Last Friday, when Gov. Gavin Newsom submitted his budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year, he specifically mentioned Black students - the lowest performing group of any ethnic category on California’s standardized tests. ... read more »

New plans to consolidate licensing in the state for cannabis-related businesses may lower entry barriers to the potentially lucrative industry for interested entrepreneurs. ... read more »

The 80-member lower house of the state legislature voted for, then confirmed and swore in Sue Parker, a long-serving African-American public official, to the Assembly’s non-member, non-partisan role. ... read more »

By the late 1970s, drug traffickers were shipping so much cocaine to the United States that the street price of the powdered stimulant dealers cook to make crack – the smokable rock form of the stimulant - dropped by nearly 80 percent, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). ... read more »

Starting this month, over a dozen California African American-owned-and-operated news outlets - including the Los Angles Sentinel, the Oakland Post, the San Diego Voice & Viewpoint, the Sacramento Observer, the Inland Valley’s Black Voice News and the San Francisco Sun Reporter - will publish in-print and online a quarterly column Gov. Gavin Newsom writes to inform Californians about important policy issues impacting them. ... read more »

A group of USA Today Network publications in California launched an investigation into how California deals with cops who commit crimes. ... read more »

Organized by the Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce (SBCC), the panel discussion drew guests from all over the country. They came to see officials, leaders and activists from California participate in a lively and thoughtful discussion about African American life and well-being in Sacramento. The panelists dove into various ways public safety, mental health and public policy all rub against each other and impact the lives of Blacks in California’s capital city. ... read more »

Last week, Gov. Newsom signed AB 5, the “Employee Misclassification Bill,” into law. The legislation changes the classification of more than one million jobs in California from “contractor” to “employee.” ... read more »

  This is a direct appeal to Governor Gavin Newsom, Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez and our entire state legislature. I’m writing this on behalf of the more than 20 African American-owned newspapers that operate in cities and towns across California. ... read more »

As mandated by the U.S. Constitution, a census is conducted every 10 years to count the number of people living in the nation and its five territories. Census Day kicks-off on April 1, 2020, and every home will receive an invitation to participate in a short questionnaire by phone, mail and for the first time, online. ... read more »

When Coleen Sykes Ray started an organization with her daughter in 2015 to help homeless women, the Stockton, California resident had no idea she, too, would be homeless four years later. ... read more »

Every 10 years, Californians have the opportunity to participate in a major political project as part of a special 14-member, state-appointed commission. The citizens of California, through the California State Auditor (CSA) office, sets up the commission and tasks it with drawing the 120 legislative districts for the state’s U.S. Congress, Assembly and Senate elections. The appointees are also responsible for establishing the boundaries of four more maps for the California Board of Equalization, an agency that represents taxpayer interests and standardizes county-by-county tax assessments across the state. ... read more »

The California Census Office believes there will be higher participation among African Americans during next year’s census if “trusted messengers” help get the word out and go door-to-door conducting pre-surveys, educating people and helping some fill questionnaires in Black communities.  ... read more »

The state chapters of the National Urban League (NUL) and the National Action Network (NAN) have teamed up to oppose the bills. They say the proposals amount to a “step backward” for African American charter school parents and their children. ... read more »

They plan to share those grievances with fellow Democrats and officials of the party at the state CPD annual convention May 29 - June 2 in San Francisco. Activists have also organized a number of other events, including a rally and march on the State Capitol on June 22 to speak about some of their concerns and celebrate Black womanhood as they consolidate their political presence and power in the state. ... read more »