Disin Review: Seven Questions for Board of Equalization 2025 Candidate Assemblymember Mike Gipson ... see page 2
Trump’s Big Ugly Bill Strips Nursing of Professional Status as Black Women Across the Nation Brace for Devastating The Tradition of Black-Eyed Peas for New Year’s Is One of Consequences... see page 2 Survival and Resilience... see page 2
OBITUARY: Remembering Joseph Joshua Lynch Jr. ... see page 7
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
postnewsgroup.com
Weekly Edition December 24 -30, 2025
62nd Year, No. 55
Betty Reid Soskin met Barack and Michelle Obama at the White House 2015, participating in the National Tree Lighting. White House photo.
Betty Reid Soskin, Oldest U.S. Park Ranger and Preserver of Black History, Dies at 104
By Post Staff
Betty Leon Charbonnet Reid Soskin, the nation’s oldest park ranger and a trailblazing preserver of the history of Black Americans and women, died on Dec. 21 at the age of 104, surrounded by family at her home in Richmond, CA. Soskin gained national fame after she was hired by the National Park Service (NPS) at the age of 85, serving until her retirement at 100 in 2022. Through the decades, she played many important roles: as a mother, daughter, musician, author, political activist, wife, record store owner, songwriter, painter, grandmother, great-grandmother, and prolific
blogger. Her many honors include: • A school in El Sobrante, CA, renamed in her honor – Betty Reid Soskin Middle School; • Being named Woman of the Year by the California State Legislature in 1995; • Receiving the National WWII Museum’s Silver Service Medallion in 2016; • Being presented with the Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year Award in 2018 by actor Andie MacDowell, who said, “Betty is posted at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park, where she Continued on page 8
MISSION STATEMENT:
Move Oakland Forward Through Economic Development and Employment Solutions
Left to right: Kenneth Maxey, president Bay Area Urban League, Santa, and Mayor Barbara Lee, announcing that Oakland has some toys and gifts to bring joy to Oakland’s children and families at City Hall. Photos by Malcolm Wallace. See page 8 for more photos.
Williams Chapel Baptist Church Blesses the Neighborhood With Outreach and $50,000 Community Giveaway
Members of Williams Chapel Baptist Church of Oakland prepare donations of $50,000 worth of toys, household items and more for people in the Oakland community. From left to right: Avis McQueen, Delilah Henderson, First Lady Ellesse Anderson, Dr. Kenneth Anderson, Joesha Wong, Marshall Williams, Jessica Dolipol, Pastor Jorge Herrera, Marnie Lowe, Kodak Leana, and Dr. Ken Chambers. Photo courtesy of Tone Oliver. By Post Staff
joined partners including the Oak-
$50,000 worth of donated goods.
land Ballers, the Interfaith Coun-
The volunteers spent hours sort-
the morning of Dec. 20, commu-
cil of Alameda County (ICAC),
ing and organizing toys, clothing
nity members gathered outside
Project Pet, Helping Others Win,
for children and adults, and es-
Williams Chapel Baptist Church
and West Side Metropolitan Bap-
sential household items, ensuring
(WCBC) with a shared sense of
tist Church for a large-scale com-
families in need could leave with
purpose. Volunteers from WCBC
munity giveaway that distributed
practical support during the holiday
Despite steady rain early on
season. According to church members, First Lady Ellesse Anderson and the congregation at Williams Chapel have played a critical role in supporting Pastor Dr. Kenneth Anderson’s leadership, both within Continued on page 8
Post Salon Discusses Possibility of Bringing Costco, City’s First Major Big Box Store, to West Oakland
Rendering of Liberation Park. Courtesy image.
Oakland Ends 2025 Leading the Way with 730 Affordable Houses Built; Starts New Year with Thousands More on the Way
By Post Staff
Left to right: Mark Calloway, Jerry Raw and Carmen Hazel Green. Photo courtesy Mark Calloway. By Mark Calloway As we prepare to move into 2026, I am stepping forward as a workers’ rights advocate and proud member of the NAACP with a clear mission: strengthen Oakland through economics, dignity at work, and community-led solutions. I’m launching and supporting initiatives that focus on protecting workers, expanding opportunity, and helping everyday people access resources that build stability — jobs, training, entrepreneurship, and pathways to ownership. Alongside this work, I’m de-
veloping the Mariner Brotherhood program, a community-driven effort tied to workforce development, mentorship, and economic mobility — especially for communities that have historically been locked out of high-wage career pipelines. At the center of my role is marketing: building visibility, recruiting partners, creating campaigns, and telling stories that connect people to real opportunities and real protection. This work is stronger because it’s collaborative. I’m working with Carmen Hazel Green, who will Continued on page 8
The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) continues to lead the way with 730 affordable housing units completed in 2025 and a pipeline of 2,468 units now under construction or in predevelopment. These numbers make Oakland a leader in the region for affordable housing creation and reflect Mayor Barbara Lee’s commitment to tackling Oakland’s housing crisis with urgency and equity. “Oakland is building affordable housing at a scale we haven’t seen in years, and we’re doing it strategically,” said Lee. “Every local dollar we invest is bringing in five more dollars for new con-
struction. This is how we build the safest, cleanest, and greenest city in America — by ensuring every resident has a stable, affordable place to call home.” With the backing of Oakland voters who approved Measure U in 2022, funding for this work is possible, and Oakland has real momentum in affordable housing creation — boosted by Lee advocating for transformative regional investments through the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority while HCD strategically deploys local resources to maximize impact. It’s all hands-on deck, and the efforts are working. Housing achievements in 2025: • Of the 730 housing units comContinued on page 8
File photo. By Ken Epstein Oakland City Councilmember Carroll Fife held an Oakland Post Salon town hall meeting in City Council chambers last Thursday to discuss the possibility of bringing a Costco to Oakland, potentially the city’s first major big box store, which could produce hundreds of jobs for local residents, millions of dollars in sales tax revenue, and reasonably priced food and other products for families and small businesses. In addition to Fife, who chaired the meeting, the panel included representatives of Costco, Oakland Post Publisher Paul Cobb, City Administrator Justin D. Johnson and administrators from the city’s real estate department and the Department of Workforce and Economic Development. The potential site for the new Costco in Oakland is at the former Oakland Army Base, the North
Gateway parcel at 2008 Wake Ave. at the edge of West Oakland. The City Council recently authorized negotiations with developer Deca Companies to explore the project. Clarifying where a potential agreement with Costco currently stands, Fife said the recent City Council vote gives the city administrator the legal authority to talk to the company. Without that recent legislation, those talks would not be possible. “This is not a binding negotiation,” she said. “It is a conversation to find out if it would work for either side because we just don’t know. There are a lot of things to consider. I know there are concerns about why we are moving forward at such a fast clip.” Some Oaklanders are opposing the proposed Costco saying that delivery trucks and customContinued on page 8