Community

Black Caucus Members Hammer Trump After Speech to the Nation on Immigration

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “As we quickly approach the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history, Donald Trump continues to play political games tonight with the lives of more than 800,000 workers, many of whom will not get a paycheck this week,” said Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.)

Published

4 years ago

January 11, 2019

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

On January 8, day eighteen of a government shutdown, President Donald Trump addressed the nation on the issue of a wall at the Mexican border.

Speaking directly to the base of the Republican Party and using the major networks as a megaphone, Trump repeated many of the same themes he used during the 2016 campaign.

“The wall will also be paid for indirectly by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico,” Trump said. It has become increasingly clear that any border wall that may be constructed will not be paid for by the Mexican government.

Trump’s Administration has been pointed on the issue of Mexican immigration, as immigration policy novice Stephen Miller has taken charge of an anti-immigration strategy that has centered around vilifying immigrants from Mexico. Trump has characterized immigrants from Mexico as “drug dealers” and “criminals” and in 2015 when he announced for President he said, “they’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime.”

Exaggerating during his speech, Trump said, “Every day, Customs and Border Patrol agents encounter thousands of illegal immigrants trying to enter our country,” when the true daily estimate is an average of 1,087 each day.

“As we quickly approach the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history, Donald Trump continues to play political games tonight with the lives of more than 800,000 workers, many of whom will not get a paycheck this week,” said Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.)

“His address tonight continues a cruel and shameful political stunt all because he won’t admit that he has failed, and that Mexico isn’t going to pay for his wall like he promised,” she added.

“There was no import, national emergency or credibility that he brought to the table. It was rough,” said Mika Brezinski on the MSNBC show Morning Joe the next morning.

“As predicted, the President’s address tonight was nothing more than the fear-mongering and lies we have come to expect from him. Besides what the President’s own terrible policies have created, there is simply NO emergency at the border,” declared House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).

“This humanitarian crisis is largely intensified by the President’s bigoted policies. Since initially taking the campaign trail, Mr. Trump has vowed to construct a wall at the southern border. His relentless pursuit of this false fence of security, that will not prevent trafficking at airports and other ports of entry, has fueled his deceitful utterances of a national security crisis within the past few days,” said Rep. Al Green of Texas in a statement. The politics of border security are always in the news in Texas.

“He has gone as far as to present misleading statistics about terrorists entering the country and to manipulate data about drug trafficking, violent crimes, and job availability for native-born individuals due to increased illegal immigration. Enough is enough,” Rep. Green added.

The standoff on money for Trump’s border wall has created a policy rift that has resulted in a partial government shutdown.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and writer for NNPA as well as a political analyst and strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

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Gov. Newsom Requests Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Counties Impacted By Storms

Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a request Tuesday for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for nine California counties, including Monterey County. If approved, the move will pave the way for federal aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be provided to local governments and individuals impacted by storms in February and March.

Published

2 days ago

March 31, 2023

Oakland Post

Monterey County Sheriff, Tina Nieto, provides California Governor Gavin Newsom an update on the Pajaro River levee repair near the township of Pajaro, Calif., in Monterey County on March 15, 2023. Floodwaters breached the levee around midnight on March 10, 2023. (Ken James/California Department of Water Resources via Bay City News)

By Thomas Hughes
Bay City News
Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a request Tuesday for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for nine California counties, including Monterey County.
If approved, the move will pave the way for federal aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be provided to local governments and individuals impacted by storms in February and March.
In addition to Monterey County, the request included Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, along with Calaveras, Kern, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Tulare and Tuolumne counties.
Four other counties were added to a previous emergency declaration from the governor, including Alameda, Marin, Modoc and Shasta counties.
“Over these past months, state, local and federal partners have worked around the clock to protect our communities from devastating storms that have ravaged every part of our state. We will continue to deploy every tool we have to help Californians rebuild and recover from these storms,” Newsom said.
If approved, aid from FEMA can be used for individual housing assistance, food aid, counseling, medical and legal services. It will also cover some storm-related costs like debris removal.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors has requested additional state aid to help undocumented residents receive direct assistance that they aren’t eligible for from FEMA.
The governor said in a press release that funding from the state’s Rapid Response Fund would be made available to those residents and will ensure that families with mixed immigration status can access federal aid.
A local resources center opened Wednesday at the Watsonville Veterans Memorial Building at 215 E. Beach St. The center will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through April 7. The center is staffed with personnel from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and Monterey County emergency staff who will help guide Monterey County residents through the recovery process.
An eviction moratorium was passed by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will provide limited eviction protection for residents who lost income because of the storms. If the Presidential Disaster Declaration is approved, FEMA assistance could help some eligible residents receive money to help pay rent, which will not be forgiven during the moratorium.

Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

Activism

20 Years Later, Breast Cancer Emergency Fund a Testament to Faith Fancher’s Enduring Legacy

When a woman is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, chemotherapy and radiation often make her too weak to work. If she is working a low-paying job or unemployed, the mounting bills can become overwhelming. For 20 years, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) has provided a lifeline. The Berkeley-based non-profit organization administers the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which gives cash grants of up to $595 to low-income women in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties who are battling breast cancer.

Published

2 days ago

March 31, 2023

Oakland Post

Faith Fancher, a KTVU reporter, died of breast cancer in 2003

By Tammerlin Drummond

For 20 years, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) has provided a lifeline. The Berkeley-based non-profit organization administers the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which gives cash grants of up to $595 to low-income women in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties who are battling breast cancer.

Grant recipients have used the money to help pay for food, utilities, rent, car insurance, medical co-pays and other necessities. One woman who was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer said she used her $595 grant to buy an oxygen concentrator.

“You could say the air I breathe is because of your generosity,” she said. “I am so incredibly grateful to you and am feeling better every day.

The fund is named in honor of Faith Fancher, a popular television reporter at KTVU who died in 2003 after a valiant battle against breast disease, the web site says. Fancher saw her own cancer as an opportunity to use her public profile to raise awareness and educate others about the importance of early detection.

Fancher founded an organization called Friends of Faith that was dedicated to raising funds for low-income women with breast cancer.

It was 20 years ago this March that Fancher first approached the Women’s Cancer Resource Center about setting up an emergency grant program for women going through breast cancer treatment.

One of the earliest recipients was a 50-year-old homeless woman who used her $595 grant to pay for moving costs into housing she could afford.

“Faith understood the financial burden that low-income individuals faced when diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Dolores Moorehead, who oversees the fund at the WCRC. “This was the first fund dedicated to financial support being offered in the East Bay.”

Over the past two decades, the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund has given out $992,000 in one-time cash grants. There have been 2,500 beneficiaries, including women and some men with breast cancer.

Ricki Stevenson, a founding member of Friends of Faith, reflected on Fancher’s legacy and the enduring impact of the emergency fund that she created.

“It says that Faith continues to be a presence and it wasn’t just about her,” Stevenson said. “It was so all of the other sisters who come behind us they now have help even though they don’t have the same resources.”

Rosie Allen, another founding member of Friends of Faith, said Fancher left a lasting impact. “Twenty years later Faith is no longer with us, but the breast cancer emergency fund lives on and the need is even greater than ever.”

The Friends of Faith used to host an annual 5K walk/run at Lake Merritt to honor Fancher after she died. It raised funds for the emergency fund and other Bay Area non-profits that provide services to breast cancer survivors.

After Friends of Faith disbanded in 2017, the To Celebrate Life Foundation, former Friends of Faith board members and community members have continued to support the breast cancer emergency fund.

Shyanne Reese used her grant to help pay her rent while she was going through breast cancer treatment.

“I often reflect on how I wish I could share with Faith the impact her life and friends made on me in a non-judgement environment, relieving the financial stress of simply paying the rent so that I could focus on healing,” Reese said.

“With your support, we are able to continue this fund and support our community members when they need us most, said WCRC Executive Director Amy Alanes.

To donate to the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency fund, visit https://tinyurl.com/FaithFancher.