Community
On May 2, the Oakland Cottage Industry Show (OCIS) is hosting the first of their twice-annual shows where artists who work with wood, iron, paint and jewelry will come together at Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church in Oakland. The phrase “cottage industry” usually refers to a small-scale business carried on at home by a family or an individual using their own equipment and materials to produce a marketable product. This year at the OCIS, the show will have number of artisans…
A solar micro grid, now being shipped in pieces, will arrive in Uganda early June. Once assembled on site, it is designed to carry enough energy to power around 20 businesses and homes on Kitobo, a fishing island. “Most of the locals’ electricity is delivered to the wealthy,” said Jalel Sager, a PhD candidate studying in the Energy & Resources Group, an interdisciplinary graduate program at UC Berkeley. “We are going to replace the expensive and noisy diesel generators with…
The New Parish in Downtown Oakland is packed. About 300 attendees wave their hands and clap as five purple stage lights illuminate the silhouette of a guy wearing a plaid suit, a red vest, a tie and shiny black shoes. The band—drums, piano, bass and guitar—starts playing a blues tune with a catchy guitar riff. Finally, the front man grabs the microphone with conviction and sings in a gritty voice: I’m packing up and leaving tomorrow I need a new…
No matter how busy or stressful the day, a cup of tea is an invitation to slow down, says Reem Rahim, chief brand officer and co-founder of Numi Organic Tea, a privately-owned, triple bottom-line company based in Oakland. As a benefit corporation, or “B Corp.,” Numi pursues not just profit, but a trio of goals: economic, social and environmental benefits. Numi plans to donate 1 percent of its net profits to water access projects in 2015. The goal is to…
In 1980, refugees from Laos gathered in the living room of a modest three-bedroom Richmond apartment. Their daunting goal was to help their growing community find jobs and housing in America after fleeing the destruction wrought by the Vietnam War. On Wednesday last week, Lao Family Community Development, Inc. celebrated its 35th anniversary at Maple Hall in the San Pablo Civic Center. Each year, the non-profit organization helps 15,000 people from more than 30 countries become self-sufficient. From its humble…
Many of us wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, but this dream comes true for only a few. It would be a journey into the unknown filled with unforgettable experiences. But there is a hook: If you want to be one of the first explorers to reach Mars, you have to leave everyone behind—forever. The Dutch foundation Mars One received more than 200,000 applications for exactly this, a one-way trip to Mars. The global application elimination process started in 2013…
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is presenting a new exhibition exploring Oakland through the work of local artists. The exhibition is called “Who is Oakland?” and is organized by Chris Johnson, the lead artist, in cooperation with the museum. The exhibition is featuring the work of nine local artists lead by Johnson, produced using different forms of art and different materials. “The most important material is the content,” said Johnson. In his piece, he took a map of Oakland,…
Mayor Libby Schaaf and City Attorney Barbara Parker announced last Monday that Oakland has joined the Cities United for Immigration Action (CUIA), a national coalition that supports President Barack Obama’s appeal of a federal district court order that halted his recent immigration reform plans. “We continue to stand with President Obama and millions of Americans in affording law-abiding individuals a path to citizenship, the chance to earn an honest living and freedom from the fear of having their families torn…
The Christian and Chinese New Years parties are long over. But on March 21, the Bahá’i celebrated their Naw-Rúz (literally, New Year). The Bahá’i faith was established a century and a half ago and has more than 5 million members all over the planet. The religion is the second most widespread worldwide; only Christianity can be found in more regions on the globe. California is home to more than 19,000 believers, and therefore the largest Bahá’i community in the United…