By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor A Hmong community activist ended his 19-day hunger strike July 23 afternoon as the office of California state Attorney General Rob Bonta agreed to look into the death of farmer Soobleej Hawj, who was killed by Siskiyou County...
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Key to Democracy – Minnesotans of Color Push for Equity in Redistricting
By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services Editor’s Note: Mark Hedin reports for EMS’s redistricting newsbeat. Minnesota’s fastest-growing communities, in an effort to have their voices heard in shaping society’s future, are targeting the state’s imminent redistricting...
CDC Experts Call New Surge “The pandemic of the unvaccinated”
Lauri Hicks, DO (left), Medical Epidemiologist, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC; José T. Montero, MD, MHCDS (right), Director, Center for State, Tribal, Local, and...
Siskiyou County New Frontier for Resisting anti-Asian Violence
Hmong protestor in Yreka July 17Also available in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. By: Sandy Close With additional reporting by Sunita Sohrabji and video/photographs by Manuel Ortiz YREKA, California — Over 600 Hmong Americans from across California and as far away as...
‘HISTORIC MOMENT!’ ASIAN AMERICANS CHEER PASSAGE OF CALIFORNIA’S $156 MILLION FUND TO COMBAT AAPI RACISM
California Governor Gavin Newson holds a copy of the state’s 2021-2022 budget, which he signed July 12 (photo courtesy of Governor Gavin Newsom’s office).By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor Asian Americans cheered the July 12 passage of California’s API Equity...
How do you say “gerrymandering” in Spanish?
Also available in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. By Pilar Marrero There are terms that are hard to translate and concepts that are foreign, even if you can find a word in another language to say them. If not, just ask Miguel Rivera, from the Texas Civil...
Election audits in five states set off warning signals, report finds
Also available in Spanish. By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services A new report by the Brennan Center for Justice examines so-called ‘audits” either under way or proposed for five states that voted to replace Donald Trump with Joe Biden as president in the Nov. 3, 2020...
COVID-19: Doctors agree that masks are here to stay
From left to right: Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, Senior Fellow, Federation of American Scientists; Dr. Jose Perez, Chief Medical Officer, South Central Family Health Center; Dr. Ben Neuman, Chief Virologist, Global Health Research Complex at Texas A&M UniversityAlso...
Redistricting battle heats up – Houston activists fight for fairer maps
Clockwise from top left: Nina Perales, Vice President of Litigation, Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund; Debbie Chen, Attorney, OCA-Greater Houston; Roshawn Evans, Co-founder and Organizing Director, Pure Justice; Myrtala Tristan, Lakewood Resident,...
As Housing Gap Widens – Rural Californians Run Out of Homes
From left to right: Kristina Rosales, Housing Team, Western Center; Sara Kimberlin, Senior Policy Analyst, California Budget and Policy Center; Francisco Dueñas, Executive Director, Housing Now!; Larry Halstead, activist, political scientist, and Paradise Camp Fire...
Three California Republicans Share Views on Future of GOP
From left to right: Young Kim, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, California’s 39th District; Suzette Martinez Valladares, Member of the California State Assembly, 38th District; Walter Allen III, City Councilmember, City of CovinaAlso available in Spanish....
File Your Tax Return – You May Qualify for Tax Credits & Stimulus Payments
Also available in Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services Amid the COVID-19 global pandemic, California has led the way in establishing a variety of supports to help people through a time of increased needs and reduced earnings. At a...
Fighting global warming requires an equity approach
From left to right: Dr. Daniel Swain, Climate Scientist, UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability; Dr. Kristie L. Ebi, Professor, Center for Health and the Global Environment; Aradhna Tripati, Associate Professor, UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and...
Broad coalition of Americans fights against voter suppression laws
From left to right: Mimi Marziani, President, Texas Civil Rights Project; Alex Gulotta, Arizona State Director, All Voting is Local; Elizabeth Hira, Spitzer Fellow and Policy Counsel, Brennan Center's Democracy ProgramAlso available in Spanish. Advocates put faith in...
Future of housing depends on drawing fairer maps – A conversation with New Orleans activist Andreanecia Morris
Andreanecia Morris, HousingNOLA Executive Director By Khalil Abdullah, Ethnic Media Services Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of EMS profiles of redistricting champions. Andreanecia Morris’ passion for housing has made her one of New Orleans’ most ardent...
