Feeding The Homeless In Oakland
From YouTube Channel: October 25, 2020 at 02:26PM
ONN – Thank you guys so much for all your love and support, we’re very close to hitting 400 subscribers!!!
I’m so excited for that, please make sure to share this video on your social media platforms to spread awareness about the homeless and their shortage of food, if you have the opportunity to help out your community I strongly recommend it, it’s very nice?❤️
Stay safe, take care, love you guys so much
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 – City of Oakland to enact new EMP Policy by Derrick Soo
City of Oakland City Council APPROVED a new Encampment Management Policy that will change current policy. Oakland Administrators did this before, FORCING people to live in close proximity to dangerous Street Gang Members, Rapist, Criminals and violent people without proper safety at those sites. Currently Administrators are going to COMPRESS 142 Homeless Encampments into a “Proposed” 40 Sanctuary Sites.
Oakland also has placed size Limitations on Shelter “Footprint” of 12’x 12’. Not possible in most instances, too small. City demanding that ALL of ones possessions fit into that shelter.
EMP now BANS, Propane tanks, appliances, grills, heaters, lights from ALL sites at all times. With Winter coming, Administrators tell us to wear extra clothing to keep warm. Very Unreasonable!!! Solar is discouraged and out of most peoples ability to buy. People begin dying on the streets during the winter, this camp has lost 3 to FREEZING to DEATH.
I’ve been working tirelessly to turn this CRISIS around! My PATH Program (Permanent Access To Housing) addresses our CRISIS with proven solutions to the Affordable Housing Crisis everywhere. But, Mayor Schaaf and City Council Members are negligent in at least looking into these viable solutions that are working in other parts of our country. These Programs deal with all issues of Housing Affordability across every income level, including ZERO income.
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.
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.
That Berkeley City Councilmember Ben Bartlett should face challengers in the 2020 Election is wild to me. When one considers the many accomplishments Bartlett has done for Berkeley, and what work he’s started and that’s left to be done, and then look at his opponents and what they offer, that Bartlett’s re-election should be a point of debate is, well, unusual, for several reasons.
First, consider that each and every member of the Berkeley City Council has endorsed Ben for re-election. That means this:
Jesse Arreguín, Berkeley Mayor
Sophie Hahn, Berkeley Vice Mayor & City Councilmember
Rashi Kesarwani, Berkeley City Councilmember
Cheryl Davila, Berkeley City Councilmember
Kate Harrison, Berkeley City Councilmember
Susan Wengraf, Berkeley City Councilmember
Rigel Robinson, Berkeley City Councilmember
Lori Droste, Berkeley City Councilmember
Tom Bates, Former Berkeley Mayor
Max Anderson, Former Berkeley Councilmember, District 3
.. all of those Berkeley representatives not only want Ben Bartlett to retain his seat, but that they pay attention to him regarding policy formation. Not one of Councilmember Bartlett’s opponents can make that claim. It also means that, again, unlike his opponents, Berkeley residents don’t have to concern themselves with Bartlett’s ability to gain votes for his initiatives representing them.
Second, having all of the Berkeley City Council backing him also means Councilmember Bartlett understands something else his challengers don’t: governance. Governance, simply put, means how the business of government works.
Ben Bartlett’s Constant Focus For South Berkeley Has Been Extremely Affordable Housing
In addition to governance, Councilmember Bartlett’s main focus from the start of his first term has been the development of extremely affordable housing. For example, Mr. Bartlett’s office wrote the grant that allowed Resources for Community Development to gain $40 Million Dollars in affordable housing for South Berkeley. He has also backed a number of initiatives to advance the development of more extremely affordable housing that deserve a book unto themselves.
By contrast, one of Councilmember Bartlett’s challengers is a realtor who’s in favor of pro-market-rate and expensive housing in the middle of the worst homeless crisis in modern history, and The COVID-19 Pandemic.
In addition, she is not even supporting the passage of State Proposition 16. That means she’s not in favor of the re-installation of much-needed affirmative action laws designed to cause social equity.
Councilmember Bartlett Backs Police Spending Reformation In The Wake Of George Floyd
In addition to housing advocacy, Councilmember Bartlett advanced and assisted in the passage of a number of items of legislation designed to focus police spending on alternative crime fighting practices. Thanks to his leadership, and relationships with fellow Berkeley City Councilmembers, Berkeley became a national leader in police reform.
I could go on and on, but I’ll cut to the chase: re-elect Berkeley Councilmember Ben Bartlett.
COUNCILMEMBER LOREN TAYLOR PRESENTS COMMUNITY DISCUSSION IN EAST OAKLAND WITH RESIDENTS AND MAYOR SCHAAF REGARDING COVID-19 CRISIS AND OTHER CONCERNS
Oakland Councilmember Loren Taylor District Six
Since the Mayor and Councilmember Loren Taylor are asking you to miss important football programs on a Sunday, make it worth your while and ask them about the many economic development programs available, and ask about what they’re doing to lobby for more financial aide.
Here’s the press release that was sent:
Who:
City of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, Councilmember Loren Taylor, District 6, and the Black Cultural Zone
What:
Oakland Councilmember Loren Taylor will host Mayor Libby Schaaf in a socially distanced community circle conversation with East Oakland residents at the new Akoma Outdoor Market located in Oakland’s Liberation Park (6955 Foothill Blvd). The discussion will be guided by the priorities of attendees, and is expected to cover topics ranging from (a) addressing the disparate impacts of COVID-19, (b) tackling illegal dumping and neighborhood blight, (c) solving the city’s homelessness crisis, and (d) increasing economic opportunities for East Oakland residents. Media are invited to experience the Akoma Market and observe the community circle.
The Akoma Outdoor Market – This new weekly market launched at the beginning of September to fill a major gap in access to healthy foods, local business opportunities, and positive COVID-19 compliant community gathering during the COVID-19 shelter in place. The market is operated by the Black Cultural Zone, with support from the City of Oakland and Councilmember Taylor. At this formerly vacant lot, the overgrown weeds and litter have been replaced by a array of booths featuring Black businesses and community resources ranging from fresh produce from local farmers to health and beauty products, to freshly prepared foods such as cakes, teas, cajun food, and empanadas.
In addition city and nonprofit resources are featured and distributed for free including children’s arts kits and books, housing security and eviction protection resources, information to help community members beautify our neighborhoods, and vouchers for low-income residents to purchase produce from vendors at the market.
To ensure COVID compliance and to minimize the risk of spreading the virus, all residents are temperature checked prior to entering the market and they must wear masks. Also, there is a handwashing station at every booth.
Where:
6955 Foothill Blvd (73rd and Foothill Blvd) Oakland, CA 94605
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
Earlier this week, I ended my 2020 State of the City address by recognizing that this November’s election is so consequential it could chart a new path for our state and our nation. I meant it.
I hope you’re as fired up as I am about this Presidential race, and how proud we can all be to vote for native Oaklander Kamala Harris for Vice President along with Joe Biden.
If you want to help turn out voters in critical states it is easier than ever to do right from home. Check out these easy phone banking options with SwingLeft or Indivisible. If you’re too shy to phone bank, www.voteforward.org is an easy way to send personalized, nonpartisan letters out to simply encourage folks to vote.
And there are some transformational California Measures on the 2020 ballot! I’m most excited to vote for Schools & Communities First – Prop 15! It will close corporate property tax loopholes to reclaim nearly $12 billion every year for schools and vital services for our local communities, while protecting residential properties and small businesses. (In fact, with Prop 19 seniors and disaster survivors will have more residential property tax protections than they have today). We also need Prop 16 to pass, so we can consider diversity and racial equity in public decisions and level the playing field. And to advance criminal justice reform, vote for Props 17 & 25 and against Prop 20.
I’m also super passionate about electing Derreck Johnson for At-Large City Council – as is Kamala Harris. A 3rd-generation, gay, African American Oaklander raised by a single mother in the Acorn housing projects, he graduated from an HBCU and started House of Chicken & Waffles in Jack London Square, where 70% of employees have been formerly incarcerated. He’s the former Chair of Oakland’s Workforce Development Board and in 2012 Congresswoman Barbara Lee presented him with the City of Oakland’s Citizen Humanitarian Award. His life experiences are particularly needed as Oakland meets this moment to advance racial justice and help our economy recover.
Since Oakland created the At-Large seat 40 years ago, it has never been held by an African American. Its current incumbent Rebecca Kaplan has made budget proposals deemed “reckless” and “designed to appease special interests.” She tried to kill Oakland’s Department of Transportation, which not only is fixing Oakland’s broken and dangerous streets, but is nationally recognized for its commitment to equity. And the East Bay Express criticized her for a “shady political campaign” and “poor decision-making” which “raises concerns about her ethics.”
Here’s my complete Voter’s Guide:
I’m supporting all of Oakland’s Congressional, State and Special District Board incumbents, with the exception of challenger Jean Walsh for AC Transit.
Here’s where I stand on State & Local Propositions & Measures:
Yes on Prop 14 to expand stem cell research.
Yes on Prop 15 to permanently increase public school and local services funding by closing a big corporate property tax loophole.
Yes on Prop 16 so our public institutions can consider diversity and racial equity in our work to lift-up ALL Californians.
Yes on Prop 17 to restore the right to vote for parolees.
Yes on Prop 18 to let 17 year-olds vote in primaries if they’ll be 18 before the general election.
Yes on Prop 19 to allow seniors, people with disabilities and disaster survivors to maintain their tax base on a replacement home.
NO on Prop 20 sentencing reform rollback because over-incarceration don’t work.
Yes on Prop 21 to expand rent control options for cities.
NO on Prop 22 to protect new hard-earned rights for gig workers.
Yes on Prop 23 to improve standard of care at Dialysis Centers.
You decide Prop 24 RE: Consumer Privacy. There are pros & cons.
Yes on Prop 25 to end the unjust money bail system.
Yes on Measure V to extend a utility tax on unincorporated Alameda County for their services.
Yes on Measure W to increase sales tax by a half-cent to fund county services, especially public health and homelessness.
Yes on Measure Y to upgrade & repair our classrooms.
Yes on Measure QQ to allow youth to vote for School Board members.
Yes on Measure RR to allow city fines to exceed $1000.
Yes on Measure S1 to strengthen Oakland’s Police Commission.
Oakland City Council Races
You know I love Oakland. Please trust my careful assessments in these Oakland City Council Races:
At-Large: Derreck Johnson – deeply-rooted Oaklander and small business & workforce leader made for this moment.
District 1: Dan Kalb – ethical, progressive hard-working legislator and environmental champion.
District 3: Lynette Gibson McElhaney – grieving mother & grandmother herself, a powerful advocate for violence prevention & community development.
District 5: Noel Gallo – with deep roots & decades of public service, a tireless worker for clean streets and public education.
District 7: Treva Reid – East Oakland couldn’t ask for a more competent, deeply experienced & compassionate new leader. Marchon Tatmon has my #2 for his Budget Advisory Commission & homeless services experience.
Oakland School Board
You know I’m passionate about public education and OUSD’s success. Please support these Oakland School Board candidates:
District 1: Austin Dannhaus – former teacher, focused on educational equity, quality schools for all students and results; Board and finance experience critical for during this time. Sam Davis has my #2 due to his past experience with families in Oakland and commitment to dialogue.
District 3: Maiya Edgerly and Mark Hurty (Dual Endorsement)-
*Maiya-founder of an non-profit that supports students to get into HBCUs, that is aligned with Oakland Promise’s vision to support students be first in their family to complete college.
*Mark-former Oakland teacher, passionate about educational equity; kind and open to dialogue, presently helping to lead an non-profit aligned with #OaklandUndivided’s vision to close the digital divide.
District 5 – Leroy Gaines and Jorge Lerma (Dual Endorsement)-
*Leroy- a former teacher and OUSD principal for >10 years – selected OUSD principal of the year, kind, demonstrated leadership, strong relationships with educators, students & families, history of results.
*Jorge- a former Oakland teacher, principal and leader for decades, founded Latino Education Network; a gentle soul, committed to equity, pre-K, K12 experience, and a champion of Oakland Promise.
District 7: Cliff Thompson -a teacher and principal for >40 years with deep roots, Oakland education experience; kind soul who cares deeply for equity & quality schools for all students, demonstrated leadership.
So much is at stake this election! As I said in my State of the City, we must vote — and volunteer — like our lives depend on it.
The Pandemic has broken the very fabric of our economy and in Oakland and San Francisco its impact is acutely felt in Chinatown. The need to close to follow shelter-in-place guidelines created to slow the spread of the coronavirus ignited a giant negative economic impact. That caused Jocelyn Tsaih to start a fund-raiser called “Save Our Chinatowns”.
Here’s what she wrote in explaining the need for the fundraising effort:
Since the very beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, SF and Oakland Chinatowns have seen a steep decline in business.Racially-motivated fears have caused a lot of people to keep their distance from both Chinatowns. Restaurants have had to lay off staff members, cut working hours short, shut their doors completely, and ask for lowered rent. The decline in foot traffic for the restaurants are also hurting other local businesses in the area, such as tea shops and markets, that usually rely on these customers for business.
