April 09, 2020
By Tanu Henry
California Black Media
Last Thursday afternoon, Gov. Newsom announced a new $50 million emergency California micro-loan program targeting the smallest, most vulnerable corporations among the state’s small businesses.
The taxpayer-funded program will benefit California companies with 750 employees or less, according to the program’s website.
Gov. Newsom said the state set up the Small Business Loan Guarantee program, which falls under the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank), to help prop up smaller firms suffering losses due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Businesses that benefit from California’s program would be firms that do not qualify for the $349 billion the federal government plans to dole out to small businesses in forgivable loans across the country.
“Not everybody has the capacity to get an SBA loan. And as a consequence of that, we’re announcing today the state of California is putting $50 million into our IBank, our infrastructure bank, to create micro-lending opportunities for people that otherwise would not be eligible for SBA relief,” said Newsom when he announced steps his administration is taking to shore up the state economy through the crisis.
“So it’s an additional contribution for the state to address those that may otherwise fall through the cracks,” the governor added.
But some African-American businesspeople as well as researchers and small business advocates worry that Black-owned businesses could be squeezed out of the loan program, preventing them from blunting the economic hit the coronavirus crisis is having on African-American businesses, families and communities across California.
They cite four potential problems with the California IBank program.
First, although the state created IBank to finance public and private development projects that help to create jobs and boost local economies, the bank has not made significant investments in African-American owned businesses.
“Based on some data from IBank records, less than two percent of their guaranteed loan funds went to African American businesses,” said Walter Hawkins, senior research associate at NewHawk, a Rialto-based consulting firm specializing in demographics and policy analysis.
“Black-owned businesses received 30 of the 259 loans in fiscal year 2018-19,” Hawkins said.
Those numbers point to under-representation in IBank financing to small Black businesses, leading to concern among experts that small African-American entrepreneurs may get the short end of the stick when the state COVID-19 emergency funding is disbursed.
“Measures like these may have the noblest intentions, but if they fail to address the pre-existing economic, institutional, and systemic inequities that disproportionately put truly small businesses, without full-time accountants, lawyers, and consultants on hand, at a disadvantage in competing for these funds, they are not likely to meet their goals,” said Betty Jo Toccoli, President of the California Small Business Association.
Toccoli said those smallest of small businesses include the local bakery, gas station, pharmacy, dress shop, health clinic, medical offices, food franchises, auto repair, and manufacturers who are on the front-line providing services during these dangerous times. They are also the contractors who support the larger companies with more than 500 employees.
Small business advocates also say the state did not establish clear criteria for the use of the funds.
To be effective, policy that is designed to impact communities has to have criteria attached to it, said Michael Carter, a policy consultant in Sacramento.
“You have to establish clear guidelines for the use of the money,” said Carter. “And there has to be accountability. Is the money going to be used according to the criteria? What are the consequences if it is not?”
Another area of concern is that the state is leaving it to local lenders to determine all the terms of the loans, including interest rates, and the kinds of businesses that will qualify for them.
“There is a well-documented history in this state and definitely around this country of banks and other financial institutions discriminating against African Americans,” said Toccoli. “This is not fiction. This is not ancient history. It’s happening now. This is the reality and we have to face it.”
Their final point of concern: Is the $50 million fund enough? There are an estimated 4 million small businesses in California. Although many of them may qualify for federal Small Business Administration (SBA) relief programs, there are still a lot of needs to be met, particularly for smaller establishments that don’t have rainy-day funds and are already a month into deep revenue losses.
“Larger small businesses began the application process weeks ago and will most likely commandeer the lion's share of the SBA loans, while smaller firms are still in line,” said Toccoli.
“A good number of our businesses in the African-American community are family-owned or are sole proprietorships,” said Hawkins.
“Many of them are located in the most under-served places in the state,” said Hawkins, who recently created a map of the hardest-to-count census tracts in the state. “We have to make sure those hardworking, entrepreneurial minority Californians are not overlooked or excluded.”
Take Apryl Sims, an operations manager in the Los Angeles area. Sims manages Simply Wholesome, a health food restaurant and store on Slauson Ave. in the Windsor Hills neighborhood. She said the COVID-19 crisis has decimated the business’ bottom line.
“We’re grateful our customers can support us when they can,” said Sims, who keeps her doors open for takeout only now. She says her daily revenue has dropped by more than half, forcing her to slash the hours of most of her employees and shorten the business’ hours of operation.
