January 2014
email to Maurice Brenyah-Addow
I just want to keep you informed. I got one negative call back and it's the house directly to the right of me if you're standing on the street. I don't know the address. It was the husband, and he claimed his wife was on the Oakland city Council. He said he would support 3 units not 5. I let him know we have zoning for 8 and we were keeping the project to a minimum as it was. So he threatened that his wife knows the whole city council blah blah blah.
http://documents.scribd.com.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/6r5f3mchj44bbvdv.pdf
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Sunday, December 25, 2016
95 Oakland Bldg Dept (OBD) - North Oakland House collapses nearly crushing occupant
April 2015
Contractor Says Collapsed Oakland House Was Accident Waiting To Happen, Inspectors Look For Violations
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) — Cal/OSHA and city inspectors are investigating for potential violations by contractors after a North Oakland home collapsed Thursday, nearly crushing a person inside. A veteran contractor who examined this house told KPIX 5 that workers failed to brace the wall framing, which could have led to the collapse.
The collapse trapped Bubba Powell, a local homeless man who was hired by the contractor to keep squatters away. He was not seriously hurt.
A Marin County construction company bought the home last year for $430,000 to fix the home and flip it.
They lifted up the house and poured a new foundation, but neighbors said it was supported by some flimsy scaffolding.
Licensed contractor Juan Hernandez examined the house. He says the contractors who did the framing also failed to brace the 2×4 studs.
“They don’t have the braces to support the temporary wall. They have to have a crossbar to support, for the wall to not move like this,” Hernandez told KPIX 5.
Next door neighbor Michael Davies says work stopped on the house and it was left off the ground for the last five weeks.
Hernandez said that’s way too long. “They just left it raised for too long. It was an accident waiting to happen,” he said.
Contractor Tim Peterson told KPIX 5 there were braces, and he’s not sure what happened to them, but he wouldn’t answer any other questions. The city is investigating whether he had the right permit.
The collapse partially crushed part of Davies’ home, causing it to be red-tagged by the city. Davies’ said the contractor of the collapsed house offered to fix it. “He was saying, ‘Well, looks like I’m gonna be fixing your house next.’ And I said, ‘I don’t know, not the way yours was falling down’” he recalled.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/04/03/contractor-collapsed-oakland-house-accident-waiting-to-happen-cal-osha-violations/
Contractor Says Collapsed Oakland House Was Accident Waiting To Happen, Inspectors Look For Violations
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) — Cal/OSHA and city inspectors are investigating for potential violations by contractors after a North Oakland home collapsed Thursday, nearly crushing a person inside. A veteran contractor who examined this house told KPIX 5 that workers failed to brace the wall framing, which could have led to the collapse.
The collapse trapped Bubba Powell, a local homeless man who was hired by the contractor to keep squatters away. He was not seriously hurt.
A Marin County construction company bought the home last year for $430,000 to fix the home and flip it.
They lifted up the house and poured a new foundation, but neighbors said it was supported by some flimsy scaffolding.
Licensed contractor Juan Hernandez examined the house. He says the contractors who did the framing also failed to brace the 2×4 studs.
“They don’t have the braces to support the temporary wall. They have to have a crossbar to support, for the wall to not move like this,” Hernandez told KPIX 5.
Next door neighbor Michael Davies says work stopped on the house and it was left off the ground for the last five weeks.
Hernandez said that’s way too long. “They just left it raised for too long. It was an accident waiting to happen,” he said.
Contractor Tim Peterson told KPIX 5 there were braces, and he’s not sure what happened to them, but he wouldn’t answer any other questions. The city is investigating whether he had the right permit.
The collapse partially crushed part of Davies’ home, causing it to be red-tagged by the city. Davies’ said the contractor of the collapsed house offered to fix it. “He was saying, ‘Well, looks like I’m gonna be fixing your house next.’ And I said, ‘I don’t know, not the way yours was falling down’” he recalled.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/04/03/contractor-collapsed-oakland-house-accident-waiting-to-happen-cal-osha-violations/
94 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - Neighbors reported squatters in bldg - no inspections. Fire Breaks out
December 2015
Fatal East Oakland apartment fire deemed accidental
Two people died early Monday morning when a two-alarm fire ripped through an East Oakland apartment building that neighbors said had become a source of trouble after two blazes earlier this year.
The first calls about the fire at a four-unit apartment complex on the 6200 block of Eastlawn Street near 62nd Avenue came in around 1:15 a.m., an Oakland fire dispatcher said.
This was not the first fire at the apartment complex, officials said. The building had burned once in May and then again 10 days ago, Fire Battalion Chief Coy Justice said.
One neighbor, who declined to give his name, said he thought the complex had been abandoned after the earlier fire.
“The power had been cut off after the last fire,” Justice said. “So there really shouldn’t have been anyone in the building.”
Casilla also said that numerous reports had been made to police after nearby residents realized the building had become a nexus for illegal activity, but that she saw no evidence that action was taken.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/2-dead-in-East-Oakland-apartment-fire-6723533.php
Fatal East Oakland apartment fire deemed accidental
Two people died early Monday morning when a two-alarm fire ripped through an East Oakland apartment building that neighbors said had become a source of trouble after two blazes earlier this year.
The first calls about the fire at a four-unit apartment complex on the 6200 block of Eastlawn Street near 62nd Avenue came in around 1:15 a.m., an Oakland fire dispatcher said.
This was not the first fire at the apartment complex, officials said. The building had burned once in May and then again 10 days ago, Fire Battalion Chief Coy Justice said.
One neighbor, who declined to give his name, said he thought the complex had been abandoned after the earlier fire.
“The power had been cut off after the last fire,” Justice said. “So there really shouldn’t have been anyone in the building.”
Casilla also said that numerous reports had been made to police after nearby residents realized the building had become a nexus for illegal activity, but that she saw no evidence that action was taken.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/2-dead-in-East-Oakland-apartment-fire-6723533.php
93 Oakland Bldg Dept (OBD) - Constructive Eviction is ignored. Apt Bldg goes up in flames
November 2016
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- ABC7 News is learning that a lawsuit was filed against the property owner of the Oakland apartment building that went up in flames Monday morning.
The previous tenants say the new owners started construction while others still lived in the original building on the property. They say digging exposed gas lines and damaged the home's foundation. Construction worker even allegedly used electricity that they were charged for.
One former tenant, Hillary Jacobs, says she and others are suing the property owner. Their attorney calls this fire "suspicious" considering the current litigation.
http://abc7news.com/news/attorney-calls-oakland-apartment-fire-suspicious-/1581674/
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- ABC7 News is learning that a lawsuit was filed against the property owner of the Oakland apartment building that went up in flames Monday morning.
The previous tenants say the new owners started construction while others still lived in the original building on the property. They say digging exposed gas lines and damaged the home's foundation. Construction worker even allegedly used electricity that they were charged for.
One former tenant, Hillary Jacobs, says she and others are suing the property owner. Their attorney calls this fire "suspicious" considering the current litigation.
http://abc7news.com/news/attorney-calls-oakland-apartment-fire-suspicious-/1581674/
92 Oakland Bldg Dept (OBD) - Oakland building inspectors are terrible at citing landlords or following up
December 2016
Oakland Fire: Why Did Building Inspectors Miss the Ghost Ship?
Bay Area building inspectors describe protocols that leave much up to chance. And few satisfying answers.
On November 17, a building inspector was dispatched to the property to eyeball an alleged “Illegal interior building structure.” But nobody left the door open for the inspector to walk into. And that was that. The inspector couldn’t gain entry and, a shade over two weeks later, the warehouse burned. There was no follow-up visit.
Why no inspection follow-up took place after November 17 remains unknown. Darin Ranelletti, the interim director of Oakland’s Planning and Building Department, hasn’t returned our messages. But, weeks prior to the Ghost Ship blaze, Joe Tobener, a San Francisco tenants’ attorney, had pitched San Francisco on a story: Why not write about how Oakland building inspectors are terrible at following up? “They are poor at citing landlords for violations,” he claimed, “and they are poor at following up once they do cite landlords.
Local building inspectors tell us that, in the event of evident life-threatening situations, the city attorney will be brought into the picture and a judge’s ruling will be required for a forcible intervention (this rarely occurs; one inspector with nearly two decades on the job told us that he’s never had to take this step). But the allegation triggering November’s Oakland inspection—“Illegal interior building structure”—doesn’t necessarily rise to that level. Nor do four prior complaints leveled against the building dating back to 2004, which are listed on Oakland’s Planning and Building website—all of which involve refuse, junker cars, vermin, or other signs of blight. Other than the most recent case, which is now tragically moot, these issues were either closed or abated.
When asked what they would have done if they showed up at the Ghost Ship on November 17, the building inspectors we spoke to provided a number of intriguing answers (none said they'd do nothing, which is what happened). If the warehouse were in San Francisco and not Oakland, per the city’s guidelines, the inspector should have left a slip with his phone number on it, requesting an inspection time be worked out in the near future (good luck with that). Less officially, one San Francisco inspector said he’d call people he grew up with who now work in the fire department here, and have them take action—a charmingly small-town response. Another inspector said he’d simply drive around and return periodically until he caught someone loading or unloading, and talk his way inside. “You can walk through an open door,” he reminds us. A building inspector actually has more leeway than a cop to march through such open doors and onto properties: “I guarantee you I’d have gotten into that building.”
Coda: Following publication of this article, attorney Joe Tobener pointed out a very salient difference between San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection and its Oakland counterpart. Tenants in illegal units in San Francisco can call DBI to report safety violations and allow inspectors into their units with confidence they will not be automatically booted out of red-tagged buildings and any citations will be delivered to their landlords. Oakland residents of illegal units do not enjoy this protection, thereby incetivizing them to live in dangerous situations, not call inspectors, and bar inspectors from the premises. Tobener suggests inhabitants of illegal units "should have a private inspector come out and work with the landlord. San Francisco is less hostile than Oakland, but they will still red-tag."
http://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/oakland-fire-why-did-building-inspectors-miss-the-ghost-ship
Oakland Fire: Why Did Building Inspectors Miss the Ghost Ship?
Bay Area building inspectors describe protocols that leave much up to chance. And few satisfying answers.
On November 17, a building inspector was dispatched to the property to eyeball an alleged “Illegal interior building structure.” But nobody left the door open for the inspector to walk into. And that was that. The inspector couldn’t gain entry and, a shade over two weeks later, the warehouse burned. There was no follow-up visit.
Why no inspection follow-up took place after November 17 remains unknown. Darin Ranelletti, the interim director of Oakland’s Planning and Building Department, hasn’t returned our messages. But, weeks prior to the Ghost Ship blaze, Joe Tobener, a San Francisco tenants’ attorney, had pitched San Francisco on a story: Why not write about how Oakland building inspectors are terrible at following up? “They are poor at citing landlords for violations,” he claimed, “and they are poor at following up once they do cite landlords.
Local building inspectors tell us that, in the event of evident life-threatening situations, the city attorney will be brought into the picture and a judge’s ruling will be required for a forcible intervention (this rarely occurs; one inspector with nearly two decades on the job told us that he’s never had to take this step). But the allegation triggering November’s Oakland inspection—“Illegal interior building structure”—doesn’t necessarily rise to that level. Nor do four prior complaints leveled against the building dating back to 2004, which are listed on Oakland’s Planning and Building website—all of which involve refuse, junker cars, vermin, or other signs of blight. Other than the most recent case, which is now tragically moot, these issues were either closed or abated.
When asked what they would have done if they showed up at the Ghost Ship on November 17, the building inspectors we spoke to provided a number of intriguing answers (none said they'd do nothing, which is what happened). If the warehouse were in San Francisco and not Oakland, per the city’s guidelines, the inspector should have left a slip with his phone number on it, requesting an inspection time be worked out in the near future (good luck with that). Less officially, one San Francisco inspector said he’d call people he grew up with who now work in the fire department here, and have them take action—a charmingly small-town response. Another inspector said he’d simply drive around and return periodically until he caught someone loading or unloading, and talk his way inside. “You can walk through an open door,” he reminds us. A building inspector actually has more leeway than a cop to march through such open doors and onto properties: “I guarantee you I’d have gotten into that building.”
Coda: Following publication of this article, attorney Joe Tobener pointed out a very salient difference between San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection and its Oakland counterpart. Tenants in illegal units in San Francisco can call DBI to report safety violations and allow inspectors into their units with confidence they will not be automatically booted out of red-tagged buildings and any citations will be delivered to their landlords. Oakland residents of illegal units do not enjoy this protection, thereby incetivizing them to live in dangerous situations, not call inspectors, and bar inspectors from the premises. Tobener suggests inhabitants of illegal units "should have a private inspector come out and work with the landlord. San Francisco is less hostile than Oakland, but they will still red-tag."
http://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/oakland-fire-why-did-building-inspectors-miss-the-ghost-ship
91 Oakland Building Dept (OBD) - Allows demolition permits on an occupied bldg? (also: the bldg burned)
November 2016
OWNER OF OAKLAND BUILDING THAT CAUGHT ON FIRE BEING SUED BY FORMER TENANTS
The owner of the building next door also says she had to hire an attorney at one point against him because of some demolition work he was doing.
Federal agents from the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are at the scene investigating what may have caused the fire.
Fire investigators have not said whether they think this was set on purpose, but former tenants have their suspicions as they are suing him for starting demolition work while they still lived here. They believe it was retaliation because they had made complaints about their living conditions.
The attorney representing the former tenants spoke to ABC7 News Tuesday morning. "In this particular instance where you've got a landlord that's willing to obtain demolition permits and start demolition on a large scale and bring in big machinery while people are still living in a unit," attorney Michael Bracamontes said.
The apartment building was under construction when the fire broke out and wasn't set to be completed until next year.
The fire damaged the home next door, displacing three people.
http://abc7news.com/news/owner-of-oakland-building-that-caught-on-fire-was-in-legal-trouble/1583949/
November 2016
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A fire destroyed the building on Lester Avenue Monday, there are new details about the owner and a lawsuit over the building
We're learning some new things about the man who owns the unfinished apartment building that burned up in Oakland Monday morning. It's a lawsuit that predates the fire by two years.
The owner of the unfinished apartment complex that went up in flames, is the object of a lawsuit by several tenants who were evicted from the property two years ago to make room for the now gutted project.
At that time, the plaintiff's in the lawsuit lived in an older home owned by Athan Magganas.
"It's a combination of things. They had a rodent infestation problem that the city of Oakland cited the landlord for. There were other habitability issues such as a lack of heat," said attorney Michael Bracamontes. "There were leaks during the rainy season. There was mold in the unit."
Last year the tenants filed a lawsuit alleging Magganas used aggressive and illegal tactics to evict them and then retaliated against the tenants by starting to demolish the home while they were still in it.
http://abc7news.com/news/building-owner-says-oakland-fire-is-a-terrible-tragedy/1584410/
Did anyone really look into the Inspecton history of this building? Appears to be a significant number of code violations (and stop work orders) associated with the work:
Record ID: B1304988
Address: 317 LESTER AVE
APN: 021 022703000
August 2015
Disregard comments in other entry dated this day. It was entered without me having full information regarding this job. Spoke with Athan McManus 510-520-1482 and informed him of the following:
1) I am rescinding yesterday's approval to pour, and he is NOT to pour any more foundation until he conforms with code and City requirements.
2) The special inspector he is using (Al Masso) is not certified as special inspector, and is not approved by City of Oakland for use as a special inspector. Mr. Masso had approved rebar, shoring and soil in his report presented to me by contractor. Gave Mr McManus information as to how he can go about having Mr Masso approved as special inspector by City, and that he may use the design engineer or other approved inspector.
