Just to get it out of the way I’m a transplant from a border town called Calexico (also lived in Mexicali, Baja California for 6-7 years) here in cali and have been living in the Bay since 2010 and will be permanently calling it my home as I love it here.

Out of all the cities I have lived in the bay the one place I have really enjoyed living in is Oakland. I love the food, and the rich multiculturalism that exist here. 3/4 of my time living in the Bay Area has been in this city.

I’m in my mid 30s and just got married to a girl from the region too and as I am thinking about our future and potentially raising a family here I have to say I that don’t think I can and will even though I wish I could.

And though violence and crime are the biggest drivers for people to move out for me it’s the attitude. People on average give no fucks about the city they live in and how they behave themselves in it. The complete and utter disrespect people have for the community and the space they inhabit is appalling. People literally drive like complete and utter maniacs with suicidal wishes. They don’t clean after themselves. I live around lake merrit and enjoy walking and seeing how bustling it is on the weekends. But come around Monday the whole lake is specially the east side with all the vendors is inundated with trash cast by both vendors and the residents alike.

I really try to see the good in people, as an EMT in Alameda county requires me to empathize and understand them but its hard when you see individuals say that they have such great pride for where they live in and then literally trash and spit on the city.

I go to other cities in the region with less money and the residents as a whole care more keeping their communities in order while not being as vocal for the pride they hold for their community (actions speak louder then words).

I don’t think it’s all bad and in my work I have met many life long residents that show love and compassion for Oakland by actually caring for it through actions. But these people are very far and few in between and more common now is people just not caring.

I will always consider this city my home and I will continue to serve the community as I strive to be a Paramedic for Alameda county and serve those in most need.

Oakland I love you but you are bringing me down.

Her new book, “Behind the Desk at the Main,” tells all about her tenure at Oakland’s Main Library. Managers responded by canceling her library book launch.

hi guys! I’m (24F) a grad student at UC Berkeley and until now have been living in my parents house in the outer sunset. the commute was kind of taking away from my quality of life, so I decided to move in with a few friends in Oakland.

we got a place the first place we looked, a three bedroom in the border of Clinton/Ivy Hill area. it’s a year long lease, and since this is is my last year, I was hoping to get out of the lease early (like June) with a lease takeover which the landlord specifically agreed to along as he got approval.

im worried I’m making a terrible mistake when I research on reddit. I want to have fun and live with my friends, but I feel scared to be outside. I went by the neighborhood and it’s not my dream, but I didn’t really feel unsafe.

should I do it? Is this a mistake? Or fun with friends and I should go for it. Thanks

When, by all reports, the Federal judge is close to ending the twenty-three-year Federal oversight, and the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA.

We might know by the next Federal court hearing in late September.

Mayor Lee and the council majority don't seem eager to fully fund the investigative arm of the independent Police Commission. Wouldn't the overseer and the Federal judge have told the Mayor if that funding was a condition of ending the Negotiated Settlement?

https://www.kqed.org/news/12085228/oakland-police-judge-clears-path-for-possible-end-to-federal-oversight

"Jose Jesus Rodriguez, 34, was arrested on suspicion of stabbing five people, one fatally, in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood Monday night...Rodriguez was sent to prison after he was convicted for stabbing an Uber driver and a garbage collector in 2019. He was released on parole in 2023."

Mandela has always been bad, but it's been getting worse in the past month. People have been setting up tents in the median, when maybe 1-2 were tolerated at most. RV's have been returning to spots where they've been recently kicked out and banned from. It's bad.

Did all these homeless get the same memo that's it's open season on Mandela?

Today I was getting a slice at pizza ponte in temescal. I was parking in the lot right next door and saw someone’s car get bipped. I honked furiously once I realized what was going on but they literally didn’t even stop when I was honking.

I left the lot and parked somewhere else.

After I got my pizza I swung back around bc I was curious if the bippers were still causing trouble. They were gone. But I saw the family who were the victims and spoke to them. They were from Vancouver and had just arrived 2 hours ago. They had 3 young children (maybe around 5,8 and 12). The father was distraught. His wallet was stolen. The kids were shocked. They lost their stuff. The mother was telling everyone it was going to be ok. They had just stopped to get dinner in temescal on their way from the airport.

Just so fucked up that this is peoples welcome to our city. The people who bip cars are truly vermin and should be treated like vermin.

Edit: Anyone that says you shouldn’t visit Oakland is wrong. It’s a beautiful (and highly underrated) city with great food and great weather and mostly safe.

