2 Publisher’s Corner 3 Events Calendar. Past ,
Upcoming And Ongoing 4 The San Mateo County Harbor District 5 West Bay Sanitary District’s Operational Superintendent takes the Helm 6 Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto Inc Year Founded 2002 7 Does your Mailbox Meet
USPS Regulations? 10 Community in Pictures 12 Local Elections 2020 13 Ravenswood City School District (2) 14 San Mateo Community College District 15 Menlo Park Fire Protection District 16 City of East Palo Alto 17 State Assembly District 24 19 Measure V
20 2020 Cnadidates 21 What Now For
Sharif Wilson?
26 Cynthia Marie
Mose. September 7, 1964-September 7, 2020 27 Annie Mae Harrison 28 Fred Mcdonald. Died on August 3, 2020
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 1
P P.O. Box 50849 Palo Alto, CA 94303 (650) 323-4477 EMAIL infoeastpaloaltoinforma tion.com PUBLISHER Meda O. Okelo EDITORIAL Meda O. Okelo, Editor Barbara Noparstak, Copy Editor CONTRIBUTORS, PAST & PRESENT C. Jango, Luke James, M.O. Okelo, Michelle Daher, Rodney Clark, Sarah Hubert, Saree Mading, Shammai Mading, Alejandro Vilchez, Rose Jacobs Gibson. Sid Walton, Sandy Moon Farley, Zalika Sykes, Isaac Stevenson, Beverle Michaele Lax, Brigithe Babb and Zoe Brownwood DESIGN/LAYOUT George Okello ADVERTISING Meda O. Okelo BUSINESS/ ADMINISTRATION EPA-Belle Haven Information Inc. CIRCULATION Alvin Spencer, Sonja Spencer, Louis Moorer, Jacqueline Tate and Thurman Smith El Ravenswood is published by EPA-Belle Haven Information Inc. P.O. Box 50849 East Palo Alto California, 94303. (650) 3234477. El Ravenswood is delivered free to public offices, businesses and non-profit agency offices in East Palo Alto and the Belle Haven Community in Menlo Park. Copyright Š 2017 by EPABelle Haven Information Inc. TO SUBSCRIBE: For $40 annually, you can have your El Ravenswood magazine delivered to your mailbox/ address. Send a check for $40 to the mailing address above.
eople who do not get counted in the census are selfish leeches, inexcusable cowards and misinformed or misdirected individuals. They should help their communities out by relocating to somewhere else in the nation or world, places that would be more tolerant of their selfishness, lack of courage and informational misdirection. Eight days before the end of the counting, only 64.5 % of the households in East Palo Alto have self-reported. For the Belle Haven community in Menlo Park, it was 62.9% and in the whole of Menlo Park, 76.5%. In North Fair Oaks, an unincorporated community adjoining Redwood City that resembles East Palo Alto’s predominantly Hispanic demographics, 69.2% had responded. According to the Census Bureau, census data helps determine how federal funds are spent annually until the next census for such public services as schools, libraries, emergency response, roads and bridges and hospitals and health insurance. Equally important is the use of census data to determine the number of seats each state gets for the House of Representatives. A smaller population means fewer seats for California. In East Palo Alto, because 36% of the households have not responded and therefore may not get counted, demographic data used to plan for critical services will be erroneous and resource allocations for critical services will be correspondingly deficient. However, those who are uncounted will still use schools and colleges, hospitals and clinics; they will still use roads, water, wastewater, park infrastructure, social services, etc. Not included in the 36% are households with converted garages and additional illegal dwellings that may house several families. Because they live a forced hush-hush existence, they have never and probably will never be counted further exacerbating the demand on meagre municipal resources. Studies have identified many reasons as to why people are not counted or choose not to be counted. Some deliberately resist the census out of some political conviction. Others are so plain lazy and or ignorant, when they get the forms they (maybe deliberately) do not fill them out. And there are those, who perhaps due to their immigration status, are afraid that their hidden presence would be revealed if they participated in such a huge government endeavor as the census. Adequate strategies to get a full count of folks have not been developed and the Census Bureau is in no position to determine how many families are living in a household and whether whoever fills out the census form includes everybody. The cities are also hoping that landlords renting spaces in single family homes would do the right thing. The good news, however, is that response to the census this year is already 2% higher in East Palo Alto and 0.4% higher in Menlo Park than in 2010 and with a few days left to the end of September, the hope is still alive that the response rate may even get a little higher. With East Palo Alto and the Belle Haven neighborhood in Menlo Park consistently being undercounted, it would make sense to have cities figure out how to improve the census count years before the next census. After all, significant resources are at stake and cities can ill afford to lose money, not to mention suffer the possible negative impacts of realignment of electoral boundaries. Assuming that people simply do not know that the census is happening is probably not the right assumption.
2 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
UPCOMING EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS Friday, September 18 Get help filling out your 2020 Census at Nuestra Casa de East Palo Alto 2396 University Avenue 5-7 P.M. with D.J. Lanie B and a chance to win a $50 or $100 gift card.
ON GOING MEETINGS All meetings since March have been held electronically. Please contact your agency for details as to how to participate in the meetings.
1st and 3rd Tuesday, East Palo Alto City Council Meetings, 7:30 p.m., 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto. 2nd and 4th Mondays, East Palo Alto Planning Commission Meetings, 7:00 p.m., 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto. 1st Thursday of the month, East Palo Alto Sanitary District, 7:00 p.m. 901 Weeks Street, East Palo Alto 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month, Ravenswood City School District regular board meetings, 7:15 p.m. in the District Office Board Room, 2120 Euclid Avenue, East Palo Alto
Tuesday, September 22 National Voter Registration Day, University Circle, 1900 University Avenue, East Palo Alto 12:00-&:00 P.M.
Tuesdays (varies), Menlo Park City Council, 7:00 p.m. 701 Laurel Street, Menlo Park.
2nd and 4th Wednesdays, West Bay Sanitary District regular board meeting, 7:00 p.m. 500 Laurel Street, Menlo Park. 3rd Tuesdays, Menlo Park Fire Protection District regular board meeting, 7:00 p.m. 170 Middlefield Street, Menlo Park. 4th Thursday, The Peninsula Clean Energy Board of Directors usually meets on the fourth Thursday of every month, 6:30 p.m. Meetings are held at the Peninsula Clean Energy office, 2075 Woodside Road, Redwood City, CA 94061. The San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority (SFCJPA) Board meets monthly at the city council chambers of either East Palo Alto, Menlo Park or Palo Alto. Phone: 650-324-1972 Email: jpa@ sfcjpa.org Menlo Park Planning Commission- Twice a month Meetings, 7 p.m. on Mondays (varies)
Saturday, September 26 Virtual East-West Coast Collard Greens Cultural Festival Noon- 11:00 P.M.
