2008 best of the blogoaksphere

(dto510 beat me to this, but I had already begun writing this and, as usual, our perspectives are a bit different, so here goes.)

2008 was an  exciting year for the blogoaksphere. Not only did dozens of new bloggers begin writing about Oakland, but we wrote about a vast range of issues from so many different perspectives. There were hundreds of incredible blog posts written about Oakland this year, and here are a few of my favorites.

38th Notes -  An Oaklander’s Rebuttal to Pine’s Needles: You might remember that I’ve now promised twice to write an extensive blog post about Mistah FAB. Well, that never happened, but Coolhand Luke beat me to it and wrote an excellent in depth post about some of the positive sides about hip hop. It’s well worth the read and might lead you to think a bit differently about urban culture and its effects on Oakland.

The Inadvertent Gardener – San Francisco Food Bank Hunger Challenge Series: In September, Genie over at the Inadvertent Gardener took the San Francisco Food Bank Hunger Challenge, eating for a week on a budget of $21. She then blogged about the entire experience, from creating a shopping list to making it through the final hours of the challenge, feeling sick of rice, beans, peanut butter, and oatmeal. To follow this challenge,, start here and then just click through to each of the next posts. Her experience sheds light on food insecurity that is experienced by so many Oaklanders.

Oakland Streets – A Tree Grows in Oakland: Crimson used the transcript of an NPR piece on trees, interspersed with pictures of trees in Oakland, to demonstrate how different low income and high income neighborhoods look.

Brooklyn Avenue – Oakland’s “hidden” murals: David often writes about interesting things he sees while walking through Oakland, but this post was easily my favorite. Head on over to see the beautiful murals he’s discovered while exploring Oakland by foot.

Future Oakland – Why are developers split over Oakland City Council candidates?: Though the race between Rebecca Kaplan and Kerry Hamill is now over, this post is still relevant, especially since Kaplan will be sworn in next Monday. dto510 explains why the developers could not agree on one candidate, and I think this post bodes well for Kaplan’s future on the City Council and what she will do for economic development in Oakland.

Walk Oakland Bike Oakland – knight rider: Check out this post about one biker’s adventure biking across Oakland to get to dinner at a friend’s house. As someone who doesn’t bike in Oakland because I’m terrified of it, I really appreciated hearing that even seasoned bike enthusiasts get nervous sometimes, especially when biking at night.

Transbay Blog – BART to San Jose Series: Well, this series isn’t directly about Oakland, but as dto510 explained, BART to San Jose has serious implications for Oaklanders. Also, this is one of the best, most in depth, and persuasive series Eric has ever written. Set aside some time to read this entire series. I have a terrible feeling that when BART to San Jose is completed, we’ll find out just how right Eric’s predictions were.

A Better Oakland – Van Hool/East Bay Express Series: It was nearly impossible for me to pick a favorite post from A Better Oakland, but as I looked through the archives, I realized that this series was one of the ones I appreciated the most. V Smoothe did an incredible job debunking the claims, made by Robert Gammon, that AC Transit is evil and Van Hools are the buses from hell. This series woke me up to the fact that it’s up to us local bloggers to write truthfully about bus issues because the MSM certainly won’t do it. Go read this post, then this one, and finally this one. I promise you’ll learn a lot.

Oakland Space Academy – STAND Best Picks: We all know that STAND is anti-development, but Raymond Johnson demonstrates in this post that they are also anti-design.

Thanks to all of the Oakland bloggers who have made this such a great year. I can’t wait to see what the blogoaksphere brings us in 2009!

Appreciating Art at the Oakland Airport Part 2

Sadly, I rarely make time anymore to visit art museums, though there are so many excellent ones in Oakland and the Bay Area. Fortunately, I get my share of art at the Oakland Airport (and sometimes at the art murmur). I was just there last night and was pleased to see a new collection of artwork in the Southwest terminal. Here’s some of what I saw:

Also, this isn’t new, but there are lovely pieces of artwork outside of the bathrooms that I finally managed to take a photo of:

Like I said before, it’s not worth heading to the airport just to see this art, but if you’re there (and especially if a flight is delayed), wander around a bit to find some of the great artwork scattered about the terminals.

Rockridge Home

I’ve been meaning to write about Rockridge Home for weeks now and I promised myself I’d at least recommend it as a place to do last minute holiday shopping, but that didn’t quite happen. So here’s the post I meant to write.

