Media Coverage
La Opinión
Concejo de Los Ángeles aprueba presupuesto que reduce despidos
“Si bien respetamos las difíciles decisiones presupuestarias que enfrenta el Ayuntamiento, su decisión de no financiar completamente el programa de vales de esterilización y castración de Los Ángeles representa la continuación de una crisis increíblemente costosa para Los Ángeles”, declaró Jana Brennan, gerente del programa de la Iniciativa de Esterilización y Castración del Michelson Center for Public Policy (MCPP).
Los Angeles Times
L.A. mayor says animal shelters won't close. Rescue groups are still on edge
Jennifer Naitaki, a vice president at the Michelson Center for Public Policy, which is affiliated with the Michelson Found Animals Foundation, acknowledged that saving animals’ lives is expensive. Still, additional funding would pay off in dividends by reducing births of unwanted animals and easing the strain on the city’s shelters, she said. “Obviously, that caused a huge uproar and a lot of anger and a lot of advocacy. And I also think maybe that’s not bad, right? It’s always good to get in front of our City Council members and the budget committee, and have them hear from the folks that care.”
Los Angeles Daily News
LA City Council OKs a one-year pilot program to boost microchipping by pet owners
Jennifer P. Naitaki, vice president of programs and strategic initiatives at the Michelson Center for Public Policy, also called the proposal a positive step. “Instead of saying, ‘Everybody must have a microchip, or else’, it’s saying, ‘Let’s give everybody access and then let’s hopefully have some meaningful change for shelter intake,’” Naitaki said.
La Opinión
Albergues para animales de LA en riesgo bajo recortes propuestos
“Entendemos las difíciles decisiones presupuestarias que enfrenta Los Ángeles, pero nos preocupan profundamente los recortes propuestos al Servicio de Animales de Los Ángeles”, dijo Jennifer Naitaki, vicepresidenta de programas e iniciativas estratégicas del Michelson Center for Public Policy.
Sacramento Bee
Can you start life after prison in California with $200? We expect former inmates to try | Opinion
“As California strives to approach policy with empathy — and budgetary discipline — its gate money issue is a skeleton in the closet,” Kenia Miranda Verdugo, MCPP, writes. “Increasing this sum to more closely reflect the true cost of living would be a profound step toward a more equitable, compassionate criminal justice system that works to break the cycle of poverty and incarceration rather than perpetuate it.”
CalMatters
Are California prisons stiffing inmates on $200 release payments? Lawsuit says they are
The advocacy groups Root & Rebound, Initiate Justice, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, All of Us or None and the Michelson Center for Public Policy surveyed over 70 incarcerated people returning home. They found that the corrections department deducted gate money from approximately one in three of them.
LAist
Why six southeast L.A. cities are calling out internet providers for ‘digital discrimination’
Cristal Mojica of the Michelson Center for Public Policy and the California Digital Equity Alliance said the state should consider other legal remedies and pass a bill to address the issue instead of "putting all of those cities that have more limited resources through that process.” She said community groups have a lot of “myth busting” to do to reach lawmakers who are maybe newer to digital equity and discrimination issues. “It's very much on their radar and they're gonna pour industry money as much as they can to try to stop it,” Mojica said, adding that advocates will continue to champion the issue and prepare to pick up the fight again in 2025.
EdSource
We must champion our student parents
Queena Hoang, MCPP, authored an op-ed spotlighting the challenges faced by student parents and touting California’s proposed GAINS for Student Parents Act (AB 2458), which seeks to better support this demographic by adjusting cost considerations for childcare and improving data collection. The piece features Larry, a father of nine and recent graduate from CSU Bakersfield, whose journey exemplifies the formidable challenges and systemic changes needed to support student parents.
Broadband Breakfast
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Proposes $2 Billion Cut In Broadband Projects
“We are disappointed to see this rollback,” Cristal Mojica of the Michelson Center for Public Policy, told LAist. Advocates for digital equity said the decision may compromise attempts to reach some of the most marginalized communities in the community. In Los Angeles County, where about 200,000 homes lack internet access, the groups said. Mojica added that the rollback may prevent providers from reaching the, “highest areas of need.”
LAist
Newsom’s Budget Cuts Deliver Massive Blow For Efforts To Expand Internet In LA
The move outraged digital equity advocates in Los Angeles who say it could jeopardize efforts to reach some of the most vulnerable groups in the area. About 200,000 L.A. County households don’t have internet. “We are disappointed to see this rollback,” said Cristal Mojica of the Michelson Center for Public Policy. The group is a member of the California Digital Equity Alliance.
LAist
Millions Have Been Set Aside To Get More People Online. Private Companies Want To Use It For LA's Wealthy Neighborhoods
The money was intended as a “once in a lifetime” cash infusion into disadvantaged communities, says Cristal Mojica of the Michelson Center for Public Policy. But now she says there’s growing concern it will be used to maintain the status quo. One problem she points to is maps developed by the state for its Broadband For All plan, saying that there's a "huge disparity" between where the state has identified broadband needs and where the need actually is.