About Syeda Amna Hassan

Contact Syeda Amna Hassan

Education:

University of California, Berkeley

August 2011 - May 2013

Lahore University of Management Sciences

August 2006 - December 2010

Majors: Economics and Social Sciences

Published Stories:

The Livermores: Rockridge's Founding Family

Oakland North

Written for Oakland North’s history series, this story follows the Livermores, one of the earliest families to settle in Rockridge, which contributed significantly to its development in the early twentieth century. In addition to turning the large tracts of land above Broadway into residential areas, they were also involved in the establishment of public utilities and lumbering in California.

Rockridge: Then and Now

Oakland North

A slideshow comparing historical photos of the Oakland neighborhood, Rockridge, to those taken in 2012, for Oakland North’s history series.

Port still waiting on federal funds for dredging

Oakland North

The United States federal government has been collecting the Harbor Maintenance Tax from port customers for years with the specific purpose of port maintenance and dredging. When the government increased the tax in 1990, it did so with the explicit promise that all dredging needs would be met with funds collected from the tax, according to Port of Oakland’s spokesperson Marilyn Sandifur. Today, in the long, drawn-out battle over port funds, Port of Oakland officials claim the government has not released sufficient funds for maintenance over the years, and the proof is in the channels’ depths.

Council approves community benefit program near Lake Merritt BART

Oakland North

The Oakland City Council approved plans for a community benefit program for a half-mile area surrounding the Lake Merritt BART station, which includes Oakland’s Chinatown. The proposal suggests that all developments beyond a certain size include one or more community benefits, if it makes a reasonable rate of return and profit.

Golden Gate: Then and Now

Oakland North

Pictures of the Golden Gate neighborhood in the 1950s and earlier, and the neighborhood today, for Oakland North’s history series. While some buildings have remained intact, most retail stores have been replaced by new businesses.

Oakland at Work: Piloting Giants

Oakland North

This story follows the San Francisco Bar Pilots, who navigate all the ships through the San Francisco Bay. They take the occasional cruise ship in and out of Monterey Bay, as well as piloting commercial vessels as far up the Sacramento River as Stockton, but the majority of the traffic comes from the Oakland port.

Teen center to remain open after debate at City Council meeting

Oakland North

The Oakland City Council voted to keep a teen center open, while agreeing to let the city take control of the center from Councilmember Desley Brooks (District 6), who had helped to establish and run it using funds from her own office. The council also unanimously approved a $3.5 million package to develop hotels, a conference center, a new stadium, and a shopping center in a 750-acre area around the Coliseum in an effort to entice the Raiders, Warriors and A’s to stay in Oakland.

60 years after it was built, Children’s Fairyland keeps the tradition of storytelling alive

Oakland North

Over the years, Children’s Fairyland has kept its focus on storytelling alive. Each week, puppets go live in front of a crowd of children, telling classic tales like “Sleeping Beauty” and more obscure ones the puppet masters have borrowed from other cultures. “You don’t need a lot of technology to tell a story,” says C.J. Hirschfield, Director of Fairyland. “And it is how we pass along our culture – whatever it is – through the stories, through generations.”

Oakland Green Party proposes an alliance with progressive candidates

Oakland North

The Oakland Green Party held a public forum in Feb 2012 at Humanist Hall in downtown Oakland, where members of other political parties as well as members of the public were invited to brainstorm ideas for Oakland’s future and form an alliance before the next city government elections.

Temescal: Then and Now

Oakland North

For Oakland North’s history series, this slideshow takes a look at the Oakland neighborhood Temescal, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries – a place where rail lines ran across Telegraph Avenue, and businesses thrived on the side – and Temescal today.

In the days of the streetcar, Temescal was a busy, commercial hub

Oakland North

As Temescal grew in 1870s, the small town became an important transportation hub for rail travelers passing between Oakland and Berkeley. This story follows Temescal’s development for Oakland North’s history series.

