City Government

Gallo Wants City to Help Clear Debris at Fruitvale Home Depot

Published

5 years ago

June 28, 2019

Construction workers Roberto Lopez and Ron Ramirez live in the Community of Grace homeless encampment near Home Depot in the Fruitvale District. They run a kitchen at the site to feed their fellow community members. Photo by Zack Haber.

Councilmember Noel Gallo is calling for the city to remove unhoused residents living near Home Depot’s Fruitvale store.

Many residents at the encampment, however, claim they have nowhere else to go and that the city makes the location unsanitary by providing inadequate services.

Gallo is concerned Home Depot will leave Oakland, taking jobs with it, because he claims the homeless make customers feel unsafe and are trashing the location.

“That’s not their home and that’s not their property,” said Gallo. “If we don’t provide jobs, then we’re all going to be homeless.”

Responding, Markaya S., who has lived near Home Depot for five years, said, “Home Depot wants all the trash and debris gone, but in order for that to work, the city has to work with us.”

Markaya and her fellow encampment residents, which she estimates number about 100, call their set-up The Community of Grace (COG).

Many COG residents collaborate to take care of each other and stay safe. They do research using California’s Megan’s Law website and kick out those convicted of sexual offenses, have meetings when problems arise, maintain a protected kids’ zone and run a kitchen that provides food for residents.

COG resident Uce Taylor claims that the city picks up trash about twice a month, though not consistently, and refuses to provide a dumpster. Residents usually organize waste into giant piles for pick up.

“Sometimes if it’s been too long since a (trash) pick up, we’ll gather together and rent a dumpster,”said Taylor.

When they are able to organize trash into a dumpster, the city picks it up quickly. But the rental cost is too expensive for residents to do that regularly.

Gallo does not deny the city’s inconsistent trash pick up but says he helps out personally to help clean up.

“I help pick up their stuff every week with volunteers,” Gallo said. “I’ve been doing that for six years.”

While the city has provided three portable toilets, residents feel there aren’t enough and they quickly overflow.

Their complaints are valid according to Service Sanitation, a company that rents out portable toilets and recommends providing 15 toilets for a group of 50 people if they’re changed weekly.

Home Depot has pressured Gallo to remove the encampment. A letter from the company’s regional Vice President Steve Knott, sent on March 20, cites “frequent occurrences of malicious theft.”

But COG residents claim that very few people have stolen from the store. One official told the Post there have been no thefts since February.

Knott’s letter also asks the city to “immediately remove and relocate the inhabitants to a viable location,” but residents claim the city is not providing an appropriate place for them.

The city’s Tuffsheds and RV sites for homeless people do not have enough space for everyone, and even if they did, they are not desirable or accessible places, according to many COG residents.

Markaya, who lives in a tiny home she built, sees living in a Tuffshed as a downgrade. But even if she wanted to move into one, she has children. and the city does not allow children to live in its tuff shed sites.

Taylor lives in an RV but could not move into a city approved RV site because his RV is non-operational.

Many COG residents have jobs and see the combination of high rents and low wages as the biggest challenges to securing housing.

Markaya works full time at a job where she makes $15 an hour, a salary that, according to reports from glassdoor.com, is similar to many worker’s wages at Home Depot.

Her income is too low for her to rent an apartment. Roberto Lopez and Ron Ramirez, who live at COG and run its kitchen, work as construction workers. Although they build buildings in Oakland, they can’t afford to live in one.

“What would fix this problem would be changing the cost of living to match wages,” said Markaya.

Zack Haber

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Oakland Post: Week of November 27 – December 3, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 27 – December 3, 2024, 2024

Published

4 days ago

November 30, 2024

Oakland Post

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California Black Media

California Department of Aging Offers Free Resources for Family Caregivers in November

In honor of National Family Caregivers Month this November, the California Department of Aging (CDA) is spotlighting a range of free resources to support caregivers of older adults and individuals with disabilities. Through its extensive network of Caregiver Resource Centers (CRCs) and Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), the state provides essential tools to help caregivers manage their responsibilities while prioritizing their own health and well-being.