Vaccinating Ethnic Elders and Disabled – Hardest to Reach, Most at Risk
From left to right: Kim McCoy Wade, Director, California Department of Aging; Dr. Louise Aronson, Geriatrician ,UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine; Anni Chung, President and CEO, Self Help for the Elderly; Cindy Cox-Roman, CEO, HelpAge USA; Jessica Lehman,...
On the Record with Dr. Erica Pan: Protecting Our Kids with COVID-19 Vaccines
Dr. Erica Pan, California State Epidemiologist Also available in Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese, and Korean. By Dr. Erica Pan, California State Epidemiologist California’s future is brighter now that protection from COVID-19 is within reach for even more of our...
Summer Brings Out Door to Door Scammers – Chicago Fraud Busters Share Tips at FTC Briefing
Also available in Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. By Khalil Abdullah, Ethnic Media Services Summer’s here, and Deacon Reginald Patterson, who directs the senior ministry of Chicago’s New Covenant Church, anticipates fraudsters and scammers to descend upon parishioners’...
KOREAN AMERICANS TO LEGISLATORS – DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS NEED PERMANENT FUNDING STREAM
Jennifer Oh, Deputy Director of Korean American Family Services (Los Angeles)Also available in Korean. By Jennifer Oh, Ethnic Media Services As deputy director of Korean American Family Services (KFAM) in Los Angeles, I welcomed news last week that the Senate and...
Ethnic media reporters recognized for covering 2020 epic events
California Governor Gavin Newsom opened the California Ethnic Media Awards on Thursday, June 3, with a special tribute to the sector for covering the epic news stories of 2020Also available in Spanish. By: Jenny Manrique, Ethnic Media Services Some 30 ethnic media...
Ethnic businesses in the post pandemic: Catch the boom or left behind?
From left to right: Everett Sands, CEO, Lendistry; Ro Khanna (D), Representative, California’s 17th Congressional District; Virginia Ali, Co-founder, Ben’s Chili Bowl Also available in Spanish. Since the pandemic started, 200,000 small U.S. businesses have closed...
California Senate revisits ‘death in prison’ law – Judges would regain discretion in cases overwhelmingly affecting young people of color
By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services A little-known provision of California’s criminal code condemns an average of three people per week – typically young adults of color -- to spend the rest of their lives behind bars for being unwitting accomplices to crimes they...
Hesitancy and lack of access contribute to low rates of kids vaccinated
From left to right: Dr. Jose Perez, Chief Medical Officer, South Central Family Health Center, Los Angeles; Dr. Grace Lee, Professor of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine; Matthew Simonson, Researcher, Covid States ProjectAlso available in Spanish....
County expands free vaccine program – No appointments needed, but you have to be at least 12 years old
Valentina Pereda, LA-based communications expert and documentary filmmaker (left); Eloisa Gonzalez, M.D., M.P.H., Director for Cardiovascular and School Health, LA County Department of Public Health (right) By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services LOS ANGELES -- COVID-19...
New Immigration Bills Open the Door for Scammers
By Nina Mohan President Biden’s proposed immigration reforms could provide a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented immigrants, but the proposed changes also offer fresh opportunity for scammers who know how to exploit the complicated and sometimes...
Experts advocate for global vaccine production
From left to right: Dr. Marc Lipsitch, Professor of Epidemiology and Directo, Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, Harvard School of Public Health; Peter Maybarduk, Director, Public Citizen's Access to Medicines Group; Dr. Ben Newman, Chief Virologist at the...
COVID VACCINATION WILL NOT BE REQUIRED TO ATTEND K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOL IN CALIFORNIA
Also available in Korean. By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor California teens ages 12-15 can start getting vaccinated for Covid as of May 13, but getting the shot will not be required for attending K-12 public schools in the state, said California Health and...
How communities can heal post-pandemic
Dr. Manuel Pastor (left), Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity, University of Southern California; Leslie Cooper Johnson (right), Vice President of Organizational Development, Community CoalitionAlso available in Spanish. Experts...
Los Angeles County Battles Hunger with CalFresh – Solis, community groups encourage applying
Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District of the Los Angeles County Board of SupervisorsBy Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services Among the many problems made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles County is a familiar one: hunger. For the county’s Board of...
CAN INDIA EMERGE FROM ITS COVID CATACLYSM?
