Public Policy

Over last two weeks, 40 arrests, and rising tensions between city officials and Occupy protesters

Relations between Occupy Oakland and Oakland officials have had a tumultuous two weeks that included a number of raids and arrests, but culminated Thursday in an unprecedented meeting between city officials and protesters. The last two weeks got off to a sour start after a total of 40 people were arrested and a number of others cited and released after a string of incidents that have left protesters feeling that they are targets for harassment. These included campers being dislodged from…

A father remembers his daughter, who was shot after a tattoo party

When Roger Kiel allowed his daughter Shanice, 19, to attend a tattoo party in San Leandro this October, he did not expect the early morning call telling him that his daughter had been killed after two gunmen opened fire on her vehicle.  Three of the six passengers were killed, including Shanice, who died almost instantly from a gunshot wound to the heart. One suspect has yet to be identified but the other gunman was arrested  in Oakland days after the shooting….

Police disperse West Oakland Occupy site

Just hours after two Oakland Police Department officers escorted a man who identified himself as a property owner of a plot in West Oakland encamped by members of Occupy Oakland, police raided and disbanded the camp, leading to at least one arrest. On December 22, occupiers set up camp at a triangular lot at 20th Street and Mandela Parkway, a plot they believed to be owned by the city. But city assessor’s records show that the plot is indeed owned…

Occupy Oakland takes over West Oakland plot, may face eviction

Activists with Occupy Oakland have taken over a vacant industrial lot on the corner of Mandela Parkway and 20th Street establishing a small camp with a kitchen setup, but may soon face eviction. The lot, which is currently fenced off with barbed wire, hosts about 16 tents, but the protesters may soon be asked to leave. Police arrived Wednesday afternoon to survey the land with a person who claimed to be its owner, although the occupiers at the camp contend…

Adult daycare centers, facing cutbacks, saved from total funding cutoff

After two years of being threatened with complete funding cutoffs from the state, some of California’s adult day health care centers are finally seeing a ray of hope. In the recent culmination of a lawsuit challenging the funding cutoff, the State’s Department of Health Services has announced a new 2012 adult care program that will close some centers but allow others to stay open with continued state support.