In celebration of International Women’s Day, Oakland Terminal (2600 Union St.) will be hosting an art show called We Are One Bad-Ass Mutha on March 12 from 1–6 p.m. The free event will feature interactive art installations, poetry, music, dance, healing, paintings, prints, photography, and film from local women of color. Exhibits will include familial duo Malia and Oni Connor’s work on mothering and being mothered, a piece by Vero d. Orozco which pays homage to mothers who have transitioned, and Carina Gomez and Yadiel Plascencia’s collaboration about immigrant mothers. As a whole, the program is meant to pay tribute to the powerful role of mothers in shaping the lives of their children and everyone around them. “This event is born from the myriad and multifaceted ways in which we are mothers,” reads the show’s description. “To children, to family, to each other, to lovers, to ourselves … We are mother warriors, political mothers, spiritual mothers, community mothers.” The event will also feature a marketplace of local vendors, including Healing Hands Massage Therapy and Olive Hair & Beauty, and the first two hundred attendees will receive a free goodie bag.
Carol Fife of the Oakland Alliance wants the city to enact a moratorium on rent increases and no-fault evictions.
Last week, Oakland residents made an impassioned plea to the city council’s Rules and Legislation Committee to immediately declare a housing state of emergency in order to take drastic action to freeze rent increases and stop no-fault evictions. This week, the council’s Finance Committee will hear detailed reports on how JP Morgan Chase’s banking practices are affecting Oakland and the city’s budget situation.
Housing state of emergency: Last Thursday, activists brought to the Rules and Legislation Committee a request that the city council declare a “housing state of emergency,” and that the city enact a moratorium on rent increases and no-cause evictions. The committee scheduled a hearing for the April 5 meeting of the city council on the proposal.
“Right now, rents have risen over 40 percent in twelve months,” said Carol Fife, one of the members of the public who brought the proposal forward. “We don’t want to be San Francisco. We don’t want to be only 3 percent of the population.” Fife was referring to the rapid exodus of Black residents from San Francisco due to out-of-control housing prices.
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Banking: Since JP Morgan Chase won the City of Oakland’s lucrative depository banking contract in 2013, it has come to light that the bank has made few mortgage loans to Black and Latino home buyers in the city — and Chase also closed it’s only bank branch in deep East Oakland. In fact, according to a recently published report by the Greenlining Institute and Urban Strategies Council, mortgage lending to Black and Latino homebuyers in Oakland has practically ended. In 2013, the twelve largest bank in California only made a total of four mortgage loans to Black homebuyers in Oakland.
Representatives of JP Morgan Chase promised the Oakland City Council when they were awarded the city contract that they would increase their investments in Oakland, and that they would release detailed data on their business activities. The bank’s first report to the Finance and Management Committee on January 12 was viewed as inadequate. Tomorrow, JP Morgan Chase representatives and city staffers are returning to the Finance and Management Committee with an expanded report on the bank’s efforts to extend sustainable financial services to Oakland residents and businesses.
Taxes from jet fuel and gas are down, but restaurants and retail are up.
Credits: City of OaklandCity money: Another report that will be presented at Tuesday’s Finance and Management Committee meeting will show that Oakland’s tax revenues are mostly up, but sales taxes are sluggish, and projected to remain weak because of low jet fuel and gasoline prices, and also because of Walmart’s decision to close its Hegenberger Road store.
But the new sales tax figures appear to show that those who predicted economic calamity due to the city minimum wage increase last year were wrong. According to the city’s sales tax data, restaurants and hotels, retail stores, and grocery and drug stores are all increasing sales and generating more tax revenue for Oakland. All of these sectors employ low- and minimum-wage workers.
Another bit of news buried in the city’s quarterly revenue and expenditures report is that Oakland recently conducted a landlord audit that identified 4,300 rental property owners who had not previously registered with the city and were not paying residential rental business taxes. According to city officials, this audit has already nabbed Oakland an extra $4.6 million in tax revenue.
Finally, city tax revenues are also up because of a decision to tax Airbnb landlords. Hotel tax receipts jumped this year 11 percent above the budgeted amount to $18.82 million. City staffers say the increase is thanks to a tax agreement that Oakland signed with Airbnb. The city, however, will not release the text of this agreement, nor will they disclose the exact dollar amount being collected from Airbnb.
