Business
As the antiwar advocacy groups Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War held a joint press conference Friday afternoon in front of City Hall, near the center of the Occupy Oakland encampment in Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland Police arrived at the plaza and began handing out “Notice of Violations” fliers. The fliers stated that all belongings and infrastructure must be removed from the plaza “immediately.” They warned, “Your continued use of the Plaza for overnight lodging will subject you to arrest.”
The Nightcap is a series that features a favorite Oakland drinking establishment every Friday afternoon. This week, it’s The Ruby Room, a dimly-lit rocker bar across the street from the downtown Oakland library. Owner Trevor Latham is also the president of the East Bay Rats, a West Oakland biker club, and is often found working the door at The Ruby as a bouncer.
Plans for the construction of a new, energy-independent biodiesel plant in West Oakland were approved on October 25 by the East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD) board.
Last Monday, the Oakland Acupuncture Project opened up its second clinic across the street from Safeway on Grand Avenue. The original clinic, which opened in 2008 at its current location on Laurel Avenue, was started by two graduates of the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College of Berkeley, Roselle McNeilly and Whitney Thorniley.
The Community Rejuvenation Project (CRP), a nonprofit best known for large mural projects throughout Oakland, released a declaration on Tuesday decrying property destruction during last Wednesday’s general strike.
The all-Latina members of an East Oakland cleaning cooperative enjoy financial security and business-ownership with the help of Bay Area micro-enterprise development firms.
The Nightcap is a series that features a favorite Oakland drinking establishment every Friday afternoon. This week it’s The Layover, a bar and music lounge on Franklin Street at 15th Street in downtown Oakland.
Hundreds of people attended the Thursday night Occupy Oakland City Council meeting, which lasted over five hours. The meeting was held to discuss recent events pertaining to Occupy Oakland, most notably the vandalism and property damage that occurred late Wednesday night when protesters clashed in the street with police officers. Almost 150 people signed up to speak before the council.
Oakland Community and Economic Development Agency has partnered with service organizations to create job opportunities for out-of-work youth while mitigating blight in the city’s commercial corridors. The city’s partnership with Men of Valor, a non-profit re-entry program in East Oakland that provides housing, job training and other services to high school drop-outs, recovering addicts and the formerly incarcerated, has proven so successful since it began in June—removing about 114 graffiti markings from 88 businesses along Foothill and International boulevards—that in October CEDA decided to expand the program and take on new partners.