SITUATION: The tumultuous and chaotic stream of news coming from the White House on a daily basis makes it difficult to understand and meaningfully respond to the policies, executive orders and mandates that affect our lives daily. 

Where are our leaders who should be fighting for our priorities and concerns?
 
ACTION: Contact Senator Chuck Schumer and tell him that as Minority Leader we need him to take a more forceful role in leading the Democratic Party to respond strongly to President Trump’s policies, especially as they affect older people, their health and their financial security. Write to him and briefly describe your own personal concerns in regard to recent actions coming out of Washington.

ALSO: Share this message with friends, family and colleagus.

Senator Chuck Schumer
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-6542
Click HERE to email.

SITUATION: Nearly all of us are covered by Social Security because nearly all of us contributed. But we don’t all contribute equally. High earners and wealthy individuals–like CEOs and corporate shareholders–effectively pay a lower Social Security tax rate on their income. Social Security taxes are collected only on the first $168,200 of earnings this year. That tax ceiling–known as the “cap”–is inequitable and unfair. 

If we simply “Scrap the Cap”–getting rid of the ceiling altogether–millionaires would pay the same tax rate as middle-class families, which would make our economy more equitable, and dramatically improve Social Security’s long-term finances.

The Social Security 2100 Act (H.R. 4583) would not entirely scrap the cap, but is a strong step in the right direction. This legislation proposes increases in benefits across the board, plus enhanced cost-of-living adjustments, and a host of other improvements.

ACTION: Write or phone your Congress Member. Urge them to support the H.R. 4583! This would increase benefits across the board and improve cost-of-living adjustments, boosting benefits for low-income seniors and widows/widowers.

ALSO: Please share this message with friends, family and colleagues in the U. S.

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
90 7th Street Suite 2-800
San Francisco, CA  94103
Phone: (415) 556-4862
Click HERE to email.

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon
1023 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC  20515
Phone: (202) 225-2661
Click HERE to email.

Congressman Kevin Mullin
 528 S El Camino Real UNIT 307
San Mateo, CA 94402
(650) 342-0300
Click HERE to email.

Click HERE to identify and contact other members of the House of Representatives.

OWL-SF is proud to support the efforts of the California Alliance of Retired Americans (CARA) in their efforts to prevent devastating cuts to healthcare programs in the U.S.

HUGE MOMENT TO JOIN THE FIGHT
TO PRESERVE MEDI-CAL

Wanted to help but don’t know how? Now is the time to get started – right from home!

About this event

Congress is proposing to make devastating cuts to healthcare programs which could impact 15 million Californians, including children and people with disabilities! And they’re making the cuts to give huge tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires.

To stop the cuts and save lives we need to get a handful of Republican Congress members to vote NO on the proposed healthcare cuts. CARA is making calls to voters in Congress members David Valadao’s, Young Kim’s, and Ken Calvert’s districts to encourage them to call their offices and patching them through right then!

CARA will be using a dialer system to make the calls so you will need a computer or laptop. There will be a short training on Zoom at the beginning of the call shift and then folks will start making calls.

You do not need to live in one of the key districts. Choose a district below to get started!

CD 22 – Valadao – Fight for Our Healthcare Phonebank

CD 40 – Kim – Fight for Our Healthcare Phonebank

CD 41 – Calvert – Fight for Our Healthcare Phonebank

Contact CARA

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. BOX 23754, OAKLAND, CA  94623/ 510-663-4086 / www.californiaalliance.org

STAFF CONTACTS:

Executive Director:  Rob England, rob@californiaalliance.org 661-364-7101

Administrative Director: Cynthia Lopez, cynthial.cara@gmail.com/ 510-663-4086

Digital Specialist: Vidy Pugalenthi, vpugalenthi@californiaalliance.org/ 213-648-9000

REGIONAL ORGANIZERS:

NORTH (Bay Area and North State):

