Discrimination by someone who perceives you to be infected with coronavirus is an experience nearly a quarter of all U.S. residents have in common — particularly racial minorities. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1 in 3 Black, Asian and Latino people have experienced at least one incident of COVID-related discrimination, compared to 1 in 5 white people, according to the Understanding Coronavirus in America tracking survey conducted by the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR).
The study also determined that the overall percentage of people who experienced a recent incident of COVID-related discrimination peaked in April at 11% and steadily declined to 7% at the beginning of June, though racial disparities persist.
In early June, Asian Americans were more than 2.5 times as likely as whites (13% vs. 5%) to experience a recent incident of COVID-related discrimination. Blacks and Latinos were nearly twice as likely.
The prevalence of discrimination also varies by age. Adults between the ages of 18 and 34 were three times as likely as seniors 65 and older to report a recent incident of coronavirus-related discrimination.
“The early spike in the percentage of people who experienced COVID-related discrimination was attributable – in part – to discriminatory reactions to the growing number of people wearing masks or face coverings at the early stage of the pandemic,” said Ying Liu, a research scientist with CESR.
“Asian Americans were the first racial/ethnic group to experience substantial discrimination, followed by African Americans and Latinos. We also found that in some earlier weeks of the pandemic, people who were heavy users of social media were more likely to report an experience of discrimination.”
A long history of blaming Asians for outbreaks
The findings proved unsurprising to Nayan Shah, professor of American studies and ethnicity and history at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
“Blaming Asian immigrants and Asian Americans for outbreaks of disease has a long history in California and in the United States,” said Shah, author of Contagious Divides: Epidemics and Race in San Francisco’s Chinatown. “Every time politicians and people lash out with taunts, vitriol and violence, public health and democracy suffer. The U.S. is racing to have the highest case numbers and deaths in this phase of the pandemic, because basic precautions of wearing masks, physical distancing, and respecting each other in public is being willfully ignored.“
The Understanding Coronavirus in America Study regularly surveys a panel of more than 7,000 people throughout the country to learn how COVID-19 impacts their attitudes, lives and behaviors. To measure incidents of discrimination, respondents were asked if “people thinking they might have the coronavirus” acted as if they were afraid of them, threatened or harassed them, treated them with less courtesy and respect, or gave them poorer service at restaurants or stores.
Data from the study, supported in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USC, is updated daily and available to researchers and the public at: covid19pulse.usc.edu.
Social stigma of COVID-19 declines
As the overall prevalence of coronavirus-related discrimination has declined, so has the social stigma associated with being infected or having been infected.
In early April, about 70% of the country thought people who had COVID-19 were dangerous and nearly 30% thought formerly infected people were dangerous. By early June, the percentage of Americans who considered infected people to be dangerous had dropped to under 30%, while only 5% thought people who’d recovered from the virus were dangerous.
“As growing numbers of people knew family members, friends and coworkers who were infected with COVID-19, we saw a decrease in the stigma associated with the virus,” said Kyla Thomas, a sociologist with CESR. “We also saw a steep decline in the percentage of people who perceived coronavirus infection as a sign of personal weakness or failure.”
About the Understanding Coronavirus in America Study
A total of 7,475 adult U.S. residents who are members of the Understanding Coronavirus in America Tracking Survey participated from March 10 to June 23, 2020.
Margin of sampling error (MOSE) is +/-1 percentage point for the full sample.
Results from early June are based on a sample of 6,408 respondents who participated in wave 6 of the tracking survey, from May 27 to June 23, 2020. MOSE is +/-1 percentage point for the full wave 6 sample. For racial and ethnic groups in the wave 6 sample, MOSE ranges from +/-2 to +/-5 percentage points. For age groups in the wave 6 sample, MOSE ranges from +/-2 to +/-3 percentage points.
YAOUNDE, Cameroon — When 21-year-old Anne Christelle Ntsama gave birth to quadruplets, she was over the moon.
She believed her children, who had been born prematurely at Yaounde Central Hospital, one of the largest public hospitals in Cameroon, would grow into adulthood. But soon after their delivery on May 11, her world collapsed.
Anne Christelle Ntsama tries to come to terms with the death of her quadruplets at the Yaounde Central Hospital in Yaoundé, Cameroon on May 11, 2020. (Photo Courtesy: Alain Ghislain)
She lost her two boys and two girls because of insufficient incubators at the state-owned hospital.
“I feel bad because out of the four babies, none survived. I wish at least some of the children had survived after all this suffering. If only there were incubators,” said Ntsama, tears trickling down her cheeks. “I blame the hospital staff for hiding the deaths of my babies from me. They didn’t tell me that all my babies were dead.”
