Coronavirus

California Anticipates Budget Cuts If U.S. Doesn’t Provide Help

Published

5 years ago

June 3, 2020

When Gov. Gavin Newsom presented his revised budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year, his new spending plan includes new priorities that reflect a projected $54.3 billion budget deficit brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has $14 billion in spending cuts, including a 10% salary reduction for state workers, that would be triggered only if the federal government does not provide funding to California to cover some of its coronavirus losses before the fiscal year begins July 1.

There are also billions of dollars in cuts to education and Medi-Cal services in the proposal.

“The federal government has a moral and ethical and economic obligation to help support the states,” the governor said. “This is an opportunity to make real our purpose and advance our values. Federal government, we need you. These cuts can be negated. They can be dismissed with your support.”

Newsom also expressed support for the U.S. Congress’ Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which the U.S. House of Representatives passed on May 16. The $3 trillion legislation includes another round of $1,200 stimulus payments to individuals, an extension of the extra $600 per month in unemployment benefits, and nearly $1 trillion in assistance for state and local governments.

The new forms of aid the HEROES Act passed in Congress …include $200 billion in “hazard pay” for essential workers, $75 billion for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing and a $75 billion fund to help homeowners with mortgage payments and property taxes. It would also extend student loan relief to borrowers with private loans, who were left out of the CARES Act relief.

Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), who serves as chair of both the California Legislative Black Caucus and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Public Safety, joined the governor and other state leaders calling on the federal government to lend California a helping hand.

“As the governor said, what we are facing is unprecedented,” said Weber. “Fortunately, the Legislature has worked to reduce the impact through investing in reserves and a rainy-day fund. We will, however, need the help of the federal government and the passage of the HEROES Act to ensure that we get back on a more secure footing to recover from the economic impacts of COVID.”

The aid efforts for essential workers and testing included in the HEROES Act would proportionally affect more Black Americans, as studies have shown that Black people are more likely to be essential workers, and more likely to live in urban areas hit hard by the virus.

The Congressional Black Caucus championed the concerns of Black households and businesses, sending out a press release that outlined a proposal submitted to House and Senate leadership on April 29.

“The proposal includes policies to safeguard social safety net benefits; keep Black businesses afloat; support students and educational institutions; address health care inequities; strengthen infrastructure in the Black community; protect Black farmers; keep people in their homes; ensure incarcerated individuals are protected; and much more,” the Congressional Black Caucus press release reads.

The Western States Pact — a regional coalition that includes California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Nevada — sent a letter to Congress asking for $1 trillion in state and local government aid on May 11. The California Labor Federation, California State Association of Counties, League of Cities and California Travel and Tourism Coalition have also endorsed the HEROES Act for its inclusion of state and local government aid.

Republicans in the California Legislature have also expressed skepticism about the governor’s budget plan.

“While additional federal assistance can help cover some of the deficit, expecting Uncle Sam to come to the rescue is wishful thinking,” said Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel).

“Raising taxes makes no sense when many families and businesses have significantly less income to live with. That is why a final 2020-21 budget must help support a safe reopening of the state’s entire economy. Workers and businesses cannot earn income and pay taxes if our economy continues to be in an induced coma,” she said.

Weber said even though California is asking for federal aid, the state’s legislators still have the responsibility to find solutions that work for Californians, especially those hit hardest by the pandemic.

“Let’s be clear; we are not absolved of having a vision for the state. We must strive for a recovery, but we have to ask what that recovery will mean,” she said. “Before this crisis hit, we had communities underserved by the healthcare system, ignored by the education system, and robbed of economic opportunity. All of this is underscored by the disproportionate impact of COVID on these communities.”

Quinci LeGardye

Posts by Quinci LeGardye

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Authorities Warn: There’s a COVID Surge in California

According to data estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the coronavirus in California’s wastewater has spiked for eight consecutive weeks. Hospitalizations and emergency room visits have also increased since the rise of the new subvariants. Over the last month, Los Angeles County experienced an average of 389 hospital patients per day that tested positive for the coronavirus. The FLiRT subvariants such as KP.3.1.1. Made up over 2% of coronavirus samples nationwide, an increase of more than 7% last month.

