January 2013 - Oakland Voices

White-On-White Crime Makes Lots of Noise, Even if You’ve Never Heard of It

January 30, 2013 Ronald Owens

By Ron Owens Mass murders get some people all stirred up. TV news shows become obsessed and devote all their attention to the homicides and to peoples’ reactions to them. You go to work or

‘Teacher Don’ Takes the Helm of OUSD’s New Adult Ed Learning Bus

January 30, 2013 Debora Gordon

By Debora Gordon One of the coolest things happening in the Oakland Unified School District right now is the high tech mobile adult education classroom, an RV outfitted with Wi-Fi and laptops, driven by Teacher

Going to Prison, Part I

January 28, 2013 Debora Gordon

By Debora Gordon I drove down to visit Lam in the Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) the weekend of December 7ththrough December 10th. I checked in by phone and email with the Public Information Officer,

Health of the Hood – What Makes the Mills College Neighborhood Healthy?

January 28, 2013 Katherine Brown

By Katherine Brown When trying to identify what makes my neighborhood healthy, I was hard pressed to find glaring examples of what is traditionally associated with “healthy living.” There aren’t any farmers markets, open green

The Vegas Effect

January 28, 2013 Sabirah Mustafa

By Sabirah Mustafa What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. It’s an ad slogan with some truth to it. People take the phrase seriously, shunning those who come back from Sin City with perpetually loose

Freedom?!

January 24, 2013 Jian Di Liang

By Jian Di Liang My friend Alice came to the US in May last year. And we met each other at the English Center – a non-profit organization that helps immigrants, refugees and international students

Nail Salon Owners’ New Strategy to Go Green & Improve Relations with Black Clients

January 23, 2013 Katherine Brown

By Katherine Brown It amazes me how priorities change as you grow older. Feats and experiences that seem so trivial now, meant the world to me as an adolescent. One activity in particular was getting

Prison Phone Calls and Prison Visits

January 23, 2013 Debora Gordon

By Debora Gordon I decided I would visit Lam in prison. But prison is not a place where you drop in spontaneously. First, you must be approved for visitation, which requires the inmate to snail

PHOTOS: Health of the Hood – Cleveland Heights

January 22, 2013 Sabirah Mustafa

By Sabirah Mustafa If healthy is as healthy does, then the residents of Cleveland Heights just might live forever. Aside from the abundance of joggers, and the dogs walking their owners, there are free and

Dimond’s Food Mill

January 22, 2013 Jian Di Liang

By Jian Di Liang “Our store is family-oriented, and we are dedicated to help customers and serve the best food,” says Kirk Watkins, owner of The Food Mill in Upper Dimond. “We have been here