An online letter from OUSD Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell Dear OUSD Community: We recently shared our OUSD plan to reopen schools for in-person instruction with January 25, 2021 as our target starting date. Unfortunately, COVID transmission and cases in our county continue to worsen. Before we break for the winter holiday, I … Read more
“Don’t Defund Youth, Jobs, and Violence Prevention Programs” says Oakland Council President Rebecca Kaplan and Many Others Oakland – The Oakland Administration is presenting to the Oakland City Council a proposal to completely defund youth programs, jobs programs, and vital community healing programs in their proposed changes to the use of Oakland Measure Z violence … Read more
Don Perata Interview – 2010 Oakland Mayor’s Race Interview With The Man Who Almost Won But for rank-choice voting, Don Perata, and not Jean Quan, would have been our Mayor of Oakland. Don, best known as President pro tempore of the California State Senate, and later President of Perata Engineering (a lobbying company), was the … Read more
Dear Oaklander, Given the record-breaking surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Alameda County has joined other Bay Area health departments and the City of Berkeley in implementing the State’s Regional Stay Home Order in an effort to prevent our health care systems from being overburdened and to reduce lost of life. In Alameda County, the … Read more
City of Oakland outdoor youth programming, senior programs, homeless services and library sidewalk service continue without change Oakland, CA – Due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases (10,733 current cases as of November 30, 2020 in Oakland per Alameda County Public Health Department), and coupled with the fact that the holiday season and gatherings … Read more
Dear Oakland Community, Today I am writing to let you know that we have finalized our COVID-19 Health and Safety Reopening Plan and Program (Reopening Plan) for reopening our schools to in-person learning and instruction. The plan includes the components required by the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) regarding reopening for in-person instruction and … Read more
WE ARE OAKLAND Teaser From YouTube Channel: November 30, 2020 at 12:52AM ONN – WE ARE OAKLAND Virtual Benefit Concert Dec 12 At 5pm PST, Teaser Where We Are Oakland on YouTube writes: We are working hard to bring you another WE ARE OAKLAND Virtual Benefit Concert – just in time for the holidays! Join … Read more
The Alameda County Health Care Services Agency issued a press release on the State of California “limited Stay at Home Order” last week. Here’s the full press release as sent to Zennie62Media: The State of California announced a limited Stay at Home Order generally requiring that non-essential work, movement, and gatherings stop between 10 p.m. … Read more
Alameda, Ca – The Peralta Community College District (PCCD) today unveiled its latest accomplishment under an ambitious, multimillion-dollar capital improvement plan: completion of the New Center for Liberal Arts (Building H) at the College of Alameda. The nearly 54,000 square foot, building offers specialized facilities for programming in the divisions of Liberal Studies and Language … Read more
David Oertel, The President of Humanist Hall located at 390 27th Street, Oakland, CA, is in trouble. But, from the looks of things, the man who owns the facility that was once the home of The Wellstone Democratic Club I was a member of, thinks he’s getting into what the late Representative John Lewis would … Read more
Live: Oakland Alameda County Joint Powers Authority Meeting Of November 20, 2020 From YouTube Channel: November 20, 2020 at 11:24AM ONN – Live: Oakland Alameda County Joint Powers Authority Meeting Of November 20, 2020 Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version … Read more
Oakland – Rebecca Kaplan has retained her At Large seat on the Oakland City Council after a hard fought race that included $500K in independent expenditures from large corporate interests. Kaplan will be holding a Victory and Hanukkah Fundraiser including her longtime friend Congresswoman Barbara Lee among other Host Committee members. The event will be … Read more
Oakland Unified School District New Board of Education Directors Dear Oakland Unified Community, As we have been talking over the past few weeks, Tuesday, November 3 was an enormous election for our city, the state of California, and the United States. Here in OUSD, as you know, we saw voters pass Measure Y, the bond … Read more
Free Flu Shots Oakland McClymonds High School Today Saturday Nov 14th 2020 10 AM – 4 PM From YouTube Channel: November 14, 2020 at 12:43AM ONN – Free Flu Shots Oakland McClymonds High School Today Saturday Nov 14th 2020 10 AM – 4 PM Saturday, November 14, 2020 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM (while supplies … Read more
Dr. Rudy Besikof appointed President of Laney College and Dr. Nathaniel Jones III appointed President of College of Alameda Oakland — The Peralta Community College District has appointed Dr. Rudy Besikof President of Laney College and Dr. Nathaniel Jones III President of the College of Alameda. Dr. Besikof served as Interim President at Laney and … Read more
Oakland – Rebecca Kaplan has retained her At-Large seat on the Oakland City Council. With unofficial results showing her with a lead, her opponent called her this morning to concede the race congratulating her on her new term on the Council. Also congratulating Kaplan on her victory was Councilmember Nikki Bas who said, “Congratulations to … Read more
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris – Biden / Harris – Win!! I spent Wednesday morning, November 4th, at the ampitheater in the plaza in front of Oakland’s City Hall, masked and distanced but heartened by the crowd who sang and prayed together for a Just America and demanded that we count every vote! We ate … Read more
Oakland FAD – The Alameda County Registrar of Voters has posted its latest version of the base-level vote tallies for each of the races and measures in the November 3rd, 2020 Election, this one for November 8th, 2020. Here, it’s important to post the message from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters: Total number of … Read more
Oakland, FAD – Thanks to the County of Alameda’s Registrar of Voters, Zennie62Media has a table for each rank-choice-voting election in the races for Oakland City Council. As the Alameda Registrar of Voters sends new updates, those will be posted below the first set for each race. Here they are, starting with the Oakland City … Read more
Here Are The Full Oakland California, Berkeley, California Election Results For The 2020 Election, Including Measures, And Results For Piedmont And San Leandro Who will win the 2020 Election for Oakland City Council? Will Lynette Gibson-McElhaney retain her District Three Seat, or will Moms 4 Housing leader Carroll Fife emerge with 51 percent of the … Read more
Oakland – Amid the $200 million in expenditures to pass Proposition 22 and the $400,000 to defeat her by Lyft, Rebecca Kaplan is urging voters to vote No on Proposition 22. Large corporations, including Lyft and Uber, are spending big in this election, seeking to undermine our democracy, harm workers, and undermine our communities, while … Read more
