• Special Interests Articles

    Pastor Jones: “City has imposed fees and closed recreation facilities, making it harder to fight obesity.”

    by  • September 28, 2012 • Richmond News, Special Interests Articles

    Pastor Donnell Ricky Jones.Photo by Joe L. Fisher, Black American Political Action Committee (BAPAC).

      By Kia Croom Pastor Donnell Ricky Jones of New Direction Ministries opposes the soda tax scheduled to appear on the November ballot. According to Jones, the proposed tax will not only hurt Richmond businesses and families, but also has the potential to promote theft among those who cannot afford to pay the tax....

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    Swanson: “Gay Plair Cobb does the job for Oakland”

    by  • September 28, 2012 • Bay Area, Education, Oakland News Articles, Special Interests Articles

    Gay Plair Cobb, chief executive officer of Oakland Private Industry Council (PIC), receives a state proclamation from Assemblyman Sandré Swanson.

    Gay Plair Cobb, chief executive officer of Oakland Private Industry Council (PIC), has received a state proclamation from Assemblyman Sandré Swanson honoring her path-breaking efforts to create jobs and job training programs,  which have led to opportunities for thousands of people. The proclamation, which was presented  at a Workforce Investment Board meeting at Oakland...

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    City Attorney Parker Challenged By Brunner

    by  • September 28, 2012 • Oakland News Articles, Politics and Government, Special Interests Articles

    Brunner and Parker

    By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor After Oakland voters approved the popular election of the Oakland City Attorney in 1998’s Measure X, they were faced with a choice between electing the longtime appointed holder of that office-Jayne Williams-or a member of the City Council –John Russo. They chose Russo. A little over a decade later, Oakland...

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    California, Mexico Sign Anti-Trafficking Accord

    by  • September 28, 2012 • News Articles, Politics and Government, Special Interests Articles

    Kamala D. Harris

    California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and Mexico Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez have signed an accord to expand prosecutions and secure convictions of criminals who engage in the trafficking of human beings. The Sept. 21 accord will increase coordination of law enforcement resources targeting transnational gangs that engage in the sale and trafficking...

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    Bill May Eliminate Rape Kit Backlog

    by  • September 28, 2012 • Special Interests Articles

    Rape Kit

    A Fort Worth, Texas science center may play a major role in reducing the huge backlog of untested rape kits across the country. The Senate is considering  the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry (SAFER) Act. The legislation is meant to ensure funds are being used properly to help eliminate the backlog of hundreds of...

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    Ritterman’s Positions on Measure N and Infant Formula Seem Contradictory

    by  • September 22, 2012 • Richmond News, Special Interests Articles

    Jeff Ritterman

    By Joe L. Fisher Treasurer, BAPAC Two months ago, Councilman Jeff Ritterman was happy to say his so-called “soda tax” would cover certain infant formulas—just as it would cover certain juices, flavored milks and a raft of other products he thinks Richmond residents should avoid. “Only drinks which have added sugar will be taxed,”...

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    Mathematician Counts to 100

    by  • September 22, 2012 • Article Archives, News Articles, Richmond News, Special Interests Articles

    Gloria Lars-Bond with her dad, Colonel “C.D. Gardner. Photos by Joe L. Fisher, Black American Political Action Committee (BAPAC).

    By Kia Croom Colonel D. Gardner, a former mathematics instructor and computer scientist, celebrated his 100th birthday on Sept. 7 at his Lordship’s Restaurant in Berkeley. The event was hosted by his daughter Gloria Lars-Bond. Gardner was born in 1912 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, where he earned a...

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    Spirit & Soul Festival and Richmond Arts in Motion

    by  • September 22, 2012 • Berkeley, Entertainment, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, Special Interests Articles, Vallejo News

    Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic.

    The Richmond Main Street Initiative is gearing up for its annual Spirit & Soul Festival Sept. 29, anticipating an even larger crowd than last year. After establishing Richmond’s first improvement district—the Downtown Richmond Property Based Business Improvement District — the man street initiative is attracting growing support for its efforts to revitalize downtown. “It’s...

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    Council Shutdown

    by  • September 22, 2012 • Bay Area, Oakland News Articles, Special Interests Articles

    Alan Blueford

    Community, Blueford family demand police report on killing By Post Staff The Oakland City Council this week was forced to end its meeting early, facing angry protesters who were demanding answers in the police killing of 18-year-old Skyline High School student Alan Blueford. Nearly 200 protesters packed the council chambers Tuesday night calling for...

