Are you worried about Flu Season & Covid-19?

With the ongoing circulation of the coronavirus and the start of flu season, an influenza vaccination of individuals 6 months and older can not only reduce the prevalence of illnesses cause by the flu, it can also cut down on confusing symptoms that might be confused for the those of the coronavirus. 

The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older should get an annual vaccination, with rare exception.

A vaccination is particularly important for people who are at high risk of developing serious flu complications.

The CDC especially recommends the Flu Vaccination for the following groups:

• Individuals ages 6 months-18 years;
• Individuals age 50 years and older;
• Adults & Children who have chronic pulmonary illness including asthma, cardiovascular illness, renal, hepatic, neurological, hematologic, or metabolic disorders (diabetes), HIV or any immunosuppression illness;
• Women who are or will be pregnant during the influenza season;
• Residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities;
• Native Americans/Alaska Natives;
• Individuals with a body mass index of 40 and above;
• Persons who live with or care for persons at higher risk for influenza.

Where to get a flu shot:

• Free flu shot clinics
• Kaiser members can call the Kaiser Flu Hotline: 1-800-573-5811
• Contra Costa Health Plan members have access to their Walk-in Flu Clinics beginning October, or call 1-800-495-8885 for a Treatment Nurse appointment.
• Alameda Alliance members call 1-888-604-4636

If you are uninsured or your insurance does not cover immunizations call 1-510-267-3230

For more info:

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm
https://cchealth.org/flu/vaccination.php
http://www.acphd.org/media/505057/flu-immunization-clinics-20200913-eng.pdf
https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/cold-and-flu/prevention#/feelbetter

The Flu and Covid-19: Myths and Facts: 

Are you ready to vote in November? Welcome to Rubicon's one-stop shop for everything Election 2020. Learn your rights. Find out how to register. Learn where Rubicon stands on local issues. We've got you covered! 

Voter Eligibility and Registration Information

Important Dates:

• October 5, 2020: Counties will begin mailing vote-by-mail ballots
• October 19, 2020: Last day to register to vote
• November 3, 2020: Election Day, Polls are open 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Am I Allowed to Vote?

In California, you are able to vote if you are:

• 18 years or older on Election Day
•  A U.S. Citizen
• A resident of California
• You are not currently in prison or currently on parole for a felony conviction. That means that formerly incarcerated individuals, individuals in jail, and individuals on probation CAN vote.

You have a right to vote if you are a registered voter, even if your name is not on a voter list. You will vote using a provisional ballot, and your vote will be counted if election officials determine you are eligible to vote.

More information for individuals with a criminal history:

• Voting Rights: Persons with a Criminal History resource (Source: California Secretary of State)
• Jail Voting Toolkit resource (Source: ACLU)
• KYR Voting for Formerly Incarcerated People Video (Source: Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto)
  • English: https://vimeo.com/458336811 (1.5 minutes)
  • Spanish: https://vimeo.com/458336664

How Do I Register to Vote? 

Step 1: Check to see if you are already registered to vote online here

You will need to enter some personal information:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Drivers license
• Last 4 digits of social security number

Step 2: If you are not already registered, you can register online here

You will need to enter some personal information:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Drivers license
• Last 4 digits of your social security number

If you do not include this information when you register, you will need to send a photocopy of some personal identification to your county elections official before the election. Examples include:

• Passport
• Official California identification card
• Student identification card
• Recent utility bill
• County Voter Information Guide you received from your county elections office
• Another document sent to you by a government agency

As a part of registering to vote, you are given the option to become a “permanent vote-by-mail voter,” which means you will automatically receive a ballot in the mail before each election.

If you need to request a paper voter registration application you can obtain a paper voter registration application at your county elections office, library, DMV, or USPS. You must complete and either post-mark or hand-deliver it to your county elections office at least 15 days before the election (October 19th). To request a voter application be mailed to you, please call (800) 345-8683.

