News

Oakland Raiders News | NFL, City of Oakland Working On New Stadium; Las Vegas Update

According to Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, The City of Oakland, the County of Alameda, and the NFL are working on a stadium plan to keep the Oakland Raiders in Oakland – and to head off Las Vegas Raiders plans

Published

9 years ago

October 4, 2016

Oakland Post

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and The Oakland Raiders Town Hall Meeting of last fall of 2015, and held at the Fox Theater, played a mayor roll in the situation that formed the Oakland Raiders news today: the National Football League working with the City of Oakland and the County of Alameda in planning for a new stadium for the Raiders at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex.And, as Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley told me on Saturday, during Oaktoberfest in the Dimond District, talks with the National Football League and Ronnie Lott of what Mr. Miley calls “The Lott Group” are going well.

In fact, they’re going so well, Supervisor Miley worked to downplay progress and the good Oakland Raiders news in my talk with him, as you can see in my Zennie62 on YouTube blog interview above and here.

Contrary to views expressed by some local media types who seem to want the Raiders to leave Oakland for Las Vegas, the fact is the NFL has worked with the City of Oakland, the County of Alameda, and the Oakland-Alameda County Joint Powers Authority on the objective of a new stadium for almost year, now.

Indeed, as explained at Zennie62.com on December 4th, 2015, “the National Football League is forming a plan to keep the Raiders in Oakland, and not have them go down to Carson.”

Oakland Raiders NFL Stadium News Update

As it is happened in January at the NFL Owners Meeting in Houston, NFL Owners rejected the San Diego Chargers / Oakland Raiders plan to build a 65,000-seat stadium in Carson, and approved the then St. Louis Rams’ plan to move to Los Angeles, become the L.A. Rams again, and build a state-of-the-art 80,000 seat stadium complex in Inglewood.

The rabid Oakland fan base and Mayor’s Schaaf’s success at building a positive relationship with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and his staff, caused that outcome, even as Raiders Owner Mark Davis has made moves to try and relocate the organization out of Oakland.

According to many talks with NFL Officials, the Oakland Raiders fans gave what one official recently said to me, and for the second time, an “emotional experience” during the crowded Oakland Raiders Town Hall Meeting at the Fox Theater last year. As an aside, you can see what happened and how the NFL staff in attendance reacted via this 18-video playlist from Zennie62 on YouTube:

The NFL Loves The SF Bay Area Media Market

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf was invited to give a presentation to the NFL Finance Committee in New York City on November 14th of 2015 (Zennie62Media was one of the press organizations on the scene in NYC). The NFL staffers and owners were, I was told by league officials, “charmed” by Mayor Schaaf, who was asked to show how the Oakland / East Bay Market could support the Raiders in her presentation.

That the NFL asked Mayor Schaaf to focus on the Oakland / East Bay Market and not on new stadium progress was a major news point completely missed by the media. The San Francisco Bay Area has had two NFL teams since 1960 and the media market that has grown over that time now ranks as number six in among NFL city metro areas, but is number three in terms of advertising cost-per-point behind New York and LA.

Moreover, Nielsen reports that of the top six cities, the San Francisco Bay Area is only one of two who have realized an increase in the number of television sets in the most recent, reliable data from 2015.

Where does Las Vegas rank in media market size? 40th. So Mark Davis is essentially asking his NFL Ownership friends to take a media market size and media market rights fee haircut by working on a deal with The State of Nevada and Clark County to build a stadium there, rather than focusing exclusively on staying in Oakland.

The importance of Mark Davis’ efforts can’t be underscored because the NFL’s major revenues come from the sale of the right to broadcast its games. In turn, the rights fees are determined, in part, by what it costs to show commercials in NFL cities – the lower that rate, the less the overall rights fee would be.

In an era of fragmented media stretched between the web, mobile, and television, the NFL games offer the best opportunity for brands to get their products seen by consumers across demographic groups. Since corporations have proven, time and again, that they would pay top dollar to show commercials during NFL contests, the major media networks (which take money from those companies to present their commercials) have been willing to pay the NFL as much as $27 billion in 2011.

And that 2011 deal is up for renewal in 2022.

The NFL wants to walk into the 2022 negotiations being able to show a more valuable overall product to Walt Disney Company and the other media giants by that time, and that explains moving the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, and it is the reason why the league will not allow the Raiders to walk out of Oakland for Las Vegas. Media fragmentation has the NFL very concerned about the future growth of its seed-corn money base, and is working to insure it increases over the next generation.

