With California’s powerful redevelopment agencies and their corresponding powers now either extinct or on the fence, Oakland and other cities are facing a new problem: how to make use of toxic lands within their jurisdiction.
On the Oakland waterfront, in a historic area called“Jingletown” that recalls the sound of full-pockets and big paydays from years ago, an American manufacturing survival story lives on amid big box stores and artists’ residences.
When journalist Chauncey Bailey was gunned down in front of a downtown Oakland parking lot in August 2007 by a 19-year-old named Devaughdre Broussard, the shock of his murder made international headlines, and drew a spotlight to the reporter’s last, unpublished story.
At a Friday afternoon press conference outside the Interfaith Tent on Frank Ogawa Plaza, at the edge of the Occupy Oakland encampment, nine clergy members from around the East Bay made impassioned statements to media and passersby in defense of the camp following renewed calls to dismantle it in the wake of the fatal shooting nearby the night before.
Amid rumors circulating of a police raid later that night, several hundred people packed the steps and floor of Frank Ogawa Plaza on Wednesday evening for an Occupy Oakland General Assembly meeting, at which protesters voted to march in solidarity with Egyptian activists this Saturday and considered whether to endorse or disavow violent “black bloc” tactics.
Every village needs a church—or perhaps a non-denominational interfaith tent—to fill the spiritual needs of its inhabitants, and according to a recently formed group of Bay Area clergy, the Occupy Oakland encampment at Frank Ogawa Plaza is no different.
Members of the Occupy Oakland general assembly discussed more details of the proposed general strike in the early evening Friday, agreeing after much fanfare to march on the Port of Oakland on Wednesday, November 2— the day of the proposed general strike— at 5 p.m.
As police and Occupy Oakland protesters squared off in front of City Hall this week, organizers of a recall campaign took their first formal steps this week toward an effort to remove Mayor Jean Quan from office.
One of the most diverse regions in the world, the Bay Area hosts a variety of community centers where newcomers who speak little English and know nothing of the local customs can attain information and meet others like themselves. Almost all of these groups serve immigrants from foreign countries, but one of the oldest such places was never meant to serve immigrants at all.
In recent years, Oakland has emerged as a major entry point for Mongolian immigrants. Nine years after Oktyabri’s arrival, more than 1,000 are believed to live in Oakland’s downtown alone, with more living in surrounding neighborhoods.
Armenian Americans may be one of the Bay Area’s less-noticed ethnic groups, but this Friday and Saturday at the Armenian Bazaar & Food Festival, their rich cultural legacy will be on full display for anyone interested in learning more.
At the end of her tenure as an artist in residence at the San Francisco Dump, Sharon Siskin discovered a pile of old, Arabic language textbooks used to teach Muslim children the fundamental lessons of life, such as to love their parents, attend school and share.
During a tense meeting near Oakland’s downtown last week, residents of the 23rd Street and Telegraph area voiced their concerns over recent violence at the Para Diso Lounge. On the community meeting agenda was a shooting on Saturday, August 27, which left the neighborhood shaken and two cars riddled with bullets. But previous incidents related to the club added to residents’ concerns over the Para Diso’s place in their neighborhood.
An overflow crowd packed Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light near Lake Merritt early Sunday evening for a concert on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Titled “Requiem of Remembrance,” the concert was part of a series of Requiem performances nationwide to commemorate the anniversary of the attacks with a day of thoughtful remembrance and reflection.
During a day of national remembrance for the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, on Sunday the Oakland Symphony Chorus and the Oakland Civic Orchestra will perform Mozart’s Requiem at the Cathedral of Christ the Light near Lake Merritt.
Thousands of East Bay residents, gay and straight, celebrated last year’s gay rights triumphs on Sunday at Oakland’s second annual Gay Pride Festival. A landmark year in gay rights, 2011 saw the elimination of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the policy that banned openly gay personnel from serving in the military.