• Berkeley

    Wells Fargo’s Home Preservation Workshop, Feb. 13

    by  • February 12, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Jim Foley

    By Ashley Chambers In an effort to address foreclosures and keep struggling residents in their homes, Wells Fargo will be hosting their free Home Preservation Workshop on Wednesday, February 13 at the Oakland Convention Center. The workshop is an opportunity for Wells Fargo customers who are facing economic challenges to meet one-on-one with bank...

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    Free Training on AIDS State of Emergency

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Health, HIV, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Dr. Muntu Davis

    Dr. Muntu Davis, Director of Public Health for Alameda County Public Health Department, will lead a free training on case management and the AIDS State of Emergency, 9 a.m. to noon, Friday, Feb. 15, at Cal-Pep, 2811 Adeline St. in Oakland. The goal of the training series is to engage community members to address...

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    Generations 2013 Highlights Black LGBTQ History

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Micah Lubensky has worked at SF AIDS Foundation since 2004. “We have proud history, from as far back as an Egyptian pharaoh and the mythical Amazon namesake of  California, to winners of prestigious awards and those who recently were the first Black LGBT persons to be elected to  a political office.”

    By Jesse Brooks Celebrating one’s historic roots is an opportunity to honor forbearers and connect to our rich legacy. However, usually missing from Black history are highlights of the Black, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender or Questioning (LGBTQ) community. Highlighting the history of being Black and LGBTQ, a free event, “Generations 2013,” will use...

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    National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, HIV, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    By Jesse Brooks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day falls during  Black history month to remind the public of the devastating toll HIV has taken and continues to take on Black communities. Feb. 7 marks the 13th year the commemoration will be held as a a day to promote HIV testing, treatment and community mobilization,...

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    Performance Theater at Joyce Gordon Gallery

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    The Joyce Gordon Galley in Oakland will host “When Struggle Gave Improvisation the Blues,” a poetry performance theater play by poet and playwright Charles Curtis Blackwell, 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 23 at 406 14th St. in Oakland. This original play captures the jazz era of the 1950s and the 1960s and social and cultural...

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    Celebrate “America Saves” Week with a New Account

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Curtis Flannigan

    By Curtis Flannigan February is a good time to jumpstart a savings plan for the year as Feb. 25 kicks off America Saves week, a national campaign sponsored by more than 1,000 non-profit, government and corporate organizations. Their goal is to encourage people from all income levels to take savings to heart and build...

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    Tap Dance Celebrates 14 Years in the Bay Area and Offers Workshops

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Celebrating 14 years in the Bay Area, Rhythm Tap Hall of Fame is offering traditional tap dance classes starting in February. The nonprofit organization promotes the lost art form, providing educational programs for youth, adults, and seniors teaching the history of tap dancing through audiovisual and tap instruction. The Hall of Fame has offered...

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    Evergreen Gives “Blankets and Blessings” to Homeless

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Entertainment, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, SECTIONS, South County, Special Interests Articles

    From left to right, back row - Rev. David Moore, Darryl Rice, Larry Teague, Darla Robbins, Rev. Ruffus Robbins, Richard Curtis, Dannetta Robinson, Carol Sanders, Jamal Churchill, Iman Calip; middle row-Joel Dill, Deborah Martin, Regina Alexander, Marilyn Martin, Geneva Bennett, Artis Dawson, Kenneth Breedlove, Cynthia Rowden, Linda Sandiser, Betty Majors, Roy Deale, Susie Patrick; front row-Linda August, Kay Moore, Johnnie Nicks, Georgetta Edwards-Breedlove, First Lady Kathi Pinkard, Christopher Thomas, Rene Hunter-Phillips, Tonya Sellers-Daniels, Brenda Deale, Delores Johnson, Bret Phillips; front kneeling-Maria Bershell, A. Renee Daniels, and Jamilah Jefferson. Photo by Ashley Chambers.

    Honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., members of the Care Ministry at Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church gave away food, blankets, and hot chocolate to the homeless on Jan. 20. Led by First Lady Kathi Pinkard and coordinators Georgetta Edwards-Breedlove and Christopher Thomas, members accompanied by Officer Kittrell Carter gave out 100...

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    Youth Debate Police-Community Relations

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    From left to right - Back row: Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan, OPD Sergeant Holli Joshi, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Charles Smiley III, Alameda County Social Services Agency Director Lori Cox; Front row: Chris Martinez, Kyla Wheatfall, Elisa Saavedra, Shah Turner, Bay Area Urban Debate League Program Director Jenna Dookun. Photo coutesy of Bay Area Urban Debate League.

