Sports
It seems like a tall order. Wanted: fifteen volunteer hip-hop or modern dance performers willing to learn spoken word theater for a Spring show in Oakland and possible national tour. Song, rap, martial arts and aerial dance skills could also come in handy. Oh, yes–and actors must be 12 or younger. The group will be known as “Destiny Junior Company,” and the idea emerged out of Destiny Art Center, a non-profit that runs dance, theater and martial arts classes for…
Dragon boats converged on the Bay this weekend from all over the Bay Area and way beyond. Teams from Texas and Canada, as well as the newcomer Oakland Renegades, were among the dozens racing in this year’s International Dragon Boat festival. Videos and story by Laurel Moorhead, Mario Furloni and Paige Ricks.
At Wednesday’s regular biweekly meeting, the Oakland School Board honored several people for their contributions to the city’s schools, including one person who’s no stranger to the spotlight. Blog by Lillian R. Mongeau.
On most weekend mornings in September, Oakland residents turn Lake Merritt into their outdoor track, with packs of joggers and cyclists circumnavigating the sunlit lake. But a canopy of gray clouds chilled the air one recent Saturday, making the morning in the emptier-than-usual park feel like winter rather than late summer.
The late Hunter S. Thompson – no stranger to depravity himself – once called Oakland Raiders fans, “beyond doubt the sleaziest and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and wackos ever assembled in such numbers under a single ‘roof,’ so to speak, anywhere in the English-speaking world.“ Oakland North caught up with Raider Nation at the Coliseum before Monday’s opening night for the 2009 Silver and Black. The evening ended in a 24-20 defeat to the visiting San Diego…
A man crouched beside one of several dozen bicycles that filled a parking lot on the corner of 24th Street and Valdez in Northgate Sunday. On the other side of the lot, beyond folding tables and blankets strewn with bike parts, a Lycra-clad man with grey hair and grey tube socks stood next to his drop handle bike. Between the two, a small boy dressed like Lance Armstrong competing in the Tour de France pedaled furiously in place on a…
The Crucible, where students do everything from fixing bikes to giving live performances with flaming batons, is having an open house this Saturday, September 12. “We’re best known for the fire,” says Ismael Plasencia, the Crucible’s Youth and Community Program Manager. “Everyone knows about that, but we’re a school too. We’re a school first.” Twenty-four Oakland community outreach organizations will set up information tables in and around the Crucible’s industrial workspace. The open house will be punctuated by live performances,…
It’s the gritty urban basketball Mecca where Gary Payton and Jason Kidd developed the toughness and skill that would make them NBA All-Stars.
After a recent move to the area and a less-than-relaxing experience biking from Berkeley to downtown Oakland along Telegraph, I did what it seemed like any wannabe commuter (and novice biker) would: try to find a better route. I contacted the city last week to learn about some good North Oakland/ Downtown alternatives. Jennifer Stanley, the bicycle and pedestrian facilities coordinator for Oakland, suggested the Webster-Shafter route, which runs from Rockridge to Downtown Oakland. It’s “one of the most popular routes,”…






