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Without voting on a single ordinance, members of a beleaguered Oakland City Council spent Tuesday night’s meeting discussing their two most pressing concerns: threats of prosecution by the state and federal government over the city’s plan to permit industrial cannabis cultivation, and dramatic budget cuts from the governor.
Rebecca Kaplan and Joe Tuman, second and third runners up in last fall’s mayoral election, shared their plans for the future and thoughts on the race’s outcome on Saturday.
Medical marijuana is now legal in 16 states, and during the last election cycle 22 state legislatures considered marijuana-related bills. Reporter Abby Baird has put together an interactive US map showing which states have considered marijuana-related legislation, and how each legislature voted.
As prolonged applause broke out from the crowd, Victoria Kolakowski, the first openly transgender trial judge in the United States, took her oath of office on Tuesday evening at the Asian Cultural Center in downtown Oakland. The special session of the California Superior Court drew more than a hundred people, including some LGBT community leaders and council members from several cities within Alameda County.
Jean Quan became Oakland’s 49th mayor on Monday as she was sworn in during a ceremony at the Fox Theatre. In her 12-minute inauguration speech, Quan spoke about her priorities for her term and asked residents to “dream of a better Oakland.” Watch this video of the ceremony and Quan’s historical walk from earlier on Monday.
Jean Quan became Oakland’s new mayor during a ceremony at the Fox Theater in downtown Oakland on Monday; she is the first Asian American female mayor of any major U.S. city.
Before the November 2010 election, medical marijuana was legal in 14 states and Washington, DC, but nine electoral contests this year put states’ pot laws on the ballot. With this interactive map, reporter Abby Baird breaks down the outcomes of those elections, and reveals where medical marijuana is legal now.
This November, eight California counties had marijuana related legislation on their local ballots. Here’s an interactive map showing what passed and what didn’t.
When I think of winter, I think of dark, spongy gingerbread cookies–not too sugary and very spicy. Oakland North reporter Kate McLean shares a recipe and a how-to video.