Lillian R. Mongeau

A poignant stop war sign at Webster and 49th

On the corner of Webster and 49th, adjacent to the Oakland International High School campus where refugee students from all over the world work towards a better future, this stop sign art is just a little bit more poignant than it would be elsewhere.

Grub O.N.: Ginger cookies by Jody London

This is the first in an occasional series Oakland North will be running on favorite local recipes. This one is from Jody London, the School Board member responsible for North Oakland (also known as district one).

Oct 22, 2009 – Lunch Edition

Getting to our daily digest a little late this morning, but just in time for your lunch break. Further developments in the ongoing Chauncy Bailey investigation reported by the Trib this morning – Sgt Longmire is returning to duty after being suspended because of suspicions that his relationship with Your Black Muslim Bakery leader, Yusuf Ali Bey IV, may have compromised the Bailey murder investigation. On a more positive note, Oakland North would like to join the effort to find…

October 20, 2009: Taste of Tuesday

As the week gets rolling and North Oaklanders (at least, those lucky enough to have already scored a ticket to the sold out event) get ready to taste the treats of Temescal this evening (fingers crossed that the blue skies this morning stick around!) we also have some hard news to let you know about. Anthony Batts, Oakland’s new police chief, will be sworn-in at tonight’s city council meeting. Oakland cannabis dispensary owners are exhaling with relief after hearing about…

Laney student performance calls for better public education

Oral histories of Oakland residents collected by Laney College students are woven together in the original production, “The Miseducation of Oakland.” Director Michael Torres says that the overall message of the show is that, “everyone should get an education and nobody has the right to take away education.”

Protests and dueling numbers mark schools meeting

Nearly 100 teachers picketed and leafleted last night’s school board meeting, pleading for a contract and better wages, while the Oakland district countered with its own flyers and warnings about certain schools that could be closed or turned into charters.

Busking for ballet lessons: Meet the Hoffman four-kid string quartet

Grand/Lake traffic bustled by on a recent sunny Saturday.  Parents pushed children in strollers; women carrying yoga mats chatted as they headed home from class; the coffee shops and cafes did a brisk business in iced beverages.  But in front of the Lakeshore Ave Peet’s Coffee, there was a small crowd of stillness as passersby stopped to listen to the Hoffman children, a four-sibling string quartet, who were busking to raise money for ballet lessons. Their mother, Jodi Hoffman, hovered…

Walking quiet streets in Golden Gate

The streets around San Pablo were quiet in the late September sun last Wednesday afternoon. The shouts of kids playing jump rope at Berkeley-Maynard Academy, a charter elementary school, punctuated the quiet. Join the walk in these photo images.

Oakland parents share questions, concerns with new superintendent

There were homemade brownies and ginger cookies at the town hall meeting Wednesday, where people had gathered to meet and ask questions of Tony Smith, the new superintendent of Oakland schools.  School Board Director Jody London, who baked the goodies, had set up the event and welcomed the overflowing room of parents, administrators and district employees. When Smith took the floor he said he saw his job as “the most wonderful, incredible opportunity,” and though he was honest about the…