AltWeeklies Wire
Oakland Has a Transparency Problemnew

Numerous boards and commissions in Oakland — and elsewhere in the East Bay — routinely violate local and state open meeting laws.
East Bay Express |
Darwin BondGraham |
05-06-2015 |
Policy Issues
Oakland's Threat to Sex Workersnew

A new eviction policy broadly targets prostitutes, and while the city argues that the law will help fight child trafficking, there's no data or evidence to back those claims.
East Bay Express |
Sam Levin |
11-13-2014 |
Policy Issues
Oakland Cops Think City Is Too Liberalnew

A newly released survey also reveals a divide within the department between an old guard resistant to change and new officers who want OPD to become a modern, progressive police force.
East Bay Express |
Darwin BondGraham and Ali Winston |
01-29-2014 |
Policy Issues
Greenwashing the War on Drugsnew

Law enforcement is now pointing to the environmental harms caused by illegal pot farms to justify the ongoing Drug War. But it was the Drug War that sent growers into California's forests.
East Bay Express |
David Downs |
10-10-2013 |
Policy Issues
Why the GOP Is Killing the Post Officenew

The conventional wisdom is that the US Postal Service is closing post offices and ending Saturday service because it's broke. Don't believe it.
East Bay Express |
Jim Hightower |
03-07-2013 |
Policy Issues
Teachers Financing Gunsnew

The California state teachers' retirement system is attempting to divest itself from a company that finances the manufacture of assault weapons like the one used at Sandy Hook Elementary School. But even if it does, it still won't be out of the gun business.
East Bay Express |
Darwin BondGraham |
01-22-2013 |
Policy Issues
Why Oakland Needs a Federal Gun Control Lawnew

Assault weapons are already banned in California, but they end up killing lots of people in Oakland because of lax rules in other states.
East Bay Express |
Robert Gammon |
12-26-2012 |
Policy Issues
Tags: Gun control
Oakland Police Union Could Take Hitnew

Judge Thelton Henderson, who is overseeing the police department, may take away arbitration from the union if he puts OPD in receivership.
East Bay Express |
Ali Winston |
11-01-2012 |
Policy Issues
Tags: Oakland Police Union
The People's Police Departmentnew

Why federal consent decrees are working in Detroit, but not in Oakland.
East Bay Express |
Joaquin Palomino |
09-19-2012 |
Policy Issues
Tags: Jerry Brown, Jean Quan, PUEBLO, Detroit Police Department, Oakland Police Department, Robert Bobb, Kwame Kilpatrick, Anthony Batts, US Department of Justice, Wayne Tucker, consent decree, Negotiated Settlement Agreement, John Burris, Robert Warshaw, The Riders, Howard Jordan, Barry Donelan, Benny Napoleon, Civil Rights Integrity Bureau, Clarence Mabanag, Coleman Young, David Robinson, Deanna Santana, Eric Lambart, Eugene Brown, Francisco Vasquez, Internal Personnel Assessment System, Jeff Romeo, Jim Chanin, Jude Siapno, Management Awareness System, Matthew Hornung, Oakland police union, Occupy Oakland, Office of the Inspector General, Ralph Godbee Jr., Rashidah Grinage, Richard Word, Sean Whent, Sheila Cockrel, Sheryl Robinson Wood, Steven Tull, Thelton Henderson
The High Costs of Outsourcing Policenew

Nine out of ten Oakland cops live outside the city -- a fact that costs Oakland nearly $200 million in lost revenues a year, and may explain the department's disconnect with the people it's supposed to serve and protect.
East Bay Express |
Darwin BondGraham and Ali Winston |
08-10-2012 |
Policy Issues
Limited Accessnew

The Americans with Disabilities Act intends to help people. But for some it's a major headache.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
07-13-2012 |
Policy Issues
Why Not a Gas Tax?new
Voters are souring on sales taxes, so why not increase taxes on gasoline to pay for transportation projects.
East Bay Express |
Robert Gammon |
03-02-2012 |
Policy Issues
From Brown to Greennew

It's a myth that environmental laws are job killers. In fact, California's East Bay is home to many cleaned-up toxic sites that are now spurring the economy.
East Bay Express |
Darwin BondGraham |
01-27-2012 |
Policy Issues
Tags: Green Economy, Green Jobs
Private Cops on the Public Dimenew

Oakland taxpayers' money is being funneled to an anti-union company that employs private cops to patrol the downtown and uptown areas and influences OPD policies.
East Bay Express |
Darwin BondGraham |
01-26-2012 |
Policy Issues
A Thin Line in Richmondnew

After a bloody fight at City Hall, City Manager Bill Lindsay must decide the fate of a controversial anti-gang-violence program.
East Bay Express |
John Geluardi |
11-01-2011 |
Policy Issues