    Kyla Wheatfall’s father was killed by a police officer when she was 10 years old, but the 20-year-old Oakland resident has found a way to forgive and moved on. “They were the first people I called when my grandmother passed away,” said Wheatfall, a psychology student at College of Alameda, during a lively debate...

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    Town Hall Meeting to Protect Social Security and Medicare

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Norman Solomon

    Local seniors and activists are holding a Town Hall Meeting to say: No Cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, Monday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. to 4 pm. at the Humanist Hall, 390 27th St. in Oakland. Norman Solomon, author, activist, and co-founder of the 210,000-member RootsAction.org, will speak at the meeting. Other...

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    Tenor Man Dayna Stephens to Blow at Benefit

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Entertainment, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Dayna Stephens

    By Lee Hildebrand Former East Bay resident Dayna Stephens is, at age 34, one of the most gifted jazz tenor saxophonists of his generation. Now living in Patterson, New Jersey, he says he “caught the bug” two decades ago from seeing a local performance by tenor titan Joshua Redman. Because Redman and other jazz...

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    Mardi Gras San Francisco Style in Fillmore Plaza

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, Special Interests Articles

    Mardi Gras San Francisco Style – Fat Tuesday in the FillmoreL

    Keeping with the tradition of celebrating with music, creative costumes, food and colorful beads, The Village Project, The Fillmore Center and the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development are presenting the seventh annual Mardi Gras San Francisco Style – Fat Tuesday in the Fillmore on Tuesday, Feb. 12. This year’s festival will feature...

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    S.A.T. Workshop

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Special Interests Articles

    The Richmond Public Library is offering an eight-week program where students will receive intensive study preparation from certified instructors and two practice tests for the S.A.T. (Scholastic Aptitude Test). The workshop will be held March 2 – April 27 and cost $40. High school students who live in West Contra Costa County or attend...

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    NAACP Holds Awards and Recognition Banquet

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco

    Award honorees are from left to right:  Brazell Carter, M.D., Vice Mayor Corky Booze, Mark Robinson, Pastor Henry Washington and Desmond Carson, M.D. Photo  by Dedan Ji Jaga.

    The Richmond Branch of the NAACP held its Annual Freedom Fund Membership Awards and Recognition Banquet this past Saturday night. This year, the branch recognized individuals who are making a difference in the community in the areas of religion, health and business. Two $1,000 scholarships were awarded to students from Kennedy High School in...

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    Johnsons Produce “Bay Wives” Reality TV Show

    by  • February 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Richmond News

    Left to Right:  Christia’n Chambers-Johnson, Executive Producer Bay Wives and Darius Johnson, Director & CEO of Flac City Paparazzi. Photo by Flac City Paparazzi.

    By Kia Croom Bay Area residents don’t have to channel surf to get their reality television fix. Richmond natives Darius Johnson and his wife Christia’n Chambers-Johnson have successfully produced the Bay Area’s first-ever “wives” show entitled “The Bay Wives,” which debuted Thursday, Jan. 31 on Comcast 78. Johnson is CEO of Flac City Paparazzi,...

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    Richmond’s Judge Judy Johnson inducted to Superior Court of California Contra Costa County

    by  • February 7, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Richmond News

    Judge Judy Johnson (right) takes the  oath of office performed by U.S. District Judge Thelton E. Henderson on Feb. 1. Photo by Joe L. Fisher, Black American Political Action Committee.

    The induction ceremony for Judge Judy Johnson in the Superior Court of California Contra Costa County was held on Feb.1, the oath of office performed by U.S. District Judge Thelton E. Henderson. A champion of equal rights, Judge Johnson has fought to secure equality of opportunity within the legal profession. In 1994, she was...

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    Harris Sues BP and ARCO Over Gas Station Pollution

    by  • February 7, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Entertainment, SECTIONS, Special Interests Articles

    Attorney General Kamala Harris has filed a civil lawsuit on1 against BP West Coast Products, BP Products North America, Inc. and Atlantic Richfield Company for allegedly violating state laws governing hazardous materials and hazardous waste by failing to properly inspect and maintain underground tanks used to store gasoline for retail sale at more than...

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    Berkeley Post Office, Six-Day Delivery on Chopping Block

    by  • February 7, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles

    Berkeley Post Office

    By Judith Scherr Berkeley’s historic downtown post office is for sale. Across the country, the cash-strapped United States Postal Service is selling property, slashing postal hours, consolidating sorting centers, attempting to outsource jobs and, on Wednesday, announced plans to stop Saturday mail delivery. Dave Welsh, retired letter carrier, Berkeley resident and Community and Postal...