By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor The eyes of the world are focused on India, as the country experiences a brutal second wave of the Covid pandemic, with an average of 400,000 new daily infections and 3,000 daily deaths. Public health experts say the numbers...
Appreciate Nurses–We Can All Do Our Part to Help End the Pandemic
Also available in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. By Raynald Samoa, M.D., Endocrinologist, City of Hope and Clinical Lead for the National Pacific Islander Covid-19 Response Team (NPICRT) Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been inspired by the strength and...
Colombian Government Chooses Force Over Dialogue as Protests Continue
A young protester draped in an ACAB Colombian flag plays football with a seminary student in Plaza BolivarAlso available in Spanish. Deadly protests which have claimed the lives of 34 show no signs of slowing By Joshua Collins Joshua Collis is a freelance journalist...
Multi-ethnic Survey Finds Support for California’s COVID Work – Widespread fear of racial bias clouds positivity about vaccines
By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services Californians report improved finances and growing confidence that they won’t get COVID-19, according to a new survey by a coalition of nonprofit organizations. In this fourth poll by Hispanas Organized for Political Equity (HOPE),...
CALIFORNIANS HAVE ‘MET THE MOMENT’ BY GETTING VACCINATED, SAYS STATE EPIDEMIOLOGIST ERICA PAN
Dr. Erica Pan, state epidemiologist for the California Department of Public HealthAlso available in Chinese and Korean. By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor Californians have “met the moment” to help save countless lives by getting the COVID-19 vaccine, said Dr....
A DOCTOR’S WORD ON VACCINES
Also available in Spanish. Dr. Eloisa Gonzalez, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Q: Can I get the Pfizer vaccine for my 1st dose and Moderna for my 2nd or vice versa? A: No. You must get the same type of vaccine for both doses. The efficacy of the...
Arizona’s odd audit has election watchers worried – Traditional safeguards fall victim to partisan theatrics
By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services As Arizona processes a new audit of Maricopa County’s 2.1 million November votes, the nonprofit National Task Force on Election Crises hosted a panel discussion of the unusual process. Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman has an...
CELEBRATE YOUR MOM THIS MOTHER’S DAY, BUT PROTECT HER BY KEEPING MASKS ON
By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor Carmela Bernal vividly remembers “El Dia de la Madre” Mother’s Day celebrations of her childhood. “The whole family would get together in my uncle’s backyard: 20, 30 people and lots of kids,” said the fledgling artist, who...
Fight to secure the freedom to vote heats up in Congress
From left to right: Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund; John C. Yang, President and Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC; Jacqueline De León, Staff Attorney, Native American...
“IT’S NOT HESITANCY, IT’S ACCESS” UMOJA HEALTH VOLUNTEERS TARGET VACCINE ACCESS
Kim Rhoads on creating access to vaccines By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — As rap music joined the whoosh of nearby BART trains on a recent Saturday morning, Umoja Health Founder Dr. Kim Rhoads and her army of volunteer health care...
State Streamlines COVID-aid Grants to Small Businesses – Simplified applications to $2 billion program due by May 4
From left to right: Everett Sands, CEO, Lendistry; Pleshette Robertson, CEO and Founder, Sac Cultural Hub; Lamar Heystek, President, ASIAN, Inc.; Julian Cañete, President and CEO, CA Hispanic Chambers of Commerce By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services As the COVID-19...
A Doctor’s Word – Keeping Kids Safe as They Return to School
Brian Lee, pediatric infectious diseases specialist, University of California San FranciscoAlso available in Spanish and Chinese, and Korean. By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor Children can and should safely return to schools even before they are vaccinated,...
Waging a Battle for Workers’ Rights – LA County, free legal team fight to protect jobs and wages
Rose Basmadzhyan (left), Chief of the Wage Enforcement Program & Investigation Division, LA County Department of Consumer & Business Affairs; Yvonne Medrano (right), Program Attorney of the Employee Rights Program, Bet Tzedek Legal ServicesAlso available in...
Restorative Justice Seeks to Heal Families Facing Domestic Violence
From left to right: Rev. Aleese Moore-Orbih, Executive Director, California Partnership to End Domestic Violence; Monica Khant, Executive Director, Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-based Violence; Tina Rodriguez, Restorative Justice Practitioner and Board President,...
COMBATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE REQUIRES A DECRIMINALIZED, HEALING-CENTERED APPROACH
Dr. Aleese Moore-Orbih, incoming Director, California Partnership to End Domestic Violence By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor Combating domestic violence requires a healing-centered approach which doesn’t always remove an abuser from the household nor...
