City Government
Billionaire’s Proposal Will Kill Oakland’s Port
The heart of Oakland as a progressive, working-class city and the unusual reality of thousands of decent-paying jobs employing Black workers are all at stake.

Billionaire John Fisher proposes putting 3,000 luxury condos, a mall, and a stadium on Oakland’s public port property. Even if the Port could survive a stadium, it can’t survive 3,000 condos and a mall. Oakland’s current life-and-death debate is not about the A’s and a baseball stadium.
It’s about the creation of a new, posh, luxury city built on public property, profiting a billionaire, paid for by taxpayers, and reducing the viability of Oakland’s economic engine. The heart of Oakland as a progressive, working-class city and the unusual reality of thousands of decent-paying jobs employing Black workers are all at stake.
Oakland’s Port is in danger and this has become a nationally recognized problem. A publication on supply chains reports, “The Port of Oakland had recently found itself at the center of a short-term “economic boom,” thanks to U.S. West Coast shippers sending goods to its facility to alleviate congestion of Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.
Though this may seem like a positive for Oaklanders, there is a problem that may prevent the port from acquiring new businesses in the future, and the problem is all too American: baseball. The Howard Street Terminal, which serves as a passage for dock bulk cargo and containers, is likely going to be overtaken by The Oakland A’s”.
The underlying issue here has already been settled in hundreds of communities across the world. You can’t mix heavy industrial uses (a port) with residential uses (condos) and have the industry survive.
One expert senior planner states it clearly, “It is absolutely true that activities that are toxic, noisy, or are associated with big truck or motor vehicle activity are incompatible with residential areas.”
Ports are noisy and dirty, of necessity. And when residents move into such situations, they complain. Since residents vote and cargo ships don’t, the complaints cause more and more restrictions to be placed on the industrial activity. In addition, the comings and goings of thousands of residents and office workers will cause gridlock and make Port operations impossible.
This reality is so universal that some Port of Oakland businesses have already started limiting the length of their contracts with the Port out of caution for what they see as the possible success of billionaire Fisher’s plan. The Oakland Port had been undergoing an economic boom in recent years, but now businesses are making plans to take their business to other West Coast ports.
Dr. Mark Luther, professor of Maritime and Port Studies at the University of South Florida, says that allowing residential development on or near a port is very short-sighted for any city because a port is a long-term economic engine for a city. There are no experts on ports who support a development like Fisher’s.
The Wall Street Journal recognized this problem years ago, “America’s ports are running out of room. Squeezed by their urban hosts and struggling to keep up with exports from the developing world, the country’s long-neglected port infrastructure, is nearing a crisis point.”
So why would billionaire Fisher’s proposal even be up for discussion? Oakland is currently dominated by something sociologist William Domhoff calls the “growth coalition.” This consists of developers seeking a profit, the elected officials who side with them to promote their careers (in this case Mayor Schaff) and the construction trades that are interested in the short-term construction jobs these projects provide.
This particular development is a very bad idea and would not be given a second look if its proponents were not able to use affection for the A’s to sell it. We would all like the A’s to be in Oakland.
They could stay in the same or a newly built stadium in East Oakland or Fisher could propose a stadium without the condos at the Port. But he isn’t likely to do either one, because for him, this is not about the A’s. It’s about making a boatload of money off ocean-facing condos and our Port be damned. The City Council has the power to stop this madness. They need to use that power.
Barbara Lee
San Diego Supervisor Nora Vargas Endorses Barbara Lee for Senate
Supervisor Nora Vargas, the first Latina ever to Chair the San Diego Board of Supervisors, has endorsed Barbara Lee for Senate, the Lee campaign announced. “As a healthcare and education champion I am thrilled to support Congresswoman Barbara Lee for US Senate,” said Vargas.

First Latina Chair of SD Board of Supervisors Supports Lee’s Historic Campaign for Senate
Supervisor Nora Vargas, the first Latina ever to Chair the San Diego Board of Supervisors, has endorsed Barbara Lee for Senate, the Lee campaign announced.
“As a healthcare and education champion I am thrilled to support Congresswoman Barbara Lee for US Senate,” said Vargas.
“She is exactly the type of advocate Californians need in the US Senate. Her track record of always tackling the tough issues while lifting people up and making sure everyone’s voice is heard is what we need from our next Senator. I am very excited to endorse Barbara Lee for US Senate and to work with her to advance our communities.”
