Economy

Oakland agency addresses the Bay Area’s digital divide

A lively smooth jazz band played at Oakland’s Impact Hub co-working space Thursday evening as guests filed in to celebrate the life of David Glover, a man who devoted his life to community work, including providing low-income students a technology education.

Lawsuit asks for new environmental review of terminal that would ship coal

The Sierra Club, a nationwide environmental organization, and three petitioners represented by Earthjustice, a non-profit law organization focused on environmental issues, have filed a lawsuit against the City of Oakland demanding it conduct an additional environmental review for the Oakland Bulk and Oversize Terminal. The new shipping terminal will be located at the old Army base in West Oakland may be used to ship coal through the city. The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court aims “to hold the…

EBMUD: Drought measures working

While the East Bay Municipal Utility District is suffering the worst drought since its founding in 1923, its 1.3 million users face no danger of going dry anytime soon. That was the message from EBMUD board members and operations staff at their Tuesday public meeting. Infrastructure investments, conservation, and transfers–buying water from the Sacramento River–together mean the East Bay is weathering this Stage 4 drought better than most of California. According to the state’s own data, the EBMUD staff are…

OUSD meeting punctuated by argument rolls out budget transparency, special ed plan

During Wednesday night’s Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Board of Education meeting, the CFO presented a new web tool which would make the district’s annual budget more accessible to the public, special education staffers explained a service plan that’s being implemented in stages over the next three years, and the district’s civic engagement coordinator delivered an explanation of a proposed ethnic studies curriculum.