Natalie McDonnell speaking about her experience as a homeless mother in Berkeley.
Credits: Courtesy of Brandon Chen
Nearly forty students and community members came together on Saturday at the North Berkeley senior center to address the needs of the homeless population in Berkeley. The Suitcase Clinic, the UC Berkeley student-run organization that hosted the event, invited community members living without permanent housing, along with city officials, to a free hot breakfast and to share their thoughts, grievances, and ideas for how the city can help get people off the street and under a roof.
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“As a woman, I’m concerned,” said Maria Phillips, who is homeless. “My shelter recently closed, and the displacement is bad enough. Where am I going to shower? Necessities like these and cleanliness are a real health concern.”
Many others also had complaints with the city’s lack of public restrooms or places to shower and sleep. A man who identified himself as Robert said, “If you see me pissing nearby, it’s because I have nowhere else to go. Put bathrooms on the street!”
Others, like Shawn O’Conner, talked about how the city should be helping provide jobs to those on the streets, emphasizing that not doing so would be a waste of resources. “They talk about how we are lazy and don’t want to work. No. We have training, we have jobs skills. Give us a job. Give us an opportunity,” he said.
Pointing to the City of Berkeley’s new Housing Crisis Resolution Center, which funnels all homeless agency funding into one place for further allocation, James Huynh, a student at UC Berkeley and one of the lead organizers for the event, along with Kenny Hahn, said, “All these agencies are figuring out how to work within [the Housing Crisis Resolution Center]. In my own personal opinion, I feel like a lot of times the voices of actual homeless people are lost in this whole vying for money and funding from the city.”
The event took place almost three months after the City of Berkeley cleared “Liberty City,” a tent city put up by homeless people in front of Berkeley’s old City Hall in protest of new, stricter laws targeting the homeless. The laws, which were approved by the Berkeley City Council last year, included a ban from sleeping in planter beds and occupying more than a 2-square-foot space on the sidewalk, as well as a tightening of the existing ban on public urination and defecation.
Huynh said all members of Berkeley City Council were invited to attend the event, though none were present at the meeting. Members of the city’s homeless commission, however, were there.
“Of all the city meetings I go to about homelessness, there are never any homeless people there. But when we connect ourselves, we can make a difference,” said Paul Kealoha-Blake, who serves on the Berkeley homeless commission.
“There are other commissioners here, that’s our voice into the council. We need to be talking, we need to be coming up with the answers, and we need to be coming up with the solutions. We need to connect.” Kealoha-Blake added.
As the event was coming to a close, Huynh recounted, “Someone just walked out of the door and said to me, ‘thank you for giving me a voice,’ but I didn’t give him a voice. We only gave him food. All the content here was generated by them, and for them to thank us always puts me back into perspective of what we are going against. It’s a system thing that permeates in people not having a chance to speak or be heard in their daily lives, which has real effects when trying to fight these systemic issues.”
3. Hundreds of wastewater pits, filled with toxic substances generated by oil and gas drilling in California, are threatening the state’s groundwater supplies, the Chron$ reports, citing a new study from the Oakland-based environmental group, Clean Water Action. The group notes that state regulators have failed to properly monitor the big open pits, many of which have been in operation for decades.
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4. California’s oil industry was instrumental in ousting a top Southern California air regulator who pushed for stricter pollution standards, the LA Times$ reports. In addition to firing South Coast Air Quality Management District Executive Director Barry Wallerstein, the industry-friendly air board reaffirmed weak smog rules backed by oil refineries and other major polluters.
