Oakland's woes

Jun 25, 2021

 

As gun violence crisis rages, Oakland leaders call for $100 million in Black communities

 

FIONA KELLIHER. Mercury News: "Amid an ongoing gun violence crisis that culminated in the city’s sixth mass shooting of the year last weekend, community leaders are pushing Alameda County to invest $100 million of federal pandemic recovery funds in Black neighborhoods to support mental health resources, rental assistance and small businesses.

 

Speaking from Lake Merritt on Thursday — where a mass shooting on Juneteenth left one young man dead  and seven more people injured — East Bay leaders and community members lamented the traumatic effects of gun violence ravaging Oakland and called on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to focus recovery efforts in East and West Oakland and Fruitvale, among other neighborhoods.

 

Berkeley Pastor Mike McBride led a call-and-response — “State of emergency! State of emergency!” — with the crowd of about 100 people before expressing his frustration that communities most affected by gun violence have yet to receive a firm commitment for federal relief efforts."

 

Oakland cuts police funding to pay for social services, violence prevention amid spike in homicides

 

JESSICA FLORES and RACHEL SWAN: "The Oakland City Council passed a two-year budget Thursday that cuts $18.4 million from the police force to fund violence prevention measures and social services, a pivotal moment in the police-reform movement that followed last year’s murder of George Floyd.

 

The $3.8 billion adopted budget was a counterproposal to Mayor Libby Schaaf’s plan, which would have slightly increased police spending. The mayor sharply criticized the vote, saying it will lead to the loss of 50 police officer jobs and delay “response to Oaklanders in their time of crisis.”

 

 

Newsom, top Democrats bargaining over child care raises as California budget deadline nears

 

SOPHIA BOLLAG, SacBee: "As the start of a new budget year approaches next week, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers have been hashing out details of a budget agreement.

 

The two sides are largely aligned on how to spend a multi-billion-dollar surplus, but need to reconcile details of an expansion of health care to more undocumented immigrants and a raise in rates for child care providers, among other issues.

 

To enact a budget in time for the July 1 start of the upcoming fiscal year, lawmakers need to have the text of the main budget legislation done by Sunday. They will then continue to hash out remaining details, likely for weeks into the summer."

 

Millions of Californians are set to get tax rebates in a new state budget. Do you qualify?

 

KIM BOJÓRQUEZ, SacBee: "Californians earning under $75,000 per year are expected to receive tax rebates worth hundreds of dollars once a new state budget is approved.

 

Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers are still ironing out details of the budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, but they’ve already agreed on the rebates.

 

Millions of Californians would receive the $600 payments, according to the plan. Certain families with dependents, regardless of immigration status, will be able to qualify for an additional $500, meaning payments could total up to $1,100 for some Californians."

 

Hollywood celebrity donors pile into California governor Newsom recall election

 

The Chronicle, DUSTIN GARDINER: "The recall campaign that will determine if Gov. Gavin Newsom stays in office hasn’t just drawn celebrity challengers: Stars and Hollywood executives are also opening their wallets to try to sway the race.

 

Newsom has soaked up nearly all of the entertainment industry money coming into the campaigns, and has dominated fundraising overall, raking in more than $16 million for his recall defense committee. (Click here for an interactive table of the biggest donors to the top candidates.)

 

 

Is the state treasurer always a 'he'? A bill to strip gendered language is now on Newsom's desk

 

Sac Bee, ANDREW SHEELER: "A bill removing gendered language from the California code now sits on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, after passing through the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support.

 

Assembly Bill 378, authored by Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, “systematically goes through laws related to the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state controller, treasurer, insurance commissioner and Board of Equalization to make all references to the gender of the officer gender neutral, “ according to a statement from Bauer-Kahan’s office.

 

In many instances, the code still refers to the person holding those positions as “he,” despite the fact that the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state controller and treasurer positions all are held by women."

 

How community colleges can better prepare adult workers

 

EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "Community colleges and their partners can do more to train students for the workforce, a process that should start as early as middle school, community college leaders and experts said Thursday. 

 

During the EdSource Roundtable discussion, the first in a new series, panelists agreed that community colleges in California and elsewhere often fall short in preparing adult workers. To remedy that, they suggested strategies such as better career counseling and helping students get more work experience during their education.

 

Eloy Oakley, the systemwide chancellor overseeing California’s community colleges, said that while colleges have made some progress in preparing their students for careers, they are “not doing enough.” He said that, in many cases, for-profit colleges and others are doing a better job at enrolling adult learners than the community colleges."