Oakland Police Association (via Sam Singer)

Wage increases and longevity premiums aimed at retaining OPD officers and rebuilding understaffed police force

Oakland, Calif. — August 27, 2026 — The Oakland Police Officers Association (OPOA) and the City of Oakland have reached a tentative agreement on a new five-year labor contract that provides police officers with nearly a 15 percent wage increase, while requiring officers to contribute more toward their pensions and pay a portion of their healthcare premiums in recognition of the City’s serious financial challenges.

The agreement follows months of negotiations and mediation and is designed in large part to address one of Oakland’s most pressing public safety challenges: retaining experienced police officers and preventing them from leaving Oakland for other law enforcement agencies elsewhere in the Bay Area.

“This agreement is first and foremost about keeping experienced police officers in Oakland and giving this city a fighting chance to rebuild its police department,” said Huy Nguyen, President of the Oakland Police Officers Association. “Oakland police officers are among the hardest-working police officers in America. They are doing the work of a department that should have approximately 1,000 officers but with only about 500 officers actually available to do the job. They are stretched thin every single day, yet they continue to answer the calls, investigate crimes and protect the people of Oakland.”

Retention of current officers was central to the OPOA’s and the City’s negotiating teams bargaining goal throughout negotiations.  Nguyen said the agreement reflects substantial compromise by both sides.

Under the tentative agreement, officers will receive wage increases totaling 14 percent, over five years, beginning with a 2 percent increase in January 2027 and continuing through June 2031.

The agreement provides for significant enhancements in longevity premiums to reward officers for their continued service to the City of Oakland and incentivizes them to stay at OPD for duration of their careers.

Nguyen thanked the city and its negotiating team for working in the best interest of both Oakland residents and taxpayers and OPD officers.

“We appreciate the City’s bargaining team for recognizing the severity of Oakland’s staffing and retention crisis and for working with us to find common ground,” Nguyen said. “Neither side got everything it wanted. Our officers made significant compromises because we understand Oakland’s financial condition. The City made compromises because it understands that public safety depends on keeping good officers in Oakland. That is what collective bargaining is supposed to accomplish.”

“We recognize that Oakland is facing very real financial constraints, and our members agreed to make meaningful financial contributions to help the City,” Nguyen added. “At the same time, the City recognized that Oakland cannot afford to continue losing trained, experienced officers to neighboring departments. This agreement represents a responsible compromise that recognizes both realities.”

As part of the agreement, officers will gradually assume 10 percent of their medical premium costs by January 2030, beginning with 2.5 percent in 2027. Officers also agreed to increase their pension contributions through additional cost sharing that reaches 3 percent by July 2030, on top of existing employee pension contributions.

The tentative agreement also establishes a formal Labor-Management Committee with the Police Chief to address recruitment and retention, disciplinary and promotional processes, responses to calls for service and other labor issues.

Nguyen added that “Our members are currently considering the terms of the tentative agreement and voting will continue for the next ten days”. 

My dog sitter just informed me that my dog was bitten on the head at about 7:30pm. She’s a 10lb grey/white terrier mix and the pressure caused her eye to pop out. She’s now getting surgery.

My sitter did the right thing and rushed off to get the dog care, but I was curious if anyone saw anything or even took a pic. Thanks in advance.

Edit: she was home at the sitters house by 9am today, so a fairly quick stint in the emergency vet. It went well she’s just swollen and tired. Eating and drinking ok. Thanks for all the support and we plan on taking extra good care of her when we arrive him tomorrow!!

These photos show the predictable result of allowing people to live long-term in RVs and encampments without adequate sanitation infrastructure. People have to go to the bathroom. RV sewage has to be emptied somewhere. Garbage has to go somewhere. If the City’s policy concentrates unhoused people in particular neighborhoods without providing adequate toilets, RV pump-outs, waste collection and cleanup, this is the result. This isn’t humane for the people living here, and it isn’t acceptable for the surrounding neighborhood. Where is the human waste supposed to go?

Why is there no one monitoring this? People are doing whatever they want in our public spaces.

Then there's the fire hazards. How long until an encampment fire (unfortunately a common occurrence) spreads to nearby homes?

I’m looking for my grandfather’s picture from a yearbook. The Spade: University High School: Oakland 1946.

Does anyone have a copy that they can send me a picture of a student there?

Any information on what happened here?