Warriors Owe Coliseum $60 Million, Zennie Abraham Said Spokesperson Raymond Ridder Was Wrong In 2016 From YouTube Channel: May 23, 2014 at 06:25PM ONN – Warriors Owe Coliseum $60 Million, Zennie Abraham Said Spokesperson Raymond Ridder Was Wrong In 2016 On Zennie62 YouTube and Zennie62.com, Zennie Abraham, now CEO of Zennie62Media, Inc, said in this … Read more
Oakland — The Golden State Warriors have filed for a hearing with the California Supreme Court to overturn the California District Court’s April 2020 decision in favor of the Oakland – Alameda County Coliseum Authority, ruling the Warriors’ responsible for the over $40 million of outstanding debt. This puts the people of Oakland and Alameda … Read more
Alameda County Supervisor Candidate Debate, District 1 From YouTube Channel: August 18, 2020 at 02:24PM ONN – Alameda County District 1 Candidates, Vinnie Bacon and David Haubert, take on some tough questions from moderators, Gina Channell and Jeremy Walsh from the Pleasanton Weekly. This Candidate Forum was brought to you by the Livermore Vally Chamber … Read more
OUSD Reports Polling Locations Open at Ten District-Run Schools and One Charter School in OUSD on Halloween, and Will Open Daily Through November 3; Voters Can Drop off Their Ballots at the Locations When Open Voters Can Drop off Their Ballots at the Locations When Open Oakland, CA – There are now just three days … Read more
Mayor Schaaf and I AGREE on with Oakland’s Homeless by Derrick Soo ONN – Mayor Schaaf and I Agree on Oakland’s Homeless and Alameda County Fairgrounds – by Derrick Soo It’s rare that Mayor Schaaf and I agree on ANYTHING! But, this morning on a “Live” interview locally, Mayor Schaaf said she wasn’t behind asking … Read more
Oakland Approaches Alameda County About Housing Homeless At Fairgrounds In Pleasanton From YouTube Channel: October 28, 2020 at 10:43PM ONN – A new proposal to move homeless people from the City of Oakland to the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton is drawing criticism from county leaders as well as Tri-Valley residents. Katie Nielsen reports. (10/28/20) … Read more
Oakland – We are honored to share the huge news that Senator Bernie Sanders has weighed in on the Oakland City Council At Large race, endorsing Council President Rebecca Kaplan. Former Berkeley Mayor and longtime friend of Senator Sanders, Gus Newport, called Rebecca Kaplan to let her know that Senator Sanders has decided to endorse … Read more
OUSD Celebrates Unique New Central Kitchen with Capacity to Create 35,000 Meals Per Day, and Serve as Farm and Educational Facility Oakland – During a year in which Oakland Unified School District had to completely rethink school meals because of the pandemic, OUSD is proud to show off its new and unique Central Kitchen that’s … Read more
Oakland – The City of Oakland sent a press release to provide more background on the funds Eliane Brown secured for her housing project. Oakland reports that as part of its Project Homekey Initiative, the State of California has awarded the City of Oakland nearly $17.5 million of Project Homekey funding for two innovative housing projects that when complete, will offer 104 units of housing for people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, including those recently released from incarceration.
The Inn at Temescal is a 22-unit hotel located at the corner of MacArthur Blvd. and Telegraph Avenue. Near to downtown Oakland, The Inn is close to BART and other service amenities, making for an accessible residential area.
Using a combination of City funds and Homekey grant funds from the State Housing & Community Development Department, community-based organization Operation Dignity and for-profit developer Danco Communities have entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement to acquire the property. This project will expand affordable housing opportunities and provide direct services to residents. Operation Dignity will lease the units to homeless individuals, working with them to secure longin partnership with the Oakland Housing Authority and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Sponsor team plans to acquire the site by the middle of December 2020. The Inn at Temescal is service-enriched housing for currently homeless veterans that will provide 21 units for residents, and one unit for a service manager.
392 11th Street, at Franklin
392 Franklin St. is an 82-unit SRO (Single Room Occupancy) hotel that will provide housing for individuals recently released from nearby jails and prisons who are most impacted by COVID-19 and are at extraordinary risk of homelessness. BOSS (Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency) will act as the service provider and work in collaboration with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office to house those rapidly released due to overcrowding and the escalating spread of Coronavirus in the State’s prison facilities.
The City will partner the funds from Homekey Project with Oakland & The World Enterprises, Inc. (OAW), a local nonprofit organization, McCormak Baron Salazr, Memar Properties, Inc., and FPI Management to acquire the property.
“With these two projects, Oakland just created more than 100 new units of housing for our unsheltered residents, and with a special priority to take care of our American heroes — our veterans,” Mayor Libby Schaaf said. “Our City staff works tirelessly to end homelessness in our streets, and I’m grateful for Gov. Newsom’s leadership and his partnership, as we all work together to urgently address this crisis.”
“These two projects are excellent examples of how state and local funding merge with projects rooted in community organization to support sustainable solutions for combating the homeless crisis.” said Shola Olatoye, Housing & Community Development Director for the City.
Both projects will be complete and open to welcome residents in early 2021.
Oakland “Ride Out to Vote” is a collaboration between Brianna Noble, Yoram Savion, and Kyla Searle, the film celebrates democracy as a collective act with nods to the Pony Express
Oakland – Today marks the release of Ride Out to Vote (ROTV), a short get-out-the-vote film for online audiences from Brianna Noble of Mulatto Meadows/Humble, director Yoram Savion, and creative producer Kyla Searle. ROTV inspires viewers to get their ballots to the polls and to post pictures of their experience using the hashtag #RideOutToVote.
In the lead up to this November election, Ride Out to Vote (ROTV) is a visual call to action. Taking its cue from Black equestrian activist and owner of Mulatto Meadows, Brianna Noble, whose iconic image went viral after she rode her horse through the streets of Oakland during the 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations, ROTV brings together Northern California equestrians of color with a nod to the legendary Pony Express. The Pony Express was a California-based mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders during the 1800s, carrying mail all the way to Missouri. Leveraging Humble Heels Down Fists Up, the social activism arm of the Mulatto Meadows platform, ROTV builds on Humble’s work, inspiring positive change from the saddle. The idea for the video originated with Humble team members Nia Tahani Wilkes and Liz Rice and Liz’s father, Dr. Dan Rice.
“In the midst of a global pandemic, Americans are risking their health, braving long lines, and combating voter suppression to exercise their right to vote,” said creative producer Kyla Searle. “ROTV honors that effort; it uplifts voting as an epic act. It says: this moment is urgent, your vote is critical and we are riding with you.”
