Month: January 2011
As prolonged applause broke out from the crowd, Victoria Kolakowski, the first openly transgender trial judge in the United States, took her oath of office on Tuesday evening at the Asian Cultural Center in downtown Oakland. The special session of the California Superior Court drew more than a hundred people, including some LGBT community leaders and council members from several cities within Alameda County.
As Mayor Jean Quan begins her term in office as Oakland’s 49th mayor, she announced yesterday who will be her staff. With nine appointments in the various city government departments, Quan picked people to work with her on the budget, in education, federal relations, public safety and more.
The Oakland Raiders announced Tuesday that the team will not extend head coach Tom Cable’s contract. Vote in our poll: smart play or terrible fumble?
Oakland North is continuing with our new feature. Every Wednesday, we will publish a photo submitted by one of our readers. This week’s photo is by Diane Dew.
Jean Quan became Oakland’s 49th mayor on Monday as she was sworn in during a ceremony at the Fox Theatre. In her 12-minute inauguration speech, Quan spoke about her priorities for her term and asked residents to “dream of a better Oakland.” Watch this video of the ceremony and Quan’s historical walk from earlier on Monday.
Every morning Ronald Robles gets up and hand-grinds different kinds of fresh pepper—white, Sichuan and black. He also hand-makes three types of mayonnaise; there’s garlic-flavored, chili and regular. Robles is the owner and chef of Fiveten Burger, one of the newest food trucks to come out of Oakland, and he’s dishing out what he calls “America’s favorite food”—the burger.
Oakland North is continuing with our new feature. Every Tuesday, Oakland Animal Services will spotlight an “Animal of the Week” that’s up for adoption at their facility. This week it’s Belinda the cat.
Jean Quan became Oakland’s new mayor during a ceremony at the Fox Theater in downtown Oakland on Monday; she is the first Asian American female mayor of any major U.S. city.
Dozens of wooden crosses, painted white with a number and name hand-written across the front, stood in the front lawn of St. Columba Catholic Church on Friday. Behind, a big cement cross was hung with a pine wreath and a sign that read: “These crosses represent those killed by homicide in Oakland this year.” There were 94 crosses in total.
Mayor-elect Jean Quan, who will officially be sworn in as Oakland’s new top official on Monday, January 3, is kicking off her new term in office with two days of ceremonies and parties.