• Archive for 2012

    The wait is over…. It’s Pryor’s time

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Sports

    By: Malaika Bobino Oakland, CA – The decision was made and he will finally start his first NFL game since being signed two years ago.  Raiders head coach Dennsi Allen announced the news to media Friday before Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers. “It’s my decision and I have decided to go with...

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    A buzzer beater shot, Kings beat the Knicks

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Sports

    By: Malaika Bobino Sacramento, CA – It was an amazing comeback but you had to be there to see it.  After blowing a twenty-seven point lead in the first half, the New York Knicks rallied back behind J.R. Smith who finished the night with 28 points.  With the clock running out James Johnson made...

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    Holiday Message

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Black Church Information, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Rev. Dr. W. Haziah Williams

    By Rev. Dr. W. Haziah Williams,1988 “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.” This is a most insightful arrival of understanding the dilemma of reality. The words are more searing today than ever.  The hopes and the fears are not only met in the occasion but are mingled...

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    Bishop Flunder and City of Refuge Celebrate 21 Years of Ministry

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Bishop Yvette Flunder with longtime partner renown gospel singer Shirley Miller.

    By Camryn Crump Bishop Yvette Flunder recently  was awarded the “Heritage Award” at the 8th annual “Out Awards” in Las Vegas, an awards show celebrating the best Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) recording artists in music each year that have messages of inclusion, equality and creative achievements. The award comes on the heels...

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    African American Physicists to Receive Presidential Awards

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Africans in America, Bay Area, Berkeley, General Articles, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Post News Feature Story, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County

    Dr. S. James Gates

    By Hattie Carwell Dr. James Gates will receive the National Science Award, and Dr. George Carruthers will receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation – among the highest honors conferred upon scientists and engineers by the federal government The newly named recipients will receive their awards at a White House ceremony next year....

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    Canada’s ‘Idle No More’ Movement Spreads Like Wildfire

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Featured, General Articles, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, San Francisco, South County

    Over 2,000 demonstrators in Canada,  part of a growing grassroots First Nations movement called “Idle No More,” marched  on Dec. 21 through the streets of Ottawa to Parliament Hill to defend treaty rights that protect their lands and waterways.

    By Craig Brown The “Idle No More” movement, a campaign of grassroots First Nations protests, has spread like wildfire over the past week in response to bills passed by the conservative Canadian government. The protests are against the passage of the  C-45, omnibus budget bill, which includes changes to the Canadian Indian Act regarding...

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    Crowdmapping Group Used Mobile Phones to Expose Kenyan Election Killings

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Ory Okolloh, the founder and executive director of Ushahidi, which crowdmapped the post-election violence in Kenya. Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty Images.

    Three Kenyans – Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, Francis Kirimi Muthaura and Mohammed Hussein Ali – are appearing at the international criminal court in The Hague charged with crimes against humanity, after being exposed by youth using the web and mobile phones. The three Kenyans are accused of contributing to an estimated 1,300 deaths in violence...

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    Report: Tobacco Sales Focus on Youth, Low-Income Neighborhoods

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Feature 2, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Dr. Ron Chapman

    California Department of Public Health (CDPH) director and state health officer Dr. Ron Chapman has released the state’s first “State Health Officer’s Report on Tobacco Use and Promotion” providing new data related to cigarette consumption declines, and the millions of dollars and lives saved. The report also includes new data on illegal sales to...

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    Vatican Says Pope Beats Justin Bieber on Re-tweets

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, Special Interests Articles

    Pope Benedict

    Pope Benedict, white-haired, 85, and a neophyte to social media site Twitter, has beaten out 18-year old heartthrob Justin Bieber to set a percentage record for re-tweeting by his followers, the Vatican said on Thursday. The Vatican newspaper said that as of noon Italian time on Thursday the pope had 2.1 million followers on...

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    Homeowner Bill of Rights Takes Effect in January

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Politics and Government, Richmond News, San Francisco

    Kamala Harris

    The California Homeowner Bill of Rights, a landmark package of legislation that extends key mortgage and foreclosure protections to California homeowners and borrowers, will take effect on Jan. 1 The new laws restrict dual-track foreclosures, guarantee struggling homeowners a reliable point of contact at their lender and impose civil penalties on fraudulently signed mortgage...

