“Lockeford residents will soon have access to one of the world’s leading delivery innovations,” said Assemblymember Heath Flora (R-Ripon), whose district includes the town. “It’s exciting that Amazon will be listening to the feedback of the San Joaquin County community to inform the future development of this technology.”
By Edward Henderson, California Black Media
For Black drone pilots, e-commerce package delivery going aerial could present new earning or business opportunities for them.
Last week, Amazon announced that its customers in Lockeford, a town of about 3,500 people in San Joaquin County, will become among the first to receive Prime Air deliveries via drone.
The tech company, the world’s largest e-retailer, chose Lockeford because of its historic links to the aviation industry.
“Lockeford residents will soon have access to one of the world’s leading delivery innovations,” said Assemblymember Heath Flora (R-Ripon), whose district includes the town. “It’s exciting that Amazon will be listening to the feedback of the San Joaquin County community to inform the future development of this technology.”
Amazon’s drones fly up to 50 m.p.h. and can carry packages of up to 5 pounds as high as 400 feet in the air.
Blacks and the Drone Industry
Technology and aviation industry watchers say drone pilots are in high demand right now and they predict their demand will keep increasing.
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) estimates that by the year 2025, at least 100,000 jobs will be created for drone pilots. Multiple companies are set to spend over $16 billion on drones over the next eight years, with advertising agencies, construction, and security firms being among the first.
According to the Economic Research Institute, the average pay for a drone pilot is $71,669 a year and $34 an hour in California. The average salary range for a drone pilot is between $50,891 and $88,659. Entrepreneurship related to drone piloting creates opportunities, experts say, for generating new streams of income and establishing new businesses that support the industry.
Jeffery Howell, a Navy officer currently stationed in San Diego, began his journey with drones when his wife gave him one for his birthday last year.
“At first I was nervous,” said Howell. “I’ve never really flown a drone before, so I started watching YouTube videos back-to-back, learning about the qualifications to fly drones legally and weight classes. As I delved deeper into it, there is a whole different world and community out there.”
Over time, Howell became more comfortable piloting his drone and was interested in connecting with other pilots who looked like him. Eventually, he stumbled upon the Facebook group, ‘Black Drone Pilots,’ and connected with a community of over 300 pilots nationwide who not only shared his budding passion but were making a living with it.
On the weekend of June 11, Black drone pilots held inaugural meet-and-greets in five different cities nationwide. Howell attended the event in Newport Beach and had the opportunity to network and fellowship with local pilots.
“I was amazed at the brothers and sisters getting together just having a good time flying,” he said. “You could tell that the ones who weren’t as knowledgeable were getting pointers from the more experienced pilots. It was a beautiful thing to see.”
Inspired by his new network of professionals, Howell decided to start his own drone photography and video company ‘Air Speed Aerial Productions.’ To start his business, Howell needed to attain his Park 107 certification through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
All drone pilots must take and pass this test to receive their commercial licenses. The test costs $175 to register and there are several online guides to help study for it.
Licensed drone pilots and entrepreneurs like Howell are a welcomed sight within an industry that still has room to grow in terms of diversity. There are 250,000 drone pilots certified with the FAA. Ten percent are Black and only 3% are Black women.
Ashlee Cooper is a certified drone pilot who founded ‘Droneversity,’ a Delaware-based organization that teaches teenaged youth about the fundamentals, opportunities and innovations within drone piloting and aviation, more broadly.
“Aviation careers have always been a white male-dominated field,” said Cooper. “Unless you were in the military or related to a pilot, it was unlikely you were going to tap into those positions within the aviation industry. Most of them do not require a high school or college degree.”
Youth are eligible to take the Park 107 exam at the age of 16. Cooper’s company provides courses to help them take and pass the exam as well.
“Most of these young girls and boys are gamers. They take naturally to flight. The skillset is marketable. Like gaming, it takes hand-eye coordination and knowing how to operate under pressure and solve problems quickly.”
Cooper, who also is a member of Black Drone Pilots, transitioned from her background in molecular biology to drone piloting during the pandemic. Her experience with secondary education created inroads for her organization to reach teenagers and help inspire them to pursue drone piloting as well.
“I still feel like I’m late, however, I know my timing was divine especially because of who I’ve been able to help. Being a Black woman in this industry has led to some incredible partnerships and networking. There is an opportunity as long as we provide equitable access. By making it more accessible, you have more innovators.”
You can connect with Black Drone Pilots’ Facebook page here to follow their updates, get a listing of future events or learn how you can begin your own journey to drone piloting.
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The Oakland Teacher Residency (OTR) program received $120,000 from the National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR) to expand efforts to recruit and develop Black educators for OUSD schools. The grant will allow OTR to provide an additional $10,000 for 10 Oakland Teacher Residents to reduce the financial barriers to entering the pro-fession and becoming credentialed teachers. The grant will also support professional development through mentoring for Black Oakland Teacher Residents and first-year teachers.