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    Black History Films at South Berkeley Senior Center

    by  • February 7, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles

    “Negroes with Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power” (2003)

    The South Berkeley Senior Center is celebrating Black History Month by showing documentaries Tuesdays in February at 10:30 a.m. Films include  “The Drilling Fields” (1994) on Feb. 12. The film looks at the relationship between Shell Petroleum Development Company and the Nigerian government as it impacts the lives of the Ogoni people–Nigerians who have...

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    Black Repertory Theatre Presents “A Shadow in the Clouds – The Bessie Coleman Story”

    by  • February 7, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco

    Actress Nathalie Bennett as Bessie Coleman. Photo by Adam L. Turner.

    By Carla Thomas “A Shadow In the Clouds -The Bessie Coleman Story,’’ written by Victor Lawhorn, is a play about an extraordinary woman pilot, which will be performed Feb. 8 through March 3 at the Black Repertory Theater in Berkeley. The one-woman show stars actress Nathalie Bennett and will feature a stage and mixed...

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    Homeless Advocate boona cheema Honored

    by  • February 7, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles

    Boona cheema receive a commendation this week from the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to celebrate her 40 years as executive director of Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency. She is a leading voice on solutions to homelessness and poverty locally, nationally and globally. From left to right: Sonja Fitz, Supervisor Keith Carson, boona cheema,...

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    Lee Commemorates Black History Month

    by  • February 7, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles

    Barbara Lee

    Black History Month has a special meaning this year, commemorating two landmarks of American history: the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights March on Washington, according to Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “The Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 reiterated the principles of our founding fathers that ‘all men are...

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    Standard & Poor’s Sued for Inflated Ratings That Caused Investors to Lose Billions

    by  • February 7, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles

    Kamala Harris

    Attorney General Kamala Harris this week filed a lawsuit against one of the nation’s major credit rating companies for inflating its ratings of structured finance investments, which caused California’s public pension funds and other investors to lose billions of dollars. The complaint, filed Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court, alleges that the McGraw-Hill Companies,...

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    AKA’s Carolyn House Stewart, Julian Bond Help Dedicate Rosa Parks Forever Stamp

    by  • February 7, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles

    Julian Bond

    The Rosa Parks Forever Stamp went on sale at post offices and online at usps.com/stamps. “Rosa Parks was the epitome of courage. Her single act of defiance changed a nation. Today, her legacy lives on for generations as we bestow upon her one of America’s highest honors,” said Deputy Postmaster General Ronald A. Stroman....

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    Clergy Joins “We’ve Come Too Far to Turn Back” Symposium

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Health, HIV, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County

    Rev. Dr. James Alexander Forbes, Jr (Ebony Magazine designated him as one of America’s greatest black preachers) and lecturer Mindy Thompson Fullilove, MD.

    By Jesse Brooks A  national clergy-led capacity building faith initiative funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), collaborating with the Alameda County office of AIDS, recently hosted a regional symposium entitled “ We’ve Come Too Far To Turn Back Now” to equip clergy and faith leaders  to tackle the HIV/AIDS crisis...

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    PG&E Offers $1 Million in College Scholarships

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Education, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Post News Feature Story, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Ezra Garrett

    Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is accepting applications from students to receive PG&E Bright Minds scholarships, as well as scholarships from the utility’s Employee Resource Groups. Through its Bright Minds Scholarship program, PG&E will award up to $1 million in scholarships to enable high school, community college and “non-traditional” students to complete their...

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    “We Kill Your Mortgage” Fraudulent Websites Seized

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Feature 2, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County

    Kamala Harris

    Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has announced the arrest of three suspects who have been charged in a mortgage fraud scheme targeting struggling Northern California homeowners. Six websites allegedly used by the suspects to advertise their scheme have been intercepted and redirected to a resource page on the California Attorney General’s website. The felony...

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    Private Equity Firms Buying Up Oakland Homes

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, San Francisco, South County

    By Tanya Dennis A recent report released by the Urban Strategies Council shows that 42 percent of the 10,508 homes that went into foreclosure in Oakland between January 2007 and October 2011 were sold to investors who frequently turn around and rent the home at a rate higher than what a homeowner would pay...

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    Information Night at Holy Names University

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Education, Marin County News, Post News Feature Story, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County

    Anyone interested in completing a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree is invited to attend Holy Name University’s Information Night, 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan.  31 or Feb. 28, to learn about master’s degree and adult bachelor’s degree completion programs. Holy Names, which has a 145 year history, offers master’s programs in business, culture...

