Oakland North TV

Valentine’s Day Special at Oakland Animal Services encourages cat and dog adoption

OAS is an open admission shelter that takes in all animals brought in by the public or an animal control officer. “We’ve seen a significant uptake in the number of owner surrenders,” said Rebecca Katz, director of the shelter. “Gentrification has been good for Oakland’s economy, but there are people who are impacted by it negatively and there are people losing their homes.”

Men Creating Peace works to reduce domestic violence in Alameda County

Men Creating Peace (MCP) is one of the few domestic violence organizations in Alameda County specifically geared towards men. Founded in 2009, the organization aims to help men who’ve been involved in violent acts adopt coping mechanisms so that they can develop healthier relationships with partners, family and their community.

New portable sensor tests for gluten in minutes

Martha Benco, an Oakland native, knows what it’s like to rely on the truthfulness of labels and servers when it comes to checking whether there’s gluten in her food. “I have celiac disease,” says Benco, 35, who also has a way to test her food now. Benco says she’s been lucky so far—though she does experience mental fogginess, exhaustion and intestinal distress, her symptoms aren’t as severe as the sores inside the mouth or vomiting other people report. That’s why,…

Oakland youth take flight class

Every Saturday morning, kids of all ages gather in the sunlit second story of a West Oakland community building. The kids come to attend a lesson unusual for most youngsters, especially those from a low-income neighborhood like theirs: These pupils are learning to fly.

Oakland design fair encourages participants to play

Frank Ogawa Plaza hosted Oakland’s first design fair on Super Bowl weekend. The organizers of the event, Our City, chose local artists to center their designs around the theme of play. The designs ranged from an outdoor living room installed with picture frames that allowed passersby to upload selfies; an adult-sized board of Mancala, a counting and strategy game; and an LED-lit basketball hoop. The fair also featured dance classes that caught the attention of Oaklanders clocking off from work…

Oakland residents feast on traditional Chinese New Year’s dishes

Being Chinese, one does not simply eat. Eating is a favorite cultural pastime, and has a process to it that is treated with such reverence that the Chinese say, “Dining comes before the Emperor does.” This respect for delectables escalates with the arrival of the Lunar New Year, which begins with the second new moon after the winter solstice. The holidays—much like a combination of Thanksgiving and Christmas when families reunite—start when the moon is but a sliver in the…