I know, it’s tempting to stay in on this rainy weekend and listen to the brand new Kendrick Lamar album on repeat. But Kendrick’s music isn’t going anywhere — and neither is the rain, according to our local meteorologists — so you might as well make the most of the weekend while all of these exciting events are happening. See below:
Turbo Sonidero Futuristico
San Jose DJ Turbo Sonidero Futuristico throws the recurring party Sonido Clash, which is a showcase for electronic music with Latin roots in the South Bay. He also has performed at many East Bay dance parties over the years thanks to his association with the Oakland DJ collective Trill Team 6. Turbo specializes in haunting and surreal cumbia remixes that take the upbeat South American folk genre and transform it with disorienting, hypnotic electronic effects and occasional R&B and hip-hop samples. While most cumbia is bouncy and jovial, Turbo’s productions retain the genre’s danceable feel while inserting dark and unexpected twists. He performs in Oakland at Lounge 3411 in the Laurel District at the free party Well Nourished Rhythms alongside San Francisco disco producer Jessica Hagen.— Nastia Voynovskaya
Fri., March 4, 9 p.m. Free. Facebook.com/WellNourishedRhythms
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Turbo Sonidero Futuristico.Lights Down Low 10 Year Anniversary Party
On March 4, DJs Richie Panic and Corey Sizemore will celebrate ten years of debauchery with a special, anniversary edition of their recurring dance party, Lights Down Low, at the Mezzanine in San Francisco. Longtime pillars of the city’s club scene, the pair started LDL as a small function at the now-defunct Tenderloin club 222 Hyde (which the San Francisco Bay Guardian once nicknamed a “rave cave”). Since then, it has expanded into an influential West Coast brand. In addition to booking internationally recognized electronic music artists, such as Simian Mobile Disco and Disclosure, Panic and Sizemore have thrown editions of the event at various clubs in Los Angeles and at the hugely popular festivals Coachella and South by Southwest. The upcoming anniversary party will feature deep house purveyors Skream and Jamie Jones. If you miss that show, there will be another ten-year anniversary celebration on April 20 at Public Works in San Francisco featuring 2ManyDJs from Belgium.— N.V. Fri., March 4, 10 p.m. $10-$30. MezzanineSF.com
GLAS Animation Festival
The first annual GLAS Animation Festival, which aims to highlight innovation in animation and showcase new voices at the forefront of the field, will take place March 3–6 in Berkeley. The packed program ranges from new, experimental works to snapshots of influential moments in the history of animation. Opening night will feature Perfect Blue, a 1997 feature-length psychological thriller by acclaimed Japanese director Satoshi Kon and a series of shorts curated by Undervolt & Co., an experimental video art label. Some schedule highlights from the rest of the weekend include thoughtful compilations, such as Paranoia and Technology in Contemporary Animation and Experimental CGI, and a screening of the stop-motion movie Coraline followed by a Q&A with its internationally-famous animator Henry Selick. Events and screenings will take place at Shattuck Cinemas, the David Brower Center, and the Berkeley Art Center. Individual tickets and festival passes are available.— Sarah Burke
Through March 6. $12–$200. GlasAnimation.com
A scene from Perfect Blue.ĂN By Chef Tu David Phu
If you’re in San Francisco this Saturday and want to check out a pop-up with East Bay roots, stop by the Naked Kitchen (945 Valencia St., San Francisco) event space in the Mission district. Tu David Phu, the chef at Berkeley’s Gather, will kick off an ongoing dinner series exploring his Vietnamese heritage — or, as Phu puts it, his “interpretation of Vietnamese Cuisine as an Asian American in California.” Naturally, diners can expect more of an Asian focus than they would typically find at Gather, but the menu — with dishes such as pork jowl kho smoked in hay and rosemary, and Earl Grey annin tofu — makes no pretense of being strictly traditional. The meal will be BYOB, and tickets are available via Eventbrite.com.— Luke Tsai
Sat., March 5. $90.67–$106.49. ChefTuDavidPhu.com
KunstCapades Episode 32
Perhaps it’s a podcast, or a variety show, or a piece of performance art — or all three. Self-described as a “tropical radio art experience,” KunstCapades is hosted by artists Josh Pieper and Tim Sullivan along with their bartender Marv (Robyn Carliss). And although the bi-monthly production is typically recorded in San Francisco, it’s currently in residence at Aggregate Space (801 West Grand Ave., Oakland), where its hosts have transformed the gallery into a combination tiki bar and alpine get away. On March 5, at 4 p.m., Pieper and Sullivan will host a live recording of KunstCapades Episode 32 in the space, complete with tropical cocktails. The guests will be Sarah Hotchkiss, KQED visual arts editor and one of the artists behind Stairwell’s, a walking tour series exploring stairwells around the Bay Area; and Natalia Mount, the recently-appointed executive director of Pro Arts Gallery in downtown Oakland.— Sarah Burke
Sat., March 5, 4 p.m. Free. AggregateSpaceGallery.org
Oil and Candle by Gabriel Ojeda-Sague
This Saturday, the Oakland small press Timeless, Infinite Light will be celebrating the release of its latest publication, Oil and Candle. The author, Gabriel Ojeda-Sague, is a Latino, queer poet living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the first winner of Timeless’ TRACT series, for which the press solicits submissions of cross-genre and experimental literary work to be sifted through by guest judges. The winning work is described as a piece that “traces imagined rituals, failed rituals, and magical objects of Santería in confronting issues of race, warfare, and the precarity of Latino lives.” The release party will be at Diesel, a Bookstore (5433 College Ave., Oakland) on March 5 at 7 p.m. In addition to Ojeda-Sague, readers will include Cheena Marie Lo, author of the forthcoming A Series of Un/Natural/Disasters (Commune Editions) and co-editor of the literary journal HOLD, and Hugo García Manríquez, a Mexico-born bilingual poet who most recently released Two Poems (Hooke Press). The night will also feature a performance by Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo, whose social practice artwork often involves collecting stories related to cultural identity.— S.B.
