People
Gearing up for next week’s anniversary of 100 days in office, Mayor Jean Quan spoke to the press on Thursday about her accomplishments and hopes for the upcoming months. “It seems like its gone very fast,” she said. “We’ve worked very hard to launch Oakland in a new footing.”
Snap Judgment—which began airing weekly last July and is produced in Washington’s studio in Oakland—is now the fastest-growing show on National Public Radio, with more than 100 stations airing it weekly and over 160 having played its specials. All the episodes are available to stream on the show’s website (SnapJudgment.org) and to download as a podcast on iTunes.
Mike Taft isn’t an artist in the traditional sense. But when his entire live-work apartment complex was having an open house art party on Friday—one that he founded and organized—he was of course going to find a way to entertain the crowd. “I’m grinding down a piece of plywood with an angle grinder,” the industrial designer said with a grin.
Assembly member Nancy Skinner is on the search for women who have made significant impacts in their communities. She is inviting neighbors, community groups and civil leaders throughout District 14 to nominate women they believe have gone beyond the call of duty to support their communities.
As prolonged applause broke out from the crowd, Victoria Kolakowski, the first openly transgender trial judge in the United States, took her oath of office on Tuesday evening at the Asian Cultural Center in downtown Oakland. The special session of the California Superior Court drew more than a hundred people, including some LGBT community leaders and council members from several cities within Alameda County.
Jean Quan became Oakland’s new mayor during a ceremony at the Fox Theater in downtown Oakland on Monday; she is the first Asian American female mayor of any major U.S. city.
In keeping with the New Year’s spirit, reporters Roberto Daza and Ye Tian took to the streets of North Oakland to find out what goals residents are setting for themselves in 2011.
On Sunday, December 5, Oakland North reporters sat down with mayor-elect Jean Quan at World Ground Café in the Laurel district. We asked Quan about her transition into the city’s executive office, and what she’ll do at the start of her term. Click through to see the video and a transcript.
In January, Jerry Brown will return to Sacramento as California’s governor. How did his eight years in Oakland influence his thinking about housing, arts, education and leadership, and can the criticism, praise and ambivalence he drew from Oakland residents shed light on what’s store for California?