Cecilia Lei
@cecilialei.bsky.social
Bay Area journalist, aspiring optimist.
@coyotemedia.org co-founder
@kqednews.kqed.org contributor
@coyotemedia.org co-founder
@kqednews.kqed.org contributor
Pinned
What the ‘Asian Market Boom’ Is Missing: An Ode to Pacific East Mall
As shiny, new Asian grocery stores are hailed as retail "saviors," the decades-old Pacific East Mall in Richmond shows how immigrant cultural spaces matter beyond their economic benefits.
www.coyotemedia.org
New Asian grocery stores are opening across the Bay Area and are positioned as retail 'saviors'.
Immigrant culture gets celebrated when it’s profitable — and villainized when it’s not. I wrote an essay about it, and about the mall that raised me: Pacific East Mall ❤️
Immigrant culture gets celebrated when it’s profitable — and villainized when it’s not. I wrote an essay about it, and about the mall that raised me: Pacific East Mall ❤️
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
Our founders, though deeply flawed, understood that democracy requires an informed citizenry and a government accountable to it people. That’s why the press is the only profession protected by the Constitution. It’s also why autocrats and oligarchs seek to control and destroy it.
February 4, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Our founders, though deeply flawed, understood that democracy requires an informed citizenry and a government accountable to it people. That’s why the press is the only profession protected by the Constitution. It’s also why autocrats and oligarchs seek to control and destroy it.
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
COYOTE's featured alongside a handful of our fellow worker-owned outlets in @niemanlab.org today, talking about the reality of doing democratically managed journalism. Summary: It's a lot of fucking meetings! www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/jour...
Journalism coops seem utopian. What’s it like working in one?
"If I was less self-directed, I'd probably be freaking out."
www.niemanlab.org
February 4, 2026 at 6:21 PM
COYOTE's featured alongside a handful of our fellow worker-owned outlets in @niemanlab.org today, talking about the reality of doing democratically managed journalism. Summary: It's a lot of fucking meetings! www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/jour...
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
"This is the worst fucking time. But watching people's response to ICE has just been the most affirming thing in the world.” We interviewed our friends over at @racketmn.com about what it’s like to cover the crisis in Minneapolis as community-centered journalists
How Racket, Minneapolis’s Worker-Owned Newsroom, Is Covering Its Hometown Fascist Invasion
“This is the worst fucking time. But watching people’s response to ICE has been the most affirming thing in the world.”
www.coyotemedia.org
January 29, 2026 at 4:08 PM
"This is the worst fucking time. But watching people's response to ICE has just been the most affirming thing in the world.” We interviewed our friends over at @racketmn.com about what it’s like to cover the crisis in Minneapolis as community-centered journalists
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
i am so proud of @coyotemedia.org for being a place that can run stuff like this without pulling punches
and i also feel it should be known that @soleilho.com wrote this powerful piece in like two hours *with the flu*
and i also feel it should be known that @soleilho.com wrote this powerful piece in like two hours *with the flu*
"Minnesotans are doing all they can, but they can’t keep fighting alone," writes @soleilho.com. "It’s time for a nationwide general strike: a coordinated withdrawal of labor across industries and regions until ICE is abolished."
What We Owe Minnesota
We solve this together or not at all.
www.coyotemedia.org
January 26, 2026 at 5:31 PM
i am so proud of @coyotemedia.org for being a place that can run stuff like this without pulling punches
and i also feel it should be known that @soleilho.com wrote this powerful piece in like two hours *with the flu*
and i also feel it should be known that @soleilho.com wrote this powerful piece in like two hours *with the flu*
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
wrote a special newsletter today for @coyotemedia.org that's chock-full of mutual aid links for work happening in Minneapolis-St. Paul www.coyotemedia.org/coyote-weekl...
COYOTE Weekly: Heave ho!
Keep pushing.
www.coyotemedia.org
January 19, 2026 at 6:48 PM
wrote a special newsletter today for @coyotemedia.org that's chock-full of mutual aid links for work happening in Minneapolis-St. Paul www.coyotemedia.org/coyote-weekl...
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
At home in the dark during SF’s massive blackout last month, as journalist @idamoj.bsky.social scrambled to save food, she also wondered how we got here.
It’s too simple to cast PG&E as the only villain, she argues: Why aren’t we talking about the CPUC? www.coyotemedia.org/in-the-dark-...
It’s too simple to cast PG&E as the only villain, she argues: Why aren’t we talking about the CPUC? www.coyotemedia.org/in-the-dark-...
