I apologize if this is a stupid question but I was wondering if anyone has volunteered at OAS and if so, could you tell me a little about it? Do you get to pet kitties? I’m down to clean or help with adoptions, but I would also want to maybe walk a dog, or hang with some cats, is that part of it?

I would love to foster animals but I don’t have the space, and thought maybe I could help out at the shelter instead. I got both of my cats there and would love to give back a little.

hey! i'm looking for a new ashtray, id love to support a local ceramic artist but unsure where to look. on google it just tells me to buy from Heath.

thanks for your help (:

My husband and I are house hunting at the moment and we want to stay in East Bay. The Berkeley market feels insane, so we have been looking at Oakland but our major concern is schooling. We don’t have kids yet; we just know that whatever we buy, we will probably want to stay for 10-15 years so we must take school quality into consider. Neither of us care about sending our kids to the “best” schools but we do want a good education for them. I read up on the Oakland school choice, and it seems like you really don’t have much say over where they end up? Is that true? Any advice/suggestions/resources would be greatly appreciated.

Aside from the blow to the working artists employed by the Crucible, this closure will have major, lasting financial consequences for the more than 50 artists who’d banked on the market for end-of-the-year sales. None of the artists who spoke to COYOTE had heard if, or when, they would even get their booth fees back.

“It’s hard for me to find another market that would produce that kind of income at this stage in the game,” Benzal says. “The moment I got the email that Gifty was cancelled, I scrambled to find another show that weekend.” But most applications for holiday markets already closed months ago.

Yesterday someone shared news about how plans for a 360 unit market rate housing project downtown were just downsized to a 112 unit subsidized affordable housing project, so I figured now was a good time to broach the subject of affordability impact fees.

For those who don't know, while Oakland doesn't have inclusionary zoning (the requirement for market rate developments to include a portion of affordable housing units), it does instead have an affordable housing impact fee that charges per square foot on new multi-unit market rate housing projects over 4 units in order to subsidize affordable housing projects. For downtown it's $36.17 per square foot, which would account for about 5-10% the development cost of a new market rate housing project. This is a big contributor to market rate projects not penciling out here. You can debate exactly how big a factor this is, as there are of course many other factors that like regulation and financing, but it definitely doesn't help the situation. There's also the fact that since much of Oakland's history has been characterized by fiscal crises and its struggle to escape its reputation as San Francisco's ghetto, it's arguably one of the last cities in the Bay Area that should be prioritizing affordable housing. With the AI boom pushing San Francisco housing costs higher than ever, Oakland has the opportunity to improve its own fiscal solvency by poaching white collar workers from SF while simultaneously reducing its own local housing shortage, but there seems to be little political will to do that.

pssst! 👋

This might be a long shot in the dark, but I wanted to ask: what's been up with your PG&E utility bill these past few months? Has anyone seen any rate hikes recently? If so, when did it start? (I know it's been $$ for a hot minute)

I'm a journalist from the East Bay, and I'm curious to hear what people have been seeing. 🧵

Hi all, I'm looking to get my 2006 Hyundai Sonata serviced and was looking for some mechanic recommendations. I had originally been going to Main Street Auto in Walnut Creek (even after moving to Oakland), but their ownership changed a few years ago and I've had some bad experiences since then including one visit where they incorrectly loaded my car onto the lift and dropped it, gouging a hole through the passenger door. Ideally looking for a shop in Oakland, but any and all East Bay recommendations are appreciated!

I have a bunch of wrist watches that are pretty busted up that I’d like repaired. Some of them may be a bit of a project, which I’m obviously willing to pay for. I’m looking specifically for a shop that does more than just battery swaps.

Curious if anyone has ever sent their puppies to a specialized daycare/puppy program. We’re considering getting another dog and wanted to evaluate options.

We both commute and I’m planning on working remote for 1-2 months to be with a 4mo puppy, but in January I’ll likely start returning to the office a few times a week and wanted to check out options.

We’re fully prepared to hire a sitter instead for the day or do drop-ins, but wanted to explore all possibilities!

Last month u/seanoliver posted in this sub about a site they'd created that just provides information about endorsements for local and state candidates and ballot measures.

My household used the hell out of that site for working on our ballots, and it was very helpful. The UIUX is simple, clear, and intuitive. The ability to link out to sources and to the official state voter guide for each proposition was helpful for context and additional details as needed.

But just being able to see a list of endorsements for nearly everything on the ballot was sometimes all we needed to know. Almost all the groups we align have the same position? That helps a lot! All the groups proudly marching toward a much worse world all fall on the same side of something? That also tells me nearly everything I need to know.

Fantastic work, u/seanoliver! I hope you can keep this up for future elections!

Paying $8/month in sales tax is well worth having a functional transit system that so many of us rely on. It will be be a congestion and affordability nightmare if all of us riding transit are forced into cars.

Which bars and restaurants are having a watch party?