Business

New, Black-Owned Food Truck Rolls Out

Oakland A’s Support Launch of West Oakland-Based Business

Published

3 years ago

September 25, 2021

Isabelle Price

Soul on a Roll Food Truck chefs (l-r):Sarah Germany, Keshia Evans, Howard Harrison, GaQuayla LeGrone

On Friday, September 17, hundreds showed up for the nonprofit, West-Oakland-based organization Oakland & the World Enterprises (OAW) as they launched its Soul on a Roll food truck business, operated and soon to be cooperatively owned by chefs Sarah Germany, Keshia Evans, Howard Harrison and GaQuayla LeGrone. The latter three are formerly incarcerated.

This is another step in the Mission of OAW, to launch and sustain for-profit businesses for ownership by formerly incarcerated and other socioeconomically marginalized people. The Oakland A’s made a significant contribution to the start-up of the food truck in their efforts to support economic development in West Oakland.

The event was held at OAW’s base at 7^th and Campbell Streets. Along with free food from Soul on a Roll, entertainment was provided by the West Coast Blues Society, with founder Ronnie Stewart and performances by blues legends featured on the historic Seventh Street Walk of Fame, including Terrible Tom, Lee Ashford and Minor Williams. The Seventh Street Walk of Fame runs along the front of OAW’s base.

Oakland A’s President Dave Kaval was presented with a commendation from both OAW and the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC). Accepting for Dave was Stephanie Gaywood of the Oakland A’s.

OAACC President and CEO Cathy Adams presented the Oakland African American Chamber’s award at the press conference and community event. Adams said, “Dave has made it clear that the Oakland A’s commitment to the community is steadfast.” And, Elaine Brown, CEO of OAW said, “OAW is grateful to the A’s for providing real support to a business venture based in the community. We intend for Soul on a Roll to be a model for a thousand businesses to bloom.”

Certificates of recognition to OAW’s four chefs were provided by the offices of Mayor Libby Schaff, Supervisor Keith Carson, State Senator Nancy Skinner, and U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s office, represented by Tatyana Kalinga.

Another OAW business, its first, West Oakland Farms, also operated by formerly incarcerated people and in business since 2016, presently sits on the site at 7^th and Campbell. In late November 2021, OAW will break ground on its 100% affordable housing complex there, which is co-owned by OAW and its development partner McCormack Baron Salazar (MBS).

MBS Senior VP Adhi Nagraj will be on hand for questions. West Oakland Farms will be temporarily dismantled and reincorporated into the new housing complex. For more information, please log on to the website www.oaklandandtheworld.org

The Oakland Post’s coverage of local news in Alameda County is supported by the Ethnic Media Sustainability Initiative, a program created by California Black Media and Ethnic Media Services to support community newspapers across California.

Isabelle Price

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Business

Google’s New Deal with California Lawmakers and Publishers Will Fund Newsrooms, Explore AI

Gov. Gavin Newsom, California lawmakers and some newspaper publishers last week finalized a $172 million deal with tech giant Google to support local news outlets and artificial intelligence innovation. This deal, the first of its kind in the nation, aims to invest in local journalism statewide over the next five years. However, the initiative is different from a bill proposed by two legislators, news publishers and media employee unions requiring tech giants Google and Meta to split a percentage of ad revenue generated from news stories with publishers and media outlets.

Published

1 week ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

This deal, the first of its kind in the nation, aims to invest in local journalism statewide over the next five years. However, the initiative is different from a bill proposed by two legislators, news publishers and media employee unions requiring tech giants Google and Meta to split a percentage of ad revenue generated from news stories with publishers and media outlets. Under this new deal, Google will commit $55 million over five years into a new fund administered by the University of California, Berkeley to distribute to local newsrooms. In this partnership, the State is expected to provide $70 over five years toward this initiative. Google also has to pay a lump sum of $10 million annually toward existing grant programs that fund local newsrooms.

The State Legislature and the governor will have to approve the state funds each year. Google has agreed to invest an additional $12.5 million each year in an artificial intelligence program. However, labor advocates are concerned about the threat of job losses as a result of AI being used in newsrooms.

Julie Makinen, board chairperson of the California News Publishers Association, acknowledged that the deal is a sign of progress.

“This is a first step toward what we hope will become a comprehensive program to sustain local news in the long term, and we will push to see it grow in future years,” said Makinen.

However, the deal is “not what we had hoped for when set out, but it is a start and it will begin to provide some help to newsrooms across the state,” she said.

Regina Brown Wilson, Executive Director of California Black Media, said the deal is a commendable first step that beats the alternative: litigation, legislation or Google walking from the deal altogether or getting nothing.

“This kind of public-private partnership is unprecedented. California is leading the way by investing in protecting the press and sustaining quality journalism in our state,” said Brown Wilson. “This fund will help news outlets adapt to a changing landscape and provide some relief. This is especially true for ethnic and community media journalists who have strong connections to their communities.”

Although the state partnered with media outlets and publishers to secure the multi-year deal, unions advocating for media workers argued that the news companies and lawmakers were settling for too little.

Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) proposed a bill earlier this year that aimed to hold tech companies accountable for money they made off news articles. But big tech companies pushed back on bills that tried to force them to share profits with media companies.

McGuire continues to back efforts that require tech companies to pay media outlets to help save jobs in the news industry. He argued that this new deal, “lacks sufficient funding for newspapers and local media, and doesn’t fully address the inequities facing the industry.”