Bay Area
EBMUD Preparing For Power Shutoffs During Fire Season
Water Agency Equipping Stations With Pumps And Generators To Maintain Reliable Water Delivery
East Bay Municipal Utility District is staging portable generators and pumps at critical facilities in preparation for preemptive power outages PG&E is planning to initiate during high fire risk periods. The emergency equipment, in place from August through November, is necessary to maintain reliable water service to East Bay communities and emergency responders during these outages.
Pumping plants are important links in the water distribution system because they convey water to neighborhood water tanks for daily use. EBMUD’s water and wastewater treatment plants and some pumping plants have built-in backup power. Because a preemptive power outage, called a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS), can affect pumping plants without backup power, 29 emergency back-up generators are being placed in Berkeley, Castro Valley, Crockett, Danville, Moraga, Oakland, Orinda, Pinole and San Ramon.
“While we can’t predict what will happen this fire season, we can – and must — prepare our facilities to fulfill our duty to customers,” said EBMUD Board President Marguerite Young. “What we do now will save critical response time should we lose power.”
Staging equipment in advance of a power outage allows EBMUD to maintain necessary storage levels in neighborhood water tanks. This ensures water is available for firefighting and prevents depressurization of water pipelines. Neighbors near emergency equipment locations may see the emergency equipment beginning in August. The equipment will be operated only during a PSPS event; however, residents may hear the equipment running during testing.
“We are doing all we can to maintain sufficient water and water pressure during these proactive power shutdowns,” said General Manager Alex Coate. “During these outages, we will need public cooperation to ensure we maintain critical water supplies.”
During a PSPS event, affected EBMUD customers should minimize water use by turning off irrigation and reducing outdoor and indoor water use. EBMUD always recommends customers store a minimum of two gallons of water per person per day, plus pets, for three to seven days. If customers have household backup generators, they should be tested to ensure they operate safely.
EBMUD asks customers to check for PSPS updates on ebmud.com, and follow us @ebmud on Twitter, Nextdoor and Facebook. For more information on PSPS, please visit pge.com/wildfiresafety. For water emergencies, please call EBMUD at 1-866-403-2683.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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.
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.
Bay Area
State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference
California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.
By Carla Thomas
California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco.
The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.
“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.
ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.
“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.
More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.
Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.
“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.
“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.
“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.
By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”
Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”
Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.
“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”
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