C e l e b r a t i n g 2 7 Ye a r s o f Service in Inglewood, Airport area Communities
City of Champions Your Community Connection Since 1994
EYE ON THE CITY Rams
Chargers
Clippers
Forum
& Lakers
Fast-food workers rally outside... See Page 4
July 8-14 2021 VOL. 36, No. 27
“We Have His Back”: Dem Leaders Throw Support Behind Gov. Newsom in $276 M “Republican Recall”
Tanu Henry | California Black Media
working families – and middle-income Californians – as well as justice for all Californians, its crystal clear to me that Gov. Newsom is the kind of leader we need at a time like this,” said Mitchell. Last week, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis announced Sept. 14 as the date for the recall election after the state verified Newsom’s opponents had collected the1,495,709 signature they needed (12 % of the total votes in the last gubernatorial election) to officially trigger the recall process. “In just a few weeks, every Californian is going to get a ballot in the mail. And you have to fill out the ballot. Mark ‘no” and return it by September 14. If you prefer to go in person, you can do that at your
A group of influential California Democratic leaders held a press conference July 2 to pledge their support for Gov. Gavin Newsom against what they are calling the “Republican Recall,” and to remind Californians, from their point of view, what the state will lose if that effort succeeds. “This recall is a partisan power grab nothing more, nothing less -- a cynical attempt by national Republicans to force an election, and to try to seize control in California,” said U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, former California Secretary of State and California’s first Latino U.S. Senator. Stating that the recall threatens advances California’s Democratic leadership has made, Padilla continued, “This Republican recall effort is powered by the same forces who still refuse to accept the results of the presidential election in 2020. They are pushing voter suppression efforts in statehouse after statehouse across the country.” Other Democratic leaders participating in the press conference were Rusty Hicks, chair of the California Democratic Party; Robert Garcia, mayor of Long Beach: Holly “When you think about what he has Mitchell, Supervisor, Los Angeles been able to do around protecting the County; and Assemblymember David environment, education, expanding Chiu (D-San Francisco). opportunity for our low income and
Cali’s Push to Let Student Athletes Get Paid
Gets Big Assists From SCOTUS, NCAA
Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) represents the sports programs at over 1,260 academic institutions, 102 athletic conferences, and more than 480,000 student athletes who have not been allowed, until recently, to make a dime from their athletic abilities or the marketing of their names, images or likenesses. But last week, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) unanimously ruled that the NCAA policy must fall in line with the country’s antitrust laws and that the organization does not have the authority to deny student athletes the right to receive compensation for their athleticism or fame. “I’m excited about this ruling. It’s long overdue and I am happy that California
had a small role in moving that tide, that marker,” said Sen. Steve Bradford (D-Gardena), who, along with Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) introduced Senate Bill (SB) 206 or the Fair Pay to Play Act in California. SB 206, which Gov. Newsom signed into law in 2019 – and which is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2023 – paved the way for athletes in the Golden State to cash in on apparel endorsements, autograph signing, jersey licensing, social media commerce, ticket sales or other for-profit ventures. Speaking during a Juneteenth celebration at the Secretary of State office in Sacramento, Bradford said, “It’s really what we were talking about here today. College athletics is an Continued on page 7
Continued on page 8
Headed to a Runoff: Mia Bonta Could Be First Member of Black Caucus From Bay Area in Almost a Decade
Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media
From a pool of nine candidates, Mia Bonta, and Janani Ramachandran emerged as the two frontrunners in a special election held June 29 for the seat representing California’s 18th Assembly District. A run-off election has been set for Aug. 31. Bonta, an Alameda Unified School District School Board member, and social justice attorney Ramachandran will vie against each other to fill the seat Bonta’s husband Rob Bonta vacated when Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed him the state’s 34th Attorney General in March. In last week’s poll, neither candidate
reached the 50%-plus majority threshold to stave-off a runoff. As of July 31, Bonta had 22,551 votes (38.2%) while Ramachandran, in a distant second-place position had 14, 030 votes (23.7%). “I’m honored and humbled by the outpouring of support from the diverse coalition we built over the course of this primary campaign,” Bonta said after preliminary results showed that she was leading Ramachandran by 40%. “While we did not reach the 50% threshold tonight, momentum is on our side and I know we are ready to continue reaching out to earn every single vote to win in August,” she added. v Ramachandran expressed her gratitude Continued on page 2
JOIN US ON