Alameda County to Operate San Leandro Hospital?

By Karen Holzmeister
The Daily Review

Could San Leandro Hospital, with its many vacant patient beds and bustling emergency room, become Alameda County’s next public hospital?
County officials are in private and ongoing talks with Sutter Health, which operates San Leandro Hospital, to use the centrally located medical complex as a backup to Oakland’s Highland Hospital.
Half of the 27,000 patients who come yearly to San Leandro Hospital’s ER are Oakland residents, county Health Care Services Agency Director Dave Kears said two weeks ago.
George Bischalaney, chief executive officer of Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, a Sutter Health affiliate, said the county has made “an expression of interest in the San Leandro campus, if decisions made in the future result in its being available.”
Discussions “are occurring” between the county and Sutter, acknowledged Ruben Briones, deputy chief of staff to county Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker, whose district includes San Leandro.
Neither man would disclose whether the county is interested in buying or leasing San Leandro Hospital, or contracting with Sutter for services.
Sutter has the first option to buy the hospital at East 14th Street and 138th Avenue, which, as far as the general community knows, is in limbo.
Sutter Health and Eden Medical Center operate San Leandro Hospital through June 2010 under a contract with the Eden Township Healthcare District, which owns San Leandro Hospital. San Leandro residents and local medical workers, who fear Sutter will convert San Leandro Hospital for other uses if it buys the facility, are lobbying local and county-elected representatives to keep the 122-bed hospital and its ER open.
The county now is reviewing plans for a new Eden Medical Center. The residents and medical workers want approval of that complex linked to a requirement that Sutter continue to subsidize operating costs at San Leandro Hospital, where Kears said only 40 percent of the beds are filled, on average. Income from insurance and patient payments also does not cover the bills.
“What will happen if there is a disaster?” San Leandro resident Gloria Pineo asked the San Leandro City Council on Monday. “What if we cannot get to Eden?”
About 50 health care workers and former San Leandro Hospital patients picketed the county administration building in Oakland on Tuesday, where supervisors postponed discussion of the Eden plan until May 12.

San Lorenzo Schools Cut More Positions

By Jason Sweeney

San Lorenzo High School library technician Margaret Casey criticized the San Lorenzo Unified School District board and Superintendent Dr. Dennis Byas at a board meeting Tuesday night.
The district has been making budget cuts attempting to close a $7 million shortfall for the next school year.
Due to the cuts, Casey, who works seven hours a day, is seeing her hours reduced to two per day. The pay scale for her position is between $16 and $20 an hour. She said her income is already below the poverty line, and she will be forced to seek a second job.
“I want you to look at me. I am a person,” Casey said to the board. “Shame on you. You gotta do what you gotta do, but shame on you.”
During the meeting, Byas came under fire from Casey and Cathy Lee, president of the San Lorenzo Education Association, for his salary of around $250,000 per year.
Lee said 77 full-time teachers and counselors have received layoff notices, and another 60 temporary teachers are being released, “which is 23 percent of all teachers and counselors in San Lorenzo.”
She questioned how the district could justify laying off so many teachers while paying the superintendent a salary and benefits package that amounts to more than $300,000 per year.
Following public comment, the board voted unanimously to reduce the hours and cut several full-time and part-time nonteaching positions, including library technicians, a campus security guard and bilingual teaching assistants.
At its meeting last month, the board voted to cut about $3.2 million in ongoing expenses and $4.2 million in one-time expenses to make up for the budget shortfall. With the personnel cuts, class sizes for the next school year were raised from 20 students to 24.5 in kindergarten through third grade and in the ninth grade. At that meeting, parents, teachers and students filled the district’s main office and flowed out into the halls.
The district has an annual budget of about $60 million and employs about 1,100 people, with a total student enrollment of about 11,000.

Celebrating Malcolm X

In honor of the 84th birthday of Malcolm X, May 19, Sylvie Bayeaux and The Malcolm X Theater Project present Michael Lange in a one-man performance re-enacting Malcolm’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech.
Michael Lange has made hundreds of appearances nationwide performing speeches of Malcolm X over the last two decades. Lange, an Oakland native, teaches at San Jose State.  He is an accomplished actor, playwright, director, and musician. He is also the son of author and former television personality, Jerri Lange, and brother of actor Ted Lange.
An Oakland performance will take place on Sunday, May 24, 2 p.m., at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, 1616 Franklin St.  The cost is $15 or $10 for students and seniors at the door.  Advance tickets are available for $10 at brownpapertickets.com.
A San Francisco performance will take place on Saturday, May 30, 2 p.m., at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) at 685 Mission St.  The cost is included in the $10 general or $5 student and senior admission to the museum.
For information contact (510) 485-6338.

