Development
As Temescal grew in 1870s, the small town became an important transportation hub for rail travelers passing between Oakland and Berkeley.
The physical evidence today is scarce, but Temescal began with the creek. Most of the section of Temescal Creek that runs through the Temescal district has been covered up. Over the years, the creek was gradually culverted through the flat lands of North Oakland, and many younger residents of the area today may not know that it even exists. But where the bustling intersection of 51st Street and Telegraph Avenue is located today was once a popular relaxation destination for…
On Wednesday morning, Oakland hills resident Terry Galloway finished installing a third rain barrel on his property, a 305-gallon tank that is attached to the back of his home and connected to the gutters on his roof, as part of an event to promote the City of Oakland Rain Barrel Program.
On Tuesday, members of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in North Oakland participated in a bank “transfer day” in conjunction with Occupy the Dream, a campaign for economic justice inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The church asked people throughout the Oakland community to move at least $30 from a conventional banking institution to a minority-owned bank or credit union.
From 1914 when it opened until its closure in 2006, the Oakland Civic Auditorium—re-named the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in 1984 after a $15 million renovation—was at the center of civic life in Oakland. But for the last half-decade, the place has sat vacant and empty of life, slowly deteriorating.
Writer and home renovation expert Jane Powell is fighting to save her historic Oakland home, dubbed the Bunga-Mansion, from foreclosure.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan has had a tumultuous first year in office. Since her first day one year ago, the mayor has been faced with overseeing severe budget cuts and scores of layoffs of city workers, as well as the resignation of the city attorney and the chief of police, battles with Occupy Oakland, an undermanned police force that is close to federal receivership and is battling a debilitating crime problem, and not one, but two efforts to recall her from her job.
But through it all, Quan said she’s “optimistic” about what’s in store for the city during her State of the City address at City Hall on Wednesday night.
During another contentious meeting Tuesday night, the City Council deadlocked over a resolution aimed at increasing the policing of protests. The resolution would have made protests that block streets without a permit illegal, and allowed the city administrator to use “whatever lawful tools” required to prevent protesters from hindering everyday business operations.
Is a bar worthy of historical landmark status primarily because of the people who have been going there for years? That’s the crux of the argument that the owners and a group of regular customers at the Kingfish Pub and Café made in a presentation to the Oakland Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board on Monday night at City Hall.