OAKLAND
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, released the statement below Tuesday after filing a discharge petition for the Right to Contraception Act — a bill to protect access to contraception under federal law.
The petition was led by Democratic U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette (Colorado), Kathy Manning (North Carolina) and Lois Frankel (Florida). Reps. Lee and DeGette co-chair the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus.“As co-chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus, I am proud to fight alongside my House colleagues to guarantee the right to all FDA-approved contraceptives,” Lee said. “Every person should have the right to make informed decisions about their reproductive health and to plan their family without coercion or interference by the government, doctors, or anyone else.
“But we know the GOP has been chipping away at that right at every chance they get. Extremists took us back half a century with the Dobbs decision, and now millions of people have lost their right to an abortion.
“Now we risk the exact same thing once more with access to contraception. The right to contraception is not only constitutional, it is fundamental — fundamental for health, bodily autonomy and dignity for people across the United States and around the world.
“Although birth control will never replace the need for abortion access, it is critical health care. Across the country, the attacks on birth control rights and access have already begun. Those attacks are causing the most harm to those who already face barriers accessing contraception, especially people of color.
“Today, we are standing up and standing with the people to demand Speaker Johnson let us vote on the Right to Contraception Act — to once and for all protect the right to access birth control in law.”
— U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee’s office
County Hall of Fame inducts founder of girls STEM group
Scientific Adventures for Girls (SAfG), an Oakland-based nonprofit group dedicated to empowering girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), is thrilled to announce that Courtenay Carr Heuer, the group’s executive director and co-founder, has joined the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame as a Science-Tech-Engineering inductee.
SAfG offers STEM programs for girls in transitional kindergarten through sixth grades at 23 East Bay Title 1 elementary schools with a mission to empower and support the next generation of STEM professionals.
Carr Heuer joins a distinguished group of women who have been recognized for their remarkable achievements, dedication to making a difference in the lives of others and leadership in their fields. This year’s nine inductees will join more than 270 previous inductees (starting in 1993). Ms. Carr Heuer’s induction is a testament to her dedicated, unwavering commitment to advancing gender equality and empowering ALL girls to pursue careers in STEM.
For more information about SAfG and its initiatives to empower girls in STEM, visit scientificadventures.org.
— SAfG
Officials celebrate restoration of creeks at Sibley park
The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) Board of Directors and staff recently celebrated the grand opening in the Oakland hills of the Alder Creek and Leatherwood Creek Restoration Project at Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, the largest creek restoration project in the park district’s 90-year history. This project restores 3,000 linear feet (about a half-mile) of previously culverted creek to more natural conditions and is now open to the public.
The Alder Creek and Leatherwood Creek Restoration Project, formerly known as the McCosker Project in honor of the last family who owned and worked on the property, provides natural habitat for special-status or protected species, including the California red-legged frog and others.
“This is an area of Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve that has undergone great transformation,” said Elizabeth Echols, the park district’s board president. “The project is the largest creek daylighting project in the entire Bay Area, with new access to the beautiful and important Alder and Leatherwood creeks in the upper San Leandro Creek watershed.”
The 250-acre site is situated within a deep canyon of dense oak woodland at the bottom of a ridgeline of rolling grassland hills. When the park district acquired the property in 2010, the creeks within the property had been buried underground in culverts to make room for the rock quarrying operations that historically took place there. The culverts were deteriorating, creating hazardous conditions and jeopardizing the surrounding recreation areas.
“You may not realize it by looking at it today, but this land was once graded flat and used as a homestead, ranch, farm, paving and quarry operation and equipment yard,” said park district board member Dee Rosario, whose Ward includes Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve. “The project restored 3,000 feet of previously culverted creek back to a more natural condition to function as riparian habitat — a great feat for the park district and a success story for all environmentalists fighting to protect the environment and restore habitat.”
The restoration area within Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve is open to the public and includes an 11-car staging area off Pinehurst Road with connections to the McCosker Loop Trail and trails that follow the creeks on the property. Temporary restroom facilities are available while Phase 2 of the project is underway to establish a group campsite and permanent restroom facilities. Visit bit.ly/3wXjhM1 online for more information.
— EBRPD
PIEDMONT
Donations can help those in need in Africa, Latin America
Recent contributions to the Piedmont-based Lantern Projects charity organization in March and April provided much-needed supplies to people in need in the developing world. All funds received by the organization go to the projects, and every donation really helps.
Lantern Projects is accepting donations now to fund school uniforms in Kenya (project #494), a school playground in Cameroon (project #495), food relief and deworming medicine in Haiti (project #496) and costumes and uniforms for a ballet school in Cuba (project #497).
Tax-deductible donations in any amount (please identify which project number is being funded) can be made online at lanternprojects.org or sent by a check payable to Lantern Projects at 51 Glen Alpine Road, Piedmont, CA 94611-3522.
— Lantern Projects
Register for Asian cooking classes offered at adult school
Discover the vibrant flavors of Asia this summer with Piedmont Adult School’s popular cooking classes. In these small, hands-on sessions, you will learn about key ingredients and techniques that make Asian cuisine so distinctive. Each class will end with a chance to sit down and enjoy your delicacies with your classmates.
Instructor Chat Mingkwan, a native of Thailand, began preparing Thai food as a child, working alongside his mother and aunt in their successful restaurant and hotel. He was classically trained in cooking in Rayon, France.
Mingkwan has traveled throughout Southeast Asia, studying the local cuisines. He is a cooking teacher, author, food and restaurant consultant and Asian antique trader. All classes will be from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturdays.
The class is $85, and the scheduled sessions are as follows: Basic Knife Skills Workshop (this Saturday), Korean Cuisine (June 15), Asian Vegetarian Cooking (June 22), Delicious Dim Sum Workshop (June 29), Asian Grills and BBQ Workshop (July 13), Vietnamese Summer Meal (July 20), Summer Sushi Workshop (July 27), Curry Workshop (Aug. 3). To register, visit piedmontadultschool.org or call 510-594-2655.
— Piedmont Adult School
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