
				newsroom reports

Archived INFO from 2000 - 2006

Newsroom

Press Contact for the Office of the City Attorney

Alex Katz, Communications Director
email: akatz@oaklandcityattorney.org
(510) 238-3148 office
(510) 599-6874 cell

John Russo's Opinion Pieces

7/7/08 Oakland needs better handle on its records Published in the Oakland Tribune [Versión en Español]

6/5/08 How to put more police on Oakland streets Published in the San Francisco Chronicle [Versión en Español]

4/21/08 Don't spray first and ask questions later Published in the Oakland Tribune and the Piedmont Post [Versión en Español]

3/26/08 Foreclosures bring illegal evictions to Oakland Published in the Globe [Versión en Español - página 1 y página 2]

11/26/07 How to protect Californians from predatory lending Published in the San Francisco Chronicle

10/19/07 State must restrict predatory loan scams Published in The Oakland Tribune

6/28/07 Harmful Speech Needs Policing - a response to George Will's column on Oakland's Anti-Discrimination policies - Published in the San Francisco Chronicle

3/29/07 Referendum Committee Leaders Failed the Public on Oak to Ninth Published in The Oakland Tribune

3/23/07 Voters Need Protection of Full Disclosure Laws Published in The Montclarion

10/5/06 Law Required Oak-to-Ninth Petition Signatures Be Invalidated Published in The Oakland Tribune

7/2006 Instant Runoff Voting - A Step Towards A Healthier Democracy Published in the Piedmont Post

10/25/05 The Emperor Has No Reforms - No on 76 Published in The Post

8/17/05 Caltrans Must Be Considerate to Oaklanders Published in The Oakland Tribune and the SF Chronicle

7/16/05 Bush's Supreme Court Choice Puts Women's Rights At Risk - Published in The Oakland Tribune and the Piedmont Post

6/3/05 "Riders" Settlement Was the Right Thing for Oakland - Published in The Oakland Tribune

2/18/05 Democracy Needs the Election Referee to Play Fair: The Need for a Non-Partisan Secretary of State

10/7/04 Proposition 1A Can Help State Break Habit By John Russo and County Supervisor Keith Carson - Published in The Oakland Tribune

1/29/04 Patriot Act - Forgoing Liberty for Safety? Published in the San Francisco Chronicle

7/24/03 Insurers Drive Postal Profiling, by John Russo, Rocky Delgadillo and Dennis Herrera - an Opinion Editorial printed in the San Francisco Daily Journal on the discriminatory practice of auto insurance companies to set premimums based on a driver's residence rather than their driving record. Insurance Commisser Garamendi has found that the practice is used as a proxy factor for less savory and illegal considerations such as race and class.

10/26/02 Keeping The Sunshine on Oakland City Government -Opinion Editorial on proposed changes to Oakland City's Sunshine Ordinance which came before the Public Ethics Commission.

1/10/01 My Word, response to Oakland Tribune Article

In her recent column pertaining to the sexual harassment complaint against Jacques Barzaghi, Brenda Payton accuses City officials of wanting to "sweep this matter under the rug" by "stonewalling" release of information to the public. This is a curious assertion since all publicly discloseable details of the case, including information about Barzaghi's discipline, have been released by the City and reported in several local newspapers.

5/31/01 FERC is Shirking its Responsibilities, San Francisco Chronicle, by John Russo, John Burton, Robert Hertzberg

Frontier towns without a sheriff were not fit for families. Professional baseball games would be meaningless without umpires to call plays fairly. And a regional electricity market descends into naked greed if its federally mandated referee walks off the job.

11/09/00 An Outdated Election System, San Francisco Chronicle

America has no state religion — unless you consider the blind worship of the Founding Fathers. Our constitutional system of government has, by any objective measure, been a grand success. However, just as we have recognized that certain 18th-century institutions and assumptions no longer serve our needs, morally or otherwise (slavery and the idea that only landholding men can vote rationally being two universally recognized examples), Tuesday's presidential election screams for the need to bring our election system into the 21st century.

Editorials

7/24/07 Waste Mismanagement, San Francisco Chronicle sees reasons to end sanitation franchise agreement after Waste Management of Alameda County's 'pre-emptive' strike to lock out 500 workers and leave trash all over Oakland.

3/5/06 Oakland's Fight Against Blight, San Francisco Chronicle juxtaposes Oakland's litter fee with the Neighborhood Law Corps work.

11/21/04 Oakland Takes on Liquor Stores, San Francisco Chronicle lauds the Neighborhood Law Corps for their work identifying problem businesses in troubled Oakland neighborhoods.

08/13/01 Oakland's 60-Second Limit, San Francisco Chronicle
Something has gone strangely awry when the people for whom government is intended are all but barred from participating in what is supposed to be a public process.

AWARDS

02/27/08 City Attorney receives Legal Service Award for anti-discrimination work

12/4/06 Oakland Receives National Award for Neighborhood Law Corps

10/18/2005 City Attorney's Office Neighborhood Law Corps Grand Prize Winner for Helen Putnam Award for Excellence. Click here for more information on the The League of California Cities Helen Putnam Award

11/10/2004 City Attorney's Office Wins Award for Diversity and Outstanding Publication - Community Report Card. Click here for more information on the California Minority Counsel Program