Vol. 47 No. 39 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: [email protected] ... · 17/04/2020 · sions and...
8
INSIDE RAPPIN’ Tommy Wyatt TPA TPA TPA TPA TPA TEXAS PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION www.TheAustinVillager.com This paper can be recycled Vol. 47 No. 39 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: [email protected] April 17, 2020 As Stimulus Checks Begin to Arrive, What Should You Expect? By Stacy M. Brown | NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent | @StacyBrownMedia The IRS does plan to set up a portal on its website where filers can enter direct deposit information if the agency doesn’t already have those details. Those who have provided bank information on their 2018 or 2019 returns don’t have to do anything unless their information has changed. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA) (NNPA) - Payments from the $2.3 trillion fed- eral coronavirus stimulus package have begun hit- ting individual bank accounts. In a memo, IRS Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the first round of payments were sent on Thursday, April 9, and should arrive in bank ac- counts beginning no later than Tuesday, April 14. Most Americans are eligible for and will receive stimulus payments, except for those who owe back child support payments. Single-filers who make less than $75,000 will receive $1,200, while married couples making less than $150,000 are scheduled to get $2,400. An ad- ditional $500 payment will be provided to house- holds for each child under 17. The IRS will base the payments on the adjusted gross income of taxpayers’ 2019 return. If a 2019 return hasn’t been filed (the deadline has been ex- tended for two months), the IRS will use informa- tion from the 2018 return. If the return doesn’t con- tain direct deposit information, or if the IRS doesn’t have returns from 2018 or 2019, a paper check will be issued later. Electronic payments also will go out to those receiving Social Security and disability, even if re- cipients don’t typically file a tax return. For those who haven’t provided the IRS with bank account information, paper checks are ex- pected to begin reaching households in May, but, in some cases, recipients won’t receive payment until September. “If we have your bank information, you’ll get it within two weeks,” Mnuchin said. “Social Secu- rity, you’ll get it very quickly after that. If we don’t have your information, you’ll have a simple web portal, we’ll upload it. If we don’t have that, we’ll send you checks in the mail.” Treasury officials said they expect 50 million to 70 million Americans to have received directly deposited payments by April 15, which is one day later than what the IRS said it expects the deposits to become available. The IRS does plan to set up a portal on its website where filers can enter direct deposit in- formation if the agency doesn’t already have those details. Those who have provided bank in- formation on their 2018 or 2019 returns don’t have to do anything unless their information has changed. As for paper checks, the Washington Post re- ported that the IRS plan would distribute those to the lowest-income Americans first, prioritizing pay- ments for individual taxpayers with incomes of $10,000 or less on April 24. Checks for earners of $20,000 or less would be in the mail May 1, followed by those with in- comes of $30,000 on May 8, $40,000 on May 15, and continuing in income increments of $10,000 each week, according to the plan. The IRS plans to issue about 5 million checks each week. Stimulus checks would be issued on Sept. 4 to joint taxpayers earning $198,000, the maximum al- lowed under the stimulus. All others would be sent on Sept. 11, in most cases, because the IRS did not have prior tax information for them, and they need to apply for the checks. H-E-B helping feed the frontlines, provides meals to healthcare workers across Texas (Texas) - Continu- ing the charge of Texans helping Texans, H-E-B will deliver 75,000 fresh chef-inspired meals to hospitals across Texas to feed our healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID- 19 crisis. Each week for the next five weeks, H-E-B will deliver Meal Simple meals to doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers engaged di- rectly with COVID-19 patients as well as those working in emergency rooms. The microwaveable meals are ready to eat in under two minutes, making them an easy, conve- nient solution for busy healthcare workers on the frontlines. “We’re all ex- tremely grateful for the dedication of our healthcare workers who are saving lives and mak- ing personal sacrifices for others,” said Winell Herron, H-E-B Group Vice President of Public Affairs, Diversity and En- vironmental Affairs. “We want to express some well-deserved apprecia- tion and hope these meals will provide a bit of comfort during these trying times.” This meal donation, which is worth more than $350,000, comes on the heels of H-E-B’s $3 million commitment to help local nonprofits that are providing relief to some of our most vul- nerable neighbors: se- niors, children and low- income families. Keep- ing with its Spirit of Giv- ing and Helping Here philosophies, H-E-B, along with Central Mar- ket, Joe V’s Smart Shop and Mi Tienda, are dedi- cated to supporting communities through- out Texas, especially dur- ing times of need. As part of this charitable investment, H-E-B has donated: See DONATION, pg 7 (AUSTIN, TX) - Earlier this after- noon, the Austin City Council unanimously voted in favor of Items 81 and 87, locally known as the RISE resolution. The resolution allocates $15 million for direct assis- tance to people facing fi- nancial hardship. Of the $15 million, $7.5 million will be available in the form of direct cash assis- tance to struggling Austinites. This victory is much- needed for Austin un- documented workers, mixed-status families, those who work in the cash economy, indepen- dent contractors, and college students who were left out of federal relief efforts. With many losing their jobs overnight due to social distancing practices and Austin’s stay at home order, direct cash assistance will allow indi- viduals to have agency on how the money will be spent. Prior to the vote, more than than 200 civil rights, immigration, crimi- nal justice reform, and civic organizations and community leaders sent a letter to Austin City Council urging passage of direct cash assistance. The ample public commentary before the vote was a tes- tament to the over- whelming need for this type of relief that cur- rently exists in Austin. Austin City Council votes in favor of RISE resolution Coronavirus devastates expected football season. See HBCU Page 2 Austin health centers receive $4.6 million dollars in funding. See FRONTLINE Page 3 Colleges impacted by COVID-19 receive $6.28 Billion. See TRUMP Page 5 Take your hats off for THE YOUTH BRIGADE. While COVID-19 has changed life as we know it around the world, it has probably affected our students the most. They are having to stay at home because of school closures. And yet, they are required to keep up with their school work from home. I am proud to report that our YOUTH BRIGADE MEMBERS are not only keeping up with their school work from home, they are also keeping up with their reporting jobs. Many of them have not missed a week of writing their articles. THE YOUTH BRIGADE reporters keep us up-to-date on what is happening with the students. We depend on them to keep us informed about their activities while they are staying at home. One of the most critical problems is that many of our students do not have the necessary equipment at home to be able to operate duly. This is where the community has to come in and get involved. Many of the parents are busy trying to put food on the table and taking care of other expenses that are a result of having to work from home. We know now that we will have to depend on our hard working Community Based Organizations to step in and help with this problem. But, before they can help, they need to be notified that there is a need. We cannot afford to let our kids miss graduation, because they cannot successfully complete their school work. However, our community members cannot help unless they know there is a problem. Parents should not suffer in silence and for the sake of our children, they cannot be too proud to ask for help.
Transcript of Vol. 47 No. 39 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: [email protected] ... · 17/04/2020 · sions and...
INSIDE
RAPPIN’Tommy Wyatt
TPATPATPATPATPATEXASPUBLISHERSASSOCIATION
www.TheAustinVillager.com This paper canbe recycled
Vol. 47 No. 39 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: [email protected] April 17, 2020
As Stimulus Checks Begin to Arrive,What Should You Expect?
By Stacy M. Brown | NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent | @StacyBrownMedia
The IRS does plan to set up a portal on its website where filers can enter direct deposit information if theagency doesn’t already have those details. Those who have provided bank information on their 2018 or2019 returns don’t have to do anything unless their information has changed. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)
(NNPA) - Payments from the $2.3 trillion fed-eral coronavirus stimulus package have begun hit-ting individual bank accounts.
In a memo, IRS Treasury Secretary StevenMnuchin said the first round of payments were senton Thursday, April 9, and should arrive in bank ac-counts beginning no later than Tuesday, April 14.
