Rowing Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Oakland News Now Blog

For Veterans Day, The NFL Increased Grants, Scholarships, To Salute The Military Community

November 12, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

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

Fluidigm Corporation Announces Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results

November 5, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

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

CES 2021 News: Ten Percent of US Broadband Households Had A Video Doorbell Q2 2020

October 30, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Parks Associates: 10% of US Broadband Households Report Owning a Video Doorbell in Q2 2020, up From 7% in 2017 Research firm announces topics and call for papers for 15th annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES News ahead of CES 2021. Parks Associates today announced the topics and call for papers for the 15th annual CONNECTIONS™ … Read more

Project Poppa On Growing Up In Oakland California +” People From Oakland Went to San Leandro High”

October 29, 2020October 29, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Project Poppa On Growing Up In Oakland California +” People from Oakland went to San Leandro High”. From YouTube Channel: October 28, 2020 at 11:43PM ONN – Follow ShotByManzo: https://ift.tt/37QHPHw Follow ProjectPoppa65: https://ift.tt/2Q04U1C Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of … Read more

Housing Symposium Segment 5: Lessons from being Homeless

October 28, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Housing Symposium Segment 5: Lessons from being Homeless
From YouTube Channel: October 27, 2020 at 06:22PM
ONN – State of Black Education Oakland (SoBEO) co-founders Jumoke Hinton and Dr. Charles Cole, III talk about lessons learned from growing up homeless. Part of SoBEO’s Housing for All campaign: https://ift.tt/2TyPG4c

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.

via IFTTT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRAdwAAhl5Q

ONN – Seneca Scott Runs For Oakland City Council District Three With “Overgrow Oakland Part 2” Video

October 26, 2020October 25, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Overgrow Oakland Part 2
From YouTube Channel: October 24, 2020 at 05:46PM

ONN – Seneca Scott Runs For Oakland City Council District Three With “Overgrow Oakland Part 2” Video

Mr. Scott is running, but given the way his team tagged his YouTube video, you’d have no idea. This should help, because the video is worth your attention.

He writes:

West Oakland has an amazing climate. One that allows us to grow healthy food year-round. D3 is already home to many thriving gardens and urban farms. We all have one big thing in common. We believe in the importance of growing our own food, for our health and community resilience.

Video by Chatmandidit

Stay tuned.

via IFTTT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN1CXk-LRHQ

Oakland Women’s Rowing Club on Lake Merritt.

October 7, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Oakland Women’s Rowing Club on Lake Merritt.
From YouTube Channel: October 6, 2020 at 09:13AM
ONN –

via IFTTT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBQw5rwfqBQ

Oakland City Auditor Lowers Boom On Oakland Fire Department In Just Issued Report

September 30, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

The Oakland City Auditor just sent a blazing press release. Here’s what she and her office wrote about the Oakland Fire Department:

Oakland – Today, Oakland City Auditor, Courtney Ruby, released a performance audit of the Fire Prevention Bureau (Bureau), a division of the Oakland Fire Department (OFD). This report examines whether the Bureau implemented the 2017 recommendations from the Mayor’s Task Force established after the tragic Ghost Ship Fire in 2016 and whether the Bureau has established adequate controls to ensure all state mandated inspections are completed and fire safety laws are adequately enforced.

The mission of Oakland’s Fire Prevention Bureau is to reduce the risk of fire throughout the City. The Bureau conducts fire safety inspections of the City’s buildings, structures, and vacant lots and performs “state-mandated inspections,” which include buildings used for public assemblies, educational purposes, institutional facilities, multi-family residential dwellings, and high-rise structures. The Bureau also oversees the City’s commercial inspection program of smaller apartment buildings and retail businesses, inspects cannabis operations, and reviews building and tenant improvement plans to ensure new construction includes all required fire safety components. Furthermore, they are responsible for fire safety in the high danger zone of the Oakland hills.

The audit found that more than three years after the City launched a major reform effort to improve fire and life safety throughout the City of Oakland, the City has made only limited progress in fully implementing the reforms set forth by the Mayor’s Task Force. The Fire Department implemented processes to identify and address high risk properties and improve communication between the Bureau and the engine companies to report potentially unsafe properties for further investigation.

The Fire Department, however, has yet to fully implement critical organizational improvements such as filling staff vacancies, creating permanent supervisor positions, implementing more robust quality control processes, establishing performance measures for inspectors, and developing operating procedures for inspections.

The audit found the Bureau inspected only 26 percent of all state-mandated facilities between September 2018 and September 2019, even though the Bureau’s staffing for fire inspectors has increased significantly. Furthermore, the audit revealed the Bureau had not inspected 51 percent of the state-mandated facilities in the last three years we reviewed. The audit also noted the Bureau lacks sufficient staffing to inspect the growing number of cannabis operations in the City. The nature of cannabis operations poses significant fire risks to the operators, neighboring properties, firefighters, and the community.

Additionally, the Bureau’s enforcement efforts are often ineffective. The Bureau’s practice has been to try and coax property owners to correct fire safety violations by re-inspecting properties. Between September 2018 and September 2019, the Bureau conducted over 800 re-inspections of state-mandated properties to ensure property owners corrected various fire safety violations. Although 236 properties implemented the appropriate corrective action, inspectors re-inspected these properties up to seven times to obtain corrective action. On the other hand, the Bureau was unable to obtain corrective action on another 493 properties, even though inspectors re-inspected these properties up to seven times.

The audit also found the Oakland Unified School District has not been responsive in correcting fire safety violations such as missing fire extinguishers and non-functioning fire alarm systems. Also, the Bureau has not operationalized its appeal process to provide property owners an opportunity to dispute the Bureau’s findings of violations in the City’s wildlife interface areas. Not operationalizing the appeals process delayed the assessment of approximately $300,000 in inspection fees in 2018 and 2019 has yet to be assessed as a result.

In response to the audit results, Auditor Ruby noted, “Two of the deadliest fires in US history have been in Oakland: The 1991 Oakland Hills Fire and the 2016 Ghost Ship Fire. Collectively these fires killed 61 of our residents. Completing this audit has been of the utmost importance to me to ensure the City is doing all it can to protect our residents—unfortunately, the audit found OFD has been slow to learn from the past and critical work remains to be done—a sense of urgency and accountability must be ignited in OFD—there is no excuse for the lack of progress.”

During this time, the Bureau’s personnel have been stretched thin from meeting its annual state- mandated inspections by other work, such as inspections required by the City’s building boom, addressing safety issues at the many homeless encampments throughout the City, and the hiring and training of new inspection staff. Additionally, the Bureau’s practice to repeatedly re-inspect properties to bring them into compliance has also diverted significant time away from conducting mandated inspections.

While the lack of progress can be partly attributed to high turnover in the Fire Department’s leadership (since 2017, the City has had three Fire Chiefs and three Fire Marshals), Auditor Ruby, stated, “In 2013, I released an audit reviewing the Department’s vegetation management inspection practices and some of these very same problems were identified, such as the need for consistent training, stronger supervision, quality control measures and clear policies and procedures to ensure the accuracy and completeness of inspections. Almost 10 years later, the current audit shows these same issues persist with building inspections.”

On a positive note, the Department has agreed to implement 29 of the 30 recommendations in the audit report. Moreover, the Department and the Bureau have begun employing a more strategic focus on implementing management and accountability systems called for by the Mayor’s Task Force and the Bureau is in the process of converting to a more advanced database, which will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Bureau’s inspection efforts.

To read the full report please read below:

Oakland City Auditor Performance Audit Oakland Fire Department Prevention Bureau FINAL by Categories California, National News, News, Oakland Community, U.S. News, usa, World Tags App, Business, CA, Cannabis, CES, Chiefs, City Auditor, City of Oakland, Courtney Ruby, HBO, homeless, Homeless Encampment, Inc, ISSUES, Oakland, Oakland City, Oakland City Auditor, Oakland Fire Department, Oakland Unified School District, Press Release, Rowing, RPO, RT, Train, US, WE, Zennie Abraham

EPA Boss’ Letter To California Gov Newsom Blasts State, LA And SF Waste From Homeless Problem

September 29, 2020September 29, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Trump EPA Director Andrew Wheeler (Chicago Tribune Photo)

Blockbuster Trump EPA Letter To California Gov Gavin Newsom Blasts State, Los Angeles and San Francisco Waste From Homeless Problem

A letter sent to Zennie62Media an hour ago is from the Office of United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Director Andrew Wheeler, under President Donald Trump. In it, Mr. Wheeler claims that he “is concerned that California’s implementation of federal environmental laws is failing to meet its obligations required under delegated federal programs.” Then, he details a number of examples, including one pointed, in a not too veiled political way, at San Francisco.

In the case of San Francisco, Wheeler writes:

California-Governor-Gavin-Newsom- — California Governor Gavin Newsom

The EPA is aware of the growing homelessness crisis developing in major California cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the impact of this crisis on the environment. Indeed, press reports indicate that “piles of human feces” on sidewalks and streets in these cities are becoming all too common.? The EPA is concerned about the potential water quality impacts from pathogens and other contaminants from untreated human waste entering nearby waters. San Francisco, Los Angeles and the state do not appear to be acting with urgency to mitigate the risks to human health and the environment that may result from the homelessness crisis. California is responsible for implementing appropriate municipal storm water management and waste treatment requirements as part of its assumed federal program. The state is failing to properly implement these programs.