Vargas was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2020 and quickly became known as a champion for veterans, children, and seniors. She is also the co-chair of the county’s COVID-19 subcommittee, chair of the San Diego Association of Governments Transportation Committee, as well as of the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, and a member of the California Air Resources Board.
“Supervisor Vargas has been an excellent example of why representation matters,” said Congresswoman Lee. “The lens she brings to the Board as the first Latina Chair has clearly helped inform her work to put families first in San Diego and made her an exceptionally effective representative. I am honored by her support in my campaign for Senate and I am eager to partner with her to deliver progressive change for San Diego.”
Supervisor Vargas joins a growing list of high-profile current and former elected officials from around the state who have endorsed Lee’s campaign for Senate, including five of the eight statewide constitutional officers – Attorney General Rob Bonta, Treasurer Fiona Ma, Controller Malia Cohen, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
Other national and California endorsers of Lee’s campaign include Congressmembers Jamaal Bowman, Sheila Jackson Lee, Steven Horsford, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Troy Carter, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Nikema Williams, Jim Clyburn, Bennie Thompson, Lucy McBath, Terri Sewell, and Gregory Meeks; former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Cedric Richmond, former Georgia General Assembly House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams; State Senators Susan Talamantes Eggman, Anna Caballero and Nancy Skinner; Assemblymembers Isaac Bryan, Mia Bonta and Corey Jackson; Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran, Redlands Mayor Eddie Tejeda, Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson, former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, Palm Desert Mayor Pro Tem Karina Quintanilla, Dolores Huerta, California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus Chair Deepa Sharma, California Democratic Party Progressive Caucus Chair Emeritus Amar Shergill, California Democratic Party LGBTQ Caucus Co-Chair Emeritus Tiffany Woods. A full list of endorsements is available at barbaraleeforCA.com.
Lee also has the backing of the Alameda County Building and Construction Trades Council, the California Legislative Black Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, Feminist Majority PAC, Black Women Organized for Political Action PAC, Higher Heights for America, the San Diego County Young Democrats, Gen Z for Change, and the Working Families Party.
There are currently no Black women serving in the U.S. Senate. Since 1789, when the first Congress met, only two African American women have been in the Senate, serving a total of 10 years.
For more information on Barbara Lee and her campaign for U.S. Senate, visit www.BarbaraLeeforCA.com
Bay Area
WCCUSD Unveils Fingerprinting Party Dates for Volunteer Badges
The WCCUSD is hosting a series of six fingerprinting parties at different district schools in September, October and February. Reportedly, the process takes little time investment, the volunteer badges are free, and the visits are drop-in — meaning, no appointment is necessary.

By Kathy Chouteau, Richmond Standard
Are you a parent, legal guardian, or community member who wants to volunteer at a West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) school or event?
If so, first, you need to get fingerprinted and badged at one of the district’s upcoming fingerprinting “parties.”
The WCCUSD is hosting a series of six fingerprinting parties at different district schools in September, October and February. Reportedly, the process takes little time investment, the volunteer badges are free, and the visits are drop-in—meaning, no appointment is necessary.
Here’s a rundown on the WCCUSD’s fingerprinting parties, which will all be held on their respective dates from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.:
- , Sept. 2, Collins Elementary, Multi-Purpose Room (MPR), 1224 Pinole Valley Rd. in Pinole;
- , Sept. 9, Harding Elementary, cafeteria, 7230 Fairmount Ave. in El Cerrito;
- , Sept. 16, Lupine Hills Elementary, MPR room, 1919 Lupine Rd. in Hercules;
- , Sept. 23, Helms Middle School, MPR room, 2500 Rd. 20 in San Pablo;
- , Oct. 7, Lovonya DeJean Middle School, MPR room, 3400 Macdonald Ave. in Richmond;
- , Feb. 10, Harding Elementary, cafeteria, 7230 Fairmount Ave. in El Cerrito.
Note that prospective volunteers should complete the online application (at https://www.beamentor.org/linkpages/mentorasp/specialprojects/wccusd/Default.asp) BEFORE attending a WCCUSD fingerprinting party. Anyone who already has a WCCUSD volunteer badge does not need to apply for one again. Questions? Contact (510) 307-4526.
Activism
Officer Fired for Shooting and Killing Sean Monterrosa Has Termination Overturned
Michael Rains, attorney for the Vallejo Police Officers’ Association, said that “several credible sources” have told him that Detective Jarrett Tonn’s termination has been overturned in arbitration.

By Katy St. Clair
Bay City News
The officer who was fired for shooting and killing a man during George Floyd protests in Vallejo in 2020 could be getting his job back after prevailing in arbitration.
