Commentary

Dem-Controlled House Ready to Take on Trump Beginning Thursday

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The changing of House leadership will mark the first time Trump will sit at a clear disadvantage as he continues to try and build a wall on the southern border and push through other parts of his divisive policy.

Published

7 years ago

January 1, 2019

Oakland Post

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

According to several new reports, the House will vote Thursday on a funding bill to re-open the government and end the partial government shutdown.

January 3 is when the new Democratic majority in the House will be sworn in.

It’s also when President Donald Trump will begin facing what outlets like CNN said will be an intensified level of scrutiny in the new year because Democratic House committee chairs, led by prominent members of the Congressional Black Caucus, are poised to “comb through every corner of his administration, subpoena his Cabinet and investigate” Trump’s personal finances, associates and business interests.

The changing of House leadership will mark the first time Trump will sit at a clear disadvantage as he continues to try and build a wall on the southern border and push through other parts of his divisive policy.

“Democrats should not give an inch,” former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said.

Further, “Democrats can’t negotiate with Trump on the shutdown because he’s mentally incapacitated,” said former Democratic National Chair Howard Dean.

NPR noted that this week’s legislation to end the shutdown will include the full-year appropriations for six of the seven outstanding funding bills and stop-gap funding until Feb. 8 for the Department of Homeland Security, which is where the fight over Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion in border wall funding is contained.

House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi has previously stated that the House would take up a bill to reopen government as a first order of business.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he will only put a bill on the floor if President Trump will support and sign it, NPR reported.

McConnell didn’t respond to messages left by NNPA Newswire.

The Senate previously passed a bill to keep the government open without the president’s wall funding, before Trump changed his mind and decided not to sign it, according to NPR.

The outgoing Republican House majority passed a bill with Trump’s wall funds that was not passed by the Senate, where Democratic votes are necessary for such legislation. Now, that Democrats are taking over as House majority, Trump’s battles are about to worsen.

CNN broke down the five Democratic Chairs who figure to send Trump into more of his infamous tweet storms. Among them is Waters, who has spoken outwardly of impeaching the 45th president.

Now she’ll run the Financial Services Committee, which will give her an avenue to probe the finances of Trump and the Trump Organization.

Waters has lashed out at Trump over his controversial immigration policy which led to the separation of families at the border, including infants being taken away from their mothers.

She’s also pressed for an investigation into Deutsche Bank, a lender to Trump that was separately implicated in a Russian money laundering operation in 2017 and Waters has pushed the Treasury Department to divulge financial ties between Russia and the Trump family.

The jurisdiction of Waters’ committee makes it likely she’ll clash with Trump in a way that particularly hits home for him: his finances, according to CNN.

Also, Maryland Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, will have perhaps the broadest authority to investigate Trump and his administration as the new chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

He recently spoke of Trump’s ever-secret tax filings that the president still hasn’t divulged.

“I think there’s a lot of information in them that would be of interest to my committee. For example, we’d like to know exactly what … has been the sources of income for this President,” Cummings told CNN.

“He’s made all kinds of claims that he doesn’t have relationships with Russia. He told us he didn’t have any relationships with Russia, we come to find out that’s not accurate. So, there’ve been a lot of allegations, but I think the tax returns where he has to swear that the information is accurate, that would tell us a lot,” Cummings said.

The longtime congressman has asked the administration to comply to letters he sent out recently by January 11. The letters ranged from questions about Cabinet secretary travel to immigration to security clearances to hurricane recovery efforts by the administration, CNN reported.

But Cummings has also warned that he doesn’t want his committee to only zero in on Trump’s perceived failings.

“I believe that what we do in this Congress over the next year or so will have impact for the next 50 to 100 years,” he said.

“We’re going to cautiously go about with subpoenas. … There would have to be something that has a compelling interest to the citizens of the United States and would have to be something that comes under our jurisdiction. So there’s certain criteria that has to be met. I do not expect to be issuing subpoenas – even the 64 that we’ve asked for because there are so many things that are backed up. And we’ll never get a chance to do everything.”

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

3 days ago

December 25, 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.