3) No grading inspections have been scheduled or done, and there is no record of any soils inspections or reports. Informed Mr. McManus that he is NOT APPROVED for second pour of slab matt until he has special inspection by approved inspector and produces soils report/inspection by approved geotech. Explained to him that further work may result in Stop Work Order being issued.
http://documents.scribd.com.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/163meaig004s541n.pdf
October 2013
Huge Balls of Flames:' Five-Alarm Fire Erupts in Oakland Near Lake Merritt
Neighbor Natalie Cone also said she didn't like how the previous tenants, mostly artists, were "kicked out" of their homes to pave way for the 41-unit project that the developer said was 80 percent complete by the time of the fire.
"A house full of painters, performance artists, people who had deep roots in the community, and they were kicked out of that place," she said.
Just after 5 a.m., crews descended on 317 Lester Ave. to put out the flames in a building that was supposed to be unoccupied. Athan Magganas owns the property, and his company, Adelophos, LLC was currently developing the project. He was issued a permit by the city in 2015 to begin work on the project, which was valued at $6 million, records indicate.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Fire-Erupts-in-Oakland-Near-Lake-Merritt-399303711.html
October 2016
Oakland: 5-alarm fire guts vacant building near Lake Merritt
OAKLAND — A five-alarm fire ripped through an apartment building under construction near Lake Merritt early Monday, sending flames more than 30 feet into the air and forcing neighbors to evacuate and watch as firefighters kept the blaze from spreading to nearby homes.
Fire officials estimated damage to be at least $1 million. The fire is being investigated jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the National Explosives Task Force (an arm of the ATF), and Oakland fire.
Two people in an adjacent duplex were displaced, and some people were treated for minor injuries and an anxiety attack, officials said.
Fire crews first responded to the 300 block of Lester Avenue, near Hanover Avenue, at 5:07 a.m. and found the five-story, 41-unit building engulfed in flames.
The structure, being developed by Athan Magganas and his company, Adelphos, LLC, had scaffolding on all four sides.The fire also threatened several other structures in the area, and crews evacuated between 100 and 200 residents in those buildings, Oakland Battalion Fire Chief Lisa Baker said.
“We evacuated the buildings on all three sides of it as a precaution,” she said. “Embers were flying around, because of the wind, and our main concern when we got there was protecting the other structures. The apartments under renovation were destroyed when we arrived.”
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/10/31/oakland-crews-fight-3-alarm-fire-near-lake-merritt/
October 2016
Huge blaze rips through unfinished Oakland apartment complex
As firefighters snuffed out pockets of smoldering wood and debris, investigators began probing the cause of a massive fire early Monday in Oakland that eviscerated a three-story apartment complex under construction east of Lake Merritt.
The fire was reported around 5 a.m. at the unfinished 41-unit building on the 300 block of Lester Avenue and quickly grew to an inferno that was visible for miles, radiating in the predawn darkness.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Fire-engulfs-unfinished-building-near-Lake-10424575.php
November 2007
Pleasant Hill man charged in dad's killing, car crash that injured 3
PST PLEASANT HILL - A Pleasant Hill man was charged today with murder for allegedly beating his father to death and three counts of attempted murder for allegedly ramming a vehicle in Concord intentionally while driving drunk after the slaying.
Peter Magganas, 24, was also charged with an enhancement of using a deadly weapon in the slaying Sunday of Evangelos Magganas, 56, of Pleasant Hill.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Pleasant-Hill-man-charged-in-dad-s-killing-car-3300743.php
Peter Magganas (24) beat his father to death with a pipe wrench
A Contra Costa County Superior Court judge Wednesday found a Pleasant Hill man accused of beating his father to death with a pipe wrench in November incompetent to stand trial.
http://www.mydeathspace.com/article/2008/06/03/Peter_Magganas_(24)_beat_his_father_to_death_with_a_pipe_wrench
OWNER OF OAKLAND BUILDING THAT CAUGHT ON FIRE BEING SUED BY FORMER TENANTS
The owner of the building next door also says she had to hire an attorney at one point against him because of some demolition work he was doing.
Federal agents from the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are at the scene investigating what may have caused the fire.
Fire investigators have not said whether they think this was set on purpose, but former tenants have their suspicions as they are suing him for starting demolition work while they still lived here. They believe it was retaliation because they had made complaints about their living conditions.
The attorney representing the former tenants spoke to ABC7 News Tuesday morning. "In this particular instance where you've got a landlord that's willing to obtain demolition permits and start demolition on a large scale and bring in big machinery while people are still living in a unit," attorney Michael Bracamontes said.
The apartment building was under construction when the fire broke out and wasn't set to be completed until next year.
The fire damaged the home next door, displacing three people.
http://abc7news.com/news/owner-of-oakland-building-that-caught-on-fire-was-in-legal-trouble/1583949/
November 2016
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A fire destroyed the building on Lester Avenue Monday, there are new details about the owner and a lawsuit over the building
We're learning some new things about the man who owns the unfinished apartment building that burned up in Oakland Monday morning. It's a lawsuit that predates the fire by two years.
The owner of the unfinished apartment complex that went up in flames, is the object of a lawsuit by several tenants who were evicted from the property two years ago to make room for the now gutted project.
At that time, the plaintiff's in the lawsuit lived in an older home owned by Athan Magganas.
"It's a combination of things. They had a rodent infestation problem that the city of Oakland cited the landlord for. There were other habitability issues such as a lack of heat," said attorney Michael Bracamontes. "There were leaks during the rainy season. There was mold in the unit."
Last year the tenants filed a lawsuit alleging Magganas used aggressive and illegal tactics to evict them and then retaliated against the tenants by starting to demolish the home while they were still in it.
http://abc7news.com/news/building-owner-says-oakland-fire-is-a-terrible-tragedy/1584410/
Did anyone really look into the Inspecton history of this building? Appears to be a significant number of code violations (and stop work orders) associated with the work:
Record ID: B1304988
Address: 317 LESTER AVE
APN: 021 022703000
August 2015
Disregard comments in other entry dated this day. It was entered without me having full information regarding this job. Spoke with Athan McManus 510-520-1482 and informed him of the following:
1) I am rescinding yesterday's approval to pour, and he is NOT to pour any more foundation until he conforms with code and City requirements.
2) The special inspector he is using (Al Masso) is not certified as special inspector, and is not approved by City of Oakland for use as a special inspector. Mr. Masso had approved rebar, shoring and soil in his report presented to me by contractor. Gave Mr McManus information as to how he can go about having Mr Masso approved as special inspector by City, and that he may use the design engineer or other approved inspector.
3) No grading inspections have been scheduled or done, and there is no record of any soils inspections or reports. Informed Mr. McManus that he is NOT APPROVED for second pour of slab matt until he has special inspection by approved inspector and produces soils report/inspection by approved geotech. Explained to him that further work may result in Stop Work Order being issued.
http://documents.scribd.com.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/163meaig004s541n.pdf
October 2013
Huge Balls of Flames:' Five-Alarm Fire Erupts in Oakland Near Lake Merritt
Neighbor Natalie Cone also said she didn't like how the previous tenants, mostly artists, were "kicked out" of their homes to pave way for the 41-unit project that the developer said was 80 percent complete by the time of the fire.
"A house full of painters, performance artists, people who had deep roots in the community, and they were kicked out of that place," she said.
Just after 5 a.m., crews descended on 317 Lester Ave. to put out the flames in a building that was supposed to be unoccupied. Athan Magganas owns the property, and his company, Adelophos, LLC was currently developing the project. He was issued a permit by the city in 2015 to begin work on the project, which was valued at $6 million, records indicate.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Fire-Erupts-in-Oakland-Near-Lake-Merritt-399303711.html
October 2016
Oakland: 5-alarm fire guts vacant building near Lake Merritt
OAKLAND — A five-alarm fire ripped through an apartment building under construction near Lake Merritt early Monday, sending flames more than 30 feet into the air and forcing neighbors to evacuate and watch as firefighters kept the blaze from spreading to nearby homes.
Fire officials estimated damage to be at least $1 million. The fire is being investigated jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the National Explosives Task Force (an arm of the ATF), and Oakland fire.
Two people in an adjacent duplex were displaced, and some people were treated for minor injuries and an anxiety attack, officials said.
Fire crews first responded to the 300 block of Lester Avenue, near Hanover Avenue, at 5:07 a.m. and found the five-story, 41-unit building engulfed in flames.
The structure, being developed by Athan Magganas and his company, Adelphos, LLC, had scaffolding on all four sides.The fire also threatened several other structures in the area, and crews evacuated between 100 and 200 residents in those buildings, Oakland Battalion Fire Chief Lisa Baker said.
“We evacuated the buildings on all three sides of it as a precaution,” she said. “Embers were flying around, because of the wind, and our main concern when we got there was protecting the other structures. The apartments under renovation were destroyed when we arrived.”
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/10/31/oakland-crews-fight-3-alarm-fire-near-lake-merritt/
October 2016
Huge blaze rips through unfinished Oakland apartment complex
As firefighters snuffed out pockets of smoldering wood and debris, investigators began probing the cause of a massive fire early Monday in Oakland that eviscerated a three-story apartment complex under construction east of Lake Merritt.
The fire was reported around 5 a.m. at the unfinished 41-unit building on the 300 block of Lester Avenue and quickly grew to an inferno that was visible for miles, radiating in the predawn darkness.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Fire-engulfs-unfinished-building-near-Lake-10424575.php
November 2007
Pleasant Hill man charged in dad's killing, car crash that injured 3
PST PLEASANT HILL - A Pleasant Hill man was charged today with murder for allegedly beating his father to death and three counts of attempted murder for allegedly ramming a vehicle in Concord intentionally while driving drunk after the slaying.
Peter Magganas, 24, was also charged with an enhancement of using a deadly weapon in the slaying Sunday of Evangelos Magganas, 56, of Pleasant Hill.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Pleasant-Hill-man-charged-in-dad-s-killing-car-3300743.php
Peter Magganas (24) beat his father to death with a pipe wrench
A Contra Costa County Superior Court judge Wednesday found a Pleasant Hill man accused of beating his father to death with a pipe wrench in November incompetent to stand trial.
http://www.mydeathspace.com/article/2008/06/03/Peter_Magganas_(24)_beat_his_father_to_death_with_a_pipe_wrench
90 Oakland Fire Dept (OFD) - Inspections flawed in fire-prone Oakland hills
December 2016
Fire department emails: Inspections flawed in fire-prone Oakland hills
OAKLAND — Oakland’s embattled fire department, already under scrutiny for failing to inspect the Ghost Ship warehouse before this month’s deadly blaze, is facing a new round of allegations about its lax fire prevention efforts in one of the region’s most vulnerable areas to wildfires: the Oakland Hills, site of a 1991 firestorm that killed 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
Internal fire department emails obtained by this news organization conclude the department’s firefighters — tasked with regularly monitoring the hillsides — often signed off on properties despite overgrown vegetation around homes that clearly posed a high fire danger.
The issues date back to at least 2011 and persist to as recently as this month. One email, dated Dec. 15, shows department inspectors conducting spot checks earlier this year found fire hazards at 28 properties that had recently passed review by department firefighters. A 2014 email from a ranking inspector alleged that a property firefighters had passed turned out to be in “extreme violation” of safety rules.
“Any experienced firefighter with even basic knowledge of either structural or wildland firefighting could see these homes on this street are completely at risk and should have been marked out of compliance” and written up, the head of the department’s civilian wildland fire inspection team Vincent Crudele wrote to Deputy Fire Chief Mark Hoffmann.
Records show department infighting, arguments among people responsible for safety and what a city audit described as an attitude among firefighters that the inspections aren’t important.
The latest revelations upset Councilwoman Annie Campbell Washington, who represents neighborhoods at the center of the 1991 fire and said the city should investigate the integrity of the inspections.
“We suffered one of the worst wildfires in the country,” she said. “There’s no other part of the city that feels fire danger as severely. I take this extremely seriously.”
Both Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed and Fire Marshal Miguel Trujillo, who’s in charge of inspections, declined requests for interviews.
In an email sent on the chief’s behalf, she said: “Engine companies are directed to reinspect properties where deficiencies are identified. The Department makes every effort to ensure vegetation management inspections are done properly.”
The concerns about hills inspections raise new questions about whether the Oakland Fire Department can adequately perform an array of public safety inspections. The doomed Ghost Ship artists collective, where 36 people were killed Dec. 2, had never been inspected despite its owner registering it as city business 21 years ago. A fire station was right around the corner.
Last year, the department became the first in California to be stripped of its state certification to perform hazardous materials inspections of places like gas stations and industrial buildings where chemicals are used. In 2014, an Alameda County Grand Jury found more than a third of commercial buildings went unchecked despite city code that at the time had required annual inspections.
In the hills — where a firefighter and police officer were among the dozens killed in the 1991 blaze — firefighters are assigned to inspect about 21,000 residential properties each fire season. They are supposed to check for overgrowth of trees and bushes, tall weeds and grasses, dead vegetation, and even ivy growing on houses, which can act like a ladder for fire. A team of two full-time civilian inspectors, along with a few seasonal employees, check vacant lots and open lands. Those inspectors also investigate complaints about fire hazards, a duty that often leads to them spot-checking the firefighters’ work.
In 2013, then-City Auditor Courtney Ruby released an audit detailing problems with fire inspections in the hills dating back to at least 2011. “Our citizens’ lives are literally at stake,” Ruby wrote.
She identified the need for “stronger supervision, quality control measures, better oversight,” after finding lax enforcement and an attitude among firefighters that “fire inspections are not necessarily important.”
Current Auditor Brenda Roberts said Wednesday that many of the core problems remain with no firm timetable for fixing them. The department blew a deadline in February to explain how it would address the problems, and then missed a second deadline over the summer to formalize a vegetation inspection policy. Roberts plans to release another progress report in February 2017.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/12/24/fire-department-emails-inspections-flawed-in-fire-prone-oakland-hills/
Fire department emails: Inspections flawed in fire-prone Oakland hills
OAKLAND — Oakland’s embattled fire department, already under scrutiny for failing to inspect the Ghost Ship warehouse before this month’s deadly blaze, is facing a new round of allegations about its lax fire prevention efforts in one of the region’s most vulnerable areas to wildfires: the Oakland Hills, site of a 1991 firestorm that killed 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
Internal fire department emails obtained by this news organization conclude the department’s firefighters — tasked with regularly monitoring the hillsides — often signed off on properties despite overgrown vegetation around homes that clearly posed a high fire danger.
The issues date back to at least 2011 and persist to as recently as this month. One email, dated Dec. 15, shows department inspectors conducting spot checks earlier this year found fire hazards at 28 properties that had recently passed review by department firefighters. A 2014 email from a ranking inspector alleged that a property firefighters had passed turned out to be in “extreme violation” of safety rules.
“Any experienced firefighter with even basic knowledge of either structural or wildland firefighting could see these homes on this street are completely at risk and should have been marked out of compliance” and written up, the head of the department’s civilian wildland fire inspection team Vincent Crudele wrote to Deputy Fire Chief Mark Hoffmann.
Records show department infighting, arguments among people responsible for safety and what a city audit described as an attitude among firefighters that the inspections aren’t important.
The latest revelations upset Councilwoman Annie Campbell Washington, who represents neighborhoods at the center of the 1991 fire and said the city should investigate the integrity of the inspections.
“We suffered one of the worst wildfires in the country,” she said. “There’s no other part of the city that feels fire danger as severely. I take this extremely seriously.”
Both Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed and Fire Marshal Miguel Trujillo, who’s in charge of inspections, declined requests for interviews.
