West Oakland, the birthplace of the city's blues scene, has suffered several blows this week. Today a twelve year-old boy remains in critical condition at Children's Hospital. While attending a vigil for another slain teen, he and four others fell amidst gunfire sprayed by assailants at the group standing on Eighth Street early Wednesday morning. One perished and Dante, whose last name is withheld for security reasons, fights for his life after suffering gunshot wounds to his left eye, stomach and legs.

Dante has been a known personality with the Oakland Parks and Recreation, which runs several programs for teens. City of Oakland naturalist Stephanie Benavidez remembers Dante coming to the last camp-out. "Two of the children who had recently been shot came to our teen camp-out last summer. Dante was super excited to come back for the next trip this August."

A West Oakland native, Benavidez has the mama bear aura of a park ranger. She has copper hair and a freckled complexion and began a life-long career in the city at age 15, when she was an aide for OPR. In 1974, she came onto the staff full-time and has facilitated programs ranging from justice restoration to anger management to teen dating. "These programs teach kids to play and be team players—and eventually, become part of the community to give back."

Benavidez spoke at City Hall last night as the council members deliberated over whether to cut $1.2 million from the Oakland Parks & Recreation budget. Also in the balance were some 200 police officer jobs. "The Oakland Parks & Recreation has lost five employees to violence," she told the packed City Hall. "I am very supportive of our police officers. We are immersed in the same group because we are dealing with kids who come to our centers with weapons on them. But we have no weapons. We must earn their trust so their guns will not turn on the community."

By the end of the night, the OPR escaped drastic cuts, walking away with $350,000 in budget reductions. "When the current OPR director come on staff six years ago, we had a $21 million budget; now we have $12 million. We were in danger of losing $1.2 million so I'm glad the council spared us."

Oakland mayoral candidate Greg Harlan has long been critical of the City Council's approach to balancing the budget. He also spoke at City Hall last night about his outreach at Ralph J. Bunche Academy, the school that graduated 19-year-old Rachel Green a week ago. From his conversations there, Harlan came to the same conclusion as Benavidez: that Oakland's kids need solid family structure.

Harlan moved with his family to Oakland in 1954, when his dad was a naval pilot out of the Alameda Naval Air Station. A student at Crocker Highlands, McChesney and Oakland Tech, he joined the mayoral race because he feels the desperation on the streets has a direct correlation to unemployment. His platform is to build Oakland's enterprise zone, which would bring jobs and tax credits to Oaklanders, their employers and lenders.

Harlan, a retired businessperson who helped start the Body Glove water sports brand, says his plan for the Oakland budget is municipal bankruptcy. "This is not to be confused with individual bankruptcy, the kind of bankruptcy we think of normally. That is because the court has very limited role in the municipal kind. The assets in a municipality are never at risk. Rather, the process is about reorganizing debt, and rejecting collective bargaining agreements with city unions."

Admittedly, Oakland City council members may be wary of challending union members like the Oakland Police Officers Association, since they comprise their constituencies. But since OPD pay and compensation account for 72% of the city budget, the rest of Oakland services are down to the bare bones.

Mayoral candidate Harlan laid out some numbers at the first mayoral forum on June 10:



Last night, Councilmember Pat Kernighan reiterated that the average salary of an Oakland police officer is $103K and $188,000 including compensation, overtime and benefits. The council's 5–3 vote to cut 80 officer jobs will go into effect in mid-July.

In regards to Oakland's fiscal crises, Harlan said, "All of this is very solvable. I entered the race because I think the enterprise zone is a powerful place to do fight crime by creating jobs. This zone includes West Oakland, which has a lot of available land and dilapidated buildings. The state of California has forty-two enterprise zones that are set up to receive tax breaks; Oakland has the best potential zone for economic growth."

So, as Oakland grapples with the hard truths, a new generation struggles to rise from the ashes. Harlan, whose father was killed flying into Alameda's Naval Air Base one foggy morning, can relate to losing a parent, and hopes to help the City of Oakland provide jobs for its youth.

Meanwhile, Benevidez continues with her mission to provide young people with positive memories. "There are conflicts," she said, "but we show them how to handle those conflicts. My job as a naturalist is to reconnect people to their environment and to the fact that everyone is connected to everything at every level. When people don't see those connections, they feel disassociated."

She looks forward to hosting a family camp-out this weekend (call 510-238-3992 for more information) so that families can share camaraderie in nature and away from the stresses of city life.

"I grew up on 30th and West streets, an area they used to call the Bermuda Triangle because people never came out, she said. "The kids we serve often have no family structure, so they look to the streets for family. I have lived in West Oakland all my life and I've never felt the need to run away from my neighborhood. I am only afraid to not make a stand. If we do not, what will happen when things get worse?"