#oaklandcalifornia — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #oaklandcalifornia, aggregated by home.social.
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A tax to support Oakland #homeless shelters could be headed to the ballot
A tax to support Oakland #homeless shelters could be headed to the ballot Councilmember Charlene Wang wants a real estate transaction tax on foreclosed properties to support services for unsheltered residents..
May. 11,2026
#Oakland #California #OaklandCalifornia #Homeless #English
https://oaklandside.org/2026/05/11/a-tax-to-support-oakland-homeless-shelters-could-be-headed-to-the-ballot
#TidySearch Bot1 (1496-428273)
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$1.4M in housing help for Oakland residents living with HIV
$1.4M in housing help for Oakland residents living with HIV The city is partnering with the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center to assist people with mortgage, rent and utility bills to prevent #homelessness..
May. 5,2026
#Oakland #California #OaklandCalifornia #Homeless #English
https://oaklandside.org/2026/05/05/housing-rent-mortgage-utility-assistance-oakland-aids-hiv-lgbtq
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https://www.europesays.com/people/54829/ Elon Musk put his God complex on trial this week – and proved it is bigger than ever #BusinessFinanceAndIndustry #california #ColorImage #Economy #ElonMusk #FinanceAndEconomy #Government #horizontal #law #Musk #OaklandCalifornia #people #Photography #PoliticsAndGovernment #Technology #ThreePeople #USA
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50 #homeless patients at Children's Hospital will get placed in housing
50 #homeless patients at Children's Hospital will get placed in housing
Apr. 21,2026
#Oakland #California #OaklandCalifornia #Homeless #English
https://oaklandside.org/2026/04/21/childrens-hospital-oakland-housing-authority
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#Homeless shelter owner will get $1.6M from Oakland in settlement
#Homeless shelter owner will get $1.6M from Oakland in settlement The Lake Merritt Lodge was a wreck by the time it closed. The city says it's not admitting fault but will give up its security deposit and more..
Apr. 18,2026
#Oakland #California #OaklandCalifornia #Homeless #English
https://oaklandside.org/2026/04/17/lake-merritt-lodge-legal-settlement-oakland
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Ken Houston's #homeless camp policy passes, after months of debate
Ken Houston's #homeless camp policy passes, after months of debate Oakland can tow more RVs and close camps without always offering shelter. But people can't be arrested for being #homeless..
Apr. 15,2026
#Oakland #California #OaklandCalifornia #Homeless #English
https://oaklandside.org/2026/04/14/ken-houston-encampment-abatement-policy-passes-oakland
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As 3 Oakland #homeless shelters close, city and residents question outcomes
As 3 Oakland #homeless shelters close, city and residents question outcomes A West Oakland "community cabin" site and 71st Avenue RV lot are shutting down. A hotel is undergoing a planned conversion to affordable housing..
Apr. 1,2026
#Oakland #California #OaklandCalifornia #Homeless #English
https://oaklandside.org/2026/03/31/oakland-homeless-shelters-close-3rd-peralta-hceb
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Cut #homelessness by 50% in Oakland? A new plan says it's possible
Cut #homelessness by 50% in Oakland? A new plan says it's possible Mayor Lee's #homelessness office has issued a bold report. But funding is short, and there's a different plan already on the table..
Mar. 4,2026
#Oakland #California #OaklandCalifornia #Homeless #English
https://oaklandside.org/2026/03/04/homeless-action-plan-oakland-barbara-lee-prevention
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6 housing projects in Oakland get boost from county's Measure W
6 housing projects in Oakland get boost from county's Measure W City leaders have pushed for Oakland, which is home to the largest share of Alameda County's #homeless residents, to receive the bulk of the $1.4 billion voter-approved measure..
Mar. 5,2026
#Oakland #California #OaklandCalifornia #Homeless #English
https://oaklandside.org/2026/03/05/measure-w-grants-oakland-affordable-housing-homelessness
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6 housing projects in Oakland get boost from county's Measure W
6 housing projects in Oakland get boost from county's Measure W City leaders have pushed for Oakland, which is home to the largest share of Alameda County's #homeless residents, to receive the bulk of the $1.4 billion voter-approved measure..
Mar. 5,2026
#Oakland #California #OaklandCalifornia #English
https://oaklandside.org/2026/03/05/measure-w-grants-oakland-affordable-housing-homelessness
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Oakland calls for 500 volunteers for #homeless count
Oakland calls for 500 volunteers for #homeless count The Point-in-Time Count determines how much money Oakland gets for shelters and services, and helps policymakers and community groups understand the scale of the crisis.
