Politics
At Wednesday’s sparsely-attended school board meeting, the board discussed the superintendent’s report, which is presented at every board meeting, and funding options for the Dr. Marcus Foster Educational Leadership Campus.
Over 50 people of faith, including religious leaders, from Oakland have signed a letter urging Mayor Libby Shaaf and the city council to reject the plan to export coal from the Oakland Bulk and Oversize Terminal, located at the old Army base. The letter was presented to them during the city council meeting on October 20.
On Tuesday, Alameda County became the first county in California to implement new regulations on controversial spying devices used by police.
Protestors chanted “Living wage, not poverty wage!” and “Downtown Oakland not for sale!” to the lively rhythm of music played by a five-piece band featuring a tuba, saxophone, trumpet and drums as they took the streets of downtown Oakland on Tuesday evening. “We’re at the site of the hopefully-never-built Hampton poverty hotel,” shouted Wei-Ling Huber, president of UNITE HERE Local 2850, into a megaphone. Organizers and members of UNITE HERE, a union that represents East Bay and North Bay hotel and…
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office has agreed to stop requiring female inmates who are arrested and booked into Alameda County jails to take pregnancy tests. This agreement, reached on October 28, comes as an out-of-court settlement to a lawsuit that was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California.
Oakland City Council approved a funding increase for legal support for unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the U.S., authorized the creation of a “Director of Race and Equity” staffing position within the city government and received a report from the Oakland Police Department about funding for a gun tracing program.
This year, Oakland Tech turned 100, and its alums have planned a celebration lasting an entire year.
The Centennial Celebration, organized by staff, students and alumni, included a gala over Memorial Day weekend, a talent show for students and alumni in February, and the creation of a book, video and website commemorating the anniversary. “This centennial was kind of a fun opportunity to show off the school and how well it’s doing, especially to its alumni, who might have become disengaged over the course of the years,” said Dan Williams, a parent of three Oakland Tech alums and a key player in the planning process for the celebration. Williams said his children “were very different, and did different things, academically were in very different places, but all had a great time,” he said. “And as I quickly found out, Tech’s an amazing school with an amazing history.”
Department officials believe that, with more personnel and better equipment, they will be able to streamline their workflow and stay on top of which guns need to be traced.
The “water fix” is an evolving $15.5 billion Bay Delta conservation plan to stabilize water diversions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The most expensive and controversial part involves building two huge tunnels, thirty miles long, from Courtland to Tracy.