Ye Tian

Youth Radio launches new digital media workforce program

Leaders from Oakland’s Youth Radio program announced on Monday that the group is launching a new digital media workforce program, which will provide young people in the Bay Area with free media skills training courses, which vary from online journalism to mobile application development.

Dancing under the stars at Jack London Square

Every Friday night this summer, Oakland’s Linden Street Dance Studio is offering free dance lessons at Jack London Square. Anyone is welcome to attend and learn the basics of a variety of dance styles, including salsa, swing and tango.

Activists campaign for free bus passes for students

Oakland activist group Genesis is campaigning for the creation of a free bus pass for students in Alameda County. During a town hall meeting the group organized at the First Congregational Church on Thursday evening, hundreds of supporters showed up and chanted “Get on the bus!” to a rolling video camera, urging elected officials to invest in the bus pass program.

Parks committee splits vote for new Lake Merritt dog park

To alternating applause and boos, supporters and opponents of a proposed dog park at Lakeside Park broke even on Wednesday evening during a meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission, when the plan drew a tie vote from the commission.

Local IKEA builds an enormous solar array on its roof

Furniture retail giant IKEA is putting solar panels on its store roofs all over the globe, including the one on the Oakland-Emeryville border. If you drive across the highway overpasses nearby, you can see the array coming into shape.

Oakland celebrates the Fourth of July at Jack London Square

Although there were no Fourth of July fireworks this year in Jack London Square, the daytime event called the July 4th Festival of Family Fun still attracted a lot of parents and children with a giant slide, petting zoo, hula hoop dancing, bounce houses and the amazing “Bubble Man.”

New East Oakland Sports Center opens to the public

Oakland’s newest sports facility, the East Oakland Sports Center, opened its door to the public on Thursday afternoon. The 25,000-square-foot facility, located at 9161 Edes Avenue, includes an aquatic center, a fitness room and a dance studio.

After five-hour meeting, still no council vote on Oakland city budget

On Tuesday night the Oakland City Council once again postponed a vote to adopt a biennial budget, pushing the decision back until this Thursday, hours before the new fiscal year begins on July 1. With the divergence between councilmembers on the each others’ budget proposals, the timely adoption of a budget resolution remains uncertain.

Oakland City Council to face six budget proposals tonight

Just a few days before Oakland limps into the new fiscal year, the city now has six budget proposals. Last Friday, three budget scenarios, in addition to the three previously issued by Mayor Jean Quan in April, were introduced by three factions of the city council.

Ignite! expo helps Oakland business owners make connections

Food, handicrafts and live performances are not exclusive to street fairs—on Friday afternoon, more than 70 Bay Area businesses convened at the Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland for the 2011 Ignite! New Business Expo, where participants could not only showcase their products but also get connected to various business service providers.

BART pushes back talks on pilot project for later trains on Friday nights

On Thursday BART directors postponed the discussion of a demonstration project that would allow trains to run one hour later on Friday nights. Under the proposed six-month tryout plan, which was presented to the BART board of directors on April 28, the last trains on Friday night would depart at 1 a.m. instead of 12 a.m., extending the service for all 44 stations for one hour.

Oakland City Council delays budget talk

More than 200 people showed up to Tuesday night’s Oakland City Council meeting at City Hall in downtown Oakland, only to find that all budget-related items were removed from the meeting agenda at the last minute.