"The Important Novels of the mid-90s were supposed to be ‌American Pastoral and Underworld, chronicles of the past by laureled men over sixty. Infinite Jest came busting in among them like a graphomaniac Kool-Aid Man, young, brash and huge." www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/infinity-plu...

"The potential for love is all around the Town, and we heard from more than two dozen couples for whom Oakland is the main character in their love story." Love this story so much @chroniclesofazu.bsky.social thank you ✨💖🙏💕💫 oaklandside.org/2026/02/09/o...

Firefighters Wore Gear Containing “Forever Chemicals.” The Forest Service Knew and Stayed Silent for Years. www.propublica.org/article/fore...

The city’s finance department is on a fast track to take over parking enforcement from the department of transportation, alarming staff and business leaders. The turf dispute will get aired out at a Feb. 10 council committee meeting.

Multiple Oakland businesses, from bars to hair salons, also shuttered or donated earnings as part of a national day of actions to protest Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown and honor the victims of ICE violence.

Rev. Jorge Bautista was hit in the face by a projectile device while protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Coast Guard Island. He’s seeking $5 million in damages.

Teens and young adults urged Mayor Barbara Lee and other local leaders to invest in prevention, education, and survivor services at a town hall hosted by Dream Youth Clinic.

Oakland's Rev. Bautista starts the process to sue the government for getting shot in the face with chemicals. oaklandside.org/2026/01/30/o...

One Oakland police officer made $490,000 in overtime in 2024. The city can’t find records detailing much of what he did. Reporter Beck Klein examines OPD's overtime use through 1 officer's astonishing schedule, revealing multiple problems and raising big questions. oaklandside.org/2026/01/29/o...

Status of Oakland Coliseum deal will be aired out at joint city-county meeting. City Council President Kevin Jenkins said it’s “imperative that there be an open and public conversation” about the complicated land deal. oaklandside.org/2026/01/27/o...

A tech exec and Oakland resident, who supported Tesla's goals and was excited about the Cybertruck, told me he became disillusioned and then angry with the company when a CT door scarily unlatched next to his baby as he was about to get on the freeway: oaklandside.org/2026/01/23/t...

Oakland councilmembers have declined for the second time to reappoint two incumbents to the Police Commission, the civilian board overseeing OPD. Did the Oakland police union sway the council’s decision? My latest for The Oaklandside: oaklandside.org/2026/01/21/p...

Other events include cumbia at Eli’s Mile High Club and salsa at Mad Oak.

New state laws will limit student cell phone use, require gender-neutral bathrooms, and shield schools from ICE enforcement.

A squatter removal cottage industry has grown out of California’s housing crisis, catering to property owners who don’t want to go to court.

Corruption charges, beloved teachers lost, scrappy baseball wins, and federal agents on Coast Guard Island. Yeah, it was a lot. Here's everything you need to know about Oakland's chaotic 2025.

I traveled all over Oakland to find its worst streets. The city paved 18.6 miles in 2025, so the searchable list of 3,304 road sections here, based on an independent survey of paving quality, is thorough. Find your road and paving score and post it here. oaklandside.org/2025/12/23/l...

Catch up on Oakland news while walking the dog or cooking dinner with Oaklandside 510.

Oakland sold $285M in Measure U bonds over the last week for parks, housing, and road infrastructure. This is after 2 years of concerns about its financial outlook, which led to a credit downgrade last year. With the sale, the city says its finances are looking up. oaklandside.org/2025/12/09/o...

Oakland issued the Measure U bonds last week after two years of delays over concerns about the city’s financial outlook. They all sold in less than a week.

Alameda County says the lengthier, costlier plan will result in a “more robust, safer, long-term project” where San Pablo passes through Oakland.

Mario Juarez appears to be “Co-conspirator 1," a key informant in the federal criminal case against Sheng Thao. For decades he’s been at the center of bitter legal disputes — and the subject of criminal investigations — all while maintaining high-level political connections.

Speeding drivers will receive fines of $50 to $500 depending on how fast they're driving. Data on the city’s most dangerous roadways guided their placement.

The FBI’s Oakland corruption case relies heavily on the word of one man with a "checkered past." When we closely examined Mario Juarez's long history of legal disputes and criminal investigations into his businesses, patterns started to emerge. oaklandside.org/2025/12/01/m...

