North Oakland Now

The University of California has been ordered to pay $38 million in refunds and interest to 2,900 former students whose fees were raised thousands of dollars despite UC’s promise to keep them level. This ruling of a San Francisco judge applies to students who accepted an offer of admission in one of several professional programs – law, medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, nursing, pharmacy or business – by August 2003. Payment of the funds could mean an additional burden for current…

Letters from the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) CEO to local autoworkders have only amplified uncertainty amongst workers regarding their future once the NUMMI auto factory closes. The auto factory is a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota Motor. Oakland City Council members Ignacio De La Fuente and Rebecca Kaplan have proposed redirecting $225,000 earmarked for public campaign financing to educate voters on Oakland’s new run-off voting system. The California Board of Education has listed 18 Bay Area…

Good morning, North Oaklanders, It looks as though efforts to complete the new East span of the Bay Bridge are stepping up, as new sections of the bridge were put into place yesterday. Police are searching for an Oakland man they believe responsible for three stabbings that occurred in Hayward yesterday over the price of a used car. A pregnant woman accused of suffocating her 2-year-old daughter on Tuesday had already been facing abuse charges. Tiffany Lopez, 19, had previously…

Children’s Fairyland, the classic storybook theme park by the lake, was featured on the TV show Parenthood. The Trib has the details. Five Oakland schools are on the state education department’s list of “persistently lowest-achieving schools.” The education department will name the schools today. It rains in Phoenix? The Oakland A’s, and about 50 members of the Japanese media can attest that it does.

A man was shot and killed in East Oakland last night, the 12th murder in Oakland this year and the fourth since Thursday. The Oakland PD had unwritten rules when it came to avoiding confrontation with members of Your Black Muslim Bakery, a retired officer testified in the trial of Richard Lewis. The Chauncey Bailey Project has the story. The Oakland Tech girls basketball team and the Castlemont boys each pulled upsets yesterday to bring home Oakland Athletic League titles….

Three Oakland residents were killed in West Oakland in two separate shootings that happened Thursday and Friday. According to the Trib, two of the detained suspects are from Oakland, too. The Oakland PD apologized to a family for a late response to a failed kidnapping attempt. First-time city council member Rebecca Kaplan is giving serious thought to running for mayor. The Oakland Athletic League basketball finals are today at Laney. The girls tip off at noon, with Tech facing Skyline….

A set of sports links for a Friday: Cal senior basketball player Alexis Gray-Lawson, an Oakland Tech grad, is leading the Pac-10 Conference in scoring. She plays her final home game on Saturday. The Trib’s Monte Poole helps give her a proper sendoff here. The Golden State Warriors are struggling through yet another losing season. At least there’s one bright spot. If you’re ever wondering why Warriors fans continue to support a team they know will lose twice as much…

After stalling on the tracks, an empty AC Transit bus was rammed by Amtrak train, splitting it in half. The Oakland Tribune has the story, plus some after-the-accident video. That buzz from your morning coffee isn’t harming your heart, according to a new study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente. Even at four cups a day. Five, though … Speaking of Kaiser, its health records are now wired. When it comes to boys hoops, “This time of year is all about…