The Oaklandside

1 day 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.

5 days ago | oaklandside.org | Jose Fermoso

The regional BART transit system shut down for hours this morning due to a network connectivity issue, according to a new security report from the agency.  The staffers managing the trains at the operations control center at the Lake Merritt station in Oakland could not see the track circuits placed on the system’s rails, forcing them to shut it down because they could not know where the trains were.

5 days ago | oaklandside.org | Roselyn Romero

Oakland has settled a lawsuit with a former Department of Violence Prevention employee for $1 million. Candace Reese Walters, a public information officer for the DVP from April 2022 to April 2023, filed a lawsuit against the city last year, accusing the city and 10 other defendants of discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, unequal pay, and other allegations.

5 days 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.

5 days ago | oaklandside.org | Azucena Rasilla

A decade ago, as they witnessed rapid change in their home city related to an influx of new residents, lifelong Oaklanders and friends Leon (DNas) Sykes, Jordan Warren, and Needa Bee banded together to create 510 Day, an event to celebrate Oakland culture while bringing awareness to social issues happening in the Town. Nicole Lee, the founding executive director of Urban Peace Movement, became involved with the outdoor event in 2018.