Oakland Post, week of November 23 -29, 2022

By Ken Epstein

The sweep of progressive-leaning local candidates in November’s elections potentially means a seis mic shift toward democratic and egalitarian policies in Oakland as the city seeks to grapple with bal looning homelessness, garbagefilled streets, violent crime, a police department still unable to emerge from federal court over sight, and lack of commitment to building housing that most Oak landers can afford.

At the same time, the results were a significant defeat for the moder ate, pro-big-business regime of outgoing Mayor Libby Schaaf, her corporate backers and the candi dates she groomed and promoted as her legacy.

In part, the failure of Schaafbacked candidates may have had a lot to do with the starkness of that legacy.

While failing to address city needs, Schaaf served as a promi

nent cheerleader for Oakland A’s owner John Fisher’s exclusive res idential development at Howard Terminal alongside a new baseball stadium.

In opposition to many residents, she also backed the closing of many more neighborhood schools, the growth of charter schools, and blocked efforts for greater ra cial equity in construction in the awarding of city contracts.

Schaaf did not intervene to help stop the closure of Mills College, the historic Oakland-based wom en’s institution, which would have benefitted from some of the energy she spent leading the charge for the A’s real estate project.

The national political showdown between Republicans and Demo crats may also have impacted the results, as progressives and mainstream Democrats across

the country joined forces to slow down the so-called Red Wave to a trickle.

While this national energy likely helped fuel Oakland’s progres sive tide, the results for city races and the closely watched Alameda County District Attorney’s race may count as among the most im portant local progressive victories in the country.

By Maxim Elramsisy California Black Media

“This is my home, and with my whole heart, I’m ready to serve, and my pledge to you is that we will hit the ground running on Day One,” Los An geles Mayor-elect, Rep. Karen Bass announced Nov. 16 after the Associated Press (AP) de clared her the projected winner in a tight race for the top job in California’s largest city.

Bass, who has represented the 37th Congressional District of California for 11 years, will be the first woman to lead Los An geles when she is sworn in on Dec. 12, 2022. She will also be the second Black Angelino to

hold the office in a city where 8.8% of residents are Black, according to the U.S. Census.

Before Bass was elected to Congress in 2010, she previ ously served as a member of the California State Assembly representing the 47th district from 2004 to 2010. From 2008 to 2010 she was the first Black woman to be State Assembly speaker.

In the U.S Congress, Bass rep resented West Los Angeles and from 2019 to 2021 served as Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Her opponent, businessman

mayor has no role in that process and so far, the City Council has yet to see a development agreement or receive the independent finan cial analysis it requested early this year.

Once in a generation — if we’re lucky — we see huge federal investment in infrastructure.

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Mega Grant program, communities across the country have been asked to iden tify their highest-priority projects in the first round of long-needed transportation investment fund ing to help make U.S. transit safer, more efficient and resilient to fu ture challenges.

But not all projects hit that mark.

Here in the Bay Area, several ma jor transformative projects have applied for Mega Grant funding and are worthy of this kind of in

vestment. Contra Costa County’s 680 Forward project, for example, would improve mobility along In terstate 680, the backbone corridor for the region’s supply chain and commuters, linking airports, busi ness centers and seaports.

Then, there’s Oakland: Mayor Libby Schaaf’s administration applied for a $182 million Mega Grant to help fund what it de scribes as a “waterfront mobility hub” at Howard Terminal in Jack London Square. In reality, though,

the grant would help billionaire Oakland A’s owner John Fisher develop his $12 billion proposal for luxury condos and a stadium far more than it would the public.

The Mega Grant program, which is currently reviewing initial pro posals, should reject the proposal.

The problems with such an appli cation are obvious and numerous.

First, even if the city got a Mega Grant, Oakland’s City Council would need to approve its use. The

The council has, however, re ceived an update from city staff that there is nowhere near enough money to finance the project. Ac cording to a September informa tional memo from Assistant City Administrator Elizabeth Lake, the cost to the public would, “sig nificantly exceed the A’s previous estimate.” How much that cost will increase and how the city plans to pay for it is unclear.

Moreover, if a proposal with ac tual terms is ever presented, it will be after Mayor Schaaf and several current council members are out of office. It is possible — perhaps even likely — given the financial uncertainties, that the new City Council will not approve the proj ect, and if it does, there are mul

Panel Discusses Supreme Court Case Threatening End of Affirmative Action

A webinar hosted by ChangeLawyers, the Ameri can Constitution Society (ACS) Bay Area, and Equal Justice Society was held Nov. 15 to discuss the possible out comes of the pending decision by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in the case of Students for Fair Ad missions (SFFA) v. Harvard.

The online event titled, “The End of Affirmative Action:

How SCOTUS Is Coming Af ter BIPOC Students” delved into the impact of banning the consideration of race as a fac tor during the college admis sions process.

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students would be affected by such a ruling, said panelist Lisa Hold er, an attorney and president of Equal Justice Society (EJS). EJS is an Oakland-based non profit and civil rights organiza tion that does work geared to

Holidays are the season when we stop and begin to think about “How can I give back this year and different ways to help out?”

fortunately, there are plenty of ways to help out during the holi days that don’t cost a thing. Our year-long Tiny Homes project with Rev. Ken Lackey has to

increase its workload and we wanted to remind our commu nity that everybody matters to God.

We are grateful for the partner ship of support that the Oak land Post, as our media partner has helped us with gathering community leaders and faithbased leaders to help solve our increasing homeless problem

in the Bay Area and across the state of California.

We can no longer ignore home lessness in Oakland which is now a humanitarian crisis.

We want to launch an intensive month-long generosity cam paign to help the increasing homeless issues in our neigh borhood.

Whether through donation or action, there are plenty of op portunities to give.

We are accepting applications for volunteers and accepting do

nations that we can use to build Tiny Homes. You might have things in your house or garage you haven’t used or extra con struction tools, a bag of studs nails, used doors, windows, roofing materials, lumber, met al, hardwood flooring sheetrock tape, paints, and anything that we can recycle to build and add to our Tiny Homes.

We are also looking for ve hicle donations of trailers or any truck for hauling material and picking up volunteers and homeless that are helping build Tiny Homes.

We build our homes with pri marily donated and surplus materials which allows us to cut costs and provide a pleasant

By Dr. Maritony A. Yamot and Rev. Ken Lackey

We invite you to join us as we partner with some of Oakland’s fabulous nonprofit organiza tions to meet critical needs in our communities.

Kitty Kelly Epstein

A federal in frastructure grant for the A’s stadium project will not help ease congestion at the Port of Oakland.

Rep. Karen Bass Makes History as L.A.’s First Black Woman Mayor

County District Attorney

Mayor-Elect Karen Bass addressing supporters on election night, Nov. 8, 2022. Maxim Elramsisy | California Black Media

California ended affirmative action policies in 1996 with the passage of Proposition 209.

A federal infrastructure grant for the A’s stadium project will not help ease congestion at the Port of Oakland. / Paul Kuroda/ Special to The Chronicle 2021

By Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media

No Charges to Be Filed in Death of Supervisor Wilma Chan

Chan was walking her dog when she was hit by a vehicle at 8:05 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2021, at Grand Street and Shore Line Drive in Al ameda. Chan was a resident of the city for 27 years.

“My Office reviewed the com pleted (police) reports,” O’Malley said. “To file criminal charges, we would have to find that the driver was criminally negligent, such as running a stop sign.”

O’Malley said, “We did not find such negligence.”

Alameda officials declined to re lease details of the police investi gation into the collision. O’Malley said officers made diagrams, took statements from witnesses, and analyzed the trajectory of the sun that morning.

the people she served will be pro foundly missed.”