Most Americans are eligible for and will receivestimulus payments, except for those who owe backchild support payments.
Single-filers who make less than $75,000 willreceive $1,200, while married couples making lessthan $150,000 are scheduled to get $2,400. An ad-ditional $500 payment will be provided to house-holds for each child under 17.
The IRS will base the payments on the adjustedgross income of taxpayers’ 2019 return. If a 2019return hasn’t been filed (the deadline has been ex-tended for two months), the IRS will use informa-tion from the 2018 return. If the return doesn’t con-tain direct deposit information, or if the IRS doesn’thave returns from 2018 or 2019, a paper check willbe issued later.
Electronic payments also will go out to thosereceiving Social Security and disability, even if re-cipients don’t typically file a tax return.
For those who haven’t provided the IRS withbank account information, paper checks are ex-pected to begin reaching households in May, but,in some cases, recipients won’t receive paymentuntil September.
“If we have your bank information, you’ll getit within two weeks,” Mnuchin said. “Social Secu-
rity, you’ll get it very quickly after that. If we don’thave your information, you’ll have a simple webportal, we’ll upload it. If we don’t have that, we’llsend you checks in the mail.”
Treasury officials said they expect 50 millionto 70 million Americans to have received directlydeposited payments by April 15, which is one daylater than what the IRS said it expects the depositsto become available.
The IRS does plan to set up a portal on itswebsite where filers can enter direct deposit in-formation if the agency doesn’t already havethose details. Those who have provided bank in-formation on their 2018 or 2019 returns don’thave to do anything unless their information haschanged.
As for paper checks, the Washington Post re-ported that the IRS plan would distribute those tothe lowest-income Americans first, prioritizing pay-ments for individual taxpayers with incomes of$10,000 or less on April 24.
Checks for earners of $20,000 or less wouldbe in the mail May 1, followed by those with in-comes of $30,000 on May 8, $40,000 on May 15,and continuing in income increments of $10,000each week, according to the plan. The IRS plans toissue about 5 million checks each week.
Stimulus checks would be issued on Sept. 4 tojoint taxpayers earning $198,000, the maximum al-lowed under the stimulus. All others would be senton Sept. 11, in most cases, because the IRS did nothave prior tax information for them, and they needto apply for the checks.
H-E-B helping feed the frontlines, providesmeals to healthcare workers across Texas
(Texas) - Continu-ing the charge of Texanshelping Texans, H-E-Bwill deliver 75,000 freshchef-inspired meals tohospitals across Texas tofeed our healthcareworkers on thefrontlines of the COVID-19 crisis.
Each week for thenext five weeks, H-E-Bwill deliver Meal Simplemeals to doctors, nursesand other healthcareworkers engaged di-rectly with COVID-19patients as well as thoseworking in emergencyrooms. Themicrowaveable mealsare ready to eat in undertwo minutes, makingthem an easy, conve-nient solution for busyhealthcare workers onthe frontlines.
“We’re all ex-tremely grateful for thededication of ourhealthcare workers whoare saving lives and mak-ing personal sacrificesfor others,” said WinellHerron, H-E-B Group
Vice President of PublicAffairs, Diversity and En-vironmental Affairs. “Wewant to express somewell-deserved apprecia-tion and hope thesemeals will provide a bitof comfort during these
trying times.”This meal donation,
which is worth morethan $350,000, comeson the heels of H-E-B’s$3 million commitmentto help local nonprofitsthat are providing reliefto some of our most vul-nerable neighbors: se-niors, children and low-income families. Keep-ing with its Spirit of Giv-ing and Helping Herephilosophies, H-E-B,along with Central Mar-ket, Joe V’s Smart Shopand Mi Tienda, are dedi-cated to supportingcommunities through-out Texas, especially dur-ing times of need.
As part of thischaritable investment,H-E-B has donated:
See DONATION, pg 7
(AUSTIN, TX) -Earlier this after-
noon, the Austin CityCouncil unanimouslyvoted in favor of Items 81and 87, locally known asthe RISE resolution. Theresolution allocates $15million for direct assis-tance to people facing fi-nancial hardship. Of the$15 million, $7.5 millionwill be available in theform of direct cash assis-tance to strugglingAustinites.
This victory is much-needed for Austin un-documented workers,mixed-status families,those who work in thecash economy, indepen-dent contractors, andcollege students whowere left out of federalrelief efforts. With manylosing their jobs overnightdue to social distancingpractices and Austin’s stayat home order, direct cashassistance will allow indi-viduals to have agency onhow the money will bespent.
Prior to the vote,more than than 200 civilrights, immigration, crimi-nal justice reform, andcivic organizations andcommunity leaders senta letter to Austin CityCouncil urging passage ofdirect cash assistance. Theample public commentarybefore the vote was a tes-tament to the over-whelming need for thistype of relief that cur-rently exists in Austin.
Austin CityCouncil votes infavor of RISE
resolution
Coronavirusdevastates expected
football season.See HBCU
Page 2
Austin health centersreceive $4.6 milliondollars in funding.
See FRONTLINEPage 3
Colleges impactedby COVID-19
receive $6.28 Billion.See TRUMP
Page 5
Take your hatsoff for THE
YOUTHBRIGADE.
While COVID-19 haschanged life as we knowit around the world, it hasprobably affected ourstudents the most. Theyare having to stay athome because of schoolclosures. And yet, theyare required to keep upwith their school workfrom home. I am proud to reportthat our YOUTHBRIGADE MEMBERSare not only keeping upwith their school workfrom home, they are alsokeeping up with theirreporting jobs. Many ofthem have not missed aweek of writing theirarticles. THE YOUTHBRIGADE reporterskeep us up-to-date onwhat is happening withthe students. We depend on them tokeep us informed abouttheir activities while theyare staying at home. Oneof the most criticalproblems is that many ofour students do not havethe necessary equipmentat home to be able tooperate duly. This is where thecommunity has to comein and get involved.Many of the parents arebusy trying to put foodon the table and takingcare of other expensesthat are a result ofhaving to work fromhome. We know now that wewill have to depend onour hard workingCommunity BasedOrganizations to step inand help with thisproblem. But, beforethey can help, they needto be notified that thereis a need. We cannot afford to letour kids miss graduation,because they cannotsuccessfully completetheir school work.However, ourcommunity memberscannot help unless theyknow there is a problem. Parents should notsuffer in silence and forthe sake of our children,they cannot be too proudto ask for help.
Page 2 ~ THE VILLAGER/April 17, 2020 THE COMMUNIQUÉ www.theaustinvillager.com
HBCU Athletic Programs Can’t AffordTo Lose Guaranteed Games
By John Harris JrVILLAGER Sports
Columnist
Prairie View A&M’s offense lines up against UNLV in first-quarter action during a September17, 2018 game in Las Vegas, NV. Prairie View took a 46-17 loss to UNLV, but banked $350,000for making the trip. Photo by Prairie View A&M Athletics
(VILLAGER) - Fornow, the first games ofthe 2020 college footballseason are still sched-uled to be played begin-ning August 29. But be-cause of thecoronavirus, there is noguarantee those earlygames will be played, orif there will even be acollege football season.
If there is no col-lege football season, theresults will be devastat-ing to member collegesand universities, stu-dent-athletes and theirfamilies, coaches andtheir support staff, ad-ministrators and sportsfans.
Financially, the ab-sence of games will re-sult in lost revenue fromnational, local and re-gional television deals,ticket sales and conces-sions and corporatesponsorships. However,no schools will feel thefinancial pinch morethan historically blackcolleges and universi-ties, also known asHBCUs.
Even before thecoronavirus devastatedthis country, HBCUs were
at the bottom of the foodchain in regards to athleticrevenue produced bymember schools.
