Gun violence
In a tightly-moderated discussion Thursday evening at Temple Sinai in Oakland, mayoral candidates took questions from journalists, querying one another and making closing statements. Many aimed shots at Mayor Jean Quan, but most refrained from taking jabs at one another.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan painted her vision of Oakland rising, with her 10K Two plan for new housing, a rebuilt police force in progress, and the retention of its beloved sports teams.
A surveillance hub being assembled in Oakland could potentially be the largest and most comprehensive citywide surveillance system in California.
Residents came to Youth Uprising Saturday where volunteers and Oakland Police officials processed handguns and assault riffles people turned in voluntarily. The gun buyback event ended with an unofficial count of 145 guns received in about six hours.
Oakland’s black youth are arrested in school at a rate that is more than double their proportion of the school population, a community nonprofit said.
Oakland City Councilmember’s Noel Gallo’s appeal that “Every city in the U.S. has a curfew” drew boos and yelling from the packed council chambers as his controversial anti-crime strategy was roundly condemned by citizens and officials alike.
At issue: Gallo’s proposed citywide curfew from 10 pm to 6 am seven days a week and from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm on school days. It would make it illegal for youth to be in public or in businesses during those hours. Although the proposed ordinance was aimed at curbing offenses like prostitution and human trafficking, many speakers Tuesday night passionately argued against it for criminalizing all youth.
“Urban Shield is the largest full-scale exercise in the nation,” said Sgt. J.D. Nelson, Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) public information officer. The event was created by ACSO seven years ago and has grown each year. This year, Nelson estimates that more than 5,000 people participated from across the state, country and world.
The law would have made Oakland the first in California to regulate the registration or licensing of firearms on a local level.
Public testimonies give voice to mothers’ grief.