Month: December 2012
Every week, Oakland North will publish a photo submitted by one of our readers. This week’s photo is by Mark Gartland.
This November, voters in Alameda County rejected a proposed parcel tax aimed at creating a stable source of income for the Oakland Zoo. Many of the measure’s opponents objected to the zoo’s multi-million dollar expansion plans, even though zoo officials said funding from the measure would be used for animal care, repairs of existing facilities, and the zoo’s veterinary hospital, not the expansion. Despite the failure of Measure A1, the zoo will go ahead with planned construction of the California Trails…
Barrels around Oakland are filling up with dolls, games, books, gloves, scarves, socks and other holiday gifts as residents continue to donate items to the Mayor’s Toy Drive. This annual community collection helps ensure that children in all Oakland neighborhoods will have presents to open come Christmas morning. “It’s a little daunting trying to fill every family’s requests,” said Al Lujan, supervisor of the Oaklanders Assistance Center, where low-income families can sign up to receive donations from the drive. “We’re really…
Every week, Oakland Animal Services will spotlight an “Animal of the Week” that’s up for adoption at their facility. This week it’s a dog named Honey.
Oakland is offering $160,000 to help fund a new day labor program for 2013. Various organizations are vying for the funds, and day laborers say the center will be essential to helping them get jobs.
On a rainy Friday afternoon, Andrew Lewis is patrolling the crammed, dark aisles of his warehouse. “In this business,” he says, stopping in front of a few faux-phonebooths, “you just acquire stuff.” In close quarters with the booths, under the orange sodium lights hung high from the dark wood rafters, are street signs from The Matrix sequels, a hollow jukebox from Milk, plaster radiators from RENT, and stacks of fake lobster traps from the recent Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman…
Nearly 40 people rallied outside of the Wells Fargo branch on 12th Street and Broadway on Thursday, imploring the bank’s executives to change corporate policies they say are increasing home foreclosures in the Bay Area.
On the reporting team for this series, one of us is from Brazil and one is from Southern California. We decided it would be great to learn more about some of the structures that represent Oakland’s beautiful landscape.
Community events and activities for the weekend of December 7-9, 2012. Got an event we didn’t know about? Please add it in the comments!
The New Parkway is nearly 8,000 square feet, has two floors and features two screening rooms with a seating capacity of 145 and 125 people each. The theater will have a full commercial kitchen and a café from which people will be able to order pizza, burgers, fries, salads, soups and appetizers, as well as vegetarian and vegan options.
Oakland city officials and police officials, along with the attorneys bringing suit to push oversight of the police department’s reform efforts, agreed Wednesday on a settlement proposing that a new mutually agreed upon, court-appointed director take charge of department reforms.
The Saint Vincent de Paul Society of Alameda County is holding a coat drive Thursday at Farley’s East cafe during a special happy hour event from 5 to 9pm.
For almost 12 years, residents and city officials have debated whether to section off nearly 20,000 square feet of Astro Park at the corner of MacArthur Boulevard and Lakeshore Avenue to create a run for off-leash dogs or leave the area “green.” During Tuesday night’s council meeting, hundreds showed up wearing yellow and black paw prints on their shirts to show support for the park, while others brought signs that said “Not Sustainable.”
Every week, Oakland North will publish a photo submitted by one of our readers. This week’s photo is by Tamara Gallagher.
When word spread that there was half a box of Twinkies still on a shelf at the A&A Market on Sunday afternoon, people of all ages gathered to get their hands on a small cellophane-wrapped piece of what was left of the Hostess legacy, and reflected on what the Twinkie—the “snack with a snack in the middle,” as the ads used to say–meant to them.
How exactly are ranked-choice votes counted? Watch our video that breaks down the process for Oakland’s District 1 city council race.