In an email sent on the chief’s behalf, she said: “Engine companies are directed to reinspect properties where deficiencies are identified. The Department makes every effort to ensure vegetation management inspections are done properly.”
The concerns about hills inspections raise new questions about whether the Oakland Fire Department can adequately perform an array of public safety inspections. The doomed Ghost Ship artists collective, where 36 people were killed Dec. 2, had never been inspected despite its owner registering it as city business 21 years ago. A fire station was right around the corner.
Last year, the department became the first in California to be stripped of its state certification to perform hazardous materials inspections of places like gas stations and industrial buildings where chemicals are used. In 2014, an Alameda County Grand Jury found more than a third of commercial buildings went unchecked despite city code that at the time had required annual inspections.
In the hills — where a firefighter and police officer were among the dozens killed in the 1991 blaze — firefighters are assigned to inspect about 21,000 residential properties each fire season. They are supposed to check for overgrowth of trees and bushes, tall weeds and grasses, dead vegetation, and even ivy growing on houses, which can act like a ladder for fire. A team of two full-time civilian inspectors, along with a few seasonal employees, check vacant lots and open lands. Those inspectors also investigate complaints about fire hazards, a duty that often leads to them spot-checking the firefighters’ work.
In 2013, then-City Auditor Courtney Ruby released an audit detailing problems with fire inspections in the hills dating back to at least 2011. “Our citizens’ lives are literally at stake,” Ruby wrote.
She identified the need for “stronger supervision, quality control measures, better oversight,” after finding lax enforcement and an attitude among firefighters that “fire inspections are not necessarily important.”
Current Auditor Brenda Roberts said Wednesday that many of the core problems remain with no firm timetable for fixing them. The department blew a deadline in February to explain how it would address the problems, and then missed a second deadline over the summer to formalize a vegetation inspection policy. Roberts plans to release another progress report in February 2017.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/12/24/fire-department-emails-inspections-flawed-in-fire-prone-oakland-hills/
89 Oakland Fire Dept (OFD) - Inspection problems extend to hazardous materials
December 2016
Oakland inspection problems extend to hazardous materials
It’s not just firetraps that Oakland has had a hard time keeping up with: The Fire Department was doing such a poor job of tracking hazardous materials being stored at hundreds of locations across the city that the state stripped the department last year of its oversight authority.
Oakland became the first city under the state’s two-decade-old environmental regulatory program to be decertified — an embarrassing distinction that led to the job being handed to the Alameda County Environmental Health Department.
The Oakland firefighters union called it a real black eye for the department.
“They got a warning letter from the state, and they had a year to get their act together — and they didn’t,” said Zac Unger, the union’s vice president.
It was all reminiscent of problems with the department’s fire-safety inspection program cited in 2014 by the Alameda County civil grand jury. The panel concluded that the city wasn’t even trying to check one-third of Oakland’s 12,000 commercial buildings for fire hazards.
Oddly enough, even while the Fire Department complained of a shortage of funds to pay for fire inspectors, its hazardous-waste program ran up a $1.46 million surplus in 2014, according to a report last year in the East Bay Express.
All the while, the state found that some of that extra money that the department was sitting on — $249,000 — had been illegally transferred to the city’s general fund.
According the Cal EPA, the Fire Department not only didn’t correct the program deficiencies, it didn’t even respond to the state’s “notice of intent” to decertify Oakland from conducting the inspections.
Upshot: After more than a decade of complaints about the Fire Department’s training and handling of hazardous waste, the state pulled the plug on the program and turned it over to the county.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Oakland-inspection-problems-extend-to-hazardous-10789607.php
Oakland inspection problems extend to hazardous materials
It’s not just firetraps that Oakland has had a hard time keeping up with: The Fire Department was doing such a poor job of tracking hazardous materials being stored at hundreds of locations across the city that the state stripped the department last year of its oversight authority.
Oakland became the first city under the state’s two-decade-old environmental regulatory program to be decertified — an embarrassing distinction that led to the job being handed to the Alameda County Environmental Health Department.
The Oakland firefighters union called it a real black eye for the department.
“They got a warning letter from the state, and they had a year to get their act together — and they didn’t,” said Zac Unger, the union’s vice president.
It was all reminiscent of problems with the department’s fire-safety inspection program cited in 2014 by the Alameda County civil grand jury. The panel concluded that the city wasn’t even trying to check one-third of Oakland’s 12,000 commercial buildings for fire hazards.
Oddly enough, even while the Fire Department complained of a shortage of funds to pay for fire inspectors, its hazardous-waste program ran up a $1.46 million surplus in 2014, according to a report last year in the East Bay Express.
All the while, the state found that some of that extra money that the department was sitting on — $249,000 — had been illegally transferred to the city’s general fund.
According the Cal EPA, the Fire Department not only didn’t correct the program deficiencies, it didn’t even respond to the state’s “notice of intent” to decertify Oakland from conducting the inspections.
Upshot: After more than a decade of complaints about the Fire Department’s training and handling of hazardous waste, the state pulled the plug on the program and turned it over to the county.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Oakland-inspection-problems-extend-to-hazardous-10789607.php
88 Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) - Violating Federal Civil Rights of Students with Disabilities
Federal investigators cite harsh discipline in special education at Bay Area school
Stuart Candell was a 9-year-old, underweight, intellectually gifted student with autism, anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder when, with the consent of his parents, his home school district Oakland Unified placed him at the Anova Center for Education Contra Costa in 2013. Stuart had a history of biting, hitting and kicking and Anova, a private special education school, specializes in managing the behavior of high-functioning children with autism.
Over the next 11 months, Anova staff restrained Stuart face-down on the floor 92 times for cursing, hiding under a desk, “too much silly” and other behaviors, according to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. He regressed academically and became suicidal while Anova and Oakland Unified took little action, investigators found.
“It is Oakland Unified School District’s highest priority to provide safe learning environments for all students,” the district said in a statement. Oakland Unified, which contracts with Anova and other private special education schools for services the district cannot provide, is actively complying with the terms of the resolution, the statement said. Further, the district said it believes the changes called for will “positively impact” Oakland Unified students with special needs who are placed in private special education schools.
In a statement on Aug. 4, Anova said the Office for Civil Rights investigation report was not a public document and that Anova had not received a copy. “Once available, we will carefully consider the findings of the report,” the statement said.
Advocates and news organizations found the documents through a news release posted Aug. 2 on the website of Disability Rights California, the state watchdog organization that filed the complaint with the Office for Civil Rights.
In its statement, Anova defended its use of prone restraints and said the method is “fully legal and used only when ongoing means of behavioral therapy have been unsuccessful to prevent physical harm to the pupil, or to other students or staff.” Staff follow a strict protocol when using prone restraints, the statement said.
In one example cited by investigators, Stuart was put in a prone restraint for 35 minutes because “he was upset about walking into dog droppings and ran into the classroom screaming.” In another example, Stuart was held in a prone restraint for 45 minutes for throwing a chair. On another day, he was put in a prone restraint twice, for 15 minutes each time, “due to the student’s frustration regarding a game of Uno,” investigators found.
Related
Michael Ashline, left, and his son Andrew, a special needs student in Orange, at their home in 2014.
Little Oversight Of Restraint Practices In Special Education
At Anova, investigators said Stuart was held in a prone restraint for an average of 29 minutes each time; the longest prone restraint was 93 minutes, with staff taking turns holding him down. While being restrained, he was not allowed to go to the bathroom or given food or drink.
“The district allowed Anova to routinely use prone restraint in response to the behavior of the student that was defiant and disruptive, but not dangerous,” the report focused on Stuart stated.
The prone restraints are a sharp contrast to the system of positive interventions that Oakland Unified is required to apply to its non-special-education students with behavior issues, under the terms of a previous Office for Civil Rights resolution regarding the outsized number of African-American students being suspended, said Suge Lee, supervising attorney at Disability Rights California.
Lee said she was unaware of any other Office for Civil Rights investigation that included such strongly worded findings on the dangers of prone restraint in special education and the legal responsibility of school districts to oversee their students in private special education schools.
“The Office for Civil Rights found, rightly, that what happened to this kid deprived him of a free and appropriate education under education law and that his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act were violated because he was denied an equal education to that of students without disabilities,” she said.
“The findings show that Oakland sat on its hands.”
https://edsource.org/2016/federal-investigators-cite-harsh-discipline-in-special-education-at-oakland-district/567767
August 2016
Oversight of private special education schools begins at Oakland Unified
In a violation of federal civil rights protections for students with disabilities, investigators found that Oakland Unified failed to intervene even as its staff members sat through meetings where serious concerns about Stuart’s progress were raised. On more than one occasion, Stuart’s mother said that her son was so distraught about being repeatedly restrained that merely driving up to Anova would trigger his disruptive behaviors; he also had expressed thoughts of suicide, she said. At another meeting, instructors in speech and language reported that they couldn’t provide services to Stuart because he spent so much time being restrained or recovering. Nearly a year passed before Oakland Unified took action to schedule an evaluation of Stuart’s behavior, investigators said.
https://edsource.org/2016/oversight-of-private-special-education-schools-begins-at-oakland-unified/568041
Stuart Candell was a 9-year-old, underweight, intellectually gifted student with autism, anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder when, with the consent of his parents, his home school district Oakland Unified placed him at the Anova Center for Education Contra Costa in 2013. Stuart had a history of biting, hitting and kicking and Anova, a private special education school, specializes in managing the behavior of high-functioning children with autism.
Over the next 11 months, Anova staff restrained Stuart face-down on the floor 92 times for cursing, hiding under a desk, “too much silly” and other behaviors, according to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. He regressed academically and became suicidal while Anova and Oakland Unified took little action, investigators found.
“It is Oakland Unified School District’s highest priority to provide safe learning environments for all students,” the district said in a statement. Oakland Unified, which contracts with Anova and other private special education schools for services the district cannot provide, is actively complying with the terms of the resolution, the statement said. Further, the district said it believes the changes called for will “positively impact” Oakland Unified students with special needs who are placed in private special education schools.
In a statement on Aug. 4, Anova said the Office for Civil Rights investigation report was not a public document and that Anova had not received a copy. “Once available, we will carefully consider the findings of the report,” the statement said.
Advocates and news organizations found the documents through a news release posted Aug. 2 on the website of Disability Rights California, the state watchdog organization that filed the complaint with the Office for Civil Rights.
In its statement, Anova defended its use of prone restraints and said the method is “fully legal and used only when ongoing means of behavioral therapy have been unsuccessful to prevent physical harm to the pupil, or to other students or staff.” Staff follow a strict protocol when using prone restraints, the statement said.
In one example cited by investigators, Stuart was put in a prone restraint for 35 minutes because “he was upset about walking into dog droppings and ran into the classroom screaming.” In another example, Stuart was held in a prone restraint for 45 minutes for throwing a chair. On another day, he was put in a prone restraint twice, for 15 minutes each time, “due to the student’s frustration regarding a game of Uno,” investigators found.
Related
Michael Ashline, left, and his son Andrew, a special needs student in Orange, at their home in 2014.
Little Oversight Of Restraint Practices In Special Education
At Anova, investigators said Stuart was held in a prone restraint for an average of 29 minutes each time; the longest prone restraint was 93 minutes, with staff taking turns holding him down. While being restrained, he was not allowed to go to the bathroom or given food or drink.
“The district allowed Anova to routinely use prone restraint in response to the behavior of the student that was defiant and disruptive, but not dangerous,” the report focused on Stuart stated.
The prone restraints are a sharp contrast to the system of positive interventions that Oakland Unified is required to apply to its non-special-education students with behavior issues, under the terms of a previous Office for Civil Rights resolution regarding the outsized number of African-American students being suspended, said Suge Lee, supervising attorney at Disability Rights California.
Lee said she was unaware of any other Office for Civil Rights investigation that included such strongly worded findings on the dangers of prone restraint in special education and the legal responsibility of school districts to oversee their students in private special education schools.
“The Office for Civil Rights found, rightly, that what happened to this kid deprived him of a free and appropriate education under education law and that his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act were violated because he was denied an equal education to that of students without disabilities,” she said.
“The findings show that Oakland sat on its hands.”
https://edsource.org/2016/federal-investigators-cite-harsh-discipline-in-special-education-at-oakland-district/567767
August 2016
Oversight of private special education schools begins at Oakland Unified
In a violation of federal civil rights protections for students with disabilities, investigators found that Oakland Unified failed to intervene even as its staff members sat through meetings where serious concerns about Stuart’s progress were raised. On more than one occasion, Stuart’s mother said that her son was so distraught about being repeatedly restrained that merely driving up to Anova would trigger his disruptive behaviors; he also had expressed thoughts of suicide, she said. At another meeting, instructors in speech and language reported that they couldn’t provide services to Stuart because he spent so much time being restrained or recovering. Nearly a year passed before Oakland Unified took action to schedule an evaluation of Stuart’s behavior, investigators said.
https://edsource.org/2016/oversight-of-private-special-education-schools-begins-at-oakland-unified/568041
87 Oakland Fire Inspector (OFD) - Tells KQED that school without fire alarm system is not a serious safety concern
June 2012
Since 1978, the Lacys have run St. Andrew out of a historically black church built in 1920 and declared an Oakland landmark. The striking orange-and-white façade contrasts with the dilapidated side and back of the building, marked by peeling, discolored paint and boarded windows.
Gervasoni, the fire inspector, said the building is “very old and run-down,” and that the Lacys appear to lack the money to do much about it. He said the school needs a fire alarm system and other fixes, but doesn’t pose serious safety concerns.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/06/05/oakland-school-accused-of-abuse-is-also-overbilling-taxpayers/
Since 1978, the Lacys have run St. Andrew out of a historically black church built in 1920 and declared an Oakland landmark. The striking orange-and-white façade contrasts with the dilapidated side and back of the building, marked by peeling, discolored paint and boarded windows.
Gervasoni, the fire inspector, said the building is “very old and run-down,” and that the Lacys appear to lack the money to do much about it. He said the school needs a fire alarm system and other fixes, but doesn’t pose serious safety concerns.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/06/05/oakland-school-accused-of-abuse-is-also-overbilling-taxpayers/
86 Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) - Federal Oversight begins (violations of civil rights) 2016
August 2016
Oversight of private special education schools begins at Oakland Unified
e federal investigation involved one school district, one private special education subcontractor and one student. But advocates say they are hoping that the probe of the Oakland Unified School District, the Anova Center for Education Contra Costa and the education of 9-year-old Stuart Candell – which included a finding that Oakland Unified violated federal education law – will prompt districts everywhere to think twice before outsourcing the education of students with disabilities to private schools that routinely use harsh behavior control techniques.
“We know many of the abuses take place in the private schools,” Arlene Mayerson, directing attorney at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, said, referring to the repeated, non-emergency use of physical restraints by some schools to control students with special needs, as well as the practice of secluding students in rooms they cannot leave. “We will be paying close attention to this case to see how to pursue the issue in other districts.”
In California, private special education schools publicly state one of two things: that they don’t physically restrain students at all or that they comply with the state Education Code and restrain students only in emergencies when students are at risk of harming themselves or others. Yet the schools, which operate under publicly funded contracts to serve students that districts say they can’t, are not required under federal or state law to report publicly on their use of physical restraint or seclusion, Mayerson said.
investigators with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights determined that Stuart’s home district, Oakland Unified, denied him an education by allowing the Anova Center for Education Contra Costa to routinely pin him to the floor in a face-down “prone” restraint that caused him to “scream and cry with physical pain” and miss hours of instruction and speech, language and occupational services.
