Oaklandside 510

We're releasing our weekly 510 episode a day early to go over the latest results from Tuesday’s election.

A mayor who looks set for a full term. A measure that would give that mayor much more power. A regional transit tax that is ahead in all five counties. And school board races where challengers lead all three seats.

Reporters Eli Wolfe, Natalie Orenstein, Jose Fermoso, and Ashley McBride join me to talk about what the results tell us so far and what they could mean for Oakland. 

Counting is still underway, so everything you’ll hear in this episode reflects results as of Wednesday morning. The next batch of results will come out on Friday.

Stories we cover in this episode:

Election night overview

• Oakland election results: Mayor Lee and Measure EE going strong, challengers lead in 3 school board races
• Live updates: Mayor Lee says ‘I’m ready,’ D2 Councilmember Wang celebrates lead

Mayor’s race

• Barbara Lee seeks four years as mayor. That job could be very different next year
• Sheng Thao trial updates

Measure EE

• Oakland looks set to adopt ‘strong mayor’ system of government
• Incumbents dominate fundraising in Oakland elections this year

City Council

• Charlene Wang leads Nate Adams in Oakland District 2 City Council race
• Oakland residents are increasingly optimistic about the city’s future, according to a new poll
• Why are so few people running for office in Oakland this year?

Regional Transit Measure

• Regional Transit Measure sailing to victory
• AC Transit buses have become more unreliable this year, say riders and transit board

School board

• Challengers surge in Oakland school board races
• Oakland school leaders earn less than those at almost any nearby district, data shows

Find all these stories and more at oaklandside.org. Have feedback or story ideas? Email us at [email protected].

This week, we’re providing you with a round-up of recent reporting from our newsroom.

Oakland city workers set a Nov. 5 strike deadline as firefighters reach a tentative deal. Plus: wire theft takes down 911, airport janitors’ overtime under scrutiny, a violent ICE arrest near San Antonio Park, and more.

Stories we cover in this episode:

Election coverage

• 2026 Oakland voter guide
• What to know about the November election
• A guide to Oakland voter guides for the 2026 election
• When Cynthia Cornejo took over county elections, a voting rights battle loomed
• Who’s spending on Oakland school board races this year?
• Oakland residents are increasingly optimistic about the city’s future, according to a new poll
• District 2 school board candidates discuss school closures and finding a superintendent
• District 4 school board candidates talk literacy, transparency and rightsizing the district
• District 6 candidates debate bullying, charter schools and teacher retention

City Hall and labor

• Oakland city workers will strike Nov. 5 if no deal is reached
• Oakland firefighters union reaches tentative contract with city
• Allegations of favoritism and kickbacks at Oakland airport sparked investigation

Public safety

• Wire theft knocked out Oakland’s 911 system, says OPD
• 93 people have died in domestic violence incidents in Alameda County since 2016

ICE and immigration

• ICE agents ‘violently’ pulled man out of his car near Oakland’s San Antonio Park
• Pastor shot in the face with chemicals by federal agent sues U.S. government

Transportation

• New protected bikeway connects Lake Merritt to 19th St. BART

NOSH

• New Grocery Outlet opens in Oakland’s Eastlake neighborhood

Find all these stories and more at oaklandside.org. Have feedback or story ideas? Email us at [email protected].

If you haven't turned in your ballot yet, this one's for you. 

We're going to take a quick tour of almost everything that's on an Oakland ballot, from the mayor's race to the state propositions, then zoom in on the big local decisions. We'll also point you to a guide that rounds up what lots of local groups are recommending, since The Oaklandside doesn't tell you who or what to vote for. And we'll finish with the practical stuff: how and where to get your ballot in.

Stories we cover in this episode:

• 2026 Oakland voter guide
• What to know about the November election
• A guide to Oakland voter guides for the 2026 election
• Where do Oakland mayor and City Council candidates stand on Flock, AI, and homelessness?
• Why are so few people running for office in Oakland this year?
• The highs and lows of Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee’s record
• Who are the Oakland candidates challenging Mayor Barbara Lee?
• AI-generated ads have come to Oakland politics. Accessible solution — or risky deception?

ICE arrests in Oakland

• 2 ICE arrests in Oakland and Emeryville Friday result in hospitalization
• ICE agents ‘violently’ pulled man out of his car near Oakland’s San Antonio Park

Public safety

• An Oakland police officer allegedly let a suspected drunk driver go. Shortly after, the driver killed someone

Sheng Thao trial

• How mysterious political attack ads landed Sheng Thao on trial 4 years later

Temescal Pool

• Temescal Pool incident could lead to legal trouble for Oakland

E-bikes

• E-bikes have been allowed on East Bay trails for three years. How’s it going?

