Mayor Has Answers to City Council's Questions

While walking around Fifth and Forbes Avenues in Oakland this morning to identify needed clean-up efforts for the G20, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl got word that City Council will need more information before voting on the six G20 ordinances he requested Friday.

Mayor Ravenstahl says not everything in the ordinances is final yet--for example, the agreements for support from other municipalities and police departments--but his administration will answer all Council's questions about liability issues, the budget, or anything else.

Security perimeters established by the Secret Service may not be as large as originally thought, according to Ravenstahl, and may be made public in the near future. He anticipates that people residing within the perimeters will be able to come and go to their homes with credentials. It will be difficult to get around downtown, he reiterated, though specific policies as to buses and other vehicular traffice are still being determined.

The mayor thinks the city's law department has begun talking with a protest group about a downtown destination for the march from Oakland on Friday, Sept. 25th.