Month: January 2011
Nearly 100 people held candles and listened to speakers at a vigil in downtown Oakland for Arizona congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, and the other victims of Saturday’s shooting. Congresswoman Barbara Lee told the crowd the vigil was for all the victims of Saturday’s shooting, “whether they had a title or not.”
The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers faced off in an offensive slugfest on Wednesday night, but despite being ahead most of the game, the home team was unable to secure the lead when it mattered most, eventually succumbing to the more widely popular California team, 115-110.
The Alameda County ARTSFUND Grant Program has just announced the release of the guidelines for applying for 2011 grants. ARTSFUND awards grants to non-profits to support arts programming of all kinds from dance to literature and music to visual arts. The deadline for applications is March 1, 2011.
As activists and residents lined up to make dozens of complaints Tuesday, city leaders promised to schedule a review of Oakland’s gang injunctions. About 60 of people showed up at the city’s public safety committee meeting, many with signs that read “Stop the injunctions now” in English and Spanish. “We are here to ask Oakland to re-prioritize its efforts,” said Aurra Lopez, who called the gang injunctions “ineffective and actually counter-productive.”
Oakland North is continuing with our new feature. Every Wednesday, we will publish a photo submitted by one of our readers. This week’s photo is by Michael Thorn.
Holding an oversized, fleshy mushroom in one hand, an excited Steven Cochrane says, “Let’s key this out!” Cochrane is an amateur mycologist, and he’s holding an item irresistible to mushroom enthusiasts: an unidentified fungus.
Oakland North is continuing with our new feature. Every Tuesday, Oakland Animal Services will spotlight an “Animal of the Week” that’s up for adoption at their facility. This week it’s two rabbits, Mona and Lisa.
The shooting of Arizona congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, and 20 innocent bystanders has shocked the nation. We took a video camera downtown Monday morning, where the American flags in front of all the government buildings flew at half mast, and asked passersby for their reactions to the shooting. Did they think the political climate contributed to the shooting, or was it an independent act? Could such a shooting happen here?
The first round of the professional football playoffs kicked off this weekend, and for the eighth consecutive year, the Oakland Raiders were nowhere to be found. In perhaps a symbol of a franchise fallen on hard times, the local Oakland bars lacked any noticeable presence from the generally boisterous fan base as well.
Still reeling from a shooting on the night of January 4, residents of an East Oakland neighborhood received surprise visitors on Saturday—Mayor Jean Quan and a retinue of volunteers. The mayor spent the morning going door to door through East Oakland’s police beat 33, talking with residents about new services and programs in the neighborhood, including the reinstatement of the neighborhood’s crime prevention council.
On Friday afternoon, the civil rights group BAMN held a press conference in front of Oakland Technical High School to announce that it will continue its fight to overturn California’s Proposition 209 despite a federal judge’s recent decision to dismiss the group’s lawsuit challenging the initiative.
An Alameda County judge decided Friday to put off a decision about whether attorneys from Oakland law firm Siegel and Yee can represent a man who was named on a pending gang injunction. Lawyers from the Oakland City Attorney’s Office had brought up concerns regarding a conflict of interest within the law firm, where City Councilmember Jane Brunner practices, arguing that Brunner’s role in the firm could expose Siegel and Yee lawyers to the city’s confidential information.
The San Francisco 49ers officially announced the hiring of highly sought after candidate Jim Harbaugh, formerly of Stanford University, as their new head coach on Friday afternoon.
“It’s the perfect, competitive opportunity for me and the rest of the San Francisco organization to be a part of a team,” said Harbaugh at the midday press conference.
Assembly member Nancy Skinner is on the search for women who have made significant impacts in their communities. She is inviting neighbors, community groups and civil leaders throughout District 14 to nominate women they believe have gone beyond the call of duty to support their communities.
Community events and activities for the weekend of January 7-9. Got an event we didn’t know about? Please add it in the comments!
Up in the Oakland hills, the Oakland Zoo spreads across 45 acres and offers up attractions such as the African Savanna, Children’s Zoo, Tropical Rain Forest and Australian Outback to explore. With 440 types of different animal species, from lions to lemurs to lesser flamingos, it’s hard to get it all in with one days visit.