Sat., March 5, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free. TimelessInfiniteLight.com
Guide Me – Paradise
Courtney Sennish’s recent artwork defamiliarizes the urban landscape through sculptural abstraction. Guide Me – Paradise, her current show at Johansson Projects (2300 Telegraph Ave., Oakland) transforms the gallery into a deconstructed sidewalk scene. A slanted slab of concrete painted with the shadow of an invisible tree sits next to what looks like a piece of curb, half painted yellow — like a loading zone. The same yellow appears on an upright slab, patterned with protrusions like the ones meant to guide vision-impaired pedestrians. Isolated from their usual context, the day-to-day design elements start to look like odd monuments memorializing a metropolis. Sennish is interested in the ways that these built environments affect our collective understanding of nature and hopes to question how they direct our interaction with and perception of the world around us. — S.B. Through March 19. Free. JohanssonProjects.com
An installation view of Guide Me – Paradise.
Credits: Courtesy Johansson Projects.
If your pockets are feelin’ light and you’re still yearning for more suggestions, we’ve got a ton, and these ones are all FREE! We’re Hungry: Got any East Bay news, events, video, or miscellany we should know about? Feed us at Sa*********@************ss.com.
Paula Beal speaks about her family members being displaced from Oakland.
Credits: Darwin BondGraham
On the same day that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf released her comprehensive plan to address the city’s housing affordability crisis, a coalition of tenant advocacy groups filed a voter initiative called the “Renters Upgrade” that, if it qualifies for the fall ballot and is approved by voters, would dramatically strengthen renter protections.
“I am the face of displacement,” said Paula Beal, a member of Causa Justa, Just Cause, one of the groups sponsoring the measure, to attendees of a press conference on the steps of Oakland City Hall earlier today.
Beal said that her children and grandchildren have been displaced from Oakland due to rapidly rising rents and the absence of comprehensive eviction protections. Many of her family members now live in Hayward, Sacramento, Rodeo, and other cities. “For years, the city and county have ignored the housing crisis and done nothing to address displacement,” said Beal.
The groups sponsoring the Renters Upgrade announced today that they are moving ahead with a voter initiative because they don’t believe that the Oakland City Council or Mayor Schaaf will do enough to strengthen rent control and just cause protections.
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According to sponsors of the ballot measure, the Renters Upgrade would expand eviction protections under Oakland’s existing Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance so that the rules apply to virtually all apartments in the city. Currently, apartment units built after 1983 do not fall under Oakland’s just cause eviction protections, therefore landlords can evict tenants for almost any reason in those buildings when their lease is up. According to sponsors of the Renters Upgrade initiative, this change would bring 45 percent more of Oakland’s rental housing under just cause protection.
The Renters Upgrade ballot measure would also set a cap on rent increases at 5 percent. Currently, Oakland landlords whose units are covered by the city’s Rent Adjustment Ordinance can increase rent as much as 10 percent in a year. The initiative would still allow landlords to increase rent more than 5 percent in cases where the landlord can demonstrate that it is necessary to provide him or her with a fair return on investment.
