Bay Area

New Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez – History Making Latina

Supporters celebrated the victory of new Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez in the Berkeley Hills on Sunday, March 12, at the home of Berkeley City Councilmember Sophie Hahn. “She stepped up for all of us,” Hahn said. “She stepped up for Alameda County. She stepped up for our values.”

Published

2 years ago

March 21, 2023

Oakland Post

Berkeley City Councilmember Sophie Hahn (left) in her Berkeley Hills home hosts a meet-and-greet for new Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez. Photo by Carla Thomas

By Carla Thomas

Supporters celebrated the victory of new Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez in the Berkeley Hills on Sunday, March 12, at the home of Berkeley City Councilmember Sophie Hahn.

“She stepped up for all of us,” Hahn said. “She stepped up for Alameda County. She stepped up for our values.”

Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arguin, the first Latino mayor of Berkeley, said he was Sanchez’s first supporter and called her a change agent.

“Representation does matter,” said Arguin. “It’s important that the people who hold these positions come from the county and represent the diversity of the county. She was the only one that had the courage to go against Sheriff Ahern.”

The meet-and greet-event gave Sanchez an opportunity to discuss her new role and hear from the community on the changes they wish to see within the department internally, and externally throughout the community.

“I know the damaging effects that poverty and lack of access to resources and support systems can have on communities and how that impacts crime and safety,” Sanchez said. “I am committed to leading the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office with the utmost integrity, serving the community equitably and inclusively, and making sure the agency ensures safety in the community by investing in it.”
Sanchez plans to transform the system by implementing partnerships that can provide transportation, housing, and resources for the re-entry population. She also plans to strengthen access to public health care and mental health resources within the jails.

“This is more than a job, it’s a mission,” said Sanchez who sees transformation for now and the future. “The younger generations can now see what’s possible.”

In June 2022, then-Deputy Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez surprised many by her outright win in a three-way race against a well-entrenched incumbent to become Alameda County’s next sheriff.

Sanchez actually raced against her own boss and won. Risking her career and livelihood, Sanchez credits hard work, prayers, and God for such a victory.
Once Sanchez took her oath on January 3, she became the first Latina and woman to ever hold the office, making history.

Retiree Dawn Sullivan who worked as a detective under Sanchez said she was a great supervisor and Sanchez’s rise was no surprise to her.

“I’m so proud of her, she had the courage to run against her boss,” said Sullivan. “She’s already done a lot, but the changes she will make will be great for so many in the department and the community.”

Born in Hayward, and currently living in Livermore with her husband, Todd, Sanchez says she is a proud stepmom of three daughters. She’s also proud to be a Latina with southern and Mexican roots. Sanchez says her mother moved from Texas to California and her father immigrated from Mexico.

“My family shaped my core values of integrity, respect, accountability, transparency and openness,” she said.

By the age of 14, Sanchez’s parents had divorced, lost their home, and she her siblings worked to “help mom make ends meet.”

At the age of 18, Sanchez says she worked three jobs until she got an entry-level role of Sheriff’s Technician within the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

In the Sheriff’s Office, Sanchez rose through the ranks for over 20 years, serving as Deputy Sheriff, Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain at the (North County Jail), and the Glenn E. Dyer Detention Facility (GEDDF). Before her election, Sanchez’s most recent role included Division Commander, managing the Santa Rita Jail facility in Dublin.

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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

5 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.