Category: Opinion
Opinion: There’s a Sensible Approach to Fix California’s Broken Lemon Law
Earl Skip Cooper | Special to California Black Media Partners OPINION (CBM) – Access to reliable cars is a fundamental need for consumers, small business owners, and their hard-working employees. California’s Lemon Law is a long-standing consumer protection that allows our community members to replace the family car if they take it to the shop…
Opinion: Black Workers Depend on Same-Day Pay. Why is Gov’t Trying to Restrict It?
Jay King | Special to California Black Media Partners It’s no secret that too many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. What appears to be a secret is that an industry that is casting lifelines to those in need is being blocked by state and federal regulators. The industry in question is Earned Wage Access…
Opinion: Why Californians Must Reject Proposition 36 This November
Eric Harris | Special to California Black Media Partners In November, voters have a crucial opportunity to reject Proposition 36, a misguided effort backed by major law enforcement associations and some players in the corporate retail lobby that will make our communities less safe. Although the authors of the proposition have euphemistically labeled it “The…
Commentary: As Harris Makes History, Trump Campaigns to Be Gaslighter-in-Chief
Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media OPINION (CBM) – With the Democratic National Convention in Chicago now concluded and Vice President Kamala Harris officially nominated as the party’s candidate for President, former President Donald Trump has wasted no time reverting to his usual playbook, peddling division and negativity. Rather than campaigning on…
Opinion: California’s Historic Partnership to Save Journalism Creates a Critical Way Forward for News Publishers
Regina Wilson | California Black Media OPINION (CBM) – Last week, California arrived at a turning point in the decades-long quest to find a solution to the news crisis in our state. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) brokered a deal that promises to change the future of news in our state. This isn’t just another plan…
Commentary: Trump’s Repeated Mispronunciation of ‘Kamala’ Shows Disrespect and Desperation
Joe W. Bowers Jr | California Black Media Mispronouncing Kamala Harris’s first name isn’t just a harmless mistake; it’s a reflection of a deeper issue that goes beyond simply placing emphasis on the wrong syllable. Leadership is about showing respect, paying attention to detail, and engaging thoughtfully with the diverse communities that make up our…
OP-ED: Project 2025: Jim Crow 2.0
By U.S. Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06) In two years, we will celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday. Our great country has survived a Civil War, two world wars, a Cold War, and a plethora of legislative and judicial fits and starts in our pursuit of a “more perfect Union.” We have endured some devastating Supreme…
A letter to the editor
Submitted by William Gleaves Dear Editor, As a federal retiree under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), I am writing to bring light to fair cost-of-living adjustments. Currently, there is a significant disparity in cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) between retirees under FERS and those under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), resulting in unfair differences in…
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor, As a lifelong Californian, I’m proud of the significant strides our state has taken in setting nation-leading goals that help clean our air and combat climate change. However, as we continue to see reports indicating that we are nowhere close to achieving these goals, the time has come for us to ask whether…
Commentary: Tracking Discrimination in Healthcare: A California Imperative
Rhonda Smith | Special to California Black Media Having spent more than 25 years advocating for equitable healthcare, I’ve listened to countless stories from individuals whose lives have been forever changed by the historic inequities that exist within our healthcare system. I’ve heard mothers share their heartbreak over traumatic birth experiences and outcomes, and families…
Commentary: A guide to achieving successful outcomes in custody cases
Prepare Like a pro without an attorney By Nancy Grimm Special to the AFRO Preparing for a custody proceeding can be overwhelming and scary. Here are several steps to make the process easier. Once you have filed or been served with a complaint for custody, it is important to begin preparing for your case as…
OPINION: Checkmate! In the High Stakes Game of Political Leadership, Congresswoman Maxine Waters Illustrates She is Master Queen
By Kenneth Miller, Publisher of the South Bay Black Journal In about a month when the Democratic National Convention convenes in Chicago, the eyes of America and the world will be anxiously watching how the party nominee for president unfolds. Conventions of both the Republicans and Democrats are lavish, exuberant celebrations of four-day events to…
OP-ED: Patients Over Profits: Insurance Companies Must Provide Americans the Care They Deserve
