Steve Fisher

This Weekend in Oakland

Community events and activities for the weekend of November 30-December 2, 2012. Got an event we didn’t know about? Please add it in the comments! Friday, November 30 Weekday Drop In 10am-3pm MOCHA, 538 9th Street, Oakland Creative weekly themed event in Little Studio that is free for adults and $8 for children over 18 months. Held every week, Wednesday through Friday. Holiday Pop Up at Jack London Square 5-9pm Jack London Square, 98 Broadway, Oakland A gathering of local…

Oakland municipal ID, debit card program expected to roll out in January

Many undocumented immigrants in Oakland, and nationally, do not have official identification that is accepted by police, banks or even some healthcare centers. But under a program expected to get underway this winter, Oakland has joined a handful of cities in creating a municipal ID—with one apparently unprecedented new component. Oakland’s Muni ID, if all goes according to plan, will also be usable as a debit card.

Holy Names University lockdown lifted after OPD secures campus

This story was last updated at 5:44 pm. A two-hour safety lockdown at Holy Names ended early Thursday afternoon after reports that a man with a gun had been on campus. No such person was found, police said. The Oakland Police Department responded at 10:30 Thursday morning to reports of a man who a witness said had a waist holster with a gun in it. Some witnesses had a conversation with the suspect and described him as “disheveled,” according to…

Brown signs bill ensuring some young, formerly undocumented immigrants can get drivers’ licenses

Among the 108 bills that Governor Jerry Brown had to sign or veto by midnight September 30 was a short piece of legislation called Assembly Bill 2189. Although the bill does not include the word “immigrant,” it was the last step in a three-part process that held a remarkable outcome. In California, where the prospect of issuing drivers’ licenses to undocumented immigrants has been controversial for almost two decades, nearly half a million young immigrants will now be able to…

East Bay Bicycle Coalition plans ride through historic Oakland

The East Bay Bicycle Coalition (EBBC) is leading a bike tour of five historic Oakland houses on Saturday. The ride will begin with the Peralta Hacienda in Fruitvale and end at the DeFremery House in West Oakland. The tour, its highlights illustrated in this map, begins at 12:30 pm.

Oakland Kochavim take ball hockey, community to the rinks

Yossi Offenberg is a die-hard fan of ball hockey, which is like roller hockey, only in shoes. He’s 48 and grew up in Toronto, where he and his friends would wait eagerly for the Saturday morning synagogue services to end so they could they rush home for lunch, and then out to play ball hockey in the streets.. They did this until the stars came out and Sabbath was over. Offenberg says those cold winter days were some of the best days of his youth.

Oaklanders ring in Jewish New Year

The sun was setting over Oakland’s Dimond Park Monday as Jewish families gathered to toss bits of bread into a small creek running that ran through the trees. The practice, called Tashlich, is part of the Jewish New Year celebration in which individuals “cast off” the sins of the past year. It is also a time for new beginnings.