Culture

166 animal adoptions from Oakland Animal Services during adoptathon

Oakland Animal Services was able to raise $102,500 with 71 cat and 95 dog adoptions during last weekend’s second annual Maddie’s Matchmaker Adoptathon. The adoptathon lasted two days, involved dozens of animal shelters and rescue organizations in the East Bay and all dog and cat adoptions were free.

Dan Fontes paints murals on city buildings, warehouses and under highways

Nearly 30 years ago, in 1983, Dan Fontes was under Highway 580 at Harrison Street in North Oakland painting on a massive round concrete highway support beam. With cars speeding by, he diligently worked on his piece of art: a realistic depiction of a 30-foot tall giraffe craning its neck up toward the freeway. As Fontes painted, a police car pulled up…

Free animal adoptions at Maddie’s Matchmaker Adoptathon

Miss Twiggy is an overweight Rottweiler with hyperthyroidism and an affectionate personality. She’s 4 years old, fairly slow moving and loves to cuddle. And she lives in Oakland’s animal shelter. If Miss Twiggy is adopted this weekend, not only is her adoption free but she’ll also earn the shelter, Oakland Animal Services, $1,000.

Oakland honors military service on Memorial Day

One-foot-tall national flags were stuck on both sides of the path at the Mountain View Cemetery in North Oakland, where more than 100 people convened on Monday to pay respect to deceased military service members at the cemetery’s 90th Memorial Day commemoration.

Jonestown memorial at Oakland cemetery provokes catharsis, closure and controversy

On Sunday at Oakland’s Evergreen Cemetery, dozens of people gathered in the sunshine to remember Jonestown at the unveiling of a memorial for those who died in the Peoples Temple mass suicide in 1978. Bring up Jonestown to people who read and watched the news in 1978, and you may hear a story of disgust, anger and shock. But ask the people who were there for this weekend’s service, and you will hear about love, dedication, agony and finally—after 32 years—closure.

Summer treat series: Oakland Chinatown

Over the next month, Oakland North is featuring a food series on summer treats in Oakland. Chinatown is the first installment in the series. One day last week, two Oakland North reporters wandered around Oakland’s Chinatown sampling all sorts of different Asian treats, from lotus seed buns to basil seed jello to pork meat cookies–these are their top ten.

Despite criticism, Harold Camping remains adamant the world is ending

Harold Camping predicted that on May 21 a colossal global earthquake—the likes of which no one has ever felt before—would tear across the Earth, catalyzing the end of the world. But May 21 came and went. Now he’s saying that despite the lack of earthquakes, the world’s demise has indeed begun.