The Ronnie Lott Group And Oakland Coliseum NFL Stadium Plan Progress

To complete the process of building a new, state-of-the-art NFL stadium for the Oakland Raiders at the Coliseum, on August 26th, the City of Oakland and the County of Alameda entered into a 90-day “memorandum of understanding” with the Oakland City Pro Football Group LLC, which is ran by NFL Hall of Fame Defensive Back Ronnie Lott, who’s joined by NFL alum and USC legend (which is painful for this Cal-Berkeley grad to write) Rodney Peete.

For two months prior to the August MOU date, the Oakland City Pro Football Group LLC was characterized by Oakland officials as consisting of Lott, Peete, and Egbert Perry, the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of The Integral Group, and Chairman Of The Board of Fannie Mae. But while the MOU itself specifically mentioned Lott and his group, it did not name Perry in any way.

Then, Perry and another LLC he’s part of called Stadium Real Estate Partners LLC sent a letter to Oakland and Alameda County Officials announcing an offer to buy Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum land for $167 million, or about $2 million over the $165 million required to defease the ‘Raiders Bonds’ used to pay for the upgrade of the Oakland Coliseum stadium to bring the Raiders back to Oakland from L.A in 1995., and that the City and County have paid a $20 million annual debt service on since 1996, when the plan to sell ‘personal seat licenses’ fell short of revenue goals, raising only $56 million, when an initial sale of $83 million was required.

That offer by Stadium Real Estate Partners LLC was rejected by The City of Oakland. Mayor Schaaf said to me that “We aren’t considering it for recommendation at this time because we want an agreement with the NFL. I am committed to keeping the Raiders and The League at the center of the deal. We can’t give up our right to control the destiny of what happens to that land (at the Coliseum). A new stadium that keeps the Raiders in Oakland, but is responsible to the team, the league and the taxpayer – and enhances economic vitality around the Coliseum and delivers community benefits.”

The act of rejecting Perry caused some Raiders fans, and this blogger, to believe the entire process of maintaining the Raiders in Oakland was in trouble. But a number of Oakland Officials, and most notably Mayor Schaaf on the record, have made assurances that is not the case.

Indeed, the entire Perry soap opera masks the simple fact that since last year, the Raiders have had drawings of what a new Oakland Coliseum NFL Stadium will look like, and while Oakland officials have seen them, they have never been released to the public. And this year, the Raiders have taken construction bids for a stadium cost study. Additionally, Larry McNeil, the Raiders Vice President of Business Affairs and stadium point person, has worked with Oakland Officials, even meeting with the Mayor and consultants as recently as September 15th.

According to Miley, a stadium plan is expected to be done by January of 2017. And the entire affair has been helped by the news that the Oakland Athletics are interested in building a new baseball stadium at Howard Terminal. For a time so many possible areas were being considered the Oakland A’s might as well have selected Michaan’s Auctions land in Alameda.

The Perry soap opera also masks the news that, as Miley told me in my interview over the weekend, Alameda County is no longer interested in selling its part of the Oakland Coliseum to the City of Oakland, believing it can help in the new stadium planning process by providing its considerable resources for use.

That’s a major change from last year, when, in May, the same Supervisor Miley dropped a bomb of a press release announcing the County’s Board of Supervisors wanted out of, as they put it, ‘the sports business’. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors have obviously cooled its collectively heated emotions, and resolved to work with the City of Oakland as a team. And that has come at the perfect time because of the presence of what Mayor Schaaf calls “The Las Vegas Threat.”

Raiders Las Vegas NFL Stadium Plans And Proposed Nevada Special Session

In late January, Oakland Raiders Owner Mark Davis met with Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson and University of Nevada Las Vegas President Len Jessup to tour possible sites for a new Raiders stadium in Sin City. Davis, rankled that the NFL rejected his Carson stadium proposal, took up an offer by Adelson, who, in turn, was reportedly wooed (via his deputy government affairs representative Andy Abboud) by former Raiders player and Las Vegas resident Napoleon McCallum.

That ignited Las Vegas Sands partnering with The Raiders and Majestic Realty to present a plan for a 65,000 seat stadium in Las Vegas, and before a group formed by Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and called The Southern Nevada Tourism and Infrastructure Committee, or SNTIC, and that was already meeting over the past year ostensibly on how to pay for expanding the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC).

