compiled by the El Reportero staff
Tenants demand reform from CalPERS to prevent predatory investments.
In a major victory for tenants, New York State’s highest court ruled yesterday that the owners of two large New York City apartment complexes, in which CalPERS was an investment partner, improperly raised rents on tenants in thousands of rent-regulated apartments.
The news follows a similar decision by a San Mateo County court in California which granted an injunction last month against Page Mill Properties, also a CalPERS partner, barring it from raising rents on a number of its 1800 rent-controlled apartments in the Silicon Valley community of East Palo Alto.
These decisions mark major legal setbacks for predatory landlords whose investment schemes were premised on evicting tenants in order to evade rent control laws for quick profit.
Mayor Dellums to swear-in new police chief for Oakland
During the ceremonial portion of Tuesday’s Oakland City Council meeting, Mayor Ron Dellums will swear-in Anthony Batts as Oakland’s new police chief.
“Chief Batts is an extraordinarily capable police chief whose professional expertise, outstanding leadership skills and brilliant operational savvy make him the right choice for Oakland. I am confident that our residents, police department
staff and city officials alike will find Chief Batts to be an accomplished leader and a great police chief for Oakland,” said Mayor Dellums.
Batts brings nearly 30 years of experience as a member of the City of Long Beach Police Department, where he has served as Chief for the past seven years. Under his leadership, the crime rate in Long Beach fell to its lowest level since 1975.
Immigration officials reminds applicants for travel documents to apply early
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds individuals that they must obtain Advance Parole – permission to reenter the United States after traveling abroad – from USCIS before traveling abroad if they have:
- been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS);
- a pending application for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident (LPR);
- a pending application for relief under section 203 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA 203);
- a pending asylum application;
- a pending application for legalization.
Advance Parole is permission to re-enter the United States after traveling abroad. To obtain Advance Parole, individuals must file Form I-131, Application
for Travel Document, which is available under “Forms” on USCIS’ Web site. www.uscis.gov.
Lawsuit filed to overturn Public Land Mining regulations
A coalition of conservation and Native American organizations on Oct. 20, filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Washington, D.C. challenging two regulations issued by the Bush Administration that weakened the requirements for environmental and taxpayer protections on federal public land involved in mining operations.
The Bush regulations overturned previous regulations and policies that had limited the dumping of mine waste to what was strictly allowed by federal mining and public land laws. For details visit: http://earthworksaction.org/.
