“Critics of the current policy are frustrated: In the years prior to the pandemic, Oakland used as much as 84% of its festivals and fairs fund to pay the police department for security instead of directly supporting artists and cultural institutions. This police-led permitting system is cost-prohibitive and inequitable, critics say. They argue it hurts opportunities for artists and small businesses, hampers Oakland’s tourism industry and slows recovery from pandemic restrictions. Now, government leaders, artists and promoters alike are calling for a more transparent, affordable system for throwing festivals, fairs and block parties, all of which are vital for the city’s culture, economy and community relationships.” “The public buy-in from Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan—who, for years, has expressed interest in capitalizing on the region’s resources and existing fandom—has generated strong momentum in recent weeks regarding the WNBA’s next potential franchise. That, coupled with the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG’s) recent purchase of a majority stake in Oakland Arena (the former home of the Golden State Warriors), has concretized this bid and separated it from the half-quotes and passing references we’ve grown accustomed to seeing the past few years. Vice Mayor Kaplan took the time to speak with Winsidr’s Myles Ehrlich and Dani Bar-Lavi about the latest updates regarding Oakland’s allure as the next potential WNBA city. We began by discussing the next major step in bringing a team to Oakland: a vote by the city’s Coliseum Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to finalize the terms of a potential lease for a WNBA team at Oakland Arena, a vote which passed unanimously this past Friday.” Oakland City Councilmember and vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan wants direct ferry service running between Oakland and locations in the North Bay, according to an open letter from her to the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority, which runs Oakland’s ferry services.She asks for increased frequency of ferry service on existing routes to and from Oakland/Jack London Square… “A different look, yes, but also an audition of sorts for potential new markets. Not that there needs to be a sale in Kaplan’s eyes, who touted the easy public transit access fans would have to Oakland Arena, even some diehard Sacramento Monarchs fans along Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor line.“Women hold up half the sky,” Kaplan said. “The WNBA is growing, it's an exciting time with the growing excitement and public coverage. And a new team — many new teams — make sense. That includes and our existing, wonderful arena.”Whether other cities and ownership groups recognize this opportunity remains to be seen. But they’ll all be playing catch-up to Oakland.” “Rebecca Kaplan, Vice Mayor of Oakland and council member at-large, serves on the board of the Alameda County Transportation Commission and has been a strong advocate for these zero-emission trucks. “I am thrilled that we were able to work together to obtain this vital funding to bring zero-emission trucks to our community,” said Vice Mayor Kaplan. “This will help reduce pollution and reduce the health impacts that have been suffered here for too long. Hydrogen fuel cells can provide long-haul trucking with zero emissions to protect our community.”“This project represents a significant milestone in achieving California’s climate and pollution reduction goals, while also cleaning the air in the communities hardest hit by toxic diesel emissions from trucks,” says California Air Resources Board Executive Officer Richard W. Corey. “By introducing Hyundai into the fuel cell electric truck market, the NorCal Drayage project supported by cap-and-trade proceeds holds promise for further electrification of our nation’s truck fleets. It also puts us one step closer to accelerating our goals for zero-emission drayage trucks, a crucial step for improving air quality in communities adjacent to our ports and along our major freight corridors.”‘The deployment of these trucks in northern California provides a groundbreaking opportunity to demonstrate the exceptional performance of fuel cell electric trucks for an industry that has traditionally relied on conventional diesel and CNG vehicles,” said Jaimie Levin, CTE’s Director of West Coast Operations. “We look forward to being a part of a new era for trucking across the U.S. – one marked by zero-emission vehicles that don’t force fleets to compromise on performance.’” “In a rare unanimous vote, the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Authority approved a non-binding term sheet clearing the way for a WNBA team to play in Oakland.City council president and Oakland vice mayor Rebecca Kaplan has been instrumental in paving the way for this moment“I am super excited and we know that Oakland has a strong community that is ready to support women’s basketball and restore the energy of Roaracle at our arena,” Kaplan said. “So this is one step closer to have a WNBA team in Oakland.”