual Registrant: ADAN D. MENDOZA Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: State of Inc./Org./Reg.: Inc./Org./Reg. No.: Residence Street Address: 56816 ZUNI TRAIL YUCCA VALLEY, CA 92284 Name of Individual Registrant: ALFREDO MENDOZA Residence Street Address: 7718 VICTOR VISTA AVE. YUCCA VALLEY, CA 92284 This business is/was conducted by: Copartners Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Jun 03, 2021 Adan D. Mendoza, CoPartner, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct. 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 FORT 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 December 23, 30, 2021, January 6, 13, 2022. FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20210012203 Date Filed 12/10/2021 Filing Expires On: 12/10/2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): REVOLVETECH County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 10310 REGIS COURT RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA 91730 Number of Employees: 10 Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: R.J. VALADEZ ENTERPRISES, INC. State of Inc./Org./ Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No.: C2880318 Residence Street Address: 10310 REGIS COURT RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA 91730 This business is/was conducted by: A Corporation Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed

above on: Nov 01, 2020 Robert J. Valadez Sr., CEO, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct. 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 FORT 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 December 23, 30, 2021, January 6, 13, 2022. FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20210012638 Date Filed 12/27/2021 Filing Expires On: 12/27/2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): INTERNATIONAL RACK, CA. County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 11157 CHICO AVE. POMONA, CA 91766 Mailing Address: NESTOR MEDINA PO BOX 9008 PMB., 233 PAULIN AVE. PMB 7102 CALEXICO, CA 92231 Name of Individual Registrant: NESTOR L. MEDINA Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: State of Inc./Org./Reg.: Inc./Org./Reg. No.: Residence Street Address: 11157 CHICO AVE. POMONA, CA 91766 This business is/was conducted by: An Individual Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Not Applicable Nestor L. Medina, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct. 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 FORT 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 December 30, 2021, January 6, 13, 20, 2022. FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20210012252 Date Filed 12/13/2021 Filing Expires On: 12/13/2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): 1. GREEN BUDDY SO CAL 2. GREEN BUDDY SOUTH County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 16666 SMOKE TREE STREET A4 HESPERIA, CA 92345 Number of Employees:1 Name of Individual Registrant: Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: GENERAL VERDE ORGANICS INC. State of Inc./Org./Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No.: C4248504 Residence Street Address: 16666 SMOKE TREE STREET #A4 HESPERIA, CA 92345 This business is/was conducted by: A Corporation Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Dec 01, 2021 Agnes Sinclair, CEO, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct. 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 FORT 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 December 30, 2021, January 6, 13, 20, 2022. FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20210011770 Date Filed 11/23/2021 Filing Expires On: 11/23/2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME (as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.): ELITE CARDIOLOGY GROUP County of Principal Place of Business: SAN BERNARDINO Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 5450 JEFFERSON AVE. SUITE 2 CHINO, CA 91710 Mailing Address: 5150 E. PACIFIC COAST HWY STE 500 LONG BEACH, CA 90804 Number of Employees: 3 Name of Individual Registrant: Name of corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc./Org./Reg.: PROHEALTH PARTNERS, A MEDICAL GROUP, INC. State of Inc./Org./Reg.: CA Inc./Org./Reg. No.: C1914948 Residence Street Address: 5150 E. PACIFIC COAST HWY STE 500 LONG BEACH, CA 90804 This business is/was conducted by: A Corporation Registrant has commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: Oct 04, 2021 Barry Allswang, M.D., President, declares that all information in this statement is true and correct. 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 FORT 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 December 23, 30, 2021, January 6, 13, 2022.

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CIVSB 2131214 TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: MICHAEL DAVID VARGAS filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: a. MICHAEL DAVID VARGAS Proposed name: to: MICHAEL DAVID ZARAGOZA THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. NOTICE OF HEARING Date: 2/08/22 Time 9:00 a.m. Dept.: S16 The address of the court is: SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO San Bernardino District-Civil Division 247 West Third Street San Bernardino, CA 92415-0210 A Copy of this Order to Show Cause

shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: The San Bernardino American Newspaper P.O. Box 837 Victorville, CA 92393 Date: Dec 28, 2021 John M. Pacheco Judge Of The Superior Court Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper December 30, 2021, January 6, 13, 20, 2022. ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CIVSB 2130510 TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: QUADRI OLATUNJI SHAMUSIDEEN filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: a. QUADRI OLATUNJI SHAMUSIDEEN to Proposed name: BABAFEMI OLATUNJI SAMSON THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. NOTICE OF HEARING Date: 01/27/22 Time 9:00 a.m. Dept.: S16 The address of the court is: SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO San Bernardino District-Civil Division 247 West 3rd Street San Bernardino, CA 92415 A Copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: The San Bernardino American Newspaper P.O. Box 837 Victorville, CA 92393 Date: Dec 14, 2021 John M. Pacheco Judge Of The Superior Court Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper January 13, 20, 27, February 3, 2022. ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CIVSB 2200079 TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: DAQING WANG filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: a. DAQING WANG Proposed name: to: PETER D. WANG THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. NOTICE OF HEARING Date: 2/15/22 Time 9:00 a.m. Dept.: S17 The address of the court is: SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO San Bernardino District-Civil Division 247 West Third Street San Bernardino, CA 92415-0210 A Copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: The San Bernardino American Newspaper P.O. Box 837 Victorville, CA 92393 Date: Jan 4, 2022 John M. Pacheco Judge Of The Superior Court Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper January 6, 13, 20, 27, 2022. ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CIVSB 2132980 TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: ROBERTO ALEXANDER ORTIZ ARCHILA & GABRIELA CARRILLO filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: a. JAIDYN GRACE CARRILLO Proposed name: to: JAIDYN GRACE ORTIZ CARRILLO THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. NOTICE OF HEARING Date: Feb 8, 2022 Time 9:00 a.m. Dept.: S16 The address of the court is: SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO San Bernardino District-Civil Division 247 West Third Street San Bernardino, CA 92415-0210 A Copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: The San Bernardino American Newspaper P.O. Box 837 Victorville, CA 92393 Date: John M. Pacheco Judge Of The Superior Court Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper December 30, 2021, January 6, 13, 20, 2022. AMENDED ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CIVSB 2127596 TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: JESSICA HENRY filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: a. JULIA JENE STROUSE Proposed name: to: JULIA JENE HENRY THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing

