By Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media Last Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several bills focused on addressing gun violence. “California has the toughest gun safety laws in the nation, but none of us can afford to be complacent in tackling the gun violence crisis ravaging our country,” Newsom said. “These new measures will help ...

By Edward Henderson California Black Media If you follow social media or if when you’re out in public and count the number of masks being worn, you might conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic is over. People have resumed posting pictures of their summer vacations and family gatherings. Fourth of July celebrations and fireworks shows entertained ...

By Charlene Crowell Runaway prices for food, fuel and housing make most consumers anxious about whether they will have enough money for a given month. Even after adjusting spending to stretch dear dollars are far as possible, a lot of people remain perplexed about what else can be done to hold on in these hard ...

By Edward Henderson California Black Media On Wednesday, July 13, Attorney General Rob Bonta hosted a virtual press conference to announce new directives to help protect tenants against unlawful eviction from their landlords. “California’s families are facing a housing affordability crisis at levels we have never seen before,” said Bonta. “About 1 in 7 renters ...

An updated Covered California analysis highlights how the expiration of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) would raise costs for enrollees, including doubling premiums on average for 1 million low-income Californians, and may lead up to 220,000 people to drop their health coverage. The analysis comes as Congress deliberates whether to extend the law, which provides ...

By Dianne Anderson Duke Givens is talking trash again. So far, he’s collected close to 800,000 pounds of trash in the past two years, and the homeless have all done it by hand. It’s how he goes about his daily rounds at local parks, enticing the unhoused to help keep their areas clean by giving ...

By Dianne Anderson Provided that the community and grassroots organizations know that it exists, the new 988 hotline – similar to 911 – goes live this week to help callers in mental health crises with intervention. The state of California received $20 million to help get more staffing into existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline call ...

By Charlene Crowell Twice as Likely to Owe More Than $50K, Have Decreased Savings In mid-June the Federal Reserve, nation’s central bank, raised interest rates in hopes of curbing rising inflation and deterring a full-blown recession. Chief among its responsibilities, the Fed’s duty is to develop “appropriate monetary policy”. For much of Black America, many ...

Gov. Signs $308 Billion Budget: By Edward Henderson California Black Media Around 23 million California residents will receive “inflation relief” checks of up to $1,050 soon. The aid is included in the new budget deal reached by state lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday, June 26th. “California’s budget addresses the state’s most pressing needs, ...

By Dianne Anderson Ever since the last go-round of stimulus dollars, money has been flowing through multiple streams, and will continue over the next two years for those astute enough to grab at it. Jeff Williams, operations director for the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion (LBCEI), said that ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] funding ...