A common way forHBCU athletic programsto pay their bills is play-ing guaranteed gamesagainst Power 5 schoolsfrom conferences suchas the Big 12 and SEC.
For instance, HBCUfootball and basketballprograms have receivedsix-figure payouts to playPower 5 schools. Thematchup benefits bothsides. Big schools sched-ule home games againstsmall schools for an easyvictory and millions ofdollars in ticket and con-cessions revenue. Littleschools usually suffer a
lopsided defeat but de-part with enough moneyto fund the entire ath-letic department fromthat one game.
In 2016, PrairieView’s football team re-ceived $450,000 to playat Texas A&M. Bothschools are members ofthe Texas A&M Univer-sity System, and thegame was encouragedby Chancellor JohnSharp.
The Aggies earnedan easy 67-0 win. Mean-while, the Panthersearned more moneyfrom that one gamethan they made fromticket revenue gener-ated by all of their ath-letic programs the previ-
ous year. PV also playeda football game againstRice in 2016, netting an-other $200,000 in a 65-44 loss. The Panthersearned more moneyfrom guarantees thanany other athletic rev-enue source, not includ-
ing student fees.The beat continued
for Prairie View footballin 2018 when it received$350,000 in a 46-17 lossat UNLV. In 2019, thePanthers’ football teamtook home $400,000 forabsorbing a 37-17 loss at
Houston.PV’s 2020 football
schedule features agame against LouisianaTech from ConferenceUSA, which may or maynot be played due to thecoronavirus.
Unfortunately forHBCUs, guaranteedgames, which alreadywere in danger of fadingaway due to Power 5conferences encourag-ing members to avoidguarantees while alsoplaying at least one of itsfour non-conferencegames against teamsfrom another Power 5conference, could be-come a thing of the past.
That money can’tbe recouped by HBCUathletic departments,which badly need rev-enue from guarantees tostay afloat. It’s a situa-tion that bears watchingas the upcoming collegefootball season remainscloaked in mystery.HBCUs, which alreadyhave to make due withless than their Power 5peers, may be forced topull their collective beltseven tighter.
PVAMU at Texas A&M in 2017. Photo/Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
We Want YOU!Advertise With
TheVILLAGER
www.theaustinvillager.com THE BULLETIN THE VILLAGER/April 17, 2020 ~ Page 3
Felix Bamirin, PastorGRACEWAY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Experience Grace For LifeCall: 682.472.9073 l Email: [email protected] l
Visit: www.gracewaycca.org
JOIN US This SUNDAY / THURSDAY@ 12424 Scofield Farms Drive, Austin, TX 78758
SUNDAYS 10:30 A.M., THURSDAYS 7:30 P.M.
New Lincoln Missionary Baptist Church2215 E. 8th St.,
Austin, TX 78702Going to Higher Heights,
Trusting God along the way.Sunday School 9:00am
BTU: 10:00amMorning Worship - 11:00 amChurch Phone (512) 477-2714
Cell Phont (512) 585-0744Email: [email protected]
www.newlincolnmbc.orgRev. Darron E. Patterson
Pastor
(By Parmer Lane Baptist Church building,behind Wells Fargo)
Romans 5:1 Therefore, having beenjustified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
“This life, therefore, is notrighteousness, but growth in righteousness;not health, but healing; not being, butbecoming; not rest, but exercise. We are notyet what we shall be, but we are growingtoward it. The process is not yet finished,but it is going on. This is not the end, but itis the road. All does not yet gleam in glory,but all is being purified.” --- Martin Luther
Olive Branch Fellowship of Austin / All Faith Chapel4110 Guadalupe St. Bldg #639 Austin, TX 78751
Sunday MorningWorship @ 11: am
Kenneth Hill,Pastor
Imani Community ChurchDavis Elementray Auditorium
5214 West Duval Road
Sunday School - 9:00 A.M.Worship Service - 10:00 A.M.
Power Hour Bible Life Group - 6:00 P.M.
Imani Complex & Office,11800 Mustang at Duval
Austin, Texas 78727
Visit:imanichurch.comOffice: 512-343-9300
Rev. Dr. JacquelynDonald-Mims
Globalizing the Gospel
A Ministry That Ministers
Edward M. Fleming,Sr. Pastor
OLIVET BAPTISTCHURCH
DOUBLE
GROCERY“R”
450l East Martin Luther King Blvd.*We cash ALL Tax Refund*Checks *Check Out
Country Boyz Fixin’s4140 E. 12th Street, Austin, TX 78721
Featuring Fish, Poboys, Hot Wings, Pork Chops,Homemade Gumbo, Shrimp and Alligator
DINE IN ORORDER TO GO
Mon - Fri: 11 am - 8 p.m.Saturday: 12 noon - 5 p.m.
Closed SundayCall (512) 928-5555
DAVID CHAPEL Missionary Baptist ChurchSUNDAY
Christian Education 9:15a.m. | Worship 10:30 a.m.Nursery Available
WEDNESDAY |Worship 1st Wed. monthly 7:00p.m. | Bible Study 7:30p.m.
Dr. Joseph C.Parker, Jr.
Senior Pastor
2211 East Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd.Austin, TX 78702
Office: 512-472-9748 Fax: 512-472-5399Website: www.davidchapel.orgEmail: [email protected]“A Church with a Heart
for The Community”
Pastor J. R. Roberson& First lady
Lillian Robertson
BETHEL-ST. PAUL UNITED BAPTIST CHURCH877 W. Hempstead, Giddings, Texas 78942
Weekly ScheduleSunday School 9:00 a.m.
Sunday Worship 10:45 a.m.Wednesday Night Bible
Study 6:00p.m.(979) 542-2784 Church(979) 540-6352 Home
1179 San Bernard Street,Austin, TX 78702, 512-478-7023
Sunday Morning Bible Study, 9:00 A.M.Sunday Morning Worship, 10:15 A.M.Visit our website @ www.obcaus.org
Do you have church news?Would you like to purchase
a monthly ad for yourchurch?
Inquire TODAY!Send your information to [email protected]
or call 512-476-0082
Hopewell Primitive Baptist Church690 TX-21 West, Cedar Creek, TX 78612
Sunday School9:30 a.m.
Morning Worship10:30 a.m.
Elder Carl E SheltonPastor Ph: (512) 626-3660
Hope thou in God -Psalm 42:11
WEBBERVILLEEBENEZER MISSIONARY
BAPTIST CHURCH
Give thanks to the Lord for heis good. -Psalms 136:1
Sunday Morning Worship11 AM
Sunday School 10 AM
1314 Weber St,Webberville, Tx 78653
(512) 276-7917
Pastor W. B. Routt, Jr.Cell # (512) 694-1877
Agape Baptist ChurchAgape Baptist ChurchAgape Baptist ChurchAgape Baptist ChurchAgape Baptist ChurchIn “THE CENTRE” Bldg. F-15
7801 North Lamar Blvd. (S.E. Corner of North Lamar and 183)Austin, Texas 78752
AGAPE: A church for all people. “Where Jesus Christ is Magnified and the LoveHe exhibited is Exemplified.” Come, received God’s Unconditional Love for you.
For there is No Greater Love!
H. Ed Calahan, Pastor
Church ServicesSun. School – 9:30a Sun. Worship – 11:00a
Mid-WeekThurs.: Praise, Prayer and Bible Study – 7:00PM
Call: 454-1547 for transportationWeb: www.agapebcaustintx.com
Gospel Artist Chevelle Franklyn releases“Go In Your Strength” Single and Music Video
By Naomi RichardVILLAGER
EntertainmentReporter
Photos Courtesy of JL Media PR.
