Economic Edge: Archive

6 tags

My Pregnancy As Mediated By a Taco Truck by Kim Ip

I had a goal of going to Tacos Sinaloa earlier today to come full circle in my experience with the Intermediate Public Radio Reporting Class…unfortunately I got distracted by all the wonderful arts events happening on campus and missed my chance to head down to my favourite taco truck in Oakland. Oh how I enjoy taking the 14 and 1 route down to International and 22nd. Okay, let me...

May 17th

Looking young by Diana Arbas

Security barks HEY! as I push out the front gate during 4th period. I smile at him, wave. His face softens immediately. His bad. We wish each other a good rest of the day. Someone chuckles behind me, and we walk in the same direction for a bit. You look young, this new man said. I shrug. Happens all the time. I motion back at the sheepish security guard. We’re actually buds. Yeah, this...

Apr 4th

Mar 11th

Bus banter by Diana Arbas

Fruitvale BART bus terminal. The 14 bus pulls up, and it’s the end of the line. The driver hops out for a quick break. He points to me. “You’re in charge while I’m gone,” he says. He motions to fellow passengers boarding the bus, paying fare. “You take care of all these people.” I laugh softly to myself as I watch him jog away. (Was he serious?) I get...

Mar 3rd

Simple Pleasures by: Moriah McKnight

Walking down International Boulevard, right between an old car lot and a seemingly forgotten building, a friend of mine pointed to a patch of nothing: a decaying fence with a jagged rip through it where someone pulled it aside. Within it three brick walls and cement ground littered with broken bottles, nettles, and weeds poking through it. But along the walls beauty appeared words, tags and...

Mar 3rd

The Mezmorizing Museum- Lizzy Schultz

While on our field trip to discover Oakland, I was reminded of my own field trip just a few weeks ago. As I sought information that correlated to my upcoming radio piece, I stumbled upon Oak Street. This is where I found the Oakland Museum of California. I walked through the main entrance and was greeted by a large women who demanded my attention. The vibrant statue pictured above led me in to...

Mar 3rd

Deborah Green Wishes for More Time by Kim Ip

As a student, I’m familiar with the phrase—“we could all use a little more time.” Deborah Green, the only art teacher at Roosevelt Middle School, replied “more time” when I asked what was the one thing she wish she had more of. Like with her art, Green is creative in her response to the lack of financial resources. She started teaching at...

Mar 3rd

Dialing into a Developing Community - Theresa...

Please Leave a message after the beep: For the past three weeks, I have been trying desperately to make contact with someone at a local church in the San Antonio/ Eastlake area of Oakland. After calling multiple times a day, leaving multiple messages, and calling from different numbers, I decided to visit during their business hours to see if I could speak with someone in person about...

Feb 28th

Disconnected -- Natalie Meier

International Boulevard is one of the most culturally vibrant streets I’ve ever explored. My radio class drove along International and disembarked near 5th street, where we clambered out of vans and explored the surrounding area until lunch time. The culture on this street was evident. South Vietnam flags flew over the doorways of several businesses and restaurants offering Thai and Vietnam...

Feb 27th

6 tags

What makes you an outsider? -- Carmen Elster

Is it the way you dress, your hair color, your skin color? Is it the way you walk and look around? Are you comfortable? Are you scared? Have you been here before, or just visiting? Are you just passing through, or analyzing your surroundings? When our all-white vans reading “Mills College” were finally parked in front of the Goodwill on International Boulevard, the twenty or so Mills...

Feb 26th

7 tags

Feb 14th

No Outlets? Kids Don't Feel Electricity of...

Kim Ip and I rode the bus from Mills College to San Antonio. We entered a convenience store, near Roosevelt Middle School, taking in the walls of brightly colored Hostess Cupcakes and racks of chips and gum. There wasn’t anyone else in the store besides us and the cashier, and it made me wonder if the kids from the surrounding area came here to pick up “breakfast” before they went to school in...

Feb 13th

Getting to Know the Neighbors--Lizzy Schultz

As we approached Oakland High School, we noticed a very quiet campus. Teachers and other staff members were observing a professional development day, so we couldn’t talk with anyone about community outreach. Leaving the school with low hopes, we noticed a school bus with a few students gathered outside. Mariana Lopez, one of the students, informed us that there was a field trip organized to...

Feb 12th

La Estrellita and Poetry Diversify--Lulu Thrower

It was 9:30 in the morning on a Monday when Moriah McKnight and I set out on to talk to business owners in the San Antonio district and surrounding area. I was told that the restaurant and Café called “La Estrellita” is a “go-to must”, so it was the first place we went. La Estrellita is located at 446 on E. 12 St. fairly close to Lake Merritt. A vertical sign displays the name “La Estrellita”...

Feb 12th

La Estrellita -- Moriah McKnight

Walking up a gray street at ten in the morning my friend, Lulu Thrower and I, stopped to go into a restaurant-bar hybrid with the name La Estrellita. From the outside it looks small and quaint. Even when you step into to it you see a few tables and chairs, a counter, bright yellow sunflowers, and a smattering of paintings about Mexican culture. The owner, Jose, says he works hard to create a...

Feb 7th

A Trek to San Antonio Park, Diverted--Kim Ip

Walking downhill from Roosevelt Middle School on 19th St. I had the pleasure of exploring San Antonio District on foot with Natalie Meier and a smartphone (which I may or may not be comfortable calling the new compass). I was the one navigating because I had expressed minimal familiarity with the neighborhood passing through it on bus route 11. The residential parts were just how I imagined them...

Feb 7th

Fearless in Fruitvale by Carmen Elster

For the past few days i’ve been thinking about my assignment to go out in the Fruitvale area and talk to locals. What would I say, how would I sound, would they even want to talk to me? It’s been a while since I’ve been back into radio reporting, and I’m feeling the challenge of opening myself up to people again. Yes, it’s a risk, putting yourself out there, but you can’t hear from...

Feb 6th

Feb 5th

Phone calls to parents by Diana Arbas

Nobody told me that calling parents of misbehaving students is the worst. Scary phone calls don’t usually faze me. I phoned sources as a reporter and prospects as a sales rep. The phone is my friend. But a livid immigrant father who calls you four times in a row while you’re in grad seminar is more intimidating than a vice president or dean who’s hated your publication...

Feb 4th

May 19th

4 tags

Apr 9th

4 notes

5 tags

Apr 3rd

Shani Aviram: Every third wednesday of the month,...

Apr 3rd

4 tags

Sunday at St. Elizabeth Church

Shani Aviram: I woke up early this past Sunday to check out mass at St. Elizabeth on 34th Ave in Fruitvale. There are several churches in the area, but St. Elizabeth’s seems to be the main Catholic church around. I attended the first mass of the day at 8.30, which is conducted in Spanish, but the mass that follows at 11 is in English. When I arrived at the church, the pews were already...

Mar 16th

3 tags

Mar 13th

Shani Aviram: Genna Strachen is sitting half a...

Mar 13th

Maddie Fowler, Karen Gordon & Tymeesa...

Mar 3rd

Roosevelt Middle School Principal Cliff Hong...

Mar 3rd

4 tags

Feb 29th

3 tags

Feb 29th

2 tags

Feb 28th

Roosevelt Middle School & The Burglar

Tymeesa Rutledge: Today, Maddie and I were going to visit Roosevelt Middle School but decided to go later in the week to talk to a few students. It was a good thing that we decided to postpone because we could’ve possibly been in a crossfire between the Oakland Police Department and an alleged burglar. Here’s the story from local ABC news: OAKLAND, Calif. — Oakland police...

Feb 28th