Sponsored by the Randall W. Lewis Family Foundation
Additional contribution by Union Bank
The SoCal Transformation Database is a centralized digital repository for the Southern California region to easily access a diverse variety of expert intelligence on areas of pertinence to the long term reinvention of our region post pandemic times. Creative ideas and best practices from both the public and private sectors will be available for free to best prepare our communities to save lives and jobs when the next crisis occurs.
Community groups, businesses, public agencies, schools, economists, and philanthropic organizations may take advantage of the relevant research available on programs, initiatives, articles, white papers, webinars, websites, forums and videos. These resources will make it easier to research, store, display, share and deliver information to civic, academic and economic leaders.
To submit a URL or upload a document for submission to the database, contact Christopher at christopher.im@bizfed.org.
Props to you, Californians: A preview of what’s on your November ballot
After a bit of last-minute legislative maneuvering, the list of propositions that California voters will be asked to weigh in on has been — more or less — finalized.
After court rulings, we must do more to protect Californians
More work needs to be done in California to protect immigrants and communities of color from discrimination.
Legislature must prioritize resources to expand access to parks for underserved communities
Parks serve as sacred spaces to connect, hold vigils and launch peaceful calls for justice; however, the reality is that not all of us have equal access to parks.
Political economy of covid-19: extractive, regressive, competitive
The global economic disruption caused by covid-19 has harmed poorer people and poorer countries the most, particularly in Africa, pushing an estimated 100 million people into extreme poverty in 2020 and reversing more than two decades of progress. Famines again threaten to affect countries across Africa and the Middle East as the virus destroys lives and livelihoods.
Exploring the Digital Divide: Age and Race Disparities in Use of an Inpatient Portal
Patient portals offer great potential to improve patient engagement and participation in their health care.2 However, while use of portals has continued to rise in the aggregate, this growth has not been distributed evenly across Americans, with low-income, African American, rural, and older adults repeatedly showing lower rates of use of these technologies.
How COVID is deepening California’s income inequality in 5 charts
The pandemic has left millions of Californians without jobs, food or money for next month’s rent. Meanwhile, the state’s many billionaires got richer.
From internet rights to streeteries, how the pandemic is changing working from home
In an event co-hosted by CalMatters and the Milken Institute, policymakers and advocates explain where they see the state heading — and why California desperately needs to bridge its digital divide.
Coronavirus pandemic puts a spotlight on Stockton’s guaranteed income experiment
Mayors for a Guaranteed Income is the brainchild of Michael Tubbs, the 29-year-old mayor of Stockton, California.
After more coronavirus closures, how deep will California’s recession go?
Forget the notion of a V-shaped recovery. Unemployment leveled off around 16% in May, but a retreat to isolation and the end of some relief funds could lengthen the state’s economic recovery — and deepen inequality.
Three California crises spawn a fourth
California’s year of pandemic, recession and civic unrest also includes angst over the outcome of the 2020 census. The state likely will lose at least one congressional seat and perhaps two.
‘Guaranteed income’ would help close California’s racial wealth gap
A coalition of mayors are advocating for a guaranteed income that would improve the livelihood of many California children and families.
Seizing the Opportunity to Advance City Contracting Equity
Los Angeles spends billions of dollars yearly on contracts for commodities, professional services and construction. The City’s purchasing power presents a tremendous opportunity to invest in local small businesses, and businesses owned by women and people of color, but Los Angeles is not as effective as it could be in connecting small businesses and businesses owned by historically disadvantaged groups to contracting opportunities.
Inequity and the Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Communitiesof Color in the United States: The Need for a Trauma-InformedSocial Justice Response
Disasters, such as recent hurricanes, and public health emergen-cies, such as the COVID-19 epidemic, lead to significantcommunity-wide disruptions in all sectors of public and privatelife.Eviction, Health Inequity, and the Spread of COVID-19: Housing Policy as a Primary Pandemic Mitigation Strategy
The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated catastrophic job loss, unprecedented unemployment rates, and severe economic hardship in renter households. As a result, housing precarity and the risk of eviction increased and worsened during the pandemic, especially among people of color and low-income populations.
California will track coronavirus’ toll on LGBTQ community, after months of delay
Months after advocates warned that the coronavirus pandemic could take a severe toll on LGBTQ people, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is telling health professionals to track the disease’s impact on the community.
Broadband Internet Access Is a Social Determinant of Health!
Now, more than ever, broadband internet access (BIA) must be recognized as a social determinant of health. Disparities in access should be treated as a public health issue because they affect, "the health of people and communities where they live, learn, work and play."
A step towards gender equity to strengthen the pharmaceutical workforce during COVID-19
There is plenty of evidence to support that women leaders are needed in the health and pharmaceutical sectors, although most of the leadership positions in global health are predominantly occupied by men.
California should be a leader in telehealth services for low income communities
California, with its multilingual populations and rural communities that lack medical care, is the perfect place to implement telehealth.
COVID-19 has shown that California must fix inequities in healthcare for communities of color
The COVID-19 pandemic is magnifying decades of inequities in communities of color that have less access to health care.
Latino small businesses must equitably benefit from the Paycheck Protection Program
Companies with resources and connections benefited from the Paycheck Protection Program, but we must prioritize our Latino small-business owners.
Fair Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources in the Time of COVID-19
Although the ultimate course and impact of Covid-19 are uncertain, it is not merely possible but likely that the disease will produce enough severe illness to overwhelm health care infrastructure. Emerging viral pandemics “can place extraordinary and sustained demands on public health and health systems and on providers of essential community services.”
Broad support for Black Lives Matter shows a new generation of race consciousness has arrived
The outpouring of cross-racial support for Black Lives Matter demonstrations has surprised some who feel there is a new awakening in American society.
Compounding Health Risks and Increased Vulnerability to SARS-Cov-2 for Racial and Ethnic Minorities and Low Socioeconomic Status Individuals in the United States
Recent clinical SARS-CoV-2 studies link diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension to increased disease severity. In the US, racial and ethnic minorities and low socioeconomic status (SES) individuals are more likely to have increased rates of these comorbidities, lower baseline health, limited access to care, increased perceived discrimination, and limited resources, all of which increase their vulnerability to severe disease and poor health outcomes from SARS-CoV-2.
African American Employment and COVID-19: Disparities and Compounding Risks
COVID-19 is an equal opportunity virus, but exposure to this virus does not take place in an equal opportunity context. Although only some states and counties provide COVID-19 cases and outcomes by race, the data available indicate that disparities are stark.
COVID-19 Pandemic, Unemployment, and Civil Unrest: Underlying Deep Racial and Socioeconomic Divides
These 3 events, the pandemic, massive unemployment, and the recent protests, have occurred concurrently. Federal and state officials offer daily summaries of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths. At the same time, millions of people across the country have been adversely affected by unanticipated unemployment, with higher unemployment rates among black and Hispanic workers compared with white workers. The resurgence of anger at long-standing racism and racial inequities was added to the anxiety and tension of the pandemic, creating a combustible scene of national civil unrest.
Racial Wealth Gap
People of color have faced economic inequality for generations, and the recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests has renewed discussions on these disparities.
Compared to White families, other races have lower levels of income and net worth. They are also less likely to hold assets of any type. In fact, 19% of Black families have zero or negative net worth, while only 9% of White households have no wealth.
Side hustles, liquidating 401(k)s: Here’s how jobless Californians are getting by without the extra $600
While Republicans and Democrats disagree whether President Trump’s executive order for $400-a-week enhanced unemployment benefits will work, pressure mounts for both parties to act. Without an expired federal $600 weekly boost, unemployed Californians are living on the brink by making candy and emptying out their 401(k)s.
Coronavirus economic fallout sparks more talk of taxing California’s richest
A “CEO tax” targeting San Francisco’s most unequal salaries. A signature-gathering campaign to tax Palo Alto’s millionaires. And now, a new statewide bill that would levy a yearly 0.4 percent tax on every Californian worth more than $30 million.
Uncharted territory: Legal experts weigh in on the COVID-19 outbreak
The spread of the new coronavirus has affected people all over the world, and state and local governments are taking sweeping actions to halt the spread of the disease and mitigate the public health and economic impact of the outbreak.
HLS scholars and legal experts consider the important legal and policy concerns and challenges that have emerged—including those involving civil liberties, privacy, historical precedent, and economic impact—as cities, states and countries respond to the epidemic.
MLK Had a Dream of Guaranteed Income. As Mayors of 11 U.S. Cities, We Are Bringing That Dream to Life
In the richest nation in the world, King saw no justification for the evil of rampant poverty and chastised the government’s efforts against the ill as “piecemeal and pygmy.” Housing efforts were subject to the whims of the legislature, educational reforms were sluggish, and family assistance programs were neglected; all failed to reach the most profound needs of the poor.