Questions swirl as carcasses rot at Lake Merritt, the Berkeley Marina and beyond. We talked to experts and explored 100 years of local fish-kills.
Natalie Orenstein
Natalie Orenstein reports on housing and homelessness for The Oaklandside. Natalie was a Berkeleyside staff reporter from early 2017 to May 2020. She had previously contributed to the site since 2012, when she started as an intern. Orenstein covered a range of beats for Berkeleyside, focusing primarily on education. Her 2018 three-part series "Beyond the Buses" explored the legacy of Berkeley’s historic voluntary school integration, earning her the Society of Professional Journalists NorCal’s long-form storytelling award and a finalist position in the Education Writers Association National Awards for Education Reporting. Orenstein's reporting has also appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the J Weekly, the San Francisco Bay Guardian and elsewhere. Natalie is a proud Berkeley native and only strayed from the Bay Area once, to attend Pomona College.
Posted inNosh Features
What it’s like to live inside a legendary Oakland lesbian bar
Rebecca Longworth and Joan Howard live in what was once The Jubilee, a rough-and-tumble Oakland lesbian bar through the 1970s and ’80s.
Posted inCity
Berkeley and Alameda County’s eviction moratoriums are still in effect
News about California’s eviction and rent relief programs has caused some confusion for local tenants and landlords.
Posted inCity
800 homeless people died in Alameda County in 3 years
The main causes of death were overdoses and medical conditions, many “preventable,” according to a county report.
Posted inCommunity, The Oaklandside
Find out where your grandparents lived in Berkeley with new 1950 census records
Details from 72 years ago are available for the first time and paint a clearer picture of life in Alameda County and beyond.
Posted inCity
Is my fireplace illegal? And other burning questions about wood smoke
Fireplaces and fire pits are the largest sources of unhealthy pollution in the winter. Here are the rules and recommendations around burning wood and sparing the air.
Posted inCity
Alameda County gears up for major homeless count
Canceled last year for COVID-19 safety concerns, this year’s Point-in-Time assessment “counts more” than any before it, organizers say.
Posted inCity
With $6.6M grant, homeless youth in Alameda County will design programs for their community
Young unhoused people in Berkeley and surrounding cities will lead the decision-making process about how to use the federal grant.
Posted inHousing & Development
First-time homebuyers can now apply for down-payment assistance in Alameda County
The AC Boost program is offering down-payment loans of up to $210,000 per household.
Posted inCity
Delta variant poses new threat to homeless communities in Alameda County
The county offers many places to get free COVID-19 vaccinations if you’re unhoused.
Posted inArts
Building a bike for the Warriors’ Juan Toscano-Anderson
A North Oakland bike shop owner got a dream assignment: design a custom ride for an NBA star.
Posted inSchools
Community remembers Eli Kane, 20, empathetic friend, Berkeley High soccer star, big brother
Kane touched an enormous number of lives. He drowned last week, the latest of several recent tragedies involving young Berkeleyans.