The funds will be going to two specific nonprofits – Chinatown Improvement in Oakland and Chinatown CDC in San Francisco. In Oakland, we are using the funds to make large weekly orders at specific restaurants and having that food delivered to homeless shelters and essential workers in the area. In SF, we are funding Chinatown CDC’s food delivery program where meals from local restaurants will be delivered to seniors and residents in SROs and public housing. Please consider donating in order to save some of your favorite spots – ones that fed you while you were hungry and ones that brought you priceless joy when you took a bite of that sesame ball, egg tart, or pineapple bun.
Oh, and that racially-motivated fear Jocelyn Tsaih pointed to came from President Donald Trump, who worked to call the coronavirus The China Virus, not so much because of reports of where the virus originated, but as part of his ugly overall strategy of racial division to gain votes.
Since then, and on the way toward raising over $38,000, Save Our Chinatowns reported on news events:
May 8, 2020 by Jocelyn Tsaih, Organizer
Hope everyone’s been safe and healthy! Just wanted to update you all on how funds have been utilized recently. We’ve been supporting Chinatown CDC’s Feed & Fuel program where meals are being delivered to seniors and residents of SROs and public housing in SF Chinatown. We’ve also been working with Good Good Eatz to order food from Oakland Chinatown, and this week the food was delivered to the construction crew working on affordable housing at Brooklyn Basin.
Please follow them both on IG for updates and to see how your help has an impact: www.instagram.com/goodgoodeatz
www.instagram.com/chinatowncdc
Thank you all so much for your support. Take care!
June 29, 2020 by Jocelyn Tsaih, Organizer
We reached our $25k goal! We’re upping it a little to $30k as a last increase. After we reach $30k, we will be focusing on alternative methods of raising funds for our Chinatown communities.
For example, we’re starting a new project where artists create limited edition merchandise for local businesses, with all proceeds from the sales of the products directly supporting the businesses they’re designed for.
Our first product is a tote bag for The Fortune Cookie Factory in Oakland Chinatown, designed by SF-based artist Katie Benn. You can find the purchase link here: https://saveourchinatowns.bigcartel.com/.
The Fortune Cookie Factory has been operating since 1957 and is one of the last places in America to make fortune cookies by hand. Learn more here: https://www.oaklandfortunefactory.com/.
Thanks again as always, and please follow us at @saveourchinatowns on Instagram for updates!
September 17, 2020 by Jocelyn Tsaih, Organizer
Hi everyone,
We hope everyone’s been doing alright during these times. While we are getting close to our final goal, we wanted to share an update that all donations from here on out will be directed towards aiding two Oakland Chinatown restaurants that have been unfortunately destroyed by a dumpster fire this week. We are working with Good Good Eatz to raise funds for this effort.
Here is an article that shares more details about the incident: https://sf.eater.com/2020/9/17/21444041/rang-dong-huangcheng-noodle-house-oakland-chinatown-fire-closed
Please share this with others if possible, we’d really appreciate it!
Thank you all for your continuous support and generosity.
The fund-raiser is still going. You can donate here https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-our-chinatowns/donate
ONN – City of Oakland and Housing Consortium of the East Bay doing a C-Y-A by Derrick Soo
Back in April of this year, Mayor Libby Schaaf announced a NEW Housing Program dubbed “Operation HomeBase at 633 Hegenberger Rd. Touted as a “Respite” from living on East Oakland streets. Qualifications were simple; Age- 65+, Medically “At-Risk” to acquire COVID-19, and live on the streets of East Oakland.
Program in the beginning was successful until “Short-Cuts” within the infrastructure of the site. Rather than setting up proper power grids, City Officials installed a Basic “Lighting” grid with the expectation of EVERY trailer being supplied with Electricity. Fail #1, each Trailer requires 120 VAC with 30 amp surge allowance, multiplied by 67 trailers. Thus REQUIRING 2,100 amps of Current. Typical Electrical panel “Grids” are energized up to 200 amps. Simple math says that a maximum of 6 Trailers are allowed on a single power grid. Thus site should have 11 independent Electrical Grids by NEC (National Electrical Code) requirements. Each trailer connects to its Grid through a separate 30 amp Circuit Breaker next to the trailer electrical tap. These Main Breakers in an offsite Panel on Collins Dr are the “TRIPPED” breakers that turn off individual grids. City taps in as many as 12 trailers on the current Grid.
Housing Consortium of the East Bay isn’t Qualified to oversee Medically sensitive clients. Nobody on staff has any Medical training including Basic CPR. A doctor from ROOTS comes to check on clients on Tuesdays ONLY. HCEB is responsible for the numerous broke bones from falls, medical emergencies and LACK of proper safety equipment that folks need.
Then there’s STAFF that THREATEN harm to many residents on site. Kevin needs to be immediately removed for threatening PHYSICAL injuries to residents regularly.
These are but a few of the issues that I fight to halt, and expose what these Intervention Agencies are really doing to out Homeless folks.
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.
Since taking over for the three-times-elected Oakland City Attorney John Russo, Barbara Parker has consistently worked to protect tenants in Oakland at a time when the City’s very cultural fabric has been damaged by gentrification. One search for “Barbara Parker” and “tenants” in my email feed revealed 50 results. Time after time, news releases of actions taken to avenge tenants who’s rights were violated by landlords. This is not intended to be a tenant vs landlord post, but the fact is some of the homeless Oaklanders on the streets are there because of actions by property owners who did not give them a break, or actively worked to remove them illegally. It’s time to re-elect Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker.
Here’s an example of what I mean:
City Attorney Wins Court Orders to Stop Owners and Operators of Oakside Independent Living from Illegally Evicting Tenants, and to Appoint a Receiver to Protect Resident Safety.
In August, I filed an emergency tenant protection lawsuit and request for a restraining order against the owners and operators of an Independent Living Facility (ILF), Oakside Independent Living, for exploiting and threatening their elderly and disabled tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic. ILFs are virtually unregulated lodging for adults who need help with daily responsibilities like meal preparation and housekeeping. This month, the Alameda County Superior Court granted our motion for emergency relief, ensuring that Oakside’s owners and operators can no longer illegally evict or otherwise harm their tenants. In addition, the Court granted our request to appoint a receiver, an extraordinary remedy to ensure the property is managed in a fashion that protects its residents.
In the past, Oakside Independent Living has subjected the elderly and disabled tenants to unsafe and unhealthy conditions at the facility, including severe infestations of bed bugs, cockroaches, and rats. The owner and operators also rented out $900-a-month converted storage spaces too small to stand up straight in as “units,” as if they are fit for human habitation. If tenants complain of poor treatment or conditions, some have been threatened with transfer to Christopher’s Care Home, another ILF managed by one of the defendants. And this summer, tenants have been evicted in violation of the local moratorium. One tenant illegally evicted from his unit described his time at Oakside Independent Living as “the worst experience of my entire life.” We are grateful the Court has taken these issues seriously and acted to protect Oakside’s tenants.
This case was filed by the Neighborhood Law Corps and Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit as part of my Housing Justice Initiative. Read more here.
And another one:
City Attorney Secures Court Order Prohibiting Retaliation in Emergency Tenant Protection Suit During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Oakland, CA – On Friday, July 10, an Alameda County judge issued a court order under the Tenant Protection Ordinance and the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act enjoining defendants Afamefuna and Anwulika Odiwe from retaliating against their former tenants. The court found that the City was likely to prevail on its Tenant Protection Ordinance and Tom Bane Civil Rights Act claims that the defendants, who are investors with a history of flipping houses for profit, engaged in an unlawful self-help eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic in violation of state and local laws. Among other things, under the guise of a fraudulent City notice, the landlords removed all of their tenants’ belongings from their home and changed the locks.
Defendant Anwulika Odiwe threatened to proceed with unpermitted construction work in response to the tenants asserting their rights, declaring that if tenants wanted to live “with no windows and no doors and no toilets … that’s on them.” After the City filed a lawsuit against the Odiwes, the moving company, and the master tenant, the City sought an injunction preventing the defendants from engaging in further harassment of the tenants. Defendants Pete’s Moving Company, LLC, and Rigomero Manzanarez, the master tenant, agreed to stipulate to such an injunction. Because the Odiwe defendants did not stipulate to the injunction, the City sought a court order against them. “Tenant harassment is on the rise as some landlords turn to unlawful actions to drive tenants out while the courts are closed to evictions,” City Attorney Barbara J. Parker stated. “There is no place in Oakland for these illegal and harmful self-help measures. We stand with tenants to prevent such appalling misconduct and secure their basic right to safely shelter in place during this pandemic.”
In late April, a counterfeit City of Oakland “red-tag” notice was posted on the front door of the property, telling the tenants that the house was unsafe for occupancy and that they needed to leave within ten days. The City never authorized a red-tag for the property. Yet in May, movers entered the property and removed the tenants’ belongings, including their beds, furniture, and clothing, without notice or the tenants’ permission—and despite their protests.
For over a week, the tenants remained without their possessions, forced to sleep on the floor and without locks on their doors. Defendants only returned the tenants’ beds, clothing, and other personal items after the City issued a demand letter and filed this case. The City’s lawsuit also seeks civil penalties, punitive damages, and fees, to be determined by the court.
This case was filed by the Neighborhood Law Corps and Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit as part of City Attorney Parker’s Housing Justice Initiative. The City Attorney launched the Housing Justice Initiative to significantly expand her office’s work protecting vulnerable tenants in Oakland’s diverse neighborhoods and holding abusive landlords accountable.
I think you get the idea. Re-elect Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker. ‘
Also, given that Zennie62Media has not yet interviewed either Barbara Parker or her challenger Eli Ferran, this should not be interpreted as a stoppage of video interviews. The interviews are done so you can gain some feel for what each person is like and decide for yourself.
ONN – Homeless Oakland Man In A Backyard At Hillgirt Circle And Mac Arthur Blvd Needs Help And Shelter
Homeless Oakland Man In A Backyard At Hillgirt Circle And Mac Arthur Blvd Needs Help And Shelter
On Nextdoor, an Oaklander wrote:
I saw a man entering my backyard. When he had not left after a while, I went to check and found him sitting pantless under my back stairs in one of my chairs that he had moved there. I told him that he could not stay there so he put on his clothes and shoes and left.
As he walked down the street, he started looking at the pathways to the backyards of other buildings and also looked into the lobby of the apartment building next door at 769 Hillgirt Circle.
I talked with him on the street for about five minutes and asked if he needed help. He said that he was homeless and hungry. He said that he had money but could not access it without a phone. He complained that a lot of unfair things had happened to him.
I went back inside to get him some food and some money, but he had left by the time I got back. I checked my Ring video and saw that he had walked in front of my building a couple of times earlier today, both times while talking to himself.
He was not threatening, nor was I intimidated. However, if you do see him, be aware that his social boundaries as to what is appropriate may be different from yours.
Let’s pray he gets the help and shelter and good luck he needs.
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 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 City Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney has served the residents of perhaps the most complicated Oakland City Council District in our city very well. Understand that while District Three is commonly thought of as being only West Oakland, in reality it’s also Downtown Oakland, Uptown Oakland, and Adams Point / Lake Merritt, where I live.
So, Lynette has a big job, and on balance has served all of the residents well. She deserves to be re-elected, and particularly at a time where Oakland, Alameda County, California, America, and The World is in the clutches of The Pandemic. Changing horses in the middle of the stream is never a good idea, so why do it now? Besides, the reasons I’m hearing why some are not voting for Lynette are such that I’ll bet no one else will fair better.
The specific reasons are these:
1) Lynette is not accessible, and her aide responds rather than her – As one who represented Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris from 1995 to 1999, I find that aides to elected officials get treated like crap by Oakland residents far too often. The job of the aide is to represent the, in this case, Oakland City Councilmember. And Lynette’s aides have done that very well. News-flash: she can’t be everywhere, and her representatives help her.
2) She wasn’t present for Moms4Housing – As Lynette told me during our interview of 10 days ago now, the Moms4Housing Representatives did not approach her ahead of time with their plans, even though the entire matter happened in her council district. The full interview:
The ultimate sign of disrespect is for someone to launch a campaign around the issue of housing that focuses on a property in an Oakland City Council Member’s district and not consult them. The reasons can’t be good ones, because, by design, they are assumptive. How does anyone know she would not have been receptive to their objectives of a type of taking of property, and tried to help so that they would not be framed as criminals?
Lynette believed that, because they did not approach her, to then show up at their events uninvited would cause her to be seen as trying to steal their message. My take on Moms4Housing was that their effort pointed to a giant problem, but did nothing to solve it: the market failure that’s still with us in super-high-housing-costs and illegal evictions of black Oakland residents that a sustained California Redevelopment Law would have thwarted.
Instead, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan allowed former Mayor of Oakland Jerry Brown to get rid of California Redevelopment Law, and now Oakland’s once formidable affordable housing construction budget of over $100 million annually was cut off in 2011, never to return and at the time of SF Bay Area Tech Boom II, from 2012 to 2019.
