Politics
Can you farm in a city like Oakland? Some local urban farmers, community groups and university researchers think so. Working with the City of Oakland, they are re-envisioning the city’s food supply
The proposed Oakland gang injunction has, in recent weeks, been the focus of heated listserv debates, community meetings and a rally held Thursday afternoon in front of the Alameda County Superior Court. The injunction, which aims to restrict certain behaviors of members of the North Side Oakland gang, has sparked considerable debate about the balance between crime prevention and individual rights. But supporters and detractors of the injunction will have to wait for a definitive pronouncement on its future.
On Thursday, more than fifty people celebrated the 40th anniversary of Earth Day by protesting the so-called “Dirty Energy Proposition,” or the signature-gathering effort in support of a ballot measure that will delay implementation of AB 32, California’s clean energy and air law.
The Oakland Unified School District announced Thursday at a press conference that the school board voted unanimously last night to impose the teacher contract that is their “last, best and final offer.”
Dianne Feinstein, California’s U.S. Senator and the former mayor of San Francisco, has declared her support for former State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata’s bid to become Oakland’s mayor in November’s election.
At a campaign event at Redwood Heights Elementary, Oakland mayoral candidate Jean Quan sought to position herself as the “education candidate” and discussed the upcoming Oakland teachers’ strike.
Thirty-five people showed up at Wednesday night’s school board meeting in downtown Oakland to speak on non-agenda items—a significant turnout given that there was no union-organized rally or charter school petition on the agenda.
First time homebuyer Itoco Garcia says the federal tax credit made it possible for him to buy his home in North Oakland’s Golden Gate neighborhood. But will the new California homebuyer tax credit provide the same opportunities?
Jurena Storm is back in school at age 35 and said the recent legislation supporting student loan reform is “a relief.” A student at College of Alameda, Storm told her story Tuesday at an Organizing For America press conference held at Laney College to highlight the local impact of the student loan reforms signed into law by President Obama last month.