Generous Irvine Foundation award vital to nonprofit empowering California youth – Applications open for new round of $250,000 awards
Yammilette Rodriguez, upper right, of the Fresno Youth Leadership Institute, met in February with Madera Community College’s new Student Advocacy Council. (Photo courtesy Youth Leadership Institute)Also available in Spanish. By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services For...
“Frontline workers have earned and deserve the path to citizenship”
Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA)Also available in Spanish. With his first bill, Senator Alex Padilla also wants to honor his parents, who migrated from Chihuahua in search of the American dream. By: Jenny Manrique Five million essential workers, who have put their lives at...
The fate of 11 million immigrants is in the hands of the Senate
Clockwise from top left: Theresa Cardinal Brown, Managing Director of Immigration andCross-border Policy, Bipartisan Policy Center; Joseph Villela, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles; José Alonso Alonso Munoz,...
CAN CALIFORNIA SAFELY RE-OPEN JUNE 15 BEFORE REACHING HERD IMMUNITY? PERHAPS, IF MASKS REMAIN ON
California Governor Gavin Newsom By Sunita Sohrabji, Ethnic Media Services Can California safely fully re-open its economy June 15, even without reaching herd immunity, the point at which 60 to 70 percent of the population is resistant to the COVID virus and its...
LA County Helps Homeowners Hit by COVID Costs – New program offers up to $20,000 relief
From left to right: Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, Third District, LA County Board of Supervisors; Eloisa Gonzalez, MD, MPH, Director of Integrative Medicine, LAC+USC Historic General Hospital Wellness Center & COVID-19 vaccine spokesperson for Spanish-language media;...
The American Rescue Plan and your taxes: What you need to know
From left to right: Susan Simon, Director, Customer Assistance, Relationships and Education, Wage and Investment Division, Internal Revenue Service; Kenneth Corbin, Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, Internal Revenue ServiceAlso available in Spanish and...
TIME-TESTED PHONE TREE HELPS LAOTIAN COMMUNITY GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT MASKS, VACCINES
Also available in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. By Isabella Bloom, Ethnic Media Services Richmond, Ca. -- Public health officials anxious to reach linguistically isolated communities about the need to wear masks, practice social distancing and get vaccinated are...
No Place in Montana is Too Remote for Scammers – Reaching tribal residents with the swipe of an iPhone
By Khalil Abdullah, Ethnic Media Services For a family in Billings, Montana, a personal apocalypse rode into their lives over the telephone. The voice was indistinct, but the circumstances were clear. Her grandson was in jail; didn’t want his parents to know just yet...
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COVID-19 VACCINE
Also available in Korean. Dr. Dali Fan, Health Science Clinical Professor at UC Davis, is also a volunteer vaccinator at a clinic on the California Northstate University campus in Elk Grove, California. In this FAQ, Dr. Fan addresses the most common questions asked by...
Delay in census results threatens 2021 redistricting
From left to right: Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund; Leah C. Aden, Deputy Director of Litigation, NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund; Terry Ao Minnis, Senior Director of the Census and Voting...
Georgia’s Voting Rights Rollback Faces New Lawsuit
Sophia Lin Lakin,Voting Rights Project Deputy Director, ACLU S.B. 202 makes it a crime to give water to people waiting to vote By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services Less than a week after the state of Georgia enacted new voting rules, a third federal lawsuit is seeking...
Common Cause focuses on 2021 redistricting – Voting districts set this year will last a decade
Kathay Feng, National Redistricting Director, Common Cause By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services Armed with nearly-completed 2020 Census data, states soon will begin adjusting how their communities are represented in U.S. politics. Population losses or gains trigger...
New Rent Relief Program Tries to Help Small Landlords
From left to right: Maeve Elise Brown, Executive Director, Housing and Economic Rights Advocates; Jung Hyun Choi, Senior Research Associate, Urban Institute; John Yen Wong, Founding Chairman, Asian Real Estate Association of AmericaAlso available in Spanish and...
Mass vaccination seeks to win the race against new strains of COVID-19
From left to right: Nirav R. Shah, MD, MPH, Senior Scholar, Stanford University’s School of Medicine; Dr. Kim Rhoads, UCSF; Dr. Daniel Turner-Lloveras; Dr. Dali Fan, Health Science Clinical Professor, UC DavisAlso available in Spanish. The B117 mutant variant, more...
