By Quinci LeGardye 

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 change the way we shop. 

To that end, the governor declared July 2020 “California for All Small Business Month” in a proclamation issued July 8. 

“With local businesses across the state working to meet unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 crisis, California for All Small Business Month is an important time to recognize their essential contributions to our state, and each do our part to help California’s diverse small businesses recover and thrive,” reads the proclamation. 

African American business owners and advocates across the state are optimistic. The much-needed assistance Gov. Newsom has announced in a time of crisis, they say, will enable them to remain competitive in a rapidly changing global marketplace. 

“95% of the world customers are outside of the United States. As small businesses learn to pivot as a result of the Covid pandemic, it is imperative that they have the online presence and access to capital to reach those potential clients,” said Gene Hale, president of the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce (GLAAACC). “ Supporting local businesses will help stimulate those communities and invigorate job growth.” 

The Small Business Month proclamation coincided with the start of “Calling All Californians: #ShopSafeShopLocal,” a new campaign the governor’s office is leading. 

The #ShopSafeShopLocal campaign encourages shoppers in California to help small businesses operate safely during the pandemic. It also provides small business owners with resources to help them improve their online presence, including free website development and digital marketing. 

The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development has partnered with leading tech companies in the state, including Google, eBay, Square and Yelp, to provide services to small businesses, including free online advertising, free websites, and COVID-19 relief. They will also connect California businesses with under 750 employees to shipping companies that can help them set up e-commerce deliveries. 

“Local has taken on a new meaning and California’s beloved small businesses need our help now more than ever,” said Isabel Guzman, co-chair of the Small Business Subcommittee and Director of the state’s Office of the Small Business Advocate, in an OpEd she co-authored with Sarah Friar, who is co-chair of the Small Business Subcommittee and CEO of San Francisco-based Nextdoor. The Press Enterprise, a Riverside County media outlet, published their statement. 

Nextdoor is a San Francisco-based company that provides a hyper-local social networking platform to connect people with each other and to businesses and resources in their community. 

“Supporting nearby stores, business owners, and local employees, as they modify operations to slow the spread of COVID-19, is an essential commitment to our community,” Guzman and Friar wrote. 

In addition to resources from business partners, the campaign’s website includes links to state and county industry guidance, free business consulting, and the California Manufacturers and Technology Association’s personal protective equipment (PPE) marketplace. The online portal links California businesses with COVID-19 safety equipment. 

“California’s small businesses are adapting to the new marketplace, integrating technology at higher rates than ever, developing creative ways to connect with clients digitally and repurposing to serve their communities with innovations that meet the moment,” said Gov. Newsom. “California remains committed to helping all of our diverse small businesses become more resilient and thrive.” 

There are nearly 4 million small businesses in California. In good times, they make up over 99% of all businesses in the state and employ nearly half of the state’s workforce — over 7.1 million people, according to U.S Small Business Administration’s 2018 numbers. 

Before the pandemic, across the United States, African-American and Latino women-owned businesses were experiencing the fastest growth, according to 2012 U.S. Census Bureau data. 

But COVID-19 is presenting new financial and operational challenges, especially for businesses owned by African Americans and other ethnic minorities in California. 

“According to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, in the last 4 months, there has been a 15 percent drop of active business owners across the nation,” Guzman and Friar shared. “That decrease is nearly double for Black-owned and operated businesses at 26%, and at 19% for Latino, 21% Asian, and 25% immigrant. 

The governor also emphasized the importance of maintaining social distancing protocols while shopping. 

“Critically, amid the ongoing emergency, we must all do our part to keep small business employees, owners, and others safe by wearing face coverings when we go out, practicing safe shopping and following public health protocols.”

By Lou Yeboah

I’ll tell you how…. We can honor their memory by remembering and rediscovering the “Faith” that allowed them to survive. The Faith, that enabled our forefathers to endure trials and hardships that we can only imagine. The Faith, that inspired leaders to respond courageously to the problems of our people. We can build on the legacy they have left us by carefully following the One they followed – Jesus. For we have an extraordinarily rich spiritual heritage and there is victory in our bloodline. We belong to the family of God, and being engrafted into His family means that we are over-comers through the Blood of Jesus; the Blood of the Lamb, the Conquering Weapon. Without remembering the past we have no future, and present comes meaningless. Don’t forget to remember!