Ride Out to Vote follows a relay of diverse equestrians of color including a para dressage rider, a polo player, and western riders carrying ballots through ranches, grasslands, and mountains, across San Francisco to the Pacific Ocean, and landing in Oakland where a saddlebag full of ballots is dropped off at the courthouse.
Brianna Noble notes that, “Using the inspiration of the Pony Express really allows us to convey a sense of urgency to our audience to get out and vote. We wanted to show the diversity of our community in a fun uplifting manner.” ROTV includes community members on foot engaging with the riders and dropping ballots into their saddlebags. By illustrating democracy as a collective process, ROTV celebrates the great lengths that people take in order to vote in the United States.
Collaborating artists include Brianna Noble, director Yoram Savion, and creative producer Kyla Searle. ROTV features a diverse group of equestrians including polo player Dale Johnson, para-equestrian Andie Sue Roth, Humble volunteer Elizabeth Rice, and cowboy Brandyn Hartfield. Featured community members include retired cowboy Albert “Randy” Harris who starred in Larry Clarke’s Cutting Horse, dancer Johnny Lopez of Turf Inc., Samar Hmeidan of equestrian sportswear company Ariat International, and Richard Humphrey, acclaimed roller dancer and classic car owner.
On Thursday October 29th, at 3pm Brianna Noble and selected equestrians will participate in the ROTV call-to-action in real time, leading a local group of community members around Oakland’s Lake Merritt to the Alameda County Courthouse to drop off mail-in-ballots. Community members are encouraged to “ride” along on bikes, skateboards, roller skates, or scooters. The ride is co-organized by Molly Gore of “Fuck Talking, Go Vote.” Details and information for the ride can be found on both the heelsdownfistsup.com website and fucktalkinggovote.com. By leading voters in posting visual content of their own journeys to the polls using the hashtag #RideOutToVote, ROTV is creating an online community of voters engaging with the prompt “How are you showing up this election?”
ONN – I, Zennie Abraham Voted (Again!) 2020 Election Oakland, Alameda County, CA Absentee Ballot Finished – vlog by Zennie62 YouTube
I, Zennie Abraham Voted (Again!) 2020 Election Oakland, Alameda County, CA Absentee Ballot Finished
Note from Zennie62Media’s Zennie62 YouTube and Oakland News Now Today Blog SF Bay Area: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a vlogger with the Zennie62 on YouTube Partner Channel, then uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours. Now, news is reported with a smartphone: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.
Oakland – On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, the Oakland City Council unanimously passed its first Encampment Management Policy clarifying how it will ensure health and safety for those living in and around homeless encampments. As Chair of the Council’s Life Enrichment Committee, Councilmember Loren Taylor, guided the 8-month process for developing the policy which included broad engagement of diverse community stakeholders, including housed and unhoused residents, business and nonprofit leaders, public health professionals and city employees who have worked closely with the unhoused community. “I am grateful to the more than 1200 Oakland community members who contributed their ideas and perspectives throughout this process, ensuring that we live up to our values of compassion and equity while ensuring standards of health and safety that protect all Oaklanders,” Councilmember Taylor said.
The goal of the policy, presented by the City’s Homelessness Administrator Daryel Dunston, is to reduce the negative health and safety impacts associated with homeless encampments – for both unhoused and housed residents. Even though an administrative policy has existed since 2017, it was not formally reviewed nor adopted by the Council, leading many housed and unhoused Oakland residents to complain about the lack of transparency, inconsistent application of the policy, and mixed messages coming from different departments of the City.
As acknowledged by the over 150 public speakers during last night’s council meeting, the status quo has not worked, on the contrary it has allowed an increase in public health and safety issues including excessive fire hazards, confirmed cases of infectious diseases, excessive vermin vector hazards, excessive amounts of waste/garbage/debris, and pervasive criminal activities in and around encampments. “Residents of Oakland have been asking us to lead on this seemingly intractable issue and we finally have. I am grateful to all of my Council colleagues for their contributions to this policy and unanimous support to move forward in response to overwhelming community demand for action,” said Taylor.
Key aspects of the new policy include:
1. Identification of high and low sensitivity areas based on the likelihood of health and safety impacts, and it defines how the City will address unsafe conditions or activities while respecting the rights and needs of our unsheltered neighbors
2. Clarification of public health and safety standards that will be upheld for the well-being of encampment residents and their neighbors alike
3. Clarification of how we will work as hard as we can to provide health and hygiene supports, services, outreach and offers of shelter
The Encampment Management Policy was unanimously passed by the Council and the policy will be reviewed in four months.
Councilmember Loren Taylor represents Oakland Council District 6 and serves as the Chair of the Oakland City Council’s Life Enrichment Committee, as well as a Commissioner on the Youth Ventures Joint Powers Authority and the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority, and the Association of Bay Area Governments Executive Committee.
Oakland – With the November 3 election now just 15 days away, people across Oakland are already casting their votes for everything from ballot measures to political offices all the way up to the President and Vice President of the United States. To help Oaklanders exercise their constitutional right to vote, OUSD is providing ten District-run schools and one charter school as polling locations. The schools are as follows.
OUSD is providing ten District-run schools
In the weeks leading up to the election, some of the schools have seen voters visit in an effort to drop off their mail-in ballots at what will likely be their November 3 polling locations. However, the schools are NOT serving as ballot drop-off locations. If you are voting early and want to drop off your ballot rather than put it in the mail, you can visit the Alameda County Registrar of Voters at 1225 Fallon Street or you can find a map of ballot drop-box locations here.
It’s also important to know that today, Monday, October 19 is the final day to register to vote in the November election. If you are doing it by mail – it must be postmarked by today – or if you are registering online, please do so here. If you don’t register today, you can still register in person at the county registrar’s office, but that is known as a Conditional Voter Registration.
“This is an incredibly important election for a whole host of reasons, and we are proud to support the democratic process by offering our schools as polling locations,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “If you haven’t already, don’t forget to register to vote, and then make sure you cast your ballots. It’s critical that all of our voices are heard as we shape the future that we want for ourselves and our children.”
About the Oakland Unified School District
In California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 81 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career and community success.
To learn more about OUSD’s Full Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews.
Post based on press release from OUSD to Zennie62Media
ONN – Scott McKibben Has Been An Asset To The Oakland Coliseum JPA As Executive Director
In my opinion Scott McKibben was wrongly set-up by the Board of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority. Scott was asked to do the work of finding a naming rights agreement partner – in other words, doing work a marketing consultant normally does – then basically accused of asking for the normal additional fee such work commands.
