Oakland Sought Proposals From White Developers To Compete Against Black NFL Group For Coliseum ONN – Oakland Sought Proposals From White Developers To Compete Against Black NFL Group For Coliseum – vlog by Zennie62 YouTube City Of Oakland Sought Proposals From White Developers To Compete Against Black NFL Group For Coliseum Former Oakland Raiders / … Read more
Bill Carroll’s Saturday Superlatives 11-15 RBs: Kevin Harris Of S.Carolina Was king, Teon Dollard ONN – Bill Carroll’s Saturday Superlatives 11-15 RBs: Kevin Harris Of S.Carolina Was king, Teon Dollard – vlog by Zennie62 YouTube Several backs impressed, the: ACC, MAC, PAC-12 and SEC and Sun Belt were all represented. Note from Zennie62Media’s Zennie62 YouTube … Read more
As part of “Salute to Service,” the National Football League (NFL) this week announced its expanded plans to honor, empower and connect our nation’s service members, veterans and their families. COVID-19 has brought exceptional challenges to the military community that underscore the importance of supporting service members and veterans more than ever. Since 2011, this … Read more
Boston DeCastro, 3-Months-Old, Needs Mixed Caucasian – Filipino Stem Cell Donor Boston DeCastro, 3-Months-Old, Needs Mixed Caucasian – Filipino Stem Cell Donor. He is in a hospital in Winnipeg. Here is the full story from the GoFundMe Page set up for him: Rex and Simone welcomed a beautiful baby boy into the world, only 3 … Read more
Oakland, FAD – Thanks to the County of Alameda’s Registrar of Voters, Zennie62Media has a table for each rank-choice-voting election in the races for Oakland City Council. This time, we’ll look at Oakland City Council District Three (which happens to be this vlogger’s area). As the Alameda Registrar of Voters sends new updates, those will … Read more
Third Quarter Total Revenue Increased 50 Percent to $39.9 Million Third Quarter Product and Service Revenue Increased 34 Percent to $35.3 Million Driven by COVID-19 Testing GAAP Net Loss in the Third Quarter Was $6.0 Million; Non-GAAP Net Income Was $2.5 Million South San Francisco, Ca — Fluidigm Corporation (Nasdaq:FLDM), an innovative biotechnology tools provider … Read more
Dr. Tina Vasconcellos, Vice President of Student Services at College of Alameda, was honored by Congresswoman Barbara Lee for her leadership in feeding students and community members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tatyana Kalinga, District Director for Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13), presented Dr. Vasconcellos with a letter of commendation from Congresswoman Lee at the College of … Read more
Community Bank of the Bay Earns $1.24 Million in Third Quarter 2020; Deposits Increase 32% and Loans increase 21% Year-Over-Year; Lower Loan Loss Provision Quarter-Over-Quarter As a note, Oakland’s Community Bank of The Bay was started in 1996 by The City of Oakland and with the intention of being the first, true, city-owned bank. A … Read more
Oakland – The City of Oakland received $36.9 million in State of California CARES Act funding. Through the Oakland CARES Arts Technical Assistance Fund, $193,000 has been allocated to provide technical assistance to help Oakland-based arts organizations and artists develop a robust online digital presence.
From November 9 to December 10, Youth Speaks, in partnership with YR Media and Zoo Labs, two Oakland artists-centered organizations, will offer 14 free, virtual workshops to train participants on available tools for programming and production; producing content utilizing low-cost tools and technology; the aesthetic associated with virtual presentations; social media and marketing strategies; and strategies on how to monetize one’s presence. For details on the workshop offerings and registration, please visit lifeisliving.org
“The County’s Shelter-in-place Orders to keep Oaklanders safer have prevented many artists, performers and arts organizations from enriching our community through performances and exhibitions,” said… “These workshops will help our cultural practitioners make the leap to online performances to share their artistic expression and generate much needed income.”
“With our desire to navigate and cross several artistic fields (theatre, poetry, production, music, and beyond), we felt it was important to sculpt bold and precise experiments to help our organizations and partners to navigate this moment in time,” said Joan Osato, Producing Director at Youth Speaks. “We’re thrilled to be able to pass on what we’ve learned to our beloved community through this project.”
Youth Speaks & Life Is living Cohort Workshops
Session 1: Monday, November 9, 4-5:30 p.m.
Grounding Rituals – Facilitated by Hodari B. Davis, and Joan Osato (Life is Living Cohort) Coaching Session that aligns and codifies shared understanding, language and connection to mission, strategy and content. Identifying your audiences and engagement strategy.
Session 2: Monday, November 9, 6-7:30 p.m.
Seeds – Transferring skill sets to virtual engagement and production. How to utilize, train up your existing staff and artists for virtual programming; a 101 tutorial on pre-production, production and post-production, as well as how to budget for it. Training on online tools and platforms including pros and cons of each system, costs and skill sets that are transferable to online programming and production.
Session 3: Wednesday, November 11, 4-5:30 p.m.
Zoomlife – 101 Tutorial on everyday use/user friendly platforms. Zoom world practical applications, tricks and tips. Tech Guide in safety, connectivity, equipment. Producing content and media assets utilizing low-cost tools and technology. Britt White, Life is Living’s Production Manager takes you through the backstage into organizing and running your show. Tech guides included.
Session 4: Wednesday, November 11, 6-7:30 p.m.
Advanced Tutorial on everyday use/user friendly platforms. Bringing the aesthetics of your organization, artists and engagement priorities into the design of your program. Defining aesthetics, goals, participants and barriers and how to address them. Setting your stage, capture process in the time of COVID-19. Editing, and Rehearsal and Tech. This training involves aesthetics, and innovative practice in virtual presentations and programming. Includes examples of presentations, process and technology by which they were achieved.
Session 5: Monday, November 16, 4-5:30pm
Open Broadcasting Software (OBS) & Wirecast Introduction and tutorials. In this session we’ll introduce you to advanced programs that help you capture, produce and stream your content for broadcast. Maximiliano Urruzmendi, Life is Living’s Technical Director takes you through the basics of how the programs work. Handouts Included.
Session 6: Monday, November 16, 6-7:30pm
Principles of Streaming, Wirecast, YouTube, Twitch platforms continued. Now that you have the basic outline of how the platforms work and are in communication with each other, it’s time to plot out your workflow and take it into broadcast. Maximiliano takes you through various streaming services and platforms and the pros and cons of each. Handouts included.
Session 7: Wednesday, November 18, 1-3 p.m.
Merchandising, Monetizing and Creating Earned Revenue Streams – Yavette Holts, founder of BAOBOB (Bay Area Organization of Black Owned Business, Life is Living Cohort) – high level overview of ecommerce platforms in order to support business owners and nonprofits who need help optimizing their online store(s) . We’ll take the participants through the platform WooCommerce.
Session 8: Wednesday, November 18, 6-7:30 p.m.
Pivoting your Organization and Practice (now what?) – We’ll facilitate a conversation about strategies and frameworks for a sustainable future for
organizations and artists and guide and support participants in visioning next steps. Breakout Sessions and Consulting on Scenarios will look at Social media and marketing strategies that apply to virtual programming, including Branding, Analytics and their use in fundraising and strategies for monetizing your platforms. Social Media Toolkit included.
YR Media Workshops
Tuesday, December 1 to Thursday, December 3, 6-7:30 p.m.
Social Circles: Building an Audience in Apocalypse (three-part series)
Now that your fans can’t experience you in a live venue, what do you do to retain and build an audience? How can artists create a personal brand? In this three-part conversation, YR Media’s social team and youth social contributors will show you how to start, and then nurture, an authentic social presence, with recommendations of which platform(s) to target depending on your demographic.
Zoo Labs Workshops (Recommended for Artists/Collectives working in music)
Session 1: Tuesday, December 8, 5-7 p.m.
Your Story Brand – Attendees will learn how to digitally tell a story that can sell and market their brand to their customers. Presented by Mashama Thompson of 510 Media.
Session 2: Wednesday, December 9, 5-7 p.m.
The Digital Roll Out Strategy – Attendees will learn how to strategically engage fans and create buzz around music, videos or other online content. Presented by Lance Coleman, Fuze the MC.
Session 3; Thursday, December 10, 5-7 p.m.
How to Get Paid and Follow the Trends – Attendees will learn how to collect money through their digital royalties and understand their data to know what is working in order to make future strategies. Presented by United Masters.
The workshops are for Oakland residents and reservations are required. Participation in the program is on a first come, first served basis.
This is the latest CARES Act-funded program launched by the City of Oakland. Previously, grant programs for small businesses, individual artists and arts nonprofits, home-based businesses, community-serving nonprofits, and low-income renters and homeowners were announced. Additionally, free legal advice webinars and consultations on lease negotiations are being supported by CARES Act funds. Learn more about the City of Oakland’s $36.9 million in CARES Act Funding at: oaklandca.gov/CaresAct
About Youth Speaks
Through the intersection of arts education and youth development practices, civic engagement strategies, and high-quality artistic presentation, Youth Speaks creates safe spaces that challenge young people to find, develop, publicly present, and apply their voices as creators of societal change. They are the producers of Life is Living is an eco-equity, interdisciplinary festival that centers historically underserved neighborhoods and communities with programming in public spaces that have been otherwise neglected. For the last 13 years, the Life is Living Festival has taken place at De Fremery Park in West Oakland
About YR Media
YR Media is a national network of young journalists and artists who collaborate with peers around the country and top media professionals to create content that matters. It is non-profit production company that builds critical skills in journalism, arts and media.
About Zoo Labs
Zoo Labs a not-for-profit accelerator that bridges art, entrepreneurship, and capital to conduct 3 high level workshops for musicians specifically around branding, music production and entrepreneurship.
Post based on press release from The City of Oakland to Zennie62Media.
Berkeley IGS Poll: Defeat For California Prop 16, Diversity, Prop 21, Rent Control, Unless Young Voters Show.
Was just passed a wake-up call press release on a UC Berkeley Institute Of Government Studies poll that, once again, points to the need for California to split into two states, something that may never happen in this blogger’s lifetime. Cut to the chase: Prop 16 and Prop 21 are in trouble unless young people get out and vote in large numbers.
Close Elections Forecast for Proposition 15 (Split Roll Property Taxes) and Proposition 22 (App-based Drivers)
Prop. 16 (Diversity) and Prop. 21(Rent Control) trail
by Mark DiCamillo, Director, Berkeley Institute Of Governmental Studies Poll
The final pre-election Berkeley IGS Poll finds that Californians are closely divided on two of the most contentious of this year’s state ballot propositions. These include Proposition 15, the “split roll” initiative to tax commercial and industrial properties based on current market value instead of its purchase price, and Proposition 22, the app-based drivers initiative whose aim is to classify such workers as independent contractors rather than employees. In both cases slightly more of those polled said they either already had or were intending to vote Yes than were voting No. However, neither initiative had reached the 50% plus one voter threshold needed for passage two weeks before Election Day at the time the poll was completed.
The poll found 49% of voters in favor of Prop. 15 and 42% on the No side, with 9% undecided. Yet, this lead was less than half the 15-point advantage found in a similar Berkeley IGS Poll last month. When comparing the two polls, the proportion of voters opposed to the initiative had increased 8 points, while support for Prop. 15 was stagnant. If history is any guide, when late campaign shifts toward the No side are observed in heavily contested and well-financed ballot measures like Prop. 15, its lead tends to reduce further in the closing weeks, resulting in a closer outcome.
With regard to Prop. 22, 46% of the voters polled were voting Yes to have app-based drivers be treated as independent contractors, while 42% were voting No to classify them as employees. A sizable 12% were undecided. The early mid-September Berkeley IGS Poll found 39% of likely voters intend to vote Yes on Prop. 22 and 36% are on the No side, with 25% undecided. The relatively large proportions of undecided voters in both polls suggest that many voters were having a difficult time reaching a final decision on this initiative. How these late-deciding voters ultimately come to judgment will likely determine its fate.
The poll finds less support for two other, closely watched measures on the statewide election ballot. These include Proposition 16, an initiative to bring greater diversity into public employment, education, and contracting decisions and overturn a previously approved 1996 ballot initiative, Proposition 209, that banned such affirmative action programs, and Proposition 21, an initiative to expand the authority of local governments to enact rent control laws on residential property. Both measures trailed by double-digit margins in the latest poll, with each receiving less than 40% support.
IGS Co-Director Eric Schickler commented that “the fates of Propositions 15 and 22 will be important signals of whether the state’s Democrats can translate their electoral advantage into substantive policy changes in taxes and corporate governance.”
Berkeley IGS Data
Voters in conflict over competing arguments relating to Proposition 15
In an attempt to better understand voter motivations behind the vote on Prop. 15, the poll asked voters whether they agreed or disagreed with two statements that have been made about Proposition 15, one by initiative proponents and the other by its opponents. The results demonstrate the conflict that many voters face when making a final voting decision on this initiative.
