Activism

Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan Advocates for H.R. 7910 Following Oakland Youth Rally Demanding Gun Control

Oakland’s Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan said her research has shown that “ghost guns” account for 30% of guns recovered in California. Although these guns function and cause harm like traditional guns, their manufacturers and retailers are largely unregulated.

Published

4 years ago

June 18, 2022

Oakland Post

Oakland’s Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan

Oakland’s Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan has asked her colleagues on the City Council to join her in uplifting the voices of Oakland youth leaders and the community to join with her to call on Congress to take immediate action to impose common-sense gun control laws. The Rules and Legislation Committee voted to approve the scheduling of Kaplan’s item for the July 5, 2022, City Council Meeting.

Kaplan’s resolution would declare the City of Oakland’s support of House Resolution 7910 (Nadler), the “Protecting Our Kids Act,” and calls upon the California Congressional Delegation to endorse the bill and advocate for its passage in Congress.

Kaplan said. “The City of Oakland has enacted some of the strongest firearms safety laws in California and has a compelling interest in protecting its residents from gun violence. However, Oakland’s strong gun violence prevention laws are being undermined by weak national and neighbor state gun laws, illegal gun trafficking, and ghost guns – firearms constructed with component parts that can be obtained anonymously and without a background check. When these firearms, ghost guns, are recovered at crime scenes, they cannot be traced due to the lack of a serial number. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).”

Kaplan said her research has shown that “ghost guns” account for 30% of guns recovered in California. Although these guns function and cause harm like traditional guns, their manufacturers and retailers are largely unregulated.

The ‘‘Protecting Our Kids Act’’ is a comprehensive federal bill that contains numerous measures focused on addressing gun violence, gun safety, responsible gun ownership, regulation of certain firearms and components, gun trafficking, and public safety. H.R. 7910 would employ a variety of strategies to effectively reduce gun violence across the country by:

Prohibiting the sale or transfer of certain semiautomatic firearms to people under 21 years of age;
Prohibition on straw purchases of firearms;
Prohibition on gun trafficking;
Establishing a federal statutory framework to regulate ghost guns;
Establishing a framework to regulate the storage of firearms on residential premises at the federal, state, and tribal levels;
Subjecting bump stocks to regulation under federal firearms laws;
Generally, prohibiting the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, and possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices; and
Requiring the Department of Justice to report on the demographic data of persons who are determined to be ineligible to purchase a firearm based on a background check performed by the national instant criminal background check system.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.