Housing

City of Oakland to take over affordable housing programs, debt obligations after redevelopment agency is eliminated

The City of Oakland will take over the Oakland Redevelopment Agency’s affordable and low income housing programs, assume responsibility for the agency’s enforceable obligations and oversee the dissolution of the agency this spring. In a tense city council meeting that unexpectedly went into closed session Tuesday night, Oakland city councilmembers unanimously elected the City of Oakland to serve as the successor agency, and successor housing agency, to the Oakland Redevelopment Agency. The agency will close its doors February 1, s…

Occupy Oakland protesters reconvene, return to plaza for evening meeting

With the site of what was once a camp teeming with people now not much more than a mud patch, more than 1,000 Occupy Oakland supporters marched down 14th Street and back into Frank Ogawa Plaza on Monday evening. On the minds of many: What happens next? The gathering was the first for Occupy Oakland supporters since protesters were evicted—and 33 people arrested—in a raid of the plaza early Monday morning by police. The raid was the second one since…

Credit unions see a boost in membership after Bank Transfer Day

Bank Transfer Day was an initiative started by a Los Angeles art gallery owner that urged people to move their money from commercial banks to credit union accounts by Saturday, November 5. According to the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), a Washington D.C.-based coalition of state-chartered credit unions, 650,000 people have joined its member institutions since September 29, one week after the launch of the Occupy Wall Street protests.