When asked the statement that Prop. 15 will bring much needed revenues to the state’s public schools, community colleges and local governments, 47% of voters agree, while 37% disagree. Opinions about the need for these additional revenues were highly correlated with voting preferences on Prop. 15, with those voting Yes overwhelmingly in agreement (79% to 8%), while No voters disagreed 76% to 13%. Significantly, undecided voters were more likely to agree than disagree, 40% to 13%, although nearly half (47%) had no opinion.
On the other hand, an even larger majority agree that the proposed changes to the way commercial and industrial properties are to be taxed under Prop. 15 would only be the first step in bringing about similar changes to the way residential properties are taxed in the future. A 56% majority of likely voters agreed with this statement, while 19% disagreed and 25% had no opinion. Voters opposed to the initiative overwhelmingly concurred with the statement, 72% to 13%. And even a plurality of Prop. 15’s supporters agreed (47% to 24%), although many had no opinion.
Voting preferences on Prop. 15 vary across major segments of the electorate
The poll finds clear partisan and ideological divisions in voter preferences on Prop. 15. Democrats and self-described liberal voters were favoring the initiative by large margins, while Republicans and conservatives were one-sided in their opposition.
Homeowners were intending to vote No by 10 points, while renters were supporting Prop. 15 by 25 points. Regionally, support for the initiative was greatest among voters in Los Angeles County, the San Francisco Bay Area, while majorities of voters in Orange County and the Central Valley were opposed.
Opinions on Prop. 15 also varied by a voter’s age and educational background. Voters under age 40 were among the initiative’s strongest backers, while pluralities of voters age 50 or older were voting No, especially those age 75 or older. Majorities of voters holding a bachelors’ degree and those who had completed post graduate work were lining up on the Yes side, while pluralities of non-college graduates were voting No.
Subgroup variations on Prop. 22 (App-based Drivers)
Republicans were supporting Prop. 22, the app-based drivers initiative 71% to 21%, while Democrats were opposed, although not by as large a margin, 52% to 34%. No Party Preference and minor party voters were closely divided on the initiative.
Views of Prop. 22 also differed by political ideology as large majorities of conservatives were voting Yes and majorities of liberals were voting No. Significantly, the poll found self-described political moderates backing the initiative by thirteen points, 49% to 36%, with 15% undecided.
There were also big differences in voting preferences by age. The poll found majorities of voters under age 40 on the No side, while pluralities of voters age 50 or older were in favor, in particular, those age 75 or older, who supported it two to one.
On a regional basis, Yes side voters were outnumbering No voters on Prop. 22 across all regions of the state with the exception of the San Francisco Bay Area where it trailed by twenty points and Los Angeles County and the counties north of San Francisco where voters were divided.
While differences were also evident between voters living in union-affiliated households and those in non-union households, these differences were not as large as might be expected given the nature of the initiative and the fact that the state’s labor unions are among its strongest opponents. Voters living in union-affiliated households were opposing the initiative by 51% to 40%, while voters in non-union households were voting in favor 47% to 41%.
In addition, the poll found the state’s Latinos and Asian American voters closely divided on the initiative, while Black voters were backing it by 20 points and whites favoring it by 5 points.
Voting preferences on Prop. 16 (Diversity in Public Employment, Education and Contracting)
When asked how they would vote on Prop. 16, the poll found just 38% of voters backing the measure, while 49% were opposed. While Democrats were supporting the initiative by a nearly two-to-one margin (57% to 26%), Republicans were nearly unanimous in their opposition, with 86% voting No and just 6% voting Yes. Majorities of No Party Preference and minor party voters were also lining up on the No side.
Voting preferences also differed widely by a voter’s self-described political ideology, with more than eight in ten conservatives voting No, and large majorities of liberals voting Yes. However, political moderates, a major swing voting bloc, were opposing Prop. 16 by twenty-three points.
Opposition to Prop. 16 was broad-based across the state’s major geographic regions, with majorities or pluralities of voters in nearly all regions voting No. The lone exception was the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area, where voters were narrowly in favor, 48% to 40%.
While Prop. 16 was being backed by the state’s Black voters by twenty-five points, the state’s Latino voters were about evenly divided. On the other hand, the poll found Asian American voters now joining whites in opposing the initiative.
IGS Co-Director Cristina Mora noted that “the absence of strong Latino support for Proposition 16 is surprising given that the community remains significantly underrepresented in higher education and public employment in California and would stand to benefit from the Proposition’s passage.”
Women voters, another key segment, were closely dividing their votes, with 41% voting Yes and 44% voting No. By contrast, men were heavily on the No side, 54% to 35%.
In addition, the poll found differences in voting preferences by education, with voters non-college graduates opposing Prop. 16 five to three, while voters who had completed post graduate work were backing the initiative by eleven points.
Voter preferences on Prop. 21 (Rent Control)
With regard to Prop 21, just 37% of the voters polled were on the Yes side, while 48% were voting No, and another 15% undecided. Just two years ago California voters rejected a similar rent control ballot initiative 59% to 41%.
The partisan divide in voter preferences on Prop. 21 resembles that of Prop. 16. While Democrats were supporting the initiative roughly two to one (53% to 29%), Republicans were overwhelmingly opposed, 83% to 9%. Pluralities of No Party Preference and minor party voters were also lining up on the No side.
In addition, conservative voters were solidly opposed, while liberals, especially those describing themselves as very liberal were voting Yes. Political moderates were also voting No by seventeen points.
As would be expected, big differences are seen between renters and homeowners on the rent control initiative, with renters backing the initiative 50% to 34%, but homeowners opposed by an even greater 61% to 26% margin.
Preferences on Prop. 21 were also tied to the income level of voters. Majorities of voters at the upper end of the income scale were voting No, while pluralities of voters at the lower end were on the Yes side. Middle-income voters, those whose households earned between $40,000 and $100,000 annually, were also narrowly on the No side.
The poll found the state’s whites opposing the rent control initiative by a wide margin. Black voters were backing the rent control initiative greater than two to one. Latinos were also supportive by a narrower 10-point margin; while the state’s Asian American voters were narrowly on the No side.
There were gender differences on Prop. 21 as well, with male voters opposed by seventeen points (52% to 35%) and women about evenly divided.
About the Institute of Governmental Studies Survey
The findings in this report are based on a Berkeley IGS Poll completed by the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) at the University of California, Berkeley. The poll was administered online in English and Spanish October 16-21, 2020 among 6,686 California registered voters, of whom 5,352 were considered likely to vote or had already voted in this year’s election.The survey was administered by distributing email invitations to stratified random samples of the state’s registered voters. Each email invited voters to participate in a non-partisan survey conducted by the University and provided a link to the IGS website where the survey was housed. Reminder emails were distributed to non-responding voters and an opt-out link was provided for voters not wishing to receive further email invitations.Samples of registered voters with email addresses were provided to IGS by Political Data, Inc., a leading supplier of registered voter lists in California, and were derived from information contained on the state’s official voter registration rolls. Prior to the distribution of emails, the overall sample was stratified by age and gender in an attempt to obtain a proper balance of survey respondents across major segments of the registered voter population.To protect the anonymity of survey respondents, voters’ email addresses and all other personally identifiable information derived from the original voter listing were purged from the data file and replaced with a unique and anonymous identification number during data processing. In addition, post-stratification weights were applied to align the overall sample of registered voters to population characteristics of the state’s registered voters. Likely voters were identified based on a voter’s stated interest in and intention to vote in the election and factoring in their history of voting in past elections.
The sampling errors associated with the results from the survey are difficult to calculate precisely due to the effects of sample stratification and the post-stratification weighting. Nevertheless, it is likely that findings based on the sample of likely voters in the election are subject to a sampling error of approximately +/-2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
PROPOSITION 15: INCREASES FUNDING SOURCES FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, COMMUNITY COLLEGES, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES BY CHANGING TAX ASSESSMENT OF COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
Taxes such properties based on current market value, instead of the purchase price. Fiscal impact: Increased property taxes on commercial properties worth more than $3 million providing $6.5 billion to $11.5 billion in new funding to local governments and schools. (If the election were held today how would you vote on Proposition 15?) (How did you vote on Proposition 15?)
PROPOSITION 16: ALLOWS DIVERSITY AS A FACTOR IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION AND CONTRACTING DECISIONS. LEGISLATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Permits government decision-making policies to consider race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in order to address diversity by repealing constitutional provisions prohibiting such policies. Fiscal Impact: No direct fiscal effect on state and local entities. The effects of the measure depend on the future choices of state and local government entities and are highly uncertain. (If the election were held today how would you vote on Proposition 16?) (How did you vote on Proposition 16?)
PROPOSITION 21: EXPANDS LOCAL GOVERNMENTS’ AUTHORITY TO ENACT RENT CONTROL ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Allows local governments to establish rent control on residential properties over 15 years old. Local limits on rate increases may differ from statewide limit. Fiscal Impact: Overall, a potential reduction in state and local revenues in the high tens of millions of dollars per year over time. Depending on actions by local communities, revenue losses could be less or more. (If the election were held today how would you vote on Proposition 21?) (How did you vote on Proposition 21?)
PROPOSITION 22: EXEMPTS APP-BASED TRANSPORTATION AND DELIVERY COMPANIES FROM PROVIDING EMPLOYEE BENEFITS TO CERTAIN DRIVERS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Classifies app-based drivers as “independent contractors,” instead of “employees,” and provides independent-contractor drivers other compensation, unless certain criteria are met. Fiscal Impact: Minor increase in state income taxes paid by rideshare and delivery company drivers and investors. (If the election were held today how would you vote on Proposition 22?) (How did you vote on Proposition 22?)
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (order of statements rotated)
“The proposed changes to how commercial and industrial properties are taxed under this year’s Proposition 15 ballot initiative are only the first step to making other similar changes to the way residential properties are taxed in the future.”
“The additional tax revenues that Proposition 15 would bring to the state’s public schools, community colleges and local governments are needed given the large revenue losses these institutions are facing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.”
About the Institute of Governmental Studies
The Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) is an interdisciplinary organized research unit that pursues a vigorous program of research, education, publication and public service. A component of the University of California system’s flagship Berkeley campus, IGS is one of the oldest organized research units in the UC system and the oldest public policy research center in the state. IGS’s co-directors are Professor Eric Schickler and Associate Professor Cristina Mora.
IGS conducts periodic surveys of public opinion in California on matters of politics and public policy through its Berkeley IGS Poll. The poll, which is disseminated widely, seeks to provide a broad measure of contemporary public opinion, and to generate data for subsequent scholarly analysis. The director of the Berkeley IGS Poll is Mark DiCamillo. For a complete listing of stories issued by the Berkeley IGS Poll go to https://www.igs.berkeley.edu/research/berkeley-igs-poll
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.
ONN – Is Rick Tripp, Who Claims To Have Oakland Coliseum Stadium Proposal, A Real Developer? Let’s Review
About a month ago, Ray Bobbitt announced his plan to form a black NFL team ownership group. Then, two weeks ago, Bobbitt introduced the members of that organization. Now, a new development that’s an old name to anyone who has paid attention to sports stadium development in Oakland: Rick Tripp.
The last time Rick Tripp surfaced it was in the case of the development of a stadium for the Oakland A’s. Mr. Tripp claimed to have a plan for private financing for it. That was in 2015. The trouble is, Rick never presented the plan.
The livestream above details what happened back then, and asks why Rick Tripp only focuses on Oakland stadium development, and has no track record of sports stadium and facility development, even though his Linkedin page says he does.
I don’t just do this, and it’s a hard thing to write because at one point I regarded Rick as a friend, but I have to share my personal experience and concerns, here and in the livestream. Oakland needs to move forward, not backward.
Rick says he’s interested in sports facilities development in California, but he never surfaced for the Warriors Arena project, or The San Francisco 49ers Stadium Project, or San Jose Earthquakes, for that matter. Only Oakland.
Why? Plus, when he was to get a stadium spreadsheet to me in 2015, he sent a generic developer punch list, but not a spreadsheet. Something was off then, and now.
Stay tuned.
Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a YouTube channel. When the video is “liked” by Zennie62 YouTube, then it is automatically uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective here, on top of our is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours – is the use of the existing YouTube social graph on any subject in the World. Now, news is reported with a smartphone and also by promoting current content on YouTube: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary, or having a camera crew to shoot what is already on YouTube. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.
On Wednesday, Scott McKibben, now the former Executive Director of The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority and currently President Of The Oakland Panthers of The Indoor Football League, accepted a misdemeanor plea-bargain deal in the case where he was accused of violating a government law prohibiting self-dealing. The problem is, the case and the mainstream media reporting, masks a great deal of facts that, in total, show an organizational system beyond the control of McKibben, and where he was asked to be an actor in it, then burned by it.