In recognition of Chan’s work and contributions to the city, Alameda renamed a street after her on Nov. 16, when family, friends, city of ficials and colleagues unveiled Wilma Chan Way, which stretches from Webster Street to Lincoln Avenue replacing Constitution Way.

Drivers from Oakland via the Webster Street tube will first en counter Alameda by way of Wil ma Chan Way.

“Wilma Chan was a wonder ful leader for Alameda County,” O’Malley said. “She was a cham pion, for example, of All In Alam eda County, which addresses food insecurity and address issues of poverty.”

Learning Black History Year-Round

March Against Fear: When “Black Power” Became Mainstream

By Keith Burbank, Bay City News

Criminal charges will not be filed against the driver of the ve hicle that hit and killed Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan in November 2021, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said recently.

“Supervisor Chan was a tireless advocate for seniors, children, and families, promoting programs that advance children’s health, and help lift people out of poverty, and so much more,” Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft said in a statement the day that Chan died.

“Her compassion, strong sense of community, and devotion to

Chan was responsible for “several projects that were quite personal and impactful to vulnerable indi viduals and other members of our community,” O’Malley added.

“‘All In’ is one example of the vision and humanity Supervisor Chan brought to the Board of Su pervisors.”

Golden State Could Have $25 Billion Deficit in 2023-24 Fiscal Year

By Tamara Shiloh

It was June 5, 1966.

James Howard Mer edith (born 1933), on a mission to encourage Black voter registration and defy entrenched rac ism in the South, set out on a solitary walk from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi.

On the second day of his journey, Aubrey Norvell, a white gunman, waited on a roadside a few miles south of Hernando, Mississippi. He ambushed Meredith, shooting him in the neck, head, and back.

Within 24 hours, the nation’s three principal civil rights organizations vowed to continue the march: the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Congress of Racial Equality, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

The march ended on June 22, 1966. Meredith, sufficiently recovered, had been able to rejoin the event. Participants supporting Meredith along the way joined in, making the total number of march ers arriving in Jackson about 15,000. The March Against Fear was one of the largest marches in history for that geographical area. It was during the post-march rally that Stokely Carmichael first used the phrase “we want Black Power” during a public speech.

Carmichael sought to define the quest for Black Power in constructive terms, explaining to sup porters in Detroit that “Black votes created Black Power…That doesn’t mean that we are anti-white. We are just developing Black pride.”

Meredith had become well known when he suc cessfully challenged the Kennedy administration to protect his civil rights. His application for ad mission to the University of Mississippi, dubbed Ole Miss, had been twice denied. With backing from the NAACP, he filed suit for racial discrimi nation.

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

California’s government may have a faceoff with a $25 billion budget shortfall in the upcoming fiscal year as tax revenues de cline, according to a report issued by the state’s nonpartisan Legis lative Analyst’s Office (LAO).

During a Nov.16 video press briefing, Legislative Analyst Ga briel Petek said that if the predict ed downturn happens, it will be the Golden State’s weakest rev enue performance since the 2008 to 2009 Great Recession.

“It is not insignificant, but it is also manageable,” Petek said. “We don’t think of this as a bud get crisis. We just think of it as a notable budget problem that the Legislature will have to confront when it begins that process in January.”

The LAO, the state Legislature’s fiscal and policy advisor, details the budget shortfall and suggests ways to avoid it in the 20-page “The 2023-24 Budget: Califor nia’s Fiscal Outlook.”

The document is released yearly around this time to help guide California lawmakers as they be gin to put together budget propos als for the upcoming fiscal year.

Petek said the threat of a national recession and actions by the Fed eral Reserve played a hand in the report’s outlook, but the predicted numbers are not based on a reces sion occurring.

“Economic conditions are re ally weighing on the revenue estimates that are a major influ encer of our fiscal output,” Petek said. “With elevated inflation that causes the Fed to have to take ac tion to cool down the economy in its effort to bring down infla tion. The longer and the higher inflation remains, the more ag gressive the Fed has to be. And the more aggressive the Fed has to be, it really increases the risk that the economy will fall into a recession. So, that being said, our revenue estimates do not assume a recession.”

Less spending on large, one-time allocations is one way the state can offset the revenue losses it is expected to experience.

In response to the LAO budget prediction, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) said the state has budget resil iency — $37.2 billion in reserves.

“We can and will protect the progress of the recent year’s bud gets,” Rendon said. “In particular, the Assembly will protect Cali fornia’s historic school funding gains, as districts must continue to invest in retaining and recruit ing staff to help kids advance and recover from the pandemic.”

State Senate Pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) said that in the past, the dreary budget forecast would have meant pro gram cuts and middle-class tax increases.

“That does not have to be the case this year,” Atkins said. “Thanks to our responsible approach, we are confident that we can protect our progress and craft a state budget without ongoing cuts to schools and other core programs or taxing middle class families. The bottom line is simple: we are prepared to hold onto the gains we’ve made and continue where we left off once our economy and revenues rebound.”

Petek recommended that legis lators not look to the reserves to solve the budget paucity when they begin formulating the state spending plan in early 2023.

“It would be prudent to try and identify other solutions in the early part of the budget period, and then if and when we have a lot more information about the economic situation — if revenues have deteriorated for example or if there were a recession, we are

certainly not saying don’t use the reserves,” he said. “We are say ing, keep them on hold and you have them to turn to in that situa tion if the picture has gone south in May. You have the reserves that we can tap into to really help supplement the other solutions identified earlier in the process.”

Republican Assemblymember Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) said the report is a wakeup call.

“California’s economy is weak ening, and now with persistent inflation, the revenue that is com ing into the State of California is coming in way below projec tion,” Fong said. “As someone who has been on the budget com mittee for a number of years, we have been warning about this.

The ruling party in Sacramento continues to spend and grow government programs without any accountability and the bud get is completely unsustainable. We have to refocus on fiscal re sponsibility.”

LAO’s budget forecast comes on the heels of Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic-controlled Legislature estimated $97 billion surplus that led to the expansion of Medi-Cal eligibility to all im migrants in 2024, a boost in the earned income tax credit, and free preschool for 4-year-olds.

A relief package, priced at $17 billion, to help families, seniors and low-income Californians and small businesses was also approved in June by lawmakers.

The surplus is gone once a budget is passed, according to the LAO, so the fiscal outlook provided to legislators assumes that current state laws and policies will re main in place.

“We make adjustments for case loads and things that influence the budget expenditures, but if you keep the same policies what would your budget picture look like?” Petek said. “That is what we are trying to tee up for them as they await the governor’s pro posal.”

Success of the event could not be predicted. Leaders were aware that last-minute planning of a march could be dangerous, and the route cho sen was not without uncertainty. The three-week march led to death threats, arrests, and the use of tear gas. Internal tensions surrounding leadership swelled and use of the slogan “Black Power” be came a revolutionary phrase urging self-determi nation and Black pride.

The Deacons for Defense and Justice, a group of Black veterans from World War II who believed in armed self-defense, provided protection for par ticipants. Founded in Jonesboro, La., in 1964, The Deacons for Defense had already protected civil rights activists from the Ku Klux Klan. About 20 chapters were created throughout Louisiana, Mis sissippi, and Alabama.

After heavy negotiations with U.S. Attorney Gen eral Robert Kennedy, Meredith was permitted to enroll at Ole Miss but only under escort of federal troops. He graduated in 1963 with a bachelor’s de gree in political science.

What began as a solitary peaceful protest for voter registration became one of the South’s most im portant demonstrations of the civil rights move ment. Leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Carmichael formed unlikely alliances that resulted in the Black Power movement. This ushered in a new era in the fight for equality.

