Business
Oakland’s premier cultural event is in flux. Can a grassroots community effort come together to organize and fund First Friday before the city steps out of its planning role?
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.
This Halloween, Oakland North asked a few local businesses—Powell’s Sweet Shoppe, the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, Piedmont Grocery and Piedmont Fabric—what they did to prepare for the holiday this year. Business owners said they began preparing for Halloween at least a month ago, and have seen their biggest rush of customers this week.
Oakland city councilmembers approved a set of hiring and staffing policies on Tuesday to ensure a local workforce for the redevelopment project at the former Oakland Army Base.
Jeanice Spence stood in the doorway of her new apartment at Clinton Commons watching her four-month old kitten frolic amongst the guests gathered to celebrate the opening of Oakland’s latest affordable housing development. She said she feels at ease now, finally, after spending years in homeless shelters and rescue missions, struggling to find a place to call home. A blur of potential tenants walked past her, followed by the occasional laugh or tidbit of conversation, but Spence stood at her…
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.
The one-year anniversary commemoration of the first early morning police raid on the Occupy Oakland encampment at Frank Ogawa Plaza has been quiet so far, and a press conference sponsored by Occupy Oakland scheduled to take place at noon failed to materialize.
A man trying to pass counterfeit $100 bills visited several businesses along Telegraph Avenue last week, according to reports from Temescal merchants.
Protesters held a community rally in front of the Mi Pueblo Food Center in East Oakland on Saturday to protest the company’s voluntary decision to use the Federal Immigrations and Customs (ICE) program, E-Verify, for all new hires.