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Hundreds Still in Emergency Shelters as State Waits on Federal Storm Disaster Declaration Request

More than 300 residents in Santa Cruz County remained in emergency shelters on Monday due to recent storm damage as the state awaits approval of a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration. While state-operated emergency shelters are also open in San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties, Santa Cruz had the highest census count in their three shelters, with 325 of the 424 total residents in emergency storm shelters across the state.

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Work is done to repair a levee break near the township of Pajaro in Monterey County, Calif., on March 13, 2023. Waters from the Pajaro River breached the levee around midnight on March 10, 2023. (Ken James/California Department of Water Resources via Bay City News)
Work is done to repair a levee break near the township of Pajaro in Monterey County, Calif., on March 13, 2023. Waters from the Pajaro River breached the levee around midnight on March 10, 2023. (Ken James/California Department of Water Resources via Bay City News)

By Eli Walsh
Bay City News

More than 300 residents in Santa Cruz County remained in emergency shelters on Monday due to recent storm damage as the state awaits approval of a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration.

While state-operated emergency shelters are also open in San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties, Santa Cruz had the highest census count in their three shelters, with 325 of the 424 total residents in emergency storm shelters across the state.

While the state has invested more than $60 million in disaster response and relief across multiple counties, Gov. Gavin Newsom requested the presidential disaster declaration, the highest level of federal assistance the state can request, on March 28 in an effort to expand emergency housing assistance, food aid and medical services.

If approved, the declaration would apply to Santa Cruz and Monterey counties along the Central Coast as well as Calavera, Kern, Los Angeles, Mariposa, San Benito, Tulare and Tuolumne counties.

State and U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are also assessing storm-related damage in other counties to determine if other counties could be added to the disaster declaration request.

“We want to emphasize that California took the time to get this right to ensure that it was approved,” said Brian Ferguson with the California Office of Emergency Services during a media briefing on March 30.

“We remain confident that we have made a thorough case that we meet the requirements and the thresholds set forth in federal law and that that aid from our federal government will be forthcoming soon,” Ferguson said.

President Joe Biden has already approved two other emergency declarations for the storms that have battered the West Coast over the last three months, authorizing federal relief assistance as many California counties recover from floods, downed trees and landslides.

The California Department of Social Services is also working with county officials and local community organizations to distribute essentials like food, water, diapers and formula to residents who have been affected by the recent storms.

“We are very, very grateful to all who have stepped up to provide support for those who need it most in many, many of the collaborations and partnerships that we’ve seen come into play,” said Kim Johnson, director of the Department of Social Services.

Residents who are seeking information about storm recovery and assistance are encouraged to visit https://news.caloes.ca.gov/2023-winter-storms-recovery.

“Over these past months, state, local and federal partners have worked around the clock to protect our communities from devastating storms that have ravaged every part of our state,” Newsom said in a March 28 statement. “We will continue to deploy every tool we have to help Californians rebuild and recover from these storms.

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025

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Activism

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

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U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).

By Scott Horton

United States House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) will be a speaker at the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series on Friday, Feb. 21.

The event will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 Tenth Street in Oakland, at 7 p.m.

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

The overarching goal of the lecture series is to provide speakers from diverse backgrounds a platform to offer their answers to Dr. King’s urgent question, which is also the title of Jeffries’ latest book: “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?”

In addition to Jeffries, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) will also speak.

“Certainly, now is a time for humanity, in general, and Americans in particular to honestly and genuinely answer Dr. King’s question,” said Dr. Roy D. Wilson, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Executive Producer of the lecture series.

“Dr. King teaches that time is neutral but not static. Like the water in a river, it arrives and then quickly moves on,” continued Wilson. “We must urgently create conditions for listening to many different answers to this vital question, and generate the development of unity of action among all those who struggle for a stronger democracy.”

In his book, Jeffries shares his experience of being unanimously elected by his colleagues as the first African American in history to ever hold the position of House Minority Leader.

In January 2023 in Washington, Jeffries made his first official speech as House Minority Leader. He affirmed Democratic values one letter of the alphabet at a time. His words and how he framed them as the alphabet caught the attention of Americans, and the speech was later turned into a book, The ABCs of Democracy, bringing Congressman Jeffries rousing speech to vivid, colorful life, including illustrations by Shaniya Carrington. The speech and book are inspiring and urgent as a timeless reminder of what it means to be a country with equal opportunities for all. Jeffries paints a road map for a brighter American future and warns of the perils of taking a different path.

Before his colleagues unanimously elected him Minority Leader in 2022, Jeffries previously served as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as an Impeachment Manager during the first Senate trial of the 45th President of the United States.

Jeffries was born in Brooklyn Hospital, raised in Crown Heights, grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church and he is a product of New York City’s public school system, graduating from Midwood High School. Jefferies went on to Binghamton University (BA), Georgetown University (master’s in public policy) and New York University (JD).

He served in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.

Admission is free for the Feb. 21 Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series featuring Congressman Jeffries. Please reserve seats by calling the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center at (510) 434-3988.

Signed copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event.

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Alameda County

After Years of Working Remotely, Oakland Requires All City Employees to Return to Office by April 7

City Administrator Jestin Johnson recently told city unions that he is ending Oakland’s telecommuting program. The new policy will require employees to come to work at least four days a week. These new regulations go into effect on Feb. 18 for non-union department heads, assistant and deputy directors, managers, and supervisors. All other employees must be back at work by April 7.

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Oakland City Hall. File photo.
Oakland City Hall. File photo.

By Post Staff

The City Oakland is requiring all employees to return to the office, thereby ending the telecommuting policy established during the pandemic that has left some City Hall departments understaffed.

City Administrator Jestin Johnson recently told city unions that he is ending Oakland’s telecommuting program. The new policy will require employees to come to work at least four days a week.

These new regulations go into effect on Feb. 18 for non-union department heads, assistant and deputy directors, managers, and supervisors. All other employees must be back at work by April 7.

The administration may still grant the right to work remotely on a case-by-case basis.

In his memo to city unions, Johnson said former President Joe Biden had declared an end to the pandemic in September 2022, and that since then, “We have collectively moved into newer, safer health conditions.”

Johnson said “multiple departments” already have all their staff back in the office or workplace.

The City’s COVID-era policy, enacted in September 2021, was designed to reduce the spread of the debilitating and potentially fatal virus.

Many cities and companies across the country are now ending their pandemic-related remote work policies. Locally, mayoral candidate Loren Taylor in a press conference made the policy a central issue in his campaign for mayor.

City Hall reopened for in-person meetings two years ago, and the city’s decision to end remote work occurred before Taylor’s press conference.

At an endorsement meeting last Saturday of the John George Democratic Club, mayoral candidate Barbara Lee said she agreed that city workers should return to the job.

At the same time, she said, the city should allow employees time to readjust their lives, which were disrupted by the pandemic, and should recognize individual needs, taking care to maintain staff morale.

The John George club endorsed Lee for Mayor and Charlene Wang for City Council representative for District 2. The club also voted to take no position on the sales tax measure that will be on the April 15 ballot.

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