By BlackPressUSA NNPA NEWSWIRE — Each year, more than 1.5 million Medicare Advantage prior authorizations are improperly denied, according to KFF, and that number is only growing with every coming year. The Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services documented nearly 640,000 denials in 2019, with that number skyrocketing to 2 million…
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear editor, My grandmother suffers from high blood pressure, and it can often be challenging for her to access the care she needs. After reading a recent New York Times article detailing the abuse of middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers, I was shocked by the tactics these groups use to prioritize their profits over…
Opinion: False Reality Revealed – California’s Growing Dependence on Government Jobs Threatens Long-term Economic Stability
Craig J. DeLuz | Special to California Black Media Partners In the ongoing debate over government spending and its impact on job growth, the latest news from California reveals a harsh reality. While the public sector has seen an increase in jobs supported by tax dollars, the private industry – the backbone of any strong…
Commentary: New study shows 1.8 billion adults are ‘physically inactive’
By Wayne Campbell A recent study by researchers from World Health Organization (WHO), together with academic colleagues and published in The Lancet Global Health journal, found that nearly one third (31 percent) of the world’s adult population, 1.8 billion adults, are physically inactive. That is, they do not meet the global recommendations of at least…
Opinion: California Must Ensure the Participation of Black Businesses in Upcoming Global Events
Sarah R. Harris | Special to California Black Media Partners The upcoming 2026 Men’s FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics and Summer Paralympic Games in 2028 present Los Angeles with remarkable opportunities. These world sports events are not only a celebration of athletic excellence, but also a unique opportunity to stimulate economic growth,…
Opinion: We Can Protect Public Employee Pensions and the Environment
Assemblymember Tina McKinnor | Special to California Black Media Partners OPINION (CBM) – Before being elected to the State Assembly, I spent nearly three decades of my career as a public employee, serving the Los Angeles County Department of Social Services and the Los Angeles County Office of Education. For almost 30 years, I faithfully…
OP-ED: The Good News In 2024: Poor People Are the New Swing Vote
By William J. Barber, II If you’re an ordinary American who goes to work to pay the bills or takes care of a loved one most days, it’s easy to feel down when you see the headlines about the 2024 election. Donald J. Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies for falsifying business records to…
Opinion: Black Californians Will Not Participate in the Greening of California If the State Doesn’t Do Better
Taylor Jackson | Special to California Black Media Partners California must act now to confront today’s Black job crisis. The Bureau of Labor Statistics last year reported that 90% of the nation’s unemployed U.S. citizens are Black Americans. And despite being less than 10% of LA’s population, Black people comprise more than a third of…
Opinion: The Dark Legacy of Slavery Still Impacts Our Black Children 161 Years After Emancipation
Darryl White | Special to California Black Media Partners As we celebrate the 159th anniversary of Juneteenth, I cannot help but think of how far we still have to go to reach a level of equity in America. The cornerstone of slavery was illiteracy among enslaved populations. Slave owners did everything they could to keep…
OP-ED: How We Can Make Our Roads Safer for Black Teens This Summer
Michelle Anderson, Director of Operations, National Road Safety Foundation Candace Lightner, Founder, We Save Lives Cookouts. Beach trips. Baseball games. Summer is almost here, a season everyone loves. But in a town in Connecticut, this July will be a solemn time for the family and friends of a 15-year-old girl who was killed one year…
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear editor, As a professional caregiver at FirstLight Home Care, I know how important it is for seniors and medically vulnerable patients to be able to access the prescription medications, therapies, and treatments they need. Unfortunately, that access is being eroded by the arcane, profit-driven polices of insurers and their Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs)—and lawmakers…
OP-ED: Our Role in Perpetuating the Downfall of Democracy: A Call to Action
NNPA NEWSWIRE — The continuation of democracy depends on us and rests squarely on our shoulders. It is a collective endeavor, requiring the participation and dedication of every citizen who is willing not to fall for the bovine excretions. We must refuse complacency and apathy, recognizing that the fight for democracy is ongoing and requires…
OP-ED: Will EPA’s New Regulations Enhance Sustainable Development?
By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association By responding to the African American community’s concerns about proposed regulatory and administrative policies, the Biden-Harris Administration has proven to be a responsive champion of minority voices and interests. Take, for example, the administration’s recent reversal of its proposal to ban menthol…
