by Ken Katz – I’ve personally witnessed quite a few changes in the make-up of the Grand Lake shopping district since we moved into the neighborhood in the early 1970s. Shortly thereafter, a gas station at the intersection of Lakeshore, Lake Park and Rand was torn down and replaced with the complex that includes T-Mobile […]
Ken Katz
Grand Avenue Business Report – December 2020
WALDEN POND – New hours for browsing will be 10 am–7 pm every day beginning December 1st. Rare Book Room (where the Splash Pad Neighborhood Forum held its very first meeting in 1999) open Noon – 5 pm Friday through Monday. Now carrying popular adult board games and puzzles, which have witnessed a revival due […]
Splash Pad Park Improvements
by Ken Katz – Splash Pad Park has been mostly dark for the past several years and we are absolutely delighted to be sharing a few photos of what it looks like once again fully illuminated – only more so. Everything has been upgraded to LED which is brighter, longer-lasting and more energy-efficient. The Name in […]
A Snapdragon Grows on Lakeshore
by Ken Katz It may lack the resonance of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but the metaphor still applies to this Snap Dragon blooming on Lakeshore at the base of an antique street lamp located in front of Buckingham Wine and Spirits. Parenthetically, I have to confess that I’m something of a germaphobe and the […]
Splash Pad News – August 2020
Salsa By The Lake by C.J.Hirschfield You really could call communications/public affairs professional Isaac Kos-Reed the ultimate Lake Merritt lover. He lives on its shore and, for 13 years, he’s been dancing by it. And now? He’s taken a sworn oath to protect it. But the current weekend craziness at his beloved Lake threatens to […]
Introducing Perfusion Vineyard Owner John Bry
John Bry wears two different hats – one that’s broad-brimmed to ward off the sun when he’s working outdoors in his Wildcat Canyon Vineyard and the second, a scrub cap he wears as a long-time vascular surgeon. Dr. Bry finished his medical training in Boston and launched his medical practice in Berkeley in 1994. Prior to […]
Editor’s Notebook – November 2017
One of life’s many treasures that I value highly is the occasional serendipitous experience that brightens my day and sometimes opens doors to people and places and opportunities that would otherwise remain unknown and unrealized. One such incident occurred earlier this month when I glimpsed something in the gutter in front of our house just as I […]
Editor’s Notebook – December 2017
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK by Ken Katz Last month, I wrote about a serendipitous event that led to my meeting photographer and cinematographer Rick Wise who, in turn, connected me to his wife, Victoria, whose credentials at Chez Panisse go back to Day One. This past Saturday, I had a similar experience on Lakeshore that led in surprising […]
An Open Letter to the Oakland City Council
February 9, 2017 Members of the Council: By way of introduction, I served as Chair of the community group that lobbied for construction of the new Splash Pad Park beginning in 1999 and have since continued working on its behalf as an advocate, volunteer coordinator, and Editor of the Splash Pad News. I would add […]
FARMER’S MARKET OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES
EDITOR’S NOTE: Last year, the Agricultural Institute of Marin, signed a contract with the City of Oakland that required them, for the first time, to pay a monthly fee. This year, the City’s Property Management Division was prepared to offer them a five-year extension which Jerry Barclay (the Chair of the Splash Pad/Farmers Market Advisory […]