Jaime Omar Yassin [TNH]
@hyphyrepublic.bsky.social
1.3K followers 130 following 1.4K posts
I'm @hyphy_republic on Twitter, aka The Oakland Observer, an Oakland journalist. Newsletter @ https://oakland-observer.ghost.io/ :One time contributions to the OO instead of subscription https://oakland-observer.ghost.io/#/portal/support
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Reposted by Jaime Omar Yassin [TNH]
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It's hard to read the substantive changes in Jenkins/Ramachandran proposed Council Rules of Procedure as anything but a way of diminishing public participation in the council process. They'll be discussing them today at Rules
Raising barrier to move a consent item to non-consent by a CM means that it will be harder for CMs to move a non consent item to consent to give public a chance to weigh in.
Removing the req that committee split votes send the item to non consent means that with current leadership at Rules and Council, controversial items will lack debate, opportunity for community to contest
Removing the 5pm barrier for non consent, running non consent first, means that most working people will have limited opportunity of interacting with legislation at Council meetings. 5 is already too early, but at least public has a shot of making it
It's hard to read the substantive changes in Jenkins/Ramachandran proposed Council Rules of Procedure as anything but a way of diminishing public participation in the council process. They'll be discussing them today at Rules
earthquake on earthquake preparedness day.
It's also worrisome to see her and other CMs again attack Oakland's volunteer led commissions on issues they know are fallacious rhetoric from those that support breaking the budget for useless public safety theater and disinformation.
Wang is Chair of Public Safety, with the entire legislative database and department directors she can query about anything. But she's made a habit out of referring to half-remembered news articles that themselves are often flawed, instead of using the source at her workplace
During this time, OPD/Armstrong was never blamed for flubbing ALPR. Local corporate media simply moved on from the issue of ALPR, after helping police-focused CMs and OPD argue PAC was standing in the way of the difference between life and death for crime-fighting
Why didn't OPD ask for Flock? Because they were involved in a years-long ALPR battle premised on the idea that their decrepit vehicle-mounted ALPR was wonderful, & their use policy superb, instead of admitting both were useless and asking to move to another system completely.
When Flock finally came to Oakland, it sailed through PAC because the OPD worked with PAC to create on paper good use/retention policy [which we now know OPD haven't followed]. The reason it took OPD so long to turn to Flock has nothing to do w/PAC: OPD they didn't ask for Flock
I suspect Wang was struggling unsuccessfully to recall an Oaklandside story in which a HOA that already had FLOCK wanted OPD to have it too, to upload specific plate captures to OPD easily. But OPD didn't have Flock yet, so couldn't upload it directly.
Oakland HOAs are quietly installing surveillance cameras to watch public roads
To fight crime, private neighborhoods are using license plate readers to track cars on city streets. One is already sharing data with police.
oaklandside.org
This is CM Wang claiming at a private Chamber of Commerce event that Privacy Advisory Commission prevented a community from buying Flock w/their own funds, using the story to demonize Commissioners. It's false. Only tech owned/run and/or purchased by City needs PAC approval
Despite Flock's participation with Trump's immigration machine and a negative recommendation from the Privacy Advisory Commission, OPD is bringing a plan for panopticon level surveillance in Oakland run by a problematic company that is rep'd by a former AIPAC lobbyist.
After a significant public backlash that included every major arts organization, including the Oakland Symphony, Ramachandran's ill considered and perhaps personal deletion of the cultural affairs director will be reversed via budget amendment
Push back from small pro-police group pressured Selection Panel to re-do OPC Selection process after already choosing Farmer & Garcia Acosta. They said another applicant had been excluded. That candidate dropped out on day of 2nd vote. Another got 0 votes oakland.granicus.com...
So much to be concerned about Jones Dickson's loyalty to the people who put her in office. oaklandside.org/2025...
The Rules committee has subject areas it can forward to Council, keep in committee or actually kill, & tomorrow will be an unusually full day of those. There's actually an open legal question about whether the Police Commission appointments are one of those.
No notes to this Care 4 Community narrative of the Housing Secure anti-eviction grant. Fife did all the work to keep getting it agendized, and somehow is getting none of the credit.