Politics
Among the 108 bills that Governor Jerry Brown had to sign or veto by midnight September 30 was a short piece of legislation called Assembly Bill 2189. Although the bill does not include the word “immigrant,” it was the last step in a three-part process that held a remarkable outcome. In California, where the prospect of issuing drivers’ licenses to undocumented immigrants has been controversial for almost two decades, nearly half a million young immigrants will now be able to…
Oakland Police Officer Miguel Masso was justified in shooting and killing Alan Blueford and prosecutors will not press charges based on their investigation, a report released Tuesday by the Alameda County District Attorney’s office states. Masso had probable cause to believe Blueford, an 18-year-old Skyline High senior, posed a serious threat to him and other people when he shot Blueford three times on May 6, according to the report. The report contains a detailed narrative of the morning’s events, which…
As the November election nears, and amount of money given to political presidential campaigns reaches unprecedented highs, campaign finance data compiled by the federal government shows that in Oakland, at least, President Barack Obama has raised the lion’s share of political donations. Data reported by Obama and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), an agency that tracks funding for federal elections, shows that since January, 2011—the start of this presidential campaign’s filing period—local fundraising for Obama’s…
With the election season underway, nine artists will have the chance to express their political beliefs through art on Friday night at the Transmission Gallery in West Oakland.
The show, titled “Unrestricted,” aims to not only raise political awareness of this year’s presidential election, the environment and immigration issues in the United States, but to also help give artists a chance to show work that typically doesn’t get shown, said Ruth Santee, the gallery’s owner and director. “With the energy of the elections, we decided to have a political show,” she said. “Political work doesn’t usually get seen. If you are too overt, people have the tendency of not showing it.”
In the early morning hours of May 6, 18 year-old Alan Blueford was with two other individuals in East Oakland, on the 1900 block of 90th Avenue, when the group was approached by two Oakland police officers who thought they might have a gun.
When the officers were detaining the individuals, Blueford fled, running east on Olive St., turning south on 92nd Avenue and then east on Birch St. Oakland police officer Miguel Masso gave chase.
In a variety of Oakland venues, residents gathered in public places with like-minded neighbors to view Wednesday’s presidential debate between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama.
The demonstrative public show of support for the family of Alan Blueford and their quest to get police departments reports detailing how their son was shot and killed by an Oakland police officer on May 6 resulted Tuesday night in the release of the report to the family during an Oakland City Council meeting. The report was also publicly released online today by the Oakland Police department. On Tuesday night, protesters filled the council chambers, and shortly before the meeting…
As Norman Ospina, the school attendance clerk and a translator at Castlemont High School in East Oakland, crossed the courtyard on a crisp overcast fall morning, he spotted a young man he believed had been involved in a campus brawl on September 21. Ospina, whose students call him “Mr. O,” placed his index finger over his mouth, and nodded in the direction of the student on the other side of the courtyard. The student instantly revealed a smile that was…
About 100 people packed in to Oakland City Hall during Tuesday night’s council meeting before police temporarily barricaded the doors to prevent the possibility of a raucous protest, similar to the one that shut down the meeting two weeks ago.