Oakland North Staff

Think Newsom should be recalled? People in Oakland weigh in.

For the second time in 20 years, a California governor is facing recall. On Tuesday, the state will find out if Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom will finish the last 15 months of his term or become the second governor — after Democrat Gray Davis in 2003 — to be recalled. Voting started by mail in August, with two questions on the ballot: Shall Newsom be recalled? And, if so, who should replace him: one of the 46 candidates on the…

Oakland North Election Day Live Blog

Reporters Qinghui Kong and Manish Kanal reporting from West Oakland this evening. Another “joyful” update from Poplar Street Michelle Pred, from Joy to the Polls, wants to inspire people to be “happy and joyful” while voting. She says musical vans like this one are going to be all over the country.  “Let’s change our country,” Pred said.  She’s going to be at the election watch party happening tonight at Oscar Grant Plaza and is looking forward to it.   “We want…

CA Proposition 15 could bring millions to Oakland Schools, new burdens to businesses, tax assessors

Voters will decide next month whether to approve a ballot measure which could provide a windfall for schools and local governments, but a far greater burden on businesses and tax assessors.  The existing property tax law is governed by a 1978 ballot measure, Proposition 13, which significantly limited state property taxes. But the new measure, California Proposition 15, would modify this law to create a “split-roll,” where commercial businesses worth more than $3 million would be taxed based on their…

Oakland North’s 2019 year in review — our top stories

2019 brought a new group of student reporters to Oakland North from across the country and the globe. We covered a city that is always changing, but where tensions about city finances, policing, housing and the fate of the public schools run deep. We also produced three new episodes of our Tales of Two Cities podcast, which covers audio stories from Oakland and Richmond in collaboration with our sister site, Richmond Confidential. Click here to check out all episodes of the Tales of…

Oakland to be hit by PG&E power cuts: Useful links for Oaklanders

Oakland is expected to be among the Bay Area cities affected by PG&E power cuts starting today. According to a release sent out by the mayor’s office, the cuts will begin in some parts of Oakland at noon on Wednesday. The cuts are part of the power company’s effort to avoid sparking fires caused by downed power lines during hot, windy weather. Oakland North reporters will be out in the field all day to learn how the cuts are affecting…

We’re off for the summer — see you in September!

Oakland North is a project of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and now that it’s summer, our students are on break to work internships at other publications. We’ll be back to train a new class of student reporters in early September. Please feel free to explore the site and our past coverage. Our student journalists have been covering Oakland since fall, 2008, and have created nearly 6,000 articles, videos, audio pieces and multimedia projects about life in the city. You can…

The East Bay in myths and memorials

On an ordinary Monday, we sent the reporters of Oakland North and Richmond Confidential out into our cities with a goal: Capture the spaces that are famous for their legends, their myths, their memorials to the people who made the Bay Area great and to the moments in history that still haunt us. Each reporter took a camera, notebook and pen–and one or two took their audio equipment as well. Their goal was to sit quietly in the space for…

Oakland North’s 2018 year in review — our top stories

2018 brought a new group of student reporters to Oakland North from across the country and the globe. They covered an incredibly busy year in Oakland politics, as the city geared up for the mayoral and city council races, as well as the national midterms, while reacting to the often-divisive new policies on immigration, health and environment being enacted by Donald Trump’s presidential administration. But they also covered stories emanating from Oakland’s own city issues: The increasing urgency of finding places…

We’re off for the summer — see you in September!

Oakland North is a project of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and now that it’s summer, our students are on break to work internships at other publications. We’ll be back to train a new class of student reporters in early September. Please feel free to explore the site and our past coverage. Our student journalists have been covering Oakland since fall, 2008, and have created more than 5,500 articles, videos, audio pieces and multimedia projects about life in the city. You…

Oakland North’s 2017 year in review — our top stories

2017 brought a new group of student reporters to Oakland North from across the country and the globe. They covered a city in flux: a housing and homelessness crisis that shows no sign of abating, a school district facing millions in budget cuts, a citywide crackdown on warehouse spaces in the wake of the Ghost Ship fire, and local reactions to the new immigration and sanctuary city polices coming out of Washington under the new Donald Trump administration. But they also dug…

Tales of Two Cities: While You Were Sleeping

On this episode we bring you stories about curious people and the things they do while we’re sleeping. Tune in to hear stories about: a therapist helping people through hypnosis, a new mom staying up with her newborn, the graveyard shift at the BART station and a late-night laundromat that’s never quiet.

We’re off for the summer — see you in September!

Oakland North is a project of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and now that it’s summer, our students are on break to work internships at other publications. We’ll be back to train a new class of student reporters in early September. Please feel free to explore the site and our past coverage. Our student journalists have been covering Oakland since fall, 2008, and have created more than 5,000 articles, videos, audio pieces and multimedia projects about life in the city. You…

Tales of Two Cities: History

This week’s episode is about history. Tune in to hear about the journey of a thrifted musical instrument, Oakland Unified School District’s Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Festival, the last remaining Rosie the Riveters in Richmond and the Richmond Museum’s celebration of WWI history.

Tales of Two Cities: Marked

This week’s episode features stories of people who are marked. Individuals tagged in some way and navigating the expectations that come along with their markings.