San Francisco is also one of the few major cities with sewers that combine stormwater and sewage flows that is not under a federal consent decree to meet the requirements of federal law. The EPA is committed to helping the state address this problem. In fact, the EPA provided the San Francisco Public Utility Commission a loan of $699 million under favorable terms pursuant to authority under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act in July 2018 for biosolid digestors and other related projects. However, these projects will not bring the city into compliance. San Francisco must invest billions of dollars to modernize its sewer system to meet CWA standards, avoid dumping untreated and partially treated sewage into the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean where it can wash up on beaches and keep raw sewage inside pipes instead of in homes and businesses.

Even more troubling is the City of San Francisco’s years-long practice – allowed by CalEPA – of routinely discharging more than one billion gallons of combined sewage and stormwater into San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean on an annual basis. The CWA requires municipal sewage be treated to certain levels and to meet water quality standards. Nonetheless, although San Francisco’s combined sewer outfalls discharge to sensitive waters, these discharges do not receive biological treatment. Instead, San Francisco’s combined sewer overflows are designed to remove floatables and settleable solids only and do not always achieve even that low level of treatment. These discharges may be contributing to the state’s failure to meet water quality standards. By failing to maintain its sewer infrastructure, the city allowed raw sewage to back up into homes and businesses.

Here is the Trump EPA Letter from Andrew Wheeler in its entirety:

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

September 26, 2019

The Honorable Gavin C. Newsom 1303 10th Street, Suite 1173 Sacramento, California 95814

Dear Governor Newsom:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Environmental Protection Agency are responsible for working together to protect public health and the environment in your state. As a result of the authorization of state laws and the delegation of federal authority, California administers and implements the federal Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act among other federal programs. Congress designed these statutory frameworks for the states to take the lead role in implementation, with the EPA overseeing state actions.

Based on data and reports, the EPA is concerned that California’s implementation of federal environmental laws is failing to meet its obligations required under delegated federal programs. The cost of this failure will be paid by those Californians exposed to unhealthy air and degraded water. The purpose of this letter is to outline the deficiencies that have led to significant public health concerns in California and to outline steps the state must take to address them. To ensure that appropriate steps are being taken to protect Californians, the EPA would like a remedial plan from the state detailing the steps it is taking to address the issues raised below.

The EPA is aware of the growing homelessness crisis developing in major California cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the impact of this crisis on the environment. Indeed, press reports indicate that “piles of human feces” on sidewalks and streets in these cities are becoming all too common.? The EPA is concerned about the potential water quality impacts from pathogens and other contaminants from untreated human waste entering nearby waters. San Francisco, Los Angeles and the state do not appear to be acting with urgency to mitigate the risks to human health and the environment that may result from the homelessness crisis. C responsible for implementing appropriate municipal storm water management and waste treatment requirements as part of its assumed federal program. The state is failing to properly implement these programs.

San Francisco is also one of the few major cities with sewers that combine stormwater and sewage flows that is not under a federal consent decree to meet the requirements of federal law. The EPA is committed to helping the state address this problem. In fact, the EPA provided the San Francisco Public Utility Commission a loan of $699 million under favorable terms pursuant to authority under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act in July 2018 for biosolid digestors and other related projects. However, these projects will not bring the city into compliance. San Francisco must invest billions of dollars to modernize its sewer system to meet CWA standards, avoid dumping untreated and partially treated sewage into the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean where it can wash up on beaches and keep raw sewage inside pipes instead of in homes and businesses.

Even more troubling is the City of San Francisco’s years-long practice – allowed by CalEPA – of routinely discharging more than one billion gallons of combined sewage and stormwater into San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean on an annual basis. The CWA requires municipal sewage be treated to certain levels and to meet water quality standards. Nonetheless, although San Francisco’s combined sewer outfalls discharge to sensitive waters, these discharges do not receive biological treatment. Instead, San Francisco’s combined sewer overflows are designed to remove floatables and settleable solids only and do not always achieve even that low level of treatment. These discharges may be contributing to the state’s failure to meet water quality standards. By failing to maintain its sewer infrastructure, the city allowed raw sewage to back up into homes and businesses.

Overall, significant deficiencies are present, and the state has not acted with a sense of urgency to abate this public health and environmental problem. Among the other issues identified, the state’s years-long approval of the discharges referenced above under its authorized program raises serious questions as to whether it is administering a program consistent with federal law. The city’s practices endanger public health, and the EPA is prepared to take the necessary steps to ensure CWA compliance. Given the magnitude of the issues, I have asked EPA staff to consider all options available to bring the city into compliance.

The state’s lack of action in response to the homelessness crisis and San Francisco’s discharges of inadequately treated sewage prompted the EPA to review other programs administered by CalEPA for similar concerns. What we discovered after a preliminary review suggests the need for more formal and in-depth EPA oversight. For example, we are aware of numerous exceedances of state-issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits under section 402 of the CWA. Just in this past quarter, we identified 23 significant instances of discharges into waters of the United States in exceedance of permit limits. By way of example, the City of Los Angeles exceeded its permit limit for Indeno[1,2,3-cd) pyrene (a contaminant which is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen) by 442 percent; the University of Southern California exceeded its permit limit for copper (a metal which can adversely affect human health and the health of aquatic life) by 420 percent; and Sanitary District Number 5 of Marin County exceeded its permit limit for total cyanide by 5,194 percent. These are serious matters that warrant a strong review by California.

California has the resources to address these problems. Apart from the state’s significant tax base, California received more than $1.16 billion of federal funds to implement CWA programs just in the last five years, including $253.5 million in FY2018 and $247 million in FY2019. In addition, California received more than $152 million in categorical grants over this time to improve compliance with the CWA.

The EPA also has concerns about CalEPA’s administration and oversight of SDWA programs and public water systems within the state. Indeed, we are aware of numerous recent health-based exceedances: in just the most recent reporting quarter of 2019, California had 202 Community Water Systems with 665 health-based exceedances that put the drinking water of nearly 800,000 residents at risk. These exceedances include:
• 67 systems with 194 serious health-based exceedances of arsenic levels, impacting more
than 101,000 residents;
• 210 lead action level exceedances in just the most recent 3-year interval at 168 PWSs,
impacting more than 10,000 residents;
• two systems with serious Ground Water Rule compliance issues, impacting more than
250,000 residents; 44 systems with 154 exceedances of the Stage 1 and 2 disinfection byproduct regulations,
impacting almost 255,000 residents; and
• 25 systems with 69 violations of radiological standards, impacting almost 12,000 residents.
These exceedances call into question the state’s ability to protect the public and administer its SDWA programs in a manner consistent with federal requirements.
Under this Administration, the EPA stands ready to assist California and CalEPA to protect the health and environment of Californians. However, it is time for the state to act decisively under its authorities to address the problems identified in this letter. For each of the delegated or assumed programs discussed in this letter, I request a written response within 30 days outlining in detail how California intends to address the concerns and violations identified herein. This response should include a demonstration that the state has the adequate authority and capability to address these issues and specific anticipated milestones for correcting these problems. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Andrew R. Wheeler

NOTES
The EPA first authorized California’s base Clean Water Act program in 1973. The EPA subsequently approved the state to regulate discharges from federal facilities in 1978, administer the pretreatment program in 1989 and issue general permits in 1989. California also has received primacy to exercise Safe Drinking Water Act responsibilities in the state.
2 See, e.g., Raphelson, Samantha. “San Francisco Squalor: City Streets Strewn With Trash, Needles And Human Feces, NPR (Aug. 1, 2018) available at https://www.npr.org/2018/08/01/634626538/san-francisco-squalor-city-streets strewn-with-trash-needles-and-human-feces (last accessed Sept. 22, 2019).
3 Human waste from homeless populations is a recognized source of bacteria in water bodies. See American Society of Civil Engineers, “Pathogens in Urban Stormwater Systems” (Aug. 2014); “The California Microbial Source Identification Manual: A Tiered Approach to Identifying Fecal Pollution Sources to Beaches” (Dec. 2013); Tools for Tracking Human Fecal Pollution in Urban Storm Drains, Streams, and Beaches (Sept. 2012). These reports are
Internet Address (URL) http://www.epa.gov Recycled/Recyclable Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer, Process Chlorine Free Recycled Paper
available on the website for the San Francisco Bay Beaches Bacteria TMDL available at https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/water_issues/programs/TMDLs/SFbaybeachesbacteria.html (last accessed September 22, 2019).
+ The EPA’s current data also indicates that 15 major Publicly Owned Treatment Works are in significant noncompliance and 11 non-major POTWs are currently in significant noncompliance. These data are publicly available. See U.S. EPA, Enforcement and Compliance History Online water facility public search tool (https://echo.epa.gov/facilities/facility-search?mediaSelected=cwa).
5 The 2006 Ground Water Rule is a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation under the SDWA aimed at providing increased protection against microbial pathogens in public water systems that use ground water sources. See 71 FR 65574.
6 These health-based concerns are associated with unaddressed significant deficiencies” identified via an audit of the system, called a “sanitary survey,” and include, for example, an opening through which bacteria could enter a well head that the system has not repaired.

