Safety
On Saturday, Oakland City Councilmember Jane Brunner, whose district covers a large portion of North Oakland, held a town hall meeting to discuss violence prevention. The meeting, held at Peralta Elementary School, drew roughly 60 people from Oakland and Berkeley, many of whom came prepared with questions.
The Oakland Police Department released an alert this afternoon asking for the public’s help in spotting a car believed to have been used in the February 5 abduction of an adult woman.
A judge said Thursday that he would allow members of a law firm where an Oakland city councilwoman is a partner to represent alleged gang members named in an injunction proposed for the Fruitvale area.
Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts has announced that he intends to stay on as Oakland’s top cop, and joined Mayor Jean Quan for an impromptu press conference this afternoon in West Oakland to affirm his commitment to Oakland and emphasize teamwork among city officials.
On Thursday evening, Oakland and Livermore police officers were still searching for an armed man who robbed a Livermore Bank of America earlier this afternoon and fled to North Oakland. At 4:30 p.m. police officers blocked off 41st Street in between Gilbert Street and Broadway Avenue after receiving witness reports that the suspected robber was seen in the area. They also briefly locked down the Oakland Tech campus.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and Police Chief Anthony Batts appeared together Monday, for the first time since Batts was turned down for the job as San Jose’s chief, to talk about the future of the OPD -– a future that Batts may not be part of.
Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts has confirmed that he was not selected as the new police chief of San Jose. The position will go instead to the San Jose Police Department’s acting chief, Chris Moore.
A group of 100 students, lawyers and community organizers rallied in front of Oakland City Hall Wednesday afternoon to demonstrate their opposition to the proposed Fruitvale gang injunction which would limit the activities of 40 alleged Norteño gang members.
Teachers in Oakland can expect a 2 percent raise next year, but that was the only positive budget news from Wednesday night’s school board meeting. The district is expecting to lose more of its state funding this year, is running low on much of its one-time-use federal funding and continues to struggle with low enrollment.