Daisy Oram, doram@californiaalliance.org/  707-815-2143

CENTRAL VALLEY:

Yesenia Cuevas, ycuevas@californiaalliance.org/ 209-354-7489 (Stockton-Bakersfield)Sacramento/Yolo counties, and Placer County

SOUTH: 

LA COUNTY/ INLAND EMPIRE/ORANGE/SAN DIEGO:

Vidy Pugalenthi, vpugalenthi@californiaalliance.org/ 213-648-9000

SITUATION: In addition to owning Tesla, Inc., Elon Musk is an unelected senior advisor to the current U.S. President. He has been given control of a newly created—dubiously legal— initiative called the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and is using his position to decimate the federal workforce, including, but not limited to: scientific research, veterans services, public education and foreign aid—all of which are essential to stability and growth in the U.S.

The President and Elon Musk have created chaos and unease around the country, especially for the most vulnerable citizens who rely on government funded programs for housing, health care, food, informational services and others.
 

ACTION: Join the protest at the San Francisco Tesla showroom on Saturday, March 1 at noon, 999 Van Ness Avenue at O’Farrell. Tell Musk and the President that we do NOT support their policies, and will make our voices heard in the 2025 mid-term elections! 

MUNI LINES: 38 and 49 go directly there; 2 and 19 within two blocks.

ALSO: Share this message with friends, family and colleagues in and near San Francisco. 

SITUATION: Previously, members of the public have been able to make comments remotely at SF Board of Supervisor Committee Meetings.

However, the BOS voted to end remote public comment for everyone—except, we later learned, people with disabilities—who are willing to disclose details of the nature of their disability publicly. 

This effectively punishes hundreds, if not thousands, who want to participate remotely in our local government, whether or not they have a disability. Even worse, it will force those who have disabilities to disclose in advance what their special needs are. In order to call in remotely, people living with disabilities—including old age—must seek burdensome “reasonable accommodation” exceptions. Or else they must face the burden of traveling to City Hall to attend in-person meetings.

ACTION: Ask your supervisor to remove the obstacles to remote comments in public meetings—for everyone, especially older women and men, and all people with disabilities. 

ALSO: Share this message with friends, family and colleagues in San Francisco.

Click HERE to find the contact information for your SF Supervisor.

SITUATION: The SFMTA is proposing a new plan called “The Biking and Rolling Plan” which will extend bike lanes to form an interconnected system.

Despite the presence of bike lanes, there are still too many bikers ignoring safety laws.

ACTION:  Tell the SFMTA and their Board of Directors that before the City spends more money on bike lanes, they should ensure that the laws should be enforced prohibiting bicycles from riding on the sidewalks, running red lights and stop signs and entering crosswalks while a pedestrian is crossing.

ALSO: Share this message with friends, family and colleagues in San Francisco.

Email the SFMTA Board at: MTABoard@sfmta.com

Call them at: (415) 646-4470

Write to them at: 
One South Van Ness Ave., 7th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94103

SITUATION: In order to better serve riders, San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) is currently engaged in a process called the Accessible Strategy Needs Assessment. This consists of performance data, institutional knowledge, and community wisdom.

ACTION: You can do your part to aid this process by expressing your opinions and concerns via the Accessibility Strategy Identified Needs Survey. This survey should only take you 3-5 minutes to complete, and your answers will help make the services and programs offered by MUNI more accessible.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY

You can also email MUNI (AccessibilityStrategy@sfmta.com) to ask questions, give feedback or request project updates. 

Please also forward this message to friends, family and colleagues who ride MUNI.

SITUATION: The SFMTA Board of Directors is working on a plan to make all  forms of biking and rolling—such as scooters, e-bikes, skateboards, power chairs and other low-speed wheeled devices—safer for everyone in the city. Their #1 goal is putting people first. Hopefully that includes seniors and all pedestrians. 

Their plan must include educating riders about traffic laws such as stopping for stop signs and red lights, yielding to pedestrians and not riding on sidewalks, practices which are presently making our sidewalks and crosswalks unsafe.

