Last month, Stanford student and Tibetan activist Tenzin Seldon got a letter from Google explaining that someone in China was spying on her through her Gmail account. Now, because of cyberattacks like the one on Seldon, and China’s attempts to limit free speech, the Internet giant is considering pulling out of China.
Stories
Mama’s Royal Cafe
November 18, 2009 – 6:41 pm
Pull up a wooden chair at the front counter of Mama’s Café Royal, close your eyes, and this is what you’ll hear:
The bubbling rise and fall of dozens of conversations. The slam of the register. Staff calling hellos to familiar customers. The sizzle of fat in the kitchen. The swoosh and creak of swinging doors. [...]
Roller Derby in Oakland is only for the Rough and Tough
November 12, 2009 – 9:44 am
Some families hand down dishware and handmade quilts. Other families hand down aliases, casino luck, and hip-smashing, hard-hitting, skirt-rocking roller sports. Jane Hammer’s family falls into the second category. Hammer is team captain and coach for The Oakland Outlaws roller derby team – a group of women athletes who represent, “tenacity, fire, and drive.”
Veterans honored aboard the USS Hornet
November 11, 2009 – 5:07 pm
Veterans and their families from throughout the East Bay gathered aboard the USS Hornet on November 11th, 2009 to celebrate Veterans Day. They celebrated the freedoms fought for by America’s armed forces, honored the fallen with a moment of silence and–with a single bugle playing Taps–remembered those killed at Fort Hood the prior week.
A year after Prop 8: the state of gay marriage law
November 4, 2009 – 6:14 pm
A year ago today, California voters approved Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment that bars same-sex marriages in the state. Maine voters yesterday approved a similar ban, leaving five states–Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and New Hampshire–in which gay couples may legally wed. This interactive map (scroll over to get more information on each state), designed and reported by Oakland North’s Shannon Service and Tasneem Raja, shows the current state-by-state array of marriage and civil union law around the United States.
40th St bike lane plan sets off hot neighbors’ debate
October 21, 2009 – 10:53 pm
An ambitious east-west bike plan proposal set off agitated debate at a meeting Tuesday in North Oakland’s Longfellow district, where one speaker likened the neighborhood to a bride on her wedding day. The plan to remove medians, he said, is going “to take her dress, smear her make-up, shave her head, and pare her down to a tank top.”
At Fruitvale BART, riders speak on decision to move trial of Oscar Grant shooter
October 21, 2009 – 9:00 pm
At Fruitvale BART station on Wednesday morning riders were reluctant to share their thoughts on the change of venue in the Mehserle trial. While many shared detailed and passionate opinions off-camera, most wouldn’t venture in front due to the touchy subject matter. Here are a few brave souls who decided to speak their [...]
20 years after quake, how green is the bridge retrofit?
October 16, 2009 – 9:00 am
Midway through the Bay Bridge retrofit, what are the environmental consequences of a major construction project in the middle of the bay?
Choir competes for gospel gold
October 12, 2009 – 5:49 pm
Eight choirs. One night. Fifteen thousand fans. Watch the singers of Oakland’s Genesis Worship Center as they take the stage in the “Best Choir in America” competition.
Frank Snapp and the not-so-secret guerrilla garden
September 21, 2009 – 5:04 pm
Frank Snapp walks up 40th Street, just east of Broadway, with a wheelbarrow full of plants and a plastic green garden hose slung in rounds over his shoulder. His olive sunhat shades denim blue eyes. It’s a 78-degree day in North Oakland and the heat rising off the asphalt makes it seem even hotter, but the [...]
Bridge facts you can dance to…
September 10, 2009 – 3:27 pm
Tons of steel, billions of dollars–the Bridge renovation by the numbers. Audioslides by Shannon Service.
Update: Crack in the Bay Bridge may delay reopening
September 7, 2009 – 9:39 am
Updated Sept. 7, 9 a.m.
At an 8 a.m. press conference on Monday, Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney announced that the Bay Bridge may not reopen tomorrow at 5 a.m. as scheduled. Ney cited unanticipated repair work on a cracked eyebar as the main source of uncertainty.
“It will be a monumental challenge to have it finished [...]
free toys, turkeys and tickets
November 19, 2008 – 6:24 pm
Sign up to receive toys from Oakland’s toy drive, the City hosts Thanksgiving dinner for needy residents, new red light camera on 27th