Black Police Group Hired to Review BART Police

The BART Board of Directors has unanimously selected a national organization of Black police officers to conduct a comprehensive top-to-bottom review of the BART Police Department in the wake of the Jan. 1 killing of Oscar Grant III on the Fruitvale BART Station platform.
“The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) will look into all aspects of the BART Police Department,” BART Boardmember Carole Ward Allen said.
Ward Allen chairs the Board’s newly created BART Police Department Review Committee whose aim is to provide greater focus on the exercise of BART Police responsibilities.
The review will take approximately four months and cost $127,688.
NOBLE was hired to provide an independent assessment of the fundamental aspects of BART police, including recruitment, hiring and promotion training and equipment in the  use of force, conduct of investigations, diversity, cultural awareness and sensitivity and avoidance of racial profiling; and  policies and procedures to determine if they are comprehensive and reflect best practices.
“The goal of the study will be to provide BART with evaluation results and recommendations that will help us identify any changes we need to make to ensure the BART Police Department is structured and administered effectively and that the department follows the industry’s best practices as appropriate in the environment in which BART operates,” Joel Keller, Vice Chair of the BART Police Department Review Committee said.
As part of this process, NOBLE proposes community engagement approach that is designed to bring law enforcement and concerned citizens together to identify community concerns and apply principles of community policing to create a shared vision and joint strategy to address concerns.
“What we really liked about NOBLE’s proposal is that the organization truly demonstrated it understands the value of engaging the community in the process while at the same time it showed it has the expertise to conduct a comprehensive top to bottom review of our police force,” BART Boardmember Lynette Sweet said.
Founded in September 1976,  NOBLE has a long history helping numerous police departments across the country.

INDICTED

Grand Jury Charges Yusuf Bey IV and Antoine Mackey in Chauncey Bailey’s Murder

By Thomas Peele,
Bob Butler and Mary
Fricker, The Chauncey
Bailey Project

A grand jury on Wednesday indicted Yusuf Bey IV, the scion of the defunct Your Black Muslim Bakery, on three counts of murder for ordering the killings of journalist Chauncey Bailey and two other men in 2007, an Alameda County deputy district attorney announced.
The indictment of Bey IV, 23, includes charges with special circumstances — allowing prosecutors to seek the death penalty against him. He allegedly told two of his followers that in exchange for killing Bailey, he would teach them how to file fraudulent loan applications that could reap hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Another man, Antoine Mackey, 23, was indicted on three counts of murder with special circumstances, including Bailey’s killing.
The grand jury also indicted Devaughndre Broussard, 21, in the killings Bailey and another man, Odell Roberson. His charges also carry special circumstances.
But Broussard, until Wednesday the only person charged in Bailey’s death, cut a deal with prosecutors in which he is expected to plead guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter in exchange for key testimony against Bey IV and Mackey.
In a statement to prosecutors last month, Broussard said Bey IV ordered him and Mackey to follow Bailey, learn his routine and then “take him out” before he could publish an article in the Oakland Post about the bakery’s troubled finances. Broussard said Bey IV promised the two help in securing loans worth hundreds of thousands of dollars through fraudulent applications.
Wednesday’s indictments came just hours after a judge for the second time ordered Bey IV to stand trial in an unrelated kidnapping and torture case from 2007 for which he faces a life sentence if convicted. The attorney representing him in that case, Anne Beles, declined to comment on the indictment.
Broussard will receive a sentence of about 25 years in exchange for his admissions and testimony, his attorney, LaRue Grim, has said. Grim said his client is prepared to plead guilty next week.
Bailey’s sister, Lorelei Waqia, said she grudgingly approves of the plea agreement with Broussard because it strengthens the chances of convicting Bey IV and Mackey in her brother’s slaying.
Bey IV “and Mackey are more dangerous than Broussard. In the perfect world, he (Broussard) would get life but that’s how a plea bargain is: You have to give a little to get a lot. It’s worth it to get the other guys,” Waqia said.
Still, Waqia said, the charges will bring little solace.
“Anything that happened from the day he passed until now is not going to bring him back. So, for me, there’ll never be closure because I’ve lost a brother; my father has lost his namesake; his son, my nephew, has lost a father who was a mentor to him,” she said.
Bey IV and Mackey are scheduled for arrangement next week. Bey IV is in Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail on unrelated charges, but Mackey is in San Quentin State Prison on a burglary sentence.
The indictments of Bey IV and Mackey come after a lengthy re-investigation of Bailey’s killing by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
The Oakland police homicide investigator first assigned to the Bailey case, Sgt. Derwin Longmire, is suspended and the department is moving to fire him after he was found to have compromised the investigation and had undocumented contact with Bey IV against orders.