ACTION: Email the Board of SFMTA at MTABoard@sfmta.com and tell them that their Biking and Rolling Plan must include education of the public—and enforcement of laws already on the books—to insure that bicycles and scooters are not allowed on the sidewalks and must stop for red lights, stop signs and crosswalks to ensure the safety of all San Franciscans.

ALSO: Share this message with friends, family and colleagues.

Our fellow Americans living in hurricane-impacted areas should not have to worry that the federal government will run out of money to help them rebuild in the next few days.

SITUATION: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has declared that Congress will not return to pass emergency funding to aid hurricane impacted areas before the election. Instead, he has said Congress will wait until November to pass the needed emergency relief for hurricane-impacted areas.

This could soon force FEMA to stop rebuilding projects in hurricane-impacted areas, and to instead focus only on life-saving operations.

ACTION: We cannot let political games endanger lives. Sign this petition to demand that Speaker Mike Johnson reconvene the House and pass the necessary hurricane relief aid. 

ALSO: Share this message with friends, family and colleagues.

CLICK HERE TO ADD YOUR NAME TO THE PETITION

SITUATION: On August 29, the California Legislature passed SB 278, which will clarify the duties of banks to safeguard against financial fraud perpetrated on elder and dependent adults. It will strengthen abuse protections by holding institutions responsible for identifying fraud, notifying victims and delaying fraudulent transactions. 

SB 278 currently sits on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk, awaiting his signature.

SOLUTION: Call or write Governor Newsom, and insist that he sign this crucial bill. The hope is to generate as many calls and messages as possible, so call or write AGAIN and AGAIN to get SB 278 passed.

Also: Share this message with friends, family and colleagues in California.

Click HERE to email our governor.

Governor Gavin Newsom
1021 O Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, CA  95814

(916) 445-2841—SELECT “1” for English. “2” for Spanish, “6” Speak to a Rep.

SITUATION: The August 23 OWL Alert asked OWLs to contact members of the California State Assembly, urging them to pass SB961, a bill that will mandate that auto manufacturers include technology to keep cars driving at safe speeds. 

Excellent news! The bill passed on September 1! 

However, the bill has been waiting for Governor Gavin Newsom to sign it, while the automobile manufacturing industry lobbies intensely for him to veto it. 

ACTION: Contact Governor Newsom and insist that he sign this crucial, landmark piece of legislation to reduce fatalities from speeding drivers, hold the auto industry accountable, and keep California on the cutting edge of legislation which will no doubt lead other states to follow suit. 

Also: Share this message with friends, family and colleagues in California.

Click HERE to email our governor.

Governor Gavin Newsom
1021 O Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, CA  95814
(916) 445-2841

SITUATION: Speed is the #1 cause of severe and fatal crashes in San Francisco and statewide. California State Senate bill SB 961 will require Intelligent Speed Assistance in California vehicles.

The full Assembly will vote on SB 961 mid-to-late next week, so now is when we need to put the pressure on 17 legislators who are still on-the-fence about this bill. 

ACTION: Call or email as many of the legislators listed below and demand that they stand up to the auto industry to save lives from dangerous speeding. It doesn’t matter if you’re a constituent of these legislators: urge them to pass this crucial bill!

