By Ken A. Epstein Tempers remain frayed and opinion divided over the City Council´s overwhelming vote this week to hire a controversial consultant Bill Bratton to advise the Oakland Police Department. At a meeting that lasted until after 2 a.m., hundreds of speakers lined up to argue for and against the hiring of Bratton,...
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By J. Douglas Allen Taylor Are some members of Oakland City Council becoming disenchanted with Phil Tagami’s development of the Oakland Army Base? At least one veteran Councilmember gave that indication at a meeting of Council’s Community & Economic Development Committee this week. “I’ve never been a fan of this whole process,” committee chair...
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CBS Channel 5 Anchor Dana King will present the City of Oakland Citizen Humanitarian Award to Gladys Green for her outstanding work on behalf of the Oakland community at the “In the Name of Love” Musical Tribute honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jan. 19, 7 p.m., at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. The...
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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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Judge Henderson’s Compliance Director Could Fire Chief Jordan By Post Staff The City of Oakland has agreed to surrender much of its control over the Oakland Police Department, giving a federally appointed “Compliance Director” broad authority including the right to the fire or demote the police chief and other OPD commanders, under a proposed...
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Small business owners often feel all alone – with no one to keep them from making a critical mistake or from missing a golden opportunity. However, East Bay entrepreneurs who attend the fourth and final 2012 Small Business Symposium at the Crowne Plaza in Union City on Nov. 8 will have an opportunity to...
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Nutiva in partnership with Common Vision this week planted fruit trees at Washington Elementary School and Levonya Dejean Middle School in Richmond, marking the beginning of a five-year project to plant an orchard of 15-30 fruit trees in every public elementary, middle and high school in the area. The day’s events included a whole...
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ATLANTA – Basketball legend Magic Johnson has opened an education center in downtown Atlanta for high school dropouts. The Magic Johnson Bridgescape center helps give those who have left school, or are at risk of dropping out, the opportunity to earn a high school diploma. The program, which has just opened its doors, is...
Read more →By Kia Croom Keith Williams, pastor of Ennis Chapel Church of God in Christ in Richmond, recently spoke out to oppose the Sugary Sweetened Beverage Tax, which will appear on the November ballot. “The community doesn’t need a tax, which will primarily affect people of color,” Williams said. While he says he agrees with...
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Acclaimed actor Omar Gooding stopped by the Peralta College Digital Arts Media Technology Training Program in West Oakland Thursday afternoon to offer words of encouragement and praise to the young students. The program, which serves youth ages 16 to 24, is operated by Bishop J. E. Watkins, executive director and founder of Overcomers with...
Read more →This year’s Bay Area Black Expo will provide free vision and glaucoma screenings on the first of the two-day event, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 8 at the Oakland Convention Center, 550 10th St. in downtown Oakland. “For people with undiagnosed glaucoma and eye disease, Glaucoma Research Foundation and Prevent...
Read more →Author Betty McGee is passionate about her career at the Oakland Unified School District, where she helps students who are at risk of failing find an alternative school setting where they can complete their studies. Her passion to rescue and redirect high school students also has compelled her to lend needed assistance to their...
Read more →By Simeon Gant High School and College students received a few basic principles on how to succeed in business from legendary basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson at the recent Ron Brown Youth Entrepreneur Summit. Expaining how he moved from athlete to businessman, Johnson said, “I was once poor, but I didn’t have poor dreams. ...
Read more →By Jay Singh Last month, I stood before 300 Sikhs at a Gurdūārā in Roswell, Ga. I stood there representing the Southern Poverty Law Center as part of an ongoing effort to curb the bullying of Sikh school children across the South. I stood there also as a third-year law student attempting to explain...
Read more →The American Red Cross has had a boost in donations since it issued an emergency appeal for blood, but additional donations are needed to ensure an adequate supply of blood through the end of the summer. “We are humbled by the generosity of the many blood donors in the Bay Area who responded to...
Read more →By Sam Baker Fewer than half of U.S. adults get enough exercise to improve their health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week. Adults are, however, getting better about walking. Sixty-two percent of adults say they walk at least 10 minutes per day, up from 56 percent in 2005, the CDC...
Read more →By Chanelle Bell Gabrielle ”Gabby” Douglas has impressed and wowed the Olympic judges and has represented the US well with her sunny disposition. At 16, she has become the only African American woman to win the all-around Olympic gold and has also led her gymnastic team to victory. So, why is it that, instead...
Read more →Beyond Emancipation is hosting a “Beyond Idol” foster youth talent competition Saturday, Sept. 22 for ages 16 to 24 with auditions at Laney College. Participants must be a current or former Alameda county foster youth who will perform on “emancipation themes” in one of four categories, hip hop, spoken word, vocalist and instrumentalist. Finalists...
Read more →The National Black Data Processing Associates (NBDPA) has selected Hewlett-Packard, the world’s largest technology company, as a 2012 Corporate Epsilon Award recipient. The award recognizes exceptional companies that provide African Americans with challenging and fulfilling career opportunities in information technology and computer science. Since 2009, the NBDPA has recognized companies that have demonstrated a...
Read more →By Jesse Jackson, Sr. We are shocked and saddened by the massacre in Aurora, Colo. But Aurora is part of a pattern, not an isolated incident. Two days earlier, 17 were hurt outside a bar in Tuscaloosa, Ala., when a gunman opened fire. There is no safe zone. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others...
Read more →By Chanelle Bell Despite being considered the underdogs, the Ralph Grant Baseball Academy beat the odds, winning the 12 and under division National Championships in Marietta, GA. The team, which is based and Oakland and draws talent from around the Bay Area, is led by Eddie Abrams, Jr., Will Ash, and Randy Jordan, who...