“This could be easily one of the biggest WNBA markets in the country for sure,” Ray Bobbitt said.” “Kaplan says sending police to mental health and behavioral calls they are not trained to handle is a grave mistake cities keep repeating. "Those cases often go very badly and sometimes horrifically," she says. "We have seen horrific deaths, killings by police throughout the nation when they've been called for matters that deal with mental health or homelessness or public intoxication — or any of these matters that are not a violent crime — and should be better handled by a non-police response."One study estimates people with an untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during an encounter with police than other civilians.MACRO is part of a wider effort here by the city council and mayor to rethink how law enforcement operates in a city where the police department has been under federal oversight now for nearly two decades.” “This additional funding must be used to respond to community needs with resource that offer support, therefore I am proposing to restore the following: Fully restore Fire Department Services: I pushed back and fought against the administration's closure of Fire Stations, we must fully restore all of the fire stations. Reducing blight and illegal dumping by restoring positions that help stop litter and trash.Community Safety Ambassadors in Chinatown, Eastlake, East Oakland, West Oakland and business districts. Restore Ceasefire Operation.Restore walking foot patrol officers.Expand Shotspotter to parts of East Oakland currently not covered.Reopen recreation centers & closed swimming pool.Help Close the gap in funds for Violence Prevention Funding plan, this plan includes programs for youth job training.COVID-19 Vaccination Community Engagement: Fund grants to community-based organizations, for work in Oakland underserved communities to provide information and access for COVID testing and vaccination.Unfreeze Crime Investigation Positions: these positions include the civilian Evidence Technicians and related positions that help solve crime and improve community. Traffic Safety: Improve responsiveness for needs around traffic calming, such as speed bumps and other infrastructure improvements that can help reduce speeding and accidents and protect the public.” The Oakland City council voted in favor of the creation of the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland during a ten-hour meeting Tuesday night.The creation of the crisis response team means that police officers with badges and guns will no longer respond to non-violent 911 calls for help involving a mental health crisis."A large number of 911 calls that get sent to police involve non-violent matters that would be better handled by trained civilians who have expertise in mental health and related matters," said Oakland Vice Mayor and At-large Council Member Rebecca Kaplan.Kaplan, one of the first city council members to propose the idea, voted in favor of it along with the rest of the council. “‘Tear gas has been banned for use in warfare, but is legal for police to use in the U.S. Yet, experts say it should be a weapon of last resort for crowd control and for addressing violent behavior of specific individuals because it affects everyone in the area including peaceful protestors,” the council members wrote in the letter.The council members said they have heard from members of the public claiming that law enforcement officers have used tear gas on peaceful protesters and have wantonly spread it to residences and vehicles of people not involved in protests over the last week.” “Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland’s citywide council member, successfully advocated last year for $40,000 from the city budget to be spent on a study on how best to implement the Oregon model there. The study investigated questions like: What’s the best way to complement existing mental health services without competing against them? Where in Oakland do most 911 calls related to mental illness originate? In which neighborhoods does it make most sense to concentrate a pilot program?This month, as the city council debated the budget for the coming year, that study was presented to a meeting of the Oakland Police Commission. Council members discussed the possibility of launching a pilot called MACRO (the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland). The goal is to launch the pilot next year with funding from the city budget, and although supporters are not yet sure what its size and duration will be, they’re hopeful it’ll make a big difference to Oakland’s overpoliced community of people without homes. They were among those who first called for a non-policing approach.” “Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan has sharply criticized the Warriors’ legal maneuvers, saying the effort “to stick local taxpayers with their arena debt” runs counter to the team’s popular slogan.“To spend that much effort to do something so offensive to their longtime fans and supporters is the opposite of ‘Strength in Numbers,'” Kaplan said. “And if they are trying to steal $40 million from struggling people while bragging about their billions to waste on an inaccessible San Francisco palace, it is despicable.’”
