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Proposed rules to protect tenants after summer heatwave

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Americans, tax utility, government, tenant protection laws


After one other record-breaking hot summer within the United States, lawmakers are considering renter protections to keep tenants protected from extreme and infrequently deadly heat.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heat-related deaths within the country greater than doubled between 1999 and 2023, with greater than 21,500 deaths reported during that point period. The study, published within the medical journal reflected year-on-year growth since 2016, reports.

The Tenant Union Federation, a national “union of trade unions,” was launched in August. The organization has played a key role in advocating for change, starting with tenant protection laws that require maximum indoor temperatures on hot days.

“Things change because they have to; something has to change,” said Tara Raghuveer, founding director of the Tenant Union Federation. “The crisis situation in our homes has reached a level that is basically unsustainable.”

A 2023 report revealed that black New Yorkers “have an age-adjusted mortality rate from heat stress that is twice as high as white New Yorkers,” suggesting that that is greater than only a climate problem, but one which is reportedly has its roots in systemic racism.

In July, New York City Council member Lincoln Restler, who represents parts of Brooklyn’s inner-city neighborhoods, proposed laws requiring landlords to install and maintain air con in all rental units. Under the bill, the temperature contained in the units must remain below 78 degrees between mid-June and mid-September when the surface temperature exceeds 81 degrees. If the bill becomes law, landlords would have 4 years to replace their units or face fines of up to $1,120 per day for noncompliance.

Similarly, in Los Angeles, county officials in January approved a proposal to create a law establishing a “maximum safe temperature threshold” requiring rental units to be “cooling ready,” allowing residents to install their very own units.

The recent heat wave in Southern California he broke his previous record consecutive days of 46 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit), which occurred on September 5 and 6, 2020, and these temperatures caused power outages and college closures.

Currently, warmer parts of the country, including the cities of Dallas and Houston in Texas, Montgomery County in Maryland, and Palm Springs in California, have laws requiring property owners to “provide adequate cooling so that the temperature does not exceed a threshold,” which ranges from 80 to 85 degrees.

In Phoenix, property owners are required to repair air con units inside 10 days of receiving a written grievance from tenants.

While some landlord groups oppose the proposed maximum temperatures, citing that the prices of putting in cooling systems could prompt them to raise rent and even evict landlords who cannot afford the changes, other groups say they are usually not opposed.

Instead, their concerns are in regards to the proposed timelines for completing these activities.

“The more debatable question is, ‘Realistically, what is possible and reasonable for landlords to do during this time?’” said Alexandra Alvarado, director of promoting and education for the American Apartment Owners Association. “The other aspect is whether a landlord can bill a tenant for utilities.”

Today, air con is present in about 90% of American homes, which suggests that about 35 million people live without it. A recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that those without air con are likely to be older, come from lower-income families and are usually not white.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Health and Wellness

Atlanta-Fulton Smoke Advisory Following Chemical Fire

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Fulton County, Georgia, is feeling the fallout from Sunday’s chemical plant fire in Rockdale County, 20 miles east of Atlanta. According to , the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) is assessing the impacts of the BioLab chemical fire. EMA expects the smell of chlorine and visual smoke to persist for several days, October 3-6.

Mayor Andre Dickens held a press conference to tell residents concerning the possible chlorine odor.

The Georgian Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) provides detailed insight into the situation performed for tracking and monitoring purposes chemical levels.

The agency states: “Current weather models show winds will begin to shift from east to west after sunset on Wednesday. Smoke is predicted to settle toward the bottom because it moves toward Atlanta. There’s an excellent likelihood Metro Atlanta residents will get up Thursday morning to fog and the smell of chlorine.

On September 29, 2024, BioLab, a chemical plant 20 miles outside of Atlanta, burned to the bottom with smoke attributable to a faulty sprinkler system. Large clouds of red and black smoke were visible for hours after the fireplace began, prompting emergency warnings to be issued in Rockdale County and surrounding counties. The incident led to the evacuation of hundreds of residents. As a result, a category motion lawsuit was filed.

Daniel Rock Flyn of the law firm Dicello Levitt said: “Companies like BioLab have a duty and responsibility to ensure that they do not pollute the surrounding community.”

Residents of the town say they’re experiencing unwanted side effects equivalent to “breathing problems and burning and itchy eyes.”

