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Post News Group Welcomes New Associate Editor

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On July 1, 2020, the Post News Group formally appointed Michelle Snider, a Laney College student who previously worked as a reporter and social media consultant for the Post, as associate editor of the publication.

Snider, a San Francisco native who has lived in the Bay Area for most of her life, first dipped her toes in journalism in 2017, when she learned that white nationalist groups were coming to Berkeley to incite violence.

“I fell into white nationalist Twitter and I just quietly followed them,” said Snider.  “I really didn’t want to see my country and my community attacked like this…I was intent on recording them and making sure that I captured what they planned on doing.”

Snider’s persistence paid off. Her footage was used in the Emmy Award-winning documentary “Documenting Hate” and helped identify members of the Rise Above movement — a white nationalist group whose members later pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to riot during in the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Encouraged by the success of her footage,  Snider enrolled in journalism courses at Laney College in Oakland, where she began writing and photographing for the Laney Tower, the college’s student-run publication.

By the end of her first semester, Snider’s work had gone viral after she filmed the infamous “Barbeque Becky” video, in which a white woman is seen harassing two Black men barbecuing at Lake Merritt.

Snider had been eating breakfast with her daughters when her then-husband — one of the barbequing men — had called her and said he feared being arrested.

“I was using the same tactics as in Berkeley where not only did I have to confront white nationalists, but sometimes I would just start asking questions — and it would get them kind of riled up. But I knew that if I kept my composure and didn’t do anything unlawful then there was nothing that I could lose,” said Snider.

Snider spent the next two years reporting for the Laney Tower, acting as editor-in-chief for two semesters and co-editor for another.

Post Publisher Paul Cobb said he decided to hire Snider because of her familiarity with the community and because he believes she will be instrumental in guiding the paper into the digital world.

“I wanted her because of her accomplished, extensive knowledge of how to utilize social media in conjunction with our content approach, and how she emphasizes precision and exactitude when editing, proofreading and fact-checking,” said Cobb.

Snider said she hopes to expand the reach of the Post as much as possible by building engagement with consistent content and high-quality photography and video.

“I think one of the biggest challenges is it’s not only a small publication, it’s a historically Black-owned publication.  We’re talking about actually modernizing the way we do content, so it is a challenge — but it’s also a challenge to get people to take this seriously,” said Snider. “We need more content, that’s the bottom line.”

Snider hopes to continue the legacy of the Post News Group as a community-centered publication and welcomes people of all ages and levels of experience to contribute.

“I want to inspire local students, young people, people of all ages to understand journalism and get involved,” said Snider. “ If you are a writer, photographer, someone who wants to submit video…just let us know.”

Send your story pitches and ideas to msnider@postnewsgroup.com

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Oakland Post: Week of March 13 – 19, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 13 – 19, 2024

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Oakland Post: Week of March 6 – 12, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 6 – 12, 2024

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Who are the Alameda County District 4 Supervisor Candidates’ Top Campaign Contributors?

Below, we’ve listed each candidate’s 10 highest campaign contributors. For Miley, two of his top campaign donors also bought their own advertisements to support him and/or oppose Esteen through independent expenditures. Such expenditures, though separate from campaign donations, are also public record, and we listed them. Additionally, the National Organization of Realtors has spent about $70,500 on their own independent expenditures to support Miley.

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Jennifer Esteen. (Campaign photo) and Supervisor Nate Miley. (Official photo).
Jennifer Esteen. (Campaign photo) and Supervisor Nate Miley. (Official photo).

By Zack Haber

Nate Miley, who has served on Alameda County’s Board of Supervisors since 2000, is running for reelection to the District 4 supervisor seat.

Jennifer Esteen, a nurse and activist, is seeking to unseat him and become one of the five members of the powerful board that sets the county’s budget, governs its unincorporated areas, and oversees the sheriff, Alameda Health System, and mental health system.

District 4 includes most of East Oakland’s hills and flatlands beyond Fruitvale, part of Pleasanton and unincorporated areas south of San Leandro like Ashland and Castro Valley.

Voting is open and will remain open until March 5.