More information on how to fill out a California Voter Registration Card here

Step 3: Track your vote-by-mail ballot at Where’s My Ballot here

A voter who has signed up will receive notices via email, text, or voice message from the county elections official regarding the status of the voter’s vote-by-mail ballot, including:

• When the ballot has been delivered
• The date that the voter’s ballot is expected to be delivered to the voter
• If the voter’s ballot is returned as undeliverable to the county elections official by the USPS
• When the voter’s completed ballot has been received by the county
• Whether the voter’s completed ballot has been accepted or a reason why the ballot could not be accepted and instructions of steps the voter can take in order to have the ballot accepted
• The deadline for the voter to return his or her ballot if the county has not received a voter’s completed ballot by specified dates as determined by the county elections official

To see where Rubicon stands on some of the important issues affecting California this November, including state and local propostions, see our Voter Guide here. 

Use the power of your vote to end poverty and racism in the East Bay 

On Tuesday, November 3, voters across California will vote in an election that is, in a word, monumental, with a long, complicated ballot to match. At stake this year for Californians: a dozen statewide propositions that seek to, among other things, raise or lower taxes; expand voting rights; resurrect affirmative action; change gig worker classification; and tighten criminal sentencing laws.

Here at Rubicon, members of our Participant Advisory Board, staff, and Board of Directors, came together as a Voter Guide Task Force to analyze the state propositions and selected Alameda and Contra Costa County measures through a financial equity and racial justice lens. Members of the Task Force are: Adriana Ponce-Matteucci, Adrienne Kimball, Alisha Semplar, Becky Johnson, Claire Levay-Young, Kalani Siegrist, Paul Leonard, Sarah Williams, Tara Cantu-Nishimoto, Taunita Trotter, and Jane Fischberg.  
 
Quite a few measures on the ballot address systemic racism and economic justice. We break them down for you so you can feel confident that you’re casting your vote to end poverty and oppose inequality.  
  
Please scroll down to read our voter guide, including positions on propositions and details on how to register to vote, vote-by-mail and check your registration status.

Rubicon's Endorsements

PROPOSITION 15: YES
Schools & Communities First: Prop 15 asks California voters to raise an estimated $6.4 billion to $11.5 billion in funding for local schools and governments by increasing property taxes on commercial and industrial properties based on current market value instead of their much lower original purchase price. The measure is considered one of the largest revisions of Proposition 13, the landmark 1978 initiative that slashed property taxes and limited how much they could go up, providing instant tax relief but devastating government services. The proposition will maintain existing exemptions for small businesses, homeowners, agricultural lands, and renters.

A multibillion-dollar corrective to a decades-old economic injustice, Prop 15 creates an influx of funding for public schools, community colleges, and government services. Our one concern is ensuring oversight around how the funds are allocated, but as long as there is transparency, we are all for it. We should note that oversight and ensuring that the goals of public spending initiatives are met is an ongoing concern for many of these propositions and local measures. 


PROPOSITION 16: YES
Opportunity for All: Proposition 16 would repeal Prop 209, which restricts local and state governments from considering race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, education, and contracting. If passed, Prop 16 would permit governments to consider those protected categories in order to promote inclusive hiring and admissions programs in California’s public universities, government, and public agencies.

Passed in 1996, Proposition 209 is a regressive measure that has propped up systems of oppression for far too long. Studies show that banning affirmative action led to a marked decrease in Black and Latinx students in the UC system. California is one of only nine states that bans affirmative action, and it is time for us to get on the right side of history and level the playing field for women and people of color. Additionally, all Californians suffer when they are corralled into environments devoid of diverse thoughts and experiences. The evolution of our nation depends on increasing our competency with navigating ourselves and others in multicultural environments. The global economy is here to stay; to remain competitive we all need to practice and be comfortable with diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.


Proposition 17: YES
Restore Voting Rights: This state constitutional amendment would allow people on parole for felony convictions to vote after their state or federal prison term ends. The state’s constitution currently prohibits people with felony convictions from voting until both their incarceration and parole are finished. The change, proposed by state lawmakers, would restore voting rights to approximately 40,000 Californians, according to a state Senate analysis. 
 
