News

Debate Simmers on City’s $2 Billion Budget

Published

11 years ago

July 5, 2013

Oakland Post

Lynette Gibson McElhaney

Desley Brooks

By Ken A. Epstein

Oakland’s new two-year $2 billion budget – the first in five years to be based on rising city revenues – focuses on hiring more police and reducing blight in the city.
The budget, which incorporates many of the priorities of the mayor and the differing plans proposed by councilmembers, was adopted by a 5-3 vote Thursday, with the support of Councilmembers Lynette Gibson McElhaney Dan Kalb, Pat Kernighan, Libby Schaaf and Rebecca Kaplan.
Though the days austerity appear to be over, at least for now, some councilmembers are saying the spending plan is excessive and risky and may lead to more cuts in the future.
In addition, city employees, who held a one-day strike on Monday, are saying they have accepted the brunt of the cuts over the past five years, and Oakland must do more to restore their standard of living, rather than giving so much of the new-found income to police.
The spending plan is optimistic but prudent and based on the spirit of compromise, according to McElhaney.
“This budget clearly does more for the community than many that we have been able to pass in the past few years. I’m pleased,” she said.
“With the ‘all-in budget,’ we were able to include everyone’s priorities,” she said, referring to the compromise budget designed by her, Kaplan and Kalb.
The budget will add funding to reduce blight and repair potholes, reduce the impact of cuts to Head Start and senior centers, increase funds for the West Oakland Job Resource Center and the West Oakland Youth Center,
The city will hire 160 new police officers, 10 new civilian police staff to help with investigations and the crime lab and continue the contract with the California Highway Patrol to help police city streets.
The budget also increases the number of staff in the City Administrator’s office.
McElhaney said she talked to staff while developing the all-in budget proposal and was told this “this is a very strong budget.”
“This budget does push the city to the limit. It is an optimistic budget that funds our future,” she said.
While the “all-in budget” does fund most of what Councilmembers Desley Brooks, Noel Gallo and Larry Reid were asking for in their alternative, budget, Brooks says the newly passed budget is “bittersweet,” because it is “fiscally irresponsible” and “simply kicks the can down the road.”
“The all-in budget paid for $8 million of ongoing expenses with one-time money,” said Brooks in a prepared statement. “This means we incur an expense knowing full well that we don’t have the money to pay for it in the future.”
Moreover, the budget funds city worker wage increases in a way that could mean layoffs in the future.
“What was most disturbing was the ‘all-in team’ funded a potential civilian employee bargaining set aside with $6 million dollars of one-time monies knowing full well this is an ongoing expense. This is fiscally irresponsible, reckless and unnecessary,” she said.
“We missed an opportunity to fund the items that provide the residents of this city with a safe, clean, and livable city and doing so in a fiscally responsible way.”

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Activism

NAACP California-Hawaii State Convention Highlights Black Voter Engagement, and More

A Friday panel featuring NAACP Chairman Leon W. Russell and Regina Wilson, Executive Director of California Black Media, examined Project 2025, an initiative perceived as a potential threat to civil rights, healthcare access, and environmental protection. This session emphasized Project 2025’s projected impact on Black communities, noting that policies within the initiative could diminish gains in civil and environmental rights over decades. Russell and Wilson highlighted the need for vigilant monitoring and community mobilization to address these challenges.

Published

3 days ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

NAACP State Conference President Rick Callender (right) engages in a discussion on voter engagement and community advocacy with NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson during the 37th NAACP California-Hawaii State Convention in Los Angeles. Photo by Rich Woods.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

The 37th NAACP California-Hawaii State Convention concluded on Sunday, Oct 27, following four days of discussions and workshops at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott. Bringing together civil rights leaders, policymakers, and advocates from California and Hawaii, the convention operated under the theme “All In.” The participants discussed critical issues impacting Black communities, including criminal justice reform, health equity, economic empowerment, education, environmental justice, and voting rights.

On Saturday, the President’s Fireside Chat brought together NAACP President Derrick Johnson and CA/HI State Conference President Rick Callender, who discussed the urgency of voter engagement and community advocacy.

Guest speakers included Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), who spoke at the Women in NAACP (WIN) Labor Luncheon about the intersection of labor rights and civil rights. California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond delivered remarks at the Leadership Dinner on education equity, focusing on policies to ensure all students have access to high-quality education.

Honors were given to longtime social justice advocate and former Assemblymember Mike Davis for his work in community activism. At the same time, actor and activist Danny Glover and the Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown received the 2024 Legacy Hall of Fame Awards, recognizing their lifelong commitments to advancing civil rights.

