EL CHICANo Weekly
Vol 58, NO. 16
April 09, 2020
San Ber nardino City Council refuses housing homeless in Hospitality Lane hotel during COVID-19 crisis By Manny B. Sandoval
www.iecn.com
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t the end of the San Bernardino City Council meeting webcast on April 1, tensions were heightened when discussing forthcoming plans to house homeless in the city during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Mayor John Valdivia shared with the other council members that he had just had a phone discussion with County of San Bernardino Supervisor Josie Gonzales.
County recommends face coverings Pg. 5
“I expressed my concerns and apprehension regarding what I have been hearing through the community about housing the homeless in a hotel on Hospitality Lane. I clearly told her the city of San Bernardino would fight that opportunity. We want to work with the county to find an alternate space to house our homeless,” said Valdivia. Valdivia shared that Gonzales was understanding of his concerns and he suggested the county include more of a representa-
tive outreach to all nearby cities, to have an opportunity to provide at least one space to provide their own homeless. “Supervisor Gonzales said the plan is to bring forth a contract to bring 20 trailers to Glen Helen Regional Park. At the park there are 20 utility hookups and the intention is to triage the county’s homeless for COVID-19 to stem off any growing concerns within the homeless population,” continued Valdivia. The County of San Bernardino’s proposed plan is to send all homeless to Glen Helen Regional Park, undergo evaluation for COVID-19, then homeless individuals who test negative for COVID-19 would be placed in a hotel. Currently, there are only two cities projected to serve as housing spaces during the COVID-19 public health crisis - San Bernardino and Victorville. “I do not support the County of Homeless, cont. on next pg.
CARES Act provides loans, grants, suppor t for small businesses in San Ber nardino County Community encouraged to donate blood Pg. 8
Suppor t our local restaurants Pg. 3
H OW TO R E AC H US
Inland Empir e Co mmunity Newspaper s Of fice: (909) 381- 9898 Fax: (909) 384-0406 Editorial: ie cn1@ mac .com Adve r tising: sales@ iec n.c om
Support is available to small businesses in the form of paycheck protection, debt relief free resources, and more through the $2.2 trillion emergency relief package signed into law on March 27.
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mall businesses in San Bernardino County can apply for assistance under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES), signed into law on March 27.
The San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board (WDB) reports that the $2.2 trillion emergency relief package contains a variety of measures designed to assist small business-
es adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including: • Paycheck Protection Program, providing cash-flow assistance in the form of loans to small businesses harmed by COVID-19
between February 15 and June 30. The loans would be forgiven if the small businesses maintain their payrolls during that period. Relief, cont. on next pg.