The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) wants many more young adults to come to Oakland to be teachers, and recently, OUSD received a major grant to bolster that effort.
The Oakland Teacher Residency (OTR) program received $120,000 from the National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR) to expand efforts to recruit and develop Black educators for OUSD schools.
The grant will allow OTR to provide an additional $10,000 for 10 Oakland Teacher Residents to reduce the financial barriers to entering the profession and becoming credentialed teachers. The grant will also support professional development through mentoring for Black Oakland Teacher Residents and first-year teachers.
The award comes through NCTR’s Black Educators Initiative (BEI), a five-year, $20-million effort to prepare 750 Black teachers through its nationwide network of teacher residency programs.
OUSD launched OTR in 2019 as part of a districtwide Grow Our Own strategy to recruit and retain staff who are reflective of Oakland’s rich diversity in the district’s Strategic Initiative #4.
Over the past three years, the program has grown from supporting eight student teachers to supporting a total of 46 teachers pursuing credentials in math, science, and special education. Of the 46 Oakland Teacher Residents, 67% identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). Black teachers make up 22% of the total. The BEI funds will bolster ongoing recruitment and retention efforts of Black educators.
“It is critical for the District and for our students that we have more teachers who look like the young people in their classrooms,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “So, it’s wonderful to see the early results of the Oakland Teacher Residency program, with a growing list of aspiring teachers with a profound commitment to Oakland and our students. This grant from the National Center for Teacher Residencies will enable us to bring in more young and enthusiastic educators who will add to the diverse fabric of our teaching corps, some of whom will no doubt be from Oakland. That’s exactly what our students deserve.”
Applications for the 2022-23 Oakland Teacher Residency program are now open. Math, science and special education Oakland Teacher Residents receive a $15,000 stipend to earn a credential while student teaching in an expert mentor teacher’s classroom.
There is also an affordable housing opportunity for Oakland Teacher Residents. After the one-year residency, teachers earn a teaching credential, secure a full-time teaching position, and make a four-year commitment to teach in Oakland.
For more information about the residency program, please contact: zaia.vera@ousd.org.
Throughout his life he has been good in sports, particularly baseball and basketball. At age 6, he started playing baseball in the San Pablo Baseball League and at the age of 9 went on to the El Cerrito Baseball League and was on the All-Star Team from ‘Mustang’ to ‘Pony’ level.
From birth, it appeared that Richmond native Isaiah Daniel Saucer was on a journey destined for excellence and achievement.
He showed musical talent playing drums at age 2 and demonstrated athletic prowess and academic excellence once he started school, culminating in receiving a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration Marketing on May 20, 2022. In his entire academic life, he never made less than an ‘A’ in any of his subjects or classes.
He also is the manager at the Pinole Valley Bowling Alley and a watchmen/longshoreman at the Oakland Port at only 21 years of age.
Saucer attended St. John the Baptist in El Cerrito from kindergarten to eighth grade, graduating with honors and receiving a scholarship from the California High School Achievement Society in order to attend St. Mary’s College High School in Berkeley. There, he made the dean’s list and graduated with honors, earning a scholarship to the University of San Francisco.
During every semester at USF, Saucer made the dean’s list, graduating on May 20, 2022.
“His study ethics was way beyond comprehension” said Mr. Walton, his eighth-grade teacher at St. John the Baptist.
Throughout his life he has been good in sports, particularly baseball and basketball. At age 6, he started playing baseball in the San Pablo Baseball League and at the age of 9 went on to the El Cerrito Baseball League and was on the All-Star Team from ‘Mustang’ to ‘Pony’ level.
Saucer also played on advanced travel ball teams and won many championships with many of those teams. He played many positions: pitcher, catcher and performed well at first and third base.
At St. John the Baptist in El Cerrito, he was part of a basketball team that won championships each year. On St. Mary’s JV baseball team and he was the manager for both the varsity basketball and football teams for handling all of the team’s players’ scoring and stats.
His musical talents emerged again at St. Mary’s where, in the advanced concert band, he played several wind instruments, including the clarinet and saxophone.
Saucer also does helpful things for others, like tutoring his peers at the high school in various subjects after school and weekends. He also looked after his cousin Asia, who is blind in one eye and has epilepsy and cerebral palsy.
As a hobby, Saucer has recorded music, which he has shared on various media outlets and with some of his friends. His family thanks the many people in the community who supported him as he proved that something good can come out of Richmond CA.
In a statement released after the meeting, the East Oakland Stadium Alliance said, “The City Council (has) denied Oakland residents the right to vote on whether to spend nearly $1 billion in public funds on the Howard Terminal project, ignoring the nearly 12,000 residents who signed petitions demanding a vote take place.