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Alameda County

Bling It On: Holiday Lights Brighten Dark Nights All Around the Bay

On the block where I grew up in the 1960s, it was an unwritten agreement among the owners of those row homes to put up holiday lights: around the front window and door, along the porch banister, etc. Some put the Christmas tree in the window, and you could see it through the open slats of the blinds.

Published

7 days ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

Christmas lights on a house near the writer’s residence in Oakland. Photo by Joseph Shangosola.

By Wanda Ravernell

I have always liked Christmas lights.

From my desk at my front window, I feel a quiet joy when the lights on the house across the street come on just as night falls.

My father, the renegade of the block, made no effort with lights, so my mother hung a wreath with two bells in the window. Just enough to let you know someone was at home.

Two doors down was a different story. Mr. King, the overachiever of the block, went all out for Christmas: The tree in the window, the lights along the roof and a Santa on his sleigh on the porch roof.

There are a few ‘Mr. Kings’ in my neighborhood.

In particular is the gentleman down the street. For Halloween, they erected a 10-foot skeleton in the yard, placed ‘shrunken heads’ on fence poles, pumpkins on steps and swooping bat wings from the porch roof. They have not held back for Christmas.

The skeleton stayed up this year, this time swathed in lights, as is every other inch of the house front. It is a light show that rivals the one in the old Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia.

I would hate to see their light bill…

As the shortest day of the year approaches, make Mr. King’s spirit happy and get out and see the lights in your own neighborhood, shopping plazas and merchant areas.

Here are some places recommended by 510 Families and Johnny FunCheap.

Oakland

Oakland’s Temple Hill Holiday Lights and Gardens is the place to go for a drive-by or a leisurely stroll for a religious holiday experience. Wear a jacket, because it’s chilly outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 4220 Lincoln Ave., particularly after dark. The gardens are open all day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the lights on from dusk until closing.

Alameda

Just across the High Street Bridge from Oakland, you’ll find Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda.

On Thompson Avenue between High Street and Fernside drive, displays range from classic trees and blow-ups to a comedic response to the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Lights turn on at dusk and can be seen through the first week in January.

Berkeley

The Fourth Street business district from University Avenue to Virginia Street in Berkeley comes alive with lights beginning at 5 p.m. through Jan. 1, 2026.

There’s also a display at one house at 928 Arlington St., and, for children, the Tilden Park Carousel Winter Wonderland runs through Jan. 4, 2026. Closed Christmas Day. For more information and tickets, call (510) 559-1004.

Richmond

The Sundar Shadi Holiday Display, featuring a recreation of the town of Bethlehem with life-size figures, is open through Dec. 26 at 7501 Moeser Lane in El Cerrito.

Marin County

In Marin, the go-to spot for ‘oohs and ahhs’ is the Holiday Light Spectacular from 4-9 p.m. through Jan. 4, 2026, at Marin Center Fairgrounds at 10 Ave of the Flags in San Rafael through Jan. 4. Displays dazzle, with lighted walkways and activities almost daily. For more info, go to: www.marincounty.gov/departments/cultural-services/department-sponsored-events/holiday-light-spectacular

The arches at Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Dr. will also be illuminated nightly.

San Francisco

Look for light installations in Golden Gate Park, chocolate and cheer at Ghirardelli Square, and downtown, the ice rink in Union Square and the holiday tree in Civic Center Plaza are enchanting spots day and night. For neighborhoods, you can’t beat the streets in Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, and Bernal Heights. For glee and over-the-top glitz there’s the Castro, particularly at 68 Castro Street.

Livermore

The winner of the 2024 Great Light Flight award, Deacon Dave has set up his display with a group of creative volunteers at 352 Hillcrest Avenue since 1982. See it through Jan. 1, 2026. For more info, go to https://www.casadelpomba.com

Fremont

Crippsmas Place is a community of over 90 decorated homes with candy canes passed out nightly through Dec. 31. A tradition since 1967, the event features visits by Mr. and Mrs. Claus on Dec. 18 and Dec. 23 and entertainment by the Tri-M Honor Society at 6 p.m. on Dec. 22. Chrippsmas Place is located on: Cripps Place, Asquith Place, Nicolet Court, Wellington Place, Perkins Street, and the stretch of Nicolet Avenue between Gibraltar Drive and Perkins Street.

