Bay Area

Opponents of San Francisco’s Prop E Hold Rally in Front of City Hall

Activists and community members held a rally Wednesday morning in front of City Hall in San Francisco to protest Prop E, a ballot measure that would allow the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) to install more public surveillance, reduce officer reporting requirements for use of force and expand vehicle pursuits.

Published

2 years ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

No On Prop E (NOPE) supporters stand outside of San Francisco City Hall to urge voters to vote against a ballot measure that would allow the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) to install more public surveillance, reduce officer reporting requirements for use of force and expand vehicle pursuits. Photo credit: The Worker Agency

By Magaly Muñoz

Speakers at the rally explained that voting yes for Prop E would take away independent oversight and allow SFPD to cut corners in their reporting.

Nathan Sheard, Managing Director of Advocacy at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, expressed concern that the measure would make San Francisco a testing ground for unproven surveillance technology with no regards to central freedoms and would amplify racial bias in the department.

Sheard drew attention to the landmark 2019 decision by the Board of Supervisors banning facial recognition software because it threatened the civil liberties and rights of SF residents. He argued that this new measure would infringe upon those rights.

“Unchecked surveillance is not the solution to our city’s challenges. If passed, Proposition E would expand secret surveillance while stripping away hard-won safety policies,” Sheard said.

Also in attendance was SF Police Commissioner Kevin Benedicto, who suggested that Mayor London Breed was promoting the measure for the ballot as a reelection strategy. He recalled that a similar measure had come up in 2018 when the mayor was first running and she stated she had concerns, but now in 2024, she’s backing the proposition with big money by her side.

Benedicto shared that legal bar associations, nonprofits and city leaders are all in support of taking a stand against the measure, which can sometimes seem rare in politics.

“The other side might have the money, but we have the people on our side,” Benedicto said.

He explained that if the measure passed, safeguards meant to protect citizens would be thrown out and would allow officers to cut corners and would also not allow a lot of room to make changes or go back on the proposition if they found it did not work for the city. The initiative would have to be undone by another ballot measure.

Benedicto added that Prop E establishes a dangerous precedent and is not how the city should address its public safety concerns, considering that the measure would disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities, who are often victims of racial bias by police.

Members of the community who have experienced the negative effects of SFPDs racial bias and consequences of vehicle pursuits also spoke at the rally.

Julia Arroyo, co-director of the Young Women’s Freedom Center, shared that from a young age she had frequent encounters with SFPD while living in the Mission District. She recalled the constant stops and searches she and her friends underwent on the way to school, saying that she even adjusted her morning schedule to accommodate the interactions.

It wasn’t until years later when she was pregnant with her first child that she had been stopped by officers and instructed to sit on the ground until a female officer could arrive to conduct the search, that Arroyo realized the frequency of these stops were not normal. She shared that people had begun crowding around her to make sure she was okay and calling out SFPD for treating a nine month pregnant woman so harshly.

Arroyo stressed the importance of citizen oversight so that the public can be made aware of when they are treating residents in a similar fashion and hold those officers accountable.

Ciara Keegan tearfully shared the story of becoming a victim of a car accident due to a vehicle pursuit by SFPD last December. She said the person who crashed into her had been involved in an armed mugging and was running from the police in the opposite lane to her vehicle, where the suspect’s car then skidded right into Keegan’s car, sending her to the hospital.

According to CHP data, 38% of about 150 vehicle pursuits by SFPD resulted in a collision from 2018 to 2023, and 15% of those chases involved a collision in which at least one person was injured.

Keegan was informed by lawyers that a lawsuit against the police department would likely be fruitless because officers have immunity in cases of accidents by vehicle pursuit. She shared that although she was able to walk out of the situation alive, she wouldn’t wish the emotional and physical trauma on anyone.

“I could have been killed or suffered life changing injuries. Proposition E treats San Franciscans as collateral damage. But I am not collateral damage. We are not collateral damage,” Keegan said.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

3 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Alameda County

Bling It On: Holiday Lights Brighten Dark Nights All Around the Bay

On the block where I grew up in the 1960s, it was an unwritten agreement among the owners of those row homes to put up holiday lights: around the front window and door, along the porch banister, etc. Some put the Christmas tree in the window, and you could see it through the open slats of the blinds.