VACCINE VS. VARIANTS: WHICH WINS THE PANDEMIC RACE?
From left to right: Nirav R. Shah, MD, MPH, Senior Scholar, Stanford University’s School of Medicine; Dr. Kim Rhoads, UCSF; Dr. Daniel Turner-Lloveras; Dr. Dali Fan, Health Science Clinical Professor, UC DavisAlso available in Korean. By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS...
Archdiocese Steps Up – Vaccines Are Coming. Until Then, Be Careful, Doctors Warn
From left to right: Eloisa Gonzalez, M.D., M.P.H., Director for Cardiovascular and School Health, LA County Department of Public Health (DPH); Isaac Cuevas. Director of Immigration and Public Affairs, Archdiocese of Los Angeles; Dr. Erika Flores-Uribe, Resident,...
ASIAN AMERICANS REFLECT ON COMMUNITY’S VULNERABILITY AFTER SIX WOMEN MURDERED IN GEORGIA
By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor Asian Americans across the U.S. reflected on their community’s vulnerability to racist attacks, after 21 year-old Robert Aaron Long killed six Asian American women at three locations in Georgia on March 16. Long, who told...
Vaccination Rate Spurs Hope for ‘Herd Immunity’
From left to right: Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, Second District, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; Dr. Muntu Davis, County Health Officer, Los County Department of Public Health; Dr. Sarah Lopez, Patient Safety Officer, Los Angeles County Department of Health...
THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN: WHO WINS? MOST AMERICANS. WHO LOSES? UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS
From left to right: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, 8th District of Illinois, United States House of Representatives; Chad Stone, Chief Economist, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Elaine Maag, Principal Research Associate, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center,...
COVID Scams on the Rise Amid Chaotic Vaccine Rollout and Distribution Delays
By Nina Mohan Scammers are taking advantage of the confusion surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine distribution and using it as an opportunity to prey on consumers anxious to get their shots. Because distribution varies state by state and changes are announced almost...
EQUITY DRIVES SACRAMENTO COUNTY’S COVID VACCINE DISTRIBUTION PLAN
Clockwise from top left: Dr. Olivia Kasirye, MD, MS, County Health Officer, Sacramento County Public Health; Rachel Rios, Executive Director, La Familia Counseling Center; Britta Guerrero, Chief Executive Officer, Sacramento Native American Health Center; Nancy Xiong,...
COVID Case Rates Drop and Schools Reopen – LA County Focuses on Students’ “Lost Year”
From left to right: Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Los Angeles County’s 5th District; Eloisa Gonzalez, MD, MPH, Director of Integrative Medicine, LAC+USC Historic General Hospital Wellness Center; Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools; Nathan Kuo,...
Public Notice, A Potential Gold Mine
Wallace Allen, publisher of Westside Story News and radio host of Empire Talks Back By Julian Do, EMS “You’re sitting on a gold mine but you don’t know it,” said Wallace Allen, publisher of the African American newspaper Westside Story News, speaking to an EMS...
Student debt robs young people of their dreams. Will debt cancellation help?
From left to right: Representative Ro Khanna, California’s 17th Congressional District, United States House of Representatives; Kat Welbeck, Civil Rights Counsel, Student Borrower Protection Center; Joseph Jaramillo, Senior Attorney, Housing and Economic Rights...
POLICE UNRESPONSIVE, SAY ASIAN AMERICAN VICTIMS OF HATE CRIMES
By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor On Feb. 25 evening, a man scaled the wall of the 117-year-old Higashi Honganji Buddist Temple temple in Los Angeles County’s ‘Little Tokyo’ neighborhood and set fire to two wooden lanterns at the entrance to the temple, then...
JOHNSON AND JOHNSON VACCINE COULD BE GAME CHANGER IN GETTING U.S. VACCINATED BY END OF SUMMER
Dr. Dali Fan is a UC Davis Health Science Clinical Professor who also serves as a volunteer vaccinator at California Northstate University in Elk Grove, CaliforniaAlso available in Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor As the U.S....
‘Promotoras’ Bring “Doses of Hope” to Hard-Hit Communities
Promotoras working for a network of 16 community organizations led by the East Los Angeles Women’s Center have reached out to hundreds of thousands of people with personal protective equipment, information and referrals to help them stay safe amid the COVID-19...