The Coliseum JPA Board and the City of Oakland Lawyers never told him not to ask for that, or what conflict of interest looks like in that case, even as they put him in that position. None of that should mark the excellent work Scott has done in turning an organization that has been a plaything for elected officials into a serious municipal corporation tasked with running an iconic sports venue.
Scott McKibben got the Coliseum JPA into the financial black after over a decade of losing money. Why? Because previous directors did not know how to ask for what the facility was worth in rent. Scott did.
Scott was asked to jump through all kinds of hoops by the Coliseum JPA Board. He did, and then they punished him for doing so. It sends a message that no good sports professional should consider working in Oakland.
Stay tuned.
Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a YouTube channel. When the video is “liked” by Zennie62 YouTube, then it is automatically uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective here, on top of our is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours – is the use of the existing YouTube social graph on any subject in the World. Now, news is reported with a smartphone and also by promoting current content on YouTube: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary, or having a camera crew to shoot what is already on YouTube. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.
ONN – On Scott Mckibben’s Oakland Coliseum JPA, Alameda County DA Conflict Of Interest Affair
On Scott Mckibben’s Oakland Coliseum JPA, Alameda County DA Conflict Of Interest Affair
Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a vlogger with the Zennie62 on YouTube Partner Channel, then uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours. Now, news is reported with a smartphone: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.
On Wednesday, Scott McKibben, now the former Executive Director of The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority and currently President Of The Oakland Panthers of The Indoor Football League, accepted a misdemeanor plea-bargain deal in the case where he was accused of violating a government law prohibiting self-dealing. The problem is, the case and the mainstream media reporting, masks a great deal of facts that, in total, show an organizational system beyond the control of McKibben, and where he was asked to be an actor in it, then burned by it.
Scott McKibben was accused of violating California Government Code Section 1090, which prohibits public officials and public employees from “making” public contracts in which they have a financial interest. The fact is, Scott was asked by the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Board to secure a naming-rights marketing agreement with Ring Central. Scott was, contrary to the law, listed contractually as an independent consultant – just like the other marketing consulting firms the Coliseum JPA has hired over its existence, since its creation in 1996.
That Scott asked for, but did not receive, a $50,000 fee from a $4 million deal with Ring Central, should not have raised any eyebrows considering that the Coliseum JPA Board asked him to do the deal, he’s an independent contractor, and the City of Oakland and the County of Alameda at no point at all gave Scott any instructions regarding the law. Indeed, the persons who should have done that are Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker and Alameda County Counsel Donna Ziegler.
Moreover, the other persons who should have done that comprise the same Board of Directors of The Oakland Coliseum JPA, and many of whom are friends of mine, and should not have let Scott take a fall like that, and they know it. Folks like Alameda County Supervisors Scott Haggerty and Nate Miley, Oakland City Councilmembers Larry Reid and Loren Tayor, and JPA Commissioners Yui Hay Lee (famed Oakland architect), Ignacio De La Fuente (himself a former Oakland Councilmember), and Chris Dobbins (everyone’s favorite local lawyer), and Christine Smith, both who are no longer on the JPA Board.
And I add myself to that list, because, in 2019 for the NBA Finals Game 4, Scott gave me a ticket – way up in the damn rafters, but it was a ticket. When he invited me to visit the Coliseum JPA Box, my friend Chris was there, as was Barbara Parker, among others.
“California Government Code Section 1090 (“Section 1090”) – which prohibits public officials and public employees from “making” public contracts in which they have a financial interest – is notoriously vague, broad, and malleable. Section 1090 provides that California’s elected and appointed public officials and public employees may not be “financially interested” in “any contract made by them in their official capacity. California courts have interpreted these terms broadly, making it dangerously easy to violate the statute without even knowing it. Most troublingly, Section 1090 does not require bad intent for a conviction or a fine. A public official, public agency, or employee may violate the statute if they act knowingly – that is, knowing about their financial interest and knowing what they are doing in connection with the contract – even if they don’t realize that their conduct is prohibited. In fact, because of that low general intent requirement, California courts have rejected the defense of “advice of counsel” or that they obtained prior approval from an attorney. In other words, a California official or employee might violate Section 1090 even if the public entity they work for, and its attorneys, told them that their conduct was lawful and not a violation of Section1090.
And in Scott McKibben’s case, no one told him about Section 1090 to start with. For Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley to seek to charge McKibben for a felony makes me wonder if her office was aware of how poorly the law was written and just decided to go ahead and go after Scott, anyway? And why? Well, to answer that question, read on.
The Warriors Playoffs And Coliseum Sports Ticket Distribution Scandal That Should Not Be, But Is
And in addition, the JPA Board was served by the Oakland Chief Administrator’s Office, and I attended a meeting where then Oakland Chief Administrator Sabrina Landreath served as the secretary for the meeting. But did you know Sabrina Landreath scored a Warriors playoff ticket valued at $5,000 in 2016? And did you know Yui Hay Lee was signed up for and received $35,000 in Warriors playoff tickets? And before you say Scott McKibben signed off on them, I instruct you to look online at the many Form 802 filings going back to 2016, because Councilmember Reid, and Yui Hay Lee signed off on some of them, too. http://oraclearena.s3.amazonaws.com/doc/OACCA-Form-802-May-2016-5576c104a9.pdf
Yui Hay Lee Warriors 2016
And did you know Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker scored $840 worth of Oakland A’s tickets in 2016, as did my friend Coliseum JPA Commissioner Chris Dobbins? (And this is something Barbara Parker herself admits too, so there, but its wrong for some news media to blast Oakland Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney for the same perk that Barb Parker herself obviously enjoyed. Moreover, its wrong for Reid and Parker to make Scott McKibben look bad, when they could have defended him, and put him in the bad position to start with.)
Barbara Parker got $9,250 worth of Golden State Warriors regular season tickets for free, March 2016.
Barbara Parker Gsw Tickets
And I happened to randomly find that information about Yui Hay Lee in opening the link to the Form 802 page. I wasn’t going on a witch hunt against Yui Hay Lee (even though he did use part of my Oakland City Hall Plaza Design Concept I made at Skyline High School in 1979 for the actual plaza). I’m only demonstrating that the truth is the entire Coliseum JPA culture, and that of the City of Oakland and The County of Alameda, is to blame for what the Alameda County Coliseum District Attorney accused Scott of doing with respect to Ring Central. You can see all of the ticket request reports here: https://www.theoaklandarena.com/about-us/coliseum-authority/public-information
Now, I have long argued that the law should allow for public officials who run a giant sports complex should, to enjoy some small benefit of doing so, like occasionally scoring tickets to events – just don’t sell them. Look, how the heck is any official to see how their facility is managing a large sports event it that person can’t even attend the event? Logical, right?
