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CBS News
01-05-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Budget issues may force Oakland to delay pothole repairs
The streets in Oakland have gone from bad to worse… at least that's what some residents tell CBS Bay Area. According to the city's transportation director, due to money issues, the city might not have the cash needed to move ahead with schedule repaving projects. "I'm rushing to get to school and BOOM! I'm like oh my gosh!" says Leslie Alfred. She says she knew exactly what happened a few weeks ago. It was the "car-eating pot hole," as she calls it. It's not far form her son's school, and that day, she hit it. "I had to get two new tires and an alignment. It cost me like $300 or $350," she said. Alfred says the surface streets in Oakland just keep getting worse, and she doesn't understand why the city doesn't do more to fix it. "It's very frustrating. So now I've got to do the roads like a video game. Especially in East Oakland too. It's really bad," she says. "The administration is hired specifically, specifically to administer what the voters approved and it didn't happen," says Oakland City Councilmember, Noel Gallo, who represents East Oakland and the Fruitvale. He's talking about Measure U bonds that were approved by voters in 2022 for housing and roads, but according to the Oakland director of transportation, the finance department didn't sell the bonds last fall. That means there's a massive gap in funding, possibly as much as $55 million. "When the voter passes an initiative, to raise money, there is no excuse from the governmental body that we can't do the work or we cannot generate the money," says Gallo. Without it, Gallo says the projects that are supposed to start around Lake Merritt and High Street are now in jeopardy - and the only work that will get done are the projects that are already under contract. And for drivers like Leslie, that's not what she wants to hear. "It's a terrible thing. I wish somebody could do something about it,' she says. The city could try to issue bonds near the end of the year to raise needed money for the roads, but the problem is the city's credit rating is dropping because of all the budget issues.
CBS News
12-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Lawsuit filed against City of San Francisco to prevent Great Highway from becoming a park
SAN FRANCISCO — In just a few days, the Great Highway on the west side of San Francisco is scheduled to be closed to car traffic. It comes after voters decided to turn the area into a park with Prop K on the November ballot. Almost 55% of voters in San Francisco agreed the section of highway from Lincoln Way to Sloat Boulevard should be re-purposed into a beachfront park. Now one group of neighbors filed a lawsuit Tuesday saying Proposition K was not legal and should be reversed. "I get worried about safety. When the upper highway, Great Highway is closed, traffic flows into the neighborhoods," says Matt Boschetto. His family has lived on the west side for 5 generations, and he is also a small business owner. That's why he decided to get into the fight over the planned park, literally on the Great Highway. "San Francisco is the most democratic city in the U.S. It used to be a city about people power. It used to be a city that had very, very inclusive processes, and this is the absolute opposite," Boschetto said. Matt is helping to lead "Livable SF," the group that held a rally Tuesday to announce a lawsuit suing the city saying passing Prop K was not legal. The idea to close the Great Highway was met with opposition since the start. Residents in the Sunset neighborhoods said by closing the highway there would be more traffic in the neighborhoods, making the streets less safe for families. They also argued it would be harder for people to get to the commercial corridors, which would then hurt small business. Those in favor of the park say there are work arounds to those concerns. "We have extended multiple invites to the leaders of the no on K folks to work together on neighborhood improvements including addressing their concerns on traffic. Their answer is filing lawsuits to try to undo the democratic will of San Franciscan's," says Lucas Lux, president of the Friends of Ocean Beach Park, a group that's supported Prop K. But as many have pointed out, the people most impacted on the west side of San Francisco voted overwhelmingly against closing the Great Highway - where as the people living on the other side of the city generally voted for it. "We all live in a city together. We all vote together, and we honor the democratic outcome," says Lux. Opponents, like Matt, say they fought it before voters approved it and they will continue to fight it now. "I think there's little we can do to stop the closure at this point, but I do think it is a very strong argument and if we do win in the court of law, the ballot measure will be null and void," says Boschetto. This has all gotten so contentious, the group against the park has even started a recall effort for the San Francisco supervisor who represents this district, Joel Enguardio. He released a statement today saying he believes the measure was legal and the lawsuit has no merit. CBS Bay Area also reached out to the San Francisco Mayor's office and the city attorney's office for comment.
