Community
Released from San Quentin, Troy Williams Builds a New Life in Video Production
Just two months after being released from San Quentin for model behavior, Troy Williams sits in the offices of The Post newspapers eager to share his story and spread a positive message to young men on the streets.
A former gang member, Williams was raised in Southern California, often resorting to violence to resolve his conflicts. Since then, however, he has evolved.
After serving 18 years of a life sentence in prison, he has reached a new level of consciousness, gained skills in many different trades, and found his niche behind the lens doing film.
Two months ago, he was sitting next to Paul Cobb in prison as the Post publisher talked with staff from the San Quentin News. He and Cobb exchanged family histories and how they both had family roots in Mississippi. He told Cobb he wanted to connect to the Private Industry Council’s Re-Entry Program to find gainful employment.
Now Williams is free to pursue his dream.
Cobb asked him to video the swearing-in ceremony of the Oakland Mayor, councilmembers and school board members.
While in San Quentin, Williams often read the Hollywood Reporter. He attended film school classes offered at the prison offered by the Discovery Channel and award-winning documentarian Bruce Sinofsky, Pepe Urquijo, David Arquette, Joe Berlinger, Tim Mack, and Delroy Lindo.
The six-week class taught nine inmates how to use video cameras to tell stories through film. The story of this class was highlighted in a documentary, “San Quentin Film School.”
When they left, the film crew donated equipment to the prison so inmates to continue to practice their new skills.
That experience helped spark Williams’ desire to produce a show.
“I’ve always had a passion and desire to do film,” he said. “I realized how much work actually goes into trying to produce a show.”
After learning the basics of video editing and how to film a short movie, Williams started to cover events inside the prison. In 2010, he founded “The San Quentin Prison Report,” a video and radio show that aired inside the prison.
Initially starting as a one-man production team, he covered self-help groups as well as other events and interviewed many people including Judge Thelton Henderson, Gavin Newsom, as well as Warden Robert L. Ayers, who supported Williams’ project.
“My whole goal was to figure out a way to reach the outside world. I was trying to use media as a tool for change to get people to see a different side of who we were, and to see that people can change,” Williams said.
“A lot of the guys in there are not the same person that they were 20-plus years ago, but that’s all you see in mainstream media – the horror stories,” he said.
Williams started teaching other inmates how to tell stories first through radio, with the help of Nigel Poor, associate professor of the Department of Design at Sacramento State, and Holly Kernan, news director at KALW 91.7FM.
“We had to figure out tactful ways to get the message out,” said Williams. “They don’t have a right to know, they have a duty to know what’s going on in prison,” he added, recounting what Warden Ayers told him while in prison.
Producing the show in an effort to shift the perception of inmates also had the effect of changing Williams in the process.
“I live, eat and breathe video. It gave me a voice,” Williams explained, having started his own company, 4 North 22, this year.
“If I want to be heard and I want my message to be received, I had to tailor my message differently, and that had to translate into everything that I do in life. Communication is not just what I’m saying, but how it’s being received.”
“That means that I have to understand my audience,” he said. “My audience was not only the men in blue inside the prison, but I’m speaking to the youngster on the street and, ultimately, I’m speaking to the prison administration that has approved these messages.”
Williams currently works as a production assistant with a Hill & Company Communications and is currently working on a documentary film, “Crying Sideways.” The film profiles 17 young men in prison who were sentenced to life as juveniles, with the goal of saving other young men walking down the wrong path.
Visit www.cryingsidewaysthemovie.com to support the film.
Williams says he is looking for the following equipment for his company: a Macbook Pro laptop and Apple desktop computer, a 5D Canon camera, tripod, zoom recorder, lavalier set, microphones, lighting kit, video editing and audio editing software.
“Imagine sitting in a cell for 20 years just holding onto a dream, that when I get out I can build my own company, and I can speak these messages that I want to speak to the world. You wait so long to be able to have a voice. Now, I’m here,” said Williams.