(VILLAGER NEWS) -Award-winning and in-ternational Gospel Art-ist Chevelle Franklyn re-leased her latest worshipsingle and music video,Go In Your Strength, forstreaming and down-load on all major digitalplatforms. To encouragelisteners coping with theglobal COVID-19 pan-demic, Franklyn also re-leased a bonus track,iPrevail. The movingworship songs offer fansa preview of her highlyanticipated full-lengthalbum, South Wind Vol.1, expected for releaselater in 2020.
Go In Your Strengthis an anthem for the ages,a mid-tempo inspirationalsong created to encour-age believers and non-be-lievers around the globeto press on through everytrial. The entire SouthWind Vol. 1 album waswritten and recorded dur-ing the short span of threeweeks in South Africa andco-produced withNqubeko Mbatha andMojalefa Mjakes Thebe.Highlights of the upcom-ing album include aprominent feature fromNtokozo Mbambo, oneof Africa’s leading worship
leaders, and a worshiptrack sung by Franklyn inthe African indigenouslanguage of Zulu.
“I can’t wait for theworld to hear SouthWind Vol. 1. It’s a dreamcome true. I’ve wantedto do this for so manyyears. I was in the rightplace, at the right time,with the right set ofpeople,” said Franklyn ofher new project. “Thealbum is total worship.Like my other albums, itwas about testimoniesbut this one focuses onworshipping God. It’spointing just to Him,”she expressed.
In a recent inter-view with Franklyn ather home in London, itbecame clear that herconviction and dedica-tion to Gospel Musicproved strong and sin-cere. She explained her
call to leave secular mu-sic: “I felt so empty andvain pursing sinful mu-sic. I was doing lots oftours and about to pro-mote a new album. Icould hear God speakingto me, the safest place inthe whole wide world isin the arms of God. I wasin the UK at the VelvetRope Tour with JanetJackson!”
She went on, “Thepressure of God beganto move in that seculararena. I felt God sayingall you need is to declareme in any arena. It wasstrong — I had to do it!”
It’s so fascinatinghow Franklyn followedthe call to only sing Gos-pel Music — and her giftis now available to theworld. Though her newsongs Go In YourStrength and iPrevaillyrically seem written for
the COVID-19 Pandemic,the words actually cameto her a year ago. How-ever, the release dateseems destined for ourworld’s current hungerfor comfort.
The globally-recog-nized worship leadertours around the worldperforming on stages inthe United Kingdom,Asia, Europe, the UnitedStates, Australia, andacross the continent ofAfrica. She has collabo-rated with chart-toppingartists like DonnieMcClurkin, KirkFranklin, IsraelHoughton, MicahStampley and LionelPetersen to name a few.Go In Your Strength andiPrevail are now avail-able now by visitingApple Music, GooglePlay, Amazon Music,YouTube and Spotify.
Reinforcementsfor FrontlineCommunity
Health Centers:$4.6 Millionfor Austin
Courtesy Office ofU.S. Congressman
Lloyd Doggett
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative LloydDoggett (D-TX), Chairman of the House Ways andMeans Health Subcommittee, announced morethan $4.6 million in funding for Austin communityhealth centers. This funding was secured in theCARES Act, the recently-passed coronavirus reliefpackage, and delivered through the U.S. Depart-ment of Health and Human Services (HHS). People’sCommunity Clinic is receiving $1,000,775 and TravisCounty Healthcare District (Central Health) is receiv-ing $3,676,220. U.S. Congressman
Lloyd DoggettSee CommUnityCare, PAGE 7
Page 4 ~ THE VILLAGER/April 17, 2020 YOUTH BRIGADE www.theaustinvillager.com
Youth of TodayHope of Tomorrow
Online Education Catching up with Erika
Let me start off withsaying that I hope every-one and their families aredoing well at this timeand staying safe. First Iwant to talk about catch-ing up on things thatwere going on whenschool used to be open.One exciting topic to meare tryouts! Cheer anddance tryouts. Unfortu-nately I only have tochoose one which is dif-ficult for me. I had al-ready tried out for cheerand I made it with flyingcolors! Dance tryoutswere supposed to be af-ter our spring break weekand that will give me achance to find out whichI like best. Though witheverything happening,that has been put on ahold until further notice.In my AP Seminar class,we were having an com-pelling discussions on ar-ticles and stories regard-ing happiness used andspoken about in contrast-ing situations though cor-responding with eachother. One article thatcame to me as a suprise,was the fact that whenyou feel different emo-tions such as beinghappy, sad or angry,around thirty percentcomes from geneticswhich I thought waspretty cool. Anotherstory that I found fasci-nating is called "TheStory Of An Hour". It'sabout this woman that ismiserable with her lifebeing stuck in her houseand very tired of her hus-band. Albeit she also hasa heart condition andmiserable, it made me
Quinn LangfordCedar Ridge H. S.
Erika LipscombManor Middle School
think about if she wasdisabled and/or mentallynonfunctional. Even withher husband not aroundto stress her, would shestill find something tomake herself happy? Thisgoes back to reading onabout happiness, it couldstrike up interestingtheories and questions.
Now moving on tobeing a bit productiveduring quarantine. SinceI am not able to bearound people and hereat home, I have cleanedup my room and founditems that will help keepme occupied plus teach-ers from my onlineclasses have sent innova-tive methods as well. Istumbled across my craftjournel and decided tozeal my creativity anddraw and write a coupleof things. I dug up somebooks that were hidingunderneath a pile ofclothes and started read-ing them. One of myclasses are Intro to culi-nary arts, which is mostlylearning about the basicsof the kitchen. My won-derful teacher, Mrs.Ham,has sent a chart to all ofher students to keep ussticking with what welearned so far in her class.In the chart there's differ-ent activities that in-volves sanitation, organi-zation of ingredients, andcooking foods. My danceteacher sent a link froma website that has videosof professional danceand ballet trainers thatshould guide the begin-ner with improving theirskills stretches and all.
It seems as though Iam not worried about un-fortunately being at home,I do sometimes thinkabout when this will endbut I do have friends andother family I can commu-nicate with. Working onmy online classes and do-ing these productive ac-tivities, I am keeping my-self quite busy.
Since Round RockISD schools have beenclosed for about amonth now due to thespread of COVID-19, thedistrict has started toadminister online in-struction. What thatlooks like for me, a highschool student, is videosand assignments frommy teachers loaded ontothe Google Classroomwebsite each week. Wehave shifted from a let-ter grading system to apass or incomplete sys-tem for freshmen, sopho-mores, and juniors, and apass or fail system for se-niors like me.
It hasn’t felt as pro-ductive to learn at homeinstead of with myteachers and peers, butthe bright side is thatmost of my classes areAP classes. For each APexam, College Board has
Mr.Adraincut off any material mostschools haven’t learnedby early March. Addi-tionally, the exams willbe administered online,and they will be drasti-cally shortened, with nomultiple-choice sec-tions. So, I’ve alreadylearned most of what Ineed to know for theyear, which is why I’mnot very concernedabout the shortcomingsof online school.
Even though somestudents in Round RockISD don’t have devices athome that they can useto complete their work,the district has beenconsiderate enough todistribute freeChromebooks to thosewho need them. Addi-tionally, Round Rock ISDhas been handing outfree meals every day atseveral locations acrossthe city. For some stu-dents, school was theonly opportunity theyhad to eat, so thesemeals give them the en-ergy they need to con-tinue schooling re-motely. Round RockISD’s commitment to theneeds of their studentsshows that even thoughthe world is goingthrough a dark time,sometimes struggles likethese bring out the bestin humanity.
