City Government

Council Approves Appointment of Butner, Story to Port Board

Published

10 years ago

July 13, 2015

The Oakland City Council this week confirmed the reappointment of incumbent Commissioner Cestra “Ces” Butner to the Port of Oakland Board of Port Commissioners.

The council also approved the appointment to the port board of prominent real estate attorney Joan H. Story, who was nominated for a four-year term by Mayor Libby Schaaf.

Butner, an Oakland resident since 1981, is president, CEO and owner of Horizon Beverage Company. The firm is among Black Enterprise’s top 100 Black-Owned Businesses nationally, based on revenue.

A University of Missouri graduate, he worked for major corporations in Chicago and Minneapolis before moving to Oakland. He has served on the boards of the East Bay YMCA and Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and as president of Sequoyah Country Club.

“I’m excited by the opportunity to continue supporting the port and the people of Oakland,” said Butner. “And I look forward to working with Joan Story – her expertise in real estate and land use planning will be critical in our future decision-making.”

Story is a partner in the international law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton. She has more than 35 years of experience representing developers, foreign and institutional investors and corporate users of commercial real estate.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

OP-ED: Greek Organizations Help Black Students on the Path to College

Don't Miss

OP-ED: Coal Dispute: Much Ado About Nothing

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

3 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.