bits and pieces 8

Ifeel like I'm about half a dozen posts behind in ideas vs. actual posts. There's way too much interesting stuff going on in Oakland, and I don't have enough time to do half of it never mind write about it.

Some of the things in my queue: last weekend's Oakland Urban Paths walk, the upcoming California Preservation Foundation conference in Oakland, Bike to Work Day, a review of the brand-spanking new Banana Soy restaurant on 15th St., a writeup of the Oakland Heritage Alliance "On Tap" event last night at Linden Street Brewery, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting. Wait, did I mention the story about the Oakland Scenic Tour signs and map I'm working on? Or the review of Homeroom and some other things I was hoping to spin into a paid writing gig?

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There are sure signs spring is here. There are various possible signs, like the warm temperatures and the flowers blooming, but we had a warm winter so those aren't unusual. It's not the clouds blooming for 4/20, the host of Earth Day activities around Oakland, or the prospect of Bike to Work Day on the horizon. No, the surest sign spring is here is the presence of goats in the hills:

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All that beeping around Jack London Square in the middle of the day? That'd be due to whatever it was they were doing to the nearest of the big cranes. If you look closely at the picture, the cables that are normally just below the horizontal arm are hanging slack. There was a lot of activity going up and down the elevator to the operator level, but no one seemed panicked, so no major problems, right?

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As mentioned above, I discovered a new vegan restaurant downtown, Banana Soy. So new they don't have their desserts ready yet, or their credit card machine operating—they opened yesterday. What I had, I really liked; I'll have a more complete review as soon as I can.

In other restaurant news, I went past Kitchen 388 and noted that it's closed until further notice because of family illness. I hope they're able to reopen. On my one visit, I really liked it.

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Folks trying to drive on Mountain Blvd. through Montclair late this afternoon may have wondered why traffic was a bit snarled. Police activity? More repaving? No, the cause was car flambé:

OFD showed up quickly because there's a station nearby, and the driver was OK.