Davis and Adelson wanted the SNTIC to send a recommendation to the Governor that a hotel tax increase and a subsidy of $750 million for a new NFL Stadium in Las Vegas or Clark County should be presented in a bill to the Nevada Legislature. A request that, given the size of the public contribution and the fact that Adelson, worth $29 billion, could pay for the stadium himself, seemed a long shot to get from the SNTIC.

But the Governor’s SNTIC was wired by Adelson and the Las Vegas Casino Industry: many top casino managers sat on it, and in 2015, Las Vegas Sands had given over $25,000 to the campaign of the two elected officials on it: Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Clark County Supervisor Steve Sisolak. (Moreover, Adelson has given over $200,000 to the campaigns of over 20 Nevada elected officials or those running for office over the past two years.)

With that, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal owned by the Adelson family, it should come as no surprise that the SNTIC would eventually approve Davis and Adelson’s request. Now, it’s up to Governor Sandoval to call the special session, which has not happened yet even though he said the meeting date would be between October 7th and October 11th.

It’s October 4th now.

Whatever’s going on to cause what seems to be a delay, Nevada political observers, and Raiders fans close to the story believe that with taxpayer groups loudly crying foul against what is called a welfare give to a billionaire in Adelson, and this being an election year, there’s little desire for the Nevada Legislature to approve the huge level funding.

Moreover, there are concerns with the Raiders / Las Vegas Sands NFL stadium plan and they were left unadressed by the SNTIC, which was rushed to get to a conclusion because the Raiders are anxious to get a Las Vegas proposal before NFL Owners by January of next year:

First, the Raiders plan is without a firm land deal, and one of the two areas selected is right next to Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, an idea that Southwest Airlines has told me it would not be in favor of for reasons of aviation safety.

Second, the proposed legislation calls for a bond issue with a debt coverage ratio that, at 1.5, is below the industry standard of two, or double the revenue from the proposed tax increase. To put it simply, the bond deal by design is in danger of not being able to pay for itself. Governor Sandoval has said he’s convinced the bond deal can work, but then he is considered to be working to meet Adelson’s request. And I’m told a number of Nevada elected officials don’t want to piss off Adelson.

Third, the proposed legislation is written such that there would be no cap on the amount of money the public, known as The Nevada Government and Clark County, would spend on the NFL Stadium over and above the $750 million. The SNTIC rejected the proposal that there should be a cap, and so the public could wind up spending over $1 billion on an NFL stadium if the Nevada Legislature and the NFL Owners gave Davis and Adelson what they wanted.

Sheldon Adelson’s Legal Problems With Money Laundering Claims

Finally, there’s the issue of Adelson himself and the flurry of lawsuits filed and settlement given around allegations of money laundering connected to Chinese high-rollers, some said to have questionable business practices. You can learn more about that in my vlog below, but to what degree does this problem taint the entire deal? Will Nevada Legislators take that into account in an election year that’s just 35 days from conclusion as of this writing?

If not, and the Nevada Legislature approves this gargantuan public subsidy for the Raiders and Las Vegas Sands, the entire matter will fall to The Clark County Board Of Supervisors for a final decision. Because of a newly installed “Home Rule” law in 2015, Clark County gets final say on the $750 million bond issue. I talk about that, here:

Stay tuned and subscribe to Zennie62 on YouTube for up-to-the-minute video-blogs on this story.

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Support Your Child’s Mental Health: Medi-Cal Covers Therapy, Medication, and More

Published

5 days ago

December 14, 2025

Oakland Post

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When children struggle emotionally, it can affect every part of their lives — at home, in school, with friends, and even their physical health. In many Black families, we’re taught to be strong and push through. But our kids don’t have to struggle alone. Medi-Cal provides mental health care for children and youth, with no referral or diagnosis required.

Through California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), the state is transforming how care is delivered. Services are now easier to access and better connected across mental health, physical health, and family support systems. CalAIM brings care into schools, homes, and communities, removing barriers and helping children get support early, before challenges escalate.

Help is Available, and it’s Covered

Under Medi-Cal, every child and teen under age 19 has the right to mental health care. This includes screenings, therapy, medication support, crisis stabilization, and help coordinating services. Parents, caregivers, and children age 12 or older can request a screening at any time, with no diagnosis or referral required.

