Oakland North Radio
This year the Gilman, a not for profit punk rock club celebrates its 25 year anniversary. Oakland North talks with Brian Edge, author of “924 Gilman: The Story So Far,” about how this small gem of a venue is much more than just the few bands that played there and went on to become famous.
Even if you set aside the tear gas and broken windows, it’s hard to keep things clean when thousands of people are gathered in one place. The city says that things have gotten so dirty it’s a danger to the neighborhood, but some of Oakland’s occupiers are working hard to clean up their act.
Sara Davis Buechner, an associate professor of piano at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, established her success early in her career. She joined the Oakland East Bay Symphony on November 4 to play Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety,” as part of their kick-off concert for the 2011-2012 season. Buechner has an incredible off-stage story as well. She was once known as David but in 1998, at the age of 39, underwent gender reassignment and transitioned to being Sara. Although facing walls as a transgendered woman, Sara remains positive and hopeful for the future generation. “I have often said to people, ‘I don’t know why we’re so obsessed with what’s between the legs—I think what’s between the ears is a lot more important,’” she said.
This weekend, organizers of the second national conference of BUTCH Voices, a grassroots organizations dedicated to all self-indentified “Masculine of Center” people, had over 450 attendees at the Oakland City Center Marriott.
Ever want to learn about the cellulolysis processes or why karyokinesis and cytokinesis happen in the fourth phase of cell division? Just ask one of the 22 students at Oakland Technical High School and Berkeley High School, who are finishing up their summer internships at biotech companies in the East Bay.
Across Oakland, residents gathered at 559 block parties, cookouts and get-togethers to mingle with their neighbors and promote public safety. Oakland North reporters and readers captured photos and and stories from the evening.
Checking out tools here is as easy as checking out a library book. With nearly 3,000 tools available for loan, including books and how-to videos, it’s a DIY heaven for crafty and inspired Oaklanders.
This is isn’t your grandma’s acting company — well, it might be — but its reputation is much more lively than apple pie and wool-knit sweaters.
Oakland library supporters crawled down Telegraph Avenue Saturday evening in their zombie finest to protest the potential closure of 14 of the 18 city libraries. The living dead groaned “Zombies need brains, keep libraries open!” to passerbys in cars, restaurants, and at Oakland’s Uptown galleries.