Yaounde Central Hospital is a 381-bed, tertiary-level general teaching hospital in Cameroon, with nearly 800 staff, including 95 doctors and nearly 270 nurses. But like many other health facilities in the country, it has limited number of incubators. There are fewer than 100 incubators for more than 7,000 health care facilities in Cameroon, according to the French Development Agency.
The deaths of the quadruplets have brought attention to the number of maternal and infant mortality rates in the lower-middle class Central African nation. The 2017 World Bank collection of development indicators reported a maternal mortality ratio of 529 per 100,000 live births in Cameroon.
An estimated 4,000 women die in Cameroon each year from causes related to pregnancy and delivery, and more than 22,000 newborn deaths are recorded each year, according to the country’s minister of public health, Malachie Manaouda.
Ntsama and her poor family were unable to raise the CFA 100,000, equivalent to US$171, required by a private hospital to allow them use of incubators.
“The family was unable to immediately raise the money. So, we put all the four babies on oxygen while waiting,” said Dr. Felix Essiben. “The hospital staff did their best to assist the girl and her babies.”
Even after delivery, Ntsama could not immediately leave Yaounde Central Hospital because she had not settled her bill.
“I was in the hospital because I had to pay US$90.31,” she said.
The detention of patients in both public and private hospitals for having insufficient means to pay their medical bills is common practice in Cameroon, and victims of medical detention tend to be the poorest members of society who have been admitted to hospital for emergency treatment.
The Yaounde Central Hospital in Yaoundé, Cameroon records 4,000 deliveries each year, 200 of which are premature. (Photo Courtesy: Daniel Olomo)
In March 2016, a 31-year-old Monique Koumate died alongside her yet-to-be born twins at the Laquintinie Hospital in Douala-another public health facility, because she could not afford to pay her medical bills.
Many Cameroonians, especially pregnant women, prefer public hospitals to private hospitals because public hospitals usually have more structured technical support and bigger budgets, which increases the number of doctors and nurses and keeps charges relatively low.
Although the death of the quadruplets has raised questions about the state of Cameroon’s fragile health care system, medics at Yaounde Central Hospital attribute the babies’ deaths to other factors.
“The girl had never gone for a prenatal consultation to know that she had a multiple pregnancy,” said Essiben, who is assistant coordinator of the hospital’s maternity ward. “There was a large discrepancy between the period of pregnancy and the clinical evidence which we had. The babies did not die in our delivery rooms.”
Experts say there is need for more equipment in the country’s hospitals.
“We need a large neonatal unit, with pediatricians, nurses, incubators, ventilators and every other thing needed to take care of premature babies,” said Pierre Joseph Fouda, director of Yaounde Central Hospital.
Yaounde Central Hospital records some 4,000 deliveries annually; of that number, 200 are premature births, according to statistics. Approximately 900,000 babies are expected to be born in Cameroon in 2020, according to estimates by the National Multisectoral Program to Combat Maternal, Newborn and Child Mortality.
Cameroon’s health care workers aren’t equally distributed across the country, and prenatal care remains a problem. Studies reveal that financial constraints and long distance to the hospital are common reasons why most pregnant women do not go for antenatal care.
“The causes of maternal deaths in Cameroon include home births, difficult prolonged labor, HIV/AIDS related diseases and excessive bleeding,” said Dr. Martina Baye Lukong, coordinator of the multisectoral program.
“If you look at the problem of excessive bleeding, you realize that many Cameroonians are not yet into the culture of donating blood freely. So many women die while giving birth because we don’t have enough blood to give them.”
In 2018, women were disproportionately affected by HIV in Cameroon, according to UNAIDS. Of the 490,000 adults living with HIV, 330,000–67.35%–were women; 5,400 new infections were young women, compared with 2,000 young men. The figures further indicated that 18,000 people also died from an AIDS-related illness in the country.
Baye said the number of home births affects the maternal death rate in the country.
“Many women don’t go for antenatal care, or don’t go as often as they should in Cameroon. And I think it’s the lack of information because I don’t believe if the woman really has the information that she can develop hypertension during pregnancy which can end up killing her, she will not go for antenatal care.”
Cameroon is one of the African nations that has suffered a crisis in human resources for health in the past decade, with inequitable geographic distribution of health workers.
“While in the six other regions in the southern and western parts of Cameroon, at least 60% of women deliver in health facilities, it is not the case in the northern and eastern parts of the country, where just about 40% of women deliver in the hospitals,” said Dr. Martina Baye Lukong, coordinator of the multisectoral program.
