Bay Area
California Black Media Weekly News Roundup
The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) has launched its annual Frederick Roberts Scholarship Program for college-level study. “We invite our community partners to share this scholarship application far and wide to graduating high school seniors and College freshman throughout California. The scholarship application deadline is May 15th,” the CLBC announcement reads.
By Tanu Henry
California Black Media
Apply Now: The California Legislative Black Caucus Launches Annual Scholarship Program
The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) has launched its annual Frederick Roberts Scholarship Program for college-level study.
“We invite our community partners to share this scholarship application far and wide to graduating high school seniors and College freshman throughout California. The scholarship application deadline is May 15th,” the CLBC announcement reads.
Named for Frederick Roberts, the first African-American legislator in California, the CLBC says the scholarship program was “established to assist deserving students by offering financial assistance to help meet educational expenses.”
To apply visit the CLBC website.
Assemblymember Tina McKinnor Wants More Affordable Housing
Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) says she is “not here for the B.S.”
“I’m here to build houses,” McKinnor said to rounds of applause from members of the NorCal Carpenters Union surrounding her podium as she made the statement last week in Sacramento supporting Senate Bill (SB) 4.
SB 4 is one of several housing bills making their way through the California Legislature designed to expand housing opportunities and eliminate some of the red tape that prevents or slows down the construction of affordable housing units in local communities across the state.
On March 21, members of the Assembly Housing Committee approved the bill with a 9-to-1 vote. It has been referred to the Committee on Governance and Finance for review.
Legislature Advances Bill Written to Penalize Oil Companies for Price Gouging Last Summer
Last Thursday, the California Senate passed a bill close to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s heart calling for oil companies to be punished for arbitrarily increasing prices at the gas pump last summer and benefitting from it.
At the height of the surge, gas prices in some cities in California reached as high as $8 per gallon, causing widespread public frustration.
“For decades, oil companies have gotten away with ripping off California families while making record profits and hiding their books from public view,” said Newsom last week after the Senate vote.
Newsom says the legislation will serve as a deterrent.
“With this proposal, California leaders are ending the era of oil’s outsized influence and holding them accountable,” the governor continued. “Thanks to the Senate’s quick action, we’re getting this done for California families.”
The legislation calls for the creation of an independent regulatory group, the California Energy Commission (CEC), to investigate and determine whether the oil industry (more specifically, the five major oil companies servicing California) are engaged in price gouging.
The five-member commission would be appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate, and it would be granted the authority to access the financial statements and other corporate documents of oil companies, as well as subpoena executives if needed.
According to the governor’s office, the CEC would establish an “allowable margin” within which oil companies can set the price of gasoline per gallon. And before it imposes penalties, it would have to determine that the fine would benefit customers.
If the law passes, the CEC would be subject to oversight by the State Auditor.
Assembly Bill to Make Big Tech Pay Usage Fees for News from Local News Outlets
Assembly Bill (AB) 886, or the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA), requiring big tech companies like Google and Facebook to pay fees for content they display from local news outlets was expected to go into effect late last week.
The bill, authored by State Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), calls for the large digital companies — who have become advertising giants earning money from content distributed on their platforms — to pay a “journalism usage fee” each time they use “local news content and sell advertising alongside it,” according to a statement released by Wicks’ office.
The legislation also requires publishers to use 70% of the usage fee they recover from the big tech companies to invest in jobs.
“The CJPA provides a lifeline for news outlets — large, small, and ethnic — by directing a portion of the ad dollars back to the print, digital and broadcast media that bear the entire cost of gathering and reporting local news while Big Tech bears none,” said Wicks.
“These dominant digital ad companies are enriching their own platforms with local news content without adequately compensating the originators. It’s time they start paying market value for the journalism they are aggregating at no cost from local media.”
Both the California News Publishers Association (CNPA) and the News/Media Alliance (NMA) support the bill.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber Releases Voter Registration Report
Last week, Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber released a report updating the public on voter registration across the state.
According to the report, there are 21,980,768 registered voters in California. That number accounts for 82.27% of all eligible voters in the state.
Currently, among all registered voters, 23.83% are Republicans; 46.89%, Democrats, 22.48%, no party affiliation; and 6.81%, other.
The report does not break down voters by race.
It is a compilation of voter registration data (as of Feb. 10) submitted by elections offices in all 58 of California’s counties and it includes:
- Voter registration by political party, county, city, congressional district, state Senate district, state assembly district, state board of equalization district, county supervisorial district, and political subdivision
- Statewide voter registration by age group and by county
- Historical comparisons to previous reports in odd-numbered years
- Voter registration by political bodies attempting to qualify as political parties (by county)
Woman of the Year: Assemblymember Akilah Weber Celebrates Her Mom, Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber
In a heartwarming tribute last week, Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-La Mesa) celebrated her mother as “Woman of the Year.”
“This Women’s History Month, I am proud to announce that our Woman of the Year is none other than California Secretary of State Shirley Nash Weber, who also happens to be my phenomenal mother,” said the lawmaker and medical doctor who represents the state’s 79th Assembly District in the San Diego area.
“Although she is a woman of many firsts, she has made it a point to leave the door open for others who come behind her, including myself,” said the younger Weber, before listing her mother’s many personal and policy achievements.
“It is truly my honor to recognize Secretary of State Weber,” the younger Weber concluded.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Alameda County
DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland
Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.
Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.
Bay Area
State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference
California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.
By Carla Thomas
California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco.
The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.
“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.
ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.
“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.
More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.
Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.
“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.
“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.
“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.
By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”
Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”
Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.
“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”
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