San Francisco’s eviction rate has increased by over 54 percent in the past five years and is currently at the highest rate within the last decade, according to a new report produced by the San Francisco Anti-Displacement Coalition. These evictions are occurring in the midst of a housing crisis, in which rent prices have dramatically … Read more
Oakland residents, and business owners, are voicing concerns that the AC Transit Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will lead to neighborhood displacement. The BRT is a 9.7 mile public rapid transportation project that will run from Downtown Oakland to San Leandro BART. It will convert two of the four existing lanes on International into bus-only lanes, … Read more
Friends and family of 43 missing university students, “normalistas,” spoke at UC Berkeley last Friday, part of a tour throughout the United States to spread word about the mass kidnapping that has been rocking Mexico for months. The “normalistas” were studying education at a small school in the state of Guerrero in southern Mexico. Coming … Read more
The Oakland Public Safety Committee at its meeting this week unanimously approved consolidation of all complaints against police to go through the Citizens’ Police Review Board (CPRB). For many years, complaints against the Oakland Police Department have gone two different agencies: the Internal Affairs Division (IAD) of the Oakland Police Department and the CPRB. There … Read more
Students at Malcolm X Elementary School in Berkeley are gaining some important life lessons, learning the elements of getting their hands dirty in a garden and then producing healthy food. The young horticulturists in training showed visitors on Monday how to make a “weedo,” a burrito-style veggie-wrap made up of herbs held together by a … Read more
Organizers who attended the Bus Rapid Transit community meeting Wednesday evening at Allen Temple in East Oakland were (left to right): Redana Johnson, Towanda Sherry, Esther Goolsby, Cesar Fragoso, Jorge Hernandez, Mabel Tsang, Marina Muñoz, Omyinye Alheri, Davida Small, and Evelyn Sanchez. Photo by Nikolas Zelinski. Neighbors gathered at Allen Temple Baptist Church … Read more
The Sherwood Valley Rancheria and Coyote Valley bands of Pomo Indians of Northern California rallied in front of the Army Corps of Engineers Building in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday, Nov. 18 alleging that the Caltrans bypass project in Willits will destroy historically significant native cultural sites. Speaking at the rally, spiritual leader Fred Short … Read more
November 20th was International Transgender Remembrance day. To show respect for “fallen angels”, who needlessly lost their lives to transphobia, members of the community recently gathered in Oakland City Hall. Also in attendance was Mayor Jean Quan, City Council member Lynette Gibson McElhaney, and representatives for Barbara Lee, George Miller, and State Senate Majority leader … Read more
Representatives were recruiting for the Latin American School of Medicine, or Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina (ELAM) in East Oakland this past weekend, offering students between the ages of 18-24 a chance to study medicine in Cuba without charge. This is good news for potential medical students, as average tuition for medical school in the US … Read more
About 18,000 nurses went on strike this week at Kaiser Permanente facilities in northern and central California and rallied at the Ronald V. Dellums federal building in Oakland to demand improved staffing, and that hospitals take better steps to prepare for Ebola. The Oakland rally on Wednesday was among strikes and protests that took place … Read more