Community
Afters 17 years in business, The popular Tabletop gaming store is closing its doors for good this Friday.
At an emotional meeting Monday night, the Oakland Board of Education voted to close Roots International Academy, a middle school in East Oakland, despite Roots students, parents, teachers, and staff imploring them to keep the school open.
Built in memory of the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire, which claimed the lives of 25 people and destroyed over 37 hundred homes, the memorial features a fire-gutted home next to a rocky garden to educate the public about the importance of emergency preparedness in case of disasters. But signs of visitors over the years are visible. Both the exhibit and garden have been graffitied, and cigarette butts along with other common trash are strewn about. Click the audio piece to…
The Cathedral of Christ the Light stands on a big plaza in Oakland where people are sitting on benches and lawns, talking to each other, or drinking coffee between meetings. Students come to study under the sun. Children are running along the lake and near Children’s Fairyland on the other bank. Inside the cathedral, three people are praying in silence in front of a giant image of Christ. Some come and go to see the unique wooden architecture of the…
Washington Avenue in Point Richmond is an uphill road with a view to the Golden Gate. At a first glance, it seems to contain only big houses, but when looking closer, almost everywhere there is a tiny magical neighbour—a fairy house! Those little magical inhabitants not only bring happiness to the locals, but also attract visitors to the neighborhood. When you are fairy house hunting, you constantly listen to short stories and advice about where to look next from those…
The Evergreen Cemetery has nothing of the dark, morbid and ghostly atmosphere people tend to associate with graveyards or see in the movies. It is a sunlit, open space with tall palm trees and mountains in the background. It feels paradoxically full of life. At 11 am on a Monday, there are not a lot of people there. Other than me and a gardener, only one woman with bright pink neon shoes can be seen from a distance. She seems…
“Remember Them, Champions for Humanity” is a monument in downtown Oakland. It honors 25 people who in one way or another fought for peace, freedom and human rights. Tall buildings and business suits are what you see from one side of it. Tent towns are what you see coming from the other, the side facing San Pablo Avenue. “What does it make you feel?” I ask a woman who is passing by. “Inspired and motivated,” she replies. We are sitting…
At Lois the Pie Queen, eight tables are occupied on an early Monday morning. Nearly every table being serviced is occupied by a group of two. No one has a phone in hand—people come here to chat. Sure, they’re here for the pie and the breakfast, but mostly for the ambience. This is a diner that feels like walking into a grandmother’s kitchen on a warm, sunny spring afternoon. There’s always hot coffee, music playing in the background, and chatter…
When I snuck a look at Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon on Yelp, it seemed to promise touristy kitsch. It’s a historic landmark in Jack London Square. The floor is sunken from the 1906 earthquake. The walls and ceilings are littered with business cards and hats, offered up by customers passing through. But when I go in person, I order a $5 hefeweizen and sat down by two off-duty bartenders nursing a beer and a shot each. From across…