Economy
Just outside the Rockridge BART station, the only obstacle barring commuters from enjoying a beautifully manicured plaza is a chain-link fence. Nearly six months ago, ground was broken on the Rockridge BART Plaza, giving life to a project ten years in the making. The completion date is now set for early October, so commuters will have a wait a bit longer to enjoy the renovations.
On Wednesday, members of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) and some Oakland residents gathered at 14th Street and Broadway to protest a rumored ban against strollers on AC Transit buses. About 20 protestors marched down nearby Franklin Street chanting, “One struggle, one fight, we need our buses, it’s our right!”
Zarina Ahmad, principal of Piedmont Avenue Elementary in Oakland, put extra effort this year into creating a bright first day of school. She and her staff pasted a class list to the outside wall, with a photo of each teacher. Big orange cones separated children by their grades. Teachers ran a short pep rally, called the “Line Up to Learn.” Uniformed Oakland firemen welcomed kids into the school.
Tuesday marked two weeks since the former campus of Lakeview Elementary School became an Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) administrative hub. The campus is now home to OUSD’s Family, Schools, and Community Partnerships (FSCP) department, which was previously scattered among four locations.
At a candidate’s forum held Monday night at the College Avenue Presbyterian Church, six candidates for the City Council District 1 seat debated how to rebuild a shrinking police force, explored finding a middle ground on the controversial issue of gang injunctions and talked about how the city of Oakland could stimulate sluggish economic growth.
The amphitheater outside of City Hall was the site of a spirited pep rally for Oakland’s sports teams Monday morning, as Mayor Jean Quan led the crowd of about 100 fans in a “Let’s Go Oakland!” chant, urging them to get louder and draw people out of their downtown offices.
A new community group is gearing up to protest billboards slated for West Oakland as part of the Army base redevelopment deal approved by City Council in June. The group’s founders say the billboards would degrade the community, while the developer and city officials argue that roadside ads will be an important source of revenue for the project.
The shrieks and squeals of happy children could be heard Friday over the boombox blasting pop music at Acta Non Verba Youth Urban Farm project in East Oakland. This was a day for play, not work. Celebrating the end of 100 hours of summer labor in the garden, nine local kids ran wild and free among the garden beds arranged in neat rows on the half-acre lot.
On Tuesday Oakland residents celebrated a breakthrough in ongoing efforts to create thousands of jobs for local workers due to construction of the planned shipping, packaging and distribution facilities at the site of the old Oakland Army base.