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    Vallejo Mayor Wants Atty. General to Investigate Five Police Shootings

    by  • September 21, 2012 • Richmond News, Special Interests Articles, Vallejo News

    Mario Romero, shown with daughter, was killed by police officers.

    Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis said Wednesday he will seek an independent investigation into the recent officer-involved shooting death of Mario Romero. Davis said he will ask the City Council to request that Attorney Gen. Kamala Harris’ office look into concerns raised since police officers killed Romero, 23, and wounded another man while they sat...

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    Police Cleared in Profiling of Tyler Perry

    by  • September 21, 2012 • Special Interests Articles

    Tyler Perry

    Two white Atlanta police officers have been cleared of racially profiling movie director, actor and studio owner Tyler Perry, several news outlets reported on Wednesday. “The evidence shows the actions of both officers with regard to the traffic stop of Mr. Perry were justified, lawful and proper,” the police department said in a statement....

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    Most Parents Not Saving to Send Children to College

    by  • September 21, 2012 • Education, Oakland News Articles, Post News Feature Story, Special Interests Articles

    State Treasurer Bill Lockyer

    California parents value a college education more than a good-paying job for their kids, but most have not started saving to help pay the costs of obtaining a higher education, according to a new survey conducted for ScholarShare, the state’s “529” college savings plan. “The good news is parents realize the importance of a...

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    Documentary: “The Weight of the Nation”

    by  • September 14, 2012 • Bay Area, Health, Post News Feature Story, South County, Special Interests Articles

    San Leandro Vice Mayor Michael Gregory.

    The City of San Leandro in partnership with HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Living) will be screening a segment of the new HBO documentary “The Weight of the Nation”, focusing on childhood obesity and its effect on children, families and community 7p.m. to 9 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 20 at the Senior Community Center, 13909...

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    Law Updates, Adds Diversity to State History Curriculum

    by  • September 14, 2012 • Education, Politics and Government, San Francisco, Special Interests Articles

    Senator Loni Hancock

    Governor Jerry Brown  this week  signed  into law S.B. 1540, Senator Loni Hancock’s bill to revise how history and social sciences are taught in public schools. “It is a serious shortcoming that our basic instructional materials are so outdated,” Senator Hancock said.  “California textbooks don’t even mention the 9/11 tragedy or the election of...

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    SF NAACP Says: Register Voters to Commemorate Birmingham Children

    by  • September 14, 2012 • Church Events, San Francisco, Special Interests Articles

    Dr. Amos C. Brown

    The San Francisco Branch of the NAACP joins the national NAACP’s call this Saturday for commemoration and rededication to civic engagement to mark the day the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed on Sunday, Sept.15, 1963 as an act of racially motivated terrorism. Forty-nine years ago during a church service titled,...

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    New Murals in Richmond’s Greenway

    by  • September 14, 2012 • Article Archives, Oakland News Articles, Special Interests Articles

    Artist works on Greeway mural.

    Oakland-based artist collective Community Rejuvenation Project (CRP) has announced the completion of its latest art project: nine new murals between Harbor Way and Second St. in the Richmond Greenway. The murals, painted over the past four weeks, include the identifying piece “This Way to the Greenway,” as well as several pieces which continue the...

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    Contra Costa’s First 2012 Case of West Nile

    by  • September 14, 2012 • Article Archives, Health, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, Special Interests Articles, Vallejo News

    West Nile virus is spread to humans from the bite of infected mosquitoe.

    Contra Costa health officials this week called on residents to remain vigilant in taking steps to protect themselves from West Nile virus following an announcement of the county’s first human case of 2012. There were three confirmed human cases of the virus in the county last year. A state laboratory in Richmond last week ...

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    Religion Scholarships for Writers

    by  • September 14, 2012 • Oakland News Articles, Religion, Special Interests Articles

    Journalists and editors are eligible for  $5,000 scholarships to study Islam, religion and politics, war and theology. RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS is inviting  journalists to apply for the  Lilly Scholarships in Religion Program, which give full-time journalists up to $5,000 to take any college religion courses at any accredited institution at any time. More than...