In the Dark: Who’s Really to Blame for the Great SF Blackout?
‘The fish rots from the head,’ says one expert — and the smell is coming from the governor’s mansion.
www.coyotemedia.org
January 16, 2026 at 5:52 PM
At home in the dark during SF’s massive blackout last month, as journalist @idamoj.bsky.social scrambled to save food, she also wondered how we got here.
It’s too simple to cast PG&E as the only villain, she argues: Why aren’t we talking about the CPUC? www.coyotemedia.org/in-the-dark-...
It’s too simple to cast PG&E as the only villain, she argues: Why aren’t we talking about the CPUC? www.coyotemedia.org/in-the-dark-...
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
before 99 ranch opened in my city (suburbia baby!), the ranch and the plaza it’s in is the one I frequented the most bc it was the closest at the time. the video store that we would buy dramas there and I rmr my dad bought this one violent movie and the lady was like “don’t watch this with your kid”
The Bay Area is experiencing an 'Asian Market Boom.' But what does it mean when immigrant cultural spaces become economic solutions?
Read @cecilialei.bsky.social's personal essay on Richmond’s Pacific East Mall, the "retail savior" narrative, and why she’s craving a different story.
Read @cecilialei.bsky.social's personal essay on Richmond’s Pacific East Mall, the "retail savior" narrative, and why she’s craving a different story.
What the ‘Asian Market Boom’ is Missing: An Ode to Pacific East Mall
As shiny, new Asian grocery stores are hailed as retail "saviors," the decades-old Pacific East Mall in Richmond shows how immigrant cultural spaces matter beyond their economic benefits.
www.coyotemedia.org
January 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
before 99 ranch opened in my city (suburbia baby!), the ranch and the plaza it’s in is the one I frequented the most bc it was the closest at the time. the video store that we would buy dramas there and I rmr my dad bought this one violent movie and the lady was like “don’t watch this with your kid”
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
Loved reading this.
“It’s impossible to shake the irony of reading about Asian grocery stores as retail saviors at a moment when immigrants are being framed, yet again, as threats — to jobs, to safety, to the nation itself.”
“It’s impossible to shake the irony of reading about Asian grocery stores as retail saviors at a moment when immigrants are being framed, yet again, as threats — to jobs, to safety, to the nation itself.”
New Asian grocery stores are opening across the Bay Area and are positioned as retail 'saviors'.
Immigrant culture gets celebrated when it’s profitable — and villainized when it’s not. I wrote an essay about it, and about the mall that raised me: Pacific East Mall ❤️
Immigrant culture gets celebrated when it’s profitable — and villainized when it’s not. I wrote an essay about it, and about the mall that raised me: Pacific East Mall ❤️
What the ‘Asian Market Boom’ Is Missing: An Ode to Pacific East Mall
As shiny, new Asian grocery stores are hailed as retail "saviors," the decades-old Pacific East Mall in Richmond shows how immigrant cultural spaces matter beyond their economic benefits.
www.coyotemedia.org
January 10, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Loved reading this.
“It’s impossible to shake the irony of reading about Asian grocery stores as retail saviors at a moment when immigrants are being framed, yet again, as threats — to jobs, to safety, to the nation itself.”
“It’s impossible to shake the irony of reading about Asian grocery stores as retail saviors at a moment when immigrants are being framed, yet again, as threats — to jobs, to safety, to the nation itself.”
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
“What does it mean when essential facets of immigrant life, like our food and gathering places — which were traditionally ‘othered’ and sidelined — go mainstream?” asks @cecilialei.bsky.social. Check out her beautiful essay on the Pacific East Mall and the Asian market boom 👇
What the ‘Asian Market Boom’ Is Missing: An Ode to Pacific East Mall
As shiny, new Asian grocery stores are hailed as retail "saviors," the decades-old Pacific East Mall in Richmond shows how immigrant cultural spaces matter beyond their economic benefits.
www.coyotemedia.org
January 10, 2026 at 2:11 AM
“What does it mean when essential facets of immigrant life, like our food and gathering places — which were traditionally ‘othered’ and sidelined — go mainstream?” asks @cecilialei.bsky.social. Check out her beautiful essay on the Pacific East Mall and the Asian market boom 👇
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
Loved this piece by @cecilialei.bsky.social on what the "Asian Market Boom" of 2025 actually feels like when you've grown up going to Asian markets. A lovely ode to Pacific East Mall, family, tradition, change, and food. www.coyotemedia.org/asian-market...
