OUSD Mourns Loss of Michael Morgan, Oakland Symphony Music Director and Long-Time Supporter of Oakland Unified Music Students Oakland – For the last 30 years, there has been no greater advocate for music education in our schools than The Oakland Symphony Maestro Michael Morgan. The Music Education Community in our schools celebrates his life and … Read more
Oakland – About 30 OUSD seniors finally got what they wanted about six weeks after they had originally planned. They received that symbol of graduation, the diploma book, which they each received in a brief ceremony at Castlemont High School after having finished five weeks of credit recovery summer school, to complete the requirements for … Read more
Oakland Architect and Developer David Allen (who’s a member of the Oakland Skyline High School Class of 1980) and is building the proposed Oakland Museum of Jazz & Art) has presented a list of five SF Bay Area Jazz Songs he says everyone should hear. According to SelectFivePodcasts.com: Oakland native David Allen is an architectural … Read more
HBO Documentary About OUSD’s Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Fest is Nominated for NAACP Image Award; Public Voting is Open Through Friday VOTE: https://naacpimageawards.net/2021-nominees/ Oakland – The Emmy-award winning HBO documentary, We Are The Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest, is up for another major award, and the driving force behind it … Read more
KPIX Channel 5 Sports Anchor Vernon Glenn Gives Shout-Out To Zennie62Media CEO Zennie Abraham For The Most Influential African American / Black Sports Executives In The SF Bay Area List As we close Black History Month 2021, one question remains. Of all African American / Black sports executives in the San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose … Read more
As I, Zennie Abraham, proud member of The Skyline High School Class Of 1980, write this, the date is Thursday, February 25th, 2021. In other words, a full 3,861 days since our last reunion of our great class of that fantastic year which saw us go off to college or the military or just plain … Read more
Donald Trump Jr. Said Ted Cruz Could Do Nothing About Texas Winter Storm – See Charlie Wilson’s War From YouTube Channel: February 19, 2021 at 04:19AM ONN – Donald Trump Jr. Said Ted Cruz Could Do Nothing About Texas Winter Storm – See Charlie Wilson’s War Donald Trump Jr. and Ben Shapiro would have you … Read more
McClymonds High School Serves as Backdrop for City of Oakland’s Swearing in Ceremony for new Police Chief, LeRonne Armstrong, McClymonds Alumnus Oakland, CA — A sunny Monday morning at McClymonds High School looked very different than it has for the past eleven months. A crowd had gathered for a special event in which the school … Read more
OUSD and the Oakland Athletic League Open School Fields to Sports Conditioning for Middle and High School Student/Athletes Oakland – Almost eleven months after all OUSD schools closed to students, cutting off in-person access to the classroom and to sports, the District and the Oakland Athletic League (OAL) have restarted sports conditioning. It is not … Read more
Watching Oakland African American NFL Expansion Team Project Listening Meeting For February 3, 2021 From YouTube Channel: February 3, 2021 at 09:32PM ONN – Watching Oakland African American NFL Expansion Team Project Listening Meeting For February 3, 2021 Went into the meeting on the community listening presentation for the Proposed Coliseum Sports and Entertainment Development … Read more
Cloris Leachman Died At 94: The Oakland Story In Skyline High School Class Of 80’s Liesje Howard From YouTube Channel: January 28, 2021 at 05:41AM ONN – Cloris Leachman Died At 94: The Oakland Story In Skyline High School Class Of 80’s Liesje Howard As it happens, the great actress Cloris Leachman is connected to … Read more
Tom Hanks, Skyline High School Oakland Class of 74, Host Of President Biden’s Inauguration Party ONN – Tom Hanks, Skyline High School Oakland Class of 74, Host Of President Biden’s Inauguration Party – vlog by Zennie62 YouTube Fittingly, Tom Hanks is the host for President Biden’s Concert Celebration. Tom is a 1974 graduate of my … Read more
OUSD Students and Staff Featured in New Documentary Homeroom Heading to 2021 Sundance Film Festival This Month Oakland – Starting in 2019, a documentary film crew worked in OUSD watching the educational process and seeing the lives of students, along with staff and families. The intent was to show urban education through the eyes of … Read more
A Toast To Lars Frykman On His 59th Birthday Inspired By Erik Frykman From YouTube Channel: November 24, 2020 at 04:32AM ONN – A Toast To Lars Frykman On His 59th Birthday Inspired By Erik Frykman Where I remember my long time friend who passed away two years ago, and also recall our many talks … Read more
The Oakland Unified School District sent this press release regarding possible Public Safety Power Shutoff or power shutoffs to Zennie62Media:
Dear Oakland Community,
We have learned that there is expected to be a major weather event in the coming days that will likely prompt PG&E to issue a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) once again. In a worst case scenario, the PSPS would begin on Sunday, 10/25 and last until Wednesday, 10/28 or later. That means some of our schools could be without power for three straight days, and homes in the neighborhoods could be affected, as well. Based on what we know so far, this PSPS could affect at least eleven schools. We will know more about the scheduled impact later in the weekend. The eleven schools are:
◦ Chabot Elementary
◦ Community Day
◦ Grass Valley Elementary
◦ Hillcrest K-8
◦ Joaquin Miller Elementary
◦ Laurel Elementary
◦ Montclair Elementary
◦ Montera Middle School
◦ Redwood Heights Elementary
◦ Skyline High School
◦ Thornhill Elementary
If indeed the power is out and students are unable to attend their classes, they will be asked to do their school work asynchronously, and report in to their teacher the first chance they get, letting them know they were unable to get online. Everyone is asked to charge their computers, WiFi hotspots and cell phones ahead of time, so they can do work during the PSPS. Obviously, if the PSPS lasts three days, that could make charging anything problematic.
Here is some more information from PG&E through the City of Oakland:
● To prevent wildfire and other natural disasters, PG&E has planned a PSPS starting Sunday, October 25, between 4 PM – 8 PM until at least Wednesday, October 28, at 12:00 PM. Around 24,000 Oakland customers could be impacted- a much larger impact in Oakland than the previous outage.
● To determine whether a home or neighborhood will experience an outage, PG&E customers should visit the PSPS page on the PG&E website and type in the address at: https://pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/updates/. This information will likely change as conditions change.
● The Oakland Fire Department is up staffing during this event, with OFD Engine companies conducting roving patrols as is customary during Red Flag Warnings events. OPD will be patrolling impacted neighborhoods. OPS will be stationed at impacted intersections
● PG&E is the sole manager of PSPS planning, contacting Medical Baseline customers, power shut-off, and power restoration.
When we receive additional information, we will pass it along to you as quickly as possible.
The video reported “Today marks 29 years since the deadly Oakland Hills fire. Here’s a look back at KTVU coverage of the 10th anniversary,” but for me, since I was in it, I have something to share, too.
That day of the Oakland Hills Fire was a Sunday morning. I met my friend from Skyline High School days (Class of 1980), Valerie Ostrom, for breakfast at Lynn & Lu’s Escapade Cafe Cafe on Grand Avenue near Elwood. We probably should have went to church, considering what was about to unfold.
