Community

New center opens to teach sustainable living practices

What used to be a simple dirt lot in a residential neighborhood at San Pablo Avenue and 65th Street, will soon be a haven for residents who share a common interest in sustainability and preserving the environment. From classes about urban gardening and herbal salve making to monthly crafts nights, the PLACE for Sustainable Living will provide Oakland residents with resources and knowledge on how to live a greener lifestyle.

And North Oakland’s worst pothole is…

After a week of voting on the 16 top offenders, 198 votes have been tallied. You decided which pothole was the best of the worst, the most unholy of the holey — and it won by a landslide.

Improv troupe Stone Soup makes up comedy on the spot

On a Sunday afternoon in a living room in Berkeley, three fully grown adults are running in circles around a fourth man, wildly flapping their arms and making bird noises. A woman sits on the couch, directing the scene—when she says she wants to see birds, the group complies. Welcome to a rehearsal with Stone Soup, North Oakland’s very own improv troupe.

Is Oakland ready for its next big earthquake?

Oakland is overdue for a major earthquake. The Hayward Fault, which runs along Highway 13 at the foot of the Oakland hills and streams through the Oakland Zoo and Mills College, has produced a significant earthquake on average every 140 years for nearly the past millennium. The last substantial earthquake caused by this fault was in 1868 … that was 143 years ago.