Politics
The lawyer for Johannes Mehserle, the former BART police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of Oscar Grant, is trying to persuade an Oakland judge that his client can’t receive a fair trial here. Story by Jake Schoneker/Oakland North.
It’s been just over a week since Typhoon Ketsana hit Luzon, in the northern part of the Philippines, before storming through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Amelia Desesto, 45, a masters student at Berkeley’s Franciscan School of Theology, has spent hours this week watching Filipino news on television, and checking for updates on the latest death counts, injuries, and cleanup efforts. She said that even her young nieces and nephews are reacting to the news. “They feel devastated with what they…
Fireworks are expected at tonight’s Oakland City Council meeting, as the explosive debate about rolling back parking meter hours returns to City Hall. The council will hear at least two proposals at this evening’s 6:00 meeting—one to roll the meter hours back from 8:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and another to roll them back to 7:00 pm. At the request of the council, city staff will also report on how to recoup the revenue lost by shortening the meter hours….
The mayors of Emeryville, Berkeley and Richmond, along with Oakland city council member Rebecca Kaplan, together cut a virtual ribbon with the click of a mouse this morning to launch 510arts.com, a collaborative website for the four cities to promote the East Bay arts. The website features regional arts events and news and serves as a portal to each city’s own arts-related site. 510arts.com positions the East Bay’s diversity at the forefront of the campaign with its “World Culture in…
A small group of local business owners and Oakland residents gathered at the Grand Lake Theater last week to discuss what to do in response to the September 22nd city council meeting, where the July 1st parking measures were kept intact. The meeting’s host was Allen Michaan, who owns the Grand Lake Theater and leads a group against the parking measures under the slogan “rescind or recall.” Michaan began the meeting by initiating a discussion to determine which council members…
A panel of scientists, environmentalists and urban organization leaders gathered Tuesday afternoon in downtown Oakland to help kick off a three-day conference on water usage and the potential perils of climate change around San Francisco Bay. Heather Cooley, a research associate with the Water Program of the Pacific Institute, Water Program, an Oakland-based environmental advocacy nonprofit, warned at the panel that that her studies have found the sea level is rising in San Francisco Bay. High enough sea levels could…
Friends and family gathered Monday to remember the 17 year-old Oakland Tech student who was killed on Labor Day in a drive-by shooting. By S. Howard Bransford/Oakland North.
Oakland’s new superintendent of schools, who’ll be participating in a public town hall at North Oakland’s International High School this Wednesday, talks to reporter Lillian R. Mongeau about the achievement gap, the challenge of useful teacher evaluations, and “cutting zeros off the budget.”
A chocolate-brown pinstriped suit with a brown silk handkerchief folded seamlessly in the left breast pocket. Brown suede dress shoes and a gold pinkie ring that glinted in the spotlight as he strode on stage.
Willie Brown was here. Story by Laurel Moorhead.