Public Policy
A panel of scientists, environmentalists and urban organization leaders gathered Tuesday afternoon in downtown Oakland to help kick off a three-day conference on water usage and the potential perils of climate change around San Francisco Bay. Heather Cooley, a research associate with the Water Program of the Pacific Institute, Water Program, an Oakland-based environmental advocacy nonprofit, warned at the panel that that her studies have found the sea level is rising in San Francisco Bay. High enough sea levels could…
Oakland’s new superintendent of schools, who’ll be participating in a public town hall at North Oakland’s International High School this Wednesday, talks to reporter Lillian R. Mongeau about the achievement gap, the challenge of useful teacher evaluations, and “cutting zeros off the budget.”
Imagine a capacity crowd of 63,000-plus Raiders fans filling the Oakland Coliseum. Now, imagine the Coliseum filled to the brim with anxious, uninsured Oaklanders worried about suffering an injury or illness they literally can’t afford. Story by Sam Laird.
In a raucous meeting that drew emotional public comments and lasted well past midnight, the Oakland City Council late last night declined to roll back parking meter enforcement hours. Story by Kate McLean/Oakland North
City residents may take some small measure of comfort in knowing their City Council is aware of the discontent regarding the parking measures that went into effect on July 1. “I’ve been doing this for twelve years and this is a big reaction,” said City Council President Jane Brunner, whose District 1 is North Oakland, where many of the sharpest complaints have been directed regarding overzealous parking enforcement and extended hours. “If you have this big of a reaction you…
At a crowded meeting, an Oakland City Council committee this week decided to urge the whole council to re-examine its position on the planned BART-to-Oakland-Airport lightrail connector project, targeted for $70 million in federal stimulus money. Story by Thomas Gorman/Oakland North.
After four hurricanes hit Haiti over a span of 30 days last November, an estimated 30,000 refugees headed to the United States. Now many of them face deportation. On Wednesday, groups like Oakland-based Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) marched with signs outside the federal building in downtown Oakland urging people to be aware of the Haitians’ situation and asking President Obama to grant them temporary protected status.
Koreans have lived in Oakland for decades, but in 2007 the city allowed a group of landlords the right to tax and manage several blocks on Telegraph Avenue, renaming the strip Koreatown – Northgate. The neighborhood speaks out on the area’s recent name change. Video by Puck Lo and Laurel Moorhead/Oakland North.
Journalist David Bacon remembers the first time he saw farmworkers chased and dragged away by immigration officials in the mid-1970s. He talks about his new book, “Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants.” By Puck Lo/Oakland North