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Notoriously liberal California city paid $607K to nonprofit and politically connected subcontractor for disastrous cannabis program

Nypost · · 557 words · By Nina Joudeh
Political critique of local governance Government spending accountability
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/22/us-news/notoriously-liberal-california-city-paid-6…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
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Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
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Selective Omission 60% confidence
Deliberately leaving out important context or facts that would change interpretation.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

12 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 5
info Single Source 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
schedule Pending 2
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“A taxpayer-funded youth cannabis program and a politically connected subcontractor in Berkeley burned through $607,000, yet still came up empty-handed.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results report that a youth cannabis program in Berkeley spent a significant amount of money ($607,000) without achieving its goals. One source explicitly states the program 'missed key goals' while $607,000 was paid.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Berkeley ( BURK-lee) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher G…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley,_California
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in the Southside and Northside neighborhoods of Berkeley, California, Unit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Berk…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Berkeley most often refers to: Berkeley, California, a city in the United States University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Iri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The city shelled out funds from a $1 million state grant between 2022 and 2024 to Berkeley Youth Alternatives and its subcontractor, Upline Solutions, led by Patricia Brooks — now chief of staff to Oakland City Councilmember Kevin Jenkins.”
CORROBORATED
One web search result directly corroborates the claim that funds were paid to Berkeley Youth Alternatives and Upline Solutions from a state grant between 2022 and 2024, naming Patricia Brooks and Kevin Jenkins. While other sources mention the entities, this source links the specific grant amount, timeframe, and parties.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elmer Yale Dawson (March 31, 1918 – June 22, 1966) was an American botanist, phycologist, taxonomist, ecologist, and naturalist writer. He popularized science and natural history with his books and a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Yale_Dawson
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Recreational diving or sport diving is diving for the purpose of leisure and enjoyment, usually when using scuba equipment. The term "recreational diving" may also be used in contradistinction to "tec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreational_diving
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sylvia Alice Earle (born August 30, 1935) is an American marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, writer, and lecturer. She has been a National Geographic Explorer at Large (formerly Explorer in Res…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Earle
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Upline was tapped to launch a cannabis ad campaign, but the effort fizzled before it began.”
CORROBORATED
Two separate web search results confirm that Upline Solutions was hired for an ad campaign, but that the effort did not proceed or 'fizzled before it began.'
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web search NEUTRAL — Brooks is now chief of staff to Kevin Jenkins, an Oakland City Councilmember. Oakland CA Gov Upline was tapped to launch a cannabis ad campaign, but the effort fizzled before it began. The company ...
https://nypost.com/2026/04/22/us-news/notoriously-liberal-ca…
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web search NEUTRAL — Though Upline was hired to create an ad campaign, it never did. The task force Upline was meant to organize did not launch until early 2024 — two years into the grant term, and nearly 18 months ...
https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/berkeley-youth-a…
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web search NEUTRAL — Innovative learning tools. 24/7 support. All in one place. Homework help for relevant study solutions, step-by-step support, and real experts.
https://www.chegg.com/
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“The company was also tasked with organizing a community task force, which finally started in early 2024 — almost two years after the grant kicked in and a year and a half after payments started flowing.”