In California, campaign donations of $100 or more are public record. The records show that Miley has received about $550,000 in total campaign donations since he won the previous District 4 election in March 2020. Esteen has raised about $255,000 in total campaign donations since she started collecting them last July. All figures are accurate through Feb. 20.

While Miley has raised more money, Esteen has received donations from more sources. Miley received donations of $100 or more from 439 different sources. Esteen received such donations from 507 different sources.

Below, we’ve listed each candidate’s 10 highest campaign contributors. For Miley, two of his top campaign donors also bought their own advertisements to support him and/or oppose Esteen through independent expenditures. Such expenditures, though separate from campaign donations, are also public record, and we listed them. Additionally, the National Organization of Realtors has spent about $70,500 on their own independent expenditures to support Miley.

Nate Miley’s top campaign contributors:

The California Apartment Association, a trade group representing landlords and investors in California’s rental housing business, has spent about $129,500 supporting Miley’s election bid through about $59,500 in ads against Esteen$55,000 in ads supporting Miley, and $15,000 in campaign donations.

The independent expenditure committee Preserve Agriculture in Alameda County has spent about $46,025 supporting Miley through about $27,200 in their own ads, and $18,825 in donations to his campaign. Preserve Agriculture has supported reelection efforts for former Alameda County DA Nancy O’Malley, and Sheriff Greg Ahern, a republican. It’s received funding from ChevronPG&E, and a the California Apartment Association.

Organizations associated with the Laborers’ International Union of North America, or LiUNA, have donated about $35,000 in total. Construction and General Laborers Local 304, a local chapter of the union representing which represents over 4,000 workers, donated $20,000.

Laborers Pacific Southwest Regional Organizing Coalition, which represents 70,000 LiUNA members in Arizona, California, Hawaii and New Mexico, donated $15,000.

William ‘Bill’ Crotinger and the East Oakland-based company Argent Materials have donated $26,000. Crotinger is the president and founder of Argent, a concrete and asphalt recycling yard. Argent’s website says it is an eco-friendly company that diverts materials from landfills. In 2018, Argent paid the EPA $27,000 under a settlement for committing Clean Water Act violations.

Michael Morgan of Hayward, owner of We Are Hemp, a marijuana dispensary in Ashland, has donated $21,500.

Alameda County District 1 Supervisor David Haubert has donated $21,250 from his 2024 reelection campaign. He’s running unopposed for the District 1 seat.

SEIU 1021which represents over 60,000 workers in local governments, non-profit agencies, healthcare programs, and schools in Northern California, has donated $20,000.

UA Local 342, which represents around 4,000 pipe trades industry workers in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, donated $20,000.

The union representing the county’s deputy sheriffs, Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Alameda County, has donated $17,000.

Becton Healthcare Resources and its managers have donated $14,625. Becton’s mission statement says it provides “behavioral health management services to organizations and groups that serve the serious and persistent mentally ill population.”

Jennifer Esteen’s top campaign contributors:

Mary Quinn Delaney of Piedmont, founder of Akonadi Foundation, has donated $20,000. Akonadi Foundation gives grants to nonprofit organizations, especially focusing on racial justice organizing,

Bridget Galli of Castro Valley has donated $7,000. Galli is a yoga instructor and a co-owner of Castro Valley Yoga.

Rachel Gelman of Oakland has donated $5,000. Gelman is an activist who has vowed to redistribute her inherited wealth to working class, Indigenous and Black communities.

California Worker Families Party has donated $5,000. The organization’s website describes itself as a “grassroots party for the multiracial working class.”

David Stern of Albany has donated $5,000. Stern is a retired UC Berkeley Professor of Education.

Oakland Rising Committee—a collaborative of racial, economic, and environmental justice organizations—has donated about $3,050.

Fredeke Von Bothmer-Goodyear, an unemployed resident of San Francisco, has donated $2,600.

Robert Britton of Castro Valley has donated $2,500. Britton is retired and worked in the labor movement for decades.

Progressive Era PAC has donated about $2,400. Its mission statement says it “exists to elect governing majorities of leaders in California committed to building a progressive era for people of color.”

East Bay Stonewall Democrats Club has donated $2,250. The club was founded in 1982 to give voice to the East Bay LGBTQIA+ communities.

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