In a violation of federal civil rights protections for students with disabilities, investigators found that Oakland Unified failed to intervene even as its staff members sat through meetings where serious concerns about Stuart’s progress were raised. On more than one occasion, Stuart’s mother said that her son was so distraught about being repeatedly restrained that merely driving up to Anova would trigger his disruptive behaviors; he also had expressed thoughts of suicide, she said. At another meeting, instructors in speech and language reported that they couldn’t provide services to Stuart because he spent so much time being restrained or recovering. Nearly a year passed before Oakland Unified took action to schedule an evaluation of Stuart’s behavior, investigators said.
Now the compliance clock is ticking. Although the resolution agreement with the Office for Civil Rights was announced just this month, Oakland Superintendent of Schools Antwan Wilson signed the agreement June 20 – which means the district is due to submit its first compliance report next week, according to John Sasaki, a spokesman for Oakland Unified.
https://edsource.org/2016/oversight-of-private-special-education-schools-begins-at-oakland-unified/568041
Oversight of private special education schools begins at Oakland Unified
e federal investigation involved one school district, one private special education subcontractor and one student. But advocates say they are hoping that the probe of the Oakland Unified School District, the Anova Center for Education Contra Costa and the education of 9-year-old Stuart Candell – which included a finding that Oakland Unified violated federal education law – will prompt districts everywhere to think twice before outsourcing the education of students with disabilities to private schools that routinely use harsh behavior control techniques.
“We know many of the abuses take place in the private schools,” Arlene Mayerson, directing attorney at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, said, referring to the repeated, non-emergency use of physical restraints by some schools to control students with special needs, as well as the practice of secluding students in rooms they cannot leave. “We will be paying close attention to this case to see how to pursue the issue in other districts.”
In California, private special education schools publicly state one of two things: that they don’t physically restrain students at all or that they comply with the state Education Code and restrain students only in emergencies when students are at risk of harming themselves or others. Yet the schools, which operate under publicly funded contracts to serve students that districts say they can’t, are not required under federal or state law to report publicly on their use of physical restraint or seclusion, Mayerson said.
investigators with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights determined that Stuart’s home district, Oakland Unified, denied him an education by allowing the Anova Center for Education Contra Costa to routinely pin him to the floor in a face-down “prone” restraint that caused him to “scream and cry with physical pain” and miss hours of instruction and speech, language and occupational services.
In a violation of federal civil rights protections for students with disabilities, investigators found that Oakland Unified failed to intervene even as its staff members sat through meetings where serious concerns about Stuart’s progress were raised. On more than one occasion, Stuart’s mother said that her son was so distraught about being repeatedly restrained that merely driving up to Anova would trigger his disruptive behaviors; he also had expressed thoughts of suicide, she said. At another meeting, instructors in speech and language reported that they couldn’t provide services to Stuart because he spent so much time being restrained or recovering. Nearly a year passed before Oakland Unified took action to schedule an evaluation of Stuart’s behavior, investigators said.
Now the compliance clock is ticking. Although the resolution agreement with the Office for Civil Rights was announced just this month, Oakland Superintendent of Schools Antwan Wilson signed the agreement June 20 – which means the district is due to submit its first compliance report next week, according to John Sasaki, a spokesman for Oakland Unified.
https://edsource.org/2016/oversight-of-private-special-education-schools-begins-at-oakland-unified/568041
85 Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) - 5 Years of Federal Monitoring (2012)
October 2012
Oakland schools to let feds monitor discipline of black students
Agreement with U.S. Department of Education is aimed at ensuring that African American students are not disciplined more frequently and harshly than their white classmates.
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/01/local/la-me-oakland-schools-20121001
October 2012
Oakland Schools To Allow Federal Monitoring Of Black Student Discipline
The Oakland Unified School District and the U.S. Department of Education agreed last week to allow for at least five years of federal monitoring as the district attempts to reduce the disproportionately high black student suspension rate, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The resolution, of which the Oakland school board voted 6-0 in favor, concludes an investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights into whether discipline of black students was harsher and more frequent and harshly than for their white peers.
Data released by the Department of Education in March showed that black students are three-and-a-half times as likely to be suspended or expelled as their white classmates.
Under last week’s agreement, federal officials will keep watch on 38 Oakland schools and oversee the district’s five-year plan to address students’ needs by offering mentoring services to at-risk students, providing training for teachers and staff and combatting disciplinary issues without resorting to suspensions.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, almost 20 percent of Oakland’s black males were suspended at least once last year — six times the rate of white students. In middle school, one out of every three black students was suspended at least once. Furthermore, research conducted during the 2010-11 school year found that more than half of African American male students in the Oakland Unified School District are at risk of dropping out.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/03/oakland-schools-to-allow-_n_1933909.html
Oakland schools to let feds monitor discipline of black students
Agreement with U.S. Department of Education is aimed at ensuring that African American students are not disciplined more frequently and harshly than their white classmates.
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/01/local/la-me-oakland-schools-20121001
October 2012
Oakland Schools To Allow Federal Monitoring Of Black Student Discipline
The Oakland Unified School District and the U.S. Department of Education agreed last week to allow for at least five years of federal monitoring as the district attempts to reduce the disproportionately high black student suspension rate, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The resolution, of which the Oakland school board voted 6-0 in favor, concludes an investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights into whether discipline of black students was harsher and more frequent and harshly than for their white peers.
Data released by the Department of Education in March showed that black students are three-and-a-half times as likely to be suspended or expelled as their white classmates.
Under last week’s agreement, federal officials will keep watch on 38 Oakland schools and oversee the district’s five-year plan to address students’ needs by offering mentoring services to at-risk students, providing training for teachers and staff and combatting disciplinary issues without resorting to suspensions.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, almost 20 percent of Oakland’s black males were suspended at least once last year — six times the rate of white students. In middle school, one out of every three black students was suspended at least once. Furthermore, research conducted during the 2010-11 school year found that more than half of African American male students in the Oakland Unified School District are at risk of dropping out.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/03/oakland-schools-to-allow-_n_1933909.html
84 Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) - Teachers accused of abusing students
June 2012
Oakland School Accused of Abuse is Also Overbilling Taxpayers
In separate interviews, several former students said the pastor’s son Robert Lacy Jr., and a teacher and church leader, would hit, kick and throw things at students. Nine-year-old Corey Butler said Lacy Jr. hit him with a belt on his behind and across his hand. Butler said he saw Lacy Jr. abuse other students, too.
“He kicks people. He kicked the big kids,” Butler said. Butler’s mother took him and his siblings out of St. Andrew this year.
“I didn’t like it at all,” said Genius Wesley, a 9-year-old whose father pulled him out of the school this year. “The teacher was mean, and he always yelled at people. He hit this little kid all the time.”
In an interview, Lacy Jr. declined to answer questions about inflated enrollment numbers and said the students’ statements about abuse are not credible, calling them hearsay. He said the students represent a small sample of those who attended St. Andrew and indicated that their families may be disgruntled for other reasons.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/06/05/oakland-school-accused-of-abuse-is-also-overbilling-taxpayers/
Oakland School Accused of Abuse is Also Overbilling Taxpayers
In separate interviews, several former students said the pastor’s son Robert Lacy Jr., and a teacher and church leader, would hit, kick and throw things at students. Nine-year-old Corey Butler said Lacy Jr. hit him with a belt on his behind and across his hand. Butler said he saw Lacy Jr. abuse other students, too.
“He kicks people. He kicked the big kids,” Butler said. Butler’s mother took him and his siblings out of St. Andrew this year.
“I didn’t like it at all,” said Genius Wesley, a 9-year-old whose father pulled him out of the school this year. “The teacher was mean, and he always yelled at people. He hit this little kid all the time.”
In an interview, Lacy Jr. declined to answer questions about inflated enrollment numbers and said the students’ statements about abuse are not credible, calling them hearsay. He said the students represent a small sample of those who attended St. Andrew and indicated that their families may be disgruntled for other reasons.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/06/05/oakland-school-accused-of-abuse-is-also-overbilling-taxpayers/
83 Oakland Fire Dept (OFD) - Numerous violations found at Oakland School (no annual inspections?)
Why aren't Oakland Schools receiving annual inspections? Or adhering to fire codes related to occupancy?
Edward Gervasoni, an Oakland Fire Department inspector, visited the school last month in response to a citizen complaint. He said Lacy Jr. told him the school had 23 students but fluctuates up to 40. Gervasoni observed 15 to 20 students, he said, and determined that the fire code would allow no more than 58 people for all of the classrooms combined.
May 2012
Oakland Fire Dept (OFD) Report of Fire Inspection
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/366330/fire-inspection-report.pdf
June 2012
Oakland School Accused of Abuse is Also Overbilling Taxpayers
Over the previous four school years, Oakland Unified paid a total of $173,500 in federal funds to benefit St. Andrew based on its enrollment.
Yet former students and their parents said the school had no more than 30 students, and sometimes much fewer. An Oakland fire inspector said the school isn’t allowed to have more than 58 people in its classrooms.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/06/05/oakland-school-accused-of-abuse-is-also-overbilling-taxpayers/
June 2012
Students Of Oakland School Keep Panhandling As Scrutiny Grows
Also, the Oakland Fire Department has found a number of violations at Saint Andrew. They range from a lack of smoke detectors and exit signs while having dangerously exposed wires.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/06/25/students-of-oakland-school-keep-panhandling-as-scrutiny-grows/
82 Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) - Students sent out to panhandle (school receives federal funds)
June 2012
Students Of Oakland School Keep Panhandling As Scrutiny Grows
OAKLAND (CBS 5) — The state is taking action against the Oakland Unified School District, because of a private religious school that has been taking taxpayer money, while students are sent out to panhandle.
A joint CBS 5 and California Watch investigation found Saint Andrew Missionary Baptist School inflating attendance numbers to get federal funds. Meanwhile, students are still out on the streets asking for money.
It’s turning into a nasty finger-pointing battle to discover who is responsible for the private school, which is located in West Oakland.
Multiple state and local agencies are scrambling to find out how the private school has remained open and how it received federal funding, despite the ongoing scrutiny.
The CBS 5 investigation started two years ago when we spoke with the panhandling kids and they told us that they were being mistreated by the school leaders. Since then, we have teamed up with California Watch to follow the money trail.
Last week, a CBS 5 undercover camera discovered that the students were still out panhandling at Oakland’s busy Rockridge BART station. School pastor Robert Lacy Sr. was seen in his pressed suit, watching from the shadows. When he saw our producer, he said, “Are you taking pictures of us? I’m gonna call the police if you are.”
The last time we saw Lacy and his son Robert Lacy Jr., they didn’t want to talk to us either. It was just outside the Oakland Unified School Board’s building on June 13th. CBS 5 caught up with them after an emotional meeting, during which angry parents of former Saint Andrew students blasted the school district for its lack of action.
After the parents complained of abuse and neglect, the district launched an investigation. According to Oakland Unified School Board member Noel Gallo, the district will stop funding to Saint Andrew if it finds that the federal funds were misused.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/06/25/students-of-oakland-school-keep-panhandling-as-scrutiny-grows/
2012
Oakland Schools sending children to panhandle at BART
OAKLAND (CBS 5) — A joint CBS 5 and California Watch investigation into an Oakland school that sends students out panhandling at BART stations has prompted the transit agency to take action.
The children have become a fixture at the stations, soliciting commuters daily, often during school hours and even after dark.
Meanwhile, the school’s pastor has ignored a request from Oakland school officials to prove he is not falsifying attendance records. And it appears he may be attempting a cover-up, going door-to-door trying to recruit more students for his school.
14-year old Acacia said she was out in her driveway last week when a stranger drove up. Acacia told CBS 5 the man asked him for her name and number.
The man introduced himself as Pastor Robert Lacy, the same Pastor Lacy that has been dodging our cameras for months.
Acacia said the man was going door to door in her neighborhood. “He was trying to get more students to come to his school and participate,” she said.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/07/21/bart-targets-panhandling-oakland-school-students/
Students Of Oakland School Keep Panhandling As Scrutiny Grows
OAKLAND (CBS 5) — The state is taking action against the Oakland Unified School District, because of a private religious school that has been taking taxpayer money, while students are sent out to panhandle.
A joint CBS 5 and California Watch investigation found Saint Andrew Missionary Baptist School inflating attendance numbers to get federal funds. Meanwhile, students are still out on the streets asking for money.
It’s turning into a nasty finger-pointing battle to discover who is responsible for the private school, which is located in West Oakland.
Multiple state and local agencies are scrambling to find out how the private school has remained open and how it received federal funding, despite the ongoing scrutiny.
The CBS 5 investigation started two years ago when we spoke with the panhandling kids and they told us that they were being mistreated by the school leaders. Since then, we have teamed up with California Watch to follow the money trail.
Last week, a CBS 5 undercover camera discovered that the students were still out panhandling at Oakland’s busy Rockridge BART station. School pastor Robert Lacy Sr. was seen in his pressed suit, watching from the shadows. When he saw our producer, he said, “Are you taking pictures of us? I’m gonna call the police if you are.”
The last time we saw Lacy and his son Robert Lacy Jr., they didn’t want to talk to us either. It was just outside the Oakland Unified School Board’s building on June 13th. CBS 5 caught up with them after an emotional meeting, during which angry parents of former Saint Andrew students blasted the school district for its lack of action.
After the parents complained of abuse and neglect, the district launched an investigation. According to Oakland Unified School Board member Noel Gallo, the district will stop funding to Saint Andrew if it finds that the federal funds were misused.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/06/25/students-of-oakland-school-keep-panhandling-as-scrutiny-grows/
2012
Oakland Schools sending children to panhandle at BART
OAKLAND (CBS 5) — A joint CBS 5 and California Watch investigation into an Oakland school that sends students out panhandling at BART stations has prompted the transit agency to take action.
The children have become a fixture at the stations, soliciting commuters daily, often during school hours and even after dark.
Meanwhile, the school’s pastor has ignored a request from Oakland school officials to prove he is not falsifying attendance records. And it appears he may be attempting a cover-up, going door-to-door trying to recruit more students for his school.
14-year old Acacia said she was out in her driveway last week when a stranger drove up. Acacia told CBS 5 the man asked him for her name and number.
The man introduced himself as Pastor Robert Lacy, the same Pastor Lacy that has been dodging our cameras for months.
Acacia said the man was going door to door in her neighborhood. “He was trying to get more students to come to his school and participate,” she said.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/07/21/bart-targets-panhandling-oakland-school-students/
81 Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) - No govt oversight despite repeated red flags
June 2012
Oakland school accused of abuse is overbilling taxpayers, records show
A West Oakland church school that makes its students ask for money at BART stations appears to have vastly inflated its enrollment numbers to collect extra taxpayer funding, some of which goes to a teacher who former students say physically abused them and other children.
And for years, St. Andrew Missionary Baptist Church and private school has operated with virtually no government oversight despite repeated red flags. The K-12 school is run by Robert Lacy, 79, a pastor who pleaded guilty in 2007 to theft of government money for taking his deceased father’s Social Security payments.
Documents and interviews show St. Andrew has inflated its enrollment numbers, allowing school officials to reap tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funding
The church’s university advertises a cornucopia of degrees but does not have authorization to operate from the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education, said Russ Heimerich, spokesman for the state Department of Consumer Affairs. After learning about the university from California Watch, the bureau is investigating whether it is violating the law, he said.
The Lacy family has a history of benefits fraud, records show. The elder Lacy pleaded guilty in 2007 to a misdemeanor for taking $17,000 in Social Security payments sent to his father, who had died. The pastor also received $22,000 in other government assistance for which he was ineligible, according to the proposed plea agreement.
Andrew Lacy, the pastor’s 37-year-old son who helps with the school and soliciting, pleaded guilty to felony welfare fraud in 2004, according to court records. County authorities found that he made false statements and withheld information about his income to receive $13,500 in benefits.
