Uncategorized

Book Review “Blended”

Published

7 years ago

January 3, 2019

Terri Schlichenmeyer The Bookworm Sez

Blended Sharon M. Draper

One plus one is two.
It’s simple: all you have to do is add or count, easy-peasy, a trick you probably learned shortly after you could talk. But as you grow up, you’ll notice that math can get funny and, in the case of the new book “Blended” by Sharon M. Draper, one plus one might suddenly become more.
Eleven-year-old Isabella Badia Thornton has two homes.
It’s not like she’s rich or anything. It’s true, though, that one house is like a mansion and the other is really small, but the first one is her Dad’s house and the second belongs to her Mom. Isabella has a bedroom in each home because her parents got divorced when she was a little kid and it’s been a mess ever since.
What she doesn’t like: the “slicing in half every seven days” thing when her parents exchange custody at the mall. Ugh. What she loves: her tall, funny, cocoa-skinned dad who bought her a baby grand because Isabella is obsessed with playing piano; and her beautiful, blonde mother, who noticed Isabella’s talent back when Izzy was almost still a baby. Isabella would never choose between parents but sometimes, standing with one foot in two homes, between two races, is really, really hard.
Her friends are super-understanding and her parents’ friends are cool. Her BFFs, Heather and Imani, let Isabella vent. Her Mom’s boyfriend, John Mark, has sunburned skin, tats, and a big truck and he makes Mom happy. Anastasia, Isabella’s Dad’s “lady friend” is elegant and sweet and Isabella likes Darren, Anastasia’s college-age son. So it’s not like she doesn’t have people who love her, right?
But when you’re eleven years old, there’s a lot to figure out. Other kids can be jerks at school, and do dumb things. Adults can do equally stupid things by making decisions without asking the kids who are impacted. Racial issues occur, even when they definitely shouldn’t. And when bad things happen to good kids, it’s nice to know who you can always count on.
It can be assumed that author Sharon M. Draper was a little girl, once upon a time. Can we assume she remembers it keenly? Because in “Blended,” she taps perfectly into the emotions and the figuring-it-out period that almost-teenagers endure today.
In getting inside the head of a pre-teen girl, Draper presents a great young character that happens to hate drama. Still, Isabella is a typical kid with bashful boy-crazy moments and fierce-girl classmate conflicts, but her forthrightness and willingness to ask for help could be a boon for any “blended” child in similar situations. Parents might also appreciate that many of Draper’s characters are not assigned a race, which subtly puts the emphasis of much of the plot on the action rather than on skin color. Meant purely for young readers age 9-to-12, this middle-grade book is fun, profanity-free, and relevant now. Give it to the girl who needs a sharp story; for her, “Blended” is a good one.
“Blended” by Sharon M. Draper, c.2018, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, $16.99 / $22.99 Canada, 311 pages.

Terri Schlichenmeyer The Bookworm Sez

Posts by Terri Schlichenmeyer The Bookworm Sez

Uncategorized

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

Published

6 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

Posts by Oakland Post

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

Posts by Oakland Post

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.