Politics
On Friday evening, and a diverse crowd had gathered for “April Ful’s Night,” a communal meal during which visitors would reflect on the political events happening throughout the Middle East.
More than 300 people convened at the North Oakland Senior Center on Saturday morning to share their concerns – most of them budget-related – with Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and Councilmember Jane Brunner.
Community members rallied alongside city leaders Thursday evening to protest the sexual exploitation of minors, shutting down 17th Ave at International Blvd in Oakland’s San Antonio neighborhood — a neighborhood where residents say encountering hookers, pimps and johns is a day-to-day part of life.
Several local publications including The San Francisco Chronicle’s Matier & Ross column and Alameda’s The Island are reporting that Oakland City Attorney John Russo has been selected as Alameda’s new city manager
Many in the Chinese community find themselves at odds with new legislation aimed at banning the sale and import of shark fin, the main ingredient of the Chinese delicacy known as shark fin soup.
Jorge Leon was removed at an A’s game last year for holding a sign that read “Wolff lied, he never tried” to protest the move. Reporter Evan Wagstaff sat down with Leon to ask what he’s done since then to keep the team in Oakland.
All over the country, and even in states like California where abortion laws are among the nation’s most lenient, many women, particularly low-income women, still have trouble accessing abortion clinics and other reproductive health services, such as finding birth control providers or prenatal care. At ACCESS, a nonprofit located in downtown Oakland, practical assistance is there for the asking.
The sanctuary of East Oakland’s St. Louis Bertrand Church was filled with house keys on Saturday morning—keys on string encircling the room and hanging from the balcony, keys in jars, in pockets and around necks, keys in hands being jingled in uniform outrage, all because there are fewer house keys in Oakland than there used to be. The display of keys was a symbolic part of Saturday’s rally as over 1,200 people protested the recent wave of home foreclosure.
The American Red Cross Bay Area chapter participated in a national Save-A-Life event Saturday, offering four free classes in Oakland and San Jose aimed at teaching local residents essential life-saving techniques in honor of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of January’s shooting in Tucson, Arizona.