CBS News
08-03-2025
- Health
- CBS News
San Francisco protesters rally against Trump administration's proposed medical research cuts
Thousands of demonstrations erupted across the nation as healthcare providers, scientists and researchers demanded funding for medical research and rallied against what they call an "attack on science." Elizabeth Blackburn was a Nobel winner for her groundbreaking discovery of telomeres, protective caps found on the ends of the human chromosome. CBS Bay Area caught up with her as she painted the sign she'd later display at a protest in San Francisco. "The U.S. has been a beacon for the kind of research that I and so many others do, which is to understand how life works," Blackburn told CBS Bay Area in between drawing her signs. The funding Blackburn relied on for her studies is now threatened by the Trump Administration, who proposed millions in funding cuts to medical research. Most at risk is the National Institutes of Health, a massive research agency responsible for giving grants to universities and independent scientists researching all medical anomalies from cancer to infectious diseases. Halting funds would spell disaster for hundreds of researchers who rely on federal money to continue their studies. Blackburn said this decision would cost the United States decades of valuable gains in medical knowledge. "We want everybody to understand, not just scientists," Blackburn said. "We want everybody to understand that this is not something that we can just lightly throw away." Blackburn brandished her sign proudly. It read: "Got polio? Me neither, thanks to science." Blackburn was joined by hundreds of doctors, researchers, and scientists in front of city hall. This protest was one of nearly 30 demonstrations erupting across the nation. Wendy Miller, a cancer survivor who came out to the rally, said science saves lives. "I've had two separate occurrences of breast cancer with two separate diagnoses," Miller said. "The difference in my treatment from 2009 and 2020 was phenomenal and it's all based on science." Miller stood opposite Casey Harper, who was optimistic about Friday's demonstration. She said she had hope. "I'm here standing up for what I think is right and what I believe in, although I don't believe in science because science is a fact. It does not require my belief," Harper said.
CBS News
21-02-2025
- General
- CBS News
Newly discovered Oakland budget funds could go towards reopening fire stations
Oakland city leaders say they have found about $8 million to allocate in their budget, with some calling for it to be used to fund the operation of multiple fire stations that have either already closed or are scheduled to close. The city council still has yet to vote on the money will be used. "I'm just going to show you on our map here," said Oakland Fire Captain Brian Oftedal, pointing to a map that shows the large area the station covers. "We're currently at Station 21 on Skyline Boulevard. We're going to go down to Keller and we'll come down to Ridgemont Drive here." That drive is at least three miles, depending on the route you take. The drive has many lights on winding streets. Station 21 firefighters have to go there because the two adjacent stations -- Station 25 and Station 28 -- closed on January 6th in an effort to help balance the city's $129 million budget deficit. Oftedal says firefighters and the residents are feeling it. "Our call volume has definitely increased," said Oftedal. "We're definitely noticing our response time increase." CBS Bay Area got in the fire truck with Oftedal and took a drive down to the district served by Station 25. It took about six and a half minutes to get there. "The range we should be getting a fire apparatus on scene is within four minutes, so we're definitely not hitting that mark," said Oftedal regarding the national standard for a fire vehicles arrival. "Based on the call type, it's life and death." The city's finance committee is working to do what they can to fix the issue and prioritize people's safety. The committee chair, District 4 Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, started looking for the money to keep the stations open. "Various fund balances, so you have to really dig into the books go through various Excel sheets, talk to different department heads," said Ramachandran about how she found the money. Some of the funds are now available that weren't before, like $2.6 million from the Oakland Coliseum due to higher than expected ticket sales. CBS Bay Area asked if she expects to find more money. "Honestly I'm not sure. We just have to keep digging. But what I do know is we have much more opportunity for collecting revenue than we're doing right now," said Ramachandran. "For example, business license taxes and vacant property taxes. There are so many things like parking enforcement! The rest of the 8 million dollars funding will be coming from Oakland's self-insurance livability fund and Measure BB, which is a transportation sales tax that