Development
Fireworks are expected at tonight’s Oakland City Council meeting, as the explosive debate about rolling back parking meter hours returns to City Hall. The council will hear at least two proposals at this evening’s 6:00 meeting—one to roll the meter hours back from 8:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and another to roll them back to 7:00 pm. At the request of the council, city staff will also report on how to recoup the revenue lost by shortening the meter hours….
There were homemade brownies and ginger cookies at the town hall meeting Wednesday, where people had gathered to meet and ask questions of Tony Smith, the new superintendent of Oakland schools. School Board Director Jody London, who baked the goodies, had set up the event and welcomed the overflowing room of parents, administrators and district employees. When Smith took the floor he said he saw his job as “the most wonderful, incredible opportunity,” and though he was honest about the…
A small group of local business owners and Oakland residents gathered at the Grand Lake Theater last week to discuss what to do in response to the September 22nd city council meeting, where the July 1st parking measures were kept intact. The meeting’s host was Allen Michaan, who owns the Grand Lake Theater and leads a group against the parking measures under the slogan “rescind or recall.” Michaan began the meeting by initiating a discussion to determine which council members…
On Oakland’s Broadway Auto Row, a storefront at the corner of 28th Street marked “Bay Bridge Kia” doesn’t showcase cars with steel wheels or tinted windows. Instead, a lone mannequin in a wedding dress occupies the display window of the tan, flatiron-style 1920s building. Story by John Grennan/Oakland North
If you’re waiting on that new fluff ‘n fold to open down the street in North Oakland, you’d best not hold your breath. The City Council has approved a new hurdle for potential laundromat holders, arguing that too many of these unsupervised businesses turn into a problem in some areas.
Imagine a capacity crowd of 63,000-plus Raiders fans filling the Oakland Coliseum. Now, imagine the Coliseum filled to the brim with anxious, uninsured Oaklanders worried about suffering an injury or illness they literally can’t afford. Story by Sam Laird.
By Puck Lo/Oakland North
“I am one of four thousand people in Oakland who will be foreclosed on,” announced East Oakland homeowner Karen Mims. The middle-aged, bespectacled African-American woman spoke with passion, and her voice reverberated in the auditorium-sized room.
In a raucous meeting that drew emotional public comments and lasted well past midnight, the Oakland City Council late last night declined to roll back parking meter enforcement hours. Story by Kate McLean/Oakland North
City residents may take some small measure of comfort in knowing their City Council is aware of the discontent regarding the parking measures that went into effect on July 1. “I’ve been doing this for twelve years and this is a big reaction,” said City Council President Jane Brunner, whose District 1 is North Oakland, where many of the sharpest complaints have been directed regarding overzealous parking enforcement and extended hours. “If you have this big of a reaction you…