Community
Newsom Unveils Revised Budget Proposal, $100 Billion Post-Pandemic Recovery Plan
The $267.8 billion budget includes a $196.8 billion general fund and is roughly $41 billion more than the initial budget Newsom proposed in January.

Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his revised state budget proposal May 14, including a $100 billion economic recovery plan and scores of one-time spending thanks to a nearly $76 billion projected surplus.
The $267.8 billion budget includes a $196.8 billion general fund and is roughly $41 billion more than the initial budget Newsom proposed in January.
The increase in proposed spending was made possible by the state receiving billions more dollars in tax revenue than expected over the last year as the state’s wealthiest residents got even wealthier, according to Newsom and state budget officials.
“That (recovery plan) is the biggest economic recovery package — period, full stop — in California history,” Newsom said.
Newsom spent the week leading up to the announcement teasing bits and pieces of the budget and the recovery package, which he has dubbed the California Comeback Plan.
The plan includes sending $600 stimulus checks to state residents who made up to $75,000 last year, spending billions to assist with rent and utility bills that have gone unpaid due to the coronavirus pandemic, making pre-kindergarten available to all 4-year-olds in the state and some $4 billion in relief grants for small businesses.
Newsom touted the budget’s $93.7 billion in public education funding as the most ever allocated to schools by the state.
That figure also does not include some $15.3 billion in federal education funding and another $8.1 billion in tax revenue that could be funneled to education spending via the “Gann limit,” a 1979 voter-approved ballot measure that puts an annual limit on government spending.
When the limit is reached, the remaining money must be returned to taxpayers. The roughly $12 billion that will fund the $600 stimulus checks is also part of that strategy to disperse money that surpassed the Gann limit, according to state officials.
The education funding would amount to roughly $14,000 per student across the state, double what the state was spending per student a decade ago, according to Newsom.
The state would spend $900 million in 2022-2023 and $2.7 billion in 2024-2025 under the plan to make pre-kindergarten universally available. Some 250,000 students would gain access to pre-K once fully implemented, Newsom said.
The budget includes $3.3 billion to train and support the additional teachers needed to expand the availability of pre-kindergarten and cut the ratio of pre-K students to teachers from 24-to-1 to 12-to-1.
“We want to make public schools essential,” Newsom said. “We want to make them competitive. We want to make our public education system enriching. We want to make our public education system what it’s capable of being.”
The funding plan also includes $2 billion to open personal savings accounts for some 3.7 million low-income, foster, homeless and English-learning youth.
The savings accounts would be seeded with $500 base deposits for every student in the program and an additional $500 for students who are homeless or in foster care.
The accounts could eventually be used to help pay for college or start a business, Newsom said, noting that some studies have found that children with early financial access and planning are seven times more likely to go to college.broadband internet
“This is an opportunity to address generational poverty,” Newsom said. “This is an opportunity to stretch a college-going mind but also an opportunity to look at trade school and entrepreneurial spirit… because we recognize there are many pathways for our children.”
The budget proposal also includes billions to help unhoused residents get off the streets; build some 46,000 housing units for unhoused residents; clean the state’s streets, freeways and neighborhoods; install broadband internet across the state; modernize the state’s infrastructure; invest in clean and renewable energy sources; and invest in drought and wildfire preparedness and resilience.
Newsom framed the spending in the proposed budget as economic supports that will help the state’s economy come “roaring back” from last year’s nadir in the pandemic’s early days, which forced the state to make financial cuts to shore up a roughly $54 billion budget deficit.
The revised budget proposal, while released on schedule, also comes as Newsom faces an effort to recall him and multiple Republican candidates that have argued the projected surplus is so large only because the state taxes its residents too much.
State Republican Party Chair Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement that the week-long budget rollout — which Newsom has done in the past — was a de-facto response tour to the recall effort and called him “shameless” for taking some credit in the state’s economic rebound.
“The only credit he and Democrats deserve is for California’s shuttered businesses, sky-high unemployment, deteriorating unemployment department, shrinking population, devastating homeless crisis and failing education system that is punishing students and parents through its union-first virtual schooling,” she said.
State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, praised Newsom for the revised budget proposal’s priorities.
“Thank goodness California is in the position to make transformative investments to end family homelessness, lift those hurt by the pandemic and properly fund our schools,” said Skinner, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee.
“Gov. Newsom’s proposed budget does that and more and complements the state Senate’s priorities,” she said. “Let the negotiations begin.”
Full details on Newsom’s revised budget proposal can be found at http://www.ebudget.ca.gov.
Newsom and the state Legislature will have until June 15 to approve the budget before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.
Arts and Culture
Berkeley’s Black Repertory Theater to Hold Fundraiser for Youth Programs
The Bay Area Jazz Society will hold a fundraiser and CD listening party to raise funds for youth programs at Berkeley’s Black Repertory Theater (BBRT), the only Black-owned-and-operated theater in the East Bay.