Hi everyone, todayin this article I wanted totalk about my AVIDteacher and he has beenteaching for 23 yearsand is amazing at whathe does. Joe Adrian is 35years old and is marriedand has two daughters.He has taught AP Hug,Algebra 1, and biology.But for now he has beenteaching AVID and isconsidering to do it for awhile. One of his daugh-ters is currently going toA&M and was offered ascholarship for 20,000dollars, and this is her
Montrae NelsonFour Points M. S.
3rd year in college and isabout to get her aggiering for 600 dollars.
His second daugh-ter is a senior at the mo-ment is planning on go-ing to A&M when shegraduates high school.Mr.Adrain has hope forall of his student in hisclassroom and helps ev-eryone out to the best ofhis ability. He has beenthrough a lot parentswise but everyday hecomes into the class-room like nothing hap-pened. He's the type ofperson not to let thingsstop him and get in hisway instead he overcomes them one at atime and thats whatmakes him who he isnow.
Joe Adrian is a greatteacher and has greatcharacter. He also lovesto laugh and makepeople laugh in class andto be honest he is reallygood at it. Overall he isan very successful per-son with a lot of poten-tial and believes that allof his classes have a lotof potential as well.Thank for reading!
No handshakes or hugs?
We have many newproblems thanks to thispandemic crisis. Oneproblem has to deal withhandshakes and hug-ging. In my family wehand shakers and thoselove to hug. My grandfa-thers friends like toshake hand but mygrandmother's familyare huggers. My grand-father said when he wasyoung Black folks didn'tdo much handshaking.He said they had thatcool head nod.
When looking upthe gesture of handshak-ing I found it was veryinteresting. Handshak-ing dates back to the15th century B.C. inGreece. It was a symbolof peace showing thatneither person was car-rying a weapon. Many
South East countriesclasp their hand to-gether and would tiltthere head or bow.Handshaking once waspart of making a deal orburying the hatchet.Mostly business ven-tures.
In 1607 the authorJames Cleland ( believedto have been a Scotsmanliving in England) pro-claimed that instead ofthe likes of bowing toeveryone to see yourshoelaces and kissinghands he would do some-thing different. He saidthey should use the oldeScotland way of shakingof the two right hands to-gether and meeting withan uncovered head.Hand shaking over thecenturies has had its upsand downs, This virus wehave might just changehandshaking.
Now, huggingpresent another prob-lem. It seems to be amore with intimacy.people like to get closeto others. Other love togreet friends with a goodhug. Staying 5-6 feetapart makes that hard todo. But catching a dis-ease might halt if some-what.
Tyler AllenGus Garcia YMLA
Lacee JohnsonConnally High School
First Week “Back”
Last week was thestart of online school forme. I had to do a bit ofadjusting. As I expected,some of my classes werestraightforward andeasy, and some of themwere complicated andcompact. I receivedweekly assignmentsfrom each one of my
eight classes. Once I'mdone with one class’sassignment I’m done forthe week.
The easy classeswere like “answer thesetwo questions and listthree things you’ve doneduring the break” andthat was it for the week.A couple of those classeswere a part of my “usu-ally more difficult” ones,I was surprised by a few.But other classes werelike mini-projects.
I’m hoping by thesecond week that every-one will get the hang ofthis online learningthing, and it’ll be aneasier flow of work andmore organized.
Rebekah McNealRound Rock H. S.
With the mass epi-demic spread of the Co-rona virus the term socialdistance has been addedto our word bank as a com-monly used new term. Thedefinition is quite straightforward, social meaningbeing around the presenceof people, and distancingwhich means staying a cer-tain length from others.
Social distancing hasobviously taken a role inour new modern life forus. It seems every busi-ness has either closeddown, operates online oroutside of their frontdoors. Of course, we havefew exceptions with majormarkets like HEB, Walmart.Even smaller stores andmarkets have added newsocial distancing featuresto their stores.
Recently my motherand I decided to go on agrocery run. When we ar-rived at Walmart it wasshocking how manypeople were there to be-gin with. We had to forcepark (driving around wait-ing for someone to leave aparking space) in the backedge of the parking lot. As
soon as I stepped out ofthe car, I noticed all thesafety precautions peoplewere taking. Gloves andmask appeared on everychild, adult, and teen in thearea. When we got closerto the front side door oneside of the store waslocked. The only main en-trance and exit was goingthrough one door that hada line of around 60 people.Tape was put on theground that marked a dis-tance away from a personthat showed them whereto stand while you waityour turn to get inside thestore. Even with theamount of people waitingto shop there was only afew workers on duty. Thiswas a very different expe-rience from what I wasused to since this is thesame Walmart locatedright next to my school.Pre-Corona it was a apretty open place, youwalked in, shopped andthen left as you pleased.Now it seemed more like aghost market than any-thing.
It seems as if infor-mation changes everyday on how long this so-cial distancing is sup-posed to last. It appearsnumbers have yet to slowdown with the casesaround the world. I sendprayers to everyone thatis currently quarantined,and may safeness andlove be with them. Also,prayers for families ofthose that have died, maythey never be forgotten.
Social Distancing
www.theaustinvillager.com THE REVEALER THE VILLAGER/April 17, 2020 ~ Page 5
Kennedy GeorgeWeiss High School
Do ApprenticeshipsMatch Up to a Degree?
Students leavinghigh school in the UnitedStates are often giventhe choice of college ornothing. Many occupa-tions are starting to of-fer apprenticeships afterhigh school to give ahead start into the ca-reer path chosen. Ap-prenticeships are a vi-able alternative to a col-lege degree because thetypes of occupationshave expanded, it doesnot rack up student loandebt, and it has beenproven successful inother countries.
As students con-tinue on their path toshaping their careersand creating financialstability in their life, jobs
available to those freshout of high school can beseen as few and far be-tween. Even college stu-dents who look for jobsend up with somethingon campus or nearby,and it typically does notpertain to their careerthey are studying for.
Workers who startout as apprentices getthe leg up in their field.Apprentice jobs are of-ten challenging workthat a college studentwould not get thechance to work on untilthey graduate. Appren-ticeships are also benefi-cial because they couldoffer a degree alongwith them. They also donot include the samestudent loan debts manyface when attending tra-ditional college. ThomasPerez had a goal of dou-bling the number ofpeople in apprentice-ships in 2018. They canbe appealing to some-one who does not wantto take the traditionalcollege route, and hasworked in countries suchas Switzerland and havebeen effective in de-creasing unemploymentrates for the young.
Kaitlyn CannonBluebonnet Trail Elem.
Social Distancing andFighting the Virus
Wearing a maskand social distancing areactions everybodyneeds to practice using,to help prevent thespread of contagious dis-eases, such as thecoronavirus which isnow a worldwide, lifethreatening disease. So-cial distancing or physi-cal distancing means:measures taken to pre-vent the spread of a con-tagious disease, by keep-ing at least six feet awayfrom another person orspace between .The
mask is: usually a pieceof cloth or other mate-rial to wear over all orpart of your face to pro-tect a person fromgerms or harmful sub-stances.
Gee, I miss school,my classmates, my vol-leyball team members,my Church praise danc-ing members andfriends. It saddens me toknow that people havebeen and are dying dueto the spreading ofcoronavirus. I know nowpeople have been dying,and we need morepeople to wear a maskand practice social dis-tancing. This virus af-fects all ages of people,anytime, anywhere.Over 13,906 Texans sofar tested positive withthis virus, 2,269 recov-ered and 287deaths dueto this virus.
Our appreciation toall doctors, nurses, sci-entist, healthcare work-ers, as well as, all firstresponder teams, fromacross this country, aswell as in Texas.
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES TOCHAMPION HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES ANDUNIVERSITIES (HBCUs) THROUGH THE CARES ACT
Paris Dennard
Secretary BetsyDeVos announcedAmerica’s collegesand universities, in-cluding HBCU’s, im-pacted by COVID-19will receive $6.28 Bil-lion in immediate re-lief from the U.S. De-partment of Educa-tion in the form of di-rect cash paymentsmade available fromthe CARES ACTsigned into law byPresident Trumpwhich allotted morethan $14 Billion forthe Higher EducationEmergency ReliefFund.