Black Panthers history

• Black Panther Party history is all over Oakland. Here’s where to look

Halloween and Day of the Dead events

• Your Oakland guide to Halloween and Day of the Dead

Find all these stories and more at oaklandside.org. Have feedback or story ideas? Email us at [email protected].

The federal corruption trial of former Mayor Sheng Thao is now underway. Oaklandside reporters Eli Wolfe and Natalie Orenstein join us to talk about who’s involved, what’s alleged, and what to watch for.

Stories we cover in this episode:

Sheng Thao trial

• Sheng Thao trial updates
• Thao trial opens with fiery allegations, strenuous disavowals
• Jury selected as Sheng Thao’s trial kicks off in Oakland
• Oakland corruption trial: will Mario Juarez’s checkered past be put to the jury?

City Hall

• Lee gives upbeat State of the City speech as unions increase pressure for deal
• Radisson Hotel owner will pay major wage theft settlement to Oakland workers
• Data center moratorium approved by Oakland amid AI backlash

Oakland’s new fire boat 

• New fireboat makes debut in Oakland, will help safeguard the waterfront

NOSH

• Eli’s Mile High Club starts closure countdown, and Seniore’s Pizza shutters Berkeley branch
• Oakland airport welcomes Trader Vic’s and new market, while Berkeley gets a new sub shop

Find all these stories and more at oaklandside.org. Have feedback or story ideas? Email us at [email protected].

This week, we're focusing on one story: Oakland schools' push to limit screens.

Last month, the school board approved limits on how students can use school laptops during their free time. That follows the cellphone ban that started this school year.

So what does all of this look like from inside the classroom?

To find out, we sit down with two Oakland Unified teachers, Lara Trale from Oakland High School and Alicia Simba from Prescott Elementary, along with The Oaklandside's education reporter, Ashley McBride.

Stories we cover in this episode:

Tech restrictions in the classroom

• Oakland school board green lights more tech restrictions in the classroom
• OUSD reveals dismal academic achievement numbers, and students debate a new cell phone ban
• Back to school in Oakland: cellphone ban, new construction, and early learning expansion
• OUSD takes up screen time rules
• OUSD banned cellphones. Are Chromebooks next?
• No more phones? Students and educators weigh in on OUSD’s impending ban

By Alicia Simba

• Schools are starting to limit screen time; parents can, too
• 7 tips on reading to your child from a Berkeley librarian and an Oakland teacher

By Lara Trale

• I’m an Oakland high school teacher. I discourage my students from using AI

Find all these stories and more at oaklandside.org. Have feedback or story ideas? Email us at [email protected].

City Hall reporter Eli Wolfe joins us to talk about a scary accident that happened at Temescal Pool earlier this month, and why the city has no pool technicians on staff even though it has the money to hire them. It's part of a much bigger story about Oakland's struggle to fill city jobs.

Link to donate to support The Oaklandside!

Stories we cover in this episode:

Temescal Pool Incident

• Were chemical injuries at Temescal Pool linked to Oakland’s failure to hire?
• Temescal Pool swimmers go to hospital with chemical injuries

Oakland Police Department

• Oakland police released from federal oversight after 23 years

City Hall

• The highs and lows of Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee’s record
• Flock’s Oakland cameras are tracking millions of trips. Are safeguards enforceable?
• New state law gives Oakland power to boot cars of illegal dumpers

Data Centers

• Data center moratorium clears key hurdle in Oakland

Public Transit

• AC Transit buses have become more unreliable this year, say riders and transit board

Arts and Community

• A 34-foot Catrina has arrived at Fruitvale Plaza

Find all these stories and more at oaklandside.org. Have feedback or story ideas? Email us at [email protected].

Twenty years ago, hyphy broke out of Oakland and the Bay Area and onto the national stage with its own slang, fashion, dance and car culture. This week, we revisit that moment with Eric K. Arnold, who has covered Bay Area hip-hop since the 1990s and chronicled hyphy's rise as it happened. We look back at the summer of 2006, what came after and the hyphy revival underway today, as a new generation of Bay Area artists reclaims the sound and people who lived through the era speak openly about what happened behind the music.

Eric K Arnold's "Hyphy slaps knocks bumps and blaps" Playlist

Stories we cover in this episode:

• The summer of hyphy, 20 years later
• Inside the hyphy revival

Find all these stories and more at oaklandside.org. Have feedback or story ideas? Email us at [email protected].