Scott McKibben was accused of violating California Government Code Section 1090, which prohibits public officials and public employees from “making” public contracts in which they have a financial interest. The fact is, Scott was asked by the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Board to secure a naming-rights marketing agreement with Ring Central. Scott was, contrary to the law, listed contractually as an independent consultant – just like the other marketing consulting firms the Coliseum JPA has hired over its existence, since its creation in 1996.
That Scott asked for, but did not receive, a $50,000 fee from a $4 million deal with Ring Central, should not have raised any eyebrows considering that the Coliseum JPA Board asked him to do the deal, he’s an independent contractor, and the City of Oakland and the County of Alameda at no point at all gave Scott any instructions regarding the law. Indeed, the persons who should have done that are Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker and Alameda County Counsel Donna Ziegler.
Moreover, the other persons who should have done that comprise the same Board of Directors of The Oakland Coliseum JPA, and many of whom are friends of mine, and should not have let Scott take a fall like that, and they know it. Folks like Alameda County Supervisors Scott Haggerty and Nate Miley, Oakland City Councilmembers Larry Reid and Loren Tayor, and JPA Commissioners Yui Hay Lee (famed Oakland architect), Ignacio De La Fuente (himself a former Oakland Councilmember), and Chris Dobbins (everyone’s favorite local lawyer), and Christine Smith, both who are no longer on the JPA Board.
And I add myself to that list, because, in 2019 for the NBA Finals Game 4, Scott gave me a ticket – way up in the damn rafters, but it was a ticket. When he invited me to visit the Coliseum JPA Box, my friend Chris was there, as was Barbara Parker, among others.
“California Government Code Section 1090 (“Section 1090”) – which prohibits public officials and public employees from “making” public contracts in which they have a financial interest – is notoriously vague, broad, and malleable. Section 1090 provides that California’s elected and appointed public officials and public employees may not be “financially interested” in “any contract made by them in their official capacity. California courts have interpreted these terms broadly, making it dangerously easy to violate the statute without even knowing it. Most troublingly, Section 1090 does not require bad intent for a conviction or a fine. A public official, public agency, or employee may violate the statute if they act knowingly – that is, knowing about their financial interest and knowing what they are doing in connection with the contract – even if they don’t realize that their conduct is prohibited. In fact, because of that low general intent requirement, California courts have rejected the defense of “advice of counsel” or that they obtained prior approval from an attorney. In other words, a California official or employee might violate Section 1090 even if the public entity they work for, and its attorneys, told them that their conduct was lawful and not a violation of Section1090.
And in Scott McKibben’s case, no one told him about Section 1090 to start with. For Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley to seek to charge McKibben for a felony makes me wonder if her office was aware of how poorly the law was written and just decided to go ahead and go after Scott, anyway? And why? Well, to answer that question, read on.
The Warriors Playoffs And Coliseum Sports Ticket Distribution Scandal That Should Not Be, But Is
And in addition, the JPA Board was served by the Oakland Chief Administrator’s Office, and I attended a meeting where then Oakland Chief Administrator Sabrina Landreath served as the secretary for the meeting. But did you know Sabrina Landreath scored a Warriors playoff ticket valued at $5,000 in 2016? And did you know Yui Hay Lee was signed up for and received $35,000 in Warriors playoff tickets? And before you say Scott McKibben signed off on them, I instruct you to look online at the many Form 802 filings going back to 2016, because Councilmember Reid, and Yui Hay Lee signed off on some of them, too. http://oraclearena.s3.amazonaws.com/doc/OACCA-Form-802-May-2016-5576c104a9.pdf
Yui Hay Lee Warriors 2016
And did you know Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker scored $840 worth of Oakland A’s tickets in 2016, as did my friend Coliseum JPA Commissioner Chris Dobbins? (And this is something Barbara Parker herself admits too, so there, but its wrong for some news media to blast Oakland Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney for the same perk that Barb Parker herself obviously enjoyed. Moreover, its wrong for Reid and Parker to make Scott McKibben look bad, when they could have defended him, and put him in the bad position to start with.)
Barbara Parker got $9,250 worth of Golden State Warriors regular season tickets for free, March 2016.
Barbara Parker Gsw Tickets
And I happened to randomly find that information about Yui Hay Lee in opening the link to the Form 802 page. I wasn’t going on a witch hunt against Yui Hay Lee (even though he did use part of my Oakland City Hall Plaza Design Concept I made at Skyline High School in 1979 for the actual plaza). I’m only demonstrating that the truth is the entire Coliseum JPA culture, and that of the City of Oakland and The County of Alameda, is to blame for what the Alameda County Coliseum District Attorney accused Scott of doing with respect to Ring Central. You can see all of the ticket request reports here: https://www.theoaklandarena.com/about-us/coliseum-authority/public-information
Now, I have long argued that the law should allow for public officials who run a giant sports complex should, to enjoy some small benefit of doing so, like occasionally scoring tickets to events – just don’t sell them. Look, how the heck is any official to see how their facility is managing a large sports event it that person can’t even attend the event? Logical, right?
Anyway, here’s a newsflash: doing that – getting sought-after-tickets – failed to become an big issue for years – or until The Golden State Warriors got real good at NBA Basketball. Prior to that, the Oakland Coliseum had not enjoyed a team that won so much, tickets to their playoff games were valued over gold.
Then, when Golden State became the daring of the NBA, those who did not score Warriors playoffs tickets and were somebodies, were railing over those who did – particularly public officials. Moreover, the public officials were getting seats so good that Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi wound up on national television during the 2016 NBA Finals.
And she too had an appetite for $8,650 worth of regular season Warriors tickets, all in March of 2016…
Susan Muranishi Gsw Tickets
Then, while the Oakland Public Ethics Commission was formed in 1996, it did not became the new cultural tool for use against elected officials that the folks in control of it did not want to protect, until the last seven years. So, rather than defend themselves and explain the rationale for having tickets, the officials who were enjoying that ability to get tickets went into hiding.
And then had no problem trying to remove the one person they went to for tickets: Scott McKibben. Think about that. Rather than help their “ticket friend”, if you will, they stabbed him in the back, in my humble opinion.
The trouble with the mainstream media is its institutionally racist and when its not that, it’s myopic. One news organization was all too willing to try and take down Scott because some of its editors remember him from when he ran ANG Newspapers and they worked for him in the early 2000s. So, for them, making Scott look bad was a just reward for low pay they received as journalists, back then. Fact is, they did not tell you that, and it masks the truth I’m telling you. (And why I am a blogger and not a journalist.)
The real truth is that public governance in Oakland and in California has degenerated into a culture where someone is always looking to use poorly written California laws to take down someone else, for whatever reason. It chases away good people like Mr. McKibben, my friend who ran The Rose Bowl, and was the one reason the Oakland Coliseum managed to land rent agreements with the then-Oakland, now Las Vegas Raiders that put the organization in the black after years of red ink. And it covers up the truth: that when something like Warriors playoffs tickets are to be had, the culture will figure out a way for someone to land them, and then blast someone like Scott.
You know the saying that rules are made to be broken? Well, in California, the rules are made to be used against those people who were set up by others to break them. The Coliseum JPA Board of Directors set Scott McKibben up to fail, and is the worst for it.
Scott McKibben Was The Best Sports Business Negotiator In Oakland’s History
In Scott McKibben, the Coliseum JPA lost the best sports negotiator it ever had. And, starting in 1996 when I represented Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris as his Economic Advisor, I have worked with and advised to some extent all of them since 1996: Ezra Rapport, Denna McClain, Mark Kaufmann, Ann Haley, Doug Thornton, Denna McClain again, before Scott McKibben came in (and even though the original first choice was a former elected official who had zero experience in the business of sports).
Moreover, I defend Scott because he bailed out the City of Oakland’s 2005 Super Bowl Bid in May 10th of 2000. I was the head of the Super Bowl XXXIV Bidding Committee and Executive Director of the Oakland-Alameda County Sports Commission, which I formed in 1999.Paul Tagliabue, then The NFL Commissioner, had invited us to give a presentation at NFL Headquarters in New York. After showing up 20 minutes late, then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown left our meeting with then NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue early, and unexpectedly.
Commissioner Tagliabue, who budgeted two hours of his valuable time for us, was fuming.
Thus, we were left with just Scott McKibben and two other board members from the Oakland-Alameda County Sports Commission to be there, in addition to me, as head of the meeting. At the other side of the room and for the NFL were Tagliabue, Executive Vice President Of Football Operations Roger Goodell, then-NFL Head of Special Events and Mr. Super Bowl Jim Steeg, and then-head of NFL Legal Derrick Haggens, Jennifer Gonsalez, and Sue Robichek. Scott spoke up for the Oakland / East Bay business community and saved our meeting with Paul. A good thing, because Tagliabue was so upset over Jerry Brown’s actions, he threatened to stop the meeting. An action that would have killed our chances to land the Super Bowl Game.
Just 10 days after that meeting, The NFL selected Oakland as one of three finalist cities (the other two Jacksonville and Miami) for the right to host the 2005 Super Bowl. As then-Oakland District One Councilmember Jane Brunner told me later that year “none of us gave you a chance.” Ultimately, we lost to Jacksonville.
On the way to that NFL meeting, I had to create the damn Oakland sports commission from scratch, and because then Oakland City Attorney Jane Williams had stood in Oakland City Administrator Robert Bobb’s way (as did McClain) with roadblocks explaining why Oakland could not even do a bid! On top of that, the Coliseum was managed by SMG and Sally Roach, who, with Deena McClain, famously told Mr. Bobb that a former employee of the Coliseum I was working because he was the architect, had stolen the facility’s drawings. Everyone believed them but me. As I told Bobb then, how can we operate the Coliseum without the drawings? The whole claim just smelled bad to me.
So, I went on my own investigation and found the drawings (which we needed for our NFL Super Bowl Bid) via an engineer with HNTB in Marin County, Ca.. That same person then said “Sally Roach says you can’t have the drawings”! I hit the ceiling, called Robert Bobb, and Sally was removed from running the effort, and Bobb told her to work with me. I wanted her fired.
Point is, Oakland had many stories of people trying to stop other people from making government work for the people, and doing great things (take Phil Tagami, Insight Terminal Solutions, and the whole Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal coal issue, for example). Scott McKibben is the latest casualty in this.
Stay tuned.
Post script: The giant list of $139,013.50 worth of sports ticket issued by the Coliseum JPA and that (I was told by a source who does not wish to be named) claimed were approved by the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, but the docs show the Coliseum JPA did as well:
2016-137 events=$139,013.50 + ???
