Public Policy

Bay Area celebrates Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling

It’s official: The Supreme Court has made same-sex marriage a reality in California. The justices dismissed an appeal Wednesday by sponsors of Proposition 8, a voter-approved ban on gay marriage, and ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to the same benefits as opposite-sex couples.

Alameda County school board faces decision on American Indian Model Schools

The Alameda County Board of Education will rule on Tuesday whether to reverse a decision that revoked the academic accreditation of a nationally lauded charter school system. American Indian Model Schools operates three schools in Oakland, spanning kindergarten through high school. It lost its status in March after a 4-3 vote by the Oakland Unified School District.

Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan announces resignation

Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan announced Wednesday morning that he is stepping down from the department and seeking medical retirement. The abrupt resignation came moments before a scheduled news conference with Jordan and former New York City and Los Angeles Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, which was quickly canceled. Bratton was set to present a crime reduction plan that was a part of a $250,000 contract that brought in a six-member consultant panel in late January. In a letter to OPD…

Immigration reform hits home for Oaklanders in Tuesday vigil

Frank H. Ogawa Plaza looked a little bit like Vatican City Tuesday, as the dramatic afternoon light illuminated the faces of nuns, priests and immigrant families who gathered together in prayer and supplication. The goal: comprehensive immigration reform, an end to the raids that separate families and unity among different groups and coalitions of Americans. A guitarist changed the lyrics of popular Motown song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” to “Ain’t No Migra Strong Enough” while the crowd sang along…

After the raid: For patients, worries that medical marijuana dispensaries will shut down

Oakland resident Sableu Cabildo was diagnosed at the end of 2011 with a kind of brain cancer known as an astrocytoma. It originated on the right side of her thalamus, the lobed mass under the cerebral cortex that acts like the brain’s switchboard, regulating sensory perception and motor functions. Because of the cancer, Cabildo has been steadily losing her short-term memory and her balance. She stutters sometimes, and to be on the safe side, doesn’t drive at night anymore.

To alleviate some of the symptoms of her cancer and the harsher side affects of her medications, Cabildo, 34, has a medical marijuana prescription. It’s helped to calm her mood swings and improve her diminished appetite. It also dulls the pain from the migraine headaches caused by her disease. It lets her sleep at night.

Civil rights complaint resolved at Skyline High School

In early March, Skyline High School and the Oakland Unified School District resolved a complaint filed by the high school’s Black Student Union nearly a year ago. The resolution could change how students file complaints, allow random audits of students’ class schedules, offer training for teachers on how to deal with complaints of racial discrimination, and require the school to provide annual logs of complaints to the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. According to a statement from…