Riding a Wave of Support and Good Will

By Post Staff

President Barack Obama continues to ride a wave of support and good will as he faces daunting challenges to revive a shattered global economy, restore the country’s foreign relations and initiate domestic reforms on issues as wide-ranging as police surveillance, universal health insurance and funding for public schools.
At the same time Michelle Obama has achieved superstar star status as a role model for fashion, food and family.
From day one, President Obama has been on the move. In his first week in office, he announced new restrictions on lobbying, met with Iraq war commanders, called foreign leaders to discuss Middle East peace and signed an order to close Guantanamo Bay Prison.
On the economic front, he is working to revive the auto industry, save the banks, stem home foreclosures and has pushed through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund his economic stimulus plan.
His foreign relations initiatives include a timeline to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq and attending the G-20 Summit in London and the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.  He has reduced restrictions on travel to Cuba and has met already with the leaders of Russia, France, Germany, China, Venezuela and Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.
Domestically, Obama lifted the ban on stem cell research and is putting together his plan to establish universal health coverage in 2009.  He is also advocating green energy and is backing legislation to protect credit card users.

E.P.A. Clears Way for Greenhouse Gas Rules

By John M. Broder

The Environmental Protection Agency has formally declared carbon dioxide and five other heat-trapping gases to be pollutants that endanger public health and welfare, setting in motion a process that will lead to the regulation of the gases for the first time in the United States.
The E.P.A. said the science supporting the proposed endangerment finding was “compelling and overwhelming.” The ruling initiates a 60-day comment period before any proposals for regulations governing emissions of heat-trapping gases are published.
Although the finding had been expected, supporters and critics said its issuance was a significant moment in the debate on global warming. Many Republicans in Congress and industry spokesmen warned that regulation of carbon dioxide emissions would raise energy costs and kill jobs.
Democrats and environmental advocates said the decision was long overdue and would bring long-term social and economic benefits.

Oakland’s Pacific Institute Honored By EPA

In recognition of commitment to protect the environment and California’s vital freshwater resources, Pacific Institute researchers Heather Cooley, Juliet Christian-Smith, and Peter Gleick were presented with a 2009 Region 9 Environmental Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Pacific Institute in Oakland was specifically recognized for work that has altered how California approaches its water crisis, offering solutions to help keep the state’s vital agricultural sector thriving while still reducing groundwater overdraft and protecting the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem.
Forty groups and individuals throughout California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Pacific Islands, and tribal lands were selected for their commitment and significant contributions to the environment.
In September 2008, Institute researchers Heather Cooley, Juliet Christian-Smith, and Peter Gleick released a report quantifying the potential for water-use efficiency in California’s agricultural sector through the implementation of available, cost-effective water efficiency measures that many farmers are already successfully using.
The Pacific Institute report, “More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency in California - A Special Focus on the Delta,” has generated discussion around non-infrastructure-oriented solutions that have long been absent from management conversations during a pivotal time in California, when drought persists and solutions to the San Joaquin Delta crisis remain complicated.
The trio continues to work with on-the-ground stakeholders to investigate and help implement practical solutions to pressing water issues, meeting with irrigation districts, farmers, and community members from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley to the Imperial Valley. From stimulating management discussion, to meeting with growers, to creating actual planning and policy recommendations, Cooley, Christian-Smith, and Gleick has been a catalytic force as California grapples with its freshwater management problems.
“California’s Secretary of Agriculture A.G. Kawamura and other leaders throughout the state have stated that doing nothing is not an option. We agree,” said honoree Dr. Juliet Christian-Smith. “We will continue our work helping keep California’s vital agricultural sector thriving, recognizing the need to reduce groundwater overdraft, prepare for the increasing threats of climate change, and respond to the state’s water crisis.”

City Kills Cinco de Mayo; Chinatown Festival and Black Cowboy Parade, Next?