More agricultural workers vaccinated as California ramps up equitable distribution
Agricultural workers are visited by pop-up vaccination clinics throughout California, including this one in Fresno, as part of a focused effort to vaccinate with equity. The agricultural workforce is largely made up of immigrant workers, a population that is...
COVID-19 fuels the threat of global famine
Clockwise from top left: Steve Ravarella, Senior Spokesperson for the UN World Food Programme; Parul Sachdeva, Country Advisor in India for Give2Asia; Elio Rujano, Communications Officer for the World Food Programme's regional bureau in Central America and the...
Voting Rights At Stake As Supreme Court Considers Arizona Case
By Khalil Abdullah, Ethnic Media Services Sometimes it’s 50 miles -- one way -- for Native Americans living on reservations or in remote areas of Arizona to drive their ballots to a post office or an official drop-off site. Public transportation? Sparse to...
CALIFORNIA’S $6.6 BILLION SCHOOL RE-OPENING PLAN PRIORITIZES LOW-INCOME, SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN
California Governor Gavin Newsom By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor Members of the California state Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a $6.6 billion school re-opening plan, which aims to get children in grades kindergarten through 6th back to...
Amid COVID, LA County Hustles to Help the Hungry
Clockwise from top left: Elizabeth Cervantes, Director of Agency Relations and Product Acquisitions, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank; Eloisa Gonzalez, MD, MPH, Director of Integrative Medicine at the Wellness Center at LAC+USC Historic General Hospital, spokesperson...
On the Record with Governor Gavin Newsom: A Shot in the Arm Against COVID-19
Governor Gavin Newsom Also available in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian, Arabic, and Armenian. By Governor Gavin Newsom After one of the most challenging years of our lives, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel—the COVID-19 vaccines are here, and my...
Ethnic communities unite to combat anti-Asian violence
From left to right: John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC; Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League; Manjusha P. Kulkarni, Executive Director of Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council...
COVID-19 Survivor Recites Prayers from Childhood
Shireen Carlson and her husband Leif Editor’s Note: Indian American Shireen Carlson, and her husband Leif, were both recently stricken with COVID. The couple is shown here on their wedding day April 28, 2018. (Som Sharma photo/courtesy of Leif and Shireen Carlson)....
CONGRESSIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS PUSHES FOR LEGALIZATION OF ESSENTIAL WORKERS IN COVID RELIEF BILL
Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-California) By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributor Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-California joined several immigration advocates Feb. 16 to push for an immediate path to legalization for more than 5 million undocumented essential workers, via the new COVID relief...
Vaccine distribution lags behind for communities of color – Racial data needed to correct problem
From left to right: Dr. Daniel Turner-Lloveras, Latino Coalition Against COVID-19; Adam Carbullido, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations; Virginia Hendrick, Executive Director of the California Consortium...
L.A. County Gaining Ground on COVID – Vaccine Is Now The Key
From left to right: Eloisa Gonzalez, MD, MPH, Director of Integrative Medicine at the Wellness Center at LAC+USC Historic General Hospital; Dr. Raymond Perry, Director of the Hubert Humphrey Comprehensive Health Center; Karen J. Kim, MD, FACP, Los Angeles County...
L.A. County/City Experts Caution: Immigration reforms Won’t Come Overnight – Watch for Scams!
Clockwise from top left: Adriana L. García, Associate Director of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Office of Immigrant Affairs; Rigo Reyes, Executive Director of LA County’s Office of Immigrant Affairs; Daniel Sharp, former Legal Director of the Central American Resource Center...
Back to school during a pandemic: How to do it safely?
Clockwise from top left: Louis Freedberg, Executive Director of EdSource; Tyrone Howard, Director of the Black Male Institute at UCLA; Akil Vohra, Executive Director of Asian American LEAD; Karla Franco, Los Angeles parent; Bernita Bradley, National Parents UnionAlso...
Amazon to Pay $61.7 Million to Flex Drivers Whose Tips Were Withheld
By Nina Mohan, Ethnic Media Services Amazon will pay over $61.7 million dollars to the Federal Trade Commission following an investigation that revealed that for two and a half years the company failed to pay Amazon Flex drivers the full amount of tips they earned...
Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai Offered Free Legal Help on Housing Problems
Also available in Chinese, Korean, and Thai. By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services As the whole world struggles against the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles is offering free, in-language legal help for Koreans, Chinese,...
