Brad Bailey

Tales of Two Cities Episode 7: Loss

In this week’s episode of the Tales of Two Cities podcast, hosts Brad Bailey and Matt Beagle will be discussing loss, and stories about people moving on when something or someone important is taken away. We’ll hear about a lost Oakland bus stop so important to bus riders that they’re trying to bring it back. We’ll listen as some surprising guests in the East Bay share their favorite memories of Prince. We’ll also hear the story of an Oakland woman…

Oakland realtors throw baby clothing drive in honor of Mother’s Day

When Lisa Klein received the old Pampers box, she wasn’t sure what she would find. But when she opened it, she found a stack of tiny, beautiful pastel dresses that she describes as “smocked in the front and poofy at the bottom.” With the dresses was a letter. Klein remembers the sender writing something about how she had been “saving these clothes for the right place, and she’s finally found it,” she recalls. “She’s been waiting for, I think, 45…

Charter association sues district over quality of facilities

Proposition 39, also known as the “Smaller Classes, Safer Schools and Financial Accountability Act,” was passed by voters in 2000, and requires all California school districts to provide equivalent facilities to charter schools and the students who choose to attend them. The ballot initiative was based on the premise that students who attend charter schools would have otherwise attended district schools, so the district should have planned to accommodate those students with space and resources. To be “equivalent” means that the district must provide resources and facilities to a charter school that match what they provide children at schools in the same part of the district, and according to the proposition’s text, they must be “contiguous, furnished and equipped, and shall remain the property of the school district.”

In new collection, librarian-poet pens odes to Oakland

Throughout the years, Oakland librarian Nina Lindsay shelved books, helped cardholders with reference questions, and aided children in interpreting their school assignments, sometimes with instructions from teachers that were somewhat lost in translation. As she helped other people, slowly but surely she was collecting something of her own: poems.

Tales of Two Cities #3: Hobbies

This week on Tales of Two Cities, we talk about hobbies! From contributor Lacy Roberts, we’ll hear about a dedicated group of fantasy role-players in Oakland. Reporter Libby Leyden introduces us to a local man who makes his living by harvesting driftwood. We’ll also hear about Oakland’s 57th Annual White Elephant Sale which took place last weekend.  Matt Beagle is our host this week!  

OUSD Board of Education approves expansion of KIPP Bridge Charter School

Few members of the public attended the beginning of Wednesday night’s meeting for the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Board of Education. In a relatively empty room, the board heard a presentation from schools police chief Jeff Godown on arrests within OUSD schools and discussed budget priorities for the coming school year.

In Oakland, students have a voice as school board directors

Darius Aikens, a junior at Oakland High School, and Bianca Ramirez, a sophomore at Fremont High School, are student directors for the school board for the 2015-2016 school year. They attend all board meetings and act as intermediaries between the board and the All City Council, the district-wide student union.

Commuting presents challenges for some Oakland students

Early this morning, from East Oakland to West, students climbed into AC Transit buses, fares or passes in hand, and commuted to schools in other neighborhoods. In 2004, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) rolled out a new enrollment policy, an “options process” which allowed parents to send children to schools outside of their neighborhoods. Parents wanted equal access to opportunities at schools throughout Oakland, and some specialty programs were only offered at one or two schools. Since the district does not operate its own bus service, most students commute using public transit.