Denying parolees the right to vote is racist. Black Californians make up about 28% of all prison populations despite only making up 6% of California’s total population. The current law is obviously rooted in Jim Crow-era tactics designed to disenfranchise Black voters. Parolees pay taxes and serve on juries; their disenfranchisement is taxation without representation. Parolees are allowed to vote in 14 other states; once again, California is behind the curve on this one, and it is time for us to get with the program. 


PROPOSITION 18: YES
Voting Rights for 17-Year-Olds: This is a constitutional amendment to allow 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primary elections and special elections. 

This amendment corrects a minor loophole in the system. So many people in the US who are eligible to vote do not; we should not discourage eager voters who are on the cusp of turning 18 from voting in primaries. 


PROPOSITION 19: NO
Property Tax Breaks: The ballot measure would change the rules for tax assessment transfers. In California, eligible homeowners can transfer their tax assessments to a different home of the same or lesser market value, which allows them to move without paying higher taxes. Homeowners who are eligible for tax assessment transfers are persons over 55 years old, persons with severe disabilities, and victims of natural disasters and hazardous waste contamination.

After the overwhelming defeat of the eerily similar Prop 5 in 2018, this is the latest attempt by the Association of Realtors to line their pockets by providing property tax breaks for older homebuyers, incentivizing them to move and to buy more expensive properties. Realtor associations have contributed $36,270,000 in support of the proposition. While the measure’s goals of funding fire protection are laudable, these goals can and should be accomplished by more narrowly tailored means that do not create a tax loophole. Rubicon supports investment in our schools and local communities, but we do not believe that broadening tax loopholes is the answer. To recap, Proposition 19 widens the already-existing wealth gap, perpetuates the status quo, and rewards those who seek to “buy a law."


PROPOSITION 20: NO
Rollback on Criminal Justice Reforms: Prop 20 would roll back changes to California’s criminal sentencing laws approved over the past decade, including parts of Prop 57, which made inmates convicted of nonviolent felonies eligible for parole after serving just the term for their primary offense. It would authorize judges to impose felony charges on certain theft or fraud crimes currently chargeable only as misdemeanors. It would also restrict the number of inmates eligible for parole by adding drug, theft and other crimes to the list of violent crimes or sentence enhancements excluded from parole review. Lastly, the measure would require people convicted of drug, theft or domestic violence misdemeanors to submit to DNA collection for the state database.

These are draconian measures proposed, supported, and financed by retrograde politicians and police and sheriff associations, and fed to the public using the same scare tactic “tough on crime” rhetoric that led to the wave of harsh, unjust criminal sentencing laws of 1990s (e.g. Three Strikes). Why, at a time when California’s violent and property crimes rates are still at historic lows, are three police unions the top funders of Prop 20? More “criminals” and longer sentencing means increased unsubstantiated financial gain and power for the criminal justice system and purveyors of private prisons. This is dangerous and irresponsible.


PROPOSITION 21: YES
Local Governments & Rent Control: Prop 21 allows cities and counties to implement rent control for certain residential properties over 15 years old. The initiative's official summary says it would grant exemptions from new rent control policies for individuals who own no more than two homes. The measure is meant to replace the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which prohibited rent control for housing that was built after 1995 as well as for units such as single-family homes, town homes and condos. In addition, Prop 21 would limit rent in rent-controlled properties to increase up to 15 percent over a period of three years with the start of a new tenancy.

If you know anything about the Bay Area you know that increasingly high rents have forced families from their homes, devastated communities, and intensified poverty and homelessness. The measure would allow cities more autonomy in establishing measures on rent increases – it would not in itself create rent control laws. This welcome measure to roll back Costa-Hawkins would let cities put limits on rent increases to protect families who are one rent hike away from being driven out of their homes and neighborhoods. Prop 21 is a much-needed step to curb homelessness and slow gentrification.


PROPOSITION 22: NO
Rideshare & Delivery Drivers: Proposition 22 asks voters to classify drivers for ride-share and delivery companies as independent contractors, not employees. 
 
