The Oakland Observer

Sign in Subscribe

Jaime Omar Yassin

Jaime Omar Yassin

At Committees This Week: Showdown on Flock at Public Safety—Update: Hofer Files Suit to Ban OPD's ALPR

At Committees This Week: Showdown on Flock at Public Safety—Update: Hofer Files Suit to Ban OPD's ALPR

Public Safety Committee Update, 11/18/2025 8:05 am: Today, Brian Hofer and Secure Justice are filing suit against the City of Oakland, alleging that OPD has failed to follow state law governing ALPR use, as well as its own use policies, city laws and a previous settlement agreement.

Live Reporting: City Council Vote Ties Over Changes That Would Have Curtailed Evening Meetings

Live Reporting: City Council Vote Ties Over Changes That Would Have Curtailed Evening Meetings

Live reporting yesterday's Council meeting often felt more like announcing an unhinged sports event than the typical council meeting. After Ramachandran stalled CM Fife's amendments to the Jenkins/Ramachandran Rules of Procedure update with an unheard of three substitute motions—the Council finally took a vote

At Council This Week, 11/4/2025

At Council This Week, 11/4/2025

It's a 9 am meeting, with rationale that it's an election day and normal 3:30pm start time would conflict with voting. An 11am special meeting to introduce the "Encampment Abatement" proposal was cancelled last Thursday, rescheduled for an early December date. But ironically,

News Analysis: Public Participation–And Avoiding It–Becomes Major Theme at Oakland City Council

News Analysis: Public Participation–And Avoiding It–Becomes Major Theme at Oakland City Council

In October, public participation in legislative processes, and the lack of it, became an over-riding theme at the Oakland City Council's scheduling meetings. Three issues of significant importance to the public—a major institutionalization and expansion of Oakland's Flock surveillance, big changes to Oakland's

At Committees This Week, 10/28/2025

At Committees This Week, 10/28/2025

Despite an aborted effort to have an additional special city council meeting on Monday right before a full day of Committee, tomorrow’s meetings are full to the brim with important issues for Oakland residents. Probably too many for any one person or group to focus on. After an item

Week in Review [while Trump invaded Oakland, a lot of other stuff happened]

Week in Review [while Trump invaded Oakland, a lot of other stuff happened]

In this week’s review —Council Decision Leaves Oakland Police Commission with Bare Quorum, Body Unable to Meet on Thursday —EAP Would Have Come to Council in Special Meeting Monday, With One Business-Day Notice, But Brown, Ramachandran Intervene —Oakland Arms Embargo Demands Port Commission Ban Weapons Cargo Transits at Oakland

At Council This Week, 10/21/2025

At Council This Week, 10/21/2025

Non-Consent Calendar There’s only one item on the Non-Consent this week, and it's the already delayed reappointments of Police Commission Chair Ricardo Garcia-Acosta and alternate Commissioner Omar Farmer. You can read more about it here. After weeks of delay and demand by CM Jenkins that the appointments