Anyway, here’s a newsflash: doing that – getting sought-after-tickets – failed to become an big issue for years – or until The Golden State Warriors got real good at NBA Basketball. Prior to that, the Oakland Coliseum had not enjoyed a team that won so much, tickets to their playoff games were valued over gold.
Then, when Golden State became the daring of the NBA, those who did not score Warriors playoffs tickets and were somebodies, were railing over those who did – particularly public officials. Moreover, the public officials were getting seats so good that Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi wound up on national television during the 2016 NBA Finals.
And she too had an appetite for $8,650 worth of regular season Warriors tickets, all in March of 2016…
Susan Muranishi Gsw Tickets
Then, while the Oakland Public Ethics Commission was formed in 1996, it did not became the new cultural tool for use against elected officials that the folks in control of it did not want to protect, until the last seven years. So, rather than defend themselves and explain the rationale for having tickets, the officials who were enjoying that ability to get tickets went into hiding.
And then had no problem trying to remove the one person they went to for tickets: Scott McKibben. Think about that. Rather than help their “ticket friend”, if you will, they stabbed him in the back, in my humble opinion.
The trouble with the mainstream media is its institutionally racist and when its not that, it’s myopic. One news organization was all too willing to try and take down Scott because some of its editors remember him from when he ran ANG Newspapers and they worked for him in the early 2000s. So, for them, making Scott look bad was a just reward for low pay they received as journalists, back then. Fact is, they did not tell you that, and it masks the truth I’m telling you. (And why I am a blogger and not a journalist.)
The real truth is that public governance in Oakland and in California has degenerated into a culture where someone is always looking to use poorly written California laws to take down someone else, for whatever reason. It chases away good people like Mr. McKibben, my friend who ran The Rose Bowl, and was the one reason the Oakland Coliseum managed to land rent agreements with the then-Oakland, now Las Vegas Raiders that put the organization in the black after years of red ink. And it covers up the truth: that when something like Warriors playoffs tickets are to be had, the culture will figure out a way for someone to land them, and then blast someone like Scott.
You know the saying that rules are made to be broken? Well, in California, the rules are made to be used against those people who were set up by others to break them. The Coliseum JPA Board of Directors set Scott McKibben up to fail, and is the worst for it.
Scott McKibben Was The Best Sports Business Negotiator In Oakland’s History
In Scott McKibben, the Coliseum JPA lost the best sports negotiator it ever had. And, starting in 1996 when I represented Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris as his Economic Advisor, I have worked with and advised to some extent all of them since 1996: Ezra Rapport, Denna McClain, Mark Kaufmann, Ann Haley, Doug Thornton, Denna McClain again, before Scott McKibben came in (and even though the original first choice was a former elected official who had zero experience in the business of sports).
Moreover, I defend Scott because he bailed out the City of Oakland’s 2005 Super Bowl Bid in May 10th of 2000. I was the head of the Super Bowl XXXIV Bidding Committee and Executive Director of the Oakland-Alameda County Sports Commission, which I formed in 1999.Paul Tagliabue, then The NFL Commissioner, had invited us to give a presentation at NFL Headquarters in New York. After showing up 20 minutes late, then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown left our meeting with then NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue early, and unexpectedly.
Commissioner Tagliabue, who budgeted two hours of his valuable time for us, was fuming.
Thus, we were left with just Scott McKibben and two other board members from the Oakland-Alameda County Sports Commission to be there, in addition to me, as head of the meeting. At the other side of the room and for the NFL were Tagliabue, Executive Vice President Of Football Operations Roger Goodell, then-NFL Head of Special Events and Mr. Super Bowl Jim Steeg, and then-head of NFL Legal Derrick Haggens, Jennifer Gonsalez, and Sue Robichek. Scott spoke up for the Oakland / East Bay business community and saved our meeting with Paul. A good thing, because Tagliabue was so upset over Jerry Brown’s actions, he threatened to stop the meeting. An action that would have killed our chances to land the Super Bowl Game.
Just 10 days after that meeting, The NFL selected Oakland as one of three finalist cities (the other two Jacksonville and Miami) for the right to host the 2005 Super Bowl. As then-Oakland District One Councilmember Jane Brunner told me later that year “none of us gave you a chance.” Ultimately, we lost to Jacksonville.
On the way to that NFL meeting, I had to create the damn Oakland sports commission from scratch, and because then Oakland City Attorney Jane Williams had stood in Oakland City Administrator Robert Bobb’s way (as did McClain) with roadblocks explaining why Oakland could not even do a bid! On top of that, the Coliseum was managed by SMG and Sally Roach, who, with Deena McClain, famously told Mr. Bobb that a former employee of the Coliseum I was working because he was the architect, had stolen the facility’s drawings. Everyone believed them but me. As I told Bobb then, how can we operate the Coliseum without the drawings? The whole claim just smelled bad to me.
So, I went on my own investigation and found the drawings (which we needed for our NFL Super Bowl Bid) via an engineer with HNTB in Marin County, Ca.. That same person then said “Sally Roach says you can’t have the drawings”! I hit the ceiling, called Robert Bobb, and Sally was removed from running the effort, and Bobb told her to work with me. I wanted her fired.
Point is, Oakland had many stories of people trying to stop other people from making government work for the people, and doing great things (take Phil Tagami, Insight Terminal Solutions, and the whole Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal coal issue, for example). Scott McKibben is the latest casualty in this.
Stay tuned.
Post script: The giant list of $139,013.50 worth of sports ticket issued by the Coliseum JPA and that (I was told by a source who does not wish to be named) claimed were approved by the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, but the docs show the Coliseum JPA did as well:
2016-137 events=$139,013.50 + ???
