10 local organizations will receive funds to address disparities in internet access across the city.
Author Archives: Ricky Rodas
Ricky Rodas is a member of the 2020 graduating class of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Before joining The Oaklandside, he spent two years reporting on immigrant communities in the Bay Area as a reporter for the local news sites Oakland North, Mission Local, and Richmond Confidential. Rodas, who is Salvadoran American and bilingual, is on The Oaklandside team through a partnership with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities.
Posted inOaklandside
Oaklanders speak on what the city’s guaranteed income program means to them
In the coming months, The Oaklandside will be periodically checking in with three participants in the city’s pilot initiative, to see how an extra $500 a month is impacting their lives.
Posted inBusiness
Meet the mother-son duo delivering cannabis and building community in Oakland
Tee Tee Brown and Bryce Savoy opened Euphorium Oakland with the help of Oakland’s Cannabis Equity Program. Now they’re giving back through a nonprofit, The Black Neighborhood.
Posted inBusiness
How community members are rallying to save Oakland’s only Black-owned hemp shop
Kim McAfee opened “All Things Hemp” in 2019 and did well, but the store has fallen on hard times during the pandemic.
Posted inArts & Community
The Oakland reverend using hip-hop to talk about gun violence
Reverend Harry “OG Rev” Williams talks with The Oaklandside about his urban ministering career and connecting with young people.
Posted inBusiness
New city program offers Oakland small-biz owners 1-on-1 support
Staff from the Economic and Workforce Development Department are available for appointments at five Oakland libraries this fall. The initiative aims to make it easier for businesses to access city services.
Posted inBusiness
Business improvement districts are all over Oakland, but what are they?
BIDs are an important part of the city’s economic life and often come up in our reporting, so we wrote this explainer.
Posted inBusiness
Oakland’s first city-permitted cannabis fest is happening this Labor Day weekend
Market Daze will take place over three days at Frank Ogawa Plaza in conjunction with Hiero Day.
Posted inArts & Community
East Bay Afghan residents process grief amid rush to resettle refugees
In addition to transportation, immigration, and housing, mental health services are needed by many fleeing the Taliban.
Posted inArts & Community
‘Couldn’t have happened anywhere else’: Chopmaster J reflects on Digital Underground’s Oakland roots
In anticipation of Digital Underground Day, Jimi Dright, Jr. talks about the group’s beginnings, Shock G, and what’s next.