Council deadlocks over resolution that would allow tougher policing of protests

Oakland North

During another contentious meeting on Februry 07, 2012, the City Council deadlocked over a resolution aimed at increasing the policing of protests. The resolution would have made protests that block streets without a permit illegal, and allowed the city administrator to use “whatever lawful tools” required to prevent protesters from hindering everyday business operations.

New proposed city budget would cut city positions, merge departments

Oakland North

Since California Governor Jerry Brown announced in early January that he would end redevelopment programs to help the state deal with its budget deficit, Oakland officials have been scrambling to find ways to salvage city positions that were paid for with redevelopment dollars. The elimination of the redevelopment agency, which will take effect by Feb. 1, blew a $28 million hole in a budget that city leaders had spent months balancing – one that was already constrained by other cuts in the state budget.

Jakada Imani on the Ella Baker Center, his port commission bid, and fighting for Oakland

Oakland North

Jakada Imani has had to battle his entire life. As a child, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, lived in a home with parents addicted to drugs, and was homeless for a brief period of time. He fought the odds to become a well-respected community leader, and strived to find ways to protect the rights of the disenfranchised. That was why he wanted to be a port commissioner, he said – to fight for the people of West Oakland.

Occupy, Causa Justa, protesters take over vacant home, rally against foreclosures

Oakland North

At least 100 people gathered outside the West Oakland BART on Tuesday afternoon to march to a vacant house in West Oakland to protest the foreclosure of a family’s home. The protest was organized by Occupy Oakland and Causa Justa, an organization that advocates for tenant and immigrant rights.

Election results: All Oakland city ballot measures fail

Oakland North

All three Oakland city ballot measures failed to pass in a special election held on November 15. Of a total of 196, 851 registered voters, only 49,058 (24.92 percent) cast a ballot.

Election Day: A look at what the 3 ballot measures could mean for Oakland

Oakland North

The City of Oakland’s special mail ballot election will decide the fate of three ballot measures – two of which are intended to help the city balance its budget, and the other to change the city attorney position from one that is elected by the voters, to one that is named by the city council. This story explains the measures…

As veterans protest, police distribute eviction fliers to Occupy Oakland campers

Oakland North

As the antiwar advocacy groups Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War held a joint press conference Friday afternoon in front of City Hall, near the center of the Occupy Oakland encampment in Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland Police arrived at the plaza and began handing out “Notice of Violations” fliers. The fliers stated that all belongings and infrastructure must be removed from the plaza “immediately.” They warned, “Your continued use of the Plaza for overnight lodging will subject you to arrest.”

OPD report: No reduction in violent crime after North Oakland gang injunction

Oakland North

The City of Oakland’s special mail ballot election will decide the fate of three ballot measures – two of which are intended to help the city balance its budget, and the other to change the city attorney position from one that is elected by the voters, to one that is named by the city council. This story explains the measures…

At council meeting, sparse attendance and delayed votes

Oakland North

Live hip-hop music, anti-Wall Street chants and hundreds of Occupy Oakland protesters camped out steps away at Frank Ogawa Plaza had little effect on Tuesday’s Oakland City Council meeting. The Occupy Oakland movement was not discussed, and councilmembers postponed making a final decision about contractual restrictions at the Oakland Army Base, and the appointment of port commissioner.

Mayor Quan responds to residents filing for her recall

Oakland North

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan released an official statement Monday about the efforts of Oakland residents to recall her, saying that the city did not need a “divisive and expensive” recall election and listing her accomplishments during her 294-day tenure as mayor.

Costumed East Bay adults line up for competitive playground game

Oakland North

On Thursday night, a cast of about 40 characters gathered under the lights of the Rockridge BART parking lot for the annual pre-Halloween version of FourSquare East Bay, dubbed “Costume Square.”

Legal groups demand details on use of force, gas in Tuesday’s Occupy Oakland protests

Oakland North

The ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) jointly sent a public records request to the Oakland Police Department this week, asking for detailed information about the arrests and use of force in response to the Occupy Oakland confrontations.

Small Occupy Oakland crowd remains downtown after chaotic night

Oakland North

By 6:30 on the morning of October 26, only about 10 protestors remained near Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza, the site of a clash between Occupy Oakland protesters and police that began Tuesday evening and carried late into the night, but more people were slowly trickling in.

