Justin Berton

Last Friday, Oakland announced the hiring of Floyd Mitchell of Lubbock, Texas, to become its next police chief, the 11th person to hold the title since 2009. He’s taking over a department at least twice the size of any he’s managed and inherits a city experiencing year-over-year increases in crime. Here are four suggestions that could help him succeed where all others have failed. Prioritize community engagement: You’re not from Oakland.

His name is Judah, and on Friday morning, across the glassy surface of the San Francisco Bay, he performed what bicycling evangelicals might call a miracle. Judah Schiller, 41, pedaled a water bike - a bicycle fixed atop a raft and geared to convert pedaling into power - from Oakland to San Francisco in a little more than an hour. He may not have forever altered the commute from the East Bay.

The City of Oakland announced Monday a partnership with Allen Temple Baptist Church and the emergency relief nonprofit organization Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) to open a new COVID-19 community-based testing site (CBTS) in East Oakland. This site will also use the Baseline COVID-19 Program platform by Verily, an Alphabet company. Testing will be provided free of charge Monday through Saturday, 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Health insurance is not required.