Enviros stick up for Newsom + California Latino newsletter + Businesses blast ‘Job Killer’ label
Good morning, and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS BACK NEWSOM IN RECALL
Via Lara Korte...
Supporters of Gov. Gavin Newsom gathered with environmentalists on Tuesday to denounce the recall, saying the effort to remove the governor is fueled by climate change deniers and will ultimately stall the progress the state has made on environmental protections.
“The Trump Republicans behind the recall of Gavin Newsom refuse to accept the science,” said State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley. “As California faces drought and worsening wildfires, Californians deserve to know their safety and our planet is at stake if this Republican power grab succeeds.”
Joining Democratic supporters were representatives from the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, and the California League of Conservation Voters, who praised Newsom for his recent actions to prevent climate change, including the denial of 21 fracking permits earlier this month.
“We simply can’t afford more delays in inaction,” said Victoria Rome, senior advisor to the NRDC Action Fund. “We’re witnessing earlier and more devastating wildfire seasons, longer periods of extreme drought and intense heat waves.”
This latest push by Democrats to sound the alarm on the recall comes as polling suggests the governor may be in real danger of removal. A joint survey from Berkeley IGS/Los Angeles Times released Tuesday found 47% of likely voters would remove Newsom in a recall.
Researchers and political experts say Democrats face an uphill battle when it comes to turning out voters. Polling suggests recall supporters are far more engaged and motivated than a typical Newsom supporter.
Newsom’s campaign is taking the fight to the airwaves. AdImpact reported Tuesday that Newsom has launched new broadcast, cable, and radio flights from Aug. 2 to Sep. 13, totaling $8.64 million.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEW STATEWIDE LATINO ISSUES NEWSLETTER
Buenos días, California.
My name is Kim Bojórquez and I cover how California policy and politics impact Latino communities in the state for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau.
California is home to about 14 million Latinos. We account for about 40% of the state population. Despite representing the state’s largest ethnic group, our narratives have not been adequately represented in traditional news coverage.It’s why last month McClatchy newspapers in California launched La Abeja – “the bee” in Spanish – a weekly newsletter that chronicles the complexity of the Golden State’s Latino communities. Most importantly, it’s written for Latinos by Latinos.
The newsletter will be led by three journalists who cover underserved communities. Those reporters include myself; Nadia Lopez, who reports on Latino communities for The Fresno Bee; and Andrea Briseño, who covers underserved communities for The Modesto Bee.
Each Wednesday morning we will deliver a roundup of the week’s most relevant stories impacting California’s Latino communities to your inbox. Those stories range from Latinos who support the recall of Gavin Newsom to how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting Latino business owners, who represent one in four businesses in the state.
To subscribe to La Abeja, sign up here.
BUSINESSES BLAST CAL CHAMBER OVER ‘JOB KILLER’ LISTING
A coalition of fashion businesses have written a letter demanding that the California Chamber of Commerce remove Senate Bill 62 from its list of bills labeled “job killers.”
SB 62, authored by Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, expands liability to fashion brands, eliminates the piece-rate payment system, increases government enforcement and creates a rebuttable presumption in favor of worker testimony about the brands they worked on, according to a statement from the group behind the letter.
“Your designation of SB 62 as a “Job Killer” is offensive given that garment makers in LA lost their lives during COVID-19 precisely because endemic wage theft robbed them of the savings and safety net necessary to stay home from work,” the letter reads in part.
The letter goes on to say that SB 62 is the opposite of a job killer.
“SB62 is a life saver. Garment workers have risked their lives producing lifesaving masks and other PPE throughout the pandemic, in an industry long-known for occupational hazards, even as piece rates and wages have gone down. ... SB 62 is urgently needed legislation to protect the workers who protect us,” the letter, signed by 70 businesses, reads.
At 8 a.m. Wednesday, workers, local fashion businesses and advocates will gather at the Ronald Reagan State Building in Los Angeles to rally in support of the bill.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I would be *thrilled* to be asked proof of vaccination at the gym, restaurant, movie theater, etc. Who’s with me?”
- Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Gov. Gavin Newsom has pulled his children out of a summer camp after photos surfaced of his son sitting without a mask with other maskless children, a spokeswoman for his office said, via Sophia Bollag.
Several California public sector unions are voicing support for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order requiring state workers to show of vaccination against COVID-19 or accept regular testing for the virus, via Andrew Sheeler.
California will offer public health care to undocumented Californians age 50 and older starting next year in a historic expansion, via Kim Bojórquez.
This story was originally published July 28, 2021 at 4:55 AM.