I have sent this to Governor Newsom’s Office for comment, as well as the Mayor’s Office’s of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and San Francisco Mayor London Breed for comment. Keep in mind the interesting timing of the letter with respect to the November 2020 Election and the 30 day response time, which takes us right up to just days before election day. Moreover, Wheeler just blasted Newsom for his executive order to ban the sale of gas-powered cars in 15 years. This space wishes that Governor Newsom would apply large tax credits to electric-powered supercars, as a way to hasten the transition to an electric car world.

Stay tuned.

The letter from the EPA:

Trump EPA Letter To Califor… by Zennie Abraham

Oakland Forgot Economic Development And It Shows In The Very Condition Of The City

October 5, 2020September 21, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

The Oakland that I knew is dead. It was a city that had over 100 job training programs and several low interest loan and grant programs for businesses. It was a city that was unafraid to embrace manufacturing, transportation, and heavy industry, as much as it demanded and caused the development of an economy comparatively cleaner than most. It was a city that knew how to fix its economic problems. That Oakland is gone.

The Oakland that replaced it is one that’s marked by growing ranks of people sleeping on the streets because no one will help them. It has many who were just one lost paycheck away from eviction, and their ranks so great, a moratorium on evictions was in place before the Pandemic.

It has some who would even resort to an attempt to take property not their own. And do that thinking it will solve an overall problem that is obviously beyond their desire to deal with: an economic design that lacks the use of tax increment financing to fuel the business assistance and job training and affordable housing programs Oakland was once known for. This Oakland lacks people who want to fix the economy and far to many people who want to protest against the economy.

The fact is, we have had march after march and activist after activist, and the problems have only gotten worse. The protests have become nothing more than theater for the media, and tools to be used as part of a campaign strategy by a President who, himself, does not seem to care.

We have people who are willing to say “no coal” but not even asking “can we do coal, clean air, and jobs?” In fact, it seems like it’s just easier for them to just say no, then to try and fix anything.

Where we are is beyond sad.

It has been advanced by some media infected with the same anti-intellectualism – and worse because they believe their approach is smart. It is the complete and total lack of knowledge of where we are as a society, and to such a massively alarming point, that both the activists and that media don’t even bother to read about the past, and learn about the first publication to point to the climate change problem: The Limits To Growth. That was way back in 1971, but don’t tell that to the so-called climate change activists, they think all of this started after they hit puberty, and after 2010.

Oakland Created Its Own Problem And Now Can’t Wake Up To Fix It

What is so awful is that we in Oakland created this problem. Yeah. That’s right. Us.

I recall a 1996 meeting I sat in on, and on behalf of Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, about the then-new concept of the “jobs / housing balance”. The meeting was at the offices of my long-time friend Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson. Unfortunately, I have to write that this happened.

The meeting included a number of officials, including Sunne Wright McPeak, then a Contra Costa County Supervisor and main advocate for the idea that there should be a jobs / housing balance. The problem with the concept is that it asks a City like Oakland to be able to have more employment for workers to “balance” the housing in it. The problem is that the idea calls for an industry to be grown in that city to get those workers. Or, let me put it this way: it allows for gentrification to set in, though that was not the word flavor of the day in 1996.

In the meeting, I asked how Oakland was to make sure it followed “Oakland first” jobs policies for its current workers if they did not have the skills necessary to land the biotech jobs that Keith and Sunne, and the others in the meeting prized so much and wanted for Oakland? They collectively looked at me as if I had grown the ears of a Vulcan. I must now admit that I left the meeting out of pure disgust for the lack of any real thinking – it was the typical, Bay Area, “let’s make up something that we think is smart” crap.

It’s the kind of approach that is unconsciously born from the time when white supremacists like John Muir were creating social clubs like The Sierra Club. It’s an approach that calls for the development of an amount of what the person thinks are facts that are undeniable – and so that person is hardened in their beliefs to the point where communicating with them to get them to see another way becomes folly. It’s caused a lot of problems, and in particular, in the East Bay of the SF Bay Area, where the black population is the largest of any other place in my region of the San Francisco Bay Area.

The people who have this sort of tick have become and in many cases still are elected officials and friends of mine – and Democrats. They have allowed the complete destruction of Oakland’s economic development, and allowed it to happen with a nod. They have proven that they are the latest in the long line of people to drink the kool-aid established by John Muir. When he and his friends like famed UC Berkeley Professor Joseph Le Conte formed The Sierra Club, and his ideas of preservation that gave it life, he and they did not have black people in mind. They regarded us, folks who look like me, as “dirty” and “savages.”

Indeed, Joseph Le Conte is also identified as a white supremacist.

John Muir (photo courtesy peoplelooker.com)

I write that because the Oakland that I came to know in 1974 was increasingly one that was called a “chocolate city” but the real problem is Oakland was consistently apologizing for being just that. It always embraced outside white male developers and never, then later seldom, gave a black developer a chance, and a person who was Asian (like my friend Phil Tagami) didn’t fare much better unless he worked himself to near death for ten years just to land the Oakland Rotunda Project (as Phil did with the help of a number of people, including me and Elihu Harris). That problem still exists today, and points to a real problem.

We all know the ranks of those who are jobless and homeless in Oakland are mostly black. We all know that the ranks of those suffering from COVID-19 are more likely to be black. But what we have not done in Oakland, is simply create a black-focused answer to these problems. So, for the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal (for which its co-developer Insight Terminal Solutions, is a Zennie62Media content client) there’s the largely white “No Coal In Oakland” group just saying no, and not doing anything to try and get to yes.

They openly do not care about the same jobs problem that disproportionately hurts black folks in Oakland. Then, they try and make you believe (with the help of irresponsible media) that they have a large young black membership, when the truth is just the opposite. We need a black economic development agenda that is formed in harmony with concerns for the environment. Don’t count on No Coal In Oakland or The Sierra Club, because they’ve drank John Muir’s racist elixir and are too drunk to realize it.

Meanwhile, there’s Tom Steyer, the former coal investor and hedge fund manager who’s now (I contend) trying to hedge the western United States and as much of America as he can into a thought ethic that just says invest in renewables, and not fix the damn traditional energy pollution problem. Tom’s got a number of Oakland elected officials so scared they won’t get his money, they parrot his view about the environment, and don’t care about developing jobs at all, and mindlessly pat themselves on the back for such things as “climate action plans” that lack any interest in economic development.

On top of that, the same Oakland elected officials that signed development agreements to allow Mr. Tagami and Insight Terminal Solutions to build the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal (knowing it was designed to handle bulk commodities like coal in a low emissions way), then set about a process of trying to back out of them just because Steyer started influencing them with money.

Take the example of Tom Steyer investing $500,000 in the Mayor of Oakland’s Oakland Promise program, and allegedly with the quid-pro-quo that Oakland would get involved in a lawsuit against American oil companies that was so silly it was tossed out of court. Why Libby didn’t get Tom to try and jump start Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal is a good question, considering its low emissions design, Oakland’s need to create low-skilled, well-paying jobs, and the now decades-long tardiness of replacing the jobs lost due to military base closures.

It’s as if Oakland just plain stopped caring about creating jobs. Even Oakland economic development director Alexa Jeffries, who was hired last year, has no formal background in economic development!

This is Oakland, folks. In other words, for economic development in Oakland, a cuss term is appropriate: we’re fucked.

In Oakland Economic Development Has Reached The “We’re Fucked” Stage

Yep. We’re fucked, folks. The City of Oakland knows it and you know it. We can get out of it, but we have to admit it, first, fast, then take action, and fast. We had the blueprint for the economic engine that can help us in the future and that’s the redevelopment laws of the past. There was no real good reason to get rid of Redevelopment, and since it was terminated, Oakland’s economic divide has only worsened and the Pandemic just made it worse.

And blacks in Oakland need to stop supporting The Sierra Club and form a new approach that fits the needs of the African American community. The problem is too many of us are trapped in thinking about us in a negative fashion, so city policy is focused on crime only, whereas in the Oakland between 1980 and 2010, the policies (like Hire Oakland First) were geared toward the economic needs of black residents. We let that go, and it’s time to bring it back. If you agree that blacks in Oakland are being harmed by a lack of programs and a lack of the social infrastructure that once made sure blacks had greater wealth, then take action. If you believe that you are only as strong as your weakest neighbor, then the only logical action is to help that neighbor, and go tell John Muir what to do with his racist ideas. I know he’s long passed on, but his point of view still holds way too much sway.

Time to wake the fuck up.

Stay tuned.

Interview with Founder of Oakland’s Raided Mushroom Church, Dave Hodges

September 20, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Interview with Founder of Oakland’s Raided Mushroom Church, Dave Hodges
From YouTube Channel: September 19, 2020 at 06:08PM
ONN – On August 13th, 2020 Oakland Police Department illegally raided Zide Door aka The Church of Entheogenic Plants, aka the first and only “Mushroom Church.” in the nation. They called in the firefighters to cut through a large safe on the premises—during a city-wide crime spree—and allegedly seized $200,000+ in cannabis and psilocybin mushroom products. They made zero arrest and the club reopened 24 hours later.

