Business
Over the past year, both the City and Port of Oakland have been working on a contract with private developers to rebuild the former Oakland Army Base. On Tuesday, the Oakland Port Commission listened to pleas from community members who wanted to extend the negotiation agreement with developers to ensure their needs–such as 50 percent local hires–were written into the contract.
In a lively, standing room only meeting, the Oakland city council voted Tuesday night to approve on first reading a city-wide plan for the cultivation of medical marijuana in four new large-scale factories.
Seoul on Wheels is not your typical taco truck—the tacos being served up are more Far East than south of the border. In addition to kimchee burritos, aka “korritos,” Julia Yoon, the owner of Seoul on Wheels, sells barbeque tacos, barbeque sandwiches, traditional barbeque rice plates and more—all of which have Korean ingredients, spices and flourish.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you could be taking dance lessons in Jack London Square or having a drink. But no, we’ve had too important a week, haven’t we?” With that, Aimee Alison, host of the KPFA Morning Show and founder of OaklandSeen.com, opened the Oakland mayoral forum on public safety held Thursday evening, July 15th at the Lakeshore Baptist Church.
At a time when Oakland is strapped for cash and seems to have no clear plan for economic revitalization, one Stanford University junior says he has the answer: a streetcar system.
Residents in North Oakland’s Koreatown-Northgate district may soon be getting some new neighbors—a group of men and women trying to restart their lives after spending time behind bars. Center Point, Inc., a Marin-based non-profit social services agency, is planning to open a day reporting center for parolees from Oakland on the 33rd block of Telegraph.
On randomly-selected afternoons a couple hundred people gather in a big brick building on Martin Luther King Jr. Way to shop, browse and taste ready-made food from top chefs from all over the Bay Area. It’s not a farmers market, food fair or co-op—it’s the Pop-Up General Store, a place where people can buy pre-made food that can’t normally be found outside of an expensive restaurant.
North Oakland homeowners may soon have incentives to insulate their walls, upgrade windows and install solar panels, thanks to a countywide program set to launch this fall. Through the Alameda County Energy Efficiency and Green Retrofit Program, owners of residential property in the county can get rebates and loans for making energy-saving improvements to their property.
One or two days a week, a little before noon, a crowd of people begins to line up in downtown Oakland, right off Broadway near City Hall. It’s unclear what they’re waiting for though, because there’s nothing there. Shortly, a big white truck painted with colorful polka dots rounds the corner. Stenciled on the side of the truck, it says “Cupkates—a mobile cupcakery.”