What the ‘Asian Market Boom’ Is Missing: An Ode to Pacific East Mall
As shiny, new Asian grocery stores are hailed as retail "saviors," the decades-old Pacific East Mall in Richmond shows how immigrant cultural spaces matter beyond their economic benefits.
www.coyotemedia.org
January 10, 2026 at 4:06 AM
Loved this piece by @cecilialei.bsky.social on what the "Asian Market Boom" of 2025 actually feels like when you've grown up going to Asian markets. A lovely ode to Pacific East Mall, family, tradition, change, and food. www.coyotemedia.org/asian-market...
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
The Bay Area is experiencing an 'Asian Market Boom.' But what does it mean when immigrant cultural spaces become economic solutions?
Read @cecilialei.bsky.social's personal essay on Richmond’s Pacific East Mall, the "retail savior" narrative, and why she’s craving a different story.
Read @cecilialei.bsky.social's personal essay on Richmond’s Pacific East Mall, the "retail savior" narrative, and why she’s craving a different story.
What the ‘Asian Market Boom’ is Missing: An Ode to Pacific East Mall
As shiny, new Asian grocery stores are hailed as retail "saviors," the decades-old Pacific East Mall in Richmond shows how immigrant cultural spaces matter beyond their economic benefits.
www.coyotemedia.org
January 9, 2026 at 6:38 PM
The Bay Area is experiencing an 'Asian Market Boom.' But what does it mean when immigrant cultural spaces become economic solutions?
Read @cecilialei.bsky.social's personal essay on Richmond’s Pacific East Mall, the "retail savior" narrative, and why she’s craving a different story.
Read @cecilialei.bsky.social's personal essay on Richmond’s Pacific East Mall, the "retail savior" narrative, and why she’s craving a different story.
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
Love, love, love this @coyotemedia.org essay about Pacific East Mall from my colleague (and fellow Albany kid) @cecilialei.bsky.social.
Also it's Ranch 99. I did not realize this was up for debate www.coyotemedia.org/asian-market...
Also it's Ranch 99. I did not realize this was up for debate www.coyotemedia.org/asian-market...
What the ‘Asian Market Boom’ Is Missing: An Ode to Pacific East Mall
As shiny, new Asian grocery stores are hailed as retail "saviors," the decades-old Pacific East Mall in Richmond shows how immigrant cultural spaces matter beyond their economic benefits.
www.coyotemedia.org
January 9, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Love, love, love this @coyotemedia.org essay about Pacific East Mall from my colleague (and fellow Albany kid) @cecilialei.bsky.social.
Also it's Ranch 99. I did not realize this was up for debate www.coyotemedia.org/asian-market...
Also it's Ranch 99. I did not realize this was up for debate www.coyotemedia.org/asian-market...
New Asian grocery stores are opening across the Bay Area and are positioned as retail 'saviors'.
Immigrant culture gets celebrated when it’s profitable — and villainized when it’s not. I wrote an essay about it, and about the mall that raised me: Pacific East Mall ❤️
Immigrant culture gets celebrated when it’s profitable — and villainized when it’s not. I wrote an essay about it, and about the mall that raised me: Pacific East Mall ❤️
What the ‘Asian Market Boom’ Is Missing: An Ode to Pacific East Mall
As shiny, new Asian grocery stores are hailed as retail "saviors," the decades-old Pacific East Mall in Richmond shows how immigrant cultural spaces matter beyond their economic benefits.
www.coyotemedia.org
January 10, 2026 at 12:04 AM
New Asian grocery stores are opening across the Bay Area and are positioned as retail 'saviors'.
Immigrant culture gets celebrated when it’s profitable — and villainized when it’s not. I wrote an essay about it, and about the mall that raised me: Pacific East Mall ❤️
Immigrant culture gets celebrated when it’s profitable — and villainized when it’s not. I wrote an essay about it, and about the mall that raised me: Pacific East Mall ❤️
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
cleanse your brain, cleanse your spirit: read @rahawahaile.bsky.social and @maggietokudahall.bsky.social in conversation about pigeons www.coyotemedia.org/local-woman-...
Local Woman Has Hobby: Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s Pigeon Paintings
“Everything that we think is disgusting about human life, pigeons wear without shame.”
www.coyotemedia.org
January 8, 2026 at 2:13 AM
cleanse your brain, cleanse your spirit: read @rahawahaile.bsky.social and @maggietokudahall.bsky.social in conversation about pigeons www.coyotemedia.org/local-woman-...
