Community
Thomas Denesha pulls up a purple bike on a rack and proceeds to take the front wheel off. The helmet is still attached to the handlebar. Its owner dropped it off at Uptown 19th Street BART Bike Station Friday morning, knowing his bike will be well taken care of while he goes to work. “He parks here every day and noticed some problems with his shifter,” said Denesha, who works there. The bike is now dismantled into two parts. The…
There’s a liquor store or a church on every corner, Bryan Appleton likes to say of the West Oakland neighborhood where he lives and has run an industrial salvage shop since 2010. One nearby church was torn down recently and the pastor offered him the 16-foot cherrywood pews, which are now lined up neatly along one wall in the back studio. Appleton recites their history easily: they’d been in three churches over their century of use, starting in Oklahoma before…
Oakland artists strive to improve working conditions for public art creators in the city.
Earlier this month the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington, D.C. think tank, reported that the average white family today has net assets of $141,900, compared with the $11,000 for African American families. This hollowing out of the African American family asset base is a nationwide phenomenon that can be explained by the shrinking African American middle class. It’s even more a factor in “strong market” regions like the Bay Area, where housing costs are soaring.
On Friday, December 4, Oakland’s Jack London Square drew crowds for a festive tree-lighting ceremony to celebrate the holiday season. Live music filled the square as the Oakland School for the Arts’ Vocal Rush, Chamber Choir and Jazz Guitar Ensemble performed holiday favorites. Other entertainment included performances by the Tap Dancing Christmas Trees and West Oakland Middle Schools’ Oakland Spirit Orchestra. Attendees petted live reindeer, decorated ornaments, and met with Santa Claus — among other activities sponsored by local organizations.
The Oakland City Council voted 5-1, with two abstentions, to approve a grant tied to hiring 15 new police officers after protesters disrupted the meeting, calling for funding for housing instead of more law enforcement.
The Mills College administration announced in a press release Monday that the school will continue to offer an undergraduate dance major.
In 2006, Taylor founded 1,000 Mothers to Prevent Violence as an organization to provide practical support to families who have lost someone to homicide. “Someone one day asked me: ‘What is it that you do?’” said Taylor. “It is not an ‘it.’ It all depends on the family’s needs.”
It is 7 p.m. and the young makers at Curiosity Hacked are swiftly moving between the laser cutter and their workbenches. This Tuesday, the kids have one mission in mind: creating BattleBots for the spring competition.