Category: Politics

Proposed citizenship question turns Census into civil rights issue Inaccurate tally could affect minority communities, election results

by Lindajoy Fenley

Ethnic minority organizations are vowing to do everything possible to encourage an accurate census count in the face of what they called a Trump Administration plan to solidify conservative Republican power with a distorted tally.

“The 2020 Census is one of the most urgent civil rights issues facing America,” said moderator Beth Lynk of the Leadership Conference Education Fund in opening an Ethnic Media Services press conference by telephone that featured speakers for five organizations. read more

Chico’s “undocumented” attorney earns U.S. citizenship Sergio Garcia says family-based migration is crucial

photo by Karen Laslo
Salvador Covarrubias (left) brought his young son Sergio Garcia to Chico, knowing that the boy would qualify for residency.

by Leslie Layton

It took Sergio C. Garcia longer to become a U.S. citizen than it took for his native country, Mexico, to win independence from Spain.

It took longer than it took for him to win the right to practice law, becoming the nation’s first, so-called undocumented attorney.

Garcia will be sworn in as a U.S. citizen in a ceremony today in Sacramento – the end of a journey that began in 1994 when he was brought to the country as a teen who knew even then that if he was going to live in the United States, he wanted to belong as a participating citizen. read more

Chico protesters demonstrate against harsh and punishing new laws Southern states attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade

photo by Leslie Layton
Chico’s Christine Moore attended the rally because she said the passage of new anti-abortion laws “needs to be stopped.”

by Leslie Layton

A lunchtime “Stop the Bans” reproductive justice rally took place in Chico Tuesday as pro-choice groups nationwide called for a “Day of Action.”

“Across the country, we are seeing a rash of extreme bans on abortion and cruel attempts at taking away reproductive freedom in an all-out assault on abortion access,” states a Facebook post promoting the Chico rally, which was organized by Women on Reproductive Defense (WORD), Women’s March Chico, Trans Empowerment Project of Northern California, and other groups. read more

Chico commits to a fossil-free future Council declares climate emergency as storm rages

photo by Karen Laslo
Alma Miranda

by Leslie Layton

Pounding hail, bolts of lightning and tornado alarms drowned out plaintive voices of the shyest of the teens who spoke before the Chico City Council Tuesday night.

To many in the chamber, nature had also spoken in a thundering, biblical voice.

To others, of course, the racket was produced by a mere flash flood.

As rain water filled the streets of Chico, trapping a few vehicle passengers and flooding some homes and businesses, the City Council voted 5-1 to pass a resolution declaring a climate emergency. It commits the city to act on climate change and prepare for extreme weather events. read more

Governor shares his views on death penalty, race bias Gavin Newsom explains why he imposed a moratorium on capital punishment

photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The San Quentin death chamber has been shut down, as well as the state’s lethal injection program.

by Leslie Layton

Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a passionate defense of his moratorium on use of the death penalty in California, pointed Tuesday to well-documented inequities in the criminal justice system that helped lead him to his decision.

The process that places convicts on Death Row is “error prone,” Newsom said in a telebriefing with members of the ethnic media. “I think it’s a racist system that disproportionally affects black and brown people.”

Newsom told journalists belonging to the Ethnic Media Services network that economic and geographic inequities in the criminal justice system also played a role in his decision, as well as practical and moral considerations. read more