Proud of my colleague @emmaruthless.bsky.social for breaking this important story, and for highlighting how interconnected our local independent creative networks are.
What an honor to be trusted, and what a responsibility that @coyotemedia.org takes seriously as we navigate uncertainty together.
What an honor to be trusted, and what a responsibility that @coyotemedia.org takes seriously as we navigate uncertainty together.
been thinking about what it meant that BotH came to us with this story
I think it points to how alt-weeklies and small music venues used to be part of the same independent culture ecosystem. Arts infrastructure as a public utility — but totally separate from city govt. We so desperately need it
I think it points to how alt-weeklies and small music venues used to be part of the same independent culture ecosystem. Arts infrastructure as a public utility — but totally separate from city govt. We so desperately need it
ICYMI: Bottom of the Hill, “the first place in SF your favorite band played,” will close at the end of 2026.
Read our exclusive interview with the famed music venue’s owners … and then get to a show. www.coyotemedia.org/san-francisc...
Read our exclusive interview with the famed music venue’s owners … and then get to a show. www.coyotemedia.org/san-francisc...
January 5, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Proud of my colleague @emmaruthless.bsky.social for breaking this important story, and for highlighting how interconnected our local independent creative networks are.
What an honor to be trusted, and what a responsibility that @coyotemedia.org takes seriously as we navigate uncertainty together.
What an honor to be trusted, and what a responsibility that @coyotemedia.org takes seriously as we navigate uncertainty together.
❤️ this shoutout (takes a bow)
FYI Oakland residents!! Right now, a year of @coyotemedia.org costs less than that time you forgot your parking meter expired.
Use promo code COYOTE26 before Jan 1!
FYI Oakland residents!! Right now, a year of @coyotemedia.org costs less than that time you forgot your parking meter expired.
Use promo code COYOTE26 before Jan 1!
If you're doing an end of year subscriber drive, here's the 8 best appeals I found in my inbox.
@coyotemedia.org's "A $68 COYOTE subscription is cheaper than an Oakland parking ticket" is a particular standout
www.paidnewsletterplaybook.com/examples-the...
@coyotemedia.org's "A $68 COYOTE subscription is cheaper than an Oakland parking ticket" is a particular standout
www.paidnewsletterplaybook.com/examples-the...
December 29, 2025 at 7:58 AM
❤️ this shoutout (takes a bow)
FYI Oakland residents!! Right now, a year of @coyotemedia.org costs less than that time you forgot your parking meter expired.
Use promo code COYOTE26 before Jan 1!
FYI Oakland residents!! Right now, a year of @coyotemedia.org costs less than that time you forgot your parking meter expired.
Use promo code COYOTE26 before Jan 1!
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
20,000 words, 150 footnotes, 100+ timeline events = our attempt at documenting and synthesizing all the ways that the federal government has attempted to destroy access to gender-affirming care since January unbreaking.org/issues/trans...
Transgender Healthcare: Explainer — Unbreaking
How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.
unbreaking.org
December 19, 2025 at 7:17 PM
20,000 words, 150 footnotes, 100+ timeline events = our attempt at documenting and synthesizing all the ways that the federal government has attempted to destroy access to gender-affirming care since January unbreaking.org/issues/trans...
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
$68! A full year’s worth of journalism for $68. It’s like a doordash order that benefits you year-round
great idea! also, if someone you love is in the Bay Area, why not grab them a gift subscription to COYOTE? 15% off this month! www.coyotemedia.org/gift-subscri...
December 7, 2025 at 4:35 AM
$68! A full year’s worth of journalism for $68. It’s like a doordash order that benefits you year-round
Highly recommend you making beans🫘 the @soleilho.com way. I used their guide when I was crammed to make a quick lunch, and wanted to clear my fridge and pantry. Not a pretty pic, but wow delicious! www.coyotemedia.org/how-to-make-...
December 4, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Highly recommend you making beans🫘 the @soleilho.com way. I used their guide when I was crammed to make a quick lunch, and wanted to clear my fridge and pantry. Not a pretty pic, but wow delicious! www.coyotemedia.org/how-to-make-...
If you’ve been cheering on @coyotemedia.org from afar (thank you!) or have been enjoying our stories until you hit the paywall (we get it!), THIS is the time to subscribe.
Get 15% off annual subscriptions (+ gift subscriptions!) and help us reach 2,026 paid subscribers before 2026.
Get 15% off annual subscriptions (+ gift subscriptions!) and help us reach 2,026 paid subscribers before 2026.