Medi-Cal’s Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Program

For children and youth with more serious mental health needs, including those in foster care or involved in the justice system, Medi-Cal offers expanded support, including:

Family-centered and community-based therapy to address trauma, behavior challenges, or system involvement.
Wraparound care teams that help keep children safely at home or with relatives.
Activity funds that support healing through sports, art, music, and therapeutic camps.
Initial joint behavioral health visits, where a mental health provider and child welfare worker meet with the family early in a case.
Child welfare liaisons in Medi-Cal health plans who help caregivers and social workers get services for children faster

Keeping Kids Safe from Opioids and Harmful Drugs

DHCS is also working to keep young people safe as California faces rising risks from opioids and counterfeit pills. Programs like Elevate Youth California and Friday Night Live give teens mentorship, leadership opportunities, and positive outlets that strengthen mental well-being.

Through the California Youth Opioid Response, families can learn how to avoid dangerous substances and get treatment when needed. Song for Charlie provides parents and teens with facts and tools to talk honestly about mental health and counterfeit pills.

DHCS also supports groups like Young People in Recovery, which helps youth build skills for long-term healing, and the Youth Peer Mentor Program, which trains teens with lived experience to support others. These efforts are part of California’s strategy to protect young people, prevent overdoses, and help them make healthier choices.

Support for Parents and Caregivers

Children thrive when their caregivers are supported. Through CalAIM’s vision of whole-person care, Medi-Cal now covers dyadic services, visits where a child and caregiver meet together with a provider to strengthen bonding, manage stress, and address behavior challenges.

These visits may include screening the caregiver for depression or anxiety and connecting them to food, housing, or other health-related social needs, aligning with CalAIM’s Community Supports framework. Notably, only the child must be enrolled in Medi-Cal to receive dyadic care.

Family therapy is also covered and can take place in clinics, schools, homes, or via telehealth, reflecting CalAIM’s commitment to flexible, community-based care delivery.

Additionally, BrightLife Kids offers free tools, resources, and virtual coaching for caregivers and children ages 0–12. Families can sign up online or through the BrightLife Kids app. No insurance, diagnosis, or referral is required.

For teens and young adults ages 13–25, California offers Soluna, a free mental health app where young people can chat with coaches, learn coping skills, journal, or join supportive community circles. Soluna is free, confidential, available in app stores, and does not require insurance.

CalHOPE also provides free emotional support to all Californians through a 24/7 support line at (833) 317-HOPE (4673), online chat, and culturally responsive resources.

Support at School — Where Kids Already Are

Schools are often the first place where emotional stress is noticed. Through the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), public schools, community colleges, and universities can offer therapy, counseling, crisis support, and referrals at no cost to families.

Services are available during school breaks and delivered on campus, by phone or video, or at community sites. There are no copayments, deductibles, or bills.

Medi-Cal Still Covers Everyday Care

Medi-Cal continues to cover everyday mental health care, including therapy for stress, anxiety, depression, or trauma; medication support; crisis stabilization; hospital care when needed; and referrals to community programs through county mental health plans and Medi-Cal health plans.

How to Get Help

Talk to your child’s teacher, school counselor, or doctor.
In Alameda County call 510-272-3663 or the toll-free number 1-800-698-1118 and in San Francisco call 855-355-5757 to contact your county mental health plan to request an assessment or services.
If your child is not enrolled in Medi-Cal, you can apply at com or my.medi-cal.ca.gov.
In a mental health emergency, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Every child deserves to grow up healthy and supported. Medi-Cal is working to transform care so it’s accessible, equitable, and responsive to the needs of every family.

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Activism

Ann Lowe: The Quiet Genius of American Couture

Lowe was born in Clayton, Alabama, into a family of gifted seamstresses. Her mother and grandmother were well-known dressmakers who created exquisite gowns for women in the area. By the time Lowe was a young girl, she was already showing extraordinary talent — cutting, sewing, and decorating fabric with a skill that far exceeded her age. When her mother died unexpectedly, Lowe – only 16 years old then – took over her mother’s sewing business, completing all the orders herself.

Published

5 days ago

December 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy of National Archives.

By Tamara Shiloh

Ann Cole Lowe, born Dec.14, 1898, was a pioneering American fashion designer whose extraordinary talent shaped some of the most widely recognized and celebrated gowns in U.S. history.

Although she designed dresses for society’s wealthiest families and created masterpieces worn at historic events, Lowe spent much of her life in the shadows — uncredited, underpaid, yet unmatched in skill. Today, she is celebrated as one of the first nationally recognized African American fashion designers and a true visionary in American couture.