Michael Rains, attorney for the Vallejo Police Officers’ Association, said that “several credible sources” have told him that Detective Jarrett Tonn’s termination has been overturned in arbitration.
Tonn was dismissed from the Vallejo force after he shot Sean Monterrosa, 22, of San Francisco, outside of a Walgreens store on Redwood Street during the early morning hours of June 2, 2020.
The Vallejo Police Department has not commented on whether Tonn will return.
Tonn and two other officers were responding to alleged reports of looting at the store in an unmarked pickup truck. Body camera footage shows Tonn, who is seated in the backseat of the vehicle, stick an AR-15-style assault rifle in between the two officers and fire five times through the windshield at Monterrosa as the police vehicle approached the store.
Monterrosa died a short time later.
Vallejo police have alleged that Tonn fired at Monterrosa because he mistook a hammer in Monterrosa’s sweatshirt pocket for the butt of a gun.
The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta in May 2021 opened an investigation into the shooting, but there have been no updates in that case and Bonta’s office will not comment on open cases.
Tonn was at first placed on administrative leave for the shooting death, but was fired in 2021 by then-Chief Shawny Williams, who determined that Monterrosa was on his knees with his hands raised when he was shot.
Rains, who has represented two other officers fired by Williams — and prevailed — said the reinstatement of Tonn was the right decision. Rains said Sunday that Tonn applied a reasonable and lawful use of force in the Monterrosa case, and that Williams was wrong to terminate him.
“This is just three for three now with Williams,” he said, referring to the now three officers that have gotten their jobs back. “It demonstrates what a colossal failure he was as a chief in every respect. I’m delighted for Tonn, it’s deserved.”
Rains did not represent Tonn in this case.
But others see Monterrosa’s shooting death as a dark stain on a department known for years of shootings by officers.
The law office of John Burris filed a civil rights suit against the city of Vallejo and its Police Department for Monterrosa’s death, citing alleged tampering with evidence and acting negligently by not reprimanding or re-training Tonn previously despite a “shocking history of shooting his gun at civilians.”
Burris’ office is no longer representing the case and the family is now represented by new counsel, John Coyle, with a jury trial scheduled for January 2025, according to court records.
Nevertheless, Burris commented Sunday on Tonn’s reinstatement, saying he was disappointed but not surprised at the move, because arbitrators in these cases are “biased” toward the police.
“Even though police may have committed in this case an outrageous act, it’s not surprising that that has happened, and it happens more times than not,” he said.
When asked if he was confident that Bonta would file charges against Tonn, Burris chuckled and said that he would wait and see.
“I would not hold my breath,” he said.
Tonn had previously shot three people over five years in Vallejo while on duty, none of which were found to have had firearms, a tenth of the 32 total shootings by the department in one decade, according to attorney Ben Nisenbaum.
Vallejo civil rights attorney Melissa Nold, who represents families of people killed by Vallejo police, said the decision to bring back Tonn had been in the works the minute he was terminated by Williams.
“Unfortunately, I am not surprised at this troubling turn of events because a whistleblower notified me last year via email that Tonn was working a deal to get his job back once they threatened and ran off Chief Williams,” Nold said.
Williams resigned abruptly last November. Williams was repeatedly criticized by the Vallejo Police Officers’ Association, the offices’ union, which had previously voted “no confidence” in him and blamed him for everything from attrition to high crime in the city. But advocates for the families of those killed by police said Williams had been making progress in cleaning up a department that had gained international attention for being violent. During Williams’ tenure, there were no police shootings after the Monterrosa death.
Nold places part of the blame on Tonn’s return on the city, which she said “made no effort” to support his termination. Nold said they are still expecting Bonta to file criminal charges against Tonn and there will be a push to get him decertified as an officer as well.
“He cannot ever go back out onto the streets of Vallejo,” she said. “The liability he would create by being here is astronomical, but sadly no one in the city attorney’s office is smart enough to understand and/or are too corrupt and rotten to care.”
In May, a Solano County judge found that the Vallejo City Attorney’s Office broke the law by deliberately destroying evidence in cases related to police shootings.
The city of Vallejo did not respond to a request for comment.
Members of the family of Monterrosa and their advocates are planning on showing up to the Vallejo City Council meeting on Sept. 12 to protest the return of Tonn, Nold said.
The family will also be holding a “Justice 4 Sean Monterrosa” press conference on Thursday at 11 a.m. at Vallejo City Hall, 555 Santa Clara St., Vallejo.
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