As the coronavirus pandemic took the world by surprise this year, the country’s workforce was put into a difficult situation.

While most businesses shut down to avoid spreading the virus, some had to remain open through the pandemic as they were labeled essential.

What exactly qualifies as an essential worker?

The label of an essential worker varies from state to state, but according to the U.S. Department of Homeland security, “essential workers are those who conduct a range of operations that are typically needed to continue critical infrastructure operations.”

There are some obvious professions that should be labeled as essential to society, such as, health care workers, law enforcement or first responders, and food and ag workers.

The line of essential becomes more blurred as we see minimum wage workers being forced to work at jobs that are necessarily needed for survival during a pandemic.

Must fast-food restaurants stay open while grocery stores are there to supply us with food?

Is it essential for retail stores to remain open, so people can buy new clothes, at a time when everyone is encouraged to remain at home?

Leonard, a retail worker that has not stopped working through the pandemic, shared his thoughts on if feels his job is essential states, “No, it’s not. You don’t need clothes to survive a pandemic.”

“I think my job could be labeled essential for high-risk people that can’t go out and get their own food.” stated Jacob, a pizza delivery worker, “but I still feel that there are ways to order groceries nowadays and have them delivered so that I don’t have to put myself at risk too.”

Mercedes, an employee at an auto parts store, also sees both sides of the term essential from her job. “I see my job as essential because what if there’s a doctor or someone important that needs a part for their car to get to work, but I don’t feel that I see people coming into the store for only essential items. I’ve had customers coming in and leisurely shopping for things that can wait until after the pandemic.”

The economy is now in a difficult situation as small businesses have been forced to close their doors, most closing for good, and big businesses have been allowed to bend the rules to remain open.

Some may argue that these minimum wage workers should be happy to be employed at a time when most people had no choice but to lose their jobs at the hands of the pandemic.

Although it’s questionable how much of a choice these “essential workers” really have been given.

These workers have two choices. Put themselves at risk of catching the virus every day at work, or quit their job and attempt to rely on the government’s unemployment plan and nonexistent stimulus plan to pay their bills.

With no real relief funding in place these workers can’t afford to quit their jobs and fall behind on their bills. As most minimum wage workers are living paycheck to paycheck before the financial strains of the pandemic.

Leonards view on why he continues to go to work, “my bills didn’t quit so why should.” he continued, “I don’t feel that the government can consistently support me financially right now and I have a mortgage payment that needs to be paid every month.”

Jacob also is wary of government support, “I make more money going to work right now than I would make on unemployment and I still want to keep my job after the pandemic. So quitting doesn’t seem like an option right now.”

With a vaccine on the way, the country is hoping to put the pandemic behind us and return everyone to work safely. Until that time employees will continue to work and continue to put their health at risk.

In 2015 more and more Americans began eating poultry than red meat. The question is, can Americans opt-out of eating so much meat for the better of the environment? 

Eleanor Cummins of Popular Science wrote about why Americans eat so much meat in Oct. 2019. Cummins begins before the first 13 states were created, where only kings and royalty were the ones who had the money to feast on animals. When colonists began a new life in America, there was much more land to raise livestock. 

Since then, everyone in the US wanted to have meat in their diet. Having meat started to be associated with what it meant to be American, it seems almost criminal not to have a turkey at Thanksgiving. 

Cummins quotes Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, in which people couldn’t sustain livestock in the cities in the early 1900s and had to migrate farms away from crowded places. Farms on the outer banks could increase production and be able to sell more at cheaper prices. 

While the consumption of red meat keeps growing, more and more people are choosing poultry, fish, and vegan foods. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), “Over 2015-17, beef had the largest percentage increase in per capita loss-adjusted availability—growing by 6 percent.”  After the 2007-9 recession, Americans began eating more red meat. 

The USDA also explains how poultry started to change the diets of Americans. As health departments started to advise switching to chicken rather than the fatty beef, and the bird becoming much more accessible in a variety of ways, “skinless, boneless breasts and ready-to-eat rotisserie chickens.”  The “Loss-adjusted chicken availability increased from 22.4 pounds per capita in 1970 to 52.3 pounds per capita in 2017.” 

Vegan Bits lists the top 10 most vegan cities in the US, as of Jan 1, 2020, the top being Portland, Los Angeles, and NYC. Certainly, here there’s a stronger normalization of choosing eggplant parmesan over a half slab of pork ribs. 

