Mayor Sheng Thao's office said she would be holding a news conference Wednesday afternoon to announce details of the deal, which is for a minimum purchase price of $105 million over two years.
Funds from the sale will help Oakland cope with its projected $177 million budget deficit, according to the mayor's office, and could enable the city to avoid painful cuts to city departments, including police services.
After acquiring the city's half of the massive East Oakland property, AASEG is expected to continue making progress on the purchase of the other half from the Oakland A's, which bought its share from Alameda County for $85 million.
In the past, AASEG has said it was considering bringing a Women's National Basketball Association team and a Black-led NFL team to the site, as well as affordable housing, retail spaces and parks.
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Former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong announced Wednesday his plans to run for a City Council seat in November.
Armstrong, who Mayor Sheng Thao fired in February 2023 after a 30-day suspension that followed an outside investigation into alleged misconduct in the Police Department, sued the city for wrongful termination earlier this year.
He is running for the City Councilmember At-Large seat that is currently held by Rebecca Kaplan and in his campaign announcement said he "successfully managed the largest city department and is the only candidate with the understanding of how to efficiently prioritize precious city resources without sacrificing public safety."
Armstrong served for 24 years with the Oakland Police Department. In March, Thao appointed Floyd Mitchell, a former police chief in Lubbock, Texas, as Oakland's new chief.
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Santa Rosa fire officials said Wednesday they are investigating what caused a fire earlier this week that killed a man in a "tiny home" recently built on a commercial property without city approval.
Firefighters responded at 8:45 p.m. Monday to reports of a fire and arrived to find it burning a structure on the property of 1594 Hampton Way off of Sebastopol Road, according to the Santa Rosa Fire Department.
Crews extinguished the flames and found the man dead inside the structure, which investigators determined was a trailered "tiny home" that had been installed on the property in the past month. The city of Santa Rosa did not approve the installation or occupancy of the structure, fire officials said.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation but according to preliminary findings, it was likely accidental in nature. An autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday to determine the cause of death of the man, whose name has not been released.
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A 19-year-old Newark man died when the vehicle he was driving caught fire after crashing into a tree in Fremont early Tuesday morning, police said.
An on-duty patrol officer came upon the crash around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Fremont Boulevard and Thornton Avenue, Fremont police said in a news release Wednesday.
The officer was able to extract a passenger in the car as it was catching on fire but the driver died at the scene. The passenger, also a 19-year-old Newark man, was taken to a hospital and an update on his condition was not immediately available from police.
Investigators said speeding appears to be a "significant factor" in the crash, which remains under investigation.
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A safety training in San Bruno went bad for the San Francisco Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, when chemicals used for crowd control leaked into the air around Portola Elementary School, affecting more than a dozen students and at least one adult.
Tara Moriarty, director of communications for the Sheriff's Office, said the agency was doing a routine training session for crowd control tactics inside a structure on an isolated section of the San Bruno Jail property.
Chemicals began leaking into the outside air at about 12:45 p.m., including CS (2-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile, a component of tear gas) and OC gas (oleoresin capsicum, commonly known as pepper spray).
"Unfortunately, gas from inside the structure drifted outside to a nearby elementary school where teachers and students reported experiencing symptoms including burning sensations in the eyes, nose, and throat," Moriarty said. "The San Francisco Sheriff's Office and other Bay Area law enforcement agencies have been conducting training at this site for more than 20 years. This is an unprecedented situation that we take very seriously."
Moriarty said she believed firefighters treated about 20 children and one adult at the scene and no one was hospitalized. A message left for the San Bruno Fire Department wasn't immediately returned Wednesday.
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The Oakland Police Department's 10-year-old vehicle pursuit policy will be reviewed for possible changes thanks to a decision by the City Council.
The council voted 5-0 Tuesday to forward a request for such a review to the Oakland Police Commission, which now has until Sept. 10 to send any recommended changes back to the council for final approval.
Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas abstained and councilmembers Rebecca Kaplan and Carol Fife were absent.
The decision to send the chase policy to the Police Commission for review was sponsored by councilmembers Kevin Jenkins and Treva Reid, both of whom represent areas of East Oakland.
Currently, OPD's policy allows officers to chase down people suspected of a violent crime, people who used a gun while committing a crime and people who are suspected of having a gun in their possession. Also, in 2022, a change was implemented that forbade officers from chasing suspects on city streets in speeds over 50 mph without authorization from a supervisor.
OPD Capt. Jake Bassett said that while there may be other factors involved, after that policy was implemented there was a 35 percent reduction in police chases and a 50 percent reduction in suspect apprehensions.
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A sinking ship in the Delta waterway in San Joaquin County was leaking fuel and oil into the body of water Wednesday, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office said.
Aurora, a 293-foot ocean liner ship made in 1955, suffered a hole and began taking on water, causing it to leak diesel fuel and oil into the Delta at Empire Tract and Eight Mile roads in an area known as Little Potato Slough.
The sheriff's boating safety unit and ground units as of Wednesday afternoon were at the scene attempting to contain the spill.
They said they contacted outside agencies to assist. People in the area were asked to take caution and to avoid the area.
Originally, the ship was called "Wappen von Hamburg" and was intended to be used for cruise voyages.
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