Each year, Oakland residents celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with community clean-ups, performances, services and other special events. Know of an event we didn’t list? Please add it in the comments!
Oakland’s Chinatown has been hit hard by the recession. Fewer and fewer customers shop there, and job opportunities have been hurt. Food-related industries have suffered greatly, especially the small markets and restaurants.
Community events and activities for the weekend of January 13-15, 2012. Got an event we didn’t know about? Please add it in the comments!
Community events and activities for the weekend of January 6-8, 2012. Got an event we didn’t know about? Please add it in the comments!
Here, to me, is the best current illustration of Oakland’s fractious politics. The people who want to recall Mayor Jean Quan can’t even agree to run a single campaign. There are two separate campaigns collecting signatures for a recall measure.
Whew! What a year, Oakland! Even before Occupy Oakland provided a year’s worth of news on its own, 2011 was a banner year for city news. Oakland came close to shuttering most of its libraries due to a $58 million budget deficit, as the school board faced repeated protests over its controversial decision close five elementary schools, as a judge weighed the fate of the Fruitvale gang injunction, and voters began to petition for the recall of Mayor Quan.
Community events and activities for the weekend of December 30 – January 1, 2012. Got an event we didn’t know about? Please add it in the comments!
In the heart of Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood is Yasai Market, a small, independently-owned produce store. The shop is located on College Avenue, directly across the street from a Safeway grocery store, but owner Bo Pak is not afraid of having a chain supermarket as her neighbor.
Oasis Food Market in Oakland is one of the largest halal (Islam-compliant) markets in the East Bay. The store sells a range of goods, from meat and produce to candy. There are a strict set of rules for slaughter that make meat halal in Islam. The animal must be facing downward and toward Mecca while a blessing is said, as dictated by the Koran. Then, a knife is drawn across the throat in one swift motion. These rituals are designed to give the animal the most humane death possible.
Community events and activities for the weekend of December 23 – December 25, 2011. Got an event we didn’t know about? Please add it in the comments!
Powell’s Sweet Shoppe on College Avenue caters to every candy lover’s dreams. With over 6,000 confections in stock that range from the chewy, taffy, peanut butter-centered Abba-Zabas to all varieties of creamy gelato, this local business carries treats from every era.
Community events and activities for the weekend of December 16 – December 18, 2011. Got an event we didn’t know about? Please add it in the comments!
Community events and activities for the weekend of December 9 – December 11, 2011. Got an event we didn’t know about? Please add it in the comments!
Flickers of Progress – Flickers of Hope: Moving from Crisis to Community Development With Secretary of State Clinton’s recent historic visit to Burma, there appears to be much hope for the future of the people who live in Burma. President Obama called it “flickers of progress.” Meanwhile, refugees who have fled Burma from decades of oppression to live with hope of a better life in Oakland, California, are still facing the risk of becoming a permanent, poverty-stricken underclass. Since 2007,…
Community events and activities for the weekend of December 2-4. Got an event we didn’t know about? Please add it in the comments!
Today is the 23rd Annual World AIDS Day – “an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died.” Normally I would walk through the day obliviously, but this is my first year celebrating the occasion as an HIV positive man.