Business
The shrieks and squeals of happy children could be heard Friday over the boombox blasting pop music at Acta Non Verba Youth Urban Farm project in East Oakland. This was a day for play, not work. Celebrating the end of 100 hours of summer labor in the garden, nine local kids ran wild and free among the garden beds arranged in neat rows on the half-acre lot.
On Tuesday Oakland residents celebrated a breakthrough in ongoing efforts to create thousands of jobs for local workers due to construction of the planned shipping, packaging and distribution facilities at the site of the old Oakland Army base.
Kayoko Akabori and Yoko Kumano, friends since college, recently opened a new store called Umami Mart in the heart of Oakland’s historical district, where they offer unique merchandise as well as their insight about cocktails and Japanese cuisine.
Donut Savant is an artisan gourmet donut shop. Donut “wholes” made from a buttermilk cake batter are topped with the traditional glazed, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar and chocolate that donut fans expect. But adventurous eaters can also get frosted coconut, salted maple, buttercream candied ginger, s’mores, lemon zest and key lime donuts.
On Wednesday, the palliative care suite at Oakland Children’s Hospital and Research center was re-named “The Edward W. and Yuri H. Chin Reflection Room” in honor of a pledge of $250,000 from the couple. The suite, which was opened last November, is a miniature apartment that consists of a bathroom, living room, bedroom, kitchenette, and den that gives families a private space that feels like a home to enjoy quality time with a child who has a life-limiting illness, particularly children who are dying or have just died.
In the last few years, the Temescal District has been heralded as one of the most culturally diverse communities in the city. Its growing popularity has resulted in increased interest from business owners and residents who are vying for a space within the community. But over the last few months, the number of robberies and thefts that have been reported to the Temescal Telegraph Avenue Community Association and the Temescal Merchants’ Association has shown an increase, the members of those associations say, leaving local merchants frustrated and asking for more help from the police and the city.
The Oakland Police Department has sent out an advisory urging residents of the North Oakland Hills to stay indoors and close all windows and doors and a large plume of smoke from Chevron’s Richmond Refinery headed towards the hills.
Kaiser Permanente this week awarded a $60,000 grant to Alameda County-based LifeLong Medical Care, a network of safety net clinics that provide low income communities in Oakland, Berkeley and Richmond with access to health and social services.
On Saturday, animals at the Oakland Zoo will suspend their diet plans and indulge in what could easily be this year’s largest animal party, feasting on servings of produce donated by Oakland residents, many of whom will come and watch the animals eat their hearts out between 8 am and 6 pm.