January-0 events
February-3 events=$2,500.00
02/06/2016-Warriors v OKC=$1,100.00
02/09/2016-Warriors v Rockets=$1,100.00
02/14/2016-Charlie Wilson Concert=$75.00 x 4
March-16 events=$13,074.00
03/01/2016-Warriors v Hawks= $700.00
03/03/2016-Warriors v OKC =$1,100.00
03/04/2016-Prince: Piano and a Microphone=$600.00 x 4= $2400.00
03/05/2016-Festival of Laughs Comedy Show=$93.00 x 4= $372.00
03/07/2016-Warriors v Orlando=$600.00
03/09/2016-Warriors v Jazz=$700.00
03/11/2016-Warrior v Portland=$600.00
03/12/2016-Warriors v Phoenix=$600.00
03/13/2016-Bruce Springsteen= $158.00 x 4= $632.00
03/14/2016-Warriors v New Orleans=$800.00
03/16/2016-Warrior v Knicks=$1,100.00
03/23/2016-Warriors v Clippers=$1,300.00
03/25/2016-Warriors v Mavericks=$700.00
03/26/2016-Andre Ward v. Sullivan Barrera=$105.00 x 4= $420.00
03/27/2016-Warriors v 76ers=$350.00
03/29/2016-Warrior v Wizards=$700.00
April-23 events=$20,608.50
04/01/2016-Warriors v Celtics= $700.00
04/02/2016-Oakland A’s= $112.50
04/03/2016-Warriors v Portland=$500.00
04/04/2016-Oakland A’s= $100.00
04/05/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/05/2016-Warriors v T’wolves=$600.00
04/06/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/07/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/07/2016-Warriors v Spurs=$1,200.00
04/10/2016-Carrie Underwood Concert= $134.00 x 4=$536.00
04/11/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/12/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/13/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/13/2016-Warriors v Memphis=$650.00
04/15/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/16/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/16/2016-Warriors v Rockets (Game 1)=$5,000.00
04/17/2016-Oakland A’s= $90.00
04/18/2016-Warriors v Rockets (Game 2) )=$5,000.00
04/23/2016-The Class Reunion Concert= $75.00 x 4= $300.00
04/27/2016-Warriors v Rockets (Game 3) )=$5,000.00
04/29/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/30/2016-Oakland A’s= $100.00
May-24 events=$37,568.00
05/01/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/02/2016-A’s v Seattle= $90.00
05/03/2016-Warriors Playoff)=$5,000.00
05/03/2016-A’s v Seattle= $80.00
05/04/2016-A’s v Seattle= $80.00
05/04/2016-Hill Song United= $32.50 x 4= $130.00
05/07/2016-Rihanna=$157.50 x 4 = $630.00
05/11/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/16/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/16/2016-A’s v Texas= $80.00
05/17/2016-A’s v Texas= $80.00
05/18/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/18/2016-A’s v Texas= $80.00
05/19/2016-A’s v NYY= $90.00
05/19/2016-The Who= $149.50 x 4= $598.00
05/20/2016-A’s v NYY= $100.00
05/21/2016-A’s v NYY= $100.00
05/22/2016-A’s v NYY= $100.00
05/26/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/28/2016-A’s v Detroit= $80.00
05/29/2016-A’s v Detroit= $90.00
05/30/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/30/2016-A’s v Detroit= $80.00
05/31/2016-A’s v Detroit= $80.00
June-17 events = $41,130.00
06/02/2016-Warriors v Cavaliers=$10,000.00
06/05/2016-Warriors v Cavaliers=$10,000.00
06/08/2016-Warriors Watch Party=$20.00
06/10/2016-Warriors Watch Party=$20.00
06/12/2016-KMEL Summer Jam=$62.50 x 4= $250.00
06/13/2016-A’s v Texas= $80.00
06/13/2016-Warriors v Cavaliers=$10,000.00
06/14/2016- A’s v Texas= $80.00
06/15/2016- A’s v Texas= $80.00
06/16/2016-Warriors Watch Party=$20.00
06/17/2016- A’s v Angels= $90.00
06/19/2016-Warriors v Cavaliers=$10,000.00
06/19/2016- A’s v Angels= $90.00
06/21/2016- A’s v Brewers= $80.00
06/22/2016- A’s v Brewers= $80.00
06/29/2016- A’s v Giants= $120.00
06/30/2016- A’s v Giants= $120.00
July-11 events = $1,080.00
07/01/2016-A’s v Pittsburg= $90.00
07/02/2016-A’s v Pittsburg= $90.00
07/03/2016-A’s v Pittsburg= $80.00
07/09/2016-Louis C.K.= $60.00 x 4+ $240.00
07/15/2016-A’s v Toronto= $80.00
07/17/2016-A’s v Toronto= $90.00
07/18/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
07/19/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
07/20/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
07/21/2016-A’s v Tampa Bay= $80.00
07/23/2016-A’s v Tampa Bay= $90.00
August-11 events = $2,962.00 + ?
08/02/2016-Adele= $274.00 x 4 = $1,096.00
08/03/2016-Dream Team= $156.50 x 4 = $626.00
08/05/2016-A’s v Cubs= $90.00
08/06/2016-Andre Ward v. Alexander Brand= $165.00 x 4 = $660.00
08/07/2016-A’s v Cubs= $90.00
08/08/2016-A’s v Orioles= $80.00
08/11/2016-A’s v Orioles= $80.00
08/14/2016-A’s v Mariners= $80.00
08/22/2016-A’s v Cleveland= $80.00
08/23/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
08/27/2016-Raiders v Titans = ?
September-18 events= $2,821.00 + ??
09/01/2016-Raiders v Seahawks=?
09/02/2016-A’s v Boston= $90.00
09/03/2016-A’s v Boston= $90.00
09/04/2016-A��s v Boston= $90.00
09/05/2016-A’s v Angels= $90.00
09/06/2016-A’s v Angels= $80.00
09/07/2016-A’s v Angels= $80.00
09/09/2016-A’s v Seattle= $80.00
09/11/2016-A’s v Seattle= $80.00
09/15/2016-Black Sabbath= $205.00 x 4 = $820.00
09/18/2016-Raiders v Falcons= ?
09/19/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
09/20/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
09/21/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
09/24/2016-A’s v Texans= $90.00
09/24/2016-Sonu Nigam & Atif= $88.00 x 4 = $352.00
09/25/2016-A’s v Texans= $90.00
09/30/2016-Bad Boys Concert= $137.25 x 4 = $549.00
October-10 events= $6,623.00+ ??
10/01/2016-Sia=$149.50 x 4 = $598.00
10/04/2016-Warriors v Clippers= $675.00 x 4 = $268.00
10/07/2017-Dixie Chicks=$89.50 x 4 = $358.00
10/09/2016-Raiders v San Diego= ?
10/10/2016-WWE Raw=$99.75 x 4 = $399.00
10/14/2016-Golden State Music Fest=136.50 x 4 = $546.00
10/16/2016-Raiders v Kansas City=?
10/21/2016-Warriors v Trail Blazers= $675.00 x 4 + $2,700.00
10/25/2016-Warriors v Spurs= $1,350.00
10/26/2016-Disney on Ice= $50.50 x 8 = $404.00
November-0 events
December-4 events= $10,657.00
12/03/2016-Warriors v Suns= $1,000.00 x 4 = $4,000.00
12/18/2016-KMEL Hip Hop Holiday House of Soul= $125.00 x 4 = $500.00
12/24/2016-Raiders v Colts= $275.00 x 4 = $1,357.00
12/30/2016-Warrior v Mavericks= $1,200.00 x 4 = $4,800.00
Here’s the record of who approved what tickets; there are 62 results:
Port of Oakland 1927 to 2020
From YouTube Channel: October 14, 2020 at 05:14PM
ONN – Port of Oakland’s powerful legacy began more than 165 years ago. The Port’s past encompassed the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, two World Wars, and America’s coming of age as a global power. This two-minute video begins in 1927 when the Port was officially established and highlights significant moments in time at the Oakland seaport, airport and waterfront property.
Maritime: In the 1960s, it was the first major port on the West Coast to build terminals for container ships, a revolutionary technology at the time. Today, the Port of Oakland innovates and invests in its seaport infrastructure so that it continues to serve as a global gateway and vital U.S. export transportation hub.
Aviation: In 1962 completion of the 600-acre Oakland International Airport (OAK) complex inaugurated the era of the jetliner. Shipping giants FedEx and UPS have long-established West Coast hubs at OAK providing critical air cargo service and generating thousands of jobs.
Commerical Real Estate: The Oakland waterfront has served as a community destination since the 1950’s. It is a major player in Oakland’s current urban renaissance, creating jobs, housing, recreation and leisure activities. The Port’s portfolio includes Jack London Square where the public has access to stunning views of the waterfront, recreation, and indoor-outdoor dining options.
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has presented difficult challenges to all three lines of business. The Port and its dedicated staff have adjusted to the dramatic changes in the work environment, with safety protocols in place.
Business recovery is underway with fresh strategies on how to succeed moving forward, responsibly and sustainably. The Port will continue to adjust, invest, and innovate, to continue its legacy as a major economic driver, supporting tens of thousands of jobs in California and touching hundreds of thousands of jobs across the nation.
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 – Rep Barbara Lee Issues Statement On Nov 2020 Endorsements Counters Oakland Mayor Schaaf Voting Guide
I received an email that contained a statement from U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and here’s the text, verbatim:
Statement regarding Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s Endorsements for the November 2020 Election
Oakland, CA – Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s campaign released the following statement today regarding Rep. Lee’s endorsements in the 2020 election.
“Congresswoman Barbara Lee has not endorsed any candidate running for the Oakland City Council, nor has she endorsed any candidate running for the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees. Any reference to Congresswoman Lee on a voter guide or slate card endorsing Councilmembers or Trustees, or any reference to prior Congressional recognition by any of the candidates or the candidates’ supporters, is inappropriate and misleading and should not be viewed as an endorsement in any form.”
For a list of Congresswoman Lee’s official endorsements please see below:
President & Vice President: Joe Biden & Kamala Harris
Yes on 15; Schools and Communities First
Yes on 16: Opportunity for All
Yes on 17: Free the Vote
Yes on 18: Vote for Our Future
No on 20: Stop the Prison Spending Scam
Yes on 21 : Keep Families in Their Homes
No on 22: Protect Drivers and Customers
Yes on 25: End Money Bail
Yes on Measure SS: Oakland Police Accountability
Yes on Measure II: Berkeley Police Accountability
Yes on Measure Z: For an Inclusive, Affordable, and Livable Alameda
Yes on QQ: A Vote for Oakland Youth
The statement is a direct counter to this paragraph by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf in Oakland News Now, here: https://oaklandnewsnowblog.com/oakland-mayor-schaaf-picks-lynette-gibson-mcelhaney-treva-reid-more-in-2020-voters-guide/u-s-news/13/10/2020/63626/
…and from her letter that’s a voting guide:
“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.”
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.
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.
ONN – Oakland Police Department 2019 Annual Stop Data Report Video
Oakland Police Department:
The Oakland Police Department is pleased to share the 2019 Report on Stop Data with our Oakland community. This report fulfills OPD’s yearly requirement to release the prior year’s Stop Data. OPD continues to be a leader in Stop Data collection and exceeds the requirements of California Assembly Bill 953. OPD is proud to be the only department in the State of California who collects Intel Led Stop Data, which requires officers to clearly explain if the stop being made is associated with any current criminal activity.
Our partnership with the Oakland community is critical to the success of OPD’s work to improve the quality of life in our City. Historically, OPD collected Stop Data and made it available to the public in an effort to be transparent. OPD’s commitment to identifying and addressing racial disparities in traffic enforcement has not waivered.
The data found in this report reflects our intentional efforts to practice fair and impartial policing. The significant reduction in traffic stops on our Black and Hispanic community members reflects your police department’s work on reducing the adverse impact law enforcement contacts can have on our under-represented community members.
OPD has long been a leader in the country collecting and analyzing Stop Data. Our efforts have focused on reducing the impact of disparity to our vulnerable communities through the use of this data. This use of collected data is one of our efforts to ensure the practice of fair and constitutional policing and the reduction of racial disparity in our enforcement efforts.
Please note that while OPD has routinely collected and analyzed more data than required by AB 953, the Bill created a need for us to change some of our past data collection methods. We will continue to produce, analyze, and share data with our community that reflects the focus of OPD’s work toward transparency and fairness.
Stay tuned.
Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a YouTube channel. When the video is “liked” by Zennie62 YouTube, then it is automatically uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective here, on top of our is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours – is the use of the existing YouTube social graph on any subject in the World. Now, news is reported with a smartphone and also by promoting current content on YouTube: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary, or having a camera crew to shoot what is already on YouTube. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.
The Oakland Unified School District sent this press release to announce a press conference held last Friday on a new campus at Glenview Elementary. As that even was missed by this space, here’s the information that was sent, which will be augmented by additional news presented here at Oakland News Now:
OUSD to Unveil New Campus at Glenview Elementary at Friday Press Conference
School is Ready to Welcome Students When District Reopens for In-Person Learning
Oakland – On Friday, October 9, OUSD is celebrating a major milestone in the form of the completion of a rebuilt school. The freshly completed Glenview Elementary, which sits at the corner of La Cresta Avenue and Hampel Street, is now ready to welcome students back to class once conditions related to the pandemic allow the District to reopen for in-person instruction. The school was almost entirely torn down in 2016 for the rebuilding project. The only thing that remained was the facade on the front of the school. And there are lots of other amazing features.
New Glenview Elementary Campus in OaklandNew Glenview Elementary Campus in OaklandNew Glenview Elementary Campus in Oakland
The old school building had undersized and under-equipped classrooms, but those are history. The new building has high-performance classrooms that are right-sized, healthy and comfortable, and achieve 21st century goals for learning environments. The retention of the iconic porch and portico element was pivotal in the design of the new building. The architect said that while it was challenging, it anchored the new building in the same location as the original building and allowed for the cherished stairs, outdoor terraces, and architectural landmark to remain.
The new multi-use room with a stage and a basketball court will be enjoyed by students, parents and the community, and the roll-up doors allow larger indoor/outdoor gatherings. The library’s location and design with its built-in amphitheater seating, flexible layout, and restroom support school and community use.
Multi-use room with stage & basketball court.
The school was also built with sustainability as a major driver of the design. The school is resource conscious, consumes less energy, and provides natural lighting throughout. It is well-insulated, has efficient radiant heating systems and LED lighting, ceiling fans are used for cooling and comfort, windows are operable and energy management systems were installed to manage energy consumption.