We had an outdoor table on a bright, sunny, hot fall morning, and so were direct witness to what was unfolding. A group of people standing in the street, and collectively peering to our left – uphill, on Grand. As I recall, no cars were driving by at that specific time. Because of the way the street curved at that point, we could not see what they were looking at. Once we went out to join them, it became apparent what was happening: a giant-sized smoke plume from the Oakland Hills, and in the general direction of Valerie’s parents home on Proctor Avenue.
So, and because Valerie was concerned about her folk’s dogs (she thought her parents were away from home), we drove up to see about them. As it turned out, it got darker and darker, as we drove, and what started out to be a check-in, turned into an evacuation. I wound up driving Valerie and her parents out of the neighborhood and to another relative’s place – away from their home.
Talk about dark and scary. At one point, I wondered if we would get out of there, because we were also in traffic with others trying to escape. We made it, and thanks to what we then called the police, and now call “first responders”.
That Oakland Hills Fire changed Oakland, dramatically, and forever. It started because someone put out a cigarette in a giant brush and during a heat wave with no cool air to reduce the temperature. It damaged most of the homes in the Upper Broadway Terrace area. But, after some time, the area was rebuilt – but it lacked the woodsy charm of my youth. What it gained was a new set of politically-active Oaklanders, who never had to deal with City Hall, before.
That said, I give credit to The City of Oakland’s satellite permit response effort – something that emerged because so many people received insurance money to rebuild their homes. What came from that marked the area’s appearance today.
Stay tuned.
Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a YouTube channel. When the video is “liked” by Zennie62 YouTube, then it is automatically uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective here, on top of our is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours – is the use of the existing YouTube social graph on any subject in the World. Now, news is reported with a smartphone and also by promoting current content on YouTube: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary, or having a camera crew to shoot what is already on YouTube. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.
On Wednesday, Scott McKibben, now the former Executive Director of The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority and currently President Of The Oakland Panthers of The Indoor Football League, accepted a misdemeanor plea-bargain deal in the case where he was accused of violating a government law prohibiting self-dealing. The problem is, the case and the mainstream media reporting, masks a great deal of facts that, in total, show an organizational system beyond the control of McKibben, and where he was asked to be an actor in it, then burned by it.
Scott McKibben was accused of violating California Government Code Section 1090, which prohibits public officials and public employees from “making” public contracts in which they have a financial interest. The fact is, Scott was asked by the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Board to secure a naming-rights marketing agreement with Ring Central. Scott was, contrary to the law, listed contractually as an independent consultant – just like the other marketing consulting firms the Coliseum JPA has hired over its existence, since its creation in 1996.
That Scott asked for, but did not receive, a $50,000 fee from a $4 million deal with Ring Central, should not have raised any eyebrows considering that the Coliseum JPA Board asked him to do the deal, he’s an independent contractor, and the City of Oakland and the County of Alameda at no point at all gave Scott any instructions regarding the law. Indeed, the persons who should have done that are Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker and Alameda County Counsel Donna Ziegler.
Moreover, the other persons who should have done that comprise the same Board of Directors of The Oakland Coliseum JPA, and many of whom are friends of mine, and should not have let Scott take a fall like that, and they know it. Folks like Alameda County Supervisors Scott Haggerty and Nate Miley, Oakland City Councilmembers Larry Reid and Loren Tayor, and JPA Commissioners Yui Hay Lee (famed Oakland architect), Ignacio De La Fuente (himself a former Oakland Councilmember), and Chris Dobbins (everyone’s favorite local lawyer), and Christine Smith, both who are no longer on the JPA Board.
And I add myself to that list, because, in 2019 for the NBA Finals Game 4, Scott gave me a ticket – way up in the damn rafters, but it was a ticket. When he invited me to visit the Coliseum JPA Box, my friend Chris was there, as was Barbara Parker, among others.
“California Government Code Section 1090 (“Section 1090”) – which prohibits public officials and public employees from “making” public contracts in which they have a financial interest – is notoriously vague, broad, and malleable. Section 1090 provides that California’s elected and appointed public officials and public employees may not be “financially interested” in “any contract made by them in their official capacity. California courts have interpreted these terms broadly, making it dangerously easy to violate the statute without even knowing it. Most troublingly, Section 1090 does not require bad intent for a conviction or a fine. A public official, public agency, or employee may violate the statute if they act knowingly – that is, knowing about their financial interest and knowing what they are doing in connection with the contract – even if they don’t realize that their conduct is prohibited. In fact, because of that low general intent requirement, California courts have rejected the defense of “advice of counsel” or that they obtained prior approval from an attorney. In other words, a California official or employee might violate Section 1090 even if the public entity they work for, and its attorneys, told them that their conduct was lawful and not a violation of Section1090.
And in Scott McKibben’s case, no one told him about Section 1090 to start with. For Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley to seek to charge McKibben for a felony makes me wonder if her office was aware of how poorly the law was written and just decided to go ahead and go after Scott, anyway? And why? Well, to answer that question, read on.
The Warriors Playoffs And Coliseum Sports Ticket Distribution Scandal That Should Not Be, But Is
And in addition, the JPA Board was served by the Oakland Chief Administrator’s Office, and I attended a meeting where then Oakland Chief Administrator Sabrina Landreath served as the secretary for the meeting. But did you know Sabrina Landreath scored a Warriors playoff ticket valued at $5,000 in 2016? And did you know Yui Hay Lee was signed up for and received $35,000 in Warriors playoff tickets? And before you say Scott McKibben signed off on them, I instruct you to look online at the many Form 802 filings going back to 2016, because Councilmember Reid, and Yui Hay Lee signed off on some of them, too. http://oraclearena.s3.amazonaws.com/doc/OACCA-Form-802-May-2016-5576c104a9.pdf
Yui Hay Lee Warriors 2016
And did you know Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker scored $840 worth of Oakland A’s tickets in 2016, as did my friend Coliseum JPA Commissioner Chris Dobbins? (And this is something Barbara Parker herself admits too, so there, but its wrong for some news media to blast Oakland Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney for the same perk that Barb Parker herself obviously enjoyed. Moreover, its wrong for Reid and Parker to make Scott McKibben look bad, when they could have defended him, and put him in the bad position to start with.)
Barbara Parker got $9,250 worth of Golden State Warriors regular season tickets for free, March 2016.
Barbara Parker Gsw Tickets
And I happened to randomly find that information about Yui Hay Lee in opening the link to the Form 802 page. I wasn’t going on a witch hunt against Yui Hay Lee (even though he did use part of my Oakland City Hall Plaza Design Concept I made at Skyline High School in 1979 for the actual plaza). I’m only demonstrating that the truth is the entire Coliseum JPA culture, and that of the City of Oakland and The County of Alameda, is to blame for what the Alameda County Coliseum District Attorney accused Scott of doing with respect to Ring Central. You can see all of the ticket request reports here: https://www.theoaklandarena.com/about-us/coliseum-authority/public-information
Now, I have long argued that the law should allow for public officials who run a giant sports complex should, to enjoy some small benefit of doing so, like occasionally scoring tickets to events – just don’t sell them. Look, how the heck is any official to see how their facility is managing a large sports event it that person can’t even attend the event? Logical, right?