Understand the complex issues of fear, injustice, and the challenges of change in Anne Bausum’s “The March Against Fear: The Last Great Walk of the Civil Rights Movement and the Emergence of Black Power.”

James Meredith walking on the campus of the University of Mississippi, accompanied by U.S. marshals. (Photo: Marion S. Trikosko, the United States Library of Congress.)

The late Wilma Chan, Alam eda County Supervisor for District 3, including the cities of Alameda, San Leandro, a portion of Oakland, includ ing Chinatown, Jack London, and Fruitvale, among others. (Office of Wilma Chan via Bay City News)

California taxes wealthy people more than other states, so most of the revenue decline is because the rich aren’t making as much money as they used to. The report details that California could see deficits between $8 billion to $17 billion in the following years.

Buying a Home May Not Be As Out of Reach As You Think, Even in This Market

Here’s How You Can Achieve Homeownership

Buying a home is one of the most important purchases you will make in your lifetime. Pressure is mounting for those looking to buy right now, with home prices fluctuating and mortgage rates at their highest levels in over a decade.

While existing home sales have fallen month-over-month since the beginning of the year, prices hit a record high above $400,000 in May, according to the National Association of Realtors, as low levels of hous ing inventory and supply chain constraints have created an af fordability squeeze for home buyers. Mortgage rates have nearly doubled in the last six months — from 3% in 2021 to close to 6% in 2022 — making it increasingly challenging for many Americans to purchase a home, especially for those with limited income.

result in a higher score. Higher credit scores can help you qual ify for the lowest interest rates. A score at 700 or above is gen erally considered good.

Additionally, lenders look at your debt-to-income ratio. This is a simple equation of how much debt you have relative to how much money you make.

Borrowers with a higher debtto-income ratio are considered more risky while a lower debtto-income ratio may allow you to qualify for the best rates on your home loan.

Q: What are some tips for im proving your credit score?

Richardson: There are a num ber of things you can do to improve your credit score, starting with reviewing your credit reports to understand what might be working against you. You can also pay down your revolving credit and dis pute any inaccuracies.

buyers should contact a home lending professional to under stand and review the options available to them.

For example, there are two basic types of mortgage inter est rates: fixed and adjustable. While adjustable rates are initially low, they can change over the course of a loan, so your mortgage payments may fluctuate. Loan term indicates how long you have to pay off the loan. Many homebuyers tend to opt for a 15-year or 30year mortgage, though other terms are available. A longer loan term generally means you’ll have lower monthly payments, but you’ll pay more in interest over the life of the loan. A shorter loan term may come with higher monthly payments, but you’ll likely pay much less in interest over time.

Q: What are the costs of homeownership beyond the monthly mortgage payment?

Richardson: People often think of the down payment and monthly mortgage — but buy ing and owning a home carries additional costs. Closing costs, for example, can amount to up to 3% or more of the final pur chase price. Other factors that could add on to your monthly payments are property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and homeowner’s association (HOA) fees. To get an idea of what this may look like for you, use an affordability cal culator.

A Sampling of Dining Out Options for Thanksgiving Soul Food Around California

By Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and with that comes greens, beans, candied yams, turkey (roasted and deep-fried), dressing, mac n’ cheese, sweet potato pie and all the other soul food “fixins” that make the holiday meal arguably the tasti est meal of the year for many African Americans. We can choose from a diverse menu of food options that we prepare at home, or we can try to enjoy those options dining out.

The city of Inglewood, for ex ample, is hosting a drive-thru turkey giveaway on Nov. 23 with special guest Snoop Dogg.

The event will go from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and is located at Holly wood Park. The goal is to serve 2,500 Inglewood residents with free turkeys provided by Don Lee Farms.

While many people enjoy pre paring and eating that turkey dinner at home, some people prefer to outsource their feast.

For those folks, here’s a small sampling of some soul food restaurants around the state that will be open on or around Thanksgiving.

Minnie Bell’s (Emeryville)

Minnie Bell’s — a soul food truck in Emeryville up north — may not be open Thanksgiving Day, it will be open on the 23rd for those who want to celebrate a little early.

Founded by Fernay McPher son in 2013, “Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement” is born out of legacy.

Founded by Ron Suel and Ra Vae Smith in 2014, StreetCar specializes in southern cuisine and features an all-day brunch menu.

“You will find classic southern dishes and Louisiana favor ites,” their website reads.

ComfortLA (Los Angeles)

In Downtown Los Angeles, ComfortLA is an option for those who want to eat out this holiday as it’s open on Thanks giving Day.

Located on 1110 E. 7th St., ComfortLA was once a pop-up restaurant founded by Jeremy McBryde and Mark E. Walker.

ComfortLA focuses on taking a clean approach to their menu, sporting a variety of all-natural soul food options.

“We use locally sourced, fresh and organic ingredients and healthier cooking methods to create top-notch, Southern cui sine including ‘Cousin Kina’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese,’ ‘Clean Mean Greens’ and our signature ‘Or ganic Not Your Average Fried Chicken’ with ‘That Sauce,’” it reads on their website.

They also have an Inglewood location, though that restaurant is not open on Thanksgiving.

Hotville Chicken (Los Angeles)

The last establishment on this list is Hotville Chicken in Los Angeles.

This restaurant is not open the day of Thanksgiving, but pa trons can order ahead of time and pick their food up on the 24th.

Shelter Spaces During the

Winter Season

Mayor London Breed hosted West Coast leaders at SF’s Presidio Tunnel Tops to sign a new climate agreement.

by Olivia Wynkoop/Bay City News.

By Olivia Wynkoop Bay City News Foundation

As temperatures get colder, a group of San Francisco’s faith communities are offering shel ter and meals for unhoused people this winter season.

The Interfaith Winter Shelter Program will rotate between five different locations — open ing shelter capacity from 30 to 80 beds per night — through March 26.

Each shelter is run by a differ ent faith community, and all are serving individuals of all gen ders ages 18 and older. The pro gram is run on a “first-come, first-served” self-referral basis.

The seasonal overnight shelter program is run by the San Fran cisco Department of Home lessness and Supportive Hous ing and Episcopal Community Services. The program will ro tate between the Canon Kip Senior Center, Saint Mary’s Cathedral, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, and First Unitarian Universalist Church.

“I am proud of the progress we have made in exceeding many of our goals in the City’s Homelessness Recovery Plan, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us to create thousands of new housing placements for people in need,” said Mayor London Breed in a statement.

“The winter season is difficult for people living on our streets and it is the City’s responsibil ity to ensure safe and warm op tions for shelter are available. I want to thank our partner faith organizations for providing a welcoming and caring space for people in need, especially during the holiday season.”

For more information, visit: http://hsh.sfgov.org/services/ how-to-get-services/access ing-temporary-shelter/

Children’s Discovery Museum Hosts COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic, Offers Free Admission

So, how do you know when you’re ready to buy a home?

More importantly, how much home can you afford? We sat down with Denise Richardson, community home lending ad visor at Chase, to answer those questions and discuss what the current state of the market means for you and your fam ily’s home buying dreams.

Q: What are the main factors mortgage lenders look at when evaluating an application?

Richardson: When it comes to homeownership, your credit score and debt-to-income ratio are major factors in the applica tion process.

Your credit score is set based upon how you’ve used — or not used — credit in the past. Using credit responsibly, such as paying bills on time and hav ing a low utilization rate will

Additionally, there are services like Chase Credit Journey to help monitor and improve your credit score. Credit Journey monitors all your accounts and alerts you to changes in your credit report that may impact your score. You’ll get an alert any time Chase sees new activ ity, including charges, account openings and credit inquiries.