“This is a moment we have all been waiting years to see,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “A time when we get to celebrate the rebirth of a beloved school. The newly rebuilt Glenview Elementary will serve generations of Oakland children, as a warm, welcoming and supportive environment for learning. It is beautiful inside and out, and any Oakland student would be proud to call Glenview their school. Likewise, the campus will serve as an important community center for residents in the Dimond Park area. We thank the taxpayers of Oakland for supporting this important work to ensure our students have the kind of learning environment that all young people need and deserve.”
ONN – Michelle Dione Snider, You Rep Oakland Post, A Black News Site, Yet Blast Me For Pointing Out Racism
Michelle Dione Snider is the Associate Editor of the Oakland Post, and even though we’ve never actually met or talked on the phone, was a friend of the Facebook variety. She’s best known as the person who made the famous BBQ Becky video from 2018. With that, I believed she was sensitive to racism against blacks in America. Apparently, and shockingly, I learned I am mistaken.
For reasons best known to her, Michelle elected to get on Facebook and attack me for pointing out that an Oaklandside entry on Oakland City Council Race At-Large Candidate Derreck Johnson explaining that he filed for bankruptcy while running his business was racist. As I said before, it tried to make him look bad in an area that’s the focus of many black business problems: being under-capitalized. I do not support Derreck Johnson’s run against my friend Oakland At Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, but that does not mean I’m going to sit by and watch an attack I view as racist from my own experience as a black man in America.
But, even though Michelle Dione represents The Oakland Post, a black news website and news paper, she just decided to attack me on Facebook, and say “That’s a non-profit journalism organization”, as if that buys Oaklandside the place to be unassailable. Then, she went off and accused me of making bots to inflate my web traffic. That, right there, showed me she has no idea how the web works. And she’s trying to put me in the typically racist place of being the black guy who does something criminal. On top of that, she obviously has no respect for what I’ve done for The Oakland Post over the years.
If you go and look at the sidebar for Oakland News Now, you will see that Post Newsgroup Publisher and friend Paul Cobb is presented as a special person, and because he is. Paul Cobb can say that he knew Martin Luther King, Jr. In fact, Paul and I talked about that in 2007. Have a look:
Also, in 2016, I was hired to boost The Oakland Post website’s traffic and also correct a vast number of problems. The Oakland Post was not on key news aggregators (and now it’s not, again after my work to put it back on them), and did not understand how to use basic search engine optimization practices. I boosted The Oakland Post web traffic by as much as 300 percent. Now, if Michelle Dione thinks I make traffic bots, as she claims, then one would think she would be happy I used them to help the The Oakland Post, right? What a riot!
Michelle must understand that she can’t represent a black news organization and have white sensibilities. Media is the last bastion of white supremacy. For Michelle to throw the typical “they’re better than you” and “what you do is criminal” take on me, begs for a fight I’m happy to wage. I’m sick and tired of institutional racism. I will not put up with it. And for a person who represent a black news organization, and yet is white and seems to have little sensitivity at all to racist images in media, is all kinds of wrong – it’s racist. I am not saying a person has to be black to recognize racism in media, but I am saying one can’t say they represent a black media publication, yet are demonstrably blind to see racism in media.
As an update, another colleague who’s with the The Oakland Post, also white and female, also took to Mark Zuckerberg’s site to attack me, and this time for the post you’re reading. That both can’t at all see what racism in media looks like is sad, but even sadder is they are allowed to present such a problem of blindness to racist media images and stories while representing a black-owned publication. (And it’s even more disturbing to see a black person in media advance such classic institutional racism).
I fear for Oakland’s future because it points to an environment where any black person who points to institutional racism draws a white-led attack on their point of view, rather than any desire to want to see change.
I am not expecting an apology. I am very disappointed to learn that, all of this time, Michelle has issues, personal issues, with me. And I’ve never met her.
In closing, I add these words from one of my favorite songs, Private Idaho by The B-52’s, and it is a message for Michelle, and the obviously racially unsympathetic view she expressed:
Keep off the path, beware of the gate
Watch out for signs that say “hidden driveways”
Don’t let the chlorine in your eyes
Blind you to the awful surprise
That’s been waitin’ for you at
The bottom of the bottomless blue, blue, blue pool
You’re livin’ in your own Private Idaho, Idaho
You’re out of control, the rivers that roll
You fell into the water and down to Idaho
Get out of that state
Get out of the state you’re in
You better beware
According to Songfacts, “In this song, the fine state of Idaho is used to represent a case of paranoia – the lyrics “get out of that state” meaning to get out of that state of mind.” What I am pointing to is a state of mind that protects the idea that white-ran traditional media is beyond reproach.
And now, I think I’ll close with this fun addition, and because we need a giant dose of levity, with some mix of irony:
Stay tuned.
Zennie
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.
NFL Reports Viewership of 15.4 Million Across TV and Digital, Up +3% vs. 2019 Week 5 ‘Thursday Night Football’ Matchup
The National Football League took a victory lap of sorts with the news of better ratings for Thursday Night Football Presented by Bud Light Platinum. Here’s the news, powered by Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ QB Tom Brady.
Average Minute Audience on All Digital Platforms, Including Amazon Prime Video, Hits 1.33 Million –
Second Highest for Any NFL Regular Season Game on Record
New York – Thursday’s Thursday Night Football Presented by Bud Light Platinum game featuring the Chicago Bears’ 20-19 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was seen by an average audience of 15.4 million across all platforms, including FOX, NFL Network, FOX Deportes, NFL digital, FOX Sports digital, Amazon Prime Video, Twitch and Verizon Media mobile properties.
The 15.4 million viewers for Buccaneers-Bears across all platforms is up +3% versus last year’s Week 5 Thursday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks (15.0 million).
The Nielsen-measured audience was 14.8 million – up +2% versus the 2019 Week 5 Thursday Night Football game (14.5 million).
Digital streaming across Amazon Prime Video, Twitch, NFL digital, Buccaneers and Bears mobile properties, FOX Sports digital and Verizon Media mobile properties produced an average minute audience of 1.33 million – the second highest for any NFL regular season game on record, behind the 2019 Week 4 Thursday Night Football matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers (1.4 million). Additionally, digital audience increased +27% versus the 2019 11-game FOX Thursday Night Football average (1.04 million) and +5% versus last year’s Week 5 Thursday Night Football matchup (1.27 million).
Amazon Prime Video and Twitch alone reached a total of 3.3 million combined viewers worldwide for the FOX NFL Thursday pregame show and the Buccaneers-Bears game. For the Buccaneers-Bears game alone, 2.9 million worldwide viewers initiated a stream on Prime Video or Twitch. The average worldwide audience watching the Thursday Night Football game for at least 30 seconds on Prime Video or Twitch was 746K.
ONN – Oaklandside’s Attack On Derreck Johnson In The Oakland City Council Race Was Racist
The Oaklandside, a new online publication by the person who owns Berkeleyside and that has a $3 million grant from Google, owes Derreck Johnson, a candidate in the Oakland City Council race for the At-Large Seat occupied by Rebecca Kaplan (who I endorsed), an apology (and just maybe a chunk of that 3 million). It’s recent post attacking him for filing bankruptcy was nothing short of racist in my view as an Oakland black media entrepreneur in the time of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
In this case, some who are white, just could not accept that my actions were out of anger for the racist Oaklandside post, and first assumed that I was backing Derreck Johnson, when I openly said I was supporting Rebecca Kaplan, and then, on their own, guessed that Derreck, Mayor Schaaf, and I all went to Skyline High School together.
When a friend of mine who’s white texted me with that question about Skyline High School (where I am Class of 80 and Libby is Class of 1981), I called and let him know how upset with him I was. I said “You can’t accept the fact that my concern for what was written about him was purely because I perceived it as racist, huh? Do you realize that’s racist?”
As my friend is prone to do, he laughs nervously and tries to change the subject, but this time I kept focus. The problem was the Oaklandside post was truly institutionally racist, and it doesn’t matter what a person thinks to the contrary, even if they’re black. In Oakland, too many of us black folks are too willing to put down someone else black anyway – it’s a crabbarrel problem of massive proportions that helps no one.
The fact is that, according to Derreck himself, he went to Bishop O’Dowd High School, not Skyline High School. And so that leads back to my point: the desire to not see a racist act and deflect eyes from view keeps it as justifiable. That’s what my friend was trying to do, and he needs to stop doing it. As I said to him “We can’t allow a point of view like yours to fester because, little by little, these racist stories build up, until we get George Floyd all over again.”
No more racial profiling in media. If Derreck’s run has done anything, it’s shown a spotlight on that problem. It has to stop.
Donald Trump’s Businesses Have Filed For Bankruptcy Many Time Yet He’s Considered Successful
The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump’s businesses filed for bankruptcy six times. In all of the media coverage, no reporter or columnist ever blasted Donald Trump for bragging about his success. By contrast, Derreck Johnson’s business filed for bankrupcy and here is the Oaklandside’s Darwin BondGraham (and its editors hiding behind him) to say he’s not successful. Johnson is black. Trump is white. There should be one standard of fact: both started and ran businesses that employed people. And in Johnson’s case, he gave black men and women out of prison another chance at life. That’s successful.
Derreck Johnson Oakland City Council At Large 2020 Candidate Interview
And, as a momentary aside, I’m proud to report that Zennie62Media’s OaklandNewsNow.com that you’re reading is twice the size of Oaklandside in online traffic, and with a fraction of it’s budget. And it’s black owned and operated, whereas Oaklandside has a black editor, but is white owned, and the person who wrote the post is white and male.
Oaklandside’s Attack On Derreck Johnson Reflects A Classic Pattern Of Media Racism
Anyway, Oaklandside accused Derreck Johnson of being so proud as a black man to run television commercials saying he’s “successful”, that he needed to be taken down a notch by getting out “the truth”. The truth as Oaklandside saw it. The truth as Oaklandside was presented with by a source. I say that because I know where the information came from, and who gave it to Oaklandside, regardless of what it claims. Moreover, it’s no secret: bankruptcy information is publicly available, folks.
What Oaklandside did was simply make phone calls around town to form a story around the information it was given. If Oaklandside were truly interested in “the truth” it would have produced an article with information about the businesses of all of the candidates, without sensationalism. If Oaklandside was were truly interested in “the truth”, it would have worked with Mr. Johnson to run a positive story about what problems he experienced as a black man keeping his business going.
The story Oaklandside’s racist lens caused it to miss was one that needs to be told at a time when everyone from Facebook to Google has some kind of initiative focused on financing black businesses, in the wake of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Think about it. As Marcus Burke put in for The World Economic Forum “Following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and many other Black people at the hands of police, companies have started to take a stand against systemic racism.” Obviously, Oaklandside showed itself to be completely tone-deaf to the times.
In the paper “Media Representations and Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys”, by the Topos Partnership with The Opportunity Agenda, the authors observe:
A robust body of research documents how the overall presentation of black males in the media is distorted in a variety of ways, relative to the real-world facts. While individual studies tend to focus on a single genre or medium — such as TV fiction shows, magazine advertising, or video games — the research taken as a whole reveals broad patterns, including:
Negative associations exaggerated — particularly criminality, unemployment, and poverty. The idle black male on the street corner is not the “true face” of poverty in America, but he is the dominant one in the world as depicted by media.
Positive associations limited — particularly, sports, physical achievement in general, virility, and musicality. While the media’s version of America is populated by some black males intended to inspire, they tend to represent a relatively limited range of qualities to the exclusion of a variety of other everyday virtues.
The “problem” frame — Due to both distortions and also accurate and sympathetic discussion, black males tend to be overly associated with intractable problems.
Missing stories — Many important dimensions of black males’ lives, such as historical antecedents of black economic disadvantage and persistence of anti-black male bias, are largely ignored by the media.
In Derreck Johnson’s case, Oaklandside missed a great chance to have him tell his story of what led to the problems he experienced with his business. Moreover, Oaklandside worked to, as the authors wrote about media bias against black men, “Negative associations exaggerated — particularly criminality, unemployment, and poverty.” In other words, the Oaklandside’s seems to be upset that Johnson didn’t say he had been in financial trouble. Note, Johnson didn’t break any law, so that was the best it could do in attacking Derreck Johnson.
The Times Are Changing – The LA Times
In these times, America is beginning to wake up to the media racism that has worked to constantly paint blacks in a negative light. The kind of media racism that has been active in Oakland and San Francisco Bay Area media for far too long. And, let’s face it, the kind of media racism that was served up to feed the desires of some in Oakland who are white for the most part, and just don’t want to believe anything positive about anyone black who dares say they’re successful, or holds a title. Those persons want to push blacks into the familiar image of being poor, downtrodden, and criminally inclined. The kind of media The Oaklandside produced makes them oh so happy. Sad stuff that must stop.
In that, I must say it’s great The Los Angeles Times called out its own history of racism.
