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Oakland Observer Returns This Week to Cover Rushed "Encampment Abatement" Policy: Update: Questions Mount on Encampment "Abatement" Policy as State Suggests Potential to Lose Homeless Grant Funding Ahead of Today's Meeting
After an all too-short break, the OO will be back early this week. At issue, what appears to be a joint proposal to turn an already questionable rubric that guides the City's actions on homeless dwellings and encampments into a more visibly vituperative policy—the proposal would rename
Oakland Observer Returns This Week to Cover Rushed "Encampment Abatement" Policy
After an all too-short break, the OO will be back early this week. At issue, what appears to be a joint proposal to turn an already questionable rubric that guides the City's actions on homeless dwellings and encampments into a more visibly vituperative policy—the proposal would rename
Jerusalem Coffee Shop Presser Live Reporting Thread & Reporter's Notebook, July 30, 2025
Jerusalem Cofffee House Press Conference_July 30 2025Jerusalem Cofffee House Press Conference_July 30 2025.pdf645 KBdownload-circle
Some context and more ample info to add to this live reporting thread:
Speakers:
Walter Riley: A distinguished bay area lawyer and civil rights activist who has helped defend pro-Palestine activists such as
Live Reporting: City Council Committee Meetings, ALCO BOS Meetings/AASEG-OAC Vote; Measure W Discussion, Public Comment
It was a jumbled week for both City and County processes, and the OO reporting structure. At Council, two committee meetings were cancelled, Finance and Public Works. Life Enrichment was rescheduled for the Finance time slot, Public Safety for that of Public Works.
At Life Enrichment, Fife broke the news
OO Newsletter Down Day as Legislative Session Ends
For various reasons, there won't be a regular format Oakland Observer newsletter this week. For a run down of what happened at the City Council meeting last week and at Rules committee Thursday, please take a look at the PDFs of live reporting linked above, which will tell
Live Reporting: City Council Meeting, Rules Committee Meeting 7/15/25, 7/17/25
Observer Week in Review, 7/11/2025
Unclear Path for IAD-CPRA Transition After Transition Feasibility Report
A previously promising proposal to transfer a majority of the Internal Affairs Bureau [IAB] responsibilities to the quasi-independent Community Police Review Agency [CPRA], once budgeted to occur within FY 23-25, received a complicated response at a Public Safety Committee meeting. The
Live Reporting: Committee Meetings, Rules Committee, NSA Case Management Conference 7/8/25, 7/10/25
At Council This Week, 7/8/2025
Issues and legislation coming before Council's subject matter committees Tuesday. Not an exhaustive list, but these are issues and legislation worth taking note of. Often, the Council's Committees are the only place significant deliberation occurs on some legislation.
Finance Committee
At Finance, the main item of
Live Reporting: City Council Meeting, Rules Committee 7/1/25, 7/03/25
At Council This Week, July 1, 2025
As Legislative Break Draws Near, a Flurry of “Urgency” Legislative Items Bypass Committees & Go Directly To Council
City Staff raised eyebrows at Thursday’s Rules Committee with requests for an unusual number of “Rule 24” urgency processes to skip committee deliberation and go straight to full council. Council’s
Live Reporting: City Council Committees, Tuesday 06/24/2025-06/26/2025
City Council Report 06/17/2025: Ramachandran Target of Community Ire on Cultural Affairs Manager Freeze, Hasty Budget Process; Unusual Becker Boards Contract Approved and more...
Community Backlash at Ramachandran on Cultural Affairs Manager Freeze, Budget
Despite a hasty end to the biennial budget process earlier this month, and the subsequent cancellation of an already scheduled additional budget meeting that would have happened last week, the budget battle isn’t over yet. Members of the public