Chase will also notify you if there are changes in your credit usage, credit limits or balances. You don’t have to be a Chase customer to take advantage of Credit Journey.

Q: What are some factors that can affect the cost of a mort gage?

Richardson: There are several factors to consider when re viewing mortgage options in cluding loan term, interest rate and loan type. Potential home

While there is no way for a buyer to completely avoid paying these fees, there are ways to save on them. Some banks offer financial assis tance for homebuyers. As an example, Chase’s Homebuyer Grant offers up to $5,000 that can be used toward a down payment or closing costs in eligible neighborhoods across the country. There may also be homeowners’ or down pay ment assistance offered in your city or state. Contact a home lending advisor to learn about resources you may be eligible for.

For a deeper dive into this top ic, our Beginner to Buyer pod cast — episode three, “How Much Can I Afford?” is a great resource for prospective homebuyers to get answers to all their homebuying ques tions.

Learn more about the home buying process, here.

“Fernay learned to cook from her great aunt Minnie and late grandmother Lillie Bell,” the website reads. “Fernay’s fami ly arrived in San Francisco dur ing the Great Migration as part of the relocation of more than 6 million African Americans from the rural South to cities in the North and West.”

Minnie Bell’s is located in the Emeryville Public Market at 5959 Shellmound St.

StreetCar (San Diego)

On Nov. 24, they will be host ing a Thanksgiving feast event.

“Bring your friends and fam ily on Thanksgiving Day for a celebratory feast,” their flyer reads.

The event is located at 4002 30th St. and will go from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Hotville, then known as the BBQ Hot Chicken Shack, was founded by Thornton Prince in 1936 in a segregated part of town.

Thornton’s great-great niece Prince now runs the family business.

Their website boasts about how spicy their chicken is, as Thornton’s original recipe fo cused heavily on a fiery flavor.

“If you’ve never heard about Nashville-style hot chicken, it’s certainly time to get famil iar,” it reads.

Prince’s focus is on commu nity, as Thornton’s original chicken recipe “brought peo ple together” even in a divided town.

Hotville is located at 4070 Marlton Ave.

To place a Legal Ad, contact Tonya Peacock: Phone: (510) 272-474, Fax: (510) 743-4178, Email: tonya_peacock@dailyjournal.com.

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By Eli Walsh Bay City News Foundation

San Jose’s Children’s Discovery Museum hosted a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Nov. 20, offering free admission for each family with a child or adult who gets vaccinated.

The clinic was open to everyone ages 6 months and up and offered first, second and booster vaccine doses for free.The Stanford Uni versity Medical Student Asso ciation’s Flu Crew provided vac cinations at the event.

“The pandemic and its effects have been tough on children and families, but a bright light for me has been the important role the museum’s been able to play in making our communities healthier and stopping the spread of COVID-19,” said Marilee Jennings, executive director of Children’s Discovery Museum.

JPMorgan Chase

Denise Richardson, community home lending officer at Chase.

Minnie Bell’s and a pan of their typical fare: Brussels sprouts and macaroni and cheese. Facebook image and photo.

Photo

Children explore a Mammoth Discovery! hands-on exhibit at the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose, California.

Photo by Children’s Discovery Museum via Bay City News

Faith Baptist Church Becomes Oakland’s First Official Resiliency Hub

As members of the community that comprise Faith Baptist Church look on, California Interfaith Power and Light Executive Director Susan Stephenson, left (in white jacket), hands scissors to the eldest member of Faith Baptist for the ribbon cutting on Nov. 14 while Pastor Curtis Robinson stands just behind him. Also pictured are District 1 Councilmember Dan Kalb (white hair, white shirt) and to his right (multi-colored top) is Shayna Hirschfield-Gold, Oakland’s Climate Program manager. Photo courtesy of Faith Baptist Church and California Interfaith Power and Light.

By Curtis O. Robinson, Sr., M.A., Harvard University fellow, ’19, Senior Pastor, Faith Baptist Church

So, when I say that Faith Baptist is Oakland’s first Resiliency Hub, the first question that many people ask is, “what is a resiliency hub?”

In an article from the Christian Science Moni tor entitled “Resilience hubs: A new approach to crisis response,” the author writes, “Things that shock a community have to do with climate, but more urgently they have to do with systemic inequities.”

He was referring to police shootings, civic un rest, the growth of homeless encampments and more. The resiliency hub approach to these inequities uses a respected local organization, such as a church or community center, and bol sters it to help neighborhoods prepare for crises — hurricanes, heat waves, pandemics or unrest — and to respond and recover from them.

When Faith was approached with the idea of so lar panels for its rooftop as a source of heat, the decision was relatively a no-brainer.

As a House of Worship, there is a collective em phasis on the workings of God in the universe. The first job that God gave humanity was to tend the Garden. When it comes to environmental justice, our goal then is to take care of this place called planet Earth.

The world is now in an environmental tailspin. However, with technology that teaches us how

to create sustainable outcomes, sprinkled with common sense, we can achieve an environmen tal balance that can create safe spaces environ mentally for our children and for our future.

Faith Baptist Church was the recipient of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Green Legacy Award. Faith was chosen out of a pool of dozens of applicants for the award. The key differentia tor was the Solar Battery Storage project.

With that, Faith Baptist has the ability to totally exit the PG&E grid and generate 100% energy from its solar panels. That makes Faith Baptist a potential energy distributor.

With the help of California Interfaith Power and Light and energy experts from the U.S. Green Building Council, we held a ribbon-cutting cer emony on Nov. 14.

Joining us, among others, were Susan Stephen son, executive director of California Interfaith Power and Light, Oakland City Councilman Dan Kalb of District 1, Shayna HirschfieldGold, Oakland’s Climate Program manager and members of Faith Baptist and the Pentecostal community that shares our space and Green Building volunteers.

We bask in the glory of energy independence, because we now tap into clean energy from above and not dirty energy from below.

Publisher’s note: Rev Curtis Robinson also is a columnist for the God on Wall Street column for the Post News Group.

UC Academics Picket Campuses in Largest Strike of the Year

By Maxim Elramsisy California Black Media

Around 48,000 academic workers at all 10 University of California (UC) campuses went on strike Nov. 14, shut ting down classrooms and re search laboratories in the larg est employee walkout at any academic institution in history.

The post-doctoral scholars, teaching assistants and asso ciate instructors, graduate stu dent researchers, and academic researchers are represented by the United Auto Workers union in contract negotiations with the UC system.

Bargaining between the dis puting parties has been ongo ing for months, and while UC officials recently called for a third-party mediator to address remaining issues, they are con

tinuing to negotiate without one.

“When I was working in the lab, I worked 50-60 hours per week, and the salary was so

low that every month I really had to think about if I would make it through the month,” said Neil Sweeny, president of UAW 5810, which is represent ing the striking UC employees. “I have two small children and my partner was a full-time stu dent. We lived in campus fam ily housing, and we went to the campus foodbank every month to make sure that we had food. This was while my research was bringing in millions of dollars in research funding for the University.”

The workers are demanding better pay and benefits, in cluding wage increases tied to housing costs. Housing costs in California are among the highest in the country, espe

Students on the picket line on Nov. 16, 2022. Photo by Maxim Elramsisy, California Black Media

cially in the Los Angeles and San Francisco metropolitan areas.

Aside from UC campuses lo cated in the state’s biggest cit ies, many of the research uni versity system’s campuses are

nians including half of lowerincome residents worry every day about the high cost of gas oline and the increasing unaf fordability of various modes of transportation.

The union wants UC to cover regional transit passes, and ad ditional subsidies and incen tives for taking public transit or bikes to work.

