Community

San Leandro Library Director Appointed

Brian Simons brings visionary mindset, innovation, and proven leadership

Published

4 years ago

August 6, 2021

Christy Price

Brian Simmons

SAN LEANDRO, CA – Brian Simons has been appointed to serve as Library Director, effective August 26, 2021. Simons was selected by City Manager Fran Robustelli following a national recruitment for the position.

In 2001, Simons began his library career and was subsequently promoted to various roles including the head of Young Adult Services/Reference Librarian and Library Director. For three years, Simons was the executive director for the Brown County Library in Green Bay, Wis. In this role, he supervised 115 employees, established a new fundraising effort for a countywide library of nine facilities and a bookmobile, and oversaw a $7,400,000 annual budget.

“Mr. Simons will bring a wealth of experience leading library systems with similar size, diversity, and scope of the San Leandro Library system,” said City Manager Fran Robustelli. “In particular, Brian has experience in developing community strategic planning processes, advancement of services to increase access to the entire community, creating efficiencies through Lean and Six Sigma projects, rebranding the library as a center for community advancement, successfully developing and mentoring staff, as well as experience in marketing and communication for a wide range of services.”

In response to his appointment, Simons said, “San Leandro provides a rare opportunity to be a part of an already well supported set of library facilities with smart, hardworking library staff members, and at the same time, the community is future focused, looking to elevate not just the library, but the community itself to something greater.

“I look forward to connecting with the community so we can learn how best to facilitate individual and collective growth, understanding, innovation, and realized opportunities so the library can really become the heart and soul of the San Leandro community. These are exciting and important times for San Leandro, and I’m honored to be a part of this community as the next library director.”

Christy Price

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Oakland Post: Week of July 2- 8, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 2 – 8, 2025

Published

4 days ago

July 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

Published

1 week ago

July 3, 2025

Oakland Post

By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.