Economy

Volunteers gather this weekend to clean up Oakland

All over town on Saturday, volunteers will head out to community gardens, dog parks, senior centers and schools to spend the day trying to improve Oakland. The Throwdown for the Town is an event organized by The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a community organizing nonprofit. More than 200 volunteers are signed up to work at one of the 25 service projects that will include working in community and school gardens, restoring vacant parking lots and helping out in…

Phat Beets farmers’ market starts up monthly bazaar

On Saturday, Phat Beets Produce introduced a flea market component to its weekly farmers’ market in North Oakland. By bringing in over 10 different vendors offering cooking demos, artisans showcasing different crafts and neighbors selling household items, Zach Matthews, one of the co-organizers for Phat Beets, said the flea market concept is geared toward getting more people to participate in the weekly farmers’ market.

Developers plan to revive historic West Oakland train station

Opened in 1912 at 16th Street and Wood Street, the Southern Pacific Train Station in West Oakland used to be one of the three original train stations serving Oakland at the beginning of the 20th Century, bringing goods and people—from coastal workers to jazz musicians—to the region from all over the country.

New Parkway Theater operator considers Auto Row, Temescal sites

If and when the Parkway Speakeasy Theater reopens, it won’t be at its former location east of Lake Merritt on Park Boulevard. Negotiations between a potential new operator and the building’s owners ended earlier this month, but two new possible locations, in the Auto Row and Temescal areas, remain in play.