The Higher Edu-cation Emergency Re-lief Fund providescash grants to stu-dents for expenses re-lated to disruptions totheir educations dueto the COVID-19 out-break, includingthings like:
· course materi-als
· technology· food· housing· health care· childcare The U.S. Depart-
ment of Education al-location was set byformula in the CARESAct weighted signifi-cantly by the numberof full-time Pell-eli-gible students andtakes into consider-ation the total popu-lation of the schooland the number of
students who werenot enrolled full-timeonline before COVID-19.
This is in additionto the following im-mediate action stepstaken by the TrumpAdministration:
· Giving collegesand universities im-mediate regulatoryflexibility so students’educations could con-tinue online
· Setting all fed-erally held studentloan interest rates tozero percent (Ex-tended to six monthsby the CARES Act)
· Allowing bor-rowers to defer pay-ments for 60 dayswithout interest (Ex-tended to six monthsby the CARES Act)
· Stopping allfederal wage gar-nishments and col-lections actions forborrowers with fed-erally held loans indefault.
Additional infor-mation on institu-tion-level funding forstudents, includingdata tables, can befound here.
Secretary DeVos’letter to college anduniversity presidentswith additional infor-mation on this fundingallocation can be foundhere.
The recognizedHBCUs (by state) arelisted below:
L O U I S I A N AHBCUs
Dillard UniversityTotal Funding -
$2,442,809Emergency Stu-
dent Aid FundingMinimum -$1,221,405
Grambling StateUniversity
Total Funding -$7,010,388
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum -$3,505,194
Southern Uni-versity and A&M Col-lege
Total Funding -$9,396,803
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum -$4,698,402
Southern Univer-sity at New Orleans
Total Funding -$2,481,663
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum -$1,240,832
Southern Univer-sity at Shreveport
Total Funding -$2,595,115
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum -$1,297,558
Xavier Universityof Louisiana
Total Funding -$3,227,606
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum -$1,613,803
O K L A H O M AHBCUs
Langston Univer-sity
Total Funding -$3,082,441
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum -$1,541,221
TEXAS HBCUsHuston-Tillotson
University
Total Funding -$1,630,192
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum - $815,096
Jarvis ChristianCollege
Total Funding -$1,888,040
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum - $944,020
Paul Quinn Col-lege
Total Funding -$1,163,719
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum - $581,860
Prairie ViewA&M University
Total Funding -$13,752,928
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum -$6,876,464
SouthwesternChristian College
Total Funding -$143,039
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum - $71,520
Saint Phillip’sCollege
Total Funding -$3,427,506
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum -$1,713,753
Texas CollegeTotal Funding -
$2,358,852Emergency Stu-
dent Aid FundingMinimum -$1,179,426
Texas SouthernUniversity
Total Funding -$11,796,898
Emergency Stu-dent Aid FundingMinimum -$5,898,449
Wiley CollegeTotal Funding -
$1,538,638Emergency Stu-
dent Aid FundingMinimum - $769,319
Texas Appleseed Calls on Governor Abbott to Request Additional Emergency Assistance from FEMA for COVID-19
AUSTIN, Texas –Governor Abbott has theopportunity to amend hisoriginal request for a fed-eral disaster declaration tobroaden the type of helpavailable to Texans af-fected by the coronaviruspandemic. Additional di-saster recovery resources
for some of the most ur-gent needs created by theCOVID-19 pandemic caninclude funding for medi-cations and funeral ex-penses, additional unem-ployment and food assis-tance, and disaster legalservices. Today, TexasAppleseed sent a formalletter to the Governor ask-ing that he seek the fullrange of available disasterassistance for Texans.
“We appreciate thatGovernor Abbott actedquickly to request a presi-dential disaster declara-tion that addressed the
state’s most urgentneeds,” said MadisonSloan, the Director of Di-saster Recovery and FairHousing at TexasAppleseed, “but as little astwo weeks later, the scopeof the disaster has ex-panded exponentially.Even with federal stimulusaid, the need for unem-ployment benefits andfood assistance is increas-ing, and when the neces-sary eviction moratoriumends, thousands of Texanswill need legal assistance.”
Under the StaffordAct, states are eligible for
a variety of assistance pro-grams including both Pub-lic Assistance, for activitieslike infrastructure repairand temporary medical fa-cilities, and Individual As-sistance. The individualassistance allowed underthe Act often takes theform of temporary hous-ing or rental assistance af-ter a natural disaster butcan also include financialassistance for urgentneeds, increased fundingand expanded eligibilityfor unemployment ben-efits, food distribution,and disaster legal services
for affected families.The current federal
disaster declaration (DR-4485) does not includethe full spectrum of avail-able assistance so desper-ately needed by Texasfamilies. Under the cur-rent declaration, the stateis receiving Public Assis-tance for emergency pro-tective measures, but In-dividual Assistance is lim-ited to crisis counseling,which funds state mentalhealth agencies to reducethe impact of the disasteron the mental health ofsurvivors. Though criti-
cally important, these ser-vices won’t meet themany of the most seriousneeds, even with addi-tional stimulus funds, par-ticularly given the State’sown dire forecast of theeconomic impact of thepandemic on working Tex-ans.
Taking action now byrequesting the financialresources available fromFEMA is important to putTexas in line for much-needed funding as FEMAevaluates additionalneeds associated withCOVID-19.
Page 6 ~ THE VILLAGER/April 17, 2020 DIASPORA www.theaustinvillager.com
COVID-19 Fundraiser Organizers:Joyce, Edem, and Sarah.
Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon
Ms. Binta, board member of the AfricanCaucus. Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon
by Tsoke (Chuch) AdjavonVILLAGER Columnist
by Tsoke (Chuch) AdjavonVILLAGER Columnist
VILLAGER NEWS - Over the pastmonths, COVID-19 has affected the communi-ties worldwide, and various groups and orga-nizations are seeking to do their part in fight-ing the disease. The African Caucus, an asso-ciation which represents the greater Africancommunity of Central Texas, has decided tohost a fundraiser and donate to a nonprofitgroup helping with COVID-19 relief efforts.
According to Mr. Janneh, "it was impor-tant for us to organize a COVID-19 fundraiserbecause we wanted to show that the Africancommunity is part of the Central Texas family;therefore, we should be a part of the solution."Also, our community needs to be interlockedwithin the Central Texas family.
Over the years, Central Texas has seen themassive growth of the African community inCentral Texas. The education system, manufac-turing jobs within the technology industry hasbeen a magnet, drawing African immigrants tothe Central Texas area.
From Texas to Togo
VILLAGER NEWS - The COVID-19 out-break has commenced hitting the African con-tinent. African Countries like the Ivory Coast,South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Burkina Faso,Senegal, Kenya, Benin, and Togo have seentheir numbers of COVID-19 cases increase at afast pace. As a result, it has become a raceagainst the clock to stop the spread of the vi-rus.
In these African countries, the growth ofthe COVID-19 virus is very alarming since theydon't have the proper hospital and health caresystem due to numerous factors. Some of thefactors of a bad health care system include cor-ruption, and also the lack of investment intothe healthcare system. COVID-19 is causingTogo's fragile economy to cripple. Conse-quently, some Togolese in the Diaspora havesought to provide financial support in the fightagainst the virus fight in Togo.
In Central Texas, Mr. Amenyo, a memberof the Togolese American Community, haslaunched a fundraiser. According to Mr.Amenyo, "every dollar raised can provide upto ten protective equipment, such as gloves andface masks. This protective equipment will bedonated to doctors and other frontline care pro-viders due to the shortage.