Tuesday, September 29 Announcement of Winner of a $500 Gift card in a fill out your census form initiative. Send a picture of yourself filling out the form or your confirmation number in a direct message on @ NuestraCasa.EPA or text 650-330-7411
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 3
COMMMUNITY
The San Mateo County Harbor District
T
he San Mateo County Harbor District was created by a resolution of the County Board of Supervisors in 1933. It was originally formed to build a harbor at Redwood City. The Board of Supervisors established the entire area of the County of San Mateo as the District’s boundaries. The Harbor District operates two facilities, Pillar Point Harbor at Half Moon Bay in Princeton, and Oyster Point Marina/Park in the City of South San Francisco. The latter is owned by the City of South San Francisco and the District runs it under a Joint Powers Agreement with the City. Pillar Point is a 369-berth working fishing harbor; Oyster Point is a 600-berth recreational boating marina. Pillar Point remains a major commercial and sport fishing harbor on California’s central coast, and is host to many public events, including the annual Mavericks surfing competition, the July 4th fireworks display, and the Christmas boat decorating contest. The District is governed by a fivemember Board of Harbor Commissioners, elected County-wide for staggered fouryear terms. Board of Harbor Commissioners Nancy Reyering (2018-2020)
Virginia Chang Kiraly(2016-2020) Tom Matusch, (2016-2020) Edmundo Larenas, (2018-2020) Sabrina Brennan, (2016-2020) General Manager - James B.Pruett The Harbor Commission meets the first and third Wednesday of each month. The first Harbor Commission meeting each month is held at the Comfort Inn, 2930 Cabrillo Highway, in Half Moon Bay. The second meeting, each month, is held in South San Francisco, at the Municipal Building. 33 Arroyo Drive off of El Camino Real Harbor District Offices: 400 Oyster Point Blvd. Suite 300 South San Francisco, CA 94080 Telephone: 650-583-4400
Fax: 650-583-4611 E-Mail: harbormaster@smharbor.com Operational Facts District Budget 2020-21: $10,203,000.00 Staff: 43 History: • 1961--Army Corps of Engineers completes breakwater work at Pillar Point along the San Mateo Coast. • 1970-1980--The Johnson Pier, docks and 369 berths and the inner breakwater are built • 1977--The district takes over operation of Oyster Point Marina/Park from the City of South San Francisco • 1980’s--The district completes the construction of docks and 589 berths, a new breakwater and onshore facilities.
San Mateo Harbor District Compensation Summary Total Salaries Average Salary Median Salary Highest Paid Lowest paid Commissioner Pay
Base Pay
Overtime
Other Pay
Benefits
Total Pay
Pay & Benefits
$ 2,740,007.00 $ 63,721.09 $ 68,549.00 $ 158,228.00 $ 1,720.00 $ 7,200.00
$ 50,860.00 $ 1,182.79 $ 239.00 $$$-
$ 188,688.00 $ 4,388.09 $ 11,911.00 $ 27,847.00 $ 34.00 $-
$ 846,706.00 $ 19,690.84 $ 5,123.00 $ 48,295.00 $ 152.00 $-
$ 2,979,555.00 $ 69,291.98 $ 80,699.00 $ 186,075.00 $ 1,754.00 $ 7,200.00
$ 3,826,261.00 $ 88,982.81 $ 85,822.00 $ 234,370.00 $ 1,906.00 $ 7,200.00
San Mateo Harbor District Fy18/19 Final Budget Revenue $ 13,151,244.00 Expenses $ 19,718,005.00 Revenue/Expenses $ (6,566,761.00) 4 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
COMMMUNITY
West Bay Sanitary District’s Operational Superintendent takes the Helm Sergio Ramirez, the West Bay Sanitary District’s Operational Superintendent, has been promoted to District Manager. He replaces Phil Scott who retired after 10 years of service. His appointment was effective July 1. Sergio has been with the District for the last 10 years. Sergio began his career in public service at the Bayshore Sanitary District of Brisbane and has worked in various public agencies including the Town of Woodside, the Castro Valley Sanitary District and Foster City. Sergio holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Notre
The West Bay Sanitary District provides wastewater collection and conveyance services to portions of the city of East Palo Alto and the Cities of Menlo Park, Atherton, and Portola Valley, Woodside and unincorporated San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The District conveys raw wastewater, via the Menlo Park Pump Station and force main, to South Bayside Systems Authority (SBSA) for treatment and discharge to the San Francisco Bay. The West Bay Sanitary District is an independent and autonomous political corporation with no legal affiliation to any municipalities included within its boundaries. The powers of the District are established by the State of California Health and Safety Code and are vested in a five-member Board, elected at large, by 27,615 voters in the district to four year terms. The day to day operations of the district are run by a General Manager. District Address: 500 Laurel Street Menlo Park. Ph.: 650-321-0384 Fax: 650-321-4265 http://www.westbaysanitary.org/index. html Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday Office Hours 8:00am - 4:00pm
Dame de Namur University in Belmont. He was born at Stanford and grew up in the Fair Oaks Community of Redwood City. His parents and many other family members are longtime Menlo Park residents Sergio is married with eight children, and all but one has finished high school and are enrolled at various universities. “I’m looking forward to continuing to serve the community for many years. Protecting Public Health and Environment is a true passion and I intend to deliver to our community.” Sergio will oversee a staff of 30, managing over 200 miles of wastewater
Board of Directors Dehn, Fran-President 2015-2020 Moritz, Edward P. -2018-2020 George Otte-2018-2020 Thiele-Sardina, Roy, (Treasurer)-2018-2022 Walker, David A. Secretary -2015-2020 District Manager- Sergio Ramirez Operational Facts: Single Family Residential rate payers: $1,224.00 Commercial rate payers: $9.86-$16.78 Total Rate payers in East Palo Alto: 803 Annual operating budget: $25,430,701.00 Rate 2011-12: $690.00 2012-13-$752 2019-20-$1,224.00 No of District employees: 25 Board Meetings: The District Board meets at the District Offices every second and fourth Wednesday of the month. The regular meetings commence at 7:00 p.m. Historical Facts • 1902,-October-a petition signed by 35 residents was presented to the Board of Supervisors of San Mateo for the
pipeline and 12 pump stations in several communities including Atherton, parts of East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Redwood City and unincorporated Santa Clara County and the new recycled water treatment plant in Sharon Heights. creation of a Menlo Park Sanitary District. • 1902-December an election was held and Senator C. N. Felton was selected as the first President of the Board. In addition to assuming jurisdiction over sewerage and providing sanitary sewers, the district provided other services including the licensing of plumbers, domestic animal control, slaughtering of cattle, inspection of meat, fumigation of buildings and quarantining in cases of infectious diseases. • 1925-May the incorporation of a North Palo Alto Sanitary districts was approved by a vote of 58 for and 4 against. • 1925-September the North Palo Alto district board approved the issuance of a bond for $18,000 to construct a sewer system in North Palo Alto. North Palo Alto was bounded by WoodlandMiddlefield to Pope Street Bridge; Menalto Avenue from Pope Street Bridge to Bay Road; Bay Road-from Menalto to Willow Road; and Willow Road from Bay Road to Middlefield. • 1951 the Kavanaugh and University Areas get annexed to the West Bay Sanitary District. • 1966 North Palo Alto Sanitary was annexed to the West Bay Sanitary District
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 5
COMMMUNITY
Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto Inc Year Founded 2002 Mission Statement
To provide transformative legal services that enable diverse communities in East Palo Alto and beyond to achieve a secure and thriving future.
