Town Folk Project

There's a relatively new photo project / blog called the Town Folk Project: A photo project focused on the people & stories that made Oakland what it is today. Includes photos and short interviews with people all over Oakland—go check it out! townfolkproject.org

Birding at MLK Shoreline

The other weekend K and I went birding at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Shoreline. The walk was advertised as accessible and for beginning birders, and was led by Clay Anderson and others from the California Center for Natural History. We saw a Cooper's hawk, great blue heron, lesser egrets, pelicans, and more. But the thing that got the more experienced birders excited was seeing a Ridgway's rail (formerly known as a clapper rail), a bird which is a near-threatened species. It's also less common to see because of its nature—it spends most of its time in long marsh grass. So you'll hear them more than you'll see them, at least once you recognize the call.

Check out more birding walks with the California Center for Natural History and with the Rotary Nature Center at Lake Merritt.

More photos from our birding walk.

2016 Delilah Beasley Tea

Sunday I took pictures at the 5th annual Delilah Beasley Tea. About 100 years ago, Delilah Beasley was the first black woman to published regularly in a major U.S. newspaper, and was the author of a ground-breaking book on the contributions of blacks in the early settling of California. Each year, P.O.W.E.R. (Progressive Oakland Women Empowering Reform) honors a remarkable woman while remembering the accomplishments of those in the past. This year's honoree was Kimberly Ellis (on the left), the executive director of Emerge California.



Lots more pictures of the 2016 Delilah Beasley Tea.

photos: view from above

Last week Annalee Allen and I did a presentation about Oakland history at the Lake Park Retirement Community, focused on some of the landmarks in Oakland and the people behind them. It went well, though I didn't sell any copies of Legendary Locals of Oakland, but what I was really excited about was a chance to check out the view from the roof. The building is on Alice Street near Snow Park, and has views of Lake Merritt, downtown, and beyond. Maybe someday I'll be able to afford a drone camera, but for now, tall buildings will have to do.

Laurel Street Fair

Saturday after the urban paths walk, I cycled over to the Laurel district for their annual street fair. Lot of folks out having fun, and as a bonus, I finally got a chance to try a Mamacitas Cafe donut kebab!

photo of the week: Wilder Ranch State Park

Kand I needed a break from things and wanted some fresh air, so inspired by a tweet from @ProfCritic, we spent the day at Wilder Ranch State Park outside of Santa Cruz. Still super-hazy down there, but the air felt cleaner, and we saw amazing scenery, harbor seals, dolphins, a whale, and tons of birds.

The dolphins and whale were quite a ways from the shore and the sightings were brief, but we spent quite a while watching the waves, birds, and seals. I think the seals spent a lot of time watching people in return. We had dinner in Moss Beach on the way home, watched some of the Warriors game on TV, and spotted an Oaklandish shirt.

More pictures from the coast:

Temescal Community Thrift Store moves into Hooper's Chocolates

If you've ever been on Telegraph in Temescal, you've doubtless noticed the unusual pink Cape Cod-style building with a sign for Hooper's Chocolates. After Hooper's closed in 2010, the building has mostly sat empty except for a brief stint as a skateboard shop. Now it's home to the Temescal Community Thrift Store's annex, which raises funds for the Temescal Community Foundation.

I heard about the re-use of Hooper's from Annalee Allen, who wrote a column about it in December. I was in the area the other day and stopped by to take a look, and get a peek at the former Hooper's interior. Besides cleaning and moving in lots of furniture and other thrift store items, they haven't changed anything. You can see the old candy display counters, now used to showcase jewelry and other small items. You can even see some bits of the old pink paint poking through.

Stop by and check it out, whether you've got some thrift store shopping to do or not, and see a bit of Oakland history.

More pictures:

2013 in photos #Oakland

Here's a look back at 2013 in Our Oakland, and hoping that Oakland has a prosperous, peaceful 2014. It's hard to pick just two photos per month, so I tried to choose the two most representative, not necessarily the two 'best' photographically speaking.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December