to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. NOTICE OF HEARING Date: April 14, 2022 Time 8:30 a.m. Dept.: S17 The address of the court is: SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO San Bernardino District-Civil Division 247 West Third Street San Bernardino, CA 92415-0210 A Copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: The San Bernardino American Newspaper P.O. Box 837 Victorville, CA 92393 Date: Dec 15, 2021 John M. Pacheco Judge Of The Superior Court Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper December 23, 30, 2021, January 6, 13, 2022. ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CIVSB 2128690 TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: IVAN SANDOVAL filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: a. DALEYZA L’YVETTE ZUNIGA Proposed name: to: DALEZA SANDOVAL THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. NOTICE OF HEARING Date: Jan 18, 2022 Time 9:00 a.m. Dept.: S17 The address of the court is: SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO San Bernardino District-Civil Division 247 West Third Street San Bernardino, CA 92415-0210 A Copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: The San Bernardino American Newspaper P.O. Box 837 Victorville, CA 92393

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Date: Nov 12, 2021 John M. Pacheco Judge Of The Superior Court Published in the San Bernardino American Newspaper December 23, Correction 30, 2021, January 6, 13, 2022.

PETITION/PROBATE

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: VERNON E. ARRITT aka VERNON EDWARD ARRITT aka VERNON ARRITT CASE NO: PROSB 2101131 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of: VERNON E.

ARRITT aka VERNON EDWARD ARRITT aka VERNON ARRITT

A Petition For Probate has been filed by: DAVID ARRITT in the Superior Court of California, County of SAN BERNARDINO. The Petition For Probate requests that: DAVID ARRITT be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: Date: 02/07/2022 Time: 9:00 a.m. Dept: S35 Superior Court Of California, /county Of San Bernardino 247 West Third Street San Bernardino, CA 92415-0212 Central Justice Center If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for Petitioner: BRYAN C. HARTNELL HARTNELL LAW GROUP 25757 Redlands Blvd. Redlands, CA 92373-8453 (909)796-6881 Published in The San Bernardino American Newspaper January 6, 13, 20, 2022.

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Lessons from Research: Essential Reforms for California's Veterans Homes CalVet News The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) has identified six long-term options for the Barstow Veterans Home, which was built to house 400 veterans in the San Bernardino desert but has operated for years at less than half of its capacity. It does not meet any of CalVet’s criteria for an ideal veterans home. CalVet’s options for Barstow include eliminating room and board care, expanding the skilled nursing facility, and closing the home completely. The report analyzes the costs of each option and the impacts each may have on the state’s budget as well as CalVet’s ability to serve aged and disabled veterans. While CalVet does not conclude with a specific proposal for the future of the Barstow Home, the report itself, along with many of its long-term options, echoes recommendations made by the Little Hoover Commission in its 2017 report, A New Approach to California’s Veterans Homes. Less than 3,000 of California’s more than 1.7 million veterans live in the state’s eight veterans homes, the Commission found in its report, yet the cost of care and upkeep constitutes the bulk of the state’s funding for veterans programs. “I’m very sensitive to the fact that so large a part of my effort – personnel, dollars and everything else – goes to the homes where we’re treating .001 percent of our California [veteran] population,” CalVet Secretary Dr. Vito Imbasciani testified to the Commission at the time of its review. In order to modernize the veterans home program while simultaneously meeting the needs of a changing veteran population, the Commission called for a bold reimagining of veterans care in California and urged leaders to: Review each veterans home as it approaches its 20-year mark to determine whether CalVet should repurpose or shutter any homes and make recommendations to policymakers regarding the future of each home. Ensure the neediest veterans have access to the homes by prioritizing admissions based on financial status or disability rating. Eliminate room and board care gradually to instead focus on providing high-level medical care, such as skilled nursing care. Such action is urgent to ensure that California effectively serves its veterans, and state leaders have taken promising steps toward reform. In 2020, CalVet released its Veterans Homes of California Master Plan which carefully evaluates each veterans home based on five metrics – nearby veteran population, proximity to VA medical facilities, appropriate levels of care, local healthcare infrastructure, and ability to hire facility staff. Just one of California’s veterans homes met all five criteria. The Yountville home requires particular attention. Also in 2017, the Commission detailed the challenges facing this home in Transforming the Yountville Veterans Home Campus. In that report, the Commission found that residents at this facility too often lived in decrepit buildings that, at times, put their health and safety at risk. Yet year after year, California devotes hundreds of thousands of dollars for deferred maintenance that patch, but do not solve, the Yountville veterans home’s significant infrastructure problems. CalVet has designated the Yountville home as one of its top priorities. The Commission called for the creation of a new, independent entity to lead the modernization of the Yountville Veterans Home. Led by experts in public financing, real estate development, construction, and historic preservation, this new entity would be empowered to plan, design, and manage all aspects of revitalizing the campus that so many veterans call home. Reforming the state’s veterans homes is essential to provide California’s veterans with the level of care they deserve. As state leaders continue this imperative work, the Commission encourages them to consider its recommendations for modernizing and transforming these homes into efficient and effective models of care for our neediest veterans.