Jan. 6, 2026
#Oakland #California #OaklandCalifornia #Englishhttps://oaklandside.org/2026/01/06/pit-count-oakland-2026-volunteer-homeless
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Oakland #homeless camp policy tabled again - but debate rages on
Oakland #homeless camp policy tabled again - but debate rages on Councilmember Ken Houston's controversial plan to loosen limits on Oakland encampment sweeps was pulled at the last minute after a state agency raised concerns.
Dec. 3, 2025
#Oakland #California #OaklandCaliforniahttps://oaklandside.org/2025/12/03/encampment-abatement-ken-houston-oakland-tabled
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USA Today Network: More than 1,000 artifacts stolen in ‘brazen’ burglary at Oakland museum’s storage facility. “The FBI has joined the investigation into the ‘brazen’ theft of more than 1,000 artifacts and other items during a break-in at an Oakland museum’s off-site storage facility, authorities said Wednesday, Oct. 29.”
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No Kings March
Oakland California (June 2025)#RickQuisenberry #RTQ #Photography #DigialPhotography #UrbanPhotography #Pixel6Pro #NoKings #PoliticalRally #OaklandCalifornia #AmericanFlag #Patriotic #Protest
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No Kings March
Oakland California (June 2025)#RickQuisenberry #RTQ #Photography #DigialPhotography #UrbanPhotography #Pixel6Pro #NoKings #PoliticalRally #OaklandCalifornia #AmericanFlag #Patriotic #Protest
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KRON: Oakland homeless encampment added as business on Google. “A homeless encampment in Oakland appears to have been listed as a business on Google. The encampment, which is located at the corner of East 8th Street and Alameda Avenue, according to Google, is wedged between Interstate 880 and the Home Depot. The listing on Google describes the encampment as a ‘Storage Facility’ with a […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/03/kron-oakland-homeless-encampment-added-as-business-on-google/
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- November 9th
- Oakland, California
Bay Area Children’s Day of Action
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Attention, #Oakland voters! Hedge fund execs backing a proposed MASSIVE #coal export hub have spent tens of thousands to support Brenda Harbin-Forte's bid for city attorney.
More from @theoaklandside: https://oaklandside.org/2024/10/23/oakland-coal-terminal-developers-have-a-favorite-candidate-for-city-attorney/
#NoCoalInOakland #oaklandca #oaklandcalifornia #coal #fossilfuels #bayarea #climatechange
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I've used this BART station thousands of times and I'm sure the first thing someone will ask when they get out of any of its 4 exits is "Where's Chinatown?". I'll give you it it is closer to Chinatown than the lake shore but I don't think anyone will be too disappointed at not finding the Lake within a block or two.
https://www.kqed.org/news/12009951/oaklands-lake-merritt-bart-station-renamed-soon -
Asking for a friend:
Seeking queer friendly family therapy in Oakland with immediate availability. For a single parent and a child. Please send a web page I can send on.Thank you very much!
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She hasn't been indicted yet but having lived there for over 20 years it is so Oakland.
https://abc7news.com/post/fbi-raided-oakland-mayor-sheng-thaos-home-sources/14980538/
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Why isn't this sounding alarms?!! This is happening globally!
Harmful #algae detected in #OaklandCalifornia's #LakeMerritt could be 'an ominous sign for the Bay'
"Earlier this month, signs posted around Oakland’s Lake Merritt made some joggers stop in their tracks. 'Avoid water contact,' they cautioned in bold letters. 'Harmful algae may be present.'
"The warnings came after a mysterious red substance emerged in the water between the Lake Merritt Sailboat House and the Rotary Nature Center on March 7, as the Oaklandside first reported. Subsequent lab testing by the California Department of Public Health and #SanFranciscoBay Regional Water Quality Control Board last week confirmed the presence of Heterosigma akashiwo in the water — the same species of harmful algae responsible for the Bay Area-wide red tides and mass #FishKills reported in 2022 and 2023.
"But Eileen White, executive officer for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, told SFGATE on Tuesday that the current bloom has not reached those levels. 'The good news right now is the lake is looking good, and the red tide we originally observed has dissipated,' she said.
