State - Observer News Group

California Panel Takes Big Step Toward $800 Billion Reparation Payments to Black Residents, and Formal Apology

by Stefi Mar | May 24, 2023 | Bakersfield, Front Page, Los Angeles, State, State & Local Politics, Valleys | 0

California’s reparations task panel approved recommendations to compensate and apologize to Black communities for centuries of discrimination.

California Black Media Political Playback: News You Might Have Missed

by Stefi Mar | May 23, 2023 | Bakersfield, Features, Los Angeles, State, State & Local Politics, Valleys | 0

Your roundup of stories you might have missed last week.

Gov. Newsom Releases May Budget Revision; Addresses Reparations Cash Payments

by Stefi Mar | May 17, 2023 | Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Politics, State, State & Local Politics, Valleys | 0

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom released the “May Revision” of his Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 budget proposal that he submitted in January.

California Fast Food Franchise Owners Say Proposed Law Would Kill Their Businesses

by Stefi Mar | May 16, 2023 | Bakersfield, Local, Los Angeles, State, Valleys | 0

Nathan Carter wore numerous hats while working at McDonald’s restaurants. Eventually, he became the owner of several locations of the fast-food business in Los Angeles.

Grassroots Organizations Request $100 million to Invest in Black California

by Stefi Mar | May 16, 2023 | Bakersfield, Los Angeles, State, Valleys | 0

A coalition of movement-based organizations from various parts of California converged on the grounds of the State Capitol in Sacramento to send a message: Black Californians need financial resources to overcome setbacks caused by centuries of system and institutional racism.

California Black Media Political Playback: News You Might Have Missed

by Stefi Mar | May 9, 2023 | Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Politics, State, State & Local Politics, Valleys | 0

Your roundup of stories you might have missed last week.

WGA Strike: Writers Want Higher Wages, Job Security, Residual Pay and More

by Stefi Mar | May 9, 2023 | Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Politics, State | 0

Rae Benjamin, a Los Angeles resident and writer for the Netflix series “The Witcher,” is among more than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) participating in a strike that has disrupted film and television production.

California Says New Cigarettes Appear to Violate State’s Flavored Tobacco Ban

by Stefi Mar | May 9, 2023 | Bakersfield, Features, Los Angeles, State, Valleys | 0

California’s attorney general is warning two tobacco companies that their new cigarettes appear to violate a state ban on most flavored tobacco products that was upheld by voters last year.

“California Vs. Hate” Launches at State Capitol

by Stefi Mar | May 9, 2023 | Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Politics, State, State & Local Politics, Valleys | 0

On May 4, 2023, a press conference was held to launch California vs Hate, a new website and telephone hotline created to address the sharp rise in hate crimes and hate incidents occurring in the state.

Your Taxes Raised $83.1 Billion for the State Last Fiscal Year; Schools Received $44.6 Billion

by Stefi Mar | May 3, 2023 | Bakersfield, Education K-12, Front Page, Los Angeles, Politics, State, Valleys | 0

Schools across the Golden State received a windfall of $44.6 billion in local property tax revenue, according to the 2021-22 California Board of Equalization’s (BOE) Annual Report released late last month.

Reparations Task Force to Recommend “Genealogy Branch” to Prove Eligibility

by Stefi Mar | May 3, 2023 | African Americans, Bakersfield, Front Page, Los Angeles, State, Valleys | 0

The California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans is recommending that the State Legislature fund a governmental department dedicated to assisting reparations applicants prove their ancestry to enslaved people in the United States.