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Page 6

LIFESTYLE//NATIONAL/RELIGION

California Lawmakers Introduce Bill Aimed Roads and Reparations: How Highway Construction Hardened Discrimination...continued from page 2 at Gunmakers

“The Paid Jailer” Report Examines How Political Contributions to Sheriffs Create Conflicts of Interest and Fuel Mass Incarceration...continued

Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

awarding them. It points to states and municipalities that have helped limit the quid pro quo relationship between special interests and the governments awarding contracts. Amplify the voices of more everyday Americans in sheriff’s election by changing how we pay for political campaigns. The recommendations call for citizen-funded elections to amplify the voices of everyday Americans over wealthy special interests by boosting the role of small-dollar donors through any of a number of programs including matching funds programs, voucher programs, or raising qualifying contributions to receive a lump-sum grant.

Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus, joined forces with two other legislators to craft a bill that holds gunmakers liable for injuries or death caused by weapons they manufactured. On Jan. 4, Gipson, Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), and Chris Ward (D-San Diego) introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 1594. The legislators are hinging the passage of their bill on a loophole in a 2005 federal law that otherwise protects gun manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits. “This is absolutely personal to me,” Gipson said, referring to AB 1594. “I will not rest until we put an end to senseless gun violence. Part of the solution is focused on how particular guns are manufactured and distributed in California.” Congress passed the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA)” in 2005. The law shields gun manufacturers and dealers from civil suits when crimes are committed using guns they make. Ting said that AB 1594 exposes a loophole in PLCAA, which does not give impunity to gun makers or sellers when a state law is violated. Ting stated that companies m a nu f a c t u r i ng, s el l i ng, distributing, and marketing of firearms can be held accountable

under state law when such activities create a public nuisance -- defined as contributing to conditions that endanger the health or safety of others or engaging in unfair business practices. “ We mu st ma ke ou r communities safer. Almost every industry in the United States can be held liable for what their products do, but the gun industry is not held to the same standard,” Ting stated. “Financial repercussions may finally push them to be more responsible by improving their practices and adhering to California’s strict gun laws.” Ting, Ward, and Gipson expect to finalize the bill language later this month with hearings likely to start in the spring. AB 1594 is co-sponsored by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the Brady Campaign. Brady is one of America’s oldest and boldest gun violence prevention groups. “Nearly 40,000 lives are lost to gun violence every year. That’s an average of 100 people shot and killed in the United States every day,” Assemblymember Ward said. “Until the gun industry decides to play a larger role in reducing gun violence in our communities, it is vital that California takes action now to stem what has become a worsening public health crisis.” In December, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that his administration is working with the California lawmakers to propose a nation-leading law that would allow private citizens to sue anyone who manufactures, distributes, or continued on page 7

isolated) West Oakland by placing I-880 on the south and west, I-580 on the north, and I-980 on the east, Entropy reported. By the highway engineers’ design, all the freeways make a beeline to the Bay Bridge, which leads into San Francisco, at the expense of the Black communities they wrap around. The first sign of the new highways’ destruction of West Oakland was in 1960. About 400-plus homes in West Oakland were demolished to build a U.S. Postal Service distribution center. Black residents were forced out the area, many taking with them culture, businesses, and wealth. In Sacramento, I-5, Highway 50, and Highway 99 cut through the city, forming barriers between historic Black and Brown neighborhoods and predominantly White areas. On the southeast of the city, Highway 99, constructed in the 1960s, separated the once-predominantly Black Oak Park neighborhood from Curtis Park, which is adjacent and mostly White residents. Fresno’s east and west sides were also racially divided by Highway 99 in the 1960s. About two dozen residential properties occupied by Black people were torn down on the West Side to accommodate the construction, Archer said. Today, Fresno has a city population of over 520,000, with Black people consisting of 8% of its residents. At least 42 cities across the country were affected by massive highway construction projects. “Virtually every state has a story about a highway destroying a Black community. Of course,

this includes all of California, where through the 1940s to the 1960s, the selection of routes for major transportation corridors in cities like Los Angeles, Fresno, and Oakland had a direct and devastating impact on Black communities,” Archer said. The Biden Administration has set aside $1 billion for its “Reconnecting Communities” plan to improve the country’s transportation system with equity in mind, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in November. The racial practice to push neighborhoods into poverty should be remedied, he added. “It’s going to vary by community, and we have to listen to the community,” Buttigieg said. “Sometimes it really is the case that an overpass went in a certain way that is so harmful that it’s got to come down or maybe be put underground. Other times it’s not that way. Maybe the really important thing is to connect across, to add rather than subtract.” The members of the Task Force are looking at recommendations it can “communicate” to officials “to fix any infrastructure needs” concerning communities of colors, said Task Force C h a i r K a m i la h Mo ore. “What makes this plan different from other infrastructure plans is the built-in provision that allows states to use these funds to correct any racial inequities that were used to harm Black communities,” Moore said. “Through Biden’s plan (the task force) would like to look at ways we can repair Black California.”