The ballot measure would also overhaul the existing Housing Residential Rent-Relocation Board, the appointed city board that hears appeals made by tenants and landlords regarding decisions issued by the rent adjustment program’s staff, and which also deliberates on changes to Oakland’s rent adjustment program and just cause housing laws, among other things. Currently, the rent board is composed of seven members: two landlords, two tenants, and three who are neither. The Renters Upgrade ballot initiative would reorganize the Rent Board so that tenants are a majority of the board’s seven members.
The Renters Upgrade initiative would also establish a maintained and publicly accessible database for all rent increases to ensure that the city and public can track rents. This would effectively establish true rent control in Oakland because under the current ordinance there is no tracking mechanism to ensure that all landlords whose units are covered by the rent adjustment ordinance only increase rents by the legally allowed amount each year. Currently, the city and public only become aware of rent increases that exceed the legally allowed amount if a tenant files a petition with the rent adjustment program to contest the increase. The database, which would be housed in the rent board office, would be available for members of the public to search, but it would not be posted online, said James Vann of the Oakland Tenants Union, one of the sponsors of the ballot measure.
“On behalf of Oakland tenants who have struggled for over thirty years with a landlord-written ordinance, this is a proud day to finally look forward to a measure that will ensure justice and fairness,” said Vann.
Burgers by Belcampo (via Facebook).
What the Fork recently speculated that Belcampo Meat Co., the sustainability-focused meat company, was gearing up to open a new restaurant in a 5,000 square-foot warehouse in Oakland’s Jack London district, at 369 3rd Street. In an email, Anya Fernald, founder and CEO of the Oakland-based company, confirmed those plans and offered a general outline of what customers can expect.
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First off, unlike some of the other Belcampo restaurants around California, the Oakland location won’t feature a full-service butcher shop. It will, however, have refrigerated display cases stocked with selected meat products — things such as stock, packaged ground beef, chickens, and so forth. Fernald said she might add a full-service butcher counter later on if it seems like there’s demand for it in the neighborhood.
Mostly, though, the Oakland shop will be a restaurant, with a menu focused on steaks, burgers, and meaty salads. Belcampo’s “Fastburger” — a smaller, less expensive version of the company’s well-regarded signature cheeseburger — will be available during both lunch and dinner for $6–$8. There will also be a full bar, with most cocktails priced under $10.
It will be a busy couple of months, then, for Belcampo, which also just announced a new burger shop opening at The Yard, the open-air food court located across from AT&T Park in San Francisco. No word yet on an estimated opening date for the Oakland restaurant, but Fernald said that more detailed plans will likely be finalized by June, which means the restaurant probably won’t open its doors until sometime after that.
One state that was a shoo-in for legalization in 2016 is now anything but. Maine marijuana law reformers are smarting today after a stunning reversal on their way to the ballot.
No, You Can’t: Maine officials disqualify 17,000 signatures because of a single notary’s handwriting.
Credits: Regulate Marijuana in Maine
The State of Maine on Wednesday rejected Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Maine 2016’s bid to place marijuana legalization on the November ballot — citing a single discrepancy in one signature-gatherer’s handwriting.
The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Maine needed 61,123 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. But state officials determined this week that RMLA turned in just 51,543 valid signatures. The Maine Secretary of State’s Office disqualified a full 17,000 signatures due to a handwriting technicality.
According to Maine campaign manager David Boyer, the crucial 17,000 signatures were disqualified because one signature gatherer’s handwriting didn’t exactly match up with his/ or her signature on file with the state from five years ago.
Essentially, 17,000 Maine citizens were disenfranchised and the measure disqualified because a paid notary signed his or her name two different ways — one way on a five year-old document on file with the state and a different way when he or she turned in those collected signatures. Talk about a screw-up.
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RMLA did not have pictures of the differing signatures in question and would not say if they would be obtaining them. The group did say they are examining their options for appeal.
Boyer did not respond to questions about why the signature count was so close in the first place. Ballot initiative groups are encouraged to submit as many as double the required numbered of valid signatures, because raw signature counts are subject to various types of errors — like a notary suddenly feeling creative with their John Hancock.
