Safety
In his first extended interview since his recent resignation as Oakland’s Chief of Police, Anthony Batts sits down with Oakland North to reflect on his success, his shortfalls, and what lies ahead for the Oakland Police Department.” I could have all the commitment in the world,” he says. “But if I didn’t have the tools to get the job done, it was a waste of time.”
East Bay Agency for Children’s Circle of Care program started in 1982 as a way to deliver basic illness and grief support to the community. Over the last three decades, the program has evolved to include individual and family counseling, as well as support groups.
This busy part of 8th Street is the site for one of the many proposed bikeways in Oakland. However, some Chinatown leaders said the city should think twice before adding bikes to the mix on 8th Street, as well as parallel 9th Street, which has a similar bustling vibe.
Around midnight on Wednesday, confrontation flared between Occupy Oakland protesters and police officers near Telegraph, Broadway and 17th streets. A generally peaceful day of protests in which as many as 10,000 participated in what organizers called a “general strike” ended with clouds of tear gas, burning barricades and loud banging sounds.
Marches and protests continued Wednesday as part of the day of action organized by Occupy Oakland. Around 11:30 am, the Oakland Educational Association (OEA) teachers union, high school students and parents of children who attend the five Oakland elementary schools up for closure gathered in the outdoor plaza at Laney college in support of today’s strike.
Early Tuesday morning, the Oakland Police Officer’s Association released the following “Open letter to the citizens of Oakland,” reprinted here in its entirety:
The Oakland Hills Fire may have started on the ground, but the Eucalyptus trees surrounding people’s homes in the Oakland-Berkeley Hills helped it burn more and spread even further. The highly flammable non-native species accounted for 70 percent of the energy released through combustion of vegetation during the fire, according to the National Park Service. Twenty years after the fire, Eucalyptus trees still surround many homes and live in many of Oakland’s parks, while residents debate whether they should be saved or removed as fire hazards.
In places like Oakland, where local authorities treat syringe exchange as an accepted public health practice, groups like HEPPAC no longer face the risk of arrest. Today their challenge is going mainstream, and needle exchange programs are now reaching for the biggest government seal of approval of all—federal funding.
The ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) jointly sent a public records request to the Oakland Police Department this week, asking for detailed information about the arrests and use of force in response to the Occupy Oakland confrontations.