ALSO: Share this message with friends, family and colleagues in California

• Email Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (San Fernando Valley): (916) 319-2046
• Email Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (Riverside, San Bernardino): (916) 319-2058
• Email Assemblymember Mike Gipson (Compton, Carson, Willowbrook): (916) 319-2065
• Email Assemblymember Timothy Grayson (Concord, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill): (916) 319-2015
• Call Assemblymember Chris Holden (Northern San Gabriel Valley): (916) 319-2041
• Email Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (Inland Orange County): (916) 319-2073
• Email Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (Northern Orange County): (916) 319-2067
• Email Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria (Fresno, Madera, Merced): (916) 319-2027
• Email Assemblymember Tasha Boerner (San Diego): (916) 319-2077
• Email Assemblymember Brian Maienscheinn (San Diego): (916) 319-2076
• Email Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen (Sacramento, Elk Grove): (916) 319-2010
• Email Assemblymember James Ramos (San Bernardino): (916) 319-2045
• Email Assemblymember Luz Rivas (San Fernando, Sylmar, and Pacoima): (916) 319-2043
• Email Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (Riverside, Imperial): (916) 319-2036
• Email Assemblymember Akilah Weber (San Diego, La Mesa, El Cajon): (916) 319-2079
• Email Assemblymember Robert Rivas (Pajaro, Salinas): (916) 319-2029
• Email Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo (San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley): (916) 319-2040

SITUATION: Seniors and people living with disabilities are vulnerable to the loss of their residences owing to the cost of rent. California Senate Bill 37 (SB 37) — the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act — would provide subsidies to those in this demographic who are experiencing or are at risk of experiencing homelessness. Grants will prioritize communities in which a high proportion of the renters face cost burdens.

SB 37 is currently “On Suspense,” meaning it requires recommendation for further consideration. The bill must pass the Appropriations Committee by August 14: ACT NOW!

ACTION: Please call, email or write to your State Assembly Appropriations Committee Members, urge them to get the bill out for a hearing and then vote yes on it. It is particularly important to contact Assemblyman Matt Haney, because he has the power to get bills out of the On Suspense phase. 

ALSO: Please share this message with friends, family and colleagues.

Text Matt at: (415) 606-9940, or click HERE for a complete list of Committee Members—including Matt Haney—and all contact information. If possible: CONTACT ALL OF THEM.

SITUATION: Thanks to the efforts of many supporters—including OWL-SF Members—Laguna Honda Hospital has resumed the admission of patients. However, the 2-to-a-bathroom rule threatens to eliminate 120 beds, and a waiver of this rule is needed in order to prevent such a drastic cut. 

Now is the time to focus on asking the SFDPH/City Attorney to apply for a waiver of the 2-to-a-bathroom rule so that Laguna Honda can care for more patients. 

ACTION: Contact Dr. Grant Colfax, Director of SFDPH, and San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu and urge them to make good on their promises to apply for the waiver, and keep crucial beds available at Laguna Honda.

ALSO: Share this message with friends, family and colleagues in San Francisco.

Director Department of Public Health
Dr. Grant Colfax
101 Grove Street San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 255-3525
grant.colfax@sfgov.org

Office of the City Attorney
City Hall, Room 234
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl.
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 554-4700 Phone
cityattorney@sfcityatty.org

STOP AT&T’s EFFORTS TO SUBVERT THE CPUC RULING
PRECLUDING THEM FROM ABANDONING
CALIFORNIA LANDLINE PHONE NETWORKS 

SITUATION: AT&T petitioned the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for permission to abandon their mandatory role as carrier of last resort for California landline phone networks.
 
On June 20, the CPUC denied the request. So now AT&T is using an unfortunate California legislative process called “gut and amend” to subvert the CPUC ruling.  
 
Assembly Bill 2797—originally about horse racing—is now a bill about telephone landlines. The bill is currently in the Senate Energy, Utilities & Communications Committee, and is scheduled for a hearing on July 2.
 
ACTION: Contact the Senate Energy, Utilities & Communications Committee and your State Senator before July 2nd and tell them not to let AT&T abandon California landline networks and to vote against AB2797.
 
And please share this message with friends, family and colleagues in the state of California.

Contacts: 

California State Senate
Energy, Utilities & Communications Committee
1021 O Street, Room 3350
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4107
 
Senator Steven Bradford, Committee Chair
1021 O Street, Suite 7210
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 651-4035

Click HERE to identify and locate your California State Senator.

