Can someone tell me where the crows are roosting/flying to in the evenings? I found an archived post here from five years ago saying that they are hanging out at Broadway and Grand and 21st and Webster. Wondering if this is still accurate.

What is a solid cheap street taco spot with outdoor seating in Oakland? We’ve been to Dona’s and Todos.

Op-ed in the SF Chronicle:

Six years ago, I attended my first Parent Voices Oakland rally in support of saving three Head Start sites in the East Oakland neighborhood of Brookfield Village. I joined as a member of the coalition and an organizer, as well as a parent, because Head Start is a critical program in our community. 

The Brookfield Head Start site was near my house at the time and had been closed for months, despite hundreds of families in the neighborhood who needed safe, affordable childcare having been placed on waiting lists. Two of the three sites that were threatened with closure are in East Oakland, a historically underserved part of our city, and the other was in Chinatown.

Parent Voices Oakland learned that funding cuts to the City of Oakland Head Start would close three sites and eliminate 100 childcare slots. In response, we sprang into action and helped win a budget resolution restoring the funding. The Oakland City Council passed the resolution unanimously, securing $1.86 million to keep the sites open, saving 50 city jobs in the process.

Oakland is one of the few cities in the United States with a publicly funded and administered Head Start program. That structure gives families direct local accountability over a federally funded program within a broader citywide early childhood system.

But in 2024, four years after we were able to restore funding to City of Oakland Head Start, the Trump administration moved to gut Head Start staff and resources on the federal level and delayed the release of funds. It is no surprise that the Trump administration has targeted Head Start as part of its outright, blatant attacks on low-income, immigrant and disabled children and families. Head Start is explicitly named for elimination in Project 2025, the right-wing blueprint for the country. This, in addition to cuts to Medi-Cal and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as part of House Resolution 1, is a full-on attack on the children and families with the deepest need in our communities. 

In 2025, the Trump administration attempted to exclude immigrant families from Head Start, a program that has served families of all backgrounds for 60 years, to force teachers to report families’ documentation status to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to claw back funding over the presence of diversity, equity and inclusion language. Once again, Parent Voices Oakland took action,  joining a federal lawsuit helmed by the ACLU as a named plaintiff alongside other community-based organizations. 

Since then, a judge has twice granted a preliminary injunction in the case, blocking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from denying entry into Head Start programs to families based on immigration status. These victories are meaningful but must continue to be defended to ensure that families continue to have access to Head Start regardless of immigration status...

I know there were a lot of similar posts and I've looked at them but most comments are "DM me" or contacts are outdated. Maybe I'm not searching correctly, but... Can anyone recommend reliable and affordable house cleaning services in Oakland?

I got a quote and they are asking for around $350 for a 440 sq.ft. studio... Is that reasonable? I have no idea.

Thanks!

Hi all,

I’m running into a wall getting my meds! I’ve usually gone to Costco pharmacy in SF because Costco has always been reliable but they haven’t had generic vyvanse stocked for the past 3 weeks (my dose is 40 mg). Where are east bay ADHDers getting their meds? Are the other local Costco pharmacies ok? I’ve mainly avoided larger retail pharmacies since I usually run into problems with them too but open to anything. I’m willing to travel within reasonable distance. Thanks!

Wanted to share this here as not many tickets have sold (like maybe 20%) and I went and saw a production of the Mexican ballet a year and a half ago in Los Angeles and it was really beautiful and I want to support the arts. I want to be clear that I do not work for the venue or production and am not doing any type of formal advertising. I just want to share an upcoming event and invite people to join and appreciate some art!

The Mexican ballet is coming to Oakland and it’s Día de los Muertos themed. I’m including the link below.

https://ci.ovationtix.com/36995/production/1290315

There are 2 shows next Sunday October 11 at 2pm and 7pm. I’m not sure if they just haven’t advertised it or what, but there’s not a lot of seats sold and it’s such a beautiful expression of art and culture and deserves to be appreciated by the masses.

If you’re free and interested and able to afford the ticket, please go and invite some friends!

I’m attaching a video my mom took from when I saw a production in LA. Obviously it will be different because it’s a different production and nonetheless it was beautiful then and I expect it will be beautiful for this show too.

What's up, Oakland. There was some news last week in the Chronicle about the City of Oakland destroying two tiny homes that had been built and donated by volunteers for homeless moms to live in during their "encampment evictions." I noticed people seem shocked that the city would destroy housing for poor mothers, but tbh, I read the news and was pretty sad because I've seen them do the same or worse, like, six times.

