Economy

Mickey Martin is about to go to prison. The charge was something both he and the State of California say is not a crime: selling medicinal marijuana.

The health reform bill the House of Representatives approved last month prints out at 2,014 pages, Oakland North asked a health policy expert to haul the whole pile to her office recently and examine it to see what practical impact its provisions might have on four local residents who face different health insurance situations.

Alessanda Chesley has a job she loves, but lost her employer-provided health insurance in August. If she lived in San Francisco, she’d be eligible for Healthy San Francisco, the city’s health care program for the uninsured. But she lives in Oakland.

Amid escalating burglaries and gun violence in North Oakland, City Council President and North Oakland representative Jane Brunner announced last night that a ballot measure is necessary to avoid laying off more than 100 city police.

After weeks of public meetings and intense discussion with parents and teachers, the Oakland Unified School District board voted unanimously Wednesday night to shut down three schools in the district by the end of June 2010.

In an effort to balance a budget facing an estimated $57 million deficit, the AC Transit Board of Directors last night approved an 8.4 percent cut in bus services throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

After controversy earlier this fall, Oakland’s parking conflicts have quieted considerably in recent months. But they could flare up again, as the Oakland City Council moved last Tuesday toward passing an increase in annual residential parking permit fees.

After three hours of public comment and discussion yesterday, the BART Board of Directors voted 7 to 1 to approve the $492 million Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) elevated rail line. Construction is scheduled begin in mid-2010 and be completed by 2013.