[su_label]Bay Area[/su_label]
Tenants score victory at City Hall
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an anti-eviction package on Sept. 22 that will bolster protections for tenants facing evictions. Introduced by Supervisor Jane Kim, “Tenant Protections 2.0” offers further protection to tenants who are being evicted for minor violations without having a chance to fix the abuses, increases their notification requirements, and limits a landlord’s ability to increase rents on units after a no-fault eviction. That portion of the package passed unanimously, making it veto-proof from the mayor. A portion however that makes it easier for tenants to add roommates passed by a vote of 7-4, making it susceptible to a veto.
[su_label]National[/su_label]
Texas denying birth certificates to U.S.-born children of undocumented
A federal lawsuit, filed in Austin, TX on behalf of 28 undocumented immigrants, alleges that the Texas Department of State Health Services is denying birth certificates for their children, who were born in the United States. The refusal to issue birth certificates, they argue, is a violation of the 14th amendment. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a motion that the case be dismissed on the grounds that it’s a state matter and the federal judiciary doesn’t have jurisdiction.
Current Obama administration sets bar for diversity
A recent study compiled by a law professor at U.C. Berkeley and published in the Washington Post, found that this Obama administration is the most diverse of any president in the nation’s history. Minorities and women hold more than 80 (or 53.5 percent of) policy positions in the administration. Obama’s most recent appointment, Eric Fanning, is the first openly gay man to serve as secretary of the U.S. Army. Obama has also appointed more female judges than any other president in history (including the first Latina supreme court justice) and more African American judges than all previous presidents combined.
Pope canonizes Junipero Serra
Despite the protest of numerous people within the Native American community, Pope Francis canonized Junipero Serra on Sept. 23 during his trip to the United States. On the day of the canonization, numerous Native American rights advocates flocked to various California missions to voice their outrage. Serra, born in Majorca, Spain in 1713, founded California’s first missions through Native American labor and converted countless native peoples to catholicism, often times with devastating results. According to the Oakland Museum of California, 60,000 deaths were recorded just in the California missions during the 65 years of their operation.
[su_label]International[/su_label]
Chile rocked by back to back earthquakes
An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale slammed Chile on Sept. 21. It was the second quake to hit the country in less than a week, following the massive 8.3 that struck the central coast on Sept. 16, which resulted in the deaths of at least 12 people. The Sept. 16 quake was felt as far as 1800 miles away in San Paolo, and has caused damages that have been estimated at as high as $900 million.