Becca Andrews

Mayoral candidate: Libby Schaaf

Libby Schaaf, a District 4 councilmember who announced her run for mayor last year, is hoping her policies on transparent government, safety, education and Oakland’s economy will win her City Hall’s top office in November. Schaaf, 48, has been involved in Oakland’s local government since 1999, when she worked as chief of staff for then-council president Ignacio de la Fuente. The former lawyer later served as top aide to Mayor Jerry Brown, and then as an executive for the Port…

DAC lives on, restricted to Port

Mayor Jean Quan broke a 4-4 tie at last night’s city council meeting that means Oakland will move forward with a version of its controversial Domain Awareness Center, but it will be limited until the council can gather more information and implement clear privacy and data policies.

BART dispute fuels political platforms

As negotiations dragged on in last week’s BART debacle, a raft of politicians stepped in hoping to build up their political capital around a new issue: transportation issues in the Bay Area. Though Mayor Jean Quan was in China for some of the negotiation process, meeting with current and potential investors for the Brooklyn Basin project, her spokesperson, Sean Maher, described her as heavily involved, checking in on the negotiations “at least daily and sometimes multiple times daily.” Maher added…

BART strike ends with another late-night press conference

At a little after 10 p.m. Monday night, officials made the announcement the Bay Area had been waiting for: the BART strike is officially over. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 President Antonette Bryant said the unions and management reached “a tentative agreement.” BART General Manager Grace Crunican said the offer was more than management wanted to pay. The end of the strike marks the near-immediate beginning of renewed BART service. “We are trying to get all trains running as early…

BART to strike at midnight

In an unexpected twist, BART unions will be going on strike at midnight after federal mediators announced they are returning to Washington after failing to help broker a deal.