Safety
“I don’t care darling. I just serve my customers. Plastic or paper, I don’t care,” said Nikki Yi, the owner of the Fat Cat sandwich store on Telegraph Avenue in downtown Oakland, while preparing a club sandwich behind the counter. Yi greeted her customers by name and she seemed to know everyone who walked into her store that day.
It was just after 6 o’clock on Saturday outside of Bows and Arrows in Berkeley when people started pulling up with bikes. First one, then two, then three—then over a dozen. They were there for T-Mack.
Moments after an officer pleaded not guilty to having sex with their client, attorneys for the woman identified as “Celeste Guap” in press reports announced they are seeking damages from four cities and two counties in which they allege police officers sexually exploited the former teenage sex worker.
Student safety and the role of the Oakland School Police Department were at the forefront of Wednesday’s Oakland Unified School Board meeting, as board members, parents and OSPD Chief Jeff Godown spoke emotionally of recent events which they say have damaged the security and wellbeing of Oakland’s young people.
Members of the Stop Urban Shield coalition met to discuss ways to carry momentum forward after a day of activism earlier this month.
Just a few weeks after the new school year began, two families in Oakland had terrifying moments when they received threatening calls about their kids, asking for a kidnapping ransom or medical treatment fees. But both calls turned out to be scams. According to John Sasaki, communications director for the Oakland United School District (OUSD), both calls were to families with students at Claremont Middle School. During the week of August 22, two parents got a call from a scammer…
City of Oakland plans to reduce plants that can fuel fire and create a more accessible pathway for emergency vehicles, but there’s opposition.
At Safe Passages for Women in Oakland, participants used found objects to build models of a safer city.
Last Thursday residents gathered to celebrate the Ella Baker Center’s 20th Anniversary, present awards and discuss future plans to continue rebuilding communities of color in Oakland.