Politics

Oakland voters weigh in on rent control

Two years after California voters rejected Proposition 10, rent control supporters are trying again. This November, voters are considering Proposition 21, which would allow cities to set and manage rent control provisions. If Proposition 21 passes, local governments could establish rent control on residential properties over 15 years old. It would also allow rent increases on properties of up to 15% more than the previous tenant’s rent. The new rules would not apply to those who own fewer than two…

Oakland North’s 2019 year in review — our top stories

2019 brought a new group of student reporters to Oakland North from across the country and the globe. We covered a city that is always changing, but where tensions about city finances, policing, housing and the fate of the public schools run deep. We also produced three new episodes of our Tales of Two Cities podcast, which covers audio stories from Oakland and Richmond in collaboration with our sister site, Richmond Confidential. Click here to check out all episodes of the Tales of…

Labor unions at odds over West Oakland hotel development

Every theater seat was occupied in Oakland’s city council chamber on Tuesday night, with more community members spilling into the hallway, as members of two of the city’s biggest unions turned out to take opposite sides on a proposal to build a hotel in West Oakland. In November 2016, Architectural Dimensions, an Oakland architecture and planning firm, filed an application to build a six-story 220-room hotel on what is currently an empty lot on Mandela Parkway along Oakland’s border with…