Bay Area
The Waiting Begins, Oakland Passes Budget With Uncertainty of Coliseum Funds Coming to Save Them
After 12 hours of deliberation over two days, the Oakland City Council passed their mid-cycle budget Tuesday afternoon. This budget is contingent on the city receiving $105 million from the sale of the Coliseum stadium. Oakland is currently in the process of selling their half of the 112-acre stadium complex, where the A’s are playing their last season before heading to Sacramento, to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) as part of Mayor Sheng Thao’s plan to eliminate the over $100 million shortfall for this year’s budget.
By Magaly Muñoz
After 12 hours of deliberation over two days, the Oakland City Council passed their mid-cycle budget Tuesday afternoon. This budget is contingent on the city receiving $105 million from the sale of the Coliseum stadium.
Oakland is currently in the process of selling their half of the 112-acre stadium complex, where the A’s are playing their last season before heading to Sacramento, to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) as part of Mayor Sheng Thao’s plan to eliminate the over $100 million shortfall for this year’s budget.
Many residents and even a few council members strongly urged the city to not depend on the sale of the stadium to balance the budget, saying that the sale was uncertain and could fall through at any moment.
Councilmembers Treva Reid and Janani Ramachandran criticized Thao and the city administrator for not allowing enough time for the council to review all budget possibilities in order to make the right decision for Oakland.
“This year’s budget process has been an insult to the people of Oakland,” Ramachandran said in a video on her Instagram. “I made the deep mistake of putting my trust in the mayor and the city administrator in their strong belief that the sale of the Coliseum would happen in time before our budget was passed.”
Noel Gallo, who also opposed using the sale as a fallback, asked over multiple meetings whether the city had a written guarantee that the developers were going to buy the site and had the money to cover the sale. Gallo received no definitive answer.
The council also received an alternative version of the budget, which would immediately cut funding to public safety but could be restored if the Coliseum money came in at a later date. Layoffs were not included in either option.
In order to avoid major cuts and possible layoffs, $63 million from the sale would need to come in by September 1.
Should the funds not come in, sworn police positions would drop from 678 to 600, fire stations across the city would have to temporarily shut down, two police academies would close, and several other cuts in many departments would have to be made to make up for the lost money.
Vice President of the Oakland Police Officers Association, Tim Dolan, said in a statement that the passing of this budget with the sale contingency puts the city and its residents in danger.
“These cuts would impact our response for availability to render service calls, directly impairing our ability to protect and serve. With fewer officers, response times will be slower, and our capacity to meet the community’s needs will be drastically diminished,” Dolan said.
Despite the widespread concern from many across the city, Thao praised the council for passing the budget.
“The City has just adopted a budget that invests in the future of Oakland. We must remain disciplined and address our deficit responsibly while maintaining our focus on the issues that matter most to Oaklanders, public safety and clean streets. This budget achieves that goal,” Thao said in a statement.
Programs like Ceasefire, the Film Attraction Initiative, and services to youth and elderly will continue to be funded under this passed budget.
Even if the one-time sale funds come through before the September deadline, Oakland will still have a shortfall of $175 million to deal with next year. But, city staff warned the council that there is no viable way to completely close this gap without cuts to public safety.
Activism
Youth-Led Black August Event Brings Past to Present at East Oakland Boxing Association
The mission of Youth Alive! Is to “break the cycle of violence, heal trauma, and uplift a thriving community of leaders, to save lives in Oakland and beyond” by serving “as mentors, youth leaders, counselors, case managers, intervention specialists and violence interrupters,” working “to help violently wounded people heal themselves and their community.”
Youth-Led Black August Event Brings Past to Present at East Oakland Boxing Association
The East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA) and Youth Alive! came together on Aug. 21 to share with their community all that Black August means to them.
Held on EOBA’s patio at 816 98th Ave. in Deep East Oakland, the two organizations hosted their second annual Black August Experience, featuring a food tasting, financial literacy and mindfulness workshops, and voter registration with the League of Women Voters Oakland (LWV).
Black August is known as a time to uphold the legacy of prisoners who protested their conditions by fasting, fighting, and educating themselves on the economic and political circumstances that contributed to their incarceration.
According to its website, “EOBA is a multi-service youth and community development hub that goes far beyond the ring. While rooted in the discipline of boxing, for nearly 40 years EOBA has also integrated robust programs in workforce development, food justice, afterschool enrichment, financial literacy, mentorship, and wellness.”.
The mission of Youth Alive! Is to “break the cycle of violence, heal trauma, and uplift a thriving community of leaders, to save lives in Oakland and beyond” by serving “as mentors, youth leaders, counselors, case managers, intervention specialists and violence interrupters,” working “to help violently wounded people heal themselves and their community.”
Through Coro California, another leadership organization serving young people across the state for 80 years, they gained a broader understanding of Black August.
EOBA Executive Director Dawna Williams spoke about how much she learned about Black August from the youth who created it. “I let them educate me,” she said. Instead of talking about prison reform and mass incarceration, Williams and youth interns found that Black August meant so much more. “We would have done a disservice if we had just focused on who the people were and what their situation was…We tried to take their message from back in the day and make it relevant to the young people today. What do they need to know?”
Youth interns created and placed posters around the patio to help participants understand how traditional Black foodways, civic engagement, financial literacy, and the power of education are relevant to Black resistance today.
An EOBA member described Black August with Youth ALIVE! as “a whole vibe. “This year we added the Fun Zone for the kids, because you really cannot go wrong with a Fun Zone. I also loved seeing everyone chillin’ in the outdoor lounge, catching some Vitamin D and just enjoying a Friday evening together.”
The food tasting, a popular event from last year, featured traditional Black foods such as black-eyed peas, johnny cakes, and fried chicken. Led by Williams, the tasting included a talk about how these traditional foods were made and why they are forms of Black resilience.
The “‘Plate of History’ was a favorite of the online writers. “Fun, educational, and did I mention delicious? Our Taste of History cook, Angela Southall, served up some good eats while connecting food to history and culture.”
The writer also commended the “League of Women Voters Oakland for their civic leadership and for getting our young people informed, ready, and registered to vote.”
Overall, it was a “good Friday event in East Oakland,” the writer said.
Upcoming Black August events: Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The websites for East Oakland Boxing Association, Youth Alive! and CORO are sources for this report.
Jana Lang is an Oakland resident, teacher, gardener and poet participating in the Propel News Initiative.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of August 26 – September 1, 2026
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of August 26 – September 1, 2026
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Activism
Oakland Post: Week of August 19 – 25, 2026
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of August 18 – 25, 2026
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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