Laura Hautala

Mayor-elect Jean Quan announces transitional committee members

Mayor-elect Jean Quan announced at a City Hall press conference Thursday afternoon that she has selected longtime Bay Area government administrator Henry Gardner to chair her transitional committee. Quan also revealed a list of 24 people she has tapped for the transition committee, which included names of other longtime politicians, as well as members of local businesses and non-profit organizations.

It’s ice skating season

With its daytime temperatures peaking in the 60s, San Francisco seemed like an unlikely place for outdoor ice skating last Wednesday. Yet there they were, almost a hundred visitors from all over California—skating in a circle around a frozen swath of Union Square.

Mayor Dellums cancels final public address, moves online

The last state of the city address by outgoing Oakland mayor Ron Dellums, scheduled for this Wednesday, was cancelled on Monday. Instead of a public speech, the mayor will deliver his closing remarks on his four year term in a speech posted online in text and video form.

Quan celebrates victory, fundraises to alleviate campaign debt

A wave of applause and a flurry of camera flashes greeted Mayor-elect Jean Quan on Friday night at her celebratory dinner, marking the end of her campaign and the beginning of her transition to becoming Oakland’s first female and Asian American mayor. “Did we make history? We made history,” Quan said proudly to nearly 200 people who attended the dinner at King of King, a Chinese restaurant in East Oakland.

Council doubles pot farm permits, chooses city ID card supplier

At Tuesday night’s meeting, the Oakland City Council approved a major contractor to implement a municipal ID card system, almost a year and half after passing an ordinance allowing the city to issue the cards, and also voted to increase the number of cannabis producer permits in the city from four to eight.

Nine shot at Oakland Halloween party

Bullets hit nine party-goers at a Halloween party in downtown Oakland just after midnight on Sunday, according to several media reports. At 12:01am, a gunman opened fire and hit several bystanders.

Happening now: Brunner and laid off police support local ballot measures

Councilmember Jane Brunner, a group of laid off Oakland police officers, and Youth Uprising are rallying support for local ballot Measures BB and W at an event at 5pm tonight. You can find them at Chabot Elementary School, located at 6686 Chabot Road, Oakland. Measure BB is the “Measure Y Fix” that will strike the police staffing requirements that currently prevent the city from collecting The Fire Safety and Violence Prevention tax. Measure W is a telephone line tax of $1.99…

Voters decide future of violence prevention funding

Two measures on the ballot this November give voters the chance to decide the future of public safety funding in Oakland. If either Measure BB or Measure X passes, the city can again collect funds for a slew of public safety programs that currently have no revenue to support them.

Voters to cast ranked choice ballots for first time

If you had to use ranked choice voting today, would you know what to do? That’s the question Oakland North asked voters in the lobby of the Grand Lake Theater last Sunday, and even after watching a two-hour spy flick, theatergoers explained the process admirably.

Gang injunction hearing draws protesters

A short hearing on the status of North Oakland’s gang injunction this Thursday served as a backdrop for protest and legal maneuvering by groups opposed to the city’s newest tactic for curbing violence.

Vote for judge must weigh experience, perspective

The run-off election between John Creighton and Victoria Kolakowski for a seat on the Alameda County Superior Court shows how complicated choosing a judicial candidate can be. From evaluating each candidate’s credentials to speculating about how each might act from the bench, Alameda County voters have a lot of thinking to do if they want to avoid the dartboard approach this November.