On Thursday March 31st, 2016 the California State Assembly and State Senate both approved a bill to increase the California minimum wage to $15 an hour. The state's current minimum wage is $10 an hour, and it will change to $10.50 in 2017, $11 in 2018, and will have a $1 increase until it reaches $15 in 2022. This was huge because California became the first state to approve a $15 minimum wage, while the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 an hour. Obviously, California is a much more expensive state to live in compared to somewhere like Idaho where the minimum wage is the country's lowest at $7.25 an hour. Of course with this increase, there are critics who believe this bill was rushed. With California being the first state to approve this high of an increase, there are worries for the some of the poorer counties who are already struggling. To try to help ease this plan into affect, the state has agreed to give smaller businesses, who have less than 25 workers, one year before this law goes into action. Giving them until 2023 to reach the state's minimum wage. If you would like to educate yourself even further on this news, visit this link to CNN's take on the recent minimum wage approval. Here is a video from the Speaker of the State Assembly Anthony Rendon, talking about this historic moment and why it is such a significant change.
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Northern California is creating champions. The San Francisco Giants are in the middle of a (even year) dynasty, the Golden State Warriors are trying to make history, the Oakland Raiders are building something special, and local Bay Area artist Jay Ant is growing his Believers Circle. With his recent release of White Rabbit, he is showcasing his smooth talking personality over some beats made by some of the Bay Area's best young producers. Some familiar names you might know produced some of the coldest tracks on this EP. iamsu brings the party sound on "Louder" featuring himself and Kool John. P-Lo brings that 90's cruising down the street on a breezy spring Bay Area day sound on the song of 2016 "Let Me Ball." And Jay Ant himself gets behind the boards on just about every song on here, showing his versatility as an artist. He opens his vocals to the listener on "Let Me Ball." Making himself relatable by talking about a previous relationship he had that may not have went the way he wished. Spitting heartfelt lyrics when he says "I swear it ain't the same, I miss my ol' girl." He follows that up with some lyrics that are relatable to anyone from Northern California who has that loud pack on "Heem" with "Weed strong, very macho. Got pack, BIG pack like Costco." The Bay Area party anthem on this one is "Louder" featuring the Shmop Boyz founder Kool John and HBK's ring leader iamsu. Jay Ant proves he belongs in the game by showing he can stand out on a track with a couple of guys who have a huge following of their own.
If you are someone who celebrates artists who bring a personality to the table, then White Rabbit is something you need to set aside time for and listen to. Northern California is the land of creators and game-changers. Stephen Curry is trying to keep the NBA Finals trophy in the Bay Area, and Jay Ant is creating the sound of a champion that represents his turf. You can check out his album on SoundCloud ***UPDATE*** Jay Ant officially approves this message So first let me start off by telling you that I am a die hard Philadelphia 76ers fan (Yes, we exist). So I was extremely excited to see them play on Easter Sunday against a decent team to watch, the Golden State Warriors. Now, these are two teams heading in the complete opposite directions. The Warriors are looking to make history this season by breaking the best regular season record, while the 76ers are still trying to find their 10th win so that they won't tie the record for the worst regular season record in NBA history. As you can see by this graphic below, the Warriors get lucky more than the 76ers do. Now even though the numbers are staggering, I still had faith that the 76ers would pull off the upset. What they lack in talent, they make up for in effort and teamwork. And it would be easy for the Warriors to not give their full attention to a team of this dismal caliber. The game started out with both teams trading baskets for about 16 minutes of gametime. The 76ers had a 16-15 lead at one point, and were even tied at 40 in the second quarter. At that point I was standing and yelling at the top of my lungs "Yes! We're tied! We're tied!" This is as exciting as it gets for a 76ers fan. But right after that, the Warriors did what they always do and blew the game open in a matter of seconds. By halftime they had a 16 point lead. But I still believed the 76ers could pull it out!
But belief isn't always enough, especially when you're playing against one of the greatest teams in NBA history. I was extremely pleased with the way the 76ers continued to fight all the way until the final buzzer. They did not let the score, or the other team dictate their aggression and passion for the game, and that is something to be admired. A team that could possibly go down as statistically the worst team in NBA history, yet they continue to fight as if it was the last game they would ever play. The moral of the story is this: There will always be someone out there doing better than you. Someone will have a higher paying job, a bigger house, a nicer car, expensive clothes, and other luxurious things that nobody needs. But heart can't be measured. Determination can't be measured. When you're down and nobody believes in you, believe in yourself. Do not worry about what the next person has accomplished, or what accolades they have earned. Be happy for the next man, but follow your own path to success. If you're willing to work hard while times are tough, imagine how easy things will be when you get everything you always wanted and you still have that determination to be the greatest you that you can possibly be. The 76ers never give up, and neither should you. -AV And just for the record, I could play for the 76ers... Welcome all! Friends, family, and internet. My name is Anthony Vallesteros and this is my official blog page. Follow me on my journey to my dreams. I'm calling this The IrrelAVant Blog for a few reasons. For those who have known me on social media in the past, you will know why the word irrelevant is spelled wrong. I have always felt like every one person in this world is so small in comparison to the grand scheme of things. So even if we're the greatest person to ever exist, we are still irrelevant to billions of people on this earth. And everything that we care about is not always relevant to everyone else in this world. So this blog, while it may be important to me and the people reading, it is all a bunch of irrelevance. And while this blog may not be what you're used to, I guarantee it will always be interesting. So welcome to the inside of my mind, and help me get my visions out to the world.
-AV |
Anthony VallesterosJust a man trying to make the most of his time on this planet. Categories
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