May 17, 2018
By Dr. John E. Warren
San Diego Voice and Viewpoint
NNPA Member
As federal agencies expand their investigation into the business practices of Wells Fargo & Company, the fines and penalties for the financial services institution, with $1.9 trillion in assets, continue to rise.
While many saw the news about the $1 billion fine against Wells Fargo, the real story was not in the amount of the fine, but rather who fined the bank and why.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) assessed a $500 million penalty against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. “and ordered the bank to make restitution to customers harmed by its unsafe or unsound practices, and develop and implement an effective enterprise-wide compliance risk management program,” according to a press release about the fine.
The press release continued: “The OCC's action was closely coordinated with an action by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which through a separate and collaborative approach assessed a $1 billion penalty against the bank and credited the amount collected by the OCC toward the satisfaction of its fine.”
The press release said that, “The OCC took these actions given the severity of the deficiencies and violations of law, the financial harm to consumers, and the bank’s failure to correct the deficiencies and violations in a timely manner.”
The OCC found that the bank had violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act.
The OCC also reported that Wells Fargo, "engaged in unsafe and unsound practices relating to improper placement and maintenance of collateral protection insurance policies on auto loan accounts and improper fees associated with interest rate lock extensions,” the press release said. “The OCC penalty will be paid to the U.S. Treasury.”
The order also modifies restrictions placed on the bank in November 2016 relating to the approval of severance payments to employees and the appointment of senior executive officers or board members, the press release said.
The press release continued: “The original restrictions related to severance payments applied to all employees, which unnecessarily delayed severance payments to employees who were not responsible for the bank's deficiencies or violations.”
May 17, 2018
By Niele Anderson
Contributing Writer
While the private prison industry is receiving lucrative government contracts from the Trump administration and favorable policy shifts from the Justice Department allowing prison industry stocks to soar, a California Bill looks to bring a piece of redemption to the inequity of the private prison business.
Assembly Bill AB 2303 introduced by Assemblymember Tony Thurmond proposes to provide a revenue stream for programs known to prevent incarceration such as preschool and after-school programs. It proposes to do this by re-directing profits generated by private prisons into a newly- created state fund for early educational opportunities.
The bill imposes a 10% tax on private prison contracts with the state. Funds generated by the bill would be deposited into the State Incarceration Prevention Fund, to be administered by the California Department of Education (CDE). CDE will provide grants for preschool and after school programs for incarceration prevention programs.
The private prison industry is a billion dollar for profit business that has been known to have no checks and balances when it comes to the treatment of inmates, slave labor, they have received complaints about poor food, inadequate medical care, disrespectful guards and female inmates have been removed from prisons after more than a dozen cases of alleged sexual abuse by guards. The industry has also been sued by many human rights organizations.
AB 2303 was partly inspired by 13th a documentary by director Ava DuVernay that explores race and the injustice of mass incarceration in the United States. Author of the bill Assembly member Thurmond shared, “seeing this documentary was very devastating to me. It took me to place of considering how do we rectify this, how do we reconcile this problem that companies are profiting off of other people’s suffering?” He continued “It struck me to tax those companies that profit off of incarceration and force them to give some of their profit to the state to pay for the preventative programs and services”.
While this California state bill AB 2303 fights its way to law, one of the country’s leading private prisons the GEO Group which has prison contracts in California continues gain profit with state and federal funds. GEO recently won a $110 million contract to build a federal immigrant detention center in Texas. The facility is expected to generate $44 million a year.
It should be noted, the Geo Group held an executive retreat late last year at the Trump National Doral property near Miami. The executive meeting was the single-largest source of revenue for the Trump Organization property. The GEO Group also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting the Trump campaign donating $225,000 through a subsidiary to a pro-Trump super-PAC. GEO also gave $250,000 to the president’s inaugural committee.
Another leading private prison CCA-Corrections Corporation of America (which has prisons in California) annual report flagged criminal justice reform and highlighted reduction of mandatory minimum sentences—as a “risk factor” for its business.
We asked Assembly member Thurmond his thoughts on private prisons, “I think private prisons are really a disservice to our community and in spite of the fact I’m talking about taxes to generate revenue, I’d be happy to see private prisons go away. Its only that they exist that I’m saying if we pay out this money to them then we should tax them and make them give back to programs that can prevent further incarceration.”
