Community
Community Bands Together to Clean Up Encampment Near GRIP
The community banded together Thursday to clean up one of the city’s largest homeless encampments located next to the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program’s homeless shelter at 22nd Street near Carlson Boulevard.
Richmond Mayor Tom Butt and his office partnered with GRIP and community advocates such as Daniel Barth and Antoine Cloird to coordinate the all-volunteer cleanup effort. BART officials helped clean up the railroad right of way, Republic Services lent a large dumpster, and a combined workforce of about 50 community volunteers and GRIP staff got to work removing trash from the site.
McDonald’s gift cards were offered to the homeless individuals for helping in the effort, Mayor Butt said.
“We’re excited about today, that the mayor contacted us here at GRIP and said how can he help,” said Kathleen Sullivan, GRIP’s executive director. “It’s been very challenging…the neighborhood needs some help. We’re just grateful.”
Community advocate Cloird said the partnership helps to connect homeless individuals with the help they need to establish stable housing.
“We’ve got resources here at GRIP, and we’re going to partner with [the homeless], transition them into housing, provide mental resources, substance abuses sources…” Cloird said, adding, “We know that teamwork makes the dream work.”
Barth has been calling not just for the site to be cleaned up, but for regular efforts.
“I’ve also asked if the City can maintain a regular twice weekly trash pickup schedule, so that we motivate folks to fill the trash bins and trash bags that the City should provide in order to be proactive along the corridor,” Barth wrote in an email. “I’ve also suggested that these institutions leverage dollars to fund a 2-person Green Team of homeless folks who are stipended to keep this corridor clean and improve the sanitation practices by folks living there.”
We filled one huge dumpster. Much thanks to Republic Services for the dumpster, Groundwork Richmond for tools and volunteers, BART for working on the railroad right of way, Daniel Barth and Kathleen Sullivan and the folks from the GRIP Center.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Alameda County
DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland
Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.
Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.
City Government
Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Special to The Post
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.
Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”
According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.
“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”
When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.
At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”
While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.
On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.
“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.
The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.
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