Don’t believe the hype! This slickly packaged proposition is a self-serving attempt by rideshare and delivery companies like Lyft, Uber, and DoorDash to further mistreat and underpay their drivers. By classifying drivers as contractors, these corporations will be freed up to carry out the human rights violations of their dreams. Pay less than minimum wage? Check. Deny unemployment benefits, overtime pay, and sick leave? Check, check, and check. AB 5, which Prop 22 is trying to repeal, guarantees paid family leave, paid sick days, and unemployment insurance—essential protections during a global pandemic—to those classified as gig employees. The sick thing is that ads for the proposition try to sell it as giving drivers the flexibility they want. Hey, Uber – flexibility and human decency aren’t mutually exclusive.  

While we are recommending voting against this proposition, some members of our Task Force have depended on gig driving as a source of income, and they brought a different perspective to the table. One committee member liked the flexibility that gig work allowed and wanted to ensure that would still be in place if workers were treated as employees. In addition, gig work is relatively easy to secure compared with other types of jobs, which is especially helpful to people who are facing barriers to employment.


PROPOSITION 25: YES
End Cash Bail: This is a referendum to overturn a 2018 law to replace California’s cash bail system with a new pretrial release system based on public safety and flight risk. The law, SB10, was put on hold after the referendum qualified for the ballot in early 2019. A “Yes” vote on Prop 25 would approve the law taking effect and end cash bail in California, while a “No” vote would keep the current cash bail system the way it is.

The cash bail system is fundamentally unjust—poor people awaiting trial are forced to stay in jail while people of means buy their way out, perpetuating the cycles of poverty and incarceration in disproportionately Black and Brown communities. The bail bond industry has a financial stake in people getting arrested, so a vote for this referendum is a vote against a parasitic business. At the same time, this proposition is far from perfect. We are concerned that the algorithmic assessment tools that will become the primary determinant of pretrial risk are inherently biased against Black and Brown people. With these concerns in mind, while we recommend a “Yes” vote on Prop 25, we urge the legislature to oversee and monitor the outcomes of using these tools and to act swiftly to correct any bias in the assessment process.

ALAMEDA COUNTY MEASURE W: YES
Measure W is an Alameda County-wide half percent general sales tax that will raise $150 million a year for 10 years. Measure W provides funding that Alameda County can use to:  

• Provide housing assistance, mental health resources, and substance use treatment for our most vulnerable residents.  
• Help people who are at risk of homelessness stay in their homes.  
• Increase hygiene and sanitation services.
• Support homeless veterans, seniors and families with services.  
• Increase employment opportunities through job training. 
• Shelter people experiencing homelessness to reduce COVID19 impacts. 
 
We recommend a Yes vote on this measure. At the same time, we want to ensure that the people who will be directly impacted have input in the decision-making process. 

Oakland, California, Police Oversight and Inspector General Charter Amendment: YES
This is an amendment to city charter 604 to strengthen the independence of the Oakland Police Commission by modifying the powers, duties, and staffing of the Oakland Police Commission and the Community Police Review Agency, and creating an Office of Inspector General. A “Yes” vote supports changing the powers, duties, and staffing of the Oakland Police Commission and the Community Police Review Agency and creating the Office of the Inspector General to review policies of the police commission and review agency. A “No” vote opposes changing the powers, duties, and staffing of the Oakland Police Commission and the Community Police Review Agency creating the Office of the Inspector General to review policies of the police commission and review agency. 
 
Oakland’s history of police violence and this historic moment of reckoning make this amendment a resounding YES from us.  

Hayward Measures NN and OO: YES
 
NN - Transient Occupancy Tax 
 
OO - Would amend charter of City of Hayward to eliminate the requirement of being a qualified elector/registered voter to serve on City Council-appointed advisory commissions, and eliminate gender-based designations and titles and instead use neutral, gender-free designations and titles.
 
Contra Costa County Measure X: YES
This measure will raise an estimated $81 million annually through a 20-year, half½ percent sales tax to support severe insecurities in health, housing, food and other vital needs. Developed through the collaboration of local community-based organizations, hospital and healthcare affiliates, and labor unions, representing essential healthcare, fire and emergency professionals, advocates for interpersonal violence prevention and mental health, early childhood programming and other critical safety net services, the Contra Costa County Needs Assessment is the basis for this campaign. 

We support this measure, and once again, we would like to see the people who are directly affected have input and agency.  
 