Anyway, here’s a newsflash: doing that – getting sought-after-tickets – failed to become an big issue for years – or until The Golden State Warriors got real good at NBA Basketball. Prior to that, the Oakland Coliseum had not enjoyed a team that won so much, tickets to their playoff games were valued over gold.
Then, when Golden State became the daring of the NBA, those who did not score Warriors playoffs tickets and were somebodies, were railing over those who did – particularly public officials. Moreover, the public officials were getting seats so good that Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi wound up on national television during the 2016 NBA Finals.
And she too had an appetite for $8,650 worth of regular season Warriors tickets, all in March of 2016…
Susan Muranishi Gsw Tickets
Then, while the Oakland Public Ethics Commission was formed in 1996, it did not became the new cultural tool for use against elected officials that the folks in control of it did not want to protect, until the last seven years. So, rather than defend themselves and explain the rationale for having tickets, the officials who were enjoying that ability to get tickets went into hiding.
And then had no problem trying to remove the one person they went to for tickets: Scott McKibben. Think about that. Rather than help their “ticket friend”, if you will, they stabbed him in the back, in my humble opinion.
The trouble with the mainstream media is its institutionally racist and when its not that, it’s myopic. One news organization was all too willing to try and take down Scott because some of its editors remember him from when he ran ANG Newspapers and they worked for him in the early 2000s. So, for them, making Scott look bad was a just reward for low pay they received as journalists, back then. Fact is, they did not tell you that, and it masks the truth I’m telling you. (And why I am a blogger and not a journalist.)
The real truth is that public governance in Oakland and in California has degenerated into a culture where someone is always looking to use poorly written California laws to take down someone else, for whatever reason. It chases away good people like Mr. McKibben, my friend who ran The Rose Bowl, and was the one reason the Oakland Coliseum managed to land rent agreements with the then-Oakland, now Las Vegas Raiders that put the organization in the black after years of red ink. And it covers up the truth: that when something like Warriors playoffs tickets are to be had, the culture will figure out a way for someone to land them, and then blast someone like Scott.
You know the saying that rules are made to be broken? Well, in California, the rules are made to be used against those people who were set up by others to break them. The Coliseum JPA Board of Directors set Scott McKibben up to fail, and is the worst for it.
Scott McKibben Was The Best Sports Business Negotiator In Oakland’s History
In Scott McKibben, the Coliseum JPA lost the best sports negotiator it ever had. And, starting in 1996 when I represented Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris as his Economic Advisor, I have worked with and advised to some extent all of them since 1996: Ezra Rapport, Denna McClain, Mark Kaufmann, Ann Haley, Doug Thornton, Denna McClain again, before Scott McKibben came in (and even though the original first choice was a former elected official who had zero experience in the business of sports).
Moreover, I defend Scott because he bailed out the City of Oakland’s 2005 Super Bowl Bid in May 10th of 2000. I was the head of the Super Bowl XXXIV Bidding Committee and Executive Director of the Oakland-Alameda County Sports Commission, which I formed in 1999.Paul Tagliabue, then The NFL Commissioner, had invited us to give a presentation at NFL Headquarters in New York. After showing up 20 minutes late, then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown left our meeting with then NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue early, and unexpectedly.
Commissioner Tagliabue, who budgeted two hours of his valuable time for us, was fuming.
Thus, we were left with just Scott McKibben and two other board members from the Oakland-Alameda County Sports Commission to be there, in addition to me, as head of the meeting. At the other side of the room and for the NFL were Tagliabue, Executive Vice President Of Football Operations Roger Goodell, then-NFL Head of Special Events and Mr. Super Bowl Jim Steeg, and then-head of NFL Legal Derrick Haggens, Jennifer Gonsalez, and Sue Robichek. Scott spoke up for the Oakland / East Bay business community and saved our meeting with Paul. A good thing, because Tagliabue was so upset over Jerry Brown’s actions, he threatened to stop the meeting. An action that would have killed our chances to land the Super Bowl Game.
Just 10 days after that meeting, The NFL selected Oakland as one of three finalist cities (the other two Jacksonville and Miami) for the right to host the 2005 Super Bowl. As then-Oakland District One Councilmember Jane Brunner told me later that year “none of us gave you a chance.” Ultimately, we lost to Jacksonville.
On the way to that NFL meeting, I had to create the damn Oakland sports commission from scratch, and because then Oakland City Attorney Jane Williams had stood in Oakland City Administrator Robert Bobb’s way (as did McClain) with roadblocks explaining why Oakland could not even do a bid! On top of that, the Coliseum was managed by SMG and Sally Roach, who, with Deena McClain, famously told Mr. Bobb that a former employee of the Coliseum I was working because he was the architect, had stolen the facility’s drawings. Everyone believed them but me. As I told Bobb then, how can we operate the Coliseum without the drawings? The whole claim just smelled bad to me.
So, I went on my own investigation and found the drawings (which we needed for our NFL Super Bowl Bid) via an engineer with HNTB in Marin County, Ca.. That same person then said “Sally Roach says you can’t have the drawings”! I hit the ceiling, called Robert Bobb, and Sally was removed from running the effort, and Bobb told her to work with me. I wanted her fired.
Point is, Oakland had many stories of people trying to stop other people from making government work for the people, and doing great things (take Phil Tagami, Insight Terminal Solutions, and the whole Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal coal issue, for example). Scott McKibben is the latest casualty in this.
Stay tuned.
Post script: The giant list of $139,013.50 worth of sports ticket issued by the Coliseum JPA and that (I was told by a source who does not wish to be named) claimed were approved by the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, but the docs show the Coliseum JPA did as well:
2016-137 events=$139,013.50 + ???
