Health
The Oakland Running Festival is in its second year, and 7,284 runners representing 35 states and six countries registered for one of the weekend’s five races – the marathon, half-marathon, 4-person team relay, 5K, and kids’ fun run – up about 20 percent from last year.
After a successful return of the Oakland Marathon last year after a 25-year hiatus, Oakland is ready to host the second edition of the city’s Running Festival this weekend. “The revival of the Oakland Running Festival is one of the many signs of Oakland looking more forward,” Mayor Jean Quan said at a press conference on Thursday. She hopes that the festival will introduce the projected 7,300 runners to Oakland’s diverse neighborhoods and scenic beauty.
The Oakland Marathon will get off to a running start on Sunday, March 27 with a handful of other race events and activities on Saturday preceding the principal competition, as part of the second annual Oakland Running Festival.
There is nothing more disappointing than comfort food that causes discomfort. People with allergies to gluten—a protein found in wheat, rye and barley—have to say no to pizza, pasta and pastries made using traditional ingredients. But there is a haven for the gluten-free tucked away in a red brick alley in Temescal.
All over the country, and even in states like California where abortion laws are among the nation’s most lenient, many women, particularly low-income women, still have trouble accessing abortion clinics and other reproductive health services, such as finding birth control providers or prenatal care. At ACCESS, a nonprofit located in downtown Oakland, practical assistance is there for the asking.
The American Red Cross Bay Area chapter participated in a national Save-A-Life event Saturday, offering four free classes in Oakland and San Jose aimed at teaching local residents essential life-saving techniques in honor of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of January’s shooting in Tucson, Arizona.
More than 40 parents and family members completed classes as part of a program called Oakland Baby Learning Communities. The classes, run by the city, county, and privately funded SafePassages program, teach parenting skills to immigrants and parents of children who have experienced domestic or community violence.
In Oakland’s Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, building inspector Ed Labayog walks past a line of nearly a hundred people waiting to apply for a job with the city on his way to the street where his car is parked. Wearing a black button-up City of Oakland shirt and carrying a bag containing case files, a camera, and his lunch, he’s setting out to find blighted properties. For Labayog, seeking out trash, graffiti and signs of crumbling structures on private property is his job.
With homicide numbers already deep in the double digits this year, Oakland has a reputation for being one of California’s most violent and crime-plagued cities. But that won’t stop students at Castlemont High School in East Oakland from working hard to change that.