In 1917, Lowe moved to New York City to study at the S.T. Taylor Design School. Although she was segregated from White students and forced to work separately, she, of course, excelled, graduating earlier than expected. Her instructors quickly recognized that her abilities were far above the typical student, especially her skill in hand-sewing, applique, and intricate floral embellishment – techniques that would become her signature.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, she designed gowns for high-society women in Florida and New York, operating boutiques and working for prestigious department stores. Her reputation for craftsmanship, originality, and elegance grew increasingly. She was known for creating gowns that moved beautifully, featured delicate hand-made flowers, and looked sculpted rather than sewn. Many wealthy clients specifically requested “an Ann Lowe gown” for weddings, balls, and galas.

Her most famous creation came in 1953: the wedding gown worn by Jacqueline Bouvier when she married Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy. The dress – crafted from ivory silk taffeta with dozens of tiny, pleated rosettes – became one of the most photographed bridal gowns in American history. Despite this achievement, Lowe received no public credit at the time. When a flood destroyed her completed gowns 10 days before the wedding, she and her seamstresses worked day and night to remake everything – at her own expense. Her dedication and perfectionism never wavered.

She eventually opened “Ann Lowe Originals,” her own salon on New York’s Madison Avenue. She served clients such as the Rockefellers, DuPonts, Vanderbilts, and actresses like Olivia de Havilland. Yet even with her wealthy clientele, she struggled financially, often undercharging because she wanted every dress to be perfect, even if it meant losing money.

Lowe’s contributions were finally recognized later in life. Today, her exquisite gowns are preserved in museums, including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In the last five years of her life, Lowe lived with her daughter Ruth in Queens, N.Y. She died at her daughter’s home on Feb. 25, 1981, at the age of 82, after an extended illness.

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Activism

2025 in Review: Seven Questions for Black Women’s Think Tank Founder Kellie Todd Griffin

As the president and CEO of the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute, Griffin is on a mission to shift the narrative and outcomes for Black women and girls. She founded the nation’s first Black Women’s Think Tank, securing $5 million in state funding to fuel policy change.

Published

5 days ago

December 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Kellie Todd Griffin. CBM file photo.

By Edward Henderson
California Black Media

With more than 25 years of experience spanning public affairs, community engagement, strategy, marketing, and communications, Kellie Todd Griffin is recognized across California as a leader who mobilizes people and policy around issues that matter.

Griffin spoke with California Black Media (CBM) about her successes and setbacks in 2025 and her hopes for 2026.

Looking back at 2025, what stands out to you as your most important achievement and why? 

Our greatest achievement in this year is we got an opportunity to honor the work of 35 Black women throughout California who are trailblazing the way for the next generation of leaders.

How did your leadership, efforts and investments as president and CEO California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute contribute to improving the lives of Black Californians? 

We’re training the next leaders. We have been able to train 35 women over a two-year period, and we’re about to start a new cohort of another 30 women. We also have trained over 500 middle and high school girls in leadership, advocacy, and financial literacy.

What frustrated you the most over the last year?

Getting the question, “why.” Why advocate for Black women? Why invest in Black people, Black communities? It’s always constantly having to explain that, although we are aware that there are other populations that are in great need, the quality-of-life indices for Black Californians continue to decrease. Our life expectancies are decreasing. Our unhoused population is increasing. Our health outcomes remain the worst.

We’re not asking anyone to choose one group to prioritize. We are saying, though, in addition to your investments into our immigrant brothers and sisters – or our religious brothers and sisters – we are also asking you to uplift the needs of Black Californians. That way, all of us can move forward together.

What inspired you the most over the last year?

I’ve always been amazed by the joy of Black women in the midst of crisis.

That is really our secret sauce. We don’t let the current state of any issue take our joy from us. It may break us a little bit. We may get tired a little bit. But we find ways to express that – through the arts, through music, through poetry.

What is one lesson you learned in 2025 that will inform your decision-making next year?

Reset. It’s so important not to be sitting still. We have a new administration. We’re seeing data showing that Black women have the largest unemployment rate. We’ve lost so many jobs. We can have rest – we can be restful – but we have to continue the resistance.

In one word, what is the biggest challenge Black Californians faced in 2025?

Motivation.

I choose motivation because of the tiredness. What is going to motivate us to be involved in 2026?

What is the goal you want to achieve most in 2026?

I want to get Black Californians in spaces and places of power and influence – as well as opportunities to thrive economically, socially, and physically.