Labor

Can “Superman” save the conversation on education? New films explore reform

Hundreds of moviegoers were more than willing to brave the 45-minute line in front of the Piedmont Theater on Wednesday night for a free screening of Waiting for Superman, the controversial new documentary that some movie reviewers say could change the face of American education. The screening, which included a question and answer session with Oakland Unified School District superintendent Tony Smith, received about 1,000 RSVPs, but was only able to accommodate the first 412 people.

After Oakland police cuts, residents dialing Piedmont police

With a rash of non-violent crimes occurring shortly after the layoff of 80 Oakland police officers—and after the police department changed its strategy for handling non-emergency crimes—some Upper Rockridge and Montclair residents have been calling another city’s police department for help: Piedmont’s.

Work could start soon on costly BART airport tram

The controversial Airport Connector, a tram that would connect BART to Oakland’s airport, could soon be under construction after a decades-long debate. “For the first time in the 25-year history of this project,” a BART spokesman says, “we may be seeing shovels hit the ground in the next month or two.”

Oakland Airport Connector plan moves forward

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the board in charge of channeling state transportation money to the Bay Area, voted 6-2 to allocate $20 million in state transportation improvement funds to the project.

AC Transit considers drastic weekend service cuts

AC Transit, the transit district serving Oakland and surrounding portions of the East Bay, could reduce its weekend bus service by half, and make several additional cutbacks, if the district does not quickly resolve a dispute with its employees’ union.