East Bay Democratic Socialists of America has a voter guide for the election on November 3. If you're lacking information on your local ballot items you may be able to find background in the guide. It also includes DSA endorsements (marked with roses), and recommendations.

We are holding a public discussion of the guide on October 24 at 3:15 at Castro Valley Library. The plan is to get into the guide, and to hear from people in the community. Event info and an RSVP form are here.

If you're already mostly up-to-date I want to give a heads-up: measures 41 and 42 are poison pills that could override measure 40 (the billionaire wealth tax) even if measure 40 passes.

If you have already voted, good work!

Hello,
As the title indicates, I am hoping to find a transit-connected area for safe, peaceful walking. I’d like to ease my mind and leave my car at home. Bonus points for quiet and views of the Bay or hills.
TIA

With more than 170,000 pending cases and a wave of newly appointed immigration judges — or “deportation judges,” as the Department of Justice now calls them — the Concord court’s caseload has dramatically swelled. To accommodate the surge, the DOJ is conducting mass hearings, dubbing some of them “mega master hearings,” at which several dozen people are called to appear at one time. As the number of mega masters has risen, so has the number of immigrants who have missed their hearings and been ordered removed from the country “in absentia.”

Immigration attorneys and court observers say it’s these orders that are providing the legal ammunition for the country’s rapidly accelerating deportation machine.

Read the full story here.

Looking for affordable housing in the Bay Area as a working single mom. Any advice or resources that actually work?

Hi everyone! I'm a working single mother of two young children, one of whom is autistic, and I'm trying to find affordable housing somewhere in the Bay Area.

I currently make $33/hour working full-time, which comes out to approximately $68,640 a year before taxes. I'm looking for an apartment with rent ideally between about $1,400 a month. I'm open to pretty much anywhere in the Bay Area, including the East Bay, South Bay, and surrounding areas, as long as it's a realistic option for a working mom with two young kids.

I've been researching affordable housing programs, income-restricted apartments, and housing waitlists, but it's difficult to tell which resources are actually helpful, which ones have open applications, and which ones might take years to get anywhere with. My credit score is also around 500, so I'm trying to find places or programs where that won't automatically disqualify me.

I'm especially hoping to hear from people who have personally been through this. Have you used a housing program, applied for an affordable apartment, or found a resource that genuinely helped you get housed in a reasonable amount of time? Were you able to qualify while working and earning a similar income?

I'm not necessarily looking for a handout. I'm trying to find realistic options that will allow me to afford a stable home for my children while continuing to work.

Any firsthand experiences, specific apartment communities, currently open waitlists, or lesser-known resources would be greatly appreciated. If you've personally used something that worked, I'd especially love to hear about it and how long the process took.

Thank you!

Hey everyone, I could use the name of a good Whirlpool washing machine repair company in the Hayward/San Leandro area. I was going to buy a new washer but there are so many scary stories about new machines, I'm going to try to go the repair route. Much appreciated!

Does anyone know of any specialized vet cardiologist in the bay area ? My cat has an enlarged heart and I’m Trying to get him seen. Any rec would be great thank you

I'm the Bay Area organizer for Change.vote, a free nonpartisan ballot guide from Change.org. You put in your address, and it shows every race and measure on your Oakland ballot in plain language, without telling you how to vote. No sign-up. Figured it might help anyone who usually skips the down-ballot stuff. So far, people I've shared with have found it very helpful for voting informed! Happy to answer questions. Check it out!

What the actual fuck is this insanity. Its time for us as voters to make a stand against this company. They are inept. The state needs to take over.

/edit all you people defending them is insane to me. You realize they keep paying themselves more and making us pay more and spending tens millions on propaganda advertisements instead of spending more money and time addressing the core issue with is poor management of their equipment and lines. There should be crews out 24/7 365 working to fix these issues and the higher ups should take a pay cut to fund it.

