Category Archives: Oakland City Council

Time to Listen to Each Other

Posted on January 22, 2013 by

Everyone is gearing up for a rough city council meeting tonight; and as a result of last week’s Public Safety Committee meeting, some council members have been sending out notices to their constituents to pack the hall with supporters for … Continue reading →

Posted in Oakland City Council, OPD, public safety | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

How Not to Win Friends and Influence People. Stop it.

Posted on January 18, 2013 by

My mother never repeated the old saying to me that “you can catch more flies with honey” than with, I don’t know, catcalls? Well, my mother was a reporter and believed in “just the facts” anyway, not very homespun; but … Continue reading →

Posted in Oakland City Council | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Saying Goodbye to the Oakland City Council while Reading Pogo on a Clear Afternoon

Posted on January 2, 2013 by

In the next week the Oakland City Council will see a rare makeover as three long time council members exit the stage and 2 new faces take their places with one well-known local politician moving into the other. Jane Brunner, … Continue reading →

Posted in Oakland City Council, Oakland elections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Guest Post–We the Policed–by Jan Gilbrecht

Posted on September 28, 2012 by

Jan Gilbrecht is an Oakland activist who recently attended the Citizens’ Police Academy and worked with other activists to request that the Oakland City Council consider setting up a police commission, a request the  council failed to take action on. … Continue reading →

Posted in Oakland City Council, OPD, police commission | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Limited Time Voter Recommendations for Oakland, 2012

Posted on August 21, 2012 by

Pamela Drake’s Limited Time Recommendations for Oakland city offices: I’m calling my recommendations “limited time” because they may expire as more information emerges. Many of the races in Oakland are for open seats, and many candidates who are running have … Continue reading →

Posted in Oakland City Council, Oakland elections | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

The Oakland City Council Embarrasses Itself.

Posted on July 19, 2012 by

After I got home from last Tuesday’s Oakland City Council meeting, I left a post on facebook that I was embarrassed by the council’s behavior that night, and many of my facebook friends responded by asking what was new with … Continue reading →

Posted in Oakland City Council, Port of Oakland, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

OPD Needs Real Civilian Oversight–We Need a Police Commission

Posted on June 18, 2012 by

A coalition of folks are putting together this proposal and asking the City to lend a hand and vote to put this charter change on the ballot for November. The thinking is that now is the time-the threat of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Oakland City Council, OPD, police commission | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mayor Jean Quan:Embattled or Fighting for Oakland?

Posted on January 15, 2012 by

It’s an old cliché that almost everyone who writes about Oakland feels they must use. You know, it’s a gritty city. The latest one was the New York Times article that touted our new restaurants, which are great, don’t get … Continue reading →

Posted in Lake Merritt, Mayor Jean Quan, Oakland City Council, Occupy Oakland, shopping in Oakland | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Chronicle Editors Outraged, Mayor Reads News Online!

Posted on December 23, 2011 by

The San Francisco Chronicle is on a tear. They have spent years and presumably thousands of their hard-earned dollars paying columnists to trash Oakland. I think the only mayor we ever had that they didn’t attack with such ferocity was, … Continue reading →

Posted in Oakland & National Budget Catastrophe, Oakland City Council, Occupy Oakland, Port of Oakland | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Occupy Oakland-What’s Next for the Movement?

Posted on November 18, 2011 by

I am a poster child for the 99%. I am a woman, an older person with no retirement savings, and I raised two kids by myself. My kids experienced chronic illnesses as children and one of them still struggles with … Continue reading →

Posted in Oakland & National Budget Catastrophe, Oakland City Council, Occupy Oakland | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments