Public Policy "NEWS"

By1975 board-and-care homes had become big business in California. In Los Angeles alone, there were “approximately 11,000 ex-state-hospital patients living in board-and-care facilities.” Many of these homes were owned by for-profit chains, such as Beverly Enterprises, which owned 38 homes. Many homes were regarded by their owners “solely as a business, squeezing excessive profits out of it at the expense of residents.” Five members of Beverly Enterprises’ board of directors had ties to Governor Reagan; the chairman was vice chairman of a Reagan fundraising dinner, and “four others were either politically active in one or both of the Reagan [gubernatorial] campaigns and/or contributed large or undisclosed sums of money to the campaign.” Financial ties between the governor, who was emptying state hospitals, and business persons who were profiting from the process would also soon become apparent in other states. The majority of mental hospitals in California closed in the late 1990s, when

California's 2020 Senate Bill 145 aims to eliminate inequality in sex offender registration requirements, fact-checkers report In September, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 145 into law. The bill prevents young adults engaging in non-vaginal sex with a minor within 10 years of their age from being automatically added to the sex offender registry, and allows a state judge to make that decision instead, PolitiFact explains. The bill was described by Senator Scott Weiner as an "anti-discrimination law" as it protects LGBTQ people from facing automatic registration as sex offenders. Senate Bill 145 does not legalize pedophilia, fact-checkers from The Associated Press, Reuters, PolitiFact and Snopes report.

Did you see the news? The Biden administration’s Department of Education has officially launched the online application to apply for up to $20,000 in student debt relief. Over the last weekend alone, more than 8 million Americans applied via the beta version of the application. You have until December 31, 2023 to submit your application.  It only takes a minute to complete and no supporting documents or your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID are required.  To qualify, individual borrowers must make less than $125,000 a year. Families who make $250,000 a year are also eligible. If you received a Pell Grant, you may qualify for up to $20,000 in loan relief. If not, you may qualify for up to $10,000 in student debt relief. Take a minute to officially apply for up to $20,000 in student debt relief. President Biden’s decision on student debt relief will eliminate federal student loan debt for roughly a third of borrowers. Without the burden of student debt, many Americans will finally be able to

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  Over 70% of Black mortgage applicants surveyed believe they have faced “stricter requirements because of their race” Of the Black applicants rejected, the vast majority cited a high debt-to-income ratio as a factor, along with a low credit score. Black households are more than twice as likely to have student debt with a median $40,000 student debt load. Racism may also play a role. Mortgage denial rate for Black applicants is 84 percent higher than for white applicants, according to data from Zillow in 2020, the most year the data was available. This is an increase from 2019 when the denial rate was 74 percent higher. Overall Black ownership is up at 44 percent, but it is still below the peaks it hit in the early 2000s. The highest being 49.7 percent in 2004. We already know the homeownership gap for Black people was low compared to other demographics in the United States and it will take an extreme amount of work and effort to ensure that there is equity among Black homeowners. Inte

When it comes to  buying or selling your home , hiring a professional to guide you through the process can save you money and headaches. It pays to have someone on your side who's well-versed in the nuances of the market and can help ensure you get the best possible deal. Of course, you have the option to purchase a home without an agent's help or put your house on the market as for sale by owner. But if you're not familiar with the buying or selling process, you may skip necessary steps, whether it's failing to fix peeling paint or missing a deadline for due diligence when you're under contract. You may also find that you're not on an even playing field when it comes to negotiating the deal, which means you could ultimately pay more for the purchase or make less money in a sale. Finding the best real estate agent for you Lastly, choosing the right real estate agent could be the difference between a stressful home search and an easy one. Similarly, the right rea