Vive, vota y lucha. That was the slogan at the center of InnerCity Struggle’s campaign to mobilize Eastside voters in the upcoming elections with door-to-door registration, online guides and fun engagement events like Wednesday’s Lucha Carnival.

Latinos are almost half of the general population of Los Angeles. Getting Latinos to participate on Nov. 8 is critical to ensuring that communities like Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles have their voices heard, according to Kimberly Ortega, a spokesperson for the local nonprofit.

“Time and time again we have seen how important Latinos are when it comes to bringing change to our city,” Ortega said at the event, held at the organization’s Boyle Heights headquarters. “It’s important for everyone in the community to be informed on who and what is on the ballot so that we can increase our collective impact.”

According to Spectrum News, InnerCity Struggle is one of several LA nonprofits who received funding for voter outreach as part of the Latino Community Foundation’s “Yo voy a votar” initiative.

Going beyond typical voter engagement, the night’s carnival featured games, entertainment and prizes, all centered around propositions and measures on this year’s ballot that could have an impact on the Eastside.

La junta de supervisores del condado votó a favor de extender varias protecciones para los inquilinos antes de que venza la moratoria de desalojos el próximo 31 de diciembre. Entre las mociones aprobadas está que se prohíbe los desalojos de aquellos inquilinos que no deban un mes completo de renta. Asimismo, se brindará representación legal gratuita para quienes enfrentan procesos de desalojo.

Source: https://www.univision.com/local/los-angeles-kmex/extienden-protecciones-para-inquilinos-de-las-areas-no-incorporadas-de-los-angeles-asi-puedes-beneficiarte-video

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors held its first in-person board meeting in 2 1/2 years on Tuesday, only to be barraged with demonstrators inside and outside the hearing room.

Protestors gathered on the front steps of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, many of them focused on eviction protections for tenants in the county.

Earlier this month, the supervisors voted to end its eviction moratorium at the end of the year, but were considering a motion that would bolster eviction defense services for tenants. Another measure would limit what landlords can ask potential renters about their pandemic renting history.

"Tenants in LA County need stronger protections because it's really hard for a lot of our tenants to stay in their homes when we have landlords harassing them," Elizabeth Hernandez, a housing advocate, told the board members.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=645875256959477

The Regents of the 10-campus University of California voted unanimously on Thursday to suspend the requirement that first-time applicants submit scores from SAT or ACT standardized test scores for admission.

"I think it's an incredible step in the right direction," said UC Regents Chair John Perez.

The vote suspends the requirement through 2024 while UC studies whether to require scores from another test that UC either creates or adopts.

"By one measure this is a conversation 43 years in the making, since the 1977 adoption of the test as a weeding mechanism, as a way to decrease the number of students admitted to the University of California," Perez said.

The proposal to put the standardized test requirement on hold while UC re-evalutes its admissions criteria was first floated by UC President Janet Napolitano, who had already dropped the test requirement for applications due in the Fall 2020 because of the COVID-19 crisis. She said she was "unpersuaded" that requiring the tests for admissions "was sufficient to outweigh all of the extensive mitigation measures we employ to counteract the effect of the standardized test on certain populations."

Applicants for Fall 2020 can submit SAT or ACT results, but they aren't required to do so, and UC admissions offices may choose whether to consider those scores. The new policy extends that arrangement for another year, and adds another two years during which UC campuses will not use the standardized scores for admissions decisions even if students submit them.

DeShae Johnson in Fresno worries about finishing her senior year, taking Advanced Placement tests, and completing scholarship applications for college while taking care of her younger siblings so her mother can continue to work as a janitor.

Daniela Hernandez, a youth leader on the eastside of Los Angeles, couldn’t get her employer, a food retailer, to provide protective equipment even as shelter-in-place orders began. She won the right to wear gloves, but ultimately decided to quit her job to prevent exposing vulnerable family members to the coronavirus.

Lidia Cruz is a mother of three young children living in Sacramento. With schools closed and limited resources, she worries how to keep food on the table and get pencils and workbooks so her children can learn from home.

Each of these women’s stories resonate with thousands of Californians whose lives also have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic.

As education and youth advocates working in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Fresno, we see first-hand how our

students and families are navigating the new reality when confronted with impossible circumstances.

The challenges created by the pandemic lay bare what we always have known: First, working-class families and students of color are one small crisis away from a dire situation, while living and learning in communities with fewer resources than upper-income communities.

Secondly, if we are to truly achieve equity in our schools and communities, the voices of the most-affected students and parents are necessary to create policies that meet student needs.

That is why the California Partnership for the Future of Learning, a statewide alliance of community organizing and advocacy groups, directly asked students and families from low-income communities of color how they are experiencing this viral disruption to life and schooling.

Durante este lunes se llevó a cabo una protesta que derivó en una caravana por varios edificios federales. En la manifestación, miembros de la comunidad, activistas y empleados de distintos sectores económicos, le exigieron al gobierno estatal y a líderes políticos auxilios en las que se tengan en cuenta a los inmigrantes indocumentados y a los desamparados que también han sufrido los efectos de la pandemia.

Yesenia Vélez, de 18 años, es estudiante de último año en la secundaria Garfield, en el Este de Los Ángeles, y hasta principios de año todavía estaba haciendo planes para asistir a su fiesta de graduación.

Cerrar el ciclo de la clase de 2020 y abrir camino para empezar la universidad eran algunos de sus sueños. No obstante, han quedado truncados debido a la pandemia del coronavirus.

Yesenia tiene cinco hermanos y su padre es el único proveedor del hogar. Tras la pandemia ha quedado sin empleo y por la falta de estatus migratorio legal en el país, no pueden obtener ayuda del gobierno como el cheque de estímulo federal.

“De la escuela, a mí me prestaron una computadora con un hotspot [un dispositivo para obtener Internet]”, dijo Yesenia, quien es estudiante sobresaliente y actualmente toma dos clases avanzadas (AP).

He vivido en el este de Los Ángeles por 25 años y este año será la primera vez que lleno el Censo. Soy madre de tres hijas y un hijo. Soy abuela de tres nietos de siete, cuatro y dos años. Aunque estamos sufriendo con los pagos, tenemos nuestra salud. 

Mi esposo y yo somos vendedores ambulantes de fruta y así hemos sobrevivido día a día. Desafortunadamente, debido a la pandemia del COVID-19 ya no podemos trabajar. 

Me da mucho miedo de que mi familia se enferme. Cuando dejamos de trabajar, fue difícil porque fue así como hemos salimos adelante. 

Me siento decepcionada porque aunque pago impuestos como todos, el gobierno me ha excluido de recibir el estímulo económico federal. En estos momentos de crisis, aunque también contribuimos a este país, los inmigrantes indocumentados hemos sido ignorados.  

Pero hay esperanza.