January-0 events
February-3 events=$2,500.00
02/06/2016-Warriors v OKC=$1,100.00
02/09/2016-Warriors v Rockets=$1,100.00
02/14/2016-Charlie Wilson Concert=$75.00 x 4
March-16 events=$13,074.00
03/01/2016-Warriors v Hawks= $700.00
03/03/2016-Warriors v OKC =$1,100.00
03/04/2016-Prince: Piano and a Microphone=$600.00 x 4= $2400.00
03/05/2016-Festival of Laughs Comedy Show=$93.00 x 4= $372.00
03/07/2016-Warriors v Orlando=$600.00
03/09/2016-Warriors v Jazz=$700.00
03/11/2016-Warrior v Portland=$600.00
03/12/2016-Warriors v Phoenix=$600.00
03/13/2016-Bruce Springsteen= $158.00 x 4= $632.00
03/14/2016-Warriors v New Orleans=$800.00
03/16/2016-Warrior v Knicks=$1,100.00
03/23/2016-Warriors v Clippers=$1,300.00
03/25/2016-Warriors v Mavericks=$700.00
03/26/2016-Andre Ward v. Sullivan Barrera=$105.00 x 4= $420.00
03/27/2016-Warriors v 76ers=$350.00
03/29/2016-Warrior v Wizards=$700.00
April-23 events=$20,608.50
04/01/2016-Warriors v Celtics= $700.00
04/02/2016-Oakland A’s= $112.50
04/03/2016-Warriors v Portland=$500.00
04/04/2016-Oakland A’s= $100.00
04/05/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/05/2016-Warriors v T’wolves=$600.00
04/06/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/07/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/07/2016-Warriors v Spurs=$1,200.00
04/10/2016-Carrie Underwood Concert= $134.00 x 4=$536.00
04/11/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/12/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/13/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/13/2016-Warriors v Memphis=$650.00
04/15/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/16/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/16/2016-Warriors v Rockets (Game 1)=$5,000.00
04/17/2016-Oakland A’s= $90.00
04/18/2016-Warriors v Rockets (Game 2) )=$5,000.00
04/23/2016-The Class Reunion Concert= $75.00 x 4= $300.00
04/27/2016-Warriors v Rockets (Game 3) )=$5,000.00
04/29/2016-Oakland A’s= $80.00
04/30/2016-Oakland A’s= $100.00
May-24 events=$37,568.00
05/01/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/02/2016-A’s v Seattle= $90.00
05/03/2016-Warriors Playoff)=$5,000.00
05/03/2016-A’s v Seattle= $80.00
05/04/2016-A’s v Seattle= $80.00
05/04/2016-Hill Song United= $32.50 x 4= $130.00
05/07/2016-Rihanna=$157.50 x 4 = $630.00
05/11/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/16/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/16/2016-A’s v Texas= $80.00
05/17/2016-A’s v Texas= $80.00
05/18/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/18/2016-A’s v Texas= $80.00
05/19/2016-A’s v NYY= $90.00
05/19/2016-The Who= $149.50 x 4= $598.00
05/20/2016-A’s v NYY= $100.00
05/21/2016-A’s v NYY= $100.00
05/22/2016-A’s v NYY= $100.00
05/26/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/28/2016-A’s v Detroit= $80.00
05/29/2016-A’s v Detroit= $90.00
05/30/2016-Warriors Playoffs=$5,000.00
05/30/2016-A’s v Detroit= $80.00
05/31/2016-A’s v Detroit= $80.00
June-17 events = $41,130.00
06/02/2016-Warriors v Cavaliers=$10,000.00
06/05/2016-Warriors v Cavaliers=$10,000.00
06/08/2016-Warriors Watch Party=$20.00
06/10/2016-Warriors Watch Party=$20.00
06/12/2016-KMEL Summer Jam=$62.50 x 4= $250.00
06/13/2016-A’s v Texas= $80.00
06/13/2016-Warriors v Cavaliers=$10,000.00
06/14/2016- A’s v Texas= $80.00
06/15/2016- A’s v Texas= $80.00
06/16/2016-Warriors Watch Party=$20.00
06/17/2016- A’s v Angels= $90.00
06/19/2016-Warriors v Cavaliers=$10,000.00
06/19/2016- A’s v Angels= $90.00
06/21/2016- A’s v Brewers= $80.00
06/22/2016- A’s v Brewers= $80.00
06/29/2016- A’s v Giants= $120.00
06/30/2016- A’s v Giants= $120.00
July-11 events = $1,080.00
07/01/2016-A’s v Pittsburg= $90.00
07/02/2016-A’s v Pittsburg= $90.00
07/03/2016-A’s v Pittsburg= $80.00
07/09/2016-Louis C.K.= $60.00 x 4+ $240.00
07/15/2016-A’s v Toronto= $80.00
07/17/2016-A’s v Toronto= $90.00
07/18/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
07/19/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
07/20/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
07/21/2016-A’s v Tampa Bay= $80.00
07/23/2016-A’s v Tampa Bay= $90.00
August-11 events = $2,962.00 + ?
08/02/2016-Adele= $274.00 x 4 = $1,096.00
08/03/2016-Dream Team= $156.50 x 4 = $626.00
08/05/2016-A’s v Cubs= $90.00
08/06/2016-Andre Ward v. Alexander Brand= $165.00 x 4 = $660.00
08/07/2016-A’s v Cubs= $90.00
08/08/2016-A’s v Orioles= $80.00
08/11/2016-A’s v Orioles= $80.00
08/14/2016-A’s v Mariners= $80.00
08/22/2016-A’s v Cleveland= $80.00
08/23/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
08/27/2016-Raiders v Titans = ?
September-18 events= $2,821.00 + ??
09/01/2016-Raiders v Seahawks=?
09/02/2016-A’s v Boston= $90.00
09/03/2016-A’s v Boston= $90.00
09/04/2016-A��s v Boston= $90.00
09/05/2016-A’s v Angels= $90.00
09/06/2016-A’s v Angels= $80.00
09/07/2016-A’s v Angels= $80.00
09/09/2016-A’s v Seattle= $80.00
09/11/2016-A’s v Seattle= $80.00
09/15/2016-Black Sabbath= $205.00 x 4 = $820.00
09/18/2016-Raiders v Falcons= ?
09/19/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
09/20/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
09/21/2016-A’s v Houston= $80.00
09/24/2016-A’s v Texans= $90.00
09/24/2016-Sonu Nigam & Atif= $88.00 x 4 = $352.00
09/25/2016-A’s v Texans= $90.00
09/30/2016-Bad Boys Concert= $137.25 x 4 = $549.00
October-10 events= $6,623.00+ ??
10/01/2016-Sia=$149.50 x 4 = $598.00
10/04/2016-Warriors v Clippers= $675.00 x 4 = $268.00
10/07/2017-Dixie Chicks=$89.50 x 4 = $358.00
10/09/2016-Raiders v San Diego= ?
10/10/2016-WWE Raw=$99.75 x 4 = $399.00
10/14/2016-Golden State Music Fest=136.50 x 4 = $546.00
10/16/2016-Raiders v Kansas City=?
10/21/2016-Warriors v Trail Blazers= $675.00 x 4 + $2,700.00
10/25/2016-Warriors v Spurs= $1,350.00
10/26/2016-Disney on Ice= $50.50 x 8 = $404.00
November-0 events
December-4 events= $10,657.00
12/03/2016-Warriors v Suns= $1,000.00 x 4 = $4,000.00
12/18/2016-KMEL Hip Hop Holiday House of Soul= $125.00 x 4 = $500.00
12/24/2016-Raiders v Colts= $275.00 x 4 = $1,357.00
12/30/2016-Warrior v Mavericks= $1,200.00 x 4 = $4,800.00
Here’s the record of who approved what tickets; there are 62 results:
ONN – Joe Morgan RIP: Lived In Oakland Down From Skyline High School, Played Tennis With Reggie Jackson
Joe Morgan RIP: Lived In Oakland Down From Skyline High School, Played Tennis With Reggie Jackson
Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a vlogger with the Zennie62 on YouTube Partner Channel, then uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours. Now, news is reported with a smartphone: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.
ONN – Oaklandside’s Attack On Derreck Johnson In The Oakland City Council Race Was Racist
The Oaklandside, a new online publication by the person who owns Berkeleyside and that has a $3 million grant from Google, owes Derreck Johnson, a candidate in the Oakland City Council race for the At-Large Seat occupied by Rebecca Kaplan (who I endorsed), an apology (and just maybe a chunk of that 3 million). It’s recent post attacking him for filing bankruptcy was nothing short of racist in my view as an Oakland black media entrepreneur in the time of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
In this case, some who are white, just could not accept that my actions were out of anger for the racist Oaklandside post, and first assumed that I was backing Derreck Johnson, when I openly said I was supporting Rebecca Kaplan, and then, on their own, guessed that Derreck, Mayor Schaaf, and I all went to Skyline High School together.
