Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
postnewsgroup.com
63rd Year, No. 10
Weekly Edition March 11 - 17, 2026
Alysa Liu, Oakland’s ‘Soul on Ice’ Warmly Welcomed Home
Attendees of a meeting Monday at Oakland City Hall between business leaders and city administrators included (first row, left to right) Felicia Verdin, Jasmine Chan, Darlene Flynn, Emylene Aspilla, Jestin Johnson, Len Turner and Mario Wagner; (second row, left to right) Laurel Moeslein, Juliete Huang, Derek Barnes, Cathy D. Adams, Chadwick Spell, Lavell Lawson and Ahku Mitchell. Courtesy photo by Post News Group.
Business Coalition Meets with City Leaders to Adopt Reforms After Disparity Study Reveals Bias in Awarding City Contracts
By Post Staff
A coalition of Oakland business and community organizations met for more than two hours at City Hall this week with City Administrator Jestin Johnson and senior city officials to begin addressing the findings a 2024 Oakland Disparity Study recently approved by the Oakland City Council. The study found that a large share of Oakland’s contracting dollars went to predominately whiteowned, large firms located outside the city while many qualified local businesses, especially those that are African American- and women-owned, have remained underutilized. Oakland awarded about half a billion dollars in public contracts
during the five years covered by the 2024 Disparity Study. The Oakland City Council voted 7–1, with Councilmember Noel Gallo absent, to accept the study conducted by Mason Tilman Associates and formally acknowledge the disparities identified in the study. Said Dr. Eleanor Ramsey of Mason Tillman Associates, “Most minority and women businesses did not receive their fair share of city funded contracts. Over 50% of the city’s prime contract dollars were awarded to white-owned, male businesses that controlled most subcontracting awards. And nearly 65% of the city’s prime contracts were awarded to non-Oakland businesses.”
Underscoring the importance of the Disparity Study, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee told the Oakland Post, “These findings are deeply concerning. My administration is moving forward with a forensic audit and comprehensive reforms to ensure economic diversity, uplift Black and Brown businesses, and make certain that Oakland’s procurement practices truly reflect our city’s values of equity and inclusion.” Among those who participated in the meeting with city officials were leaders from the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC), National Association of Minority Contractors Northern California Chapter (NAMC NorCal), the ConstrucContinued on page 8
Averting a Strike, Oakland Teachers Union and School District Reach Agreement: Most Educators to Receive 11% Raise Over Two Years
Pictured left to right: Edward Roe, Peter Gamez, Mayor Barbara Lee, Alysa Liu, Zaileen Janmohamed, Cathy Adams, Jasmin Odion, Juan Camero, and Marité Xavier. Courtesy photo. By Carla Thomas
the Oakland Ice Center, studied at
Jesse Arreguín.
Oakland School of the Arts, and
The honors represent “the pride
didn’t come from somewhere else
of our entire community,” Lee
to represent Oakland, because
said, “because there is something
she grew up here. Every time she
even more powerful than a key and
stepped onto the ice, she carried
something even more meaning-
the spirit of Oakland with her, and
ful than a proclamation, and that is
somewhere in the crowd today
the love of your hometown, and in
there was a young person watching,
Oakland, when one of us rises, we
alongside Mayor Barbara Lee and
thinking maybe that could be me —
all rise”
her coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo
because dreams don’t start some-
After taking a two-year break
and Massimo Scali, where nearly
where else, they start in neighbor-
from competition during the 2024–
100 members of the media gathered
hoods, they start in families, they
2025 season, Liu reunited with her
to ask questions. “We are so proud
start in cities that believe in their
Bay Area-based coaching team and
of Alysa Liu,” said Mayor Lee. “It’s
young people, cities like Oakland.”
went on to make history at the 2026
Lee presented Liu the Key to the
Winter Olympics in Milan, earning
Oakland rolled out a hero’s welcome for Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu, whose inspiring return to the city drew thousands to Frank Ogawa Plaza for a jubilant celebration of athletic triumph and community pride. Before the rally, Liu appeared at a press conference
wonderful to honor her and her accomplishments.”
City of Oakland, crafted by the art-
her first Olympic gold medal.
In her remarks, Lee said:
ists at the Crucible, and an official
When asked about the signifi-
“Today, we celebrated one of our
proclamation honoring her extraor-
cance of being both female and
greatest — Alysa Liu, an Olympic
dinary achievement from Assem-
Asian American in the world of fig-
Gold Medal Champion and a home-
blymember Mia Bonta, Assembly-
ure skating, Liu said simply, “Rep-
town hero who trained right here at
member Buffy Wicks, and Senator
Continued on page 8
The Game Tape Sports Network (GTSN) team includes managing partners James C. Earl-Rockefeller III, director of programming (left); Jamie G. Jones, director of operations (center) and Brenden L. Anderson, sports and media director (right). Photo courtesy of GTSN.
