More than nine years ago, a resolution by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors that called for national reconciliation and reparations due to centuries of slavery in the U.S. feels eerily prescient to the state of the country in 2020…. Read More ›
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Hayward: Salinas, Marquez melt down following attacks on their records
Earlier this month, Hayward Councilmember Elisa Marquez and Mark Salinas – two of three incumbents seeking re-election this November – flashed moments of anger and disdain toward their more progressive opponents when challenged about their respective records. In one exchange,… Read More ›
Union City mayor, challengers squabble over whether city is teetering on bankruptcy
Union City Mayor Carol Dutra-Vernaci last week refuted assertions by her two mayoral challengers that the city she has led for the past eight years is on the brink of bankruptcy. Dutra-Vernaci said the statements about the city’s imminent insolvency… Read More ›
Oakland police chief applicants unlikely to be vetted by the public
The Oakland Police Commission extended Interim Chief of Police Susan Manheimer’s contract to Dec. 8. The move comes after the commission was scheduled to provide Mayor Libby Schaaf with a short list of potential candidates by the end of this… Read More ›
Alameda CTC moves $400 million from failed BART to Livermore plan to ValleyLink
The Alameda County Transportation Commission approved the transfer of $400 million in funding once earmarked for the failed BART to Livermore plan to ValleyLink, a proposed rail project that would connect the Tri-Valley to San Joaquin County. “It’s time to… Read More ›
ALCO supe candidate Vinnie Bacon sent threatening voicemail to Sikh Democrat
Alameda County supervisor candidate Vinnie Bacon sent a voicemail over the weekend to a prominent member of Fremont’s Sikh-American community threatening to end his participation in the local Democratic Party due to his support for Bacon’s opponent this fall, David… Read More ›
Alameda County moves to red tier; remains cautious about reopening schools
After new cases of the coronavirus and hospitalizations in Alameda County surged in mid-August, the county appears to be again bending the curve. On Tuesday, state health officials removed the county from the most restrictive purple tier, denoting widespread risk… Read More ›
Oakland school principals’ union executive director accused of misappropriating $200k in funds
The executive director of the union representing more than 300 Oakland school principals and administrative managers is accused of misappropriated more than $200,000. JoAnna Lougin, the long-time executive director of the United Administrators of Oakland Schools union, was fired earlier… Read More ›
ALCO Dems give some incumbents the cold shoulder in Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro
Alameda County Democrats typically have a high bar when it comes to advocating for the removal of one of their own from office. While a number of Democratic incumbents for races this November in Alameda County failed to receive the… Read More ›
Alameda County Dems make their choices for November
Alameda County Democrats ended the arduous process for selecting endorsements for the Nov. 3 election on Saturday afternoon. One hundred fifty Democrats were initially interviewed over the past month for the valuable endorsements. In addition, Alameda County Democratic Central Committee… Read More ›
Hayward: Plan to lower annual rent increases moves ahead
Hayward renters could see their annual rent increases lowered from a current five percent cap to as low as two percent, according to a proposed revision to the city’s Residential Rent Stabilization Ordinance. The three-member Hayward Housing-Homelessness Task Force moved… Read More ›
San Leandro wants to label KKK as a domestic terrorist group
In a time when the U.S is facing a reckoning over its racist past, so too is cities like San Leandro, where an ugly history of housing red-lining once created a whites-only suburban enclave in the East Bay. In addition,… Read More ›
Fremont mayoral candidate to police: ‘Did I ever admit to drinking? I said I drank three beers’
“You don’t want to get arrested for drinking in public, right?” a Fremont police officer asked Fremont mayoral candidate Justin Sha outside a black-tie fundraiser last October for the Washington Hospital Healthcare Foundation. Video of Sha’s interaction with Fremont police,… Read More ›
ALCO Dems denied endorsements to candidates taking police money, the plan appears to have worked
In July, Alameda County Democrats approved a resolution barring any prospective candidate in the November election from receiving the local party’s endorsement if they had or intend to accept campaign contributions from police unions. The resolution, backed by Oakland civil… Read More ›
Alameda County Dems to support two candidates who short-changed working people
