Culture

Bay Area celebrates Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling

It’s official: The Supreme Court has made same-sex marriage a reality in California. The justices dismissed an appeal Wednesday by sponsors of Proposition 8, a voter-approved ban on gay marriage, and ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to the same benefits as opposite-sex couples.

Until organs go silent

Bob Schleicher has been repairing Hammond organs and Leslie speakers in Oakland for nearly five decades–and he’s one of the best at what he does. Something magical happens when you plug in a Leslie speaker to a Hammond organ, he says.

Condemned project housing reopens as art gallery

Chipped paint, metal bars and boarded windows and doors are all that’s left of Greenside, a notorious housing complex in East Oakland that was condemned and shuttered 10 years ago. Now, Oakland native and internationally- renowned artist Ise Lyfe has returned to his hometown to convert the dilapidated buildings into a work of art.

What it really means to move a body at Mountain View Cemetery

At more than 226 acres, Oakland’s Mountain View Cemetery is a final resting place for some of the Bay Area’s most notable figures. And docents there are uncovering new and interesting tombstones all the time, helping to piece together Oakland’s rich history. Madeleine Thomas has the story.

Oakland by the ZIP code: Your photos, your community

This week, as part of our weekly photo series, the Pulse of Oakland, we are showcasing some of the community contributions to the Flickr stream. Our photographs come from Flickr users Neil Conway, Brandon Tauszik, Tricityterror, bearlikemouse, Kyle Mortara, karmacamilleeon, blocker1501, ljellis, Rachel Medanic, solanita , Regina Aragón and Ellen Lake. Look for more of their photographs on Flickr. We’ve seen some beautiful pictures uploaded to Flickr so far. You can submit your own ZIP code photos to the Pulse of Oakland project on Flickr. If…