You see, the Bible commands believers to “Remember the days of old” and what took place in previous generations, so that it might inform our current realities [Deuteronomy 32:7]. This generation and future generations need to understand what God has done in previous generations to deliver His people from darkness and bring them into the light. How did the slaves endure, overcome, and find hope while being in physical bondage for over 200 years? They learned the story of Israel having been delivered from Egyptian slavery. They heard sermons based on the story. They originated songs based on the story. Don’t forget to remember – BLACK HISTORY!

Understand this truth…. God has chosen us for Greatness…. And there’s nobody, there’s nothing, and there is no circumstance, under the Sun that can keep God from doing exactly what He wants in us for His Glory! We have victory through Jesus Christ, the Risen Savior who lives and Reigns in our heart…. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” So, if God be for us, who can defeat us? If God be for us, who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?  If God be for us, is there anything that we can’t do? I hear our ancestors answering, “No!” I hear the civil right marchers, answering, “No!” Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The same Jesus who heard the songs of the slaves and the chants of the civil rights marchers will hear the prayers of those who now cry out for justice throughout our country.

Therefore, let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the pioneer and perfecta of our Faith. For it wasn’t by power nor by might, but by the Spirit of God—the wisdom, authority, power, and presence of the Most High God—that freedom, equality, and justice was and will be.   Let us learn from the stories of the great cloud of witnesses.  “Though beaten, they were not beaten down by life because they looked to Christ. Though enslaved physically, they were not enslaved spiritually because they were free in Christ. For a people in bondage for 400 years— it is a sustaining and comforting reminder to know that God has not forgotten. “He has seen!” our afflictions, and heard our cries: every tear shed was preserved, and every groan uttered was being recorded, in order to testify at a future day, against the authors of the oppressors.”

Oh, what an amazing future it is! Living moment by moment looking back with thankfulness on all that God has done for us, and looking forward at all God promises to do for us because of Christ. For empowered by God as they were, we can continue their work and likewise pass down legacies of strength, perseverance, faith, and victory to future generations. [Psalm145:41].

As it is written: “For our sake [they] were killed all day long; [they] were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in ALL THESE THINGS [they] were MORE than CONQUERORS through Him who loved us. They were persuaded that neither death nor Life, nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers, nor things Present nor things to come, nor Height nor Depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate them from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:35-39].

Surely, We Shall Overcome!

Thanksgiving toward the Past, Faith toward the Future!

Broadband should always be free to students

By Dr. Caprice Young | Learn4Life

In the 1920s, radio was an essential communications device — and it was free. In the 1950s, television became an important means of communication — and it was free. Here we are now in 2020 and there’s a big question: Why isn’t internet free when we need it to educate our children? It’s time for the Federal Communications Commission to step in. Broadband should always be free to students.

Students who don’t have broadband access are severely disadvantaged. The next 18 months will likely require sporadic sheltering in place and remote learning solutions. Schools, parents and communities are struggling to pay for a few months of internet access, but we need to recognize that learning must take place at school and online at home … forever.

That means every student should have access to broadband anywhere, anytime — to level the playing field and help close the achievement gap. Academic success means the ability of students to do homework and to explore the world online.

When schools closed, for example, Learn4Life quickly distributed thousands of laptops to our students. These days, laptops are under $200 — less than the cost of textbooks for one semester of high school. So, the return on investment is easy to justify, but the big issue is the lack of internet access.

In the schools I lead, 85 percent of our 23,000 at-risk students don’t have internet access at home. This is more than a significant competitive disadvantage. Their families don’t have access to the basic lifesaving information we access through the internet on a regular basis, such as public data about COVID-19 and where to get tested, solutions for how to create your own masks, and community resources for food, medical care and shelter. Basic civic and economic information anyone needs to function in the modern world isn’t part of their world. They don’t have access to news, candidate information, free job training or online employment applications. Families without internet access are shut out.

