Business
A small group of Oakland homeowners led by the housing rights group Causa Justa, Just Cause (CJCC), gathered outside of Wells Fargo’s main branch in downtown Oakland Thursday afternoon to publicly propose solutions to the city’s foreclosure crisis.
More than a dozen business and community groups will haul furniture and plants into parking spaces this weekend, establishing miniature curbside parks on the road in front of Oakland shops. In conjunction with Friday’s International PARK(ing) Day, participating groups are building “parklets” to add green public spaces to urban landscapes.
During a tense meeting near Oakland’s downtown last week, residents of the 23rd Street and Telegraph area voiced their concerns over recent violence at the Para Diso Lounge. On the community meeting agenda was a shooting on Saturday, August 27, which left the neighborhood shaken and two cars riddled with bullets. But previous incidents related to the club added to residents’ concerns over the Para Diso’s place in their neighborhood.
The Oakland City Council finance committee considered several options for implementing a proposed municipal ID card system Tuesday, but ultimately decided not to forward with the proposal until an ongoing examination of costs and feasibility is completed.
Community members and city officials met Monday night at an open house held at the Laney College Student Center for the redevelopment of the Lake Merritt BART station neighborhood.
Meet the next watering hole in our new bar series, The Nightcap: Room 389 opened last year on Grand Avenue near Lake Merritt, and its laid-back atmosphere and good music has helped its popularity steadily grow. The bar, says owner Benjamin Cukierman, is a place where neighbors “come hang out with their friends without having to yell over the music.”
At a yarn store at the corner of San Pablo and Alcatraz in North Oakland, a new exhibit will transport visitors to a remote corner of India. The shop, called A Verb for Keeping Warm, is kicking off its third art show today, titled “The Rabari People, Their Culture, and Their Textiles.”
A comedic troupe of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus clowns made the rounds through the fifth floor of Oakland Children’s Hospital yesterday, waddling room-to-room, clad in big floppy shoes, and bright red noses and oversized apparel presenting each child with a special bead, and an unorthodox prescription: smile.
Numi Tea imports rare and unique teas with real fruit, flowers and spices that no other companies are—most of their supplies come from China and India—and packages them in brightly colored boxes with artwork designed by cofounder Reem Rahim.