By Special to The Post

This week, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (CA-12) announced $1,031,000 in Community Project Funding (CPF) for Mills College at Northeastern University Oakland (MCNUO). This federal funding will be used to purchase new emergency blue-light phone towers and security cameras that will help to improve public safety on campus and in the surrounding community.

Simon announced the funding alongside Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, Dean of Northeastern University Oakland Dan Sachs, Associated Vice President for Global Site Security Regina Coppa, and other Northeastern University leadership. This federal investment is part of Simon’s commitment to bringing federal resources back to the East Bay and supporting students, educators, and educational institutions who are creating the next generation of leaders in the East Bay. 

This Community Project Funding (CPF) is a part of the $11.2 million that Simon secured for 15 projects across the East Bay in Fiscal Year 2026. Each fiscal year, members of Congress can submit Community Project Funding requests for consideration with the House Committee on Appropriations. 

“Mills College at Northeastern University is one of the jewels of Oakland. I came to this campus as a student and young, single mother and walked these paths with my child. I know this campus is home to far more than a university.

“It is home to the little ones at the preschool, the girls at Julia Morgan, the neighbors who swim in the pool and walk the trail, and the faculty and workers who keep it all running,” Simon said. “This funding invests in every one of them and in the simple things that make a place safe: light, open paths, updated equipment like call booths.

“NE’s leadership is committed to a campus that takes responsibility for its neighbors as much as its own. Safety is a public good, and that is exactly the kind of investment Oakland deserves. Thank you to Mayor Barbara Lee for her partnership on this funding.” 

“This campus changed my life when I came here as a single mother on public assistance, and this million-dollar investment continues that legacy of support by keeping our students, families, and neighbors safe,” said Mayor Barbara Lee. “Before leaving Congress, I requested federal funding for this project, and I am deeply grateful to Congresswoman Lateefah Simon for carrying it forward so we can build the safe, thriving community Oakland deserves.”

“We’re grateful to Congresswoman Lateefah Simon for her leadership in securing this funding for our Oakland campus,” said Renee Jadushlever, vice president for Campus Administration and Strategic Initiatives at Northeastern University. “It’s a place where students learn, do research, build community, and gain real-world experience with our industry partners across the region. This investment will help maintain the safety of our campus community while we continue to welcome our neighbors and deepen our connections across Oakland.”

U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon’s media relations office is the source of this story.

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By Richmond Standard Staff

Seventeen California public school districts, including West Contra Costa Unified (WCCUSD), have joined a purchasing cooperative to pool their buying power and expand access to organic food in school meals.

The nonprofit Conscious Kitchen recently announced the launch of the Conscious Organic School Food Purchasing Cooperative. Its founding districts serve more than 300,000 students combined.

The cooperative partnered with food distributors UNFI and Sysco to expand the organic products available to participating districts. Combining schools’ purchasing demand helps distributors plan with suppliers while creating more dependable markets for organic farmers and food makers, according to Conscious Kitchen.

Other eligible California school districts can access the cooperative’s products and pricing through its existing contracts without conducting their own bids. Mt. Diablo Unified School District serves as the lead district for the cooperative’s grocery bid.

Other districts involved include: Alameda USD, Albany USD, Berkeley USD, Capistrano USD, Cupertino Union SD, Hayward USD, Laguna Beach USD, Lagunitas Elementary SD, Mt. Diablo USD, North Monterey County USD, Pajaro Valley USD, San Leandro USD, San Ramon Valley USD, Santa Clara USD, Sausalito Marin City SD, Tahoe-Truckee USD and West Contra Costa USD.

Barbara Jellison, WCCUSD’s executive director of food services, said the cooperative builds on years of work bringing fresh, organic food into school kitchens.

“The next challenge has always been how to make that possible for more districts,” Jellison said. “The Co-op gives schools a way to take what we have learned and move it to a completely different scale.”

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley) has secured $2 million in state funding to launch a proposed childcare special district serving families in Moreno Valley and Perris, paving the way for a system designed to provide childcare 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Moreno Valley-Perris Childcare Special District would be the first special district in California focused specifically on childcare, according to Jackson’s office. The state funding will cover startup, planning, and formation costs and help the district meet requirements set by the Riverside Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO.

The proposed district would coordinate a mixed-delivery childcare system that could include home-based and center-based care. The goal is to provide universal childcare for families who work overnight, early morning, or other nontraditional shifts.

Jackson’s office says Moreno Valley is a certified “childcare desert,” with licensed childcare spaces available for only 15% of children with working parents. Infant care in Moreno Valley averages $2,776 a month, or about 35.7% of median household income. In Perris, licensed infant care can cost more than 60% of an individual worker’s gross median earnings, according to the assemblymember’s office.

“Securing this $2 million in startup funding is a monumental victory for the working-class families of Moreno Valley and Perris who have been trapped in a childcare desert for far too long,” Jackson said.

The proposal follows Jackson’s unsuccessful effort to establish the district through Assembly Bill 2083. The legislation would have created the district as a dependent special district covering Moreno Valley, Perris and their spheres of influence, with Riverside LAFCO responsible for reviewing its formation and boundaries.

The new funding allows the district’s formation to move forward without requiring mandatory contributions from local school districts and other stakeholders, according to Jackson’s office. His spokesperson, Daniel Peeden, said Jackson hopes the district can be operating by 2028.

The proposal has faced questions from some local officials. Moreno Valley City Councilmember Ed Delgado, who is running against Jackson for the 60th Assembly District seat, said he supports affordable childcare but questioned how the proposed district would operate and how much it would ultimately cost.

“Basically, he didn’t have a plan. We didn’t see a plan,” Delgado said, adding that officials had questions about operating costs, insurance and eligibility.

“It’s going to take a lot more than $2 million to create a special district to provide affordable childcare,” Delgado said.

Delgado has suggested working with existing childcare centers to subsidize costs for local families rather than creating a new agency.

Jackson’s office says the program will lower barriers to “workforce participation” and reduce “affordability anxiety” for young families. This landmark District is poised to trigger a virtuous cycle of economic upward mobility and long-term regional prosperity in the 60th Assembly District, his office added.

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