A case study conducted by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research in collaboration with the World Health Organization in 2017 showed the ratio of health personnel to population in Cameroon is 1.07 per 1,000 inhabitants. The organization recommends a ratio of 2.3 per 1,000 inhabitants.
The WHO recommends countries invest at least 15% of their budgets in health care systems. In Cameroon, less than 5% of the state budget is allocated to health financing, according to statistics from the multisectoral program. The country has 25 million people.
WHO statistics put the number of women who died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in the world at about 295,000 in 2017. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for roughly two-thirds, or 196,000, of maternal deaths, while Southern Asia accounted for nearly one-fifth, 58,000.
“Many poor women and girls in Cameroon experience difficulties accessing quality health care service,” said Nehsuh Carine Alongifor, a feminist-activist in Cameroon. “Maternal health is a human right, and no woman should be deprived of this right.”
In 2016, UNICEF ranked Cameroon 18th out of 20 countries in the world with the highest mortality rate for children under the age of 5.
Black Americans are dying from COVID-19 more frequently than white people. But two researchers found it’s not because of obesity or poverty.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management professor Christopher Knittel and graduate research assistant Bora Ozaltunanalyzed daily COVID-19 death rates for a nearly two-month period for counties and states to understand the correlation between COVID-19 deaths and patients’ typical commutes, exposure to pollution, race and other factors.
A sign states that “All Princeton University Library services have moved online until Monday, April 6, at the earliest” on April 9. (M. DiPaola/Zenger)
While African Americans are dying at higher rates than white people, the researchers found obesity, poverty and smoking weren’t correlated to those deaths. Diabetes was ruled out, too.
“Why, for instance, are African Americans more likely to die from the virus than other races? Our study controls for patients’ income, weight, diabetic status, and whether or not they’re smokers,” wrote Knittel in the study. “We must examine other possibilities, such as systemic racism that impacts African Americans’ quality of insurance, hospitals, and healthcare, or other underlying health conditions that are not in the model, and then urge policymakers to look at other ways to solve the problem.”
The MIT researchers’ work comes as COVID-19 cases are on the rise in several states and in African American communities. According to data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project and Boston University for theCOVID Racial Data tracker, black people represent 13% of the U.S. population but account for 23% of the known deaths from the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
More than 26,708 black people have died in the U.S. pandemic, and four of the five counties with the highest death rates from COVID-19 are predominantly black. In counties where black people are the majority, MIT found they’re dying at rates close to 10 times higher than white counties. Other at-risk groups include the elderly and Hispanics, although healthy, young people, have also died from COVID-19.
The difference isn’t because of income disparities or that white people have a larger net worth on average than African Americans and therefore access to better care, although Knittel said in an interview that’s where policymakers often look to lay blame.
“The reason why African Americans face higher death rates is not because they have higher rates of uninsured, poverty, diabetes,” said Knittel. “It could be because the quality of their insurance is lower, the quality of their hospitals is lower, or some other systemic reason. Our analysis can hopefully allow policymakers to focus on a narrower set of potential causal links.”
Public transit usage is one potential link. The MIT researchers found people who use public transit to commute to work are at a higher risk of dying from COVID-19. People who rely on buses, trains and subways had higher death rates than those who drove to work or telecommuted. Essential workers, many of whom are black and Hispanic, often have no choice but to take public transportation and once at work, aren’t always equipped with proper protections. Paid sick leave isn’t a typical benefit for many hourly jobs, which means many people go to work sick.
“Black Americans and Hispanic Americans are more likely to be employed in service sector jobs that may be considered essential,” said Laurie Zephyrin, who oversees the Commonwealth Fund’s efforts to help vulnerable populations. The Commonwealth Fund is a nonprofit foundation focused on improving access to healthcare.
While the MIT professors weren’t able to pinpoint one direct cause for the higher death rates, Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, pointed to an inability to retreat during the pandemic, a high propensity for chronic diseases among African Americans and poverty as possible causes. He also said misinformation during the early days of the pandemic and a lack of proper testing put black lives at risk.
COVID-19. (Videoblocks)
Lackluster testing in the early days of the pandemic hurt the medical community’s ability to find and quarantine people to slow the spread of COVID-19. Even if a community had a testing site, it was often not easily accessible, said Benjamin.
Zephyrin said better messaging on social distancing and increased access to healthcare could make a difference, among other measures.
“We need to make sure the people who drive our buses, deliver our groceries, and are critical for day to day functions have the protective gear required to keep them safe.”
SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- During a lengthy NBA career, which including 4 titles, John Salley was on a different journey. He became a vegetarian during his playing days before going vegan in 2007. Now the TV host and chef has his very own vegan restaurant, the brand-new Cafe Organix located at 420 East Hospitality Lane, Suite A-10.
The grand opening was held on Friday, June 26. The event was definitely a celebratory one with community members from all throughout the Inland Empire and Los Angeles that stopped through. Kayla Collins DJ’ed during the last half of the event.
When asked why Salley chose San Bernardino for his establishment, he stated, “I wanted to be a part of the growth of veganism in San Bernardino, putting an end to food deserts in Black and Brown communities.”
Cafe Organix products are primarily made in-house with organic ingredients. “Expect a well-seasoned and tasty vegan cuisine. We will play with the menu to figure out the favorites and the foods we are good at making,” shared Salley.
Aside from offering drinks and eats, Cafe Organix will also stock frozen packaged goods, tea blends, candles, and other products! There is an art gallery inside the cafe that will feature a new local artist each month, and they also plan to host regular events for the community.
Visit CafeOrganix..com to plan your visit!
John Salley cutting the ribbon (Photo Courtesy: Facebook)
For the past few months, COVID-19 has drastically changed the world as we once knew it. Gatherings, birthdays, and major milestone celebrations have turned into drive-by or Zoom celebrations. In the midst of everything, a new platform, Skypod, has been helping loved ones to stay connected while #lockeddown.
Skypod is an innovative new cloud platform that allows you to record and upload personal videos, photos and other digital files to be delivered to one or more recipients and made viewable at a later date. A safe, secure, digital time capsule that can deliver memories and messages to your loved ones both during, and after life.
I recently interviewed the founder and CEO where he chatted more on his vision and mission behind the company.
Founder and CEO, Richard, with his family
Hi, Richard! For those that may be unfamiliar with you, can you give the readers a brief background of who you are, where you come from, and what you do?
I grew up in a multicultural family in public housing. My biological father passed away when I was very young, and my mother struggled to build a better life for us. I literally picked roaches from my cereal box in the morning, all the while wishing for a better life.
My whole childhood, I carried with me a deep desire to break out of the systemic poverty and inequity my family faced. I also carried with me a giant void in my heart from not having known my biological father.
After barely graduating high school, I enlisted in the US Army National Guard where I graduated top of my class in avionics school. After graduation, I was fortunate enough to build several successful businesses. While the success I achieved through business was welcome, I still carried with me a feeling that I was meant to do more with my life. I wanted to help other people find safe, affordable places to live, so I started buying multifamily buildings in Chicago and managed them using a neighborly, service-oriented approach. I’ve always put people over profits and that helped to develop mutually beneficial relationships with tenants.
I think my life’s goal has always been to help people around the world share messages, pictures, and videos with loved ones both during and after life. The strong desire stemmed from not having even a single letter or picture from my father. That’s what led me to Skypod.
What inspired you to launch Skypod, and what is it?
I was traveling a lot for my businesses, and every time I was in a plane above the clouds, I would think of my family and wonder whether I had created enough memories with them. What messages would I want to pass down to my kids? What words of wisdom would I want them to hear from me?
The more I thought about these questions, the more I wanted to develop a way to pass along those memories and messages both during and after life. That was the genesis for Skypod. Skypod is a safe, secure, encrypted digital time capsule platform. Its patent-pending technology lets people fill digital time capsules with messages, pictures, and videos which are delivered immediately but only made viewable to their loved ones at a time and date of their choosing, days or even years into the future.
Essentially, Skypod does for people’s memories and messages what wills and trusts do for people’s material possessions—it allows them to share things that matter both during and after their own life.
How can Skypod be useful amid the COVID-19 pandemic?
During these unpredictable times, Skypod wanted to help as many people as possible, especially the people who have been most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, Skypod has donated $3 Million in credits to the first 30,000 first responders, healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, and people who have fallen ill with coronavirus. To spread awareness and get these free Skypod credits in the hands of frontline workers and coronavirus patients as quickly as possible, we’ve created the Skypod Challenge.
To participate in the Skypod Challenge and help us spread the word, we are asking the public to share on their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts a photo of someone they’ve lost and wish they could hear from again. We ask them to mention that Skypod is giving away $3 Million in Skypod credits to the first 30,000 first responders, healthcare workers, and coronavirus patients who sign up for a new account at www.Skypod.com/Together and add the hashtags #SkypodChallenge and #SkypodTogether. Finally, we ask them to nominate three other people to do the same to further help spread the word about Skypod’s donation.