African Caucus OfferRelief Efforts for
COVID-19
Joe Biden’s next BigDecision: Choosing a
Running Mate
Associated Press -Joe Biden faces the mostimportant decision of hisfive-decade political ca-reer: choosing a vicepresident.
The presumptiveDemocratic presidentialnominee expects toname a committee tovet potential runningmates next week, ac-cording to three Demo-crats with knowledge ofthe situation who spokeon the condition of ano-nymity to discuss inter-nal plans. Biden, aformer vice presidenthimself, has committedto picking a woman andtold donors this weekthat his team has dis-cussed naming a choicewell ahead of the Demo-cratic convention in Au-gust.
Selecting a runningmate is always critical fora presidential candidate.But it’s an especially ur-gent calculation for the77-year-old Biden, who,if he wins, would be theoldest American presi-dent in history. The de-cision carries addedweight amid thecoronavirus pandemic,which, beyond its deathtoll, threatens to devas-tate the world economyand define a prospectiveBiden administration.
“We’re still going tobe in crisis or recovery,and you want a vicepresident who can man-age that,” said KarenFinney, a Democraticstrategist who workedfor Hillary Clinton’s 2016campaign. The vicepresident is “always im-portant,” Finney added.But she pointed toBiden’s role in theObama administration’s2009-10 recovery ef-forts as evidence that acrisis makes the choiceof a running mate aneven “more importantdecision than usual.”
Biden faces pres-sure on multiple fronts.He must consider thedemands of his racially,ethnically and ideologi-cally diverse party, es-pecially the blackwomen who propelledhis nomination. Hemust balance thoseconcerns with his stateddesire for a “simpatico”
partner who is “ready tobe president on amoment’s notice.”
The campaign’sgeneral counsel, DanaRemus, and formerWhite House counselBob Bauer are gatheringinformation about pros-pects. Democrats closeto several presumedcontenders say they’venot yet been contacted.
Biden has offeredplenty of hints. He’s saidhe can easily name 12 to15 women who meet hiscriteria, but would likelyseriously consider any-where from six to 11candidates. He’s givenno indication of whetherhe’ll look to the Senate,where he spent sixterms, to governors orelsewhere.
Some Biden advis-ers said the campaignhas heard from manyDemocrats who want awoman of color. Blackwomen helped rescueBiden’s campaign afteran embarrassing start inpredominately whiteIowa and New Hamp-shire. Yet there’s no firmagreement that Bidenmust go that route.
“The best thing youcan do for all segmentsof the population is towin,” said Biden’s cam-paign co-chairmanCedric Richmond, a Loui-siana congressman andformer CongressionalBlack Caucus chairman.“He has shown a com-mitment to diversityfrom the beginning. Butthis has to be based on,like the VP says, who hetrusts.”
Biden has regularlypraised California Sen.Kamala Harris, a formerrival who endorsed himin March and cam-paigned for him. Whenshe introduced him at afundraiser this week,Biden did little to tampdown speculation abouther prospects.
“I’m coming foryou, kid,” he said.
He’s also spokenpositively of StaceyAbrams, who narrowlymissed becoming thefirst African Americanfemale governor in U.S.history when she lostthe 2018 Georgiagovernor’s race.
Yet those twowomen highlight Biden’stightrope. At 55, Harris istalented and popularwith Democratic donors,a valuable commodityfor a nominee with afundraising weakness.But she’s also a formerprosecutor who facesthe same skepticismamong progressives asBiden. Meanwhile, herhome state is alreadyfirmly in the Democraticcolumn and could makeher an easy target forRepublicans eager toblast the party as too lib-eral.
Abrams, 46, is astar for many youngerDemocrats, a groupBiden struggled to winover in the primary. Andshe could help turnGeorgia into a genuineswing state. But thehighest post she’s everheld is minority leader inthe Georgia House ofRepresentatives, a pos-sible vulnerability in atime of crisis.
Paul Maslin, aDemocratic pollsterbased in the battle-
ground state of Wiscon-sin, said it will be impos-sible for Biden to pleaseeveryone.
“You can ask toomuch of a vice presidentpick to bridge everything— ideology, genera-tional gap, gender, race,experience,” he said.“There’s going to besomething wrong withevery one of thesechoices.”
New Mexico Gov.Michelle Lujan Grishamis Democrats’ only non-white female governor.Former Senate MajorityLeader Harry Reid ofNevada has reportedlyvouched for his state’sLatina senator,Catherine Cortez Masto.Illinois Sen. TammyDuckworth is a veteranwho lost limbs in com-bat. She’s of Thai heri-tage and has notablyjousted with PresidentDonald Trump. And Rep.Val Demings, a blackcongresswoman fromthe swing state ofFlorida, helped lead theHouse impeachment ef-forts against Trump.
Obama slams Wisconsinfor holding election amid
COVID-19 pandemic
Defender News Service - Barack Obamahas slammed the decision to go ahead with thisweek’s election in Wisconsin, which forcedthousands of people out to the polls amid astatewide stay-at-home order aimed at slow-ing the spread of the coronavirus.
The former president, in a Twitter threadon Friday, described the vote as a “debacle” andsaid “no one should be forced to choose be-tween their right to vote and their right to stayhealthy.”
“Everyone should have the right to votesafely, and we have the power to make that hap-pen. This shouldn’t be a partisan issue,” Obamasaid in a second post, adding in a third: “Let’snot use the tragedy of a pandemic to compro-mise our democracy. Check the facts of vote bymail.”
Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled statelegislature forced the election to take place af-ter it successfully appealed the Democraticgovernor’s order to delay.
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes called the electionan “absolute disaster,” echoing the theory thatRepublicans wanted a low turnout to boost thechances of a conservative state Supreme Courtjudge on the ballot.
Trump himself, however, has voted bymail, as CNN’s Anderson Cooper noted in ascathing segment below, although the president(who changed his primary residence to Floridain 2019) has (falsely) claimed there is “a big dif-ference between somebody that’s out of stateand does a ballot and everything,” like himself,and others who vote by mail.
Barack Obama
EMPLOYMENT | PROPOSALS | PUBLIC INFORMATIONFOR SALE | FOR RENT | BIDS | MISCELLANEOUS
www.theaustinvillager.com CLASSIFIEDS THE VILLAGER/April 17, 2020 ~ Page 7
Are you interested in doingbusiness with the City of Austin?
We are here for you!City of Austin
Purchasing OfficeVendor Registration
www.austintexas.gov/department/purchasingFor information on the City of Austin’s Minority/
Women-Owned Procurement Program please contact theSmall & Minority Business Resources at 512-974-7600or visit www.austintexas.gov/smbr.
AUSTIN COMMUNITYCOLLEGE (ACC)
DISTRICT is requesting sealed bids fromqualified firms forthe purposes of selecting arespondent to provide HAASCNC Machine Centers for thefollowing solicitation.· Invitation for Bid (IFB) No.
545-20-175-00-S-SMAll bids must be submitted to theProcure To Pay (P2P)Department buyer of record byno later than on Thursday, April30, 2020 at 2:00 PM CentralStandard Time (CST).Solicitation documents areavailable on the ACC website athttp://www.austincc.edu/offices/p u r c h a s i n g / a d v e r t i s e d -solicitations.All responses must be emailed tothe buyer of record, by the dateand time indicated above andannotated in the solicitation.Notice: ACC Business Officesand campus locations arecurrently closed to the public dueto the ongoing COVID-19situation.