Board of Directors Aaron Wainscoat Ahad Khan Amy Van Zant Andrew Thomases Carig Largent Carl Saba Victoria Brewster Carlos Rosario Catherine Moreno Court Skinner
Eugene Gabriel Illovsky Jennifer Morrill Jory Steele Justin Gurvitz Kristin Major Nozipo Wobogo Susan Jang Tameeka Bennett
Organizational Facts (2018) EIN: 22-3866910 Location and Offices
1861 Bay Road East Palo Alto, CA 94303
Website www.clsepa.org Telephone/Fax 650-326-6440/650-326-9722 Number of Full Time Employees 49 Number of Volunteers
795
Operating expenses (2010)
$5,201,070
Phil Hwang leaves Community Legal Services after eight years
P
hil Hwang, who has served as Executive Director of Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA) since 2012, left the agency in mid-September. During his tenure, CLSEPA became a leader in providing legal services to communities such as East Palo Alto in the areas of immigration and housing. Phil joined OneJustice as its chief executive officer effective September 14, 2020. OneJustice is a statewide organization that advances the impact of California’s civil justice system by building the capacity of legal aid leaders and nonprofits and creating strategies to increase civil legal services for Californians facing legal barriers to basic necessities.
6 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
Phil began his legal career as a staff attorney at Bay Area Legal Aid, where he represented clients in the areas of housing, disability and benefits law. Phil also worked as a legal aid and civil rights attorney. He served as the Director of Policy and Programs at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, where he oversaw its pro bono programs, policy advocacy, and impact litigation in the areas of racial, economic and immigrant justice. Phil received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1993 and his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1996. CLSEPA is setting up a Transition Task Force and conducting a nationwide search for a new CEO for the agency.
Phil Hwang
COMMMUNITY
I
Does your Mailbox Meet USPS Regulations?
n the last few months, residents along the 2200 block of Menalto Avenue in East Palo Alto with allegedly non-conforming mailboxes received notifications from the Postmaster directing them to install regulation-conforming mailboxes curbside or risk not receiving their mail. The notice, for most residents, simply indicated that their mailbox was too far from the road and or that the box should face the road. Barbara, one of the residents, was particularly enraged given the fact that her family has had the mailbox standing on a metal pole a few paces from their front door for over five decades. The notice gave her 10 days to relocate the box closer to the road. “Postal regulations require customers to provide and erect at their own expense rural mailboxes which meet official standards,” said the note. The back page of the notice provided instructions as to how to install a sanctioned mailbox. Attempts to contact the post office to find out what is meant by “rural mailboxes which meet official standards” and why the notice was being sent to an urbanized neighborhood were unsuccessful. On one attempt I was asked to leave my contact phone number with a promise that a supervisor would call. I have not received a call. People that have their mailboxes integrated onto their house also got the notices requiring them to install curbside mailboxes. El Ravenswood is providing this guide for our readers to understand what USPS expects. UPDATE: The USPS has rescinded those notices. Residents who had changed their mailboxes are wondering whether they will be reimbursed by the USPS for the unnecessary expense. City officials spoken to were unaware of such a requirement although it has become clear that for new residential developments mailboxes have to meet these requirements.
Conforming mailbox
Non-conforming mailbox
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 7
COMMMUNITY
A Guide to USPS Mailbox Regulations
• Adapted from a 2018 article by MailBoss • The United States Postal Service (USPS) requires residential mailboxes to conform to defined rules and regulations. • Standards are however not uniform, while some rules apply to all mailboxes in general, there are separate, specific regulations for locking, package or wall-mounted mailboxes.
General USPS Requirements for Curbside Residential Mailboxes • All mailboxes must meet the internal and external dimension requirements of the USPS. • Mailboxes located curbside must be placed facing outward so that mail carriers can access it easily without leaving their vehicle. • The box or house number on a mailbox must be represented in numbers that are at least 1 inch tall. Numbers must be positioned visibly on the front or flag side of the box.
8 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
• Mailboxes must, according to regulations, be placed 6 to 8 inches away from the curb; the incoming mail slot or door must be 41 to 45 inches from the ground. • Curbside mailbox posts should be buried less than 24 inches deep and made from wood no larger than 4 inches high by 4 inches wide. Steel or aluminum pipes with a 2-inch diameter are also acceptable. • Newspaper receptacles may be mounted on the same post as the mailbox, but they must not contact it directly or be supported by it. USPS Regulations for Locking Mailboxes • Locking mailboxes must meet the same functional requirements as standard mailboxes. • Slots for incoming mail must be at least 1.75 inches high by 10 inches wide. • Locking mailbox slots must be large enough to hold the resident’s normal daily volume of mail. • Slots must also be large enough to accommodate unfolded US Priority Envelopes.
• Locks cannot be used on contemporary or traditional mailbox designs. • USPS carriers do not open locked mailboxes and do not accept mailbox keys. USPS Regulations for Package Mailboxes • Package Mailboxes share most regulations with standard mailboxes but can accommodate larger items. • Dimensions for an approved package mailbox are no larger than 22 1/2 inches long, 8 inches wide and 11 1/2 inches high. USPS Regulations for Wall Mount Mailboxes • Wall Mount Mailboxes are convenient in areas where postal carriers travel on foot. They are also helpful for residents who are physically impaired. • The USPS does not have specific dimension requirements for wall mount mailboxes, but local codes and regulations may apply.
COMMMUNITY IN PICTURES
Black Lives Matter Signage at Kepler’s in Menlo Park.
City of East Palo Alto launches neighborhood COVID- 19 Testing at Oakwood Market.
Brown lives matter-101 Garden Street home of Mrs. McGee who in addition to her children provided a home many foster kids of all races.
