Public Policy

Thirty-five people showed up at Wednesday night’s school board meeting in downtown Oakland to speak on non-agenda items—a significant turnout given that there was no union-organized rally or charter school petition on the agenda.

Jurena Storm is back in school at age 35 and said the recent legislation supporting student loan reform is “a relief.” A student at College of Alameda, Storm told her story Tuesday at an Organizing For America press conference held at Laney College to highlight the local impact of the student loan reforms signed into law by President Obama last month.

In recent years, same-sex marriage has been a controversial political issue. ON Radio looks at the issue of marriage–why some couples want a wedding, and why others don’t.

The Oakland Public Ethics Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to schedule a meditation for a complaint filed by an Oakland citizen who claims the city has violated the Oakland Sunshine Ordinance and the California Public Record Act by failing to produce the public records she requested.

Oakland’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions were the focus of a special City Council workshop last night, marking another milestone for the city’s forthcoming climate action plan that has been in the works since July 2009.

Ranked-choice voting will change everything about the 2010 Oakland mayor’s race: the timing, campaigning, turnout, maybe even the winner. Reporter Lauren Callahan explains what lies ahead, and how this year’s ballot will be different.

On Tuesday night, an Oakland City Council vote about whether or not to redirect $255,000 earmarked for public campaign financing to educate Oakland residents about the city’s new voting system resulted in a tie that Mayor Ron Dellums must break.

Students at Oakland Technical High School participated in a “disaster drill” to draw attention to the state of emergency of education as part of the March 4th Day of Action