For more information on Troy Williams, go to www.4north22.com.
Bay Area
Point Richmond Hotel Mac Space Leased to Richmond Restaurateurs
The historic Hotel Mac’s Restaurant and Bar in Point Richmond has been leased to the owners of the city’s Mi Casa Grill, according to Restaurant Realty Company (RRC). Mi Casa Grill’s owners, Blanca Zepedalomeli and her husband, Juvenal Magna, plan to open Biancoverde (Italian for “green and white”) in the Hotel Mac space sometime in late 2023. RRC said that their concept is to offer a menu “that embraces their heritage with an Italian twist.

By Kathy Chouteau
The historic Hotel Mac’s Restaurant and Bar in Point Richmond has been leased to the owners of the city’s Mi Casa Grill, according to Restaurant Realty Company (RRC).
Mi Casa Grill’s owners, Blanca Zepedalomeli and her husband, Juvenal Magna, plan to open Biancoverde (Italian for “green and white”) in the Hotel Mac space sometime in late 2023. RRC said that their concept is to offer a menu “that embraces their heritage with an Italian twist.” The restauranteurs intend to feature both “classic and unique options” in the bar, while also having entertainment in the lounge.
“They will bring their vision of elegance and charm that the space deserves, while maintaining the historic elements of existing architecture,” said RRC, which added that Andy Mirabell of the company handled the lease for both parties.
Aside from Hotel Mac’s restaurant space, lounge and bar, it also has a wine cellar and banquet room and has long been “recognized for its exceptional dining and a vibrant cocktail bar,” said RRC. The company said the previous restaurant fell victim to the pandemic.
RRC referred to the Hotel Mac as an “anchor business” in the hamlet’s center that was originally built in 1911 and was then called the Colonial Hotel. The Claremont Hotel’s former manager, M.V. McAfee, bought it in the ’30s and changed its name to the Hotel Mac.
The Hotel Mac Restaurant and Bar is located at 50 Washington Ave. in Point Richmond. Find out more at TheHotelMac.com. Mi Casa Grill is located on the corner of Macdonald and San Pablo avenues in Richmond.
Bay Area
Oakland Teachers Ramp Up Strike Readiness
In an escalation of labor pressure, hundreds of teachers boycotted district-organized Professional Development (PD) sessions, instead attending a mass, Oakland Education Association (OEA) rally this week at Lake Merritt to demand the Oakland Unified School District begin bargaining “in good faith” for a new union contract.

By Ken Epstein
In an escalation of labor pressure, hundreds of teachers boycotted district-organized Professional Development (PD) sessions, instead attending a mass, Oakland Education Association (OEA) rally this week at Lake Merritt to demand the Oakland Unified School District begin bargaining “in good faith” for a new union contract.
The rally Wednesday afternoon was held at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater, across from the Oakland Museum.
Chairing the rally, OEA Vice President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer said the union has been trying to negotiate for months with the school district for a new contract but has not received responses to its demands for “dignity, respect in the workplace … for a living wage (and)… for student supports and community schools.”
“Oakland has been bargaining with OUSD for safe and racially just community schools,” she said. “We are here today to demand that OUSD bargain with us in good faith.”
OEA Interim President Ismael Armendariz said, “Today, we took a step in having a labor action; we walked out on our [professional development]. That is an escalation.”
“OUSD has been bargaining with OEA since October,” he continued. “We have a 51-member bargaining team that spent hours crafting [21] bargaining proposals. OUSD has come to the table with two unserious proposals and zero counter [proposals].”
Criticizing the district’s approach to bargaining in public, he said, “We cannot bargain on Facebook Live; we are going to bargain at the table.”
He accused the district of spreading “fear, uncertainty and doubt to divide us as workers,” which is a “boss tactic,” adding that the district is talking about a budget crisis, even though it has received $66 million from the state to develop community schools.