On Thanksgiving weekend I walked down College to Diesel, hoping to find a copy of the most recent edition of Oakbook. I was very disappointed to find no copies there, especially since it was the third store I had checked of stores that are supposed to carry the magazine. But as I walked out, I noticed that Rockridge Home, across the street, was having a sale – 20% off everything.

And soon I realized Rockridge Home was one of the best places in Oakland to go gift shopping. They have a little bit of everything there – art, kitchen tools, books, music, toys, and all sorts of random fun things that you really want to buy for yourself but can’t justify spending the money on. Whether your budget is $5 or $500, you’ll be able to find something that’s just right. You can feel good about spending money there, as they recently became a Certified Green Business.

I ended up walking out with a couple of journals for myself, which I desperately needed, and some holiday presents for my girlfriend – a CD of acoustic Brazilian music and the Field Guide to Cookies (she is the most incredible baker I know). But even if you walk out empty-handed, you’re bound to enjoy your experience there.

The organization of the store is set up for meandering, which is a nice way to shop if you’re not in a huge rush. And the staff is always very helpful and friendly. Plus, if you go when they’re having a sale, they always give out extra treats. The first time I went there, they were serving up delicious sangria, and this time they offered up champagne and mini-cupcakes.

I guess it’s a bit late to do holiday shopping at Rockridge Home, but next time you’re in the area, stop in. Don’t be surprised if you walk out with a gift for someone you love, or for yourself.

Rockridge Home
5418 College Avenue, Oakland
510-420-1928
Open 11am-8pm everyday
Accessible by Rockridge BART or the 51 bus.

Plenty of ways to celebrate in 2009

You might have noticed that I let the events page slide for the past month or so. I’ve finally taken the time to update it, and 2009 is already shaping up to be a busy year for Oaklanders.

There are plenty of parties to go to on New Year’s Eve – I’ve highlighted a couple and you can find a much longer list at O-Scene. But the celebrating doesn’t have to stop on January 1st.

You can continue to enjoy Oakland on the 2nd at the monthly art murmur. Once you’ve recovered from all your partying, head down to Oakland City Hall on the 5th to watch Rebecca Kaplan get sworn in to the City Council. Later in the week, grab a few drinks and meet politically active people at Mix It Up East Bay, which will be moving to Shashame on Broadway for 2009.

But make sure to save your energy for what is poised to be the most exciting event of the month – the Barack n’ Roll Inaugural Ball on January 20th. Free food, free drinks, and a new president – what more could you ask for?

Head over to the events page for all the details. I guess one of my new year’s resolutions should be to do a better job maintaiing that page.

35th & Mac is back!

Last year I wrote a long post about the various Oakland t-shirts and clothing that local artists have created, which surprisingly (to me) sparked a heated debate about Oakland pride.

In that post, one of the local artists I featured was 35th & Mac, the maker of these shirts:

Soon after I wrote the post though, their website went down. A few readers and several people who stopped me on the street while wearing the Fox shirt begged me to tell them where they could find these shirts, but alas, I had no answers.

Until now! I ran into the creators of 35th & Mac at Rockridge Out & About a few months ago and told them they must reinstate their website. I’m not sure when it happened, but now the website is up and running. Even better, they’re having an incredible sale – some of their shirts are going for $10! So head over and support “town grown flavor”.

Ice skating in Temescal, this weekend!

Earlier this week I heard about the Temescal Holiday Skate & Stroll, but it seems like nobody else has heard about it so I thought I’d spread the word. It will be a great place to do local last minute shopping, and they’re going to be setting up an ice skating rink! I can’t remember the last time I went ice skating so I’m very excited that it’s being brought to my neighborhood.

Here’s all the info:

Temescal Holiday Skate and Stroll (rain or shine)
Saturday and Sunday, December 20th and 21st –  1-6 PM
Outdoor Ice Skating Rink at 49th and Telegraph by Frazee’s paint
Santa, goodies, carolers, and more!

Beauty & Blight in Downtown Oakland

Last week, V Smoothe brought attention to a post I wrote a year and a half ago that reflected on the positive and negative points of downtown Oakland. She went on to discuss the seemingly increasing problem of blight in downtown Oakland.

I guess we were having similar thoughts last week because as she was writing that blog post, I was out taking pictures of downtown Oakland. This is what I found.

Graffiti is rampant in downtown Oakland,

especially on abandoned buildings like this one

and this one.

Nearly every newspaper case is covered in graffiti.

And so are the new parking meters.

But it doesn't have to be this way. One solution is to cover buildings, newspaper cases, and mailboxes with art. In four years of working in downtown, I've never seen graffiti on this mural.

