Community

Relief efforts continue after disasters in the Pacific

It’s been just over a week since Typhoon Ketsana hit Luzon, in the northern part of the Philippines, before storming through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.  Amelia Desesto, 45, a masters student at Berkeley’s Franciscan School of Theology, has spent hours this week watching Filipino news on television, and checking for updates on the latest death counts, injuries, and cleanup efforts. She said that even her young nieces and nephews are reacting to the news. “They feel devastated with what they…

The Mermaids take the waters at annual cancer swim

The Women’s Cancer Resource Center, an Oakland-based support center for women with cancer, held its fourteenth annual Swim a Mile for Women with Cancer event on October 3rd and 4th at the Mills College pool in East Oakland. Swimmers of various skill sets – from those who walked their laps in the shallow end to those who wore their brightly colored swim caps and Speedos in the deep end – grouped in threes or fours to share lanes and swim…

Hometown hero Henderson honored by alma mater

Recently-minted Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, the former Oakland Tech Bulldog and Oakland Athletic, returned to his old neighborhood on Saturday afternoon for a ceremony renaming a North Oakland baseball field in his honor. Story by Sam Laird/Oakland North

Four cities jointly launch new 510arts.com website

The mayors of Emeryville, Berkeley and Richmond, along with Oakland city council member Rebecca Kaplan, together cut a virtual ribbon with the click of a mouse this morning to launch 510arts.com, a collaborative website for the four cities to promote the East Bay arts. The website features regional arts events and news and serves as a portal to each city’s own arts-related site. 510arts.com positions the East Bay’s diversity at the forefront of the campaign with its “World Culture in…

At Sankofa Academy, fathers know best

Concerned dads are stepping up and getting involved at Sankofa Academy, a small school that’s making big strides toward addressing Oakland’s student achievement gap. Story by Jake Schoneker/Oakland North