December 3, 2025 at 10:04 PM
If you’ve been cheering on @coyotemedia.org from afar (thank you!) or have been enjoying our stories until you hit the paywall (we get it!), THIS is the time to subscribe.
Get 15% off annual subscriptions (+ gift subscriptions!) and help us reach 2,026 paid subscribers before 2026.
Get 15% off annual subscriptions (+ gift subscriptions!) and help us reach 2,026 paid subscribers before 2026.
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
Bay-area based COYOTE needs to get to 2026 paid subscribers by end of the year. They're only a few hundred away.
Back their project and tell your coolest friends!
www.coyotemedia.org/media-coop-m... @coyotemedia.org
Back their project and tell your coolest friends!
www.coyotemedia.org/media-coop-m... @coyotemedia.org
Forget Girl Math — Welcome to Media Co-Op Math
What we’ve learned from 2.5 months on the job.
www.coyotemedia.org
December 3, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Bay-area based COYOTE needs to get to 2026 paid subscribers by end of the year. They're only a few hundred away.
Back their project and tell your coolest friends!
www.coyotemedia.org/media-coop-m... @coyotemedia.org
Back their project and tell your coolest friends!
www.coyotemedia.org/media-coop-m... @coyotemedia.org
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
COYOTE Media Collective is launching ‘Sprint to 2026’ — our ambitious/maybe a little delusional quest to hit 2,026 paid subscribers by Dec 31! 🐺👟💨
We’ve published more than 70 pieces in 2.5 months with a tiny, feral team. To keep doing that, we need ~600 more members.
We’ve published more than 70 pieces in 2.5 months with a tiny, feral team. To keep doing that, we need ~600 more members.
December 3, 2025 at 5:02 PM
COYOTE Media Collective is launching ‘Sprint to 2026’ — our ambitious/maybe a little delusional quest to hit 2,026 paid subscribers by Dec 31! 🐺👟💨
We’ve published more than 70 pieces in 2.5 months with a tiny, feral team. To keep doing that, we need ~600 more members.
We’ve published more than 70 pieces in 2.5 months with a tiny, feral team. To keep doing that, we need ~600 more members.
Come for the tote bags and live DJ set, stay for the inevitable journalism gossip. luma.com/f2jy4dho
TONIGHT! SF! Join us at Casements in the Mission for food, drinks, a live DJ set from @bff.fm, priceless gossip with journalists and indie music folks, tote bags… what more could you want, truly luma.com/f2jy4dho?tk=...
December 2, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Come for the tote bags and live DJ set, stay for the inevitable journalism gossip. luma.com/f2jy4dho
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
“…if you need to talk to your trying-to-be-down auntie about how a land acknowledgement at dinner isn’t enough, please do let her know she can simply text FREESAM to 53-555 and make a tax-deductible donation to actually change the material conditions of Natives.”
Also here: givebutter.com/c/9qW07O
Also here: givebutter.com/c/9qW07O
“Our ‘Thanksgiving meal’ is usually to the tune of gas station roller hotdogs and chips, supplemented with caffeine and cigarettes,” writes Lydia Grijalva, who heads to Alcatraz Island every year to greet the sunrise with Native comrades and elders. www.coyotemedia.org/thanksgiving...
Every Thanksgiving We Drive to Alcatraz. Except This Year
My Thanksgiving tradition includes Alcatraz Island, chain-smoking elders, and gas station hotdogs.
www.coyotemedia.org
November 27, 2025 at 5:49 PM
“…if you need to talk to your trying-to-be-down auntie about how a land acknowledgement at dinner isn’t enough, please do let her know she can simply text FREESAM to 53-555 and make a tax-deductible donation to actually change the material conditions of Natives.”
Also here: givebutter.com/c/9qW07O
Also here: givebutter.com/c/9qW07O
Reposted by Cecilia Lei
Really proud of my colleagues for launching this new series at @coyotemedia.org -- First Aid Kit, a set of pieces that help you be safer, healthier, and more helpful in your community.
How to respond to an overdose by @nuala.bsky.social
How to respond to an overdose by @nuala.bsky.social
COYOTE First Aid Kit: How to Compassionately Respond to an Overdose
Naloxone, rescue breathing, and 911: Learn the do's, don'ts, and best practices for reversing an overdose.
www.coyotemedia.org
November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Really proud of my colleagues for launching this new series at @coyotemedia.org -- First Aid Kit, a set of pieces that help you be safer, healthier, and more helpful in your community.
How to respond to an overdose by @nuala.bsky.social
How to respond to an overdose by @nuala.bsky.social