“The Paid Jailer” Report Examines How Political Contributions to Sheriffs Create Conflicts of Interest and Fuel Mass Incarceration Lifestyle/National News In the United States, more than 3,000 sheriffs possess extensive or even total authority over arrests, incarceration, and civil enforcement in their jurisdictions. A new report released today by Common Cause and Communities for Sheriff Accountability examines how campaign contributions to sheriffs across the country and their business relationships with donors can encourage and incentivize mass incarceration in the U.S. “The Paid Jailer: How Sheriff Campaign Dollars Shape Mass Incarceration,” is a first of its kind report that examines the conflicts of interest and ethics issues raised by the political giving of corporations and individuals seeking contracts and business with these law enforcement agencies. “Sheriffs’ deputies make more than 2 million arrests each year, and sheriffs' control most of the country’s jails, where hundreds of thousands of people are confined at any given time,” said Max Rose, executive director of Sheriffs for Trusting Communities. “This report shows that, instead of making decisions for community safety, many sheriffs are rewarding their donors with new jails and jail contracts. This conflict of interest leads to people dying in jail and an incentive to put more people behind bars, and it can’t continue” The financial and related data in the report was collected from a representative crosssection of 48 sheriffs across the United States. The research, conducted in 11 states, documents

approximately 13,000 apparent conflicts of interest, primarily between 2010 and 2021. The findings identified upward of $6 million, approximately 40% of all examined contributions, that create potential conflicts of interest. Findings in the report include: Maryland sheriffs received up to $1,396,569 in ethically conflicted donations across 24 campaigns. The Orange County (CA) Sheriff accounts for $715,000 in potential conflicts of interest. Massachusetts sheriffs received up to $2,686,129 in potentially conflicted donations across just 13 sheriffs’ campaigns, with sheriffs in these five counties being the top recipients: Suffolk County, $319,002; Bristol County, $324,870; Hampden County, $396,604; Worcester County, $504,516; and Plymouth County, $738,008. “This report demonstrates that county sheriffs are politicians with a badge. The research revealed that many sheriffs took in significant contributions not just from one or two conflicted sources, but from a wide range of contributors who stood to benefit from their dealings with these departments,” said Keshia Morris Desir, Common Cause census & mass incarceration project manager. “The incentives are skewed and only serve to exacerbate the already huge problem of mass incarceration in the United States.” The report’s breakdown by industry of campaign contributions

to current incumbent sheriffs in 48 counties found the following: Constr uction companies and real estate businesses gave sheriffs’ campaigns at least $1,620,611 across 1,010 separate transactions. These companies benefit by receiving lucrative contracts for the design and construction of jails and other law enforcement facilities. Representatives of legal firms and related services gave $326,878 across 1,099 separate donations. Many of these contributors represent the sheriffs’ offices on wrongful death and misconduct cases. Transportation companies donated $286,826, including towing and hauling businesses, across 599 transactions. Sheriffs’ offices spend millions to purchase, modify, and repair government vehicles, including cars, boats, and aircraft. Sheriffs also rely on towing companies for impounding vehicles. Moving companies benefit when the sheriff calls them when evicting someone from their residence. Telecom and Tech companies donated $216,847 to these sheriffs. Many sheriffs’ offices are high-tech enterprises, dishing out millions of dollars in contracts to companies that handle services such as phone calls with incarcerated people, surveillance, and weapons systems. Sheriffs’ offices often draw commissions from services they provide to incarcerated people, including up to 85% site commissions on every phone call.

Medical businesses and professionals donated more than $290,000 in at least 640 contributions to the analyzed campaigns. At least $55,465 came from providers who also held contracts with these same sheriffs. Businesses in the energy industry have been known to use sheriffs as their own private security forces. Our research found that at least $70,679 was donated to sheriffs from segments of the energy sector. "The cost to run for sheriff varies drastically from one jurisdiction to the next, from a few thousand to millions of dollars, but those who stand to gain through campaign contributions scale them accordingly,” said Beth Rotman, Common Cause Money in Politics & Ethics Program Director. “Where there is money to be made from elected officials, campaign contributions will flow and that is precisely why we need strong ethics, campaign finance, and disclosure laws on the books.” The report closes with a series of policy recommendations to curb conflicts of interest and ethics issues raised by the political giving of corporations and individuals seeking contracts with sheriff’s departments End contributions from entities doing or seeking business with the sheriffs’ office. The report calls for breaking the connection between those seeking government contracts and those entities continued in next 2 columns

Strengthen transparency and disclosure laws. The report emphasizes the need to strengthen transparency and disclosure laws so that everyone is aware of who is funding campaigns. Undisclosed contributions or political spending allows special interests and donors to buy influence anonymously. The report was co-authored by Dr. Jonathan Henry, Keshia Morris Desir, Max Rose, Beth Rotman, and Paul S. Ryan, and published by Common Cause and Communities for Sheriff Accountability. The report has been endorsed by more than 20 nonprofit organizations. To view t h is release online, click here. https:// w w w. t h e p a i d j a i l e r . o r g /

