Ye Tian

The glad hatter

In 20 minutes, Rick Butler can crochet a yarn ball into a hat that he says is unique. Like a mini handicraft exhibition, the hats are collected on a blanket laid on the edge of a plaza strewn with cigarette butts. The colorful hats easily stand out from the surrounding grey concrete. “Every hat is different,” says Butler. “I take a picture of every hat I make so I remember.”

Walmart of Weed: weGrow a national enterprise

The largest medical marijuana store in California, previously named iGrow, re-opened on Sunday as a national enterprise called weGrow, attracting dozens of reporters and hundreds of visitors. Watch this video for glimpse of the megastore some wags have nicknamed the Walmart of Weed.

Underground Film Festival kicks off with movies, performance, food

Organic tofu burritos, newly smoked sausages, cold beer and popcorn—the vendors were not serving these at a famers’ market, but at the second night of the Oakland Underground Film Festival, which on Friday turned into a combination of live music, improvised video projection and outdoor film screenings at the Linden Street Brewery.

Gala offers aid to families of Oakland violence victims

Over 300 people convened at Scott’s Seafood Restaurant in downtown Oakland on Saturday night, to attend the 23rd annual gala of the Organization of Chinese Americans-East Bay (OCA-East Bay). In addition to featuring Asian American athletes the group presented $75,000 to the widow and son of Tiansheng Yu, the victim of a fatal attack on the 1800 block of Telegraph Avenue in Oakland this April.