Crime

As prolonged applause broke out from the crowd, Victoria Kolakowski, the first openly transgender trial judge in the United States, took her oath of office on Tuesday evening at the Asian Cultural Center in downtown Oakland. The special session of the California Superior Court drew more than a hundred people, including some LGBT community leaders and council members from several cities within Alameda County.

Dozens of wooden crosses, painted white with a number and name hand-written across the front, stood in the front lawn of St. Columba Catholic Church on Friday. Behind, a big cement cross was hung with a pine wreath and a sign that read: “These crosses represent those killed by homicide in Oakland this year.” There were 94 crosses in total.

During the New Year’s holiday period, over 20 law enforcement agencies in Alameda county will be conducting checkpoints or patrols to catch drunk drivers. Meanwhile, many local groups are offering options to help those who’ve drunk too much to drive find a safe way home.

Before the November 2010 election, medical marijuana was legal in 14 states and Washington, DC, but nine electoral contests this year put states’ pot laws on the ballot. With this interactive map, reporter Abby Baird breaks down the outcomes of those elections, and reveals where medical marijuana is legal now.

2010 was a tumultuous year for Oakland as both the city and state faced a heated election season, the courts weighed the validity of controversial measures passed during previous elections, and the effects of the 2008 financial collapse continued to reverberate throughout the local economy, but it was also a year of new beginnings. Oakland North presents a guide to the year’s top stories.

This November, eight California counties had marijuana related legislation on their local ballots. Here’s an interactive map showing what passed and what didn’t.

On Monday afternoon the Oakland Police Department issued a community alert regarding a series of robberies in East and North Oakland that have occurred after victims responded to phony craigslist ads offering vehicles for sale.

The Oakland Police Department wants to hold information sessions in 2011 to help the public better understand its policies and practices. What subjects would you like them to address?

Oakland City Attorney John Russo announced a new strategy in the city’s struggle to halt the sex trade Wednesday: his office is suing three hotels he called “hubs of prostitution.”