In the middle of this, Moms4Housing tried to pick sides prematurely. For example, from my perspective, it’s minders failed to respond to my request to run their press releases or interview them, so I had to end-run them many times using tech. Their idea seemed be to try and paint me as against them, when my thoughts were the opposite. That said, I did run press releases from their opponents, and because they sent them. It’s called news. Moreover, I’ve never been a fan of what’s called a “taking without just compensation” (and the U.S. Constitution doesn’t allow it either), and that, in effect, is what Moms4Housing tried to do.
Their assumptions amounted to a type of picking of fights that are not there, and their words, more often than not, were hurtful. And, on top of that, we’re talking about a black-on-black affair, where folks like Lynette and myself were the focus of wrongheaded derision, and by some other folks of the same skin color. And on top of that, many of the folks are ones I really like, just to be real here. In my view, anyone white was treated better, for the most part – even those who openly opposed them.
The fact is that in Oakland, we as black folks are far too willing to assume something negative about someone else who’s black, but not in what’s perceived as that person’s group. It’s a horrible crab-barrel social problem that has plagued Oakland for decades, and with no end in sight. Moms4Housing spotlighted that problem that the white media missed, even as it was in their face.
What Lynette Did Was Spot Light The Violence Problems Black Women Face In Oakland
What Lynette does not get credit for is spotlighting the problem of violence against black women. That was the focus of her push to establish the Oakland Office Of Violence Prevention. And while I remain assertive that the real problem is lack of good jobs and an economic development effort that’s dead, I have seen the advantage of the Oakland Office Of Violence Prevention: it gives a much-needed place in Oakland government for people, and again in particular black women, to go for real, comprehensive help. That this is forgotten that Lynette created the Oakland Office Of Violence Prevention is one more example of the many actions that, collectively, caused a performer like Megan Thee Stallion to get on Saturday Night Live and point to the consistent disrespect and disregard black women receive in America, and that includes Oakland.
It’s worse when other blacks in Oakland don’t give Lynette that credit. That’s got to stop.
Lynette Makes Her Case For Re-Election And It’s Worth Reading
In her most recent campaign newsletter, Lynette made her case for re-election. It’s worth a read, even though she left out the Office Of Violence Prevention. But, overall, one has to ask, what does she have to do? It’s as if some people want to find some reason to oppose her.
For example, some will mention the Oakland Public Ethics Commission’s recent investigation not of her, but mentions alleged laundered money given to her campaign in the past, as well as that of Oakland councilmembers Sheng Thao and Dan Kalb. Well, I challenge any candidate to prove that they know anything about who gives them money, why, and where they got it from to give. Moreover, why would the Oakland Public Ethics Commission choose an election period to release news about a lawsuit and investigation that’s not primarily focused on Oakland councilmembers, but names some? That action, alone, is illegal in several states – it looks like the Oakland Public Ethics Commission and the Oakland City Attorney are trying to influence voters. Not a cool look.
What does Lynette have to do? Well, she’s done this, from her newsletter:
Partnered with our County Supervisor Keith Carson to pioneer the Compassionate Communities initiative
Co-authored Measure JJ – expanding Just Cause Eviction and Rent Increase protections
Secured 10s of millions of dollars in new homelessness funding by pushing to include $150 Million for Affordable Housing in the Infrastructure Bond (Measure KK) and the Parks Measure (Measure Q) – offering amendments that guaranteed set asides for no and extremely low income housing
Engaged Congresswoman Barbara Lee and led the effort to turn back draconian reductions in Section 8 vouchers
Pushed to protect single room occupancy transient hotels – housing of last resort that does not discriminate for credit worthiness or for lack of substantial deposits
Demanded increased coordination to respond to encampments and improve service delivery to the unhoused.
As your representative on the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) I have:
Helped pass AB1487 (2019) the bill that established the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA). BAHFA, and the expanded regional housing portfolio, is rooted in the “3Ps” framework that comprehensively addresses the housing crisis through a combination of production, preservation and protection. Specifically:
Production of rental housing for lower-income households (at or below 80% of the area median income or AMI)
Preservation of affordable housing for low-or moderate-income households (up to 120% of AMI)
Protecting tenants from displacement and preventing homelessness
Stopped an effort to impose a regressive sales tax on Oakland households, demanding that large employers pay their fair share to fund housing and relieve transportation stress caused by job growth
I am currently working with OUSD on a plan to house all homeless students and their families and this year I was selected by ABAG President Jesse Arreguin to serve on the newly established Regional Housing Committee. In this capacity I make sure Oakland’s needs are at the center of identifying regional solutions. And now, after five years of persistent advocacy, the Council is now positioned to take action on many of the efforts I have championed.
COVID19 lays bare the dire needs for housing security and hunger – two issues that have begged for attention amongst the organized campaigns for many good causes. By partnering with my Council colleagues that represent Oakland’s flatlands, I was able to direct nearly $30 million of CARES ACT funds to addressing these critical needs in the flatlands, allowing the City to purchase hotels and an abandoned dormitory to house more of our houseless constituents.
If the challengers think they can match her, I would offer that we as Oaklanders would have to sit and wait for that person to learn the Oakland legislative ropes before they could be effective, whereas the saying “been there, done that” applies to Councilmember McElhaney.
Re-elect Councilmember McElhaney for District Three.
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.
Oakland – Mayor Libby Schaaf and affordable housing partners will open a new apartment community on the Emeryville border that serves mainly working families, seniors, veterans, people with special needs and the formerly homeless.
Estrella Vista illustrates an innovative partnership between public and private organizations (including a dozen financial supporters), and the cities of Oakland and Emeryville, Alameda County, and Oakland Housing Authority.
WHO:
Libby Schaaf, Mayor of Oakland
Christian Patz, Mayor of Emeryville
Welton Jordan, CREDO, EAH Housing
Patricia Wells, Executive Director, Oakland Housing Authority
Jessica Musick, Principal, KTGY
WHERE: 3706 San Pablo Ave, Emeryville
WHEN: 10 AM – Friday October 2, 2020
This event will also be live-streamed on the Mayor’s Twitter
The Oakland City Auditor just sent a blazing press release. Here’s what she and her office wrote about the Oakland Fire Department:
Oakland – Today, Oakland City Auditor, Courtney Ruby, released a performance audit of the Fire Prevention Bureau (Bureau), a division of the Oakland Fire Department (OFD). This report examines whether the Bureau implemented the 2017 recommendations from the Mayor’s Task Force established after the tragic Ghost Ship Fire in 2016 and whether the Bureau has established adequate controls to ensure all state mandated inspections are completed and fire safety laws are adequately enforced.
The mission of Oakland’s Fire Prevention Bureau is to reduce the risk of fire throughout the City. The Bureau conducts fire safety inspections of the City’s buildings, structures, and vacant lots and performs “state-mandated inspections,” which include buildings used for public assemblies, educational purposes, institutional facilities, multi-family residential dwellings, and high-rise structures. The Bureau also oversees the City’s commercial inspection program of smaller apartment buildings and retail businesses, inspects cannabis operations, and reviews building and tenant improvement plans to ensure new construction includes all required fire safety components. Furthermore, they are responsible for fire safety in the high danger zone of the Oakland hills.
The audit found that more than three years after the City launched a major reform effort to improve fire and life safety throughout the City of Oakland, the City has made only limited progress in fully implementing the reforms set forth by the Mayor’s Task Force. The Fire Department implemented processes to identify and address high risk properties and improve communication between the Bureau and the engine companies to report potentially unsafe properties for further investigation.
The Fire Department, however, has yet to fully implement critical organizational improvements such as filling staff vacancies, creating permanent supervisor positions, implementing more robust quality control processes, establishing performance measures for inspectors, and developing operating procedures for inspections.
The audit found the Bureau inspected only 26 percent of all state-mandated facilities between September 2018 and September 2019, even though the Bureau’s staffing for fire inspectors has increased significantly. Furthermore, the audit revealed the Bureau had not inspected 51 percent of the state-mandated facilities in the last three years we reviewed. The audit also noted the Bureau lacks sufficient staffing to inspect the growing number of cannabis operations in the City. The nature of cannabis operations poses significant fire risks to the operators, neighboring properties, firefighters, and the community.
Additionally, the Bureau’s enforcement efforts are often ineffective. The Bureau’s practice has been to try and coax property owners to correct fire safety violations by re-inspecting properties. Between September 2018 and September 2019, the Bureau conducted over 800 re-inspections of state-mandated properties to ensure property owners corrected various fire safety violations. Although 236 properties implemented the appropriate corrective action, inspectors re-inspected these properties up to seven times to obtain corrective action. On the other hand, the Bureau was unable to obtain corrective action on another 493 properties, even though inspectors re-inspected these properties up to seven times.
The audit also found the Oakland Unified School District has not been responsive in correcting fire safety violations such as missing fire extinguishers and non-functioning fire alarm systems. Also, the Bureau has not operationalized its appeal process to provide property owners an opportunity to dispute the Bureau’s findings of violations in the City’s wildlife interface areas. Not operationalizing the appeals process delayed the assessment of approximately $300,000 in inspection fees in 2018 and 2019 has yet to be assessed as a result.
In response to the audit results, Auditor Ruby noted, “Two of the deadliest fires in US history have been in Oakland: The 1991 Oakland Hills Fire and the 2016 Ghost Ship Fire. Collectively these fires killed 61 of our residents. Completing this audit has been of the utmost importance to me to ensure the City is doing all it can to protect our residents—unfortunately, the audit found OFD has been slow to learn from the past and critical work remains to be done—a sense of urgency and accountability must be ignited in OFD—there is no excuse for the lack of progress.”
During this time, the Bureau’s personnel have been stretched thin from meeting its annual state- mandated inspections by other work, such as inspections required by the City’s building boom, addressing safety issues at the many homeless encampments throughout the City, and the hiring and training of new inspection staff. Additionally, the Bureau’s practice to repeatedly re-inspect properties to bring them into compliance has also diverted significant time away from conducting mandated inspections.
While the lack of progress can be partly attributed to high turnover in the Fire Department’s leadership (since 2017, the City has had three Fire Chiefs and three Fire Marshals), Auditor Ruby, stated, “In 2013, I released an audit reviewing the Department’s vegetation management inspection practices and some of these very same problems were identified, such as the need for consistent training, stronger supervision, quality control measures and clear policies and procedures to ensure the accuracy and completeness of inspections. Almost 10 years later, the current audit shows these same issues persist with building inspections.”
On a positive note, the Department has agreed to implement 29 of the 30 recommendations in the audit report. Moreover, the Department and the Bureau have begun employing a more strategic focus on implementing management and accountability systems called for by the Mayor’s Task Force and the Bureau is in the process of converting to a more advanced database, which will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Bureau’s inspection efforts.
ONN – Donald Trump Brings Proud Boys And Oakland Back Into Focus During Presidential Debate With Joe Biden
Donald Trump Brings Proud Boys And Oakland Back Into Focus During Presidential Debate With Joe Biden
Just when it seemed like Oakland’s problems with the Proud Boys white supremacist group were behind us, here comes Donald Trump to bring back the threat.
President Trump has an obsession with Oakland, mentioning our town and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf ever since she defied his ICE Raids.
I contend that Trump triggered an attack on her home on the night of July 21, 2020. He mentioned that Oakland was a mess – then hours later masked attackers made Libby’s home’s exterior just that.
The Proud Boys, a group that, as I wrote here at Oakland News Now is “seen as a racist, alt-right group that was founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, the Vice Media co-founder. The group has rapidly formed a reputation for violent protest, and have a nickname “The Right Wing Brawlers,” walking into bars and starting fights.” But a member of a spin-off group called the “Bay Area Proud Boys” called in response to the first post at Oakland News Now, because he was “shocked” at the depiction of the organization he’s associated with.
“We’re not at all what you’re saying in your article,” the man who did not wish to be identified explained. “We’re husbands, fathers, friends, responsible members of the community. We believe in helping people, and we’re all about being the best men we can be. We have all kinds of people as members, black, Asian, I’m Mexican American.”
At that we had a very good and wide-ranging conversation. My main question to him was why meet at all? The Bay Area Proud Boys Member explained that “We’re not meeting at Make Westing. I don’t know where that came from.” I asked if he looked at the Make Westing Facebook Page, and he said he did, but he doesn’t know what’s up because there was no plan to go there. And about the racism image?
The caller said “We don’t at all condone racism or sexism or that stuff. We have engineers and they would not be in the group if that (racism and sexism) was going on. We help people raise money. We help the homeless. We’re not out there causing trouble,” he said. “The only thing is we … believe in protecting the flag.” I reminded him that flag protest is in itself an American right and tradition. “I know,” he said, “we protect the first amendment.”
In sum, if the The Bay Area Proud Boys and The Proud Boys are what my caller says, then there should be no problem, right? But the reality is the Southern Poverty Law Center has The Proud Boys listed as a racist hate group, and so if the The Bay Area Proud Boys are associated with The Proud Boys, how the heck is anyone supposed to know they’re not a collection of bad dudes to have issues with blacks and Latinos?
The Oakland Police must be on alert for any sign of trouble.
