Protesters in Berkeley last April. 9TH STATE SENATE DISTRICTBefore the events last week in Charlottesville brought national focus to skirmishes between white supremacists groups and counter-protesters, East Bay State Sen. Nancy Skinner‘s district, which prominently includes Berkeley, was the epicenter… Read More ›
protests
Bonta on Charlottesville: ‘This is not who we are.’ Says no permits should be given for hate rallies
Assemblymember Rob Bonta 18TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICTEast Bay Assemblymember Rob Bonta says President Donald Trump‘s comments last weekend asserting a moral equivalence between white supremacists marching in Charlottlesville and protesters marching in opposition were “irresponsibly and dangerously stated.” On two separate… Read More ›
San Pablo mayor wants to work in the Trump administration
ELECTION 2016 | Large anti-Donald Trump protests may be raging miles away in Oakland and other East Bay cities, but San Pablo’s Mayor Rich Kinney is interested in serving the president-elect. In a series of tweets last weekend, Kinney offered… Read More ›
Lee, Honda, Swalwell represent East Bay for House gun control sit-in
Democrats protesting on the House floor. CONGRESS | Alameda County’s three members of the House of Representatives had starring roles in the historic protest by Democrats on the House floor Wednesday urging for votes on a pair of gun-related bills…. Read More ›
During her first year in office, Libby Schaaf flipped the script in Oakland
Mayor Libby Schaaf’s biggest first-year accomplishment was her ability to flip the script in Oakland. OAKLAND | Perhaps no event had more potential to derail Libby Schaaf’s young mayoral administration than the May 1 mayhem in which protesters swarmed Oakland Auto… Read More ›
YEAR-IN-REV15W: TOP 10 EAST BAY POLITICAL NEWS STORIES
YEAR-IN-REV15W | This may not have been the most eventful year in East Bay politics, but aside from some ill-mannered moments, 2015 was totally positive. Activists fighting for social justice and fair housing registered major victories. On several occasions, a… Read More ›
In San Leandro, Tanksgiving is next Monday
A LENCO Bearcat MedEvac displayed at a public meeting Jan. 7 in San Leandro. SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | The fate of San Leandro Police Department’s controversial plan to purchase an armored personnel carrier dedicated for dangerous medical emergencies may… Read More ›
Libby Schaaf woke up this morning to the reality of being Oakland mayor
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. OAKLAND | Is Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf enjoying a free pass from the press that her predecessor Jean Quan never enjoyed? Yes. Example: the press scrum that followed Schaaf on a tour of Oakland schools earlier… Read More ›
Desley Brooks’ amazing speech on race in Oakland; need for civil disobedience
Desley Brooks: “Our city has been torn upby angry, young white people, but that’s not the perception that goes out.“ OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | Councilmember Desley Brooks can sometimes confound even her strongest supporters with a propensity toward inflammatory and… Read More ›
Morgan Stanley postpones social media effort in Oakland following protests
OAKLAND | FERGUSON | Morgan Stanley and the Alameda County Community Food Bank had planned to promote through Twitter the financial institution’s program to help provide children in Oakland with health screenings and better nutrition. However, scenes of protesters in… Read More ›
Outrage in Oakland over Michael Brown
OAKLAND | FERGUSON | In the hours since a St. Louis County prosecutor announced there will no be no indictment against the police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown this summer in Ferguson, Missouri, hundreds of people protesting the… Read More ›
Bonta shows support for Michael Brown
ASSEMBLY | 18TH DISTRICT | The shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri is a subject most politicians would rather avoid. Assemblymember Rob Bonta thought differently. The largest part of his district is Oakland, a city… Read More ›
Quan, The Mayor Who Cracked Down On Occupy Oakland, Praises Mandela
Nelson and Winnie Mandela at the Oakland Coliseum in 1990. OAKLAND | ANALYSIS | The death of former South African President Nelson Mandela Thursday had a inextricable East Bay link. The U.S. support for his anti-apartheid reforms first ruminated in the Berkeley… Read More ›
Chronicle Columnist Thinks City Hall Belongs To Politicians, Not The People