Read more →By Paul Cobb and Leonard Gardner At the Church of God in Christ California Northwest 55th Convocation in Oakland last month, Emma Clark was seen wearing many hats. She served as support staff to the Convention Coordinator, Executive Secretary and the Director of Finance’s offices. She was also a Convocation Institute speaker, whose topic...
Read more →By Jesse Douglas Allen-Taylor The Oakland Police Department is struggling to come up with solutions to make a dent in the department’s blacklogged investigations and DNA processing crisis, in the wake of a offical Grand Jury report issued late in June, which criticized what it called a “significant backlog” in both crime lab and...
Read more →Math Students Post-up with SAIL By Paul Cobb African American youth have been given scholarships to learn how to count, compute and think through math and science problems in a former Wells Fargo office building in downtown Oakland. They are learning Algebra, which has often been called the “universal second language” and the “gateway...
Read more →The Broadway Hustlers and A.C. Mob will hold their 2nd annual Family Reunion, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., on Saturday, Aug. 11 at Defremery Park in Oakland, called “A Day of No Violence.” Known for its GQ style, economic growth and leadership, the Broadway Hustlers was a street gang of more than 75 men...
Read more →“Old Happens,” written and performed by David Glover and directed by Phillip E. Walker, is a one-man show filled with entertainment and comedic quirks and perks. The show will take place 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5 at Linen Life Gallery, 770 East 14th St. in San Leandro. Glover calls his performance a building block...
Read more →By Elizabeth Fernandez, courtesy of UC San Francisco As mothers have always known, a good night’s sleep is crucial to good health — and now a new study led by a UCSF researcher shows that poor sleep can reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. The study is the first performed outside a sleep laboratory to...
Read more →By Tanya Dennis Earl Starnes, who lost his wife Annie Mae from cancer in February, is someone who feels the call to join the fight against the disease, which strikes one in three people during their lifetime. “I can’t think of a better way to honor my wife and keep her memory alive than...
Read more →Author Robert Stanley Oden will be present his book, “From Blacks to Brown And Beyond,” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 19 at the Joyce Gordon Gallery, 406 14th St. in Oakland. Oden, a professor in the Government Department at Sacramento State University, spent 15 years researching and writing the book, which is subtitled,...
Read more →By Dianne Anderson Special to the NNPA from the Precinct Reporter The debate rages on in the medical community over the recent recommendation that doctors stop offering the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test. Black men die from prostate cancer earlier and at twice the rate over every other racial group, and the PSA...
Read more →The national charitable foundation of the U.S. Tennis Association, USTA Serves, has awarded a $10,000 grant to support 400 young people who are part of Youth Tennis Advantage (YTA) at Mosswood Park in Oakland, the BearTrax program at UC Berkeley, and John McLaren Park in San Francisco. The grant will be used for Empowering...
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The Prescott Joseph Center for Community Enhancement is presenting August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” starring The Lower Bottom Playaz, under the direction of Ayodele Nzinga. The play will open Friday, July 13 and run through July 22 at The Sister Thea Bowman Memorial Theater at 920 Peralta St. in Oakland. “Ma Rainey’s Black...
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By Spencer Whitney For the last few months, Oakland resident David Chin has been combing over data and research from FBI crime statistics in efforts to find out why there is such an enormous backlog of over 400,000 untested rape kits sitting in law enforcement storage facilities. The victims of sexual assault are asked...
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By Chanelle Bell Mario Brown, a running back who has dominated in every league he has played since the third grade, is an accomplished 20 year old with a warm and humble spirit. Born and raised in Berkeley, he attended Bishop O’ Dowd High School and was a football standout. Nicknamed “Super Mario,” he...
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Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland recently celebrated a “Mortgage Burning Ceremony” for Allen Temple Arms, a community of homes for seniors with limited incomes. The mortgage, taken out in August 1981, was paid off after 30 years. Left to Right are: Rev. J. Alfred Smith, Jr., Allen Temple’s current pastor. Rev. J. Alfred...
Read more →The 4th of July is just around the corner and what better way to celebrate than onboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. Once again the USS Hornet Museum is hosting its annual family-friendly Independence Day celebration from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday, July 4. The public is invited to enjoy a fun-filled day...
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Writer Erica Kennedy (left) has been found dead in her Miami Beach apartment. She was 42. Kennedy, whose full name was Erica Kennedy Johnson, was found dead last week. No cause was immediately reported. A former fashion publicist, she began her writing career as a special correspondent for the New York Daily News. She...
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June 21 is the anniversary of the murders in 1964 of young civil rights workers in Mississippi Freedom Summer, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. The three young men were arrested by the police on trumped-up charges, imprisoned for several hours, and then released after dark into the hands of the Ku Klux...
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R.C. Owens, a San Francisco 49ers wide receiver who was best known for pairing with quarterback Y.A. Tittle to invent the “alley-oop” pass into the end zone, has died at the age of 78. A 14th-round draft pick out of Idaho in 1956, Owens spent his first five NFL seasons with the 49ers, and...
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The central Florida police chief who was strongly criticized for his agency’s initial investigation of Trayvon Martin’s slaying was fired Wednesday. City Manager Norton Bonaparte said in a statement that he relieved Chief Bill Lee of duty because he lacked the trust and respect of elected officials and the community. “We need to move...
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From left to right: Laney College President Dr. Elnora T. Webb; Tori (a finalist who the judges critiqued as promising); Braunz Courtney, who served as MC and is Program Manager of HIV Education and Prevention Project; and Dean Marco Menendez. By Jesse Brooks Randell Thompson is a college student who is...
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We are still devastated by the loss of our son Trayvon Martin, and nothing can bring him back. But we are heartened to tell you that justice may finally be served for Trayvon. Florida State Attorney Angela Corey announced that she will charge George Zimmerman with 2nd degree murder, weeks after he confessed to...
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