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 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.
Blockbuster Trump EPA Letter To California Gov Gavin Newsom Blasts State, Los Angeles and San Francisco Waste From Homeless Problem
A letter sent to Zennie62Media an hour ago is from the Office of United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Director Andrew Wheeler, under President Donald Trump. In it, Mr. Wheeler claims that he “is concerned that California’s implementation of federal environmental laws is failing to meet its obligations required under delegated federal programs.” Then, he details a number of examples, including one pointed, in a not too veiled political way, at San Francisco.
In the case of San Francisco, Wheeler writes:
California Governor Gavin Newsom
The EPA is aware of the growing homelessness crisis developing in major California cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the impact of this crisis on the environment. Indeed, press reports indicate that “piles of human feces” on sidewalks and streets in these cities are becoming all too common.? The EPA is concerned about the potential water quality impacts from pathogens and other contaminants from untreated human waste entering nearby waters. San Francisco, Los Angeles and the state do not appear to be acting with urgency to mitigate the risks to human health and the environment that may result from the homelessness crisis. California is responsible for implementing appropriate municipal storm water management and waste treatment requirements as part of its assumed federal program. The state is failing to properly implement these programs.
San Francisco is also one of the few major cities with sewers that combine stormwater and sewage flows that is not under a federal consent decree to meet the requirements of federal law. The EPA is committed to helping the state address this problem. In fact, the EPA provided the San Francisco Public Utility Commission a loan of $699 million under favorable terms pursuant to authority under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act in July 2018 for biosolid digestors and other related projects. However, these projects will not bring the city into compliance. San Francisco must invest billions of dollars to modernize its sewer system to meet CWA standards, avoid dumping untreated and partially treated sewage into the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean where it can wash up on beaches and keep raw sewage inside pipes instead of in homes and businesses.
Even more troubling is the City of San Francisco’s years-long practice – allowed by CalEPA – of routinely discharging more than one billion gallons of combined sewage and stormwater into San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean on an annual basis. The CWA requires municipal sewage be treated to certain levels and to meet water quality standards. Nonetheless, although San Francisco’s combined sewer outfalls discharge to sensitive waters, these discharges do not receive biological treatment. Instead, San Francisco’s combined sewer overflows are designed to remove floatables and settleable solids only and do not always achieve even that low level of treatment. These discharges may be contributing to the state’s failure to meet water quality standards. By failing to maintain its sewer infrastructure, the city allowed raw sewage to back up into homes and businesses.
Here is the Trump EPA Letter from Andrew Wheeler in its entirety:
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
September 26, 2019
The Honorable Gavin C. Newsom 1303 10th Street, Suite 1173 Sacramento, California 95814
Dear Governor Newsom:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Environmental Protection Agency are responsible for working together to protect public health and the environment in your state. As a result of the authorization of state laws and the delegation of federal authority, California administers and implements the federal Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act among other federal programs. Congress designed these statutory frameworks for the states to take the lead role in implementation, with the EPA overseeing state actions.
Based on data and reports, the EPA is concerned that California’s implementation of federal environmental laws is failing to meet its obligations required under delegated federal programs. The cost of this failure will be paid by those Californians exposed to unhealthy air and degraded water. The purpose of this letter is to outline the deficiencies that have led to significant public health concerns in California and to outline steps the state must take to address them. To ensure that appropriate steps are being taken to protect Californians, the EPA would like a remedial plan from the state detailing the steps it is taking to address the issues raised below.
The EPA is aware of the growing homelessness crisis developing in major California cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the impact of this crisis on the environment. Indeed, press reports indicate that “piles of human feces” on sidewalks and streets in these cities are becoming all too common.? The EPA is concerned about the potential water quality impacts from pathogens and other contaminants from untreated human waste entering nearby waters. San Francisco, Los Angeles and the state do not appear to be acting with urgency to mitigate the risks to human health and the environment that may result from the homelessness crisis. C responsible for implementing appropriate municipal storm water management and waste treatment requirements as part of its assumed federal program. The state is failing to properly implement these programs.
San Francisco is also one of the few major cities with sewers that combine stormwater and sewage flows that is not under a federal consent decree to meet the requirements of federal law. The EPA is committed to helping the state address this problem. In fact, the EPA provided the San Francisco Public Utility Commission a loan of $699 million under favorable terms pursuant to authority under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act in July 2018 for biosolid digestors and other related projects. However, these projects will not bring the city into compliance. San Francisco must invest billions of dollars to modernize its sewer system to meet CWA standards, avoid dumping untreated and partially treated sewage into the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean where it can wash up on beaches and keep raw sewage inside pipes instead of in homes and businesses.
Even more troubling is the City of San Francisco’s years-long practice – allowed by CalEPA – of routinely discharging more than one billion gallons of combined sewage and stormwater into San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean on an annual basis. The CWA requires municipal sewage be treated to certain levels and to meet water quality standards. Nonetheless, although San Francisco’s combined sewer outfalls discharge to sensitive waters, these discharges do not receive biological treatment. Instead, San Francisco’s combined sewer overflows are designed to remove floatables and settleable solids only and do not always achieve even that low level of treatment. These discharges may be contributing to the state’s failure to meet water quality standards. By failing to maintain its sewer infrastructure, the city allowed raw sewage to back up into homes and businesses.
Overall, significant deficiencies are present, and the state has not acted with a sense of urgency to abate this public health and environmental problem. Among the other issues identified, the state’s years-long approval of the discharges referenced above under its authorized program raises serious questions as to whether it is administering a program consistent with federal law. The city’s practices endanger public health, and the EPA is prepared to take the necessary steps to ensure CWA compliance. Given the magnitude of the issues, I have asked EPA staff to consider all options available to bring the city into compliance.
The state’s lack of action in response to the homelessness crisis and San Francisco’s discharges of inadequately treated sewage prompted the EPA to review other programs administered by CalEPA for similar concerns. What we discovered after a preliminary review suggests the need for more formal and in-depth EPA oversight. For example, we are aware of numerous exceedances of state-issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits under section 402 of the CWA. Just in this past quarter, we identified 23 significant instances of discharges into waters of the United States in exceedance of permit limits. By way of example, the City of Los Angeles exceeded its permit limit for Indeno[1,2,3-cd) pyrene (a contaminant which is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen) by 442 percent; the University of Southern California exceeded its permit limit for copper (a metal which can adversely affect human health and the health of aquatic life) by 420 percent; and Sanitary District Number 5 of Marin County exceeded its permit limit for total cyanide by 5,194 percent. These are serious matters that warrant a strong review by California.
California has the resources to address these problems. Apart from the state’s significant tax base, California received more than $1.16 billion of federal funds to implement CWA programs just in the last five years, including $253.5 million in FY2018 and $247 million in FY2019. In addition, California received more than $152 million in categorical grants over this time to improve compliance with the CWA.
The EPA also has concerns about CalEPA’s administration and oversight of SDWA programs and public water systems within the state. Indeed, we are aware of numerous recent health-based exceedances: in just the most recent reporting quarter of 2019, California had 202 Community Water Systems with 665 health-based exceedances that put the drinking water of nearly 800,000 residents at risk. These exceedances include:
• 67 systems with 194 serious health-based exceedances of arsenic levels, impacting more
than 101,000 residents;
• 210 lead action level exceedances in just the most recent 3-year interval at 168 PWSs,
impacting more than 10,000 residents;
• two systems with serious Ground Water Rule compliance issues, impacting more than
250,000 residents; 44 systems with 154 exceedances of the Stage 1 and 2 disinfection byproduct regulations,
impacting almost 255,000 residents; and
• 25 systems with 69 violations of radiological standards, impacting almost 12,000 residents.
These exceedances call into question the state’s ability to protect the public and administer its SDWA programs in a manner consistent with federal requirements.
Under this Administration, the EPA stands ready to assist California and CalEPA to protect the health and environment of Californians. However, it is time for the state to act decisively under its authorities to address the problems identified in this letter. For each of the delegated or assumed programs discussed in this letter, I request a written response within 30 days outlining in detail how California intends to address the concerns and violations identified herein. This response should include a demonstration that the state has the adequate authority and capability to address these issues and specific anticipated milestones for correcting these problems. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Andrew R. Wheeler
NOTES
The EPA first authorized California’s base Clean Water Act program in 1973. The EPA subsequently approved the state to regulate discharges from federal facilities in 1978, administer the pretreatment program in 1989 and issue general permits in 1989. California also has received primacy to exercise Safe Drinking Water Act responsibilities in the state.
2 See, e.g., Raphelson, Samantha. “San Francisco Squalor: City Streets Strewn With Trash, Needles And Human Feces, NPR (Aug. 1, 2018) available at https://www.npr.org/2018/08/01/634626538/san-francisco-squalor-city-streets strewn-with-trash-needles-and-human-feces (last accessed Sept. 22, 2019).
3 Human waste from homeless populations is a recognized source of bacteria in water bodies. See American Society of Civil Engineers, “Pathogens in Urban Stormwater Systems” (Aug. 2014); “The California Microbial Source Identification Manual: A Tiered Approach to Identifying Fecal Pollution Sources to Beaches” (Dec. 2013); Tools for Tracking Human Fecal Pollution in Urban Storm Drains, Streams, and Beaches (Sept. 2012). These reports are
Internet Address (URL) http://www.epa.gov Recycled/Recyclable Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer, Process Chlorine Free Recycled Paper
available on the website for the San Francisco Bay Beaches Bacteria TMDL available at https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/water_issues/programs/TMDLs/SFbaybeachesbacteria.html (last accessed September 22, 2019).
+ The EPA’s current data also indicates that 15 major Publicly Owned Treatment Works are in significant noncompliance and 11 non-major POTWs are currently in significant noncompliance. These data are publicly available. See U.S. EPA, Enforcement and Compliance History Online water facility public search tool (https://echo.epa.gov/facilities/facility-search?mediaSelected=cwa).
5 The 2006 Ground Water Rule is a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation under the SDWA aimed at providing increased protection against microbial pathogens in public water systems that use ground water sources. See 71 FR 65574.
6 These health-based concerns are associated with unaddressed significant deficiencies” identified via an audit of the system, called a “sanitary survey,” and include, for example, an opening through which bacteria could enter a well head that the system has not repaired.
I have sent this to Governor Newsom’s Office for comment, as well as the Mayor’s Office’s of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and San Francisco Mayor London Breed for comment. Keep in mind the interesting timing of the letter with respect to the November 2020 Election and the 30 day response time, which takes us right up to just days before election day. Moreover, Wheeler just blasted Newsom for his executive order to ban the sale of gas-powered cars in 15 years. This space wishes that Governor Newsom would apply large tax credits to electric-powered supercars, as a way to hasten the transition to an electric car world.
In his newsletter Oakland District 6 Councilmember Loren Taylor shared a series of news updates related to homelessness and tenant and landlord protection. Here they are:
City Of Oakland Homeless Encampment Management Policy
When the pandemic hit the city council moved quickly into shelter in place in March, pausing the sunshine ordinance to allow city business to continue remotely. Now in September, more informed and better prepared, council has reinstated 10-day noticing for all items to be heard at council and regular rules committee hearings for transparent scheduling.
As we kick off our fall legislative session look out for these items to be scheduled soon. The Life Enrichment committee (Chaired by Councilmember Taylor) will be considering changes to the Homeless Encampment Management Policy. The meeting is schedule for Monday, September 21st visit City of Oakland website of meeting information.
State Of California Tenant and Landlord Protection Legislation
September 1st the Assembly and Senate both approved AB 3088, which is designed to protect tenants from eviction, and property owners from foreclosure, due to the economic impacts of COVID-19.
The measure was signed into law by Governor Newsom and the details are as follows:
The protections in AB 3088 apply to tenants who declare an inability to pay all or part of their rent due to a COVID-19-related reason.
Under the legislation, no tenant can be evicted before February 1, 2021 as a result of rent owed due to a COVID-19-related hardship accrued between March 4th and August 31st, if the tenant provides a declaration of hardship.
For COVID-19 related hardships that accrue between September 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021, tenants must also pay at least 25% of the rent due to avoid eviction.
Tenants are still responsible for paying unpaid amounts to landlords, but those unpaid amounts cannot be the basis for an eviction.
Landlords may begin to recover this debt on March 1, 2021, and small claims court jurisdiction is temporarily expanded to allow landlords to recover these amounts.
AB 3088 extends anti-foreclosure protections in the Homeowner Bill of Rights to small landlords, provides new accountability and transparency provisions to protect small landlord borrowers who request CARES Act-compliant forbearance, and provides the borrower who is harmed by a material violation with a cause of action.
Existing local ordinances can generally remain in place until they expire and future local action cannot undermine the framework of AB 3088.
Several members of the Legislature, including the author, noted that AB 3088 should be viewed as a short-term solution and that additional legislation would be necessary to further address this issue when the Legislature returns to session in January 2021.