"White added that she runs around the lake just about every day, but did not observe any dead fish in the weeks since the algae was detected. The water has also returned to its usual color, she said.
"'But we’re still trying to understand what caused it. It was a little surprising, because we’ve had so much rain, and we typically associate these harmful blooms with warmer temperatures and less wind activity,' White said.
"'H. akashiwo has been documented across the world, but is most commonly found west of North America in #Japan, #NewZealand and #BritishColumbia, Canada. The species was first observed blooming in the central part of San Francisco Bay in July 2002, and was also spotted near Sausalito in 2004, depleting oxygen levels in the water and causing fish to asphyxiate en masse."
#California #HABs #HarmfulAlgaeBlooms #Extinction #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #WaterIsLife #WaterTemperatures #ExtinctionLevelEvent #HAkashiwo #HeterosigmaAkashiwo
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Private Donors Supply Spy Gear to Cops
There's little public scrutiny when private donors pay to give police controversial technology and weapons. Sometimes, companies are donors to the same foundations that purchase their products for police.
by Ali Winston and Darwin Bond Graham, special to ProPublica Oct. 13, 2014
"In 2007, as it pushed to build a state-of-the-art #surveillance facility, the Los Angeles Police Department cast an acquisitive eye on software being developed by #Palantir, a startup funded in part by the Central Intelligence Agency's [#CIA] #VentureCapital arm.
"Originally designed for spy agencies, Palantir's technology allowed users to track individuals with unprecedented reach, connecting information from conventional sources like crime reports with more controversial data gathered by surveillance cameras and license plate readers that automatically, and indiscriminately, photographed passing cars.
"The LAPD could have used a small portion of its multibillion-dollar annual budget to purchase the software, but that would have meant going through a year-long process requiring public meetings, approval from the City Council, and, in some cases, competitive bidding.
"There was a quicker, quieter way to get the software: as a gift from the Los Angeles Police Foundation, a private charity. In November 2007, at the behest of then Police Chief William Bratton, the foundation approached #TargetCorporation, which contributed $200,000 to buy the software, said the foundation's executive director, Cecilia Glassman, in an interview. Then the foundation donated it to the police department.
"Across the nation, private foundations are increasingly being tapped to provide police with technology and weaponry that -- were it purchased with public money -- would come under far closer scrutiny.
"In Los Angeles, foundation money has been used to buy hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of license plate readers, which were the subject of a #CivilRights lawsuit filed against the region's law enforcement agencies by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the #ElectronicFrontierFoundation. (A judge rejected the groups' claims earlier this year.)
"Private funds also have been used to upgrade 'Stingray' devices, which have triggered debate in numerous jurisdictions because they vacuum up records of cellphone metadata, calls, text messages and data transfers over a half-mile radius.
"New York and Los Angeles have the nation's oldest and most generous police foundations, each providing their city police departments with grants totaling about $3 million a year. But similar groups have sprouted up in dozens of jurisdictions, from #AtlantaGeorgia, to #OaklandCalifornia. In #Atlanta, the police foundation has bankrolled the surveillance cameras that now blanket the city, as well as the center where police officers monitor live video feeds.
"Proponents of these private fundraising efforts say they have become indispensable in an era of tightening budgets, helping police to acquire the ever-more sophisticated tools needed to combat modern crime.
"'There's very little discretionary money for the department,' said Steve Soboroff, a businessman who is president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian board that oversees the LAPD's policies and operations. 'A grant application to the foundation cuts all the red tape, or almost all of the red tape.'
"But critics say police foundations operate with little transparency or oversight and can be a way for wealthy donors and corporations to influence law enforcement agencies' priorities.
"It's not uncommon for the same companies to be donors to the same police foundations that purchase their products for local police departments. Or for those #companies also to be #contractors for the same police agencies to which their products are being donated.
"'No one really knows what's going on,' said Dick Dadey of #CitizensUnion, a good government group in New York. 'The public needs to know that these contributions are being made voluntarily and have no bearing on contracting decisions.'
"Palantir, the recipient of the #LosAngelesPolice Foundation's largesse in 2008, donated $10,000 to become a three-star sponsor of the group's annual 'Above and Beyond' awards ceremony in 2013 and has made similar-sized gifts to the #NewYorkPolice foundation. The privately held Palo Alto firm, which had estimated revenues of $250 million in 2011 and is preparing to go public, also has won millions of dollars of contracts from the Los Angeles and New York police departments over the last three years.
