Dis The Bay Area Celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day with Service, Marches, Music ... see page 2
Oakland Celebrates Ethiopian Holiday of Epiphany (Timket) 2025... see page 2
Dr. King and the ‘Spirit of Selma’ Inspired Post Publisher Cobb... see page 4
New Calif. Bill Aims to Ban Trans Students from High School Sports ... see page 4
County Supervisors Unanimously Agree to Move Ahead with AASEG’s Coliseum Development Plan
Project will mean affordable housing, jobs, and revitalization for East Oakland ... see story on page 8
Oakland Coliseum project supporters celebrate Alameda County Board of Supervisors decision to endorse the project on Jan. 14. Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas (in green dress) is at the center of the crowd and David Haubert, Chair of the Board of Supervisors joined the celebration. Members of the Firefighters Union and labor leaders supperted the AASEG development plan. Photo by Maritony Jones.
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
Weekly Edition January 15 - 21, 2025
postnewsgroup.com
62nd Year, No. 3
VP Kamala Harris Swears in Oakland’s New Congresswoman, Lateefah Simon
Former Rep. Barbara Lee helped secure almost $50 million in 2024 to create and protect jobs and ensure the Port’s competitive advantage in the global economy. Photo courtesy Port of Oakland.
Barbara Lee Left Congress with Extensive Record of Bringing Jobs, Opportunities and Funds to Oakland
iStock.
Alameda County Has 15 Applicants Seeking Vacant District Attorney Role
By Magaly Muñoz
Alameda County released the applications from 15 prospective candidates looking to replace ousted District Attorney Pamela Price after her recall in November. The new DA will serve the rest of Price’s term until the next election in 2026. In the interim, Royl Roberts, Price’s former second-in-command, is filling in until the County Board of Supervisors makes its decision before the end of the month. After selecting final candidates
from the 15 applications, the Board will publicly interview those chosen on Jan. 21. On Jan. 28, the supervisors will deliberate and select the next DA, and that person will be sworn in on Feb. 4. The applicants for the next Alameda County District Attorney are as follows: • Miiko L. Anderson: Former senior deputy attorney for Fresno County for 16 years • Annie K. Esposito: Assistant district attorney for Contra Costa Continued on page 8
Rep. Lateefah Simon, left, and Vice President Kamala Harris in Harris’ office on Jan. 7. Courtesy photo. By Post Staff Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) was ceremonially sworn in on Jan. 7 by her longtime mentor and friend, Vice President Kamala Harris. Congresswoman Simon was joined by her friends and family in the Vice President’s office at the United States Senate for the ceremony.
“Since our time together in the District Attorney’s office in San Francisco, the Vice President has played an integral role in shaping my public service career, and I have learned so much from her,” said Rep. Simon. “She has also paved the way for women across the nation like me who aspire to serve their country at the highest levels. It was a speContinued on page 8
Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Indicted
There are estimated to be more than 27.6 million people — adults and children — subjected to human trafficking around the world, including in the United States, and right here in Alameda County. iStock photo by Jacob Wackerhausen.
Alameda County D.A.’s Office Takes Aggressive Approach Combating Worker Exploitation and Labor Trafficking January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month
Special to The Post
In honor of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office announces aggressive efforts to combat worker exploitation and labor trafficking.
Thanks to a $335,935 grant awarded last year by the California Department of Industrial Relations, the Workers’ Rights Enforcement Grant Program strengthens investigation and prosecution efforts in Alameda County against Continued on page 8
Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. File photo.
By Post Staff
A federal grand jury indicted former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao on criminal charges that have yet to be revealed, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The results of “a major law enforcement action” are expected to be announced Friday, an anonymous source told the Chronicle. It is speculated that the FBI’s
June 2024 raid of Thao’s Oakland home and three others related to the Duong family, who own Waste Solutions, is possibly related to the charges. Describing the FBI’s armed raid at dawn as excessive, Thao asserted her innocence then and said that she was never informed of what they were looking for. By then the subject of a recall election that succeeded in November, Thao called on the FBI to declare she was not the subject of a corruption probe. (The FBI seized phones belonging to Thao and her partner Andre Jones.) At the time of The Post’s publication, The Chronicle had reported that Thao could not be reached for comment. In her outgoing interview with KRON 4 last month, Thao said “I’m innocent. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
Recent endorsements include former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Assemblymembers Mia Bonta and Buffy Wicks Lateefah Simon, and the Oakland PART II
By Ken Epstein
While many Oakland residents are not yet up to speed on the track record of the candidates in the running for mayor of Oakland in the April 15 special election, supporters of Barbara Lee say the public should be aware that Lee, who until recently represented Oakland and nearby East Bay cities in Congress, has made an indelible impact on the city, creating jobs, building infrastructure, and improving the environmental quality of life of local residents. Many people may mostly know about her as an outspoken opponent of war and defender of civil and human rights for women, African Americans, Latinos, other people of color, and LGBTQ+ communities. Recent endorsers include former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Assemblymembers Mia Bonta and Buffy Wicks, who gave her their sole endorsements. “The hallmark of Congresswoman Lee’s career has been courage,” said Schaaf. “Our conversations have given me confidence that she will exercise that famous courage for Oakland for the issues we all care about: prioritizing holistic, evidence-based public safety by working with the Police Department and violence prevention organizations to continue to implement Ceasefire; recruiting and retaining police staffing; improving 911 police response and reopening closed fire stations.” Other prominent endorsements include State Senator Jesse Arreguín, former Oakland City Councilmembers Annie Campbell Washington, Ignacio De La Fuente, former Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, Congresswoman
Firefighters Union. Her supporters can point, not only to Lee’s program and promises but also her major accomplishments during the 26 years she served in the House of Representatives. Briefly between 2022 and 2024 she brought over half a billion dollars in federal funds to Oakland in 2024; $15.8 million in 2024 for safer communities; $4.3 million in 2024 for Oakland’s Department of Violence Prevention; $2.5 million for clean drinking water to Oakland; $1 million to upgrade Oakland’s Children’s Fairyland; $372 million for clean, breathable air in West Oakland; and $83.7 million for small businesses and economic development. A major recent accomplishment was the nearly $50 billion she brought into the Port of Oakland to create and protect jobs and ensure the Port’s competitive advantage in the global economy. The $49.5 million allocation, which was awarded in November 2024 through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program, supports the modernization of the port’s Outer Harbor Terminal, according to a report on CBS News. “These investments will strengthen our communities, strengthen supply chain reliability, create workforce development opportunities, enhance freight efficiency, lower costs, reduce emissions, and improve the safety, reliability, and resilience of our ports,” Lee said. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg highlighted the significance of the funding. With these investments, “made possible by the Bipartisan InfraContinued on page 8