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Desmond Gumbs — Visionary Founder, Mentor, and Builder of Opportunity

Gumbs’ coaching and leadership journey spans from Bishop O’Dowd High School, Oakland High School, Stellar Prep High School. Over the decades, hundreds of his students have gone on to college, earning academic and athletic scholarships and developing life skills that extend well beyond sports.

Published

1 week ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

NCAA football history was made this year when Head Coach from Mississippi Valley State, Terrell Buckley and Head Coach Desmond Gumbs both had starting kickers that were Women. This picture was taken after the game. Courtesy photo.

Special to the Post

For more than 25 years, Desmond Gumbs has been a cornerstone of Bay Area education and athletics — not simply as a coach, but as a mentor, founder, and architect of opportunity. While recent media narratives have focused narrowly on challenges, they fail to capture the far more important truth: Gumbs’ life’s work has been dedicated to building pathways to college, character, and long-term success for hundreds of young people.

A Career Defined by Impact

One of his most enduring contributions is his role as founder of Stellar Prep High School, a non-traditional, mission-driven institution created to serve students who needed additional structure, belief, and opportunity. Through Stellar Prep numerous students have advanced to college — many with scholarships — demonstrating Gumbs’ deep commitment to education as the foundation for athletic and personal success.

NCAA football history was made this year when Head Coach from
Mississippi Valley State, Terrell Buckley and Head Coach Desmond
Gumbs both had starting kickers that were women. This picture was
taken after the game.

A Personal Testament to the Mission: Addison Gumbs

Perhaps no example better reflects Desmond Gumbs’ philosophy than the journey of his son, Addison Gumbs. Addison became an Army All-American, one of the highest honors in high school football — and notably, the last Army All-Americans produced by the Bay Area, alongside Najee Harris.

Both young men went on to compete at the highest levels of college football — Addison Gumbs at the University of Oklahoma, and Najee Harris at the University of Alabama — representing the Bay Area on a national level.

Building Lincoln University Athletics From the Ground Up

In 2021, Gumbs accepted one of the most difficult challenges in college athletics: launching an entire athletics department at Lincoln University in Oakland from scratch. With no established infrastructure, limited facilities, and eventually the loss of key financial aid resources, he nonetheless built opportunities where none existed.

Under his leadership, Lincoln University introduced:

Football
Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Men’s and Women’s Soccer

Operating as an independent program with no capital and no conference safety net, Gumbs was forced to innovate — finding ways to sustain teams, schedule competition, and keep student-athletes enrolled and progressing toward degrees. The work was never about comfort; it was about access.

Voices That Reflect His Impact

Desmond Gumbs’ philosophy has been consistently reflected in his own published words:

“if you have an idea, you’re 75% there the remaining 25% is actually doing it.”
“This generation doesn’t respect the title — they respect the person.”
“Greatness is a habit, not a moment.”

Former players and community members have echoed similar sentiments in public commentary, crediting Gumbs with teaching them leadership, accountability, confidence, and belief in themselves — lessons that outlast any single season.

Context Matters More Than Headlines

Recent articles critical of Lincoln University athletics focus on logistical and financial hardships while ignoring the reality of building a new program with limited resources in one of the most expensive regions in the country. Such narratives are ultimately harmful and incomplete, failing to recognize the courage it takes to create opportunity instead of walking away when conditions are difficult.

The real story is not about early struggles — it is about vision, resilience, and service.

A Legacy That Endures

From founding Stellar PREP High School, to sending hundreds of students to college, to producing elite athletes like Addison Gumbs, to launching Lincoln University athletics, Desmond Gumbs’ legacy is one of belief in young people and relentless commitment to opportunity.

His work cannot be reduced to headlines or records. It lives on in degrees earned, scholarships secured, leaders developed, and futures changed — across the Bay Area and beyond.