ONN – Oakland Heat Related DEATH At Operation HomeBase Homeless Trailer Park by Derrick Soo
Oakland Heat Related DEATH At Operation HomeBase Homeless Trailer Park by Derrick Soo
When Operation HomeBase opened, City was made aware that the Electrical grid to power the trailers was insufficient. This past May, my Medical Client nearly died from this issue. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf vowed to correct this problem. The solution has yet to be implemented, and now has KILLED a resident at The City of Oakland’s Safe Trailer Park at 633 Hegenberger Road (trailer number withheld).
HCEB or Housing Consortium Of The East Bay (which was hired by City of Oakland to do oversight of the park) refuses to allow residents to use outside Shade to sit outside their Trailer. Thus FORCING seniors with severe Medical issues to sit in direct sunlight without relief!
Housing Consortium Of The East Bay had been WARNED about Cal-OSHA Health & Safety Violations everywhere.
Zennie Abraham follow-up to Derrick Soo’s vlog: I called Derrick to get more information on this horrible matter. Soo, himself living in a homeless encampment, told me that the person who died is, as I am writing this, still sitting in a chair in the middle of the Safe Trailer Park! Derrick told me that residents were complaining about it to anyone who would listen.
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 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.
Daniel’s Story by Seneca Scott
From YouTube Channel: September 23, 2020 at 07:30PM
ONN – “Daniel’s Story By Seneca Scott” Oakland City Council D3 Candidate YouTube Video
Note: not an endorsement, but this YouTube video by the candidate for the Oakland City Council District Three Seat that’s held by Lynette Gibson McElhaney is a must watch.
Seneca writes:
Currently, D3 is home to 56% of Alameda County’s unhoused and this has more than doubled in the last two years. All while $340 million dollars has been allocated toward homelessness for the fiscal year 2018-2020.
Thank you Daniel and everyone else who has been helping keep our streets clean.
It’s time to elect a real voice in City Hall. A voice that speaks for D3.
Stay tuned.
Source: Regional Meeting on Homelessness, 2019 and homelessness.acgov.org
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.
Oakland’s Future: Solving Homelessness, Housing for All!
From YouTube Channel: September 25, 2020 at 01:00PM
ONN – Listen and engage with homelessness & housing experts to create comprehensive solutions for Oakland’s housing crisis. Create a dialogue with the community to ensure all people of Oakland are housed. Join Tri Ngo, Candidate for Oakland District 1 City Council, in a Town Hall to discuss envisioning a new future for Oakland and finding real solutions to ensure housing for all. We want to encourage support and solutions during these changing times and can respond to your questions during the Virtual Town Hall.
The Oakland City Council has the power to change housing, public safety, homelessness, transportation, and community involvement. Now more than ever it is important to stay engaged with our government and promote democracy as a powerful tool of the people. It is a critical time to elect someone who speaks for the people. Tri Ngo is committed to creating a government that profoundly engages citizens by reducing barriers to political involvement. He will create a government that encourages communication and understanding. Tri wants to champion (with your support) resolutions for fair housing and fair government.
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.
From the Nikki Fortunato Bas Councilmember, City of Oakland, District 2 Community Email comes this compendium of City of Oakland grant programs for business.
$10K Grants for Essential Businesses: California State Compensation Insurance Fund is offering up to $10K to State Fund policyholders to help reimburse the costs of COVID-19 safety expenses such as the purchase of goggles, masks, gloves, cleaning supples, and worksite modifications. Grants are available until September 30.
$10K Grants for Small Businesses: The City of Oakland received $36.9 million in State of California CARES Act funding. More than $4 million of those funds will go to the Oakland CARES Act Small Business Grant Program to support Oakland small businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program anticipates distributing $10,000 grants to 402 Oakland small businesses. Grants may be used to cover day-to-day operating costs, such as worker payroll, rent and fixed debts. The application period for the small business grants opened Tuesday, September 22 at 1 p.m., and ends at 5 p.m. on Monday, October 12, 2020. Online applications in four languages are available at: https://mainstreetlaunch.org/oakland-cares-act-grant/.
$20-25K Grants for Oakland Nonprofits: Of the funds Oakland has received from California’s CARES Act, $850K are going to support nonprofits impacted by COVID-19. The grant program will support about 34 nonprofits with grants of $20-$25K each, for organizations with an annual budget of less than $1 million that are currently providing programs and services 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. Learn more and apply here by 5pm on Wednesday, October 14.
$3K Grants for Individual Artists, $20K for Arts Nonprofits: $1.425 million of the City’s funds from California’s CARES Act will go to support individual artists and arts nonprofit organizations that have been impacted by COVID-19. The Oakland CARES Arts Organizational Grant will award grants of up to $20,000 to arts nonprofits, while the Oakland CARES Individual Artist Grant seeks to support individual artists with grants of up to $3,000 each. Apply here by 1pm on Friday, October 9, 2020.
$5-10K Mini-Grants for Violence Prevention and Community Healing: The Department of Violence Prevention, in partnership with Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY), Urban Peace Movement (UPM), Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), and Roots Community Health Center (Roots) will provide approximately $400K through grants of up to $10K for small nonprofit organizations (with an annual budget of less than $500K) and up to $5K for individuals (with an identified fiscal sponsor). Learn more, attend information sessions and apply here by 11:59pm on October 18th.
Oakland – The City of Oakland received $36.9 million in State of California CARES Act funding. Of that, approximately $850,000 will go to grants to support Oakland-based nonprofit organizations that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant program will support about 34 nonprofits with grants of $20,000 to $25,000 each.
The grants are available to Oakland nonprofits with an annual budget of less than $1 million that are currently providing programs and services 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. The application period opened today (Wednesday, September 23) at 9 a.m., and closes at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14, 2020. Online applications are available at: communityvisionca.org/oaklandcares
“These grants are a step in preserving Oakland’s nonprofit ecosystem that helps feed, clothe, shelter and counsel our most vulnerable residents,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “While the needs of our community have increased during the pandemic, many of these nonprofits have seen their funding dry up, putting both the organizations and those they serve at greater risk.”
The following general eligibility criteria will be used:
Nonprofits must provide proof of 501(c)3 status or fiscal sponsorship agreement.
Nonprofits must have a total annual budget and actual expenses of less than $1 million for the applicant’s current and previous fiscal year. If an organization is fiscally sponsored, this limit is related to the organization’s expenses, not the total expenses of the fiscal sponsor.
Nonprofits must be located in Oakland and be currently providing programs and services that address the impact of COVID-19 and the needs of low-income residents and businesses in Oakland.
Nonprofits must currently provide services to disinvested populations (including Black; immigrant; aged; children; homeless; low and very low-income) in the following areas: Health & Human Services; Economic & Workforce Development; Legal Support; Food Security; Homeless and renter support services; and Education. Applicants will be required to provide a brief narrative overview of their. (Nonprofits in the arts community should apply for grants through the previously announced arts nonprofit grant program.)
Nonprofits must have been in business in Oakland for at least three years, with appropriate documentation of this fact (such as 990s, audited financial statement, or business license, etc.).
Applicants will be required to identify the programmatic need or loss of organization income due to COVID-19 business interruption such as:
Lack of program funding, contract funding, or grant agreements that were impacted because of the applicant’s inability to deliver services
Reduction in payroll, jobs, furloughs, or other significant costs
Programs that had to be suspended due to COVID-19
Preference will be given to nonprofit organizations located in, and serving census tracts deemed eligible for the federal Opportunity Zone program.
Preference will be given to nonprofit organizations that can demonstrate deep community roots, trust in the community, and those who base their work on the stated needs/wants of the community they serve.
The grants will help preserve nonprofit services to some of Oakland’s most disinvested populations and help prevent nonprofit displacement. Distribution of the CARES Act grants for Oakland nonprofits is through a partnership between the Economic & Workforce Development Department and Community Vision. Community Vision, formerly the Northern California Community Loan Fund, is a trusted intermediary that will administer the fund.
“COVID-19 has further emphasized the vast inequities present in our society and the reality that our economic system does not prioritize communities of color and low-income communities,” said Catherine Howard, Community Vision’s senior vice president of programs. “We’re pleased to partner with the City of Oakland to provide support to nonprofits working to meet the most vital needs across the city.”
To assist applicants, helpful FAQs have been posted at: communityvisionca.org/oaklandcares/FAQ. Webinars for nonprofits interested in applying for a grant will be hosted on: Wednesday, September 30, in both English (at 11 a.m.) and Spanish (at 1 p.m.). Interested applicants can also schedule consultation calls with Community Vision staff by visiting communityvisionca.org/oaklandcares. Materials will be available in Spanish at communityvisionca.org/oaklandcares/spanish.
In addition to administering the grant program, Community Vision will host virtual technical assistance workshops and one-on-one counseling. The schedule will be announced shortly at communityvisionca.org/oaklandcares
This is the latest CARES Act-funded grant program launched by the City of Oakland. Grant programs for small businesses, individual artists and arts nonprofits, and low-income renters and homeowners as well as an RFQ to fund support for low- and moderate-income renters and homeowners were announced earlier this month. Learn more about the $36.9 million in CARES Act Funding at: oaklandca.gov/topics/coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-cares-act-funding
This post based on press release from The City of Oakland to Zennie62Media.
City of Oakland Awarded $20M in California State Homekey Funding
Projects to provide 163 units of permanently affordable housing for homeless and those vulnerable to homelessness
Oakland –– Yesterday, the City of Oakland was awarded $20 million for two housing projects targeting some of the City’s most vulnerable residents. Governor Newsom announced the Homekey awards as the next phase in the state’s response to protecting Californians experiencing homelessness who are impacted by COVID-19.
“This announcement from Gov. Newsom will help us alleviate the human suffering of homelessness in Oakland,” said Mayor Libby Schaaf. “Homekey gives us the resources to convert existing facilities into permanently affordable housing for our unsheltered residents right now, and it paves the way for more innovative strategies in the future. I’m grateful for the Governor’s leadership and partnership as we continue to work together to end homelessness.”
The projects awarded include funds to purchase Clifton Hall, a California College of the Arts dormitory in Rockridge that offers 63 units for seniors and families; and Project Reclamation managed by Bay Area Community Services (BACS) for the development of 100 units at 20 scattered sites throughout Oakland for families and individuals.
“These funding awards mark another important milestone in our goal to preserve, produce, and protect housing for Oakland residents,” said Housing & Community Development Director Shola Olatoye. “We are proud to work with our partnering agencies to develop these units and move people off the streets and into housing.”
Homekey, administered by California Housing & Community Development, is the state’s $600 million program for purchasing and rehabilitating housing, including hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings and other properties, converting them into permanent, long-term housing for people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.
The Oakland that I knew is dead. It was a city that had over 100 job training programs and several low interest loan and grant programs for businesses. It was a city that was unafraid to embrace manufacturing, transportation, and heavy industry, as much as it demanded and caused the development of an economy comparatively cleaner than most. It was a city that knew how to fix its economic problems. That Oakland is gone.
The Oakland that replaced it is one that’s marked by growing ranks of people sleeping on the streets because no one will help them. It has many who were just one lost paycheck away from eviction, and their ranks so great, a moratorium on evictions was in place before the Pandemic.
It has some who would even resort to an attempt to take property not their own. And do that thinking it will solve an overall problem that is obviously beyond their desire to deal with: an economic design that lacks the use of tax increment financing to fuel the business assistance and job training and affordable housing programs Oakland was once known for. This Oakland lacks people who want to fix the economy and far to many people who want to protest against the economy.
The fact is, we have had march after march and activist after activist, and the problems have only gotten worse. The protests have become nothing more than theater for the media, and tools to be used as part of a campaign strategy by a President who, himself, does not seem to care.
We have people who are willing to say “no coal” but not even asking “can we do coal, clean air, and jobs?” In fact, it seems like it’s just easier for them to just say no, then to try and fix anything.
Where we are is beyond sad.
It has been advanced by some media infected with the same anti-intellectualism – and worse because they believe their approach is smart. It is the complete and total lack of knowledge of where we are as a society, and to such a massively alarming point, that both the activists and that media don’t even bother to read about the past, and learn about the first publication to point to the climate change problem: The Limits To Growth. That was way back in 1971, but don’t tell that to the so-called climate change activists, they think all of this started after they hit puberty, and after 2010.
Oakland Created Its Own Problem And Now Can’t Wake Up To Fix It
What is so awful is that we in Oakland created this problem. Yeah. That’s right. Us.
I recall a 1996 meeting I sat in on, and on behalf of Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, about the then-new concept of the “jobs / housing balance”. The meeting was at the offices of my long-time friend Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson. Unfortunately, I have to write that this happened.
The meeting included a number of officials, including Sunne Wright McPeak, then a Contra Costa County Supervisor and main advocate for the idea that there should be a jobs / housing balance. The problem with the concept is that it asks a City like Oakland to be able to have more employment for workers to “balance” the housing in it. The problem is that the idea calls for an industry to be grown in that city to get those workers. Or, let me put it this way: it allows for gentrification to set in, though that was not the word flavor of the day in 1996.