We had a chance to talk with one of the founders of the Church, Dave Hodges, about what led up to the raid. He also shares with us his harrowing ordeal. And how the club was reopened a day later.

We also dive into why he founded a weed and mushroom church in the first place, his use plant-based religious sacraments, and his relatively new practice of taking massive doses of magic mushrooms—we’re talking 15, 20, 25, even 30 grams. That’s a lot of shrooms.

Hodges and Zide Door plan to sue OPD with a civil lawsuit in federal court based on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. If they win—churches like this will be allowed to operate nationwide without the fear of being raided by local law enforcement.

You can help by supporting The Church’s GoFundMe:
https://ift.tt/3mGfbhe

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.

via IFTTT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M013GdS9CI4

OAKLAND, FOREVER | Oakland Roots SC Joins The USL Championship

September 16, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

OAKLAND, FOREVER | Oakland Roots SC Joins The USL Championship
From YouTube Channel: September 15, 2020 at 11:56AM
ONN – Oakland, CA – Oakland Roots Sports Club will join the USL Championship. The USL is the largest and fastest-growing professional soccer organization in North America with teams throughout the United States and Canada. The USL includes three divisions with the USL Championship sitting at the top.

Learn more by visiting https://ift.tt/3kjvRsU.

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.

via IFTTT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1xJyLVtBsU

Sanpete Utah Needs Insight Terminal Solutions Oakland Bulk And Oversized Terminal For Jobs

September 16, 2020September 15, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Manti Lds Temple In Sanpete County, Utah, Usa

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 $20 million in support for the Insight Terminal Solutions Oakland Bulk And Oversized Terminal is to come from the Utah Permanent Community Impact Fund Board (CIB).

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”:

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.

Systemdynamics Limitstogrowthgraph40yearcomparison

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 Tribune seems 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.

Stay tuned.

Oakland Roots SC Joins The United Soccer League (USL) Championship

September 15, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Oakland Roots SC continues to grow profession soccer in Oakland. Here’s the latest exciting news from the team’s website:

Oakland – Oakland Roots Sports Club will join the USL Championship, the second division of US Soccer for the 2021 season. The USL is the largest and fastest growing professional soccer organization in North America with teams throughout the United States and Canada. The USL includes three divisions with the USL Championship sitting at the top.

“We are excited to join the USL Championship in 2021,” said club Chair Steven Aldrich. “Playing in the Championship is a great opportunity for Oakland Roots to continue our journey of using soccer as a force for social good. We can’t wait to showcase the passion, pride, and commitment of our players, fans, and The Town to an even wider audience next year.”

The club will continue to play home games in the heart of Oakland at Laney College Stadium. Roots sold out their first five home games in club history, packing Laney with an average of over 5,000 fans per game with 5,723 on hand for the final home match of 2019 last October.

“Oakland Roots Sports Club is one of the most impressive and purpose-driven organizations in the United States. We are thrilled to welcome them into the Championship,” said USL Chief Executive Officer Alec Papadakis. “When we think about the kind of clubs that can help drive our league forward, we look for committed ownership and fantastic community support. Oakland Roots possess those things in abundance, and we have no doubt they will be a huge success in our league going forward.”

The USL Championship will feature 35 teams in the 2021 season that are split into two conferences: East and West. With the move, Roots will play in the Western Conference along with teams like MLS bound Sacramento Republic FC, LA Galaxy II, and current San Jose Earthquakes affiliate Reno 1868 FC. Oakland Roots acquired the franchise rights from the USL East Bay group in order to join USL in 2021.

“This has been a long journey together of nearly 5 years,” said Roots Co-Founders Benno Nagel and Edreece Arghandiwal. “We can’t wait to take another step together as we continue to grow our roots.”

About USL

The United Soccer League (USL) is the largest professional soccer organization in North America, possessing nearly a decade of experience in bringing the world’s game to communities across the United States and Canada. Overseeing The USL Championship, USL League One, and USL League Two, the organization is built on a proven and recognized model in international football and counts more than 100 clubs in its membership.

Based in Tampa, Florida, the USL has grown over the past decade into a model organization with strong corporate partnerships, stable organizational leadership, and a dedicated staff that provides outstanding support to member clubs and outside partners. Sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation and Canadian Soccer Association, the USL is #UnitedForSoccer, moving the game forward in the United States and Canada.

USL Championship Quick Facts

Affiliate Leagues: USL League One and USL League Two

Number of Teams in 2020: 35

League Start Date: March

League End Date: October with Playoffs running through November

Broadcast: All USL games are on ESPN+

Place Your Deposit Now for the 2021 USL Championship Season

Deposits are available now for the Roots’ USL debut season with an Oakland Roots 2021 Membership. Place your deposit by visiting oaklandrootssc.com/tickets or by emailing [email protected].

Place Deposit

Membership Update

In appreciation of all Oakland Roots’ 2020 Spring Members, you will receive Three (3) bonus game credits in addition to the Six (6) game credits from the cancelled 2020 Spring Season.

The Nine (9) game credits equates to 50% of the 18 game Oakland Roots 2021 Membership package. Your account will be credited automatically, and will be reflected on your Roots Online Ticket Account and applied towards the full value of the 2021 Membership during an exclusive pre-sale.

All other Ticket Holders from the 2020 Spring Season will receive a credit equal to the purchase price of the tickets. Ticket credit can be redeemed via the Roots Online Ticket Account or by contacting the Roots’ Ticket Office.

FAQ’s

Q: When will USL official season play begin in 2021?

A: The USL kicks off each season at the beginning of March.

Q: Will player contracts for your NISA team still be valid in USL?

A: No. New USL player contracts will take its place.

Q: Will you finish out the NISA season.

A: Yes, we intend to finish the fall season in NISA.

Q: What are the benefits of moving to USL?

A: We will have nationally televised matches on ESPN, spreading our brand’s reach in the world. USL is the second division of men’s soccer in the United States as sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and provides our club with more competition across the country and a depth of talent to compete against. In USL, we will have two matches against opponents within a 3-hour drive and 18 west coast opponents to compete against. That can create some local rivalries.

Q: Where will we be able to watch the USL games?

A: All USL games are streamed on ESPN+, with some matches airing on ESPN2 and ESPNDeportes. For international fans, USL partnered with SportFive to seal the first international deal to broadcast USL Championship on Flow Sports across 22 countries.

Q: Where will the Roots play in USL?

A: Roots will continue to play at Laney Football Stadium in the heart of Oakland with a new digital video scoreboard being added ahead of next season.

Q: How is this related to the USL East Bay franchise?

A: The Oakland Roots acquired the franchise rights from the USL East Bay Group.

Q: What was the cost of buying the franchise rights and where do those territory rights cover?

A: The cost was undisclosed with the parties involved.

Q: Will Roots look to join USL Academy?

A: We are continuing to build out our development model with Project 51O and at the same time working closely with the local youth clubs in our area.

Q: Will Project 51O be joining USL League 2 as well?

A: Project 51O consists of a few teams in different leagues. Stay tuned.

Q: What happens if the COVID situation doesn’t get better in the next 6-7 months? Do you still plan on playing in 2021?

A: We plan to play 2021, if health authorities say it’s safe to do so. We will continue to work closely with the health authorities to insure the safety of our players, staff and community.

Q: Will tickets from the cancelled 2020 Spring Season be valid for 2021?

A: All payments made for tickets from the 2020 Spring Season have been converted into ticket credit which can be redeemed for future Roots’ home games. Log in to your Roots Online Ticket Account to view and use your credit options or email [email protected] for assistance.

Q: What if I had an Oakland Roots 2020 Spring Membership?

A: All 2020 Spring Members will receive a 50% credit towards the Oakland Roots 2021 Membership. The credit can be applied during the Membership presale, details for the presale will be announced at a later date.

Q: I’m interested in becoming a sponsor of the Oakland Roots. Who do I reach out to?

A: Please email [email protected] including your company name, contact info and any other relevant information so our team can review.

Stay tuned.

Rocket Mortgage Is Racist Toward Black Elderly Customers, I Have Proof

September 12, 2020September 12, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Rocket Mortgage bills itself as “the largest home lender in America”. But it’s track record with black customers is less than stellar, and it’s clear to me that the organization has racist policies that force higher interest rates onto customers of my color. Take my elderly contractor’s case.

All she’s trying to do is get a lower interest rate mortgage than the 6 percent she’s currently paying. Considering all of the boasting about lower rates being available, and all of the photos of African Americans on their website that promise good treatment, the reality is a constant forcing of completely ridiculous loan terms on my Mom. Without going into too much detail, she is an independent contractor with my Zennie62Media company. She’s paid a monthly rate for her input on content creation.

That amount she’s making from my registered and in-good-standing Delaware C-corp was enough to put in into a loan category with a rate she wanted. Fine.