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    “In the Name of Love” Tribute Honoring MLK

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles

    Melaine Demore conducts the Oakland Childrens Community Choir that will perform Jan. 19 in a tribute honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    “In the Name of Love” is the 11th annual tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the greatest humanitarians of our time, starring  American singing legend and Grammy Award winner Jennifer Holiday; the 65-voice Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir; and the 250-voice Oakland Children’s Community Choir. The event will take place from 7 p.m....

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    Blues Great Jimmy McCracklin, 91

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Entertainment, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Obituary, Richmond News, San Francisco

    Jimmy McCracklin

    By Lee Hildebrand The blues community is mourning the passing of bluesman Jimmy McCracklin, who diedThursday, Dec. 20, at Creekside Health Center in San Pablo. The prolific singer, pianist and songwriter, a longtime Richmond resident, was 91. “He had a style that was completely his own,” singer-guitarist Sonny Rhodes said of his late friend. ...

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    Santa Claus Comes to Marin City

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Richmond News, Special Interests Articles

    Top row from left: Santa and Mrs. Claus leaving their Cessna 172 Seaplane, Aaron and Tiffany Singer as Santa and Mrs. Claus. Second row: Children waiting to talk to Santa Claus; Bottom photo: First row - Officer Glen Newcommer, California Highway Patrol; London (little girl); Dan Appleton, Firefigther, Mill Valley Fire Department; Aaron & Tiffany Singer - Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus; Marshan (little boy); Felecia Gaston, Performing Stars; Deputy Michael Dobbins, Marin County Sheriff’s Department. 2nd row - Jesse Rudnick, Mark Puchir, Jesse Rudnick - Firefighters, Marin County Fire Department; Clint Mason, Captain, Mill Valley Fire Department; Firefighter, Jesse Rudnick, Mill Valley Fire Department; Officer Daniel Ruiz, California Highway Patrol; Officer Brian Miller, California Highway Patrol. (Photos by Godfrey Lee).

    By Godfrey Lee Santa Claus visited Mill Valley on Wednesday, Dec. 19 and Marin City on Sunday, Dec. 23, to give out presents and made the holiday season more joyous for the children living in Southern Marin. On Wednesday, Aaron and Tiffany Singer, owners of Seaplane Adventures, dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus, arrived...

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    Let’s Change the Culture of Gun Violence

    by  • December 28, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Opinion, Richmond News, San Francisco, Special Interests Articles, trayvon

    By Alice A. Huffman, Criminal Justice Chair for the National Board of the NAACP and the State Conference President in California/Hawaii; and Wilfred T. Ussery, former National Chairman of CORE and former President of the Board of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) How proud we were to watch the president...

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    Mary Everette, Berkeley’s Ever-Ready Santa, Brought Joy to Children

    by  • December 27, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles

    EJToyDrive 4

      Everett and Jones Barbeque hosted its annual Holiday Toy Giveaway at its Berkeley restaurant on Saturday, Dec. 22, handing out toys to children in need for Christmas. Owner Mary Everett (center photo wearing Santa hat) started the toy giveaway 20 years ago, using toys donated by her loyal customers and celeb athletes New...

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    Quan Pledges Lower Homicide Rate

    by  • December 27, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Politics and Government

    Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan (right) and Mayor Jean Quan. Photo b, Eric K. Arnold, Courtesy of Oakland Local.

    Mayor Jean Quan and Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan this week pledged to reduce the rates of homicide and other serious crime in Oakland in the coming year. The police department will hire nationally known police consultant William J. Bratton to institute Bratton’s CompStat data driven management model, which he first introduced in New...

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    Former Oakland City Administrator Loses Appeal Over Firing

    by  • December 27, 2012 • Bay Area, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Politics and Government, Uncategorized

    Deborah Edgerly

    Nearly a year after former City Administrator Deborah Edgerly lost a lawsuit against the City of Oakland over her firing, the state Court of Appeals has rejected her attempt to pursue a claim based on the state’s whistle-blower law. Edgerly sued the city in 2009 after she was fired in July 2008 by former...