By Esteban Dessalines

By Esteban Dessalines The city of Oakland will be poorer this year because of the absence of the festivals and parades that demonstrate the cultural diversity of our city. There are differing opinions as to who is at fault for this tragedy.  One thing that is not in dispute, though, is that we all suffer because of the loss.  Elected officials, community leaders, and “just plain folks” from around the neighborhoods all have something to say about the situation. The view from here is that we need to stop talking about the problem and start doing something about it.  As a former leader of the Oakland Black community once said:  “If you are not a part of the solution…then you are a part of the problem.” Without the Cinco de Mayo, Día de Los Muertos, the Black Cowboy parade and the Chinatown Street Festival, we lose the opportunity to teach our children the value of diversity in culture in a way that books and lectures never could. We also lose the much-needed commerce of visiting tourists.  These festivals and parades are a big draw for visiting tourists. A number of issues seem clear at this point. Organizers of these parades and festivals must become more creative in their approach to financing.  The city of Oakland needs to prioritize the holding of the festivals and parades.  In addition, the Oakland Police Department   should review and modify its staffing patterns so that it might better “protect and serve” the entire population of Oakland. As news of the cancellation spreads, city leaders are beginning to weigh in. “Special event permits must be taken out of the hands of the Oakland Police Department.  There is too much temptation to ‘feather the nest’ with overtime.  We can’t let the issue of police overtime deter our beautiful city from celebrating its diversity,” said local businessman and community leader Geoffrey Pete. Council member Densely Brooks also focused on reforming the event permit process. “I think it’s important that these festivals and cultural events continue,” she said. ‘I believe that having sole discretion over the question of permits and requirements for these things in one department needs to be looked at.” A number of issues seem clear at this point. Organizers of these parades and festivals must become more creative in their approach to financing.  The city of Oakland to prioritize the holding of the festivals and parades.  In addition, the Oakland Police Department should review and modify its staffing patterns so that it might better “protect and serve” the entire population of Oakland. Councilmember Nancy Nadel had a different approach to funding the festivals. “I agree that the cancellation of these events is a terrible thing.  That is why I am supporting an increase in the hotel tax, which will appear on the special election ballot in July.  Part of the funds generated by that tax increase would be used to support these parades and festivals,” Nadel said. “As for the feeling that some people may have that the right to freedom of assembly is only guaranteed to those who can afford to pay the Oakland Police Department,” she said, “the right to assemble is one thing (but) the right to close off streets and require assistance to do that is another thing.” Further dialogue about this issue will lead to greater understanding and finding some viable solutions. Esteban Dessalines is a freelance writer and photographer, who is active in community affairs with the Lower Bottom Neighborhood Association in West Oakland.  He is founder and Managing Director of Anbessa Foundation (www.anbessafoundation.org).  He can be reached by email at esteban.dessalines@gmail.com or at UrbanOracle.blogspot.com.

Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s

Memory loss that disrupts everyday life is not a normal part of aging. It may be a sign of Alzheimer’s disease, a fatal brain disease that gets worse over time and causes changes in thinking, reasoning and behavior. Although the disease is more common in people 65 and older, it can also strike those in their 30s, 40s and 50s.
Warning signs:
• Memory loss.
Forgetting recently learned information is one of the most common early signs of dementia. A person begins to forget more often and is unable to recall the information later.
What’s normal? Forgetting names or appointments occasionally.
• Difficulty performing familiar tasks.
People with dementia often find it hard to plan or complete everyday tasks. Individuals may lose track of the steps to prepare a meal, place a telephone call or play a game.
What’s normal? Occasionally forgetting why you came into a room or what you planned to say.
• Problems with language.
People with Alzheimer’s disease often forget simple words or substitute unusual words, making their speech or writing hard to understand. They may be unable to find their toothbrush, for example, and instead ask for “that thing for my mouth.”
What’s normal? Sometimes having trouble finding the right word.
• Disorientation to time and place.
People with Alzheimer’s disease can become lost in their own neighborhoods, forget where they are and how they got there, and not know how to get back home.
What’s normal? Forgetting the day of the week or where you were going.
• Poor or decreased judgment.
Those with Alzheimer’s may dress inappropriately, wearing several layers on a warm day or little clothing in the cold. They may show poor judgment about money, like giving away large sums to telemarketers.
What’s normal? Making a questionable or debatable decision from time to time

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