Bay Area

Vallejo Councilmember Hakeem Brown Addresses Priorities

Published

5 years ago

December 26, 2019

Hakeem Brown, a junior City Councilmember for the City of Vallejo, models himself as an advocate of change who is focusing on issues ranging from opportunities for youth, to land-use development to mental health.

And that’s just the start of his game plan on projects he wants to implement during his tenure on the City Council. After only 11 months on the job, Brown has made headway into such programs.

“It’s important to me that youth opportunities be a Tier-One issue here in Vallejo,” said Brown. “We need to invest in more apprenticeship and internship programs for our youth. It’s important because currently, it is not seen as a priority for the city to help them be successful.”

Another issue, he said, is putting rent control measures in place to address the city’s housing programs, particularly in the Black communities. “Our goal would be to help keep people in their homes so they won’t lose them because of rent increases and high-end mortgages.”

“We also need to approve and support the city’s navigation centers to ensure the homeless populations are housed with safety, dignity and respect,” said Brown. “The newest navigation center now being developed in the city’s industrial park area will, hopefully, be finished in early 2020.”

Another task that Brown’s office is coordinating is quality policing in the Vallejo communities. “We need to make it a priority to attract and maintain quality officers via an approved contract,” said Brown. “We must have first-rate officers in all areas of Vallejo, particularity in the Black community. This is something that has been neglected for years. The city needs more experienced officers, and that can only be done through a competitive contract.”

“We’ve already made history by hiring our first Black Chief of Police, which is something to be very proud of,” Brown said. “Our City Manager needs to be praised for bringing in someone who has leadership skills and abilities that represent the 21st century.”

Some of the projects Brown’s office is currently working on include a community clean up at the Marina Vista Apartments, which will take place on Jan. 11, 2020, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., and a town hall meeting to discuss issues affecting residents. The meeting will take place in North Vallejo on Jan. 25, 2020, at the Solano Middle School.

Brown will be personally involved in projects that will address adolescent mental health issues, which will include how the city’s police force deals with young people experiencing this problem in general. The goal is to help youth learn about their constitutional rights so they can understand what to expect and how they represent themselves on issues concerning the law.

Finally, said Brown, “We also need to implement a city-wide task force on what’s happening in our schools.

“We currently have a large percentage of absenteeism in our schools, particularly in the Black community. You have to ask the question, if we’re not investing in our kids in the community, how that will affect city residents in the long run?”

“I want to commend the people of Vallejo that supported me as their City Council representative. I’m determined to provide solutions for improving the quality of life in our city, grow opportunities for Vallejo youth, Vallejo seniors, public safety, homelessness, affordable housing, livable wage jobs and economic development.”

“I look forward to continuing to engage our community through my monthly town hall meetings as well as work with the community to provide solutions to the long-standing problems in Vallejo. Thank you Vallejo and Happy New Year!”

Clifford L. Williams

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Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

3 days ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

5 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

5 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.