Joel Young: The hidden costs of health care

This guest post was written by Joel Young, a lifelong Bay Area resident and a member of the AC Transit Board of Directors.
As the raucous health care debate plays out in Washington DC, I have become increasingly aware of the stakes for the Bay Area. Skyrocketing health care costs touch us all, and in ways [...]

Don Perata: Message to City Council: Instant Runoff Voting: Protect Our Civil Rights

This guest post was written by Don Perata, who was the President pro Tem of the California State Senate from 2004-08. He chaired the Senate Elections and Redistricting Committee in 2001 charged with protecting the Voting Rights Act when drawing congressional and legislative districts following the 2000 census. There were no allegations of minority voting [...]

John Gatewood: Safeway at College @ Claremont – Opportunity to Enhance an Urban Village

This guest post was written by John Gatewood, one of the co-founders of ULTRA (Urbanists for a Livable Temescal Rockridge Area), which supports higher density mixed-use development along the major transit corridors of north Oakland. John works in the Graphic Arts Industry and is a resident of Temescal.
Safeway is in the planning stages of replacing [...]

John Gatewood: Oakland is a Rust Belt City and what the Zoning Update can do about it

This guest post was written by John Gatewood, one of the co-founders of ULTRA (Urbanists for a Livable Temescal Rockridge Area), which supports higher density mixed-use development along the major transit corridors of north Oakland. John works in the Graphic Arts Industry and is a resident of Temescal.
Oakland is a rust belt city that just [...]

Kay Taylor: Lake Merritt Walk for Women of Africa

This guest post was written by Kay Taylor, MD, OB/GYN, Executive Director of Prevention International: No Cervical Cancer (PINCC), based in Oakland. She is a Board-Certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist whose dedication to providing high-quality health care to women around the world has led her on medical missions to Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras and inspired her to found [...]

Karen Hester: Eat Real Bike Tours – be the first on your block or in the Bay Area:

This guest post was written by Karen Hester, an events organizer of street fairs and same sex weddings and a founding member of Temescal Creek Cohousing. She is an avid biker and does not own a car (or cell phone).
We Oaklanders know we have some of the best kept secrets in the Bay Area and [...]

Zac Unger: Oakland Fire Union agrees to more than $6 million in cuts

This guest post is written by, Zac Unger, a lifelong Oakland resident. He has been an Oakland firefighter for 11 years and serves as a member of the executive board of Local 55.
As some of you may have heard, the firefighter’s union has just approved a new contract by an 80-20 margin. Granted, I’m an [...]

John Gatewood: Former opponents united in opposition to Safeway plan for Rockridge Center

This guest post was written by John Gatewood, one of the co-founders of ULTRA (Urbanists for a Livable Temescal Rockridge Area), which supports higher density mixed-use development along the major transit corridors of north Oakland. John works in the Graphic Arts Industry and is a resident of Temescal.
I hope all who oppose the construction of [...]

Rebecca Kaplan: Vote Yes 4 Oakland

This guest post was written by Oakland City Council Member At-Large, Rebecca Kaplan.

Friends, Neighbors, Oaklanders….
This week, vote-by-mail ballots will be sent out to all Oakland voters, for the special election taking place this July.  I am voting Yes on all four measures, and ask you to join me. Like most cities, Oakland is struggling to [...]

Sean Sullivan: A Scalpel, not a Chainsaw

This guest post was written by Sean Sullivan, an active Oakland resident who lives in the Clawson/Dogtown neighborhood where he is co-chair of his NCPC and represents the 3rd district on the Community Action Partnership and Community Development Block Grant board.  Sean was a director at Covenant House for over a decade, is now involved [...]