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Menlo Park Residents Fear Loss of Onetta Harris’ Legacy in Facebook Offer to Overhaul Community Center

The legacy of a renowned Belle Haven organizer and advocate is under threat as the City of Menlo Park prepares to review suggestions for names of a new community center to replace the one named for Onetta Harris in 1983. A beloved community worker in the Belle Haven district of Menlo Park, Harris passed away in 1982.

Published

2 years ago

March 28, 2023

Oakland Post

Front of the Onetta Harris Center in Menlo Park. Photo by Ken Harris

By Tanya Dennis

A beloved community worker in the Belle Haven district of Menlo Park, Harris passed away in 1982.

A member of the Belle Haven Advisory Board, Harris had also chaired the Neighborhood Housing Service, a housing rehabilitation agency, co-founded and served on the Charles Drew Medical Center with her husband, Israel Harris, and was an assistant to the principal at Belle Haven Elementary School.

She helped with voter registration and distributed food baskets during the holidays. On a personal level, Harris saved the lives of numerous Belle Haven youth with wise council and support, taking many into her home to live with her.

After receiving a petition from local residents, the Menlo Park City Council voted unanimously to name their community center the Onetta Harris Community Center in 1983.

Onetta Harris. Courtesy of Ken Harris.

In 2019, Facebook entered into a joint agreement with the City of Menlo Park to redevelop the property that housed the Onetta Harris Community Center, promising to fully fund a new “state-of-the-art” community center with a library, senior center, youth center, gym, and multipurpose room.

At the time, Menlo Park Mayor Ray Mueller lauded the tech company’s proposal.

“Facebook’s proposal, to wholly fund the building of a new state of the art community center and library in Belle Haven, represents a significant and impactful investment in the quality of life of Menlo Park residents, and significantly District 1 residents,” he said. “It would be insincere for me to pretend it isn’t the type of project that fosters appreciable trust from the community in Facebook’s long-term commitment to its neighbors and the City of Menlo Park.”

At the 2020 Council meeting attendees said, “The project is great, just don’t change the name.” Facebook replied that they “had no interest in changing the name.”

But the initial agreement with the City of Menlo Park reveals that Facebook, also known as META, could have naming rights. (Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is known for naming entities after himself as he did with San Francisco General Hospital.)

Three years later, it appears that Facebook’s view has changed and whether or not the center will carry Harris’ name is in question.

“To rename the center the Facebook or META community center after all my mother’s work and her love for our people would be tragic,” said Ken Harris, Onetta’s son. “My mom’s legacy would be erased. Her love for her community is the reason naming the center after her received unanimous support. We can’t allow these people to cancel us, our legacy and our culture.”

Last week the Menlo Park City Council met to establish name criteria as a prelude to the naming process and proceedings. Comments from the community to determine interest, with few exceptions, favored keeping the name Onetta Harris Community Center.

The final City Council vote will take place in late summer or early fall.

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

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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

2 weeks 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.