Most families do have access to a smartphone of some sort, and it is a vital lifeline. Low-income parents will often pay for their phones before they pay for rent, or sometimes even food. This makes sense because cell phones connect them to jobs, church and family. I even witnessed a teen selling his sneakers to get cash to add minutes and data to his cell phone. Being connected isn’t a luxury. It is a necessity.

Some of our students were writing their papers on smartphones before we put laptops into their hands. They made do, but cell phones don’t always have the unlimited data needed for online education. Video chats with teachers, group collaboration, YouTube and Vimeo downloads, document sharing, e-books and online research all require significant broadband access. Full-time school online requires much more than two gigabytes of data downloads per month.

Learn4Life is struggling to find the 19,000 hotspots we need—and the telecom companies are charging us for devices that used to be free. Prior to COVID-19, my telecommunication providers would give me a hotspot to access WiFi if I signed up for a year-long $10 per month WiFi contract. Now, WiFi hotspots are hard to find. The advertised two months of free WiFi requires a year-long contract at $35 per month, making WiFi more expensive than laptops. Getting broadband consumes resources needed for teachers, counseling, academic intervention and eventually, school cleanliness and nurses.

When we return after stay at home orders end, we likely will have a year of sporadic remote learning requirements when outbreaks must be addressed. But the plain truth is that our modern lives require ubiquitous WiFi, like clean air and water, shelter and basic nutrition, and students should not be penalized based on their parents’ ability to pay. It is time that we recognize that students of all economic backgrounds need to be connected.

FCC requirements to support public access to telecommunications has long been part of national policy. Radio and television were supported by advertising, but public access to cable broadcasting was an active part of the last century. Just in the last decade, eRate became a vital program that enabled every school in the country to get connected to the internet. Policymakers knew that the proper functioning of our schools demanded this basic infrastructure. The COVID-19 crisis has done a simple favor in forcing us to recognize that student learning outside of the classroom is just as important as inside. Eliminating this necessary barrier to 21st century learning is a practical and simple way to help reduce inequity in our education system and build success in all students.

Broadband should be free for students always.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- Congratulations to class of 2020 Social Lites Beautillion Knights who will be celebrated virtually due to COVID-19 on Saturday, July 25, 2020.  We are so proud of these distinguished young men.  A bright future awaits them!

The Beautillion Program was started in the Inland Empire out of concern for the future and survival of the young black men in the community in which they live and serve.  High school seniors who participate in the program are known as Knights.  This program is designed to help young men who are seniors in high school prepare for college through the solicitation of ads, leadership development, accountability, responsibility, etiquette, attire for all occasions, spiritual growth, public speaking, and community service.   The all-around Knight will be identified as Sir Knight on July 25, 2020 along with other awards for academics and other achievements.  

For more information, please telephone chairperson, Mrs. Tina Darling at tribicu2@msn.com or Ms. Lisa Blacksher-Owens, President at lisasocialities@gmail.com or Mrs. Bettye Brewster, Business Manager,bettyebrewster@yahoo.

“How Full Is My Train” Gives Riders More Comfort for Safe Return to Public Transportation 

LOS ANGELES – Metrolink, Southern California’s passenger rail service, today launches an online tool called “How Full Is My Train?”. The tool allows riders to check recent ridership levels of a train they plan to ride and confirm they will have the ability to maintain safe distances on board trains. 

Metrolink’s goal is to keep ridership at or below 30 percent of the available seats per rail car to allow for up to six feet of social distance between riders. Ridership is closely monitored on all trains so when one has consistently reached 30% ridership, Metrolink can add a passenger car or additional train service, as possible, to allow for social distancing. 

“How Full is My Train?” users will be able to view average train ridership before boarding. If their travel plans are flexible, they may choose to take a train that usually has fewer people on it. In many cases, riders will be able to simply move to other cars if one car appears crowded.

“We know that safety is top of mind with our customers,” said Metrolink Board Chair Brian Humphrey. “Safety is foundational at Metrolink – and a shared responsibility.  Riders are required to wear face coverings while on our platforms and on board our trains. This tool empowers the rider to practice social distancing.” 