Then, all of a sudden, Rocket Mortgage tells her that, even after getting the pay stubs and her name is on the corporate website, as well as our payroll report, they did not count what she was being paid!

Again, Rocket Mortgage simply rejected that my elderly contractor’s had a legal job. Got that? Got that?

That’s crazy.

My elderly contractor’s completely upset over the matter, so I elected to blog about this and in the process, do some checking.

I learned this from CBS News:

A recent analysis of nearly 7 million 30-year mortgages by University of California at Berkeley researchers found that black and Latino applicants were charged higher interest — an average of nearly 0.08% — and heavier refinance fees when compared with white borrowers. That was in face-to-face transactions. When applying online or through an app, minorities still ended up paying more, though terms were slightly better than when borrowing in person.

And guess what company was out in front in discrimination against blacks? Yep. Rocket Mortgage. In fact, Rocket Mortgage was said to be the leader and because of its status as the largest lender in America.

CBS News:

Regis Hadiaris, Quicken’s vice president of Rocket Mortgage, said “race and ethnicity is not a factor used in the Rocket Mortgage calculations for loans.” To determine loan terms, the firm assesses a borrower’s credit score, income, total assets and debt-to-income ratio, as well as factoring in a home’s worth and loan-to-value ratio.

Uh, not true, because, again in my elderly contractor’s case, many of the interactions were on the phone – the persons on the other end clearly have an idea of who my mother is, as well as her records and financial profile. There should be no reason why she can’t get a lower interest loan – save for racism and ageism.

Rocket Mortgage should stop lying to the public and make Black Lives Matter where it counts: with the same low interest deal someone white would get.

Stay tuned.

Rocket Mortgage Quicken Logo

Cam Newton: “Excitement level is on 1,000” | Patriots Press Conference

September 12, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Cam Newton: “Excitement level is on 1,000” | Patriots Press Conference
From YouTube Channel: September 10, 2020 at 05:32PM
ONN – Cam Newton addressed the media via web conference and discussed getting ready for his first game as a New England Patriot, what the “the Patriot Way” means to him, his football idols growing up, his respect for Julian Edelman & Josh McDaniels, & more.

Subscribe to the New England Patriots YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/2IOD2e9

For More Patriots NFL Action: https://bit.ly/2Y1e9zz

#NewEnglandPatriots #Patriots #NFL

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Get the app: https://apple.co/2vvd8mU

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.

via IFTTT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac8-fHBfGUU

Richie Incognito on Growing as a Leader, Playing for Coach Gruden | Las Vegas Raiders

September 3, 2020September 2, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Richie Incognito on Growing as a Leader, Playing for Coach Gruden | Las Vegas Raiders
From YouTube Channel: September 2, 2020 at 07:30PM
ONN – Guard Richie Incognito discusses playing for Head Coach Jon Gruden, growing as a leader, running back Josh Jacobs and more.

Visit https://www.Raiders.com for more.

#LasVegasRaiders #NFL #RichieIncognito

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For More Raiders NFL Action: https://bit.ly/2M3EeKQ

Start your free trial of NFL Game Pass: https://ift.tt/2x1eZUS

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.

via IFTTT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oet7SKHktio

Oakland City Council Special Council Meeting: Approval To Buy Clifton Hall For Affordable Housing

August 28, 2020 by Rebecca Kaplan

Oakland – Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan has been urging the City to take action to acquire available buildings, such as SROs, hotels, and dormitories, to help house the homeless. The Council unanimously passed Kaplan’s resolution on March 27, 2020, urging rapid action on this due to the growing COVID-19 crisis, and to protect those most vulnerable in our community.

(March 27th Resolution: https://oakland.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4406723&GUID=A7FFA7BB-F313-4D65-9223-686B5985123A&Options=&Search=)

Today, the Oakland City Council held a Special Council Meeting to approve the acquisition of a dormitory to help house those in need, and to apply for the State of California’s Homekey grant program. Council President Kaplan is pleased to announce that she and her colleagues unanimously voted to send applications to the state and to authorize a deal to purchase the California College of the Arts (CCA) Clifton Hall dormitory.

The Clifton Hall dorm is a four story building, with 63 units, in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. On the top two floors of the building, Clifton Hall will provide 42 units of permanent housing for seniors experiencing homelessness and at high risk of contracting COVID-19. The second floor will become the permanent home for a 20-household family shelter. On the ground floor, the building will house the offices of Family Front Door, which serves as the hub for the Coordinated Entry System (CES) for homeless families in Northern Alameda County.

Kaplan stated: “It is vital that we take action to respond to the homelessness crisis, prevent the spread of disease, and protect our community, including vulnerable seniors. I am pleased that we were able to work together to pass vital actions, to make it possible to acquire this dorm, and other properties, to help those in need.”

Link to the Item on the August 28th Council Agenda, to acquire this dorm:

https://oakland.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4623763&GUID=D81CFF5A-CEBC-4DA5-B931-02896A1988AB&Options=&Search=

See this tweet:

With spread of COVID, bad air and displacement we must protect our community. Authored budget action and Council resolution, directing the admin to acquire buildings to house the homeless. https://t.co/5jekdiDiZn
Have obtained an SRO, and planning actions to acquire dorms, etc.

— Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland Vice Mayor (@Kaplan4Oakland) August 26, 2020

Link to prior resolution to acquire SRO’s, etc:

https://oakland.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3461300&GUID=721740F1-C88A-483E-8385-CFD766C5CDAC&Options=ID|Text|&Search=homeless

NFL 2020 Season Preview By David Squires For Zennie62Media

September 12, 2020August 27, 2020 by Dave Squires

NFL fans are still hoping that the 2020 season will go ahead in some way shape or form. It has already been confirmed that some college football conferences have cancelled their upcoming seasons. What we do know is that if games are to be played capacities will be, at the very best, significantly reduced.

As it stands, nineteen teams have indicated that they will open their stadium to a reduced capacity. Six teams have stated that they will have somewhere in between a limited attendance or no fans at all. And three teams, the Giants, Jets and Raiders have said that they will not open their stadiums to fans, for the 2020 season while four teams have yet to decide or announce their intention as of this writing.

* The Miami Dolphins have announced that they will have a maximum attendance of 13,000, which is 20% of its capacity.

Of course, all of this and the season itself will be subject to change on a, week to week basis. The NFL can take heart from the fact that the English Premier league season was completed behind closed doors without incident. However, some parts of the States still have large numbers of ‘Covid‘ cases. Since teams will be playing in front of, at the very best drastically reduced capacity, could those teams in high-risk areas not play in a different city or even state?

Arsenal win the F.A cup at an empty Wembley Stadium.The league offered the players the chance to ‘opt out’ of the season and earn a reduced salary. $350,000 for a player who is deemed to be ‘high risk’ due to the pandemic and $150,000 for a player not immediately at risk. Sixty-six players opted out, just under 4% based on the fifty-three-man roster sizes for all thirty-two teams. One change for the 2020 season to assist with this situation is an increase to the size of the practice squads. These have now been increased from ten to sixteen, with four of those players being protected (unable to be signed by another team) on a weekly basis.

Could the NFL take a leaf out of the NBA’s book by playing all the games in one venue? The problem here is that the roster size of an NBA team is fifteen, whilst the NFL is fifty-three ,significantly higher. Baseball have made some adjustments too. A shortened season and a schedule re-jig cutting down on travel where possible. This scenario is more likely and much more possible than the NBA’s version of events. Again, as it stands, the scheduled season is due to go ahead on September 10th, despite the pre-season being cancelled completely. The International fixtures have also been cancelled.

The lack of home crowds could make for a much more even playing field. Home field advantage will be less of, exactly that, an advantage. Without crowd noise, false starts and pre-snap penalties should be at an all-time low. The NFL is looking into the possibility of ‘artificial crowd noise’ in stadiums, something that previously would have been against league rules.

Off Season Headlines:

Washington no longer to use the nickname ‘Redskins’.
Raiders move to Vegas
Rams and Chargers move into new stadium.
Playoffs extended to 14 teams.
Mahomes signs biggest ever contract.
Joe Burrow goes #1 to Cincy, Chase Young #2 to Washington.
Brady and Gronk re-unite in Tampa.
Receiver Hopkins traded from Texans to Cardinals.
Rivers to Colts, Newton to Patriots.
Gurley back in Georgia, signs for Falcons.
Super Bowl LV will be held at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa.

The AFC probably has the best two teams in the NFL and with the Patriots seemingly facing uncertain times the Chiefs and Ravens will be looking to take advantage.

The AFC Frontrunners.

The defending champion, Kansas City Chiefs and Quarterback Patrick Mahomes got married this off season. The Chiefs paid out the biggest contract in sports history when they gave the Super Bowl MVP a ten-year contract which could be worth up to $503 Million. $140 Million of that is guaranteed.

Aside from the large contract the Chiefs could be set to dominate the AFC in the same way the Patriots have for the last, nearly twenty years. The Chiefs also gave defensive tackle Chris Jones a new contract and didn‘t lose anyone of note in the off season. The addition of Clyde Edwards-Hillaire in the draft could pay off early. The Chiefs were first in the NFL on third down conversions and in Travis Kelce have the best tight end in the NFL. Kelce is the only TE history to have 4 straight 1000 yard seasons.