Then, in 2007, the state Employment Development Department obtained a $3,000 judgment against him for receiving excess benefits due to fraud or misrepresentation.
http://californiawatch.org/k-12/oakland-school-accused-abuse-overbilling-taxpayers-records-show-16428
Oakland school accused of abuse is overbilling taxpayers, records show
A West Oakland church school that makes its students ask for money at BART stations appears to have vastly inflated its enrollment numbers to collect extra taxpayer funding, some of which goes to a teacher who former students say physically abused them and other children.
And for years, St. Andrew Missionary Baptist Church and private school has operated with virtually no government oversight despite repeated red flags. The K-12 school is run by Robert Lacy, 79, a pastor who pleaded guilty in 2007 to theft of government money for taking his deceased father’s Social Security payments.
Documents and interviews show St. Andrew has inflated its enrollment numbers, allowing school officials to reap tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funding
The church’s university advertises a cornucopia of degrees but does not have authorization to operate from the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education, said Russ Heimerich, spokesman for the state Department of Consumer Affairs. After learning about the university from California Watch, the bureau is investigating whether it is violating the law, he said.
The Lacy family has a history of benefits fraud, records show. The elder Lacy pleaded guilty in 2007 to a misdemeanor for taking $17,000 in Social Security payments sent to his father, who had died. The pastor also received $22,000 in other government assistance for which he was ineligible, according to the proposed plea agreement.
Andrew Lacy, the pastor’s 37-year-old son who helps with the school and soliciting, pleaded guilty to felony welfare fraud in 2004, according to court records. County authorities found that he made false statements and withheld information about his income to receive $13,500 in benefits.
Then, in 2007, the state Employment Development Department obtained a $3,000 judgment against him for receiving excess benefits due to fraud or misrepresentation.
http://californiawatch.org/k-12/oakland-school-accused-abuse-overbilling-taxpayers-records-show-16428
80 Oakland School District (OUSD) - Mishandled Federal Money (2012)
December 2012
Oakland school district mishandled federal money, state finds
The Oakland Unified School District failed to follow federal regulations in doling out taxpayer money to benefit local private schools and must pay some of it back, a state review has found.
The state Department of Education cited Oakland Unified for not meeting federal requirements in its distribution of federal Title I and Title II money to provide teacher training and tutoring for struggling students at private schools. Private schools are entitled to a share of federal money, but public school districts are responsible for maintaining control of the funds.
The state found that Oakland Unified paid instructors who were not independent of their private schools, shipped materials directly to the private schools without taking an inventory and let private schools design their own taxpayer-funded programs.
The education department's review stated that Oakland Unified inappropriately paid $21,000 to a St. Andrew teacher who was not independent of the family-run school and that the district must "recover" those funds.
If the district is at fault for the problem, Flint said, it will have to compensate the federal program with other district money.
The report also cited the district for hiring the administrator of a Nation of Islam-affiliated K-12 school, Muhammad University of Islam, to provide services at her own school.
The state review also singled out $3,600 in inappropriate payments to Robert Lacy Jr., a St. Andrew teacher whose father runs the school and church. The district had paid Lacy $100 per hour to repair computers for student use in October 2011 and again in March of this year. The Department of Education's report directed the district to reimburse the federal program from another funding source.
http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/oakland-school-district-mishandled-federal-money-state-finds-18760
Oakland school district mishandled federal money, state finds
The Oakland Unified School District failed to follow federal regulations in doling out taxpayer money to benefit local private schools and must pay some of it back, a state review has found.
The state Department of Education cited Oakland Unified for not meeting federal requirements in its distribution of federal Title I and Title II money to provide teacher training and tutoring for struggling students at private schools. Private schools are entitled to a share of federal money, but public school districts are responsible for maintaining control of the funds.
The state found that Oakland Unified paid instructors who were not independent of their private schools, shipped materials directly to the private schools without taking an inventory and let private schools design their own taxpayer-funded programs.
The education department's review stated that Oakland Unified inappropriately paid $21,000 to a St. Andrew teacher who was not independent of the family-run school and that the district must "recover" those funds.
If the district is at fault for the problem, Flint said, it will have to compensate the federal program with other district money.
The report also cited the district for hiring the administrator of a Nation of Islam-affiliated K-12 school, Muhammad University of Islam, to provide services at her own school.
The state review also singled out $3,600 in inappropriate payments to Robert Lacy Jr., a St. Andrew teacher whose father runs the school and church. The district had paid Lacy $100 per hour to repair computers for student use in October 2011 and again in March of this year. The Department of Education's report directed the district to reimburse the federal program from another funding source.
http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/oakland-school-district-mishandled-federal-money-state-finds-18760
79 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - Federal Judge takes control of Oakland Police Reform Efforts (2012)
December 2012
Federal judge takes control of Oakland police reform efforts
The judge will appoint a full-time 'compliance director' with sweeping powers to implement the reforms mandated in 2003 but in some cases still unachieved.
A federal judge has placed Oakland Police Department reform efforts under his direct control, citing nearly a decade of inadequate attempts to comply with a legal settlement in a case that unmasked systemic police brutality and racial profiling.
U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson on Wednesday signed off on an 11th-hour agreement reached last week between the city and plaintiffs' attorneys under which he will appoint a full-time "compliance director" with sweeping powers to dictate changes related to the case.
That director will have the ability to order expenditures of up to $250,000 without city approval, revamp police policies pertaining to required reforms, demote personnel or order other staffing changes. With Henderson's approval, the director would even be able to fire Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan if progress to revamp the department stalls.
In his order, Henderson said he was "hopeful that the appointment of an independent compliance director …will succeed — where city and OPD leaders have failed" in helping the department achieve compliance and "become more reflective of contemporary standards for professional policing."
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/14/local/la-me-oakland-police-20121214
Federal judge takes control of Oakland police reform efforts
The judge will appoint a full-time 'compliance director' with sweeping powers to implement the reforms mandated in 2003 but in some cases still unachieved.
A federal judge has placed Oakland Police Department reform efforts under his direct control, citing nearly a decade of inadequate attempts to comply with a legal settlement in a case that unmasked systemic police brutality and racial profiling.
U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson on Wednesday signed off on an 11th-hour agreement reached last week between the city and plaintiffs' attorneys under which he will appoint a full-time "compliance director" with sweeping powers to dictate changes related to the case.
That director will have the ability to order expenditures of up to $250,000 without city approval, revamp police policies pertaining to required reforms, demote personnel or order other staffing changes. With Henderson's approval, the director would even be able to fire Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan if progress to revamp the department stalls.
In his order, Henderson said he was "hopeful that the appointment of an independent compliance director …will succeed — where city and OPD leaders have failed" in helping the department achieve compliance and "become more reflective of contemporary standards for professional policing."
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/14/local/la-me-oakland-police-20121214
78 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - 'Corrupt at its roots' - OPD attempts to 'sanitize' an incident
‘Corrupt in its roots’: as Oakland police scandals pile up, residents not surprised
Donald Trump may have called the city one of the ‘most dangerous’ in the world but community members say the real danger is its police officers
Olga Cortez was getting out of the shower and preparing for bed when she heard a loud banging outside. It was 9.30pm on 7 December, and the Oakland, California, mother saw a man she did not recognize furiously pounding on her front door.
“Open the fucking door,” he screamed, according to Cortez’s account. “Let me in!”
When her husband Nemesio cracked open the door to ask him to leave, the man, who smelled strongly of alcohol, allegedly kicked him in the stomach and grabbed Olga, who was wearing a bathrobe and fell to the ground – exposing her body. Another man came running out of their backyard and appeared to point a gun at the wife.
Their daughters, ages 11 and 13, stood in the doorway crying.
The traumatizing incident, outlined in a claim to the city, got worse when the Oakland police department (OPD) showed up. The officer wanted the couple to “sanitize their story”, asking them if the man “was simply knocking” on the door and had inadvertently pushed Olga “while falling down”.
The bizarre line of questioning only made sense when OPD lieutenant Roland Holmgren later revealed to Olga the identities of the two suspects: They were Oakland cops who, according to the lieutenant, were just “being silly” and “mistakenly went to her house” looking for a party, the claim alleges.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/21/oakland-police-misconduct-scandals-pile-up
Donald Trump may have called the city one of the ‘most dangerous’ in the world but community members say the real danger is its police officers
Olga Cortez was getting out of the shower and preparing for bed when she heard a loud banging outside. It was 9.30pm on 7 December, and the Oakland, California, mother saw a man she did not recognize furiously pounding on her front door.
“Open the fucking door,” he screamed, according to Cortez’s account. “Let me in!”
When her husband Nemesio cracked open the door to ask him to leave, the man, who smelled strongly of alcohol, allegedly kicked him in the stomach and grabbed Olga, who was wearing a bathrobe and fell to the ground – exposing her body. Another man came running out of their backyard and appeared to point a gun at the wife.
Their daughters, ages 11 and 13, stood in the doorway crying.
The traumatizing incident, outlined in a claim to the city, got worse when the Oakland police department (OPD) showed up. The officer wanted the couple to “sanitize their story”, asking them if the man “was simply knocking” on the door and had inadvertently pushed Olga “while falling down”.
The bizarre line of questioning only made sense when OPD lieutenant Roland Holmgren later revealed to Olga the identities of the two suspects: They were Oakland cops who, according to the lieutenant, were just “being silly” and “mistakenly went to her house” looking for a party, the claim alleges.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/21/oakland-police-misconduct-scandals-pile-up
76 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - Failing to report a violation of law
September 2016
Four Oakland police officers fired, seven suspended, in sexual misconduct case
The disciplinary actions stem from a major scandal involving a teenager who was sexually exploited by more than a dozen officers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/oakland-police-officers-fired-sexual-misconduct-scandal
September 2016
RECOMMENDED DISCIPLINE AND FINDINGS
Today, the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to terminate four members of
the Oakland Police Department as a result of sustained findings of misconduct
related to this sexual misconduct investigation. To the extent some of these
individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be
placed in their permanent personnel files. Each individual was found to have
committed one or more of the following offenses:
• Attempted sexual assault
• Engaging in lewd conduct in public
• Assisting in the crime of prostitution
• Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
• Accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain
• Being untruthful to investigators
• Failing to report a violation of law, or rules by not reporting allegations of a
minor having/had sexual contact with Oakland Police Officers
• Bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak060627.pdf
Four Oakland police officers fired, seven suspended, in sexual misconduct case
The disciplinary actions stem from a major scandal involving a teenager who was sexually exploited by more than a dozen officers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/oakland-police-officers-fired-sexual-misconduct-scandal
September 2016
RECOMMENDED DISCIPLINE AND FINDINGS
Today, the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to terminate four members of
the Oakland Police Department as a result of sustained findings of misconduct
related to this sexual misconduct investigation. To the extent some of these
individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be
placed in their permanent personnel files. Each individual was found to have
committed one or more of the following offenses:
• Attempted sexual assault
• Engaging in lewd conduct in public
• Assisting in the crime of prostitution
• Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
• Accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain
• Being untruthful to investigators
• Failing to report a violation of law, or rules by not reporting allegations of a
minor having/had sexual contact with Oakland Police Officers
• Bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak060627.pdf
77 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - Being untruthful to investigators
September 2016
Four Oakland police officers fired, seven suspended, in sexual misconduct case
The disciplinary actions stem from a major scandal involving a teenager who was sexually exploited by more than a dozen officers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/oakland-police-officers-fired-sexual-misconduct-scandal
September 2016
RECOMMENDED DISCIPLINE AND FINDINGS
Today, the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to terminate four members of
the Oakland Police Department as a result of sustained findings of misconduct
related to this sexual misconduct investigation. To the extent some of these
individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be
placed in their permanent personnel files. Each individual was found to have
committed one or more of the following offenses:
• Attempted sexual assault
• Engaging in lewd conduct in public
• Assisting in the crime of prostitution
• Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
• Accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain
• Being untruthful to investigators
• Failing to report a violation of law, or rules by not reporting allegations of a
minor having/had sexual contact with Oakland Police Officers
• Bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak060627.pdf
Four Oakland police officers fired, seven suspended, in sexual misconduct case
The disciplinary actions stem from a major scandal involving a teenager who was sexually exploited by more than a dozen officers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/oakland-police-officers-fired-sexual-misconduct-scandal
September 2016
RECOMMENDED DISCIPLINE AND FINDINGS
Today, the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to terminate four members of
the Oakland Police Department as a result of sustained findings of misconduct
related to this sexual misconduct investigation. To the extent some of these
individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be
placed in their permanent personnel files. Each individual was found to have
committed one or more of the following offenses:
• Attempted sexual assault
• Engaging in lewd conduct in public
• Assisting in the crime of prostitution
• Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
• Accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain
• Being untruthful to investigators
• Failing to report a violation of law, or rules by not reporting allegations of a
minor having/had sexual contact with Oakland Police Officers
• Bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak060627.pdf
75 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - Engaging in lewd conduct in public
September 2016
Four Oakland police officers fired, seven suspended, in sexual misconduct case
The disciplinary actions stem from a major scandal involving a teenager who was sexually exploited by more than a dozen officers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/oakland-police-officers-fired-sexual-misconduct-scandal
September 2016
RECOMMENDED DISCIPLINE AND FINDINGS
Today, the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to terminate four members of
the Oakland Police Department as a result of sustained findings of misconduct
related to this sexual misconduct investigation. To the extent some of these
individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be
placed in their permanent personnel files. Each individual was found to have
committed one or more of the following offenses:
• Attempted sexual assault
• Engaging in lewd conduct in public
• Assisting in the crime of prostitution
• Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
• Accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain
• Being untruthful to investigators
• Failing to report a violation of law, or rules by not reporting allegations of a
minor having/had sexual contact with Oakland Police Officers
• Bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak060627.pdf
Four Oakland police officers fired, seven suspended, in sexual misconduct case
The disciplinary actions stem from a major scandal involving a teenager who was sexually exploited by more than a dozen officers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/oakland-police-officers-fired-sexual-misconduct-scandal
September 2016
RECOMMENDED DISCIPLINE AND FINDINGS
Today, the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to terminate four members of
the Oakland Police Department as a result of sustained findings of misconduct
related to this sexual misconduct investigation. To the extent some of these
individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be
placed in their permanent personnel files. Each individual was found to have
committed one or more of the following offenses:
• Attempted sexual assault
• Engaging in lewd conduct in public
• Assisting in the crime of prostitution
• Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
• Accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain
• Being untruthful to investigators
• Failing to report a violation of law, or rules by not reporting allegations of a
minor having/had sexual contact with Oakland Police Officers
• Bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak060627.pdf
74 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - Attempted Sexual Assault
September 2016
Four Oakland police officers fired, seven suspended, in sexual misconduct case
The disciplinary actions stem from a major scandal involving a teenager who was sexually exploited by more than a dozen officers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/oakland-police-officers-fired-sexual-misconduct-scandal
September 2016
RECOMMENDED DISCIPLINE AND FINDINGS
Today, the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to terminate four members of
the Oakland Police Department as a result of sustained findings of misconduct
