Meanwhile, the district stemmed principal<\/a> turnover, producing more stable schools \u2014 at least for now.<\/p>\n Sidewalks will get fixed Two Oakland residents with disabilities, Nicole Brown-Booker and Michael Curran, sued the city in 2023, in a class-action lawsuit over the conditions of the city\u2019s sidewalks. This summer, the suit reached a remarkable settlement, in which the city committed to repairing 78,000 sidewalks and 11,000 broken curb cuts over the next 25 years. We talked to one of the plaintiffs<\/a> about what promises to be a powerful transformation for those who use wheelchairs, strollers, or walkers.\u00a0<\/p>\n We won a baseball championship<\/p>\n Look, we all miss the A\u2019s. But Oakland\u2019s new 2-year-old baseball team are already champions<\/a>. The Ballers closed out a phenomenal 2025 season on top, and Oakland turned out to celebrate the West Oakland Pioneer League team at a parade and rally. Meanwhile, the Oakland Roots soccer side brought the Coliseum back to life, breaking an attendance record at their home opener in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bald eagles hatched in Oakland<\/p>\n For the first time in recorded history, bald eagles successfully hatched some eaglets<\/a> in Oakland \u2014 and bird lovers were overjoyed. Their chosen home? A eucalyptus tree in Mountain View Cemetery at the top of Piedmont Avenue. The Bay Area is a natural habitat for bald eagles, but the population has been struggling to rebound from the ravages of the pesticide DDT for decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n Loard\u2019s came back Oakland\u2019s iconic 75-year-old ice cream shop, Loard\u2019s, reopened<\/a> its spherical flagship shop in June at MacArthur Boulevard and Coolidge Avenue in the Dimond District. The old-fashioned shop had been closed for four years. It came back just in time for summer.<\/p>\n Violent crime dropped<\/p>\n Perhaps the most positive news of the year: Violent crime in Oakland is way down<\/a>, for the second year in a row. As of late November, the city had seen 59 homicides, compared to 114 at the same time in 2023. Between 2020 and 2023, upward of 100 people were killed in Oakland each year. Robberies and sexual assaults have also declined. The rise and then fall in violent crime in Oakland is in step with national trends since the pandemic began. Of course, this good news is highly qualified, as any violent tragedy in Oakland is one too many.<\/p>\n Affordable housing was on a roll<\/p>\n Back in 2018, when new apartment buildings seemed to be springing up in Oakland by the day, there was one type of construction blatantly lacking: housing for low-income residents. The city has finally made significant progress<\/a> on that front, issuing permits for hundreds of new affordable housing units over the past couple of years, and building hundreds more. Measure U, the bond measure passed by voters in 2022, is partially to thank for this momentum, having raised $350 million for affordable housing in Oakland.\u00a0<\/p>\n The county invested in food security and immigration defense<\/p>\n As the Trump Administration pursued an immigration crackdown and slashed safety net services, vulnerable residents in Oakland and throughout the county faced significant impacts. Alameda County leaders stepped up to fill the gaps. The Board of Supervisors invested more than $10 million<\/a> for food assistance in the wake of cuts to SNAP<\/a>, the food assistance program. The Board of Supervisors also approved millions for immigration defense<\/a>, as calls to the county hotline skyrocketed.<\/p>\n BART hosted a love train About 200 young adults flirted and maybe even found love on BART\u2019s in-motion speed-dating extravaganza<\/a>. The transit agency hosted the dating event on a train traveling between the downtown Berkeley and 24th Street Mission stations on Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n Oakland is genius<\/p>\n Local author Tommy Orange<\/a> was among this year\u2019s MacArthur Fellows \u2014 also known as MacArthur \u201cgenius grant\u201d recipients. Fellows receive open-ended $800,000 awards. Orange wrote the acclaimed novels There There and Wandering Stars, interconnected books that follow generations of Native American characters in and beyond Oakland.<\/p>\n We got a nobody\u2019s happy \u2014 but nobody\u2019s laid off \u2014 budget<\/p>\n Admittedly, one city councilmember called the 2025-2027 $4.2 billion spending plan<\/a> passed this spring the \u201cNobody\u2019s Happy Budget.\u201d But Oakland officials were tasked with closing out a massive deficit and they pulled it off. Despite initial plans, the council was able to adopt a budget that avoided layoffs of city employees. And the mayor and council worked together to get the plan passed quickly, instead of tussling over clauses and provisions up until the deadline.<\/p>\n A food justice organization expanded<\/p>\n Saba Grocers Initiative, a food justice and distribution organization, got a plum state grant worth $2 million<\/a> to open a \u201cfood hub\u201d at Jack London Square. Through the hub, Saba will shuttle food from local farms to schools, hospitals, food banks, and other sites across the county. They also plan to expand their existing program distributing food to corner stores. Separately, Saba sued the city of Oakland over its handling of a different, federal grant. The suit was settled this fall<\/a> for $500,000, helping highlight flaws in the city\u2019s grant system.<\/p>\n Queer Oakland resisted\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a challenging year for queer organizations, which have faced a sharp rollback of federal grant programs, erasure of language and documents recognizing them, and a slew of executive orders challenging their existence. In Oakland, the diverse queer community has come together in the face of hardship, celebrating together at events like the Oaklash drag festival<\/a>, and supporting one another through organizations like Lavender Seniors<\/a>, a 30-year-old LGBTQ+ elders group. A group called Rainbow Families Action<\/a> also ramped up efforts to support transgender youth.<\/p>\n Oakland\u2019s food scene got recognition\u00a0 Anyone who\u2019s eaten out in Oakland can attest to our delicious and diverse offerings. This year, the rest of the world took note. Oakland was deemed the best food city in the United States in Cond\u00e9 Nast\u2019s readers\u2019 awards<\/a> for the second year in a row. And Sun Moon Studio in West Oakland became the second Oakland restaurant to receive a Michelin star<\/a>.<\/p>\n Also, you guys showed this city some love as well; Oakland eateries dominated Cityside\u2019s Nosh Awards<\/a> in 2025.<\/p>\n Kids got free field trips<\/p>\n
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Nicole Brown-Booker sued Oakland over its sidewalk conditions and reached a remarkable settlement with the city this year. Credit: Florence Middleton for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n
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The original location of Loard\u2019s Ice Cream in upper Dimond, first opened in 1950, reopened in June 2025. Credit: Tovin Lapan\/The Oaklandside<\/p>\n
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Strangers chat it up on BART during a special Valentine\u2019s Day ride. Credit: Ximena Natera\/The Oaklandside<\/p>\n
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Sun Moon Studio received a Michelin star this year. Credit: Teo Crider for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n