Pastor J. Alfred Smith Sr. Endorses Rebecca Kaplan

In supporting Rebecca Kaplan for the Oakland City Council, at-large seat,  Pastor J. Alfred Smith Sr. said,  “I am proud to be supporting Rebecca Kaplan for the Oakland City Council.   Kaplan will take action to help solve real problems and improve all of our lives - including in housing, jobs, safety, and respect for one another.  I trust Rebecca to pay attention to our needs and make thoughtful decisions, to strive for an “understanding heart,” to do justice.   I know Rebecca not only as a politician, but also as someone who, like myself, has studied, and has a love for, ancient Hebrew scripture.   Spending time with Kaplan reminds me of the 133rd Psalm: ‘How good and sweet it is, to dwell together in unity.’  ”
Rev. J. Alfred Smith Sr., is the senior Pastor at Oakland’s Allen Temple Baptist Church, and past President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

Hundreds Gather to Listen to Obama Speech

By Gene Hazzard

Hundreds of Oaklanders gathered at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle in downtown Oakland last Thursday to hear Barak Obama officially accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for President.  The event brought out the cities politicians, religious and community leaders and families with their children, all anxious to witness the historic occasion.  The Post was there to take picture and document the event.

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Willa Dellums, 89

Mayor Ron Dellums’ mother, Willa Dellums, passed away Sunday morning at 3am in Oakland. She was 89 years old.
“Naturally, I am very saddened by the passing of my mother who meant so much to me and to my family,” said Mayor Dellums. “She instilled in me the values and integrity that allow me to be the person that I am today. She was an incredible person who only wanted the best for me, as I developed both personally and politically. As I was growing up in Oakland, she prayed that I wouldn’t go down the wrong road and that support allowed me to pursue an education and taught me that listening to others is not only important, but an essential tool in order to make a difference. Even though she did not attend college, she possessed a tremendous thirst for knowledge and a visionary spirit. My mother imparted on my sister and me a strong belief in the value of education and, along with my father, pushed us to achieve at every step. I believe she lived out her dreams of education through her children and I am very proud of that.

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Bush Signs H.R. 5501

President George W. Bush is joined by Barbara Lee (right) and Annette Lantos, right, and invited guests last week in the East Room of the White House, as he signs H.R. 5501, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008.

White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian.

Justice is Waiting for Chauncey Bailey

Standing on the spot where Chauncey Bailey was killed a year ago, some members of the Oakland Post and friends are shown among the four dozen visitors at the 10:00am morning Buddhist service led by John Le Tung. The staff are shown holding the copies of the plans for a Bailey Memorial in Vietnam. Others have copies of the Reporters Without Borders Petition calling for a federal investigation into the assassination of Bailey. Left to right, Stephen Fitch, advertising, Godfrey Lee, photographer, Paul Cobb, Publisher, Don Davis, developer who traveled to Vietnam with John Le and Bailey, John Le Tung, Jorge Portugal, El Mundo, Gay P. Cobb, Oakland PIC Director, Mitch Hardin, friend of Bailey and James “Jimmy Mack” McClendon, Director of the Original Passions, a group formerly managed by Bailey. During the day, two other observances were conducted.

Photo by Gene Hazzard.

Dellums and Police Join Night Out Block Parties

Mayor Ron Dellums and Police Chief Wayne Tucker visited Patty Bowie and Cherilynn Abaye and four neighborhoods last Tuesday as part of Oakland’s participation with the National Night Out Block Parties against crime.
Dellums said   “When neighbors know each other, neighborhoods become safer. I am confident that the National Night Out block parties will again serve as a great motivation for people to get out and get to know their community.”
National Night Out is a nationwide event organized by Town Watch Association. It has been held in Oakland since 2003.  Last year over 20,000 people participated through 317 block parties.  This year more than 380 block parties were held.

Lee’s Statement on Violence Against Women

Congresswoman Barbara Lee delivered the following remarks during a press conference in Mexico City on Monday regarding “Zero Tolerance: Stop Violence Against Women and Girls, Stop HIV/AIDS, Case Study of Country Scale Up.”
“I want to begin by thanking the Global AIDS Alliance, especially Paul Zeitz and Lisa Schechtman and all the staff for their work in producing this important report,” Congresswoman Lee said. “I am pleased to be with you here today to provide a brief Congressional perspective on the value of this report and on the need for policy makers to integrate programs to more comprehensively address violence against women and children within the context of HIV prevention programs.
“As we know the global AIDS pandemic is in many ways driven by the unequal status of women in the developing world.   A number of critical factors that make women and girls more vulnerable to HIV include:
· Lack of access to education, independent economic means, or property and inheritance rights. [Read more]

California Hotel Tenants File $53 Million Claim

By Lynda Carson

On Wednesday August 6, a claim for $53 million was filed against the City of Oakland, by 53 residents of the California Hotel who believe that some city officials may have been involved in a scheme to violate their rights.
Under the regulatory agreement between California’s Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC), Oakland Community Housing, Inc. (OCHI), and CaHon Associates, the regulatory agreement involving low-cost loans provided that OCHI agreed to provide low-income housing to the tenants of the California Hotel for a 30 year period. The TCAC agreement has recently been violated after OCHI and some city officials moved to force the existing residents out of the old historic hotel, and threatened to cut off the water, gas and electricity to the premises.  [Read more]

Labor Celebrates Waste Contract for 500 Workers

Group looks ahead to June 30th when contracts expire for 50,000

Darrell Steinberg, President Pro Tem of the California Senate, joined more than 650 labor and community leaders at the annual AFl-CIO Alameda Labor Council dinner to honor the 500 trash collectors who endured the four-week lockout last July. With ceremonial picket signs in tow, they announced that Waste Management finally signed a contract after eight months, and looked ahead to June 30th, when contracts will expire for 50,000 workers throughout Alameda County.
At the event, leaders, led by Mayor Ron Dellums, pointed out that though trash collectors went back to work on July 29, 2007 and restored public service, they worked in good faith for eight more months. A five-year agreement was finally signed on March 18th, 2008 and stipulated that the company cannot lock out workers, nor can the union go on strike. Both sides have committed to binding arbitration in the event of future disputes. Waste Management will continue to cover full health insurance premiums, including potential annual increases of 12 percent, and workers will receive roughly 5 percent pay increases. [Read more]

Judge Orders Hodge Back on the Ballot

City Ordered to Explain Why Nomination Petition Was Invalidated

By Paul Cobb

In a dramatic legal move, Greg Hodge, candidate for City Council in District 3 (West Oakland, Adams Point, Downtown, Jack London Square) received a favorable ruling from Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch in his bid to be listed on the June 3rd primary ballot. After about 2 weeks of unusual maneuvers by the City Clerk’s office, the judge rendered an order which requires the City Attorney’s office to show cause why Hodge, a current Oakland Board of Education member, should not be allowed to pursue his candidacy against incumbent Nancy Nadel and political newcomer Sean Sullivan in the upcoming elections.

After sending a certified letter informing the Hodge for Oakland campaign that it had met the requirement of collecting at least 50 signatures from registered voters who live in his district, the City Clerk reversed its decision. In the papers filed in court on Tuesday, the City Clerk identified attorney Stuart Flashman and activist James Vann, two of Nadel’s supporters, as the parties who requested that the matter be reviewed and reopened. It is unclear whether Councilwoman Nadel played a direct role in overturning the Clerk’s decision. Hodge was never informed of the challenge by Nadel’s supporters. The Clerk’s office maintains that Hodge is one signature shy of qualifying for the election. [Read more]

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