We're coming up on our third Open Newsroom of the week, this time at Cafe Zoe in Menlo Park. Come by after 6 p.m. tomorrow to meet local reporters Shoshana Walter and Matt Smith of The Bay Citizen and Josh Johnson and Ian Hill from KQED. And I'll be there, too. Last night, the Open Newsroom team was in Alameda, at Z's Cocktail Lounge, with another great turnout. Trey Bundy, ......

Are you looking for more local voices to add to your Twitter stream? You can start by following @TheBayCitizen and our cadre of reporters: Health and environment reporter Katharine Mieszkowski: @kmieszkowski Embed:https://twitter.com/kmieszkowski/status/204609724954583041 Housing, real estate, development and veterans reporter Aaron Glantz: @Aaron_Glantz Embed:https://twitter.com/Aaron_Glantz/status/205007656124026881 Transportation reporter Zusha Elinson: @ZushaElinson Embed:https://twitter.com/ZushaElinson/status/200982272260837376 Crime and punishment reporter Shoshana Walter: @shoeshine Embed:https://twitter.com/shoeshine/status/204942638355456000 Regional government reporter Jennifer Gollan: @jennifergollan Embed:https://twitter.com/jennifergollan/status/202228343737815040 Arts, culture and nonprofits reporter Reyhan Harmanci: @harmancipants ......

The first of five Open Newsroom events with our partners at KQED News was Monday night in Oakland. Journalists from The Bay Citizen, the Center for Investigative Reporting, California Watch and KQED turned out in good numbers – and so did our readership. We heard story ideas that ran the gamut from concerns about the upcoming mayoral election in Berkeley to worries about mercury in dental fillings. I also received ......

Have you read Aaron Glantz's story on the "fix-it forum" Congress sponsored Monday to address the significant disability claims backlog at Oakland's Veterans Affairs office?  The turnout at the War Memorial Veterans Building in San Francisco's Civic Center was stunning: I arrived as U.S. Reps. Jackie Speier and Barbara Lee began addressing the packed house and spent the first few minutes trying to find Aaron, who wound up with a seat in the ......

This afternoon, I'll be at the War Memorial Veterans Building for a meeting between the California congressional delegation and representatives from regional offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs to discuss the VA's plan to reduce errors and the backlog at the Oakland office. I'll be joined by Bay Citizen reporter Aaron Glantz, who has been covering veterans issues for several years. Follow along from near or far via Twitter, ......