A few local options for this week:

• Thursday, October 15: Free Movie Night: Psycho at Orinda Theatre, 6:30pm. First-come screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller.
• Friday, October 16: Steep Canyon Rangers at Siesta Valley Bowl, 8pm. Bluegrass blended with contemporary Americana.
• Saturday, October 17: Seed Planting with Christian at Orchard Nursery, 10am. Kids can plant seeds, decorate labels, and learn how to care for their plants.
• Sunday, October 18: Lafayette Res Run for Education. A community run supporting local public schools; check the event details for your race’s start time.
• Sunday, October 18: Loving Karma at CinemaWest Rheem Theatre, 3pm. Documentary about compassion and belonging, followed by a Q&A.

Details and more events: https://www.lamorindalife.com/p/a-sunday-run-for-our-schools

Add other worthwhile local events in the comments.

I live in Oakland and have been having a really hard time finding a place that can do an AC recharge on my car, which has been without AC for the whole heatwave season. Jiffy Lube in Berkeley only has one person who does it and he hasn't been around. Oil Changers on Grand said they could do it, but then said no we don't do it. Firestone in San Leandro accepted an appointment request to do it, but called me an hour before the appointment to say they don't provide the service. The websites of all these places say that this is a service they offer.

Has anyone managed to get this done in the east bay? Where do you go? (My car is a Mazda, if relevant.) Thanks in advance for any pointers!

We bought tickets for tonight's Autumn Lights Festival in the Gardens at Lake Marritt. We now have a conflict so are going tomorrow night instead, which means we're making tonight's tickets available at a discount. They're Eventbrite tickets, and apparently this is how you sell those--you don't have to deal with us, you just go to this site and just buy them and they take care of the transfer. https://tixel.com/u/42841957

Hey! Looking for someone in or around Pleasant Hill, CA who might be interested in teaching chess to elementary school students for just 4 sessions.

Classes are on Wednesdays from 1-2 PM. It’s a paid opportunity, and the curriculum and chess sets are already provided. Ideally someone who knows chess well and has some experience working with kids. You don’t necessarily need to be a professional chess coach.

If you’re interested or know someone who might be, feel free to DM me and I can share more details. Thanks!

Moved to the area, dog is 16ish, needs teeth work I think and a general checkup. Welcoming recs around Union city, Fremont for a vet.

Any other places do truly exceptional food that can be discovered over and over like The Cheeseboard?

I'm a sucker for delicious novelty

At the start of what’s expected to be a roughly six-week trial, opposing attorneys painted the defendants as, on one hand, cunning political operatives and shady businessmen who participated in a lucrative bribery and influence-peddling scheme or, on the other hand, victims of a vengeful Oakland “kingmaker” who is helping prosecutors in the hope of receiving a lighter sentence after pleading guilty to his own bribery charge.

The corruption trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao began with prosecutors calling it "politics for profit," while the defense called it "pure fiction."

October 13th, it turns out, is the date when the sun sets almost perfectly over Alcatraz and between the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge when viewed from the Oakland hills.

We were fortunate that Karl took the night off.

Hi East Bay parents,

I'm searching for a therapist for my 9-year-old. We're looking for someone who:

- Has real experience working with autistic kids (neurodiversity-affirming is a big plus)

- Can help with anxiety/social issues

- Is in or near El Cerrito (Albany, Berkeley, Richmond, Kensington etc)

- In-person preferred / open to telehealth

- Bonus: has plenty of parking nearby

If you've worked with someone you'd recommend, or a practice that was easy to get into, I'd really appreciate the name.

Thank you!

A couple of years ago this sweet boy followed my wife and dog home from a walk in Oakland where we decided to foster him a bit until we could find someone suitable to take him in. We ended up finding an awesome woman in the lobby of Oakland Animal as she was already there looking for a new member to add to her family where he has been for the last couple years

Unfortunately, his current owner has undergone surgery that went sideways and can no longer care for him the way that he requires.

Name: Max

Age: ~3.5 years old

Weight: ~95 lbs

Breed: Pittie mix with some type of sheppard or malinois. They never ran a DNA test on him but he has the ability to jump over into the neighbors fence lol.

Please help spread the word. He's an incredibly smart dog and does great with kids, dogs and even cats as that's his current living situation now. I would hate for him to meet his fate because I know there's someone out there who would love to have him in their lives.

He's not for the couch potato type of person as his breed requires a decent amount of exercise and stimulation.

Let's find this boy a home.