CALIFORNIA AND BIDEN ADMINISTRATION LAUNCH TWO MASS VACCINATION SITES IN ETHNICALLY DIVERSE NEIGHBORHOODS
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to build two mass vaccination sites in the state, one at the Oakland Coliseum and the other at California State University, Los Angeles.By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor California Governor Gavin Newsom and...
Essential but disposable: how California farmworkers battle COVID-19
POPLAR, CA - 13JULY20 - Erika picks pluots in a field near Poplar, in the San Joaquin Valley, in a crew of Mexican immigrants. Most workers wear facemasks or bandannas as a protection against spreading the coronavirus. Photo ©2021 by David BaconAlso available in...
Keeper of the Flame – Myanmar Gazette
By Julian Do, EMS Thakhin KaiBwor, publisher and editor of the Myanmar Gazette, has a unique mission: to provide news and information while maintaining a common identity for some 300,000 Burmese immigrants in the U.S. whose home country has over 54 million people...
SUPER BOWL AND CHINESE LUNAR NEW YEAR COULD SPARK COVID SURGE, WARNS CALIFORNIA HEALTH OFFICIAL
Also available in Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor The upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year and Super Bowl Sunday are both potential COVID super-spreader events, warned Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of California’s Health and Human...
Audaz agenda de inmigración de Biden genera esperanza entre activistas
Clockwise from top left: Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice; Cyrus Mehta, Founder and Managing Partner of Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners, PLLC; Patrice Lawrence, National Policy and Advocacy Director for UndocuBlack; John C. Yang, President and...
High Hopes for Biden Immigration Reforms – Advocates Push to End “Cruelty and Pain”
Clockwise from top left: Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice; Cyrus Mehta, Founder and Managing Partner of Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners, PLLC; Patrice Lawrence, Co-director of UndocuBlack Network; John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of...
The “Trump Religion” May Be Here to Stay
From left to right: Meili Criezis, Global Network on Extremism and Technology Associate Fellow; Colin P. Clarke, Senior Research Fellow, The Soufan Center; Ricardo Corzo Moreno, theologian specializing in Latino churches By Pilar Marrero, Ethnic Media Services The day...
CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR LIFTS STATEWIDE STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS AND EXTENDS EVICTION MORATORIUM
By SUNITA SOHRABJI/ EMS Contributing Editor California Governor Gavin Newsom lifted the state’s Stay-At-Home orders, effective immediately Jan 25, based on projections of intensive care unit capacity next month. At an afternoon briefing the same day,the governor also...
Plan de vacunación en California quiere salvar más vidas latinas
Expertos advierten la importancia de las vacunas para reducir las hospitalizaciones y el número de muertes entre la comunidad hispana, la más afectada por la pandemia. Por: Jenny Manrique Luego de cuidar a numerosos miembros de familias hispanas que uno a uno iban...
FILIPINO AND VIETNAMESE AMERICANS IN CALIFORNIA HARDEST HIT BY COVID
Photo credit: Pixabay By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor Filipino and Vietnamese Americans in California are some of the hardest hit populations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said Steve Kang, director of external communications at the Koreatown Youth and...
Just two years old, a Spanish-language publication in North Carolina thrives with few ads and no print edition
From left to right: Paola Jaramillo, co-founder and executive editor of Enlace Latino NC; Walter A. Gómez, co-founder and managing editor of Enlace Latino NCBy Anthony Advincula, Ethnic Media Services When Enlace Latino NC launched two years ago, the challenge it...
Los Angeles County expands COVID vaccine access, eligibility eases and new facilities open – biggest challenge is supply
Also available in Spanish and Korean. By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services As the COVID-19 pandemic death toll passed 400,000 in the United States, three Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials joined in a “virtual town hall” telebriefing to describe...
COVID HOSPITALIZATION RATES SLIGHTLY DECLINE IN CALIFORNIA
California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor COVID hospitalization rates have slightly declined since the beginning of the year, said California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly at a Jan. 19...
High hopes or another false hope? Green Cards for Undocumented “essential workers” on Biden’s Agenda
Also available in Spanish and Korean. By Anthony Advincula NEW YORK—On a recent Monday, Maribel Lapuz got up at 4:30 a.m. The 46-year-old immigrant from the Philippines braved the sub-zero weather and took the train from Jersey City, NJ to a nursing home in Brooklyn,...
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