Today Oakland North officially welcomes its reporting crew back to school for the start of the new semester! Our group this spring will include Oakland North veterans from the fall 2009 group, the spring 2009 group, and even the founding fall 2008 group, plus we’ll be joined by some new friends who previously worked on our sister sites, Mission Local and Richmond Confidential. We’re ready to go, and it’s going to be awesome! Stay tuned for more breaking news, in-depth features, and…

Oakland Director Kim Luqman sent out the following message to encourage members of the Oakland community to donate to Haitian relief efforts.

Fifty lucky Oakland children on International Boulevard received some early presents yesterday morning from an Oakland police officer dressed as Father Christmas. Instead of eight tiny reindeer leading the way, this Chris Cringle rode an OPD Harley-Davidson.

We followed one meal served at a west Oakland elementary school from start to finish. Check out our special multimedia package: The Story of a School Lunch.

Wednesday morning, 9 a.m. No appointments. No press releases. No plan. Just 17 reporters, each with one hour alone with one corner of the city.

This fall, Oakland North welcomes a new staff of 18 reporters, all members of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism’s class of first-year students. Got story ideas? Questions? Complaints? Please drop us a line at staff@oaklandnorth.net S. Howard Bransford S. Howard Bransford is a lifelong resident of Northern California. Prior to moving to the East Bay, he worked as a staff reporter in the town of Marysville, just north of Sacramento, and later as an independent writer for newspapers and…

  Youth Perspective of May Day from Betty Bastidas on Vimeo. 17-year old Lupe from Oakland, whose parents were recently deported, gives us her perspective on the meaning of May Day for young people in this part of the world and shares her reasons for becoming involved. 

  May Day: Youth Prepare from Betty Bastidas on Vimeo. Watch as youth from Oakland prepare banners and other artwork for tomorrow’s May Day march and rally in to support workers’ and immigrant rights.

By Linnea Edmeier Pro cyclists, like Italian racer Ivan Basso, are documenting the two-wheeled life, 140 characters at a time.  

Would you ever let two strangers crash on your couch? Recently reporter Alba Mora welcomed two couchsurfers into her Berkeley home. Surfing the world wide couch from Alba Mora on Vimeo.

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By Madeleine Bair/Special to Oakland North Lisa Calderon, the curator of Mama Buzz gallery, spent a recent Friday tacking labels to a wall in last-minute preparation of her latest show: an artistic response to the killing of Oscar Grant, a 22-year old from Hayward who was fatally shot by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle on New Years day.

During a recession, many people return to school. Check out the video Career: Take 2 from Gaelle Faure/Special to Oakland North on Vimeo.