First in a three-part series about Oakland agencies preparing for major federal funding cuts. Oakland is bracing for nearly $25 million in federal funding cuts — a blow to the cash-strapped city that has been grappling with budget deficits. The cuts represent a 34% decrease in federal funding from the previous year, according to an Oct. 1 memo from the city administrator. The city expects to receive about $49million in federal funds in the current fiscal year, which ends June…
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee held a news conference Thursday urging calm and unity as federal enforcement threats loomed over the Bay Area. “Oakland is and will continue to be a welcoming city for our immigrants and our refugees,” Lee said. “We will remain calm, focused, and united. We will not allow outsiders to create chaos or exploit our city.”. Her remarks came moments before President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he was calling off plans for a federal…
BART made a big investment in new fare gates at all 50 stations to ensure riders pay to enter. But some commuters say they still see people cheating the system, and BART concedes the new gates need tweaking. “Once the gates open, anyone can go in,” said Rick West, an Oakland resident who has been riding BART for 20 years. BART officials touted the fare evasion gates, a $90 million systemwide project to install 6-foot-tall gates, at a press conference…
After a six-hour workday shutdown earlier this month, BART officials say the agency will do cable maintenance only on weekends to avoid another halt like the one that affected 44,000 riders and cost the system $200,000 in lost fare revenue. BART also will do a better job alerting the public about planned cable upgrading work, said Chris Filippi, BART spokesman. “Going forward when this work happens on the weekend, we will notify the public in advance, isolate the area being…