BART’s $90M fare gates aim to boost safety and accessibility, but one-sided Clipper readers and slow gates create challenges for wheelchair users. The agency is working with vendors and gathering feedback. oaklandside.org/2025/11/17/b...

For 27 hours straight, a team of four scammers posing as Oakland police kept her on the phone and isolated, manipulating the John Muir elementary teacher into delivering nearly $70,000.

Councilmember Charlene Wang led the charge to make parking at a cul-de-sac on the lake illegal after 10 p.m., saying residents wanted relief from noise and violence.

“Good Fire: Tending Native Lands" explores how colonization and displacement of Indigenous groups have contributed to the decimation of healthy ecosystems throughout California.

The city finally has a plan to remove unsafe bus shelters. The bad news? Riders will need umbrellas.

The victim is reportedly legendary football coach John Beam. The incident comes the day after a shooting at Oakland's Skyline High School.

Father and son Hossein and Amir Razavi took over the Middle East Market a decade ago, and recently expanded to open an adjacent restaurant.

There are nearly 11,000 low-income homes in the city. Construction has picked up in recent years.

Started cobbling together the nonfiction and arts sections of the holiday catalog. First time in a couple years, & you better believe we’re coming back hard.

City of Oakland drops lawsuit against Southwest Airlines over allegations the company violated sick leave laws for its employees at OAK. oaklandside.org/2025/10/30/o...

Our investigation into what happened last week outside the Alameda base and the potential legal implications. oaklandside.org/2025/10/29/f...

A giant figure in Oakland recently passed. Pastor J. Alfred Smith, Sr. was a powerful leader and voice of moral authority who shaped Oakland for decades from the pulpit of Allen Temple Baptist Church and in the streets and halls of government. ✍️ by Ashley McBride: oaklandside.org/2025/10/07/o...

Oakland is not yet enforcing the daylighting law that allowed California cities to cite drivers who stop or park within 20 feet of a crosswalk intersection. oaklandside.org/2025/09/26/c...

Immigration agents detained a man attending a court hearing at Wiley Manuel Courthouse, according to the public defender.

Do you like The Oaklandside's weekly news podcast? 🔊📰 Help us raise some money to keep this project going. Each week on "Oaklandside 510," our reporters give a briefing on all the big stories in Oakland — plus an events roundup and food recommendations. oaklandside.org/2025/09/23/o...

Aftershock…. Eggghhhhjh

Earthquake. Has to be at least a 5.

New story about Oakland's latest road collision settlement, this time from a bicycle pothole crash that led to serious brain injuries for a San Francisco resident. oaklandside.org/2025/09/19/o...

Saturday, Sep. 20, marks the 30th Creek to Bay Day, where Oakland residents express their love for the city by removing trash from its parks and waterways.

California’s largest private health provider says it will have the new vaccine in stock Sept. 15. Major drug store chains are sticking with FDA restrictions for now.

New story about a recommendation from AC Transit staff that was ultimately shelved that would have required the transit agency to participate in “information sharing and collaboration” with ICE officers, including support with detentions. oaklandside.org/2025/09/10/a...

I attended the international friendly match between Mexico and Japan in Oakland, where I found a community happy to be with each other and to have at least a day of diversion from the national rise of ICE raids and racial discrimination. oaklandside.org/2025/09/08/m...

VICTORY! The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of FAC and our client @fermoso.bsky.social, reporter for @oaklandside.org in our case challenging Alameda County's sideshow spectator law. firstamendmentcoalition.org/news/post/ap...

In Trump’s Ideal Picture of America, Diversity Is Taboo www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/u... This is why diverse newsrooms matter. One of the first pieces to really name what Trump is doing—and still not clearly enough. His project is a brazen white identity project. Brazen and racist.

It's so great to see the Oakland bike/walk commission get this attention & write up from @fermoso.bsky.social, thank you! I've long considered it an exceptionally functional & cordial example of good governance, & how city staff & the public can work together to make great things happen!

Today I saw a man in Oakland looking deathly sick, coughing like crazy, with red eyes, and between violent coughs warbly ordering a chicken and rice lunch. Good times. COVID is up in the Bay.