“We are very disappointed by the Secretary of State’s determination,” RMLA Maine stated in a release. “Based on documents they have provided, it appears that more than 17,000 valid signatures from registered Maine voters were excluded from the count because the signature of a single notary — whose notary commission has not expired — did not exactly match the signature the state has on file for that notary. We are exploring all legal means available to appeal this determination, and we sincerely hope that 17,000-plus Maine citizens will not be disenfranchised due to a handwriting technicality.”
Pot prohibition supporters crowed over the setback for reforms.
“This is a huge sigh of relief for Mainers and our public health community, especially in a period where we are facing a serious and growing opiate crisis,” stated Smart Approaches to Marijuana Maine Director, Scott M. Gagnon. “The last thing we needed amidst an addiction crisis is increased access and availability to drugs. We are pleased that the Big Marijuana agenda will not be allowed to disrupt our efforts to protect and improve the health of Mainers and Maine communities.”
Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of SAM added, “This represents a victory for public health over industry profits. Despite pouring money into Maine, it appears that the pot industry was unable to get enough real people to sign their petition. The fact that almost a full 50% of the signatures were invalidated casts a cloud over the entire legalization movement in the state.”
In other news, California’s Adult Use of Marijuana Act signature gatherers told me this week that they’ve hit the milestone of 25 percent of needed signatures gathered. AUMA has a website now, too, called Let’s Get It Right, California. We assume all signature-gatherers are going to get a “Get It Right” memo about signature consistency.
Oakland’s new underground cocktail bar.
Credits: Blind Tiger
Welcome to the Mid-Week Menu, our roundup of East Bay food news.
1) Edward Yoo, a managing partner at the popular Korean barbecue restaurant Gogi Time (2600 Telegraph Ave., Oakland), has opened a massive (8,000-square-foot) and swanky-looking new restaurant and cocktail bar called Blind Tiger in the basement beneath Gogi Time. According to Yoo, Blind Tiger has a twenty-seat bar and offers craft cocktails and twenty beers on tap. As far as the food is concerned, chef Deena Chafetz’s menu consists mostly of pan-Asian small plates: “two-way calamari” (grilled steak and fried tentacles) with kimchi aioli, deviled pickled eggs (with beet ginger, turmeric garlic, and black tea shoyu), and grilled frog legs with Sichuan pepper salt.
Perhaps the most enticing part? The place will be open until 1 a.m. every night — although the kitchen will close at 10 p.m., at least during this soft opening period.
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2) A new barbecue restaurant is taking over the old Kau Kau Korner (1623 Park St.) spot in Alameda, Berkeleyside Nosh reports. Boyd’s Barbecue will be run by the folks behind nearby Scolari’s Good Eats, whose casual East Coast-inspired fare I am a fan of. They’ve applied for a beer and wine license.
3) The forthcoming, and newly rebranded, Temescal Brewery (formerly known as New Normal Brewing) is gearing up for its grand opening later this spring by attempting to Kickstarter a $30,000 outdoor beer garden area. Check out the snazzy video, and chip in a few bucks if you feel so inclined.
Coming to Downtown Oakland.
Credits: James and the Giant Cupcake
4) In other crowdfunding news, North Oakland standby James and the Giant Cupcake (6326 San Pablo Ave.) seeks to raise $20,000 to help open a second location in downtown Oakland — at 341 17th Street, the corner of Webster and 17th, next door to the newly opened Howden Market.
5) Chop Bar (247 4th St., Oakland) is temporarily closed after suffering a small fire in the early morning hours of Monday, February 29. Fortunately, the damage was relatively minor — limited mostly to restaurant’s ventilation system, according to co-owner Lev Delany. In an email, Delany said he’s hoping Chop Bar will be able to reopen on Tuesday, March 8.
6) A new location of Ike’s Sandwiches has opened in Emeryville, in the retail development at the intersection of Hollis and Powell streets, the E’ville Eye reports. A Berkeley shop is also in the works.
7) Berkeleyside Nosh has the scoop on a new Berkeley coffee shop called Algorithm Coffee (1122 University Ave.), which is now open in the old Cafe Yesterday spot — from the same owner who took over the business in 2014. Apparently, the cafe is doing a bit of reinventing the wheel: Instead of listing lattes, cappuccinos, and so forth on the menu, customers are encouraged to just specify how much milk they’d like added to their espressos. For now, food options are limited to Firebrand pastries, but a more extensive menu will come later on.