Published

4 months ago

August 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo provided by California Black Media.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California is experiencing a COVID-19 surge this summer, experts warn, as numbers of infections increased for the third month this year.

State public health authorities attribute the summer COVID surge to more infectious subvariants that have emerged as the coronavirus evolves.

Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional chief of infectious disease at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, stated that subvariants of COVID-19 called FLiRT increased in recent months, particularly one named KP.3.1.1 that has become the most common strain in the country.

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases expert at UC San Francisco, said that the subvariant KP.3.1.1 seems most adept at transmission.

“The subvariant is the one that people think will continue to take over, not only in the United States, but … around the world,” Chin-Hong said.

The majority of the people who tested positive for COVID-19 complained of a sore throat and a heavy cough. Risk factors that can increase the illness include age, underlying health issues, and vaccine dosage.

Health experts stated that the demand for the COVID-19 vaccine has increased in Northern California. However, people are having a hard time getting the vaccine due to the increasing number of cases.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

California Black Media

Gov. Newsom and Gov. DeSantis Go Head-to-Head in Nationally Televised Debate

Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis. As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.

Published

1 year ago

December 10, 2023

Oakland Post

The debate between Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gov. Ron DeSantis was moderated by Fox News personality Sean Hannity. California Black Media image.

By California Black Media

In an intense, 95-minute-plus televised faceoff between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Nov. 30, the men traded jabs and putdowns, defended their respective gubernatorial records, disagreed sharply on how to solve the country’s most pressing problems, and expressed clashing views on the performance of the Biden-Harris administration.

Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis.

As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.

“I’ll tell you why I’m here,” Newsom said. “I’m here to tell the truth about the Biden-Harris record and also compare and contrast Ron DeSantis’ record and the Republican Party’s record” with that of California.

DeSantis blasted Newsom’s management of the COVID-19 crisis and criticized Newsom for prevalent crime, homelessness and deteriorating social conditions in California cities.

“You have the freedom to defecate in public in California,” DeSantis said. “You have the freedom to pitch a tent on Sunset Boulevard. You have the freedom to create a homeless encampment under a freeway and even light it on fire. They’re not the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned.”

Newsom took a jab at DeSantis’ presidential candidacy, predicting that the Florida Governor would be endorsing GOP frontrunner Donald Trump soon.

“There’s one thing we have in common,” Newsom said. “Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.

Oakland Post

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BayCityNews

FDA Updates Approval of Pfizer Booster Vaccine for Children Under 5

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5. Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.

Published

2 years ago

March 22, 2023

Oakland Post

As of December 2022, children age 4 and younger who have not been vaccinated receive the omicron variant-specific booster vaccine as the third dose in their primary vaccine series, following two doses of the original Pfizer vaccine.

By Eli Walsh
Bay City News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5.

Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.

However, children in that age range who completed their initial vaccination series before December 2022 only received three doses of the original Pfizer vaccine, and are less protected against more infectious variants of the virus as a result.

FDA officials updated the vaccine’s emergency use authorization Tuesday to allow those children who only received the original Pfizer COVID vaccine to receive one dose of the bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since they completed their initial series.

Other children under age 5 are not eligible for the booster, although everyone age 5 and up is eligible for a booster.

“Currently available data show that vaccination remains the best defense against severe disease, hospitalization and death caused by COVID-19 across all age groups, and we encourage all eligible individuals to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Clinical data has found that both the original Pfizer vaccine and the booster vaccine that targets the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are safe for everyone aged 6 months and up and effective at preventing the worst outcomes of COVID infection, including serious illness and death.

COVID vaccines are available at primary care providers, retail pharmacies and some facilities operated by local health departments.

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