Politics
Oakland-based nonprofit Ignite held a conference to encourage young women in the Bay Area to run for political office.
On Friday afternoon, just as Oakland’s school board meeting was supposed to start, a union representative wearing red–the symbol of the “Red for Ed” movement that has galvanized teachers’ strikes across the nation–stepped in front of the crowd and announced that teachers and school officials had reached a tentative four-year agreement. If ratified, it will end the strike that has shut down Oakland schools for the last seven days. Among the provisions: Teachers will receive an 11 percent raise, as…
After more than five hours of public comment and heated debate, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to approve nearly all of an ad hoc committee’s recommendations to demilitarize the county’s controversial Urban Shield annual training program. They voted 4-0 to eliminate SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) deployment exercises and the event’s weaponry and military gadget show, shifting the focus of the training event to natural disaster preparedness. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office launched the annual Urban…
Today is the first day of the Oakland teachers’ strike. Public school teachers and staff gathered outside their schools to form picket lines, chanting and rallying support in their quest for smaller class sizes, higher wages, more student support services and a promise from the district that there will be no more school closures. Earlier this week, we followed Alejandro Estrada, a 4th grade teacher at International Community School and the union representative for his school, as he prepared to…
Early Thursday morning, Oakland teachers went on strike, calling for a pay raise and a reduction in class sizes. As early as 6 am, teachers gathered—equipped with coffee, jackets, and beanies to withstand the chilly morning weather—and started to picket in front of their schools. The strike follows two years of failed negotiations between the Oakland Education Association, which represents teachers as well as school nurses, counselors and other staff, and the Oakland Unified School District. The teachers have been working…
Oakland city council voted in an emergency moratorium to temporarily protect duplex renters from rent control exemptions. These exemptions apply to housing units where a landlord lives within the duplex or triplex with the renters.
Two weeks ago, a business advocacy group sued the city of Oakland over its certification of Measure AA, a tax initiative from the November election that would create a fund for more early childhood education programs. The lawsuit—filed by the Jobs and Housing Coalition, along with a group of property owners—argues that the city council thwarted the will of Oakland voters by certifying the measure even though it failed to earn support from two-thirds of the voters. The measure, also…
The Oakland City Council meeting ended in confusion and shouts of anger Tuesday night after a legal issue delayed a vote on an ordinance that would have extended rent control protections to tenants living in own-occupied duplexes and triplexes. “What’s the issue?” shouted attendee Reisa Jaffe at new Council President Rebecca Kaplan (at-large). “I’d like to know what happened?” demanded another atttendee, standing up with his hands in the air. “These issues were just brought to our attention tonight,” said…
Senator Kamala Harris leaned into her East Bay roots as she held the first official rally of her presidential campaign in Oakland on Sunday. Stepping onto a podium in the shade of a flag-draped Oakland City Hall, Harris waved at the largest crowd ever gathered in her support, unable to contain a broad, excited smile. An estimated 20,000 people poured into Frank H. Ogawa Plaza and overflowed into the streets surrounding Oakland City Hall. Cheers and chants drawing out the…