We had a day of service on Jan. 21, and now it feels like a huge chunk of the city is galvanized around the Oakland police and the City Council meeting tonight. 

Both Councilmembers and local activists are calling for people to pack the galleries, and we know it is going to be a long - and possibly dramatic night (unless Council postpones voting on some of these items - again).

Oakland Local, as a news nonprofit, is all about being a place for different views of an issue to be discussed. We've gotten more op-eds and opinion pieces about the next steps for Council to take in addressing crime and Oakland Police department needs than we'e gotten about just about anything since the peak of Occupy and we've pulled together some of the pieces folks have sent us so you can read them all right here. To see what your friends and neighbors have to say, take a look at these links, and also be aware that many discussions are happening on Facebook and Twitter.

Oakland Local will be at tomorrow's Council meeting, reporting, live tweeting from @OLCityCouncil and possibly posting on @Storify. We want your views and will continue to share them as this whole situation evolves (send to editor@oaklandlocal.com). Hashtags: #oakmtg  and #OLpolicebeat

Meanwhile, here's the latest in community voices:

• Lynn Bartsch: Oakland, Just Say Yes (Community Voices) | Oakland Local http://bit.ly/UdsRij
• Pamela Drake: How Not to Win Friends and Influence People. Stop it. (Community Voices) | Oakland Local http://bit.ly/10uRmeU
• Phil Tagami: Oakland needs to act now (Community Voices) | Oakland Local http://bit.ly/WoeI0e
• Ed Gerber: Consulting Help for OPD (Community Voices) | Oakland Local http://bit.ly/VlVQzr

For more on Oakland City Council see oaklandlocal.com/tags/city-council; to follow Oakland Police Beat, oaklandlocal.com/tags/OPD.

Oakland Local invites community residents to share their views about events and issues in Oakland. For guidelines, see: http://oaklandlocal.com/tos.  Send to editor@oaklandlocal.com