• In a letter sent to the White House Sept. 25, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Kamala Harris (D-California) joined a group of 37 Senators in calling for President Donald Trump to extend the DACA renewal deadline past Oct. 5 considering the three massive storms that have disrupted the lives of so many Americans. “These major hurricanes significantly disrupted day-to-day living and operations in these states and territories,” the letter reads. “It would be appropriate for the government to extend the Oct. 5, 2017, deadline nationwide to allow individuals adequate time to meet the government’s recent request.” The Trump administration is allowing some Dreamers currently enrolled in the DACA program to apply for renewal, which are due on Oct. 5 along with a $495 fee. “Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico are still working to recover and will be for some time,” the letter reads. “An extension of the deadline would provide DACA recipients more time to collect the $495 application fee and gather the necessary documents to accurately complete the renewal application.” The letter was signed almost entirely by Senate Democrats, with the exception of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont).
• U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) spoke before the Black Women’s Agenda Inc. at its 40th annual Symposium Workshop and Awards Luncheon on Sept. 22. Harris, a member of the Congressional Black Caucaus, accepted the President’s Award and discussed the importance of the organization at a time of unprecedented involvement of black women in politics, business, and education. “The black women’s agenda is America’s agenda,” she said at the event. “Let’s be clear about that. Let’s take a look at the numbers. Black women are 6.6 percent of the population of the United States, which is roughly 21 million people, Politically, black women have the highest turnout rates of any demographic in the national elections in ’08 and ’12. Economically, we are the fastest growing group of our workforce, 1.5 million businesses. Educationally, I am a proud graduate of Howard University. Educationally, there are a higher percentage of black women enrolled in college than any other demographic.”
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) announced on Sept. 18 that Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) will receive $500,000 in funding from the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Assistance programs (EDAP) to help fund the Central Coast Innovation Lab and Accelerator Development Project in SLO County. The lab and project will help local entrepreneurs fund and expand new ventures, and will help mitigate the economic impact to the region as the Diablo Canyon Power Plant goes through the decommissioning process, according to a release from Carbajal’s office. “Creating good paying jobs for Central Coast residents is a top priority of mine,” Carbajal said in the statement. “I’m grateful that this federal funding, in collaboration with Cal Poly’s CIE innovation lab and accelerator program, will help the San Luis Obispo community create employment opportunities for residents by encouraging local entrepreneurship and innovation.”
• After Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced President Donald Trump’s plan to rescind former President Barack Obama’s guidelines on Title IX and student sexual assault and harassment on campuses, state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) issued a statement condemning the decision and urging Gov. Jerry Brown to pass her bill, SB 169, which would reinstate the guidelines in California. “Betsy DeVos and the Trump administration continue to play politics, pursuing an obsessive agenda to undo any and all advances made by the Obama administration,” Jackson said in the statement. “But they are doing so in this case at the expense of students and safe campuses. How will parents feel sending their sons and daughters to campuses that sweep problems of sexual assault under the rug? In California, we will not go back.”
