by Derek T. Dingle

April 17, 2020

US Chamber Organizes Social Media Blitz To Get Congress To Replenish Small Business Stimulus Funds

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Rick Wade, Vice President, Strategic Alliances and Outreach for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the organization is rallying the business community  to use its collective clout to press Congress to approve emergency funding for programs designed to rescue legions of small businesses ravaged by the COVID-19 economy. In fact, Wade says they will engage in a “morning blitz” via social media  today urging congressional leaders to take immediate action to replenish stimulus funds.

In a release from the US Chamber, Wade stated: “Today, we learned that the Paycheck Protection Program — a critical lifeline for small businesses across the country — has reached its statutory limit. Meanwhile, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans expanded by the CARES [Corronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security] Act are running on empty. Congress has yet to replenish the funds for either program. As our Executive Vice President Neil Bradley wrote in a letter to lawmakers today: ‘There is absolutely no excuse for failing to get these funds approved immediately.’ “

As a means of lobbying “to refuel these vital programs,”  Wade said the US Chamber’s recently-instituted Save Small Business Initiative has organized #SaveSmallBusiness Day of Action.

In his role, Wade, a top Commerce Department official during the Obama Administration, has placed a special emphasis on the US Chamber forging partnerships and developing programs with organizations such as the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), US Black Chamber and National Business League, among other outfits, as a means of spurring minority business growth. Due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak and government lockdown orders in states throughout the nation, black-owned businesses have been among the hardest hit.

To effectively engage in the lobbying effort, Wade says it has made available the #SaveSmallBusiness Digital Toolkit, complete with suggested assets that  US Chamber members, entrepreneurs and small business advocates can use on their social media channels. The toolkit also provides “content calling for more emergency funding as well as more universal small business support messaging.”

He says the morning blitz of social posts will be held between 9 AM and 1 PM today.

• Lifestyle

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 16, 2020

Major League Baseball Employees and Players to Take Part in COVID-19 Antibody Test

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No one knows how long this coronavirus pandemic will last and the lasting effects it will have on us. With this mindset, according to USA Today, there will be a national study involving Major League Baseball to determine how and why COVID-19 infected so many and spread so rapidly.

Major League Baseball with its players, team employees, and family members who are in direct contact have become the largest industry to participate in a nationwide study. The research will test about 10,000 people for coronavirus antibodies, allowing medical and scientific researchers to understand how widespread COVID-19 is across the United States.

“We went to them, asked if they were interested in partnering,’’ Dr. Daniel Eichner, president of the Sports Medicine Research & Testing Laboratory in Salt Lake City, told USA TODAY Sports this week, “and they were happy to help contribute to public health policy. It couldn’t have worked any more favorable. Everybody was motivated to assist as quickly as they could.

“I think it will be enormously useful for public health to understand how extensive the infection is around the country. We need a study like this.’’

The Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) is conducting this COVID-19 epidemiological study in conjunction with Stanford University and the University of Southern California. The mass testing is called the COVID-19 Sero Prevalence Study.

Why Major League Baseball as opposed to other professional sports or organizations? The MLB’s employee and player population is more diverse in terms of age and geographies than other professional American sports, making it a more representative sample of the U.S. 

“This will be the first time we’ll be able to see how prevalent COVID-19 has spread throughout the United States,’’ said Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor of medicine at Stanford. “This will help us understand how far along we are in battling this virus.

“This is a scientific study that would normally take years to set up, and it’s going to be a matter of weeks.’’

The COVID-19 health crisis has led to a financial crisis. As a result, 5.2 million Americans have filed for unemployment between April 5 and April 11, according to the Department of Labor. Due to the high volume of claims, individuals and small businesses are facing challenges when trying to access government funds to support their livelihood and businesses.

In a recent report, The New York Times Outlined the impact the demand is hitting small businesses hard.

From The New York Times:

The Small Business Administration has run out of money for its Paycheck Protection Program, officials said on Thursday, leaving millions of businesses unable to apply for emergency loans while Congress struggles to reach a deal to replenish the funds.

 

Congress initially allocated $349 billion for the program, which was intended to provide loans to businesses with 500 or fewer employees. The money has gone quickly, with more than 1.4 million loans already approved as of Wednesday evening, as small businesses struggle with virus-induced quarantines and closings.

 

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is expected to resume negotiations with lawmakers about adding another $250 billion to the fund on Thursday.

It is the fear of many leaders that the organization and others that provide economic relief that they will run out of money.

