There are thousands of vacant lots in Oakland and hundreds of people living in RVs. Now they’ll be allowed to pair up.
Author Archives: Natalie Orenstein
Natalie Orenstein covers housing and homelessness for The Oaklandside. She was previously on staff at Berkeleyside, where her extensive reporting on the legacy of school desegregation received recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists NorCal and the Education Writers Association. Natalie’s reporting has also appeared in The J Weekly, The San Francisco Chronicle and elsewhere, and she’s written about public policy for a number of research institutes and think tanks. Natalie lives in Oakland, grew up in Berkeley, and has only left her beloved East Bay once, to attend Pomona College.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
What the ‘Warriors House’ can teach us about predatory lending in Oakland
Lloyd Canamore is trying to hang onto his family home. Many other people going through a similar crisis don’t even have a shot.
Posted inOaklandside
No se permitirán los desalojos en el Condado de Alameda hasta el 30 de Septiembre
El condado extendió su moratoria de desalojo, la cual es una de las más estrictas. Oakland también tiene nuevas protecciones para inquilinos.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
No evictions in Oakland, Alameda County until after COVID-19 emergency
The county extended its eviction moratorium, one of the strictest around. Oakland also has new renter protections.
Posted inOaklandside
¿Vivió en la calle en Oakland, Berkeley o Emeryville? Caltrans podría deberle dinero.
Las personas que viven en la calle y cuyas pertenencias fueron confiscadas pueden hacer un reclamo. Aquí le decimos cómo hacerlo.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Are you unhoused in Oakland, Berkeley, or Emeryville? Caltrans might owe you money
Homeless people whose belongings were confiscated can file a claim under a new settlement. Here’s how.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
More county hotels for homeless housing, and activists launch their own program
Alameda County could buy the hotels it’s renting. “Hotels Not Graves” secures more Oakland rooms for unhoused people.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Despite the COVID eviction freeze, these Oakland tenants might be legally displaced
Housing attorneys say they’re seeing more landlords invoke the Ellis Act during the pandemic.
Posted inHealth & Environment
East Bay teens on pandemics, protests, and the people in their lives
We asked eight teenagers in Oakland and Berkeley about their relationships, and how they’ve had to change.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland renters might get more protection from harassment and evictions
Tenants say they need more protections during the pandemic. Landlords worry the new rules could be abused.
Posted inCity Hall & Policing
Call 911 for a counselor? Oakland will pilot one alternative to police
The MACRO program will replace officers with mental health counselors and EMTs to respond to nonviolent emergencies.
Posted inHealth & Environment
Community leaders say Alameda County might be reopening too fast
“We’re watching a future disparity in the making,” said one doctor pushing for more transparency.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Caltrans orders West Oakland homeless campers to leave for a site clean-up
The agency began clearing out the Wood Street camp—one of Oakland’s largest—early Tuesday morning.
Posted inOaklandside
Desalojos en Oakland y la pandemia: todo lo que necesita saber
Les preguntamos a los residentes cuales son las dudas que tienen sobre la moratoria de desalojo de Oakland, y los expertos respondieron
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Evictions in Oakland and the pandemic: everything you wanted to know
We asked residents what questions they have about Oakland’s eviction moratorium, then asked experts to provide answers.
Posted inHow We Work
How we’ll report on housing and homelessness
Every aspect of daily life in Oakland intersects with housing, in ways visible and unseen.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland’s old Lake Merritt Lodge will become a COVID-19 homeless shelter
Advocates hope Alameda County will buy other empty buildings to become housing for unsheltered Oaklanders.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Should funds for parks and homeless services pay for Oakland cops?
A decision on how to spend Measure Q revenue comes as activists urge the city to “defund the police.”