C e l e b r a t i n g 2 6 Ye a r s o f Service in Inglewood, Airport area Communities
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October 29 - November 04, 2020 VOL. 35, No. 44
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“Kevin Demoff shines off it” See Page 5
Amid COVID-19 Election is Matter of Life or Death Joe Collins Pandemic to impact top of ticket down wanted to sell his body fluids for $15 million Flawed GOP candidate is a psychological case study By Kenneth Miller, Publisher
The man aiming to unseat revered public servant Maxine Waters for the 43rd Congressional District on Nov. 3rd demonstrates just how diabolically desperate the Republican Party under Donald Trump rule will go to bring down one of America’s most powerful Black leaders. Thirty-five year old Joe Collins claims to be from Los Angeles, and while records indicate that he was born at Kaiser Hospital on Nov. 20, 1985, there is no documentation of him having attended or concluded school there. He allegedly finished school in Ellis County, Texas, a region with a racial makeup of 80.63% White and 8.64% African America. Collins entered the United States Navy at a young age, but was dishonorably discharged 13 years later after he was found to have violated the long-standing policy that prevents military service members from engaging in any partisan political campaign or elections, candidate, cause or issue. The Department of Defense Directive is 1344.10, Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces, and the Hatch Act. During his Naval service, Collins defied that DOD directive and attempted a failed run as a Green Party candidate for president. He also was cited for misuse of the Navy resources, including being barred from use of its website. Knowing that he was prohibited from making any partisan statements, Collins still castigated then candidate Donald Trump Continued on page 3
By Kenneth Miller, Publisher
Citizens of Inglewood and Americans throughout this nation will be voting on Nov. 3 in the general election as if their life depends on it because with the coronavirus pandemic raging to heights not yet seen, it really does. In Inglewood, coronavirus cases have spiked to 3,602 and the mortality has reached 98, forcing the hand of legislators to tamper down on opening schools, businesses and handicapping an already shrinking economy to the brink of a recession. Nationwide the pandemic had fallen into red alert in all but 13 states with cases toppling 8,752,794, and deaths
trolling beyond 215,085 at an average of 72,183 new cases daily at press time. Local governments with exhausting resources are left to fend for themselves during the worst health crisis in over a century as an inept federal government has failed to provide any stimulus relief for its vulnerable citizens. The pandemic coupled with racial divisions, escalating injustice among law enforcement and widening schisms between our two dominant political parties has elevated the urgency of casting your ballot. The traditionally blue state of California will overwhelmingly vote Democrat and former Vice President
Joseph Biden is hoping to ride a wave of anti-Trump supporters to an election landslide that could end up in a now conservative tilted Supreme Court. Locally, two races are drawing anticipated attention. The race for 43rd Congressional District between novice Republican Joe Collins and veteran Maxine Waters and the 2nd District Los Angeles County Supervisors race between Dems Holy Mitchell and Herb Wesson. Collins barely beat his Republican foe in the primary, but has since been Continued on page 8
Next Week, California Voters Could Get Rid of Cash Bail Statewide Quinci LeGardye | California Black Media
As cities across California take a closer look at unfair practices in the criminal justice system, Proposition 25 offers a statewide policy that could aid their efforts: getting rid of cash bail. The ballot measure, which is based on SB 10, a bill former Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law two years ago, would replace cash bail with risk assessments for suspects awaiting trial. Currently California uses a cash bail system that allows suspects to pay a cash bond to be released from jail with the promise to return to court for trial, at which point the cash bond is repaid.
If Prop 25 passes, cash bail would be replaced with a risk assessment system that categorizes suspects as low risk, medium risk, or high risk, with suspects for misdemeanors exempt from needing a risk assessment. Under the new system, suspects who are categorized as low risk and likely to appear in court – and are also a low risk to society -- would be released from jail before trial, and those deemed high risk would remain in jail. The state Judicial Council would decide what the risk assessment tools would be, with the proposition mandating that “tools shall be demonstrated by scientific research
Daylight Saving Time: Sunday, November 1, 2020, 2a.m. clocks are turned backward one hour to 1 a.m.
to be accurate and reliable.” The California Legislature approved SB 10 during the 2018 session, and former Gov. Jerry Brown signed it into law on Aug. 28 that same year. The next day, opponents filed a referendum to overturn the bill, which prevented the law from being scheduled to take effect in 2019. Opponents gathered enough support to move it to a 2020 ballot initiative, which means the decision to overturn or uphold Prop 25 now falls to voters on Election Day next week. Supporters of Prop 25 argue that the Continued on page 10
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