Politics
Dozens gathered in Oakland on Tuesday to show solidarity with protesters in Wisconsin who are protesting plans to limit public unions’ ability to bargain for health and pension benefits for their members. Their signs bore messages challenging Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to respect workers rights and calling for California Governor Jerry Brown not to cut public workers’ benefits.
On Tuesday night, Oakland City Council’s public safety committee heard a report from the City Attorney’s Office about the effectiveness and cost of gang injunctions, but despite nearly three hours of heated public commentary, the committee decided not to take actions regarding the report on the proposed Fruitvale gang injunction.
Oakland City Council’s finance and management committee met Tuesday to discuss several city budget and finance issues, the most contentious of which was how to pay for the Police and Fire Retirement System.
The newly minted Oakland chapter of the Green Party met for the second time on Tuesday evening to talk politics: city redevelopment funds, gang injunctions and whether to support a statewide moratorium on foreclosures.
A hearing Wednesday to determine whether to impose a preliminary injunction against 40 alleged members of the Norteño gang in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood ended without a decision and will be resumed next week.
The title of the economic forum held yesterday in downtown Oakland said it all: “The Worst Is Yet to Come.” The forum, a repeat of one hosted by Alameda County in Fremont on Tuesday, aimed to provide an outlook on the county’s economy and illustrate potential impacts of the proposed federal and state budget cuts on the region.
Mayor Jean Quan plans to travel this year with the Oakland Port Authority on its annual trade mission to Asia, looking to expand the volume and variety of the city’s business with China. “China understands that they should invest back in the United States,” Quan said.
In a low-fuss meeting on Tuesday, the Oakland City Council voted to match a federal grant with city money to fund a study about developing the Oakland Army Base. With a unanimous vote, the council committed over $3 million to the study, to be matched by $1.6 million out of a larger grant from the federal government.
When the first 45 minutes of public commentary were exhausted at Wednesday night’s school board meeting, there were still 37 speaker cards on file with the board secretary. The most popular message? “No more budget cuts.”