Community
On Thursday afternoon, protestors and media convened in downtown Oakland for what many feared would be a violent reaction to the verdict in the trial of former BART officer Johannes Mehserle. But following the verdict, several Oakland gathering spots offered an alternative to the mass downtown protest, where people could peacefully vent their feelings and talk about the future.
Residents in North Oakland’s Koreatown-Northgate district may soon be getting some new neighbors—a group of men and women trying to restart their lives after spending time behind bars. Center Point, Inc., a Marin-based non-profit social services agency, is planning to open a day reporting center for parolees from Oakland on the 33rd block of Telegraph.
On randomly-selected afternoons a couple hundred people gather in a big brick building on Martin Luther King Jr. Way to shop, browse and taste ready-made food from top chefs from all over the Bay Area. It’s not a farmers market, food fair or co-op—it’s the Pop-Up General Store, a place where people can buy pre-made food that can’t normally be found outside of an expensive restaurant.
Oakland residents Joel Preston and Kevin Harrigan were among the 18,000 same-sex couples who got married in California during the six months in 2008 when gay marriage was legal. Now, as the state waits for a ruling in on the Proposition 8 trial that may overturn California’s current ban on same-sex marriage, the couple reflects on what two years of legal marriage have meant to them, and what the right may mean to others.
Bay Area Girls Rock Camp kicked off last week in downtown Oakland. Eighty girls, from ages 8 to 18, learned to play guitar, drums, synthesizer and sing. This is the third summer of Bay Area Girls Rock Camp, where attendees get to do more than just learn about music—they also go to screen printing classes where they design band logos and print them on t-shirts, take self-defense classes, participate in image and identity workshops, and learn about song writing and music her-story.
Big bikes, small bikes, kid’s bikes and tall bikes — they were all out in force on Sunday. It was Oakland’s first Oaklavía—an event that closed down the Broadway corridor, from Grand Avenue to Jack London Square, to all cars. Bikes, pedestrians, unicyclists and rollerbladers cruised up and down the street checking out the booths and activities on the sidewalks.
It’s hard to catch Steve Sparkes these days between World Cup games, building a tasting room at Linden Street Brewery in West Oakland, and organizing a week-long free soccer camp for over sixty kids. Now in its third year, the “My Yute” soccer camp offers skills training to young players, while exposing them to the cultural diversity of the game and spreading, Sparkes hopes, his passion for the sport.
On Thursday, historic musician Bert Jansch headlined an intimate concert at the New Parish nightclub in downtown Oakland. Jansch’s music blends acoustic folk, traditional Irish and Scottish music with some blues and jazz. He is thought of as one of the world’s most influential folk guitarists and music greats such as Neil Young, Nick Drake and Jimmy Page have covered his songs.
The Oakland lawn bowling club has been rolling on the greens at Lakeside Park for nearly a century. The game dates from 13th century England, and was played by the likes of Sir Francis Drake and Henry VIII.