News

SACRAMENTO — Calling 911 to harass or otherwise violate the rights of a person based only on their race would be classified as a hate crime that could lead to jail time and a fine under a bill passed by California lawmakers on Monday.

The legislation comes amid a nationwide reckoning on systemic racism and following confrontations across the country in which primarily white people have made discriminatory emergency calls to the police when encountering people of color bird watching and barbecuing in a park, among other everyday activities.

Un joven afroamericano en un supermercado descubrió a una joven de raza blanca cuando robaba artículos del establecimiento y decidió filmarla con su teléfono celular.

En respuesta, la joven llamó al número telefónico de emergencias 911 y denunció falsamente que estaba siendo atacada sexualmente en el supermercado por el joven afroamericano.

Un joven afroamericano en un supermercado descubrió a una joven de raza blanca cuando robaba artículos del establecimiento y decidió filmarla con su teléfono celular.

En respuesta, la joven llamó al número telefónico de emergencias 911 y denunció falsamente que estaba siendo atacada sexualmente en el supermercado por el joven afroamericano.

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The California Legislature Friday will begin debating a bill which would make it against the law to make a false 911 call based on a person’s ethnic background, gender or sexual orientation.

Assembly Bill 1775 would make it a hate crime to make a discriminatory 911 call.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has reported that over 15,000 students have not been heard from since the March 16 closure of schools due to coronavirus concerns. An estimated 40,000 additional students fail to check-in daily.

Even as LAUSD leaders have been working diligently to accommodate the needs of teachers and students as it transitions to an all-digital distance learning format – student access to technology and understanding its use remains an issue.

By Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr.

Every year the United Nations (UN) asks world leaders to reflect on the issue of social justice and create programs that focus on eradicating poverty in their respective countries. The UN’s Annual World Social Justice Day (every February 20) is a day to remind ourselves at the local level that inequalities in poverty, exclusion, gender equality, unemployment, human rights, and social protections exist and are on the rise.

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – The term “at-risk youth” was commonly used in both penal and education codes in California – until now.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation that went into effect on Jan. 1 that officially wiped the phrase from the state’s language. The phrase will now be replaced by “at-promise youth.”

With all the attention this year rightly focused on protecting the Affordable Care Act, we need to remember that the quality of patient care is also an important issue. For the 10,000 African-Americans in California who depend on the life-saving treatment of dialysis, quality can’t afford to be overlooked.

People with kidney failure need dialysis for the rest of their lives unless they can get a transplant, which means they must visit a dialysis clinic three days a week to have their blood emptied, cleaned and returned. 

In light of the recent police brutality scandals in Missouri, New York and even California, it is clear that policymakers must take immediate and definitive action to ensure the safety of citizens and restore faith in law enforcement.

That’s why I firmly believe it is crucial that California lawmakers unite to support a new plan that turns to modern technology for a solution. We should require all California Highway Patrol officers to wear video cameras.

SACRAMENTO — California's professional sports franchise owners are asking lawmakers to let them hold high-stakes, electronic raffles during games.

They seek an exclusive right to offer much fatter prizes than the state now allows all other raffles. The teams want to earmark 50% of the pot for prizes. Raffles run by such groups as little leagues, churches and service organizations are limited to giving winners no more than 10% of the take.