During my 12 years as a crime reporter for The Associated Press, I gravitated towards stories about criminal justice – and very often discovered that people really didn’t want to hear them. I talked to men and women accused and convicted of all kind of heinous crimes — husbands who… Read more
As the new Organizer for the Green-Collar Jobs Campaign, I feel privileged to have had a first week that grounded me in my work here.
On Wednesday, the office closed for Oakland’s General Strike. Leading with the Ella Baker Center… Read more
As a second generation Filipino American, I’m proud to finally be able to say I made it back to my family’s homeland for the first time ever this year.
Prior to departure, we received many warnings I received from my family:
“It’s dangerous!”
“You’ll get kidnapped!”
The list continued…… Read more
Our community partner, the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) is celebrating its 12th Anniversary on Wednesday, October 5th at the Oakland Marriott. Over the past decade, EBASE has raised standards and boosted the incomes of 20,000 workers and community members in the… Read more
After I leave the gym, I’m a sweaty, hot mess. I get in my car, drive, jump out the car and dive into the nearest shower. A few nights ago, however, I sat in my sweaty hot mess for almost thirty minutes. Why, you ask?
I could not tear… Read more
Late this summer, a survey was released by the Public Policy Institute of California finding that two-thirds of Californians approve of AB 32 – a landmark state law that calls for reductions in global-warming pollution. Mearly 60 percent favor taking action to improve air quality and get… Read more
The following is a repost of a piece written by friend Rob Biko Baker for GlobalGrind
This past weekend a flash mob made up of dozens of Black youth attacked attendees leaving the Wisconsin State Fair. The violence was random, the punishment was swift and… Read more
The following guest post is brought to us by the good folks at VolunteerMatch who highlighted our Soul of City Campaigns Oakland Service Festival “Throwdown for the Town” in a recent blogpost on their blog, Engaging Volunteers
VolunteerMatch strengthens communities by making it easier… Read more
Did you know that there is a single group of people who are banned from using CalFresh (the program formerly known as food stamps) for the rest of their lives?
That group is individuals who have been convicted with a drug felony. Even once they’ve served their time, they cannot… Read more
All the talk about the debt ceiling and debt crisis has left a foul taste in mouth. Its hard for me to take this issue seriously when there are obviously divisive party interests involved that seem to have zero interest in coming to a solid solution. Certain folks in… Read more
