Oakland - SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports

AC Transit Bus Crashes Into Oakland Building, Injuring 11

An AC Transit bus reportedly went crashing into an auto repair shop in Oakland's Eastmont neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, injuring at least 11 people, including nine passengers on the bus.

SF Restaurants, Food & Drink

Oakland Beats Out SF and New Orleans In New Ranking of Best Food Cities

Oakland has come out on top in Condé Nast Traveler's latest Readers' Choice Awards ranking of the best US food cities, but San Francisco comes in at number five.

Oakland Is About to Get Speed Cameras Like SF Has to Catch Scofflaw Drivers

San Francisco has had 33 speed cameras catching drivers going too fast for nearly a year now, and Oakland is about to get 18 of their own speed cameras to be put up at their most notorious corners for traffic collisions.

Sunday Links: Muni’s Central Subway Closes Overnight After Car Crashes Into Tunnel

Amidst the Valley Fair Mall shooting chaos, “Mexican Spiderman” emerged, helping fellow mall bowling alley patrons escape; Artists, submit your work to be projected atop Salesforce Tower; and a car crashed into Muni’s Central Subway tunnel.

Arts & Entertainment

Field Notes: Kenny Alley, Holiday Architecture Book Fair, and Oakland’s Last Old Redwood

This week: Where to find ladybugs in Oakland, Oakland’s “Old Survivor” redwood. Napa Valley holiday wine train, tea round-up, holiday architecture book sale, award-winning molé sauce, ancestral quilts, and Bruce Lee’s time on Bay Area streets.

Obscure, 12-Year-Old Port of Oakland Coal Battle Could End Up Bankrupting City of Oakland

The City of Oakland signed a development deal for a coal-shipping terminal in 2013, and then backed out over environmental protests. Now that’s coming back to haunt them, as legal rulings against their flip-flop could cost the city hundreds of millions.

Proposal to Bring Semi Trucks Back to Oakland’s I-580 Rigs Controversy Across East Bay

Semi trucks have not been allowed on Oakland’s I-580 in 74 years, as big rigs have had to take I-880 instead. Caltrans is considering undoing that policy, and everyone who lives anywhere near either interstate has an opinion about it.

Sunday Links: Missing Utah Woman Who Disappeared Near Santa Cruz Beach Found Safe

Another person has gone missing at the same spot in Big Sur as the father and daughter killed last week; Antioch is using a special desalination process to treat brackish water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta; and Danielle Staley has been found safe after disappearing on November 6.

Day Around the Bay: Trump Fires Five More SF Immigration Judges, to Hire ‘Deportation Judges’

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced her retirement after her public falling out with Trump; ICE agents were turned away at a Hayward elementary school Friday; and Trump has fired five additional SF immigration judges to be replaced by “deportation judges.”

CHP Investigates Thursday Shooting on I-580 in Oakland, Seeking Information From Public

A shooting occurred on Interstate-580 in Oakland Thursday morning, leading to the closure of all eastbound lanes for thirty minutes as the California Highway Patrol investigated. Authorities spoke to a victim and a witness, but no injuries were reported.

Jack London Square Loosens Zoning to Attract More Businesses, and They’ve Already Got a Dave & Buster’s Coming

There’s long been a rule that businesses at Jack London Square can only be those for tourists or maritime pursuits. The zoning is now changed for businesses that appeal to locals, in hopes of reviving the plaza.

Two Men Killed By Trains In Separate Oakland Incidents In Less Than 24 Hours

In a tragic coincidence, two men were killed in train collisions in unrelated incidents Tuesday and Wednesday, and one was a homeless man in East Oakland.

Alleged Shooter of Laney College Football Coach Reportedly Claimed Coach Used Witchcraft on Him

It appears there are some mental health issues with the 27-year-old man accused of shooting and killing Laney College coach John Beam, as he reportedly told investigators that he shot Beam because he thought Beam was performing witchcraft on him.

Sunday Links: One Person Dies in Double Shooting in SF’s Mission District, Suspect Arrested

The adult victim in last Saturday’s shooting near the Ocean Beach Safeway was shot through his window; tickets are now on sale for SF Sketchfest 2026; and two people were shot at 16th and Mission early Sunday, one person has died and a suspect arrested.

Arts & Entertainment

Field Notes: Local Landmark Love, Visitacion Valley Library, and Faith No More’s Roddy Bottum

This week: Arab Film Festival in Oakland, street cuts in the Tenderloin, and mutual aid in Berkeley. Plus, Visitacion Valley library, musician Roddy Bottum’s memoir, a fanciful redwood tree net structure, and an artist's playful take on local landmarks.

Arrest Made In Shooting of Famed Laney College Football Coach John Beam

Oakland police have announced that an arrest has been made in connection with Thursday's shocking shooting at Laney College, which left a beloved football coach critically wounded, and more details about the crime have emerged.

Legendary Oakland Football Coach Celebrated in Netflix Series Shot at Laney College

It’s Oakland’s second school shooting in two days, with Laney College on lockdown Thursday over an active shooter, and the man who was shot was the school's famed former football coach who was featured in a 2020 Netflix series.

Oakland DMV That Was Ransacked by Copper Wire Thieves to Reopen Monday After Seven-Month Closure

A copper wire theft job at the Oakland Coliseum DMV ended up wrecking the HVAC system and flooding the place, leading to a seven-month repair job, but that DMV office will open again on Monday.

Arts & Entertainment

Latinx Drag Queens to Put on Anti-ICE Show at Oakland's White Horse Friday

A trio of Latinx drag performers are putting on a show Friday in Oakland in protest of ICE — and the cast includes recently detained performer Hilary Rivers, who spent three months in ICE detention.

Sunday Links: Bystander Hit by Stray Bullets in SF While Walking Past Group of Strangers

A man accused of sending death threats to Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee will go on trial; LA Dodgers fans were pretty well behaved after the team’s World Series win Saturday; and a man was shot multiple times in SF's Polk Gulch while walking by people who may have been fighting.

Video Shows Weird Aftermath to Shooting Involving U-Haul Truck at Coast Guard Island ICE Protest

As we await further details from federal investigators about a strange incident that capped off a tense day Thursday in Oakland outside the gates of Alameda's Coast Guard Island, the Chronicle has obtained some strange surveillance video.

Arts & Entertainment

Field Notes: Filipino Tea Party, Candelabra Redwoods, Fog and Folklore, and Mezcal Lineage

In this week’s Field Notes: Financial literacy for youth; Filipino tea and an all-Filipino band; Latino history; mezcal traditions; ceramic and wood; sculptural trees; Bay Area haunts; a mountain lion’s journey; and Santa Cruz’s new upscale hotel and spa.

‘Black Ivy league’ School Howard University Reportedly in Discussions to Open Oakland Campus

While San Francisco is courting the Tennessee school Vanderbilt to bring a satellite campus to town, Oakland is reportedly in negotiations with one of the most prestigious historically Black colleges and universities, Howard University.

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee Gets Confirmation That No Immigration Operations Are Happening In Bay Area

Oakland Mayor and former Congresswoman Barbara Lee never had the pleasure of a phone call from President Trump on Wednesday. But she now says that she has otherwise been able to confirm that no immigration-arrest "surges" are happening in the Bay Area, full stop.

Oakland Woman Describes Days of Torture, Rape, and Sexual Trafficking By East Palo Alto Man She Met Online

An East Palo Alto man with multiple violent charges on his record, several of which involved assaults on women, allegedly met a woman on Facebook Dating in June and proceeded to kidnap, rape, brutalize, and sexually traffic her over a six-day span.