Founder and CEO of Skypod, Richard
What makes Skypod different from other platforms out there that may be similar? Why should people join?
Great question. Skypod uses patent-pending technology that maximizes user control, security, and experience to create digital time capsules that preserve, protect, and pass down memories and messages unlike any other platform.
Our platform is safe, secure, encrypted, and backed up. Before Skypod, precious memories were stored in phones, laptops, tablets, papers, and shoeboxes, which could easily be lost or destroyed. Skypod encrypts these important messages and memories and stores them for our users. They are then delivered immediately but only accessible by the people the creator designates at the date and time the creator chooses.
With Skypod, our technology allows people to create age-appropriate messages with separate times and dates to be accessed, months or even years in the future. This can create months or even years of anticipation with family members as they wait to access their digital time capsules, knowing their loved one left several messages for them to open.
Finally, other platforms are not as advanced as Skypod in that they require users to go through third-party approval to access information from loved ones. Our team developed patent-pending technology to protect your digital time capsules and automatically grant access to the recipients you designate on the date and time you set.
Even before COVID-19, the best way for people to build wealth and to keep it was to always start their own businesses. What is your advice for our 2020 graduates who may not be certain about what their career futures may look like? How can they start building a profitable business for themselves?
I have several pieces of advice for 2020 graduates. Build memories. Hear your grandparents’ and parents’ words of wisdom. Those words will come in handy later in life. Follow your passion, wherever it takes you. And know that you can do anything you put your mind and heart to. Your mind is the most powerful tool you have. And your heart provides the fuel that will push you beyond your limits.
Also, get started. Don’t wait until the “right time” to start. The economy will never be perfect. There will always be challenges in life, but don’t allow anything to stop you.
There are thousands of reasons to push your dreams aside and wait for “the right time.” But if you’ve done your due diligence and are passionate about making your dream a reality, roll up your sleeves and get started.
With respect to how to start a profitable business, my best advice has more to do with people than processes. There’s no one way to start and grow a business that will work for everyone.
But if you combine passion with hard work, you can figure out the details as you go. That can be challenging for new graduates. But it’s true. Keep it simple. Put your heart and soul into your business, surround yourself with good people and you’ll be able to overcome obstacles as quickly as they appear. The sooner you start, the sooner you can begin to help people with your business.
Here is some other advice I wish someone told me when I was just getting started.
You’re good enough.
I know this to be true because you’re investing time to learn from people who have created businesses before you. That tells me a lot about you. So let me be the first one to tell you: you’re good enough. Always remember to invest in yourself.
Avoid the naysayers.
If you listen to the naysayers, your dreams will die inside you. Avoid those people. And, if you can’t, don’t let their negativity stop you. Instead, fully dissect your idea, look for obstacles along the way, make a plan, and take small, smart steps forward.
It’s not about the money.
Many young business owners make two mistakes when it comes to money. First, they try to build the business that will make them the most money. Second, they try too hard to pinch pennies as they grow. Both of those are costly mistakes.
Instead, build the business you’re most passionate about, and surround yourself with the right people. Make the best investments you can with the money you have available. If you do, others will be much more willing to invest in you, too.
Be bold and unafraid to ask for help.
You’d be surprised how many successful people are willing to give free advice and free help. All you need to do is be bold and ask.
Your company is donating $3 Million in credits to first responders. Can you tell us more about that?
No credit card is needed, and no strings attached.
Because Skypods can be created for as little as $1.99, these free credits can be used to create multiple digital time capsules for their loved ones.
My partners and I wanted to make a difference during these challenging times.
And we wanted to give back to the people most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. This is Skypod’s way of giving back and offering hope to the dedicated men and women who are putting their lives on the line every day, as well as the patients they serve. We want to provide some peace of mind that their loved ones can hear from them no matter what happens.
What other ventures are you working on?
My partners and I are always looking for ways to give back to people in need. Some of our current ventures involve partnering with nonprofit organizations to donate free Skypod credits to the people they serve.
We are currently working on forming partnerships with hospices, Alzheimer’s foundations, and other organizations that work with people suffering from cancer and other terminal illnesses.
Our goal is to ensure everyone can preserve memories that matter for their loved ones.
How can people join Skypod?
We make joining simple. People can start creating and sending digital time capsules at Skypod.com.
If you want to join the Skypod Challenge to help us give away $3 Million in Skypod credits, spread the word on social media and ask any eligible friends or family to visit www.Skypod.com/Together. There, they can claim their $100 in free Skypod credits and start creating digital time capsules for their loved ones absolutely free.
