By Dianne Anderson California businesses – those left standing – may pick up speed as the state soon reopens without the outdoor mask mandate, and a promise of more money for those that apply through May 31 for round two of PPP loans. Robert “Bobby” McDonald, Black Chamber of Commerce of Orange County President, said ...

By Dianne Anderson Now that half of all Americans have figured out that the COVID-19 vaccine is not so scary after all, some health systems are stepping up the pace by doing whatever it takes to get the community in for the shot. For CalOptima, that means up to $50 in gift cards for their ...

By Dianne Anderson Pivot took on a whole new meaning this past year. Businesses have closed up shop across the nation, leaving those remaining in survival mode hoping for enough to hold them over until their customers return. Some are now slowly starting to reopen their doors, although limited to 25% capacity. If next month ...

By Dianne Anderson Time is closing in fast on CARES Act dollars that must be spent by December 30, leaving nonprofits and small businesses hoping for a federal extension to get them through the next leg of the pandemic. Jeff Williams of the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion, said they have received one CARES ...

By Dianne Anderson Long Beach residents are urgently seeking help with housing insecurity, rental or mortgage assistance, both during and after the holidays, as unemployment benefits are soon set to stop for millions of Americans. It couldn’t have come at a harsher time. In Long Beach, unemployment hit over 15 percent in September. Jesse Johnson, ...

By Dianne Anderson Billions and billions of dollars that could support communities and people of color may not come down unless more Black and Brown people fill out the Census forms or answer the knock at the door. And make it fast. The clock is ticking under a recently announced tighter deadline. The U.S. Census ...

By Dianne Anderson Add scorching heat of the past week to the COVID crisis fatigue, and bills piling up from recent job losses and potential massive evictions on the near horizon. It’s all keeping community mental health professionals bombarded lately with calls for help. Local advocate Linda Hart said a lot of the problem is ...

By Quinci LeGardye California Black Media  Gov. Newsom says he wants to help small businesses. Combined, they are a major economic engine in the state. He wants them to get online quicker and expand their markets to reach new customers in cyberspace. This is as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hammer their bottom lines and ...

By Dr. Lucille Ridgill Alzheimer’s disease (the most common type of dementia) is the 6th leading cause of death among White people, but the 4th leading cause of death for Black people like me. The Black population age 65+ is projected to more than double in size in the next 10 years, which means dementia ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent AARP, the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and over, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade association of the Black Press of America, held a briefing to help provide critical information for those most at-risk and impacted by the novel ...