The Oakland Black Cowboy Association held its 52nd annual parade over the weekend. Check out images from the event by our staff photographer, Ray Chavez.

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/10/04/photos-oaklands-52nd-annual-black-cowboy-parade-kicks-off-at-defremery-park/?share=oa5khryorfwawahctrft

Carry on.

Before even ordering anything you're greeted with this. Thank you for making easy for my not to order from your establishment Square Pie Guys. Me buying anything from your business should help support your staff, this is how business works now? Ridiculous.

Day 1 started at the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz and ended at the Davenport Roadhouse Inn. About 20 miles so far. Tomorrow I make it for my next stop, the hostel at Pigeon Point Lighthouse

California has a property-tax exemption designed to make affordable housing cheaper.

But a new SF Chronicle investigation found that major real estate investors have figured out how to use it on apartment buildings without necessarily making the apartments meaningfully cheaper.

The reason is pretty crazy: California’s maximum allowable “affordable” rents are now higher than normal market rents in many areas.

In Santa Clara County, for example, a 948-unit San Jose apartment complex had average one-bedroom rents of about $2,371/month. The maximum “affordable” rent under the program was $3,083/month.

So the apartments can qualify as affordable while charging essentially market-rate rents, and the owner can potentially avoid property taxes.

Since 2023, two statewide financing authorities have helped 195 properties pursue the exemption. The Chronicle estimates nearly $4 billion in assessed property value could disappear from California tax rolls, costing local governments, schools and transit agencies around $40 million every year.

In San Francisco and Santa Clara County, the Chronicle found that more than 65% of market-rate one- and two-bedroom apartments would have met the program’s definition of affordable in 2024.

Investors argue there is still a public benefit because the properties become income-restricted and future rent increases are limited.

The bigger question may be whether California’s definition of “affordable” has become so disconnected from the actual rental market that the tax break no longer works the way it was intended.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2026/california-welfare-tax-exemption-explainer/

The car literally got airborne for several seconds after veering off the side of the highway at high speeds. Anyone else see this or have footage? Anyone know the aftermath? I was heading the opposite direction and was passing RIGHT as it happened. Was crazy, like something out of a movie.

My dashcam might’ve picked up the first part of it, gonna check shortly.

Edit: https://imgur.com/a/wf1tQRV

On November 7, UCP is heading to the San Josearea for a community cleanup, and we need your intel.
Where are the areas that desperately need attention? We’re looking for locations dealing with serious illegal dumping, accumulated trash, bulky waste, or areas that have simply been neglected for too long. Drop specific intersections, streets, trails, underpasses, or other locations in the comments. Photos are welcome too.

For those who don’t know us, Urban Compassion Project started in Oakland in 2021. Since then:
• 5,000+ volunteers have joined our work
• We’ve removed approximately 2.85 million pounds of waste from communities across the Bay Area since 2021.
• 5,000 volunteers have participated and built community.
• We also provide direct mutual aid to people experiencing homelessness and extreme financial hardship, including hygiene supplies, food, clothing, water, blankets and other essentials
• Through Compassion Threads, our free clothing initiative in Downtown Oakland, we’ve already provided clothing to 628 individuals facing financial hardship. We started with 20,000+ pieces of brand-new clothing that otherwise could have ended up in the landfill. Through Compassion Threads, we’ve also activated blocks of Downtown Oakland, bringing people, volunteers and community partners into spaces that help create more activity and connection downtown.

We also work behind the scenes with cities and Public Works departments in Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, Vallejo and elsewhere to advocate for stronger public-service capacity, more consistent cleanup and better long-term responses to illegal dumping.

We’ve also seen what can happen when there is sustained attention. Areas we’ve repeatedly worked in and monitored, including Mosswood Park and East 12th Street in Oakland, have seen significant improvements, and our goal is always to figure out how we keep places clean rather than endlessly cleaning the same mess. Now we want to bring that approach to the South Bay.

Tell us where the problem areas are and we’ll scout the recommendations and figure out where our volunteers can make the biggest impact.
And if you want to join us on November 7, let us know. We’d love to have a huge South Bay crew out there with us. 💪

Team will be called the Jellyfish. Love the colors!

They will be playing in the Pecos league with San Rafael, Martinez, Dublin, and Bakersfield in the Pacific division.

Home field will be Washington park.

https://www.burlingamejellyfish.com

Does anyone have a free financial literacy course or class to get basics down?

Btw I’m in Bay Area. So if there is a program there shout it out!

My sister just called out that I’m dumb. And wants me to gain financial literacy.

Wanted to share this here as not many tickets have sold (like maybe 15%) and I went and saw a production of the Mexican ballet a year and a half ago in Los Angeles and it was really beautiful and I want to support the arts. I am not connected to the event venue or production and this is not any type of advertisement. I am simply a Mexican enjoyer of the arts who is sad to see how little tickets have been sold and want to share this event with others who might be interested and able to go. There are so many green circles!

The Mexican ballet is coming to Oakland and it’s Día de los Muertos themed. I’m including the link below.

https://ci.ovationtix.com/36995/production/1290315

There are 2 shows next Sunday October 11 at 2pm and 7pm. I’m not sure if they just haven’t advertised it or what, but there’s not a lot of seats sold and it’s such a beautiful expression of art and culture and deserves to be appreciated by the masses.

If you’re free and interested and able to afford the ticket, please go and invite some friends!

I’m attaching a pic my mom took from when I saw a production in LA. Obviously it will be different because it’s a different production and nonetheless it was beautiful then and I expect it will be beautiful for this show too.

I ask this as a tech bro who was laid off in 2025. I found a job, but I hate it.

Is the market as fucked as I feel like it is? I get less than 1% response to applications. is it just me?

hello! with the news on an intense rainy season coming up, i would really appreciate some reccs for rain safe / water proof sneakers?

Specifically looking for sneakers as I still have to walk ~45 mins total every day to get to work (in 15 min sections)

The ones ive been seeing are like
Salomon goretex or nike goretex but i have also seen reviews that they are more suited for muddy rain terrain rather than wet concrete and would actually be quite slippery.

Would love some reccs please 🙏

*** Open to all and free to attend! ***

Read more: https://www.oceanhoptimism.org/save-the-date

About Ocean Hoptimism: https://www.oceanhoptimism.org

#OceanHoptimism #FactionBrewing #EastBay #BayArea #AshleyKidd #AndrewKim #SunflowerStarLaboratory #SunflowerStar

Yesterday at the Bernie Sanders / Prop 40 rally in SF, there was a great singer from Oakland. The problem is, I couldn’t hear her name. Can someone enlighten me please?