Labor

Usually in demand, new nurses now looking for work

Nurses usually have no trouble finding work. But nearly 40 percent of the graduating class of 2009 are without hospital jobs due to the recent economic downturn. We follow one recent nursing graduate from North Oakland’s Samuel Merritt College who is looking for work.

Lights, camera, SWAT team: NBC films Trauma in downtown Oakland

A showdown at Bayside Mutual Bank blocked traffic Tuesday, while police worked to diffuse a bank robbery gone bad. Police cars piled up and FBI agents swarmed the intersection of 21st and Broadway in downtown Oakland. SWAT teams swiftly moved into position. A rooftop sniper carefully took aim. And then: Reuben “Rabbit” Palchuck arrived on the scene.

Oakland Black Cowboy Association revives forgotten memories of the American West

Oakland resident Wilbert McAlister grew up watching Westerns at the movie theater in his rural hometown of Madera, Calif.  For years he reveled in the exploits of white heroes, but as an adult he began to ask himself why none of the actors resembled him or his ancestors, who were ranchers in Oklahoma.  As he explained to Oakland North, this question of identity led him to become president of the Oakland Black Cowboy Association, which keeps East Bay residents connected…