The Times spoke with a number of business owners and one of them shared that this series of unfortunate events is non-stop. “There’s a whole domino effect to this thing, and I’m one of the dominoes,” he said. “This morning, I read that the money’s gone and I’m like, ‘Heck, I didn’t even get a shot at this.’”

And he is spot on.

With the number of unemployed Americans, people are experiencing new financial realities. One of them is having a negative bank account balance which is causing difficulties receiving funds from the stimulus plan.

One of those challenges being is that when money is deposited into accounts with negative balances, banks are legally allowed to take what is needed to zero the balance.

And while no one can predict the ultimate outcome of this natural disaster, economists strongly believe that those living in poverty will be hit the hardest.

Read the full story here.

To stay in the loop on the latest on how COVID-19 is impacting the community, click here.

• Lifestyle

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 16, 2020

Head Lice Drug Emerges as Potential Coronavirus Treatment

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In an effort to treat people who have the coronavirus, another drug on the market is getting recognition for its possible benefits fighting COVID-19. According to ABC News, ivermectin, a head lice drug, may be a potential treatment for the coronavirus.

Although some researchers don’t want to call it a breakthrough, it seems promising in the fight against the deadly virus. Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug and is sometimes used to treat head lice. Research into the drug’s viability in treating COVID-19 is still in its early stages but with the emergence of two studies showing promising results, experts are hopeful that there is a chance that it could help.

“Finding a safe, affordable, readily available therapy like ivermectin if it proves effective with rigorous evaluation has the potential to save countless lives,” said Dr. Nirav Shah, an infectious disease expert with the NorthShore University HealthSystem.

Although ivermectin is known for its topical use in treating head lice, the drug dates back to the 1970s and 1980s, first as a veterinary treatment for nematodes in cattle and later as a way to combat river blindness in humans.

“We found that even a single dose could essentially remove all viral RNA by 48 hours and that even at 24 hours there was a really significant reduction in it,” said Dr. Kylie Wagstaff, the leader of the team from Melbourne’s Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute. 

The coronavirus is not a parasite, but the experts are suggesting that the drug basically treats it like one as it blocks the viral RNA from invading healthy cells. If the virus is unable to enter the cell, the RNA is slowed from replicating, giving the patient’s immune system more time to fight it off.

“There are numerous examples of drugs with in vitro activity not proving effective in human studies,” said Shah. “That being said, given there are no proven therapies against COVID-19 to date and we are in the midst of a pandemic, drugs that show promise in early in vitro or observational studies such as ivermectin should be rigorously evaluated to understand safety and effectiveness.”

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 16, 2020

Report: Florida Police Chief Allegedly Says Officer Died of COVID-19 Because He Was Gay

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A Florida police chief is under fire because he stated that a police officer died from the coronavirus because he was gay, according to The Grio.

Dale Engle, the police chief in Davie, FL, a town of 106,000 residents west of Fort Lauderdale, was placed on administrative leave over the weekend “pending further review of allegations brought forward by the Fraternal Order of Police,” the town administrator, Richard J. Lemack, stated.

As posted on the Town of Davie Facebook page, “As of April 11, 2020, Police Chief Dale Engle was placed on administrative leave pending further review of allegations brought forward by the Fraternal Order of Police. The allegations will be investigated in accordance with the Town’s Equal Employment Opportunity compliance policy by outside counsel. The Town will have no further comment until the investigation is completed to protect the integrity of all involved.”

According to The Miami Herald, a complaint written by Mike Tucker, the chief of staff for the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police, said Engle “belittled” officers in a parking lot who expressed concern about the coronavirus last week. When his officers raised concerns about the dangers of catching the coronavirus, he downplayed the concerns and claimed a Broward County deputy’s COVID-19 death was caused by his “homosexual” lifestyle, the officers alleged.

“Chief Engle allegedly yelled about a ‘backstory’ which proclaimed that Deputy Shannon Bennett contracted and died from the virus because he was a ‘homosexual who attended homosexual sexual events,’” the complaint read, according to the Herald.

“He intimated that it was because of the homosexual lifestyle that Deputy Bennett first contracted a serious underlying disease which aggravated the COVID-19 virus and lead to his death,” the complaint read.

The complaint said Engle continued to “rant” for some time, with the “presumable desired effect of intimidating the members and discouraging any other department employees from complaining or expressing concerns in the future.”

If these allegations are true, the disgusting insinuation made by Chief Engle is not becoming of the badge he wears. He should be stripped of his rank for making such divisive comments that do not reflect the inclusive values of America’s law enforcement.https://t.co/sDSjyBelzy

— National FOP (@GLFOP) April 12, 2020

• Lifestyle

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 16, 2020

‘Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che Honors Late Grandmother By Paying A Month’s Rent for Tenants at Her Old Housing Complex

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Weekend Update!! Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che is paying a month’s rent for tenants who live at his late grandmother’s housing complex, according to CNN.