Richmond Measure U: YES 
Analysis by City Finance Director: Measure U would amend the City’s business tax rate structure to authorize the City to tax businesses based on a range of .06% to 5.00% of gross receipts rather than based on the number of employees. Generally, the highest rates will be charged to businesses with the highest gross revenue, with exemptions for specific businesses and activities as identified in the ordinance. If the measure passes, it would provide an estimated $5.950 million annually in new revenue to the City, based on historical sales tax and rental property data. Staff projects that the City would incur software implementation costs as well as annual costs for additional staff support.
  
We recommend a Yes vote on this measure to reduce the tax burden on small businesses, which are hardest hit by COVID. 

VOTER INFORMATION

Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on November 3, 2020. If you have not yet registered to vote, be sure to do so by the state’s voter registration deadline of October 19 online here. If you are unsure of your status, or wish to find your polling place, visit either the Contra Costa County Elections Office or Alameda County Elections Office. And remember, many individuals with a criminal record are allowed vote. If you’re unsure of your rights, check here.

You can also vote-by-mail. Learn how by visiting the Contra Costa County Clerk or Alameda County Clerk. Additionally, residents may also vote early at Regional Early Voting Sites.
 

On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are delighted to announce the selection of Dr. Carole Dorham-Kelly (DC) as Rubicon Programs' new CEO, effective November 1, 2020. After an extensive and rigorous search, DC left no doubt that she is the premier choice to lead the organization into the future. DC has served as Rubicon's Chief Program Officer for two and a half years, and before that as a leader in our wellness services. 
 
In addition to her business acumen, intellectual horsepower, and approachability, DC has a deep understanding of what is needed to advance a new generation of policies and programs that will address the economic and social inequities confronting the communities we serve. DC has never wavered in her commitment to increasing access to wellness and economic mobility for communities of color. Her nuanced understanding of systems of oppression will allow Rubicon to take on an even more active role in advocating for policy changes that will lead to increased economic and social equity. In DC we have a leader whose values align with Rubicon's and are consistent with community needs and concerns – a leader who connects with humility, lives with hope, and acts with justice. 
 
The Board also extends its deepest gratitude and appreciation to Jane Fischberg for two decades of remarkable leadership. Jane has been a fierce champion for social and racial justice. With Jane at the helm, Rubicon has evolved into a high performing workforce organization well regarded for its whole-person approach and recognized for its establishment of an unequivocal antiracism stance. Her signature blend of empathy and high expectations pushed Rubicon to new heights of excellence. She was the chief architect of bold organizational changes that focused Rubicon on a new model of longer and deeper connections to our participants and to new workforce service partnerships in Oakland and Eastern and Central Costa County. Jane will continue to serve as CEO through October 31, 2020, after which date she will remain with Rubicon as an advisor through the end of April 2021. 
 
A driving force in our work ahead will be our ongoing commitment to transforming Rubicon into an antiracist organization and deepening our response to amplified economic disparities within the societal context of COVID-19, racial injustice and pervasive inequity. We are energized by these challenges and filled with a deep sense of purpose as we prepare to rise up to meet them with our new CEO at the helm.  
 
Stay tuned for upcoming opportunities to honor Jane and welcome DC. We will be in touch.
 
Thank you for being a part of the Rubicon community.  
 
Sincerely, 
Paul Leonard, Board Chair 
Tatiana Ware, Vice Chair 
 
A message from Dr. Carole Dorham-Kelly:
 
With respect and gratitude, I salute Jane for her courageous leadership and 20-year Rubicon legacy. Her tireless efforts have been instrumental in the strength of the brand that is Rubicon Programs. I humbly accept the charge of leading Rubicon Programs in the next chapter. I look forward to deepening existing partnerships and sparking new ones!  
 
As a Black woman raised in Richmond, I feel extreme pride and fortune to be chosen as Rubicon Programs’ next President and CEO. The responsibility and opportunity ahead is both professional and personal. My personal passions and career journey have long been rooted in community-based mental health and workforce development programs in service of communities that are disproportionately impacted by trauma and systemic inequities. In the current climate of COVID-19, economic downturn and the unmitigated disregard and devaluing of Black and Brown life, we must partner to respond with urgency. It is our shared responsibility to ensure that all families and communities have equitable access to life, liberty and economic opportunity. I am energized to join you all in this continued work, in this new role. 
 