In a survey conducted by Faunalytics, the top reasons why people are vegan are because of health-69%, animal protection-68%, and concern for the environment-59%.  

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez(AOC), U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district, has heavily pushed for the Green New Deal, legislation that pushes for climate change and to address economic inequality. The Green New Deal was modeled after the New Deal that took place in the 1930s in order to help recover from the Great Depression. 

In Mar. 2019 AOC spoke in frustration after the senate voted against the Green New Deal, calling it elitist, “This is a quality of life issue. You wanna tell people that their concern and their desire for clean air and clean water is elitist?” AOC stated the poorest people in the cities are the ones experiencing first hand the health effects of climate change. 

“Science should not be partisan,” AOC could not comprehend why so many people turned against helping create legislation for improving the environment, “We are facing a national crisis.” One of the main factors to drive AOC to her frustration was the heavy attention that focused on helping oil companies rather than people’s lives. 

AOC was interviewed over a zoom meeting by Jane Fonda on Oct. 23 on the matter of how the Green New Deal could have been helpful in the heights of the coronavirus pandemic. AOC amplifies how already having the legislation in place would have changed the mindsets of Americans on science-related issues. 

“We would have respected the science early,” AOC refers to the scientists who were warning the population of the pandemic in its early stages. AOC also adds that the Green New deal was also centered around universal healthcare, which is still critical as the COVID-19 cases continue to rise. 

AOC and many Americans have high hopes for climate control as the new year comes along and Joe Biden will be officially inaugurated into office.

January 20, 1946 — October 31, 2020

Resident of Walnut Creek, CA

Judge Peggy Fulton Hora, a retired California Superior Court Judge, died unexpectedly on October 31, 2020. She was 74 years old. Known for her quick wit and encyclopedic mind, she was an avid reader and movie buff who didn’t own a television for over 30 years. She enjoyed the symphony, ballet, and fine dining. Two sons — Paul (Jamie) Hora of Danville and Erik (Linda) Hora of Alamo — survive her; Tim Spangler of Manteca predeceased her. Known to her eight grandchildren, Dillon, Kyle, Madison, Nathan, Kevin, Emily, Tommy, and Joseph, as “’Venture Grandma,” she traveled with them all over the world and sent hundreds of postcards from over 61 countries. 

Judge Hora was born in Oakland and reared in Castro Valley. She graduated from Castro Valley High School, Chabot College, California State University, Hayward, and the University of San Francisco School of Law. Elected to the bench in 1984, she was the first woman judge in Southern Alameda County. She was recognized as an innovator and founder of the drug treatment court movement. Judge Hora lectured nationally and internationally and wrote extensively on substance abuse issues, pregnant and parenting women, drug treatment courts, and therapeutic jurisprudence. She was cited over 100 times by the appellate court and various journals.

She was elected to the trial bench in 1984 and retired after serving 21 years. She had a criminal assignment that included presiding over the Hayward Drug Treatment Court. She returned to sit on assignments in 2008 and especially enjoyed presiding over the drug, domestic violence, and mental health courts. Speaking of her work as a drug treatment court judge, she said, “Few callings compare with the opportunity to leave a legacy that enhances the community, strengthens the criminal justice system, mends families, and restores individuals. ”She was the dean of the B.E. Witkin Judicial College of California and was on the faculty of the National Judicial College for over fifteen years. She was the 2004 recipient of the Bernard S. Jefferson Judicial Education Award from the California Judges’ Association. In 2008, she was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame of Alameda County.

Judge Hora loved to travel and was known throughout the world for her drug court work. She helped courts in Chile, Israel, New Zealand, Great Britain, and Australia. She served as the 2009-2010 Adelaide Thinker in Residence, the first in the field of law. She was appointed by the Premier of South Australia, and her report, “Smart Justice,” was distributed internationally. 

Never one to sit still for long, in 2015, Peggy, along with Brian MacKenzie and David Wallace, founded the Justice Speakers Institute (JSI). JSI has become a leader in the education of Justice System leaders worldwide. Its founders and associates are internationally recognized experts with decades of experience and mastery of more than 300 subjects impacting the justice system. Among her many accomplishments, as president of JSI, Peggy coedited the Science Benchbook for Judges, published by the National Judicial College.