When a friend of mine who’s white texted me with that question about Skyline High School (where I am Class of 80 and Libby is Class of 1981), I called and let him know how upset with him I was. I said “You can’t accept the fact that my concern for what was written about him was purely because I perceived it as racist, huh? Do you realize that’s racist?”
As my friend is prone to do, he laughs nervously and tries to change the subject, but this time I kept focus. The problem was the Oaklandside post was truly institutionally racist, and it doesn’t matter what a person thinks to the contrary, even if they’re black. In Oakland, too many of us black folks are too willing to put down someone else black anyway – it’s a crabbarrel problem of massive proportions that helps no one.
The fact is that, according to Derreck himself, he went to Bishop O’Dowd High School, not Skyline High School. And so that leads back to my point: the desire to not see a racist act and deflect eyes from view keeps it as justifiable. That’s what my friend was trying to do, and he needs to stop doing it. As I said to him “We can’t allow a point of view like yours to fester because, little by little, these racist stories build up, until we get George Floyd all over again.”
No more racial profiling in media. If Derreck’s run has done anything, it’s shown a spotlight on that problem. It has to stop.
Donald Trump’s Businesses Have Filed For Bankruptcy Many Time Yet He’s Considered Successful
The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump’s businesses filed for bankruptcy six times. In all of the media coverage, no reporter or columnist ever blasted Donald Trump for bragging about his success. By contrast, Derreck Johnson’s business filed for bankrupcy and here is the Oaklandside’s Darwin BondGraham (and its editors hiding behind him) to say he’s not successful. Johnson is black. Trump is white. There should be one standard of fact: both started and ran businesses that employed people. And in Johnson’s case, he gave black men and women out of prison another chance at life. That’s successful.
Derreck Johnson Oakland City Council At Large 2020 Candidate Interview
And, as a momentary aside, I’m proud to report that Zennie62Media’s OaklandNewsNow.com that you’re reading is twice the size of Oaklandside in online traffic, and with a fraction of it’s budget. And it’s black owned and operated, whereas Oaklandside has a black editor, but is white owned, and the person who wrote the post is white and male.
Oaklandside’s Attack On Derreck Johnson Reflects A Classic Pattern Of Media Racism
Anyway, Oaklandside accused Derreck Johnson of being so proud as a black man to run television commercials saying he’s “successful”, that he needed to be taken down a notch by getting out “the truth”. The truth as Oaklandside saw it. The truth as Oaklandside was presented with by a source. I say that because I know where the information came from, and who gave it to Oaklandside, regardless of what it claims. Moreover, it’s no secret: bankruptcy information is publicly available, folks.
What Oaklandside did was simply make phone calls around town to form a story around the information it was given. If Oaklandside were truly interested in “the truth” it would have produced an article with information about the businesses of all of the candidates, without sensationalism. If Oaklandside was were truly interested in “the truth”, it would have worked with Mr. Johnson to run a positive story about what problems he experienced as a black man keeping his business going.
The story Oaklandside’s racist lens caused it to miss was one that needs to be told at a time when everyone from Facebook to Google has some kind of initiative focused on financing black businesses, in the wake of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Think about it. As Marcus Burke put in for The World Economic Forum “Following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and many other Black people at the hands of police, companies have started to take a stand against systemic racism.” Obviously, Oaklandside showed itself to be completely tone-deaf to the times.
In the paper “Media Representations and Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys”, by the Topos Partnership with The Opportunity Agenda, the authors observe:
A robust body of research documents how the overall presentation of black males in the media is distorted in a variety of ways, relative to the real-world facts. While individual studies tend to focus on a single genre or medium — such as TV fiction shows, magazine advertising, or video games — the research taken as a whole reveals broad patterns, including:
Negative associations exaggerated — particularly criminality, unemployment, and poverty. The idle black male on the street corner is not the “true face” of poverty in America, but he is the dominant one in the world as depicted by media.
Positive associations limited — particularly, sports, physical achievement in general, virility, and musicality. While the media’s version of America is populated by some black males intended to inspire, they tend to represent a relatively limited range of qualities to the exclusion of a variety of other everyday virtues.
The “problem” frame — Due to both distortions and also accurate and sympathetic discussion, black males tend to be overly associated with intractable problems.
Missing stories — Many important dimensions of black males’ lives, such as historical antecedents of black economic disadvantage and persistence of anti-black male bias, are largely ignored by the media.
In Derreck Johnson’s case, Oaklandside missed a great chance to have him tell his story of what led to the problems he experienced with his business. Moreover, Oaklandside worked to, as the authors wrote about media bias against black men, “Negative associations exaggerated — particularly criminality, unemployment, and poverty.” In other words, the Oaklandside’s seems to be upset that Johnson didn’t say he had been in financial trouble. Note, Johnson didn’t break any law, so that was the best it could do in attacking Derreck Johnson.
The Times Are Changing – The LA Times
In these times, America is beginning to wake up to the media racism that has worked to constantly paint blacks in a negative light. The kind of media racism that has been active in Oakland and San Francisco Bay Area media for far too long. And, let’s face it, the kind of media racism that was served up to feed the desires of some in Oakland who are white for the most part, and just don’t want to believe anything positive about anyone black who dares say they’re successful, or holds a title. Those persons want to push blacks into the familiar image of being poor, downtrodden, and criminally inclined. The kind of media The Oaklandside produced makes them oh so happy. Sad stuff that must stop.
In that, I must say it’s great The Los Angeles Times called out its own history of racism.
But, even then, The Los Angeles Times leaves out the racist lens that’s still applied today, and one that Oaklandside uses. Moreover, one would think that other mainstream media news publications would follow the Los Angeles Times’ lead, (like The San Francisco Chronicle, which has its own problems with racism as one can see here, and here, too.) but to this date, crickets. For many who are white, racism only exists when the n-word is used or a black person is physically harmed. But real racism is evident in all aspects of life, and in many ways, and in media, it’s expressed in how blacks are portrayed.
As I saw it, here’s the truth: Derreck Johnson did establish and run a business in Oakland that employed people, most notably black ex-prisoners who needed help. Stop it right there: that’s the success story that should be told, and that Derreck has the right to crow about. It’s clearly a story Oaklandside didn’t even think to try to tell, even though it was starring them in right in the face. Oaklandside was way too focused on putting a cyber-knee in Derreck Johnson’s online neck.
I got wind of this via a phone call from a friend. I called Derreck Johnson and we talked extensively. I told him that my first introduction to him was from an email from Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. I said it wasn’t the first time my godsister advanced a candidate to challenge Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan. I also told him that, for those reasons, I thought of him as a Manchurian candidate. He laughed and understood and because I gave him a video platform to talk about running for office and about himself. I never sought to put him down. Blacks in America have had enough of media racism.