WITNESS FOR JUSTICE Issue #1081

Teaching Truth for Young People Trayce Potter Time moves quickly. It seems like just yesterday I held a newborn in my arms for the first time and wondered about all the possibilities before him. In reality, a little over four years has passed and I am now at the stage of preparing both him and me for the transition to formal education. There is a small private school I have in mind, but this will also pose some challenges as the school is a predominantly white, upperclass private school for boys. I sat across from the admissions representative and asked her very straightforwardly about the school’s curriculum when it comes to diversity, representation, and race. I needed to know that history would be taught accurately and that my son would hear about people who look like him more than in the month of February. While I was satisfied with the answers for this particular school, there are undoubtedly too many parents who are frustrated by attempts to censure voices from the margins or attempts to erase truth. I am far from an expert on critical race theory (CRT) and defer to my colleagues who have multiple degrees in the area. Essentially, CRT affirms that America—both society and its institutions— have been built on systems of racism that have allowed white supremacy to flourish unchecked. This keeps minorities in a state of oppression no matter how hard they work. Racism is a part of everyday life for many individuals, whether it is talked about or not. Naturally, this idea can make people uncomfortable and want to shy away from the difficult conversations that it might lead to. White suburban moms have stormed school board meetings

and demanded that their children be protected from CRT and any teaching that highlights the fact that certain groups enjoy privileges at the expense of another people. The claim is that many BIPOC voices and concepts of race are unfair because children are not ready for such heavy topics. What these individuals fail to realize is that black and brown children are never too young to experience the effects of racism firsthand. There is a disconnect between my faith and what our young people are being taught about history and/or themselves. My faith and what I tell young people centers around the belief that God desires for all of us to live a full and abundant life. If we can’t even talk about the simple truths that have been created as a byproduct of racism, there will continue to be children who fail to experience all that life and God have to offer. There are no easy answers or ways to undo four hundred years of racism, neglect, and harm, but we also cannot pretend it never happened or just hope our children will remain innocent and unaware of differences. My invitation to all of us, regardless of whether you have children or not, is to consistently advocate for our children. We are handing over a world to this generation without giving them the tools to thrive. And I know my four-year-old son and his best friend who looks nothing like him, and every child that God has entrusted to us communally, are worth doing the hard work to dismantle racism one truth at a time. Trayce Potter is Minister for Yout h a nd You ng Adult Engagement for the United Church of Christ.

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Page 7

WORLD/LOCAL/HEALTH NEWS

Poor Once More: Millions Of Families Thrown Back Into Poverty As Child Tax Credit Expires World/Local/Health News

Claire Zippel

Michelle Dallafior

Loree D. Jones As US families stare down the twin barrels of the lingering Covid-19 pandemic and rising inflation, Congress has let expire the Child Tax Credit, a critical source of income which lifted 61 million children out of poverty since its implementation last July. The Child Tax Credit, which expired Dec. 31, 2020, gave direct payments of $300 per month to children below the age of 6 and $250 per month for children above the age of 6. The monthly payments meant families could immediately access the benefits without waiting a year to receive the credit. At an Ethnic Media Services briefing Jan. 7, advocates discussed the importance of the benefit and the need for Congress to continue the lifeline. The credit has been projected to reduce annual child poverty by more than 40 percent, said Claire

Zippel, Senior Research Analyst in the Income and Poverty Trends team at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. “We know that reducing child poverty helps children healthier and do better in school and really sets them up for success as adults,” she said. Previously, 27 million children didn’t receive the full credit amount because their families earned too little. But under the rescue plan, children and families with low or no income in a year, got the same amount of the credit as children and families with higher incomes, said Zippel. The expansion is projected to cut the percent of black children in poverty from 22 percent to 13 percent and the percent of Latino children in poverty from 21 percent to 12 percent. 91 percent of the credit was used by families for basic necessities, such

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FDIC and FinCEN Launch Digital Identity Tech Sprint

as food, housing, clothing, utility, bills and education, said Zippel. “Hunger rose from 10 million in 2019 to 12 million in 2020. Black and Latino children are twice as likely to face hunger because of systemic racism," said Loree D. Jones, CEO of Philabundance, a hunger relief project in Philadelphia, one of the poorest large cities in the US. We know a safety net is not a sustainable solution. Systematic change like the child tax credit are a more sustainable winning strategy,” said Jones. I remain optimistic because for the first time in a long time, because things are so hard, we do have the will to get this done for our kids. Philabundance has provided 70 thousand culturally responsive meals to Afghan refugees, and provided food during Ramadan so Muslim families had food to break their fasts. Expansion of the credit is tied to

the $1.7 trillion Build Back Better bill currently being debated by Congress: the child tax credit would add an estimated $105 billion per year to the budget, said Michelle Dallafior, Senior Vice President of Budget and Tax at First Focus on Children. We are at an incredibly pivotal moment for our nation’s children, she said. We urgently need to pass the Build Back Better Act. Support for children is too often viewed as something that can be cut when negotiations are under way,” said Dallafior. She noted that there is standalone legislation for the child tax credit that exists in both the House and Senate, which would separate it from the Build Back Better bill, but the probability of getting a standalone bill passed was not high. “The moment is now, and our Congressional Champions feel the same way: we just can’t leave kids behind,” said Dallafior.

Gene Wade named CEO of the Propel Center, a new HBCU technology and learning hub dedicated to preparing the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs World/Local News

World/Local News WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today announced a Tech Sprint to develop solutions for financial institutions and regulators to help measure the effectiveness of digital identity proofing—the process used to collect, validate, and verify information about a person. Through the Tech Sprint, FDIC’s tech lab (FDITECH) and FinCEN seek to increase efficiency and account security; reduce fraud and other forms of identity-related crime, money laundering, and terrorist financing; and foster customer confidence in the digital banking environment. Digital identity proofing is a foundational element to enable digital financial services to function properly. This element is challenged by the proliferation of compromised personally identifiable information (PII), the increasing use of synthetic identities, and the presence of multiple, varied approaches for identity proofing. The FDIC and FinCEN ask Tech Sprint participants to answer the followi ng quest ion: “What is a scalable, costefficient, risk-based solution to measure the effectiveness of

digital identity proofing to ensure that individuals who remotely (i.e., not in person) present themselves for financial activities are who they claim to be?” In the coming weeks, FDIC and FinCEN will open registration for this Tech Sprint. Interested individuals will have approximately two weeks to submit applications. The Tech Sprint will encompass a review of applications, grouping of individuals into teams that will work together over approximately three weeks to develop solutions to this challenge question, and invitations to participate in a virtual “Demo Day” of short team presentations to a panel of experts for evaluation. At the conclusion of the Tech Sprint, the FDIC will publish all team presentations and recognize teams based on several criteria detailed in the forthcoming prize notice. Neither the FDIC nor FinCEN are offering monetary prizes associated with the Tech Sprint. Additional questions about the Tech Sprint can be sent to Innovation@FDIC. gov. Read more about FDIC and FinCEN’s Tech Sprint, Measuring the Effectiveness of Digital Identity Proofing for Digital Financial Services.

