Community

Oakland’s Ukulele Love-In

Maybe it’s their charming, upbeat sound. Maybe it’s because they’re tiny, portable and cheaper than guitars. Whatever the reason, ukuleles are all the rage these days — from Eddie Vedder albums to Oakland cafes. Every month, local musician Madeline Tasquin, also known as Mana Maddy, hosts the “Ukulele Love-In” at Actual Cafe. Dozens of die-hard ukulele enthusiasts gather for a ukulele lesson, a featured ukulele performance, and a ukulele sing-a-long. You can catch the next event on May 11th. After…

This Weekend in Oakland

Community events and activities for the weekend of April 26-28, 2013. Got an event we didn’t know about? Please add it in the comments! Friday, May 3 First Friday 5-10 p.m. Telegraph Ave. from West Grand to 27th Street A free art, food, and culture scene in Oakland. For more information, click here. Jack’s Night Market 6 – 10 p.m. Jack London Square, Broadway and Embarcadero, Oakland, CA 94607 Jack London Square is a market held the same night as First Friday…

Immigration reform hits home for Oaklanders in Tuesday vigil

Frank H. Ogawa Plaza looked a little bit like Vatican City Tuesday, as the dramatic afternoon light illuminated the faces of nuns, priests and immigrant families who gathered together in prayer and supplication. The goal: comprehensive immigration reform, an end to the raids that separate families and unity among different groups and coalitions of Americans. A guitarist changed the lyrics of popular Motown song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” to “Ain’t No Migra Strong Enough” while the crowd sang along…

Oakland by the Zip Code: Photos from the 94618

Enjoy the photo gallery for our weekly series, The Pulse of Oakland. This week’s featured ZIP code is 94618, which include Rockridge and parts of the Oakland Hills. Oakland North reporters will be taking photographs documenting each of the ZIP codes in Oakland over the next few months. Every neighborhood is diverse and different, and we want to capture that. Of course, we can’t see everything in Oakland ourselves. So we also want to know how you view this city….

After the raid: For patients, worries that medical marijuana dispensaries will shut down

Oakland resident Sableu Cabildo was diagnosed at the end of 2011 with a kind of brain cancer known as an astrocytoma. It originated on the right side of her thalamus, the lobed mass under the cerebral cortex that acts like the brain’s switchboard, regulating sensory perception and motor functions. Because of the cancer, Cabildo has been steadily losing her short-term memory and her balance. She stutters sometimes, and to be on the safe side, doesn’t drive at night anymore.

To alleviate some of the symptoms of her cancer and the harsher side affects of her medications, Cabildo, 34, has a medical marijuana prescription. It’s helped to calm her mood swings and improve her diminished appetite. It also dulls the pain from the migraine headaches caused by her disease. It lets her sleep at night.

Unions protest Quan’s proposed budget at City Council meeting

Some 250 workers rallied on City Hall steps ahead of Tuesday’s City Council meeting to protest the mayor’s proposed budget, which focuses on investments in public safety, job creation, economic development, and job training. But union members felt some of the most hard hitting cuts were proposed to service programs–many of the jobs they do in the city of Oakland.