A message from Jane Fischberg:
 
It is with excitement and joy that I congratulate DC on being selected as Rubicon’s next CEO. With DC at the helm, Rubicon has the leadership needed to take Rubicon to its next level. While Rubicon is a longstanding high-calibre workforce and supportive service provider, we continuously aspire to listen and learn from our participants. I am proud of the work we have done collectively to grow Rubicon’s impact and to transform our practices consistent with our aspiration to be an antiracist organization. DC has been a catalyst in those efforts. DC’s passion, values, and vision for the role Rubicon can play in supporting the transformation of the lives of our participants and of our communities, are unsurpassed. Together with her talents, and her ability to lead by inspiring respect rather than exercising authority, she has unparalleled qualifications to be Rubicon’s next CEO. With admiration, I look forward to supporting her as she transitions into the role, and celebrating her appointment with you in the coming months.  
 

Many at Rubicon don’t have to stretch their imaginations very far to picture the horrific conditions in California prisons in the face of the COVID pandemic and, now, the raging wildfires—they’ve been there. For Participant Advisory Board (PAB) and staff member Gail Thomas, hearing about the death and suffering of inmates is like a punch to the gut. “That could have been me. That could have been my family members. Those are my family members,” she says.   

Gail spent seven years in Chowchilla and another state prison, where she worked as an infirmary porter, and her husband, Alex Thomas, also a Rubicon participant, was a janitor in the infirmary during his time in San Quentin. From these collective experiences, and from talking to loved ones who are currently incarcerated, she knows one thing for sure: “There is no way they can do social distancing.”  

Gail’s voice hardens as she recalls packed cafeterias, cramped, understaffed medical facilities, and terminally ill prisoners dying alone.  

This personal connection is one reason Gail, Alex, and other members of the PAB have joined the movement to demand the release of elderly and medically vulnerable prisoners specifically and, more generally, to depopulate California prisons. Through writing letters, speaking out in public forums, and getting their personal stories out there, they are putting the pressure on Governor Gavin Newsom and other state policymakers to rethink the prison-industrial status quo during this unprecedented public health disaster.   

The push to depopulate the state’s overcrowded prisons has become an urgent outcry during the pandemic; the virus has turned prisons into hot zones, killing incarcerated people and staff alike at rates that are outstripping the rest of the country. According to a New York Times database, San Quentin has become one of the country's largest virus clusters with more than 2,200 infections and 26 deaths, and other facilities are not far behind. In June, after touring San Quentin and observing unsafe conditions that were allowing the virus to rage through the population, University of California health experts advised the prison to cut its population by 50%. Other overcrowded state prisons should follow suit, the experts said.  

The total number of people incarcerated in California prisons is about 100,000. The state has released or plans to release approximately 11,500 inmates by the end of the month–mostly “non-violent offenders with less than a year to serve,” according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.    

Rubicon Impact Coach Roosevelt Terry sees the state’s mishandling of the pandemic in the prison system as a gross human rights violation. Roosevelt’s son, who is serving 17 years in California State Prison-Solano, tells his father about daily protests in the yard demanding the release of sick and vulnerable inmates. “The constant fear of contracting the virus is eminent, and the idea of surviving in extended isolation lockdowns to mitigate the spreading virus is haunting [my son],” Roosevelt says.   

Roosevelt hopes corporations and other entities will step up to the plate to help with the greatest problem facing inmates who are released early: housing. As of now, it is up to relatives, probation officers, and community organizers, who are scrambling to solve the housing crisis for early-release inmates, some of whom pose a public health risk because they have been paroled while still contagious, according to the LA Times. 

There are no easy solutions, but for Gail and Roosevelt, depopulation is an imperative first step. The PAB is currently working to ensure they are poised to impact legislation. As she continues to hear horror stories from loved ones who are incarcerated, Gail is feeling the urgency of the moment. “I don’t just want to do something—I have to do something,” she says.