Economy
As the Oakland School Board moves forward with its plan to close five elementary schools in order to save $2 million, the California Supreme Court is considering whether redevelopment agencies should be required to give up some of their funding to support school districts and county services.
As the antiwar advocacy groups Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War held a joint press conference Friday afternoon in front of City Hall, near the center of the Occupy Oakland encampment in Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland Police arrived at the plaza and began handing out “Notice of Violations” fliers. The fliers stated that all belongings and infrastructure must be removed from the plaza “immediately.” They warned, “Your continued use of the Plaza for overnight lodging will subject you to arrest.”
Over the past month, protesters in hundreds of camps around the country have rolled out sleeping bags, set up food tents and trucked portable toilets into public spaces. Across the country, the reactions of city officials dealing with Occupy camps have ranged from supportive to baffled to downright angry.
Even if you set aside the tear gas and broken windows, it’s hard to keep things clean when thousands of people are gathered in one place. The city says that things have gotten so dirty it’s a danger to the neighborhood, but some of Oakland’s occupiers are working hard to clean up their act.
On Occupy Oakland’s one-month anniversary, a man was shot and killed on the outskirts of the encampment Thursday afternoon. Witnesses at the scene said the victim was shot at around 5 pm, following an altercation with a small group of African American men that erupted near the portable toilets on the northeast side of the encampment.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan released a statement on Thursday night regarding the shooting of a young man near the Occupy Oakland encampment earlier that evening. The statement is reprinted here in its entirety:
Plans for the construction of a new, energy-independent biodiesel plant in West Oakland were approved on October 25 by the East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD) board.
Amid rumors circulating of a police raid later that night, several hundred people packed the steps and floor of Frank Ogawa Plaza on Wednesday evening for an Occupy Oakland General Assembly meeting, at which protesters voted to march in solidarity with Egyptian activists this Saturday and considered whether to endorse or disavow violent “black bloc” tactics.
The Community Rejuvenation Project (CRP), a nonprofit best known for large mural projects throughout Oakland, released a declaration on Tuesday decrying property destruction during last Wednesday’s general strike.