St. Francis despite COVID-19 wants church gatherings back.
10 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
Fix Auto Palo Alto or Fix Auto East Palo Alto?
COMMMUNITY IN PICTURES
A converted truck serves as a home on Myrtle Street.
Illegal East Palo Alto political signage (since removed) located on public property.
Parking at a red zone at Euclid and East Bayshore.
Garden Supermarket on Pulgas Avenue under new management.
Streetcode Academy- (5/30/2020) the new location that never was.
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 11
ELECTION 2020
Local Elections | 2020
C
andidates vying for political office have the opportunity to submit candidate statements to the Elections Office. Most candidates do write a statement that outlines who they are, why they are running for office and any other matters they might consider important. El Ravenswood has combed through all the statements for races in East Palo
Alto and the Belle Haven community in Menlo Park and compared what each candidate says about their priorities and their qualifications for office. Candidates are limited to 200-250 words depending on whether it is a local or statewide office. Some candidates were not specific as to the priorities they would work on, focusing more on their academic or professional qualifications.
Some incumbents wrote statements that did not indicate their achievements while in office, while other incumbents attributed them to the ‘team’ rather to themselves as individuals and some, of course, gave themselves all the credit. El Ravenswood is providing the information in this format to allow readers to easily compare each of the candidates.
Sequoia Union High School District (1) Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
Shawneece Stevenson
• Quality education for all students • Equity and support of diverse learners
Jacqui Cebrian
Did not file a candidate statement
• Served on the Menlo-Atherton Foundation Board • Worked with Black Student Union clubs at MenloAtherton and Sequoia High Schools • Served on the District’s School Re-Opening Taskforce
Ravenswood City School District (2) Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
Bronwyn Alexander
• Strong academic programs • Equity and equal access for all students • Wellness programs for students and families
• Veteran teacher of 28 years with 15 in the Ravenswood City School District
Joel Rivera
• Make partnerships a priority • Bring teachers, staff, students, parents, administrators and the board together. • Empowering teachers, staff, parents and students
• Lived in East Palo Alto for 20 years • Wife born and raised in East Palo Alto and a teacher in the Ravenswood City School District
Marielena GaonaMendoza
• Narrow the academic achievement gap • Better prepare 8th graders for high school • Improve students social and emotional health • Address the equity digital divide
• Incumbent • Special Education Teacher and advocate • Track record of supporting policies such as the Sanctuary Resolution Policy, Students Restraining Policy and better pay for teachers and other staff
12 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
ELECTION 2020
Ravenswood City School District (2) Candidate
Priorities
Mele K. Latu
Candidate Statement not filed
Jenny Varghese Bloom
None indicated
Julian Alberto Garcia
Candidate statement not filed
Zeb Feldman
• Keeping property taxes local • Enhanced support for students in and out of the classroom • Opposing charter schools
Qualifications
• • • •
A parent of two children in the district An educator Educational qualifications Experienced teacher of preschool to community college
• Administrative expertise, labor experience, political savvy and budgetary acumen • Contract negotiation skills • 40 years of local political contacts
San Mateo Community College District Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
John Pimentel
• Auto-enroll every high-schooler • Aggressively recruit students • Reduce student fees and other barriers • Increase transfers to 4-year colleges • Establish peer mentoring • Engage employees to provide course content and job training for 21st century careers • Establish satellite campuses closer to students • Allow community access to academic and athletic facilities • Demand transparency through televising public meetings • Eliminate potential corruption • End golden parachutes for failed administrators • End sole-source contracts • Create an Independent Inspector general office. • Ensure half-billion dollar budget is spent responsibly
• Education: Delta Community College, UC Berkeley and Harvard • Served as Governor’s Higher Education Advisor • Been a Student Trustee on a community college board • Was California’s Deputy Secretary for Transportation • Co-founded companies that built over $1 billion of infrastructure in wind, solar, biofuel and water efficiency projects.
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 13
ELECTION 2020
San Mateo Community College District Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
Lisa Hicks-Kumanske
• Increase student access, expand program delivery options and close gaps that result in inequitable outcomes • Reach the most vulnerable students, accelerate program completion and successful transitions, expand relationships with school districts and extend workforce education, career and technical training programs • Champion equity and diversity • Ensure sound fiscal planning and management, safeguard faculty and staff welfare and support student success.
• • • •
Blair Whitney
• Working together to make sure San Mateo County has the best, most accessible community college system to meet all of the residents needs and interests.
• Belief in and support of the mission of the community college system • Graduate of the community college system. • Graduate of San Jose State and Golden Gate University
Deep belief in the power of higher education Graduate of a community college Experience leading social change Served on the Library Board, school PTA’s and numerous nonprofit boards
San Mateo County Harbor District-District 5
Two candidates, including one incumbent are seeking (re) election to the District. Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
Kirsten Keith
• To protect the coastal and bay environment • Supporting recreational opportunities and a sustainable commercial fishing industry
• 25 years of service on various boards and commissions • Seven Years on the Menlo Park Commission • Eight years on the Menlo Park City Council • Currently serving on the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency and on the Sustainable San Mateo County Board • J.D. Law and B.A., Political Science
• Continue bringing stability and leadership to the board • Promoting diversity and community at the harbor district
• Incumbent who delivered on maintaining the district’s financial position; supported the County’s economic development strategies in the biotech and commercial fishing industries • Master of Public Administration and a B.A. in government
Virginia Chang Kiraly
Menlo Park Fire Protection District Candidate
Robert Silano
Priorities • Maintain a world-class, financially sound Fire District
14 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
Qualifications • Incumbent for the last five years
ELECTION 2020
Menlo Park Fire Protection District Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
Virginia Chang Kiraly
• Improving public safety in every neighborhood regardless of socio economic status and ethnicity
• Incumbent serving the district since 2011 • Successful in maintaining the district’s strong financial position
Peter F. Carpenter
• To grapple with the current turmoil on the board • Ensure the District hires a Fire Chief after 2021 that will make the District continue to be one of the best in the country
• Decades of management experience, a long history of public service, and service on the board of more than a dozen nonprofit boards • Elected 3 times to the Fire District and has served on the board for 15 years
Sean Ballard
Candidate Statement not filed
West Bay Sanitary District
Three candidates, all incumbents are vying for the three vacant positions. Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
David Alexander Walker
• Thoughtful management of the district as the boundaries expand and new regulations are enacted
• Incumbent since 1999
George Otte
• • •
• 34-year professional career specializing in providing waste water engineering services • A licensed Civil Engineer • Incumbent
Frank Dehn
• Aggressive preventive maintenance of an aging infrastructure • Development of a long-term systemwide rehabilitation and replacement plan
Preventive Maintenance Water reuse Control cost at the regional treatment center
• Education and experience in business, management and community service • Manages a non-profit agency in Menlo Park
City of East Palo Alto
Three seats are up for grabs. All the incumbents are seeking reelection but have been joined by four others seeking to replace them. Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
Lisa Gauthier
• Strengthening Economic Development- e.g., attracting and retaining small businesses; middleclass job development) • Improving public safety • Enhancing quality of life- e.g., resources for seniors, neighborhood beautification
• A Mother • EdTech Government Affairs Manager • Incumbent and former mayor and vice-mayor
Webster Lincoln
• Improve quality of life, health and housing security • Job development • Fight poverty and homelessness
• New to politics • Strong and deep roots in the community • A young-home-grown scientist
Larry Moody
Candidate statement not filed
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 15
ELECTION 2020
City of East Palo Alto
Three seats are up for grabs. All the incumbents are seeking reelection but have been joined by four others seeking to replace them. Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
Carlos Romero
• Continue vigilance against displacement and dislocation • Champion the concerns of the most vulnerable • Ensure residents remain in East Palo Alto while attaining economic security.
