SUPER BOWL: Rams, Bengals are ready to roll, but would the 49ers be there if they gave Jimmy G some help? C1 Eat Drink Play: Chocolatiers help kick off Valentine’s Day with some delicious, heart-shaped options. F1 24/7 COVERAGE: MERCURYNEWS.COM
COVID-19
Volume 171, issue 239
$2.50
111
FEBRUARY 13, 2022
SPECIAL REPORT » OAKLAND’S LAST GIFT TO THE RAIDERS
Schools torn on vaccine mandate Students of color lag in inoculations, face campus bans By Kayla Jimenez and Harriet Blair Rowan Staff writers
Thousands of Bay Area school kids still don’t have their COVID-19 shots despite looming school vaccine mandates, provoking uncertainty among school leaders and fear in parents about how the requirements could impact long- and short-term learning for unvaccinated students. Despite efforts to boost vaccination numbers across the region since last fall, Black and Latino teens ages 12 and up remain less likely to be vaccinated for the virus than their White and Asian classmates, a Bay Area News Group analysis of data from local school districts and public health departments found. Vaccination rates for Black students range from 47-63%, depending on the school district, well below the overall rates. Latino student vaccination rates are also lagging, but less so, ranging from 49-80%. Asian students have the highest vaccination rates across the counties, at 85% and up, and White students are between 64% and 80% vaccinated. Tyrone Howard, a professor of education in the School of Education & Information Studies at UCLA, said it would be a mistake to move ahead with vaccine mandates in schools where a disproportionate number of Black and Brown students lack the shots. Moving those students into online schooling programs with fewer resources would result in unjust segregation, he said. “We might see tens of thousands of students who are not going to be allowed to go to school,” said Howard, whose research in-
ABOVE: JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER; BELOW: STAFF ARCHIVES
Storm clouds descend behind Mount Davis as the Raiders play the Tennessee Titans in their final season in the Coliseum. Construction of the Mount Davis luxury suites was key to a 1995 deal to lure the Raiders back to Oakland, but 27 years later, another part of the deal is drawing new scrutiny.
HOW THE RAIDERS MADE
$189 MILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY VANISH
UPS AND DOWNS OF TEAM’S DEBT A homeowner pays their mortgage down each year, but the Raiders' payment obligations were so small that their debt to Oakland and Alameda County taxpayers kept going up. And when the team left for Las Vegas, the debt was wiped out under a barely-noticed, 2005 revision to the original loan agreement.
Under quietly altered terms on 2 loans, the team left the city and county holding the bag when it moved to Las Vegas
Raiders total debt Total payments $200 million
By Jason Cole Special to the Bay Area News Group
175
Source: Alameda County Auditor-Controller, MGO Certified Public Accountants, Bay Area News Group analysis
This is the mystery of $189 million in public money, and how the Raiders, the city of Oakland and Alameda County made it disappear. It’s also a 25-year story of bartering, negotiating and rewriting agreements aimed at keeping the football team in the Bay Area, yet somehow making it even easier for the Raiders to leave for Las Vegas after the 2019 season. Over the course of that quarter-century, the team, city and county completed a financial transaction so complicated and drawn out that it’s befitting of the greatest illusionists appearing on the Vegas Strip. And as with Criss Angel or David Copperfield, it is difficult to answer how the trick was done. Amid bitter public controversies about Coliseum improvements, lease payments and personal seat licenses, there was another, little-known tie that bound the Raiders to their Oakland deal: A multimillion-dollar loan handed to the Raiders in 1995 to encourage their return from Los Angeles and never — apparently — intended to be paid off. By June 2020, compounding interest had pushed the value to $189
BAY AREA NEWS GROUP
RAIDERS » PAGE 8
150 125 100 75 50 25 0 ’96 ’00 ’05 ’10 ’15 ’20 Note: 1997-2006, 2008-2014 estimated total debt
RATES » PAGE 10
1995
At the Oakland Coliseum on Aug. 7, 1995, Coliseum Commission Chair George Vukasin, from left, and Raiders attorney Amy Trask watch as team owner Al Davis prepares to sign a contract returning the Raiders to Oakland.
2005
City Council President Ignacio de la Fuente, Supervisor Gail Steele and Raiders owner Al Davis unveil a new deal with favorable terms for the team.
HOT, HOT, HOT
Weekend heat wave shatters Bay Area temperature records EdArt filename: RAIDERSLOAN
Jazbox filename: SJM-L-RAIDERSOLOAN-0213-90-90
MediaServer keywords: Add keywords here
Artist & ext.: Jeff Durham (510) 449-7785 jdurham@bayareanewsgroup.com
general email: graphics@bayareanewsgroup.com reached 77 degrees Halfway through theDept. snow season, people flock to Temperatures in downtown Oakland, 76 degrees ice rinks and pools, drawn to parks and ice cream in Redwood City and 74 degrees
By Lisa M. Krieger, Kayla Jimenez and Shomik Mukherjee Staff writers
This weekend marks the official halfway point of California’s snow season, but record-breaking high temperatures continue to bake the state, sending residents to pools, parks, barbecues and ice cream shops.
While temperatures across the region have been warmer than average since the beginning of the month, Saturday delivered heat that soared 15 to 20 degrees above normal, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures at San Jose Airport hit a high of 81 degrees, breaking the daily record set in 1971 and tying with its all-time February record of 81 from 1986.
NEWS ON THE GO
INDEX
Download Bay Area News Digest from the app store for your iPhone.
Classifieds ...... B10, B11 Economy ....................E1
in San Francisco. The nation’s hot spots on Saturday were the California towns of Chula Vista and Santee, both reaching 93 degrees. The heat is expected to linger into today, according to the National Weather Service. Traditional February temperatures RAY CHAVEZ — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER will return to cool on Monday and Tuesday, with accumulating Randal Fariss of San Lorenzo enjoys a cold beverage aboard his 27-foot cloud cover. This change in pat- jet boat docked at Jack London Square in Oakland during a heat wave ter — albeit a modest and brief Saturday. The unusually warm winter weather is sending people to HEAT » PAGE 10 places to cool off and have barbecues this weekend.
Local ...........................B1 Lottery ...................... A2 Obituaries .......... B6-B9
Opinion .....................A12 Puzzles .................... B12 TV ............................ B14
A
WEATHER
H: 75-81 L: 43-47 Full report on B17
NEWSPAPER Subscribe: MercuryNews.com ©2020
6
40493 00007
NEWSPAPER CARRIERS NEEDED! Much like other Bay Area businesses, we are experiencing a labor shortage that is affecting newspaper delivery in some of our markets. We sincerely apologize if your delivery has been impacted. Do you know of someone looking for work? Please share the information below.
REQUIREMENTS • Work 3-4 hours daily between 12 a.m. - 6 a.m. • Must have a reliable vehicle • Must have a valid driver’s license and insurance
START IMMEDIATELY - Routes available in the following areas: San Jose: 95120 – 95123 – 95125; Campbell: 95008; Saratoga: 95070
Contact : Tina (text or call) at (408) 329-2455 • tinadang_us@yahoo.com
500
$
SIGN ON BONUS *Paid upon completion of your first 90 days as a carrier!!
For customer service & billing inquiries, call (408) 508-5554 for South Bay • (925) 276-9254 for Eastt Bay
Make EXTRA money delivering the East Bay Times along with other publications each morning.
3