By Clifford Williams
Special to The Post
The Bay Area Jazz Society will hold a fundraiser and CD listening party to raise funds for youth programs at Berkeley’s Black Repertory Theater (BBRT), the only Black-owned-and-operated theater in the East Bay.
The event will take place at the BBRT on Sunday, Oct. 8 from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. at 3201 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA. Tickets are $25. The master of ceremonies will be KPFA’s Afrikahn Jamal Davis.
Many artists featured in “The Sounds of Oakland: Music from the Streets” compilation CD will perform with special guests including Larriah Jackson from “The Voice” Niecy ‘Living Single’ Robinson, one of the Bay Area’s most popular vocalists and Derick Hughes, who sang with Roberta Flack for many years, taking the place of Donnie Hathaway.
Other artists attending include Donnie Williams from “American Idol,” (the same year Jennifer Hudson and Latoya London appeared), and Williams’ sister, Terrill Williams. There will be live performances with food and drink for everyone, and the CD will be playing in the lobby when the performers take a break.
BBRT has had limited programming during and throughout the pandemic and is now struggling to regain continual of operations. Bay Area Jazz Society Executive Director Paul Tillman Smith, has an extensive background in theatre, starting with a stint as musical director for the Oakland Ensemble Theater’s Melvin Van Peebles play, “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,” featuring television star Ted Lange of the “Love Boat,” as director.
Tillman Smith is also the co-producer, along with Norman Connors, Levi Seacer Jr., and Nelson Braxton for the new Bay Area CD ‘The Sounds of Oakland: Music from the Streets.” Other artists listed on the CD may be in attendance, including Lenny Williams, Derick Hughes, and Lady Bianca to meet and greet guests.
The Berkeley chapter of the NAACP will also support the fundraiser.
The first 20 individuals attending the fundraiser will receive a free copy of the CD. Thirty percent of the CD sales will go into a fund to help aging artists who don’t have a pension and, in many cases, no social security.
For more information regarding the fundraiser and how to obtain tickets, contact Paul Tilman Smith at 510. 689.3332, or Bayjazz@gmail.com.
Black History
Remembering the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” brought an unprecedented throng to the National Mall on Aug. 28, 1963. From every corner of the U.S., marchers came to demand fair wages, economic justice, an end to segregation, voting rights and long overdue civil rights. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his incomparable “I Have a Dream” speech on that day.

By Gay Elizabeth Plair Cobb

Gay Plair Cobb
Editor’s note: The “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” brought an unprecedented throng to the National Mall on Aug. 28, 1963. From every corner of the U.S., marchers came to demand fair wages, economic justice, an end to segregation, voting rights and long overdue civil rights. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his incomparable “I Have a Dream” speech on that day. Below, Gay Plair Cobb shares her remembrance.
“Sleepy eyed, joining the early morning-chartered bus ride from New York City to Washington, DC … exhilarated, but not knowing what to expect in the late August heat
…. the yearning for justice, solidarity with others on the journey, the possibility of new legislation, and also the possibility of violence … We just did not know.
In the end, there were an amazing 250,000 of us, awed and inspired by Mahalia Jackson, John Lewis, Dorothy Height, James Farmer and, of course, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Dream that became our North Star is still our North Star 60 years later and into eternity. Grateful to have been a foot soldier then. Still grateful now.”

Poster for March on Washington.
Art
Oakland Celebrates Hiero Day 2023, Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop
Thousands of music fans showed up at Oscar Grant Plaza Monday, Sept. 4 to celebrate the 11th annual Hiero Day block party and commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, featuring the Souls of Mischief, Oakland native Kev Choice, Mister F.A.B. and a special guest appearance by Common.

By Post Staff
Thousands of music fans showed up at Oscar Grant Plaza Monday, Sept. 4 to celebrate the 11th annual Hiero Day block party and commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, featuring the Souls of Mischief, Oakland native Kev Choice, Mister F.A.B. and a special guest appearance by Common.
Hosted by the City of Oakland and Mayor Sheng Thao, the free event showcased over 30 live performances on three stages, including legendary, underground and undiscovered performers of hip-hop, R&B and other genres.
Souls of Mischief is part of the rap collective Hieroglyphics, which founded Hiero Day and this year celebrated its 30th anniversary.
“HIERO DAY (is) a driving force in the music festival culture in Oakland,” according to event organizers. “The event is widely regarded as a day to celebrate independent hip-hop music and serves as a Labor Day destination being one of the largest hip-hop music gatherings in the Bay Area.”
The event was held at Jack London Square last year, but this year, it moved to the plaza in front of Oakland City Hall, reflecting its new connection with the Mayor’s Office and the City of Oakland.
“I’m so grateful to be here in Oakland,” said Common said after receiving a “heavyweight champion” belt and proclamation from Mayor Thao. “Y’all inspired us … The music, the culture — Hieroglyphics influenced me.”
Said Mayor Thao: “Oakland is the heart of the Bay Area’s music, art and culture scene, and I am so grateful for all the work our Hiero Day organizers did to celebrate it.”
The City of Oakland this year is hosting three events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, including the collaboration with event organizers of Hiero Day. A special event was held on Sept. 10 to honor “50 years of women rooted in hip-hop,” including Pam the Funkstress, the Conscious Daughters, Traci Bartlow, and Mystic and Black.
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