Culture

Eat Real Festival cultivates local food

The 11th annual Eat Real Festival at Jack London Square this weekend drew in thousands of people with an appetite. Food trucks, environmental advocacy booths, and stalls serving locally-sourced food and drink fed a steady crowd hungry for new flavors. Eat Real is a food festival where lines become masses, and sensory overload is, above all, driven by the nose—between the yeasty pungency of beer, smoky slow-cooked southern-style barbeque, and the thickness of frying oil. Among the dozens of vendors…

Ghost Ship jury deadlocks on Derick Almena verdict; acquits Max Harris

The jury considering allegations against two men connected with the 2016 Ghost Ship fire reached a verdict on Thursday afternoon, acquitting Max Harris, a former tenant and creative director of the Ghost Ship, of 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. But after the jury deadlocked, Judge Trina Thompson declared a mistrial regarding identical charges against Derick Almena, the Ghost Ship’s primary leaseholder, who now faces a possible second trial.  The fire broke out on December 2, 2016, at a party at the…

Muralist Dave Young Kim uses art to tap into his Korean roots

Oakland is known for its lively art scene. From murals, to sculptures, to street tagging, art is ubiquitous in this East Bay city. One artist is using his art to tap into his native Korean roots. Dave Young Kim channels into his work a dilemma often faced by children of immigrant families–how to make sense of images that feel both so familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. Click on the video above to learn about his murals.

In Oakland and in pro baseball, the number of African American players declines

Historically, Oakland was a hotbed for producing African American baseball talent for Major League Baseball. However, the face of baseball has changed. Today, blacks only account for a tiny​ percentage of professional players. Click on the video above to take a look at the reasons that have caused the decline, both among young Oakland players and in pro sports.