Bay Area

$28.2 Million Grant for Oakland’s ‘Better Neighborhoods, Same Neighbors’ and ‘District 6 Matters’

Published

5 years ago

July 2, 2020

Kiki

On June 25th the California Strategic Growth Council voted to fund Oakland’s “Better Neighborhoods, Same Neighborhoods” proposal a grant of $28.2 million.

“Led by the community for the community, the . . . proposal envisions an East Oakland with healthy surroundings, safe and accessible transportation and thriving arts and culture that builds community wealth and ensures housing is a human right for existing East Oakland residents,” said Mayor Libby Schaaf.

“Thanks to the ambitious vision and leadership of East Oakland stakeholders and the generous support of the Strategic Growth Council, these projects provide an opportunity to harness the leadership and civic power that we’ve particularly seen displayed in the past few weeks, lift up those voices that have been stifled by historic and structural racism and enact lasting transformation. . .”

The community organizations will be directly funded. There are five projects in the “Better Neighborhoods, Same Neighbors” proposal:

1. 95th and International Housing, Health and Connectivity

This project is led by the Related Companies of California and Acts Community Development Corporation and will yield 55 units of affordable housing with 25% earmarked for the homeless and includes a community health clinic on-site.

2. San Leandro Creek Urban Greenway

A 1.2 mile trail connecting to the regional Martin Luther King, Jr. Shoreline Park.

3. Community Greening

Two thousand trees planted, some sourced from the Planting Justice nursery. Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation will partner with community organizations to provide training and paid internships for the tree planting.

4. Planting Justice Aquaponics Farm and Food Hub

Three-acre nursery will have the “largest/most productive urban aquaponics farm in the U.S.” as well as 27 living-wage jobs, a food hub, and have youth education, health/wellness, community development, and business incubation programming.

5. Higher Ground & Scraper Bike Team Bike Share and Youth Development

Bike safety and repair, and afterschool enrichment classes to youth. The Oakland Public Library and Oakland Public Works partner on “The Shed” at Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch Library.

The proposal builds on the work of East Oakland Neighborhood Initiative (EONI) which focuses on six neighborhoods: Melrose, Highland/Elmhurst, Sobrante Park, Brookfield Village/Columbia Gardens, Stonehurst, Coliseum/Rusdale/Lockwood/Havenscourt.

“Today, residents bring a wide range of backgrounds, skill sets and values creating a community poised and ready to restore [East Oakland] back to a place of peace and beauty. We have awakened, working together in an organized way ensuring revitalization for a healthier, safer, greener place to proudly call COMMUNITY!” said Resident Cynthia Arrington.

‘District 6 Matters’ from the Office of Councilmember Loren Taylor

Oakland 2020-2021 mid-cycle budget amendments were passed in partnership with the Council’s Equity Caucus which includes Councilmember Loren Taylor, Lynette Gibson-McElhaney, Larry Reid and Noel Gallo.

The budget amendments will deliver:

1. Improved educational outcomes

$7.7 million to build a public Wi-Fi network to bridge the digital divide and give Oakland youth access to the internet.

2. Wildfire prevention funding

3. Increased economic opportunities

$6 million to support small businesses in Oakland

$2 million for low-income areas in the flatlands of Dist. 6

$1 million for technical assistance for small businesses through organizations like the “Multicultural Chambers of Commerce” and the “East Oakland Entrepreneurship Forum”.

4. Greater Income security

$1 million for workforce development programs to 100 Oaklanders for new careers.

5. Evictions and Displacement prevention

$7 million for residential rent and mortgage relief to avoid displacement during COVID-19

6. Beautification and blight reduction

$500,000 to remove abandoned vehicles and illegal dumping

7. Transformed public safety system

Divested $14 million from the Oakland Police Dept., invested $1.3 million for standing up MACRO, an alternative to police response, for 911 calls related to mental health.

Added two additional police accountability investigators to “investigate police misconduct and hold police officers accountable.

“As a Black man born and raised in Oakland I am keenly aware of the history of OPD and am committed to transforming policing in this city so that my young Black kids will benefit. I am proud of the Equity Caucus for making $50 million of community investments that we know directly impact public safety. Our budget will keep our residents housed, our businesses open, our children learning, and our communities healthy and beautiful. These are all things that East Oakland needs and will transform lives and life trajectories of all Oaklanders. I strongly support the efforts already underway to stand up The Task Force for Transforming Public Safety that we funded in the Equity Caucus Budget that has a specific goal of reducing OPD’s General Fund allocation by 50%” said Councilmember Loren Taylor.

Councilmember Loren Taylor can be contacted via email at ltaylor@oaklandca.gov.

Kiki

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

5 days ago

May 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.