Dan Kalb

Turnouts on Grizzly Peak Boulevard have been blocked off to reduce fire risk in response to several incidents of people setting off fireworks in the area.

News vans and organizers congregated while helicopters circled overhead early Thursday morning at Oakland Technical High School for a picketing demonstration. The demonstration kicked off Oakland’s districtwide teachers’ strike, where teachers from Berkeley High School also joined in solidarity.

State Assembly District 15 candidate Jovanka Beckles spoke at a community talk in Berkeley on Saturday that included the perspectives of multiple speakers involved in local politics.

In the election for the Assembly District 15 seat, candidates have faced the struggle of raising enough money for their campaigns in order to reach out to the optimal number of voters.

As of press time, Beckles leads Kalb by 295 votes. Former Barack Obama campaign field director Buffy Wicks will also be competing for the District 15 Assembly member position, with 36,551 votes as of press time.

As of press time, Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb is in second place for the state Assembly District 15 primary.

As of press time, Beckles is ahead of Kalb by 284 votes and has an approval percentage of 15.1 percent compared to Kalb’s 14.8 percent.

Wicks received 31.4 percent of the vote, while Kalb received 14.2 percent. Both candidates will now advance in the Assembly District 15 election.

All of the co-sponsors work in public health and equity, and therefore the questions at the forum were about how health impacts other public issues, according to Amber Akemi Piatt.

Ten out of the 12 candidates vying for the Assembly seat were present at the public forum, which was hosted by The League of Women Voters, including Buffy Wicks, Owen Poindexter, Ben Bartlett, Cheryl Sudduth, Jovanka Beckles, Raquella Thaman, Rochelle Pardue-Okimoto, Dan Kalb, Andy Katz and Sergey Piterman.