In the meeting, I asked how Oakland was to make sure it followed “Oakland first” jobs policies for its current workers if they did not have the skills necessary to land the biotech jobs that Keith and Sunne, and the others in the meeting prized so much and wanted for Oakland? They collectively looked at me as if I had grown the ears of a Vulcan. I must now admit that I left the meeting out of pure disgust for the lack of any real thinking – it was the typical, Bay Area, “let’s make up something that we think is smart” crap.
It’s the kind of approach that is unconsciously born from the time when white supremacists like John Muir were creating social clubs like The Sierra Club. It’s an approach that calls for the development of an amount of what the person thinks are facts that are undeniable – and so that person is hardened in their beliefs to the point where communicating with them to get them to see another way becomes folly. It’s caused a lot of problems, and in particular, in the East Bay of the SF Bay Area, where the black population is the largest of any other place in my region of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The people who have this sort of tick have become and in many cases still are elected officials and friends of mine – and Democrats. They have allowed the complete destruction of Oakland’s economic development, and allowed it to happen with a nod. They have proven that they are the latest in the long line of people to drink the kool-aid established by John Muir. When he and his friends like famed UC Berkeley Professor Joseph Le Conte formed The Sierra Club, and his ideas of preservation that gave it life, he and they did not have black people in mind. They regarded us, folks who look like me, as “dirty” and “savages.”
I write that because the Oakland that I came to know in 1974 was increasingly one that was called a “chocolate city” but the real problem is Oakland was consistently apologizing for being just that. It always embraced outside white male developers and never, then later seldom, gave a black developer a chance, and a person who was Asian (like my friend Phil Tagami) didn’t fare much better unless he worked himself to near death for ten years just to land the Oakland Rotunda Project (as Phil did with the help of a number of people, including me and Elihu Harris). That problem still exists today, and points to a real problem.
We all know the ranks of those who are jobless and homeless in Oakland are mostly black. We all know that the ranks of those suffering from COVID-19 are more likely to be black. But what we have not done in Oakland, is simply create a black-focused answer to these problems. So, for the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal (for which its co-developer Insight Terminal Solutions, is a Zennie62Media content client) there’s the largely white “No Coal In Oakland” group just saying no, and not doing anything to try and get to yes.
They openly do not care about the same jobs problem that disproportionately hurts black folks in Oakland. Then, they try and make you believe (with the help of irresponsible media) that they have a large young black membership, when the truth is just the opposite. We need a black economic development agenda that is formed in harmony with concerns for the environment. Don’t count on No Coal In Oakland or The Sierra Club, because they’ve drank John Muir’s racist elixir and are too drunk to realize it.
Meanwhile, there’s Tom Steyer, the former coal investor and hedge fund manager who’s now (I contend) trying to hedge the western United States and as much of America as he can into a thought ethic that just says invest in renewables, and not fix the damn traditional energy pollution problem. Tom’s got a number of Oakland elected officials so scared they won’t get his money, they parrot his view about the environment, and don’t care about developing jobs at all, and mindlessly pat themselves on the back for such things as “climate action plans” that lack any interest in economic development.
On top of that, the same Oakland elected officials that signed development agreements to allow Mr. Tagami and Insight Terminal Solutions to build the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal (knowing it was designed to handle bulk commodities like coal in a low emissions way), then set about a process of trying to back out of them just because Steyer started influencing them with money.
Take the example of Tom Steyer investing $500,000 in the Mayor of Oakland’s Oakland Promise program, and allegedly with the quid-pro-quo that Oakland would get involved in a lawsuit against American oil companies that was so silly it was tossed out of court. Why Libby didn’t get Tom to try and jump start Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal is a good question, considering its low emissions design, Oakland’s need to create low-skilled, well-paying jobs, and the now decades-long tardiness of replacing the jobs lost due to military base closures.
It’s as if Oakland just plain stopped caring about creating jobs. Even Oakland economic development director Alexa Jeffries, who was hired last year, has no formal background in economic development!
This is Oakland, folks. In other words, for economic development in Oakland, a cuss term is appropriate: we’re fucked.
In Oakland Economic Development Has Reached The “We’re Fucked” Stage
Yep. We’re fucked, folks. The City of Oakland knows it and you know it. We can get out of it, but we have to admit it, first, fast, then take action, and fast. We had the blueprint for the economic engine that can help us in the future and that’s the redevelopment laws of the past. There was no real good reason to get rid of Redevelopment, and since it was terminated, Oakland’s economic divide has only worsened and the Pandemic just made it worse.
And blacks in Oakland need to stop supporting The Sierra Club and form a new approach that fits the needs of the African American community. The problem is too many of us are trapped in thinking about us in a negative fashion, so city policy is focused on crime only, whereas in the Oakland between 1980 and 2010, the policies (like Hire Oakland First) were geared toward the economic needs of black residents. We let that go, and it’s time to bring it back. If you agree that blacks in Oakland are being harmed by a lack of programs and a lack of the social infrastructure that once made sure blacks had greater wealth, then take action. If you believe that you are only as strong as your weakest neighbor, then the only logical action is to help that neighbor, and go tell John Muir what to do with his racist ideas. I know he’s long passed on, but his point of view still holds way too much sway.
Oakland – On Monday September 21st, the Oakland City Council will move one step closer to clarifying to how Oakland will manage and support homeless encampments throughout the city. Led by Councilmember Loren Taylor, the Council’s Life Enrichment Committee hopes to finalize a new Encampment Management Policy.
Councilmember Taylor emphasized that, “When there is a unified chorus from across Oakland including both housed and unhoused residents calling on the Council to provide necessary leadership on this difficult and complicated issue, we must respond to their demand for action. The time is now.”
This new policy explains how the City will reduce the negative health and safety impacts associated with homeless encampments – for both unhoused and housed residents. Although an administrative policy guiding the operational efforts of City departments in addressing encampments has existed since 2017, it was not formally reviewed and adopted by the City Council. As a result, it lacked the benefit of public comment from both housed and unhoused Oakland residents, and it did not reflect consistent policy direction from the Oakland City Council to City departments that this new policy will.
In February, Councilmember Taylor secured a unanimous vote by his City Council colleagues to initiate a robust stakeholder engagement process that would inform the development of a more comprehensive policy that the entire city could align around, ensuring that the City’s activities align with the needs and values of the City and all residents. Since then more than 1,200 residents have participated through the online survey and numerous Council meetings, town halls, and neighborhood meetings to weigh in on open questions including:
1. Should there be areas of the city that are off limits to encampments? If so, where?
2. What rules should be in place for those encampments that do exist to ensure health and safety for all Oaklanders?
3. In what manner should noncompliance with the policy be enforced?
4. For those residents living in encampments, what services and resources should the City provide? Under what circumstances?
Oakland residents are encouraged to share their thoughts and opinions on whether the Council should proceed with this formal policy and what, if any, modifications should be made before final adoption.
To join Monday’s virtual meeting at 1:30pm, login into Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84617479852) or dial +1 669 900 6833 (Webinar ID: 846 1747 9852). For those unable to attend, you are encouraged to send an email message with your comments to the Oakland City Council at [email protected].
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.
ONN – Time To Stop The Left / Right Coal / No Coal Divide And Fix Oakland And America’s Economy Now
Time To Stop The Left / Right Coal / No Coal Divide And Fix Oakland And America’s Economy Now
Hi Allen Michaan,
The time to worry about that came in 1975 for me, when I read Limits To Growth as a teen, and then when I made my first computer-based SD model: 2002. The system dynamics models and literature have warned of this, long ago. We are 10 years behind because that was when zero population growth was to occur.
Allen, the problem is population, okay. We have too many fucking people on the planet, and the best way out of this is to just slow population growth rate. The best way to do that is via promotion of and financing of education worldwide.
Any good bioeconomist will tell you that even if we reach zero emissions, we will not, and I repeat not, stop climate change. Why? Too many people.
Also, wanting to kick people out of their jobs is not only evil, baseless, and lazy (sorry don’t mean to offend), it guarantees Trump a second term. Wake up, my friend. I have a broader view of the nation that you or Dan, or the stupid-assed white supremacist Sierra Club. The white coastal elites are hated by the South and Middle America, and for good reason. People like Dan who want them to lose their jobs and say so, just piss them off.
So, as I said to Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb, we have to fix this. The Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal provides low skill well paying jobs. The homeless in Oakland need them, and so do many in six different states (which have the coal industry). Tom Steyer is playing hedge fund against American society, and it shows. I am committed to forcing America to get back to economic planning without regard for politics. It’s what we did with the Defense Industry, and now we’re not doing it at all. The economic whole of our nation has been TORN because of this.
So, stop Allen. Stop supporting something that has already hurt us. Also, Dan mentioned the lone black person in this – the token. This matter is regarded by a silent majority as a whole as a group who thinks its smarter than others – and are telling them what to do. The fact that this is racially split, in itself, shows that institutional racism has set in.
Engineering – low emissions systems that can transport all bulk commodities including coal are in order. Right now, Allen, Oakland has one of only five low-emissions train engines in the World and for the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal. We can do this, Allen. We will do this. Moreover, we will do this in a way that does not help Trump get four more years.
Pushing workers out of jobs is not something I went to school for, and I will not stand for it today. Economic retention and tech training is the key.
Get on the right side Allen – you’re on the wrong one. Climate change is here, we have known this. But we STOPPED the ethic of fixing the problem, and now just want to say no. Not me. No way. Do the hard thing. And then keep doing the hard thing. No lazy thinking. We were supposed to have a DAMN space station colony called L5. Then, nothing. All of the ideas and plans I grew up with went away. It’s time to bring them back. Yelling “no coal” when that industry is still a Worldwide operating culture and making steel to make cities makes me think someone’s doing too many drugs.
We need to fix that industry, where the USA is number three in the World, and move forward. I’m not letting Tom Steyer devalue coal so he can buy up the reserves for himself. Bullshit, man. Bullshit. Don’t drink his fucking kool-aid, okay?
Thanks.
Be well.
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.
City of Oakland Seeks Applicants for New Homeless Advisory Commission. 9-member board recommends strategies to remedy homelessness and advises on priorities for Vacant Parcel Tax funds for homeless services
Oakland, CA – The City of Oakland is establishing its first-ever Homeless Advisory Commission and is seeking nine qualified Oakland residents to sit on the inaugural board. City Councilmembers make recommendations on Commissioners to the Mayor, who appoints them for the Council’s confirmation.
The Homeless Advisory Commission was created by Measure W, the Vacant Parcel Tax ballot measure, a special parcel tax on vacant properties to support homeless services and address illegal dumping, passed by Oakland voters in November 2018. The Homeless Advisory Commission is charged with making recommendations to the City Council about strategies to remedy homelessness and providing oversight of the Vacant Property Tax, which is anticipated to generate about $7 million per year for homeless and illegal dumping services.
“The impacts of COVID-19 on our economy in general, and on housing insecurity and homelessness in particular, make this Commission more important than ever,” said Mayor Schaaf. “I look forward to collaborating with the Council in seating and launching Oakland’s first-ever Homeless Advisory Commission in November 2020.”
The Homeless Advisory Commission will:
Review financial and operational reports related to the expenditure of the Vacant Parcel Tax homeless services fund.
Publish recommendations on how to prioritize the allocation of funds for services and programs for homeless people and the impacts of programs funded by the Vacant Property Tax.
Make recommendations to the Mayor and the City Council regarding homelessness priorities and present budget recommendations for the prioritization of Vacant Parcel Tax funds for each two-year budget.
Review and respond to the City’s Homeless Encampment Policy and the Permanent Access to Housing (PATH) plan.
Hear reports on the housing, programs, and services for people experiencing homelessness in Oakland, including street outreach, homeless shelters, transitional housing, housing exits, and permanent supportive housing.
The Homeless Advisory Commission is comprised as follows:
Consists of nine (9) members who are all residents of the City.
No less than half of the members must be residents of heavily impacted neighborhoods.
No fewer than two (2) members must be currently homeless, formerly homeless or low- income, as the term “low income” is defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
No fewer than three (3) members must have professional expertise in, or be providers of, homeless services or housing, with priority given to individuals with a background in affordable housing, shelter management, or public health.
No fewer than one (1) representative must have financial expertise.
Members may fulfill more than one (1) of these criteria for the purposes of meeting these requirements.
Applications are new being accepted. Oaklanders interested in being considered for nomination should submit their application online at https://oakland.granicus.com/boards/w/8552f8c4c0e15460/boards/36365
The application period closes on Friday, October 16. The goal is to present a list of Commissioners for City Council’s confirmation in November 2020.
Oakland is suffering a serious housing crisis, making housing at all levels of affordability, and particularly affordable housing, scarce and unavailable for many Oakland residents. The 2019 point-in-time count estimated that there are 4,071 homeless people in Oakland, up 47% from two years ago. This represents about half of the total number of unsheltered residents in Alameda County.
Post based on press release from City of Oakland to Zennie62Media, Inc.
After every fire, Health hazards abound from the burning processes of destruction. Those TOXINS must be removed before “Repopulation” can begin. In the case of the Homeless, cities RARELY address the surface toxins. I always demand a Power-washing of the affected areas to address out gassing VOC odors, and chemicals broken down and are now Health hazards.
