Firefighters, 911 Dispatchers, Nurses Say Yes on E
Mayor Lee joins Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, Faith in Action to keep all fire stations open, maintain violent crime investigations, increase See page 12 emergency response times, address trash on streets and parks
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
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Weekly Edition May 27 - June 2, 2026
63rd Year, No. 21
Federal Police Monitor Will Finally Leave OPD After 23 Years. Mayor Lee Completed the Neccessary Oversight
Front (l.-r.) Victoria Barbero, Christina Tostado, Gabrielle Sloane Law, Karen Zukor and Alternier Cook. Back (l.-r.): Jamie Turbak, Mary CainSimon, Chiye Azuma, Gay Plair Cobb, Mary Forte and Caleb Smith. Courtesy photo.
Library Advocates Celebrate Mayor Barbara Lee appeared in Federal Court with former mayors Jean Quan, Libby Schaaf and City Administrator Dan Lindheim to receive good news from Judge Orrick about the end of the Oakland Police Department’s 23-year oversight from the court-appointed monitor. Increased Funding and Photo courtesy of the City of Oakland. Innovative Culturally By Post Staff Judge William Orrick, as the Oak- potentially end in September. cently concluded, for the first time land Police Department officially “Today marks a milestone for in the history of the Negotiated Sensitive Programs Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee achieved full compliance with all community trust and ensuring Settlement Agreement, that the Special to The Post On Sunday, May 17 Friends of the Oakland Public Library and the Library Commission hosted the Annual Library Advocates Mixer, bringing together supporters, community partners, Library Advisory Commission members, Friends of the Library groups, youth volunteers and funders. The event hon-
ored the library’s many volunteers and celebrated the collective impact of its advocates in creating welcoming spaces (computer docents, clean-up crews), providing innovative programs (cooking, author talks, arts and crafts, petting zoo,) and ensuring the sustainability of funding for the Oakland Public Library, through book sales and advocacy at City Hall.
Olympic Gold Medalist Eddie Hart Inducted Into Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
appeared in federal court Wednes-
day with court-appointed monitor Robert Warshaw and U.S. District
51 court-mandated reforms for the first time in its 23-year history, paving the way for the oversight to
constitutional policing in Oakland,” said Lee. “The independent monitor re-
Oakland Police Department has met every standard set before it,” Continued on page 12
Former Mayor Libby Schaff Endorses Oakland Mayor’s Charter Reform Measure
OUSD Supt. Denise Saddler. File photo.
OUSD Overcomes Decade of Fiscal Challenges with Positive Budget Report from Alameda County
By Post Staff
Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame inductee Eddie Hart (right) and presenter Olympic gold medalist Bob Beamon stand next to Hart’s plaque. Courtesy photo. By Oakland Post Staff
stone to Hart’s celebrated career
Olympic gold medalist and
that spans elite athletics, commu-
longtime youth mentor Eddie Hart
nity service and youth develop-
was inducted into the Bay Area
ment.
Sports Hall of Fame (BASHOF)
Hart, who was born in Mar-
on May 14 during an official cer-
tinez and raised in Pittsburg, was
emony at the Hyatt Regency Em-
honored for his accomplishments
barcadero in San Francisco.
as one of the fastest sprinters of Continued on page 12
The honor added another mile-
Pope Speaks on AI
After more than a decade of ‘Qualified’ and ‘Negative’ budget certifications by the Alameda County Office of Education, a ‘Going Concern’ notice, labor unrest, and state fiscal oversight, the Oakland Unified School District projects that it can meet its financial obligations — this year and in the two years that follow. As determined by state law, Oakland is one of 1,001 school districts across California that must have their budgets evaluated by their county’s Office of Education. OUSD’s Board of Education was scheduled on Wednesday to vote on a recommended ‘Positive Certification’ of the ‘Third Interim Budget Report’ for the 2025-26 fiscal year, a milestone that marks a genuine turning point after years of fiscal distress, state oversight, and
community sacrifice, according to a media release from the district. “This is a moment of real pride for everyone who believes in Oakland Unified,” said Dr. Denise Saddler, interim superintendent. “Our students, our educators, our classified staff, and our families have carried extraordinary weight for a long time. Today’s [budget] projection is for them. It is proof that the sacrifices and the discipline and the hard choices have started to add up to something real. Oakland Unified is not out of the woods — but we are pointed in the right direction.” OUSD had ‘Qualified’ or ‘Negative’ budget certifications for almost 22 straight years. At the start of the 2025-26 fiscal year, OUSD faced a projected deficit of approximately $100 million, a gap that would have triggered state interContinued on page 12
By Post Staff Pope Leo is urging the world’s governments to slow down and regulate the development of AI systems more forcefully. He warns that, if misused, AI can be a force that spreads misinformation, encourages conflict and pushes the
world toward endless wars. He issued his statements in an encyclical, which is one of the highest forms of teaching from a pope to church members. The Pope said ownership of AI data must not be left solely in private hands. Instead, policymakers
Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. File photo. By Post Staff
confidence: The current system
Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has endorsed Mayor Barbara Lee’s strong-mayor “Charter Reform Measure,” which was produced over many months by a Charter Working Group that involved 750 residents and Bay Area community organizations. The proposal is scheduled to be discussed by Oakland City Council this week, which will decide whether to place the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot. “I know this government and community from the inside out. And I can tell you with complete
is broken, and Mayor Barbara
should protect the rights of workers and keep children safe from the technology. “What is needed is a more active political involvement that is capable of slowing things down when everything is accelerating,” Leo said in the encyclical,
He called for “robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility.” The warning is contained in one section of the Pope’s first enContinued on page 12
Lee’s working group has finally given Oakland a path to fix it,” Schaaf wrote in an opinion piece published in the San Francisco Chronicle on March 22. “Oakland deserves a government aligned with residents’ expectations – where someone is genuinely in charge, accountable and empowered to deliver results,” she wrote. “For the first time in a generation, we have a clear path to that government.”
Mayor Lee Wants Oakland to Pass Measures A, C and E