Gene Wade named CEO of the Propel Center, a new HBCU technology and learning hub dedicated to preparing the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs... continued worked as a corporate attorney. He is the holder of an M.B.A. degree from The Wharton School, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and earned his B.A. degree from Morehouse College. Apple and Southern Company have each stepped forward to support the project as founding partners, providing experts and critical programming, and investing a total of $50 million towards the $100 million goal for the development and launch of Propel. “The Propel Center requires a strong and savvy leader that is not afraid to be an innovative disruptor,” said Chris Womack, president and CEO of Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company. “Gene Wade has the experience and vision Propel needs to create ground-breaking opportunities that will make a difference for HBCUs and their students.” Anthony Oni, chairman, agrees that Wade’s appointment is the right choice at the right time. “Ultimately, in order to solve the systemic issues that we’re trying to address in higher education and workforce development, it’s going to take a reimagining of how we prepare students,” Oni states. “Propel Center is a shared layer of resources to augment the incredible work that’s already taking place at HBCUs, but with an opportunity to co-build curriculum with both HBCUs and industry leaders; to give students access to what industry leaders are

thinking, creating and developing today and in the future.” “I’ve dedicated my career to building innovative education solutions, business models and technology platforms that directly address the preparation challenges facing African American and low-income students,” says Wade. “Propel represents a unique opportunity to continue this work, and help radically transform how we prepare students to lead and participate in the innovation economy.” Described as a “global HBCU headquarters,” Propel Center is designed to provide innovative curricula, advanced technology support, unprecedented career and leadership opportunities, strategic resources, preparation and access across the Black collegiate community to support their work in producing the next generation of leaders who will champion equity, justice and entrepreneurship. Among the available curriculum options will be mobile app development, agricultural technologies, augmented reality, social justice and entertainment arts, along with career preparation and entrepreneurship tracks. Featuring state-of-the-art learning technology, the 50,000 square-foot, custom-designed Propel Center facility and campus will support the entire HBCU community through a robust virtual platform accessible to all HBCU students and faculty, located in Atlanta.

Defensive tackle left defenseless against superbug By Brandon Noble I wasn't nervous about a minor knee surgery. As an NFL football player who'd undergone far more extensive operations before, this procedure seemed completely routine. Little did I know that within 36 hours, I would be lying unconscious on the sofa at my daughter's second birthday party, my right leg inflamed like an overinflated balloon. The incision site on my knee had been infected with methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus,

or MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant "superbug." What my doctor had initially diagnosed as a simple infection nearly cost me my leg. It could have even taken my life. It took weeks of intensive care, including six weeks of intravenous antibiotics, for me to recover. I was lucky to walk away from such a dangerous situation. Not everyone is as fortunate. Superbugs like MRSA kill upwards of 160,000 Americans a year. Within the next continued on page 8

California Lawmakers Introduce Bill Aimed at Gunmakers...continued from page 6

Gene Wade (ATLANTA, GA) – The Propel Center, the global HBCU technology and learning hub intended to level the playing field and open greater doors of opportunity for their students, has announced the naming of respected social entrepreneur and education advocate Gene Wade as chief executive officer. Wade most recently served as Founder and CEO of Honors Pathway in Oakland, California, a social venture that enabled lowincome students to attend their first year of college at no cost while receiving over 500 hours of inperson coaching and mentoring. He also serves on several nonprofit boards, including the Pahara Institute, Portal Schools, and Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area, ideal foundations for his

new role with Propel Center. Over his 25-year career, Wade also co-founded and led several entrepreneurial social ventures, including UniversityNow, which developed a self-paced online learning management system designed to lower the cost of higher education that was acquired and is currently serving hundreds of thousands of online students; Platform Learning, which developed a network of free after school tutoring programs that served over 50,000 students; and LearnNow, the first national network of public charter schools founded and led by African Americans. Before cementing his name as one of the nation’s foremost education entrepreneurs, Wade continued in next 2 columns

sells unlawful assault weapons, as well as “ghost guns,” ghost gun kits or their component parts. Gipson, who is the chair for the Select Committee on Police Reform, also said he plans to introduce another bill soon that goes after assault weapons and “ghost gun” distributors through private legal action. According to the Brady Campaign, ghost guns are un-serialized and untraceable firearms that can be bought online and assembled at home. They are often sold through “ghost gun kits,” which include all of the parts and often the equipment necessary to build these weapons at home. In response to Newsom's plans, The California Rifle and Pistol Association said in a statement, “The latest attack on law-abiding California gun owners is Newsom’s response to a recent Supreme Court ruling reacting to a Texas law prohibiting abortion. Law-abiding gun owners and businesses are not the cause of criminal misuse of firearms. Yet, Newsom

and other anti-gun politicians seem to believe the threat of frivolous lawsuits will somehow address their own failures.” Organized in 1875, the California Rif le and Pistol Association, based in Fullerton, is the official and only state affiliate of the National Rifle Association. In 2019, the governor signed Gipson’s AB 879 into law. It requires a state background check for purchases of unfinished firearm frames and receivers, and mandates that all purchases happen through a licensed gun dealer. Gipson’s 32-year-old son Devon and his fiancée were shot almost two years ago in the Gramercy Park area of South Los Angeles. The couple survived the shooting, but a 55-year-old man was killed, and another person was injured. “I am proud to team up with and look forward to working with my colleague, Assemblymember Ting, to pass tangible, commonsense legislation to protect our families from those who would do them harm,” Gipson said.

