O.N. Blogwalk: College Ave, Friday dusk

Every week this fall, Oakland North is taking a blogwalk.  Usually on weekends, but maybe not. Sometimes we’ll have cameras, audiorecorders, or both; sometimes we’ll just tell you about what we heard and saw.   If you want to send us someplace in particular, let us know. It’s a balmy early Friday evening in North…

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Lanesplitting 2: Rockridge to Downtown

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…

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Rockridge residents contemplate going solar

Renewable energy was the topic of the Rockridge Community Planning Council Town Hall meeting on Thursday night; namely, how and why to go solar. After two short power point presentations, Eric Nyman of Berkeley-based Sun Light and Power and Evan Raymond of Renewable Artistry (both of whom install photovoltaic solar energy panels on roofs as…

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Local parks will suffer from proposed budget cuts

In the murky darkness underneath the 24 Freeway in Rockridge is a little slice of doggie heaven. On a recent Thursday afternoon, five or six pooches – it’s difficult to keep track – romp inside a large, caged doggie run while their owners chat. The dark, mulched run is not pretty to look at, but…

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Artist Liz Maxwell invokes nature, math, flight

by SAMSON REINY A few times a year, Liz Maxwell drives from her home in Rockridge up to Calistoga, in the Napa Valley.  For the past 40 years, she has walked the scenic little town for inspiration.  She’ll bring a point-and-shoot camera and snap everything around her.  “It might be a cracked road, moss growing…

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Lawyers gearing up for election day polls watch

By MELANIE MASON Oct. 28–In less than a week, the combined efforts of local and national candidates, political parties, activists, and energized citizens could result in a record Election Day turnout.  Alameda County has added more than 60,000 voters to the registration rolls since 2004; in all, over 800,000 people could be casting their vote.  The…

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Rockridge’s Lawton: a trick-or-treater’s oasis

Story by MAGGIE FAZELI FARD, slide gallery by SAMSON REINY Oct. 31 — They come from the hills and they come from the east. Every year on Halloween, children from all over Oakland descend in the hundreds on Rockridge’s Lawton Street. Spare in its decorations — just days before the holiday only a handful of…

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Farmer’s market both hurt & helped by money crisis

By BAGASSI KOURA At first it looked like a great Sunday for Samuel Lunes. Just after 9am, when the Temescal Farmers Market opened, customers lined up by the dozen before his produce stand. For hours, working with his son and his son’s friend, Lunes was busy selling organic fruits and vegetables. But by the end…

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Cyclists on sidewalk face tickets, complaints

by SAMSON REINY Lined with coffeehouses and bookstores, bakeries and flower shops, College Avenue is one of North Oakland’s busiest streets. Sidewalks are frequently jammed as couples stroll idly side by side, dogs mosey around testing the length of their owners’ leashes, and friends sip café lattes while chatting on the outside tables. Large trees,…

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Playground’s “4-square” goes grownup in BART lot

Video by MARTIN RICARD Every week, young adults and the young at heart gather at the Rockridge BART station to play one of the most hallowed of playground games: four-square. With cars and trains zooming by above, the group — known as 4 Square of the East Bay — takes over a row of parking…

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Coming soon to a BART station near you: noise, dust and earthquake safety

By BAGASSI KOURA As the busy holiday season nears, North Oakland residents and business owners can expect an added hassle as Bay Area Rapid Transit officials embark on a yearlong earthquake retrofit project. Sometime between Thanksgiving and the New Year, construction workers will descend on the area around the Rockridge BART station and begin a…

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Red flag warning lifted, but hills still in danger

By ISABEL ESTERMAN OCT. 14 — The red flag fire warning for the Oakland hills was lifted this morning, but officials urge residents to remain vigilant. The area is no longer being whipped by the 35 mph gusts that raised concerns over the weekend, but conditions in the drought-stricken hills are reminiscent of the weeks before…

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