Features

Oakland accepts foreign ID cards legally 

OAKLAND — Oakland has become the second city in the nation to accept cards issued by the Mexican government — and by other foreign governments — as legal identification. 

The resolution, unanimously approved Tuesday by the Oakland City Council, requests that the Oakland Police Department, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department and other public service agencies recognize foreign-issued ID cards as official identification. 

The cards do not substitute for a driver’s license, or for a passport necessary to cross borders. They do not establish legal status in the United States, but will help police legally identify detainees. 

So far, the Mexican and French governments are the only ones to issue such cards, although any country could could do so. 

Last month, San Francisco became the first city to pass a resolution to accept the cards — although the Orange County Sheriff’s Association also approved a policy recognizing them last October. 

Playing with fire 

OAKLAND — A 13-year-old boy who admitted lighting a pit bull puppy on fire will be taken from his parents’ custody, a juvenile court judge has ruled. 

The ruling was made Tuesday at a closed hearing in Oakland after a psychological report on the boy showed intervention was necessary, said Assistant District Attorney Walter Jackson, who heads the juvenile division. 

Also present at the hearing was a 12-year-old boy who reportedly confessed to the same felony charge of maiming or torturing an animal. The younger boy’s disposition — a juvenile court term for sentencing — was postponed to Feb. 13, to allow time to complete his psychological evaluation. 

A third boy, 15, denied involvement in lighting the puppy on fire, but admitted to the felony charge of dog fighting. His disposition hearing will be Feb. 14. 

The puppy was 3 months old when set ablaze Jan. 8 in East Oakland. It is now in good condition after receiving treatment for burns over a quarter of its 19-pound body. 

‘City of Castro Valley’ hits stumbling block 

CASTRO VALLEY — Organizers of the campaign to transform Castro Valley into a city hit a major obstacle when a fiscal analysis showed that the unincorporated community doesn’t have the tax base to support itself. 

“It’s very disappointing and very surprising,” said Sal Tedesco, president of the pro-incorporation group, Citizens of Castro Valley. 

About 57,000 people live in Castro Valley, 13 miles south of Oakland. 

The analysis showed that a city would run budget shortfalls of about $1 million to $1.5 million over the first six or seven years of incorporation. 

The report said it would cost Castro Valley $12 million a year to maintain 67 police officers. All other city spending combined would amount to about $8 million annually.