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Democrat Carl Heastie Elected Speaker of New York Assembly

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Newly-elected Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, holds his daughter Taylor after his election at the Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, in Albany, N.Y. Heastie is the first African-American speaker, who will lead a chamber that has been rocked by scandal. He succeeds Sheldon Silver, the longtime leader who resigned after being charged with taking nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

Newly-elected Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, holds his daughter Taylor after his election at the Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, in Albany, N.Y. Heastie is the first African-American speaker, who will lead a chamber that has been rocked by scandal. He succeeds Sheldon Silver, the longtime leader who resigned after being charged with taking nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

DAVID KLEPPER, Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The new leader of the New York state Assembly promised to focus on ethics and integrity after colleagues elected him Tuesday as the first African-American speaker, replacing a lawmaker whose two-decade reign ended with federal corruption charges.

Democrat Carl Heastie vowed to create a new office of ethics compliance and take other steps to clean up Albany’s tradition of corruption and backroom dealing.

“We will change the cynicism into trust,” Heastie said. “Our state deserves a government as good as its people.”

Sheldon Silver, who held the speakership for 21 years, is charged with taking nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. The Manhattan Democrat has said he expects to be exonerated and intends to keep his seat in the Assembly. Silver attended Tuesday’s session, casting a vote for Heastie from his new desk in the Assembly’s back row.

Democrats hold a more than two-thirds majority in the chamber, and Heastie easily won the post over Republican Minority Leader Brian Kolb.

The Assembly’s only other business Tuesday was passage of a resolution honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Heastie noted the coincidence.

“Thank you, Dr. King, for making this day possible,” said Heastie, also the first speaker from the Bronx.

The speaker is one of the most important positions in state government. Heastie will direct the flow of legislation, set committee assignments and direct budget negotiations with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Republican-controlled state Senate.

Four other lawmakers initially sought the speakership but quickly backed out as Heastie locked up support.

The 47-year-old Heastie was first elected in 2000 and has led the Assembly’s Labor Committee for the past two years. He is a former budget analyst in the New York City Comptroller’s Office. He also leads the Bronx Democratic County Committee, a post he has said he will leave now that he is speaker.

On Monday, Heastie outlined his reform proposal, calling for a new Office of Ethics and Compliance led by a non-legislator, new limits on how much outside income lawmakers can earn, and greater reporting of outside income and legislative stipends. Outside pay is a central issue in the case against Silver.

He also said he would look for ways to decentralize Assembly power so rank-and-file lawmakers have more input.

Cuomo has suggested his own proposals including full disclosure of outside income. He announced Monday that he wouldn’t sign a state budget unless lawmakers pass reforms to restore public confidence in the Legislature.

“After all the headlines, I can see why they have questions of trust,” Cuomo told reporters during an event in Buffalo.

While the vote to elect Heastie speaker was overwhelming, managing the competing and in some cases conflicting goals of lawmakers — while negotiating with Cuomo and the Senate’s Republican leaders — is likely to prove more challenging.

Heastie is the latest in a long line of speakers from New York City — a tradition that many city leaders had insisted must be continued. As Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement hailing Heastie’s election, “New York City needs a strong voice in Albany.”

But Heastie will face pressure from upstate lawmakers too. Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, D-Rotterdam, said he supported Heastie for speaker after he promised to address ethics and listen to the needs of upstate New York.

“I wanted a commitment that upstate New York would be a part of the conversation,” he said.

Heastie said he plans to visit upstate soon and listed several priorities for the Assembly including a higher minimum wage, extending financial aid to students in the country illegally and a legislative package known as the women’s equality agenda that contains measures to protect abortion rights and to combat sex trafficking, domestic violence and workplace discrimination.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Bay Area

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

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Mayor London Breed
Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

 

  • $42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
  • $318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
  • $445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
  • $6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
  • $750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
  • $2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour,co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

on

Congresswoman Barbara Lee
Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12).

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.