CORROBORATED
One web search result mentions that the task force Upline was meant to organize did not launch until early 2024, which aligns with the claim's timeline regarding the delay.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — There are several categories of decompression equipment used to help divers decompress, which is the process required to allow ambient pressure divers to return to the surface safely after spending ti…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decompression_equipment
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Helix Energy Solutions Inc., known as Cal Dive International prior to 2006, is an American oil and gas services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company is a global provider of offshore se…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_Energy_Solutions_Group
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gregory Reid Wiseman (born November 11, 1975) is an American naval aviator and NASA astronaut. He was the commander of the 2026 Artemis II lunar flyby mission, the first crewed flight around the Moon …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reid_Wiseman
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The non-profit — Berkeley Youth Alternatives — trained teens for a peer-led cannabis education effort aimed at reaching 1,000 students through at least 10 presentations.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that Berkeley Youth Alternatives trained teens for a peer-led cannabis education effort with goals involving 1,000 students and at least 10 presentations.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Berkeley ( BURK-lee) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher G…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley,_California
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Berkeley High School is a public high school in the Berkeley Unified School District, and the only public high school in the city of Berkeley, California, United States. It is located one long block w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_High_School_(Californ…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in the Southside and Northside neighborhoods of Berkeley, California, Unit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Berk…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“The teens received training, but the presentations were a no-go, according to an April 2025 Alameda County evaluation cited by the San Francisco Chronicle.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim specifies an 'April 2025 Alameda County evaluation' stating the presentations were a no-go. While the web search result mentions the presentations were a 'no-go' according to an evaluation, the specific date (April 2025) and source citation (Alameda County evaluation) are only present in the context of the web search result, making it difficult to corroborate the exact date/source combination with other evidence.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 Alameda County District Attorney recall election was a successful special recall election to remove Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. It was held on November 5, 2024.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Alameda_County_District_A…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alameda ( AL-ə-MEE-də; Spanish: [alaˈmeða]; Spanish for "tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alameda,_California
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alameda County ( AL-ə-MEE-də) is located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alameda_County,_California
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“Early plans called for counseling and services for 75 to 180 middle and high school students. That was later cut to 25-60 new participants.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results discuss general counseling and student services but do not contain specific figures detailing a reduction in planned participants from '75 to 180 to 25-60' for counseling services.
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web search NEUTRAL — Elementary, middle, and high schools. Services. Kennedy International School.Around the ninth grade, students receive counselling as they begin to plan their careers and select subjects that are usefu…
https://www.justlanded.com/english/United-States/USA-Guide/E…
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web search NEUTRAL — Beginning with the class of 1997, Roslyn High School students were required to complete 30 hours of community service at any time during the 9th through 12th grades. The standard was increased to 40 h…
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/nyregion/the-logic-of-man…
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web search NEUTRAL — Individual counseling, number of sessions, and ending counseling in agreement predicted better outcome. In line with results from other countries, this study may indicate that in Denmark student couns…
https://www.academia.edu/56720477/Does_the_severity_of_psych…
info
“Over three years, the nonprofit reported serving 48 clients, but evaluators said it was unclear how many were new.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results confirm that Berkeley Youth Alternatives is a community organization, but none of the provided search snippets contain the specific data points: 'serving 48 clients over three years' or the evaluator's comment questioning how many were new.
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web search NEUTRAL — Berkeley Youth Alternatives is a Bay Area community organization based in Berkeley, CA that ensures children, youth, and families reach their full potential through access to education, health and wel…
https://www.linkedin.com/company/berkeley-youth-alternatives
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web search NEUTRAL — Are you getting a “No clients are currently selected” error in Xeno Executor? Here’s the second part of the error: “Press the Attach button to attach to a Client”. Followed by “Restart Xeno if Roblox …
https://www.followchain.org/no-clients-are-currently-selecte…
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web search NEUTRAL — Other mail clients. In this article: Configure IMAP-based client. Step 1. Configure your mailbox.We can't guarantee correct interaction with your email client over a POP3 connection. The developers no…
https://yandex.com/support/yandex-360/customers/mail/en/mail…
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“state filings show Upline Solutions was incorporated by Brooks and Yelda Bartlett — the wife of Ben Bartlett — attorney and City Councilmember for South Berkeley.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was gathered for this claim, despite the evidence count suggesting information might exist. The search returned no relevant results for the specific incorporation details.
help
“Another filing listed Jenkins as a registered agent.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was gathered for this claim, despite the evidence count suggesting information might exist. The search returned no relevant results for the specific filing details.
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“Of the original $1 million grant, about $235,000 was returned to the state.”
PENDING
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“The city also spent roughly $125,000 on its own staff overseeing the program.”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.