8) In honor of Women’s History Month, Nido (444 Oak St., Oakland) is running a new line of $12 cocktails inspired by seven influential Latina women — running the gamut from the Sí, Se Puede (a mezcal-based drink inspired by the activist Dolores Huerta) to the El Otro Lado (inspired by author Isabel Allende). Nido will donate $1 of each cocktail sold to Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA), a grassroots organization that works to uplift immigrant Latina women.
Credits: Chris Duffey/File photo
9) Crossburgers (300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Ste. 150, Oakland) will celebrate its two-year anniversary with a party on the evening of Friday, March 4. The event’s Facebook page promises “music, magic, beer, art, and hostesses.”
10) ICYMI, I wrote about a neat middle school garden program that’s cooking and selling takeout meals to the general public using the online platform Josephine.
Got tips or suggestions? Email me at Luke (dot) Tsai (at) EastBayExpress (dot) com. Otherwise, keep in touch by following me on Twitter @theluketsai, or simply by posting a comment. I’ll read ‘em all.
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In celebration of International Women’s Day, Oakland Terminal (2600 Union St.) will be hosting an art show called We Are One Bad-Ass Mutha on March 12 from 1–6 p.m. The free event will feature interactive art installations, poetry, music, dance, healing, paintings, prints, photography, and film from local women of color. Exhibits will include familial duo Malia and Oni...
Last week, Oakland residents made an impassioned plea to the city council's Rules and Legislation Committee to immediately declare a housing state of emergency in order to take drastic action to freeze rent increases and stop no-fault evictions. This week, the council's Finance Committee will hear detailed reports on how JP Morgan Chase's banking practices are affecting Oakland and...
Natalie McDonnell speaking about her experience as a homeless mother in Berkeley.
Credits: Courtesy of Brandon Chen
Nearly forty students and community members came together on Saturday at the North Berkeley senior center to address the needs of the homeless population in Berkeley. The Suitcase Clinic, the UC Berkeley student-run organization that hosted the event, invited community members living without permanent...
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. The major storm that walloped the Bay Area and the Central Coast over the weekend dumped up to ten inches of rain on certain parts of the region, the Chron reports. The storm caused flooding and downed trees and power lines throughout the region and forced evacuations in Santa Cruz County. The Sierra Nevada was also...
I know, it's tempting to stay in on this rainy weekend and listen to the brand new Kendrick Lamar album on repeat. But Kendrick's music isn't going anywhere — and neither is the rain, according to our local meteorologists — so you might as well make the most of the weekend while all of these exciting events are happening....
Paula Beal speaks about her family members being displaced from Oakland.
Credits: Darwin BondGraham
On the same day that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf released her comprehensive plan to address the city's housing affordability crisis, a coalition of tenant advocacy groups filed a voter initiative called the “Renters Upgrade” that, if it qualifies for the fall ballot and is approved by voters,...
What the Fork recently speculated that Belcampo Meat Co., the sustainability-focused meat company, was gearing up to open a new restaurant in a 5,000 square-foot warehouse in Oakland’s Jack London district, at 369 3rd Street. In an email, Anya Fernald, founder and CEO of the Oakland-based company, confirmed those plans and offered a general outline of what customers can...
One state that was a shoo-in for legalization in 2016 is now anything but. Maine marijuana law reformers are smarting today after a stunning reversal on their way to the ballot.
No, You Can't: Maine officials disqualify 17,000 signatures because of a single notary's handwriting.
Credits: Regulate Marijuana in Maine
The State of Maine on Wednesday rejected Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Maine...
Oakland's new underground cocktail bar.
Credits: Blind Tiger
Welcome to the Mid-Week Menu, our roundup of East Bay food news.
1) Edward Yoo, a managing partner at the popular Korean barbecue restaurant Gogi Time (2600 Telegraph Ave., Oakland), has opened a massive (8,000-square-foot) and swanky-looking new restaurant and cocktail bar called Blind Tiger in the basement beneath Gogi Time. According to Yoo,...
