For decades, the law enforcement and justice systems have treated juvenile sex workers as criminals, not victims, arresting and locking them up. Now the Oakland Police Department, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and an Oakland nonprofit that works with sexually exploited youth are exploring alternatives to incarceration. But what’s the best way to do it?
Labor
Nola Brantley, right, talks with some of her MISSSEY staff members at the Safe Place Alternative, or SPA, at the Alameda County Family Justice Center. The SPA is a drop-in transition and recovery center for sexually exploited children in Oakland.
As more Oakland youth join the sex trade, law enforcement explores alternatives to incarceration
March 13, 2010 – 10:02 am
$70 million for airport connector project to be diverted to regional transit agencies
February 21, 2010 – 12:39 pm
$70 million in federal stimulus funding denied to the Bay Area Rapid Transit Agency for the Oakland Airport Connecter project will be reallocated for regional rail and bus improvements instead.
Oakland to be a model city for stimulus spending
February 6, 2010 – 9:42 am
On Thursday, Mayor Ron Dellums said that federal government officials will visit three cities, including Oakland, to learn about how the cities have used stimulus money. Dellums said that federal officials are planning to visit Oakland on March 1.
Bridge tolls to rise, airport connector has another shot at federal funds
January 29, 2010 – 6:58 pm
On the day President Barack Obama was delivering the State of Union speech emphasizing jobs and the economy, 2,800 miles away from the Capitol carpenters and union members gathered in front of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission building in Oakland to try to save the $70 million in stimulus money that could put them back to work.
Teachers’ union balks at ballot proposal to increase teacher pay
January 14, 2010 – 7:12 am
The Oakland School Board is considering supporting a ballot initiative that would raise taxes to pay higher teacher salaries. But the proposal has encountered an obstacle on the question of charter schools.
Lights, camera, SWAT team: NBC films Trauma in downtown Oakland
November 11, 2009 – 1:18 pm
A showdown at Bayside Mutual Bank blocked traffic Tuesday, while police worked to diffuse a bank robbery gone bad. Police cars piled up and FBI agents swarmed the intersection of 21st and Broadway in downtown Oakland. SWAT teams swiftly moved into position. A rooftop sniper carefully took aim. And then: Reuben “Rabbit” Palchuck arrived on the scene.
Non-profit helps refugee and immigrant businesses flourish
October 31, 2009 – 7:00 am
Maria Elena Terriquez had always wanted to run her own business. She had sold perfume in Mexico for 15 years when she immigrated to the United States to join the four of her five adult children who were living here.
Bay Area braces for evening rush after bridge closure
October 28, 2009 – 5:03 pm
BART expanded services tonight and ran extra trains while ongoing repairs shut down the Bay Bridge.
New refugees from rural Burma, grappling with modern California, find an ally in Oakland
October 19, 2009 – 8:00 am
In the last three weeks, seven new families have finally won the right to move to Oakland. The most recent family arrived October 7, and like the others, was picked up at San Francisco International Airport after a 16-hour flight, taken to a sparsely furnished apartment on 19th street in East Oakland, and given a [...]
After long, long night, city council supports BART airport connector
October 8, 2009 – 6:34 am
After a long session of impassioned public debate stretching into early Wednesday morning, the Oakland City Council yesterday passed a largely symbolic resolution in support of the Oakland Airport Connector.
Students prep for green-collar careers
September 30, 2009 – 4:37 am
Berkeley High is one of five California schools chosen to participate in a cutting-edge program designed to train students for environmentally friendly jobs and careers. State Senator Loni Hancock and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell attended a Wednesday morning assembly unveiling the new curriculum.
Ten years of Just Cause Oakland
September 23, 2009 – 6:58 pm
By Puck Lo/Oakland North
“I am one of four thousand people in Oakland who will be foreclosed on,” announced East Oakland homeowner Karen Mims. The middle-aged, bespectacled African-American woman spoke with passion, and her voice reverberated in the auditorium-sized room.
Signed, sealed, delivered: A North Oakland mail carrier makes the rounds
September 22, 2009 – 9:50 am
By Paige Ricks/Oakland North
Among the cars parked off of Claremont and Oak Grove, a U.S. Post Office truck stands out among the Toyota Corollas and Honda Civics. Dadra “Renee” Underwood, 52, has been driving this truck for 23 years. She is one of the 80 employees at the Grand Avenue Post Office. The stack of [...]
Council to take 2nd look at BART connector project
September 17, 2009 – 6:06 pm
At a crowded meeting, an Oakland City Council committee this week decided to urge the whole council to re-examine its position on the planned BART-to-Oakland-Airport lightrail connector project, targeted for $70 million in federal stimulus money. Story by Thomas Gorman/Oakland North.
This year’s Labor Day picnic set amid tough times
September 8, 2009 – 4:11 pm
Nearly ten percent of US workers were jobless this Labor Day. That’s a five percent increase in unemployment since December 2007, according to the Department of Labor.
In the midst of global economic turmoil, the Alameda County Labor Council of the AFL-CIO held its annual barbeque at Shoreline Park in Oakland. Union officials, members and community [...]
Migrants invited to church pulpits for Labor Day
September 7, 2009 – 9:12 pm
Romana was seven months pregnant, she told the congregation at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church on Sunday, when she walked for six hours from Mexico to the United States -– mostly without water, sometimes without shoes.