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    Fundraiser for Women’s Reentry Support

    by  • September 14, 2012 • Oakland News Articles, Philanthropy, Special Interests Articles

    Norma Ward, co-founder of Progressive Transition(s)

    A fundraiser is being held to support two Oakland-based organizations, Progressive Transition(s) and A Diamond in the Ruff, which are collaborating to provide reentry services for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women. The fundraiser, “A Grown Folks Party” will be held at 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 22, at The Masonic Center, 3903 Broadway, in Oakland....

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    “Every Breath Counts” at Prescott-Joseph Center

    by  • September 14, 2012 • Health, Oakland News Articles, Post News Feature Story, Special Interests Articles

    Dr. Washington Burns

    A benefit breakfast for the Northern California Breathmobile, sponsored by Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement, will be held 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 19, at Nile Hall, 1223 Preservation Park in Oakland. According to Dr. Burns, the Breathmobile helps fight against asthma by keeping kids in school classrooms and out of hospital emergency rooms. Alameda...

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    Undergraduates Learn Hands-On Science Research

    by  • September 14, 2012 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Education, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Ayesha A. Appa

    University of California San Francisco’s Pre-Health Undergraduate Program (PUP) offers undergraduate college students from the Bay Area and around the country a combination of mentorship, classroom training and networking support with the goal of attracting them to careers in clinical and translational science. “(The program) gives undergraduates an opportunity to explore a career path...

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    WriterCoach Connection Needs Volunteers to Help Students

    by  • September 13, 2012 • Education, Oakland News Articles, Special Interests Articles

    WCC Masthead

    This fall, WriterCoach Connection (WCC) begins its fourth year at Fremont High School in Oakland’s Fruitvale District. The organization trains local volunteers to work one-on-one with students, helping them develop writing, literacy, and critical thinking skills. It provides support for both teachers and students, supplementing teachers’ work in the classroom by giving individual attention...

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    Speaker on King’s Non-Violence

    by  • September 13, 2012 • Philanthropy, Special Interests Articles

    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Dr. Bernard Lafayette, who served in 1968 as National Coordinator of MLK’s Poor People’s Campaign, will speak about practicing the spirit of Dr. King’s philosophy of non-violence, 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 20 at the Humanist Hall, 390 27th St. in Oakland. Dr. Lafayette has traveled around the world in an effort to institutionalize and...

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    AfroSolo Arts Festival 19, Sept. 7-9

    by  • September 7, 2012 • San Francisco, Special Interests Articles

    Jovelyn Richards

    AfroSolo Arts Festival 19 will present the “Black Voices” performance series, featuring Byb Chanel Bibene, Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, and Jovelyn Richards this weekend at the African American Art & Culture Complex, 762 Fulton St. in San Francisco. The performances will be held on Friday, Sept. 7 and Saturday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday,...

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    New Smartphone App Assists in Cardiac Emergencies

    by  • September 7, 2012 • Special Interests Articles

    Apps phone

    The Alameda County Fire Department is releasing a smartphone application (app) that allows community members to provide live-saving assistance to victims of sudden cardiac arrest. Alameda County is the first multi-agency regional dispatch center to deploy the global positioning system (GPS) app for iPhone and Android phones, called PulsePoint. When someone uses the app,...

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    Free Oakland Health and Wellness Fair

    by  • September 7, 2012 • Bay Area, Special Interests Articles

    Eric Flowers, CEO of Ramsell.

    East Bay residents will have the opportunity to access over 50 health and wellness providers offering free services at the fifth annual Health and Wellness Fair, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, September 15 at Oakland’s Eastmont Town Center. Families, children and seniors can take advantage of the health and medical screenings, which include...

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    Protect Children from Whooping Cough

    by  • September 1, 2012 • Health, Special Interests Articles

    Yvonne Maldonado

    The U.S. is on track to have its biggest whooping cough epidemic in 60 years, with more than 21,000 cases already reported in 2012. The highly contagious and potentially fatal disease, officially known as pertussis, starts with cold symptoms and progresses to coughing bouts severe enough to leave patients gasping for air. Yvonne Maldonado,...

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    Legislature Approves Financial Protections for College Athletes

    by  • September 1, 2012 • Bay Area, Education, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Special Interests Articles

    Sen. Alex Padilla

    Athletes at colleges including UCLA and USC would not lose financial aid if they suffer serious injuries on the field under legislation approved last week  by the state Senate and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown for consideration. The measure would also require California colleges that receive more than $10 million a year from sports...

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