A new poll reveals California’s ethic voters opposed to marijuana measure and split on governor’s race.

The Oakland City Council puts parcel taxes on the November ballot, dodging structural reforms and asking taxpayers to bear the brunt of costs to rehire police officers.

As the California gubernatorial campaign heats up, a new website critical of his tenure publishes dozens of columns about Jerry Brown’s eight years as mayor of Oakland.

Van Jones finally speaks out on the right wing attacks that forced him – and Shirley Sherrod – out. “People are now engineering viruses and pumping into the body politic.” Watch his entire video.

OaklandSeen was featured on national TV and radio program Democracy Now this morning to discuss social media’s role in building community in Oakland, in the aftermath of the Mehserle verdict and beyond. Publisher Aimee Allison was joined by Oakland hip-hop journalist “Davey D” and Cheryl Contee (aka “Jill Tubman”), co-founder of the political blog “Jack and Jill Politics.”

Tyrone Stevenson(Scraper Bike King) coined the term “scraper bikes” for a unique style of “art bicycles” from Oakland. Now the movement is spreading worldwide.

Pablo Paredes believes that Oakland’s exhorbitant expenditures for police department benefits rob our children of quality education as budget cuts loom.

After our Mehserle verdict coverage demonstrated the power of innovative community reporting, OaklandSeen was invited to participate in Netroots Nation, and is proud to “represent” Oakland at this key national conference.

This weekend features an “Intimate Evening” filled with dancing under the stars and carriage rides at the Dunsmuir Estate, “World Carnaval” samba dancing, and drumming at The Den – and that’s just the start of it.

Thanks to our friends at Faith in the Bay for this video that captures the excitement and fever of the star-studded concert honoring the life of Bishop Walter Hawkins.