Unlike Oaklandside, I asked and gave Derreck Johnson a chance to tell his story:
Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a vlogger with the Zennie62 on YouTube Partner Channel, then uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours. Now, news is reported with a smartphone: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.
ONN – Phil Gates, Oakland Skyline High Alum, Talks Eddie Van Halen And Phil Gates Band 3 PM EST, 10-8-2020
Phil and I go, as they say, “way back”, so I’m blessed to be able to present a friend who’s a giant in music, talk about the loss of Eddie Van Halen, remember Skyline High as we’re both Class of 1980, and get into the magic of The Phil Gates Band. Here’s his official bio:
Phil Gates was born in Chicago Ill., into a family of musicians that helped form his music style, and ability. Phil began playing musical instruments at the age of eight, and listening to a wide array of music has always been his main source of inspiration. Phil has played venues from small clubs, to the U.S. Air Force’s “Tops in Blue” World Tour, which performed in sixteen countries as well as the halftime show of the NFL Superbowl.
Phil has performed at many venues all over the world with his band. Also, the band was featured for five consecutive years on Hornblower Cruise’s “Friday Night Blues Dinner Cruise”.
Phil’s style is reminiscent of the early high energy Buddy Guy, mixed with a special blend of flavors from Jazz, Fusion, New Orleans, and the Chicago, Delta, and Mississippi Blues styles.
The Phil Gates Band won the “Beale Street Blues Kings” Competition in Memphis, and competed in the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge.
Phil has been steady contributor to the Blues Community in Southern California. He founded the Los Angeles Blues Society, and has been a valued judge for the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN, and also at many of the Guitar Center “King of the Blues” competitions in Hollywood, CA
Phil has also performed at great venues such as B.B. King’s, Cozy’s, Biscuits and Blues San Francisco, Highway 99 Seattle, WA, The Coach House, CA, The Monterey Bay Blues Festival, The Santa Clarita Blues Festival, The Topanga Canyon Blues Festival, The Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Festival, The Blues Music Awards Blind Raccoon Showcase, The Blues Nights Gossau(Blues Festival in Gossau, Switzerland), The Rock und Blues Festival in Gams, Switzerland.
Phil had the opportunity in his early years to listen and study great talent. As front of house engineer at the Caravan of Dreams Performing Arts Centre in Fort Worth, Texas, Phil worked with some of Blues and Jazz’s greatest performers to include: Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Albert King, Dizzie Gilespie, Wynton & Branford Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks, Eartha Kitt, Dianne Reeves, Bobby “Blue” Bland, and many others.
In the studio, Phil has been busy working on the follow up to the successful releases of “Phil Gates Live in the Danube Delta”, “The Twelve Rhythms”, “Phil Gates Live at The Hermosa Saloon”,“Addicted To The Blues”, and “In The Mean Time…” many of which, though not nominated, were all on the Grammy Ballot in their respective years as one of a few titles in their Category.
Phil is an accomplished session guitarist, performing on such projects as the Philip Bailey CD “Life & Love”, also with artists Kellie Blaise, Billy Shields, Maurice White, Zac Harmon, Preston Glass, L.A. Stlyz and Seabron.
His session work playing guitar has included many tracks with artists such as: Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle, Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson, Evelyn “Champagne” King, Deniece Williams, Jody Watley, Howard Hewett, Teddy Pendergrass, Brian McKnight, Ruben Studdard and Maurice White.
As a Producer, Co-Produced the award winning Blues record “The Blues According to Zacariah” with Zac Harmon, and recently has been a Co-Producer on a CD project with Little Richard. Phil also Produced the “Too Much Car For the Road” CD for Toni Dodd, “Urban Legacy” CD for Julia Jordan, daughter of renowned guitarist Stanley Jordan (who also performed on the CD). Also Phil scored an AFI film “My Normal Life”. Not to mention he has many CD’s of his own music to include “This Side Of Me”, “Should I?”, “Addicted To The Blues” ,“In The Mean Time…” , “Phil Gates Live at The Hermosa Saloon”,”The Twelve Rhythms”, and Phil gates Live In The Danube Delta”- all available on Apple iTunes, and digital audio outlets world-wide.
Phil has five endorsements with Ernie Ball/MusicMan Guitars, Evertune Bridges, Roland Corporation/BOSS, Lunastone Pedals, Janicek pics, and Ultimate Support music stands respectively.
Phil is currently the Vice President of Music and Media for the James Marshall Hendrix Foundation. (https://ift.tt/1zxSP3f).
Phil is also the Signature Band for the Sickle Cell Foundation of Orange County; for many years a strong relationship, and a great charity to help bring awareness to.
Phil is a dedicated, hard working professional entertainer that has proven time and time again, that his being dependable, and being able to work well with others can be an asset in wide array of musical endeavors.
Join us for an afternoon with Phil Gates, Thursday October 8th, 3 PM EST, 9 PM Switzerland time!
Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a YouTube channel. When the video is “liked” by Zennie62 YouTube, then it is automatically uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective here, on top of our is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours – is the use of the existing YouTube social graph on any subject in the World. Now, news is reported with a smartphone and also by promoting current content on YouTube: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary, or having a camera crew to shoot what is already on YouTube. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.
Oakland – The annual celebration for excellence in television entertainment, the 72nd Emmy Awards show on ABC on Sunday night, September 20, was a huge night for Oakland Unified School District, and people with roots here. The District can add three Emmys to the collection of awards amassed throughout the years by alumni, staff, former students, and other connected artists.
First off, Zendaya, who is from Oakland and whose mother taught at Fruitvale Elementary, won for Lead Actress in a Drama for her work in HBO’s Euphoria. Another winner was 2004 McClymonds High School graduate, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who took the Emmy for Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his work in Watchmen on HBO. And lastly, current students from across the District can celebrate the win by We Are The Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest, an HBO documentary, which took home the Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program.
Emmy Awards 2020
Zendaya’s mother, Claire Stoermer, taught at Fruitvale for 20 years, and Zendaya used to visit the school and even helped tutor the students. In more recent years, she has visited Fruitvale and other schools to support today’s students. In winning the Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama, she beat out industry heavyweights including Jennifer Aniston, Sandra Oh, and Laura Linney. She also became the youngest woman to win the category at just 24 years old. Her acceptance speech brought tears to the eyes of many who watched it.
Zendaya
Supporting Actor winner, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, grew up in West Oakland, and attended school in Emeryville before going to McClymonds for his high school career. For years, he has remained close with McClymonds social worker, Relonda McGhee. “Yahya was destined for greatness, so it is awesome that he has won his first Emmy Award,” she said. “Yahya surprised me with a visit at school in February, 2018. As I do all Mack Family when they come see me, I had him speak to my class. He did so and sponsored a young lady for her Prom. He asked who had the highest GPA and the lowest. This student was bold enough to admit her grades had dropped, and he promised to pay for her Prom if she worked hard to bring her grades back up. She did and he sent me the money for her. That’s just him. I couldn’t be more excited that Yahya is now receiving this recognition. He’s a great actor, and an even better person.”