But, even then, The Los Angeles Times leaves out the racist lens that’s still applied today, and one that Oaklandside uses. Moreover, one would think that other mainstream media news publications would follow the Los Angeles Times’ lead, (like The San Francisco Chronicle, which has its own problems with racism as one can see here, and here, too.) but to this date, crickets. For many who are white, racism only exists when the n-word is used or a black person is physically harmed. But real racism is evident in all aspects of life, and in many ways, and in media, it’s expressed in how blacks are portrayed.
As I saw it, here’s the truth: Derreck Johnson did establish and run a business in Oakland that employed people, most notably black ex-prisoners who needed help. Stop it right there: that’s the success story that should be told, and that Derreck has the right to crow about. It’s clearly a story Oaklandside didn’t even think to try to tell, even though it was starring them in right in the face. Oaklandside was way too focused on putting a cyber-knee in Derreck Johnson’s online neck.
I got wind of this via a phone call from a friend. I called Derreck Johnson and we talked extensively. I told him that my first introduction to him was from an email from Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. I said it wasn’t the first time my godsister advanced a candidate to challenge Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan. I also told him that, for those reasons, I thought of him as a Manchurian candidate. He laughed and understood and because I gave him a video platform to talk about running for office and about himself. I never sought to put him down. Blacks in America have had enough of media racism.
Unlike Oaklandside, I asked and gave Derreck Johnson a chance to tell his story:
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.
This Oakland Public Ethics Commission Complaint comes under the subhead-line of ‘bone-headed reports by fake news folks with racist agendas” and refers to an Oakland Public Ethics Commission Complaint that was filed against a firm called Lane Partners, represented by Andrew Haydel. The matter was before the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and in it’s agenda for October 5th 2020.
What happened was that Lane Partners was encouraged to make a contribution to the Lynette Gibson-McElhaney Legal Defense Fund, and not by anyone directly connected to Lynette, but by, according to PEC records, my friend (at least I think we’re still friends, but in this town shit gets weird for weird reasons) Greg McConnell, the founder of the Oakland Jobs and Housing Coalition. A 2018 email reported McConnell’s plan to get donations for her 50th Birthday.
And Now This Aside…
Now, if you go an assume that Lynette herself established that plan, then you know less about Oakland politics than you think, and are contributing to the crab-barrel, game-playing that causes Oakland to lose out big on matters like retaining sports teams. Oakland has a major-league loser mentality that has to be addressed. Character assassination is sport in Oakland and I find that it’s a proxy for professional competence. But that aside, there are any number of political players in Oakland and San Francisco wiling to, what we call on the streets, “run a game” on someone. Some of them rest in the media.
Seriously, there are some media-types who live for documents that make black Oakland elected officials look bad, but when the elected official is white, they look the other way. Want evidence? Go back to 2013 and the claims of Oakland City Staff Tampering that were leveled against Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid of District 7 and Desley Brooks of District 6 – claims that, as former Oakland City Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente will tell you, apply to every Oakland City Councilmember in history. But when the white media got involved, they didn’t want to see that, and just saw a chance to paint black elected officials as bad, and so they did.
The trouble with a lot of black folks here in Oakland and in America is they complain about the white media types but are by inaction afraid to counter them, and don’t back black media. And so we get the social climate painting black folks so negatively that the result is George Floyd’s death.
Anyway Back To The Action, I Mean The Oakland PEC Complaint
The Oakland PEC Complaint about Lane Partners reads, in part, this way:
Respondents violated the Oakland Campaign Reform Act by contributing $1,000 to Lynette Gibson-McElhaney Legal Defense Fund in October2018 at a time when they were subject to the City’s ban on contributions from City contractors to candidates, in violation of Oakland Municipal Code section 3.12.140
And here’s the rest:
In June 2019, Commission Staff initiated a pro-active investigation after Andrew Haydel’s lawyer called to report that Haydel, a commercial real-estate investor and principal at Lane Partners LLC, “may have made a contribution” to an Oakland political candidate’s defense fund during a time when he and Lane Partners, a City contractor, was subject to the contractor campaign contribution ban.
Between 2016-2018, Lane Partners was involved with several different development projects with the City of Oakland. One such project was the Eastline project.
PROCEDURAL FACTS:
The Respondent and Staff reached a settlement agreement in February 2020. Staff prepared a Stipulation recommending that the Public Ethics Commission (PEC) impose a penalty of $2,000. In the Matter of Haydel was scheduled on the PEC’s March 2020, Agenda. At the PEC’s March meeting, the Commissioners rejected the recommended penalty of $2,000 and instead informed the Respondent that a $5,000 penalty was a more appropriate penalty based on the facts and experience of the Respondent. The PEC instructed Staff to renegotiate the Stipulation with a penalty of $5,000. Staff reached out to the Respondent who initially agreed to sign a revised Stipulation and pay the increased penalty of $5,000.
As a note, this is way not the first time Lane Partners has made a donation that was viewed as having violated Oakland’s Campaign Reform Act, but the simple fact the PEC caught this means good for the future. I must also report that there have been so many alleged violations of the type that Lane Partners is accused of, that it may be time to revisit the law from the perspective of laws that cause entrapment. Because one can replace Lynette Gibson-McElhaney with the Mayor or any other Oakland City Councilmember, and some idiot with a keyboard (who may be running a smear campaign on behalf of another Oakland City Councilmember) would jump to the conclusion that Libby did something wrong, when she had nothing to do with the action.
Anyway, it goes on to report via documents like this one that Lane Partners acted on the advice of their lawyer, Zack Wasserman (Another long-time friend of mine who now former Oakland City Attorney John Russo used to call “Zack-A-Potatos”). Wasserman is asking for the PEC to consider his error to his client, and also for the standard $5,000 fine to be reduced to $2,000, and Lane Partners would pay it.
And there’s the real story. A true mistake admitted to.
The point of all of this: it’s really important to look before one takes any leap and makes negative assumptions about someone else. Also, some electeds in Oakland should be real careful about passing information they deem negative about someone else. After a time, that crap will back fire. God does not like ugly.
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 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.
Bank Of America’s PPP Loan (Payroll Protection Program) Program Is A Horrible Mess
Early on, Bank of America was the focus of a lawsuit because the banking giant was not properly processing the Payroll Protection Program Loans that were applied for as million of businesses were being impacted by or fearing impact of the Coronavirus. The Charlotte Business Journalwrote:
Four businesses filed a lawsuit against Charlotte’s Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) on Sunday, criticizing the way it handled loan applications for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. The suit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles.
The lawsuit alleges BofA prioritized applications for higher loan amounts because those would generate more origination fees for the bank. The SBA previously said PPP applications would be accepted and processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
“BofA has, once again, prioritized corporate greed at the expense of its small business customers,” the suit reads. “Had BofA been honest, small businesses could have (and would have) submitted their PPP applications to other financial institutions. … As a result of BofA’s dishonest and deplorable behavior, however, thousands of small businesses that were entitled to loans under the PPP were left with nothing.”
During the frantic push to get financial shelter from COVID-19, the Small Business Administration (or SBA) had one program for economic help during disasters called “Economic Injury Disaster Loan”. I signed up for the program, but received no word back. I didn’t even get an acknowledgement of my application.
Then, the PPP program was advanced, and I applied twice (filled out the application twice because they were not acknowledging my entry) and it asked me if I was eligible for the “economic help during disasters” or “Economic Injury Disaster Loan”, between January and April, and I said yes (why would I not?). I also had not received the Economic Injury Disaster Loan I applied for.
And what was the EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) described as, you ask? This:
In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, small business owners, including agricultural businesses, and nonprofit organizations in all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and territories can apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan. The EIDL program is designed to provide economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue due to coronavirus (COVID-19).https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/economic-injury-disaster-loans
So, the PPP I got was part the EIDL I should have received, or so I understood that case to be, since both were related to the Coronavirus problem.Now, Bank of America is saying that I got an EIDL, and the PPP contained an “additional” EIDL amount of money to refinance the EIDL they say I got – but I never got even though I applied for it, too. Now, they want me to give back something that I never got out of the PPP money Zennie62Media received and disbursed to contractors. And in 10 days!
That’s nuts.
Bank of America made so many changes in the PPP Loan Application it wasn’t funny, and eventually set up an online portal for business clients. The complicated stuff about seeking a refinancing of a loan I did not get was not said then – they simply asked if Zennie62Media was eligible, which means we should get one. And a simple ask at that, since we didn’t have one, and the SBA was not responsive because it was slammed. I guess memories are short.
So now, Bank of America asked to go into my account and, of the $23,750 PPP Loan, get the $10,000 in what B Of A is calling “extra money” that in point of fact I never got – and gave me the choice, “yes”, to allow it to get it, or “no”. There was no “HELL NO” option. If so, I would have selected it, especially since Bank of America’s attempted action to me is based on a rule that did not exist when I applied for the PPP and received the loan, EIDL and all, on May 4th, 2020. Yep, you read that right.
And to add to that, we’re talking about my firm, Zennie62Media, a Delaware c-corp approved December 30,2019, and with a Certificate Of Good Standing from the State of Delaware. A firm that’s paid out several thousand dollars to my family of vlogger contractors, some who are disabled or between full-time jobs, and really needed and got another way of making money and having fun in the process.
What’s SBA Procedural notice 5000-20032: Refinance of EIDL Loans with PPP Loan Proceeds and Lender Remittance of EIDL Refinance Proceeds to SBA?
According to an online document I found called “SBA Procedural notice 5000-20032: Refinance of EIDL Loans with PPP Loan Proceeds and Lender Remittance of EIDL Refinance Proceeds to SBA”, “The purpose of this Notice is to provide guidance for when Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds must be used to refinance SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and to inform PPP Lenders of the procedure for remitting to the SBA any PPP loan proceeds designated for the refinance of an EIDL.”
And then it goes on to provide rules for handling of an EIDL in a refinancing situation that I was not involved in. And then, here’s the kicker: the entire SBA Procedural notice 5000-20032 was effective June 19th, 2020 – a good month after I received my PPP Loan on May 4th, and a full two months after I applied for it. https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/5000-20032-508.pdf
So, not only did the SBA notice not exist during the frantic frenzy to get money out to help people (ostensibly) during the early days of the Pandemic’s economic impact, it also does not call for Bank of America to go raiding someone’s bank account to get money they never received to refinance in the first place!
As explained in an August 4th 2020 Journal of Accountancy post by Ken Tysiac, a lender like Bank of America was supposed to do this: “…if a borrower received an EIDL advance in excess of the amount of its PPP loan. Lenders must notify the borrower when the first payment will be due, and the loan must be repaid by the borrower before the maturity date, either two or five years.” Not 10 days – and even then, the EIDL advance in my case was not in excess of the amount of my PPP Loan.
All of this seems to have been made just so lenders like Bank of America can get back some PPP Loan money. That even as Gerri Detweiler in Nav.com writes that “borrowers generally don’t have to repay an EIDL grant”!
Since Bank of America was sued for favoring the rich, the action its trying to take against me seems to be right along those lines, and criminal. And at that, Zennie62Media is one of a total number of black-owned businesses and black American that represented two percent of the total number of people and firms who got PPP Loans! 83 percent of the PPP Loans issued went to white folks.
Congress should write a bill or provision that helps save the little guy: simply terminate any rule that allows a Lender to try and take PPP Loan-related money back from an American who rightfully received it.
If that person or business followed all of the basic guidelines of the criteria for the PPP, fine – then leave them alone. EIDL money (It’s disaster related, right?) should simply be part of the PPP: if it’s forgiven, so be it – plus the whole program is to be terminated June of 2021, anyway (Why that is, is yet another mystery considering how many millions of people still need help in America?)
But this way where lenders like Bank of America are left to write “we understand how hard this is during this difficult time” before they take part of your money must be terminated. It will contribute to a wrecking of the American economy to a degree far worse than what we’re already experiencing now.
Oakland – Alameda County’s emergency 911 ambulance provider Falck Northern California has offered an improved pay and benefits package to its 450 Alameda County EMT and paramedic employees represented by the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE) Local 510.
Falck and union representatives are negotiating a new agreement, currently proposed for three years. The previous contract expired August 31, after an extension from April 30. The parties have been in negotiations since February.
The company offered union employees annual step increases and cost-of-living adjustments that, together, provide employees with wage increases ranging from approximately 2 percent to 6.7 percent per year.
“At a time when the pandemic and recession have challenged the well-being of our county, state and nation, we want to ensure that our first responders are compensated fairly,” said Carolina Snypes, Director and Chief of Falck’s Alameda County operation.
She noted that:
· The average salary and benefits of a Falck first responder in Alameda County is approximately $100,000.
· The top 10 percent of Falck first responders earn an average of $189,000 in pay and benefits annually in Alameda County, more than 3 times what a full-time paramedic starting today would earn.
