The Advocate

It starts and ends with the emails. So many emails. From 6:00 AM to well past midnight. Responding to aspiring politicos, friendly peers, allied organizations, and others needing subject matter expertise in legal assistance, fundraising, networking, or updates on current events, among a milieu of miscellany. After that, it's dashing across town for a local event -- coffee with the cops, a community clean-up, canvassing for a ballot initiative or new candidate, maybe attending a rally and protest. Then it's dashing back home to hop on for a few consecutive hours of Zoom calls with fellow activists to research, review, and write up public comments or civic education and outreach materials. By this time, we're well into the working lunch hour with a less formal meeting between new stakeholders wanting to jump in headfirst or tentative residents dipping their toes in to learn more. Sometimes it's a very formal meeting with new officials hoping to build bridges or test bound

( I mage Credit: Ohio State University ) Yes, you read that right. In the case of Ricardo Fortenberry v. City of San Leandro , the city council voted 7-0 during closed session to settle this case for the sum of $150,000 dollars. Now, if you're a frugal, ethical, and socially responsible citizen like myself, you're probably asking yourself: What in the Mother of Moses, Song of Solomon, Jumping Jesus P. Cryst is going on? Well, let me tell you! On October 18, 2018, at approximately 6:20 AM at 1035 International Blvd., a car sideswiped a Mr. Ricardo Fortenberry, resulting in a minor traffic accident with no physical injuries. Shortly thereafter, SLPD Officers Christopher Barris, Anthony Pantoja , Richard Van Dyke (or, Dick, if you're feeling silly), and  Dennis Mally  showed up and violated Mr. Fortenberry's civil rights. How, do you ask? Let me count the ways! 1. Three officers initiated a car chase of Mr. Fortenberry despite orders from their supervising sergeant not to

The San Leandro City Council is having their next regular meeting this Monday, July 19, beginning at 6:30 PM PDT. What’s on the agenda? Climate action, racial justice, police brutality, mental health crisis response, menthol cigarettes, community health, reimagining public safety, affordable housing, and more besides! The Zoom link is here . Alternatively, you can call in at 1-888-788-0099 or 1-877-853-5247. If you are unable to join in real-time, you can still submit your comments to clerk@sanleandro.org. If you do, make sure to CC citycouncil@sanleandro.org to make sure every elected official gets to read what your voice wants them to hear. That said, let’s start in order of appearance! Agenda Item 1.A, Pledge of Allegiance It’s past time we acknowledge that American was founded on stolen land and slave labor. Without accepting the truth of our history, we are doomed to repeat it. Or, at the very least, commit the same sins in rhyme. Including a land acknowledgment helps ground our c

If you haven’t heard yet, the city is preparing to review our tobacco ordinance later this month. We are one of the few cities in Alameda County that has yet to ban the sale of menthol-flavored cigarettes, which disproportionately targets and kills Black people. Now, the obvious question is: why should we bother banning menthol? People know the dangers of smoking, right? Let people make their own choices, right? I wish it were that simple... Start with the sad fact that smoking-related illnesses kill more Black people than AIDS, car crashes, and murder combined! In fact, the combination of vaping and menthol use among Black youth is renewing the cycle of addiction and death for future generations. How is this happening? Well, the tobacco industry has gone to great lengths to push menthol tobacco products into Black communities, despite knowing how deadly they can be. They’ve actually been doing this for decades. Meanwhile, they’re simultaneously spreading misinformation and fear about

Let’s be honest: catalytic converter thefts are one of the only areas where crime is actually increasing in San Leandro. There isn’t a day that goes by where we haven’t heard about someone’s vehicle being vandalized. Why? Because the precious metals contained in most catalytic converters — platinum, rhodium, and palladium — are expensive and can sell for hundreds of dollars per piece. Due to the pandemic and rising costs of living, the resulting economic distress has made this a lucrative alternative for many criminals and those driven to desperation. Unfortunately, catching these thieves is extremely difficult. This is because the process of stealing this part from your car is relatively quick and simple. A catalytic converter can typically be removed in just a few minutes by using a saw or a wrench. Slicing through the piping on both sides of the converter before it’s pulled off is the most common method. Notably, SLPD’s clearance rate for property crimes, including catalytic convert

(Image credit: APTP) This past Tuesday, spectators to the ongoing trial of former SLPD Officer Jason Fletcher were met with harassment, aggression, and corruption of technology to prevent the people from effectively exercising their First Amendment Rights. As you may be aware, many social media platforms and streaming sites include automatic algorithms to delete copyrighted content. Well, law enforcement across California are using that to disrupt legal filming of their activities by playing pop music that will prevent the public from posting those videos to social media and/or streaming sites like YouTube. It also just makes it harder for people to hear what’s happening when cops are attempting to intimidate residents and civilians. In this case, an Alameda County Sheriff’s Deputy explicitly admitted to this on video and the story has been picked up by multiple media outlets. You can read more about it at Gizmodo and The Verge . Here’s a particularly illuminating quote: “You can reco