Data centers have gone from a quiet real estate story to one of the most contentious issues in Oakland. We talk with The Oaklandside’s news editor, Darwin BondGraham, about a downtown developer's proposal, two tech companies moving into West Oakland, an organized opposition campaign, and a city councilmember's push for a moratorium.

Stories we cover in this episode:

Data Centers

• A movement against data centers gains steam in Oakland
• Data center moratorium sought by Oakland Councilmember Carroll Fife
• Is a data center coming to downtown Oakland?

City Hall

• Police union's new contract approved by Oakland City Council

Health and Environment

• Temescal Pool swimmers go to hospital with chemical injuries

Education

• Oakland's newest movie star is an old college campus
• A historically Black college in Oakland? A task force is dreaming

Elections

• In Oakland, 16 and 17-year-olds can vote in school board elections. Here's a guide for teen voters
• Want to meet the candidates running for the Oakland school board? Find a forum near you

Public Transportation

• Oakland low-income transit guide: How to get around for free or at a discount

Find all these stories and more at oaklandside.org. Have feedback or story ideas? Email us at [email protected].

This week, we’re providing you with a round-up of recent reporting from our newsroom.

A group of counties in Utah is stepping forward to help build Oakland's long-fought coal export terminal.

AI-generated ads are showing up in Oakland's election season. 

AC Transit's Tempo bus line is about to lose state funding, meanwhile, Waymo has the green light to launch in Oakland

We also go over opportunities for you to get involved in big city decisions: there are open seats on OUSD committees, and the city's Cultural Affairs Commission wants new members.

And we cover sports, including our Ultimate Frisbee team, the Oakland Spiders; and why the Ballers published an open letter apologizing to fans.

In November, Oakland will have elections for city council and school board — in districts 2, 4, and 6. 

We want to know: what are the one or two most pressing issues in your neighborhood or local schools? Tell us about the changes you’d like to see. 

Give us a call at 510-279-6910. 

Leave us a short voicemail and please include your name, your neighborhood, and your opinion. We might use what you share in an upcoming podcast or an article. 

And remember, please keep your thoughts in under a minute.

Stories we cover in this episode:

City Hall

• AI-generated ads have come to Oakland politics. Accessible solution — or risky deception?

Environment

• Utah’s interest in Oakland coal terminal reignites

Roads & Transit

• Oakland’s rapid Tempo line set to lose millions in cap-and-trade dollars
• Waymo is poised for Oakland

Education

• Have ideas for how OUSD should spend money? Apply to join these committees

Arts and Community

• Want to help shape Oakland’s arts and culture scene? Here’s how

Sports

• The Spiders are national ultimate champs and other Oakland sports news

Find all these stories and more at oaklandside.org. Have feedback or story ideas? Email us at [email protected].

If you've ever seen a tense situation start to escalate on the street and wondered whether to step in, we're here to help. We talk with our public safety reporter, Roselyn Romero, and Ana-Marie Jones of Oakland Speaks, about how to de-escalate conflict yourself, according to Oakland violence prevention experts — and when it's best to just call for help.

For a nonviolent situation, you can always call MACRO, Oakland's non-police civilian response line: 510-446-2276. 

If there's a weapon involved or things feel like an emergency, dial 911.

In November, Oakland will have elections for city council and school board — in districts 2, 4, and 6. 

We want to know: what are the one or two most pressing issues in your neighborhood or local schools? Tell us about the changes you’d like to see. 

Give us a call at 510-279-6910. 

Leave us a short voicemail and please include your name, your neighborhood, and your opinion. We might use what you share in an upcoming podcast or an article. 

And remember, please keep your thoughts in under a minute.

Stories we cover in this episode:

Conflict De-escalation

• How to de-escalate conflict, according to Oakland violence prevention experts

City Hall

• Oakland police reach tentative deal for 14% pay raise over 5 years
• Illegal dumpers in Oakland could have their cars booted

Public Safety

• Police and suspect exchanged fire during East Oakland manhunt

Arts and Community

• Closed for 24 years, East Oakland’s once-beloved Tyrone Carney Park will reopen on Saturday
• For Dorothy Lazard, the public library was ‘a forest of dreams and possibilities’

Dog Hikes

• 14 dog-friendly hiking trails in the East Bay

Nosh

• Egg Pals is trading pop-ups for a permanent home in Oakland

Find all these stories and more at oaklandside.org. Have feedback or story ideas? Email us at [email protected].