Thursday, January 13, 2022

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COUNTY/POLITICAL NEWS/ADVERTISING

Burned Out from Lingering Pandemic, Some on Front Lines Find Faith an Antidote Special to NNPA Newswire

Jw.org offers a collection of practical articles like “How to Beat Pandemic Fatigue” and short comforting videos such as “The Resurrection – Soon a Reality.” It’s a free resource that Smith recommends to everyone. When the Omicron variant started emerging around the country, Registered Nurse Currine Smith flashed back to the despair she felt at the beginning of the pandemic. Now entering the third year of COVID, she describes feeling a sense of dread and anxiety when walking into work. “The scene is quite grim,” she said of the Level I trauma hospital where she works in Delaware. “People feel like the light at the end of the tunnel doesn’t exist anymore.” Many medical workers like her are exhausted from working through the pandemic. With variants straining shortstaffed facilities across the country, some on the front lines are experiencing added physical,

mental and emotional stress. “I’m feeling burnout,” said Smith, who saw her medical floor skyrocket with COVID cases amid the current surge. “The stress and anxiety I feel wears down on me mentally, emotionally and physically.” What pulled her out of despair in the early phases of the pandemic continues to keep her afloat. She credits her faith as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses for helping her and other health care workers in her religious community endure the ongoing toll of the pandemic. “Remembering how my faith and relationship with God has sustained me thus far helps me to continue,” Smith said. She also prays regularly and leans on fellow believers for

support. “I pray for you every single day,” said one friend. Without hesitation, her family of faith mobilized with phone calls and texts, and even delivered food to her doorstep to help her get through the crises and not give up. Smith gets a weekly dose of that encouragement and support at her congregation meetings, held on a virtual platform since the pandemic started. “Virtual association with those who love and support me helps me to cope and remain joyful through these challenges,” she explained. American psychological and psychiatric associations, while not advocating or endorsing any specific religion, acknowledge the role spirituality

and religious faith can play in coping with distress and trauma. Lawrence Onoda, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in Mission Hills, California, noted some ways spirituality can help, including giving people “a positive hope and meaning toward life, comfort by looking for answers and strength from a higher power, and a collective shared experience of support and community.” Smith finds joy in passing along to others what has helped her. She joins friends online to write or call people in the community with a message of hope from the Scriptures. She recently participated in a special worldwide campaign to offer the article, “A Better World is Near,” from jw.org, the official website of Jehovah’s Witnesses. “Sharing that message was a constant reminder that the suffering I see in the hospital is only temporary.” Jw.org offers a collection of practical articles like “How to Beat Pandemic Fatigue” and short comforting videos such as “The Resurrection – Soon a Reality.” It’s a free resource that Smith recommends to everyone. “The information is always timely and the articles about how to handle stress have given me invaluable pointers on coping skills,” she said. “It’s definitely been a source of comfort for me.”

Defensive tackle left defenseless against superbug... continued from page 7 30 years, such infections are expected to kill 10 million people around the world annually, as superbugs spread and existing antibiotics lose their efficacy. The only way to prevent such carnage is to invent new, stronger antibiotics. And we're not pouring nearly enough resources into research and development. Consider the resources spent battling Covid-19. The United States alone funneled $18 billion toward vaccine R&D via Operation Warp Speed. Yet governments around the world spend only $550 million a year on antibiotics research. That's not nearly enough to fight this global health crisis. A world without effective antibiotics is almost too terrible to imagine. Infections like strep throat, pneumonia, meningitis, and gonorrhea are adapting to resist treatments; people may once again start dying from what we used to consider small problems. Minor surgeries like mine might become too dangerous to perform at all. Why isn't the necessary research happening already? The market is broken. Pharmaceutical companies have little incentive to spend the roughly $1 billion it costs to develop just one antibiotic because it is so difficult

to make a return on investment. Doctors are encouraged to use powerful antibiotics in moderation -- to prevent bacteria from evolving to resist those medicines. This caution is necessary -- but it means that drug companies struggle to sell enough doses to earn back the costs of R&D and fund research into new products. We need to revamp the system, fast. While I may not usually be in favor of major government intervention into market issues, this extreme case warrants it. Governments and hospitals need to incentivize the companies that can develop these important medicines. Congress is currently considering legislation, like the PASTEUR Act and the DISARM Act, that could encourage the creation of new antibiotics that save millions of lives. We need lawmakers to take this issue seriously. If I -- a professional athlete in prime physical condition -can be sacked by superbugs, anyone can. We need to work together to prevent another global health crisis. Brandon Noble is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Football Team. He played college football at Penn State University. This piece originally ran in The Hill.

California Adds Twist to New CDC OP-ED: January 6th, Voting Rights and the Tyranny Threatening America Advice on Quarantines By Aldon Thomas Stiles, California Black Media

“I am not a fan of the filibuster. But, if holding on to that tradition is important to most of the Senate, I maintain that exceptions on Constitutional issues like voting should apply,” says House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC).