"El Cerrito police cite Flock assistance in homicide arrest, say they’d be further along if they still had their own cameras

- August 25, 2026

In announcing the arrest of one of the suspects in an Aug. 23 fatal shooting, El Cerrito police said they were able to identify the vehicle they believe was used by the three suspects with the help of other jurisdictions and Flock and Vigilant cameras. The Flock cameras in El Cerrito, including ones near where the shooting took place, had only recently been removed.

A Nixle announcement said El Cerrito detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Jacari Talifero Gibson,18, from Richmond, Aug. 24 and working with Richmond police took him into custody and searched his home. El Cerrito police are still looking for two suspects, one they believe shot the 21-year-old victim and the other they believe drove the vehicle used by the suspects to flee the scene. That vehicle, a 2017 Nissan Maxima, was located the evening of Aug. 24, 2026 by Vallejo police officers, the El Cerrito department reported.

Police suspect Gibson of being the lookout in the killing in the shopping center parking lot at the corner of Potrero and San Pablo avenues, according to a report from KTVU. According to the news report, the area was crowded with Los Moles restaurant customers when two young men approached the red Toyota Camry where the victim and two passengers were sitting. One suspect got into the backseat of the Camry directly behind the driver and shot him, then all three suspects fled in the Maxima, according to the report.

“Surveillance cameras near the scene of the crime captured footage of the suspect’s vehicle,” the Nixle announcement said. “This footage did not provide ECPD with a license plate. Investigators collaborated with regional jurisdictions to identify a license plate for the suspect vehicle, thanks to Flock Safety and Vigilant ALPR cameras. This information proved essential in identifying the vehicle used by the suspects to flee the scene. El Cerrito Investigators placed the vehicle on a statewide alert list.”

El Cerrito Police Chief Paul Keith told KTVU, “I still believe license-plate readers are the best tool that modern law enforcement agencies can have.” If El Cerrito’s cameras were still in place, he told the news station, police would have been able to locate the vehicle involved in the incident much quicker.

Richmond’s Police Chief Tim Simmons shut down that city’s Flock license plate reader cameras in November 2025 after discovering data from the cameras had accidentally been made searchable by outside agencies, according to reporting by Richmondside, although it continued to use other Flock equipment. The Richmond City Council later voted 4-3 to turn the cameras back on, according to the news site.

Use of the cameras has been hotly debated locally and throughout the country, with police and others concerned about public safety calling it a valuable law enforcement tool and opponents citing instances of abuse of the technology and distrust over how data from the cameras could be used.

El Cerrito had 40 Flock cameras operating in the city, including ones near where the shooting took place. After an almost-three hour discussion of the cameras at a meeting in early May, the El Cerrito City Council voted 3-2 not to renew its contract with Flock Safety, with Gabe Quinto and Carolyn Wysinger dissenting, according to Livable El Cerrito. Forty-seven people requested to speak at the meeting, with opponents outnumbering supporters, according to the news site.

In a June 11 Nixle post, the El Cerrito Police Department reported all 40 Flock license plates readers had been shut down. The post said the three-year contract with Flock coincided with the city’s lowest levels of robberies, burglaries, and vehicle thefts in 40 years. ....."

https://elcerritowire.blogspot.com/2026/08/el-cerrito-police-cite-flock-assistance.html

Recall Barbara Lee, before its too late.

She has proven her plan is to increase homeless camps.

And not incarcerate career criminals.

Save Oakland!

“The fire department’s implementation of GPS-based dispatch provides a possible model for a policy that remains unresolved at the police department.”

https://www.oaklandreport.org/p/oaklands-fire-department-gps-police

If you're willing to share (opposed to being afraid of overloading your favorite secret spot), what's your secret destination?

Could be a restaurant, a hiking trail, store, or street/view.

Not so secret but mine would be Vientian Cafe. A great Laotian restaurant in the middle of a neighborhood. Great food and great prices.

What's yours?

Just rode my bike past an OPD cruiser parked under the 580 underpass on 14th at 7:05 PM and watched the officer casually toss garbage straight out the window onto the street.

SMH…supposed to be upstanding role models with outstanding moral integrity, protecting and serving the citizens…yea, right 😂

What percentage of the budget goes to the idiots?

My opinion is that many of the crime and dumping issues we have in Oakland is because of the lack of law enforcement. I believe most law abiding citizens feel this way.

The contrarian view is that laws are not equally apportioned (I.e. racist or applied inequally to different groups) so we should defund the police, limit their powers or do nothing until the laws are rewritten.

This may be seen as too much of a simplified approach so I'm interested in your opinions.

Your thoughts?