Community
Oakland’s Urban Search and Rescue team hadn’t deployed in nine years. But three weeks ago, when Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Robert Lipp answered the call to respond to Hurricane Harvey, they mobilized a team in under four hours. Immediately following their deployment to Texas, they were re-tasked to assist with rescue efforts in Florida.
Oakland’s new LGBTQ community center opened on September 7 on Lakeshore Avenue. There, people can find services such as help finding housing, mental health and substance abuse counseling, workplace discrimination support and mentoring.
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…
On a warm Saturday morning, people began to slowly stroll into the Memorial Tabernacle in Oakland’s Bushrod neighborhood. They were gathered not for a morning service, but for a special kind of lawn party. Trail mix, cookies, apples, and fresh-cut pieces of banana were laid out on colorful bowls on a table, but nothing smelled more fresh than the two 4-foot piles of compost and wood mulch laid out on the road in front of the church.
StopWaste, a public agency dedicated to reducing waste in Alameda County, hosted the lawn party to revitalize the Memorial Tabernacle’s community garden, using this hands-on project to educate volunteers on how to convert a water-thirsty lawn into a fruitful garden.
Oakland is home to many diverse dance companies that travel the world performing unique choreography for all to see, but one group stands out from the rest: AXIS. Nearing their 30th anniversary, this physically-integrated repertory company has both disabled and non-disabled dancers. With their performing season rapidly approaching, AXIS welcomes a new company member to the dance floor. Click the video above to watch the story.
Brandon Peacock is now captain of a ship. That ship is actually a restaurant—Eve’s Waterfront, the newest establishment to inhabit the waterfront property on the edge of Jack London Square. Peacock isn’t known for any particular style of food—whatever he does, he does well, whether it’s ramen from scratch, decadent mac and cheese, short ribs or rotisserie chicken. “The entire menu is new,” said Peacock. “I try to change as much as possible and take a new approach is on…
Long before the 2016 election, there was a civil rights culture that was created by Americans of color. Many of today’s political demonstrations are influenced by historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Black Panthers, all who fought in the long battle against racism. Even protests like the recent Women’s March, some would argue, derived from previous demonstrations of people of color. In 1997, in Philadelphia, for example, activist Phile Chionesu formed the Million Woman March,…
Members of the Raider Nation had their hearts broken in March when the National Football League approved the Oakland Raiders’ relocation to Las Vegas—a move that comes after the Silver and Black had their best season since the 2002 Super Bowl run, finishing 12-4 before getting booted out of the playoffs by the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Game in January. But the revitalized Raiders aren’t done trying to bring a Super Bowl back to Oakland before they leave….
Oakland was once home to three professional sports teams, but only one has plans to stay in the city. On March 27, the NFL officially approved the Oakland Raiders’ relocation to Las Vegas, and the Golden State Warriors are currently constructing a new arena across the bay in San Francisco. The A’s, on the other hand, have announced a commitment to remaining in Oakland. But while the team will stay, there will be some changes. Team President Dave Kaval has announced…