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Lastly, the win by the documentary, We Are The Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest, is a win for all Oakland students who have and will take part in the District’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Fest. And in particular, it’s a win for Executive Producer, Mahershala Ali, who was born in Oakland, and for Skyline High School Drama Teacher, Awele Makeba (right), the producer of the Oratorical Fest. “HBO’s documentary was a precious gift to OUSD, the City of Oakland, and especially our children and families,” she said. “It’s definitely a community affair. The Emmy elevates the documentary to a whole other level, not only lifting up our talented youth, amplifying their potent voices nationally, but centering 4-11 year olds, predominantly children of color, in a proud legacy of being on the right side of racial and social justice, honoring the life and dream of Reverend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”
Skyline High School Drama Teacher, Awele Makeba
You can learn more about the documentary and watch it for free here:
“Nothing about these Emmy wins comes as a surprise to me,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “I have helped judge the MLK Oratorical Fest, and see regularly how amazing the students are, and how remarkable the event is for them. The documentary did a beautiful job of sharing all that goes into the speeches, and what taking part means for our young people. As for Zendaya and Yahya, knowing their roots are here in Oakland, I have followed their careers, and see, like everyone else, their extraordinary talents. Their Emmy wins just confirm what we already knew. I want to personally congratulate Zendaya, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mahershala Ali, Ms. Awele at Skyline, and all the students, staff and families who make the MLK Oratorical Fest the amazing event that it is. All of you do a wonderful job of showing the heart and brilliance of Oakland.”
About the Oakland Unified School District
In California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 81 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career and community success.
To learn more about OUSD’s Full Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews.
This post based on a press release from OUSD to Zennie62Media.
Oakland – Four weeks into the new year, and several schools across Oakland Unified School District are in mourning because they have recently lost valued members of their communities. The OUSD District has lost a total of five young people who were getting ready to graduate or had recently graduated. Some had come back to the schools to support the students of today.
Zakiya Thomas attended Oakland Tech and was currently studying at Dewey Academy when she was killed in a car crash. Her cousin Terri’Nae Williams was killed in the same crash. She graduated from Castlemont High School last spring. 19 year old Zavier Patton was a graduate of Skyline High School, who also attended Claremont Middle School. He was a victim of gun violence. Former Oakland High, Fremont High and Skyline High student, Quinton Williams also fell victim to gun violence, as did Skyline graduate, Sampson Luu. Luu also worked in the after school program at Roosevelt Middle School.
Zakiya Thomas. Zakiya Thomas
Zakiya Thomas and Terri’Nae Williams were in a car on the night of August 25 heading north on Highway 680 in Walnut Creek when the car exited the freeway at a high rate of speed and crashed into a tree. KTVU News reported there is evidence that one of the girls may have been driving even though neither one of them was an experienced driver. A 47 year old family friend who owned the car also died in the crash. “It’s something that could have been prevented. They didn’t have a license and the person’s car they were in, it was his car. He had a license, so why did he let her drive,” said Adrienne Semien, Zakiya’s mother, to KTVU. Zakiya lost her brother three years ago to gun violence, and Zakiya was her mother’s only remaining child. She was set to graduate from Dewey Academy in December.
Terri’Nae Williams. Terri’Nae Williams
Terri’Nae Williams had just turned 18 years old in June. On a GoFundMe page, her sister, ShayNesha George said she “was an excellent student who was continuously on the honor roll. She was such a caring gentle free spirit. My baby sister had a whole future ahead of her, she loved school and looked forward to going to college and becoming a nurse. She loves fashion and beauty. She was an advocate against violence for Teens on Target in Oakland throughout her four years in high school and after. She was so beautiful, loving, funny, ambitious and strong. She inspired me.” Additionally, Castlemont staff said Terri’Nae was an honor roll student, and on both the Volleyball team and the Cheer team. She was also a student organizer with her 2020 graduating class. Here is a GoFundMe page created in her honor.
Zavier Patton. Zavier Patton
Zavier Patton was a 2019 graduate of Skyline High School where he took part in activities such as African American Male Achievement and played on the varsity boys basketball team. “Zavier was a very good, wise and beautiful soul. He was senselessly taken from this earth on August 15 in a drive by shooting. He is now on the list of innocent victims of crimes. Zavier was 19 years old and about to start his second year at California State University, Northridge. This young man had overcome and accomplished quite a bit at this point in his young life,” said Zavier’s brother, Bryan Bassette, and the rest of the family. Bassette is an assistant principal at Elmhurst United Middle School. “Zavier was an example of exemplary character and inspiration.”
Quinton Williams. Quinton Williams
Also recently lost to gun violence was Quinton Williams who attended Oakland High School, Fremont High and Skyline High. He was another beloved student who had a profound impact on those around him. He spent two years at Fremont High School, where Co-Principal Tom Skjervheim got to know him well. “Quinton was always one of our brightest stars; smart, hard-working and full of promise. In addition to being a star football player, he was also a nearly 4.0 GPA student.” He finished up his education at Gateway to College. His life was cut short on the first weekend of August. Here is a GoFundMe page set up in his honor.
Sampson Luu. Sampson Luu
Lastly, Sampson Luu lost his life to gun violence on August 6. He was a 2015 Skyline High School graduate, and had attended Roosevelt Middle School where he came back to work for EBAYC, the East Bay Asian Youth Center, as a teacher supporting students in the after school program. “Sampson stood for positivity and respect, he wanted to make his community a better place for all and make his family proud. Pray for his parents & his sister in this time of mourning,” said his friend, Erik Ortega on Twitter. Here’s Sampson speaking about his work at Roosevelt and what he felt people need to do in these challenging times.
“Each of these young people leave deep holes in the lives of those they left behind,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “As a parent, I can only imagine the anguish their families must be experiencing. I implore anyone who gets behind the wheel of a car to exercise extreme caution, because one small mistake can lead to tragic consequences. My heart goes out to the families of Zakiya and Terri’Nae and their family friend. Likewise, I am always heartbroken when I hear that one of our young people was lost to gun violence. And here we have lost three bright young lives. Zavier, Quinton and Sampson all had profound impacts on their communities and I send my love to their family and friends. To people who think that violence is the answer, I remind you, it never is. You solve nothing when you use a gun, and only leave misery in your wake. I implore everyone to find ways to solve problems peacefully, and to teach our children to do the same.”
OUSD sends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of these five remarkable young people.
About the Oakland Unified School District
In California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 81 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career and community success.
To learn more about OUSD’s Full Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews.
Post based on press release to Zennie62Media from Oakland Unified School District (OUSD)
While not my first choice for the Oakland City Council At-Large Seat occupied by Rebecca Kaplan (whom I endorsed) Derreck Johnson is a new face on the Oakland Political Scene, even though he is a third-generation black Oaklander. I told him that because my first introduction to him was via an email from Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, I considered him a Manchurian candidate caught up in the 10-year-war between my godsister the Mayor and Councilmember Kaplan.
Derreck Johnson should be congratulated for his Chicken and Waffles business, which was successful in that he managed to employ black ex-prisoners. Sadly, he had to file for bankruptcy, then later and during the campaign, suffer from institutional racism on the part of the website Oaklandside, which seemed to delight in asserting that he wasn’t successful only because he filed for bankruptcy! That was both racial profiling and nasty, considering we have a POTUS who’s filed many bankruptcies and yet is considered very successful. But, there again, is the signal that it’s OK to have a blemish on your business record and still allow yourself to say you’re successful if you’re white, but not if you’re black. Not cool, man. Not right. Not cool.
