Community

Hundreds of thousands of diapers donated in Oakland

Diaper costs are something that many non-parents don’t think about. Individual diapers seem relatively inexpensive and are often considered part of the cost of childcare, but for homeless or low-income families finding $1,100 a year for diapers, which is the average yearly cost to diaper a baby, can be an overwhelming household expense.

The new 81st Avenue Library opens its doors Saturday

At a time when local governments talk more about cutting public services than providing new ones, Oakland’s newest library branch bucks the trend. No modest affair, the new 81st Avenue Library opens its doors Saturday in one of the city’s most troubled areas.

Artists create live art at Drawing Wednesdays

At a long table set with small lamps giving off an amber-hued glow, 15 people sit alongside each other, stooped over sketchpads, drawing. Some people are working with pen and ink, others paint with watercolors, while some draw with charcoal or pencils. Every person sitting at the table is a professional artist and was invited to Levende East for a weekly event called “Drawing Wednesdays.”

Adoptable Animal of the Week: Paris

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

Chinese charter school to open in East Bay this August

Oakland resident Wallace Lee crammed himself into a small room in Oakland’s Chinatown with nearly three dozen other parents on Saturday afternoon to hear plans for what many East Bay residents see as an unfilled gap in the area’s education system: a public school with a Mandarin-English curriculum.

Artist community hosts open house party

Mike Taft isn’t an artist in the traditional sense. But when his entire live-work apartment complex was having an open house art party on Friday—one that he founded and organized—he was of course going to find a way to entertain the crowd. “I’m grinding down a piece of plywood with an angle grinder,” the industrial designer said with a grin.