Oakland residents begin voting on controversial parcel tax

Oakland North

Oakland voters began mailing in ballots in October to decide the fate of a controversial $80 parcel tax that is being promoted as vital to help Oakland’s budget crisis and assailed as an unnecessary burden on homeowners, with no binding resolution to determine where it would be spent. Measure I would raise $60 million for the city over a five-year period.

Twenty years after the Oakland hills fire, what has changed?

Oakland North

On October 19, 1991, the tiny flame that would become the Oakland hills fire was ignited. The ensuing wildfire, which lasted for several days, took 25 lives, consumed over a thousand acres of land, and destroyed more than 3,500 homes. On the 20th anniversary of the fire, this story takes a look at some of the changes the city has implemented to try to prepare for the next big wildfire—as well as what still needs to improve.

Oakland City Council approves spending plan for proposed parcel tax

Oakland North

Amidst accusations of electioneering, the Oakland City Council approved legislation that would determine how funds from a proposed $80 parcel tax would be spent if Measure I passes next month. The legislation, authored by Councilmember At-Large Rebecca Kaplan, Councilmember Pat Kernighan (District 2) and Council President Larry Reid (District 7), determines how the $60 million collected from the tax under Measure I would be spent over the next five years, and allocates a majority of the funds toward public safety items.

Local Muslims give food to homeless, working poor

Oakland North

Every Saturday morning, volunteers from North Oakland’s Lighthouse Mosque come to the Rainbow Recreation center on 59th and East 14th Street in East Oakland to give hot food and groceries to people in need.

Oakland’s Black Cowboys Parade celebrates African Americans’ role in the West

Oakland North

Cheerleaders hooted and waved pom-poms. School bands marched to the thunderous beats of drums. This was the 37th Black Cowboy Parade held in Oakland, and as usual, it was a big one.

City council defers voting on proposed public safety items at contentious meeting

Oakland North

Dozens of Oakland residents approached the podium at the city council meeting on October 04 to voice their displeasure with three items on the agenda intended to curb violence in the city – an anti-loitering law, a teen curfew, and more gang injunctions. However, the council deferred voting on these measures by sending them to the public safety committee for more in-depth review.

Oakland celebrates 100 years of women’s voting rights with suffrage parade reenactment at Lakeside Park

Oakland North

In vintage crocheted frills and elaborately designed hats reminiscent of early 20th century fashions, Oakland women celebrated the centennial anniversary of the passage of women’s voting rights at Lakeside Park with a reenactment of the first suffrage parade on October 02.

Government officials put pressure on Congress to release funds for port maintenance

Oakland North

Public officials and maritime industry leaders met on September 30 to urge Congress to release funds collected from the Harbor Maintenance Tax in order to improve California’s port infrastructure and help stimulate economic growth.

Shotspotter technology could help Oakland police locate gunshots

Oakland North

City Council’s Public Safety Committee approved a contract renewal during a meeting on September 27 to install a new version of the sound monitors that would help police pinpoint gunshots in Oakland. With the Shotspotter technology, the Oakland Police Department will receive notifications of gunshots and explosives through devices installed on rooftops across the city.

Rally the Troupes drag show comes to Mills College

Oakland North

The performers of Rally the Troupes brought their show to an Oakland venue for the first time on September 16: a large concert hall at Mills College. Each Rally the Troupes show is a compilation of drag and burlesque routines, designed to bring social justice issues to the forefront. With loud, over-the-top dance performances and social commentary, the acts touch upon issues of gender, politics and identity. Not all the performers are dressed in drag, but all are there to convey a message.

Awards:

Fulbright Scholarship  (August 2011)

Scholarship awarded by the Institute of International Education, and administered by the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan.

Honorary Award  (December 2008)

Presented by Team Enspire for my contributions as a writer and editor.

Silver Medal (March 2007)

Awarded by Beaconhouse School System for my A' Levels result.

Gold Medal (March 2005)

Awarded by Beaconhouse School System for my O' Levels result.