The California State Bar’s Public Law Section has named Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker the 2015 Ronald M. George Public Lawyer of the Year (PLOY). The award is named after retired the California Supreme Court justice, and honors members of the State Bar who have demonstrated at least a five-year commitment to public law and have achieved exceptional accomplishments in the practice of public law. “It’s the highest recognition that I could receive, because it’s from your peers who know your…

Mayor Libby Schaaf and City Attorney Barbara Parker announced last Monday that Oakland has joined the Cities United for Immigration Action (CUIA), a national coalition that supports President Barack Obama’s appeal of a federal district court order that halted his recent immigration reform plans. “We continue to stand with President Obama and millions of Americans in affording law-abiding individuals a path to citizenship, the chance to earn an honest living and freedom from the fear of having their families torn…

The museum welcomed in the new year with a fun-filled festival of Chinese and other Asian traditions for the fourteenth year in a row, as hundreds of children and parents learned how to write Chinese characters and watched performances in celebration of the Year of the Sheep.

Daughters exposed to second-hand smoke while in the womb are predisposed to developing the disease later as adults.

In honor of Black History Month, the American Red Cross is commemorating the development of modern-day blood banking, pioneered by an African-American surgeon—Dr. Charles Drew. They have organized more than a dozen blood donation opportunities throughout February in the East Bay. “We need people of all ethnicities to donate,” said Sara O’Brien, the external communications manager of the American Red Cross for the Northern California region. The Northern California branch will be part a nationwide effort to encourage a diverse…