Community

Oakland’s illegal trash dumping crisis is worse than ever. Here’s why.

At one hot spot for illegal dumping in East Oakland, someone rolled by in a stolen dump truck, lifting the bed and emptying the full load without stopping.  During another incident not far away, a dumper who had piled garbage onto a tarp in the back of a pickup fastened the tarp to a pole, then slammed on the gas pedal. Oakland, a city long plagued by illegal dumping, has been especially trashed over the past year, thanks to a…

VIDEO: Assaulted Chinatown Chamber president resolves to protect Asian community

The president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, who has spoken out against Anti-Asian hate crime, was recently attacked as he was on his way to visit another Asian assault victim.  Carl Chan said he was walking on Broadway near Eighth Street on the afternoon of April 28 when someone hit him in the back of the head while spewing racial slurs. Chan was knocked to the ground and briefly blacked out, but got up and was able to…

Oakland residents lead the fight to rename and reclaim public spaces

At Oakland’s inner harbor near the water’s edge stands the bronze statue of Jack London—a famed 20th Century author, labor union advocate and racist who promoted eugenics and white supremacy. Communities of color make up 75% of the population in Oakland. This summer, Oakland residents petitioned to remove a monument dedicated to London and to protest the name of the popular commercial square and district named in his honor.  Historically, there’s a well-established culture of renaming spaces and places in…

Oakland grapples with tenant protections and pitfalls

Housing advocates in Oakland are warning that the current tenant protections enacted and expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic contain loopholes that leave renters vulnerable to evictions and even lawsuits. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors issued a temporary eviction ban to protect residents from being evicted in March. It covered renters, homeowners and those living in mobile home parks throughout the county. A few days later, California governor Gavin Newsom announced a temporary statewide eviction ban. However, exceptions in the…

Voting rights restored for Californians on parole

After over four decades of disenfranchisement, Californians on parole now have the right to vote. Because the U.S. invests heavily in mass incarceration, the number of people who have lost their right to vote because of their parole status has risen from 1.7 million Americans in 1976 to 6.1 million in 2016. This act would start to reverse those numbers.  In Alameda County, an overwhelming majority of residents voted to make this possible. 74% of the population voted to restore…

California voters rejected increased regulations for dialysis clinics: What comes next?

Nearly 64% of Californians voted “No” on Proposition 23, a measure that would have expanded regulation for dialysis clinics in the state. Though official ballot results are not certified by the Secretary of State’s office until December 11, 2020, tallied ballots show over 10 million people voted to reject the measure. Proposition 23 would have required chronic dialysis clinics to have an on-site physician, report data on dialysis-related infections to the state and get consent from the California Department of…