Ken Katz
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Happenings on Grand — September 2024
As always, Ken has done an amazing job seeing what’s new and interesting on Grand Avenue. Check it all out!
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Arvi is Still Painting Magic Rainbows
The Mayor of Grand Avenue, Arvi Dorsey, died in April. Learn about his magical life.
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The happenings on Grand – August 2024
It’s been a good news/sad news kinda month on Grand. First there was the fabulous Small Biz art walk, and lots of exciting news at Ordinaire, The Sanctuary, Two Two, and Strategic Bodywork. On the other side, the sisters at Lee’s Discount Florists have sold the business, and there were some burglaries of beloved restaurants.…
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Grand Avenue Updates: July 2024
The merchants on Grand Avenue are planning for the biggest and best Art Walk yet — on July 11. Get a preview and also find the latest news at the shops.
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First Rainbow Fair celebrates pride in Oakland
Oakland’s first Rainbow Fair to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride was held at the Splashpad Park on June 9, 2024—starting Pride Month off right. Get a taste of what happened there.
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The News on Grand – June 2024
He might have missed May, but Ken Katz made up for it this month with stories and pictures about businesses on Grand from the Safeway down to the theater.
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Earth Day in the Grand Lake Neighborhood
Join Ken Katz on his tour of Earth Day events around the neighborhood and Lake Merritt.
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Grand Avenue Merchant News
This month, we’ll hear a positive restaurant rumor, meet Miguel Lopez at Boxing for Health, celebrate Smitty’s grand opening, say goodbye to Grand Jewelry Repair after 30 years, persevere with cupcakes at The Sanctuary, welcome the OPD to their new neighborhood office, volunteer at Urban Furniture, remember Walden Pond Book’s founder Marshall Curatolo….and more!
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What’s up at Splash Pad Park?
Things were looking bleak at Splash Pad Park, but with increased gardening and carpentry staff and crews of volunteers, the park is blooming and the grounds are getting revived.
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – March 2024
This month’s Grand Avenue update takes you on the February 8 Art Walk, which visited about 14 local businesses. Of course we also get the latest news, and also a history of the art walks and First Thursday events on Grand.
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – February 2024
by Ken Katz I went knocking on Grand Avenue shop doors on January 21, accompanied by Susi Vogler, a new member of the Splash Pad News team, not knowing that we were in for far more surprises than we could have ever anticipated. Atop that list was Smitty’s Cocktails which closed at the start of…
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The more things (don’t) change
By Ken Katz On Wednesday, January 10, Officer Tuan Le was laid to rest after a memorial service at Three Crosses Church in Castro Valley. The service was broadcast live and videotaped. As an indication of the impact his tragic death has had on people from all walks of life, 254,000 people have viewed it…
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Unattended Donation Bins? Clothes them down!
By Ken Katz Back in March 2021, we encouraged readers to donate unwanted clothing and household goods to local non-profits — not to bins such as the ones shown above, nor in response to cards you may be getting in the mail saying that a truck will be in your neighborhood picking up donations. The…
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Odds and Ends – February 2024
Stopping the noise Errant sirens going off at all hours of the night… Is it trains? Is it the parking lot? Nobody knew for sure what it was or where it was coming from, but for neighbors near Trader Joes, it was annoying as all get-out and they were determined to get to the bottom…
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Mourning Officer Tuan Le
Early Friday morning, Officer Tuan Le was fatally shot on undercover patrol as he and his partner approached a robbery in progress in the 400 block of Embarcadero Avenue. Only 36 years old and in his 4th year of service in the Oakland Police Department, he leaves behind a loving wife and a long list…
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Farmers Market Update – January 2024
Sip to Live Herbal Tea Company is one of the market’s newest vendors. They are located in the corner of the plaza adjacent to the popcorn booth. The company is owned and operated by Gibran McDonald, who in a “previous lifetime” worked in NASA’s space exploration program. All that changed in 2000 in Morocco when…
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – January 2024
by Ken Katz The big story on Grand this month is unfortunately bad news. Sister is closing on January 27, citing a decline in revenue due in large part to an uptick in crime, particularly car break-ins — an ongoing problem shared by a number of area businesses. Here’s what Sister posted on their Facebook…
