Formerly incarcerated people rebound into job market

For Carmen Garcia, the end of a prison sentence was the beginning of a new set of problems.

“The biggest obstacle for me was continuing to stay in school, because the halfway house wanted me to get a job right away, a full-time job,” she said. “And I remember a case manager said to me, ‘You need to take this job, whatever job they offer you, because now you have a criminal record and you’re not going to be able to get another job. Don’t worry about education, because that’s not going to help you.’”

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Sandra Johnson needs a job: Finding work after incarceration

Sandra Johnson, an Oakland resident, needs a job to sustain herself, but faces obstacles with a conviction on her record.

Sandra Johnson needs a job, desperately. The formerly incarcerated 59-year-old Oakland woman is now a City College of San Francisco student, but needs to find work as well.

In June, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of establishing a new re-entry hiring program that aims to create 1,400 county job opportunities for the formerly incarcerated.

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Working at Jack in the Box

In an empty Jack in the Box on Telegraph Avenue and 45th Street, a fast food worker wearing a black sweater vest and a short-sleeved dark red button-down shirt is moving slowly, trying to keep herself busy cleaning tables after the morning breakfast crowd had gone. All they left behind were burger wrappers and half-empty…

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Oakland’s own video game archive, the M.A.D.E.

The Museum of Digital Art and Entertainment, or the M.A.D.E.,  is a gateway to, and an archive for, video game history, showcasing consoles and games from gaming’s early days in the 1970’s to the present day. Not only does it showcase video game history, the museum also holds free classes such as beginner coding and game…

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Oakland votes 2016: The day in photos

As a Polish immigrant, Irene, 29, couldn't vote today, but she brought her husband Daniel Luna, 35, to the polls. Photo by Margaret Katcher

On Election Day 2016, Oakland North photographers roamed the city. They captured images of voters at the polls, last minute campaign pushes, volunteers phone banking efforts, watch parties and other political scenes from across the city.

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Oakland reacts to early poll results

High school student Steven Beard, left, and his friend watch results on one of The New Parkway's theaters. Photo by Ryan Lindsay.

A tense election night fell over Oakland as the city’s residents prepared to watch eighteen months of campaigning come to a conclusion. A volatile national election characterized the mood of Oaklanders, who were optimistic of a Clinton victory, but also faced an extended ballot of local and national initiatives.

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Oakland turns out on Election Day 2016 to choose a new president

Gail Kaufman, 71, textbanks for Hillary Clinton at the campaign's Oakland office. Photo by Margaret Katcher.

Oakland voters hit the polls today to cast votes for, among other things, a new president, city council members, school board seats, a potential soda tax, and a citizens’ commission to oversee the Oakland Police Department. Many voters exiting Oakland polling stations said they had voted for Hillary Clinton; not surprising considering more than 57…

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Latinx Tech offers mentorship to new Latino entrepreneurs

Visitors discuss their business ideas at the Latinx Tech Conference in Oakland. Photo by Craig Hickerson.

Facing a crowd of over 100 people, Nilton J. Serva, a 19 year-old Latino entrepreneur, pitched his idea for an app that connects career mentors with Latinos and Latinas. An audible “Wow!” was heard from the audience as a teammate showed a mock-up of the simple, elegant app on the screen with sections for career credentials, a profile photo and ratings.

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