“There is always a budget crisis when we’re bargaining,” Armendariz said.
OEA is getting ready to take a vote to see if members are prepared to strike if necessary. Also, word is circulating that some union members are getting ready for a short unauthorized or wildcat strike to demonstrate teachers’ willingness to stand up to the district.
Even though the district is not in financial difficulties, it has passed a budget proposal that includes possible school closures or mergers, as well as layoffs and a hiring freeze.
Bay Area
Oakland High Varsity Basketball Team Wins State Championship
The Oakland High School varsity basketball team took the state championship on Friday, March 11 in Sacramento at Golden Arco 1 Center. The team’s 59-43 victory over Buena High School of Ventura in the CIF Division 3 championship game was the highlight of a five-game winning spree.

By Carla Thomas
The Oakland High School varsity basketball team took the state championship on Friday, March 11 in Sacramento at Golden Arco 1 Center.
The team’s 59-43 victory over Buena High School of Ventura in the CIF Division 3 championship game was the highlight of a five-game winning spree.
It is the first time in the Wildcats history that Oakland High’s team has had this victory.
“I am so proud of the team,” said Wildcats Head Coach Orlando Watkins. “They put in the work and worked together, and now they’ve made history.”
Watkins couldn’t be more proud of how the team’s accomplishment. Notable were teammates Money Williams scoring 22 points, Anthony Lacy scoring nine points and seven rebounds; Te’Shawn Gamble’s brought in nine points, and Josh Clark had eight points.
When the team fell short of winning the AOL (Oakland Athletic League) title, Watkins said he could feel the team shift and build momentum toward success.
Many of the team members and coaches are still letting the win sink in.
“I don’t think it has really sunk in yet,” said Assistant Coach Eric Van Laeken. “Winning the state championship was amazing. I’ve been coaching middle and high schoolers since I graduated from college in 1996. This championship means lot. It was our goal to win, and we actually pulled it off.”
Oakland High School’s Athletic Director Jonas Perez said the team’s work ethic was the key to their success. “I saw the hard work these individuals put in every day from the beginning. Some of them have been with us since freshman year. Having this championship here at Oakland High is a great feeling.”
For Zaymani Mitchell, winning was a dream come true. “It’s great to accomplish something we’ve wanted since the beginning of the season,” said Mitchell. “Coach Watkins and Coach Will (Lew) have really been there for us. And they’ve prepared us to be professional Black men for life after high school.”
Freshman Rohm Neal who plays shooting guard said, “This win means a lot. A lot of work was put in to reach our goals. Our coaches teach us a lot of lessons in basketball that apply to every day life.” Neal hopes to become an artist, a large scale oil painter.
Point Guard Erick Jackson reflected on the record the team broke. “It feels unreal and not an achievement anyone has done before us. A lot of energy from the team and mentoring from the coach and staff are how we made it.”
Power Forward and Center Jaylon King, who returned to the Bay Area from Stockton said, “I’m glad I could contribute to the team’s legacy.”
For Guard Caruji West, a lot of team bonding contributed to the team’s success. “Our team worked well together, but I have mixed feelings. I’m glad we won, but I’m sad that the season is over,” he said.
Associate Head Coach Will Lew with Assistance Coaches;
Angel M Macedon, Frank Miller, Torrence Spencer, and Jeff Davis
unboxed dozens of sneakers for the champion team, a gift from Oakland High alumni and NBA All-Star, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers in the school’s gym.
Prior to their state championship win, Lillard in a video, addressed and encouraged the team. He had also seen the team perform at a pre-season game in Portland and spoke of the team’s potential.
Lillard, a longtime supporter of Oakland High, funded the team’s remodeled gym.
Surrounded by Assistant Coach Will Lew, Jeff, and Trainer Macedonia, the players tried on their brand-new kicks.
According to Watkins, Lillard is equally proud and will continue to reward the winning team.
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