Community

Oakland City Council calls on federal government to protect immigrants

A number of community groups spoke at Tuesday’s Oakland City Council meeting in support of a resolution calling on the federal government to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to immigrants, and to create a path to permanent residency for those protected by the program that was recently eliminated by the Trump administration. TPS provides temporary residency to immigrants from countries affected by war or natural disasters. Oakland community members spoke largely in favor of residency protections for Haitian and El…

Tale of Two Cities Podcast: Love and Heartbreak

“Tale of Two Cities” is back! On this episode we bring you stories about the different ways life brings us love and heartache. Tune in to hear stories about: how two Bay Area gay couples found each other, a young poet who writes love letters to his city and how Oakland Raiders fans are dealing with their team leaving them…again. You’ll also hear from Adizah Eghan, producer at the Snap Judgement podcast, about how they covered every murder of 2017 in Oakland.

Oakland Promise launches initiative to get students from “Kindergarten to College”

On Thursday morning, about 20 kindergarteners gathered together in front of the stage at the auditorium in Bridges Academy at Melrose and cried, “I’m going to college!” Anita Iverson-Comelo, the principal of the school, introduced the kids to the audience saying, “This is the class of 2033,” suggesting that the kids are going to graduate college in that year. “Please give them a big hand!” the principal added as the audience applauded. The kids were participating in the “Kindergarten to…

Oakland High School pathway programs prepare students for college

Oakland High School is the first school within the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) to have all their students enrolled in what they call “wall to wall” college preparation programs. School staff implemented them in the hopes of achieving higher retention rates between 10th and 11th grade, and higher graduation rates. These college preparation programs include Advance Via Individual Determination (AVID), the Environmental Science Academy (ESA), Visual Arts and Academics Magnet Program (VAAMP), Project Lead the Way (PLW), and the…

Family of man shot by BART police protest citizen review board meeting

Tensions ran high at the BART Police Citizen Review Board (BPCRB) meeting on Monday as the family of a slain Oakland man attended to protest the involved BART Police officer’s return to active duty. On January 3, Shaleem Tindle died after being shot outside of the West Oakland BART station by BART Police Officer Joseph Mateu, according to a statement from the Oakland Police Department. According to news reports, the officer heard gunshots before running to the scene, where he…