Ayako Mie

Residents protest “Dirty Energy Proposition”

On Thursday, more than fifty people celebrated the 40th anniversary of Earth Day by protesting the so-called “Dirty Energy Proposition,” or the signature-gathering effort in support of a ballot measure that will delay implementation of AB 32, California’s clean energy and air law.

Lawyers offer pro bono work to former GA recipients

Alameda County’s looming budget crisis led the county to cut off about 2,400 people from the county’s General Assistance fund, or GA, a safety net cash program provided to indigent adults without dependent children who have little or no savings and no source of income. Teague Briscoe, a staff attorney at the Homeless Action Center, has engineered a pilot program called GA Mass Defense to help people get their funds restored.

Thousands to lose county assistance funds on April 1

On April 1, Alameda County will cut off funding to thousands of recipients of General Assistance, a safety net program provided to indigent adults without dependent children who have little or no savings and no source of income. Two Oakland men who depend on General Assistance share their stories with Oakland North, as well as their concerns about life after April 1.

Mayor Dellums to break tie on voter education funding

On Tuesday night, an Oakland City Council vote about whether or not to redirect $255,000 earmarked for public campaign financing to educate Oakland residents about the city’s new voting system resulted in a tie that Mayor Ron Dellums must break.

Campaign for publicly-funded elections kicks off in Oakland

While corporations, lobbyists and special interest groups may have gloated over the Supreme Court’s ruling last month that decreed that the government has no power to ban corporate spending in political campaigns, if Californian voters pass Proposition 15 in the June 8th election, they may have another chance to set limits on corporate election spending.

Oakland to be a model city for stimulus spending

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

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.