Theresa Adams

The Architecture of Oakland: Floral Depot building

Many of the reporters at Oakland North are new to the Bay Area, and one of the first things we noticed while touring the city was its beautiful and sometimes unusual architecture. On the reporting team for this series, one of us is from Brazil and one is from Southern California. We decided it would be great to learn more about some of the structures that represent Oakland’s beautiful landscape. With a great deal of assistance from the representatives at…

Dr. Comics store welcomes novices and serious buffs alike

Michael Pandolfo’s childhood comic store was dark, dingy, and intimidating. He remembers the shop was full of the condescending comic book fans he calls “rules lawyers”—comic book experts who show disdain for non-experts. It wasn’t a welcoming place for any but the most shunned, resentful reader. This old store, where he bought his first issues of Conan the Barbarian, loomed large in his mind when he opened his own comic shop Dr. Comics & Mr. Games on Piedmont Avenue in…

Port of Oakland operations halted by SEIU Local 1021 strike

One by one, in the pre-dawn darkness Tuesday, delivery trucks exited Oakland’s 980 freeway at Adeline and headed toward Middle Harbor Road, prepared to pick up or drop off shipments at the Port of Oakland. Each truck came to a halt as the drivers faced picketers blocking the entrance to the international container terminals at the Port.

Port of Oakland workers protest planned wage cuts

After months of failed contract negotiations, Port of Oakland workers rallied outside Oakland Airport Friday to protest potential cuts to their own benefits amid allegations that port commissioners have misused public funds. “We have been bargaining with the Port for over 15 months now,” said Alfonso Loera, president of Service Workers International Union Local 1021, which represents approximately 225 workers responsible for physical maintenance at the Port and at Oakland Airport, which is run by the Port. “Our offer to…

District 1 City Council candidates take questions from Oakland residents

From Fruitvale to Rockridge, Oakland North reporters spoke recently to residents about the city council elections.  We asked everyone the same question: If you could speak directly to the candidates, what would you like to know? We delivered the most frequent of the residents’ questions, in person to the seven candidates for the District 1 City Council seat.  Their edited answers, one question at a time, will appear in Oakland North every week between now and Election Day.  Sam Rolens,…

District 1 City Council candidates take questions from Oakland residents

From Fruitvale to Rockridge, Oakland North reporters spoke recently to residents about the city council elections.  We asked everyone the same question: If you could speak directly to the candidates, what would you like to know? We delivered the most frequent of the residents’ questions, in person to the seven candidates for the District 1 City Council seat.  Their edited answers, one question at a time, will appear in Oakland North every week between now and Election Day.  

Supporters, detractors split on Proposition 32

Should voters approve Proposition 32, or the “Paycheck Protection Initiative,” it would change the law by prohibiting corporations, labor unions, government contractors and government employers from using employee payroll deductions for political purposes. It would also prohibit contributions from government contractors to officials on committees, which have the power to decide which companies receive government contracts.

District 1 City Council candidates take questions from Oakland residents

From Fruitvale to Rockridge, Oakland North reporters spoke recently to residents about the city council elections.  We asked everyone the same question: If you could speak directly to the candidates, what would you like to know? We delivered the most frequent of the residents’ questions, in person to the seven candidates for the District 1 City Council seat.  Their edited answers, one question at a time, will appear in Oakland North every week between now and Election Day.  

City Attorney files lawsuit against illegal auto repair business

The Oakland City Attorney has filed a nuisance lawsuit over a residential property in West Oakland claiming that the residents there have been illegally operating an auto repair business out of a three-story home in a residential area. The suit asks the court to prohibit the residents from making auto repairs and to clean up related blight. It also asks that the court impose a $1,000 per day fine on the property owners and managers for each ongoing violation if…

Financial planners offer free advice at Oakland City Hall

At the event held at Oakland City Hall on Saturday, people seeking general information or with specific questions about tax and estate or insurance and benefit planning signed up for 15-minute sessions to speak with certified financial planners who volunteered their services at the fifth annual Oakland Financial Planning Day.

Jerry Brown vetoes domestic workers bill of rights

The California Domestic Workers Bill of Rights was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday. The bill, designed for workers who act as babysitters and homecare providers, would have mandated rest and meal breaks and overtime pay to domestic workers in California, making it the second state in the country after New York to do so. “It was a big betrayal,” an angry-sounding Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, one of the bill’s co-authors, said in a phone interview Monday. “Maybe…

Breaking down the CA Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

Should California end up following the guidelines used for the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in New York, the only other state in the country to adopt such a law, then private employers of full-time babysitters and caretakers will need to follow some new rules.