How can people stay connected with Skypod on Social Media?
SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The Enterprise Building and The 320 Premiere Hall will be hosting a special July 4th holiday series of events on July 4th and 5th from 11 A.M. to 3 P.M., at 320 North E Street in downtown San Bernardino called, “Show & Tell: A Story of Our Ancestors Freedom Fight!”.
All families are encouraged to participate in observance of America’s other Independence Day of Juneteenth marking the end of slavery to today’s Black Lives Matter and their importance for all people’s edification.
The events are coordinated by LUE Dowdy, Vice President of the Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce; along with volunteers from local community organizations such as: LUE Productions, Youth Build Inland Empire, Purposely Awakened, and the Westside Story Newspaper.
Participating organizations at this event include: YouthBuild School – Africa American Icons; Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce – Before Black Wall Street, The Story of Eatonville, FL; Westside Story Newspaper – Liberation Through Black Media; T’ana Phelice Productions – “The Only Tired I Am” (short skit); LUE Productions – Musical Timeline of Music That Helped Our People Sustained Through Dark Times; African American Mental Health Coalition – Methods Of Treatment Provided For African American Women with Mental Health conditions; Purposely Awaken – Liberation through Black Media in Conjunction with the Westside Story Newspaper; Off The Chain Alliance – The Discrimination and Elimination of African American Hair; Unitee – Born Guilty, A Look At Incarceration and Social Inequality; Painter, Maurice Howard; Young Women Empowerment (YWE) – Human Trafficking Awareness – Social and Emotional Barriers That Prevent Young Women From Achieving Their Aspirations; and We 3 Productions – Isolation Concentrations: Under The Boabab Tree.
These events are sponsored by The Enterprise Building and will be a COVID-19 required setting for participants to maintain social distancing and wearing of masks in order participate.
“Don’t wait! You can register your tour today and select your tour time. Please visit the link below. We Look forward to seeing you at the events. Remember to bring your entire family, especially your children” — LUE Dowdy
Amid Pandemic and Economic Crisis, Directors Collaborate to Improve Water Quality & Infrastructure Without Increasing Costs for Ratepayers
As the country continues to face a pandemic and an economic crisis, the Water Valley Water District (WVWD) Board of Directors responsibly approved fiscal year (FY) 2020-2021 budget with $416,000 in cost savings and no water rate increases.
“In the face of a pandemic and economic crisis, this budget delivers on our promise to increase fiscal responsibility and accountability,” stated Board President Channing Hawkins. “I’m proud of the West Valley Water District board and management team for working together to make hard choices and prioritizing investments in our infrastructure. Despite all the obstacles, we were able to account for revenue shortfalls and ensure quality services for ratepayers without raising rates.”
Anticipating a decline in revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WVWD staff introduced a proposed operating budget in May that applied a 10 percent reduction to operation expenditures. Over the past several weeks, the board of directors held five public virtual workshops to recommend additional cost savings opportunities.
During these meetings, the board identified and eliminated an additional $416,000 in expenses from professional service contracts, including fees to lobbyists and consultants, and internal operating agreements for fleet, waste and building maintenance services. The overall FY 2020-2021 budget includes a nearly 12 percent decrease compared to FY 19-20 approved budget but keeps water rates steady for ratepayers.
“We will not consider rate increases during a global pandemic,” stated Vice President Kyle Crowther. “I am pleased that we were able to identify funding for critical projects to enhance services across our Water District. I am proud of the work our management team has done to ensure that we have a budget that keeps water flowing.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic forces California’s economy into a recession, many state and local agencies are being forced to cut back on spending. Governor Gavin Newsom recently suggested that the State of California faces $54.3 billion deficit despite starting the year with about $20 billion in reserves. While WVWD does not fund operations and capital improvement projects via sales tax revenues, it does fund operations by utilizing district general fund and capacity charges, which were also affected by COVID-19 and ratepayers’ inability to sustain payments due to financial strain. The approved budget not addresses WVWD’s financial needs but does so without rate increases or issuing new debt.
Congratulations to Myrlene Pierre for being selected as the NEW Assistant Superintendent of Student Services for the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools. (SBCSS)
Previously, Pierre served as the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the Westminster School District for the past three years. She also was an assistant superintendent of Educational Services with the Claremont Unified School District. She also was the director of Educational Services with the Magnolia School District for four years. From 2006-2010, Pierre served in roles as a principal and curriculum specialist in the Anaheim Elementary School District.
