Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. The Oakland school board voted 5-2 last night to close five schools at the end of this school year in a cost-cutting move, the Trib reports. The vote came after hundreds of parents protested the closure plan. Superintendent Tony Smith, however, noted that the district has way more schools than it needs and doesn’t have the funds to keep them all open. As the Express has previously reported, Oakland has far more schools than other similarly sized districts.
2. Occupy Oakland protesters returned to City Hall on Wednesday night, and called for a general strike for Wednesday, November 2, the Chron and Trib reported. Last night’s protest was mostly peaceful, as police allowed demonstrators to reconvene in front of City Hall. The Trib reports this morning that at least one tent went up in the old Occupy Oakland encampment. Mayor Jean Quan said at a press conference yesterday that the city would allow protests in front of City Hall, but not overnight camping.