"Palantir officials did not respond to questions about its relationships with police departments and the foundations linked to them. The New York City Police Foundation did not answer questions about Palantir's donations, or its technology gifts to the NYPD.
"Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York #CivilLibertiesUnion, said she saw danger in the growing web of ties between police departments, foundations and private donors.
"'We run the risk of policy that is in the service of #moneyed interests,' she said."
https://www.propublica.org/article/private-donors-supply-spy-gear-to-cops
#ACAB #StopCopCity #StopCopCitiesEverywhere #DigitalFreeSpeech #CivilLiberties #CorporateColonialism #SilencingDissent #Fascism
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Private Donors Supply Spy Gear to Cops
There's little public scrutiny when private donors pay to give police controversial technology and weapons. Sometimes, companies are donors to the same foundations that purchase their products for police.
by Ali Winston and Darwin Bond Graham, special to ProPublica Oct. 13, 2014
"In 2007, as it pushed to build a state-of-the-art #surveillance facility, the Los Angeles Police Department cast an acquisitive eye on software being developed by #Palantir, a startup funded in part by the Central Intelligence Agency's [#CIA] #VentureCapital arm.
"Originally designed for spy agencies, Palantir's technology allowed users to track individuals with unprecedented reach, connecting information from conventional sources like crime reports with more controversial data gathered by surveillance cameras and license plate readers that automatically, and indiscriminately, photographed passing cars.
"The LAPD could have used a small portion of its multibillion-dollar annual budget to purchase the software, but that would have meant going through a year-long process requiring public meetings, approval from the City Council, and, in some cases, competitive bidding.
"There was a quicker, quieter way to get the software: as a gift from the Los Angeles Police Foundation, a private charity. In November 2007, at the behest of then Police Chief William Bratton, the foundation approached #TargetCorporation, which contributed $200,000 to buy the software, said the foundation's executive director, Cecilia Glassman, in an interview. Then the foundation donated it to the police department.
"Across the nation, private foundations are increasingly being tapped to provide police with technology and weaponry that -- were it purchased with public money -- would come under far closer scrutiny.
"In Los Angeles, foundation money has been used to buy hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of license plate readers, which were the subject of a #CivilRights lawsuit filed against the region's law enforcement agencies by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the #ElectronicFrontierFoundation. (A judge rejected the groups' claims earlier this year.)
"Private funds also have been used to upgrade 'Stingray' devices, which have triggered debate in numerous jurisdictions because they vacuum up records of cellphone metadata, calls, text messages and data transfers over a half-mile radius.
"New York and Los Angeles have the nation's oldest and most generous police foundations, each providing their city police departments with grants totaling about $3 million a year. But similar groups have sprouted up in dozens of jurisdictions, from #AtlantaGeorgia, to #OaklandCalifornia. In #Atlanta, the police foundation has bankrolled the surveillance cameras that now blanket the city, as well as the center where police officers monitor live video feeds.
"Proponents of these private fundraising efforts say they have become indispensable in an era of tightening budgets, helping police to acquire the ever-more sophisticated tools needed to combat modern crime.
"'There's very little discretionary money for the department,' said Steve Soboroff, a businessman who is president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian board that oversees the LAPD's policies and operations. 'A grant application to the foundation cuts all the red tape, or almost all of the red tape.'
"But critics say police foundations operate with little transparency or oversight and can be a way for wealthy donors and corporations to influence law enforcement agencies' priorities.
"It's not uncommon for the same companies to be donors to the same police foundations that purchase their products for local police departments. Or for those #companies also to be #contractors for the same police agencies to which their products are being donated.
"'No one really knows what's going on,' said Dick Dadey of #CitizensUnion, a good government group in New York. 'The public needs to know that these contributions are being made voluntarily and have no bearing on contracting decisions.'
"Palantir, the recipient of the #LosAngelesPolice Foundation's largesse in 2008, donated $10,000 to become a three-star sponsor of the group's annual 'Above and Beyond' awards ceremony in 2013 and has made similar-sized gifts to the #NewYorkPolice foundation. The privately held Palo Alto firm, which had estimated revenues of $250 million in 2011 and is preparing to go public, also has won millions of dollars of contracts from the Los Angeles and New York police departments over the last three years.
"Palantir officials did not respond to questions about its relationships with police departments and the foundations linked to them. The New York City Police Foundation did not answer questions about Palantir's donations, or its technology gifts to the NYPD.
"Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York #CivilLibertiesUnion, said she saw danger in the growing web of ties between police departments, foundations and private donors.
"'We run the risk of policy that is in the service of #moneyed interests,' she said."
https://www.propublica.org/article/private-donors-supply-spy-gear-to-cops
#ACAB #StopCopCity #StopCopCitiesEverywhere #DigitalFreeSpeech #CivilLiberties #CorporateColonialism #SilencingDissent #Fascism
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Private Donors Supply Spy Gear to Cops
There's little public scrutiny when private donors pay to give police controversial technology and weapons. Sometimes, companies are donors to the same foundations that purchase their products for police.
by Ali Winston and Darwin Bond Graham, special to ProPublica Oct. 13, 2014
"In 2007, as it pushed to build a state-of-the-art #surveillance facility, the Los Angeles Police Department cast an acquisitive eye on software being developed by #Palantir, a startup funded in part by the Central Intelligence Agency's [#CIA] #VentureCapital arm.
"Originally designed for spy agencies, Palantir's technology allowed users to track individuals with unprecedented reach, connecting information from conventional sources like crime reports with more controversial data gathered by surveillance cameras and license plate readers that automatically, and indiscriminately, photographed passing cars.
"The LAPD could have used a small portion of its multibillion-dollar annual budget to purchase the software, but that would have meant going through a year-long process requiring public meetings, approval from the City Council, and, in some cases, competitive bidding.
"There was a quicker, quieter way to get the software: as a gift from the Los Angeles Police Foundation, a private charity. In November 2007, at the behest of then Police Chief William Bratton, the foundation approached #TargetCorporation, which contributed $200,000 to buy the software, said the foundation's executive director, Cecilia Glassman, in an interview. Then the foundation donated it to the police department.
"Across the nation, private foundations are increasingly being tapped to provide police with technology and weaponry that -- were it purchased with public money -- would come under far closer scrutiny.
"In Los Angeles, foundation money has been used to buy hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of license plate readers, which were the subject of a #CivilRights lawsuit filed against the region's law enforcement agencies by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the #ElectronicFrontierFoundation. (A judge rejected the groups' claims earlier this year.)
"Private funds also have been used to upgrade 'Stingray' devices, which have triggered debate in numerous jurisdictions because they vacuum up records of cellphone metadata, calls, text messages and data transfers over a half-mile radius.
"New York and Los Angeles have the nation's oldest and most generous police foundations, each providing their city police departments with grants totaling about $3 million a year. But similar groups have sprouted up in dozens of jurisdictions, from #AtlantaGeorgia, to #OaklandCalifornia. In #Atlanta, the police foundation has bankrolled the surveillance cameras that now blanket the city, as well as the center where police officers monitor live video feeds.
"Proponents of these private fundraising efforts say they have become indispensable in an era of tightening budgets, helping police to acquire the ever-more sophisticated tools needed to combat modern crime.
"'There's very little discretionary money for the department,' said Steve Soboroff, a businessman who is president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian board that oversees the LAPD's policies and operations. 'A grant application to the foundation cuts all the red tape, or almost all of the red tape.'
"But critics say police foundations operate with little transparency or oversight and can be a way for wealthy donors and corporations to influence law enforcement agencies' priorities.
"It's not uncommon for the same companies to be donors to the same police foundations that purchase their products for local police departments. Or for those #companies also to be #contractors for the same police agencies to which their products are being donated.
"'No one really knows what's going on,' said Dick Dadey of #CitizensUnion, a good government group in New York. 'The public needs to know that these contributions are being made voluntarily and have no bearing on contracting decisions.'
"Palantir, the recipient of the #LosAngelesPolice Foundation's largesse in 2008, donated $10,000 to become a three-star sponsor of the group's annual 'Above and Beyond' awards ceremony in 2013 and has made similar-sized gifts to the #NewYorkPolice foundation. The privately held Palo Alto firm, which had estimated revenues of $250 million in 2011 and is preparing to go public, also has won millions of dollars of contracts from the Los Angeles and New York police departments over the last three years.
"Palantir officials did not respond to questions about its relationships with police departments and the foundations linked to them. The New York City Police Foundation did not answer questions about Palantir's donations, or its technology gifts to the NYPD.
"Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York #CivilLibertiesUnion, said she saw danger in the growing web of ties between police departments, foundations and private donors.