The smoke was a wide range of colours and was visible on radar covering multiple cities in Georgia.

The company says a malfunctioning sprinkler system combined with highly reactive chemicals is accountable. The plant was not operational on the time of the accident, so no employees suffered direct physical injuries.

The GEMA website details precautions residents can take to remain protected:

  • Limit outdoor activities and stay at home.
  • Keep the indoor air as clean as possible.
  • Elderly people, children and folks with weakened immune systems should stay indoors or limit outdoor activities.
  • If you may have asthma or one other lung disease, follow the recommendation of your doctor or other health care skilled.

Chlorine levels are reported to be protected. If you or someone you already know has difficulty respiration or any respiration problems, call your doctor or the Georgia Poison Control Center at 404-856-6252.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Mathew Knowles on the importance of genetic testing and what he has learned as a breast cancer survivor

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Keer Orr and Veronica Hill for point-and-click photography.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While we all know that black women are 40% more more likely to die from the disease, black men are also in danger because they’re 52% more more likely to develop breast cancer in comparison with white men. This risk is higher for every kind of breast cancer and in all age groups.

One of the most famous fathers in America experienced this firsthand. While Mathew Knowles is a global leader in sales and marketing, brand development, entrepreneurship and leadership, he is chargeable for developing, recording and distributing some of the most notable careers in culture, including Beyoncé, Destiny’s Child, Earth, Wind & Fire, Solange and many others, even have helpful health lessons to share with the world, mainly about prevention and the importance of early detection.

Knowles is actually a survivor because he is a male breast cancer survivor who lives with a BRCA2 gene mutation. The diagnosis took him completely by surprise – almost as much as the decision to undergo a mastectomy, a procedure he believed was reserved for ladies battling breast cancer. Now five years into remission, he has decided to make it his passion to share his story and encourage others, especially black men, to discover their very own risk for breast and other cancers and the way to reduce it.

Mathew has partnered with AstraZeneca on the BeBRCAware camp to extend the effectiveness of his advocacy efforts. The goal of this campaign is to teach people about the importance of genetic testing, understanding family history and risk for breast, prostate and other cancers, and how the presence of an inherited BRCA mutation may also help inform health care. We spoke with Knowles about his experience battling breast cancer and why he is so captivated with educating others about genetic testing for recovery.

BEING: Can you share your experience with breast cancer with our readers? What alerted you that something was flawed?

Matthew Knowles: Five years, two months ago I used to be wearing a white T-shirt. Imagine you will have a white sheet of paper and a red pen and you set five dots on it. So after I modified my shirt, I saw these five dots on my shirt. The first day I didn’t think anything about it, but on the second day I saw red dots in the same place. So I asked my wife if she had any latest shirts. She said, “You know, there have been red blood stains on your side of the bed for the last few days.” The next day I saw discharge and immediately called the doctor. While talking to him, I suggested getting a mammogram. He said he’s never had a male patient ask for a mammogram, but we’ve one and I used to be actually diagnosed with male breast cancer.

When I underwent surgery, it turned out that the disease went further than breast cancer. I received a genetic test that showed I had a BRCA2 gene mutation. Which means, Dominique, that 1/2 of the genetic mutations are related to an increased risk of breast cancer in men and women, ovarian cancer (not cervical cancer), prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer and melanoma.

How have you ever modified your lifestyle given this news?

I used to be diagnosed with 2, so there was no treatment plan, just awareness, which is why we do what we do today: bring awareness. I even have partnered with AstraZeneca to teach as many individuals as possible about genetic testing. I also modified my lifestyle. For me, that meant losing a few pounds. I used to be chubby. With changes to my weight loss program and consistent exercise, I lost 30 kilos. Now I walk two miles in 45 minutes!

How has your status helped you educate people about the importance of proactively taking care of your health?

You know, quite interesting. I used to be sharing this with my wife last night. My dad was a volunteer firefighter in a small town in Alabama and my mom was a volunteer at a hospital. Watching my parents give back to the community filled me with enthusiasm and joy to present back and share my knowledge. I’m grateful that I even have a platform where I can share and that I can discuss breast cancer in men and women and the importance of early detection, the importance of, for my part, early genetic testing and early mammography.

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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WATCH: Paint The Polls Black – Don Lemon – Essence

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This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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