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california

California Launches Groundbreaking Ebony Alert System To Address Disparities In Missing Black Youths

Ebony Alert System

The Ebony Alert system, created to identify missing Black youths, has launched in California, with other states to follow. Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 673 – Senator Steven Bradford’s “Ebony Alert” legislation – in September 2023. The law makes California the first state to create an alert notification system addressing the crisis of missing Black children. The technology behind broadcast and mobile alerts has been around for decades, but it’s largely failed to address a minority of the population that the signs are intended to help. “It came about by

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California Passes Groundbreaking Law Requiring VC Firms To Report Diversity Of The Founders They Back

SB 54

The California Senate Bill 54 (SB 54) has been signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, requiring venture capital firms in the state to report the diversity of the founders they back annually. This is the first piece of legislation in the US that aims to address racial disparities in the venture capital (VC) landscape. There is currently no official data on how VC firms invest their money founder and tech activist who helped ideate and draft SB 54, Allison Byers said. She added that California is responsible for 36%

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Meet California’s New US Senator: Laphonza Butler

Laphonza Butler has been sworn in to fill the Senate seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who passed away last week at age 90. California Gov. Gavin Newsom had selected Laphonza Butler to succeed Feinstein, the longest-serving female senator in history. Butler, the former president of EMILY’s List, is known for her work as a union leader but was also a director at Airbnb and advised Uber during its conflict over workers’ rights. A historic appointment Butler is now the third female Black senator in US history. She is also

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California Takes A Stand For Diversity In Venture Capital With New Bill

VC fund

California is working on passing SB 54, the nation’s first legislation to increase diversity in venture capital. In California, venture capital investments do not reflect the state’s diversity, according to the bill. It states that companies founded or co-founded by women receive far less investment funds than companies founded by men. Additionally, companies founded or co-founded by people of color receive far fewer investment funds than companies founded or co-founded by white people. Black founders have long faced challenges securing funding for their businesses, with VC funding dropping by 36%

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Black Netflix Engineer Missing After Uber Journey, Weeks After Starting New Role

Yohanes Kidane

Yohanes Kidane, 22, has been missing since August 14 after moving to San Jose, California, to start a role as a software engineer at Netflix. He was last seen entering a black Toyota Camry with an Uber sticker on 28 N 4th St. San Jose wearing grey sweatpants, a black hoodie and black shoes. The disappearance Kidane had moved from New York to the Bay Area on July 26 to start his new role at Netflix; his family told local news channel KTVU.  He had recently graduated from Cornell University with a degree in

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North Carolina Is The Best State To Start A Business, According To A New Study, But Which Is The Worst?

A recent study conducted by LendingTree revealed that North Carolina is the best state to start a business in, but California is considered the worst. It’s important for founders – particularly those of color – to pick the right place to start their business as it can potentially make or break their startup. The Lending Tree study scored the 100 largest US metro areas by population based on factors like the proportion of residents who hold a bachelor’s degree, state corporate tax rates, and local housing costs. Of course –

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