Economy
With four days to opening, a cast juggling day jobs and family crises, and a budget with zero to spare, veteran West Oakland theatre director Ayodele “Wordslanger” Nzinga drove to her outdoor playhouse on a rainy afternoon and wondered if this, finally, was the production that wouldn’t make it.
Although Oakland school board members have said they will not vote on school closures until Oct 26, scores of irritated speakers crowded Wednesday night’s meeting to plead for a second, third, and even fourth look at their schools before a final decision is made.
Since Occupy Wall Street protests began nearly one month ago in New York, similar actions have erupted across dozens of US cities, including Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. Since 4 p.m. Monday, nearly 100 Oakland residents have built a tent city on Ogawa Plaza’s grass field.
Every Saturday morning, volunteers from North Oakland’s Lighthouse Mosque come to the Rainbow Recreation center on 59th and East 14th Street in East Oakland to give hot food and groceries to people in need.
Lakeview students, parents and supporters walked to the farmers market to protest the proposed closure of five schools. Oakland superintendent Tony Smith recommended the school board approve the closures.
Souley Vegan, located at Broadway and 3rd Street in downtown Oakland, conjures up a sense of Southern comfort with murals of jazz artists like Louis Armstrong and Big Mama Thornton covering the walls. The air is scented by the steaming gravy wafting off the top of one patron’s mashed potatoes. Blues tunes carry over the entire seating area and bar, as does the sizzling of something frying in a batter: tofu.
City of Oakland officials have high hopes that the new dealerships will help reinvigorate Auto Row, a long stretch of Broadway between Grand Avenue and 40th Street that since, 1912, has been a hub of city commerce teeming with auto businesses. Prior to the economic meltdown of 2008, the street generated millions of dollars in sales tax revenue for the city, but now it boasts more vacant buildings and “for lease” signs than live dealerships.
Many Oakland urban farmers raise animals for a healthier, sustainable and cheaper source of food, and their backyard farms can foster positive relationships between neighbors, according to a recent report on urban livestock practices in the city.
Last Saturday, hundreds of people flocked to City Hall to attend Financial Planning Day, a free event offering financial planning advice and workshops to participants.