Oakland Voices

  By Brian Beveridge OAKLAND, CA – While more than a thousand Oakland port trucks were replaced with taxpayer assistance or cleaned up to meet federal engine emission standards, companies serving the port say that

By Tyrese Johnson OAKLAND, CA – James Harris likes his guns. The 39-year-old West Oakland resident owns a .45 caliber pistol, a .9mm handgun and a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun. Harris’s father was a Marine who

Mom had a bad fall last year. She broke her shoulder and her wrist.  When she came home from the hospital, she was patched up in splints, wrappings, and a sling. Each morning I stepped

By Peace Harmony OAKLAND, CA – Nicci Butler is turning 40 years old this year, and the Oakland native has already picked her birthday wish. It’s a serious one. “I hope to live another decade

There is something about Momma and shoes. Not any shoes. Ruth’s shoes. She imagines everyone wants Ruth’s shoes. She thinks everybody just might be trying to wear them. One night when I was getting her

By Diana Alonzo, Tyrese Johnson, and Adimu Madyun OAKLAND, CA – Oakland Voices correspondents have spread throughout the city to get reactions from residents following the Johannes Mehserle verdict. The former BART police officer was

By Dre McEwen OAKLAND, CA – In some ways, commentary on the shooting of Oscar Grant seems simple, divided by one vast river of intent.  Either Johannes Mehserle meant to draw his gun and shoot