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“I am Jane Doe” Viewing at Marin City Library, Aug. 15

Published

8 years ago

August 10, 2017

“I am Jane Doe,” a film about human trafficking will be shown at the Marin City Library, located at 164 Donahue Street in Marin City. The viewing will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 15,

The showing of “I am Jane Doe” is the second in a series of films and talks on the issue of human trafficking at the Marin City Library. Laurel Botsford, volunteer representative of Shared Hope International, will be available to answer any questions.

The film was written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Mary Mazzio, who also produced the film along with Academy Award-nominee, Alec Sokolow. Academy Award-nominee Jessica Chastain (Interstellar, The Help) narrated the film.
Mazzio previously worked as a lawyer representing indigent tenants facing evictions. She discovered that she could more effectively tell the stories of her clients through film to a wider audience. She then became a filmmaker and founded “50 Eggs, Inc.,” an independent film production company dedicated to create film with social impact.

“I am Jane Doe” tells the story of several American mothers who wage war against human trafficking on behalf of their middle-school daughters, who were victims of online sex-trafficking.

The documentary reveals how these mothers, after rescuing their middle school daughters, filed lawsuits against Backpage.com, the classified advertising website that for years was part of the Village Voice, an alternative news and culture weekly and website. The mothers stood up on behalf of thousands of other mothers, fighting back and refusing to take no for an answer.

“Jane Doe” is the name given to anonymous legal parties in U.S. courts, such as the five daughters who are the sex-trafficked victims that are suing Backpage. They include middle school girls from Boston, a 15-year-old violinist from Seattle, and a precocious 13-year-old girl from St. Louis.

The documentary follows the journey of these young girls and their mothers in real time as they run headlong into a collision course not only with Backpage but with judges, special interest groups, and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, an internet freedom law that provides a safe haven for website publishers to advertise underage girls for sex.

Although many of the lawsuits have not gone well, their efforts have sparked a political movement that now includes a Senate subcommittee investigation led by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

The film features the attorneys involved in the various lawsuits, including a criminal defense lawyer working out of a strip mall in Washington State and a senior partner in one of the oldest white-shoe law firms in the country (Ropes & Gray) from Massachusetts.

The film also includes interviews with Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri), Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota), as well as others involved with these cases.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

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Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

7 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

11 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

12 months ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.