Politics
The City of Oakland kicked off its annual month-long pothole overhaul on Tuesday. Workers in florescent-orange jackets set down cones on Telegraph Avenue at 56th Street in North Oakland, then sprayed a sticky black substance called asphalt emulsion to delineate the culprit area, which contained several wide, shallow potholes.
Mike H. had been waiting for half an hour to hear his name called by an intake counselor at the Rubicon Legal and Economic Service Center in Richmond. But he was in no rush. He had been waiting for over 30 years for this; Saturday was the closest he’d ever been to getting his criminal record dismissed.
After nearly a year of contract negotiations, Children’s Hospital Oakland nurses and administrators are at an impasse over benefits and the nurses now poised for a strike. They will go back to the bargaining table early next week, but if they don’t come closer to a compromise, they will stage a five-day walkout starting May 5. The strike would be their second in the same contract negotiation cycle; Children’s nurses staged a three-day strike last October.
Just under a hundred people marched through the streets of Oakland Wednesday afternoon to demonstrate against human trafficking, holding signs and shouting, “every child is too valuable to be bought and sold.”
If you go to the California Department of Water Resources’ drought Web page, you’ll only find this message: “The DWR Drought Web site has been shutdown due to no longer being in an official drought.” Water supply has always been a tough issue in California and residents have long been warned to conserve. But this year has been one of the biggest years of precipitation since 1970, according to the Department of Water Resources.
The Oakland Film Office and Oakland Film Center, groups responsible for attracting filmmakers to Oakland and supporting them when they’re in town, are facing separate challenges that together put the future of movies made in Oakland in doubt.
Since last July, Oakland clubs have been able to apply for permits to extend their hours from 2 am to 4 am. However, only three such permits have been issued, said city councilmember Nancy Nadel during a crime prevention meeting of the Jack London District Association last night.
Mayor Jean Quan said that closing the budget gap by only making cuts would require 80 percent reductions in discretionary spending from the general purpose fund.
Testimony about the proposed Fruitvale gang injunction hearing concluded on Monday after two months of witness appearances by alleged Norteño gang members, gang experts, and police officers. Probation Officer Dalen H. Randa, who testified on Monday, was the last witness to be called to the stand.