was approved by Alameda County voters back in 2014. It's not a done deal. The city council will vote on whether or not they should allocate the $8 million towards the fire department at their March 4th meeting. If they vote against it, four more stations are expected to close in March. But Oftedal remains optimistic. "I'm very hopeful that city council is going to work through that plan and keep the stations open, as well as open up the current stations that are browned out," said Oftedal. He says until then, he wants the community to know they are doing their best under the circumstances. "We do have firefighters who are here and we're going to get to your house as efficiently and as safely as we can," said Oftedal. "So just know that we are coming. It may take us a little bit longer. "
CBS News
20-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
East Bay constituents pack townhall held by Congressman Eric Swalwell
For the first time since the inauguration, East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell held a town hall Tuesday night to talk with constituents about their concerns. The town hall in Union City was one of the most well-attended in years. There were 500 seats made available, and all of them were gone in the first hour after the town hall was announced. There are almost another thousand people on the waiting list hoping to get in. Congressman Swalwell said he thinks that's just because so many people want their voices heard now that the new administration is in office. CBS Bay Area's Katie Nielsen also had the chance to sit down with him in an exclusive one-on-one interview to talk about his agenda during Trump's first hundred days in office. "I will work to protect you, and we will protect, working together, each other. We can do that as a community," Swalwell said to the crowd gathered at the Mark Green Sports Center. He represents the southern part of Alameda County in the U.S. House of Representatives. Swalwell has been an outspoken critic specifically of the Trump administration both four years ago and now — rising to national prominence with repeated appearances on cable news networks and his involvement in the Trump impeachment hearings. Now, he's vowing to bring the fight back to the Capitol once again. "My vote really does matter right now. The Republicans cannot lose a single vote right now, so if they can't keep it all together, and they never have been able to, Democrats have leverage," said Congressman Swalwell. "Elections are all about values, and the American people have spoken very clearly, they are not buying what Democrats are selling. So, what needs to change within the party to get people's trust back," Nielsen asked him. "We need to tell a better story. People aren't buying the story they associate with the Democratic party. We need to be fighting for those core values and not let the other issues that don't really affect us, that can't crowd out what really matters," he says. What mattered to the people at the town hall were issues around immigration, protecting Social Security and Medicare, but the biggest topic of discussion was Elon Musk and DOGE. "Why is he going through our computer system and who are the minions that are with him," asked one woman. Swalwell said unless Republicans stop making cuts to federal programs and departments, he will encourage all Democrats to force the government into a shutdown when the current spending bill expires on March 14. "I would argue government is shutting down right now. They are shutting it down intentionally and if they want our votes, we are pro-helping people, keeping the government open," said Swalwell. He said, even then, he would only vote for extending the spending bill for 30 days at a time as a way to keep Trump and Musk in check. "Democrats still search for that answer, they search for what to do," said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University. He said threatening a government shutdown is the nuclear option, but Democrats don't have many other options because of their minority position in both houses. "In the first six months of this year, Democrats are going to be without some moves. It's really later in the year, into the August, September period to the end of September when the federal fiscal year ends that Democrats want to exercise some leverage," said McCuan. Until then, McCuan said Democrats need to work on reconnecting with voters. "Democrats are searching for a message. They're searching for a cohesive standing place where they can push back about the administration but at the same time present their own alternative view. They don't have those talking points yet, but Democrats lack that message and messenger and they'd better find it pretty quickly," said McCuan. A new Quinnipiac poll released this week shows Democrats hit an all-time low when it came to Congressional approval with only 21% of people thinking they were doing a good job in the House and Senate, where Republicans are at an all-time high of 40%.