Published

1 week ago

November 26, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

“Caregiving is a great act of love, and this month — and every day — we uplift California’s caregivers as the under-recognized backbone of our families and communities,” said Susan DeMarois, director of the CDA. DeMarois emphasized the need for caregivers to access available support to better balance their roles without compromising their own health.

California is home to more than 4.5 million unpaid family caregivers, who contribute an estimated $81 billion annually in economic value through their care. Most caregivers are women who balance work, family, and caregiving responsibilities, often at the cost of their physical and emotional health. Given California’s aging population, the demand for caregiver support is rapidly growing, underscoring the importance of these free resources.

Thousands of caregivers accessed these services in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, benefiting from tools like professional care management and respite support. The Aging in California Resource Guide, available in six languages, offers additional information on caregiver support.

Caregivers can learn more about available resources by visiting the CDA website at aging.ca.gov and connecting with local CRCs or AAAs to discover personalized services to support them in their caregiving journey.

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California Black Media

Elections 2024: Sec. of State Weber Explains Results, Ballot Counting Process

Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber hosted a webinar on Nov. 14 to update Californians on the ballot counting process for the 2024 General Election. California is home to the largest voting base in the nation with 22.5 million registered voters. According to the Secretary of State Office (SOS), about 70% of the state’s voters participated in the November Election. So far, 15.2 million votes have been counted, processed and verified. There are still roughly 0.8 million votes to go through the process.

Published

1 week ago

November 25, 2024

Oakland Post

Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D. File Photo.

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber hosted a webinar on Nov. 14 to update Californians on the ballot counting process for the 2024 General Election.

California is home to the largest voting base in the nation with 22.5 million registered voters. According to the Secretary of State Office (SOS), about 70% of the state’s voters participated in the November Election. So far, 15.2 million votes have been counted, processed and verified. There are still roughly 0.8 million votes to go through the process.

Because California allows voters more time and opportunities to vote than most states, it typically takes longer to finalize the results.

Historically, it has taken the state the longest to finalize election results. Almost half of the uncalled house races this year come from California. As of Nov 14, the closest race is in the 45^thCongressional District House race between Michelle Steel and Derek Tran. The two candidates are only separated by 58 votes with 93% of all votes counted.

“California basically makes sure that every vote counts,” said Weber. “We will receive our first actual count from all of the 58 counties on Dec. 6. After that, we have at least one week, which is until Dec. 13, when we will actually certify the state results. Then that becomes the official results for the election.”

If a recount is triggered in the 45^th district, official results may take longer than the expected deadline.

The part of the ballot counting process that tends to prolong the official results involves verifying signatures and making sure individuals who obtained provisional ballots the day of the election are all eligible to vote, Weber said.

The SOS goes as far as finding individuals who neglected to sign their ballots so they can complete the process.

“The reason we do this is we respect every vote that comes in. California’s election process is designed with a core commitment to recognizing and basically accurately counting each and every eligible vote that comes into our office,” added Weber. “This approach involves a series of rigorous checks and safeguards, including Signature verification machine audits and manual accounts.”

While technology has helped expedite the counting process in some areas, as the voter base continues to grow in the state, additional manual support is needed. For example, vote my mail ballots have to be opened and counted by hand. By Oct. 18, 1.5 million vote-by-mail ballots were already submitted.

Voting over the internet is prohibited by California Law. This eliminates all possibilities of cyber tampering or electronic voter fraud.

The SOS office also does a hand count of one percent of all ballots before Dec. 13. This is done to verify the fact there is a correlation between the hand counts and what the machines are counting.

“Some people ask the question: ‘Why do we have to be so accurate?’

We do our best to make sure that every Californian who is registered legally registered to vote will have their vote counted,” Weber emphasized.