By Huda Ahmed/OAKLAND

Every day, Dee Dee Perry, a 46-year-old ex-prostitute, leaves her apartment on International Boulevard in Oakland and walks along the strip in search of young prostitutes. Her mission? To help them get off the streets and restore their innocence.

Perry spends much of her time trying to convince prostitutes as young as 14 and 15 years old that Christ loves them.

“You know, Christ is protecting you,” she tells the young women. Or sometimes she’ll just ask if they’re okay, or if they need any condoms.

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Videos by Elise Craig & Nick Burns/WEST BERKELEY

On October 27, Berkeley’s four mayoral candidates faced off in a debate at the West Berkeley Senior Center. In the videos below, East Bay West Online highlights three major issues facing the community. Missed the debate? Get the full story here.

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By Ali Winston

On November 4, California voters will decide on two crucial law and order ballot measures – Propositions 6 and 9.

Proposition 6, or the Runner Initiative, would divert money from California’s general fund to the justice system, including the state’s troubled prison system. Prop 6 would increase penalties for drug-related crimes and also allow prosecutors to petition courts to try juveniles as young as 14 adults if they are involved in “gang-related” felonies. Local authorities would also be required to check the citizenship status of anyone arrested, booked or convicted of a crime.

Proposition 9, or the Victims Rights and Protections Act, is billed as a victims-rights initiative that would increase restitution payments from offenders to victims and notify victims’ relatives about all public criminal hearings concerning the offender. It would also extend the time between parole hearings from five to 15 years.

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By Elise Craig/BERKELEY

The presentation on South and West Berkeley community safety at Tuesday’s City Council meeting created enough commotion that Mayor Tom Bates asked an audience member to leave.

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by Elise Craig/WEST BERKELEY

Former mayor Shirley Dean delivered the zinger of the night at Monday’s mayoral debate, eliciting laughter and applause from the crowd at the West Berkeley Senior Center. Read the full story

By Elise Craig/BERKELEY

Berkeley police arrested and booked a Pinole man they believe is responsible for a series of at least 10 robberies in the North Berkeley area. Patrol officers stopped Davon Vigay,18, around 10:30 Wednesday night because the license plate on his silver Mitsubishi Lancer matched a number provided by a local resident. At the time of the arrest, he was carrying a loaded gun. Read the full story

by Nick Burns/OAKLAND

Just blocks from where a man was wounded in a shooting last Thursday, Fruitvale residents and community organizers met in a conference room at Patten University to learn how to stop gang violence and child prostitution in the East Oakland neighborhood.

The Saturday morning workshop concluded two days of events entitled “Putting the Pieces Together” that began with a ceremony on Friday to unveil a public art installation in Nicol Park. The events also honored the memory of Edgar Torres, the 17-year-old victim of a fatal shooting that occurred in the park last June. The Oakland Police Department, Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council and the family of the Nicol Park victim organized Saturday’s workshop.
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