“I join our County Superintendent and County Board of Education in our excitement to have such a decorated educator with 3 decades of experience join our team. Alejandre said. “She has been a teacher, principal and district administrator in Southern California and has a passion for developing strong educational programs for all students.”
In her new role as Assistant Superintendent for Student Services, Pierre will oversee the operations of the Student Services branch that includes the administrators, teachers and paraprofessionals who provide direct support to students in the County Schools.
Pierre will be a member of the county superintendent’s executive cabinet. County Schools’ Student Services program annually provides education to approximately 6,000 students in alternative education, special education, juvenile court school and state preschool programs.
RIALTO, CA—- During its June 9, 2020 meeting, the Rialto City Council approved the City’s continued federal funding allocation for the Inland Empire Section of the National Council of Negro Women (“IE NCNW”), allowing the long-standing Rialto-based nonprofit to continue to provide career and educational assistance to Rialto youth and young adults.
On February 11, 2020, the City Council authorized a financial audit of all its federal block grants and its state-funded Proposition 47 grant. Additionally, the City Council voted to retain Special Counsel to produce a report looking into possible conflicts of interests and financial entanglements between Mayor Deborah Robertson and IE NCNW, a long-time grant recipient. The City Council expressed concern that Mayor Robertson was a member of IE NCNW and her daughter is currently President of the organization. With the Special Counsel Report (“Report”) completed, the City Council took up the funding item; and after hearing hours of strong community support for IE NCNW, awarded the organization funding for the 2020-21 fiscal year.
IE NCNW cooperated fully and voluntarily in the Special Counsel investigation by providing written answers to questions, as well as corporate and financial records. The Report offered legal guidance and recommendations but was not designed to make a final determination of the issues.
Importantly, the Special Counsel found that Mayor Robertson and her daughter, IE NCNW President Milele Robertson, did not have a “financial interest in the grant.” The Report contained recommendations that the City could follow-up with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, California Attorney General, and the Board of State and Community Corrections to obtain further guidance. Mayor Robertson’s attorney, Allison Bracy, informally consulted with HUD’s regional representative, who did not view the issue as problematic from a conflict-of-interest viewpoint.
Although the Report stated that the arrangement may be an “apparent” conflict under state common law, it concluded that Mayor Robertson had no financial interest in IE NCNW and Milele Robertson received no compensation from IE NCNW. The Report also noted that Mayor Robertson and Milele Robertson may have received a “tangible personal benefit” based on the receipt of grants by IE NCNW. The Report, however, did not explain how either received any type of personal benefit because the funding went to the organization and neither Mayor Robertson nor Milele Robertson obtained any compensation or financial benefit from the funds.
Following the approval of the IE NCNW funding, The Sun newspaper, on June 18, 2020, published an incomplete and misleading article on the Special Counsel Report’s findings, failing to mention that Mayor Robertson decided to recuse herself from the June 9t h vote and, subsequently, the IE NCNW funding was approved.
The June 18th article also failed to mention findings in the Report that several state statute and regulations were not violated by the arrangement. Prior to publishing the article, IE NCNW’s attorney attempted to reach the reporter, Joe Nelson, by telephone, but The Sun reporter did not return the call to get IE NCNW’s viewpoint or comment.
With the City Council’s decision to award IE NCNW grant funding, the service organization will continue to provide career services and educational assistance to Rialto youth and young adults. IE NCNW members also volunteer their time and expertise as well as give financially to support additional activities not covered by the City’s CDBG funding, such as: assisting walk-in residents seeking resources and referrals for assistance programs, job referral and placement, and helping local homeless individuals and families. On a typical day, IE NCNW assists up to 100 people, striving to help them meet basic needs for housing, employment, and food.
IE NCNW membership also holds an annual food drive, giving 50 or more food baskets to Rialto families experiencing food insecurity during the holiday season, as well as offering monetary and in-kind donations to support local victims of domestic abuse.
“On behalf of IE NCNW, I thank everyone who provided support and used their voice to speak to the integrity of our Section and the services we provide through the organization and Bethune Center program. The support speaks volumes of our collective strength when we all come together,” said Milele Robertson, IE NCNW President.
Please address any questions to Willie W. Williams, attorney for IE NCNW, at the number provided.
(P) 909.581.8341 • (F) 909.586.9380
10621 Church Street, Suite 110 • Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
To battle systemic racism and eliminate police abuse of power resulting in the wrongful death of Black Men across America, every law enforcement department must commit to hiring 30% Black Men to serve as officers within their department. This will assist with the systemic racism in the field of employment and provide prospective to other officers by letting them know that wrongfully killing a Black Man will not be tolerated.
