Bay Area

Educators Donate Stimulus Checks to Help Local Families in Need

Published

5 years ago

April 16, 2020

Oakland educators are joining with community groups to ask teachers and other members of the community who have the financial means to contribute all or a portion of their soon-to-arrive federal government stimulus checks to help local families, particularly undocumented families, that are struggling to survive as a result of the public health and economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

One effort is backed by the teachers’ union, the Oakland Education Association (OEA), working closely with other organizations in the community.

“We are going to be working with a fund that Centro Legal and other community groups have started to support our vulnerable youth, particularly new-comer undocumented students, homeless youth and foster youth,” said OEA President Keith Brown.

Centro Legal de la Raza has created the Oakland Undocumented Relief (OUR) Fund to “provide critical support to immigrant Oakland workers who have lost their jobs and income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the aggressive public health measures necessary to combat the spread of this disease.”

“While many Oaklanders can turn to existing safety net programs, including unemployment insurance, public benefits, and new federal and local relief efforts – undocumented workers are largely excluded from those programs. OUR Fund will address this critical gap in our social safety net and will help support the most vulnerable members of our community who are impacted by this crisis,” according to the Centro Legal website.

In addition to the teachers union, this fund is backed by the labor union Unite Here! Local 2850, the Unity Council and Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) the Bay.

The OUR Fund so far has 2,000 applicants, of whom 9% are Oakland residents, and about 75% have kids. According to organizers, the fund has already raised more than $50,000 and has begun issuing $500 grants.

They expect to distribute 500 payments by the end of the month.

To be eligible, applicants must have worked in Oakland, must not be eligible for unemployment benefits and have lost their job or income due to COVID-19.

Organizers say that 100% of individual donations go to families. Foundation money will pay for staff and other overhead costs.

Another effort, started by principals and other Oakland educators, is working through a website, StimulusPledge.org, and is backed by the Oakland Unified School District and the nonprofit Oakland Public Education Fund, which is in charge of distributing the donations.

So, far, this effort has received 89 donations and 67 pledges from teachers, school administrators and community members, said to organizer Anita Iverson-Comelo, a principal at Bridge Academy in Oakland, quoted in the East Bay (EB) Times.

Iverson-Comelo said she decided to organize the fund-raising drive when her husband learned they would receive stimulus checks.

“I couldn’t in good conscience keep it,” she said during a news conference quoted in the EB Times. So far, teachers and administrators at eight schools have signed to support the fund.

“As principals, we know there is a huge need in the community. Everyone is struggling, but undocumented families receive the least support and are particularly vulnerable,” she said.

For information about the OUR Fund and to apply for a grant, go to www.centrolegal.org/our-fund/

Ken Epstein

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

3 hours ago

May 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

6 days ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

7 days ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.