Bay Area

Oakland’s ‘Tiny’ Art Gallery Movement
If you’ve read my Troll Trail article, you know that I’m an art kid who loves anything that combines mischief and public art. When my neighbor snapped a photo of a small free little art gallery in Oakland, I had to go and see what it was all about. She

Oakland Is Attempting To Close Schools In Low Income Neighborhoods
Children who attend school in Oakland have it pretty fuckin’ rough. There’s no doubt about it. The schools in Oakland are notoriously underfunded and dysfunctional. And for many students, especially in low income neighborhoods, school is one of the only places that underprivileged kids are guaranteed a meal. So why

Can Austin Or Portland Replace San Francisco?
While I am the first person to scream San Francisco is dead, I’m also the first person to admit I’m a fucking idiot and I am absolutely an idiot. Will San Francisco ever live up to its own standards or our collective nostalgia? Probably not, but San Francisco is unique

How “Town Fridge” Is Helping Feed Oakland’s Unhoused Population
Housing and food insecurity is nothing new to the Bay Area. From the most densely populated urban corridors to idyllic suburban streets and far flung exurban outskirts, access to nutrients and shelter is increasingly harder to come by for our region’s ever growing homeless population. Desperate times call for innovative

Why Phnom Penh Is Oakland’s Best Restaurant
Oakland is a town filled with opinions. Is Oakland the best, coolest, hippest place on the West Coast? Or is it a dystopian slum with sky high crime and little opportunity? It depends on who you’re talking to. According to the sign telling me to “love life” Oakland has around

Why Healthcare Professionals Who Test Positive For COVID-19 Can Continue To Work In California
In all my years of writing, I’ve never written about something fucking dumber than this. Healthcare workers, you know, the people who look after your health? Well, according to new rules passed by the State of California, these workers can literally have COVID and their employer can be fully aware

Why Can’t California’s Schools Teach Our Kids To Read?
Written by Nelda Kerr In February 2020, students and teachers won a landmark $53 million settlement against the State of California for not teaching kids how to read. At the time, 56% of students in both San Francisco and Alameda counties were meeting state standards for English, with a quarter of all

Has The Italian Mafia Ever Existed In San Francisco?
I’m Italian on my mom’s side of the family, and everyone I know with even a drop of Italian blood has a fascination with the Mafia or its more spicy name, “Cosa Nostra,” which in Italian means “Our Thing.” As someone from the West Coast, I couldn’t help but notice