Health
Personal and automated phone calls, advertisements on the sides of local buses, and a team of school nurses have been working to spread the word throughout the Oakland school system about a new requirement for seventh through 12th graders—a vaccine against whooping cough.
In a move that will in effect ban a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) from being used in baby bottles and toddler cups manufactured or sold in California, a bill known as the Toxin-Free Infants and Toddlers Act (AB 1319) was signed into law Tuesday night by Governor Jerry Brown.
An energetic employee, a mobile food cart, and a group of hungry students running late for class–all these can now be found Oakland Tech’s main entrance every morning, as students “Grab and Go.” The Bechtel Foundation-sponsored program, now in its fist year at Tech, offers a free quickie breakfast to students who don’t have time to eat in the school’s cafeteria–or just don’t want to.
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.
School communities around the world celebrated International Walk or Roll to School Day on Wednesday, which is meant to encourage kids to exercise by walking or biking to class, and to stay safe by traveling with their parents or groups.
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.
Women’s Cancer Resource Center celebrated its 16th annual Swim A Mile fundraiser this weekend. Cancer survivors, their supporters, center staff and others swam laps in support of the center’s services, while spectators waved homemade signs and cheered encouragement.
A Safe Place hosted its 10th annual Walk Against Domestic Violence and Teen Dating Violence at Lake Merritt on Saturday to kick off Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In 2010, Alameda County reported over six thousand calls for domestic violence – more than two thousand of those calls involved a weapon.
The California Healthy Food Financing Initiative (CHFFI) landed on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk last week, after the state Senate and Assembly both voted to approve it by a wide margin. If signed by the governor, the bill would help bring more grocery stores, farmers’ markets and other sources of produce to under-served communities throughout the state, including West and East Oakland.