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Odds and Ends – January 2024
As we reported last month, Hood Design Studio has been commissioned to design a memorial in honor of the Dearings — the first black family to reside in Piedmont — who were forcibly driven from their home on Wildwood Avenue in 1925. On November 7, in Piedmont’s Alan Harvey Theater, Walter spoke about his…
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Splash Pad Park – January 2024
Splash Pad Park got far more attention than usual this past week thanks to a C. J. Hirschfield article in The Oaklandside that echoed some of the many concerns I’ve been sharing on this platform and elsewhere. Although the article was mainly focused on infrastructure issues that haven’t been resolved, C. J. also had some…
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – December 2023
by Ken Katz The Sanctuary at 3344 Grand celebrated their Grand Opening on November 13. Owners Stephanie and Etecia Burrell describe their shop as an “apothecary, apparel and home decor boutique,” but a visit to their website (which I highly recommend) tells a much larger story that includes classes and workshops, a community gathering space,…
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Odds and Ends – December 2023
Unlike Disneyland’s Main Street, Cities Change Over Time, (which we published this past March) includes a link to a 2020 Piedmont Exedra article that mentions Sidney Dearing, a black homeowner on Wildwood Avenue who was forced to sell his home at a loss in 1925 due to threats of violence and intense pressure from white…
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Farmers Market Update – November 2023
This month’s update is dedicated exclusively to the Agricultural Institute of Marin’s celebration on October 21 of the Grand Lake Farmers Market’s 25th Anniversary. A market that started with maybe a dozen farms under the freeway has since been named the Best Farmers Market in the East Bay year after year. Javier Ledesma who has…
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Splash Pad Park – November 2023 Update
by Ken Katz Last September, in the second of a two-part series of articles, I bewailed the fact that the Splash Pad fountain was still inoperable as a result of being vandalized. As you can see from the above photo which I snapped on a whim during the Farmers Market’s 25th Anniversary, that’s happily no…
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – November 2023
by Ken Katz If you shopped the Farmers Market on Saturday, you likely saw the Grand Avenue Business Association (GABA) booth with a gorgeous chalkboard poster as its centerpiece. Kudos to Lorenzo Galvan, an employee at Ikaros, for stepping up to the plate at the last minute and hitting a home run. Thirteen Grand Avenue…
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The Autumn Lights Festival’s Evolution
Last month’s 12th Annual Autumn Lights Festival (ALF) was once again a huge success — generating tens of thousands of dollars for upgrades and to help support the volunteers who maintain the Gardens at Lake Merritt. Post-pandemic (or nearly so), it was especially gratifying to hear that all three nights sold out and see that…
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – October 2023
by Ken Katz We’re thrilled to report that Panorama Framing has scheduled an upcoming art exhibit curated by former owner, Patrick Cheatham. Titled Beavering Away, it will feature the artwork of two Oakland-based artists, KG Greenstein (mosaics and wireworks) and Nancy Mizuno Elliott (works on paper, stickers). The show will run through the end of the…
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Farmers Market Update – October 2023
by Ken Katz Due to an oversight on my part, we failed to give a timely welcome to SunBlaze Ranch, which debuted more than a month ago. The motto of owners Nick and Kremi Petkov is “Together for a healthier, sustainable future,” and this is how they describe their farm: Located in Winters, California, SunBlaze…
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Odds and Ends – October 2023
As reported in the Minutes of the Grand Lake Neighbors October meeting, OPD has assigned two Walking Beat Officers who will be working from Noon to 10:00pm Tuesdays through Fridays One of them — Officer Cooper — will divide his time among the Montclair shopping district, College Avenue, and the Grand Lake district.” While this…
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Grand Avenue Merchant News – September 2023
by Ken Katz The Barbary launched a soft-opening a week ago in the space vacated by The Libertine. On Monday evening, we stopped by to introduce ourselves to the owners, Narges Gardizi and her sister, Nala Gardizi. Between them, they have two decades of experience as bartenders at Trader Vic’s. The revamped interior is gorgeous…
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Farmers Market Update – September 2023
by Ken Katz We’re starting out this month’s Farmers Market Update with what has to be the best market video we’ve seen yet. It was posted online by Jose Meza on July 8. In an August 2022 article, we reported on the debut of the Incubator Booth at three Agricultural Institute of Marin farmers markets.…
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