As for the New England, Brady is gone therefore the Patriots will start the season with a different QB for the first time since 2001. The last time they missed the post season was in 2008 when Brady missed 15 games through injury. Former Panther, Cam Newton himself recovering from a foot injury was brought in to compete with Jarrett Stidham. The Patriots could well be watching the playoffs from their sofa’s for the first time in twelve years. New England had the most mount of players who ‘opted out’ of the season due to the pandemic with 8.

The biggest challenge to the Kansas City Chiefs will likely come from Baltimore. The Baltimore Ravens had the NFL’s best record (14-2) last season but were left stunned by the Titans in the playoffs. If Lamar Jackson and the offense can continue to produce the way they did in 2019, then they will be tough to stop. Jackson may not find things quite as easy in 2020 as defensive coordinators will have been studying and scheming to try to limit his production. The Ravens ranked 2nd in offense but 27th in passing. Jackson led the team in rushing with over 1200 yards. The Ravens remain the second favourite in the AFC behind the Chiefs.

The Titans run to the AFC championship game in 2019 was something as a surprise. Tennessee went 9-7 and clinched a playoff spot on the last day of the regular season. Ryan Tannehill and more importantly, Derrick Henry have been resigned but Logan Ryan and Cameron Wake left in free agency. The Titans game plan of old school football won’t change as long as Henry is healthy. Receiver AJ Brown topped 1000 yards in his rookie season and could quickly turn into one of the league’s best wide outs.

It was the Texans who won the AFC South, but they lost one of the league‘s best receivers, DeAndre Hopkins in a surprising trade that sent running back David Johnson to Houston. Randall Cobb and Brandin Cooks were signed in free agency. DeShaun Watson remains a polarizing player but his numbers were slightly down compared to 2018. With the talent the Texans have they should be doing more on offense, they ranked 13th in total offense and 14th in scoring. The defense is a bigger problem and keeping JJ Watt on the field will again prove an important factor especially come playoff time.

Another front runner in the AFC could be the Buffalo Bills. The Bills went 10-6 and lost a wildcard game to the Texans that they probably should have won, extending their playoff win drought to 25 years. Quarterback Josh Allen needs to improve in the passing game that ranked 26th overall in 2019. The addition of former Viking receiver Stefon Diggs should help. The Bills drafted quarterback Jake Fromm (Georgia) in the fifth round in an attempt to put some pressure on Allen. The Bills ranked second in overall defense and in Tre’Davious White have one of the NFL’s best corners and they signed veteran Josh Norman to play on the opposite side.

The Broncos and Drew Lock improved as the season went on, grabbing a respectable 7-9 record. Lock will have some more assistance in tis time around. Receiver Jerry Jeudy (Alabama) was drafted in the first round and running back Melvin Gordon singed in free agency. Five time Pro Bowler Jurell Casey arrived from Tennessee and if he can be disruptive in the middle then Von Miller and Bradley Chubb can take advantage on the outside. AJ Bouye replaces Chris Harris at corner. A 10-6 record should be enough for a post season berth and certainly looks achievable.

Pushing for a playoff spot.

The Jets could be looking to take advantage of a Brady less Patriots. They will need more consistent play from QB Sam Darnold and although they have two good backs in Bell and the evergreen Frank Gore, the receiver position could be better. The Jets best defensive player, Jamal Adams was traded to Seattle. Another middle of the road season looks likely.

The Cleveland Browns have it all in place to make their first playoff appearance since 2002. Baker Mayfield looked to have taken a backward step in 2019 but the offense has plenty of weapons and new offensive minded head coach, Kevin Stefanski should really help. The Browns made some really nice additions in free agency, Austin Hooper (TE), Adrian Clayborn (DE), Jack Conklin (OT) and Andrew Sendejo (S) will significantly improve the roster. Despite the talent on both sides of the ball, both the offense and defense ranked 22nd overall and therefore improvement is needed if they are going to challenge for a playoff spot.

The Colts signed Phillip Rivers to effectively replace Andrew Luck after Jacoby Brissett failed to make the most of his opportunity. Washington and former Georgia QB Jacob Eason was drafted late on. Rookie RB Jonathan Taylor could hit the ground running behind one of the best offensive lines in football. Free agent corner Xavier Rhodes will improve the secondary but Rivers could be the difference maker.

The Raiders and now in Las Vegas. We will have to wait a little longer to see if their famous ‘black hole’ has gone with them. The Raiders went 7-9 in 2019 and will probably be somewhere between that or 9-7 in 2020. It’s a big year for Derrick Carr who will likely be out if he doesn’t take a good sized step forwards. The Raiders are one of the few teams that carry three quarterbacks on their roster. General Manager Mike Mayock added speedy receiver Henry Ruggs (Alabama)but the rest of their draft was questionable.

Pittsburgh seem to be in something of a transition period, Ben Roethlisberger returns after injury and tight end Eric Ebron was added but the roster is mostly the same one that went 8-8 last year. If Big Ben can play 16 games the Steelers could squeeze a few more wins and a spot in the playoffs especially as their schedule looks favourable.

Looking to the Future.

Miami appear to have something that they haven’t had in a long time, a quarterback. Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama) was drafted fifth overall. Shaq Lawson, Kyle Van Noy and Matt Breida were all nice free agent additions. Seven wins would be seen a successful season.

The Chargers have lost Rivers and Gordon and will go with Tyrod Taylor or rookie Justin Herbert (Oregon) at QB. Safety Derwin James is back from injury but it’s hard to see much better than the five wins they managed last season.

Jacksonville will roll with Gardner Minshew at quarterback as Nick Foles is gone. The Jags drafted very well adding Corner CJ Henderson (Florida), edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson and receiver Laviska Shenault in the first two rounds. The Jaguars always seem to be a young team that are looking to build.

The Bengals only won two games in 2019 but if Joe Burrow (LSU) can perform like he did last year, winning the National championship and the Hiesman trophy then perhaps there is hope for the future. AJ Green will be back from injury to help and Joe Mixon is one of the league’s best backs but that’s about it.

Projected Records:

AFC East: Bills 11-5, Patriots 7-9, Jets 7-9, Dolphins 6-10

AFC North: Ravens 12-4, Browns 10-6, Steelers 9-7, Bengals 3-13

AFC South: Titans 11-5, Texans 9-7, Colts 9-7, Jaguars 4-12

AFC West: Chiefs 12-4, Broncos 10-6, Raiders 8-8, Chargers 3-13

The NFC appears to be wide open with perhaps no obvious number one team but several very good teams that are all capable of putting a run together to be the best team in the NFC.

The NFC Frontrunners.

Injuries have plagued the Eagles for several years but last year was worse than ever. Josh McCown played the majority of their wildcard loss to Seattle, throwing to receivers that not many people had heard of. If Carson Wentz, DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery can stay on the field Philadelphia should return to the playoffs. Jalen Hurts was drafted as more than just a backup and could be used in certain packages. Injuries hit them hard on defense too, especially in the secondary. Safety Will Parks replaces Malcolm Jenkins and free agent corners, Nickell Robey-Coleman and ball hawk Darius Slay will shore things up.

The 49ers blew a ten-point fourth quarter lead in the Super Bowl, something that’s becoming a habit for head coach Kyle Shanahan. The team returns eighteen starters from last year. San Fran replaced defensive tackle DeForrest Buckner with rookie Javon Kinlaw and tackle Joe Staley who retired with Trent Williams from Washington. Defensively the 49ers should still be top five. The offense ranked second overall in 2019 mainly thanks to their running game. Teams will no doubt look to stop the run and see if the inconsistent Jimmy Garoppolo can beat them.

It felt like the Packers over achieved with a 13-3 record in 2019, the blow-out loss to the 49ers in the NFC championship game would seem to back that theory up. The drafting of quarterback Jordan Love in the first round raised a few eyebrows both in and out of Green Bay. The team seems desperately short of receivers but didn’t manage to draft a single one. The defense wasn’t that good last year and there is no suggestion that it will be any better this time around. One huge plus for the Pack was the play of running back Aaron Jones who rushed for 1,084 yards and added 16 touchdowns.

The Vikings lost some considerable talent in the off-season, Diggs, Joseph, Griffen, Rhodes and Sendejo all left town. Minnesota did draft well and their first four picks could see significant game time. Kirk Cousins appeared to get over a hump, putting together a winning drive on the road in New Orleans in the playoffs. Running back Dalvin Cook has a shot to lead the league in rushing. A lot will depend on how the team cope with replacing experience with rookies.

Jason Garrett’s time in Dallas is finally up, replaced by former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. However as always there is still drama in Jerry World. Quarterback Dak Prescott and the Cowboys have yet to agree a new deal, as a result Prescott will play the 2020 season under the franchise tag. Jerry Jones couldn’t believe his luck and couldn’t resist the urge when Oklahoma receiver CeeDee Lamb fell in their lap in the first round of the draft. Add Lamb to Cooper, Gallup and Elliott and the offense could again lead the league like it did in 2019. Cowboys legend Jason Witten signed for the Raiders. On defense the cowboys added both Dontari Poe and Gerald McCoy at defensive tackle and added safety Ha Ha Clinton Dix and drafted corner Trevon Diggs (Alabama) in the second round.

