April 30, 2020 

City News Service 

Developer/investment firm CIM Group announced today it has reached a deal to purchase Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza and will scrap a redevelopment plan that included a mix of residential and commercial space.

“Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza occupies a pivotal location in a well- established Los Angeles community, centrally located and adjacent to a soon-to-open Metro light rail station,” CIM Group principal and co-founder Shaul Kuba said in a statement.

“Two large anchors, Sears and Walmart, closed their doors prior to COVID-19’s shuttering the entire mall, and 300,000 square feet of space in these two large buildings continue to remain vacant.

“We have the opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to the future of the property viewed through the lens of the current climate and the acceleration of the already declining retail environment,” Kuba said. “Since 1947 this property has been a commercial property, and although current entitlements allow residential components, we believe that residential uses are not suitable for this property and it should remain a commercial property in our repositioning.”

Redevelopment plans for the site were approved by the city two years ago. CIM Group’s decision to scrap the residential project did not sit well with City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who told the Los Angeles Times it “demonstrates an uninformed, a historical and premature analysis” that overlooks “hours of hearings, legal proceedings and other community involvement.”

Kuba told The Times the company paid more than $100 million for the 40-acre complex at Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards. The mall covers about 869,000 square feet.

The Macy’s store and IHOP rest­aurant were not included in the sale.

April 30, 2020

By Quinci LeGardye 

California Black Media 

Out-of-work gig workers in California whose employers have not paid into the state’s unemployment insurance fund — as well as Californians without jobs who have run out of unemployment benefits — will be able to file new unemployment claims.

Starting April 28, the state will begin accepting unemployment insurance (UI) applications from both of those categories of jobless Californians through the California Employee Development Department (EDD) website.

“We have been working on making sure that we get Californians what they are entitled to under PUA,” California Labor Secretary Julie A. Su wrote in an open letter last week. She was breaking down the new federal government Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program that provides Californians an additional $600 a week on top of whatever amount — between $40 and $450 —  they qualify for under the state’s unemployment insurance program. The supplemental unemployment money is funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) act, which the United States Congress approved and President Trump signed into law last month.

The EDD has built a new system to handle new CARES Act claims for both the regular state unemployment insurance benefits and payouts from the new federal PUA program. The website has specifically been constructed to accommodate claims from independent contractors, the self-employed and individuals who lack sufficient work history.

For every week a gig worker was out of work between Feb. 2, 2020 and March 28, 2020, he or she will receive $167 in unemployment benefits from the state of California, according to the EDD. In the next phase, which runs from March 29 to July 25, unemployed gig workers will receive $167 for each of those weeks, plus an additional $600 in PUA payments. For the final phase, which goes from July 26 to Dec. 26, they will go back to receiving only the $167 in PUA benefits if still needed.

The state has recently updated the PUA web page to include eligibility criteria. Anyone who has lost work due to COVID-19 related complications is eligible, whether he or she been diagnosed, is acting as a caregiver, or has lost work due to complications.

“There’s one and a half million that are self-employed, one and a half small businessmen and women, individuals that have no other employees, and they’re also deserving of direct assistance,” said Governor Newsom in a recent press briefing, announcing the initiative.

Su provided some specifics of the PUA program during the same press conference and in a letter addressed to all Californians on April 15.

According to Su, the PUA program will have a fast turnaround so that benefits can be administered within 24-48 hours. Also, benefit payments will be retroactive, going back to the first week of February, if the applicant can prove that his or her loss of work was due to COVID-19. She added that the extra $600 from the federal CARES Act will also be retroactive.

To handle the increased hours and high amount of calls, the Unemployment Insurance branch has added 740 new EDD employees and 600 others across state government.

Su said the state has taken other steps to make sure that people affected by the crisis receive their money without delay, including extending call center hours from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and adding phone lines. Also, Labor Secretary Su announced April 23 that EDD has temporarily suspended Unemployment Insurance certifications for the weeks ending March 14 through May 9. EDD will issue regular unemployment payments during those weeks, and will not stop payment unless notified that the recipient has found new employment.

Labor department call center staff members answered on the first ring when California Black Media made investigative calls twice this week after hearing reports that unemployment insurance support phone lines were down when applicants called on the first day seeking help.

On April 14, Su held a Facebook Live discussion to update the public about unemployment benefits. She answered questions from concerned self-employed workers who had received $0 UI determinations from the EDD and had trouble getting a representative on the phone. According to Su, a $0 determination means that there was no money paid into self-employment from a previous employer. She also said that self-employed workers who applied for UI would possibly have to apply again for PUA once it’s available.

“Let me also acknowledge that there has been frustration and disappointment about how long things take, uncertainty about what it means when you can't get the payments that you need right now,” she said. “I also just wanted to acknowledge that it is a difficult time and I know that it is very, very hard for people throughout California, throughout the country, and throughout the world.”

Gov. Newsom also announced a $75 million Disaster Relief Fund for undocumented Californians who are ineligible for UI benefits and disaster benefits, including the federal stimulus check, due to their immigration status. According to Newsom, individuals can apply for a one-time cash benefit of $500 per adult capped at $1,000 per household beginning next month.

April 16, 2020 

By Charlene Muhammad 

Contributing Writer 

Medical and legal experts and advocates outlined pathways to access public benefits during the global coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, during an online briefing for ethnic and community media.

It was the third in a series of 10 online briefings hosted by Ethnic Media Services for ethnic news media with the support of the Blue Shield of California Foundation.

A key aspect of the April 8 webinar entitled “Accessing Healthcare and Other Public Services During the Pandemic” addressed how to receive the $1,200 Economic Impact Payment.

People with an adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns will receive the full $1,200 payment and up to $500 for each qualifying child.

Know that no one from the IRS is going to call asking people to verify or provide their financial information in order to get their Economic Impact Payment, warned Sunita Lough, IRS Deputy Commissioner, Services & Enforcement. “Watch out for scams! There are scams and fraudsters out there right now,” she alerted.

The IRS urges people to not only watch for emails, but text messages, websites, and social media attempts that may request money or personal information.  “Please do not give your private information to anybody who says, ‘I can get the payment from the IRS for you.’ That’s really important to us,” said Lough.

The IRS plans to launch the “Get my payment” online application to track payments on April 17.  It’s similar to “Where’s my refund.” Lough encouraged individuals to enter direct deposit information to receive payments sooner.  Otherwise, paper checks will be issued, which will take longer, she added.

Most tax payers who filed for 2018 or 2019 do not have to take any action, so no need to call.  Payments will be directly deposited into bank accounts based on those filings.  And on that note:  The deadlines to FILE and PAY federal income taxes are extended to July 15, 2020.

On April 10, the Treasury Department and IRS launched a new non-filer tool to also help non-filers register for the payments.  The IRS will use this information to confirm eligibility and calculate and send an Economic Impact Payment, and using it will not result in any taxes being owed, according to the IRS.

It indicated in an April 10 update that payments will be automatically deposited into bank accounts of Social Security beneficiaries who are not typically required to file tax returns.  People who did not file a tax return for 2018 or 2019 should use the tool, as well as those who don’t receive Social Security retirement or disability benefits, or Railroad Retirement benefits, it continued.

The non-filers tool is also an option for those in lower income brackets, who haven’t filed taxes in 2018 or 2019 because they are under the normal income limits for filing, such as single filers who made under $12,200 and married couples making less than $24,400 in 2019.

More information on Economic Payments may be found at IRS.gov/coronavirus.