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

Christmas lights on a house near the writer’s residence in Oakland. Photo by Joseph Shangosola.

By Wanda Ravernell

I have always liked Christmas lights.

From my desk at my front window, I feel a quiet joy when the lights on the house across the street come on just as night falls.

My father, the renegade of the block, made no effort with lights, so my mother hung a wreath with two bells in the window. Just enough to let you know someone was at home.

Two doors down was a different story. Mr. King, the overachiever of the block, went all out for Christmas: The tree in the window, the lights along the roof and a Santa on his sleigh on the porch roof.

There are a few ‘Mr. Kings’ in my neighborhood.

In particular is the gentleman down the street. For Halloween, they erected a 10-foot skeleton in the yard, placed ‘shrunken heads’ on fence poles, pumpkins on steps and swooping bat wings from the porch roof. They have not held back for Christmas.

The skeleton stayed up this year, this time swathed in lights, as is every other inch of the house front. It is a light show that rivals the one in the old Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia.

I would hate to see their light bill…

As the shortest day of the year approaches, make Mr. King’s spirit happy and get out and see the lights in your own neighborhood, shopping plazas and merchant areas.

Here are some places recommended by 510 Families and Johnny FunCheap.

Oakland

Oakland’s Temple Hill Holiday Lights and Gardens is the place to go for a drive-by or a leisurely stroll for a religious holiday experience. Wear a jacket, because it’s chilly outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 4220 Lincoln Ave., particularly after dark. The gardens are open all day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the lights on from dusk until closing.

Alameda

Just across the High Street Bridge from Oakland, you’ll find Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda.

On Thompson Avenue between High Street and Fernside drive, displays range from classic trees and blow-ups to a comedic response to the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Lights turn on at dusk and can be seen through the first week in January.

Berkeley

The Fourth Street business district from University Avenue to Virginia Street in Berkeley comes alive with lights beginning at 5 p.m. through Jan. 1, 2026.

There’s also a display at one house at 928 Arlington St., and, for children, the Tilden Park Carousel Winter Wonderland runs through Jan. 4, 2026. Closed Christmas Day. For more information and tickets, call (510) 559-1004.

Richmond

The Sundar Shadi Holiday Display, featuring a recreation of the town of Bethlehem with life-size figures, is open through Dec. 26 at 7501 Moeser Lane in El Cerrito.

Marin County

In Marin, the go-to spot for ‘oohs and ahhs’ is the Holiday Light Spectacular from 4-9 p.m. through Jan. 4, 2026, at Marin Center Fairgrounds at 10 Ave of the Flags in San Rafael through Jan. 4. Displays dazzle, with lighted walkways and activities almost daily. For more info, go to: www.marincounty.gov/departments/cultural-services/department-sponsored-events/holiday-light-spectacular

The arches at Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Dr. will also be illuminated nightly.

San Francisco

Look for light installations in Golden Gate Park, chocolate and cheer at Ghirardelli Square, and downtown, the ice rink in Union Square and the holiday tree in Civic Center Plaza are enchanting spots day and night. For neighborhoods, you can’t beat the streets in Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, and Bernal Heights. For glee and over-the-top glitz there’s the Castro, particularly at 68 Castro Street.

Livermore

The winner of the 2024 Great Light Flight award, Deacon Dave has set up his display with a group of creative volunteers at 352 Hillcrest Avenue since 1982. See it through Jan. 1, 2026. For more info, go to https://www.casadelpomba.com

Fremont

Crippsmas Place is a community of over 90 decorated homes with candy canes passed out nightly through Dec. 31. A tradition since 1967, the event features visits by Mr. and Mrs. Claus on Dec. 18 and Dec. 23 and entertainment by the Tri-M Honor Society at 6 p.m. on Dec. 22. Chrippsmas Place is located on: Cripps Place, Asquith Place, Nicolet Court, Wellington Place, Perkins Street, and the stretch of Nicolet Avenue between Gibraltar Drive and Perkins Street.

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.