"'We run the risk of policy that is in the service of #moneyed interests,' she said."
https://www.propublica.org/article/private-donors-supply-spy-gear-to-cops
#ACAB #StopCopCity #StopCopCitiesEverywhere #DigitalFreeSpeech #CivilLiberties #CorporateColonialism #SilencingDissent #Fascism
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Private Donors Supply Spy Gear to Cops
There's little public scrutiny when private donors pay to give police controversial technology and weapons. Sometimes, companies are donors to the same foundations that purchase their products for police.
by Ali Winston and Darwin Bond Graham, special to ProPublica Oct. 13, 2014
"In 2007, as it pushed to build a state-of-the-art #surveillance facility, the Los Angeles Police Department cast an acquisitive eye on software being developed by #Palantir, a startup funded in part by the Central Intelligence Agency's [#CIA] #VentureCapital arm.
"Originally designed for spy agencies, Palantir's technology allowed users to track individuals with unprecedented reach, connecting information from conventional sources like crime reports with more controversial data gathered by surveillance cameras and license plate readers that automatically, and indiscriminately, photographed passing cars.
"The LAPD could have used a small portion of its multibillion-dollar annual budget to purchase the software, but that would have meant going through a year-long process requiring public meetings, approval from the City Council, and, in some cases, competitive bidding.
"There was a quicker, quieter way to get the software: as a gift from the Los Angeles Police Foundation, a private charity. In November 2007, at the behest of then Police Chief William Bratton, the foundation approached #TargetCorporation, which contributed $200,000 to buy the software, said the foundation's executive director, Cecilia Glassman, in an interview. Then the foundation donated it to the police department.
"Across the nation, private foundations are increasingly being tapped to provide police with technology and weaponry that -- were it purchased with public money -- would come under far closer scrutiny.
"In Los Angeles, foundation money has been used to buy hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of license plate readers, which were the subject of a #CivilRights lawsuit filed against the region's law enforcement agencies by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the #ElectronicFrontierFoundation. (A judge rejected the groups' claims earlier this year.)
"Private funds also have been used to upgrade 'Stingray' devices, which have triggered debate in numerous jurisdictions because they vacuum up records of cellphone metadata, calls, text messages and data transfers over a half-mile radius.
"New York and Los Angeles have the nation's oldest and most generous police foundations, each providing their city police departments with grants totaling about $3 million a year. But similar groups have sprouted up in dozens of jurisdictions, from #AtlantaGeorgia, to #OaklandCalifornia. In #Atlanta, the police foundation has bankrolled the surveillance cameras that now blanket the city, as well as the center where police officers monitor live video feeds.
"Proponents of these private fundraising efforts say they have become indispensable in an era of tightening budgets, helping police to acquire the ever-more sophisticated tools needed to combat modern crime.
"'There's very little discretionary money for the department,' said Steve Soboroff, a businessman who is president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian board that oversees the LAPD's policies and operations. 'A grant application to the foundation cuts all the red tape, or almost all of the red tape.'
"But critics say police foundations operate with little transparency or oversight and can be a way for wealthy donors and corporations to influence law enforcement agencies' priorities.
"It's not uncommon for the same companies to be donors to the same police foundations that purchase their products for local police departments. Or for those #companies also to be #contractors for the same police agencies to which their products are being donated.
"'No one really knows what's going on,' said Dick Dadey of #CitizensUnion, a good government group in New York. 'The public needs to know that these contributions are being made voluntarily and have no bearing on contracting decisions.'
"Palantir, the recipient of the #LosAngelesPolice Foundation's largesse in 2008, donated $10,000 to become a three-star sponsor of the group's annual 'Above and Beyond' awards ceremony in 2013 and has made similar-sized gifts to the #NewYorkPolice foundation. The privately held Palo Alto firm, which had estimated revenues of $250 million in 2011 and is preparing to go public, also has won millions of dollars of contracts from the Los Angeles and New York police departments over the last three years.
"Palantir officials did not respond to questions about its relationships with police departments and the foundations linked to them. The New York City Police Foundation did not answer questions about Palantir's donations, or its technology gifts to the NYPD.
"Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York #CivilLibertiesUnion, said she saw danger in the growing web of ties between police departments, foundations and private donors.
