Bakersfield
Political Playback: California Capitol News You Might Have Missed
News You Might Have Missed
Stefi Mar February 3, 2026
News You Might Have Missed
“I’m not going to judge what the secretary says, but if you look up the definition of terrorism, it certainly can fall within that.
America watched it happen in real time. Journalists were arrested for doing their jobs. Not in some distant dictatorship. Not under cover of night in a failed state. In the United States of America.
Sunday’s Grammy Awards opened Black History Month while also setting the tone for a year that will once again bring Michael Jackson to the forefront of popular culture. When Jackson made history in 1984, winning eight Grammys for the Thriller album, the awards field was far more limited than it is today. With the dramatic expansion of Grammy categories since then, it is not difficult to imagine that a release of that scale in the current era could have produced well over a dozen wins from an even larger number of nominations. More than forty years later, the King of Pop is preparing to command attention again, this time through a major motion picture.
Black unemployment surged to 7.5 percent by December 2025, a level that would signal a recession if it were reflected across the national workforce. But the latest “State of the Dream 2026” report makes clear the damage extends far beyond jobs. From broadband access and housing to artificial intelligence and federal workforce policy, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies finds that 2025 marked a sharp economic breakdown for Black America driven by policy reversals and the removal of long-standing safeguards.
The federal government is once again facing a shutdown deadline, with funding set to expire at midnight Friday, January 30, just two months after the nation emerged from a prolonged lapse that disrupted lives far beyond Washington.
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the organized voice, survivor, and power of the Black Press in America. On the eve of Black History Month, we have chronicled the top Black newsmakers of the first quarter of the 21st century to honor Black impact through legacy, liberty, and justice. This list serves as a living record, centering Black leadership, innovation, and influence while ensuring today’s history is documented with clarity and intention for future generations. Our staff researched and reviewed news headlines and news articles for the last 25 years from our catalog of more than 200 member Black-owned newspapers across the United States with a reach of 20 million weekly readers from both our print and digital publications.
For many pregnant people, pregnancy brings a mix of both joy and uncertainty. Alongside excitement, there are questions about finding the right doctor, understanding what care is covered, and knowing where to turn for support after the baby arrives. For Black families in Kern County those questions are often compounded by long-standing disparities in maternal health outcomes.
Bakersfield community leaders, educators, faith leaders, and residents gathered last week to mark the 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Awards Breakfast, an event that blended reflection, recognition, and renewed calls for action rooted in nonviolence.
Serenity Cole enjoyed Christmas last month relaxing with her family near her St. Louis home, making crafts and visiting friends.
Three California lawmakers, all trained and experienced journalists, weighed in on a political and media controversy sparked after a CalMatters reporter questioned whether the Louis Vuitton bag Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D–Inglewood) was carrying at a public event was “real or fake.”
The Heritage Foundation is beginning to come apart in public, and what is unraveling is not simply a think tank but a long-maintained illusion. More than 60 senior staff members, fellows, and trustees have now resigned from the institution that spent decades presenting itself as the sober custodian of conservative thought. Board members tied to major donors have stepped down. Veteran policy writers have walked away. What remains is an organization forced, perhaps for the first time, to reckon with the distance between how it spoke about America and what it planned to do to it.
A state civil rights investigation into Yuba City Unified School District (YCUSD) has resulted in a settlement requiring districtwide corrective actions after allegations that a Black elementary school student was subjected to repeated racial harassment over multiple school years.
Since California Black Media (CBM) reported that CalMatters asked Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) whether the Louis Vuitton bag she carried at a Capitol event was “real or fake,” much has been said –just not clearly, or publicly, by CalMatters.
News You Might Have Missed
Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, used a full-page paid advertisement in The Wall Street Journal to directly address the Black community, apologizing for actions he says caused deep harm while describing a decades-long struggle with untreated brain injury and bipolar disorder that he says culminated in a destructive manic episode.
Each year on the third Monday in January, communities across the nation honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. In Bakersfield and throughout Kern County, that legacy is reflected not only in remembrance ceremonies, but in hands-on service and community care.
In the largest Medicare Advantage fraud settlement to date, Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay $556 million to settle Justice Department allegations that it billed the government for medical conditions patients didn’t have.
Donald Trump’s presidency has long carried a familiar weight for Black America. What feels different now is that the force once aimed primarily at Black and brown communities is no longer contained there. With the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old white mother of three, by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, the unchecked power of the federal government has moved into spaces many Americans once believed were insulated.
Each year on the third Monday in January, communities across the nation honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. In Bakersfield and throughout Kern County, that legacy is reflected not only in remembrance ceremonies, but in hands-on service and community care.