January-0 events
February-3 events=$2,500.00
02/06/2016-Warriors v OKC=$1,100.00
02/09/2016-Warriors v Rockets=$1,100.00
02/14/2016-Charlie Wilson Concert=$75.00 x 4
March-16 events=$13,074.00
03/01/2016-Warriors v Hawks= $700.00
03/03/2016-Warriors v OKC =$1,100.00
03/04/2016-Prince: Piano and a Microphone=$600.00 x 4= $2400.00
03/05/2016-Festival of Laughs Comedy Show=$93.00 x 4= $372.00
03/07/2016-Warriors v Orlando=$600.00
03/09/2016-Warriors v Jazz=$700.00
03/11/2016-Warrior v Portland=$600.00
03/12/2016-Warriors v Phoenix=$600.00
03/13/2016-Bruce Springsteen= $158.00 x 4= $632.00
03/14/2016-Warriors v New Orleans=$800.00
03/16/2016-Warrior v Knicks=$1,100.00
03/23/2016-Warriors v Clippers=$1,300.00
03/25/2016-Warriors v Mavericks=$700.00
03/26/2016-Andre Ward v. Sullivan Barrera=$105.00 x 4= $420.00
03/27/2016-Warriors v 76ers=$350.00
03/29/2016-Warrior v Wizards=$700.00
April-23 events=$20,608.50
04/01/2016-Warriors v Celtics= $700.00
04/02/2016-Oakland A’s= $112.50
04/03/2016-Warriors v Portland=$500.00
04/04/2016-Oakland A’s= $100.00
04/05/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/05/2016-Warriors v T’wolves=$600.00
04/06/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/07/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/07/2016-Warriors v Spurs=$1,200.00
04/10/2016-Carrie Underwood Concert= $134.00 x 4=$536.00
04/11/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/12/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/13/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/13/2016-Warriors v Memphis=$650.00
04/15/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/16/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/16/2016-Warriors v Rockets (Game 1)=$5,000.00
04/17/2016-Oakland A’s= $90.00
04/18/2016-Warriors v Rockets (Game 2) )=$5,000.00
04/23/2016-The Class Reunion Concert= $75.00 x 4= $300.00
04/27/2016-Warriors v Rockets (Game 3) )=$5,000.00
04/29/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/30/2016-Oakland A’s= $100.00
May-24 events=$37,568.00
05/01/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/02/2016-A’s v Seattle= $90.00
05/03/2016-Warriors Playoff)=$5,000.00
05/03/2016-A’s v Seattle= $80.00
05/04/2016-A’s v Seattle= $80.00
05/04/2016-Hill Song United= $32.50 x 4= $130.00
05/07/2016-Rihanna=$157.50 x 4 = $630.00
05/11/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/16/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/16/2016-A’s v Texas= $80.00
05/17/2016-A’s v Texas= $80.00
05/18/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/18/2016-A’s v Texas= $80.00
05/19/2016-A’s v NYY= $90.00
05/19/2016-The Who= $149.50 x 4= $598.00
05/20/2016-A’s v NYY= $100.00
05/21/2016-A’s v NYY= $100.00
05/22/2016-A’s v NYY= $100.00
05/26/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/28/2016-A’s v Detroit= $80.00
05/29/2016-A’s v Detroit= $90.00
05/30/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/30/2016-A’s v Detroit= $80.00
05/31/2016-A’s v Detroit= $80.00
June-17 events = $41,130.00
06/02/2016-Warriors v Cavaliers=$10,000.00
06/05/2016-Warriors v Cavaliers=$10,000.00
06/08/2016-Warriors Watch Party=$20.00
06/10/2016-Warriors Watch Party=$20.00
06/12/2016-KMEL Summer Jam=$62.50 x 4= $250.00
06/13/2016-A’s v Texas= $80.00
06/13/2016-Warriors v Cavaliers=$10,000.00
06/14/2016- A’s v Texas= $80.00
06/15/2016- A’s v Texas= $80.00
06/16/2016-Warriors Watch Party=$20.00
06/17/2016- A’s v Angels= $90.00
06/19/2016-Warriors v Cavaliers=$10,000.00
06/19/2016- A’s v Angels= $90.00
06/21/2016- A’s v Brewers= $80.00
06/22/2016- A’s v Brewers= $80.00
06/29/2016- A’s v Giants= $120.00
06/30/2016- A’s v Giants= $120.00
July-11 events = $1,080.00
07/01/2016-A’s v Pittsburg= $90.00
07/02/2016-A’s v Pittsburg= $90.00
07/03/2016-A’s v Pittsburg= $80.00
07/09/2016-Louis C.K.= $60.00 x 4+ $240.00
07/15/2016-A’s v Toronto= $80.00
07/17/2016-A’s v Toronto= $90.00
07/18/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
07/19/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
07/20/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
07/21/2016-A’s v Tampa Bay= $80.00
07/23/2016-A’s v Tampa Bay= $90.00
August-11 events = $2,962.00 + ?
08/02/2016-Adele= $274.00 x 4 = $1,096.00
08/03/2016-Dream Team= $156.50 x 4 = $626.00
08/05/2016-A’s v Cubs= $90.00
08/06/2016-Andre Ward v. Alexander Brand= $165.00 x 4 = $660.00
08/07/2016-A’s v Cubs= $90.00
08/08/2016-A’s v Orioles= $80.00
08/11/2016-A’s v Orioles= $80.00
08/14/2016-A’s v Mariners= $80.00
08/22/2016-A’s v Cleveland= $80.00
08/23/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
08/27/2016-Raiders v Titans = ?
September-18 events= $2,821.00 + ??
09/01/2016-Raiders v Seahawks=?
09/02/2016-A’s v Boston= $90.00
09/03/2016-A’s v Boston= $90.00
09/04/2016-A��s v Boston= $90.00
09/05/2016-A’s v Angels= $90.00
09/06/2016-A’s v Angels= $80.00
09/07/2016-A’s v Angels= $80.00
09/09/2016-A’s v Seattle= $80.00
09/11/2016-A’s v Seattle= $80.00
09/15/2016-Black Sabbath= $205.00 x 4 = $820.00
09/18/2016-Raiders v Falcons= ?
09/19/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
09/20/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
09/21/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
09/24/2016-A’s v Texans= $90.00
09/24/2016-Sonu Nigam & Atif= $88.00 x 4 = $352.00
09/25/2016-A’s v Texans= $90.00
09/30/2016-Bad Boys Concert= $137.25 x 4 = $549.00
October-10 events= $6,623.00+ ??
10/01/2016-Sia=$149.50 x 4 = $598.00
10/04/2016-Warriors v Clippers= $675.00 x 4 = $268.00
10/07/2017-Dixie Chicks=$89.50 x 4 = $358.00
10/09/2016-Raiders v San Diego= ?
10/10/2016-WWE Raw=$99.75 x 4 = $399.00
10/14/2016-Golden State Music Fest=136.50 x 4 = $546.00
10/16/2016-Raiders v Kansas City=?