Recently, UC has offered to

to block millions of Americans from getting much-needed re lief,” she stated.

White House officials maintain that the Secretary of Education received power from Congress to discharge student loan debt under the 2003 HEROES Act.

“The program is thus an un constitutional exercise of Con gress’s legislative power and must be vacated,” wrote Judge Mark Pittman, a Donald Trump nominee.

“In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful execu tive with a pen and a phone,” he continued.

Sheriff’s

in parts of the state that have relatively high costs of living, like Berkeley, San Diego and the Westside of Los Angeles.

“UC’s pay falls below all their self-identified peer in stitutions, including Harvard, Stanford, Yale and even public schools like the University of Michigan where living costs are far less,” the union said in a press release on Nov. 17.

UC maintains that “on aver age, UC rents systemwide are 20-25% below market rates, with some campuses provid ing even deeper discounts. UC has offered wage increases for all UAW members which would further help them meet their housing needs.”

The aggrieved employees paint a different picture.

“Being a TA pays for tuition but there is no way I can sup port myself in this city with what they pay,” said Victor E., a PhD. student and teacher’s assistant on strike at UCLA. “With teaching, my own coursework, and my research, there isn’t really any time to pick up another job. This has resulted in me taking out loans just to live and eat here. This shouldn’t be the case. With the amount of work the uni versity gets out of its graduate students, postdocs, and others, a living wage is a small ask… A number one ranked public university should be doing no less and certainly much, much more.”

Another priority for the work ers is transportation costs. The cost of gasoline has gone up around the world and accord ing to a statewide survey con ducted by The Public Policy Institute of California, an in dependent and non-partisan research firm, 43% of Califor

pay campus fees to extend “existing student-funded tran sit discounts,” to UAW mem bers.

Although agreements have yet to be announced, on Nov. 17 the UAW reported that “par ties made progress on issues related to Parking and Tran sit, Appointment Notification, and Paid Time Off.”

There continues to be a large gap between the salary asks and the UC proposals. On Nov. 18, a UAW statement said, “UC made another eco nomic proposal to Academic Researchers containing 4.5% raises that do not match the rate of inflation.”

However, they did report progress in some other areas.

“We have reached agreement on a few issues — such as health benefits improvements for Postdocs — which, while important, are not the major ones dividing the parties.”

As final examinations ap proach for students in the UC system, so does uncertainty.

“UAW remains ready to meet for round-the-clock negotia tions, but UC has not agreed to schedule sessions for the weekend,” a UAW release said. “Workers will be back on the strike lines Monday morn ing.”

Students, faculty and elected officials are showing support for the strikers. Some profes sors are cancelling classes, and some students are electing to walk out. California State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon tweeted “Academic workers are essential to the success of all of our @Uof California campuses. The UC must continue to bargain in good faith to reach an agree ment with the @UAW.”

Black Military Veterans: Our Past and Our Future

Under the president’s plan, borrowers who earned less than $125,000 in either 2020 or 2021 and married couples or heads of households who made less than $250,000 annually in those years are eligible to have up to $10,000 of their federal student loan debt forgiven.

If a qualifying borrower also received a federal Pell grant, the individual would receive as much as $20,000 of debt for giveness.

In October, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals placed an ad ministrative hold on Biden’s forgiveness program based on a suit filed by six GOP-led states.

In the most recent case in Tex as, one plaintiff did not qualify for the student loan forgiveness program because the federal government does not hold her loans.

The other plaintiff is only eli gible for $10,000 in debt relief because he did not receive a Pell grant.

They argued that they could not voice their disagreement with the program’s rules because the administration did not put it through a formal notice-andcomment rule-making process under the Administrative Pro cedure Act.

“This ruling protects the rule of law which requires all Ameri cans to have their voices heard by their federal government,” said Elaine Parker, president of the Job Creators Network Foundation, in a statement.

CNN reported that major Trump donor and former Home Depot CEO Bernie Marcus founded Job Creators Network Foundation.

Bertram Clark began collecting photographs, posters and memo rabilia of African Americans in the military in the 1980s. His dream was to someday open a Museum/ Culture Center.

The African Americans in the Military During WWII Exhibit is a pictorial history of the sacrifices and the contributions that African American men and women have made to our nation.

The exhibit honors these brave

Office:

Phone Scammers Threaten Arrest to Get Money

cultivate friendships you can count on. “Know your own light,” Obama says, and “Share it with an other person.”

Be authentic.

And finally, she says, “Tell the truth, do your best by others, keep perspective, stay tough. That’s ba sically been our recipe for getting by.”

Authorities say many people have already been taken by the scam and anyone getting such a call “should refuse to provide any personal information to the caller or simply hang up.”

By Tony Hicks Bay City News Foundation

The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office is warning people about a scam involv ing phone calls from some one claiming to be from the sheriff’s office, saying there’s a warrant for their arrest and they will be arrested unless they pay them money.

The sheriff’s office says on its Facebook page “The Sheriff’s Office does not have people pay fines or fees through re loadable prepaid cards. Nor are citizens ever contacted in this way.”

“The Sheriff’s Office would like to warn people about this scam which has multiple ver sions. Scammers have also had listeners make payment over the phone through reloadable prepaid cards that could be purchased at a local store.”

Authorities say many people have already been taken by the scam and anyone getting such a call “should refuse to provide any personal information to the caller or simply hang up.”

“Please contact your local law enforcement agency and no tify them of the incident to see if a report could be taken.”

Chances are that at some point in the past nearly three years, you got out of bed one morning and you weren’t even sure why. It’s been a long haul and you’re tired but “The Light We Carry” can get you to the next goal, then the next.

Author Michelle Obama is a true storyteller, and she uses a “show, not tell” method of writing. Read ers are lulled into an entertaining story of life in the White House, or a gossipy snip of Obama’s married life, or a shared memory from her childhood and BAM! the words seamlessly roll over to an easy, doable tip to survive in hard times. Nice surprise.

Readers will be further glad to know that this isn’t a cheerleading book. Instead of U-Rah-Rah, it’s U Can Do This, told in a calm, know ing manner. And if that’s what you need in this time of turmoil, let “The Light We Carry” help you back onto the ladder.

“The Light We Carry: Overcom ing in Uncertain Times” by Mi chelle Obama, c.2022, Crown, $32.50, 319 pages.

By Conway Jones

(Left) Bertram Clark, U.S. Navy Vietnam-era veteran, and curator of the African Americans in the Military During WWII Exhibit, examines a display at the San Le andro Main Library. / Photo credit: Conway Jones

(Left) Bertram Clark, U.S. Navy Vietnam-era veteran, and cu rator of the African Americans in the Military During WWII Exhibit, examines a display at the San Leandro Main Library.

/ Photo credit: Conway Jones

Students on the picket line on Nov. 16, 2022. Photo by Maxim Elramsisy, California Black Media

Texas Judge Stops President Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Program

Michelle Obama’s New Book Gives Advice on Managing Difficult Times

Two Richmond Institutions Host Thanksgiving Giveaways

By Mike Kinney and Mike Aldax The Richmond Standard

Phila Burger Station and sever al U.C. Berkeley sports teams brought the spirit of giving to Richmond this week.

Led by Phila Burger Station at 1100 23rd St., community organizations and volunteers gathered on Sunday in the parking lot of the place that serves up some of the East Bay’s best burgers to give local families in need free turkeys and all the fixings ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

On Tuesday, members of the UC Berkeley baseball, vol leyball and beach volleyball teams came to Richmond to help distribute holiday dinners to financially distressed fami lies at the Bay Area Rescue Mission (BARM).