· Falck has not furloughed or laid off any of its 911 paramedics or EMTs in Alameda County, even as hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers nationwide remain jobless because of COVID-19.
Falck was awarded the Alameda County contract more than a year ago. The company immediately worked closely with County leaders to improve the system to ensure residents could be confident that when they call 911, ambulances arrive quickly, are fully staffed and comply with County requirements for response times. The company provides services to all cities in the County with the exception of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley and Piedmont, where local fire departments provide the service.
Falck has added 40 new paramedics and EMTs in Alameda County since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company and its emergency medical teams have been part of the response to wildfires throughout the state. Falck has also worked closely with Alameda County officials to staff skilled nursing facilities during the pandemic, and has provided emergency medical coverage to police and protestors during the recent protests.
“We are pleased to have helped communities, firefighters, and law enforcement around California,” Snypes said. “We value the first responders who work for us, and we continue to offer competitive wages and benefits to ensure that we take good care of our employees and assist the cities and people we serve.”
“We’re proud of the diversity of our workforce and how closely it mirrors the demographics of the community we serve,” Snypes added.
5444 Estates Dr Oakland CA | Oakland Homes for Sale
From YouTube Channel: September 25, 2020 at 06:44PM
ONN – For more information, visit https://ggsir.link/cjq
Presented by Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty
Listed by Remy Weinstein
+1 510.918.7369 [email protected]
Lic.# 01815926
This Upper Rockridge home offers the elegance and practical simplicity of classic mid-century modern design, paired with tasteful modern updates. The main floor features soaring vaulted ceilings with exposed beams and a light-filled open floor plan with gleaming bamboo flooring. The living room features an iconic cone-shaped fireplace and sliding glass doors that open to one of two newly replaced decks spanning the back of the house. The updated chef’s kitchen includes quartz countertops, a double oven, and oversized Island with gas range and breakfast bar. A large bedroom with updated en suite bath and deck access, a second bedroom, and an updated full bath complete the main floor. Downstairs you’ll find three spacious bedrooms, a third bathroom, and a bonus room with laundry facilities. Spiral staircases connect both deck levels to the secluded backyard. Attached two car garage with workshop area below. Minutes from BART, Highways 13/580/80, Hillcrest Elementary, and shopping/dining.
View more Luxury Homes for Sale in Oakland: https://ggsir.link/m4c
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 – 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 today (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/
“Many Oakland small businesses that employ our residents and provide vital goods and services for us all have suffered greatly during the closures to combat the spread of COVID-19,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “These CARES Act-funded grants are meant to help sustain the local, independent merchants that add so much to our community as they pivot to new business models for the pandemic and post-pandemic economies.”
Eligibility requirements:
· Be an existing for-profit business since March 1, 2019 with a commercial location in Oakland
· Be able to demonstrate adverse business impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic
· Have gross revenues under $2,000,000 in 2019
· Have a current City of Oakland business license
· Have no City of Oakland life safety code violations
· Be in compliance with all County Health Orders and State Regulations
· Have not received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan of more than $10,000
· Have not received a grant from the Oakland CARES Fund for Artists and Arts Non-profits
· Have at least one, but no more than 50 full-time equivalent employees, including the business owner(s)
The following businesses are not eligible for funding through this grant program: Nonprofits, passive income real estate businesses, cannabis-related businesses, adult entertainment businesses, franchises, any business involved in bankruptcy proceedings or religious organizations (See FAQs for complete list).
Disbursement of grants funds to the selected recipients is anticipated to be completed by Friday, October 30, 2020.
The grants will help prevent displacement and closures of small businesses that contribute to the City’s diversity, vibrancy and character. Distribution of the CARES Act grants for small businesses is through a partnership between the City of Oakland’s Economic & Workforce Development Department and Main Street Launch. A trusted intermediary focused on equitable economic development, Main Street Launch is administering the Oakland CARES Act Small Business Grant Program.
“Main Street is looking forward to helping Oakland’s small businesses at this critical moment in the city’s recovery from the pandemic,” said Jacob Singer, CEO of Main Street Launch. “By helping the City provide these grants to support Oakland’s dynamic small business community, we collectively envision a time when we will all be able to gather together again in support of the businesses that make Oakland a unique and lively place to work and live.”
To assist applicants, answers to frequently asked questions have been posted at: https://mainstreetlaunch.org/oakland-cares-act-grant/ Support for technical questions is also available by emailing [email protected].
To align with the Oakland City Council’s direction and equity goals, the funds will be allocated to prioritize both geographic diversity throughout Oakland, and districts containing vulnerable communities, as represented by the Opportunity Zone-qualified and Opportunity Zone-designated census tracts. $2 million of grants have been specifically earmarked for businesses located in Opportunity Zone-designated census tracts. These historically vulnerable communities were selected based on aggregated demographic characteristics of each tract’s resident population as reported by the U.S. Census.
This is the latest CARES Act-funded grant program launched by the City of Oakland. Grant programs for low-income renter and homeowner relief and artists and arts nonprofits 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: https://www.oaklandca.gov/topics/coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-cares-act-funding
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.
This was written in 2009, and after a presentation before the Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums-formed Sports and Entertainment Task Force that was chaired by Chris DeBenedetti:
Oakland Coliseum City: Frank Dobson, Bob Leste, Steve Lowe Had Oakland A’s Stadium Plan Before Coliseum City https://ift.tt/17MyOt9 — The Commissioner of Baseball on Monday announced a new committee devoted to determining the viability of baseball in the East Bay. In his statements Commissioner Bud Selig said that the A’s owners have exhausted their efforts in Oakland. But really, they have not. Here’s an example in this plan for a new Coliseum baseball stadium on the parking lot land of the facility.
The plan, created by architect Frank Dobson and Retail Leasing expert Bob Leste with Oaklander Steve Lowe was first introduced in 2004 and while it was presented to the then-new ownership group and A’s Managing Partner Lew Wolff, it went largely ignored by them. Wolff was known to be in love with a concept called a baseball village and needed a lot of land to make that work, hence the Fremont land chase.
But the idea called for hundreds of acres of land, more than the A’s organization could afford given the economy and so needing public money turned to Fremont, which turned a deaf ear to their request.
Wolff has not wanted to be in Oakland, but the Mayor’s Sports and Entertainment Task Force wants to maintain the A’s here in Oakland. To that end, it supports the plan you’re about to see in this video.
The plan needs to be upgraded for 2009 and a financing plan developed. It also lacks an economic impact analysis and a job development report. But just eyeballing the plan I can say it can generate about 10,000 construction jobs and 4,000 permanent jobs. It calls for a new stadium, a parking structure, and a retail structure at the Coliseum as well as an enlarged BART bridge. The total cost is about $440 million but we at the task force understand that was a 2004 estimate.
The video shows much of Bob Leste’s presentation to the task force last Thursday and the discussion as well as the plan itself.
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.
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.
Los Angeles – Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced new representation and inclusion standards for Oscars® eligibility in the Best Picture category, as part of its Academy Aperture 2025 initiative. The standards are designed to encourage equitable representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the movie-going audience.
Academy governors DeVon Franklin and Jim Gianopulos headed a task force to develop the standards that were created from a template inspired by the British Film Institute (BFI) Diversity Standards used for certain funding eligibility in the UK and eligibility in some categories of the British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) Awards, but were adapted to serve the specific needs of the Academy. The Academy also consulted with the Producers Guild of America (PGA), as it presently does for Oscars eligibility.
“The aperture must widen to reflect our diverse global population in both the creation of motion pictures and in the audiences who connect with them. The Academy is committed to playing a vital role in helping make this a reality,” said Academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson. “We believe these inclusion standards will be a catalyst for long-lasting, essential change in our industry.”
For the 94th Oscars (2022) and 95th Oscars (2023), submitting a confidential Academy Inclusion Standards form will be required for Best Picture consideration, however meeting inclusion thresholds will not be required for eligibility in the Best Picture category until the 96th Oscars (2024).
For the 96th Oscars (2024), a film must meet TWO out of FOUR of the following standards to be deemed eligible:
STANDARD A: ON-SCREEN REPRESENTATION, THEMES AND NARRATIVES
To achieve Standard A, the film must meet ONE of the following criteria:
A1. Lead or significant supporting actors
At least one of the lead actors or significant supporting actors is from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.
• Asian
• Hispanic/Latinx
• Black/African American
• Indigenous/Native American/Alaskan Native
• Middle Eastern/North African
• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
• Other underrepresented race or ethnicity
A2. General ensemble cast
At least 30% of all actors in secondary and more minor roles are from at least two of the following underrepresented groups:
• Women
• Racial or ethnic group
• LGBTQ+
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
A3. Main storyline/subject matter
The main storyline(s), theme or narrative of the film is centered on an underrepresented group(s).
• Women
• Racial or ethnic group
• LGBTQ+
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
STANDARD B: CREATIVE LEADERSHIP AND PROJECT TEAM
To achieve Standard B, the film must meet ONE of the criteria below:
B1. Creative leadership and department heads
At least two of the following creative leadership positions and department heads—Casting Director, Cinematographer, Composer, Costume Designer, Director, Editor, Hairstylist, Makeup Artist, Producer, Production Designer, Set Decorator, Sound, VFX Supervisor, Writer—are from the following underrepresented groups:
• Women
• Racial or ethnic group
• LGBTQ+
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
At least one of those positions must belong to the following underrepresented racial or ethnic group:
• Asian
• Hispanic/Latinx
• Black/African American
• Indigenous/Native American/Alaskan Native
• Middle Eastern/North African
• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
• Other underrepresented race or ethnicity
B2. Other key roles
At least six other crew/team and technical positions (excluding Production Assistants) are from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group. These positions include but are not limited to First AD, Gaffer, Script Supervisor, etc.
B3. Overall crew composition
At least 30% of the film’s crew is from the following underrepresented groups:
• Women
• Racial or ethnic group
• LGBTQ+
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
STANDARD C: INDUSTRY ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES
To achieve Standard C, the film must meet BOTH criteria below:
C1. Paid apprenticeship and internship opportunities
The film’s distribution or financing company has paid apprenticeships or internships that are from the following underrepresented groups and satisfy the criteria below:
• Women
• Racial or ethnic group
• LGBTQ+
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
The major studios/distributors are required to have substantive, ongoing paid apprenticeships/internships inclusive of underrepresented groups (must also include racial or ethnic groups) in most of the following departments: production/development, physical production, post-production, music, VFX, acquisitions, business affairs, distribution, marketing and publicity.
The mini-major or independent studios/distributors must have a minimum of two apprentices/interns from the above underrepresented groups (at least one from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group) in at least one of the following departments: production/development, physical production, post-production, music, VFX, acquisitions, business affairs, distribution, marketing and publicity.
C2. Training opportunities and skills development (crew)
The film’s production, distribution and/or financing company offers training and/or work opportunities for below-the-line skill development to people from the following underrepresented groups:
• Women
• Racial or ethnic group
• LGBTQ+
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
STANDARD D: AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
To achieve Standard D, the film must meet the criterion below:
D1. Representation in marketing, publicity, and distribution
The studio and/or film company has multiple in-house senior executives from among the following underrepresented groups (must include individuals from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups) on their marketing, publicity, and/or distribution teams.
• Women
• Racial or ethnic group:
Asian
Hispanic/Latinx
Black/African American
Indigenous/Native American/Alaskan Native
Middle Eastern/North African
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
Other underrepresented race or ethnicity
• LGBTQ+
• People with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
All categories other than Best Picture will be held to their current eligibility requirements. Films in the specialty feature categories (Animated Feature Film, Documentary Feature, International Feature Film) submitted for Best Picture/General Entry consideration will be addressed separately.
Academy Aperture 2025 is the next phase of the Academy’s equity and inclusion initiative furthering the organization’s ongoing efforts to advance inclusion in the entertainment industry and increase representation within its membership and the greater film community.
Oakland Breastfeeding Festival 2020
From YouTube Channel: August 31, 2020 at 01:25AM
ONN – #blackbreastfeedingweek #breastfeedingawarenessmonth #oaklandbreastfeeds
Our 6th Annual event held virtually due to COVID concerns. Hosts Samsarah Morgan and Mika Cade.Artists: Betsy Rose and AAquela Lewis. Presenters Mika Cade, Tanefer Camara, Ashley Wright, Marna Armstead and Laura Cox. https://ift.tt/2QE9lyj
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.
MyoKardia Presents Results from Phase 3 EXPLORER-HCM Clinical Trial of Mavacamten for the Treatment of Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Press release sent to Zennie62Media, which reads..