Metrolink’s recent Customer Survey, found that social distancing and cleanliness are among the top concerns of riders. Close to 81% of survey respondents indicated they would ride with Metrolink again, with 29% planning to return as soon as the stay-at-home measures are lifted. The survey also revealed that popular amenities like electrical outlets and Wi-Fi are now taking backseat to riders’ desire for hand sanitizers on every rail car.
Safety First at Metrolink
Since March, Metrolink has significantly enhanced cleaning and other safety protocols to keep riders safe. These include:

• Enhancing cleaning protocols, which include wiping down regularly touched surfaces such as doors, restrooms, head rests, armrests, handrails, tables and trash areas using disinfecting products, as well as the daily use of electrostatic sprayers that mist hospital-grade disinfectant on all areas of train cars – especially helpful for hidden and hard-to-reach locations.

• Introducing a new Clean Care Crew dedicated to cleaning and disinfecting trains throughout the day.

• Installing hand sanitizer stations on each train car, and ensuring they are filled more often.

• Requiring face masks and coverings for anyone on board Metrolink trains and on Metrolink platforms and providing conductors with a limited supply of face masks for riders who have forgotten their face covering.

Continuing to reiterate guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and other health authorities on ways to keep themselves and others safe through personal hygiene and social distancing.
For more information about Metrolink, please visit metrolinktrains.com.

As state hits record number of tests, California asks labs to prioritize testing turnaround for individuals who are most at risk of spreading virus to others.

SACRAMENTO – The California Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, issued the following statement today urging laboratories in California to prioritize testing turnaround for individuals who are most at risk of spreading the virus to others:

“Over the past six months, along with public and private partners, California has worked to increase access to diagnostic testing in response to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Together, we increased testing from 2,000 tests per day to 100,000 test per day in just a few months. We did this by: (1) building laboratory capacity within public and commercial laboratories; (2) establishing new specimen collection sites outside the healthcare delivery system; and (3) disrupting the testing supply chain to ensure adequate supplies of viral media and swabs.

“As more states begin to scale their testing capabilities, new constrains are materializing within the supply chain. Simultaneously laboratories are becoming overwhelmed with high numbers of specimens, slowing down processing timelines. These delays will present significant challenges in (1) our ability to care for people in the hospital where testing helps us make appropriate treatment decisions and (2) our ability to appropriately isolate those who are sick in order to box in the virus and cut transmission rates.

“Due to these new limitations, California is recommending that laboratories prioritize the processing of specimens of individuals who are COVID-19 symptomatic and those who are hospitalized or in long-term care facilities, including skilled nursing facilities (e.g., Veterans Homes) and assisted living facilities (e.g., Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly). Additionally, specimens of patients in institutional settings, including prisons and jails, must be prioritized in order to timely implement appropriate interventions to mitigate the spread of the virus within the facility.

“California will continue to work hard to reduce any delays in testing turnaround time and return to our broader scale testing efforts.”

RIVERSIDE, CA— Each year, the  NAACP-Riverside Branch holds its local Afro-Academic Cultural Technological Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) competition, open to youth from 9th to 12th grade, competing for a chance to move on  to compete at the NAACP National Convention. Due to Covid-19, this year’s competition was done via Zoom. Nine scholars competed in various categories online. The NAACP National Convention will take place July 22-25 and will be virtual. ACT-SO categories include: Performing Arts, Humanities, Visual Arts, Science/STEM, Entrepreneurship and more. ACT-SO was founded in 1978 by the late Vernon Jarrett. It is designed to recruit, stimulate, improve and encourage high academics and cultural achievement among African American high school students. 

Medals were handed out at a special ACT-SO Award Recognition held at Woody’s Restaurant in Moreno Valley, Calif. Songstress Anyana Arbuthnot opened the event with a performance of ‘Song Rise Up’ by Audra Day. Also, 12-year-old Zaiah Shepard did an amazing and thought-provoking spoken word performance, voicing his perspective of why Black Lives Matter. Although he is too young to compete this year, he said he looks forward to competing next year. NAACP ACT-SO Chair Maudi Wilson expressed her thoughts about this years competition.

“Despite the challenges we had to overcome of not being able to hold this year’s competition in person due to the Corona virus pandemic, I was very pleased and thankful for the support of my team members who helped make 2020 ACT-SO competition a success,” said Wilson. 

