The lack of modern energy services, also referred to as energy poverty, is an ongoing issue in the Bay Area. But many organizations are working hard to make new energy options available to households. In Richmond,...
In 1996, an undocumented young man in the Easy Bay was tired of being paid under the table for his work, so he decided to do something about his legal status. Two friends recommended him...
Since the 1970s, psychologists and neurologists have been studying what happens in the brains of meditating children and adults. Now, hospitals and non-profits like Kaiser Permanente and Mindful Life Project are turning to mindfulness and...
Proposition 64, which voters passed in November 2016, not only legalized the adult use of cannabis, but also established protocols for reducing, dismissing and sealing old marijuana-related convictions. That means Californians convicted of cannabis crimes...
The BART train whirrs by, leaving MacArthur station, as cars exit the freeway. Nobody notices the bit of history below. Under the train tracks at the speedway intersection of the flatlands at Martin Luther King...
Oakland’s City Hall sticks out like a sore thumb. The rectangular building, a beautiful pearl, is surrounded by the sounds of construction in a gentrifying city. Pigeons fly above me as the nearby construction sounds...
On a Monday morning, about 10 people sat around a big table in the Oakstop office, a shared working and event space in Oakland. Most of them were looking at their laptops and wearing big...
The soundtrack of Telegraph Avenue at 29th Street is composed of the roar of cars, trucks and the number 6 and 800 buses. There aren’t many passersby on this summery morning. A white car blaring...
The It’s All Good Bakery smells like sweets. There are all kinds of baked goods on display, such “sock it to me cake,” “7-Up pound cake,” chocolate chip squares, coconut cake, yellow cake, banana pudding...
The sidewalk in front of Easter Hill United Methodist Church in Richmond was all but empty on Monday at 11 am. A cyclist slowly meandered by on Cutting Boulevard, the clinking of his bike chain...
DeFremery Park is an island. A two-story light blue Victorian sits alone in a massive yard, surrounded by fields of vibrant green grass. It’s quiet in the park on most days, the building’s stoic presence...
In the corner of Vicente Way and Claremont in Oakland lies what is a hidden treasure to many, but to others, a jewel in plain sight: Alem’s Coffee, which serves Eritrean food and is a...
