Community

Oakland Food Policy Council fights for access, an equitable food system

The Oakland Food Policy Council is an organization dedicated to developing a local food system that can feed all citizens of the city in a healthy, sustainable way. The 21-seat council, which was established in 2005 with seed money from the city, meets monthly to work on initiatives that address some of Oakland’s most pressing food concerns, like poor nutrition, access to fresh produce and antiquated laws.

The night that BART didn’t stop

If you live in the Bay Area, there’s one question you’ve probably asked at some point: why on earth doesn’t BART run past midnight? Over Presidents’ Day Weekend, it did.

Oakland residents gather to “demand justice” in Trayvon Martin case

Trayvon Martin was killed more than six weeks ago, and Oakland and Sanford, Florida are nearly 3,000 miles apart. But that didn’t dim the outrage of a group of about 30 people gathered at the intersection of International Boulevard and 71st Avenue in East Oakland on Tuesday afternoon to “demand justice for Trayvon Martin.”

“It’s been six weeks since Trayvon was murdered and Zimmerman is still walking free. What kind of a system is this?” said D’andre Teeter of Berkeley, an organizer for the demonstration. “This is a system that protects this kind of racism.”

East Africans in Oakland: Sharing Ethiopian music with the world

Many of the 20,000 people from Ethiopia and Eritrea living in the Bay Area call Oakland home. Oakland North is taking a look at the culture and history of the Ethiopian or Eritrean community in Oakland with “East Africans in Oakland” a series of profiles on everyday people living in the city.

At the Oakland film festival, filmmakers and organizers tackle issues of community, identity

Festival director David Roche’s long term goal for the future is to make Oakland a safer city. By attracting a larger audience he hopes to also promote more volunteerism in Oakland. “There are a lot of neglected areas in Oakland that need support,” Roche says, “and the films create more awareness of that. Arts can play a huge part in changing the image of a city.”

Local filmmakers premiere their work at Oakland International Film Festival

In it’s tenth consecutive year, the 2012 Oakland International Film Festival starts today and runs through Sunday with an exciting line-up of films, many of them created in Oakland. Two new local filmmakers, one who directed a 6-minute comedy and another who produced a documentary on a legendary Oakland piano bar, will be premiering their films on Saturday as part of the festival.