Politics

Latino presidential hopeful Castro visits East L.A.

WAVE NEWSPAPERS — Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro said April 6 that he is running for president because “we need new leadership with a new vision for our country in the years to come.”

Published

5 years ago

April 23, 2019

From City News Service

By City News Service

EAST LOS ANGELES — Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro said April 6 that he is running for president because “we need new leadership with a new vision for our country in the years to come.”

“I believe that we must move forward as one nation, with one destiny and that destiny is to be the smartest, the healthiest, the fairest and most prosperous nation on Earth,” Castro told an audience at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles in the first California rally of his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Castro said he supports universal pre-kindergarten for 3- and 4- year olds, paying teachers, counselors, janitors and other school support staff “what they deserve.”

Castro also called for making higher education universal by increasing high school graduation rates and those graduates can attend tuition-free public universities or community colleges or participate in apprenticeship, certification or trade programs.

Castro also said that Medicare should be available “to every single American who wants it.”

“There is no reason in this country anybody should go without health care,” Castro said. “I don’t just mean health insurance. I mean health care.

“Too oftentimes health insurance is getting a denial letter when you need a procedure done. Health care is getting the actual care when you need it and getting the medication you need on top of that.”

Castro said he supports people being able to have private or supplemental health insurance.

“What I don’t believe is that the profit motive should ever cut out human beings who need basic health care in the wealthiest nation on Earth,” Castro said.

To fulfill his goal of making the United States the fairest nation, Castro supports changes to the cash bail system, increasing spending on public defenders and “building” on the First Step Act, recently signed into law by President Donald Trump, whose provisions include promoting participation by federal prisoners in vocational training, educational coursework or faith-based programs in an attempt to reduce the recidivism rate.

Castro detailed his “People First” immigration policy, unveiled April 2, which calls for a “pathway to full and equal citizenship,” to those living in the U.S. without authorization, ending criminal penalties for entering the United States without legal permission and a “Marshall Plan” for Central America, focusing on stabilizing the nations that are the main sources of migration to the United States.

The Marshall Plan was the U.S. initiative to aid Western Europe following World War II.

“Decriminalizing illegal immigration would mean open season for human traffickers, drug smugglers and violent gangs like MS-13,” Steve Guest, the Republican National Committee deputy rapid response director wrote April 2, one day after Castro unveiled the policy in a post on the website Medium.com.

Castro received a bachelor’s degree from Stanford in 1996 in political science and communications and graduated from Harvard Law School in 2000.

Castro began his political career in 2001 when he was elected to the San Antonio City Council when he was 26 years old, the youngest person elected to that body. He served on the City Council until 2005, when he gave up the seat to make an unsuccessful run for mayor.

Castro was elected mayor of San Antonio 2009, serving until 2014, when he was appointed secretary of housing and urban development by then-President Barack Obama, remaining in the position for the rest of the Obama administration.

If elected, Castro would be the nation’s first Latino president and first whose highest previous office was cabinet secretary since Herbert Hoover.

Castro recalled receiving the call from Obama asking him to be HUD secretary on his cellphone after driving “through the drive-through at Panda Express.”

You know how on your phone sometimes somebody calls you and it says ‘unknown’ or ‘blocked call,’” Castro said. “It said private. If you ever get a call that says private, answer it. Hopefully I’ll be on the other line.”

This article originally appeared in the Wave Newspapers.

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Bay Area

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

5 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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6 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.