Month: October 2025
Students in Room Five at Melrose Leadership Academy gathered around two adults with storybooks in their hands. They frowned when they heard a sad story and eagerly raised their hands to answer every question asked by the readers, volunteers for the 11th annual Latine Read-In Week. Organized by the Oakland Public Education Fund, the read-in brings community members into classrooms to share stories reflecting Latine voices and cultures. This year, 14 Oakland elementary schools welcomed 118 volunteers who read to…
Saba Grocers Initiative plans to launch a community-owned food hub by March to distribute fresh local and affordable food to 50 corner stores, schools, hospitals, and food banks across Alameda County. But to fully realize its vision, Saba is asking the community to help raise $1.5 million. In September, the nonprofit received a $2 million grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Farm to Community Food Hubs program as part of a $13.8 million investment in food system infrastructure…
He’s long been a legendary national figure and recently, Bobby Seale was memorialized by Oakland, the birthplace of the Black Panther Party he co-founded. That changed last week, when a crowd that included Seale and his family, as well as city, state and federal officials gathered for the renaming of the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and 57th Street as Bobby Seale Way. The location has significance for Seale, who once lived in the North Oakland neighborhood and…
Nearly 60 students walked out of Oakland high schools Friday to march to City Hall as part of a statewide action in support of a California bill that would mitigate the impacts of fossil fuel pollution. Students rallied in support of the “Polluters Pay Climate Superfund” bill, which was introduced in February and is in committee until January, when legislators are scheduled to debate it. The bill would require oil and gas companies who did business in California between 1990…
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee held a news conference Thursday urging calm and unity as federal enforcement threats loomed over the Bay Area. “Oakland is and will continue to be a welcoming city for our immigrants and our refugees,” Lee said. “We will remain calm, focused, and united. We will not allow outsiders to create chaos or exploit our city.”. Her remarks came moments before President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he was calling off plans for a federal…
Visitors coming into Oakland’s Chinatown now will meet a staggering dragon watching over the intersection of Jackson and 10th streets. Its mythical presence is a reminder to stand against hate, according to the community groups and team of artists who christened the dragon mural “Together, We Rise” last week. Its unveiling served as a kickoff to United Against Hate Week, which runs nationwide through Saturday. United Against Hate began in Berkeley in 2017 as a poster campaign responding to white…
As Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell prepares to leave in December, city officials will be tasked with selecting a new head for the Police Department. The Oakland Police Commission, known as one of the strongest oversight boards in the country, will help decide who becomes the city’s next police chief. Its involvement is under scrutiny by the Oakland Police Officers Association and some residents, after some said Chief Mitchell left because the job comes with too much oversight. “We will…
Thousands of Bay Area residents gathered in Oakland on Saturday as part of a series of nationwide protests against President Donald Trump’s policies. Many attendees tried to strike a balance between the serious issues they were protesting and a lighter, festive tone, wearing comical costumes and carrying humorous protest signs. As the crowd marched down Eighth Street, Oakland residents Max Madame and Charlie Pain, both wearing clown makeup, handed out balloon animals. “Absurdity breeds absurdity,” said Pain, when asked about…
BART made a big investment in new fare gates at all 50 stations to ensure riders pay to enter. But some commuters say they still see people cheating the system, and BART concedes the new gates need tweaking. “Once the gates open, anyone can go in,” said Rick West, an Oakland resident who has been riding BART for 20 years. BART officials touted the fare evasion gates, a $90 million systemwide project to install 6-foot-tall gates, at a press conference…
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee announced Friday that the city would deploy crews to clean up illegal dumping sites during weekends. The weekend crews will respond quicker to residents’ trash complaints, Lee said. Her announcement comes amid increased pressure from advocacy groups and residents who say officials need to do more to clean up the trash littering the city. “As Mayor, I want all of us to build an Oakland where our streets reflect the dignity, pride, and resilience of this…
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve nearly $3.6 million in new funding for immigrant services, amid increased concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the Bay Area. The resolution, introduced by Supervisors Nikki Fortunato Bas and Elisa Márquez, allocates $2 million for the Alameda County Rapid Response line, a hotline to verify ICE sightings and connect people to immigrant legal services. It also extends grants approved earlier this year, when the board gave…
Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell resigned Wednesday morning, 18 months after being hired. In a statement on its website, the city said he will step down on Dec. 5. “It has been an honor to serve the Oakland community, and I am grateful for the support I’ve received from the residents,” Mitchell said in the statement. “I’m incredibly proud of the men and women of this Department and the collaborative working relationships forged with the community and business owners to reduce…
Hundreds of people — from toddlers to teenagers to seniors and everyone in between — spilled into Oakland Technical High School’s auditorium Sunday to learn how to resist the rise of authoritarianism under President Donald Trump. Nearly 1,000 people attended Get Ready: Noncooperation Training by Bay Resistance, a group advocating for racial, economic, climate and gender justice. Some participants sat on the floor or filed into overflow rooms. The session was meant to energize and inspire people as well as…
On an early evening in September, a modest crowd entering the Dresher Ensemble Studio received disappointing news at the door: One of the two acts they came to see would not be performing. However, the show must go on, and the West Oakland Sound Series is no stranger to improvisation. Matt Ingalls, Sound Series director, was not going to let his audience go without a second act. In the spirit of this avant-garde musical community, he would later join woodwinds…
First came a rally at Oakland City Hall, then a victory parade at Raimondi Park, as hundreds of fans honored the Oakland Ballers on Sunday for becoming Pioneer Baseball League champs last month and giving the city its first baseball championship in 36 years. Resurrecting a cheer used for decades at the Coliseum, fans outside City Hall chanted “Let’s go Oakland,” in appreciation of the Ballers’ 8-1 win against the Idaho Falls Chukars on Sept. 21. A sellout crowd of…
A divided audience packed the Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting on Friday, as the board adopted a policy that discourages the county from investing in companies with poor human rights practices, among other things. But the motion also called for delaying implementation of the Ethics Investment Policy until the board’s Finance Committee reviews it. That prompted Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas to cast the lone vote against it, saying she supported the policy without the stipulation. “This is incredibly disheartening and…