• Active in public life for 38 years • Incumbent and former mayor and vice-mayor • Past achievements in: social programs, infrastructure improvements, housing and public safety • His academic qualifications
Antonio Lopez
• Jobs and employment enhancement • Affordable housing
• Born and raised in EPA • Worked his way up through difficult circumstances • His academic achievements
Stewart Hyland
• No priorities indicated
• Association with Peninsula Interfaith Action (PIA) • Association with major city initiatives such as: Neighborhood Improvement Initiative which gave rise to One East Palo Alto; Measure C Crime Prevention Initiative; Measure HH, a tax measure for local career development and affordable housing
Juan Mendez
• Unemployment • Skyrocketing rents, affordable housing and displacement • Traffic Congestion
• Native of East Palo Alto and product of Ravenswood • First generation college graduate • Planning Commissioner Alternate
State Assembly District 24 Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
Marc Berman
• Fighting to provide personal protective equipment to healthcare heroes and essential front-line workers in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic • Help constituents access unemployment benefits • Protect renters and homeowners from losing homes • Secure emergency funding for small businesses and nonprofits. • Safeguarding elections from cyber threats • Protecting voters from deceptive misinformation and disinformation campaigns • Youth mental health in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic • Complete census count
• Incumbent
16 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
ELECTION 2020
State Assembly District 24 Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
Peter Ohtaki
• None indicated
• Financial Emergency Manager • Former City Council member/Mayor City of Menlo Park
State Senate 13th District Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
Josh Baker
• “represent the publicinterest-your interests.”
• A lifelong education advocate • Expanded University of California system into Merced and served 16 years as Trustee • Work expanding math and science in K-12 school have been recognized by First Lady Michelle Obama. • A Stanford JD/MBA and a Community College Adjunct Professor • Serve on the State Workforce Development Board (Governor Brown appointee) • Serve on the County’s Child Care Partnership Council
Alexander Glew
Candidate statement not filed
United States 14th District Candidate
Priorities
Qualifications
Jackie Speier
• YOU are my priority! • Support lowering prescription drug prices for all through government negotiations with companies • Support using wartime power to produce COVID-10 supplies.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Ran S. Petel
Secured personal protective equipment for healthcare providers. Obtained funding for pediatric cancer research Voted to end discrimination against pre-existing medical conditions Co-sponsored the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act Co-sponsored Green New Deal Authored bills accelerating conversion of US auto industry to electric vehicles. Helped secure $647 million federal grant for Caltrain electrification Fought for affordable housing on public lands Sponsored 8 bills (airport-noise-related) allowing airport curfews, money for home insulation and new routes to avoid nighttime aircraft noise. Voted for Increased unemployment payments, student loan relief, eviction prevention and small business loans, Sponsored bill guaranteeing federal death benefits to support families of essential workers. Sponsored bills to support universal child care/Pre-K Sponsored 3 gun buybacks, supported comprehensive background checks and a ban on assault weapons. Recovered over $200,000 in veteran benefits. Authored resolution to facilitate ratification of Equal Rights Amendment, the MeToo Congress Act, defended LGBTQ rights, advocated for reproductive rights, justice for survivors of sexual assault in the military and college
• Candidate statement not filed
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 17
ELECTION 2020
A Measure Imposing an Increase to East Palo Alto’s Transient Occupancy Tax Rate of Twelve percent (12%) by One Percent (1%)on January 1, 2022, and another One Percent (1%) on January 1, 2023, for a Total Rate of Fourteen percent (14%)
I
n November 1998, East Palo Alto voters approved the Transient Occupancy Tax, a 12% tax on the occupancy of hotel rooms. The tax was to augment the city’s general fund. The measure was passed with a 60/40 percent Yes/No and was codified in the East Palo Alto Municipal Code as Ordinance #230. In the 2002 November general election, voters approved Measure I and J setting aside 10% of the tax for affordable housing and 10% to create a fund to support Children, Youth, Families and seniors’ programs. Voters approved Measure I (Children Youth Seniors and Family Funds) with 68 percent vote. Measure J (affordable housing) won with 60% of the vote. When the tax was originally enacted in 1998, the funds were intended to augment the city’s general fund and city officials had projected that the tax would generate $2 million with the
Lisa Gauthier
completion of the Four Seasons Hotel by 2004. The tax has however raised as much as $300,000 a year each for the Children Youth and Seniors Family Fund and for affordable housing. In the last few years however, according to city officials, the amount generated by the tax has declined and with COVID-19 its downward trend is expected to continue with serious impacts on the city’s annual budget in the next few years. The proposed measure V will increase the Transient Occupancy Tax rate from 12 to 14 percent with the additional 2 percent staggered over two years. The 2 percent will exclusively be dedicated to affordable housing, “in particular the rehabilitation and maintenance of affordable housing units throughout the city and efforts to limit the displacement of renters.” The proposed tax measure will tax as hotel rooms, short-term overnight accommodation such as those provided
Stewart Hyland
18 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
Webster Lincoln
by Airbnb in the city. The measure in addition seeks to allow the City Council the authority to “amend various aspects of the TOT provisions without subsequent voter approval” excluding the key provisions of the tax-rate and the allowed use of the tax. Transient Occupancy Tax or the Hotel Bed Tax is a popular tax imposed by cities since it targets out of town visitors. Out of towners staying in local hotels get to contribute to the expenses cities incur for road and park infrastructure, public safety and other municipal services. Both the Cities of San Bruno and San Mateo have similar measures in the November 3, 2020 ballot to increase the tax by 2 percent for street maintenance, fire, paramedic, and 911 emergency responses, managing traffic congestion and enhancing pedestrian safety, and maintaining city facilities.