"'We run the risk of policy that is in the service of #moneyed interests,' she said."
https://www.propublica.org/article/private-donors-supply-spy-gear-to-cops
#ACAB #StopCopCity #StopCopCitiesEverywhere #DigitalFreeSpeech #CivilLiberties #CorporateColonialism #SilencingDissent #Fascism
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Private Donors Supply Spy Gear to Cops
There's little public scrutiny when private donors pay to give police controversial technology and weapons. Sometimes, companies are donors to the same foundations that purchase their products for police.
by Ali Winston and Darwin Bond Graham, special to ProPublica Oct. 13, 2014
"In 2007, as it pushed to build a state-of-the-art #surveillance facility, the Los Angeles Police Department cast an acquisitive eye on software being developed by #Palantir, a startup funded in part by the Central Intelligence Agency's [#CIA] #VentureCapital arm.
"Originally designed for spy agencies, Palantir's technology allowed users to track individuals with unprecedented reach, connecting information from conventional sources like crime reports with more controversial data gathered by surveillance cameras and license plate readers that automatically, and indiscriminately, photographed passing cars.
"The LAPD could have used a small portion of its multibillion-dollar annual budget to purchase the software, but that would have meant going through a year-long process requiring public meetings, approval from the City Council, and, in some cases, competitive bidding.
"There was a quicker, quieter way to get the software: as a gift from the Los Angeles Police Foundation, a private charity. In November 2007, at the behest of then Police Chief William Bratton, the foundation approached #TargetCorporation, which contributed $200,000 to buy the software, said the foundation's executive director, Cecilia Glassman, in an interview. Then the foundation donated it to the police department.
"Across the nation, private foundations are increasingly being tapped to provide police with technology and weaponry that -- were it purchased with public money -- would come under far closer scrutiny.
"In Los Angeles, foundation money has been used to buy hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of license plate readers, which were the subject of a #CivilRights lawsuit filed against the region's law enforcement agencies by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the #ElectronicFrontierFoundation. (A judge rejected the groups' claims earlier this year.)
"Private funds also have been used to upgrade 'Stingray' devices, which have triggered debate in numerous jurisdictions because they vacuum up records of cellphone metadata, calls, text messages and data transfers over a half-mile radius.
"New York and Los Angeles have the nation's oldest and most generous police foundations, each providing their city police departments with grants totaling about $3 million a year. But similar groups have sprouted up in dozens of jurisdictions, from #AtlantaGeorgia, to #OaklandCalifornia. In #Atlanta, the police foundation has bankrolled the surveillance cameras that now blanket the city, as well as the center where police officers monitor live video feeds.
"Proponents of these private fundraising efforts say they have become indispensable in an era of tightening budgets, helping police to acquire the ever-more sophisticated tools needed to combat modern crime.
"'There's very little discretionary money for the department,' said Steve Soboroff, a businessman who is president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian board that oversees the LAPD's policies and operations. 'A grant application to the foundation cuts all the red tape, or almost all of the red tape.'
"But critics say police foundations operate with little transparency or oversight and can be a way for wealthy donors and corporations to influence law enforcement agencies' priorities.
"It's not uncommon for the same companies to be donors to the same police foundations that purchase their products for local police departments. Or for those #companies also to be #contractors for the same police agencies to which their products are being donated.
"'No one really knows what's going on,' said Dick Dadey of #CitizensUnion, a good government group in New York. 'The public needs to know that these contributions are being made voluntarily and have no bearing on contracting decisions.'
"Palantir, the recipient of the #LosAngelesPolice Foundation's largesse in 2008, donated $10,000 to become a three-star sponsor of the group's annual 'Above and Beyond' awards ceremony in 2013 and has made similar-sized gifts to the #NewYorkPolice foundation. The privately held Palo Alto firm, which had estimated revenues of $250 million in 2011 and is preparing to go public, also has won millions of dollars of contracts from the Los Angeles and New York police departments over the last three years.
"Palantir officials did not respond to questions about its relationships with police departments and the foundations linked to them. The New York City Police Foundation did not answer questions about Palantir's donations, or its technology gifts to the NYPD.
"Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York #CivilLibertiesUnion, said she saw danger in the growing web of ties between police departments, foundations and private donors.
"'We run the risk of policy that is in the service of #moneyed interests,' she said."
https://www.propublica.org/article/private-donors-supply-spy-gear-to-cops
#ACAB #StopCopCity #StopCopCitiesEverywhere #DigitalFreeSpeech #CivilLiberties #CorporateColonialism #SilencingDissent #Fascism
