The city has asked the state for $37 million to buy two hotels, a dorm, and a bunch of houses, significantly expanding homeless and at-risk housing options.
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
Affordable housing, pollution, and baseball: Oakland District 3 voters sound off on the issues
We asked people who live and work in West Oakland, downtown, and Jack London about the biggest problems and opportunities in their neighborhoods.
Posted inCity Hall & Policing
Oakland City Council candidates discuss issues in their districts, virtually
The Coliseum, housing, police budgets: in an online forum last night, incumbents defended their records and challengers laid out visions for change.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
County deal to buy old Lake Merritt Lodge for COVID-19 shelter collapses
The historic six-story Oakland building would have housed dozens of homeless people during and after the pandemic.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Who’s moving to Oakland during the pandemic, and why?
People from pricier Bay Area cities like San Francisco are on the hunt for more space and savings in the East Bay. How will this migration change Oakland?
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
A colorful ‘tiny house village’ for youth is opening in Oakland
It’s been a long road for the Youth Spirit Artworks project, which could house 22 homeless youth starting in the fall.
Posted inCity Hall & Policing
Is Oakland serious about cutting its police budget?
Five community members react to the city’s plan to “reimagine public safety” in Oakland.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
‘Radical Real Estate Law School’ is in session
An Oakland program is training new housing attorneys without weighing them down in student debt.
Posted inOaklandside
Sea parte de la historia: la Biblioteca Pública de Oakland lanza el archivo comunitario COVID-19
Comparta sus reflexiones, recuerdos, fotos y correos electrónicos de cómo ha sido su vida durante la pandemia.
Posted inArts & Community
Be part of history: Oakland library launches COVID-19 community archive
Share your reflections, memories, photos, and emails from life during the pandemic with future generations.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
RV dwellers can live on vacant lots, through new Oakland program
There are thousands of vacant lots in Oakland and hundreds of people living in RVs. Now they’ll be allowed to pair up.
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.
