Muslims in Oakland are in the last third of the month of Ramadan–its most intense part, as observers continue to fast during daylight hours, declining both food and water until the sun sets. Daylight, and with it the Islamic obligation to fast, lingers long in August.
People
Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland's Bushrod Neighborhood.
The last days of Ramadan in Oakland
September 2, 2010 – 7:49 am
To ride with the scraper bike king, helmet required
August 30, 2010 – 11:00 am
If you want to ride with the scraper bike king, you better wear a helmet. Tyrone “Baybe Champ” Stevenson Jr., known around Oakland as the “king” and creator of the scraper bike movement, announced his new rule of the road Saturday near Oakland City Hall.
Mosswood neighbors swap their backyard surplus at weekly produce exchange
July 10, 2010 – 11:16 am
Are you just about done with all the summer squash coming out of your garden? Or been eyeing the neighbor’s plum tree, wishing you had some of your own? There’s a bench in North Oakland’s Mosswood Park where you can trade away your excess harvest and pick up something else you like.
One man works to create Unity on the soccer field
June 25, 2010 – 8:00 am
It’s hard to catch Steve Sparkes these days between World Cup games, building a tasting room at Linden Street Brewery in West Oakland, and organizing a week-long free soccer camp for over sixty kids. Now in its third year, the “My Yute” soccer camp offers skills training to young players, while exposing them to the cultural diversity of the game and spreading, Sparkes hopes, his passion for the sport.
Business magazine lauds Oakland as a “Fast City” for urban innovation
June 23, 2010 – 11:10 am
Imagine a city with blue skies and clear roads, populated by healthy people commuting on quiet, non-polluting buses. That’s how the business magazine Fast Company envisions the perfect city, and it’s borrowing some ideas from Oakland.
Bowling on the Lake Merritt green
June 19, 2010 – 2:22 pm
The Oakland lawn bowling club has been rolling on the greens at Lakeside Park for nearly a century. The game dates from 13th century England, and was played by the likes of Sir Francis Drake and Henry VIII.
Photo project: 24 Hours in Oakland
June 7, 2010 – 11:08 am
We sent ten reporters out with their cameras, and invited community members to help us capture images of a day in the life of the city. Work and play, rest and motion: Just an ordinary 24 hours in Oakland. There will never be another one exactly like it.
Q & A with Oakland’s Fire Chief Gerald A. Simon
June 1, 2010 – 8:36 am
With Oakland’s fire season expected to begin within the next few weeks, Oakland North reporter Dara Kerr spoke with Fire Chief Gerald A. Simon about what it means to be the head of Oakland’s Fire Department, what led him to the job, and about Oakland’s unique fire and safety needs.
Oakland walks to end poverty
May 24, 2010 – 8:28 am
In Oakland, 76,000 people—that’s 19 percent of the city’s population—live at or below the federal poverty level. This is a statistic that the City of Oakland wants to lower.
Meet Alan Young, Oakland’s (in)famous con artist
May 11, 2010 – 8:33 am
For nearly 30 years, a con artist named Alan Young has been living the high life around the Bay Area – on other people’s tabs. He pretends to be what he’s not – a member of a famous Motown group, like the Temptations or the Four Tops.
Pedicab driver stays true to vision for a better Oakland
May 7, 2010 – 10:05 am
Ken Ott and his wife, Lulu Lin-Ott, are part of a generation of young Oaklanders who are trying to change one of the Bay Area’s most troubled and dangerous cities on their own terms. Lulu wants to sell organic ice cream; Ken wants to drive electric pedicabs.
Perata says he’d guide Oakland with a firm hand
April 28, 2010 – 11:58 am
At campaign events during the last week, former State Senate President Don Perata is suggesting that Oakland needs a firmer hand in City Hall and that he’s the one to provide it.
A tradition to uphold: Commissioner of historical prep league wants to maintain its independence
April 27, 2010 – 9:12 am
Michael Moore, the Oakland Athletic League’s commissioner, is in charge of one of the oldest high school sports organizations in the state—but it’s also the smallest, and under pressure to combine with larger sections. The league’s future was in doubt until Moore came along and could still face more questions about its status—but Moore wants to keep the league independent.
Feinstein endorses Perata in mayor’s race
April 21, 2010 – 7:03 pm
Dianne Feinstein, California’s U.S. Senator and the former mayor of San Francisco, has declared her support for former State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata’s bid to become Oakland’s mayor in November’s election.
Quan trying to move to the head of mayoral class as the “education candidate”
April 20, 2010 – 9:38 am
At a campaign event at Redwood Heights Elementary, Oakland mayoral candidate Jean Quan sought to position herself as the “education candidate” and discussed the upcoming Oakland teachers’ strike.
Oakland neighborhood fights to save a house from foreclosure
March 29, 2010 – 9:52 am
After months of failed negotiations, Fruitvale resident D’Weena Coleman feared she’d be evicted from the house her grandparents built back in 1961. But with help from her neighbors — and some well placed media attention — US Bank suddenly modified her loan, allowing her to stay. Oakland North was there to see it happen.