Oaklandside 510

This week's episode is Nosh-centric: Nosh editor Tovin Lapan and reporter Skylla Mumana join Tasneem to talk through three recent Oakland restaurant openings — a "Luka's remix" on Grand Avenue, Gwyneth Paltrow's goop kitchen, and a worker-owned flagship for Reem's — and what each says about the state of Oakland's food scene right now.  Plus, a preview of Nosh&apo...

We spend a lot of time on this podcast covering Oakland's hardest problems. Today, we did something different — we asked our reporters to bring us something good.  Not feel-good fluff, but real progress and real people doing hard work to make Oakland better. In this episode:  Oakland schools go phone-free this August in a rare moment of agreement Deadly traffic crashes hit a multi-year low Yo...

Fiscal cliff. Structural deficit. Unanticipated emergency. If you've lived in Oakland for any length of time, you've heard the warnings — firehouses closing, academies canceled, the biggest deficit ever — and then watched the city keep running anyway. So what's actually going on? City Hall reporter Eli Wolfe and housing and City Hall reporter Natalie Orenstein help untangle why Oakl...

For 20 years, Oakland First Fridays has turned a stretch of Telegraph Avenue into a monthly street festival. Now organizers say a false media narrative, one that ties off-site, late-night violence to the event, has driven away sponsors and put the festival's future in doubt.  Arts and community reporter Azucena Rasilla and public safety reporter Roselyn Romero join us to explain what's h...

The Australian men's national soccer team — the Socceroos — are calling Oakland home for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, training at the Oakland Roots and Soul facility in Alameda. Oaklandside freelance sports reporter Anne Marks tells us what that means for the city, how Oakland is welcoming fans from around the world, and what local restaurants are doing to celebrate. Then: who belongs on the Moun...

Oakland voters appear to have rejected Measure E, the $192 parcel tax that city leaders and unions had counted on to fund police, fire, homelessness services, and illegal dumping cleanup.  We break down what happened, what it means for the city budget, and what it signals heading into the November election.  Plus: Remembering Wilson Riles Jr., the 580 truck ban, cell phones and girls sports in OUS...

Mayor Barbara Lee's proposed budget includes restoring a $250,000 film rebate program — a small but meaningful step toward making Oakland a filmmaking hub.  Arts reporter Azucena Rasilla explains what it would take to get more films made in Oakland, and why local filmmakers are cautiously optimistic. Plus: Oakland's speed cameras have issued 82,000 fines in their first 40 days, San Franc...

Oaklandside's reporting directly led to a major shake-up at City Hall: the resignation of Oakland's city administrator, one of the most powerful figures in the city. City Hall reporters Eli Wolfe and Natalie Orenstein explain who Jestin Johnson is, what the city administrator does, how The Oaklandside obtained the text messages that forced his resignation, and what this means for Oakland...

The June 2 primary is coming up fast. We help Oakland voters get oriented: the Alameda County DA's race, two Oakland ballot measures, and everything you need to know about how and where to vote. Come to our student journalism event at the New Parkway, May 20. Tickets here! Stories we cover in this episode: District Attorney race Alameda County DA's race: Supporters weigh in on the candid...

What happens when Oakland's tree protection laws are broken — and does the city have the will to enforce them? What does a proposal to replace the Rockridge Trader Joe's with senior housing towers say about Oakland's development moment? And can the city make a real dent in homelessness when two competing plans are pulling in different directions? Housing reporter Natalie Orenstein j...

Today: illegal dumping in Oakland. Why it keeps getting worse, what the city has tried, and what might actually work. Reporter Eli Wolfe joins us to sort out the mess. And, we’ll talk about Boots Riley’s new film that debuted in Oakland, how the search for OUSD’s next leader got delayed again, who’s paint-bombing Flock cameras, and what you need to know before you vote in the primary election on J...

Editor-in-Chief Tasneem Raja sits down with Oaklandside's deputy editor Esther Kaplan and news editor Darwin BondGraham to take stock of the biggest stories of 2026 — crime, schools, road safety, Mayor Lee's first year, and the state of Oakland's arts and culture scene. Plus: a major housing program for homeless families at Children's Hospital, a whistleblower shaking up the DA...

