Oaklandish calls for applicants in its search for 2011 Innovators of the Year

Oaklandish is on the hunt for its 2011 Innovators of the Year. Oaklandish, a non-profit organization that focuses on arts promotion and community building, gives out several grants each year to non-profit groups doing pioneering work in the community. Whether your non-profit focuses on art, education, technology, or business, this grant may be for you.

Oakland celebrates Chinese New Year at the annual Lunar Bazaar

On Saturday and Sunday, Oakland’s Chinese community came out to buy, sell and celebrate at the New Year Lunar Bazaar. The bazaar, which was started by the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce in 1991, takes place every year at 9th and Franklin Streets in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza.

Oakland Police Department releases new details in officer-involved shooting

This morning, the Oakland Police Department released new details about the January 26 shooting of Martin Flenaugh, 19, by police. According to an OPD press release, police were investigating reports of gunshots fired near the 7600 block of Lockwood late Wednesday afternoon by two men in a red Infinity.  The police pursued a car matching that description, which ran a red light, crashed into another vehicle, spun out and burst into flames near the 8500 block of San Leandro. Jereme Brown,…

Artist community hosts open house party

Mike Taft isn’t an artist in the traditional sense. But when his entire live-work apartment complex was having an open house art party on Friday—one that he founded and organized—he was of course going to find a way to entertain the crowd. “I’m grinding down a piece of plywood with an angle grinder,” the industrial designer said with a grin.

Chabot Elementary students pen novels in afterschool program

Sitting before a semi-circle of her peers at Chabot Elementary, fifth-grader Nyah read aloud from her story, Alia and Andrew and the Story of the Odd Objects. It’s a novel, and she wrote the whole thing this fall. Her audience, consisting of nine fellow classmates and instructor Sondra Hall, were gathered on a Tuesday for the semester’s last session of “Take My Word For It!,” an afterschool workshop developed by Hall.

Ninth circuit judges hear arguments in Proposition 8 appeal

Supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage must now wait for the results of Monday morning’s Proposition 8 hearing before a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The hearing from the crowded courtroom in San Francisco was broadcast live on C-SPAN and streamed on the Internet.

Allen Temple promotes education, prevention on World AIDS Day

Oakland brought World AIDS Day, recognized globally every December 1, to the local level on Wednesday with an evening of recognition at Allen Temple Baptist Church. Members of local health nonprofits, activists and concerned neighbors gathered at the East Oakland house of worship to trade information and to shine a spotlight on a disease that has plagued this city and many others for decades.

Oakland ranked fifth most dangerous US city

On Monday, the Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Press released its annual City Crime Rate Rankings list, which ranks cities from highest number of crimes reported to lowest. Little has changed since last year—the top five remain the same—and Oakland, California, is still one of them. The good news, sort of, is that Oakland has dropped out of third place and is now No. 5.