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Oakland is partnering with electric provider East Bay Community Energy to install 17 dual-port fast chargers, powered solely by solar and wind power, at the City Center West Garage. The project is part of the Oakland Transportation Department’s plan to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles across the city, while tackling the health disparities in neighborhoods most plagued by air pollution. Bounded by the Port of Oakland and the interstate 580, 880 and 980 freeways, West Oakland has some of…
Kierra Brown was helping wash people’s eyes when officers in riot gear approached, forcing her to run. It was June 2020, during a protest in downtown Oakland over the murder of George Floyd, and police had tear-gassed the crowd minutes earlier. Police shot Brown in the back of her right leg with an “impact munition,” projectiles typically made from rubber, wood or beans. She hasn’t regained full sensation in that leg and is at risk of losing mobility in her…
As the Oakland Athletics proceed to finalize a development agreement for the new baseball stadium at Howard Terminal, some community members who have been involved in the project worry that it won’t provide enough benefits to residents, including jobs and affordable housing. “This deal is going to bring value to the property owners and create more displacement,” said Jabari Herbert, a contractor and a member of the steering committee that worked on a Community Benefits Agreement. The committee, which included…
Two Star Market will host its 19th annual Thanksgiving dinner for the community, a free meal that 1,000 or more people are expected to enjoy in the Dimond District on Thursday. Financed by co-owner Farouq Alawdi, the meal brings together local business owners and volunteers to serve a traditional Thanksgiving menu of smoked turkey, collard greens, and yams, along with Mexican, and Middle Eastern dishes. “This market and being in this community is a part of us,” Alawdi said. “Thanksgiving…
More than 40,000 Kaiser employees and members of three local unions walked out at 21 Kaiser hospitals across Northern California on Thursday in support of striking stationary engineers. On Friday, the California Nurses Association will follow suit. “Every single worker in our health care system, including the engineers who are on strike, deserve to have fair working conditions and a union contract,” said Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, who came to show solidarity with the International Union of…
Tires screech and cars dance on the streets of Oakland as sideshow culture fills the air, along with the smell of burning rubber. Originating in Oakland in the 1980s, sideshows have gained traction in the Bay Area, exciting audiences, frustrating motorists and irritating police. Oakland recently unveiled a bold plan to crack down on sideshows, which are classified as reckless driving and punishable as a misdemeanor. Richmond City Council recently took action to deter sideshows. And a state law signed…
Oakland City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Tuesday that allows people to park and occupy recreational vehicles, mobile homes, and manufactured homes on private property in residential areas, if the property owner permits. The Construction Innovation And Expanded Housing Options ordinance was crafted to create more housing options for Oakland residents. It also updates zoning and blight restrictions, which previously made it illegal to reside in permanently parked RVs in residentially zoned districts. “As part of the multifaceted effort to…
On Tuesday, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors held its first meeting without Wilma Chan, the beloved District 3 representative who was fatally struck by a car Nov. 3 near her Oakland home. A bouquet of flowers adorned her empty seat. Tearful laments were followed by a strenuous debate over who should fill that seat. Three of the four supervisors voted to appoint Dave Brown, Chan’s chief of staff, to serve in a caretaker role for the remainder of her…
From horses to highways, the streets of Oakland’s Chinatown have been shaped by every form of traffic since its founding in 1850. Soon it will be reshaped again. With a $500,000 Caltrans Sustainable Communities grant, Oakland’s Department of Transportation will fund a multilingual community outreach program to collect input from the neighborhood and redesign the streets of Chinatown. The public’s opinion will be solicited beginning early 2022. The project’s goal is to increase pedestrian and bicycle safety and reduce carbon…