James C. Rockefeller III: The Voice of the Bay Area Keeps Growing His Brand
By Carla Thomas OEA President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer and Interim OUSD Superintendent Dr. Denise Saddler. File photos. By Post Staff Averting the threat of a strike, the Oakland teachers’ union and the Oakland Unified School District reached a tentative two-year agreement on Feb. 27, granting most educators an 11% raise. Celebrating the agreement, Kampala Taiz-Rancifer, president of the Oakland
Education
(OEA), said in a statement, “This
of instruction, maintaining essential
contract reflects a newfound com-
student supports, and minimizing
mitment by the OUSD superinten-
uncertainty for families,” she said.
dent and school board to prioritize
“Even as the district continues to
resources toward classrooms.”
navigate significant financial chal-
OUSD Interim Superintendent
lenges, this agreement reflects our
Dr. Denise Saddler was also pleased
shared commitment to stability, re-
with the settlement.
spect for educators, and strong out-
“By reaching a tentative agree-
Association
ment, we are protecting continuity
The town hall held by the National Probate Reform Coalition (NPRC) March 5 began like each that has been convened since January – a judicial and legislative “roll call.” The roll call names legislators and judicial officers and administrators responsible for either oversight or financial funding of probate court systems. Those called were attorneys general, presiding judges, state senators and assemblymembers, county supervisors, state bar associations and officials from the Judicial Council.
Also present were Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, the only official consistently supportive of probate reform and first-time guest George Cardona, chief trial counsel for Alameda County Superior Court. At last Thursday’s town hall, officials heard four stories representative of the criminality most have experienced in the probate system. NPRC member Luanne Fleming and one of the authors of the book “The Probate Trap,” coined it this way: “When you go to the attorney general, governor, mayor’s office, district attorney, FBI investigators,
comes for students.”
Continued on page 8
In the high-energy world of sports and entertainment, few voices are as instantly recognizable in the Bay Area as that of James C. Earl-Rockefeller III, known to fans and colleagues alike as “That Announcer Guy.” From high school championships to college arenas, Rockefeller’s vintage game show presence and charismatic delivery have become a staple for Bay Area athletics and beyond.
Based in Oakland, Rockefeller is the public address announcer for the Stanford Cardinal, Laney College, and the Oakland Athletic League, where his mix of energy, precision, and flair lifts every game-day atmosphere. His talent behind the mic has made him a local fixture, connecting athletes, fans, and communities through his signature voice. Beyond the stadium, Rockefeller, known professionally as “Rockenthehouse,” or “Rocke” is also a seasoned media producer
and entrepreneur. As the founder and executive producer of VJTV The Visual Radio Network, he created a platform that merges music, sports, and entertainment into vibrant storytelling. VJTV covers red carpets and awards shows, locally and nationally. Rockefeller’s journey included an unexpected twist: before his announcing career, he was a stand-up comedian and television production specialist. “I appeared on the first season Continued on page 8
their role is to defend judges, or it’s under the jurisdiction of the civil court system, not theirs, and they can’t help you, or they may explain these things move at a snail’s pace, and you might get lucky in a year or two, if at all.” Then, nothing happens, Fleming said. The next step, she said, is to file complaints with the Office of Attorney Regulations Council. “Almost without exception, no matter how outrageous the attorney’s behavior, no wrongdoing will be found, and it’s business as usual. It seems the fox is watching the hen house.
Then you go to legislators, or town hall meetings. They listen, looking very sympathetic and if you pester long and hard enough, float a bill to address some of the abuses taking place in the court system. After seeking input, the legislator will ask for help with the language of the bill, Fleming continued. “Although they may truly want to help, it’ll go nowhere, get stalled in committee, where it will die, sabotaged by the legal lobby, or undergo a rewrite watering it down, to ensure it has no enforcement provisions, or changing its meaning to Continued on page 8
Attempts to Reform Probate Procedure Thwarted at Every Turn, Author Says at NPRC Town Hall
By Post Staff
if you get past the gate keeper, and speak with someone in authority, he, she, or they will listen politely
and seem concerned. “Your hopes will rise because you think you’ve found someone in power with a sympathetic ear. They’ll tell you they’ll look into it, thank you most sincerely for bringing it to their attention, shake your hand, and usher you out of their office, or, in the case of a certain attorney general they’ll tell you
Luanne Fleming and Robin Austin hosts a weekly podcast “The Probate Trap” and are coming out with a book with the same name next month. Courtesy image.