Bay Area

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Delivers State of the City Address Weeks Before Recall Election

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao delivered her State of the City address at a City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, laying out her administration’s accomplishments over the last year and outlining how she intends to continue the progress during the rest of her term. Thao boasted about where the city has improved in the last year since her previous city address, saying that the change is “nothing short of inspiring.”

Published

2 months ago

October 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor Sheng Thao delivered her State of the City address at a City Council meeting Tuesday evening where she celebrated all her accomplishments and improvements since her last city address. Photo courtesy of the mayor’s office.

By Magaly Muñoz

Thao boasted about where the city has improved in the last year since her previous city address, saying that the change is “nothing short of inspiring.”

Her 2023 city address was filled with acknowledgments of her administration’s failures, including not securing funding for retail crime prevention, loss of businesses, risk to public welfare and much more, but this year’s speech focused on her accomplishments.

There was also no mention of the recall she is facing in a few short weeks or the FBI raid on her home in June.

Thao dedicated the majority of her 2023 speech talking about her priority on public safety. She had fired the former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong eight months prior. She then became the face of the rising crime the city was struggling to manage.

But at her speech Tuesday night, she celebrated the hiring of current chief Floyd Mitchell, who joined the department this spring, and the reinvestment into the Ceasefire program to prevent violent crimes.

“I can tell you today that crime is down,” Thao said.

Homicides in particular are down nearly 30% from 2023. One hundred and twenty people were killed last year, but OPD data shows that there have only been 66 homicides to date.

Robberies and burglaries are also seeing a significant decrease by 24% and 54% respectively this year. In 2023, robberies were up 38% and burglaries up by 23%, a statistic that many did not let Thao forget.

Now, Thao said that business owners are seeing fewer break-ins and “less broken glass on the streets.”

The mayor also mentioned the substantial investments into public safety technology, such as the 290 Flock cameras installed all around the city to catch offenders. According to the Flock Safety portal, there have been over 55,000 hits to date for wanted vehicles.

Thao announced that the city is working with the Federal Aviation Administration, the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission, and the Police Commission to facilitate a “first-responder droning program” that will allow for faster response time for Priority One calls. The drones would send live feed information to first responders to assist in their aid.

The mayor also mentioned the efforts to clean up the streets by clearing 250 homeless encampments, cleaning illegal dumping and parked vehicles, and adding new infrastructure to keep streets safe for everyone.

Aside from public safety, Thao celebrated the recent sale of the Oakland Coliseum, which is set to bring in $125 million for the city, $110 million available in this fiscal year.

But this deal is anything but smooth sailing. In recent weeks, questions have risen about the legitimacy of the sale and whether the funds will come in on time so that the city does not have to cut funding to essential public safety departments. The mayor’s team and the buyers have assured the public that all payments will be made when promised and no cuts will be made.

Acknowledgements to the various sports investments did not stop at the Coliseum. The Oakland Ballers moving into Raimondi Park and the Oakland Roots playing at the stadium next season were also points of economic progress for Thao.

The Bay Area will also be home to a new WNBA team, the Valkyries, and will see events from NBA All Stars to the 2026 Super Bowl, and the Men’s Fifa World Cup in the next few years. Thao said she will make sure that Oakland is involved in these key events in order to secure revenue from visiting tourists.

“Our challenges are great, but our people are greater,” Thao said.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

5 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

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Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.