Deana Mitchell, Author at Oakland North

Hip Hop therapy moves into its second generation, as survivors become mentors

In Oakland, like many urban cities, violence tends to beget violence. But one program is attempting to use artistic expression to interrupt the cycle of bloodshed that pervades the city.

By Deana Mitchell on December 17, 2014

Ronald Cruz, center, an organizer with By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), directs protesters back to downtown Oakland from the 580 freeway as smoke from a burning mattress billows behind him. November 24, 2014. (Photo by Bonnie Chan)

Oakland reacts to Ferguson grand jury decision

In this photo gallery, Oakland North photographers capture imagers of the local protests Monday night, following the announcement from Ferguson, Mo., that a grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for the August 9 shooting of teenager Michael Brown.

By Deana Mitchell, James Pace-Cornsilk and Alyssa Jeong Perry on November 25, 2014

A crowd gathers in downtown Oakland to protest the grand jury's decision not to indict a police officer in the death of Michael Brown. Photo by Alex Kekauoha.

Oakland reacts to grand jury decision in Ferguson shooting with protests, freeway shutdown

A crowd of protesters filled downtown Oakland Monday night in reaction to the decision by a grand jury in St. Louis, Missouri, not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. By 5:50 pm, a crowd of several hundred had gathered in the intersection of Broadway and 14th Street in downtown Oakland. A group of people briefly tried to enter the 880 freeway at the Jackson Street entrance, but were turned away by police officers without incident. The crowd…

By Alex Kekauoha, Deana Mitchell, Molly Pierce, Gina Pollack, James Pace-Cornsilk, Alyssa Jeong Perry and Alicia Vargas on November 24, 2014

Giant flames and smoke could be seen from as far as West Oakland when a fire broke out in a rental cottage in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, Sunday morning. 22 firemen responded from the Oakland Fire Department who ensured the fire did not spread to other homes. No one was injured. “It was right behind that big blue Victorian,” said neighbor David Edwards, “There’s a giant tree back there. It could’ve been a lot worse.” The owner, Kristine, who did not wish to give her last name, lives in the main house on the property and was home at the time. She said that she saw, panicked and ran out. No one was in the cottage, where the fire broke out. “I looked up and the sky was all yellow, then I looked up again and it was all black,” said Tanya Anderson co-owner of Hudson Bay Café, located one block from the fire. “Every time the door opened, you smelled the smoke.” John Chinn, who lives at the top of the hill, said he saw the smoke and had to come down to check out the scene, “You don’t see many fires around here,” he said. “I could see the smoke from West Oakland,” said Fire Investigator Dominic Antes, who said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

Blaze in Rockridge rental property extinguished, no one injured

A fire broke out in a cottage on a property in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, Nov. 2, 2014.

By Deana Mitchell on November 2, 2014

Buddha of Oakland

When Dan Stevenson placed a stone Buddha across the street from his house in Oakland’s Eastlake neighborhood, it was out of desperation. “The corner was constantly being filled up with mattress and couches and junk and there was some drug usage, a lot of graffiti, people just standing around doing nothing—just depressing,” said Stevenson. Stevenson and his wife, Lu, say they are not religious at all, but believe in the power of positive and negative energy, and so decided to…

By Deana Mitchell on October 21, 2014

Expansion of late-night, transbay bus service to start in December

Starting in December, AC Transit’s “Owl Service” will expand the frequency and destinations of late-night bus service on Friday and Saturday nights.

By Alex Kekauoha and Deana Mitchell on October 20, 2014

Mills College student body president Skylar Crownover stands in front of the senior wall on the Mills campus.

Mills College takes on the nuances of transgender admits

Mills was the first U.S. women’s college to create a formal written admissions policy that includes transgender and gender fluid applicants. The policy went into effect this semester and the changes are making waves among Mills students and alums, as well as other women’s colleges around the county.

By Deana Mitchell on October 2, 2014