"Should Oakland residents have to pay $100 a year in permits to raise chickens?"  There were over 300 people at the July 2011 hearing where Oakland, CA residents came together with City government to share views on how Oakland should handle permitting for urban agriculture.

In my 20 years of zoning work, this is the biggest meeting I've seen," Eric Angstad, Community and Economic Development Agency Deputy Director, told our reporter. "Urban agriculture is an issue people feel strongly about, and in this case, we have a major conflict that is bringing even more people out."

But despite the importance of access to healthy food for everyone in Oakland, and all the efforts by more than 20 local groups, Oakland Local was the only local reporting organization to cover the meeting in depth. Our story on this topic was published on our site, and redistributed through Facebook, Yahoo News!, SFGate, New America Media among others, reaching more than 11,000 local readers in the week it ran. (See http://bit.ly/qaCu4o )

But without tax-deductible reader contributions, Oakland Local won't have the budget to continue to cover this story -- or to cover the news on gang injunctions, urban education, queer culture, local business/tech and city government that have made local residents says "I love Oakland Local!" and call us "addictive" and "irresistible."

We need you -- Oakland Local readers -- to reach into your pockets and donate to fund Oakland Local's writers and reporters -- or we won't be able to continue publishing.  Whether it's $10, 25, 50, 100 or more, this is the time to give if you value the coverage we offer daily.

To make a tax-deductible donation to Oakland Local, give via Razoo: http://bit.ly/dPU5NZ

Supporting independent non-profit media in Oakland is something you need to do--or it won't be here.

Best, Susan

P.S., Oakland Local also offers free and low-cost training for individuals, community organizations and small, local non-profits in telling news stories and using social media to make their voices heard. For more info on upcoming programs, email training@oaklandlocal.com.