The Gold medalist winners who will move on to compete at the NAACP National Competition include: Jibaiana Jakpor (Stem/Mathematics/Medicine & Health), Veritus Miller (Music Composition/Classical Instrumental), Zenmarah Duruisseau (Contemporary Dance/Poetry), Sanaa Jefferson (Modern Dance) and Ayana Arbuthnot (Music Vocal Contemporary).

In order for our us to continue to mold and shape these future scholars and prepare them for the ACT-SO National competition, donations and sponsors are needed. If you would like to support our youth, please contact: Maudie Wilson, ACT-SO Chairperson at 951-640-1650 for additional information.###

About NAACP Riverside Branch #1059 (www.naacp-riverside.org)
The mission of the NAACP is to advocate for political, education, social and economic equality of rights for all citizens, as well as eradicate racial injustice. The NAACP-Riverside Branch has been fulfilling this mission serving the community for over 75 years. 

Seven out of 10 African American youth between ages 12 and 17 who smoke use menthol cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).? 

And a higher percentage of Black adults who smoke began using menthol cigarettes (93%) — that’s more than two times higher than the number of White adults who did the same (44%), according to the CDC. 

The two top-selling mentholated cigarette brands in the United States are Newport and Kool.  

Anti-Tobacco advocates say these numbers are alarming. So, two of the nation’s top organizations committed to decreasing the use of tobacco in the United States are taking legal action to end the consumption of menthol by African Americans, calling them chemically unhealthy and deadly. They want it eliminated from all tobacco products. 

The two groups, the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC) and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) formally announced their joint lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during a ZOOM news conference on June 17. 

“We are suing the United States’ Food and Drug Administration for their failure to enact public health policy that protects the health and welfare of African Americans,” said Carol McGruder, co-chair of AATCLC. 

Represented by Pollock Cohen, LLP, a New York City-based firm, the complaint requests that the court compel the FDA to act on the organization’s own conclusion that it would benefit the public health to add menthol to the list of prohibited cigarette flavors in the United States. 

The AATCLC and ASH’s lawsuit also asks the court to carry out its duties under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. That action would also result in the removal of menthol-flavored tobacco products from the marketplace. 

In California, there is no statewide ban on the sale or possession of flavored tobacco products. However, a growing number of communities in the state are banning the sale of them. So far, more than 30 jurisdictions have placed restrictions on the sale of mentholated cigarettes. San Francisco County was the first county in the state to ban menthol cigarettes in the summer of 2017.  

In an effort to protect the public and design a healthier future for all Americans, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act), was signed into law on June 22, 2009, by President Barack Obama.? 

“When the Tobacco Act was signed, all characterizing flavors were banned from cigarettes. All except menthol,” McGruder said. “Menthol was inexplicably given a pass. Characterizing flavors are the building blocks to nicotine addiction. As we witnessed last year with the nicotine baby epidemic, flavors seduce children (and) nicotine hooks them.” 

The Tobacco Control act gives the FDA authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products, including: 

• Restricting Tobacco Marketing and Sales to Youth 
• Requiring Smokeless Tobacco Product Warning Labels 
• Ensuring  “Modified Risk” Claims are Supported by Scientific Evidence 
• Requiring Disclosure of Ingredients in Tobacco Products 
• Preserving State, Local, and Tribal Authority. 

Pollock Cohen law firm’s Christopher Leung, an attorney representing AATCLC and ASH, said he hopes the lawsuit “saves tens of thousands lives” and that it would correct “a terrible wrong perpetrated against the Black community.” 

“Over 10 years ago, U.S. Congress directed the FDA and the Department of Health to quickly address the harm caused by menthol cigarettes,” said Leung, who specializes in public-interest litigations. “In that time the FDA and the Department of Health have done nothing. Our lawsuit compels these agencies to do what congress directed them to do.”? 

Tobaccofreekids.org has reported that 45,000 African Americans die each year from a smoking-related disease. 

African American and Latino smokers —76.8% of whom smoke menthol cigarettes — likely prefer brands with menthol because the tobacco industry markets those products to young people and Black people, according to the FDA’s “Preliminary Scientific Evaluation of the Possible Public Health Effects of Menthol Versus Nonmenthol Cigarettes” study of 2013. 