10/21/2016-Warriors v Trail Blazers= $675.00 x 4 + $2,700.00
10/25/2016-Warriors v Spurs= $1,350.00
10/26/2016-Disney on Ice= $50.50 x 8 = $404.00
November-0 events
December-4 events= $10,657.00
12/03/2016-Warriors v Suns= $1,000.00 x 4 = $4,000.00
12/18/2016-KMEL Hip Hop Holiday House of Soul= $125.00 x 4 = $500.00
12/24/2016-Raiders v Colts= $275.00 x 4 = $1,357.00
12/30/2016-Warrior v Mavericks= $1,200.00 x 4 = $4,800.00
Here’s the record of who approved what tickets; there are 62 results:
The top manager of Alameda County California down in the bowl at WCF Game 7
Stay tuned.
Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a YouTube channel. When the video is “liked” by Zennie62 YouTube, then it is automatically uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective here, on top of our is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours – is the use of the existing YouTube social graph on any subject in the World. Now, news is reported with a smartphone and also by promoting current content on YouTube: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary, or having a camera crew to shoot what is already on YouTube. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.
Oakland District Two Councilmember Nikki Bas’ Digitized Newsletter
Last week, I was so moved to see #MomsHouse on Magnolia Street finally become community-owned as permanently affordable, transitional housing for unsheltered mothers.
Congratulations to Dominique Walker, Tolani King, Misty Cross, Sameerah Karim and Carroll Fife for leading this movement to end corporate speculation and house more Oaklanders. I am proud to have stood with them over the last year to call attention to making housing a human right, together with Council President Rebecca Kaplan, Councilmember Dan Kalb and Assemblymember Rob Bonta.
Moms 4 Housing
Sustainable, Healthy Use of Lake Merritt – Lake Merritt Vending Pilot Program Update
Coming out of the second weekend of our Lake Merritt Vending Pilot Program, we were excited to be joined by Parks and Recreation Advisory Commissioner Dwayne Aikens, Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kev Choice, the Oakland Black Vendors Association and neighbors to:
• Promote health and safety during COVID-19,
• Support struggling small businesses and entrepreneurs in this difficult time, and
• Ensure sustainable, equitable and inclusive long-term use of the Lake.
This pilot program for merchandise vendors will take place through November 22nd on El Embarcadero and along Lakeshore to Beacon from 10am to 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
This weekend, Community Ready Corps (CRC) will be joining the pilot to promote public health during COVID. Volunteers will distribute COVID kits that have face masks, hand sanitizer and gloves to help promote compliance with the County Health Order.
My team is grateful for the collaboration of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission (PRAC), the Oakland Black Vendors Association, James “Old School” Copes, city departments, and the community to ensure access, safety and equity at the Lake for everyone in our city.
This is what an Oakland for all of us means to me — working with a coalition of diverse stakeholders to ensure the Lake, as our city’s pride, is an enjoyable public space that each of us can use.
Moms 4 Housing
TUESDAY 10/20: Oakland City Council Meeting Preview Homeless Encampment Management Policy and Community Safety
Tuesday, October 20th’s 1:30pm City Council meeting will include the following important agenda items:
Item 6: COVID-19 Emergency Response And The Creation Of Clean Air Buildings For Use Of The Community During The COVID-19 Shelter In Place Emergency.
Thanks to our awesome District 2 constituent and outgoing Cleveland Heights Neighborhood Council Co-Chair Rachel Broadwin for introducing us to Dr. Rupa Basu, Section Chief for the Air and Climate Epidemiology Section of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment at CalEPA. At our September Council meeting, I expressed concern that our air quality and temperature triggers were too high to fully protect the health and safety of our most vulnerable residents. At my urging, our Fire Department staff met with Dr. Basu to discuss recommendations for activating extreme weather Emergency Respite Centers (ERC) in Oakland. As an outcome of the conversation and further discussions with internal stakeholders and community feedback, the activation triggers for the City of Oakland have been lowered to an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 200 – Very Unhealthy (versus what was previously 250) and temperatures forecasted to reach/exceed 95 degrees for 2 consecutive days or 100 degrees in one day. We are grateful for Dr. Basu and Rachel’s important expertise as we navigate these challenging times!
Item 7: Gun Violence Top Law Enforcement Priority resolution from President Kaplan to prioritize the decrease in illegal guns and gun violence by increasing gun tracing, improving response time to shooting notifications, and prioritizing response to gun crime.
Item 8: Homeless Encampment Management resolution, which proposes to designate priority areas for encampment management and outlines actions including the criteria for assessing what locations will be prioritized for enforcement or other homelessness interventions from the city.
Item 14: Adopt either the resolution proposed by the Oakland Police Commission or Oakland Police Department banning the carotid restraint and all forms of asphyxia.
Item 16: I’m co-sponsoring with President Kaplan, a resolution Terminating the Oakland Police Department’s Participation In The Joint Terror Task Force to ensure compliance with our local and state laws and focus on threats based on evidence, not bias or racial profiling.
See details to join the meeting and provide public comment. You can also share e-comments here.
TUESDAY 10/27: Community & Economic Development Meeting – Impact Fees, Economic Recovery Recommendations
On Tuesday October 27th at 1:30pm, the Community and Economic Development Committee will discuss two important items:
Item 2: Informational report on Impact Fees for Affordable Housing, Jobs/Housing, and Transportation and Capital Improvements, and
Item 3: Informational report on the Economic Recovery Council’s Draft Recommendations.
Oakland Workers, Know Your Rights! COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave
Oakland Workers Rights
Thank you to East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) for creating Know Your Rights materials on the emergency protections for Oakland workers passed by Council earlier this summer, which I was proud to co-sponsor.
The City’s Emergency Paid Sick Leave policy requires certain employers to provide leave to workers who test positive for COVID-19, present symptoms, are caring for family members who were exposed or present symptoms, or are at high risk from an infection. Check out and share the flyers in English and Spanish so that Oakland workers are aware of their rights!
City of Oakland; District 2 News and Resources
County Reopening Updates, Small Biz Legal Support, Grants for Home-Based Business
New County Health Orders Allow Additional Business Operations: Effective October 9, Alameda County now allows: hotels & lodging for tourism with their fitness centers and indoor pools restricted; museums, zoos & aquariums indoors at < 25% capacity; personal care services indoors with modification (services requiring removal of face covering still prohibited); gyms and fitness centers indoors at < 10% capacity with restrictions on aerobic exercise and classes. While the update allows partial reopening of libraries, Oakland Public LIbrary will remain closed for indoor services until plans are in place for safely reopening the buildings.