A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand By Congressman James E. Clyburn, House Majority Whip (D-SC)

I listened intently this morning as our 46th President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the nation from Statuary Hall observing the first anniversary of last year’s insurrection. I found myself reflecting upon the attack on Pearl Harbor that thrusted us into a world war against a tyrannical foreign power. Eighty years later, tyranny is threatening America again, this time from a domestic attack. A President and his enablers created a narrative and fomented a “Big Lie” that is continuing. He incited a violent mob to attack our seat of government and disrupt the certification of the results of a free and fair election which he lost by over 7 million votes. President Franklin Roosevelt referred to the December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor attack as, “a day that will live in infamy.” World War II lasted almost 4 years. January 6, 2021 launched a disgraceful and ignoble domestic conflict, and it remains to be seen how long it will last. Over the past year, we have

witnessed loyalists of the 45th President work to unravel the threads that hold the fabric of our representative democracy together. His followers, fueled by a constant diet of disinformation, have harassed and intimidated election officials across the country, causing many to resign their positions out of fear for themselves and their families. Republican officials, fearful of being primaried by “45’s” loyalists, embrace his “Big Lie” and enact legislation they feel will appease him. States with Republican governors and legislatures are passing laws and redistricting plans constructed to guarantee the election of more likeminded loyalists and shift government control away from anyone who doesn’t adhere to his tyrannical whims. According to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice, 19 states have enacted 34 election laws that restrict or suppress the vote. Some to make it easier for local officials to nullify election results they don’t like. The right to vote is the most fundamental thread of our

democratic fabric. Without it, our democracy unravels. Currently, 50 Republicans in the United States Senate, aided and abetted by two Democrats, are blocking votes on two critical voting rights bills, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act basically updates the formula which, since the enactment of the 1965 Voters Rights Act, triggers a process of pre-clearance by the Justice Department or a federal court if a jurisdiction seeks to make any changes in its voting laws. In 2013, that pre-clearance formula was declared outdated by the United States Supreme Court and Congress was invited to update the formula. The House responded by holding over a dozen hearings by two separate committees and passed subsequent legislation which was sent to the Senate. Unfortunately, all Senate Republicans, except Senator Lisa Murkowski, are standing in the way of its passage. Two Democrats have been giving comfort to the Republicans on this issue and one of them, Senator Joe Manchin, has proposed the Freedom to Vote Act, seeking to attract bipartisan support for many provisions of the House-passed For the People Act. The legislation includes provisions protecting election security, reforming campaign finance, ensuring fair redistricting, and preventing voter nullification. Despite Senator Manchin’s mollification attempts, not a single Republican voted to allow the Freedom to Vote Act to come to the floor for a vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has vowed to bring both bills up for another vote by January 17th, the Dr. Martin

Luther King Jr. holiday. His efforts, however, seem destined to fail without a change to the Senate’s filibuster rules that require 60 votes to cut off debate. While bipartisanship is welcomed, and may be preferable, history informs us that the 15th Amendment giving Blacks the right to vote, passed on a party line vote. And who would argue that the 15th Amendment should not have been adopted because it did not have bipartisan support? I am not a fan of the filibuster. But, if holding on to that tradition is important to most of the Senate, I maintain that exceptions on Constitutional issues like voting should apply. An exception is employed for fiscal issues to ensure the full faith and credit of the United States are not jeopardized by a filibuster. The process is called “reconciliation,” a term I believe is more aptly applied to the Constitution than the budget. On the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt spoke these words, “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win.” He continued, “I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.” America was victorious. Our democracy and our friends and allies were saved from tyranny. Today’s challenge is no less perilous. To dismiss the seriousness of this moment is to condone the insidiousness of the “Big Lie.” Our best protection is to ensure the fundamentals of our democracy hold. As our 16th President extolled during another challenging time, “a house divided against itself cannot stand.”

A masked worker stands behind a sign warning of a quarantine. iStock photo. The Monday after Christmas, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shortened its COVID-19 quarantine recommendation by half. That same day, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Twitter that California will follow suit, recommending a five-day isolation period instead of the state’s former guidance of 10 days. “California will align with the CDC’s updated guidelines for isolation and quarantine time,” Newsom tweeted. However, California’s updated guidance differs from the CDC’s in one important way. The state is recommending that people who quarantine after a positive diagnosis take a follow-up test and get a negative result before ending isolation. The CDC’s guidelines do not include taking another test after quarantining. The CDC said its decision, in part, is based on science that shows people are most infectious during the first five days of catching the virus. In an interview with NPR, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said another rationale for the new shortened guidance is the concern for keeping industries that are critical to the national economy operating.

Sharing this concern, Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian, along with the company’s medical advisor Dr. Carlos del Rio and Chief Health Officer Dr. Henry Ting, sent a letter to Walensky less than a week before CDC’s updated recommendation, requesting a five-day isolation period for Delta’s fully vaccinated employees. The letter argued that the previous guidelines were out of date and did not account for vaccinations. It also argued that the former 10-day isolation period would hurt business because with the spread of the Omicron variant, vaccinated workers who do catch COVID-19 would be out for a longer period of time. “With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the 10-day isolation for those who are fully vaccinated may significantly impact our workforce and operations,” the letter read. “Similar to healthcare, police, fire, and public transportation workforces, the Omicron surge may exacerbate shortages and create significant disruptions.” In December 2020, the CDC shortened its previous recommendation of a 14-day isolation period to 10 days. California Black Media’s coverage of COVID-19 is supported by the California Health Care Foundation.