At Phila’s on Sunday, about 250 turkeys were passed out to families and individuals in need. In addition to the takehome turkeys, attendees en joyed other food giveaways, including from the popular mobile food truck Loaded Chicken, as well as Lalos Asada’s from Oakland, which brought a grill to cook up BBQ chicken with mac and cheese and coleslaw. Taquiza’s Mon toya from Pittsburg served up tasty baked beans and corn on the cob as well.

event at Phila’s include La Dif ferencia Car Club, Richmond Fire Fighters Local 188, Rich mond Wholesale, Richmond Tire, Living Hope Neighbor hood Church, Lalos Asados, Kiwanis Club, Brown Be rets, El Chaparro, Harencida de la Bahia, Pollo Don Rafa, Madriz Tree Landscaping, El Mexicano Deli, Amigo Tire, Sgt. Virgil Thomas and Fam ily, Rosita’s Envios, Bay Area Peacekeepers, Bob’s Cleaners and Official Saucy Apparel @ Alarturo61.

BARM hosted its annual tur key dinner giveaway Tuesday morning at its facility at 123 Macdonald Ave. The nonprofit, which provides food, shelter, and many more resources from its Iron Triangle headquarters, aimed to serve 800 families in need a “Box of Hope” that in cludes a turkey, dressing and all the fixings for a traditional holiday meal.

This year, BART teamed up with UC Berkeley Athletics to ensure a successful distribu tion on Tuesday. Jessie Stew art, community engagement director for the Athletic De partment and former executive director Richmond Promise, said student-athletes want to use their platform to have a positive community impact.

“The housing crisis and eco nomic and racial inequality is

policymakers.

The project also successfully prompted state legislation to in crease awareness on the challeng es and financial barriers residents face when seeking careers in early childhood education, which dis proportionately affect women and people of color.

Executive director at Commu nity Equity Collaborative Dayna Chung said now is the time to in vest toward an equitable learning workforce amidst the worsening educator shortage.

“Early childhood educators are an essential ingredient in the hu man infrastructure that supports healthy families and strong, local economies,” Chung said. “Un fortunately, COVID-19 revealed

and exacerbated systemic inequi ties, including poverty wages that drive the early educator shortage and force roughly 1 in 3 parents to take time off or leave their jobs.”

TeacherUp plans to also provide students with tutoring, scholar ships, laptops, food vouchers, transportation assistance and oth er services from Upward Scholars’ other programs, like NannyUp.

“With its roots in the Teacher Pipeline Project and its future with our organization, TeacherUp will bring real solutions to early edu cators who can benefit from our track record of delivering academ ic and career support for adult im migrants from low-income house holds,” said Upward Scholars Executive Director Linda Prieto.

Black Military Veterans: Our Past and Our Future

Continued from page 8

and honorable patriots who fought for the freedom of others on for eign soil while they were not af forded their full rights as citizens in their own country.

The exhibit’s more than 100 pho tographs, posters and articles are from long-time Oakland residents and Vietnam-era veterans.

Clark’s exhibit was on display at the San Leandro Library as a part of the Veterans’ Day celebrations.

“The African Americans in the Military During WWII Exhibit

reveals American history that was, for whatever reason, hidden from most of us,” said David Moragne, a U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam-era veteran.

Clark is happy and honored to share his collection with anyone and everyone who wants to learn about the history, the culture and the contributions that people of African descent have made to America and to the world.

“My goal is to secure this African Americans in the Military During WWII Exhibit in a museum or a university or a private collection, thereby ensuring its place in histo ry for the benefit of future genera tions,” said Bertram, a U.S. Navy, Vietnam-era veteran.

CITY OF OAKLAND REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR ACCELA CONSULTANT FOR SPECIAL ACTIVITY PERMITS

Contract Amount: No Specific Amount Terms: 2 Years

Project Description: The City is seeking an Accela certified vendor with at least 5-years of experience with the platform to create a Special Activity Permits Module within the City’s existing Accela Programs. Pre-Proposal Meeting (Mandatory): Thursday, December 8, 2022, 1:00 p.m., Dial-in information is as follows:

Please follow this link to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81208296777

Or One tap mobile: US: +16699009128,,81208296777# or +16694449171,,81208296777#

Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 9128 or +1 669 444 9171 or +1 719 359 4580 or +1 253 205 0468 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 646 931 3860 or +1 689 278 1000 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 305 224 1968 or +1 309 205 3325 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 360 209 5623 or +1 386 347 5053 or +1 507 473 4847 or +1 564 217 2000

Webinar ID: 812 0829 6777

International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kenaEcGyaR

Proposal Submittal Deadline: Submittals are due no later than January 17, 2023 by 2:00 P.M. via iSupplier. Please log on to iSupplier to submit your proposal online before the 2:00 P.M. deadline. Please register in iSupplier at least seven days prior to submittal to avoid last minute complications. In addition, please submit an email copy of the proposal to the Greg Minor, at GMinor@oaklandca.gov. Questions regarding online submittal through iSupplier must be directed to isupplier@oaklandca.gov to the attention of Paula Peav.

NOTE: (1) Proposals not received at the above location by the stated deadline will be returned unopened; (2) If using a courier service, please secure guaranteed delivery to the required location and time as noted above.

Reminders:

• All who wish to participate in this RFP must register (at least 5 days prior to submittal due date) through iSupplier at (https://www.oaklandca.gov/services/register-with- isupplier) to avoid last minute submittal complications and receive addenda/ updates on this RFP.

• Did not receive and invitation? Start Early with iSupplier registration. Upon completion of registration, send an email to iSupplier@oaklandca.gov listing “RFP for Automobile subrogation” as the subject and advise of an invitation to the RFP. DWES will add your business to the RFP invitation.

• Experiencing bumps when registering? Send email to isupplier@oaklandca.gov or advise DWES support staff that you need HELP to expedite registration for this RFP!

Attendees also enjoyed live music and free haircuts from Kenneth Murray, owner of Division 1 Barber Lounge in Rodeo.

The giveaway got its start when Alex Valencia, owner of local small businesses Rosita’s En vios and Cloud-9, approached Phila Burger Station owner Sam Lee about holding it in the restaurant parking lot. On Sunday, Valencia noted how the event is growing each year.

“These are hard times for fam ilies and our community is get ting more involved to help be of holiday assistance to these families and individuals who come here,” he said.

The lengthy list of sponsors contributing to this year’s

a very visible and critical issue here in the Bay Area and many of our students are interested in getting involved to do what they can to learn about and con tribute to this issue in meaning ful ways,” Stewart said.

BARM President and CEO Bram Begonia said the goal is to ensure families facing eco nomic hardship can share a de licious meal together.

“Families in our neighborhood struggle to feed their families on a daily basis while still keep ing a roof over their heads,” Begonia said. “Purchasing a complete holiday dinner is a splurge that is completely be yond their reach, especially with the skyrocketing cost of groceries.”

Nonprofit Launches Effort to Support Immigrants Seeking Early Childhood Education Careers

an academic and career support initiative called TeacherUp, which will help residents enroll in col lege, connect with employers and receive wraparound support, like stipends.

• The following policies apply to this RFP: • Equal Benefits • Revised L/SLBE (waived but L/SLBE participation is strongly encouraged) • Living Wage • Campaign Reform Act • Professional Services Local Hire • Prompt Payment • Arizona Boycott • Dispute Disclosure • Border Wall Prohibition • Sanctuary City Contracting and Investment Ordinance.

• Please read Contract Boilerplate and Insurance Requirements (Schedule Q) in preparation for your success.

