OaklandNews - Oakland news from blogs, newspapers and other media

The Oakland City Council adopted a sweeping new anti-nepotism ordinance at the end of the year, but the process of gathering information from as many as 800 supervisors in the city has been met with resistance. The problem is that while the measure was...

It has taken a presidential order to restore some measure of accountability and responsibility to local governments around the nation. In a 20-minute White House address to the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Friday, President Obama laid out his plans for...

It has taken a presidential order to restore some measure of accountability and responsibility to local governments around the nation. In a 20-minute White House address to the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Friday, President Obama laid out his plans for...

Despite a gag order barring attorneys from commenting about the murder case against a former BART police officer charged with shooting an unarmed man, defense attorneys in the case may still file for a change of venue. The legal tactic must be weighed...

Despite a gag order barring attorneys from commenting about the murder case against a former BART police officer charged with shooting an unarmed man, defense attorneys in the case may still file for a change of venue. The legal tactic must be weighed...

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums promised more changes in his administration and followed through Thursday by naming four new city department heads, but not in the areas most people expected. Instead of filling the still-vacant positions for chiefs in both the...

One of my coffee shop pals, Rob "Chi" Kong recently tried to open his own business - a bike repair shop - at the corner of 10th and Alice streets in downtown Oakland. The self-employed 33-year-old, who cobbles together a living working three part-time jobs,...

One of my coffee shop pals, Rob "Chi" Kong recently tried to open his own business - a bike repair shop - at the corner of 10th and Alice streets in downtown Oakland. The self-employed 33-year-old, who cobbles together a living working three part-time jobs,...

If there was ever an issue that played to Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums' strengths, it's the sad New Year's Day death of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old black man shot by a BART police officer. The fight for racial equality and justice are among the watchwords of the...

If there was ever an issue that played to Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums' strengths, it's the sad New Year's Day death of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old black man shot by a BART police officer. The fight for racial equality and justice are among the watchwords of the...

For a little over two years I've watched Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums' office like a hawk and commented on everything from his impressive wardrobe and rhetorical style to his policy and personnel decisions and leadership skills. Let's face it. I've even written...

Oakland's State of the City address on Monday night was supposed to be a festive event where Mayor Ron Dellums highlighted his accomplishments, identified the city's priorities and provided a sobering plan about what would be needed to achieve them in the...

Former City Manager Robert Bobb withdrew his name as a candidate to fill the long-vacant Oakland city administrator's position. Instead, he accepted the newly created state post of emergency financial director for the Detroit public schools. Under Michigan...

I can't speak for the millions of African Americans who watched President-elect Barack Obama take center stage in Chicago's Grant Park in November, but for me it conjured up images of a 40-year-old memory I thought was long forgotten. For some reason, I...

The contradictions between Ron Dellums' storybook congressional career on Capitol Hill and his rocky performance as a big-city mayor are too stark to ignore. He left Washington after 27 years in office as the liberal lion in the House of Representatives, a...

In Richmond, a city that has traditionally struggled with poverty and high crime rates, a community policing plan implemented 2 1/2 years ago is beginning to take hold in some of the city's most troubled neighborhoods. It has come down to a two front war: a...

For law-abiding Oakland residents already besieged with violence and high crime rates, Wednesday night's demonstration to protest the shooting death of a young man at the city's Fruitvale BART Station was mayhem masquerading as social justice. Well-meaning...

Art really does imitate life. A few well-meaning Oakland city officials reacted rather badly to news that HBO will soon begin production of its latest edgy urban drama, the story of a middle-aged pimp struggling to leave street life behind. The series, "...

This has been a pivotal year for our nation. Financial and housing markets slid into free fall, even as a new leader emerged who would forever change the U.S. political landscape. It was a tough year too, for those of us living on the other side of the Bay...

This has been a pivotal year for our nation. Financial and housing markets slid into free fall, even as a new leader emerged who would forever change the U.S. political landscape. It was a tough year too, for those of us living on the other side of the Bay...