Posts Tagged ‘east oakland’
With shooting deaths up, Oakland to give violence reduction program a second try
A rise in shootings has prompted Oakland city officials and community members to revisit Operation Ceasefire, a violence prevention program the city tried before but failed to sustain, one that specifically targets offenders with known track records of gun violence.
Read MoreAt Castlemont, new school year brings changes, challenges
As Norman Ospina, the school attendance clerk and a translator at Castlemont High School in East Oakland, crossed the courtyard on a crisp overcast fall morning, he spotted a young man he believed had been involved in a campus brawl on September 21. Ospina, whose students call him “Mr. O,” placed his index finger over…
Read MoreOakland residents and police kickoff new campaign to reduce prostitution
Chants rang out along East 15th Street Friday evening as residents waved signs declaring “No crime, no robbery, no prostitution!” and “We need safe neighborhoods!”
Read MoreGiant head prop from Digital Underground tour stored in East Oakland parking garage
In a parking garage in East Oakland’s Jingletown neighborhood, an enormous piece of local music history gazes out at parked cars. More than ten feet tall, and sporting sunglasses, the relic is a stage prop modeled after rapper Shock G. The head was featured in a 1993 music video by rapper Shock G’s platinum-selling group, Digital Underground, and went out with the group on tour. Now it collects dust and dirt from exhaust pipes.
Read MoreActa Non Verba youth farm project celebrates a summer of Oakland kids’ urban gardening
The shrieks and squeals of happy children could be heard Friday over the boombox blasting pop music at Acta Non Verba Youth Urban Farm project in East Oakland. This was a day for play, not work. Celebrating the end of 100 hours of summer labor in the garden, nine local kids ran wild and free among the garden beds arranged in neat rows on the half-acre lot.
Read MoreWith increased poverty and more than 2,000 requests, this year’s toy drive needs more donations
Oakland’s holiday kids’ charity needs toys — lots of toys. This year’s Toy Drive, a city program that provides low-income families gifts for their children during the holiday season, has received more than 2,000 petitions. Its organizers expect this number to quadruple over the next few days.
Read MoreScraper bikes out in East Oakland for Halloween
On Monday evening, the Oakland Scraper Bike Team rolled through East Oakland for their 5th Annual Scraper Bike Halloween Ride. A scraper bike is a custom designed bike that includes flashy wheels, a spray-painted frame and a unique design. Some scraper bikes even have sound systems installed.
Read MoreCity council defers voting on proposed public safety items at contentious meeting
Dozens of Oakland residents approached the podium at the city council meeting Tuesday night to voice their displeasure with three items on the agenda intended to curb violence in the city – an anti-loitering law, a teen curfew, and more gang injunctions. However, the council deferred voting on these measures by sending them to the…
Read MoreYouth mentors share hard-learned lessons in East Oakland
With homicide numbers already deep in the double digits this year, Oakland has a reputation for being one of California’s most violent and crime-plagued cities. But that won’t stop students at Castlemont High School in East Oakland from working hard to change that.
Read MoreEast Oakland festival celebrates youth leadership
On Saturday, Youth Uprising, a not-for-profit organization that develops young leaders, celebrated its third annual For A Safe Town (FAST) festival in East Oakland in an effort to promote peace. Bounce houses, basketball tournaments, skating demos, DJs, and the savory smells of a free BBQ chicken lunch attracted a couple hundred people from the community.
Read MoreDown-home cuisine at Tacos Sinaloa
Looking up into the small ordering window of Tacos Sinaloa’s bright orange and chrome taco truck, Ernesto Vilchis asks for a serving of marinated tongue, crispy tripe and cow’s cheek tacos. Tacos Sinaloa is one of the most popular taco trucks in East Oakland; and not only does it serve up traditional Mexican tacos like tripe and cow’s cheek, it also has items for the less faint-of-heart, such as barbecue pork and carne asada.
Read More“What is justice?” Inside a death penalty trial
In 2001, Christopher Evans murdered two people at 85th Avenue and International Boulevard in East Oakland, setting him up for either the death penalty or a sentence of life without parole. This week, a jury of his peers would return a verdict on his fate. A look at what they considered and what they decided.
Read MoreCelebrating Earth Day, Oakland-style
In easy view of crisscrossing highways and towering industrial parks, dozens of people marched through East Oakland’s flatlands wearing white surgical masks on Saturday. Families pushing strollers, men in suits, and kids with skateboards walked from Tassafaronga Recreation Center to Acorn Woodland Elementary School to celebrate ‘Love Yo Mama’ Earth Day and to call attention…
Read MoreOakland Animal Shelter has a full house
At the intersection of Fruitvale Blvd. and the railway tracks, despite the traffic noise, there’s another noise that stands out —the barking of dogs in the big fenced back yard of the Oakland Animal Shelter. The dogs bark over the sounds of trucks, cars, and freeway, over the railway track’s light signals, and are an…
Read MoreGambling for one of Oakland’s small schools
Tamara Arroyo, a young woman with her hair in a ponytail, pulled up the corners of the two cards she’d been dealt, an ace and a jack, and then looked at her dwindling pile of chips. With a gleam in her eyes and a slight smile, she obviously did not know the meaning of a…
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