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Politics

Democrat Carl Heastie Elected Speaker of New York Assembly

Published

on

Newly-elected Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, holds his daughter Taylor after his election at the Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, in Albany, N.Y. Heastie is the first African-American speaker, who will lead a chamber that has been rocked by scandal. He succeeds Sheldon Silver, the longtime leader who resigned after being charged with taking nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

Newly-elected Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, holds his daughter Taylor after his election at the Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, in Albany, N.Y. Heastie is the first African-American speaker, who will lead a chamber that has been rocked by scandal. He succeeds Sheldon Silver, the longtime leader who resigned after being charged with taking nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

DAVID KLEPPER, Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The new leader of the New York state Assembly promised to focus on ethics and integrity after colleagues elected him Tuesday as the first African-American speaker, replacing a lawmaker whose two-decade reign ended with federal corruption charges.

Democrat Carl Heastie vowed to create a new office of ethics compliance and take other steps to clean up Albany’s tradition of corruption and backroom dealing.

“We will change the cynicism into trust,” Heastie said. “Our state deserves a government as good as its people.”

Sheldon Silver, who held the speakership for 21 years, is charged with taking nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. The Manhattan Democrat has said he expects to be exonerated and intends to keep his seat in the Assembly. Silver attended Tuesday’s session, casting a vote for Heastie from his new desk in the Assembly’s back row.

Democrats hold a more than two-thirds majority in the chamber, and Heastie easily won the post over Republican Minority Leader Brian Kolb.

The Assembly’s only other business Tuesday was passage of a resolution honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Heastie noted the coincidence.

“Thank you, Dr. King, for making this day possible,” said Heastie, also the first speaker from the Bronx.

The speaker is one of the most important positions in state government. Heastie will direct the flow of legislation, set committee assignments and direct budget negotiations with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Republican-controlled state Senate.

Four other lawmakers initially sought the speakership but quickly backed out as Heastie locked up support.

The 47-year-old Heastie was first elected in 2000 and has led the Assembly’s Labor Committee for the past two years. He is a former budget analyst in the New York City Comptroller’s Office. He also leads the Bronx Democratic County Committee, a post he has said he will leave now that he is speaker.

On Monday, Heastie outlined his reform proposal, calling for a new Office of Ethics and Compliance led by a non-legislator, new limits on how much outside income lawmakers can earn, and greater reporting of outside income and legislative stipends. Outside pay is a central issue in the case against Silver.

He also said he would look for ways to decentralize Assembly power so rank-and-file lawmakers have more input.

Cuomo has suggested his own proposals including full disclosure of outside income. He announced Monday that he wouldn’t sign a state budget unless lawmakers pass reforms to restore public confidence in the Legislature.

“After all the headlines, I can see why they have questions of trust,” Cuomo told reporters during an event in Buffalo.

While the vote to elect Heastie speaker was overwhelming, managing the competing and in some cases conflicting goals of lawmakers — while negotiating with Cuomo and the Senate’s Republican leaders — is likely to prove more challenging.

Heastie is the latest in a long line of speakers from New York City — a tradition that many city leaders had insisted must be continued. As Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement hailing Heastie’s election, “New York City needs a strong voice in Albany.”

But Heastie will face pressure from upstate lawmakers too. Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, D-Rotterdam, said he supported Heastie for speaker after he promised to address ethics and listen to the needs of upstate New York.

“I wanted a commitment that upstate New York would be a part of the conversation,” he said.

Heastie said he plans to visit upstate soon and listed several priorities for the Assembly including a higher minimum wage, extending financial aid to students in the country illegally and a legislative package known as the women’s equality agenda that contains measures to protect abortion rights and to combat sex trafficking, domestic violence and workplace discrimination.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Bay Area

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

on

Mayor London Breed
Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

 

  • $42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
  • $318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
  • $445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
  • $6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
  • $750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
  • $2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour,co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.

Continue Reading

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

on

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Continue Reading

Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

on

Congresswoman Barbara Lee
Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12).

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.

Continue Reading

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