These are some of the Life-Shortening issues faced daily by living Unhoused. Average life is shortened by 15-25%!!!
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.
ONN – Aftermath of a fire, TOXINS are hurdles to be addressed by Derrick Soo
After every fire, Health hazards abound from the burning processes of destruction. Those TOXINS must be removed before “Repopulation” can begin. In the case of the Homeless, cities RARELY address the surface toxins. I always demand a Power-washing of the affected areas to address out gassing VOC odors, and chemicals broken down and are now Health hazards.
These are some of the Life-Shortening issues faced daily by living Unhoused. Average life is shortened by 15-25%!!!
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.
Sanpete County Utah has a population of over 27,000 people, and is located 122 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah. Of late, in the ongoing push to build the much-needed Insight Terminal Solutions Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal and replaced the lost low-skill, well-paying jobs that went away with the closure of the Oakland Army Base in 2000, Sanpete County has come into focus.
The reason is that Sanpete County is one of four Utah counties (which are Sevier, Carbon and Emery), which intend to provide financial support of $20 million from a $53 million state economic development fund.
The media consistently gets what the Utah PCIB does completely wrong. In all of the explanations I have read from traditional news organizations, they express surprise that the Utah Legislature (at least the Republican side) would think of using funds from the Utah Permanent Community Impact Board for the ITS Oakland Bulk and Oversize Terminal.
Without spending more time on revealing those words from traditional media, let’s jump right to the real explanation of what the Utah Permanent Community Impact Board does – right from its own grant and loan program page:
The Permanent Community Impact Fund Board (CIB) is a program of the State of Utah authorized in Section 35A-8-301, et seq. The goal of the CIB is to maximize the long term benefit of funds derived from these lease revenues and bonus payments by fostering funding mechanisms which will, consistent with sound financial practices, result in the greatest use of financial resources for the greatest number of citizens of this state, with priority given to those communities designated as impacted by the development of natural resources covered by the Mineral Leasing Act. TheCIB’s source of funding is a portion of federal mineral lease royalties returned to the State by theFederal Government. https://jobs.utah.gov/housing/community/cib/documents/cibreport.pdf
And the real reason the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal has come into focus is because the words “greatest use of financial resources for the greatest number of citizens of this state, with priority given to those communities designated as impacted by the development of natural resources covered by the Mineral Leasing Act” translate to “we need the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal to help save coal industry jobs, by allowing businesses in our counties a better way to get their coal product to the overseas markets that demand them.” If you understand that, then you do understand why the fund was tapped.
On The Supposed Reason For The Opposition To Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal, Climate Change, And System Dynamics
Before I continue, let me get this out of the way: climate change is not something new, and because the fact is that climate change has been with us as a problem for most of my 58 years on this planet. I was born August 4th, 1962, in Chicago. That year, we had an estimated 180 million people in America and about 2.6 billion on the Earth, as a whole. Since then, the United States has expanded to 330 million people and the Earth is just over 7 billion people – we’ve added 4.4 billion more people in my 58 years.
There’s one fact in all of this: as we add more people to a room, the temperature in that room increases.
In 1979, and via a family friend, I was introduced to The Limits To Growth: a book by Dennis and Donnella Meadows, and The Club Of Rome-financed MIT Project on the Predicament Of Mankind (that was the title). It was written in 1971, and introduced to me the problem-framing concept called System Dynamics (I am now an expert in System Dynamics). System Dynamics was originally created by MIT Professor Jay Forrester and introduced in a book called Industrial Dynamics. But that was based on one kind of model made in a programming language called DYNAMO.
What the The Limits To Growth presented was a much more advanced System Dynamics model called World 3. As Magne Myrtveit put it in his paper “The World Model Controversy”:
Limits To Growth MIT Team
In 1971 Jay Forrester published his book World Dynamics, where he presented a high-level simulation model of the socio-economic-environmental world system. The main purpose of the model and the accompanying book was to encourage an open debate about the long-term future on our planet. The World Model was created in a time where pollution and other negative effects of industrialization and economic growth started to become recognized. Forrester made the assumption that life on earth is bounded within certain limits, such as available space and resources. Based on this he concluded that exponential economic growth cannot continue forever; sooner or later one or more limits will be reached. The question, then, is how mankind can manage its own future in ways that can avoid an unpleasant encounter with the limits to growth.
Since then, a number of researchers have concluded that constant increases in population growth have caused global warming. The World Models forecast that, eventually, population will fall. Indeed, the World Models presented in the book The Limits To Growth, and then Beyond The Limits in 1993, both originally predicted that would happen in the year 2000 and then the forecast was adjusted for 2010; this is 2020. We’re 10-years into living on borrowed time, because the World’s population is still growing, and with it the rate of change in the climate.
The scientists who have emerged to publish on this and point the finger singularly at traditional energy as the cause of climate change are not trained in system dyanamics. Thus, they collect data, but lack the right paradigm from which to think about what numbers they gathered. World modeling using a system dynamics approach consistently shows population growth to be the problem. Moreover, The Limits To Growth models and books, introduced the concept of climate change decades ago. And in this, a number of scientists who are more focused on ecology have said this:
The largest single threat to the ecology and biodiversity of the planet in the decades to come will be global climate disruption due to the buildup of human-generated greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. People around the world are beginning to address the problem by reducing their carbon footprint through less consumption and better technology. But unsustainable human population growth can overwhelm those efforts, leading us to conclude that we not only need smaller footprints, but fewer feet.
And to bring the point home, zero-emissions will not stop climate change pressures unless population growth slows. The good news, from every indicator, is that the gradual lessening of the rate of growth of population slowed from just over 2 percent 50 years ago to about 1.05 percent, today. So, from this, we have another 50 years of time. The “10 years from now” forecast of climate change impact should have happened in 2000, but it did not. But, the cold fact is the result, a reduced rate of growth in population, is the desired one. The point is, low emissions operation is the focus of the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal, but the opposition to it, as well as the reasons for it, are unrealistic.
To better understand the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal, listen to then-Oakland Economic Development Director Fred Blackwell talk about it with me in 2012:
Note that, at the video’s 3:14 mark, Mr. Blackwell says that the use of rail rather than trucks supports the West Oakland Environmental Justice Movement (which he shorthand refers to as “things going on there”).
If Climate Change Due To Global Warming Is Here, And OBOT Is Low Emissions, Why Stop People From Working?
Now, the opposition to the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal has made a lot of wild and completely baseless comments about it. For example, some claim that it will cause coal in open hopper cars to go through poor neighbors in Oakland. Not true. First, OBOT will use covered hopper cars. Second, the rail lines used run through Port of Oakland land and Jack London Square, where the dwellings are for middle to high-income residents for the most part. Third, still others say that they don’t want coal to be delivered to China and other nations that rely on traditional energy.
The fact is that traditional energy is still cheaper to produce than renewable energy at this point, and efforts are being made to make it more environmentally friendly. Our focus should be in encouraging increases in rates of education as a way to cause a reduction in world population growth, faster. But robbing the workers in Sanpete County, Utah from jobs today because of a future that’s already here in climate change, and one that’s going to come in reducing rates of population growth, is nothing less than evil.
Indeed, Robert Stevens, Managing Editor Of The Sanpete Messenger, wrote this in support of the Insight Terminal Solutions Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal:
The four counties invested in this project all have strong economic ties to coal. With the demand for domestic coal dropping all the time, but booming in countries like Japan, the coal industry in Utah could stand to benefit a lot from access to an export terminal like the one ITS is developing.
The unique location of the port, which is being built at a former Army base on the Port of Oakland, has the two important components to make it all happen—a deep water bay for heavy coal ships, and a rail line connection. If the terminal is realized, 10 million tons of Utah coal could come in via rail each year, get loaded on ships and be exported to Asia.
Yet, with that, we have some in Utah, at the Salt Lake Tribune, openly saying that coal workers in Sanpete County should be transitioned to other supposedly “cleaner” jobs. The problem is we are in the middle of a Pandemic that has caused the elimination of many service jobs, while manufacturing and transportation positions largely remain. The Salt Lake Tribuneseems more interested in driving support for businesses that the Huntsman Family has an investment in (they own the news organization), than saving the coal industry jobs in Sanpete County, Utah.
The reason I sought Insight Terminal Solutions as a client for Zennie62Media was not just that I have a history with OBOT that goes back to 1991, or because I have a network of 100 blogs and hundreds of social media and YouTube platforms, but because my formal training is in economic development. In other words, job creation for an urban area.
Sanpete County, Utah needs the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal for jobs, just as the homeless in West Oakland do. To deny both for flimsy reasons that crumble when someone asks why 18-wheel trucks are still running through West Oakland neighborhoods is criminal, or should be considered that.
ONN – Nights Getting Cold In Oakland, Shelters Burn, People DIE – by Derrick Soo
Mayor Libby Schaaf has FORCED people to live in only “Soft” shelters on Oakland’s streets. My Tiny Home HOA’s would remove these “Death Shelters” from many hazards including intentional “Burnouts”. As we begin to head into Winter, more encampment fires via Accident or Vandalism, will occur more frequently. My PATH Program utilizing Arched Cabins are STEEL framed with a STEEL exterior, and can house EVERY Homeless person for a fraction of the $23 MILLION spent every year since 2016. Oakland has the Real Estate in the Oakland Land Trust, but Mayor Schaaf refuses to make available, that List. Those properties normally would be “Sold” to the highest bidder. Guess who is buying those properties? SLUMLORDS, Developers & “Filppers”.
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.
ONN – Smoke Filled Air From California Fires Hitting Oakland’s Homeless Encampments – by Derrick Soo
Smoke Filled Air From California Fires Hitting Oakland’s Homeless Encampments – by Derrick Soo
This morning I woke up late thinking it’s still dark out! Looked at my phone to discover its 8 AM. Winds have shifted and blowing Fire smoke and ash into a Bay Area “Mars” like look.
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.
I’ve noticed a really annoying trend in the San Francisco Bay Area of late, more specifically the last six years, and more intensely over the last four years (which happens to coincide with the election of Donald Trump as POTUS). It’s white folks telling black folks what racism is.
W.Kamal Bell
The most bothersome examples pop-up in news publications, and in social media, again, related to something a news reporter thinks or someone who dares write a “letter to the editor”.
Let’s take one piece written by Richard Keats II that I happened to see in Berkeleyside, and related to what happened to local comedian W.Kamal Bell at the closed Elmwood Café, now called Baker & Commons.
If you remember, what happened that eventually launched W.Kamal Bell into national view thanks to CNN, was that he was walking up to meet his wife and a friend, when a worker rushed out and ordered him to leave area. The worker believed that Mr. Bell was a homeless black man and in the worker’s mind, it was just fine to treat him as undesirable. The worker’s prejudice was so deep, the person did not even stop to consider that the “ homeless black man” was actually a black man who knew the white folks he was talking to, let alone married to one of them!
What happened to W.Kamal Bell is all too common in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in America: someone white thinks someone else who’s black, basically, just doesn’t belong. The many ways this staple of institutional racism is expressed are legion:
• A white student at Berkeley thinks a black student got in only because of affirmative action, and says so.
• White San Francisco Bay Area news reporters constantly couch something a black person does that they don’t like as criminal or illegal, whereas a white person is called “clever” or pioneering, or some equivalent. (Media and technology are the last bastions of white supremacist thought in America. Just count the micro-small number of media and tech organizations owned by blacks – like Zennie62Media, Inc.)
• A white woman gets upset that a black man is singing “Grease” out loud with his white female friends, and so voices her displeasure. (That happened to me in Las Vegas two years ago at the Cosmopolitan LV.)
• A white woman comes upon black men setting up a barbecue at Lake Merritt, tells them she bought the Lake for $5 million (a good reason to immediately brand her as nuts), and harasses them for two hours before calling 9-11 on them because she says they’re not supposed to cook there. (That was BBQ Becky AKA Jennifer Schulte, in Oakland two years ago.)
As I wrote, I can go on and on and on. But here comes people like Richard Keats II who have the nerve to write that “The slight W. Kamau Bell experienced at the Elmwood Café does not rise to the level of racism. He just experienced several seconds of emotional agitation.” Seriously, he wrote that. He did.
Richard Keats II is not black – he’s white. In his letter, he does not stop to show any type of sympathy for what W. Kamau Bell experienced. He does what a giant number of white folks have done since 2016: witness a racist act done to someone black, or do it themselves, and then says what happened was not racist when the black victim dares speak up. This crap must stop. For someone who has not walked your shoes to tell you what to think and how to feel is, in itself, offensive. And its racist, on top of the racist actions such responses seek to defend.
In Richard Keats II’s mind, racism has to be something violent. Also, he thinks that if W. Kamau Bell was more communicative, there would not be a problem. That’s crazy. Mr. Keats doesn’t seem to get that what the worker did was wrong – period. Mr. Bell should not have had to explain anything to him.
What Mr. Keats and others who think like him seem to want is some door to be kept open that allows them to be mean to black folks. What cracked me up about what Mr. Keats wrote back in 2018 was that he came up with this typically Bay Area psuedo-scientific “let me show I can do research and cite articles to prove I’m smart” bullshit approach to justify that he, when it all breaks down, just doesn’t want to see how a black person perceives the world around them. And just wants to be racist toward that black person – but in a way that he, Keats, doesn’t think is racist. Wow.
Even worse, the “research” examples he provides have zero to do with blacks and racism. He refers to the LGBTQ community, as if that’s, well, the same. It is, only from a straight-white-male-centric point of view. Which, I might add, a person does not have to be straight, white, or male to have – one can be black and afflicted with the same problem. Think about that when a black person tells you “The white man’s ice is colder.”
Wake up, will ya?
Keats, and others like him, seem to forget is that if we as a society keep letting what he calls “slights” that “ don’t rise to the level of racism” go, eventually, we get the many racist encounters that have been captured on cell phone camera this year. All done by white people who did not get the message that they were being racist, and quite possibility had a habit of that kind of behavior before it was captured on camera. Amy Cooper, in New York’s Central Park, making a fake “help, a black man’s attacking me” call to the NYPD. I’ll bet that’s not the first time she’s done something like that.
In this post-George Floyd world, what anyone white must stop doing is discounting the complaints of someone black that they’re being racist. That white person must train themselves to ask one question of that black person: “How can I be better?” Then, they have to be prepared to listen.
We can’t have a society where only white women can say that we should hear them. Everyone has to listen to each other. If I say something you did was racist, don’t tell me it wasn’t and don’t try and find someone else black to cover for you. Humble yourself and ask how you can be a better person toward me. Ask me what it is to be treated in a racist way. Then, take a seat, and say nothing: just listen.
Stay tuned. Happy Star Trek Day! (Remember the IDIC?)
And watch W. Kamau Bell’s show United Shades on CNN. After all, it was basically born in Berkeley, at The Elmwood Café.
We had a educational good time @hodge4oakland @djigorbeatz #marciehodge4oaklandcitycouncil
For full interview, go to @djigorbeatz #igtv
Save the date!! September 9, 2020 @hodge4oakland and team will be at Foothill square, networking and sharing Marcie Hodge platform, campaign information to distribute, along with lawn-sign looking for volunteers etc
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.
Building an Economic Roadmap for Oakland
From YouTube Channel: September 1, 2020 at 08:53PM
ONN – Bloomberg Associates Building an Economic Roadmap For Oakland, But…
On YouTube, Bloomberg Associates posted this video and wrote:
Bloomberg Associates worked with the City of Oakland to balance its rapid economic growth with its core values of equity and inclusion.
Should we then blame Bloomberg Associates for Oakland’s homeless problem?
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 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 – Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan has been urging the City to take action to acquire available buildings, such as SROs, hotels, and dormitories, to help house the homeless. The Council unanimously passed Kaplan’s resolution on March 27, 2020, urging rapid action on this due to the growing COVID-19 crisis, and to protect those most vulnerable in our community.
Today, the Oakland City Council held a Special Council Meeting to approve the acquisition of a dormitory to help house those in need, and to apply for the State of California’s Homekey grant program. Council President Kaplan is pleased to announce that she and her colleagues unanimously voted to send applications to the state and to authorize a deal to purchase the California College of the Arts (CCA) Clifton Hall dormitory.
The Clifton Hall dorm is a four story building, with 63 units, in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. On the top two floors of the building, Clifton Hall will provide 42 units of permanent housing for seniors experiencing homelessness and at high risk of contracting COVID-19. The second floor will become the permanent home for a 20-household family shelter. On the ground floor, the building will house the offices of Family Front Door, which serves as the hub for the Coordinated Entry System (CES) for homeless families in Northern Alameda County.
Kaplan stated: “It is vital that we take action to respond to the homelessness crisis, prevent the spread of disease, and protect our community, including vulnerable seniors. I am pleased that we were able to work together to pass vital actions, to make it possible to acquire this dorm, and other properties, to help those in need.”
Link to the Item on the August 28th Council Agenda, to acquire this dorm:
With spread of COVID, bad air and displacement we must protect our community. Authored budget action and Council resolution, directing the admin to acquire buildings to house the homeless. https://t.co/5jekdiDiZn Have obtained an SRO, and planning actions to acquire dorms, etc.
— Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland Vice Mayor (@Kaplan4Oakland) August 26, 2020
Oakland – Oakland Unified School District announces its policy to serve nutritious meals every school day under the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and/or Afterschool Snack Program. Effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals if the household income is less than or equal to the federal guidelines
OUSD Lunch Time
Households do not need to turn in an application when the household receives a notification letter saying that all children automatically qualify for free meals when any household member receives benefits from CalFresh, CalWORKs, or FDPIR. Children who meet the definition of foster, homeless, migrant, or runaway, and children enrolled in their school’s Head Start program are eligible for free meals. Contact school officials if any child in the household is not on the notification letter. The household must let school officials know if they do not want to receive free or reduced-price meals.
Applications for the free and reduced-price meal program are available online at this email address: https://family.titank12.com/application/new?identifier=NY34JE Households that want to apply for meal benefits, must fill out one application for all children in the household. Households that need assistance can contact the Nutrition Services Department office at 2850 West Street, Oakland, CA 94608, or by phone at 510 879-1700.
Free Eligibility Scale
Households may complete an online application at any time during the school year. If you are not eligible now, but your household income goes down, household size goes up, or a household member starts receiving CalFresh, CalWORKs, or FDPIR, you may complete an application at that time. Information given on the application will be used to determine eligibility and may be verified at any time during the school year by school officials. The last four digits of the Social Security number from any adult household or checking that you do not have a Social Security number is required if you include income on the application.
Households that receive Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits, may be eligible for free or reduced-price meals by completing an online application.
Foster children are always eligible for free meals and may be included as a household member if the foster family chooses to also apply for the non-foster children on the same application. Including foster children as a household member may help the non-foster children qualify for free or reduced-price meals. If the non-foster children are not eligible, this does not keep foster children from receiving free meals. A completed application must be submitted for all children including foster children.
Your child’s eligibility status from last school year will continue into the new school year for up to 30 school days or until the school processes your new application whichever comes first, or your child is otherwise certified for free or reduced-price meals. After the 30 school days, your child will have to pay full price for meals, unless the household receives a notification letter for free or reduced-price meals. School officials do not have to send reminder or expired eligibility notices.
If you do not agree with the decision or results of verification, you may discuss it with school officials. You also have the right to a fair hearing, which may be requested by writing or calling the hearing official: Gabriel Valenzuela at 1000 Broadway, Suite 150, Oakland, 94607. That phone number is (510) 879-4281, and the fax is (510) 879-3678.
Oakland Unified School District is an equal opportunity provider.
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.
This post based on a press release from OUSD to Zennie62Media, Inc.
I hope you and your loved ones are hanging in there as we in Oakland contend with wildfires in addition to COVID. Big appreciations to our firefighters, first responders and health professionals during these challenging times.
In this newsletter, you’ll find information on these topics:
New multilingual, multicultural COVID Test Site in Oakland Chinatown
Red Flag Warning until Monday 5pm
Spare the Air Alert through Wednesday
Emergency Preparedness
New COVID Test Site in Oakland Chinatown Supporting Multilingual, Multicultural Care
Last Tuesday, August 18, Oakland Asian Health Services and Alameda County launched a new multilingual, multicultural COVID-19 test site in Chinatown at Madison Park, long a beloved cultural keeping spot for our API neighbors. The free public site features testing and support services in 12 Asian languages including Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog and Mongolian.
Tests are available to everyone. Payment or insurance are not required, and immigration status will not be asked. The test site is open Tuesdays from noon to 7 pm and Thursdays and Fridays from 8 am to 4 pm. People who want to get tested can make an appointment at www.color.com/AHS. For help, people can call the multilingual line at Asian Health Services at (510) 735-3222.
I was so pleased to support the opening of this test site and join the public launch. This test site is a place for total care and is a model for the entire state. By partnering with a community health center and several community organizations, this site offers culturally competent and linguistically accessible COVID testing, along with critical resources and referrals for a range of issues, and education about the Census and voter registration.
Councilmember Bas Gets Tested For COVID-19
I also got tested and got my results the following day, which were negative. Please be vigilant by wearing a mask, practicing physical distancing, washing your hands, and staying home as much as possible. If we all follow the County Health Orders, we can slow the spread, protect our community and eventually re-open our schools and businesses.
Red Flag Warning Until Monday 5pm
The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the entire San Francisco / Oakland Bay Area until 5 PM on Monday, August 24. NWS forecasts: “erratic gusty outflow winds can lead to potentially dangerous and unpredictable fire behavior on existing wildfires while additional lightning strikes may result in new wildfire starts.”
In addition to the Oakland Fire Department’s normal operations, firefighters are conducting roving fire patrols in the Oakland Hills. These resources will augment the department’s normal hill company patrols that are out during high fire danger.
Additionally, a State of California Office of Emergency Services engine is pre-positioned in Oakland, and OFD crews will be on stand-by; patrols and staffing may be lengthened or shortened depending on conditions.
OFD Fire Inspectors will also be patrolling Joaquin Miller Park, which is closed on Red Flag Days, to inform the public present at the park of the closure request that they leave the park. The park closure shall be lifted once the Red Flag conditions have subsided and the National Weather Service has lifted the warning for our regional area.
Oakland Fire will continue to collaborate with county partners for mutual aid. Twenty-seven total firefighters are deployed at the CZU lightening complex.
NWS Red Flag Warning
Help Reduce the Chance of Wildfire in Oakland
In accordance with Oakland Municipal Code, Joaquin Miller Park is closed to the public on Red Flag days. Signs will be posted at all park entrances and trails regarding the closure.
Other parks, trails, and recreational facilities may also be closed to visitors due to the high risk of fire.
Barbeques are prohibited in all City parks when there is a Red Flag warning in effect.
The Oakland Fire Department urges extreme caution, because a simple spark can cause a major wildfire.
Get Emergency Alerts on Your Phone or Email
Get alerted about emergencies by signing up for AC Alert to receive phone calls and messages on your mobile, home, or work phone; by text message; and by email. AC Alert will provide you with critical information quickly in a variety of emergencies, including fires, severe weather, earthquakes, unexpected road closures, and evacuations of buildings or neighborhoods.
AC Alert is a unified emergency notification system for Alameda County residents, businesses and visitors. An AC Alert subscription is free, and all residents and business owners are strongly encouraged to sign up.
What is a Red Flag Warning?
The National Weather Service issues Red Flag Warnings to alert fire departments of the onset, or possible onset, of critical weather and dry conditions that could lead to rapid or dramatic increases in wildfire activity. Firefighters will raise red flags at fire stations to warn residents of extreme fire weather, as warnings are issued by the National Weather Service.
A Red Flag Warning is issued for weather events which may result in extreme fire behavior that will occur within 24 hours. A Red Flag Warning is the highest alert. During these times extreme caution is urged by all residents, because a simple spark can cause a major wildfire.
Spare the Air Alert Through Wednesday
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is extending a Spare the Air Alert for wildfire smoke through Wednesday, August 26, which bans burning wood or any other solid fuel, both indoors and outdoors. Wildfire smoke from numerous fires inside and outside of the Bay Area is causing elevated levels of particulate pollution. Elderly persons, children, individuals with respiratory illnesses, and unsheltered persons are particularly susceptible and should take extra precautions to avoid exposure.
Check air quality with the EPA’s Air Quality Index (airnow.gov) and be sure to use the map to find your closest sensor for the most accurate reading. Another resource is Purple Air which offers real-time air quality monitoring.
Stay Safe When It’s Smoky, Oakland!
Stay indoors with windows and doors closed.
Keep indoor air cool or visit an air-cooling center (see these heat resources).
Set home and car ventilation systems on re-circulate to prevent drawing in outside air.
Stay hydrated by drinking water.
Limit or avoid outdoor recreational and sports activities.
Stay Safe From Smoke
Resources for Oakland Unsheltered Homeless Residents
During air quality events, Alameda County Health Care for the Homeless has N95 masks available for outreach providers who can distribute them to unsheltered people experiencing homelessness. Please contact [email protected] or call (510) 891-8950 to pick up masks. County, city, outreach workers and community volunteers may distribute N95 air masks to unsheltered persons at risk, if air quality is projected to be at dangerous levels (red) for a sustained period of time. Masks provide limited, but important protection to people in open air — however, it’s best to stay indoors. My District 2 Office also has some N95 masks available for homeless residents in our neighborhoods; please email me at [email protected] for assistance.
Oaklander Emergency Preparedness
There are many resources to support us in being prepared for emergencies. Here are a few helpful links:
CAL FIRE Ready for Wildfire
Alameda County Public Health
Oakland Fire Safe Council
Oakland Community Preparedness & Response Program
Stay safe!
With Oakland Love,
Nikki Fortunato Bas
Councilmember, City of Oakland, District 2
The Joshua Pawlik Shooting is the focus of the just released report by Robert Warshaw, the Thelton E. Henderson court-appointed monitor of the Oakland Police Department in the wake of the events of The Riders Case. Below, is a digitized version of the report. You can also download it here. You can also read former … Read more