Larry Moody
ELECTION 2020
John Pimentel Lisa Hicks-Dumanske Blair Whitney
Antonio Lopez Carlos Romero
Juan Mendez
Robert Silano
Marielena Gaona-MendozaBronwyn Alexander
Mele K. Latu-Community
Virginia Chang Kiraly
Joel Rivera
Zeb Feldman
Sean Ballard
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 19
ELECTION 2020
Josh Becker
Peter Ohtaki
Marc Berman
Alexander Glew
Jackie Speier
Ran S. Petel
David Alexander Walker
Jacqui Cebrian
20 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
Kirstein Keith
George Otte
Virginia Chang Kiraly
Frank Dehn
COMMMUNITY
S
harifa Wilson is calling it quits after 12 years serving on the Ravenswood City School District Board of Trustees. Elected to the education board in 2008, the year Obama was elected President, trustee Wilson was reelected in 2012 and 2016. Asked about the accomplishments during her tenure, she pointed out three things: the completion of a strategic plan whose development engaged parents, teachers, administrative and support staff and community stakeholders; the passing of two bond measures to support the school district (one facilities bond measure garnered 81% of the electorate representing the highest support for a bond by voters in the state!); and finally, she expressed pride in the completion of a District Facilities Masterplan.
“$10 million is currently being spent to upgrade the Ravenswood Middle School campus and although I will not be on the school board when the work gets completed, I am looking forward to the fruits of our efforts.” Ms. Wilson is happy that in recent years the board has worked well together and she is particularly proud of the success of her efforts to build bridges within the board. Originally from New York, Ms. Wilson came to East Palo Alto in 1981 after a brief stint in Dallas, Texas. “I left Dallas after six months, when the city approved a parade permit for the Ku Klux Klan,” she told El Ravenswood. Arriving in East Palo Alto in the month of February, she was immediately hired to teach at Brentwood School. “I was the 13th teacher the class had since
the beginning of the school year!” she remarked adding that, “they were not going to run me out of the school!” She taught at the school until 1988 when she left to start one of the first school-age after school programs in East Palo Alto called Creative Adventures. Twenty years earlier, she was a beneficiary of a program that was created following Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination. The program provided scholarships to Black students that allowed them to attend university. She attended New York University on a full four-year scholarship. “The program encouraged us to complete our studies and to give back to communities in need and it was that encouragement that brought me to East Palo Alto to work as a teacher in the Ravenswood City School District.”
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 21
COMMMUNITY
Former City of East Palo Alto Council member Warnell Coates.
“I come from a politically engaged family,” she said adding that her father served on the first board of education in New York and her mother was active in the leadership of the local parent-teacher associations as well as local tenant organizations. Growing up, she was steeped in her father’s often repeated dictum: ’if you do not like something, do something to change it!’ In East Palo Alto, that opportunity came when, while attending a public meeting to advocate for the construction of play structures at a park, then councilmember Warnell Coats made a comment that propelled her to run for office. Warnell Coates in rejecting a suggestion that play structures be built at Martin Luther King Jr. Park reportedly said that children did not vote! In 1988, Sharifa ran unsuccessfully for a city council seat. She ran again in 1990 and was elected. Reverberating in her mind as she decided to run was, not only council member Coates’ childrendo-not-vote comment, but an experience she had as a co-founder of a local non22 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
profit seeking funding from the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program administered by San Mateo County. She learned that there was a program committee with representatives from communities that needed funding but East Palo Alto was not represented despite the fact that its demographics
accounted for much of the federal funding allocated to the county. Additionally, she was perturbed by the fact that the grant was a reimbursement grant, meaning successful applicants were expected to spend the money upfront and then get reimbursement from the county. “I could not understand how they would expect non-profits to have the funding to meet that requirement and so I asked the question during a CDBG funding orientation and was advised, kind of snidely, that ’we could borrow the money from our city.’” “That the county CDBG representative failed to acknowledge that East Palo Alto was a recently incorporated city that was going through a massive fiscal crisis has never ceased to amaze me!” When she finally got elected to the council and became mayor, getting the city represented on the County Community Development Block (CDBG) Grant Committee was a priority. Working with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, and Supervisor Ruben Barrales, she was able to get an East Palo Alto resident, the late Elbert Mitchell, appointed to the committee. “Elbert Mitchell’s presence on the County Community Development Block Grant Committee had a significant
Elbert Mitchell (l), the first City of East Palo Alto representative on San Mateo Community Development Block Grant Committee, with William Webster.
COMMMUNITY
Keisha Evans, the first person she met from New York in EPA.
Then Mayor Sharifa Wilson with Menlo Park Mayor Gail Slocum at a local Little League Parade.
impact on East Palo Alto getting CDBG funding!” While a member of the committee, Elbert was instrumental in getting funding for much needed park renovations and facility constructions: Bell Street Park, Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Jack Farrell Park and the city’s only public pool. Sharifa helped secure other funding for the city as well. In 1992, East Palo Alto was dubbed the homicide capital of the United States. Within a year, the city secured more $2 million in grants for police equipment, recreation programs and city administration. Citing that crime was like air and knew no boundaries, Mayor Wilson met with
mayors Gail Slocum of Menlo Park and Jean McCowan of Palo Alto eventually persuading both nearby cities to provide financial and staff resources. The Regional Enforcement Detail¬¬, the RED Team, was launched thanks to this tri-city collaboration. Nine officers from East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, Menlo Park and other agencies targeted known felons in separate investigations collaborating with the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service. Within a very short period, 180 drug dealers were behind bars. In April 1993, Wilson hosted Dianne Feinstein, the first U.S. senator to visit East Palo Alto In the same year then Gov. Pete Wilson signed an executive
order forming the East Palo Alto High Crime Response Team and designated the city an enterprise zone, giving tax incentives to companies that relocated to or expanded in East Palo Alto and hired local residents. In April 1993, while still serving as mayor, a new program Operation Safe Streets doubled the city’s police force. Palo Alto contributed four; Menlo Park, two; the California Highway Patrol sent 12; and 18 deputies came from the San Mateo County Sheriff ’s Department, a department that until then was considered a foe of East Palo Alto. Along her journey of more than two decades of public service, Sharifa was inspired, mentored and supported by her father and mother, John and Doris Wilson, whose lives and examples of community service left an indelible mark on her development as a person, Ayinde Tate, her son, who brought meaning to her work with children; his father, Gene Tate, who familiarized her with East Palo Alto and all the work many like him were doing to make a difference in the future of children; Keisha Evans, a former Ravenswood City School District school teacher and SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 23
COMMMUNITY
Gene Tate, Colleen (daughter-in-law), Sharifa and their son Ayinde Tate.