How will another devastating playoff loss affect the Saints? Drew Brees is now 41 and has only completed one pass that travelled 35 ‘air’ yards since 2017 but only threw 4 interceptions in 2019. Teddy Bridgewater went 5-0 as a starter when Brees got hurt but left for Carolina and former Buccaneer, Jameis Winston is now the back up. Speedster Emmanuel Sanders signed as a free agent as did once former Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins. Alvin Kamara had something of a down year by his standards. The defense probably played a little better than expected, ranking 11th overall. The Saints have won the NFC South for the last 3 years.

Pushing for a playoff spot.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven’t made the playoffs in 12 years, Jeff Garcia was their quarterback and Jon Gruden the head coach. Tom Brady is now the man and his former ‘go to guy’ in New England, tight end Rob Gronkowski came out of retirement to join him. Brady is 42 and looked on the decline last year, Gronk is one concussion away from a second retirement and hasn’t played a full season since 2011. The hype train should probably slow down a little. The Buccs do have weapons though, Evans, Goodwin and Ronald Jones racked up the numbers last season. On defense Shaquil Barrett lead the NFL with 19.5 sacks but the secondary needs a significant improvement.

Which Atlanta Falcons team will turn up in 2020? The one that started last season 1-7 or the one that finished it 6-2 grabbing impressive road wins in New Orleans and San Francisco. Head coach Dan Quinn is very much on the hot seat and only a playoff berth can save him. The offense is loaded with talent but the play calling could be better at times. Running back and Georgia ‘fan favourite’ Todd Gurley was signed to replace Devonta Freeman who was cut for salary cap purposes. On defense the team improved when Quinn gave up play calling duties and Raheem Morris is now the full time defensive coordinator. Another Former Ram, Dante Fowler JR was signed to help improve the improve the pass rush, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett is a legit playmaker.

Arizona had what looked like a bad season going 5-10-1, however there seem to be plenty of encouraging signs to suggest that they are on the rise. Rookie head coach Kliff Kingsbury has input his ‘Air Raid’ concept offense and his rookie QB, Kyler Murray passed for over 3,500 yards and rushed for over 500 in an impressive debut season. The Cardinals racked up a league high, 6,432 yards in 2019. Murray will be aided further by the addition of one of the league’s best receivers, DeAndre Hopkins who was acquired via trade. The Cardinals main problem is their defense, which ranked dead last overall. Swiss army knife linebacker Isaiah Simmons was drafted from Clemson but they could and should have done more to improve this unit.

In 2019 Seattle finally solved a problem they’ve had since Marshawn Lynch left town in 2015, running the football. The run by committee approach led by Chris Carson was good enough for fourth in the league in rush yards. Quarterback Russell Wilson was again impressive throwing 31 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions. The Seahawks could not agree terms with defensive end Jadeveon Clowney so they brought back Bruce Irvin and drafted outside linebacker, Jordyn Brooks (Texas Tech) in the first round in an attempt to improve the faltering defense.

It’s all change for the Rams, a new stadium two new coordinators and new uniforms. They also lost several big names in Gurley, Cooks, Fowler Jr, Weddle, Matthews, Robey-Coleman and kicker Greg Zuerlein, mostly due to salary cap issues. The Rams did however, have a good draft despite not having a first round pick, given away when they traded for Jalen Ramsey towards the end of last season. Running back Cam Akers (Florida State) and receiver Van Jefferson (Florida) were both drafted in the second round. Aaron Donald leads the defense which will likely be similar to last seasons number of 13th overall. The Rams may benefit from that extra playoff spot because they don’t appear to be any better than last year in which they went 9-7.

Looking to the Future.

Chicago seem to have lost a little patience with QB Mitch Trubisky, trading for former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. It feels somewhat unlikely that either player will start all 16 games. The Bears lost more good players than they gained and it’s hard to see an improvement on last years 8-8 record.

The Giants have yet another head coach, this time former Patriots assistant and the latest Bill Belichick disciple Joe Judge takes the reigns and former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett is the OC. Eli Manning has officially retired and Daniel Jones is now the starter. The Giants have some talent on the offense and will again lean on running back Saquon Barkley. Have they really improved much on the team that won just four games last season?

In 2019 Washington ranked 31st in total offense and 27th in total defense, not a surprise that they finished 3-13 or that head coach Jay Gruden was fired. Former Panthers HC Ron Rivera is now in charge and another former head coach, Jack Del Rio is the defensive coordinator. The jury is still out on Dwayne Haskins, another former Panther Kyle Allen was acquired in a trade as Alex Smith is still recovering from injury. Ohio State ‘phenom’ defensive end Chase Young was drafted second overall.

Head coach Matt Patricia came close to getting fired in the off season after going 9-22-1 over the last two seasons. Quarterback Matt Stafford missed 8 games through injury and the Lions lost all 8. It is therefore some what impressive that the Lions ranked 17th in total offense last year. The problems really lie on the other side of the ball. Cornerbacks, Desmond Trufant (Falcons) and the third overall pick in the draft Jeff Okudah (Ohio State) are in as is former Patriot linebacker Jamie Collins. Detroit signed 13 new players in the off season and let the same number depart.

The Carolina Panthers have a new head coach, former Baylor man Matt Rhule comes in, and Teddy Bridgewater replaces Cam Newton at QB. The leader of the defense Luke Kuechly retired and veteran tight end Greg Olsen was let go. Thankfully for the Panthers running back, Christian McCaffrey is still around and shows no sign of slowing down. This is definitely a rebuild which will be helped by the good draft the team had with Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown the pick of the crop.

Projected Records:

NFC East: Cowboys 10-6, Eagles 10-6, Giants 4-12, Washington 2-12

NFC North: Vikings 11-5, Packers 10-6, Bears 5-11, Lions 4-12

NFC South: Saints 11-5, Falcons 10-6, Buccaneers 9-7, Panthers 2-14

NFC West: 49ers 13-3, Seahawks 10-6, Cardinals 7-9, Rams 6-10

Written by: Dave Squires

@davefalconUK

SF Bay Area Bicycle Is Back: Bike Oakland & Alameda: Airport, Train, BART, AMTRAK

August 25, 2020August 25, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Bike Oakland & Alameda: Twixt the airports n Tween the ferry stations (Amtrack/BART bonus stations)
From YouTube Channel: August 25, 2020 at 06:00AM
ONN – 2020-07-21: 34.6 mile, 369 ft, ride to make up for my calf-muscle failed ride https://youtu.be/sfhBHgfGjPg between the 3 ferry stations: Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal on Bay Farm Island, the Alameda Main St Ferry, and the Oakland Jack London Square ferry. This time a slightly less expedient start taking Avenal Ave, Havenscourt Blvd, 66th Ave, to the MLK Regional Shoreline/SF Bay Trail down to Doolittle Dr and the path that splits twixt the 2 Oakland airports to Bay Farm Island and Harbor Bay pkwy for the first station, continuing around to the bike bridge to Alameda Island staying on Shore Line Dr and 8th st to Central Ave which turns into Main St up to the 2nd ferry station. No wondering around in the construction this time, straight to Stargell Ave and around to check that the harrowing Posey Tube bike/ped path is still closed (it is) so over to Atlantic Ave et. al. along the north side of Alameda to the Park St bridge. Embarcadero and a quick jaunt through the Brooklyn Basin development (and the old 9th Ave station), Embarcadero over the bridge to Embarcadero W, through Jack London Square (and on the Amtrak platform) to Clay St and past the ferry station. 2nd St, 3rd St, and up through the West Oakland BART station, Mandela Pkwy to 14th St on in to run tween the 12th St & 19th St BART stations on Broadway over to Jackson to run past the Lake Merritt BART, and over the 10th St bridge to E 10th St/E 8th St/E 12th St, around a encampment fire cleanup, and on past the Fruitvale BART station and on to 54th Ave, Intl Blvd, 55th Ave on home.

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.

via IFTTT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-apxvMzcLE

SF Bay Area Bicycle Is Back: Bike Oakland & Alameda: 2.5 Ferry Stations

August 22, 2020August 22, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Bike Oakland & Alameda: 2.5 Ferry Stations
From YouTube Channel: August 22, 2020 at 06:00AM
ONN – SF Bay Area Bicycle Is Back: Bike Oakland & Alameda: 2.5 Ferry Stations
2020-07-16: 26.6 mile, 290 ft gain, ride attempting to visit the 3 closest ferry stations to me but had to bail half-way to the 3rd one due to calf cramps. Starting on 55th Ave and El Camile/Kingsland/Trask to Foothill, 40th Ave, International, High St & Bridge onto Alameda Island to take Fernside across the bridge to Bay Farm Island and around the shore to the Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal, then back to Alameda and Shore Line Dr and through the parks around Crab Cove to Central Ave which turns into Main St and to the Alameda Main St Ferry and then wandering around trying to find my way through the construction along the north shore of Alameda eventually taking Willie Stargell Ave to discover that the harrowing Posey Tube is closed, so it’s back to further wandering to get to the Park St Bridge back over to Oakland. Taking Embarcadero it’s clear both calves aren’t going to cooperate so rather than continuing on to the Jack London Ferry, it’s 5th Ave, E 8th St, E 12th St, step over to Bancroft Ave back to 55th Ave.

