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A West Oakland Family Business Gains Popularity for their Homemade Granola

About three years ago, Chestnut Street Granola founders Tim Lohrentz and Rachel Russell offered party favors in the form of homemade granola at their wedding and received nothing but positive feedback from their guests. With this reaction sitting in the back of their minds on their honeymoon, a vision for a small business was sparked.

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Chestnut St. Granola Co. representatives’ niece Emani, owner and taste tester Rachel Russell, son Quincy, niece MacKenzie with owner and chef Tim Lohrentz stand in the kitchen where the families’ line of granola treats are made and packaged. (Photo by Christy Price)
Chestnut St. Granola Co. representatives’ niece Emani, owner and taste tester Rachel Russell, son Quincy, niece MacKenzie with owner and chef Tim Lohrentz stand in the kitchen where the families’ line of granola treats are made and packaged. (Photo by Christy Price)

By Isabelle and Christy Price

What began as a cost-effective way to honor guests at their wedding has turned into a growing family business based out of a blue Victorian home in West Oakland known as Chestnut Street Granola.

With a focus on homemade granola and a range of flavors, this family sets up shop at the Hayward Farmers Market every Saturday and, in addition, offers online sales in hopes to reach a larger customer base.

About three years ago, Chestnut Street Granola founders Tim Lohrentz and Rachel Russell offered party favors in the form of homemade granola at their wedding and received nothing but positive feedback from their guests. With this reaction sitting in the back of their minds on their honeymoon, a vision for a small business was sparked.

“I mean, originally, I just made granola for years and years and I made granola just to eat so that was what was fun, was eating,” said Tim. “But I think the wedding, when we did the favors, it really changed my perspective to be something that other people could enjoy.”

Final product of Chestnut Street Granola Company’s hard work. Orange You Glad is a favorite among the children. (Photo by Christy Price)

Final product of Chestnut Street Granola Company’s hard work. Orange You Glad is a favorite among the children. (Photo by Christy Price)

Pre-pandemic, they began the process of obtaining a business license and proper permits. While this process was one of their biggest challenges and took the longest amount of time, they held out. Once the proper licensing and permits were obtained, they outsourced and cooked at a commercial kitchen. Since the pandemic erupted, this commercial kitchen shut down and Chestnut Street Granola was left to their own devices. Months passed and the business took a back seat as the family attempted to navigate the reality of living in a pandemic.

This past August, Tim and Rachel made the decision to obtain a CFO permit and run the business right out of their own home. Tim became head chef and Rachel handled marketing, packing, shipping and everything in between.

They also brought in both of their sons. Quincy is an expert in sales and Ben pulls is the photographer. Their nieces Emani and Mackenzie help with packaging, labeling, and customer service at the Hayward Farmers Market.

Emani shared her love of customer service. “It’s really nice. I like talking to everyone and telling them about the granola. It’s nice to see their reaction when they finally try the samples or something and then they’re like “Oh, wow” and then they compliment me.”

Since picking back up, their main focus is community building and sharing the love of fresh food with people.

Chestnut Street Granola currently offers four different flavors of granola that include; Everything is Everything, Orange You Glad, Dyin’ for Cayenne, and a seasonal flavor called Pumpkin Harvest. According to Tim, new flavor profiles are in the works and coming soon.

They offer two different sizes: a large 12 oz. bag priced at $10 and a travel size 2.5 oz. bag priced at $3. Forms of payment they take include debit and credit cards, cash, food stamps at the farmers market, and they are working on expanding into the Venmo platform.

Chestnut Street Granola can be found at the Hayward Farmers Market, 777 B Street, Hayward, 94541, every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. You can also place any online orders on their website for convenience. They can be contacted via email at Chestnutstreetgranola@gmail.com or by phone at 415-244-8949 for any inquiries.

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Alameda County

Lee Releases Strong Statement on Integrity and Ethics in Government

In a statement released recently, Lee said she fully supports current efforts by the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, ACLU and Oakland Ethics Commissioners to look at how to strengthen accountability and trust in government. She said she supports a review of the city charter to clarify lines of accountability between the city administrator and elected mayor, so the City of Oakland uses every tax dollar wisely to deliver essential services in the most efficient ways. 

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Barbara Lee. Courtesy photo.
Barbara Lee. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The people of Oakland expect and deserve a transparent, accountable government that serves the people, not special interests, according to Oakland mayoral candidate Barbara Lee, who pledges to bring the same “energy, ideas, and dedication” to ethics in City Hall that she had in Congress.

“There should be no tolerance whatsoever for secret pay-to-play schemes that erode the public trust. Oaklanders expect and deserve leaders who have only one agenda—honest, accountable leadership that serves the people of Oakland,” she said.

In a statement released recently, Lee said she fully supports current efforts by the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, ACLU, and Oakland Ethics Commissioners to look at how to strengthen accountability and trust in government.

She said she supports a review of the city charter to clarify lines of accountability between the city administrator and elected mayor, so the City of Oakland uses every tax dollar wisely to deliver essential services in the most efficient ways.

In addition, Lee said, the current prohibition on gifts to elected officials is too loosely worded and should be strengthened to ensure no one is prone to influence. There is also no user-friendly portal where any member of the public can view contract scopes and amounts, which should be available online for public review.

She also supports the city pursuing available legal remedies to secure financial relief or judgments against persons or entities convicted of defrauding the City or using illegal means to profit on the backs of Oakland taxpayers.

