Dis Secretary of State Weber Invites Californians to Submit Arguments for & Against Nov. 4 Redistricting Vote ... see page 2
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Anxious? Tired? Aching? Get Relief with Royal Touch Wellness at the Black-Eyed Pea Festival ... see page 7
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
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Weekly Edition August 27 - September 2, 2025
Mason Tillman Associates Study Reveals Disparities, Broken Promises at Regional Center of the East Bay
Mayor Barbara Lee Reports on Her First 100 Days’ Achievements
‘We are delivering with measurable progress that residents can see and feel in their daily lives,’ said Mayor Lee
Dr. Eleanor Ramsey. By All People of Color Developmental Disability Association, Inc.
Barbara Lee. Courtesy photo. By Post Staff Mayor Barbara Lee this week issued a report to Oakland residents on the progress she already has made during her first 100 days in office to enhance public safety, economic development, homelessness solutions, and community revitalization. The mayor has delivered on key campaign promises with “measurable results,” including a 30% reduction in crime citywide as of
Aug. 24, she said. “We promised Oaklanders a comprehensive approach to our city’s challenges, and even though there is still work to be done, we are delivering with measurable progress that residents can see and feel in their daily lives,” she said. Lee’s public safety initiatives include increasing nighttime and weekend Police and Community Safety Ambassador presence downtown, training community Continued on page 8
Remember Them: Champions for Humanity Monument located in the Henry J. Kaiser Memorial Park at the corner of 19th and Rashida Muhammad streets in uptown Oakland covered in bird poop and neglected for over a year according to neighbors. Photo by Carla Thomas.
Resident Calls Out Neglect of the ‘Remember Them Monument’ in Downtown Oakland
By Carla Thomas
Just around the corner from the historic Fox Theater in the heart of downtown Oakland stands one of the most remarkable tributes to human dignity and perseverance in the United States. The “Remember Them: Champions for Humanity Monument,” honoring 25 global humanitarians. Created by world-renowned Oakland sculptor Mario Chiodo, the design is a testament to the resilience and courage of leaders who shaped the course of history. Locat-
ed in the Henry J. Kaiser Memorial Park at the corner of 19th and Rashida Muhammad streets, the sculpture is not only a work of art but also a profound statement of collective memory. Towering 25 feet high and stretching 52 feet wide, the bronze monument of four sections spans 1,000 square feet and weighs over 60,000 pounds. It is the largest bronze monument on the West Coast and the only monument in the nation exclusively dedicated to Continued on page 8
Maya Motel at 4715 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland Courtesy photo..
Oakland Receives $7.1 Million State Grant to Purchase, Rehab Motel to Create Apartments for Homeless Residents
By Post Staff
The City of Oakland this week announced it has received a $7.1 million grant from State of California in State Homekey+ funds to transform the Maya Motel at 4715 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland into 23 fully equipped apartments for people transitioning out of homelessness. The funding is available through voter-approved Proposition 1, which provides $6.4 billion
62nd Year, No. 35
for mental health treatment and housing with services. “The Maya project demonstrates what Oakland can accomplish when we combine smart policy with decisive action,” said Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. “Every one of these 23 units represents a person who will have stability, dignity, and the support they need to rebuild,” she said. “Oakland leads by example, and we’re committed to moving forContinued on page 8
The California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) oversees 21 regional centers across the state, contracting with each center to provide services to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Regional Center East Bay (RCEB), which serves Alameda and Contra Costa counties is facing mounting scrutiny for their long-standing practices regarding disparate treatment of its African American service providers and consumers. African American providers house the intellectually and developmentally disabled persons in homes licensed by the State of California. The state has confirmed that there is also disparate treatment of the adult and minor clients who are not granted equal access to services - RCEB funds. Despite the RCEB’s repeated commitments to reform their service delivery, community testimony and internal reports reveal their continued patterns of unfair practices and unfulfilled promises. This has caused a deepening mistrust of RCEB’s staff and management among service providers, client families and the general public. Similar complaints have come from Latino and Asian consumers and their communities: Families report RCEB prepares incomplete and inaccurate consumer profiles. Consequently the families do not receive a timely placement or appropriate services. There are also delays in interpretation and translation of key documents that impact the timing of
the placement. Such delays have led to underutilization of Latino and Asian-operated homes even though the providers also have available capacity and the cultural competency. The disparities in RCEB’s treatment of Black and Brown providers and consumers have been raised at RCEB Board Provider/Vendor Advisory Committee (PVAC) meetings, board sessions, and community forums from 2008 to 2025. In 2023, after years of informal complaints, RCEB commissioned Mason Tillman Associates to conduct a racial equity study. The comprehensive report, delivered in January 2025, confirmed the systematic disparities of empty beds in African American homes, incomplete consumer profiles, payment inequities, and disproportionate corrective action reports (CAPs) targeting minority providers. In March 2025, the newly appointed executive director publicly acknowledged the validity of many provider concerns, stating: “We recognize that these issues are real and must be addressed transparently.” However, providers noted that this promise was only the latest in a series of assurances with no followthrough dating back to the late ’90s. The promises to improve transparency in the CAP issuance, commitments to publish referral and payment equity data, and the pledge to present and deliver the Mason Tillman Associates report all remain unfulfilled, fueling frustration among families, providers and the general public. Testimonies of African American and Latino providers at meetings of the RCEB Executive Board of Directors illustrate the communities’ longstanding concerns with the services RCEB delivers. An African-American home operator said, “We have beds sitting empty while families are desperate for placement. It feels like we’re being sidelined for reasons that have nothing to do with quality of care.” Another minority provider’s testimony pointed to additional complaints, “CAPs land on us disproportionately. It’s like we’re being targeted for paperwork instead of
Continued on page 8
FACES AROUND THE BAY:
Cathy Adams Earns National Honor
How Much Can Oakland Landlords Legally Raise Your Rent?
By Zack Haber
For the next year, many Oakland tenants can’t legally get a large rent increase due to Oakland’s rent control law, which caps the maximum allowable rent increase to less than 1% for most rent-controlled units. Each Aug. 1, Oakland sets a maximum allowable increase for rent controlled units. This year, the maximum allowable rent increase is .8%. So, if your rent is $2,000; your landlord can’t raise it more than $16. Rent-controlled units in Oakland include most rentals built be-
This apartment building in downtown Oakland is covered by the city’s rent control law. Photo by Zack Haber. fore 1983 but exclude most condos and single-family homes. To determine when a housing unit was built, contact the Alameda County Assessor’s Office.
For over 20 years, Oakland has set its maximum allowable yearly rent increase by calculating 60% of a years’ inflation rate as measured by the consumer price index, or
CPI. In 2022, Oakland passed an ordinance capping rent increases at 3% if the CPI increase exceeds that rate. Therefore, the maximum yearly allowable rent increase can never exceed 3%. The Tenant Protection Act limits the amount that a landlord can raise a tenant’s rent to 5% plus CPI, or 10%, whichever is less. The Tenant Protection Act, however, does not apply to rental units built in the last 15 years. While it does apply to some single-family homes and condominiums, these Continued on page 8
Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber Foundation; Cathy Adams, president and CEO of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce; Gay Plair Cobb, CEO Emerita, Oakland Private Industry Council. Photo by Jonathan ‘Fitness’ Jones.