The New York City-born and bred comedian says he is honoring his grandmother, who passed away after contracting coronavirus, by covering rent for everyone who lives in the public housing complex that she had lived in in the past. Che will foot the bill for 160 people.

“It’s crazy to me that residents of public housing are still expected to pay their rent when so many New Yorkers can’t even work,” Che wrote in an Instagram post. “Obviously I cant offer much help by myself. But in the spirit and memory of my late grandmother, I’m paying one month’s rent for all 160 apartments in the NYCHA building she lived in.

“I know that’s just a drop in the bucket. So I really hope the city has a better plan for debt forgiveness for all the people in public housing, AT THE VERY LEAST.” Ps. deblasio! cuomo! diddy! let’s fix this! page me!”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Michael Che (@chethinks) on Apr 15, 2020 at 4:26pm PDT

Che revealed, in a deleted Instagram post last week, that his grandmother, Martha, died on April 5 after a bout with the coronavirus. “I’m obviously very hurt and angry that she had to go through all that pain alone,” he wrote at the time. “But I’m also happy that she’s not in pain anymore. And I also feel guilty for feeling happy.”

Che also addressed his recent loss during last weekend’s Saturday Night Live: At Home, with a special remote episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live where he appeared at home with his “Weekend Update” co-host Colin Jost. “As you know, Colin, I lost my grandmother this week and coming back to work really made me feel better, especially with you,” Che acknowledged on the show. When the segment ended, he signed off calling himself, “Martha’s grandbaby.”

• Lifestyle

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 16, 2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci Says Sports Can Return This Summer Without Fans in Attendance

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The coronavirus has taken over every aspect of our lives and people need things to return to normal, but it doesn’t seem like that will be the case any time soon. Even sports fans are clamoring for some sports action! But if sports, in general, were to return, it could only do so if the events are played without fans congregating in sports arenas, says Dr. Anthony Fauci, according to Bleacher Report.

Fauci, who has had almost as much airtime as President Donald Trump over the past couple of months, believes that there is a way athletes can compete without putting each other in jeopardy with the spread of coronavirus slowing down, but still ongoing. The longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said earlier this week that the only path for sports to return this summer would include having no fans in attendance. He also stated that the players would have to be kept in quarantine for the duration of their seasons.

Even President Trump wants to see sports return. “We have to get our sports back. I’m tired of watching baseball games that are 14 years old,” Trump said. “But I haven’t actually had too much time to watch. I would say maybe I watch one batter then I get back to work.”

Fauci, in an interview with Peter Hamby of Snap Originals (via ESPN), said, “There’s a way of doing that. Nobody comes to the stadium. Put [the players] in big hotels, wherever you want to play, keep them very well surveilled. … Have them tested every single week and make sure they don’t wind up infecting each other or their family and just let them play the season out.”

We are getting closer to that happening as Trump announced that he has assembled a team of notable sports figures to join his advisory panel that will attempt to figure out how to jump-start an economy hurt by COVID-19 without creating an additional health risk.

• Adam Silver (NBA commissioner)
• Roger Goodell (NFL commissioner)
• Gary Bettman (NHL commissioner)
• Rob Manfred (MLB commissioner)
• Jay Monahan (PGA Tour commissioner)
• Dana White (UFC president)
• Lesa France Kennedy (NASCAR CEO)
• Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys owner)
• Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks owner)
• Robert Kraft (New England Patriots owner)

Featuring a broad cross-section of women who have distinguished themselves across a rich variety of careers, our Portraits of Power series is a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Black Enterprise, and of black women. It’s a place for today’s businesswomen to share their own favorite images and their own stories, in their own words. Today’s portrait is corporate trailblazer Joyce Roché, author of The Empress Has No Clothes: Conquering Self-Doubt to Embrace Success.

Joyce M. Roché

Board Director, Macy’s; Retired CEO of Girls Incorporated; Author

My first job was as a merchandising planner with Avon Products.

My big break came when I made a bold move to leave Avon to take a position with Revlon when my forward movement at Avon began to stall. Two years later I was asked to return to Avon and a couple of years later became the company’s first female African American officer.

I’ve had to work hardest at conquering the impostor syndrome, that feeling of self-doubt that made me question whether I was good enough.

I never imagined I would have reached the heights I have achieved in corporate America.

