Uncategorized

OP-ED: The Gig is Up and Change is a Must, Unavoidable

Published

11 years ago

December 12, 2014

Oakland Post

Richard Johnson is a columnist for The Post from Folsom State Prison.

By Richard Johnson, Folsom State Prison

Editor’s note: Post publisher Paul Cobb attended Richard Johnson’s release hearing, who had served 29 years in prison. His release date was denied even though he had served his full sentence. His attorney Dan Siegel has filed an appeal. After reading his letters and manuscripts, Cobb offered Johnson a column with the Post News Group, suggesting that he begin with answering the question, “What do you see as an opportunity for you to utilize the Post as a partner to inspire our readers to pay closer attention to the needs, voices and concerns of those who are incarcerated?”

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First, I want to thank the Post News Group/El Mundo for offering me the opportunity to communicate with the readers and especially the faith-based congregations that read the newspapers and the website. I also want to thank Mr. Paul Cobb, who testified in court on my behalf, for giving me a space to speak.

I truly believe this column will allow me to bring a much needed fresh look into the prison system that is failing and needs to rebuild to truly rehabilitate. I want to help spread the truth about prisoners’ conditions.

Working in conjunction with the Post and organizations that are dedicated to improving our prisons, I hope to shed light on the despicable state of affairs facing men and women of every race who come from communities with unattended issues that, in most instances, haven’t been addressed. And for many, the likelihood of extended imprisonment has intensified their troubles.

Through bringing attention to the helpless entombed and dysfunctional system that promotes the mental and physical attrition of prisoners, the Post will be on the right side of history, leading the charge of not only information, but real practical solutions that can be implemented to address the real genuine problem, instead of meaningless inquiries that generate ineffective and ridiculous answers.

This isn’t to imply that other concerned outlets haven’t been helpful in the past. On the contrary, however, the more attention given to the Prison Industry Complex, the less the complex will be able to ignore the truth as the community will be watching their every move.

It’s through communication that the Post and similarly situated conduits will be able to bring the walls of deceit, corruption and abuse down. It’s indefensible what is happening to those loved ones trapped in prison. Unless change is brought to the horror that is the heartbeat of prison life, the probability of that person returning to the community in a disturbed state will be very likely without some form of rectification.

I hope the forward progressive thinking that the Oakland Post can convey is to highlight the grim disservice to not only prisoners, but also to the constituents whose tax dollars pay for the operations of these maligned institutions. Through this column, I hope the Post can be the megaphone for the incarcerated who are being denied a medium to express their concerns to the public.

I look for the Post to resonate the signal that the gig is up and change is a must and unavoidable.

The gravity of the neglect is too immense and heinous to allow it to go unchecked and unaddressed. It seems to some close observers that prisons have moved from criminal punishment to persecution. And until this observation is made obvious to Post readers and people at large, it will continue.

Oakland Post

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Uncategorized

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

8 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

12 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

1 year ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.