Tenants say they need more protections during the pandemic. Landlords worry the new rules could be abused.
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 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.”