Community

Rental Assistance Available Now

Under the state’s previous rental assistance program, rent payments were capped at up to 80% of back rent owed. The new program will cover up to 100% of back and future rent and can help low-income renters pay some or all of their unpaid utility bills.

Published

5 years ago

July 30, 2021

Christy Price

Nancy Skinner

Dear Constituent,

If you are a renter having difficulty paying your rent or anticipate that you will in the next few months, or if you are a landlord whose tenant has not been able to pay rent, California has just authorized additional funds to provide financial relief to tenants and landlords.

Budget bill AB 832, provides $5.2 billion to help struggling California renters by covering rent that a tenant may owe for as far back as April 2020 – along with future rent payments, if needed. AB 832 also extends California’s eviction moratorium to Sept. 30.

If you’re a renter and meet the income eligibility requirement (see below) and owe back rent, or have future rent payments you anticipate you can’t make, or are facing difficulty paying your utility bills, please apply for this program. And if you know someone who would benefit from this important program, please urge them to apply.

Income eligibility is based on you or your family’s adjusted gross income. In Alameda and Contra Costa counties, if you are a single taxpayer and your adjusted gross income (AGI) based on your recent pay stubs, unemployment payment, or other proof of income is up to $76,750, you meet the income eligibility threshold. Two-person joint filers are eligible with adjusted gross income of up to $87,700, and three are eligible with AGI of up to $98,650. Income eligibility for filers with more than three persons is adjusted accordingly.

Applications will be prioritized based on need. Those applicants with the lowest incomes will have their applications processed first, however, the state does not anticipate running out of rental assistance funds, so everyone who has the need for this assistance and meets the income-eligibility requirement should apply.

Here are the key elements of the newly revised rental assistance program:

Either renters or landlords can apply. NOTE: the application process works best (and fastest) if both the tenant and landlord complete it cooperatively.
- If both the tenant(s) and landlord apply, then up to 100% of unpaid back rent – and up to three months of future rent – will be paid directly to the landlord.
Tenants can apply on their own without a landlord applying.
- In that case, program staff will contact the landlord directly.
- If the landlord still declines to participate, the payments will go to the tenant, who must sign a legally binding document agreeing to transmit 100% of the payments to their landlord within 15 days.
A landlord may apply on their own, if their tenant doesn’t apply
- In this case, program staff will contact the tenant directly. If the tenant(s) qualifies and agrees, then the landlord will be paid directly the back rent that is owed.
- However, if the tenant(s) still declines to participate, then, unfortunately, because of federal rules, the landlord will be ineligible to receive any program funds.
For tenants and landlords who already applied through Housing Is Key and received up to 80% of back rent, the Housing Is Key program will automatically “top off” those recipients to up to 100% of what is owed without the need to reapply.
- However, tenants who need help paying future rent have to apply again to have their future rent obligations covered.
The program also allows non-occupancy payments. If a tenant who owes back rent has vacated the rental unit, then the tenant and landlord can apply for up to 100% of what is owed.
Utility Payments. Low-income renters who have been unable to pay some or all of their utilities because of the pandemic – or can’t pay future utilities – can also apply for assistance on paying their utility bills. Payments will be made directly to the utility provider.

Tenants living in, or landlords owning property in Contra Costa County or the city of Oakland, submit your application here: Housing Is Key.

Tenants who live in, or landlords who own property in Alameda County (excluding the city of Oakland), submit your application through Alameda County’s renter-landlord relief program, Alameda County Housing Secure. You can apply online using the Alameda County Housing Secure website or complete a paper application that is available in multiple languages. The paper application is downloadable from Alameda County Housing Secure.

NOTE: If you are a renter who lives in Oakland or a landlord who owns property in Oakland, you must apply through Housing Is Key, not through the Alameda County program.

Eviction Protection

All renters statewide are protected from eviction for inability to pay rent until at least Sept. 30. In Alameda County, the eviction ban will remain in effect longer, to 60 days after the county’s health emergency is lifted. These eviction protections only cover inability to pay due to the pandemic and not other actions that otherwise qualify for a just cause eviction.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Renters who submit an application to the rental assistance program by Sept. 30 are protected from eviction beyond Sept. 30 while their rental assistance application is being processed.

So submit your application ASAP. Don’t wait.

I hope you find this information helpful. It’s an honor to serve you in the state Senate.

Sincerely,

Nancy Skinner
State Senator, District

Christy Price

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Community

Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

2 days ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

bpusa-syndication

Posts by bpusa-syndication

Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

3 days ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.