Black and brown vendors operating without permits say they need the lake, and the lake needs them. What should the city do?
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 inBusiness
Rideshare tax rejected again by Oakland City Council
Lyft claimed the tax would negatively impact low income communities, and several council members agreed.
Posted inBusiness
Two Black-owned Oakland businesses are finding new life, online
Proper Fashions Boutique and Queen Hippie Gypsy had loyal in-store customers. Now, the Black Business Fund is helping them recover and find new clientele.
Posted inBusiness
Oakland business tax reform put on hold until 2022
After intense lobbying by business leaders, the City Council voted not to put the reform on this year’s ballot.
Posted inBusiness
Rasul Oriental Rugs rolls up its wares for good, signaling a changing Oakland
Rasul Salahi escaped Soviet-occupied Afghanistan and sold carpets on Grand Avenue for 24 years, until the pandemic.
Posted inOaklandside
Cómo deshacerse de la basura de los fuegos artificiales
Las calles de Oakland están llenas de los desechos de las celebraciones del 4 de Julio. Aquà se le explica cómo limpiar de manera segura.
Posted inHealth & Environment
How to safely dispose of fireworks waste
Here’s how you can safely dispose of used and unused fireworks to keep Oakland’s streets, creeks, and the Bay clean.
Posted inCity Hall & Policing
Should Oakland’s big businesses pay a higher tax?
The city currently taxes small shops at the same rate as big corporations. Several councilmembers want to change that.
Posted inArts & Community
A new fund to help Black-owned businesses stay in Oakland
Black small-business owners can now apply, and the distribution of funds is set to begin next week.
Posted inArts & Community
A new fund to help Oakland Chinatown businesses survive and thrive
Chinatown gets help from younger volunteers, a new fund for hard-hit shop owners, and more.
Posted inHow We Work
Immigrant small businesses: Sharing the stories behind the storefronts
Hearing my family’s immigration stories pushed me to become a journalist.
Posted inCity Hall & Policing
‘Defund the police’: Protesters march to Oakland mayor’s house
A rally led by Oakland youth focused on calls to cut the budgets of city and schools police.
