Community
More than 40 parents and family members completed classes as part of a program called Oakland Baby Learning Communities. The classes, run by the city, county, and privately funded SafePassages program, teach parenting skills to immigrants and parents of children who have experienced domestic or community violence.
In Oakland’s Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, building inspector Ed Labayog walks past a line of nearly a hundred people waiting to apply for a job with the city on his way to the street where his car is parked. Wearing a black button-up City of Oakland shirt and carrying a bag containing case files, a camera, and his lunch, he’s setting out to find blighted properties. For Labayog, seeking out trash, graffiti and signs of crumbling structures on private property is his job.
With homicide numbers already deep in the double digits this year, Oakland has a reputation for being one of California’s most violent and crime-plagued cities. But that won’t stop students at Castlemont High School in East Oakland from working hard to change that.
St. Patrick’s Day isn’t until March 17, but the festivities start this weekend. Find the best way to unleash your inner Irish on Oakland North’s activities listings.
If winemaking is an art, consider The Punchdown Oakland’s newest gallery. The uptown bar, which opened its doors at 2212 Broadway in December, offers wine connoisseurs and neophytes alike a polished, unpretentious space to sip, nibble and chat. But be warned: there’s no Yellowtail on tap at The Punchdown—the bar only carries natural, sustainably produced wines.
A state bill that would ban the possession and distribution of shark fins in California has led to debate between conservationists and Chinese American leaders, and has its share of critics in Oakland’s Chinatown. The bill would prevent hundreds of restaurants from serving shark-fin soup, a traditional Chinese delicacy that is a mark of prestige at banquets.
Long loved by East Bay residents, North Oakland’s mega-drugstore will close this summer due to plans to demolish and redevelop the shopping center where it is located. For decades this one-stop-shop has been a neighborhood institution, but now the store’s landlord has declined to renew its lease, slating it to close by the end of June.
It was early, raining and Sunday, but about 300 people still gathered in front of the Oakland Marriot City Center last weekend for the final official training run for the Oakland Running Festival’s marathon and half-marathon races.
Oakland North is continuing with our new feature. Every week, we will publish a photo submitted by one of our readers. This week’s photo is by Curtis Jermany.