· More than $1.2 million and nearly 40 truck-loads of food and household supplies to food banks,which will provide more than 6.5 million meals forTexans;
· $1 million to support grass-roots nonprofits;· $500,000 to organizations dedicated to mo-
bilized home feeding services for seniors and low-income families, such as Meals on Wheels; and
· $300,000 to assist Texas Biomedical Re-search Institute, a San Antonio-based organizationwith a team dedicated to coronavirus research.
H-E-B also is running the Texans Helping Tex-ans checkstand donation campaign in all its storesacross the state, giving customers the opportunityto support several organizations providing essen-tial services, such as United Way, Meals on Wheelsand Feeding Texas.
Whether it’s in our stores or in the more than300 communities we serve, H-E-B is here to standby and help all Texans. We are in this as a commu-nity and it’s important to support one another dur-ing this time of need. Together, we can slow thespread in Texas.
Donationbuilds onH-E-B’s
commitmentto supportvulnerable
Texansimpacted byCOVID-19
Continued from page 1
“Today, we’re de-ploying resources to re-inforce our frontlinehealth centers, who carefor some of our mostvulnerable neighbors,”said Rep. Doggett. “Thisis a good start, but muchmore is needed to ad-equately combat thispandemic. Until we re-solve our health care cri-sis, we cannot resolveour economic crisis.”
“We are thrilled bythis news,” said ReginaRogoff, CEO of People’sCommunity Clinic. “Thisfunding will enable ourworkforce to continuetele-visits and facilitatevideo tele-visits with ourpatients. We can ensurethat the strong teamacross our clinics cantake care of the healthneeds of our communitythrough the end of thispandemic.”
Jaeson Fournier,CEO of CommUnityCareHealth Centers, said,“These supplementalfunds greatly enhanceCommUnityCare’s abilityto respond to thecoronavirus pandemic.The situation has de-manded changes almostdaily, and
Supplemental funds greatly enhance CommUnityCare’sability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic
CommUnityCare mustchange as well to meetthe needs of our com-munity – especiallypeople with low incomeand who are uninsured.We are grateful for thisinvestment during thisunprecedented time,and will use the funds tohelp maintain staffinglevels as we work to ad-dress this public healthemergency includingtesting and care for pa-tients with COVID-19
while also maintainingour capacity to continueto meet our patientsnon-COVID-19 healthcare needs.”
“Central Health isvery grateful for thefunding opportunity forour CommUnityCarehealth centers, and wewill use it to respond tothe COVID-19 crisis inour community,” saidSherri Greenberg,Chairperson, CentralHealth Board of Man-
agers. “We appreciateCongressman Doggett’sadvocacy for healthcare in our community– he has always beenthere for us, and moreimportantly, for thepeople we serve.”
This funding sup-ports health centers’ability to detect, pre-vent, diagnose, andtreat COVID-19, as wellas to maintain healthcapacity and staffinglevels.
Continued from page 3
Abbott announces $50M insmall business loans;
reopen strategyBy Defender News Service
Governor of Texas Greg Abbott
(DEFENDER NEWS)- “What this capital willdo will provide thesecompanies the re-sources they need tokeep employees on thepayroll for the remainingfew weeks or so untilbusinesses can beginthat process of openingback up,” Abbott saidduring a Monday pressconference.
Abbott was joinedvia Zoom, the video-conferencing platform,by Janie Barrera, thepresident and CEO ofLiftFund, a San Antonio-based nonprofit thatholds the nation’s largestmicrolending portfolio;John Waldron, the presi-dent and chief operatingofficer of The GoldmanSachs Group Inc.; andsmall business ownersfrom Dallas and San An-tonio.
The $50 million “in-fusion of capital” is part ofa $550 million nationalcommitment fromGoldman Sachs. LiftFund,along with other financialinstitutions that focus onserving underserved mar-kets and populations, willwork to administer thefunds to qualifying busi-nesses.
LiftFund supportssmall businesses across13 states primarily in theMidwest and South, andis already offering disas-ter-relief loans up to$50,000 for small busi-nesses facing financialhardships due to thepandemic, according to
its website.The loans will be
primarily used for pay-roll to ensure employeesare paid and retained,according to a news re-lease. The loans will bepartially or wholly for-given if criteria are met,and will be madethrough the U.S. SmallB u s i n e s sAdministration’s Pay-check Protection Pro-gram, Waldron said.Small businesses canlearn more about theprogram by visitingLiftFund’s website.
Abbott’s an-nouncement comesamid record job losses.According to figures re-leased by the U.S. De-partment of Labor lastweek, more than761,000 Texans havefiled for unemploymentin the past four weeks —more than the totalnumber of claims filed inthe state for all of 2019.
Last week, Abbotthinted at an executiveorder related to reopen-ing businesses, andMonday said that moredetails would be comingthis week.
“Later this week, Iwill outline both safeand healthy strategieswhere we can begin theprocess of going aboutreopening businesses inTexas and revitalizingour economy,” Abbottsaid Monday.
Abbott stressedthat the state’s first pri-ority is slowing the virus’
spread, and said he willannounce a team thatwill evaluate whichtypes of businesses mayreopen based on medi-cal advice and data.
Initially, “only busi-nesses that will haveminimal or zero impacton the spread of COVID-19 will be the first onesto be able to open up,”Abbott said, with othersbased on criteria thatwill be outlined in theexecutive order. A com-ponent will be “ad-equate testing,” Abbottsaid.
“This is not going tobe a rush the gates, ev-erybody is able to sud-denly reopen all atonce,” Abbott said. “Wehave to understand thatwe must reopen in a wayin which we are able tostimulate the economywhile at the very sametime ensuring that wecontain the spread ofCOVID-19.”
According to theWashington Post, Presi-dent Donald Trump hassought to resume busi-ness activity by May 1.However, health expertsin the Trump administra-tion have been morecautious in their assess-ment of when social dis-tancing measures canscale back, and some
governors have beenwary of lifting stay-at-home orders too soon.
Abbott said hespoke with both Trumpand Vice President MikePence over the week-end, and said the WhiteHouse has “been com-municating with gover-nors for weeks now” toensure a collaborativeapproach to slowly andsafely reopening theeconomy.
“The states are sovaried in the UnitedStates. What may workfor Nebraska may be dif-ferent than (what) worksfor New York, etc.,”Abbott said. “I think thatthere will be a level offlexibility for states andmaybe even within astate about what type ofstrategy will work best,knowing that evenwithin the state of Texasthere are certain areasthat are harder hit by thecoronavirus still rightnow than there are oth-
ers.”Trump wrote on
Twitter Monday morn-ing that decisions “toopen up the states”would be under thepresident’s authority.
On a tele-town hallorganized last week bythe Republican Party ofTexas, Lt. Gov. DanPatrick said he wantsTexas to be ready to re-vitalize the economy assoon as feasible, andpointed to the first weekof May as a possibledate, “barring any un-foreseen big spikes.”
Abbott has previ-ously stressed that whileTexas hasn’t yet hit itspeak number of cases, aslowdown in the num-ber of days it takes forconfirmed coronaviruscases to double showsthat social distancingmandates are workingto slow the virus’ spread.
However, the num-ber of cases across Texasis likely higher than re-
ported as testing hasbeen limited. Dallas-FortWorth residents previ-ously recounted beingunable to get tested forCOVID-19 even whenshowing symptoms, andlocal officials havepointed to the need forincreased testing.
More than 133,200Texans had been testedfor COVID-19, with13,906 confirmed casesas Monday afternoon,according to the TexasDepartment of StateHealth Services.
Of those, 1,176 Tex-ans are hospitalized withCOVID-19, and therehave been 287 deaths. Itis estimated a little over2,200 Texans have recov-ered — meaning theyhad gone at least twoweeks of being COVID-19 free.
Abbott’s order re-quiring Texans to stayhome unless participat-ing in “essential” activi-ties lasts through April.
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