related to this sexual misconduct investigation. To the extent some of these
individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be
placed in their permanent personnel files. Each individual was found to have
committed one or more of the following offenses:
• Attempted sexual assault
• Engaging in lewd conduct in public
• Assisting in the crime of prostitution
• Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
• Accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain
• Being untruthful to investigators
• Failing to report a violation of law, or rules by not reporting allegations of a
minor having/had sexual contact with Oakland Police Officers
• Bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak060627.pdf
Four Oakland police officers fired, seven suspended, in sexual misconduct case
The disciplinary actions stem from a major scandal involving a teenager who was sexually exploited by more than a dozen officers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/oakland-police-officers-fired-sexual-misconduct-scandal
September 2016
RECOMMENDED DISCIPLINE AND FINDINGS
Today, the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to terminate four members of
the Oakland Police Department as a result of sustained findings of misconduct
related to this sexual misconduct investigation. To the extent some of these
individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be
placed in their permanent personnel files. Each individual was found to have
committed one or more of the following offenses:
• Attempted sexual assault
• Engaging in lewd conduct in public
• Assisting in the crime of prostitution
• Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
• Accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain
• Being untruthful to investigators
• Failing to report a violation of law, or rules by not reporting allegations of a
minor having/had sexual contact with Oakland Police Officers
• Bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak060627.pdf
73 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
September 2016
Four Oakland police officers fired, seven suspended, in sexual misconduct case
The disciplinary actions stem from a major scandal involving a teenager who was sexually exploited by more than a dozen officers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/oakland-police-officers-fired-sexual-misconduct-scandal
September 2016
RECOMMENDED DISCIPLINE AND FINDINGS
Today, the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to terminate four members of
the Oakland Police Department as a result of sustained findings of misconduct
related to this sexual misconduct investigation. To the extent some of these
individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be
placed in their permanent personnel files. Each individual was found to have
committed one or more of the following offenses:
• Attempted sexual assault
• Engaging in lewd conduct in public
• Assisting in the crime of prostitution
• Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
• Accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain
• Being untruthful to investigators
• Failing to report a violation of law, or rules by not reporting allegations of a
minor having/had sexual contact with Oakland Police Officers
• Bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak060627.pdf
Four Oakland police officers fired, seven suspended, in sexual misconduct case
The disciplinary actions stem from a major scandal involving a teenager who was sexually exploited by more than a dozen officers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/oakland-police-officers-fired-sexual-misconduct-scandal
September 2016
RECOMMENDED DISCIPLINE AND FINDINGS
Today, the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to terminate four members of
the Oakland Police Department as a result of sustained findings of misconduct
related to this sexual misconduct investigation. To the extent some of these
individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be
placed in their permanent personnel files. Each individual was found to have
committed one or more of the following offenses:
• Attempted sexual assault
• Engaging in lewd conduct in public
• Assisting in the crime of prostitution
• Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
• Accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain
• Being untruthful to investigators
• Failing to report a violation of law, or rules by not reporting allegations of a
minor having/had sexual contact with Oakland Police Officers
• Bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak060627.pdf
72 Oakland Police Dept (OPD) - Using Law Enforcement Databases for Personal Gain
September 2016
Four Oakland police officers fired, seven suspended, in sexual misconduct case
The disciplinary actions stem from a major scandal involving a teenager who was sexually exploited by more than a dozen officers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/oakland-police-officers-fired-sexual-misconduct-scandal
September 2016
RECOMMENDED DISCIPLINE AND FINDINGS
Today, the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to terminate four members of
the Oakland Police Department as a result of sustained findings of misconduct
related to this sexual misconduct investigation. To the extent some of these
individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be
placed in their permanent personnel files. Each individual was found to have
committed one or more of the following offenses:
• Attempted sexual assault
• Engaging in lewd conduct in public
• Assisting in the crime of prostitution
• Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
• Accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain
• Being untruthful to investigators
• Failing to report a violation of law, or rules by not reporting allegations of a
minor having/had sexual contact with Oakland Police Officers
• Bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak060627.pdf
Four Oakland police officers fired, seven suspended, in sexual misconduct case
The disciplinary actions stem from a major scandal involving a teenager who was sexually exploited by more than a dozen officers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/oakland-police-officers-fired-sexual-misconduct-scandal
September 2016
RECOMMENDED DISCIPLINE AND FINDINGS
Today, the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to terminate four members of
the Oakland Police Department as a result of sustained findings of misconduct
related to this sexual misconduct investigation. To the extent some of these
individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be
placed in their permanent personnel files. Each individual was found to have
committed one or more of the following offenses:
• Attempted sexual assault
• Engaging in lewd conduct in public
• Assisting in the crime of prostitution
• Assisting in the evading arrest for the crime of prostitution
• Accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain
• Being untruthful to investigators
• Failing to report a violation of law, or rules by not reporting allegations of a
minor having/had sexual contact with Oakland Police Officers
• Bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak060627.pdf
Friday, December 23, 2016
71 City of Oakland - Street Issues not due to lack of resources. Time to review the spending of $$ used for our infrastructure
May 2016
Oakland streets already worst and getting worse (East Bay Times My Word)
Inadequate pavement maintenance:
All over Oakland one finds streets that have been neglected for decades and left to deteriorate. Examples can be seen and experienced almost anywhere in the city, but the problem especially acute in Oakland’s less affluent neighborhoods. Nowhere else in Alameda County or in the Bay Area are the streets as deteriorated and torn up as they are in Oakland.
Fanciful street planning:
Instead of making Oakland’s streets drivable, Oakland’s traffic planners increasingly opt for politically-correct street “enhancements” that often don’t work.
Almost $2 million was spent near the intersection of Lakeshore and Lake Park with little to show for the money spent and a 10-year implementation period. Recent traffic-lane closures along Grand Avenue are causing 2-mile long afternoon traffic backups. El Embarcadero at the north end of Lake Merritt used to consist of two well-functioning streets between Grand Avenue and Lakeshore. That ended when the city replaced the two streets with a single two-lane street, which now adds greatly to the traffic congestion at the north end of Lake Merritt. A recent city street improvement project at MacArthur and Telegraph backed up traffic for a period of eight months. When the traffic barriers were finally removed, it was apparent that nothing much of consequence had resulted.
AC Transit reports that planned reductions in traffic lanes elsewhere along Telegraph Avenue will slow down and otherwise impede AC Transit’s important No. 1 and 1R lines.
Heavy Alameda-bound traffic heading south on Webster Street adds significantly to the traffic congestion now interfering with Oakland’s once vibrant but now struggling Chinatown. Ill-conceived street enhancement can be worse than doing nothing, especially if it takes resources away from street maintenance.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/05/31/oakland-streets-already-worst-and-getting-worse-east-bay-times-my-word/
Oakland streets already worst and getting worse (East Bay Times My Word)
Inadequate pavement maintenance:
All over Oakland one finds streets that have been neglected for decades and left to deteriorate. Examples can be seen and experienced almost anywhere in the city, but the problem especially acute in Oakland’s less affluent neighborhoods. Nowhere else in Alameda County or in the Bay Area are the streets as deteriorated and torn up as they are in Oakland.
Fanciful street planning:
Instead of making Oakland’s streets drivable, Oakland’s traffic planners increasingly opt for politically-correct street “enhancements” that often don’t work.
Almost $2 million was spent near the intersection of Lakeshore and Lake Park with little to show for the money spent and a 10-year implementation period. Recent traffic-lane closures along Grand Avenue are causing 2-mile long afternoon traffic backups. El Embarcadero at the north end of Lake Merritt used to consist of two well-functioning streets between Grand Avenue and Lakeshore. That ended when the city replaced the two streets with a single two-lane street, which now adds greatly to the traffic congestion at the north end of Lake Merritt. A recent city street improvement project at MacArthur and Telegraph backed up traffic for a period of eight months. When the traffic barriers were finally removed, it was apparent that nothing much of consequence had resulted.
AC Transit reports that planned reductions in traffic lanes elsewhere along Telegraph Avenue will slow down and otherwise impede AC Transit’s important No. 1 and 1R lines.
Heavy Alameda-bound traffic heading south on Webster Street adds significantly to the traffic congestion now interfering with Oakland’s once vibrant but now struggling Chinatown. Ill-conceived street enhancement can be worse than doing nothing, especially if it takes resources away from street maintenance.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/05/31/oakland-streets-already-worst-and-getting-worse-east-bay-times-my-word/
70 City of Oakland - $60m of Measure BB funds being used to build Coliseum City rather than fixing East Oakland roads?
March 2016
Coliseum Authority Approves Another One-Year Lease for Raiders in Oakland
In addition, she said, infrastructure costs for Coliseum City could partially be paid by $40 million in funds from Measure BB, the transportation sales tax approved by voters last fall. “We didn’t have that last year,” said Kaplan, who along with Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty pushed for the inclusion of Coliseum City in the measure. She believes Measure BB tax dollars can be leveraged into state and federal funding for infrastructure needed for the project.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2015/03/06/coliseum-authority-approves-another-one-year-lease-for-raiders-in-oakland
July 2015
East Oakland Residents Spray Paint ‘Fix Me’ On Potholes, Demand Repairs On Rough Roads
She says Oakland is funneling Measure BB funds into wealthier communities. A map of Oakland’s pavement prioritization plan shows purple lines indicating new streets. They’re just about everywhere, except a gaping hole in East Oakland.
Even more concerning, neighbors said a big chunk of Measure BB funds, up to $60 million, could be used to build Coliseum City while the streets of East Oakland are left in shambles.
McRae said it’s proof of what he already knows, that there are two Oaklands. “Over on this side, East Oakland in the flatlands, there’s no money coming over here,” he said.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/07/16/east-oakland-pothole-street-repairs-spray-paint-fix-me/
The first demand in the letter was to work with the newly formed Department of Race and Equity to create a policy that “permanently sets aside a percentage of Oakland’s Measure BB funds for infrastructure repair to Oakland’s flatland communities, based on equity, race and income.”
The group suggested that the city’s current “80-20 model” for determining street pavement prioritization fails to take racial or income demographics into account and results in a great majority of Measure BB funds going toward fixing roads in Oakland’s “more upscale and “emerging” neighborhoods,” rather than in communities that need them most.
“The mayor claims the “80-20 model” is more cost effective because it costs less to fix streets that are not terribly crumbling,” said Kamara Wilson, secretary and treasurer of ACCE.
The second demand was to keep any Measure BB or any Public Funds out of the proposed Coliseum City Development without a written community benefits agreement, regardless of which developer is eventually chosen.
http://postnewsgroup.com/blog/2015/09/18/east-oakland-residents-take-mayor-schaaf-tour-neglected-flatland-streets/
Coliseum Authority Approves Another One-Year Lease for Raiders in Oakland
In addition, she said, infrastructure costs for Coliseum City could partially be paid by $40 million in funds from Measure BB, the transportation sales tax approved by voters last fall. “We didn’t have that last year,” said Kaplan, who along with Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty pushed for the inclusion of Coliseum City in the measure. She believes Measure BB tax dollars can be leveraged into state and federal funding for infrastructure needed for the project.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2015/03/06/coliseum-authority-approves-another-one-year-lease-for-raiders-in-oakland
July 2015
East Oakland Residents Spray Paint ‘Fix Me’ On Potholes, Demand Repairs On Rough Roads
She says Oakland is funneling Measure BB funds into wealthier communities. A map of Oakland’s pavement prioritization plan shows purple lines indicating new streets. They’re just about everywhere, except a gaping hole in East Oakland.
Even more concerning, neighbors said a big chunk of Measure BB funds, up to $60 million, could be used to build Coliseum City while the streets of East Oakland are left in shambles.
McRae said it’s proof of what he already knows, that there are two Oaklands. “Over on this side, East Oakland in the flatlands, there’s no money coming over here,” he said.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/07/16/east-oakland-pothole-street-repairs-spray-paint-fix-me/
East Oakland Residents Take Mayor Schaaf on Tour of Neglected Flatland Streets
The first demand in the letter was to work with the newly formed Department of Race and Equity to create a policy that “permanently sets aside a percentage of Oakland’s Measure BB funds for infrastructure repair to Oakland’s flatland communities, based on equity, race and income.”
The group suggested that the city’s current “80-20 model” for determining street pavement prioritization fails to take racial or income demographics into account and results in a great majority of Measure BB funds going toward fixing roads in Oakland’s “more upscale and “emerging” neighborhoods,” rather than in communities that need them most.
“The mayor claims the “80-20 model” is more cost effective because it costs less to fix streets that are not terribly crumbling,” said Kamara Wilson, secretary and treasurer of ACCE.
69 City of Oakland - Road Repair/Paving Strategy the 80/20 rule and the impact on East Oakland's roads
Oakland Streets FAQ Sheet
Q. How do you determine which streets are going to be paved?
A. It’s much cheaper to preserve a street by resurfacing it than it is to rebuild a damaged street ($20 per square yard to resurface vs. $140 per square yard to reconstruct). So for the same amount of money we can raise the condition of one city block from Poor to Excellent (pavement reconstruction), or we can improve seven city blocks from Fair to Excellent (pavement preservation).
For this reason, we spend 80% of our scarce resources on Fair streets and only 20% on Poor streets. It's not so different from everything else in life--an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And, perhaps, the rich get richer (or at least stay the same) while the poor get poorer. Also:
Preserving what we have must continue until additional paving money becomes available.
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/pwa/documents/report/oak029773.pdf
July 2015
East Oakland residents organize to demand cleaner streets, road repairs
Public Works is also limited on how much it can invest annually to badly damaged roads.
Oakland’s paving strategy earmarks 80 percent of funding to streets in fair condition and 20 percent to older streets and those in worst condition, which often have repairs with a bigger price tag.
The mayor’s office, which met with the East Oakland residents last month, said that it shares “their frustration that the city of Oakland does not currently have adequate resources to immediately address all of the repairs and improvements that are needed.”
It said it will continue to seek more funding for infrastructure improvements.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2015/07/22/east-oakland-residents-organize-to-demand-cleaner-streets-road-repairs/
However in 2014, voters passed Measure BB .. to fund these types of repairs
http://www.alamedactc.org/2014Plan
East Oakland Residents Take Mayor Schaaf on Tour of Neglected Flatland Streets
The first demand in the letter was to work with the newly formed Department of Race and Equity to create a policy that “permanently sets aside a percentage of Oakland’s Measure BB funds for infrastructure repair to Oakland’s flatland communities, based on equity, race and income.”
The group suggested that the city’s current “80-20 model” for determining street pavement prioritization fails to take racial or income demographics into account and results in a great majority of Measure BB funds going toward fixing roads in Oakland’s “more upscale and “emerging” neighborhoods,” rather than in communities that need them most.
“The mayor claims the “80-20 model” is more cost effective because it costs less to fix streets that are not terribly crumbling,” said Kamara Wilson, secretary and treasurer of ACCE.
“But the places where more people of color and lower-income families live, where the streets are crumbling more and more and cars are torn up more, they don’t get prioritization,” said Wilson.
The second demand was to keep any Measure BB or any Public Funds out of the proposed Coliseum City Development without a written community benefits agreement, regardless of which developer is eventually chosen.
“It is difficult to leave our houses, and we have to take long detours to find a good path to reach our destinations,” said East Oakland resident and ACCE chair member José Paranguero.
“Our elderly can easily trip on the uneven sidewalks, our neighborhood is not wheelchair accessible, and mothers cannot walk through their own streets with their baby strollers,” said Paranguero.
The group led Mayor Schaaf on a short walking tour of an adjacent street, pointing out large potholes, crumbling asphalt on the streets and even a large hole that was big enough to hold an entire upside-down traffic cone.
Mayor Schaaf refused to sign the letter and was given the opportunity to respond in front of the crowd.
“I encourage you to become educated yourself about how you can better utilize the levers of government,” she said. “The systems of government are difficult and complicated to control because of how bureaucratic they are.”
“The City of Oakland needs a public lands policy that must be approved by City Council, and I am happy to work with you on it before it is proposed,” she said.
The mayor also said she is willing to take a new look “80-20” funding model for allocating repair funds.
“We can open up and re-explore Oakland’s 80-20 policy to see if you really want to change the policy,” she said. “I think you want to look at the data to make sure it’s what you want.”