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    Prescott Circus: “Don’t Clown Us”

    by  • December 27, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles

    Students from Prescott and Lafayette Circus Arts programs pose for a picture during the Oakland Holiday Parade lat week. From left to right: First row - Andrew Musinguzi, Kevin Romero, Devin Nicholson, Walter Richardson, Anderson Montoya, Eli Lopez, Nicholas Lopez; Second row - Bryan Morales, Frizell Drivers, Nautical Reed-Gegg, Dejamelyah Tyler, Sontaneec Garza, Lelani Walker, Zaymon Thomas; Third row - Jose Barrera, Joshua Anderson, Carmen Shaw, Douglas Brooks, Pugna Som, Maurice Patton, Trinity Gibson, La’Niyah Ambrose, Shaela McCray;  Fourth row - Nicole Funes, Jessica Funes, Keinan Woodson; Fifth row  - Quiana Driver (Board member), DeMarcello Funes (staff), Tatiana Thomas, Esperanza Funes, Lee Hill, Jeremy Anderson, Yaqueline Verasques, Angelina Boggs, Yasmin Millett, and Ceara Walton (staff). Note:  The Board member and both staff members in the photo were all Prescott Clowns as children.

    Children Learn Science and Math Related to Circus Acts Prescott Circus Theatre boasts some of Oakland’s most energetic young stars. This month 30 young performers knocked the holiday socks off of the crowds at the Oakland Holiday Parade as jugglers, unicyclists, stilt walkers, and acrobats. “This is the largest contingent we’ve ever put together,”...

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    Activist Maudelle Shirek, 101, Celebrates Holidays With Carols

    by  • December 27, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles

    Maudelle Shirek is shown here celebrating her 101st Christmas, at home singing Christmas carols with members of her church, The Church For Today. The picture beside her was taken when she was the Mayor of Berkeley.

    Maudelle Shirek, 101, celebrated Christmas this year singing carols with fellow church members in her Berkeley home, where she still lives with round-the-clock care. A former vice mayor and eight-term City Council member in Berkeley, she was born in Jefferson, Arkansas and grew up on a farm, the granddaughter of slaves. She moved to...

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    Godfrey White Offers Faith Based Seminars to Protect Health and Wealth of Seniors

    by  • December 27, 2012 • Bay Area, Faith, News Articles, Oakland News Articles

    Godfrey White

    Godfrey White, former Executive Director of Elderly Affairs Office of the Governor of Louisiana, has returned home to Oakland. He was appointed to the Louisiana position by Governor Kathleen Blanco in 2003.  White, a native of New Iberia, Louisiana, was a resident of Oakland when he took time away from his successful marketing and...

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    Oakland Clergy Host Inaugural Prayer Service for Lynette McElhaney

    by  • December 27, 2012 • Bay Area, News Articles, Oakland News Articles

    Lynette Gibson McElhaney

    By Ashley Chambers An Inaugural Prayer Service for District 3 Councilmember-Elect Lynette Gibson McElhaney will be held at the Evergreen Baptist Church under Bishop Frank Pinkard at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5, hosted by the Baptist Ministers Union, Pastors of Oakland, Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, and Bay Cities Baptist Ministers Union and the United...

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    Kings move on without Cousins

    by  • December 23, 2012 • Sports

    By: Malaika Bobino Sacramento, CA – The drama that has plagued this team has come to an end.  The Kings suspended DeMarcus Cousin indefinitely which means there is no time table as to when he’ll return.  In the meantime, Sacramento must move on without one of the key pieces to their puzzle. Surprisingly, the...

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    2,000 Illegally Owned Weapons Seized

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Politics and Government, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County

    Kamala D. Harris

    Over 2,000 firearms were seized this year from individuals legally barred from possessing them, including persons determined to be mentally unstable and those with active restraining orders, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said this week. “California has clear laws determining who can possess firearms based on their threat to public safety,” said Harris. “Enforcing...

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    Berkeley Civil-Rights Scholar Releases New Book on Race

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Education, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    john a. powell

    UC News Center At a recent UC Berkeley book-launch event, sociologist Michael Omi described his colleague john a. powell as “two persons rolled into one” — “john the theoretician, who draws on a range of disciplines to rethink notions of race, racial identity and racism,” and “john the grounded and practical policy analyst.” Both...

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    Walgreen Pays $16.57 Million for Dumping Hazardous Wastes and Customer Information

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    District Attorney Nancy O’Malley.

    Alameda County Superior Court Judge Wynne Carvill has ordered the Illinois-based Walgreen Co. to pay $16.57 million as part of a settlement of a civil prosecution because its stores were illegally Dumping hazardous wastes and confidential customer medical information. The judgment is the culmination of a civil enforcement lawsuit filed in Alameda County in...