Contacts for Answers to Questions Regarding:

1. For answers to written emailed questions, send to: Paula Peav via email at, PPeav@oaklandca. gov (510) 238-3190.

2. For iSupplier registration support, contact: isupplier@oaklandca.gov

3. Project Manager: Greg Minor via email at GMinor@oaklandca.gov (510) 238-6370.

Asha Reed, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council, (Monday, November 28, 2022) The City Council reserves the right to reject all proposals.

By Olivia Wynkoop Bay City News Foundation

A San Mateo County-based non profit announced on Nov. 17 that it is launching a program to sup port immigrants seeking careers in early childhood education.

Upward Scholars is introducing

The program builds on the 2018 workforce development pilot called the Teacher Pipeline Proj ect, developed by the organiza tion Community Equity Collab orative to address the shortage of early childhood educators across the Bay Area’s peninsula. It was backed by local community col leges, schools, nonprofits and

The 2021 Bay Area Rescue Mission (BARM) turkey dinner giveaway. Photo by Kathy Chouteau.

Workers at Phila Burger Station assist with giveaway on Sunday. Photo by Mike Kinney.

The County of San Mateo, California logo.

(San Mateo County via Bay City News)

Tiny Homes Offer Hope for the Holidays and Beyond

donate funds for us to build a Tiny Home if they want to do nate the money to the ministry we will build a tiny home and name it after our donors.

Know that your donations will be able to take a whole family off the street during this cold season.

lacks a fixed, regular, and ade quate nighttime residence, such as those living in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or places not meant for habitation, or sleeping on our streets.

Please spread the word and con tact us in any way you can help our Tiny Homes Community Project with Rev. Ken Lackey.

Drop off location: 6101 Inter national Blvd., Oakland, CA

Or you can attend our next

TWO Major Events:

• Tiny Homes Fundraising Event on Saturday, Decem ber 10, 2022

Rep. Karen Bass Makes History as L.A.’s First Black Woman Mayor

Rick Caruso, conceded that Bass had won the election Wednesday evening, just over a week after the polls closed in the deadlocked race that elec tion watchers said until this week had no apparent winner until now.

the June 7 primary election.

home for under $40,000.

Each and every person that wants to help out and eradicate the homeless problem in the city of Oakland at this time can

In addition, we are open to getting sponsor an entire Tiny Homes Community Park and we have a different location that will be designated for home less veterans, the elderly, single mothers or single fathers, and any individual or family who

3 ways to contact us:

• By Phone/toll-free number: 1-833-233-8900 ext. 1

• By Email: TinyHomesC@ gmail.com

• By Appointment/Donation

COMMENTARY: Will Progressive Victories Mean a More Democratic, Inclusive Oakland?

Continued from page 1

According to civil rights attorney Walter Riley, who worked with other local leaders and activists during the election to mobilize progressive voters, that work of mobilizing the community will continue.

“This election was about a vision for Oakland, affordable housing, housing the unhoused, stopping closure of predominately Black and Brown schools, cleaning up the city, crime, and criminal jus tice,” he said. “The entrenched op position will be divisive, (and) we will build unity.”

The final results of the election were apparently posted on Mon day by the Alameda County Reg istrar of Voters. However, before the election is official, the results must still be audited by the regis trar and certified by the Oakland City Council.

total of 113,636 ballots cast.

In a statement released Monday, Mayor-elect Thao said, “I’m also very humbled to be here. Fifteen years ago, I was living in my car with my baby. I’ve been through a lot to get to this moment.”

One of her top priorities is public safety. “That involves doubling down on the violence prevention programs that we know reduce violent crime, addressing root causes of crime by working to create more jobs and educational opportunities, filling vacancies in our police department with expe rienced and diverse officers, pro viding real support for victims, and redoubling our efforts to get guns off our streets,” she said.

Thao also pledged to “make Oak land the most proactive city in California on housing and home lessness. We’re going to have an aggressive housing policy that protects renters, fights displace ment, and treats our unhoused with the dignity they deserve.”

with county residents in the last decade.

Price’s victory, which will have an impact on the push for criminal justice reform nationwide, will be closely watched by both reform advocates and well-funded sup porters of the status quo.

In an email to supporters after the election, Price wrote, “We knew this election was going to be an exclamation point in history for Alameda County. The DA’s of fice has been an untouched tower of legacy appointed and unchal lenged District Attorneys.”

“For the last 10 years, the DA’s office has stood in the way of the progressive reforms ushered in by our California Legislature and endorsed by Alameda County voters,” wrote Price, who was de scribed by the S.F. Chronicle as a “staunch reform advocate.”

Price was behind early in the race but ultimately won 53.14% of the vote, to Chief Assistant District Attorney Terry Wiley’s 46.86%.

Progressive Majority Flips School Board

• Tiny Homes Community Building Workshop with the help of our community and local partners in the Bay Area.

Contact us for more details of these two events or any ways you can help in this season.

For additional information, vis it: www.postnewsgroup.com.

the Oakland Board of Education elections, educator Jennifer Brou hard and union organizer Valarie Bachelor, will join Boardmembers Mike Hutchinson and VanCedric Williams to form a majority on the seven-member board against clos ings schools.

Brouhard, District 2 board mem ber, won 63.89% of the vote. She is joined by Bachelor, District 6 board member, who received 54.23% of the vote.

In the District 4 school board, two progressive candidates split the vote, losing to Nick Resnick, who received 51.25% of the vote.

Progressive-Leaning Candidates Win City Council Races

With victories in three races, the City Council’s progressive alli ance is likely to absorb fresh en ergy and new ideas and may be even stronger than it was in the past four years, according to sev eral observers.

Nikki Fortunato Bas, Oakland City Councilmember for District 2, won reelection with 67.79% of the vote. Attorney Janani Ram achandran won in District 4 with 68.47% of the vote, and Kevin Jenkins won in District 6 with 84.22% of the vote.

A former Republican turned Democrat, Caruso told his supporters in a letter “the cam paign has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I am so proud of my cam paign. We held true to the core values of our family - integrity, honesty, and respect for all.”

A billionaire real estate devel oper, Caruso owns residential and retail properties around Southern California, including The Grove at Farmers Market in Los Angeles, Americana at Brand in Glendale and the Commons at Calabasas.

The vote was virtually tied on Election Day, but each subse quent update to the tally ex tended the lead for Bass. The counting will continue until ev ery ballot is accounted for, but according to the AP, she has ac crued an insurmountable lead.

Almost 75% of voters in L.A. County voted by mail in this election, contributing to some of the delay in announcing a winner.

According to California state law, each mail-in ballot must have its signature verified be fore it can be counted, and bal lots are received for seven days after the election, so long as they are postmarked by Elec tion Day.

A record amount of money was spent on the race, with Caruso’s campaign vastly outspending Bass. The Caruso campaign reported a total expenditure of $104,848,887.43.

Bass benefited from endorse ments from Democrats at all levels of government, includ ing former President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, California Senator Alex Padilla and the Los Angeles Democratic Party. One notable holdout was Gov. Gavin New som.

Kellie Todd Griffin, Conven ing Founder of the California Black Women’s Collective — a collective of hundreds of Black women from various profes sional backgrounds across the state — referenced Bass’ background as a strong and re spected voice for Los Angeles’ African American community.

“This is a victory that we are all vested in because it represents the power of what we can do through community organiz ing and collaboration,” Grif fin said. “Mayor-Elect Bass is the change we need right now to ensure today’s most press ing issues will be addressed in a way that doesn’t leave us be hind. We are proud because this a victory for Black women and our community.”

Bass is well known across Los Angeles for building cross-cul tural, multi-racial coalitions of people and being able to rally them around causes.