Q. How do you determine which streets are going to be paved?
A. It’s much cheaper to preserve a street by resurfacing it than it is to rebuild a damaged street ($20 per square yard to resurface vs. $140 per square yard to reconstruct). So for the same amount of money we can raise the condition of one city block from Poor to Excellent (pavement reconstruction), or we can improve seven city blocks from Fair to Excellent (pavement preservation).
For this reason, we spend 80% of our scarce resources on Fair streets and only 20% on Poor streets. It's not so different from everything else in life--an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And, perhaps, the rich get richer (or at least stay the same) while the poor get poorer. Also:
Preserving what we have must continue until additional paving money becomes available.
July 2015
East Oakland residents organize to demand cleaner streets, road repairs
Public Works is also limited on how much it can invest annually to badly damaged roads.
Oakland’s paving strategy earmarks 80 percent of funding to streets in fair condition and 20 percent to older streets and those in worst condition, which often have repairs with a bigger price tag.
The mayor’s office, which met with the East Oakland residents last month, said that it shares “their frustration that the city of Oakland does not currently have adequate resources to immediately address all of the repairs and improvements that are needed.”
It said it will continue to seek more funding for infrastructure improvements.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2015/07/22/east-oakland-residents-organize-to-demand-cleaner-streets-road-repairs/
However in 2014, voters passed Measure BB .. to fund these types of repairs
http://www.alamedactc.org/2014Plan
East Oakland Residents Take Mayor Schaaf on Tour of Neglected Flatland Streets
The first demand in the letter was to work with the newly formed Department of Race and Equity to create a policy that “permanently sets aside a percentage of Oakland’s Measure BB funds for infrastructure repair to Oakland’s flatland communities, based on equity, race and income.”
The group suggested that the city’s current “80-20 model” for determining street pavement prioritization fails to take racial or income demographics into account and results in a great majority of Measure BB funds going toward fixing roads in Oakland’s “more upscale and “emerging” neighborhoods,” rather than in communities that need them most.
“The mayor claims the “80-20 model” is more cost effective because it costs less to fix streets that are not terribly crumbling,” said Kamara Wilson, secretary and treasurer of ACCE.
“But the places where more people of color and lower-income families live, where the streets are crumbling more and more and cars are torn up more, they don’t get prioritization,” said Wilson.
The second demand was to keep any Measure BB or any Public Funds out of the proposed Coliseum City Development without a written community benefits agreement, regardless of which developer is eventually chosen.
During the event on Saturday, neighbors shared personal accounts with Mayor Schaaf about the difficulties of living in their community caused by the safety risks associated with poor street conditions.
“It is difficult to leave our houses, and we have to take long detours to find a good path to reach our destinations,” said East Oakland resident and ACCE chair member José Paranguero.
“Our elderly can easily trip on the uneven sidewalks, our neighborhood is not wheelchair accessible, and mothers cannot walk through their own streets with their baby strollers,” said Paranguero.
The group led Mayor Schaaf on a short walking tour of an adjacent street, pointing out large potholes, crumbling asphalt on the streets and even a large hole that was big enough to hold an entire upside-down traffic cone.
Mayor Schaaf refused to sign the letter and was given the opportunity to respond in front of the crowd.
“I encourage you to become educated yourself about how you can better utilize the levers of government,” she said. “The systems of government are difficult and complicated to control because of how bureaucratic they are.”
\
Mayor Schaaf promised that the city would not enter into a development contract on Coliseum City without a community benefits agreement.
Mayor Schaaf promised that the city would not enter into a development contract on Coliseum City without a community benefits agreement.
“The City of Oakland needs a public lands policy that must be approved by City Council, and I am happy to work with you on it before it is proposed,” she said.
The mayor also said she is willing to take a new look “80-20” funding model for allocating repair funds.
“We can open up and re-explore Oakland’s 80-20 policy to see if you really want to change the policy,” she said. “I think you want to look at the data to make sure it’s what you want.”
Members of ACCE said they had looked at the data and were certain they would like to the policy to change.
68 City of Oakland - SF and Oakland Road Conditions are the WORST in the country - In 2011 this resulted in a $3.25m lawsuit in Oakland
March 2014
Oakland Cyclist Wins $3.25 Million Pothole Payday
November 2016
SF And Oakland Road Conditions Are The Worst In The Country
A single, gaping pothole can result in hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs for a car owner, and thus Trip, a transportation group based in Washington DC, puts effort into tracking the condition of America's major highways and thoroughfares to figure out where infrastructure spending is needed the most. According to their new report, just released, San Francisco and Oakland aren't just among the worst places in the country for poor pavement conditions, we're actually number one. And the top three metro areas of 500,000 people are more with the worst roads are in car-heavy California, with LA ranking number two, and San Jose coming in a close third.
All told, the major roads of SF and Oakland were rated "71% poor," while pothole-filled Los Angeles was found to be only 60%.
And road conditions aren't just important for drivers, since cyclists can be seriously injured by potholes too. An Oakland woman won a $3.25 million judgement against the city after slamming into a pothole in the Oakland Hills in 2011.
http://sfist.com/2016/11/02/report_sf_and_oakland_road_conditio.php
November 2016
Bumpy Roads Ahead:
America’s Roughest Rides and Strategies to make our Roads Smoother
http://www.tripnet.org/docs/Urban_Roads_TRIP_Report_November_2016.pdf
San Francisco and Oakland roads deemed worst in nation again
December 2016
http://sf.curbed.com/2016/12/22/14057652/sf-roads-worst-nation-trip
Oakland Potholes.. a history
Time was when, Oakland was able to properly, and promptly, maintain its infrastructure … or not:
https://localwiki.org/oakland/Potholes
September 2013
Sloppy Ridgemont repaving irks Oakland neighbors
Uneven surface, globs of pavement dot neighborhood
Oakland resident Jeff Franzen waited more than two decades to see his Ridgemont neighborhood streets repaved, and when the trucks arrived this month he thought he was in for a smooth ride
Shaff said the Ridgemont job was pushed up the list after vociferous complaints from residents. The industry standard for cities to repave roads is once every 25 to 30 years, but in Oakland that wait is often closer to 80 years, Shaff said.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Sloppy-Ridgemont-repaving-irks-Oakland-neighbors-4843702.php
Oakland Cyclist Wins $3.25 Million Pothole Payday
The city of Oakland (and its insurance carrier) has agreed to payout $3.25 million to a woman who was seriously injured after she slammed into a pothole while riding her bike on Mountain Boulevard in the Oakland Hills in 2011.
According to her lawsuit filed in Alameda County, 35-year-old crash victim Dulcey Bower was wearing a helmet at the time, but the pitfall sent her head-first over the handlebars, sailing 21 feet before crashing into the pavement. The impact left her in a medically-induced coma for four days and she had to have seven operations to repair the damage to her head, face, teeth and jaw. She now sports titanium plates in her mouth.
The lawsuit also stated that the city of Oakland had failed to repair potholes along the stretch of Mountain Boulevard even though other cyclists had been complaining for years. The pothole was repaired four months after Bower's crash.
November 2016
SF And Oakland Road Conditions Are The Worst In The Country
A single, gaping pothole can result in hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs for a car owner, and thus Trip, a transportation group based in Washington DC, puts effort into tracking the condition of America's major highways and thoroughfares to figure out where infrastructure spending is needed the most. According to their new report, just released, San Francisco and Oakland aren't just among the worst places in the country for poor pavement conditions, we're actually number one. And the top three metro areas of 500,000 people are more with the worst roads are in car-heavy California, with LA ranking number two, and San Jose coming in a close third.
All told, the major roads of SF and Oakland were rated "71% poor," while pothole-filled Los Angeles was found to be only 60%.
And road conditions aren't just important for drivers, since cyclists can be seriously injured by potholes too. An Oakland woman won a $3.25 million judgement against the city after slamming into a pothole in the Oakland Hills in 2011.
http://sfist.com/2016/11/02/report_sf_and_oakland_road_conditio.php
Bumpy Roads Ahead:
America’s Roughest Rides and Strategies to make our Roads Smoother
http://www.tripnet.org/docs/Urban_Roads_TRIP_Report_November_2016.pdf
San Francisco and Oakland roads deemed worst in nation again
December 2016
http://sf.curbed.com/2016/12/22/14057652/sf-roads-worst-nation-trip
Oakland Potholes.. a history
Time was when, Oakland was able to properly, and promptly, maintain its infrastructure … or not:
https://localwiki.org/oakland/Potholes
September 2013
Sloppy Ridgemont repaving irks Oakland neighbors
Uneven surface, globs of pavement dot neighborhood
Oakland resident Jeff Franzen waited more than two decades to see his Ridgemont neighborhood streets repaved, and when the trucks arrived this month he thought he was in for a smooth ride
Shaff said the Ridgemont job was pushed up the list after vociferous complaints from residents. The industry standard for cities to repave roads is once every 25 to 30 years, but in Oakland that wait is often closer to 80 years, Shaff said.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Sloppy-Ridgemont-repaving-irks-Oakland-neighbors-4843702.php
67 City of Oakland - Measures KK and BB were passed to fund road repairs, yet Oakland's roads continue to go unfixed.
November 2016
SF And Oakland Road Conditions Are The Worst In The Country
A single, gaping pothole can result in hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs for a car owner, and thus Trip, a transportation group based in Washington DC, puts effort into tracking the condition of America's major highways and thoroughfares to figure out where infrastructure spending is needed the most. According to their new report, just released, San Francisco and Oakland aren't just among the worst places in the country for poor pavement conditions, we're actually number one. And the top three metro areas of 500,000 people are more with the worst roads are in car-heavy California, with LA ranking number two, and San Jose coming in a close third.
All told, the major roads of SF and Oakland were rated "71% poor," while pothole-filled Los Angeles was found to be only 60%.
And road conditions aren't just important for drivers, since cyclists can be seriously injured by potholes too. An Oakland woman won a $3.25 million judgement against the city after slamming into a pothole in the Oakland Hills in 2011.
http://sfist.com/2016/11/02/report_sf_and_oakland_road_conditio.php
http://www.tripnet.org/docs/Urban_Roads_TRIP_Report_November_2016.pdf
Why SF and Oakland have America's worst-maintained streets
December 2016
http://www.sfgate.com/news/articleComments/Why-SF-and-Oakland-Have-America-s-10813772.php
Planning > 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan
Measure BB passed with 70 percent voter support: funds 30-year Transportation Expenditure Plan
Measure BB, approved by Alameda County voters on November 4, 2014, will generate nearly $8 billion over 30 years for essential transportation improvements in every city throughout Alameda County. See election results map. Funds began flowing to municipalities and transit agencies in July 2015. See Measure BB sales tax revenue allocations.
Measure BB funds the 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan (2014 Plan), which was unanimously approved by the Alameda County Transportation Commission at its January 2014 meeting. An economic analysis by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute reports that the Plan will yield $20 billion in total economic activity in the Bay Area and 150,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
Strict accountability and performance measures ensure delivery. The 30-year Plan includes strict accountability measures to ensure all $8 billion for County transportation improvements are spent on approved projects. It requires open and transparent public processes to allocate funds, annual independent audits, an independent watchdog committee made up of people who live in Alameda County and annual compliance reports distributed to the public that detail costs and how specific performance measures are met.
Alameda CTC sought and received unanimous approval of the 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan by each of Alameda County's 14 cities, an
http://www.alamedactc.org/2014plan
October 2014
Transportation fund sales tax increase on ballot
How does Measure BB work?
Measure BB, said Richardson of Oakland United Democratic Campaign, would lead to the long-overdue maintenance of some 50 miles of roads and 250 neighborhood blocks in Oakland alone. The measure’s failure would further a “state of disrepair,” said Colin Piethe of Bike East Bay, since Measure BB funds would provide 2/3 of the projected local transportation budget over the next three decades. The increased tax funding would also improve the quality of life “drastically,” he said in an email.
https://oaklandnorth.net/2014/10/29/transportation-fund-sales-tax-increase-on-ballot/
August 2016
Oakland's Street-Repair Deficit is Deep. The Mayor Says a $600 Million Bond Needed to Address the Problem.
Measure KK would also approve bonds for affordable housing.
Here in the East Bay, it's no secret that Oakland's streets are rough — as in riddled with potholes, busted sidewalks, and dubiously safe bike lanes. In fact, the mayor's office informed the Express last week that there's a $450 million service backlog of street-paving and repair work. That's not a minor to-do list.
Enter Measure KK. If two-thirds voters pass KK on Election Day, it will greenlight some $350 million in bonds to make a dent in that road-repair deficit.
But proponents tout that the initiative will do more than just fix streets. The measure also earmarks $150 million in bonds to upgrade city facilities, such as libraries, parks, and fire stations; and another $100 million in bonds to invest in affordable housing.
Measure KK is being presented as a complementary measure to the county's $580 million low-income-housing bond, Measure A1. Both initiatives would permit local governments to acquire and fix-up property, so as to increase affordable-housing stock.
But the meat of Measure KK would be spent on mending roads — this despite ballot language that portrays the measure as a solution to Oakland's affordability crisis.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/oaklands-street-repair-deficit-is-deep-the-mayor-says-a-600-million-bond-needed-to-address-the-problem/Content?oid=4947689
From the comments..
I couldn't help but notice that street repairs in my already-adequately-paved neighborhood near Lake Merritt are ongoing, while West Grand Ave. is like the surface of the freaking moon, nearly shaking apart the bus I take to work every day.
Could it be that there's a resource allocation problem? Are "nicer" neighborhoods with more lobbying power grabbing more of the money away from the torn-up neighborhoods that actually need it? It sure looks like it from here.
report
July 2015
East Oakland residents organize to demand cleaner streets, road repairs
Even when the trash and debris aren’t blocking the roadways, the amount of potholes on the streets makes driving near his home like navigating a minefield.
“It’s in a bad state,” Paranguero said, adding that these conditions only add to the bad reputation this area of the city already has.
Using chalk and spray paint, the neighbors circled each pothole and wrote messages such as “fix me” and “measure BB funds.”
Holloway said the march was not only to get attention from city officials, but to remind fellow residents who have grown complacent after being ignored for so long that they shouldn’t have to put up with these conditions.
“We pay taxes … and we deserve the same service that everyone else in Oakland is getting, and that’s better streets and for our streets to be clean,” Holloway said.
Illegal dumping and rundown roads are problems that can be found in other neighborhoods in Oakland, said Kristine Shaff, Public Works public information officer.
As for road maintenance, Shaff said each district receives equal road treatment to address potholes and improve road surfaces for the same amount of blocks annually.
Shaff suspects a reason why it appears that less funding is going to East Oakland is because there are fewer commercial streets there.
Not only do commercial streets such at 98th Street and International Boulevard have a greater amount of traffic, which make them a higher priority, but some are repaved during construction projects paid for by city partners such as Kaiser Permanente.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2015/07/22/east-oakland-residents-organize-to-demand-cleaner-streets-road-repairs/
July 2015
East Oakland Residents Spray Paint ‘Fix Me’ On Potholes, Demand Repairs On Rough Roads
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – Residents of an Oakland neighborhood said they’re getting a raw deal from the city when it comes to road repairs.
A 2013 study found 60 percent of Oakland’s streets are in poor or fair condition. Anthony McRae said it’s worst in East Oakland. “I myself have a claim against the city right now for $5,000 because I damaged my car driving through a pothole,” McRae told KPIX 5.
It’s hard not to notice driving down this street as potholes pockmark every piece of the road here. The city did come out to fix three blocks a couple of weeks ago as part of its citywide pothole blitz, but neighbors said they never finished the job.
On Wednesday, residents came out to circle the small craters with spray paint and wrote “fix me” next to the potholes.