board member and co-owner of African City Alive, who was the first New Yorker she met in East Palo Alto, developed what was akin to a family with her and her sister and recruited her to teach at Nairobi Day School, then operated by Gertrude Wilks; Omowale Satterwhite, one of the first City of East Palo Alto council members and considered to be the critical force behind the city’s incorporation; Barbara Mouton, a former educator and the first mayor of the city who served as mayor from 1983-1986 and who took Ms. Wilson under her wing; and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, a friend of East Palo Alto who while on the Board of Supervisors voted to support East Palo Alto’s incorporation, partnered with Ms. Wilson to open opportunities previously unavailable for the City of East Palo Alto. In 1997 Anna Eshoo, whose district then included East Palo Alto, secured $1 24 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
million from the Department of Justice for additional police officers over a threeyear period. East Palo Alto, not unlike other newly incorporated cities, had to grapple with navigating the protocols of a councilcity manager form of government. City council members and particularly the mayor generally failed to restrain the temptation to be administrators. The first council, for instance, took away the city manager’s responsibility to hire a police chief simply because the mayor disagreed with who the city manager had recommended for appointment. These incursions into the administrative arena were unfortunately accompanied by streaks of meanness and abusiveness toward executive management staff that was considered uncouth and professionally disrespectful. Line staff was known to get directions directly from council members, deliberately
Omowale Satterwhite, considered the mind behind the struggle for incorporation.
COMMMUNITY
Anna Eshoo, Hilary Clinton and Sharifa Wilson in 1998.
sidestepping the city manager, executive and mid-management staff. This modus operandi established in the city’s infancy percolated into successive city councils and the practice characterized the style of most if not all mayors including Ms. Wilson. “The city council transgressing into the administrative arena, with the mayor taking on some of the city manager’s functions was necessary because there were several instances in the city’s history where there was no city manager and the executive management staff did not live in the community and therefore would recommend policy actions without truly understanding the lay of the land,” she told El Ravenswood. During 1993 budget hearings, she pushed through the council the elimination of the public works director, planning director and building official positions in a move that was seen as specifically targeting the individuals occupying those positions. This was confirmed in the mind of one of the eliminated staff when he received a call from someone on his staff telling him that the mayor had instructed the staff member to call him and ask him to
John Wilson, Sharifa’s father, served on a school board in New York City.
Doris Wilson, Sharifa’s mother was active in Parent Teacher Association and Tenant Organizations.
Barbara Mouton, who was on the council from 1983-1990 serving as mayor from 1983-86.
come back to the office and remove his s_____! Ms. Wilson did not recall this specific incident but said that in the early days, the leadership of the council found itself in situations where they had to step into the city manager’s role during periods when the city manager position was vacant. This particular incident occurred when Russell Averhart was the Acting City Manager. Now that soon she will no longer be an elected official, Ms. Wilson hopes
to marshal her experience, skills and extensive contacts to implement what she calls the “Legacy Project.” “This is an effort,” she explained, “to make available to young adults, who grew up in East Palo Alto and maybe went to college and came back, affordable housing opportunities so that they and their families can live and work here and provide the next wave of leadership to public as well as private local agencies.”
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 25
COMMUNITY
Cynthia Marie Mose September 7, 1964-September 7, 2020
‘‘We ourselves will be gone one day, but our memories will last because of all the different things we have done with one another, and shared with one another in our lives.”
C
Cynthia Marie Mose
ynthia Marie Mose, 56, was killed on Monday, September 7 at a birthday party organized in her honor by her East Palo Alto and Menlo Park friends. Born September 7, 1964 to Alma Batiste Carr and Curly Mose, Cynthia was raised in a family of 12, by her stepfather Charles Carr in the Belle Haven neighborhood of Menlo Park where her family moved in 1965 from Lake Charles, Louisiana. She graduated from Willow School and attended San Carlos High School. She played basketball throughout high school and was known for her competitiveness, tenacity and her warm and disarming smile. She enjoyed ballet, track and field and played organ at a local church. Cynthia moved to Sacramento to live with her mother and while there started and operated several businesses but finally settled on selling real estate.
A
ntar Nadir Jannah Mandela was a well- known fixture on the East Palo Alto and Belle Haven political, economic, artistic and social scene. He was born January 25, 1952. His family first moved to San Francisco before coming to the Belle Haven community in Menlo Park in the fifties. He attended schools in the Ravenswood City School District and Palo Alto Unified School District. In the seventies he converted to Islam, changing his name from Tommie Irving to Antar Nadir Jannah. He married his first wife 26 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, she told her friends, would always be home for her and that regardless of how many years she spent outside the two communities, she knew that she would eventually come back home. Cynthia is survived by her two children Apollo Curtis and Brandon Powell/De’Oshanay Ragland; her grandchildren Arielle Canedo-Mills, E’siyah Powell, Kaeyden Cutts, Artez Cutts, Dontae Vaughn and Ra’nayjah Powell; her brothers and sisters Ruthie Norwood, Paula Flemmings, Kevin Julian and Rachael Carr-Houston/ Gayland Houston. She was preceded in death by her son Prince Ray Mills, mother Alma Batiste Carr, stepfather Charles Carr and brothers and sister Stella Levy, James Batiste, Mary Robinson, Curly Mose Jr., Roosevelt Mose and Ray Mose.
Carla Nisa Smith and over a 25-year marriage they had three children, two daughters Fitrah and Naja and one son Deen. He worked for many years at the Bayshore Employment Service, the only job placement agency ever based in East Palo Alto. He also worked with the Ravenswood City School District as well as the California Department of Corrections where he served as Muslim chaplain at several prisons in California. “You would think that we were a military family,” reminisced his daughter Naja who said the family moved frequently. A spiritual leader, he was also an avid science fiction enthusiast and writer having penned several books: Dr. Shepherd’s Universe, The Intergalactic Conference, The Secret of Infinite
I met Cynthia 40 years ago when she tried out for the San Carlos High School basketball team. She got you with her smile. She was full of life and quite the competitor. Needlessly to say, she played through her senior year. She was a big part of the team. Cynthia, you will be missed. Thank you for being part of my life; you only made it better. To her family, she was a wonderful person and may she RIP. Coach Cocconi We lived on the same block, raised kids together and managed to keep in touch thru the years. We all loved her free spirit and enthusiasm. Eva Cuffy
Intelligence, The Perfect Mistake, The Third Self, The Neurogenetic Implant and The Cosmic Energy. He was also well known as an inspirational speaker on personal, intellectual and economic fulfillment. He is survived by his second wife Nisa Carla Jannah, his third wife Tahirah Taalib-Din, two sons, Tommie Hakim and Deen Jannah and two daughters, Fitrah Jannah and Naja Jannah.