Beginning Friday, October 16, Alameda County will permit additional outdoor activities, including playgrounds, that follow the State’s guidance. Additionally, Alameda County is preparing to update the local Health Officer Orders to permit additional activities during the week of October 26. These activities will include: indoor dining up to 25% capacity or less than 100 people, whichever is less; indoor worship services up to 25% capacity or less than 100 people, whichever is less; indoor theaters up to 25% capacity or less than 100 people, whichever is less; expansion of indoor retail and malls at up to 50% of capacity and permitting limited food courts.
County Guidance on Safe Halloween Practices: Bay Area health officials recently released guidance on how to celebrate Halloween and Dia de los Muertos safely. Gatherings, celebrations, events or parties with non-household members are not permitted unless conducted in compliance with local and state health orders. Please avoid participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door and do not have trunk-or-treat where treats are handed from car trunks lined up in large parking lots.
Many traditional Halloween celebrations, such as parties and door-to-door trick-or-treating, pose a high risk of spreading COVID-19 and are strongly discouraged by CDPH
Not only do traditional celebrations pose a spread risk, they would also result in great difficulty in conducting appropriate contact tracing
Local Health Departments may have additional, more stringent restrictions
CDPH recommends that families begin planning for safer alternatives.
Legal Help for Oakland Small Businesses with Lease Negotiations: Oakland has allocated $150,000 of California CARES funding to the nonprofit Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the SF Bay Area to provide legal advice and assistance on lease negotiations to small businesses that have suffered revenue losses due to COVID-19. Business owners can access these free, multilingual legal services here, such as commercial leasing webinars through mid-December, 1:1 one-hour consultations and longer-term assistance which may include lease negotiation, pre-litigation and settlement negotiations or representation in a court proceeding.
$2-4K Grants for Home-Based Businesses: Income from a home-based business is often a big source of household income for our city’s entrepreneurs. The Oakland CARES Act Home-Based Business Grant program will distribute $500,000 to home-based, for-profit businesses. Apply here by 11:59pm on Monday, November 2 in 4 languages. Priority will be given to businesses representing a broad geographic diversity in Oakland, especially those located in low-income areas or otherwise historically vulnerable communities; those who have received $4,000 or less in funding from the Paycheck Protection Program; and those with annual gross business revenue under $150,000.
Several Grants Extended:
The Oakland CARES Act Small Business Grant Program will accept applications until 5 p.m. on Friday, October 23. This program will provide $10,000 grants to qualifying Oakland small businesses that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 and have gross revenues under $2 million. Online applications and eligibility requirements in four languages are available at: mainstreetlaunch.org/oakland-cares-act-grant/
The application deadline for the Oakland CARES Nonprofit Grant Fund has been extended to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28. This program will award grants of up to $25,000 to qualifying community-serving nonprofits with annual budgets of less than $1 million that address the impact of COVID-19 and the needs of low-income residents and businesses in the following areas: Health & Human Services; Economic & Workforce Development; Legal Support; Food Security; Homeless and Renter Support Services; and Education. Online applications and eligibility requirements are available at: communityvisionca.org/oaklandcares/
The application deadline for the Oakland CARES Fund for Artists and Arts Nonprofits impacted by COVID-19 has been extended to 1pm Friday, October 23. The program will distribute awards of up to $20,000 to arts nonprofits with annual budgets of less than $2.5M, while supporting individual artists with grants of up to $3,000 each. Learn more here.
Oakland Parks & Recreation Foundation’s 1st Citywide Parks Workshop: Whether you’re an experienced community leader or a new volunteer, join this free workshop taking place on Saturday, November 14, from 9:00am to 1:00pm to collaborate and learn about strategies and tools to improve Oakland parks. Learn more and register here.
East Bay Community Energy’s Resilient Home Program: Oakland has partnered with nonprofit public electricity provider East Bay Community Energy to launch a solar + battery backup program for homeowners. EBCE has partnered with Sunrun to provide no-cost / obligation-free consultations and will provide a proposal for your consideration. If you decide to move forward, there is a $1,250 incentive to homeowners that enroll their battery in the program and share power with EBCE during peak times when there isn’t a power outage. Since launch in August, nearly 700 homeowners countywide have registered for consultations. Sign up for your consultation and learn more at upcoming webinars.
Voting Reminders
Vote Early!
Given the pandemic and the threats to our democracy, please vote early. All registered voters will be sent an absentee ballot automatically to limit COVID exposure. You must register to vote to receive an absentee ballot!
You can vote in person or drop off your ballot at the Alameda County Registrar of Voters: 1225 Fallon Street, Room G1, Oakland, or put it into one of the official, free 24-hour drop boxes anytime by November 3rd 8pm. If you use a USPS mailbox, postage is free, and it’s critical to vote early!
You can also sign up to track your ballot.
October 19th is the last day for regular online voter registration.
October 20th – November 3rd, you can do same day voter registration.
On November 3rd, you can vote in person or drop your ballot off at your polling place by 8pm.
With many measures on the ballot, my go-to guides are Oakland Rising’s Voter Guide and the CA AAPI Voting Guide in seven AAPI languages.
With Oakland Love,
Nikki Fortunato Bas
Councilmember, City of Oakland, District 2
Eight Months After Discovery of TCE Under the McClymonds High Campus, the School has been Deemed Safe for Students and Staff to Occupy
Oakland Unified School District OUSD
Oakland – Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) leadership will hold a news conference on Friday, October 16, 2020, to discuss the final determination about the safety of McClymonds High School, which had to shut down during the spring semester because of a toxic chemical that was found in the groundwater under the school. One month before the world radically changed because of the Covid pandemic, OUSD decided to close the McClymonds campus to students and staff because of the discovery of trichloroethylene, or TCE, under the school. Now, eight months later, the school has been deemed safe to return to for all students and staff.
In the weeks that followed the February closure, McClymonds students were divided up and moved to several different campuses. In the meantime, District staff, along with a group of experts from Alameda County and the State of California worked to take samples all across the campus, especially inside the school buildings. On Friday, the District is publicly sharing that the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) says the testing shows the campus is safe for the school community to return to once everyone is able to go back to in-person teaching and learning at all schools.
District staff will also discuss the environmental injustices that have been perpetrated on the people of Oakland and all urban areas for far too long, and how the TCE situation at McClymonds is emblematic of those injustices.
Stay tuned for the news conference livestream here.
About the Oakland Unified School District
In California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 81 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career and community success.
To learn more about OUSD’s Full Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews.