Several studies have documented how major tobacco companies have target-marketed menthol cigarettes to African Americans, beginning in the 1950s.  

“By continuing to delay, the FDA and the U.S. government are failing to protect the health of U.S. Citizens, particularly, African Americans,”? Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy, ASH’s managing attorney said during the virtual press conference. “The U.S. is also falling behind the global trend as countries around the world are increasingly banning menthol.”?? 

Some African American leaders, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, have cautioned that making menthol cigarettes illegal will only create room for an underground market, which could expose Blacks to more criminal convictions and increase law enforcement surveillance — particularly in neighborhoods where there are more cases of police use of excessive force. Sharpton opposed a ban on menthol cigarettes in New York City last year that did not pass.  

Menthol has been laced in tobacco products for almost 100 years. It is a substance naturally found in mint plants such as peppermint and spearmint, according to smokefree.gov.?A synthetic version of the compound can also be manufactured.  

Smokefree.gov is a website operated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the direction of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Smokefree.gov’s main objective is to assist efforts to reduce smoking rates in the United States, significantly among (certain) populations.? 

AATCLC educates the African American community about tobacco use and cessation, partners with community stakeholders, and public health agencies to inform and affect the direction of tobacco policy, practices, and priorities, as it affects the lives of Black people. 

Founded in 1967 and based in Washington, D.C., ASH is the country’s oldest anti-tobacco organization, dedicated to reducing tobacco-related deaths down to zero. ASH does not attack smokers. Its vision is to combat tobacco.? 

AATCLC and ASH are non-profit entities. The Public Health Law Center, an organization that collaborates with other groups to reduce and eliminate the use of tobacco, supports AATCLC and ASH’s lawsuit. 

“This landmark litigation is the culmination of a decade of pioneering work by the health champions of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership and other Black-led organizations,” Doug Blanke, the Executive Director of Public Health Law Center, said in a written statement. “It has the potential to reverse the leading cause of death in the Black community.” 

By Jake Pickering

The Washington Redskins National Football League franchise is a disgrace!  In the year 2020, Washington team owner Daniel Snyder cannot possibly continue to rationalize keeping his ridiculously racist team name in the face of widespread, righteous public condemnation of Snyder’s racist recalcitrance.

Our nation’s capitol’s team name “The Redskins” will be retired before this football season begins, if Representative Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) has anything to say about it:  “The time [for the name] has ended.  There is no way to justify it.  You either step into this century or you don’t.  It’s up to the owner of the team to do that.”

In 1997, Washington, D.C.’s National Basketball Association franchise willingly changed its name from “The Bullets” to “The Wizards”.  So what’s Daniel Snyder’s problem (other than being a bigot)?

As silly as some of these monikers are below, any one of them would be preferable to Washington D.C.’s current NFL team name.  Take your pick, Mr. Snyder.

• Washington Redcoats
• Washington Rednecks
• Washington Redrums
• Washington Red Dawns
• Washington Red Foxes
• Washington Red Lines
• Washington Red Rovers
• Washington Red Tides
• Washington Red Riding Hoods
• Washington Red Sparrows
• (Melania Trump can be the team mascot)

SAN BERNARDINO, CA – Today, Rep. Pete Aguilar announced $3,802,601 in federal funding for the County of San Bernardino Preschool Services Department (PSD). The funding was made possible by the CARES Act, bipartisan legislation passed by Congress to provide relief and resources during the coronavirus crisis, and will allow PSD to offer summer programming to the families it serves.

“This pandemic has presented countless challenges for San Bernardino County families, including new barriers to early-childhood education. I was proud to support the CARES Act to bring this funding to our community so that children throughout the Inland Empire can continue receiving high-quality educational programming throughout the summer,” said Aguilar.

“During a time of great uncertainty, the Preschool Services Department would like to thank Rep. Pete Aguilar and the members of Congress for the funds on behalf of the families that we serve. The CARES Act funds will provide for summer programming for children in need of high quality early learning over the summer. The funds will also be used to address health and safety concerns related to COVID-19,” said Phalos Haire, Director of the Preschool Services Department.

Rep. Aguilar serves as Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, the committee responsible for allocating funding for federal agencies and programs.