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COMMENTARY: Health Care is a Civil Rights Issue

BLACKPRESSUSA.COM — Pharmaceutical manufacturers and their backers spent more than $400,000 in support of Virgina politicians 2024 for pro-pharma legislation. This tiny drop in their estimated $1.7 trillion revenue bucket can have a huge effect on Virginia’s minorities.

Published

9 months ago

September 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Virginia’s Next Governor Should Work to Eradicate Pharmacy Deserts

In 2023, there were 1.6 million Black residents in Virginia, and Black voters made up 19% of the voting age population. With less than 60 days remaining both Lt. Governor Winsome Sears and Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger have a unique opportunity to galvanize this voting base. The first candidate to address the issue of lowering drug costs for Virginia’s minority underserved communities will have tapped into an urgent Civil rights issue of 2025 and motivated a block of voters.

The rich and powerful can only provide money for a campaign, but voters determine elections. Nevertheless, they will try so I am not surprised by the Pharmaceutical Industry’s campaign contributions and lobbying efforts in Virginia.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers and their backers spent more than $400,000 in support of Virgina politicians 2024 for pro-pharma legislation. This tiny drop in their estimated $1.7 trillion revenue bucket can have a huge effect on Virginia’s minorities.

Take the pro-pharma bill SB 875, which became law just this year. It forces any PBMs (pharmacy Benefit Manager) like CVS, or Express Scripts contracted with the State of Virginia to make their pricing more transparent.

This may seem noble on the surface, but PBMs exist to negotiate lower drug prices through health insurance plans, Medicare, and other health programs. By passing SB 875 into law, they took away PBMs’ leverage against Big Pharma companies during price negotiations. In other words, Virginia’s lawmakers legally forced the poker hand of any PBM who wants to do business with the state. It also opens up PBMs for more attacks – and more anti-PBM legislation in Virginia – down the road.

So why is this law so racially ominous? Without PBMs, pharmaceutical companies have all the pricing leverage they need to increase drug costs by 40% to 50%. Virginia’s communities of color, who often stand on the lower end of the pay scale, will be affected the most.

Worse, SB 875 could contribute to higher disease and mortality rates among minorities if drug prices are raised. The average adherence rates of Blacks and Hispanics to their drug regimens are 4.8% to 6.5% lower than whites. That’s roughly 20-25 fewer days of medication use per year, which can lead to poorer health outcomes. Rising prices will increase these rates, leading to much worse health outcomes.

Communities of color already face much higher rates of chronic illness. Black Americans are 30% more likely than white Americans to die from heart disease. Hispanic and Latino adults are 70% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than non-Hispanic whites. Minorities also face much higher rates of stroke, high blood pressure, obesity, kidney disease, asthma, and other health issues. If Big Pharma gets to raise its prices even higher, more of Virginia’s minorities will die.

PBMs are also vital for our dramatically changing pharmacy landscape. Thousands of pharmacies are closing across America, forming what public health policy experts call “pharmacy deserts.”

Between 2016 and 2024, Virginia lost about 6% of its pharmacies, with 50 of those pharmacies closing in 2024 alone. A 2025 study from Virigina Commonwealth University identified 44 pharmacy deserts where gaps in pharmacy services need plugging. Many of them are urban centers with higher minority populations.

PBMs are helping to close these gaps through mail-order drug deliveries by bringing much needed and affordable access to pharmaceuticals in these pharmacy deserts, where Black and Hispanic communities are disproportionately affected. But if Big Pharma had its way,

We must encourage big PHRAMA to put people over profits. They’re spending $400,000 of their roughly $1.7 trillion in revenue and massive profits to influence politicians and eradicate PBMs, who are helping minorities by bringing down the exorbitant drug prices that pharmaceutical manufacturers set and making drugs more accessible.

Weakening PBMs and giving pricing power to Big Pharma would only make the problem worse. Americans already pay nearly 300% more for drugs than citizens of other countries thanks to Big Pharma’s pricing strategies.

Can communities of color really trust Big Pharma to set drug without some line of defense to keep our drug prices low? No, we can’t, and PBMs are the solution.

If Virginia’s Gubernatorial candidates and legislators view Health Care as an urgent Civil Rights issue, then you will have a winning platform at the voting box in November.

Reverend Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr is President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and Executive Producer/Host of The Chavis Chronicles on PBS TV nationwide, and can be reached at dr.bchavis@nnpa.org

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Published

1 month ago

May 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

Published

1 month ago

May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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1 month ago

May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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