A lawyer who asked her to perform his daughter’s wedding said of her, “Those of you who know Judge Hora see her as a fine jurist, but she is also the kind of professional I hoped my daughter would emulate. Judge Hora was not the first choice to preside over my daughter’s wedding. Or even my second or third choice. I first considered Eleanor Roosevelt but rejected her, as she is both deceased and not licensed in California. I then thought of Dorothy Parker, but she, too, is no longer with us, and she might not have shown up sober. Finally, I thought of Hillary Rodham Clinton, but I wasn’t sure she would receive the kind of unanimous reception my daughter deserves at her wedding. So I arrived at Peggy Hora’s name, a woman I equally admire and who combines the strength and compassion of Mrs. Roosevelt, the wit of Ms. Parker and the independence and vision of Sen. Clinton.”

Although no memorial is currently planned, the information will be available, and remembrances may be added online at MyKeeper.com.

On Oct. 12, bodycam footage was released of the Breonna Taylor shooting on Mar. 13, in Louisville, Kentucky. Protests have continued to soar through the nation as no officers have been charged for Taylor’s death.

Louisville had called a state of emergency on Sept. 23 as the decision for the Breonna Taylor case was underway. Protests emerged once declared that the former Louisville police detective, Brett Hankison, was charged for potentially harming others with the gunshots that went through Taylor’s apartment.

No officer has been charged for the death of Breonna Taylor. Black Lives Matter protesters emerged throughout the city of Louisville, where armed officers appeared on the scene. The national guard appeared on the scene after two officers were shot. Protests quickly railed in other cities, including Chicago, Los Angles, and New York City. 

An overwhelming amount of pain and injustice has been left in the Black community. Black artists have taken to their social media platforms to express their disappointment in the grand jury’s decision and the frustration of merely being Black under the law in America. 

Alica Keys tweeted, “This is a PRIME example of Rotten to the CORE!!! UnJust!!!! Disrespectful and BLATANT DISREGARD!!!! Infuriated!!!!!!!”

COMMON took to his Twitter to post a video of James Baldwin, author and activist born in 1924, speaking about his experience of being ripped away from his heritage and the reality of being black in the US. “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a state of rage almost all of the time.” 

Jessica Lussenhop of BBC News broke down “Why it’s hard to charge US police over shootings,” in her article on Breonna Taylor Sep. 24. Lussenhop stated that the main reason for holding officers accountable for shooting a person dead has to do with laws varying from state to state.

California has one of the stricter laws to hold officers accountable. A recent change in the wording of the law was made in August. In the state, an officer must believe that shooting is absolutely “necessary,” no longer just “reasonable.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the legislation, Assembly Bill 392, into law on Aug. 17, “I’m ready to sign this damn thing,” Newsom stated at a ceremony held in Sacramento along with advocates for the law change standing beside him.

The bill goes into effect on Jan. 1, and Gov. Newsom hopes this sets an example for other states. 

The author of the bill, California State Assemblymember Shirley Weber, believes AB 392 is necessary to protect people and human rights. Weber spoke alongside Gov. Newsom in Sacramento.

Weber spoke proudly at the ceremony, “Far too many days have gone by with far too many deaths because of the inactions of those who have the power to enact change.” She ends her speech by embracing the change AB 392 will have around the world.

Stand With Bre is the current campaign that is dedicated to bringing Breonna Taylor justice. The campaign welcomes people to sign the petition for:

• The Department of Justice must take immediate action to bring charges against all LMPD officers involved in Breonna’s murder.
• Full transparency from the grand jury and an independent overhaul of its findings, including a release of the transcripts from the proceedings as requested by Breonna’s family. 
• Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Wine, who originally presided over Breonna’s case, must step down for his gross mishandling of the Louisville Police Department and the subsequent investigation of Breonna Taylor’s murder.
• We must pass Breonna’s Law to ban no-knock warrants in cities across the country to prevent more murders like Breonna Taylor’s.
• Support a new Commonwealth’s Attorney candidate for Louisville and for prosecutors’ offices across the country who can stand up for civilians against our criminal legal system’s brutality.

Stand with Bre will continue to fight not just for Breonna Taylor but also for the equality of all black lives under the law. They ask if anyone is able to give a donation at standwithbre.com.