Community

Oakland businesses prepare for Halloween rush

This Halloween, Oakland North asked a few local businesses—Powell’s Sweet Shoppe, the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, Piedmont Grocery and Piedmont Fabric—what they did to prepare for the holiday this year. Business owners said they began preparing for Halloween at least a month ago, and have seen their biggest rush of customers this week.

Supporters, detractors split on Proposition 32

Should voters approve Proposition 32, or the “Paycheck Protection Initiative,” it would change the law by prohibiting corporations, labor unions, government contractors and government employers from using employee payroll deductions for political purposes. It would also prohibit contributions from government contractors to officials on committees, which have the power to decide which companies receive government contracts.

Adoptable animal of the week: Dolly

Oakland North is continuing with our feature. Every week, Oakland Animal Services will spotlight an “Animal of the Week” that’s up for adoption at their facility. This week it’s a dog named Dolly.

Muslims Celebrate Eid ul-Adha in downtown Oakland

Fairy lights and Persian rugs guided Muslims up an elegant, high-ceilinged stairway and into a special religious service held Friday to mark the end of the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that is undertaken by some 1.8 million Muslims every year. Although none of those in Oakland’s Iranian community who attended a service at the Islamic Cultural Center for Northern California had completed the Hajj this year, they came out to celebrate Eid ul-Ahda, the end of the annual Muslim…

This is Halloween (in Oakland)

Halloween is always a time for creepy good fun in Oakland, so this year, we’ve dragged some of our favorite spooky stories up from the vault a little early to help you get into the … er, spirit. Check out these stories of hauntings, Halloween-themed scraper bikes, a bar that really knows how to decorate and much much more…