Supporters of the bill include California Alternative Payment Program Association California Federation of Teachers California Teachers Association Californians for Justice, First 5 Contra Costa, LA’s BEST National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter Partnership for Children & Youth, Rubicon Programs and Think Together. Assembly member Thurmond shared, “Historically California’s spending for prisons has outpaced its spending for re-entry programs, for pre-school programs and for establishing new colleges and institutions of higher learning. I think that people are saying as a state we want our reserves going to programs that prevent incarceration and help those that have been in the system to be a success in re-entry”. He continued, “I believe this bill does that, it taxes existing revenue programs that the state has already committed to pay and it generates new revenue to go into prevention programs, programs that can reduce the overall incarceration of our state”.
Assemblymember Tony Thurmond represents the 15th Assembly District, comprised of the cities of Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Emeryville, Hercules, Kensington, Piedmont, Pinole, Richmond, San Pablo, Tara Hills, and a portion of Oakland.
May 03, 2018
City News Service
The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners has reportedly narrowed its nationwide search for a new police chief to a handful of department insiders.
The commission scheduled a closed session that got underway Wednesday morning to interview the top candidates for the job, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Citing an unnamed source, The Times reported that the list of top candidates includes Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Michel Moore, Deputy Chief Robert Arcos, Deputy Chief Phil Tingirides and former Assistant
Chief Sandy Jo MacArthur, although more than four interviews were to take place.
The Board of Police Commissioners, which is the civilian board that oversees the department, has been tasked with recommending three top candidates to Mayor Eric Garcetti, who will then select a chief from among the three.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck announced in January that he will retire June 27, a year and a half before his second term ends. He has led the department since 2009.
The commission held six community meetings to get feedback on the search, and Police Commission President Steve Soboroff and Vice President Matt Johnson have attended roll call at some police stations to get feedback from rank-and-file officers.
The Times reported that 31 people applied for the job.
May 03, 2018
By Shannen Hill
Contributing Writer
Hank Jackson opened his own business in 1997. At the time, Hank’s Mini Market was a place to buy liquor and snacks, but 20 years later, he has given his daughter the reigns to make it her own.
Kelli Jackson, 36, grew up in the mini market and has seen it become a community safe-haven. As an art student at the University of Southern California, she was researching about different art spaces in the Crenshaw area and came across information about food deserts, which are areas where there are more liquor stores and fast food restaurants than grocery stores and healthy food options. She learned that her father's mini market, which is near Crenshaw Blvd. and 71st St., was surrounded by other similar stores that only sold liquor and snacks. From there, Jackson knew that she wanted to make changes to the store and started going to workshops for the Los Angeles Food Policy Council.
“I had learned about food deserts and realizing that our store was right in the middle of it made me see that access to healthy food is just as important as access to art,” said Jackson.
Jackson had her vision ready, but she had to put in some time before that vision came to life. She worked with the Los Angeles Food Policy Council for three years and in 2017, she got the call that would put the plans into motion.
The Los Angeles Food Policy Council has a partnership with Sweet Greens, a health-food restaurant that also helps fund community health initiatives, and they selected Hank’s Mini Market to be part of their outreach program.
“My dad was on board, but he did not believe that people would come in and do everything that they did,” said Jackson. “It had been years since I came up with the idea so when he started seeing things get done he was just like, ‘wow, God is good.’”
After Sweet Greens got involved with funding the project, there was an eight-month process to decide what the store should look like, where the food source would come from, the pricing, the budget and more.
Then, for three months the store was closed for renovations. There were many things that were changed in the mini market, but Jackson also wanted to make sure that some parts of the store stayed.
“It was important for me to keep my dad’s name because he really built this store. We also kept the orange and white color scheme and the same shelving,” said Jackon. “We still sell liquor and beer and Cheetos, but it’s not as highlighted. It’s a cleaner look now and our healthier options are highlighted more.”
Along with liquor and snacks, Hank’s Mini Market now sells vegetables including lettuce, tomatoes, cauliflower, avocado, bell peppers and more. They even have some healthy snack options, like trail mix and dried fruit. Jackson has also created a space inside of the store for art, reading and community events. Hank’s Mini Market is more than a store for Jackson. It is a place for the community to share ideas, laughter and entertainment.
“As an artist, this store is like a canvas. I want this to be a space and a platform for artists, entrepreneurs and community members to highlight their stories and express themselves,” said Jackson. “Right now, we have a community wall where the community can voice their opinions on different topics and I brought in some books from my studies on African American art and history. I’m looking forward to creating a book swap where people can bring their books and take one of mine. I would also like to have local artists bring their work in and host some community events.”
The grand re-opening was in early April and community members ranging from 20 years ago to now came out to support. Local food businesses Everytable and Baba’s Vegan Café provided the food, while local artists provided the entertainment.
For more information on Hank’s Mini Market, visit them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @hanksminimarket.