The City Council passed a new encampment policy giving Oakland more power to tow RVs and close camps. Our public safety reporter found that neighbors had been warning the city for years about the operator of EZ's Lounge before last month's mass shooting. And environmental groups are in court challenging plans to expand Oakland's airport. Plus: the I-980 reimagining project enters it...

This week, we're keeping things short and sweet, with a round-up of recent reporting from our newsroom. A fire damaged one of Oakland's most beloved historic landmarks. Oakland voters may get to decide in November how their city government is structured.  Environmental justice advocates’ decade-long fight to stop a coal terminal enters a new phase.  A nonprofit bought a building to make...

Oakland's 60-day warning period ended March 15th. Road safety reporter Jose Fermoso breaks down what 140,000 warnings revealed about where speeding is worst in Oakland — and what comes next. And later in this episode, I’ll tell you about more recent news: thousands of Oaklanders joined the nationwide No Kings march, a strong-mayor proposal gets a cool reception at City Hall, three homeless sh...

City Hall reporters Eli Wolfe and Natalie Orenstein tracked every Oakland City Council vote in 2025 — all 138 of them at full council meetings, plus 519 more at committee meetings — to find out how your representative is doing the most basic part of the job. Plus: a deeply sad update on the mass shooting at a downtown Oakland nightclub, one in five funded city jobs sitting vacant, a push to raise...

After The Oaklandside's blockbuster investigation into runaway overtime spending at the Oakland Police Department, real policies were changed.  Investigative reporter Beck Klein and news editor Darwin BondGraham break it down.  Plus: Oakland's speed cameras start issuing real tickets, schools across California — including OUSD — hand out thousands of layoff notices, the City Council dema...

Teachers nearly went on strike. More than 400 positions were cut. And the district still has $50 million in budget cuts left to find. Education reporter Ashley McBride breaks down everything happening in Oakland Unified right now — and what it means for students, educators, and the city. Plus: a mass shooting at a downtown nightclub leaves two dead, Oakland's speed cameras issue a stunning 70...

Tens of thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Oakland on February 22nd for the city's ninth annual Black Joy Parade. We took our microphones out to meet some of the people who showed up and heard what the parade means to them — and what they want the world to know about Oakland. Plus: a federal arrest near the Port of Oakland puts immigrant communities further on edge, Mayor Lee&...

How is Mayor Barbara Lee handling homelessness, crime, housing, and other issues? Can private funds make up for the city’s budget shortfall? How are local leaders preparing to respond if there’s another federal immigration surge in the East Bay? And who’s going to run for mayor this year? City Hall reporter Eli Wolfe and news editor Darwin BondGraham on recent City Hall and politics reporting. Plu...

Preventing sex trafficking, supporting survivors Sex trafficking has been a problem in Oakland for decades, but new legislation, a new mobile clinic, and a growing chorus of young survivors are reshaping how the city responds. Public safety reporter Roselyn Romero breaks it all down.  Plus: Oakland's oldest queer bar becomes a site of immigrant resistance, Mayor Lee's philanthropic fundr...

Oakland couples share how they found love in real life — at protests, festivals, schools, and house parties. Plus, where to eat and what to order this Valentine's Day, whether you're single, coupled up, or celebrating with friends. Arts and community reporter Azucena Rasilla profiled couples whose relationships are deeply rooted in Oakland, and Nosh editor Tovin Lapan guides us through V...

This week, investigative journalist Beck Klein and news editor Darwin BondGraham walk us through Oaklandside's blockbuster investigation into OPD's runaway overtime spending, a story that has nearly 300,000 readers. Plus: A councilmember's conflict-of-interest questions, the latest on Ken Houston's controversial encampment policy, students walk out to protest ICE violence, Mayo...

News editor Darwin BondGraham reflects on what’s happening in Minneapolis—where federal immigration agents have killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti—and what it means for Oakland, where ICE has already injured residents, chased people near our schools, and taken people from our courthouses. Plus: Housing reporter Natalie Orenstein reports on a devastating fire at a downtown Oakland...

Oakland saw a historic drop in homicides in 2025—the fewest since 1967. But even as violent crime falls citywide, debates intensify over surveillance technology, federal immigration enforcement, and civilian oversight of police.  Public safety reporter Roselyn Romero and news editor Darwin BondGraham help us make sense of Oakland's public safety moment. Plus: AC Transit tweaks its bus schedul...