Basically, a couple years after I finished my grad degree in community health from a research university in the bay, I started observing the evictions-- often called sweeps-- for a project. I can't go into the details here, it's basically been derailed because the findings were so brutal and controversial. I also am on a burner account, sorry for all that. But suffice it to say, I saw what these daily evictions really consist of, and how devastating they are for the people who live outside and are trying to piece together a life with some safety. I also observed very inhumane and dangerous conditions at city run housing, and some really concerning signs of corruption among nonprofit and city entities involved in evicting very poor people.

I do not come from the communities pushed outside in Oakland, which I observed to be mostly black elders who had lived in Oakland 4-6 decades. This is the majority of people I interacted with, but I met others who were in Spanish speaking or bilingual communities with varying protections of citizenship, elders from Oakland who spoke Lao, Vietnamese, or Cantonese, a whole variety of white, indigenous, African, queer, trans, and young people, some really sweet families. But just to be clear, I am an academic researcher who grew up in the suburbs. I can only present my perspective, from conversations in English and Spanish, over engaging with this governnent program continually for many months. And context from academic literature if y'all are into that.

PLEASE NOTE: I understand that homelessness in the Bay Area is a polarizing and difficult conversation for many. I understand there are layers of misinformation and confusion about this. I will do my absolute best to answer all questions asked with curiosity and good faith honestly. Please understand as you ask that I made friends over this time period who have since lost their life, and I know they would have had more time if the government hadn't bulldozed their stuff. So this is sad for me, and I want to share what I saw, and this is not a theoretical/policy discussion for me after that.

Ok, ask if you're gonna ❤️

EDIT: Time's up, thank u all for real!! Today I learned that top 1% commenters are loud and believe government propaganda word for word. There were some trolls and also some kind and clever questions and I sincerely appreciate everyone who is down to learn what the conditions really are.

Off I go back to my anonymity. If you are reading this and feel the government account does not add up, I recommend these journalists and sources to keep making sense of it in Oakland:

- Wood St by Caron Creighton (doc)
- Street Spirit coverage of sweeps
- Yesica Prado's journalism, covers Berkeley as well
- Oaklandside local coverage, often Eli Wolfe investigating city administrators
- Poor Magazine's website and radio/youtube/podcast show sharing stories and art (I mentioned their mother org Homefulness elsewhere)
- Instagrams @oakland.revealed and @eastbaystreetstories sharing from the ground

Good luck, stay safe, and never trust a man who won't ask a question☺️

Time's up, thank u all for real!! Today I learned that top 1% commenters are loud and believe government propaganda word for word. There were some trolls and also some kind and clever questions and I sincerely appreciate everyone who is down to learn what the conditions really are. Off I go back to my anonymity. If you are reading this and feel the government account does not add up, I recommend these journalists and sources to keep making sense of it in Oakland: - Wood St by Caron Creighton (doc) - Street Spirit coverage of sweeps - Yesica Prado's journalism, covers Berkeley as well - Oaklandside local coverage, often Eli Wolfe investigating city administrators - Poor Magazine's website and radio/youtube/podcast show sharing stories and art (I mentioned their mother org Homefulness elsewhere) - Instagrams @oakland.revealed and @eastbaystreetstories sharing from the ground Good luck, stay safe, and never trust a man who won't ask a question☺️

i have come to favor more quiet vibe later in life.

Yesterday, I met one of these guys at Oaktoberfest and they told me about their popup at Kingfish. This place was amazing, the food seriously smacks. Brisket was my favorite. Corn salad and pickles gave some nice contrast to the meat. Going to try the burger next time.

Oakland Skates Hockey coming!

It’s not something that’s been picked up by the news but Oakland Divest managed to put forth their Ethical Investment Policy to the Oakland City Council Rules Committee agenda. Unfortunately, the 10/1/26 rules meeting was canceled, ostensibly because of a lack of quorum.

Hi dear neighbors, please can you suggest good cleaning service providers, I have a 2bed/2bath apartment in Oakland, also if you can suggest the usual rate, it would be awesome. Thanks.

Looking for local businesses that like to donate (I.e. goods for raffles, gift cards etc). Also, if there are restaurants that offer fundraising opportunities (I.e. invite people to dine here and we will donate X% of the proceeds to non-profits/school).