Small businesses like Simply Wholesome could qualify for two federal loans. The Federal Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program which carries an interest rate of 3.75 percent (2.75 percent for non-profits) can be used to cover existing expenses. This loan offers a $10,000 advance that does not need to be paid back if the loan is denied. The federal Paycheck Protection Program can be used to keep employees on the payroll whether they work or not during the crisis. The federal government may forgive those loans if 75 percent of it is used to keep people hired.
Starting Friday, April 10, independent contractors and self-employed individuals — including faith-based organizations — will be eligible to apply for the federal SBA loans to cover their payroll and other expenses through major lending institutions with local community branches.
On Friday alone, the day major lenders across the United States opened up the SBA emergency loan application process, Bank of America announced more than 85,000 small business owners applied for $22.2 billion in emergency relief loans. The bank immediately gave priority to its existing customer base even though it has now opened up the application process to borrowers who are not clients.
If they can’t secure one of those loans, California small businesses can join a crowded pool of applicants across the state applying for an IBank loan.
To make sure the disbursement of the funds are equitable and inclusive, Toccoli recommends a targeted approach in terms of size of the size of a small business.
“The $50 million IBank funding will most likely be absorbed by companies with full-time financial staff with the resources to be among the first to apply for these funds,” said Toccoli.
“State leaders should consider additional ways to assist small businesses and encourage them to set aside funding for smaller small businesses with 0-100 employees, gross incomes less than $25 million, and are not trading on the stock exchange.”
“This would guarantee that the larger ‘small businesses’ with upward of 500 employees do not absorb the majority of these limited funds,” she added.
April 09, 2020
By Quinci LeGardye
California Black Media
Although the state has not officially moved the state property tax deadline from April 10, homeowners, small businesses and other property owners across California might be able to get a break.
On Saturday, the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) and the California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors (CACTTC), groups that represent county tax collectors, all agreed to ease the pain of the COVID-19 pandemic by offering taxpayers some flexibility.
Board of Equalization (BOE) Chairman Antonio Vazquez says property owners may be eligible for cancellation of penalties and other tax charges, but the breaks will not be automatic. Taxpayers will have to prove “on a case-by-case basis” that they are experiencing economic hardship due to the COVID-19 crisis.
“This is much-needed good news for many California property taxpayers, and I thank and commend CSAC and CACTTC for offering their help to those struggling to pay their property tax obligations,” Vazquez stated.
At a news conference April 2, Gov. Newsom said his office was considering options regarding the property tax. “We are seeing if there are ways to soften this,” he said. “Millions of homeowners in the state are feeling that anxiety about April 10. We are going to see what the options are and what we can do to help.”
Gov. Newsom also addressed the concern of county tax collectors, as much of the counties’ revenues come from the property taxes. The California State Association of Counties has requested that the state covers lost revenue if the payment date is delayed.
While counties each collect their own property taxes, any change in deadlines would have to come down from the state, and the only way to alter them is by legislative act or executive order.
There is another balm for payees: many counties have closed their Tax Collectors offices. According to the California Revenue and Taxation Code, if the office is closed the day of the deadline, the deadline becomes the next business day that the office is open.
Some counties have already taken measures to alleviate the tax. For multiple counties, including Los Angeles and Alameda counties, residents can apply for a late penalty cancellation beginning April 11, if they cannot pay on time for reasons related to COVID-19.
In a press release issued Monday afternoon, both CSAC and CACTTC encouraged property owners that can afford their taxes to submit payments on time.
“Schools and local governments depend heavily on spring property tax payment revenue to continue funding much-needed services, including their crucial response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement read.
April 09, 2020
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent
Tributes have poured in for Black Enterprise founder Earl G. Graves, Sr., who died this week at the age of 85.
“At 9:22 p.m. this evening, April 6, my father and hero, Earl Graves, Sr., the founder of Black Enterprise, passed away quietly after a long battle with Alzheimer's,” Earl Graves, Jr. wrote on Twitter. “I loved and admired this giant of a man and am blessed to be his namesake. Love you, dad.”
A tweet from Black Enterprise stated, “We will evermore celebrate his life and legacy, in this, our 50th Anniversary Year, and beyond.”
Born January 9, 1935, in New York, Graves learned hard work and perseverance from his parents, Earl Godwin and Winifred Sealy Graves. After receiving a B.A. in economics from Morgan State University, he served two years in the Army, followed by a three-year stint as Senator Robert F. Kennedy's administrative assistant, according to his profile on The HistoryMakers.
After Kennedy's assassination, Graves entered the business arena, where he was to realize unprecedented success.
