Health
Katherine Sherwood, whose show He-Charmers opened last week at The Compound Gallery, located in the Golden Gate arts district in North Oakland, has included a number of her own angiograms in the mixed media pieces that comprise her collection. Fourteen years ago, Sherwood, a professor of art and disabilities studies at UC Berkeley, had a massive cerebral hemorrhage in the left side of her brain—a stroke—that almost took her life and left her mostly paralyzed on the right side of her body. She had to learn how to walk, talk, think and paint all over again.
Alameda County health executives and government officials hope the launch of a new website that will help residents like Wan and those who are underinsured or uninsured connect with medical resources faster and more easily. ACHealthCare.org, which officially launched last week, is the nation’s first website that compiles free and low-cost local health resources into a searchable database.
The 1991 wildfire, which shot out of control on October 20 and lasted almost 72 hours, was so large and fast-moving that it challenged the capacity of Northern California’s fire departments and wreaked havoc on the hills community. OaklandNorth.net remembers the fire and examines what has changed in the past 20 years.
From a distance, standing on the windy ridge in Las Trampas Regional Park, the space-age contraption surrounded by a chain link fence looks out of place in the middle of swaying grass and a herd of grazing cows. But this array of sensors is playing an integral role in protecting this landscape. Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) represent one of the biggest advancements in fire preparedness since the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire.
Last Wednesday, Temple Sinai kicked off their first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, which supplies produce boxes of fresh, organic vegetables and fruits from nearby Eatwell Farms.
Dr. Brigid McCaw was diligently working her way through medical school while her sister was busy concealing a secret. Despite the summer heat in their Denver home, McCaw’s sister bundled up in high-necked layers. The bruises along her abdomen became difficult to conceal during pregnancy, but her own physician never questioned them. Immersed in her studies at the University of California, San Francisco almost 1,000 miles away, McCaw never even saw the black and blue marks.
Medical marijuana supporters and business people in Oakland reacted angrily last week to dual blows from the federal government—a prosecution warning and a massive tax bill—as they speculated on the possible consequences for patients and the local marijuana industry.
The firefighters put on their headphones, fastened their seatbelts, turned on their lights and sirens, and peeled out of the garage towards the narrow, steep road. With notepads and video cameras in tow, reporters were getting a feel for what it was like to ride in a fire truck during the massive fire that devastated the Oakland Hills 20 years ago.
While much of the country took Monday off in honor of Columbus’ expedition to the New World, Phat Beets Produce farmers’ market in North Oakland took an alternate approach on Saturday with its “Decolonize Your Diet: An Indigenous People’s Day” celebration.