Oakland Report’s Newsstand is a daily roundup of Oakland news from across the spectrum — a one-stop destination for readers to keep abreast of what’s happening in The Town. “I got 5” features the top five headlines we found interesting or notable this week.
1. Oakland approved $61 million in contracts with no council vote or prior public review
Oakland delayed the required public reports on these contracts for three years. The report was finally issued this week — and it shows hundreds of contracts awarded without a public bid in Oakland. Each individual contract award came in below $250,000. Per city policy, contracts above $250,000 must be approved in advance by city council in a public meeting — where Oaklanders would get the chance to see and comment on them before they are signed. The list of contracts shows several apparent instances in which multiple individual contracts that cumulatively exceeded the $250,000 threshold were awarded to the same vendor in a single fiscal year. Under the current city charter, the chain of responsibility for these under-$250,000 contracts ends with mayor Barbara Lee. During Lee’s tenure to date, $27.2 million in city contracts were awarded with no council vote or public review… Read more
2. Oakland school board incumbents claim “billionaires” want to turn schools into… data centers?
In the final stretch of the Oakland school board elections, school board president Jennifer Brouhard and vice president Valarie Bachelor delivered a bold closing message: that their opponents are fronts for “billionaires” who want to close schools and sell the buildings for data centers. Brouhard (running for re-election in district 2) and Bachelor (running for re-election in district 6) made the claims in campaign videos, but none of their challengers has proposed anything of the sort, and state law makes it highly unlikely… Read more
3. “Smoke and mirrors”: former BART director slams transit tax
Measure RTM, the transit tax on the ballot is “more smoke and mirrors meant to dupe voters into paying more taxes,” wrote former BART director Debora Allen this week. She notes that the “independent” oversight committee would be appointed by the transit agencies themselves. The measure allows agencies to get credit for “cost savings” even when overall costs go up, which she describes as, “if I were planning to buy a Lamborghini this year but decided to buy it next year instead.” She notes BART’s operating costs increased well beyond the rate of inflation, though the system carried only 46% of its pre-pandemic ridership. Major tax recipients (like Santa Clara County’s VTA) wouldn’t be subjected to key accountability provisions at all… Read more
Don’t miss a beat. Subscribe to Oakland Report (it’s free)
4. Secret recordings revealed in Sheng Thao corruption trial
Cecilia Mendez, a former employee of California Waste Solutions and Evolutionary Homes, turned over secret recordings and agreed to testify for the prosecution. Mendez secretly recorded board meetings of California Waste Solutions, Oakland's recycling contractor. The company is at the center of a pay-to-play bribery scheme in which Thao is alleged to have traded favors with its owners, David and Andy Duong, and with political operative-turned-Evolutionary Homes co-founder Mario Juarez in exchange for political support and payoffs through Thao's romantic partner, Andre Jones. The recordings reveal the Duongs and Juarez discussing aspects of the alleged pay-to-play scheme with Thao and Jones. Thao, Jones, and both Duongs have pleaded not guilty; Juarez has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify for the feds… Read more
5. Oakland’s First Fridays may end; sponsors exit after violent incidents
The First Fridays street festival may cease after corporate funding fell 30%, event organizers say. The lack of sponsorship has led organizers to cancel the November 6 event and ask the community for help to bring it back in December. Late-night violent incidents after and nearby the event have led to public scrutiny and withdrawals of sponsor support… Read more
Subscribe to Oakland Report. (It’s free.)
Oakland Report’s Newsstand is a free public service to help Oaklanders stay informed in a fragmented media environment. We review over 200 publications for items that Oaklanders may want to know or find interesting — including local government, politics, public safety, business, schools, arts and culture. Headlines are refreshed by hand daily.
The barbarians breached the gates years ago., unfortunately.
The contrast is striking. The video of downtown Oakland’s imposing classic and elegant structures connoting success, order, growth, legacy, civility and respect ..against mobs of out of control IMBECILES on the streets.
Let’s be candid: This is the IMAGE most people have of Oakland, and why “we never go to Oakland.”