Ashley McBride

1 month ago | oaklandside.org | Ashley McBride

For 8-year-old Jonah Cassady-Opper, classic science fair projects like building a baking soda volcano or turning a lemon into a battery are a little tame. The Redwood Heights second grader used this year’s science fair to combine his love for science and his obsession with music icon Michael Jackson. Over a few weeks in April, Jonah and his mom built Jackson’s ‘anti-gravity’ shoes — the ones that allowed the superstar to achieve his signature 45-degree lean during performances and in music videos.

1 month ago | oaklandside.org | Ashley McBride

It was a familiar sight: Hundreds of people crammed into the meeting room at La Escuelita Elementary, banners and posters in hand, lining up at the podium to urge the Oakland school board to reverse a decision and protect a popular program. This time, the target was the after-school programs that serve over 18,000 students — more than half of Oakland Unified’s 33,000.

1 month ago | oaklandside.org | Ashley McBride

Twenty-two years ago, with Oakland Unified School District teetering on the brink of insolvency, the state offered a deal: a $100 million loan, the largest in California history, in exchange for control over the district’s day-to-day operations. OUSD had little choice but to agree, and so began the district’s long stint in what’s known as receivership, first under the state and later under the county.

1 month ago | oaklandside.org | Ashley McBride

During the occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969, hundreds of Native American activists reclaimed the land from the federal government. They penned the Alcatraz Proclamation that outlined their goals — among them, creating a center for Native American studies and an Indian training school to give Native people a grounding in their own history, culture, and traditions. To that end, they established the “Big Rock School,” where mothers, aunts, and elders taught the children on the island.

1 month ago | oaklandside.org | Azucena Rasilla |Ashley McBride

Oakland is a big, diverse, and complicated city, and it’s foolhardy to generalize about its residents. But the 2025 mayor’s race was decided by voters who split along an old line of difference that has played a key role in elections for decades — hills vs. flatlands. Barbara Lee, the winner, received a majority of votes in virtually every precinct below I-580, as well as parts of North Oakland and lower Rockridge around Highway 24.