Economy
There are those who say that every beer has a story. A growing number of women in the Bay Area say that every story…should have a beer.
Bay Area residents have the chance to be fairy godparents by opening their closets and hearts to help a young women attend their high school proms. The Princess Project, now in its eighth year, is a volunteer effort to give accessories and new and gently used prom dresses to teens who otherwise couldn’t afford them.
Oakland residents filled the City Council chambers last night, pleading for a reprieve from an additional $15.3 million in city budget cuts to close the deficit for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
Coffee shops used to be the social hub of the community until laptops and wireless Internet turned them into libraries that serve food. In North Oakland, one coffee shop is trying to get the conversation started again. Shilanda Woolridge reports.
Many other Oaklanders have a feverish attachment to the famed Bakesale Betty’s fried chicken sandwich and to the cheerful Temescal corner where it is currently housed. But in April, Betty will have a new way to serve her faithful patrons, a second location on the corner of West Grand and Broadway.
The agenda item that garnered the most attention and public comment was the board’s adoption of a resolution stating its support for the Day of Action that has been called for by the California Coordinating Committee.
It’s been almost a year since the Justice Department announced it would no longer go after medical marijuana providers who comply with state law. For Mickey Martin, whose Oakland shop distributed edibles laced with cannabis, the decision came a little too late. [This video report is no longer available.]
While corporations, lobbyists and special interest groups may have gloated over the Supreme Court’s ruling last month that decreed that the government has no power to ban corporate spending in political campaigns, if Californian voters pass Proposition 15 in the June 8th election, they may have another chance to set limits on corporate election spending.
With Oakland set to approve a major waterfront land-use plan, some industrial businesses fear residential development will push them out.