Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill
VOL. XLII NO. 45
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
www.signaltribune.com
October 30, 2020 ELECTION PROPOSITION
COMMUNITY
Voters to decide if app based drivers are employees on Nov. 3 Kristen Farrah Naeem Staff Writer
‘DON’T LET NOTHING STOP YOU FROM MAKING A DIFFERENCE’ Karla Enriquez | Signal Tribune
Cancer Fighters, along with their supporters, stood on the corner of Walnut Avenue on Saturday, Oct. 24 to raise awareness for breast cancer, giving away goodie bags to cars that honked in solidarity.
Cancer Fighters host breast cancer awareness event in Eastside Long Beach Karla Enriquez
U
Online Editor
nder the gloomy skies of late October, a group of people clad in purple t-shirts and matching protective masks gathered on the corner of a wide Walnut Avenue on the Eastside of Long Beach. With treat bags in their hands, they clamored at passing cars to “honk for breast cancer!” Cancer Fighters, led by 10-yearold Nellie De La Cruz and her cousin Capone Magallanes, held the event on Saturday, Oct. 24 to raise awareness of the disease during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “Today’s main purpose was to spread awareness for those that have been diagnosed with breast cancer and those who have fought breast cancer,” Magallanes said. For Magallanes and De La Cruz this event was personal. “This event was toward my tia Mary, (Mary Maez), who has fought breast cancer and for many others out there,” Magallanes said. The event also honored De La Cruz and Magallanes’ aunt, Carmen Armenta, also a breast cancer survivor. According to the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the nation. The National Breast Cancer Foundation states that 1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. In 2020, the number of new invasive breast cancer cases in women is an estimated 276,480 and an estimated 42,170 deaths, accounting for 7.0% of all cancer deaths, according to the National Cancer Institute. Additionally, this year an estimated
Karla Enriquez | Signal Tribune
Nellie De La Cruz and Capone Magallanes organized this event to bring awareness to breast cancer and honored their aunts, who are breast cancer survivors.
2,620 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer. It is important to note that while white and Black women get breast cancer at a similar rate, according to the CDC, breast cancer death rates among Black women are 40% higher, however, deaths are declining among both, particularly among younger Black women. Data shows that 64% of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a stage where there is no evidence that cancer has spread outside of the breast and have a five-year survival rate of 99%. Currently, there are 3.5 million breast cancer survivors in the nation, the National Breast Cancer Foundation highlights on their website. According to the American Cancer Society, trends from 2013-2017 show that rates among older women have declined in part due to early screening and increased awareness. De La Cruz’s ultimate goal was to raise awareness and get as many honks as possible, but it was also to get as many smiles as the group could. And they did. Loud honks emanated from the cars of those who see CANCER page 4
Uber, Lyft and other app based drivers will be leaving the gray area they currently occupy under California employment laws after the November 3rd election. The upcoming vote on Proposition 22 will decide whether these rideshare and delivery drivers will be considered employees or independent contractors. The court case Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles in 2018 eventually led to the passage of Assembly Bill 5. The bill introduces the “ABC test” into state legislation as the way to decide whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. To be considered independent contractors, three requirements of the test must be met: • The worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact; see PROP 22 page 5
SIGNAL HILL CITY COUNCIL
Council selects leading consultant for city’s new diversity committee Anita W. Harris Senior Writer
The Signal Hill City Council has taken its final step in forming Signal Hill’s new Diversity Coalition Committee (DCC) by hiring a facilitating consultant– Fred Abdelnour of DISC Solutions. With its coordinator in place, the DCC can begin its mission of educating, facilitating and improving racially-just policing, affordable housing, and inclusive retailing and use of public spaces, according to Signal Hill’s Race and Equity Framework. see DIVERSITY page 4