Kamara Wilson, a volunteer with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, said the city has the money thanks to Measure BB, which is supposed to fund road improvements.
“We know that there are funds available to fix these streets and that’s why we’re here today,” Wilson said.
She says Oakland is funneling Measure BB funds into wealthier communities. A map of Oakland’s pavement prioritization plan shows purple lines indicating new streets. They’re just about everywhere, except a gaping hole in East Oakland.
Even more concerning, neighbors said a big chunk of Measure BB funds, up to $60 million, could be used to build Coliseum City while the streets of East Oakland are left in shambles.
McRae said it’s proof of what he already knows, that there are two Oaklands. “Over on this side, East Oakland in the flatlands, there’s no money coming over here,” he said.
A call by KPIX 5’s Christin Ayers to Oakland’s Department of Public Works about the potholes was not immediately returned.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/07/16/east-oakland-pothole-street-repairs-spray-paint-fix-me/
SF And Oakland Road Conditions Are The Worst In The Country
A single, gaping pothole can result in hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs for a car owner, and thus Trip, a transportation group based in Washington DC, puts effort into tracking the condition of America's major highways and thoroughfares to figure out where infrastructure spending is needed the most. According to their new report, just released, San Francisco and Oakland aren't just among the worst places in the country for poor pavement conditions, we're actually number one. And the top three metro areas of 500,000 people are more with the worst roads are in car-heavy California, with LA ranking number two, and San Jose coming in a close third.
All told, the major roads of SF and Oakland were rated "71% poor," while pothole-filled Los Angeles was found to be only 60%.
And road conditions aren't just important for drivers, since cyclists can be seriously injured by potholes too. An Oakland woman won a $3.25 million judgement against the city after slamming into a pothole in the Oakland Hills in 2011.
http://sfist.com/2016/11/02/report_sf_and_oakland_road_conditio.php
http://www.tripnet.org/docs/Urban_Roads_TRIP_Report_November_2016.pdf
Why SF and Oakland have America's worst-maintained streets
December 2016
http://www.sfgate.com/news/articleComments/Why-SF-and-Oakland-Have-America-s-10813772.php
Planning > 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan
Measure BB passed with 70 percent voter support: funds 30-year Transportation Expenditure Plan
Measure BB, approved by Alameda County voters on November 4, 2014, will generate nearly $8 billion over 30 years for essential transportation improvements in every city throughout Alameda County. See election results map. Funds began flowing to municipalities and transit agencies in July 2015. See Measure BB sales tax revenue allocations.
Measure BB funds the 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan (2014 Plan), which was unanimously approved by the Alameda County Transportation Commission at its January 2014 meeting. An economic analysis by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute reports that the Plan will yield $20 billion in total economic activity in the Bay Area and 150,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
Strict accountability and performance measures ensure delivery. The 30-year Plan includes strict accountability measures to ensure all $8 billion for County transportation improvements are spent on approved projects. It requires open and transparent public processes to allocate funds, annual independent audits, an independent watchdog committee made up of people who live in Alameda County and annual compliance reports distributed to the public that detail costs and how specific performance measures are met.
Alameda CTC sought and received unanimous approval of the 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan by each of Alameda County's 14 cities, an
http://www.alamedactc.org/2014plan
October 2014
Transportation fund sales tax increase on ballot
How does Measure BB work?
Measure BB, said Richardson of Oakland United Democratic Campaign, would lead to the long-overdue maintenance of some 50 miles of roads and 250 neighborhood blocks in Oakland alone. The measure’s failure would further a “state of disrepair,” said Colin Piethe of Bike East Bay, since Measure BB funds would provide 2/3 of the projected local transportation budget over the next three decades. The increased tax funding would also improve the quality of life “drastically,” he said in an email.
https://oaklandnorth.net/2014/10/29/transportation-fund-sales-tax-increase-on-ballot/
August 2016
Oakland's Street-Repair Deficit is Deep. The Mayor Says a $600 Million Bond Needed to Address the Problem.
Measure KK would also approve bonds for affordable housing.
Here in the East Bay, it's no secret that Oakland's streets are rough — as in riddled with potholes, busted sidewalks, and dubiously safe bike lanes. In fact, the mayor's office informed the Express last week that there's a $450 million service backlog of street-paving and repair work. That's not a minor to-do list.
Enter Measure KK. If two-thirds voters pass KK on Election Day, it will greenlight some $350 million in bonds to make a dent in that road-repair deficit.
But proponents tout that the initiative will do more than just fix streets. The measure also earmarks $150 million in bonds to upgrade city facilities, such as libraries, parks, and fire stations; and another $100 million in bonds to invest in affordable housing.
Measure KK is being presented as a complementary measure to the county's $580 million low-income-housing bond, Measure A1. Both initiatives would permit local governments to acquire and fix-up property, so as to increase affordable-housing stock.
But the meat of Measure KK would be spent on mending roads — this despite ballot language that portrays the measure as a solution to Oakland's affordability crisis.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/oaklands-street-repair-deficit-is-deep-the-mayor-says-a-600-million-bond-needed-to-address-the-problem/Content?oid=4947689
From the comments..
I couldn't help but notice that street repairs in my already-adequately-paved neighborhood near Lake Merritt are ongoing, while West Grand Ave. is like the surface of the freaking moon, nearly shaking apart the bus I take to work every day.
Could it be that there's a resource allocation problem? Are "nicer" neighborhoods with more lobbying power grabbing more of the money away from the torn-up neighborhoods that actually need it? It sure looks like it from here.
report
July 2015
East Oakland residents organize to demand cleaner streets, road repairs
Even when the trash and debris aren’t blocking the roadways, the amount of potholes on the streets makes driving near his home like navigating a minefield.
“It’s in a bad state,” Paranguero said, adding that these conditions only add to the bad reputation this area of the city already has.
Using chalk and spray paint, the neighbors circled each pothole and wrote messages such as “fix me” and “measure BB funds.”
Holloway said the march was not only to get attention from city officials, but to remind fellow residents who have grown complacent after being ignored for so long that they shouldn’t have to put up with these conditions.
“We pay taxes … and we deserve the same service that everyone else in Oakland is getting, and that’s better streets and for our streets to be clean,” Holloway said.
Illegal dumping and rundown roads are problems that can be found in other neighborhoods in Oakland, said Kristine Shaff, Public Works public information officer.
As for road maintenance, Shaff said each district receives equal road treatment to address potholes and improve road surfaces for the same amount of blocks annually.
Shaff suspects a reason why it appears that less funding is going to East Oakland is because there are fewer commercial streets there.
Not only do commercial streets such at 98th Street and International Boulevard have a greater amount of traffic, which make them a higher priority, but some are repaved during construction projects paid for by city partners such as Kaiser Permanente.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2015/07/22/east-oakland-residents-organize-to-demand-cleaner-streets-road-repairs/
July 2015
East Oakland Residents Spray Paint ‘Fix Me’ On Potholes, Demand Repairs On Rough Roads
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – Residents of an Oakland neighborhood said they’re getting a raw deal from the city when it comes to road repairs.
A 2013 study found 60 percent of Oakland’s streets are in poor or fair condition. Anthony McRae said it’s worst in East Oakland. “I myself have a claim against the city right now for $5,000 because I damaged my car driving through a pothole,” McRae told KPIX 5.
It’s hard not to notice driving down this street as potholes pockmark every piece of the road here. The city did come out to fix three blocks a couple of weeks ago as part of its citywide pothole blitz, but neighbors said they never finished the job.
On Wednesday, residents came out to circle the small craters with spray paint and wrote “fix me” next to the potholes.
Kamara Wilson, a volunteer with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, said the city has the money thanks to Measure BB, which is supposed to fund road improvements.
“We know that there are funds available to fix these streets and that’s why we’re here today,” Wilson said.
She says Oakland is funneling Measure BB funds into wealthier communities. A map of Oakland’s pavement prioritization plan shows purple lines indicating new streets. They’re just about everywhere, except a gaping hole in East Oakland.
Even more concerning, neighbors said a big chunk of Measure BB funds, up to $60 million, could be used to build Coliseum City while the streets of East Oakland are left in shambles.
McRae said it’s proof of what he already knows, that there are two Oaklands. “Over on this side, East Oakland in the flatlands, there’s no money coming over here,” he said.
A call by KPIX 5’s Christin Ayers to Oakland’s Department of Public Works about the potholes was not immediately returned.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/07/16/east-oakland-pothole-street-repairs-spray-paint-fix-me/
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
66 Oakland City Council - tried to make City Hall board members of new cannabis company (with a mandated 25% stake in ownership)
September 2016
Is Oakland idea on pot permits legal?
That’s not stopping council members Desley Brooks, Larry Reid and Noel Gallo from pushing their plan to force cannabis businesses to give the city one-quarter of their ownership and at least one seat on their boards of directors — in exchange for an operating permit. Such permits are required under the state Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act that established regulations for marijuana businesses as the state heads toward legalization of recreational pot.
“We’ll be able to use a resource that generates millions” of dollars, Gallo said, explaining his support for the proposal that would amend Oakland’s cannabis laws. The plan is to be discussed by the City Council’s Public Safety Committee next week. “I’ll be able to get specific services that I need in East Oakland. If I were to rely on the general budget, I would never get them.”
Gallo, Brooks and Reid say their proposal would generate revenue for the city to fund district activities, community beautification and loans for aspiring business owners who the council members say were hurt by the U.S. war on drugs. Additionally, the city would dole out some of the new revenue to three community job-training programs that are run by politically connected people. One of them, the Hispanic Engineers, Builders & Contractors of California, has no website or state records, and is run by a childhood friend of Gallo’s.
The friend, Rafael Zamora, said he is in the process of solidifying the group’s nonprofit status.
In a memo sent Friday to the Public Safety Committee, the council members say they came up with the proposal to “ensure equity and fairness” in a “burgeoning” cannabis industry. Brooks, who according to Gallo was the proposal’s main author, has previously claimed that systemic racism gives some cannabis operators a head start, while others are shut out.
In addition to requiring pot businesses to share revenue, the proposal would require business permits to be given to pot entrepreneurs who have lived in Oakland for at least five years.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Is-Oakland-idea-on-pot-permits-legal-9233106.php
December 2016
High on Green
In September, Oakland council members Desley Brooks, Noel Gallo, and Larry Reid hatched an idea: The city would require private marijuana businesses to fold them in — and kick them over a cut of the profits.
It's true: The trio floated policy that would make City Hall board members of new cannabis companies, giving them a seat on their board and mandating that it receive a 25 percent stake in ownership.
No surprise, outrage ensued, and the three electeds eventually ditched the plan. But the blowback is real: Canna-businesses hold little trust in Oakland leadership, and the slow-going permit program for medical-marijuana is actually hurting the above-the-board weed economy — and further fueling the underground trade.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/grinches-of-the-year-oakland-and-east-bay-residents-with-hearts-a-few-sizes-too-small/Content?oid=5064007
Is Oakland idea on pot permits legal?
That’s not stopping council members Desley Brooks, Larry Reid and Noel Gallo from pushing their plan to force cannabis businesses to give the city one-quarter of their ownership and at least one seat on their boards of directors — in exchange for an operating permit. Such permits are required under the state Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act that established regulations for marijuana businesses as the state heads toward legalization of recreational pot.
“We’ll be able to use a resource that generates millions” of dollars, Gallo said, explaining his support for the proposal that would amend Oakland’s cannabis laws. The plan is to be discussed by the City Council’s Public Safety Committee next week. “I’ll be able to get specific services that I need in East Oakland. If I were to rely on the general budget, I would never get them.”
Gallo, Brooks and Reid say their proposal would generate revenue for the city to fund district activities, community beautification and loans for aspiring business owners who the council members say were hurt by the U.S. war on drugs. Additionally, the city would dole out some of the new revenue to three community job-training programs that are run by politically connected people. One of them, the Hispanic Engineers, Builders & Contractors of California, has no website or state records, and is run by a childhood friend of Gallo’s.
The friend, Rafael Zamora, said he is in the process of solidifying the group’s nonprofit status.
In a memo sent Friday to the Public Safety Committee, the council members say they came up with the proposal to “ensure equity and fairness” in a “burgeoning” cannabis industry. Brooks, who according to Gallo was the proposal’s main author, has previously claimed that systemic racism gives some cannabis operators a head start, while others are shut out.
In addition to requiring pot businesses to share revenue, the proposal would require business permits to be given to pot entrepreneurs who have lived in Oakland for at least five years.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Is-Oakland-idea-on-pot-permits-legal-9233106.php
December 2016
High on Green
In September, Oakland council members Desley Brooks, Noel Gallo, and Larry Reid hatched an idea: The city would require private marijuana businesses to fold them in — and kick them over a cut of the profits.
It's true: The trio floated policy that would make City Hall board members of new cannabis companies, giving them a seat on their board and mandating that it receive a 25 percent stake in ownership.
No surprise, outrage ensued, and the three electeds eventually ditched the plan. But the blowback is real: Canna-businesses hold little trust in Oakland leadership, and the slow-going permit program for medical-marijuana is actually hurting the above-the-board weed economy — and further fueling the underground trade.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/grinches-of-the-year-oakland-and-east-bay-residents-with-hearts-a-few-sizes-too-small/Content?oid=5064007
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
65 City of Oakland Housing Authority opts for mass evictions (hello homeless population boom)
Mass evictions from Oakland's public housing
Monday, May 15, 2006
Due to an Oakland housing official's acts of fraud, 34 poor families face eviction from Lockwood Gardens, by order of the Oakland Housing Authority.
https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Mass_evictions_from_Oakland's_public_housing
October 2007
Oakland -- Theres been a turning point in the affairs of the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA), and a huge shift in the way the OHA wants to do business in the City of Oakland. As a result, thousands of low-income public housing tenants may face eviction during the next few years from their housing, and their housing units may be demolished or sold off to help raise revenue to cover the operating expenses of Oakland's public housing program.
Due to federal budget cuts in the OHA's housing programs totaling around a $24 million combined loss during FY 07 and FY 08, the OHA will be spending more money in FY 08 than it is bringing in and does not have enough funding to repair and maintain it's existing public housing stock.
The result of this crisis is that conversations are taking place to consider the demolition or dispossession of 1,463 public housing units in Oakland, in an effort to focus on a few of the OHA's public housing sites, while letting the rest of their public housing stock fall into a state of disrepair. The OHA may apply to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for permission to dispose of most of it's scattered public housing sites or demolish them, in exchange for Section 8 vouchers.
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/10/07/18452557.php
Monday, May 15, 2006
Due to an Oakland housing official's acts of fraud, 34 poor families face eviction from Lockwood Gardens, by order of the Oakland Housing Authority.
https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Mass_evictions_from_Oakland's_public_housing
October 2007
Oakland -- Theres been a turning point in the affairs of the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA), and a huge shift in the way the OHA wants to do business in the City of Oakland. As a result, thousands of low-income public housing tenants may face eviction during the next few years from their housing, and their housing units may be demolished or sold off to help raise revenue to cover the operating expenses of Oakland's public housing program.
Due to federal budget cuts in the OHA's housing programs totaling around a $24 million combined loss during FY 07 and FY 08, the OHA will be spending more money in FY 08 than it is bringing in and does not have enough funding to repair and maintain it's existing public housing stock.
The result of this crisis is that conversations are taking place to consider the demolition or dispossession of 1,463 public housing units in Oakland, in an effort to focus on a few of the OHA's public housing sites, while letting the rest of their public housing stock fall into a state of disrepair. The OHA may apply to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for permission to dispose of most of it's scattered public housing sites or demolish them, in exchange for Section 8 vouchers.
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/10/07/18452557.php
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