Bay Area

Remembering Chauncey Bailey – Oakland Journalist Murdered 13 Years Ago

Published

5 years ago

August 6, 2020

Late Post Editor-in-Chief was murdered while walking to work in Oakland on Aug. 2 — 13 Years Ago

Chauncey Bailey was editor-in-chief of the Post Newspaper Group when he was gunned down on 14th street as he was on his way to work on Aug. 2, 2007.

Bailey had been working on a series of stories about the Bey family, which owned several Oakland businesses, including the Your Black Muslim Bakery, and was known for training and hiring Black people in the community.

However, the reputation of the Bey family and its businesses had begun to slip: scandalous associations with underage girls, financial irregularities and intimidation tactics against tenants were among the issues.

Bailey had recently confirmed with a source within the Bey family for a story he was working on when he was approached in the morning on 14th street in downtown Oakland by a man wearing a ski mask who shot Bailey twice before escaping in a car that had been waiting.

Born and raised in East Oakland, Bailey’s family moved to Hayward when he was in 6th grade where he got a job delivering newspapers. A white woman objected to him having the job and that was what impelled him to work as a journalist because a byline did not reveal a person’s color.

He worked on his high school newspaper, attended Merritt College and graduated with a degree in journalism from San Jose State University.

He would work as a reporter at newspapers in Hartford, Conn., and Detroit, Mich., before returning to the Bay Area to work in radio and television and then the Oakland Tribune followed by the Post Newspaper Group, for which he had written freelance stories early in his career.

Bailey was known for being a trusted journalistic voice, especially in providing equitable coverage for the Black community.

A prominent leader in the African American community, in 2007 Bailey became the first American journalist murdered since 1976 in the line of duty in response to his investigation of an alleged crime syndicate.

Eventually, three men were arrested, charged and convicted in Bailey’s death. Devaughndre Broussard confessed to having killed Bailey at the behest of Yusef Bey IV who was tried with Antoine Mackey and found guilty of murder in 2011.

On July 28, District 3 Oakland City Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney introduced the commemorative renaming of  14th Street between Alice Street and Webster Street, in the heart of the Black Arts Movement and Business District, as ‘Chauncey Bailey Way.’

City Councilwoman-at-Large Rebecca Kaplan supports the action. She remembers Bailey for his dedication to covering local issues and mentorship of young people interested in entering the field of journalism.

Bailey’s murder remains a symbol of the importance of defending free speech and democratic values, McElhaney said. “My hope is that this commemoration continues to build awareness among future generations of Oaklanders of Chauncey’s contributions and passion for the betterment of Oakland.”

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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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5 days 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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1 week ago

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.