Economy
For our final episode of 2016, we bring you stories all about different spaces and the creatures that inhabit them. Tune in to hear stories about: an East Oakland mural transforming the space around a community center, a heated governmental debate about the best way to stop illegal dumping in the East Bay, and a trip up to Bodega Bay to explore the legacy of the classic film, The Birds.
For Carmen Garcia, the end of a prison sentence was the beginning of a new set of problems.
“The biggest obstacle for me was continuing to stay in school, because the halfway house wanted me to get a job right away, a full-time job,” she said. “And I remember a case manager said to me, ‘You need to take this job, whatever job they offer you, because now you have a criminal record and you’re not going to be able to get another job. Don’t worry about education, because that’s not going to help you.’”
Illegal dumping has plagued the city of Oakland for more than 20 years. Today, the problem is worse than ever and it is affecting residents, businesses and government leaders alike.
A crowd of around 5,000 mourners gathered in vigil for the victims of Oakland’s Ghost Ship fire at the edge of Lake Merritt on Monday night. They held electric candles and glow sticks, and listened as friends, family and community members took turns speaking to the crowd.
Thirty-three of the 36 victims of the Oakland Ghost Ship fire have been identified and about 70 percent of the warehouse has been searched, according to Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern, who warned that the process of combing through the remaining 30 percent will take time as firefighters and rescue workers face difficult conditions inside the structure.
For most of the candidates in the 2016 race for Oakland’s city council seats, in which all of the incumbents successfully re-secured their positions, their major challengers spent more to win each vote, yet went home with nothing.
Oakland’s technology scene is in flux. Like other cities, its government, its residents, and its businesses are trying to evolve with new technologies. Schools are trying to incorporate them into their curriculums, the owners of parking lots are figuring out how best to accommodate the fast growing numbers of electric cars. Longtime residents and businesses are navigating their place in the new economy even as tech startups seeking cheaper rent move in. Eleven Bay Area Bandwidth reporters hit the streets…
On election night, protesters gathered in downtown Oakland after midnight yelling angry things like “Not my president!” and “Fuck Trump!” in the quiet streets. Others took it a step further and lashed out against nearby businesses, breaking glass doors and windows and spray-painting graffiti anywhere visible, like on the windows of the Chase bank, the walls of the BART public elevator and the pillars of the Oakland federal building.
Garbage cans were set on fire and worried faces peeked out through doors after the angry crowd passed. Confused bystanders were upset at the damage to their property, and others worried about their safety, while the rest followed the trail of fires left on Broadway, trying to catch up to the mob either by running or riding their bikes. By the next morning, garbage, broken glass and graffiti covered the downtown.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved a program to create 1,400 county jobs for formerly incarcerated residents.