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    AC Transit Wins Environmental Award

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Post News Feature Story, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Greg Harper

    AC Transit has received the highest environmental award in the state, the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, for the bus agency’s use of hydrogen fuel cell and solar initiatives. Gov. Jerry Brown honored AC Transit as one of 17 organizations that have adopted clean-air business principles and policies that conserve energy, reduce costs...

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    Rance Allen to Headline Charles Reid Gospel Festival

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Rance Allen Group: Rance, Steve and Tom.

    By Lee Hildebrand Ever since he began touring the Midwest at age 5 as “Little Rance Allen, the Boy Preacher,” the Monroe, Michigan-born vocalist has kept quite busy. Today, at age 64 and no longer “little,” the hefty musician is more active than ever – recording and performing with his brothers Steve and Tom...

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    Deborah Acosta Named San Leandro’s Municipal Chief Innovation Officer

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, South County

    Deborah Acosta

    The City of San Leandro has hired Deborah Acosta as the city’s first Chief Innovation Officer, who will be responsible for technology-based economic development and manage Lit San Leandro, a growing state-of-the-art digital backbone loop of fiber optics that allows service providers to deliver an ultra-high-speed, Internet communications network. Lit San Leandro is a...

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    Cicely Tyson to Star in ‘Trip to Bountiful’ on Broadway

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Post News Feature Story, San Francisco

    Cicely Tyson

    Academy Award-nominated actress Cicely Tyson will return to Broadway for the first time in 30 years to star in a revival of Horton Foote’s 1953 drama “The Trip to Bountiful.” The 14-week run is to begin previews on March 31 at the Stephen Sondheim Theater, with opening night scheduled for April 23. Tyson, 78,...

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    Free Black History Month Events at MoAD

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, San Francisco, Special Interests Articles

    Dr. Clayborne Carson

    Dr. Clayborne Carson will talk about his recently-published book, “Martin’s Dream: My Journey and the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.,” a memoir about his transition from being a teenage participant in the March on Washington to becoming the editor of King’s papers, part of a free celebration of Black History Month, Sunday, Feb....

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    Point Richmond Acoustic Presents Claudia Russell

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Entertainment, News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, SECTIONS

    Claudia Russell. Photo by Mindy Pines.

    Point Richmond’s resident singer Claudia Russell will bring her eclectic blend of folk, blues and pop to Point Richmond Acoustic, Friday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m. Russell will perform with her band, the Folk Unlimited Orchestra, with husband Bruce Kaplan on guitar Tom Tally on viola and violin. The concert is at the First...

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    Take the Baton

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Richmond News

    Michele Milam

    By Michele Milam From the March on Selma, to his views on the Vietnam War and his leadership of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Dr. King set history on fire with a quiet hope, that one day in spite of what things looked like, they could change through love. LOVE, not EROS love,...

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    Richmond Chevron Takes “Corrective Action” to Increase Refinery Safety

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News

    Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Senator Loni Hancock (D-Oakland) issued a joint statement this week regarding the citations announced by Cal/OSHA against the Chevron refinery in Richmond related to the fire that erupted at the facility last year. Cal/OSHA outlined 25 workplace violations, ranging from “willful serious” to “serious,” in a press release, resulting...

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    El Cerrito High Students Present “Te’s Harmony,” Spoken Word Theater

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Richmond News

    Kingpins Santiago and Godfrey, played by George Mitchell and Deandre Evans, shake hands in this flash-back memory to the times before they become arch-enemies.

    “Te’s Harmony,” a spoken word theater piece written and performed by El Cerrito High School students known as RAW Talent, will be performed 6 p.m., Saturday Feb. 9 at the El Cerrito High School Theater, The students will present their modern-day rendition of “Romeo and Juliet” for the stage, reworking the Shakespearean masterpiece into...

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    Leadership Coalition Hosts Reception for Elected Officials

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Richmond News

    From left to right: Virgil Weeks, Dwight Adams, WC Ellis Jr., Pat Mize, Micheal Williams, Vernon Robinson, Steven Bates, Reggie Russell, Gary Mason, and Garland Harper.

    By Lloyd Madden The Community Mobilization Leadership Coalition in Richmond, formed over 2 months ago, hosted a Meet and Greet reception last week for its local public officials who were recently elected and or re-elected. The coalition was established to block the appointment of Eduardo Martinez to Gary Bell’s seat on the Richmond City...

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    Oakland to Offer Nation’s First City Identification/Debit Card

    by  • February 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Post News Feature Story

    Oakland is launching the Oakland City ID Prepaid MasterCard program this week, making it he first card of its kind in the country. Oakland will provide the ID card for its residents now lacking an official form of identification; and to provide optional, secure financial services and products to those unbanked and under banked....

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