Community
By Casey Miner and Tasneem Paghdiwala Raja/Oakland North For twelve years, Oakland’s Parkway Speakeasy Theater was a community mainstay: a place to grab a beer, park yourself on a couch, watch a cheap movie and catch up with friends. But like many other small businesses, the Parkway has had a hard time weathering the recession. Last Wednesday, owners Kyle and Catherine Fischer announced that a combination of money troubles and landlord issues meant the theater had to close. Within 24…
Her water broke. They grabbed what they needed, scrambled out of the house and hit the road. The couple finally arrived, and it wasn’t a minute too soon. The husband jumped out of the car and rushed inside to the counter. “I’ll take two hot dogs please—to go!” he said. “I can’t tell you how many times that’s happened, how many pregnant women wanted Kasper’s hot dogs before they went to the hospital,” said a smiling Harry Yaglijian, third generation…
About a month ago, the North Oakland branch of the San Leandro-based chain Pet Food Express was hit by an armed robber. Two weeks later, it happened again, this time at the Pet Food Express Rockridge store, located in the Safeway shopping center at 51st and Broadway. According to employees, it was the same guy. It was then that the vice president of Pet Food Express, Mark Witirol, started hearing of other armed robberies at the Rockridge shopping center….
The bike store Manifesto has a Flickr photo account, “Our customers rock,” which is full of photos of people posing with their bicycles. People smiling standing next to their bikes, slowly riding by, triumphantly raising the bike over their heads — all photos of Manifesto’s customers with their new bikes. Each photo is captioned with lines like, “Austin sealed the deal on a red Schwinn that many were coveting on opening day,” “This beautiful Mercier, nicknamed Pierre, is now Casey’s…
by Carlos Davalos / Oakland North Photos by Howard Hsu / Oakland North A congregation of look-alike Andy Warhols is not something that happens often. But on Friday March 6, in an Emeryville warehouse that reproduced the 1960s’ dark, industrial-driven art scene fathered by Warhol, the Third Annual Amoeba Art Show took place. The Factory Party. More than 60 artists showed their paintings, sculptures, installations, films, photographs and other mediums/works. And yes, there were also the Velvet Underground look-alikes, playing…
By Brittney Johnson and Lauren Rudser Protesters on both sides of the California same-sex marriage debate showed up at the State Supreme Court, Thursday. They voiced their opinions and listened to oral arguments presented to the Supreme Court Justices about whether Proposition 8 can change the state’s Constitution.
A while ago I went to a great show at the wonderful Starry Plough featuring Buxter Hootn, Dgiin and The Loyd Family Players. Check out the video! This Saturday, I’m going to Café VanKleef’s Brass n’Burlesque show – featuring Bluebone Express and the Hot Pink Feathers. Its going to be a great night. Show starts at 9pm. http://www.cafevankleef.com/index.html
On a stretch of Oakland pockmarked with vacant storefronts, the 3000 block of Telegraph Avenue looks particularly bleak. 3003 Telegraph, formerly a medical center, has been up for lease for two months; 3031 Telegraph, formerly a Portuguese fraternal society, for a year. A few years ago, the old brick courthouse on the adjacent block, just past 29th Street, was a popular athletic center. Now its windows are boarded up. So when Mohsin Sharif opens his new grocery store on the…
North Oaklanders came out Saturday, Feb 21, for the first ever 40th Street corridor Art Quest. There were raffle prizes, great art, and a fun night exploring the neighborhood for everyone who came out.