Oakland City Council meeting Nov. 19. OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | ANALYSIS | There are times when even the most veteran of journalists drop their editorial guard and reveal exactly how they think. Most people in Oakland know San Francisco Chronicle… Read More ›
San Leandro Creates Committee to Address Chinese Flag Raising
A memorial for Tibetans killed during the Chinese occupation of the country was placed outside San Leandro City Hall before Monday night’s discussion of a controversial raising of the Chinese flag over its seat of government. PHOTO/Shane Bond SAN LEADNRO CITY COUNCIL//FLAG FLAP… Read More ›
Bonta Asks Oakland To Refocus Anger Over Zimmerman Verdict
A Woman carries a Trayvon Martin sign Monday near 6th Street and Broadway in Oakland. PHOTO/Steven Tavares ASSEMBLY 18//OAKLAND | After three days of peaceful protest in the streets of Oakland following the not guilty verdict in the killing of 17-year-old… Read More ›
It’s Not Us Versus Us; It’s Us Versus Elite In Every Institution
Protesters at Port of Oakland, Nov. 2. DISPATCHES FROM OCCUPYDec. 11, 2011 | When you sort through the subterfuge and flagrant corporate lines peddled by the local mainstream media over the possibility of a rift between labor and the Occupy… Read More ›
Images From OccupySF After Early Morning Raid By Police
SAN FRANCISCO | Dec. 7, 2011 | When I shot some of this video yesterday, I was struck by how absurd these police operations have become. Large groups of police chasing in formation after a rag-tag group of protesters. Nothing much… Read More ›
Bachmann Is So Wrong About Occupy’s Love For Obama
Dissatisfied Obama supporter Dec. 6 in Oakland. DISPATCH FROM OCCUPYDec. 8, 2011 | Michele Bachmann is dead wrong on a lot of issues. Here’s another. The Republican presidential candidate with lagging poll numbers Wednesday called the growing Occupy Wall Street… Read More ›
VIDEO: The March To The Port of Oakland
OAKLAND | Nov. 2, 2011 | Occupy Oakland protesters Tuesday in Downtown Oakland are a panoply of races and beliefs all with differing senses of humor. In the video below, high school students proudly crowed over their ability to “occupy”… Read More ›
Occupy Oakland Prepares For General Strike, Aims To Shut Down Port
OAKLAND | Oct. 31, 2011 | Organizers for the Occupy Oakland movement announced specifics on the group’s ambitious general strike scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 2. In addition to cultural events at Frank Ogawa Plaza in front of Oakland City Hall… Read More ›
MoveOn.org Adds To Growing National Attention On Oakland
#OCCUPYOAKLANDOct. 27, 2011 | First, there was a sanctimonious special comment from Keith Olbermann (VIDEO) calling for Oakland Mayor Jean Quan to resign after police quelled Occupy Oakland protesters with tear gas. Jon Stewart then added his humorous take along with talking trash… Read More ›
The Medium Is The Message at #OccupyOakland
#OCCUPYOAKLAND Oct. 26, 2011 | Understandably, many Americans wonder what to make of the continuing protests and sprawling encampments in many large American cities. “What do they want?” many say, as if they weren’t actually part of the “they.” It’s a fair… Read More ›
Bay Area Marches In Solidarity With Organized Labor
Labor supporter march down Market Street Tuesday evening in San Francisco. Demonstrations were held across the Bay Area in solidarity with public employee union members in Wisconsin, whose collective bargaining rights were stripped last month by the state Legislature. Rallies… Read More ›
Grant Prostesters Outnumber Pro-Mehserle Rally in Walnut Creek
RALLY REMAINED PEACEFUL, BUT NOT WITHOUT ANGRY WAR OF WORDSBy Steven Tavares WALNUT CREEK – Pro-Oscar Grant prostesters over-shouted and overwhelmed with numbers a rally Monday afternoon in Walnut Creek meant to support convicted former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. A brick retaining… Read More ›
Group to Hold Protest in Favor of Mehserle Next Week
As far as bad ideas go, planning a rally in support of former BART cop Johannes Mehserle seems to be high on the list. Especially after general unrest followed last Thursday’s verdict of involuntary manslaughter. A Facebook page planning a demonstration in… Read More ›
Covering the Health Care Debate as Wrestling Match
TEAPARTY-PATRIOTS.COM ANTI-TAX PROTESTERS TARGET STARK’S TOWN HALL MEETINGSIt’s Rep. Pete Stark’s turn to navigate the wrath of “counterprotests”. Whether the protests are artificially created opposition as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls them, AstroTurf or genuine right wing exasperation with the… Read More ›