The convention also offered practical workshops, including “What’s On Your Ballot?,” where coalition leaders provided analyses of California propositions, explaining their potential impacts on community rights and resources. The Voter Turnout Workshop provided background and encouraged participants to promote voter turnout through community-centered outreach strategies.

Sunday’s events closed with a Prayer and Memorial Breakfast honoring the contributions of past and current civil rights leaders.

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Bay Area

Alameda County Judge Blasts Defendants Over Delay in West Oakland Fire Trial

Judge Kimberly Lowell excoriated the RadiusRecycling/SchnitzerSteel defendants in court for causing delays in prosecuting this case. Since the defendants first appeared in court on July 23, they have obtained three extensions of the arraignment date.

Published

3 days ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Criminal charges announced this week are related to the August 2023 scrap metal fire at Radius Recycling Inc., formerly Schnitzer Steel. Photo courtesy of Oaklandside.

Special to The Post

District Attorney Pamela Price announced that a hearing was held on October 30 in the criminal prosecution of the Radius Recycling/Schnitzer Steel involving a fire at the West Oakland facility on Aug. 9-10, 2023.

The Alameda County criminal Grand Jury indicted radius Recycling and two of its corporate managers in June 2024.

The court clarified that the defendants will not receive more extensions on their arraignment and plea.

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price agreed with the court that defendants should not get preferential treatment. Price and her team appreciated the court for clarifying that future delays by Radius will not be tolerated.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD) public data shows that during and after the fire, the smoke plume traveled across Alameda County with high levels of PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter) detected around Laney College in Oakland, Livermore, Pleasanton, and West Oakland.

PM2.5 is particularly harmful to infants and children, the elderly, and people with asthma or heart disease.

“This fire posed a great health hazard to the people of Alameda County,” said Price. “High, short-term exposures to a toxic smoke plume have been shown to cause significant danger to human health.

“Additionally, in this case, Oakland firefighters battled the blaze under extremely dangerous conditions for 15 hours with assistance from a San Francisco Fire Department fireboat and a fireboat from the City of Alameda Fire Department,” Price observed.

The team prosecuting the case from the DA’s Consumer Justice Bureau looks forward to resolving any future motions and having the defendants arraigned in court on Dec. 9.

The media relations office of the Alameda County District Attorney’s office is the source of this report.

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Alameda County

D.A. Price Charges Coliseum Flea Market Vendors in Organized Retail Theft Case

The charges against Octavio Ambriz Valle, 52, Devora Ambriz Valle, 49, and Felipe Del Toro Trejo, 54, include multiple felony counts of possessing stolen property and organized retail theft in concert. It is alleged that the trio of vendors possessed stolen property valued at $348,466 from nine different retailers, including Kohl’s, Macy’s, PetSmart, Sephora, Sunglass Hut, TJX, Target, Walgreens, and Walmart.

Published

3 days ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Alameda County courthouse. Courtesy photo.

Alameda County Courthouse File photo.

Special to The Post

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price announced today that her office charged three people in connection with multiple organized retail theft crimes stemming from a sophisticated criminal enterprise operating at the Oakland Coliseum Flea Market from March 26, 2023, through April 17, 2024.

It is alleged that the trio of vendors possessed stolen property valued at $348,466 from nine different retailers, including Kohl’s, Macy’s, PetSmart, Sephora, Sunglass Hut, TJX, Target, Walgreens, and Walmart.

Last year, the District Attorney’s Office successfully competed and received a $2 million grant from the California Department of Justice to combat organized retail theft. Price added another $2 million to bolster the Organized Retail Crime Alameda (ORCA) unit which is fully operational and collaborating with numerous law enforcement agencies.

“For over a year, this enterprise supported criminal networks by requesting and buying specific products from brazen boosters who repeatedly terrorized retailers,” said Price. “I want to acknowledge our Organized Retail Crime Alameda (ORCA) Vertical Prosecution Unit for its great work and the role they played in this multi-jurisdiction investigation, which included the California Highway Patrol Golden Gate Division Organized Retail Crime Task Force, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, and San Ramon Police Department.”

If convicted and sentenced on all charges, Octavio Ambriz Valle faces a maximum sentence of nine years in County jail; Devora Ambriz Valle faces a maximum sentence of five years in County jail; and Felipe Del Toro Trejo faces a maximum sentence of three years and eight months in County jail.