In a meeting this week that dragged on for more than 12 hours, Oakland City Councilmembers decisively turned down a proposal to place a measure on the November ballot to allow voters to weigh in on whether they want over a billion of their tax dollars spent on infrastructure for private luxury development and baseball stadium on public land at the Port of Oakland.
The final vote was 5-2 against the measure, with council member Rebecca Kaplan abstaining.
Voting yes was Councilmember Noel Gallo, the author of the measure. Gallo emphasized that this proposal had not been his idea but was drafted in response a deluge of calls and petitions from local residents, demanding that their voices not be ignored in the city’s rush to give public funds for infrastructure to billionaire developer and A’s team owner John Fisher.
“Your neighbors, my neighbors, are asking us to put this on the ballot,” Gallo said, adding that this is a business deal, and the A’s corporation has been less than transparent about the terms of the deal, whether the A’s will pay any community benefits and how much infrastructure will cost the public.
“As of today, I don’t have a complete picture of what the A’s are asking for and what they are willing to pay,” Gallo said.
Also voting in favor of the resolution was Councilmember Carroll Fife, who represents District 3 where the project would be built.
“I want to know what the City of Oakland is on the hook for,” Fife said.
She said supporters of the stadium project complain about misinformation being spread against the project. “(But) if we’re going to tell the truth, we’re going to have to tell the truth all the way around,” she said.
While it is true the stadium, luxury condominiums and commercial real estate will be privately paid for, “there’s a lot more that has to be funded,” she said, and it will be paid ultimately by taxpayers.
State, federal and other grants are also taxpayer money, much of which could be spent on other projects to benefit the needs of Oakland residents and neighborhoods, she said.
Fife said this issue will be on the November ballot, one way or another. Either the council could place it on the ballot, or voters may consider whether to vote for incumbents who opposed allowing the public to vote on the matter.
In a statement released after the meeting, the East Oakland Stadium Alliance said, “The City Council (has) denied Oakland residents the right to vote on whether to spend nearly $1 billion in public funds on the Howard Terminal project, ignoring the nearly 12,000 residents who signed petitions demanding a vote take place.
“With homelessness, a housing crisis, school closures, and rising crime impacting our city, Oakland voters must be allowed to weigh in before the City’s limited resources are spent on a private stadium and condo development.”
The five councilmembers who opposed the resolution gave a variety of reasons for their “no” vote, though most of them agreed they have heard overwhelmingly from residents who wanted them to vote “yes.”
Councilmember Dan Kalb said, “I’m not prepared to bring this is to a vote of the citizens,” until the details of the final agreement are released. If the deal looks good for Oakland, he said, he will vote in favor of it, but if Oakland’s finances ultimately are not protected, he might support a special election in January for voters to decide if they like the deal.
Councilmember and mayoral candidate Loren Taylor opposed the measure saying it was “confusing” and “stupid,” because it does not contain the details of the proposal.
“For me to be supportive, (the measure) would have to be specific about the deal terms,” Taylor said.
None of details have been released so far and apparently are still being negotiated by city staff and the A’s.
Councilmember and mayoral candidate Sheng Thao said, “I’d like to hear an actual proposal. I’m in the same boat as Councilmember Kalb.”
Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas said, “I am not ready to put this on the ballot. We need to actually have a deal.”
Councilmember Treva Reid said voters in her district are “asking for more details before we ask them to weigh in. I’m going to wait for information.”
Many of the public speakers against the measure were aligned with the building trades construction unions, which have been working hard to pass the development project.
A number of pro-development speakers addressed similar talking points, ending their remarks with the slogan, “This is bigger than baseball!”
Calling for a “no” vote, they argued: a ballot measure would be too costly to administer; details of a proposed deal were too confusing for Oakland residents to understand; and wording of the measure was too vague since it does not contain details of a final proposal.
Public speakers calling for a “yes” vote included Cathy Leonard. “I view this proposal as nothing more than a disguised development deal. Support Oakland residents right to vote.”
Andrea Luna Bocanegra said, “We have been fighting this for over six years,” adding that the development will hurt the companies that utilize the Port, forcing them to go elsewhere.
“It seems like we’ve stepped away from developing East Oakland,” said Stanley Cooper.
In response to the argument that there is no final deal, supporters of the ballot measure responded that the content of the deal is irrelevant. “The question is whether Oakland tax-payers want to use any their tax dollars to pay for infrastructure for a private project. Period.”
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Onesimus. It is a name we don’t hear when we look at the history of vaccinations, but in the United States we owe a debt of gratitude to an African Slave named, Onesimus. In this video, voiced by writer and political activist, Baratunde Thurston, learn how Onesimus shared a traditional African inoculation technique that saved countless live from Smallpox and become the foundation for vaccine as we know them today, including the COVID Vaccine.