Bay Area

Opinion: Census Data Won’t Be Used Against You: A Call for Refugees and Immigrant Families to Participate

Published

5 years ago

December 5, 2019

Zack Mohamed, Black Alliance for Just Immigration

The goal of the census survey, administered by U.S. Census Bureau, is designed to make certain that everyone living in America is represented as part of our democracy, whether native-born, an immigrant or a refugee.

It’s time to exercise your power as a Black person in America.
Every household will receive instructions in the mail on how to complete your census questionnaire in March of 2020. Millions of dollars in public funding depend on the participation of the people living in this country.

You will not be asked whether you are a citizen of the United States on the census. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that option out in June of 2019. All of your information will be confidential. Federal agencies like the FBI, HHS, IRS or immigration services cannot access census data.

When you respond to the survey, the data collected will help your community secure money for federally funded programs like Medicaid, food stamps, Head Start, school lunch programs, Section 8 housing vouchers, programs for seniors and disabled veterans, and unemployment benefits.

Following the 2010 census, more than 300 federally-funded programs relied on census data to determine where and how to distribute resources.
We, at the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, are asking that members of the collective American journey, whether immigrant, refugee or native-born, take 10 minutes of their free time to complete the U.S. census for themselves and family members. Everyone living in the residence should be accounted for.

BAJI is a part of a group of more than 30 grassroots organizations, called My Black Counts — headquartered in California, which have bonded together and are calling on communities of color to participate in the 2020 census survey.

My Black Counts is a new hub of politically-conscious and community-forward organizers and activists working to celebrate the unique individuality of the Black experience in America.

BAJI strives to fight for immigrant policies and to uplift the causes of economic justice and social justice. We need to know where you are and how many family members we should be fighting for. The census helps them do that.

Whether permanent or temporary, every resident living in an American home on April 1, 2020, should be counted in next year’s survey.

Follow @MyBlackCounts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for updates, or sign-up to get involved on our website: https://myblackcounts.org/

Zack Mohamed, Black Alliance for Just Immigration

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Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025

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

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42 minutes ago

May 30, 2025

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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

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May 25, 2025

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Bay Area

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.