“It’s a state of disrepair. They need significant support,” said Tara Lynn Gray, director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate.   ... read more »

 Cooper has served over 35 years on death row at San Quentin State Prison for the crimes.  “Mr. Cooper maintains that he is innocent of the crimes of which he was convicted and contends that the evidence introduced at trial against him was manufactured, mishandled, planted, tampered with, or otherwise tainted by law enforcement,” said Newsom in executive order N-06-21, which he signed on May 28. ... read more »

The California Association of Realtors (CAR), the California Building Industry Association (CBIA), and Habitat for Humanity California have joined together to urge lawmakers to make additional investments in this year’s state budget to encourage developers to build more homes across California. ... read more »

With California set to do away with most of the state's COVID-19 restrictions and prepare to fully reopen on June 15, some Black leaders and medical professionals are taking stock of the pandemic’s impact on Black communities. ... read more »

But many renters, including Black Californians who lease residential property, may not know about the state’s new CA COVID-19 Rent Relief program or they may not have details on how to apply for the available assistance. Other advocates say some renters could simply be confused because there are multiple rental relief programs at the county or city level to help renters. ... read more »

After weeks of speculation, Gov. Gavin Newsom has picked his replacement for former California attorney Gen. Xavier Becerra. Last December, President Biden nominated Becerra to his Cabinet as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He was recently sworn into that role. ... read more »

Assemblymember Chris Holden has (D-Pasadena) introduced legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 948, to address discrimination in the real estate appraisal process in California. ... read more »

Last week, philanthropic organizations and other funders joined hands to launch the California Black Freedom Fund (CBFF), a new $100 million initiative that will provide resources to Black-led organizations in the state of California over the next five years. ... read more »

When Dr. Nadine Burke Harris heard that the National Basketball Association (NBA) was discussing educating the African American community about receiving COVID-19 vaccines, she said partnering with the league could be a game-changer in the state of California. ... read more »

Malia M. Cohen, the only African American member of the California Board of Equalization (BOE), has some critical concerns about the cost homeowners will have to bear because of Proposition 19, a constitutional amendment that took effect on Dec. 16, 2020. ... read more »

The proposition passed with 59 % of the vote. It exempted Uber and Lyft drivers -- as well as others who work for other delivery and ride-hail companies – from the state’s controversial employee classification law AB 5. Under that law, which took effect in January 2020, most companies in the state had to switch contractors working for them from freelancers to full-time W-2 employees. ... read more »

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) announced that the state’s emergency preparedness campaign, which was launched last August, has surpassed the goal it set to engage at least one million socially vulnerable Californians. The campaign, titled “Listos,” which means ready in Spanish, provides the communities it targets with accessible, in-language, and culturally competent disaster readiness information. ... read more »

Despite intense pressure from Black women political groups across the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to be California’s next United States Senator, ... read more »

Effective Dec. 1, Alice Huffman will no longer be the president of the California-Hawaii State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) due to “health concerns,” she tells California Black Media.   ... read more »

AB 2054 calls for the authorization of a pilot grant program that would allow community-based organizations instead of the police to respond in emergency situations ... read more »