Though Oakland’s governmental structure is complex, leadership is what matters, she said. The city needs reforms to ensure accountability and transparency and needs leadership.

Lee said she is proud of her strong track record on ethics and integrity.

As a congresswoman, she was a leader in one of the most sweeping political ethics reforms, which banned gifts from lobbyists and prohibited House members from traveling on private planes, among other vital reforms. That reform law ended pay-to-play schemes that had run rampant in Washington, D.C.

Congresswoman Lee also played a key role in the comprehensive ethics reform package in 2007, which required lawmakers to disclose how much campaign cash lobbyists raise on their behalf and what earmarks they have requested.

Starting from her very first day in Congress, she supported campaign finance reform to get big money out of politics, including limiting the size of campaign donations.

She spearheaded efforts to overturn the Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgate to unlimited spending by billionaires to buy elections.

She supported public campaign financing to combat the influence of big money in politics, including the Government By the People Act.

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Activism

Griot Theater Company Presents August Wilson’s Work at Annual Oratorical Featuring Black Authors

The performance explores the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson whose 10-play Century Cycle chronicles the African American experience across the 20th century, with each play set in a different decade. “Half a Century” journeys through the final five plays of this monumental cycle, bringing Wilson’s richly woven stories to life in a way that celebrates history, resilience, and the human spirit.

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Late playwright August Wilson. Wikipedia photo.
Late playwright August Wilson. Wikipedia photo.

By Godfrey Lee

Griot Theater Company will present their Fifth Annual Oratorical with August Wilson’s “Half a Century,” at the Belrose on 1415 Fifth Ave., in San Rafael near the San Rafael Public Library.

The performance explores the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson whose 10-play Century Cycle chronicles the African American experience across the 20th century, with each play set in a different decade. “Half a Century” journeys through the final five plays of this monumental cycle, bringing Wilson’s richly woven stories to life in a way that celebrates history, resilience, and the human spirit.

Previous performance highlighting essential Black American authors included Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Lorraine Hansberry with Langston Hughes.

The play will be performed at 3:00. p.m. on Feb. 20, 21, 22, 27, and 28 at 7:00 p.m., and on Feb. 23 at 3:00 p.m.

For more information, go to griottheatercompany.squarespace.com/productions-v2

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Activism

Two New California Bills Are Aiming to Lower Your Prescription Drug Costs

“When basic life necessities like medication become unaffordable in Blue States, working people pay the price. As Democrats, we should be leading on making people’s lives better and more affordable,” continued Weiner. It is past time California caught up with other states and put basic protections in place to contain the astronomical cost of basic medications.”

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iStock.
iStock.

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has introduced two bills in the State Senate that could lower prescription drug prices for California residents.

Senate Bill (SB) 40, or the Insulin Affordability Act — and accompanying legislation, SB 41, or Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Reform — comprise Wiener’s Prescription Drug Affordability (PDA) Package.

Together, the bills would cap monthly co-pays for insulin at $35 (SB 40) and create regulations for pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) whose negotiation practices, critics say, have resulted in steep price increases for prescription drugs (SB 41).

“It makes no sense that people with diabetes in states like West Virginia can access affordable insulin while Californians are stuck with higher prices,” said Wiener in a statement.

“When basic life necessities like medication become unaffordable in Blue States, working people pay the price. As Democrats, we should be leading on making people’s lives better and more affordable,” continued Weiner. It is past time California caught up with other states and put basic protections in place to contain the astronomical cost of basic medications.”

SB 40’s proposed $35 monthly co-pay was written, in part, in response to the price of insulin tripling over the past decade, Wiener’s office says. As a result of the increase, one in four people using insulin has reported insulin underuse because they can’t afford the full dose.

About 4,037,000 adult Californians have diabetes, with an additional 263,000 cases of Type 1 diabetes diagnosed each year. This rate in new cases disproportionately affects the elderly, men, and low-income patients, Wiener’s office reports.

According to Wiener, SB 41 is his follow-up to similar legislation he introduced last year, SB 966, which was vetoed by Gov. Newsom.

Middlemen in the pharmaceutical industry, PBMs buy prescription drugs from manufacturers and then sell them to pharmacies and health plans. Their position as intermediaries allows them to charge high administrative fees and significantly higher prices for drugs to pharmacies than they paid originally. This practice results in higher costs for patients seeking the prescriptions they need.

“On behalf of the Californians we serve who live with chronic and rare diseases, we are grateful to Sen. Wiener for his commitment and attempt to hold pharmacy middlemen accountable for their anti-patient and anti-pharmacy practices,” stated Liz Helms, California Chronic Care Coalition President & CEO.  “Health care costs continue to rise when patients cannot afford medically necessary medications.”

SB 41 proposes that all PBMs be licensed and that they disclose basic information regarding their business practices to the licensing entity. It also calls for a number of other requirements and prohibitions, including limiting how fees may be charged and requiring transparency related to all fees assessed.

“This bill addresses some of the worst abuses by pharmacy benefit managers: lack of transparency, unfair business practices, steering, and price gouging,” said Jamie Court, President of Consumer Watchdog.

In 2022, drug spending in California grew by 12%, while total health premiums rose by just 4%. Last year, more than half of Californians either skipped or postponed mental and physical healthcare due to cost, putting their safety and well-being at risk. One in three reported holding medical debt, including half of low-income Californians.

So far, there is no organized opposition to the Prescription Drug Affordability package.

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