Community

FBI Aims to Build Relationship with Los Angeles’ Black Community

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — Members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Los Angeles Division opened up a forum at Holman United Methodist Church March 26, to clergymen, activists and L.A. residents as part of a Faith Based Initiative, where they addressed concerns and provided insight into the role they play here.

Published

6 years ago

April 14, 2019

brian

By Jennifer Bihm

Members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Los Angeles Division opened up a forum at Holman United Methodist Church March 26, to clergymen, activists and L.A. residents as part of a Faith Based Initiative, where they addressed concerns and provided insight into the role they play here. The meeting was meant to be an exercise in trust building between the FBI and the city’s Black community, a community whose members have had a shaky relationship with law enforcement at best. After introductions and a brief lesson in FBI history and purpose, attendees were allowed to raise concerns regarding physical and cyber security, law enforcement practices and youth recruitment efforts by the organization.

A notable question, had to do with the protection of black churches from possible attacks.

“I know there’s a lot of attention on synagogues and mosques right now,” began one attendee, “but there are a lot of threats in this climate of America on Black churches. And, one of the things that we need to understand is that there is money from the Federal Government, for homeland security… please find out about that,” he asked, “so that we can be a part of that money, particularly churches that are large and are speaking out on things.”

On March 16, 50 people were killed in an Islamaphobic attack on Christchurch Mosque in New Zealand.

“Is there any kind of ongoing [meetings like this one], whether it’s monthly or quarterly so that our communities can be proactive before things like [the mosque] happen,” another attendee wanted to know.

“Of course we don’t know when an attack will happen,” she said, “but I know our church, we worship in a synagogue and we had someone come in… and since then we’ve had armed security, which is a huge thing for us because we’re not a large church but we care about our people. So maybe we can have meetings where we can say, ‘hey, what’s happening in cyber security? What’s happening in counter terrorism?’”

“We have a number of avenues like community action programs that can further cement our ties with the community,” said Paul D. Delacourt, assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles field office.

“We have as needed programs in our communities related to cyber security [for instance] where we can talk about things like business email compromise, which can be severely damaging to a church with a small budget.”

“Why are you really here? Why are you [holding this meeting],” another attendee asked.

“We reach out to a variety of communities,” said Delacourt.

“It is something that we prioritize and is important for us to do so.

“We also have a program called cyberhood watch. It’s basically a neighborhood watch program for cyberspace. [In that] we have a variety of different neighborhoods, we have elections. We have airports. We have the banking sector.

“So what that means is that we have conference calls on a monthly basis in our neighborhoods and also they have a reporting mechanism. So, if we’re seeing something in Orange County, and in South Los Angeles and in Riverside… those are obviously trends that we would like to see.”

From 1956 to 1971, the FBI conducted a series of covert and sometimes illegal projects under the name COINTELPRO (or Counter Intelligence Program), to address groups they deemed subversive. Included in those groups were the Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam, both focusing their efforts on bringing American Blacks out of poverty and degradation. Many believe these projects led to the killing and arrests of group members and the eventual dismantling of the BPP.

At the March 26 meeting, some said they were surprised that FBI members would be coming to their neighborhood and that people they knew expressed disapproval of the event in general. FBI members said they were here to dispel those sentiments and to let people know they are actually a friend to the community. “If you call, we will come,” was one of the major themes of the forum.

“We hope to make this more than a one time thing,” said Delacourt.

“We hope to put processes in place to make sure this is more robust and regular.”

According to their website, “The FBI’s Community Outreach Program supports the Bureau’s investigative mission by working to address multiple interrelated societal problems—including crime, drugs, gangs, terrorism, and violence. Linking community service, prevention, and law enforcement is a national trend spurred by grass roots efforts around the country, and FBI employees have joined this movement, volunteering in a wide variety of community-related efforts…”

This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Sentinel.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

10 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

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Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.