COMMUNITY
Annie Mae Harrison
A
nnie Mae Harrison turned 94 on September 10. Born in Oakland, Louisiana, in 1926, she moved to Oakland, California with her late husband in the fifties. From Oakland, the family moved to East Palo Alto. She was one of the pioneer African American families to move into the then unincorporated East Palo Alto. Known for her feisty character, sense of humor and her hard work providing for her family, she was and still is a welcome friend to many that lived on Menalto Street. “In her younger days she loved collard greens and cornbread,” said Barbara Jacobs, whose family moved to the same street in 1960. She worked at the Hillhaven Convalescent Home in Menlo Park for most of her professional career until her retirement in 1985. Ms. Harrison had two children, Elton and Otis. Otis, the youngest was born in 1946 and takes care of her in the house where he grew up. Otis is one of the many grown sons and daughters who have taken the unspoken parental vow promising to take care of their parents in their latter years in “sickness and in health till death.” Others, not only have not taken the vow, but have no clue as to its existence. Otis Harrison, is living up to that vow. He has taken care of his mother alone, since she came down with Alzheimer’s in 2005. “I wish I could get the picture we took of her with famous Amos Brown and other famous individuals and movie cartoon characters,” said Otis. “She is my mother. She took care of me and now it is my turn to take care of her.” Mr. Harrison, who still works a regular job at El Camino Hospital, has a live-in-attendant who takes care of his mother while he is at work. With the onset of the pandemic, he took several weeks off to lay down precautions that would ensure his mother’s safety. A small birthday party was held for her on her birthday.
A 1956 picture of Annie Mae (left) with a friend. Otis is sitting on the car.
INSERT / RIGHT He has regularly taken his mother to various places of interest throughout California and toured sites with her in a wheelchair.
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 27
COMMUNITY
Fred Mcdonald Died on August 3, 2020
“Today, be the kind of man that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says ’Oh crap, he’s up!’ Brother, life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Love the ones who don’t just because you can. Believe everything happens for a reason and, if you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Kiss slowly. Forgive quickly…”- Fred McDonald
F
red McDonald, a studentcounselor- mentor-advocate, died on August 3, 2020. Mr. McDonald was one of a team of three counselors, with Dee Uhila and Ruben Avelar, who worked with African-American, Hispanic and Pacific Islander students from East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Created in 1987 by and managed by Robert ‘Bob’ Hoover, the mission of the East Palo Alto Youth Development Center (YDC) was to reduce the high drop-out rate (estimated at over 50% at the time) of East Palo Alto/Menlo Park students attending high schools in the Sequoia Union High School District. With an imposing height, a massive body frame and a “teddy bear” demeanor, Mr. McDonald was loved by all he worked for and with. Called the gentle giant, he was able to get the best out of students, their parents, his work colleagues and members of stakeholder agencies be it the Juvenile Court, the Probation Department or the Public Defender’s Office. “Fred’s size, personality and his love for basketball allowed the YDC to win over and influence a lot of kids,” Dee Uhila told El Ravenswood recently. YDC was established in 1987. Fred McDonald with his fellow counselormentor-advocates Dee Uhila and Ruben Avelar worked with students and their families with the intent of keeping students in school and ensuring that they graduated from high school. YDC operated out of locations in all the schools in the District in which students from East Palo Alto and Menlo 28 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD
Bob Hoover, founded the East Palo Alto Youth Development Center. Fred McDonald
Dee Uhila-YDC Counselor-Student Advocate.
Park attended. Students having any kind of issues would be referred to these locations by teachers and administrators as well as the Juvenile Court, Probation and the Public Defender’s Office. Fred McDonald grew up in Oakland and graduated from the University of Colorado. He worked with YDC until the agency closed in 1995.
Ruben Avelar-YDC Counselor-Student Advocate.
ADVERTISEMENT
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | EL RAVENSWOOD 29
EPA Belle Haven Information Inc P.O. Box 50849 East Palo Alto, CA 94303
Please Find El Ravenswood At These Choice Locations Want to be an El Ravenswood distribution location? Please contact El Ravenswood at info@eastpaloaltoinformation.com EAST PALO ALTO Above All Insurance, 907 Newbridge Street # B; | Boys and Girls Club-East Palo Alto, 2031 Pulgas Avenue; | Brentwood School, 2086 Clarke Avenue; | Cesar Chavez & Green Oaks, 2450 Ralmar Avenue; | Ravenswood Child Development Center, 952 O’Connor Street, | Community Development Department, 1960 Tate Street; | Costano School, 2695 Fordham Street; | County Services Building-Lobby; 2415 University Avenue; | East Palo Alto Academy, 1040 Myrtle Street; | East Palo Alto Charter School, 1286 Runnymede Street; | East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy, 1039 Garden Street; | East Palo Alto Police Department, 141 Demeter Avenue; | East Palo Alto Senior Center, 560 Bell Street; | East Palo Alto YMCA, 550 Bell Street; | Ecumenical Hunger Program, 2411 Pulgas Avenue; Gregory’s Enterprise & Barber Shop, 1895 E. Bayshore Road; | Jones Mortuary, 660 Donohoe Street; | Oakwood Market, 2106 Oakwood Drive; | Peninsula Park Apartments, 1977 Tate Street; | Rainier’s Service Station, 1905 E. Bayshore Road; | Ravenswood City School District, 2130 Euclid Avenue; Ravenswood Family Health Center, 1885 Bay Road; | Ronald McNair School, 2033 Pulgas Avenue; | San Mateo Credit Union, 1735 Bay Road; | St Francis of Assisi, 1425 Bay Road; | St Johns Baptist Church, 1050 Bay Road; | Stanford Community Law Clinics, 2117 University Avenue; | Starbucks-East Palo Alto, 1745 East Bayshore Road;
MENLO PARK Belle Haven Library, 415 Ivy Drive; | Belle Haven School, 415 Ivy Drive; | Esquire Barber Shop, 830 Newbridge street; | Job Train, 1200 O’Brien Drive; | Jonathan’s Fish & Chips, 840 Willow Road; | Markstyle Barber Shop, 828 Willow Road; | Menlo Park City Hall, 701 Laurel Street; | Menlo Park Senior Center, 100 Terminal Avenue; | Mt Olive AOH Church of God, 605 Hamilton Avenue; | Project Read-Menlo Park, 800 Alma Street; | Tony’s Pizza, 820 Willow Road; | Tutti Frutti, 888 Willow Road; Willow Cleaners, 824 Willow Road; | Willow Oaks School, 620 Willow Road
