Posts Tagged: Santiago

California: Don’t leave human trafficking victims behind

An illustration of a young woman caught in the web of human trafficking. (Photo: Prachaya Roekdeethaweesab, via Shutterstock)

by MIRA SORVINO and MIGUEL SANTIAGO posted 06.02.2021

OPINION: The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a terrible toll on all Californians. While Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently announced California Comeback Plan allocates billions of emergency aid funding to those hurt by the pandemic, one group hit harder than most has been left out of the budget proposal: human trafficking victims.

Does public banking loom in California?

A branch of Bank of America in Beverly Hills. (Photo: 4kclips, via Shutterstock)

by SCOTT SORIANO posted 06.24.2019

By law, currently California cities and counties typically have one place to deposit the funds they collect from taxes, fees and fines: private commercial banks. Billions of dollars of public money are handled by commercial banks — for a fee. Despite having billions of dollars banked, municipalities have no say in how their money is used by commercial banks. Bank management, owners and stockholders set policy.