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.

via IFTTT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfhBHgfGjPg

Americans Will Step Up to Lead Democrats’ “Roll Call Across America”

August 18, 2020 by Vinny Lospinuso

Delegates will cast their nominating votes from cities, locations, and landmarks all across the nation MILWAUKEE—The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) today the Americans who will cast their official nominating votes for president of the United States during tonight’s “Roll Call Across America.” The roll call vote will take place under tonight’s theme, “Leadership Matters,” and spotlight those who … Read more

Democrats Share Stories from Front Lines of COVID-19 Pandemic Amidst Donald Trump’s Deadly Negligence

August 18, 2020August 18, 2020 by Vinny Lospinuso

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, healthcare workers discuss how Americans are nevertheless pulling together in convention segment titled “We the People Helping Each Other Through COVID-19” Milwaukee – Tonight at the Democratic National Convention, American leaders and heroes on the frontlines of this crisis illustrated how the lack of a national, coordinated response to … Read more

Hilarious Nextdoor Reports Ask “Lost Your Cock ?” And “Tired Of Being Worried About Cats” In Oakland

August 3, 2020August 3, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Hilarious Nextdoor Reports Ask “Lost Your Cock ?” And “Tired Of Being Worried About Cats” In Oakland From YouTube Channel: August 3, 2020 at 07:50AM ONN – Hilarious Nextdoor Reports Ask “Lost Your Cock ?” And “Tired Of Being Worried About Cats” In Oakland Are we reaching end times with Oakland Nextdoor reports like these?: … Read more

MLB 2020 Season Virus Outbreak Commentary By Joseph Armendariz

August 3, 2020August 3, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

MLB Virus Outbreak Commentary By: Joseph Armendariz ONN – MLB Virus Outbreak Commentary By: Joseph Armendariz. Since beginning of the 2020 Major League Baseball season there has been several operates and the outbreaks are continually growing could this be a sign of the Season having to stop and could this similar situation happen in the … Read more

CES 2021 Goes All-Digital For 2021 In Big Economic Blow To Las Vegas And Nevada

July 28, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

CES 2021 Goes All-Digital For 2021 In Big Economic Blow To Las Vegas And Nevada ONN – CES 2021 Goes All-Digital For 2021 In Big Economic Blow To Las Vegas And Nevada CES means $300 million in economic impact to the Las Vegas and South Valley region. But my guess is that Gary Shapiro did … Read more

Oakland City Council Fakes Defunding Police, Slashes Community Services Says Cat Brooks

July 25, 2020 by Roger Robarts

Oakland – Tuesday night July 21, 2020, The Oakland City Council had the historic opportunity to address the decades-long budget inequity that has left police with the lion’s share of our tax dollars and many residents without healthcare, housing, and critical social services during the pandemic. Councilmembers Reid, McElhaney, Taylor, Gallo, and Mayor Schaaf chose … Read more

Richie Rich on Participating in the Crack Trade when it First Hit Oakland in the 80s (Part 1)

July 8, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Richie Rich on Participating in the Crack Trade when it First Hit Oakland in the 80s (Part 1) ONN – Richie Rich started out this clip by speaking about growing up in Oakland in the 1970’s and 80’s. He explained that he had a stable home life with both parents, and he remembers seeing crack … Read more

Kamaiyah on Growing Up with Abusive Mom, Addict Father, Foster Homes (Part 1)

July 8, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Kamaiyah on Growing Up with Abusive Mom, Addict Father, Foster Homes (Part 1) ONN – Kamaiyah sat down for her first-ever VladTV interview, and she starts out by speaking about being raised In Oakland and not having a stable home life. She explained that her mother was 19 with 3 kids by the time she … Read more

Port Of Oakland: Added Oakland International Airport Flights Cause Full Reopening Of Terminal 2

July 1, 2020 by Jane Dixon

Added Flights at Oakland International Airport Prompt Full Reopening of Terminal 2 Airlines adding capacity; FAA distributes ½ million face coverings to OAK Oakland, CA: (July 1, 2020) – July will welcome added air travel opportunities for Bay Area residents and visitors as airlines increase capacity at Oakland International Airport (OAK). During the month, Southwest … Read more

Vertosa Promotes Oakland’s Austin Stevenson To Chief Innovation Officer

June 30, 2020 by Jane Dixon

Vertosa Enhances Leadership Team with Promotion of Oakland’s Austin Stevenson to Chief Innovation Officer OAKLAND, CA (June 30, 2020) – Vertosa, an innovative hemp and cannabis technology company providing customized emulsion systems for infused products, is proud to announce that Austin Stevenson has been promoted from VP of Products & Innovation to a pivotal new … Read more

Oakland City Attorney Sues Landlords King V. Chau, James H. Chau, Judy N. Chau

June 30, 2020 by Roger Robarts

City Attorney Files Tenant Protection and Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Local Landlords Oakland, CA – On Thursday, May 28th, City Attorney Barbara J. Parker filed a lawsuit under the Tenant Protection Ordinance and state civil rights laws against three local landlords who forced tenants to live in potentially life-threatening conditions and attempted evictions through unlawful, … Read more

Oakland City Council President Kaplan Proposes Budget Funding For Fire Works Response, More

June 23, 2020June 23, 2020 by Rebecca Kaplan

Rebecca Kaplan Oakland City Council At-Large

Proposing Budget Funding To Provide Fire Works Response, Fire Safety, Education, Drive-In Theater and More Oakland, CA – In recent weeks, there has been an increase of people setting off fireworks throughout our community, often late at night, and extensively. Fireworks are not permitted, they are disrupting our community, and also create a growing risk … Read more

Backlash Against CNA Nurses Union At St. Rose Hospital In Hayward, California

June 21, 2020June 18, 2020 by Roger Robarts

Hayward, CA – More than 50 nurses, healthcare workers and medical staff demonstrated in front of St. Rose Hospital to let the public know that St. Rose is safe, protects patients and staff from COVID-19, and is a safe and secure facility. The nurses and healthcare workers criticized statements from the California Nurses Association (CNA) … Read more

Oakland Needs Concrete Plans For The Budget, Post-Protest Downtown Rebuild – Phil Tagami Files

June 18, 2020June 18, 2020 by Phil Tagami

Art Blooms In Oakland In Aftermath Of Protests

Oakland – The Oakland City Council has some tough budget decisions to make in the next few weeks …a lot of attention has been focused on $120 million budget deficit (and growing) and the fact that the Oakland Police Department currently utilize in excess of 44% of the General Purpose Revenue. With this as a … Read more

Oakland Police Department 2020 Police Racial Discipline Study: Black Officers Treated Poorly

June 18, 2020June 16, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Oakland Police Department Racial Disparity Study

Basic conclusion of the Oakland Police Department 2020 Police Racial Discipline Study is that “black officers were more likely to have an investigative case sustained against them than officers of other races.” Zennie62Media digitized the text from the entire study so it can be read “in the raw”. It is below. The page numbers corespond … Read more

NFL Posts Expanded Social Justice Commitment To Black Lives Matter: Where’s Colin Kaepernick?

June 13, 2020June 12, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

NFL Posts Expanded Social Justice Commitment To Black Lives Matter: Where’s Colin Kaepernick? ONN – NFL Posts Expanded Social Justice Commitment To Black Lives Matter: Where’s Colin Kaepernick? The NFL posted this statement: ”The NFL is growing our social justice efforts through a 10-year total $250 million fund to combat systemic racism and support the … Read more

Rebecca Kaplan: Oakland Council President Calls To Implement Publicly-Accessible WiFi

May 26, 2020 by Rebecca Kaplan

Oakland, CA – Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan, who serves as Oakland’s Council Member At-Large, calls for publicly accessible WiFi for Oakland’s communities. Kaplan has been working to expand access to internet and related technologies, especially for Oakland’s under-served communities. The COVID-19 emergency has pushed many more to rely on the internet for work, … Read more

Oakland Safe RV Park Not So Safe? By Derrick Soo

May 26, 2020May 26, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Oakland Safe RV Park not so Safe? ONN – Operation HomeBase is having Growing Pains. Insufficient food issues to Electricity cutting out constantly, are causing CONCERNS by Residents. On Monday, February 3rd, 2020, The City of Oakland opened what was called a safe parking site for 67 actual recreational vehicle travel trailers (27 feet, 23 … Read more

Parma! Vegan Parmesan By Sister River Foods’ Founder Shannon Schnibbe

May 26, 2020 by Roger Robarts

Medford, Oregon – With just the right condiment, a plain salad becomes a festival of flavors, a plate of vegetables transforms into a delectable stroll through a country garden, and an ordinary bowl of pasta becomes a savory work of art. And perhaps no condiment covers as many different foods and as many different cultures … Read more