Safety
With rising demands for more accountability, Oakland’s IT Department is building tools to make police investigations run more efficiently with the help of citizens.
Savannah O’Neil says, for her, knowing someone who has battled an opioid addiction started with a family member. Most recently, she says, one of her friends had a stint at sobriety, but fatally overdosed on a combination of prescription opioids and benzodiazepine.
Last year, Oakland’s homicide numbers rose for first time in two years. As a result, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) convened a town hall in Oakland.
Any deaf visitors will be directed to DeafHope, which focuses specifically on providing services to victims of domestic violence in that community. “We just feel like there really is a need,” says Aracelia Aguilar, an empowerment director with DeafHope, speaking through a relay interpreter via phone. “And we can see how people are trying to survive. There’s such limited communication.”
DeafHope was founded in 2003 by Julie Rems-Smario along with eight other women, who recognized there was a need for specialized services. Previously, says Rems-Smario, also speaking through a relay interpreter, in domestic violence cases, it was often easier for survivors to stay in an abusive home where the abuser knew sign language than to access services available for sexual assault or domestic violence victims, which were designed for the hearing community.
Men Creating Peace (MCP) is one of the few domestic violence organizations in Alameda County specifically geared towards men. Founded in 2009, the organization aims to help men who’ve been involved in violent acts adopt coping mechanisms so that they can develop healthier relationships with partners, family and their community.
At a meeting of the Oakland City Council’s public safety committee Tuesday night, Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent pointed to a “very significant” reduction in uses of force by police. He said new policies, training and body cameras all contributed to the reduction.
In over 40 years working at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Mike Martin, now Alameda County battalion chief, has never seen anything like October 20, 1991 in the hills east of Oakland and Berkeley. “Extreme fire conditions, high-velocity wind,” Martin recalls. The 20 to 30 miles per hour winds, with gusts of up to 40, blew west through narrow East Bay canyons stricken by drought and a heavy frost the previous winter that killed thousands of non-native…
Early this morning, from East Oakland to West, students climbed into AC Transit buses, fares or passes in hand, and commuted to schools in other neighborhoods. In 2004, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) rolled out a new enrollment policy, an “options process” which allowed parents to send children to schools outside of their neighborhoods. Parents wanted equal access to opportunities at schools throughout Oakland, and some specialty programs were only offered at one or two schools. Since the district does not operate its own bus service, most students commute using public transit.
Oakland City Council approves police purchase of shotguns and transfer vehicles
The Oakland Police Department’s proposed purchase of shotguns and transfer vehicles were the most hotly contested items discussed at the concurrent Oakland City Council and Oakland Redevelopment Successor meeting Tuesday night. Other business included a year-end presentation by State Assemblymember Rob Bonta (District 18), a presentation of the AC Transit service expansion plan, and an adjustment to parking fees.