I wish I’d learned sooner that I did deserve THAT place at the table.

The risk I regret not taking is … I can’t think of one. I have taken a lot of risks, mostly in terms of bold career moves often when others didn’t quite understand why, but each of those moves have paid off.

If I could design my fantasy self-care day I would be waking up in a sunny place, being pampered all day, laughing a lot, and having fun with the people I love.

Very little keeps me up at night.

When I’m struggling, I say to myself,  “What is the worst thing that can happen?” and when I realize that whatever it is is not going to kill me, I move on from there.

I am unapologetically happy with my life. I have worked hard for a long time to be at this place, so I am enjoying my life.

Portraits of Power is a yearlong series of candid insights from exceptional women leaders. It is brought to you by ADP.

• Lifestyle

by Lydia Blanco

April 16, 2020

Miss Diddy and Compton Mayor Partner with Black-Owned Mask Company to Protect Senior Citizens

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COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting senior citizens—and the black community. Across the nation, elderly people in living and nursing facilities have been isolated from their families and loved ones due to the pandemic. Keeping them safe and healthy has been a top priority for healthcare workers and first responders no matter their zip code. For those reasons and more, Miss Diddy, founder and CEO of The Brand Group LA, decided to partner with The City of Compton’s Mayor Aja L. Brown and black-owned brand Henry Mask Co. to donate more than 250 masks to senior citizens in Compton.

Brown and Miss Diddy are both Compton natives who often serve the community side-by-side. As black and brown communities remain underserved during the pandemic, public figures have stepped in to make sure that no one is overlooked or left to fend for themselves.

In a joint statement released by The Brand Group and the mayor, Miss Diddy said, “I lost all of my grandparents at a pretty early age in my life and it made me extremely sensitive toward the elderly. I always wish I had my grandparents growing up as an adult.”

She went on to say. “There was no way I could know this is happening in the world and not try my best to take care of the senior citizens to the best of my ability.” And that is why she decided to partner with Mayor Brown and Henry Mask Co.

Brown is committed to making sure that everyone in her community is taken care of. “Our seniors are the foundation of our community and we are thankful to partner with native Miss Diddy and Henry Mask Co. to provide masks for our seniors, as we continue our efforts to ensure our loved ones are cared for and protected,” she said.

Patrick ‘Richfresh’ Henry, co-founder of Henry Mask Co., is known for his bespoke tailored suits but recently pivoted to make masks in response to the crisis. “Being in the garment making business, we have all the resources necessary to make masks. We honestly felt it was irresponsible to not use those resources to make the one thing that people need the most.”

It remains true that it takes the community to save the community. The trio has garnered the support of many and they plan to continue their efforts.

The money well for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans geared to help small businesses combat the coronavirus has run dry.

The U.S. Small Business Administration, which helps run the program, issued a statement around noon today indicating “All PPP funds are exhausted.”

The federal agency stated earlier in the day, “The SBA is currently unable to accept new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program based on available appropriations funding. Similarly, we are unable to enroll new PPP lenders at this time.”

The SBA reported that as of 8:45 am Thursday there have been nearly 1.64 million applications approved totaling more than $339 billion at more than 4,900 lending institutions.

The funding apparently hit its limit Thursday morning. The $350 billion lending program for firms with up to 500 workers became law in late March as part of the $2 trillion coronavirus economic stimulus package.

Some observers speculated that the funding could evaporate fast after PPP was launched on April 3.

The drained fund leaves some uncertainly as it remains unclear when and if the PPP lending pot will be replenished with new funds. Federal government officials and Capitol Hill leaders have talked about supporting such a supplement but nothing has been finalized.

The U.S. Treasury and SBA are looking for extra funding to offer more loans to small businesses hit by the coronavirus crisis. The PPP offers small businesses forgivable loans to cover workers’ pay, rent, and other operating costs.

On Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza issued the following statement regarding the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program:

“The SBA has processed more than 14 years’ worth of loans in less than 14 days. The Paycheck Protection Program is saving millions of jobs and helping America’s small businesses make it through this challenging time. The EIDL program is also providing much-needed relief to people and businesses.”

“By law, the SBA will not be able to issue new loan approvals once the programs experience a lapse in appropriations.”

Further, they said, “We urge Congress to appropriate additional funds for the Paycheck Protection Program—a critical and overwhelmingly bipartisan program—at which point we will once again be able to process loan applications, issue loan numbers, and protect millions more paychecks.”

“The high demand we have seen underscores the need for hardworking Americans to have access to relief as soon as possible. We want every eligible small business to participate and get the resources they need.”