Coronavirus
Gov. Newsom Praises Economy, Second Stimulus Payments as Rivals Step Up Attacks
Californians are scheduled to start receiving their second stimulus payment on Sept. 1, two weeks before California’s gubernatorial recall election.
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Californians are scheduled to start receiving their second stimulus payment on Sept. 1, two weeks before California’s gubernatorial recall election.
All California households that receive the state’s earned income tax credit qualify for the one-time payments.
The state has provided a detailed guide, that readers can access at https://www.ftb.ca.gov/about-ftb/newsroom/golden-state-stimulus/gss-ii-estimator.html explaining who qualifies for these payments and how much residents can expect.
Gov. Newsom praised the support being provided to Californians last week that he says is being funded from federal recovery assistance and the state’s budget surplus.
“Round 2 of Golden State Stimulus checks start to go out this week! Two out of three Californians are eligible for $600 or more — we’re putting money directly back into the pockets of those that need it most,” the governor tweeted.
But his Republican opponents running to replace him in the recall election continued to attack the governor’s leadership on issues other than the economy, including homelessness, housing affordability, taxes and what they view as his mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, the San Francisco Chronicle and NBC’s Sacramento affiliate KCRA hosted a debate featuring four of the candidates vying to replace Newsom: Republicans Kevin Falconer, former mayor of San Diego, Assemblymember Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) and businessman John Cox and Democrat and real estate investor Kevin Paffrath.
“This state is a mismanaged mess. His pandemic management was an inconsistent disaster,” Cox said, referring to Gov. Newsom during the debate.
“We don’t have water. We live in fear of fires. Crime is rising. Housing prices are out of sight,” added Cox, a businessman who supports expanding oil and gas exploration in California. “Taxes are out of sight. The homeless problem has only gotten worse. We’ve got to stop with these politicians and celebrities and get a businessman in there.”
The disbursement total for the second round of Golden State Stimulus payments (or GSS II) will be about $12 billion and is funded by California’s $100 billion California Comeback Plan budget.
California currently has the largest economy in the country and a budget surplus of $75.7 billion, according to the governor.
$276 million, or 0.4%, of the surplus is being used to fund the recall election.
Gov. Newsom boasted about the budget surplus and the upcoming stimulus checks in an announcement last week.
“I am incredibly proud of California’s economic recovery. Close to an $80 billion operating surplus and that’s afforded us an opportunity to do something no other state in U.S. history has ever done. And that’s provide over $12 billion of tax rebates.”
In this round of stimulus payments, California residents with one or more dependents could be eligible to receive $1,100.
Undocumented immigrants who pay taxes and earn below $75,000 a year will also receive the payments.
Alameda County
After Years of Working Remotely, Oakland Requires All City Employees to Return to Office by April 7
City Administrator Jestin Johnson recently told city unions that he is ending Oakland’s telecommuting program. The new policy will require employees to come to work at least four days a week. These new regulations go into effect on Feb. 18 for non-union department heads, assistant and deputy directors, managers, and supervisors. All other employees must be back at work by April 7.
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By Post Staff
The City Oakland is requiring all employees to return to the office, thereby ending the telecommuting policy established during the pandemic that has left some City Hall departments understaffed.
City Administrator Jestin Johnson recently told city unions that he is ending Oakland’s telecommuting program. The new policy will require employees to come to work at least four days a week.
These new regulations go into effect on Feb. 18 for non-union department heads, assistant and deputy directors, managers, and supervisors. All other employees must be back at work by April 7.
The administration may still grant the right to work remotely on a case-by-case basis.
In his memo to city unions, Johnson said former President Joe Biden had declared an end to the pandemic in September 2022, and that since then, “We have collectively moved into newer, safer health conditions.”
Johnson said “multiple departments” already have all their staff back in the office or workplace.
The City’s COVID-era policy, enacted in September 2021, was designed to reduce the spread of the debilitating and potentially fatal virus.
Many cities and companies across the country are now ending their pandemic-related remote work policies. Locally, mayoral candidate Loren Taylor in a press conference made the policy a central issue in his campaign for mayor.
City Hall reopened for in-person meetings two years ago, and the city’s decision to end remote work occurred before Taylor’s press conference.
At an endorsement meeting last Saturday of the John George Democratic Club, mayoral candidate Barbara Lee said she agreed that city workers should return to the job.
At the same time, she said, the city should allow employees time to readjust their lives, which were disrupted by the pandemic, and should recognize individual needs, taking care to maintain staff morale.
The John George club endorsed Lee for Mayor and Charlene Wang for City Council representative for District 2. The club also voted to take no position on the sales tax measure that will be on the April 15 ballot.
Bay Area
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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