Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

Video Commentary : MySpace , Metacafe , Blip.tv , Crackle , Stupid Videos , Sclipo , Viddler and Howcast John Burris is a well-known Oakland attorney representing the family of Oscar Grant in the wake of the shooting of Grant by Johannes Mehserle on New Year's Day. Burris attended the funeral last Friday, March 27th of the four Oakland Police Officers who were murdered by Lovell Mixon on Saturday March 21st in Oakland. I unfortunately did not attend the event as I was sick, but I did watch it on television. Burris brings up a point that I noticed but given the weight of the matter, put on the back-burner of my mind because I didn't want to think the unthinkable: that not only was the Mayor of Oakland not allowed to speak but Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who was in attendance, was not even acknoweldged by the presenters. That's a huge no-no. Congresswoman Lee is the head of the Congressional Black Caucus. Both are African American. All of the elected offici

More at Inside Bay Area : “OAKLAND — Help is on the way for East Bay school districts, local governments and small businesses through the economic recovery act that President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday, Rep. Barbara Lee said Wednesday. Exactly how and when this help will arrive remains to be seen, she acknowledged. The White House estimates the $787 billion stimulus package will create or save 369,000 California jobs over the next two years. Lee, D-Oakland, said an estimated 7,300 of those would be in her 9th Congressional District, which includes Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, Piedmont, Castro Valley and various adjoining areas. Lee also said about 2.4 million Californians will get $100 more per month in unemployment benefits, and about 506,000 laid-off workers will see their benefits extended. And the Golden State stands to reap millions — $30 million for Oakland alone — to modernize its dilapidated public schools, she added.”

Congresswoman Barbara Lee has a history of firsts and of standing up by herself to stand for a cause or a point. This is one example : The International AIDS Conference has a history of welcoming world leaders, including presidents and kings, greeting delegates and saluting "them" for their efforts to eradicate HIV. Year after year, one elected official has bypassed the flashing lights and cameras of the opening ceremony and joined the ranks as one of "us," contributing energetically as a presenter, moderator, spokesperson and HIV visionary all week. Once again, Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) is the sole member of the U.S. Congress to attend the International AIDS Conference. On Tuesday, I caught up with Rep. Lee to learn how her involvement builds progressive momentum globally and in the U.S. "I saw that there was a void when I when to Congress so I started participating to get a good handle on what strategies and what policies the United States shou

In this controversial eviction action by Oakland Community Housing, Inc with respect to the tenants of the California Hotel , some apparently called Congresswoman Barbara Lee's office and got no action at all. This is what they wrote, which I originally placed on the initial blog on this matter, but now I'm repeating here as a post of its own: Update on California Hotel and Drasnin Manor tenants July 19, 2008 Hi Darlene & others concerned... The elderly, disabled and the poor in the California Hotel have been sold out by Oakland City Councilmembers, non profit housing organizations and apparently Congresswoman Barbara Lee who remains completely silent on the issue of their housing plight, so far . (Oakland Focus emphasis) The California Hotel tenants continue to remain in their housing and refuse to move after being doublecrossed by those that were supposed to watch out for their best interests. They have organized themselves to clean the hotel up and maintain it for th

As a note, I ran into Rep. Barbara Lee at the Montclarion Albertson's while shopping late with my mother. Rep. Lee informed us that she'd been flying the red-eye back and forth from here to Washington DC. Lots of work to be done, as this article will reveal. Lee hits ground running in 110th Congress By Josh Richman MEDIANEWS STAFF Rep. Barbara Lee clearly doesn't believe in starting slowly. While five Bay Area members of Congress have yet to introduce a bill in the 110th Congress convened last week and four more have introduced one bill each so far, Lee already has introduced 17 pieces of legislation. For Lee, D-Oakland, the early blitz is partly a matter of staking out her turf. "These are critical issues, not only to the people of my district but to the entire nation, and I am not going to wait for an invitation to stake out my position or take a leadership role," she said Tuesday. "These are issues that I have been working on, many of them for years, an