Another solution is to build architecturally interesting buildings with no blank walls, like the stopwaste.org building.

Graffiti is not the only problem - littering is rampant. The exposed wires on this lampost aren't the prettiest either (and might not be safe).

People even throw trash into planters, which are meant to beautify the city.

And we can't blame the littering on a lack of trashcans.

So why would anyone spend time in downtown Oakland? Well, because it also can be stunning.

When you look up, you can't help but be overwhelmed by the tall buildings from so many different architectural eras.

And I have hope that as more residents move into the area,

and as more visitors come downtown to enjoy our new entertainment options, the city will be forced to stop ignoring the blight problems downtown.

Baby it’s cold outside part 2

It’s been a bit warmer during the daytime for the past couple of days, but at night it’s still been freezing!

Early in the week, I got a bit freaked out about my balcony garden, remembering that a couple years ago some of my plants literally froze – we managed to revive most of them, but some of them never made it. I was determined not to let that happen again, especially since I’m looking forward to eating many of these plants.

So I asked for advice from my girlfriend’s mom, who has a lot of experience with urban gardening. There are of course the typical options, like covering plants with sheets, or sealing off the balcony opening with thick plastic or a blanket. But she also offered up a suggestion I’d never heard of or thought of – stringing up Christmas lights around the plants. The lights emit just enough heat to keep the plants from freezing.

Although I’m sure this wouldn’t work in colder climates, it seems to be working well in Oakland. My plants look just as happy and healthy as ever – plus, my balcony now glows:

Transit expansion doesn’t always make sense

There’s this funny thing that happens when you get into activism on a particular issue. Like when I first started working on medical marijuana, everyone I knew started emailing me articles about medical marijuana. Of course, since I work more than 40 hours a week on the issue, I’d usually already seen these articles long before my friends and family.

So now that everyone knows I’m all about public transit, the same thing is happening. But it’s different this time because sometimes it’s a bit less clear when public transit issues are positive or negative (unlike with medical marijuana, when it’s pretty clear that a DEA raid is a bad thing). So I got some emails and heard some comments about Joyce Roy’s race and how it sounded so great that she was taking on those terrible Van Hool buses (which I love) because my friends had never been on the Van Hools and had been reading too much of the East Bay Express.

But the most problematic phenomenon I’ve come across is that my friends who don’t know much about transit but support it wholeheartedly assume that all transit expansion is good. Unfortunately, it’s just not that simple.

Earlier this month, The Overhead Wire focused on this issue and conducted a poll of its readership, asking what is the worst transit project that is currently being planned. Two of the projects that were nominated are in the Bay Area – Bart to San Jose and the San Francisco Central Subway. Neither of these projects “won” the poll, but combined, they got as many votes as the winner.

Eric has already thoroughly explained why Bart to San Jose makes no sense and has made the case for why the current incarnation of the SF Central Subway is not the best project, so I won’t dwell on that here.

You’re probably wondering at this point why you should care about this, living in Oakland and all, where currently there aren’t any super-expensive or superfluous transit projects being planned. Well, transit money is limited, and these projects will be pulling funds from the same regional, state, and federal funds that the East Bay vies for. This means that every bad transit project in the Bay Area (and to a lesser extent anywhere in the state or nation) endangers transit in Oakland.

dto510 argued last month that Oakland transit is totally screwed, but I don’t think the picture is quite so bleak. After all, BRT is finally moving along, now that we’ve defeated Measure KK in Berkeley. Alameda and Contra Costa County voters also approved Measure VV, which is keeping AC Transit afloat, even in the face of further funding cuts from the state.

Transit advocates have already raised concerns that President-elect Obama wants to sink billions into car-centered road projects, and I share those concerns. But as Obama considers funding massive infrastructure projects, his administration would also do well to remember that not all transit projects are equally beneficial, and some just don’t make any sense at all. That’s something for him to ponder on his train ride to the inauguration.

Nice gesture, but it doesn’t make up for the rent increase

As I walked in from the freezing cold this evening to my apartment, I saw this sitting in front of my door:

No, I don’t have a secret admirer – the box of See’s chocolates sitting in front of my door was from my apartment manager and landlord. Sure, it’s a nice gesture, but a nicer holiday treat would have been for them to leave me a letter saying that they were not going to raise my rent by $200. It’s kind of like your boss giving you a holiday gift basket and then telling you you’re fired.

Oh well, I guess I’ll go enjoy the chocolates while I think about where we’ll move to next year.