Margaret Billsborough has survived unspeakable traumas: childhood abuse, wrenching poverty, homelessness, and crack-cocaine addiction. So when she, and many other vulnerable people like her, were given the opportunity to move into an apartment on San Francisco's Treasure Island, it seemed like a dream come true. Here, she thought, was a quiet, idyllic refuge where she could begin to heal.
The troubling saga of the Oakland Police Department took an ugly turn last week with the news that City Administrator Deanna Santana has accused Robert Warshaw, the independent court monitor overseeing OPD, of making inappropriate advances toward her earlier this year. The revelation has already threatened the integrity of the oversight process of OPD and could delay a decision on whether the department should be put in federal receivership. In short, it's a big mess.
Today, The East Bay Express is reporting that the Port of Oakland workers may go on strike for the first time in 41 years. Recently, contracts between the SEIU and three other unions representing port workers have expired. SEIU says that port management is asking for major concessions, including an increased five percent employee contribution to their pension plans and no cost-of-living increase in wages which workers say equates to about a 10 percent pay cut.