There are basically two levels of government-State and Federal. Each level has three branches. The first branch is the legislative which create the laws. The next level is the executive level which enforces the laws. The third level is the judiciary which basically punishes people for breaking the laws. When it comes to Black Men, the police believe it is their right to function as both levels of government-the executive and the judiciary by enforcing and punishing for an apparent violation of the law no matter how minor. These actions are illegal and will no longer be tolerated.
To eliminate the problem of the historic and purposeful poor treatment of Back People in America, Black people must focus on being elected to the Legislative branch of the federal government. By doing this, we gain the capacity to write better laws and to eliminate the bad laws which affects the nation as a whole.
All Black Men must allocate 5% of their income to furthering the interests of American Black Men. Whether you use your money to buy a child in your neighborhood a computer for his school or donate to a congressional campaign to help a Black Man get elected into a federal office, both are acceptable. Allocating 5% of your resources are mandatory but where you allocate it is a personal choice. We must help ourselves while simultaneously holding America accountable for the past, current and future wrongs of purposely embedding racism as normal practice withinin society and public organizations.
Choose a weapon. In this age of technology we, the public now have a weapon that is more powerful than the weapons carried by the law enforcement officers. Most people carry phones and most of those phones have cameras. We need to make it a practice to film any and every police action involving our people. Keep a safe distance and use the zoom on the camera. Often times the officers get agitated and attempt to block the view of the camera. This is why everyone from every angle must record the incident. If there was any question as to the treatment of the suspect, publish the video to your social media listing the date, time and location (City and State) DTL.
Punishment must be delivered swiftly to bad law enforcement officers. Each city and county must have the courage to create policy to punish officers for misconduct. One such policy could be as follows: Any officer who hits or cause harm to a subdued suspect-handcuffs or otherwise, is automatically suspended without pay for one month. After two such suspensions the officer is permanently relieved of duty and banned from working in law enforcement.
Each of us must publicly say what they will do to support this Manifesto Humanity. Me, as the author of this Manifest vows to support this Manifesto and its aim of bettering humanity by:
Assist a maximum of 10 people every month in writing proper and effective law enforcement complaints at no cost. (Any Location)
Use a minimum of 5% of my income to help Black Men get elected into the Federal Legislative System.
Record every police encounter I come across until the suspect is either taken safely into custody or released.
On your social media, make it known. What will you do to support the aims of this Manifesto Humanity. Even though this Manifesto Humanity was born out of the happenstance of the Black plight here in America, everyone can take action in support of the aims of this document. Humanity has no Race nor creed.
Preface: 1905 the last full-blooded Aboriginal Tasmanian Died. They were a dark skinned people who lived on an Island outside of Australia. In 1803 there were up to 15,000 living in their closed community. The British arrived and killed off all but 400 by 1835 by way of unlawful and malicious killings and by purposefully introducing deadly diseases. Prior to this, they were completely isolated from the huMan race for 8,000 years. Of the remaining 400, most were jailed and by 1905, they no longer existed.
Unless something is done, this will be the fate of the American Black Man. In the beginning of our American Experience we were brought to America as slaves. After the apparent abolishment of slavery Black men were sent to prison systematically. This still continues. Many laws were created for the sole purpose of sending African Americans to prison. This still continues.
Blacks have been treated much more harshly by the legal system. A Black Man is sent for prison for far longer than their white counterpart who commits the same crime. This still continues. When the African America populous commits a crime the legal goal is to send them to prison for as long as possible. When the American Caucasian populous commits a crime the legal goal is to rehabilitate them and to avoid prison time. This continues today. Case and point, African Americans became hooked on cracked cocaine which literally desecrated the culture. Not only were the small time dealers sent to prison in large numbers but the addicts were left with no social support structure. On the other hand, with the recent opium epidemic, the legal solution has been to rehabilitate those who has become addicted and the doctors openly prescribe the drug, and others, to the patients to help them overcome their habits.
The most telling fact which pinpoints the animus of the matter is the following. For the opium crises, drug companies are being sued to get the money to help with addict recoveries. Whereas for the crack cocaine the actual suppliers of the crack cocaine was the America Central Intelligence Agency whose goal was to raise money to buy firearms in third world countries without detection. There was no legal recourse for the addicts of crack cocaine and the ultimate perpetrators, US CIA, evaded responsibility. Keeping these facts in mind, I have created a Manifesto which, if implemented by Many people, will prevent the American Black Man from becoming extinct.
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