Jun 19, 2021
A Superior Court judge declares that Measure J, which Los Angeles County voters approved last year to set aside public funds for social serv
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A Superior Court judge declares that Measure J, which Los Angeles County voters approved last year to set aside public funds for social serv
Me trying to explain measure J to fear fulled farmers and others:
Big farm make much cheaper products. People buy only cheap products. Small farm no more buisness. Big farm get bigger
EPISODE 66 - EUNISSES HERNANDEZ, LA DEFENSA AND MEASURE J
In our 66th episode, we chat with Eunisses Hernandez, the co-founder and executive director of La Defensa, a community-based organization dedicated to decarcerating the largest jail population in the U.S that is the L.A. County Jail. Eunisses and I delve into her upbringing in Highland Park, as well as how the Great Recession informs her current work in policy-making and advocacy for communities…
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Video: Election Forum for County Supervisor District 3 at the Brentwood Library
On February 6, the Contra Costa County Library, held a candidates forum in the City of Brentwood at the Brentwood Library for candidates in the County Supervisor District 3 race.
The video highlights the forum which candidates Diane Burgis and Paul Seger answered a variety of questions.
Here is an outline of what was discussed:
03:48 – candidates opening statements
07:00 – What are the biggest…
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Contra Costa Transportation Authority Releases Transformative 30-Year-Plan
Contra Costa Transportation Authority Releases Transformative 30-Year-Plan
Walnut Creek, CA – The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) Board unanimously adopted a transformative plan for the next 30 years at last night’s board meeting. The proposed Transportation Expenditure Plan (TEP) is the culmination of months of extensive public outreach, stakeholder engagement, and advocate input. The plan focuses on innovative strategies and new technologies to promote a…
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I really hope Measure J passes because it'll invest a lot of money in public transportation for Los Angeles. Not only that but it'll create a lot of new jobs. It'll help all us poor people who don't drive a car by creating new public transportation projects.
We're seriously lagging behind NYC when it comes to public transportation People in Southern California are too fucking lazy & don't walk. Whenever I see someone get pulled over I can't help but smirk. Smirking for all the times I've been looked down upon for not owning a car.
(PAID ADVERTORIAL) No on Measure J: Say No to School Board Misspending
-PAID ADVERTORIAL-
I have a clarification to make to Oakland voters. Measure J is listed on your ballot as having no opposition. It’s billed as a $475 million bond that will retrofit aging schools, modernize outdated classrooms, and give each child in Oakland a puppy. But it’s not what it looks like. I would be remiss if I stayed silent and didn't express my opinion in this rather pricey paid editorial.
I’m speaking on behalf of Oakland’s elite prep schools, charter schools listed as “non-profit” but give their administrators $200K+, and Oakland’s premier med school, the Institute of Medical Education.
If Oakland's public schools get fixed up and fitted with working bathrooms and gyms with patched roofs, parents in the Oakland Hills may start sending their kids to Oakland public schools over the paid institutions. But that’s not the only reason why I oppose Measure J, as the taxes in the measure would cost me far less than my Claremont Country Club membership dues. But enough about my opinions, let’s look at the facts.
Dennis Chaconas is best known for putting OUSD $100 million in debt in just 3 years
Former superintendent Dennis Chaconas drove the district into a $100 million deficit in 2002. In 2003, the California Legislature passed an emergency $100 million loan to Oakland Unified School District (which it still hasn’t paid off). The state came in and appointed Dr. Randolph Ward, as state administrator. His job was to make Oakland Unified School District fiscally sound by closing schools with low attendance and balancing the budget.
However, he didn’t correctly explain the problem to Oakland residents. Oakland has 110 K-12 public schools for 36,262 students according to the latest 20-day enrollment statistics. Fremont Unified School District, a district with a similar number of students, has only 42 schools. Randolph needed to explain that for a student population of Oakland’s size, it has way too many schools, and some are going to need to be closed. But parents panicked, and stopped him (even though there were several schools with fewer than 100 students). And now, we’re in the position where instead of having only 42 schools, we have 110 to take care of. (And we also have 110 principals, vice principals, secretaries, janitorial staffs, etc. to pay for, instead of 42).
So how did the school district end up with nearly three times as many schools as it needs? Oakland reached 384,000 residents back in 1950, and built out a lot of schools, thinking the population would continue to rise. But the population leveled off in the 1950s, and it’s been relatively stable for the last sixty years. Also during this time period in Oakland, several new private schools were built, and in recent years, over 30 new charter schools have sprouted up.
Measure J is asking Oakland residents for $13,099 per student to fix many of these outdated public school buildings that shouldn’t be open in the first place. This bond could be used for other things like job development, Coliseum City, Oakland Army Base redevelopment project, or putting better trained police officers to patrol our streets. This $475 million is likely going to be mismanaged by the dysfunctional Oakland School Board who I bet couldn't even balance the budget for my Montclair Tennis Club.
Measure J for $475 million would raise the total of Oakland school bond money since 1994 to $1.383 billion dollars.
Oakland has already raised a total of $908 million dollars to refurbish aging schools with Measures C (1994), A (2000), and B (2006). Additionally, the Measure G Parcel Tax passed that passed in 2008, levies $195 from Oakland homeowners indefinitely. Before I give more money, I want to know where all of this money went, and why they need another half billion. The Oakland School Board needs to get its act together, close some lowly-populated schools, and start paying back the state the $100 million it still owes.
Measure J will authorize a levy on the assessed value of my taxable property. My house on the Piedmont side of Montclair (with a Bay view, pool, and organic garden) is assessed at $2 million. That means, in the first year, I will need to pay $780 in the first year after this passes, and over the next 8 years, if my house value goes up to $2.5 million and the estimated tax rate goes up (as it says in the measure’s description), I will be paying $1,800 in the final year. Average those numbers and multiply them by the 7-year term of the bond means that I’ll be paying a total of $9,030 to renovate schools that 1) I’m not sending my kids to, and 2) Two-thirds of these schools shouldn’t even be open, but closed/consolidated, similar to how other well-run Bay Area school districts have done.
I’d be happy to pay the $9,030 on a program I actually believe will reduce crime, or bring more jobs to our community. But updating a bunch of schools that should be closed isn’t something that I, in good conscience, can support.
Signed,
Loni Schwartz, mother of 2
Piedmont side of Montclair, California
-END OF PAID ADVERTORIAL-
"Measure J For LA: For Transit, Faster"