Politics
Meg Whitman’s Oakland campaign office is a modest white building, tucked between a Subway restaurant and an unrented space on Lakeshore Avenue, distinguished only by the “Meg 2010” signs in every window. The Republican gubernatorial candidate’s office has turned heads and raised questions about the strategy of establishing a campaign headquarters in Oakland, opponent Jerry Brown’s home turf.
Oakland City Attorney John Russo joined other law enforcement officials in front of Oakland City Hall today to declare support for the marijuana legalization initiative Proposition 19, which Russo argued would give Californians “a chance to take drugs off the street corners and out of the hands of children.”
At a Monday morning press conference, 12 community activists from anti-violence, religious and crime prevention groups backed Council Member and mayoral candidate Jean Quan in promoting Measure BB, a public safety measure that will appear on the November city ballot.
Candidates, union leaders, and everyday workers took turns eating and campaigning along the Oakland waterfront to celebrate the spirit of the holiday and discuss the plight of California’s unemployed.
An eclectic mix of families, young couples, and scantily-clad merrymakers donned their Sunday best as Oakland turned out to participate in the city’s first major gay pride celebration in six years.
A coalition of law enforcement agencies has arrested four Nuestra Familia gang leaders and 30 gang members. Several of those caught were allegedly given orders to commit murder and other violent crimes by imprisoned gang leaders who sent them encrypted messages via cell phones.
With speeches, signs reading “Make Big Oil Pay,” and lessons on useful protest tactics, Frank H. Ogawa Plaza was converted into a training ground Sunday afternoon for 50 environmental activists and organizers.
After public complaints about a plan to include only the front-running candidates for Oakland mayor, the Sierra Club Wednesday hosted nine of the ten candidates at a forum on the environment and the upcoming election.
Placard fraud costs the city income in meters and parking tickets. Furthermore, because cars bearing placards have unlimited time and don’t need to be moved every hour or two, fraud prevents parking turnover; that can severely limit parking options for everyone, disabled or not.