In closing, there must be a truly aggressive black-ran media that points out racism in media. The media practice done to Derreck feeds an ugly desire among some, and not just white, in America, who refuse to see and present a black person in a positive light, and literally hunger for bad news about us.
In this case, some who are white, just could not accept that my actions were out of anger for the racist Oaklandside post, and first assumed that I was backing Derreck Johnson, when I openly said I was supporting Rebecca Kaplan and did not know Derreck prior to my interview with him, and then, on their own, guessed that Derreck, Mayor Schaaf, and I all went to Skyline High School together.
When a friend of mine who’s white texted me with that question about Skyline High School (where I am Class of 80 and Libby is Class of 1981), I called and let him know how upset with him I was. I said “You can’t accept the fact that my concern for what was written about him was purely because I perceived it as racist, huh? Do you realize that’s racist?”
As my friend is prone to do, he laughs nervously and tries to change the subject, but this time I kept focus. The problem was the Oaklandside post was truly institutionally racist, and it doesn’t matter what a person thinks to the contrary, even if they’re black. In Oakland, too many of us black folks are too willing to put down someone else black anyway – it’s a crabbarrel problem of massive proportions that helps no one.
The fact is that, according to Derreck himself, he went to Bishop O’Dowd High School, not Skyline High School. And so that leads back to my point: the desire to not see a racist act and deflect eyes from view keeps it as justifiable. That’s what my friend was trying to do, and he needs to stop doing it. As I said to him “We can’t allow a point of view like yours to fester because, little by little, these racist stories build up, until we get George Floyd all over again.”
No more racial profiling in media. If Derreck’s run has done anything, it’s shown a spotlight on that problem. It has to stop.
Stay tuned.
Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a vlogger with the Zennie62 on YouTube Partner Channel, then uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours. Now, news is reported with a smartphone: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.
The Top Shelf Sports Edition “The OAL” Episode ONE: Oakland High and Skyline High From YouTube Channel: August 2, 2020 at 03:19PM ONN – CSBtv Studio: The Top Shelf Sports Edition “The OAL” Episode ONE: Oakland High, Skyline High The Top Shelf Sports Edition “The OAL” Episode ONE: Oakland High and Skyline High We are … Read more
SPAAT, Oakland Athletic League and OUSD Announce Winners of Annual Oakland ESPY Awards, Including Middle School Student-Athletes of the Year, the All-Academic Team and High School Student-Athletes of the Year Oakland, CA – In a ceremony Wednesday evening in which young people collectively received more than $20,000 in scholarships, SPAAT, the Student Program for Academic … Read more
Barbara Leslie, Yui Hay Lee are Vice Presidents; Martinez returns for second term Oakland – Alameda County labor leader Andreas Cluver has been elected President of the Port of Oakland’s governing Board. The seven-member Board of Port Commissioners chose Mr. Cluver at a special meeting this week. Oakland Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Barbara … Read more
Tom Hanks Talks About His Recovery From Coronavirus And New Film ‘Greyhound’ | TODAY ONN – Tom Hanks Of Oakland’s Skyline High School, On COVID-19 Recovery, New Film ‘Greyhound’ On TODAY Tom was on TODAY this morning, and the NBC show posted this on YouTube: Oscar winner Tom Hanks joins TODAY to talk about how … Read more
Skyline High, Oakland Graduation 2020 ONN – Skyline High School Oakland 2020 Commencement: Full Graduation Video With Tom Hanks Here’s the full Skyline High School Oakland 2020 Commencement: Full Graduation Video With Tom Hanks. Stay tuned. Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest … Read more
Tom Hanks Commencement Speech To Skyline High School Class Of 2020, Oakland, CA ONN – Tom Hanks | Tom Hanks 2020 Commencement Speech To Skyline High School, Oakland, CA Transcript of Tom Hanks 2020 Commencement Speech To Skyline High School, Oakland, CA, courtesy of YouTube via Mr. Hanks and Oakland Unified School District: Hello … Read more
Within Days of Announcing $12.5 Million Campaign to Close the Digital Divide, OUSD and City of Oakland Meet the Goal with Final $700,000 Donation from Zynga Founder, Mark Pincus, as Next Fundraising Phase Ramps Up Oakland, CA – On Wednesday, May 20, OUSD and the City of Oakland are announcing that their six-day old goal … Read more
Jack Dorsey, Twitter Founder And CEO Sends Huge Donation to OUSD and City of Oakland to Help Close Digital Divide Less Than 24-Hours After Press Conference Oakland, CA – Less than 24 hours after OUSD, the City of Oakland, and partner organizations held a news conference to announce an ambitious plan to close the digital … Read more
City of Oakland And OUSD Have Plan To Close Digital Divide – Press Conference ONN – City of Oakland And OUSD Have Plan To Close Digital Divide – Press Conference Leading the virtual press conference were: Libby Schaaf, Mayor of Oakland Kyla Johnson-Trammell, Superintendent of OUSD Jessica Ramos, 11th Grade Student, Skyline High School Ali … Read more
Mayor Of Oakland Economic Recovery Council Shows She Doesn’t Get The Immediacy Of Our Problem ONN – Mayor Of Oakland Economic Recovery Council Shows She Doesn’t Get The Immediacy Of Our Problem The Mayor of Oakland sent a press release via her assistantpress release via her assistant that I still can’t get over. It … Read more
Harvard-Bound Skyline High Senior Eleanor Wikstrom Makes History, Becoming First Ever CIF Scholar-Athlete of the Year from Oakland Oakland, CA — Eleanor Wikstrom from Skyline High School has a unique set of skills. She studies as hard as anyone, pulling a 4.0 GPA that has her heading to Harvard University in the fall. She is … Read more
Oakland Schools News: OUSD’s Youth Beat Students Create Music Video With Simple But Powerful Message for Protecting Oneself from COVID-19 Oakland, CA – With schools remaining closed for the rest of this academic year, students have had to be very creative in completing their assignments, especially group projects. Some of OUSD’s most creative students take … Read more
Big Country Kitchen, Denica’s Real Food Kitchen, Mama’s Royal Cafe: Check, Please! Bay Area reviews ONN – Oakland’s Mama’s Royal Cafe Reviewed By KQED’s Check, Please! Bay Area Mama’s Royal Cafe, at 4012 Broadway in Oakland, has been an institution known for its omlettes since I was at Skyline High School from 1978 to 1980. … Read more
An update on Ernest Russell “Rusty” Simms, our friend from Oakland’s Skyline High School and Cal-Berkeley, who was hit by a car, or as it was described “was involved in a pedestrian-vehicle accident walking in Berkeley, CA.” The last report, the first one, was that Rusty was in critical condition. This is what Patty Lee … Read more
Atlanta – When news of the death of Frank Robinson, ever a Major League Baseball legend, came on the television yesterday, I was sitting at the kitchen table with my Mom, who’s the same age as he, 83. I’m here helping my Mom (and not been to my place in Oakland but 69 days of … Read more
