The Oakland Observer

Sign in Subscribe

Jaime Omar Yassin

Jaime Omar Yassin

At Committees This Week, 7/14/2026

At Committees This Week, 7/14/2026

Pressed for time on this preview, unfortunately, so I will keep it to the items of most importance tomorrow. I’ll observe all of the meetings [except for Life Enrichment] tomorrow and will have live reports. Community and Economic Development Committee Seminary Point Loan Forgiveness, Line of Credit Forgiveness, Rent

Special Meeting on Coliseum/Arena Sale Amendment Monday 10:30am

Special Meeting on Coliseum/Arena Sale Amendment Monday 10:30am

The City and Council are fast-tracking authorization of a second amendment to the Coliseum sale to Oakland Acquisition Company [OAC], the collective corporation of financing behemoth Loop Capital and local developer AASEG at a special meeting Monday morning. The new amendment would bring the deal in line with the

As Some CMs Push Back on Lake Interim Appointment, Public Records Reveal OakDOT Director’s Month of Complaints Against Lake and Others

As Some CMs Push Back on Lake Interim Appointment, Public Records Reveal OakDOT Director’s Month of Complaints Against Lake and Others

An unprecedented Council push back against an Interim City Administrator [CA] appointment Tuesday night appears to be only the beginning of a still unfolding saga, records released to the public last week now confirm. A Mayor’s appointment of an Interim CA is not unusual in times when the position

At Council, 7/7/2026

At Council, 7/7/2026

It’s a pretty packed agenda at Council in what will likely be the second to the last Council meeting before the end of the legislative cycle in late July. Because last Thursday's Rules Committee meeting was cancelled, a few issues will land on the agenda in a

In the Details, Week Ending 6/28/2026 (2): Jenkins Appears to Leverage Bonds for Interim City Administrator Appointment; Wang's Foreclosure Transfer Tax Measure Held in Rules

In the Details, Week Ending 6/28/2026 (2): Jenkins Appears to Leverage Bonds for Interim City Administrator Appointment; Wang's Foreclosure Transfer Tax Measure Held in Rules

1) Jenkins Appears to Leverage $5 MM Bond Deadline for Interim CAO Appointment In a surprise dispute in the regular scheduling calendar last Thursday, CM Janani Ramachandran and Rules Chair Kevin Jenkins sought to prevent the scheduling of the Mayor’s interim City Administrator appointment of Elizabeth "Betsy"

At Committees This Week, 6/23/2026

At Committees This Week, 6/23/2026

OO's Committee and Council meeting previews got off track over the past month, mostly due to primacy of reporting on the mid-cycle budget and the "strong mayor" ballot measure. It's back for the rest of the 2026 term, hopefully, but will be scaling

In the Details, Week Ending 6/21/2026 (3): "Strong Mayor" Off to Ballot after Split Vote & Mayoral Tie Breaker; Non-Profit Allies No-Show for Becker Contract Change; CPRA Director Pushes Back on Council's Anti-Oversight Budget Decision

In the Details, Week Ending 6/21/2026 (3): "Strong Mayor" Off to Ballot after Split Vote & Mayoral Tie Breaker; Non-Profit Allies No-Show for Becker Contract Change; CPRA Director Pushes Back on Council's Anti-Oversight Budget Decision

1) Amid Wide-Spread Opposition, Council Deadlocks on “Strong Mayor” Ballot Measure, Triggering Lee’s First Mayoral Tie-Breaker With at least five Council Members lodging opposition to Mayor Barbara Lee's strong mayor proposal, Council nevertheless deadlocked on putting the legislation before voters in November. With a four/