EXPLORER-HCM Data Presented During Live Hot Line Session at ESC Congress 2020 with Simultaneous Publication in The Lancet
Presentation Expands on Positive Topline Results Showing Early, Sustained Reductions in Biomarkers of Cardiac Wall Stress and Myocardial Injury
Mavacamten Demonstrated Broad Treatment Effect, with Consistent Benefit Across Primary and Secondary Endpoints Among All Prespecified Patient Subgroups
MyoKardia to Host a Virtual Analyst and Investor Event to
Review Data on Monday, August 31 at 8:00 a.m. EDT
BRISBANE, Calif., Aug. 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MyoKardia, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYOK) announced today that 30-week results from its pivotal Phase 3 EXPLORER-HCM clinical trial of mavacamten for the treatment of symptomatic, obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) were presented during a live Hot Line session at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2020 (ESC Congress 2020). Results from the EXPLORER-HCM study were simultaneously published in The Lancet. MyoKardia previously announced topline data from the EXPLORER-HCM study showing that patients treated with mavacamten experienced statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in symptoms, functional status and key aspects of quality of life. In addition to meeting the primary and all secondary endpoints, mavacamten was well tolerated with a safety profile similar to placebo. The data presented today and reported in the published manuscript also include mavacamten’s positive impact on reducing cardiac biomarkers associated with poor prognosis and demonstrate the consistency of its therapeutic benefit across multiple prespecified subgroups.
“Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be a debilitating, chronic and progressive condition in patients, impairing the function of the heart and lowering patients’ quality of life. Mavacamten is the first therapeutic candidate to target the heart muscle proteins that drive the excessive contractility and impaired relaxation that are hallmarks of HCM with the intent of correcting the abnormal function of the heart. The results from EXPLORER provide clear, convincing evidence of the therapeutic effect of such a targeted mechanism of action; mavacamten was shown to alleviate the obstruction of the left ventricle and improve patients’ symptoms and cardiac function,” said Daniel Jacoby, M.D., Director, Comprehensive Heart Failure Program at the Yale School of Medicine, an investigator in the EXPLORER-HCM study.
The randomized, controlled, pivotal EXPLORER-HCM Phase 3 clinical trial enrolled 251 symptomatic, obstructive patients with HCM, most of whom were on standard background HCM therapy. Among the new data presented today, mavacamten treatment was shown to markedly reduce key biomarkers of cardiac wall stress and injury in a pronounced and clinically meaningful way. Serum concentrations of N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) from baseline to Week 30 were reduced by 80%, to near normal levels, in the mavacamten treatment group relative to placebo. NT-proBNP is a well-established biomarker of cardiac wall stress that has been associated with increased mortality in HCM patients.(1,2) The decrease in NT-proBNP was observed at the earliest timepoint measured (Week 4) and was sustained throughout the 30-week treatment period. Similarly, reductions in cardiac troponin (hs-cTnI) from baseline to Week 30 were 41% greater in the mavacamten-treated cohort compared to placebo. Cardiac troponin I is closely associated with increased incidence of heart failure, atrial fibrillation and death in patients with HCM.(1,3)
“The early and durable reductions toward normal levels of well-established biomarkers associated with cardiac wall stress and injury provide us with early indications that mavacamten may be able to reduce risk of serious complications and poor outcomes,” said Jay Edelberg, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer. “The reductions in biomarkers seen in the EXPLORER-HCM study are consistent with our observations of mavacamten’s impact on biomarkers across all of our studies of HCM as well as with the hemodynamic and structural benefits that we see taking place in the heart via cardiac imaging. We will be looking to our long-term studies for further evidence of the potential of mavacamten to alter the course of disease by returning the heart to a healthier state.”
As previously reported, mavacamten demonstrated a robust treatment effect in the Phase 3 study. The primary endpoint, a composite functional analysis designed to capture the treatment effect of mavacamten relative to placebo on both symptoms and cardiac function, was met with statistical significance (p=0.0005). Additionally, mavacamten demonstrated beneficial results (p<0.0006) for all secondary endpoints: post-exercise left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) peak gradient, peak VO2, New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification, the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Clinical Summary Score (KCCQ-CSS), and the HCM Symptom Questionnaire Shortness of Breath Domain Score.
Data presented today and published in The Lancet reveal that mavacamten’s benefit versus placebo for the primary and all secondary endpoints extended across all prespecified subgroups. Specifically, the reduction in obstruction and the improvements in exercise capacity and clinician (NYHA) and patient (KCCQ and HCMSQ) assessments favoring mavacamten over placebo were highly consistent regardless of age, gender, genetic status, body mass index, background use of beta blockers, or baseline measures of ejection fraction, NYHA class and NT-proBNP.
“The consistency of mavacamten’s effects in reducing obstruction and improving symptoms and quality of life across nearly a dozen pre-specified subgroups is a strong testament to the potential broad applicability of this therapy in obstructive HCM,” said Iacopo Olivotto, M.D., of the Cardiomyopathy Unit, Careggi University Hospital and lead clinical investigator for the EXPLORER-HCM clinical trial. “It has been extremely gratifying to directly witness the benefits derived from treatment with mavacamten among my patients who were on study, and I look forward to mavacamten becoming an integral tool in the treatment of patients with obstructive HCM in the future.”
Mavacamten was well tolerated and demonstrated safety results similar to placebo, with no new findings observed from those previously reported. Ninety-seven percent of patients enrolled completed the study treatment period. Overall rates of adverse events, serious adverse events, and cardiac adverse events, including atrial fibrillation, were comparable for patients treated with mavacamten and placebo.
Mavacamten was granted breakthrough therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July 2020. MyoKardia plans to submit a New Drug Application for mavacamten to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first quarter of 2021.
Investor and Analyst Conference Call and Live Webcast
MyoKardia will host a virtual event for investors and analysts to review the 30-week data from EXPLORER-HCM. The live webcast event will begin at 8:00 a.m. EDT / 5:00 a.m. PDT on Monday, August 31 and will include a discussion of the EXPLORER data with Drs. Olivotto and Jacoby, as well as presentations from MyoKardia management regarding the impact of the positive data on MyoKardia and the company’s early commercial preparation efforts.
To access the call, please dial (844) 494-0193 (U.S.) or (508) 637-5584 (international) and reference the conference ID 9917969. A live webcast of the conference call will be available on Investor section of MyoKardia’s website at http://investors.myokardia.com. A replay of the webcast, and accompanying slides, will be available on the MyoKardia website for 90 days following the call.
About EXPLORER-HCM
The EXPLORER-HCM Phase 3 trial enrolled a total of 251 patients with symptomatic (NYHA Class II or III), obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. All participants had measurable LVOT gradient (resting and/or provoked) ≥50 mmHg at baseline. Patients were randomized on a 1:1 basis to receive individualized once-daily dosing of mavacamten or placebo. Patients started on a dose of 5mg, with up to two opportunities for dose adjustments (to doses of 2.5mg – 15mg) based on a combination of residual LVOT gradient, drug plasma concentration and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) levels.
The primary endpoint for EXPLORER-HCM was a composite functional analysis designed to capture mavacamten’s effect on both symptoms and function. The composite functional endpoint is defined by either (1) the achievement of a ≥1.5mL/kg/min improvement in peak VO2 accompanied by an improvement of ≥1 NYHA functional class, or (2) the achievement of a ≥3.0mL/kg/min improvement of peak VO2 with no worsening in NYHA functional class. In addition to the endpoints reported today, the EXPLORER-HCM study also assessed mavacamten’s effect on patient-reported outcomes, health-related quality-of-life and symptom severity assessments, changes from baseline to Week 30 in echocardiographic indices, circulating biomarkers, cardiac rhythm patterns and accelerometry.
About HCM
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a chronic, progressive disease in which excessive contraction of the heart muscle and reduced ability of the left ventricle to fill can lead to the development of debilitating symptoms and cardiac dysfunction. HCM is estimated to affect one in every 500 people. The most frequent cause of HCM is mutations in the heart muscle proteins of the sarcomere. In approximately two-thirds of HCM patients, the path followed by blood exiting the heart, known as the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT), becomes obstructed by the enlarged and diseased muscle, restricting the flow of blood from the heart to the rest of the body (obstructive HCM). In other patients, the thickened heart muscle does not block the LVOT, and their disease is driven by diastolic impairment due to the enlarged and stiffened heart muscle (non-obstructive HCM). In either obstructive or non-obstructive HCM patients, exertion can result in fatigue or shortness of breath, interfering with a patient’s ability to participate in activities of daily living. HCM has also been associated with increased risks of atrial fibrillation, stroke, heart failure and sudden cardiac death.
About Mavacamten
MyoKardia is developing mavacamten, a first-in-class, oral, allosteric modulator of cardiac myosin, for the treatment of conditions in which excessive cardiac contractility and impaired diastolic filling of the heart are the underlying cause. Mavacamten is reduces cardiac muscle contractility by inhibiting excessive myosin-actin cross-bridge formation that results in hypercontractility, left ventricular hypertrophy and reduced compliance. In clinical and preclinical studies, mavacamten has consistently reduced biomarkers of cardiac wall stress, lessened excessive cardiac contractility and increased diastolic compliance.
Mavacamten is initially being developed for the treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and has received breakthrough therapy and orphan drug designations for symptomatic, obstructive HCM. MyoKardia plans to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) for U.S. regulatory approval in this indication in the first quarter of 2021. Based on mavacamten’s mechanism of action and evidence of therapeutic activity, MyoKardia plans to study mavacamten for the treatment of symptomatic non-obstructive HCM and among a targeted population of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
About MyoKardia
MyoKardia is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing targeted therapies for the treatment of serious cardiovascular diseases. The company is pioneering a precision medicine approach to its discovery and development efforts by 1) understanding the biomechanical underpinnings of disease; 2) targeting the proteins that modulate a given condition; 3) identifying patient populations with shared disease characteristics; and 4) applying learnings from research and clinical studies to inform and guide pipeline growth and product advancement. MyoKardia’s initial focus is on small molecule therapeutics aimed at the proteins of the heart that modulate cardiac muscle contraction to address diseases driven by excessive contraction, impaired relaxation, or insufficient contraction. Among its discoveries are three clinical-stage therapeutics: mavacamten (formerly MYK-461); danicamtiv (formerly MYK-491) and MYK-224.
MyoKardia’s mission is to change the world for people with serious cardiovascular disease through bold and innovative science.
Kubo, et al.; Circulation; 2011.
Geske, et al.; Journal of the American College of Cardiology; 2013.
Seydelmann et al.; Journal of the American Heart Association; 2016.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements we make in this press release may include statements which are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are usually identified by the use of words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “will,” and variations of such words or similar expressions. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act and are making this statement for purposes of complying with those safe harbor provisions. These forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the clinical and therapeutic benefit and future potential of mavacamten, the ability of our long-term studies to provide further evidence of mavacamten’s potential to alter the course of disease by returning the heart to a healthier state, the impact of the FDA’s breakthrough therapy designation, or our plan and timing to submit a New Drug Application for mavacamten, reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond our control including, without limitation, risks associated with the development and regulation of our product candidates and any ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as those set forth in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, and our other filings with the SEC. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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
SKELLY RECOMMENDATION Oakland Police Department April 2020 SUBJECTS: Lieutenant Alan Yu Sergeant Francisco Negrete Officer William Berger Officer Craig Tanaka Officer Brandon Hraiz Officer Josef Phillips Michael Gennaco Skelly Officer 323-821-0586 7142 Trask Avenue | Playa del Rey, CA 90293 OIRGroup.com SKELLY RESPONSE: Pursuant to the California Constitution and the Manual of Rules (“MOR”) of … Read more
MILWAUKEE—Reimagined for a convention that will look and feel different than anything ever before, this year’s Keynote Address at the Democratic National Convention will weave together powerful and diverse voices from the next generation of party leaders into a unified pledge to step up and lead in this critical moment for the nation, convention organizers … Read more
2446 Leimert Blvd Oakland CA | Oakland Homes for Sale From YouTube Channel: August 14, 2020 at 08:25PM ONN – Presented by Ann Wilkins Phone: +1 510.435.6358 Email: [email protected] Lic.# 01809131 Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty https://ift.tt/2L3bQWS Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the … Read more
As all Arsenal fans know nothing is ever simple, especially when it comes to the Gunners transfer dealings. Perhaps there is a curse placed upon the club who back in the 30’s were known as the ‘Bank of England club’, but more recently have been doing all they can to get players on the cheap. If … Read more
Oakland Police Safely Take Armed Sleeping Driver Into Custody At 100 Block Of East 12th Street ONN – Oakland Police Safely Take Armed Sleeping Driver Into Custody At 100 Block Of East 12th Street The Oakland Police sent this press release via email to Zennie62Media: Driver safely taken into custody and two firearms recovered-100 block … Read more