There was a time not long ago when supporting illegal wage cuts and taking money out of the pockets of working people would have been cause for the Alameda County Democratic Party to shun your campaign. Apparently, times have changed… Read More ›
San Leandro classroom is zoombombed; 13 Fremont schools receive bomb threats
Last Monday, the same day Zoom, the online virtual conferencing site so critical to life during the pandemic, was briefly knocked offline, a so-called “Zoombomber” invaded a distance-learning classroom in San Leandro, spouting profanities and displaying lewd images, the San… Read More ›
Oakland voters will have plenty of candidates to choose from this November
Six candidates, including incumbent Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney, will vie for the Oakland City Council District 3 seat this fall. Five are seeking to replace retiring District 7 Councilmember Larry Reid, and at-large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan’s re-election faces a potentially… Read More ›
Hayward police chief apologizes for saying city council is ignorant
Hayward Police Chief Toney Chaplin apologized last week for saying Hayward City Council members were ignorant of the department’s day-to-day activities. Chaplin, a former San Francisco interim police chief, who was tapped to lead the Hayward Police Department in July… Read More ›
Oakland progressives are pushing Alameda County Dems to oppose selling Coliseum to the A’s
A group of Oakland progressives led by former Oakland mayoral candidate Pamela Price wants the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee to oppose the city’s proposed sale of its half of the Coliseum complex to the Oakland Athletics. Push back by… Read More ›
Biden chooses Harris, a former Alameda County prosecutor, as his running mate
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden chose Sen. Kamala Harris, an East Bay native, as his running mate. “I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked Kamala Harris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one… Read More ›
Gift that could keep giving: Kamala Harris endorses Oakland at-large candidate Derreck Johnson
Oakland at-large City Council candidate Derreck Johnson received a major endorsement on Monday from Sen. Kamala Harris. And with Harris on the short-list to be Joe Biden’s vice-presidential nominee, the endorsement could loom even larger in the fall. “I’ve known… Read More ›
Alameda County supervisors end summer session by approving a flurry of covid-19 relief programs
Alameda County supervisors wrapped up business prior to their month-long August recess with a number of items intended to help residents cope with the coronavirus, including a pilot program to offer a stipend to those recuperating from the virus, and… Read More ›
Charles Gilcrest, San Leandro politico known for his advocacy and kindness, dies
Charles Gilcrest, the long-time political consultant and local insider who helped start the political careers of many San Leandro elected officials, and later served as informal advisors for several mayors and councilmembers, died on Monday. He was 64. Gilcrest was… Read More ›
East Bay Insiders – Episode 25 – Remembering Charlie Gilcrest
Shortly after this episode was recorded, Eden Health District board director Charlie Gilcrest passed away. At the beginning and end of this episode, Steve Tavares and Shawn Wilson remember the man who gave so much to San Leandro. Also, the… Read More ›
Challenger sends Rebecca Kaplan a mid-year fundraising wake-up call
Oakland At-Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan is one of the city’s most well-known politicians, and seemingly one of its more popular. But her re-election campaign received a major wake-up call after one of her challengers, Oakland restaurateur Derreck Johnson, posted strong… Read More ›
Alameda County: Eviction moratorium extended again; supervisor floats rent relief idea
Just weeks after the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted to extend a countywide moratorium on evictions, the board do so again on Tuesday, furthering the prohibition to 60 days after the expiration of the county’s public health order, but… Read More ›
Alameda County official says covid-19 surge could worsen this fall
After initially keeping the coronavirus at bay, the number of new cases in Alameda County has skyrocketed to more than 11,000 over the past two months, and it may get worse, according to the county’s interim public health officer. Local… Read More ›
Miley on BLM
Please stop trying to lecture me about Black Lives Matter.-Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who is Black, responding to public speakers during a Board of Supervisor meeting on July 28.
Miley names former critic to Castro Valley MAC
The appointed seven-member Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council, the unincorporated area’s de-facto local government, is back at full-strength after the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved three new members on Tuesday, including a harsh critic of Supervisor Nate Miley. The… Read More ›
