In new collection, librarian-poet pens odes to Oakland

Throughout the years, Oakland librarian Nina Lindsay shelved books, helped cardholders with reference questions, and aided children in interpreting their school assignments, sometimes with instructions from teachers that were somewhat lost in translation. As she helped other people, slowly but surely she was collecting something of her own: poems.

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Squirrel photographers showcase Oakland’s furry residents in new exhibit

A squirrel accepts a walnut from a lofty palm tree perch.

Hella Damn Squirrels has been in full operation since 2013. The group only consists of two people, Hale and her boyfriend Toppano, partners in squirrel photography from the very beginning. They focus solely on the squirrels at Lake Merritt: Toppano, the squirrel feeder and “wrangler” of the duo, brings them over with the bag of walnuts and Hale, a professional photographer, snaps their photos to be posted on social media.

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Thursday morning, 11 am

Oakland North reporters went out to different locations across Oakland on Thursday, October 22, between 11 a.m. and noon to observe what happens throughout the city on an ordinary weekday morning.

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Oakland’s unconventional third Youth Poet Laureate finds her voice

Sophie Elkin reads her poetry at the Oakland Public Library. Photo by Chloe Shi.

17-year-old Sophie Elkin, named Oakland’s 3rd Youth Poet Laureate in August, writes about what she knows: the grit and grandeur of Oakland’s people and places and the less tangible but no less real world of adolescence. After a childhood struggling to come out to herself and her parents, Sophie hopes her poetry will help other women to find their voices the way she has.

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Weekly Oakland Wiki Edit-a-thons start at the History Room

Vicky Knox explains the basics of wiki editing at the first history Edit-a-thon Sunday afternoon.

Held at the Oakland History Room on Sunday, this was the first History Edit-a-thon, which is about to become a regular weekly event. The meeting was organized by Oaklandwiki.org as a way to generate more content for the fledgling site—a collaborative project that seeks to collect all things Oakland into one easily navigable website that any user can edit.

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The architecture of Oakland: Howden and Sons building

Many of the reporters at Oakland North are new to the Bay Area, and one of the first things we noticed while touring the city was its beautiful and sometimes unusual architecture. On the reporting team for this series, one of us is from Brazil and one is from Southern California. We decided it would…

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