Economy
For years, West Oakland residents have pushed government officials to do something about air quality in their neighborhood, which is sandwiched between three major highways and the Port of Oakland, and dotted with industrial sites. In particular, locals have pointed to the estimated 2,000 diesel trucks that drive in and out of the port several times each day. Diesel exhaust has been linked to increased cancer rates, premature deaths and respiratory illness, including asthma, among West Oakland residents.
Occupy Oakland kicked off its “Move-In Day” with a rally Saturday afternoon at Frank Ogawa Plaza followed by a march through the city and several attempts to take over and move into a building. More than 9 hours later, clouds of tear gas once again hung over Oakland, more than 200 protesters had been arrested for unlawful assembly, and an American flag had been burned inside City Hall.
On Saturday afternoon, Occupy Oakland protesters gathered in Frank Ogawa Plaza with a goal: To occupy a building and convert it into a social center to be used for the planned Oakland Rise Up Festival this weekend. But what began as a march with several hundred people quickly turned into yet another turf battle between protesters and the Oakland Police Department.
On Wednesday afternoon, members of the Alameda County Waste Management Authority voted for two ordinances that will require mandatory recycling for businesses and multi-family properties and prohibit stores that sell packaged food from giving out single-use bags. Both ordinances are supposed to help reduce waste in Alameda County.
The Oakland City Council began the process of scaling down the city budget last night in response to the projected loss of $28 million in redevelopment funding.
The Oakland City Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee approved a community benefits package for the project at its meeting on Tuesday afternoon, moving the item to the city council for approval and giving the council the chance to decide if it wants to approve a series of recommendations aimed at making sure Oakland residents—and especially those who live in West Oakland—have access to the 3,000 jobs the project is expected to create.
Since California Governor Jerry Brown announced in early January that he would end redevelopment programs to help the state deal with its budget deficit, Oakland officials have been scrambling to find ways to salvage city positions that were paid for with redevelopment dollars. The elimination of the redevelopment agency, which will take effect by Feb. 1, blew a $28 million hole in a budget that city leaders had spent months balancing – one that was already constrained by other cuts in the state budget.
While Oakland’s Uptown residents search for a place to pretend to do work while chain-smoking and listening to obscure punk, John Mardikian is busy scrubbing, painting, fixing plumbing, and doing general repairs on the space where Mama Buzz—and before that, Papa Buzz—had been in some form or another for over a decade.
In light of recent financial difficulties, the Oakland Ballet Company’s board of directors decided to postpone this spring’s Diaghilev Imagery program until funding needs are met. The OBC faces fiscal troubles after selling fewer tickets for the 2011 performance of The Nutcracker and receiving less money than expected during fundraising efforts.