SITUATION: At long last due to the tireless efforts of OWL and SF Gray Panthers Member, Dr. Teresa Palmer and many others, City officials announced on June 20th that Federal officials have approved the 156-year-old public nursing facility Laguna Honda for Medicare recertification. (MediCal recertification was granted earlier.)

This is great news, BUT there are many unanswered and extremely relevant questions. 

Now we need the Mayor and Department of Public Health/Laguna Honda Leaders to tell us:

1. When will admissions resume (and if not why not)?
2. Any way back for all those San Franciscans sent out of county because LHH was not available? (A required report on out of county transfers for 2023 is way overdue—supposedly will be out July 1). 
3. Is preventing the loss of 120 beds on the radar still? San Franciscans need those beds.

ACTION: Contact Mayor Breed and the Board of Supervisors and tell them to call a Special Meeting to address these unanswered questions and others. 

London Breed:
Office of the Mayor
City Hall
1 Dr Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 200
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 554-6141

Click HERE to find contact information for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Click HERE for a sample letter to send.

Don’t Lock Nursing Home and Long Term Care Facility Residents Away From Loved Ones During A Public Health Emergency

SITUATION: Data shows that no one suffered more during the Covid pandemic than elders and disabled individuals in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. They disproportionately died from COVID and were isolated because they were unable to see relatives.

Let’s learn from our mistakes and fix this before the next public health emergency.   

California State bill AB 2075—which passed the Assembly on May 23—guarantees that nursing home and long-term-care facility residents will have access to a designated family member, friend, or care provider during a public health emergency. Each would follow the same safety protocols as the facility’s staff. 

AB 2075 is now set for hearing by the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday June 19 at 1:30 p.m. 

ACTION: Contact the Senate Health Committee and your State Senator and voice your support for AB 2075. (See below for contact info and letter examples.)

And please share this message with friends, family and colleagues in the state of California.

California State Senate Health Committee *
1021 O Street, Room 3310
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4111
SHEA.Committee@senate.ca.gov
Website: https://shea.senate.ca.gov/committeehome

HERE is one example of a letter to send. HERE is another.

* State Senator Scott Wiener is a member of the Senate Health Committee.

SITUATION: Data shows that private-equity ownership in the healthcare industry has more than doubled in the last decade, often leading to higher healthcare costs, poor quality, and less access to care.  

AB 3129—which was passed in the California State Assembly on May 21 and is now in the Senate Health Committee—will strengthen state prohibitions against private equity group abuses in healthcare.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) introduced AB 3129, authorizing the A.G. to grant, deny, or impose conditions to a change of control or an acquisition between a private equity group or hedge fund, and a healthcare facility or provider group. AB 3129 will also reinforce the existing bar on the corporate practice of medicine, including the bar on the interference of private equity groups or hedge funds in the treatment of patients.
 

Without proper enforcement, predatory practices will continue to consolidate our healthcare system, driving up prices, reducing quality of care, and restricting access for patients.  
 

ACTION: Contact your State Senator and voice your support for AB 3129. Contact friends and family who vote in California and urge them to contact their representatives.

And please share this message with friends, family and colleagues in the state of California. 

SITUATION: An OWL-SF Member recently received notification that her personal information was included in a huge breach of data by AT&T.

In March, 2024 an AT&T data breach exposed data from 7.6 million current customers and 65.4 million former account holders on the dark web. The data leaked online includes personal information such as email and mailing addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, social security numbers (SSNs), AT&T account numbers and passcodes. Fraudsters can use information exposed in this breach to commit synthetic identity theft.

IMMEDIATE ACTION—do this NOW:

• Click HERE to place a Fraud Alert on Equifax. This will be free of charge if you make sure to mention you are doing it in response to the AT&Tdata breach.
• Click HERE to notify the Office of Inspector General of the Social Security Administration; or call (800) 269-0271.
• Click HERE to contact the Federal Trade Commission to report the breach and start a recovery plan.

AND: Send this information to your friends everywhere. 73 million is a lot of people.