Month: January 2011

BART celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy

A crowd of Bay Area Rapid Transit employees and community members filled up the Kaiser Center Auditorium in downtown Oakland on Wednesday. They were there to celebrate and remember the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

You Tell Us: Keep Chief Anthony Batts

Police Chief Anthony Batts came to Oakland with the promise that he would have the resources to do the job. Instead of beefing up the department, it has been cannibalized. We have gone from 803 cops to 656 with more losses predicted because of attrition. The city has no plans to recruit new cops. Now it looks like Batts may want to leave.

Oakland plans to amp up bikeways in 2011

Say you’re at the Rockridge BART station and you’re planning to ride your bike to downtown Oakland. You get on Shafter Avenue—the main through street with the least amount of traffic—and begin riding. The Webster/Shafter corridor, as bike route is called, is one of the several dozen projects the City of Oakland’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program will be working on in 2011.

Adoptable Animal of the Week: Nutmeg

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 Nutmeg the dog.

Marijuana in the US: A state-by-state legislative history

Medical marijuana is now legal in 16 states, and during the last election cycle 22 state legislatures considered marijuana-related bills. Reporter Abby Baird has put together an interactive US map showing which states have considered marijuana-related legislation, and how each legislature voted.

Batts up for new police chief job, Quan issues statement

Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts is being considered for the job of San Jose’s new police chief, after just more than a year of service in Oakland. Oakland Police Department spokeswoman Holly Joshi confirmed that Batts is one of two finalists for the position, but said that neither Batts nor the San Jose Police Department have made any decisions yet.

A scone revolution is baking up in Oakland

Typically when people think of scones, they think of the muffin’s inferior pastry sibling—a dry, crumbly thing that tastes like flour. But Remedy Coffee is serving up scones that are not typical. With flavors like huckleberry cream, cheddar scallion and blood orange along with a texture that’s buttery and flaky, they melt in your mouth more easily than a cupcake.

Oakland teachers ask banks for “bailout”

About 30 teachers gathered Thursday to demonstrate in front of three banks at the Rockridge shopping center at 51st Street and Broadway. McClymonds Teacher Craig Gordon explained the group was there to “demand that schools and public services be bailed out” the same way that banks were bailed out during the mortgage crisis.