Crime

Oakland Faith Leaders Welcome New Police Chief, Mobilize Around Housing and Civic Action

POST NEWS GROUP — Hosted by the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC), the meeting brought together clergy, businesses and residents to identify practical resources, strengthen community partnerships and coordinate action on issues affecting Oakland and surrounding Alameda County communities. Participants also discussed opposition to a proposed coal terminal in West Oakland.

Published

3 months ago

August 9, 2026

Post News Group

Oakland Police Department’s new chief JAMES BEERE, Dr Ken Chambers, Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC) President and Dr Jim Hopkins, Pastor Emeritus, Lake Shore Avenue Baptist Church, and ICAC founding former board member.

OAKLAND — Newly appointed Oakland Police Chief James Beere joined faith leaders, nonprofit representatives and community advocates on July 22 for a wide-ranging discussion on public safety, affordable housing, homelessness and civic engagement.

Hosted by the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC), the meeting brought together clergy, businesses and residents to identify practical resources, strengthen community partnerships and coordinate action on issues affecting Oakland and surrounding Alameda County communities. Participants also discussed opposition to a proposed coal terminal in West Oakland.

Beere, the meeting’s keynote speaker, discussed strategies for collaborating on public safety, community policing, Oakland’s Ceasefire program and ICAC’s overnight safe-parking sites for unhoused people living in vehicles in East and West Oakland.

Dr. Jim Hopkins, pastor emeritus of Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, offered a prayer for Beere following his remarks.

The conversation then turned to affordable housing. Evita Chavez, a senior program officer with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, discussed resources available to affordable housing developers and advocates, including predevelopment assistance, development coaching and partnership opportunities.

Representatives of No Coal in Oakland — Ann Harvey, Margaret Rossoff and Ted Franklin — joined Care 4 Community lead organizer Nicole Dean to discuss the proposed development of a coal terminal in West Oakland near the Bay Bridge.

The advocates said transporting thousands of tons of coal from Utah through Contra Costa and Alameda counties to Oakland for overseas shipment would increase daily traffic and pollution in West Oakland, a historically underserved community with high rates of asthma and other health problems.

Meeting participants also viewed the Oakland FAITH art gallery, which features photography and maps documenting 450 clergy members and congregations across the city. The project was created by photographer Nicolo Sertorio.

During the meeting, ICAC founding president Dr. Ken Chambers also raised concerns about funding for the organization’s safe-parking programs. Chambers said ICAC has not yet received a $450,000 grant approved by the Oakland City Council on Dec. 19, 2023, to support overnight parking sites for individuals and families living in their vehicles.

West Side Baptist Church and Williams Chapel Baptist Church have served more than 1,000 clients through the program since it opened in 2017, according to Chambers.

Chambers said he is working with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and the interim city administrator to secure the grant funding. He said the money would allow the program to accommodate up to 50 clients each night and provide a safe environment, wraparound services, minor automobile repairs, smog checks, Department of Motor Vehicles registration assistance, insurance support, job development and help securing permanent affordable housing.

Joe Davis, an ICAC client, described how the program helped him transition from living in his vehicle to temporary housing and employment.

“If it hadn’t been for a safe place to park overnight, and now I’ve moved into a tiny home temporary shelter, I started a new job working at the post office, walking distance from the program. I’m so thankful,” Davis said.

ICAC’s next community meeting is scheduled for Sept. 10 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Oakland FAITH Gallery, 1500 Broadway in downtown Oakland. The meeting will focus on job development at the Port of Oakland.

For more information or to donate, visit interfaithac.org or call Chambers at 510-239-6969.

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AG Bonta Announces Action on Cryptocurrency, Sextortion Fraud – Increasingly Targeting Gen-Z

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is warning residents about a surge in cryptocurrency fraud and online sextortion schemes that increasingly target Gen Z through social media platforms. With internet-based scams costing Americans nearly $21 billion in 2023, Bonta highlighted how artificial intelligence and deepfakes allow criminals to impersonate loved ones and promote fraudulent investment groups. The Attorney General’s Office has already shut down over 100 fraudulent websites and is now utilizing new legislative tools to recover assets for victims. Read more.

Published

5 days ago

November 3, 2026

Post News Group

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned residents about rising cryptocurrency fraud and online sextortion scams, urging Californians to recognize warning signs and protect themselves as scammers increasingly target younger people through social media.

Speaking at a news conference on Oct. 19, Bonta said Americans lost $20.9 billion to internet-based scams in 2025, including $11.4 billion to cryptocurrency scams. He said artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and malicious smart contracts have made fraud easier to carry out and more difficult to detect and prevent.

While older Californians remain targets, Bonta said his office has seen a sharp rise in reports of Gen Z consumers being targeted on platforms such as Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram.

One growing scheme involves so-called rug-pull scams, in which fraudsters promote low-priced stocks or volatile cryptocurrencies through online investment groups and streaming communities. After generating interest and driving up prices, scammers sell their holdings, causing values to collapse and leaving investors with losses.

Bonta also warned about sextortion, in which scammers trick or coerce victims into sharing explicit images before threatening to distribute them to friends and family unless they pay. He advised victims not to give in to demands, saying scammers often do not release the images when victims refuse to pay. Instead, he recommended ignoring and blocking the perpetrators.

Another scheme, known as recovery fraud, targets people who have already lost money to cryptocurrency scams. Fraudsters impersonate blockchain recovery specialists or law enforcement officials and demand additional payments while promising to recover stolen assets.

Bonta urged Californians to be skeptical of promises of large returns on small investments, fake cryptocurrencies resembling established ones, and celebrity endorsements that may have been generated using artificial intelligence. He also warned that scammers can use AI to impersonate loved ones through manipulated video and audio.

“Never use a crypto ATM,” Bonta said, emphasizing that transactions can be difficult to trace and reverse and that the machines lack adequate consumer protections.

His office has shut down more than 100 fraudulent websites over the past two years that collectively scammed victims out of at least $8.3 million, he said.

Bonta also highlighted Senate Bill 1208, which he said was recently signed into law. The measure allows law enforcement to petition a court to return seized cryptocurrency to victims, including when alleged perpetrators are outside U.S. jurisdiction.

Residents who have fallen victim to scams can report them to the California Department of Justice at oag.ca.gov/report.

Bonta also urged victims not to feel embarrassed, stressing that scammers are responsible for the harm they cause.