Community

Over last two weeks, 40 arrests, and rising tensions between city officials and Occupy protesters

Relations between Occupy Oakland and Oakland officials have had a tumultuous two weeks that included a number of raids and arrests, but culminated Thursday in an unprecedented meeting between city officials and protesters. The last two weeks got off to a sour start after a total of 40 people were arrested and a number of others cited and released after a string of incidents that have left protesters feeling that they are targets for harassment. These included campers being dislodged from…

A rise in homicides, including the deaths of three children, concerns anti-violence proponents

Carlos Nava, a 3-year-old, was killed by a stray bullet in a drive-by shooting in East Oakland on August 9. Less than three months later, 23-month-old Hiram Lawrence was shot in the head by a stray bullet in West Oakland on November 28, and died two weeks after that when he was taken off life support. On December 30, 5-year-old Gabriel Martinez was shot and killed by another stray bullet in front of his family’s taco truck in East Oakland. Martinez…

Jennifer LeBarre makes sure that Oakland students get a healthy school lunch

The bell rings— a prolonged buzzing signaling the end of class. Attention students: lunch is being served in the cafeteria, announces a female voice over the intercom. Lunch is being served in the cafeteria. There’s chicken wings and fries, pizza and fries, and salad bar. Within moments, hordes of students come rushing into the Oakland Tech cafeteria, sidling up in line in front of the kitchen and dropping their backpacks and jackets off at one of the circular red tables….

At Pioneer Bicycles, a focus on bike fixes, not sales

Pioneer Bicycles is littered with bikes and bike parts. Most of them aren’t for sale. Near the front door of the shop, which is located on Rio Vista Avenue right off of Piedmont Avenue, there are dozens of bikes lined up in cluttered rows near the front door. Only two are new; the rest have been repaired and are waiting to be picked up by their owners. In the middle of the shop, there are boxes of new, unopened bikes…

Adoptable Animal of the Week: Jones

Oakland North is continuing with our feature. Every Tuesday, Oakland Animal Services will spotlight an “Animal of the Week” that’s up for adoption at their facility. This week it’s Jones.

Oakland North’s biggest news stories of 2011

Whew! What a year, Oakland! Even before Occupy Oakland provided a year’s worth of news on its own, 2011 was a banner year for city news. Oakland came close to shuttering most of its libraries due to a $58 million budget deficit, as the school board faced repeated protests over its controversial decision close five elementary schools, as a judge weighed the fate of the Fruitvale gang injunction, and voters began to petition for the recall of Mayor Quan.