City Government
Supervisor Wilma Chan: County Adopts Tobacco Retail License Ordinance

Supervisor Wilma Chan announced the adoption of an ordinance that bans certain tobacco products that encourage youth consumption in the County’s unincorporated areas and requires all tobacco retailers in these areas to obtain a license to sell tobacco products.
The new law, which was passed 4-0 with one abstention by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, represents one of the strongest and most comprehensive tobacco retail licensing ordinances in both California and the entire nation.
The ordinance bans the sale of all flavored tobacco products – including menthol cigarettes – as well as the redemption of all tobacco-related coupons in the unincorporated communities of Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, Hayward Acres, San Lorenzo and Sunol. Retailers of tobacco products and paraphernalia must obtain a nontransferable license that requires an annual licensing fee and mandates checking IDs for customers who appear under the age of 27.
Following the Jan.14 adoption, the ordinance will go into effect in 90 days on April 13, 2020, with the flavored tobacco ban becoming effective in 180 days on July 5, 2020. Retailers should expect to receive written notification from Alameda County on the ordinance’s requirements in March, which will be followed later in the month by visits from County staff to retail stores as well as informational sessions for retailers in the unincorporated area.
Overwhelming evidence indicates that the tobacco industry continues to target young adults through the sale and marketing of flavored and mentholated tobacco, which are considered “starter” products that can lead to lifelong addiction and serious health risks.
The law prohibits new retail licenses within 1,000 feet of schools and youth-populated areas, within 500 feet of existing tobacco retailers, and to businesses that contain a pharmacy. The law also establishes a minimum sale price of $8.00 per cigar, pack of cigarettes, or pack of little cigars, while requiring a package size of at least 20 little cigars. A September study in the unincorporated area found that 83% of surveyed stores that sell little cigars offer them in pack sizes as small as one or two, with the lowest price for a single flavored product being $0.49.
Retailers in violation will be suspended from selling all tobacco products for 30 days for a first offense, 90 days for a second offense and one year for a third violation. A fourth infraction will result in license revocation, and all violations will remain on a retailer’s record for a five-year period. Enforcement of the licensing program will be conducted by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department.
Tobacco retail licensing programs have also been adopted by Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Oakland, San Leandro, and Union City.
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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

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Remembering George Floyd
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire
“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.
The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”
In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.
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