Since founding Black Enterprise Magazine in 1970, Earl Graves has been named one of the ten most outstanding minority businessmen in the country by the President of the United States and received the National Award of Excellence in recognition of his achievements in minority business enterprise. Black Enterprise Magazine is recognized as the definitive resource for African American business professionals, entrepreneurs, and policymakers in the public and private sectors, The HistoryMakers noted.
“We are grateful for the legacy, life, and leadership of Earl Graves, Sr, and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family,” The King Center tweeted, along with a photo of Graves escorting Coretta Scott King to the funeral of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, just two months after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.
“It is with a heavy heart that we acknowledge the passing of Earl Graves, Sr., Founder & Publisher of Black Enterprise,” Tweeted the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce. "Mr. Graves was a friend of the U.S. Black Chambers and a true advocate for Black entrepreneurship. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and loved ones."
New York Attorney General Tish James called Graves “the ultimate champion of Black business and a fighter for racial and economic justice in our nation.”
“He helped African Americans make a name for themselves in the business world and build their very own American dream. May He Rest in Peace,” James stated.
The family didn't immediately announce funeral plans.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. emphasized, “On behalf of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), we express our profound respect and condolences to the family of iconic publisher, Earl Graves, Sr. Under the leadership of Graves, Black Enterprise, more than any other single publication, helped tremendously and effectively to support African American-owned businesses for decades across the nation and internationally. While we all mourn, it is also important to rededicate ourselves to the high standards of excellence exemplified by the life and legacy of Earl Graves, Sr.”
April 02, 2020
By City News Service
Two dozen Los Angeles farmers markets have been authorized to reopen, with city officials approving their plans to enforce social-distancing requirements, authorities announced today.
Mayor Eric Garcetti on Monday ordered the suspension of farmers markets after several were identified over the weekend as being dangerously overcrowded in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said the markets would have to remain closed until they submit plans to enforce social-distancing requirements mandated by the virus. Those plans must be approved by the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services.
Some of the requirements for an acceptable plan include establishing no more than one person per 50 square feet allowed in at a time, a plan for one entry and one exit and designation of one person to handle cash payments who does not handle food.
A list of requirements each plan must have is available https://streetsla.lacity.org/sites/default/files/farmers_market_final.pdf
Farmers markets approved to open Sundays are:
• Melrose Place Farmers' Market at Melrose Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard;
• Brentwood Farmers' Market at Gretna Green Way and San Vicente Boulevard;
• Larchmont Farmers' Market at Larchmont Boulevard (first Sunday of the month);
• Historic Downtown Los Angeles Farmers' Market at 209 W. Fifth St.;
• Atwater Village Farmers' Market at 3528 Larga Ave.;
• Hollywood Farmers' Market at 1600 N. Ivar Ave.;
• Encino Farmers' Market at 17400 Victory Blvd.;
• Mar Vista Farmers' Market at Grand View Boulevard and Venice Boulevard;
• Studio City Farmers' Market at 2052 Ventura Blvd.;
• West Adams Farmers' Market at 1968 W. Adams Blvd.; and
• Westchester Farmers' Market at 6200 W. 87th St.
Farmers markets approved to open Tuesdays are:
• Old Los Angeles Farmers' Market at South Avenue 58 and Figueroa Street; and
• Sherman Oaks Farmers' Market at 14006 Riverside Drive.
Farmers markets approved to open Wednesdays are:
• Lincoln Heights Farmers' Market at North Broadway and Sichel Street;
• LNR Warner Center Farmers' Market at 21255 Burbank Blvd.;
• Adams Vermont Farmers' Market at 1432 W. Adams Blvd.; and
• Northridge Farmers' Market at 9301 Tampa Ave.;
Farmers markets approved to open Thursdays are:
• Central Avenue Farmers' Market at 4301 Central Ave.; and
• Westwood Farmers' Market at 1030 Broxton Ave.
Farmers Markets approved to open Fridays are:
• The Venice Farmers' Market at 500 Venice Blvd.; and
• Echo Park Farmers' Market at 1146 Logan St.
Farmers markets approved to open Saturdays are:
• NoHo Farmers' Market at 5331 Bakman Ave.;
• Silver Lake Farmers' Market at 1500 Edgecliffe Drive (also open
Tuesday); and
• West Los Angeles Farmers' Market at 11338 Santa Monica Blvd.
People who operate farmers markets that have been suspended during the pandemic can go to streetsla.lacity.org/covid for more information and to submit plans.