During the crack epidemic of the 1980s, she was a physi cian’s assistant and a clinical instructor at the Keck School of Medicine of USC Physi cian Assistant Program who became a leading voice for vic tims affected by the highly ad dictive substance derived from cocaine.

Bass promised that her admin istration will be inclusive and “will bring everyone to the table.”

City

Thao won 50.30% of the final vote, compared with Taylor’s 49.70%, beating him by 682 votes out of a

Panel Discusses Supreme Court Case Threatening End of Affirmative Action

ward transforming the nation’s consciousness on race through law, social sciences, and the arts.

“(Ending Affirmative Action) essentially, completely upends our ability to level the playing field and remediate for centu ries of discrimination and mar ginalization,” said Holder. “If you do not have intervention and take affirmative steps to counteract continued systemic racism, it’s going to take hun dreds of years to repair those gaps. It will not happen by it self.”

Holder is also a member of the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Ameri cans, a nine-member panel established after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3121, authored by then-Assem blymember Shirley Weber. The task force is investigating the history and costs of slavery in California and is charged with recommending an appropriate remedy for the state to imple ment.

Also participating on the End of Affirmative Action panel were Sally Chen, education equity program manager at Chinese for Affirmative Action, and Sarah C. Zearfoss, senior assis tant dean for the University of Michigan Law School.

Shilpa Ram — senior staff at torney for Education Equity, Public Advocates and a board member of the ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter — was the moderator.

On Oct. 31, SCOTUS listened to oral arguments in two cases challenging race-conscious student admissions policies used by Harvard University and the University of North Caroli na (UNC) to promote creating diverse student populations at their schools.

The case emerged in 2014, when SFFA, a nonprofit advo cacy organization opposed to affirmative action, brought an action alleging Harvard violat ed Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (Title VI).

SFFA argues that Harvard in stituted a race-conscious ad

For the first time in almost two de cades Oakland will have a school board that is opposed to charter school expansion and willing to stand up to state pressure to close neighborhood schools.

The two progressive winners of

missions program that discrim inated against Asian American applicants. SFFA also alleges that UNC is violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, by unfairly us ing race to provide preference to underrepresented minority applicants to the detriment of white and Asian American ap plicants.

Chen, of Chinese for Affirma tive Action, is a first-generation college graduate from a work ing-class immigrant family. She is an alumna of Harvard College. She was one of eight students and alumni that gave oral testimony in support of af firmative action in the 2018 fed eral lawsuit Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard.

“Particularly as these cases were taking advantage of a claim that Asian American stu dents don’t benefit from Affir mative Action or are harmed; we really saw how this was a misrepresentation of our com munity needs,” Chen said of hers and seven other students’ testimonies. “My testimony really spoke to that direct ex perience and making clear that Asian American students and communities are in support of affirmative action.”

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Or

Lena Tam Elected New Supervisor of District 3 Lena Tam, former vice mayor for the City of Alameda, was elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to serve District 3. She garnered 52.10% of the vote to Kaplan’s 47.90%. Tam had the backing of all three mayors of the cities in the district — San Lean dro’s Pauline Cutter, City of Al ameda’s Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf — as well as the sitting members of the board.

She is replacing Wilma Chan who died last year after she was hit by a car while walking her dog in Alameda.

der 11246, requiring all gov ernment contractors and sub contractors to take affirmative action to expand job opportuni ties for minorities.

Fifty-seven years later, a de cision by SCOTUS could be reached at the end of the cur rent term in late June or early July 2023 banning affirmative action. The decision would dis mantle race-conscious admis sion policies that overwhelm ingly help BIPOC students create a better future for them selves, members of the panel stated.

“Schools take race into account as a factor in admission because that is the single-best, most ef fective way to create a racially diverse class,” Zearfoss said.

Zearfoss directs the University of Michigan Law School Jurist Doctorate (JD) and Master of Law (LLM) admissions and su pervises the Office of Financial Aid.

California ended affirmative action policies in 1996 with the passage of Proposition 209.

Prop 209 states that the govern ment and public institutions cannot discriminate against or

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Caruso himself contributed almost $98 million to his own campaign, which he spent pri marily on advertising.

“Despite being outspent 12 to 1, Congresswoman Karen Bass proved L.A. voters can’t be bought,” said Kerman Mad dox, the finance committee chair of Bass 4 Mayor.

Vastly outspent from the start of her candidacy, Bass also won

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tiple lawsuits pending and addi tional regulatory hurdles to cross. The Mega Grant criteria appear to require that proposed projects clear the likely hurdles they might encounter along the way,

The Howard Terminal proposal does not meet that criterion.

Of course, it is also possible that Fisher, for whom this taxpayer lar gesse is intended, will still end up moving his team to Las Vegas.

According to a poll in December, 46% of Oakland residents do not support using public money for this project, compared to 37% who do. The poll also found that even among A’s fans, who compromise a 53% majority of the electorate, support is tepid at best.

Oakland residents already have real transportation concerns that the city needs to address: traffic congestion, along with its impact on climate and public health; de ferred maintenance of roadways; gaps in the availability of reliable public transportation; the efficient movement of goods through the supply chain, including at the Port of Oakland. But residents, stake holders and experts were never asked how they might want to spend a Mega Grant. No hearings; no webinars; no surveys — not even consideration for existing projects in Oakland’s Capital Im provement Plan.

And, ironically, this proposal is chasing transportation dollars for a project that nearly all the trans portation stakeholders at the port, including those running container trucks and trains through our city, agree will make congestion and safety situations worse. In the absence of the independent financial analysis promised ear

“The challenges we face affect us all, and all of us must be a part of our solutions,” she said in a prepared statement. “Los Angeles is the greatest city on Earth. I know, if we come together, hold each other ac countable, and focus on the best of who we are and what we can achieve, we can create bet ter neighborhoods today and a better future for our children.

lier this year, port stakeholders commissioned an independent re port from Nora Agha, a professor of sports management at the Uni versity of San Francisco and ex pert on stadium projects. Agha’s report concluded that revenue projections for the development are overestimated, project costs are underestimated and indirect costs are not accounted for.

There are numerous examples of sports deals failing to deliver the fiscal returns promised by local governments: the Atlanta Braves stadium, where office buildings penciled in to pay for the stadium were never built; the University of Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center left the city $28 million in debt; the Washington Nationals’ fail ure to build 46,000 square feet of promised commercial and retail space alongside the baseball sta dium.

Here in Oakland, much of the pro forma for the Howard Terminal development relies on revenues from office, retail and high-end condos — all of which have a risky outlook in the post-pandemic economy. These critical elements of the project financing may never get built.

Significant opportunities to im prove and build up our region with the help of the federal government are few and far between. Using them to support a private devel opment for which there is no ap proved development agreement is a bad idea. The city of Oakland’s Mega Grant application sacrifices critical funding for the Bay Area’s real infrastructure needs.

Kitty Kelly Epstein is a scholar, an Oakland resident, host of a radio show and the author of three books on Oakland and urban affairs

Election results:

Sheng Thao Is Oakland’s Next Mayor

Councilmember Sheng Thao on Nov. 8 squeaked out a victory in her race with Councilmember Loren Taylor, who was backed by Mayor Schaaf. The race was widely seen as a referendum on Schaaf’s eight years as mayor.

Pamela Price Will Be Alameda County District Attorney

The election of civil rights at torney Pamela Price as the first Black District Attorney broke the chain of succession of handpicked white district attorneys who maintained the inequitable criminal justice system that has become increasingly out of touch

Sheng Thao, Mayor of Oakland

Pamela Price, Alameda County District Attorney

Valerie Bachelor, District 6 Oakland Board of Education

A Federal Grant For a New Waterfront Ballpark Would Help the A’s Far More Than Oakland