Uncategorized
A boy was shot at Skyline High School and two people were detained after gunfire erupted while students were in class Wednesday afternoon, police said. In a Facebook post, police said officers were called to the scene around 1:30 p.m. and arrived to find a male juvenile with a gunshot wound. They did not say if the wounded boy was a student at the school. Police said he was in stable condition after being taken by ambulance to a hospital….
This story is part of “The Stakes,” a UC Berkeley Journalism project on executive orders and actions affecting Californians and their communities. It was co-published with the East Bay Times. Before Sergio Ardila joined the board of the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, he was one of its clients. Ardila, who describes himself as a recovering addict, attended his first Narcotics Anonymous meeting at the center in 2022 through its Rainbow Recovery program and received rental assistance from the organization during…
Polet Espinoza’s favorite memory of her East Oakland school’s new STEM lab was creating her own version of the mobile video game “Flappy Bird.” The 12-year-old placed individual pixels to form images, transforming obstacles in the game from green pipes into snow-covered trees, and adding mountains and vines to the background. The game’s iconic yellow bird became a white duck with three eyes. “I learned how to do pixel art and learned how color theory works,” Polet said. “It was…
After a six-hour workday shutdown earlier this month, BART officials say the agency will do cable maintenance only on weekends to avoid another halt like the one that affected 44,000 riders and cost the system $200,000 in lost fare revenue. BART also will do a better job alerting the public about planned cable upgrading work, said Chris Filippi, BART spokesman. “Going forward when this work happens on the weekend, we will notify the public in advance, isolate the area being…
Former Congresswoman Barbara Lee officially became the 52nd mayor of Oakland during a swearing in ceremony at City Hall on May 20. Lee, 78, was introduced by a pairing of business and labor — Barbara Leslie, CEO of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and Keith Brown, executive secretary-treasurer of the Alameda Labor Council. Leslie said their sharing the podium showed that Lee “is committed to leading our city with everyone and for everyone.” Keith added that union workers are…
Oakland City Council voted Tuesday to reopen three fire stations that were temporarily closed to save money amid a $130 million budget shortfall. The resolution passed unanimously, signaling a push to restore critical fire and medical services to impacted neighborhoods. “There is nothing more vital to the voices of Oakland residents than preserving essential, public safety resources, which absolutely includes each and every single one of our fire stations,” said Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. The vote comes days after the city…
The East Bay newspaper Street Spirit did something this year that few, if any, papers have been able to accomplish — it staged a comeback after going out of print. For eight months, Street Spirit — which featured articles by and about those who have experienced homelessness and the economic policies that perpetuate poverty — did not print issues, while its director, Alastair Boone, and its editor, Bradley Penner, tirelessly fundraised to get the paper up and running again. “All…
Organizers and activists gathered Friday for a discussion on the election’s implications on justice and safety in Oakland. But despite certain results that horrified the crowd, the gathering focused on the opportunities for change. “When there’s a crisis or an emergency in our community, it’s an opportunity to come together and choose how we respond, and to learn,” John Jones III, the discussion host and director of programs at Urban Strategies Council, told the 40 of so people gathered. The…
Early election returns showed incumbent District 5 City Councilmember Noel Gallo with a strong lead over challengers Erin Armstrong and Dominic Prado Tuesday night. Gallo began his day walking the streets of District 5 accompanied by his wife and daughter. He stopped to visit homes, churches and schools, handing out flyers and door hangers and urging his constituents to vote. He planned to watch election results at home with family and friends. For Armstrong, Election Day started like any other…