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    Spotlight on HIV/AIDS in “Many Women, One Voice” Documentary

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, Health, HIV, Marin County News, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County

    Cynthia Carey-Grant, “HIV is not so unique that we can’t survive it. I’m inspired by a legacy surviving slavery.”

    By Jesse Brooks Featuring women from across the country and from all walks of life speaking openly and candidly about HIV/AIDS, the documentary, “Many Women, One Voice; African American Women in HIV,” inspires women to take care of themselves. The film was designed to help  Black women talk about HIV, featuring personal reflections, thoughts...

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    Black Pilots Association Hosts Christmas Fundraiser

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Philanthropy, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    By Carla Thomas The Bay Area Black Pilots Association held its annual Christmas fundraiser banquet on Saturday, Dec. 8 at the Doubletree Hotel in the Berkeley Marina. “Once you get hooked on flying, there’s no turning back,” said BABPA President Greg Scott, who greeted nearly 100 people at the banquet. “We have a great...

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    Holiday Week at Crab Cove

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Crab Cove Visitor Center at Crown Beach in Alameda is holding a holiday week open house from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Dec. 26 through Dec. 28. There will be special activities   each day, such as nature crafts, games, and interaction with the center’s snake and turtle. The daily schedule includes...

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    Allen Temple Hosts Tye Tribbett

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, Church Events, Marin County News, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Allen Temple Baptist Church is hosting internationally renowned gospel artist, producer and minister Tye Tribbett for one night only, 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 27. Tribbett has produced four outstanding albums (“Live,” “Victory Live,” “Stand Out,” and ”Fresh”) and is coming to Allen Temple’s sanctuary at 8501 International Blvd. to minister  in Oakland. Tickets are...

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    New Presidents at Berkeley City and Merritt Colleges

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Education, Marin County News, News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Dr. Deborah Budd

    Dr. José M. Ortiz, Chancellor of the Peralta Community College District, has named Dr. Deborah Budd to lead Berkeley City College and Dr. Norma Ambriz-Galaviz to be the next president of Merritt College. Dr. Budd is currently interim president at Berkeley City, and Dr. Ambriz-Galaviz is vice president of instruction at Mission College. “Dr....

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    Bass-Baritone Vocalist David L. Tigner, 61

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Oakland News Articles, Obituaries, South County, Special Interests Articles

    David L. Tigner

    Renowned bass-baritone David L. Tigner, 61, died Dec. 11 of chronic renal and congestive heart failure. As a child, Tigner discovered he had perfect pitch plunking out a Johann Sebastian Bach prelude by ear on a broken piano at his family’s Sebastopol home. He joined the San Francisco Opera in 1974 after two years...

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    Woolsey’s Final Anti-War Speech from House Floor

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, Marin County News, News Articles, Special Interests Articles

    Lynn Woolsey

    Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma) delivered her 444th and final speech expressing her opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and her support for a “Smart” approach to national security. She is retiring this year after 20 years in Congress. “Mister Speaker, throughout my career in public life and even before, nothing has motivated...

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    After Newtown, Will We Finally Act?

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, News Articles, San Francisco

    By Jesse Jackson Do not turn your eyes from the horror of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn. Twenty children, their teachers and aides, their school principal shot repeatedly, in some cases beyond recognition, by a 20-year-old wielding a semiautomatic assault weapon. As he has shown in his moving words after...

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    San Francisco Kwanzaa Celebration

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, News Articles, San Francisco

    kwanzaa_logo

    By Lee Hubbard The seventh annual San Francisco Kwanzaa Celebration will take place starting at noon Wednesday, Dec. 26 at San Francisco City Hall. The keynote address will be given by Dr. Amos Brown, senior pastor at Third Baptist Church in San Francisco. “Dr. Amos Brown is a very powerful speaker, and he will...

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    Naomi and Harlan Kelly Honored By the South East Facility Community Commission

    by  • December 21, 2012 • Bay Area, News Articles, San Francisco

    From left to right: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission General Manager Harlan Kelly Jr., South East Facility Commission President Willie B. Kennedy, San Francisco City Administrator Naomi Kelly, Community Advocate Irene Williams Doss, Businesswoman Etta Jones. Photo by: Lance Burton.

    By Carla Thomas San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) General Manager Harlan Kelly, Jr. and San Francisco City Administrator Naomi Kelly were honored recently by community leaders at the South East Community College. About 100 community members came together Nov. 28 to celebrate history, change and a brighter future for the Bay View District...

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