Odds and Ends
Search Content for your favorite subjects
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Odds and Ends – September 2023
This year’s Autumn Lights Festival is scheduled for October 12-14. If you haven’t previously attended, it’s a fabulous event with all proceeds benefitting the Gardens at Lake Merritt. It’s also an event that regularly sells out — so we’d recommend purchasing early-bird tickets at a discounted price. You can do so starting today (September 1)…
-
Odds and Ends – August 2023
The above photos were taken circa 2014 when Shakewell first opened. Nine years later, we regret reporting that Shakewell is changing hands — partly due to a major drop in business during the pandemic from which they never recovered. From what I’ve heard, most of the staff will be staying including the two chefs who…
-
Odds and Ends – July 2023
The stunning exterior landscape at the International African American Museum in Charleston, which was dedicated this past Saturday and opened to the public on Tuesday, is the latest project to come out of the Hood Design Studio in West Oakland. This June 23 article in the New York Times is very comprehensive but may not…
-
Odds and Ends – June 2023
A couple of weeks ago, Dhon Dup Gift Shop opened in the Urban Indigo Space. It’s a Tibetan Gift Shop with a Dalai Lama tapestry that hovers over a large selection of Bali silver jewelry and, very colorful natural fabric clothing. Upstairs you’ll find a wide variety of Tibetan Singing Bowls. It’s a great addition…
-
Odds and Ends – May 2023
This month’s Odds and Ends column seems like the perfect venue to write about the homeless man who camped out on Grand Avenue under the freeway overpass for nearly a decade. His behavior was clearly odd and his end more or less preordained given current circumstances. Gustavo Guzman died in mid-March at the age of…
-
Odds and Ends – April 2023
A fond farewell to Kira Pascoe who has served as the Lakeshore BID’s part-time Co-Director (along with Carol Knight) for nearly five years. Kira revolutionized the position — upgrading the monthly blog, helping organize special events, and actively working to promote Lakeshore and Lake Park businesses — especially when it was so critical during the…
-
Odds and Ends – March 2023
Ordinarily, an event such as this wouldn’t warrant more than a passing note in the Splash Pad News but the Treasure Sale at Piedmont Community Church on March 11 and 12 is the exception. For the past twenty-five years, they’ve had students and adults venturing to Tijuana and Tecate during Spring Break where they’ve constructed…
-
Odds and Ends – February 2023
We’re very sorry to report that, early on the morning of January 15, Ikaros, Neecha Thai, Modigliani, and Qi Dumpling were all burglarized. According to George Adranly, owner of Ikaros, the perpetrator was in and out of his restaurant in less than a minute and walked away with a roll of dimes. Replacement of the…
-
Odds and Ends – December 2022
On November 14, KQED broadcast a six-minute PBS report about a nonprofit called “The Living New Deal” that’s been actively documenting public works projects constructed during the heart of the Great Depression throughout the United States. This particular segment talks specifically about major projects in the Bay Area, including the Bay Bridge and Berkeley High,…
-
Odds and Ends – November 2022
The City of Oakland celebrated the opening of an EVgo fast-charging station at 519 Lake Park Avenue in Oakland with a news conference on October 12. Partially located on a sliver of Splash Pad Park east of the parking lot entrance, the public electric vehicle charging station features six 200kW fast chargers, capable of charging…
-
Odds and Ends – October 2022
This is the third straight month that we’ve gone down the rabbit-hole created by “Howard” — the mentally ill, homeless individual who’s been creating havoc in the Grand Lake business district for a very long time. In this latest installment, we’re sorry to report that Urban Indigo is closing and moving to Castro Valley. Cynthia…
-
Odds and Ends – September 2022
Did you know that the City of Oakland has a Film Office whose website claims that “More and more, the film and television industries are deciding that Oakland is the right place for them”? Judging by what we’ve been seeing with our own eyes, that’s not an idle claim. A couple of weeks ago, a…
-
Odds and Ends – August 2022
What Happened to Norman Needn’t Be Normal, the article I wrote for the October 2021 Splash Pad News, discussed the current state of affairs in which it’s nearly impossible to get medical assistance for people who are severely mentally ill, and clearly unable to care themselves. Governor Newsom’s proposal designed “to prod mentally ill homeless…
-
Odds and Ends – July 2022
The EVgo Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in the Lake Park parking lot were initially approved by the City Council in mid 2018 but the project was plagued by a string of obstacles (literally and figuratively), including PG&E delays, vandalism, an underground gasoline storage tank adjacent to Vegan Mob, and complications due to the pandemic. In…
-
Odds and Ends – May 2022
On May 25, the Grand Lake Theatre will be hosting the Oakland premier of American Justice on Trial, followed by a panel discussion that includes producer/author Lise Pearlman and HueyNewton ‘s brother, Melvin. This documentary tells the untold story behind the murder trial of Huey Newton and the landmark case that put racism on the…
-
Odds and Ends – April 2022
The Chronicle‘s Elena Kadvany scooped everybody on March 21 when she reported that Vegan Mob is going to relocate to 1500 Broadway but was unclear as to the circumstances of their moving. Tessa Quintanilla, the Project Manager for EAH Housing, responded to an inquiry from Eric Hughes, the Co-Chair of the Grand Lake Neighbors Group,…
-
Odds and Ends – March 2022
Thumbing through early editions of the Splash Pad News, we recently came across the following note posted in 2006: “Week after this, look for a new hot food vendor–Tamearra Dyson’s Souley Vegan Catering.” Two years later, we reported this: “Over in the Plaza, a lot of dedicated customers are happy to see Souley Vegan back in the…
-
Odds and Ends – January 2022
Last month, we shared Eric Hughes’ large photo of the new mural on the side and rear of the building that houses Walgreens and Trader Joe’s. A few days later, while the artist, Norman “Vogue” Chuck, was putting on the finishing touches, we took two more. The East Bay Express had an excellent article about…
-
Odds and Ends – December 2021
Way back in the 70s or early 80s, the area under 580 between Lakeshore and Grand was dirt and a hangout for kids on mountain bikes. The parking lot that was subsequently constructed was heavily used and provided a major boost for shoppers on Grand and to a lesser extent on Lakeshore, which had its…
-
Odds and Ends – November 2021
One of the wonderful benefits of living in Oakland is that you never know what or whom you’re going to meet up with when you venture outside. Last week, like an apparition, a brightly colored school bus materialized in front of the vacant Footlocker. The Hoop Bus has been traveling all over the U.S. for…
-
Odds and Ends – September 2021
A tip of the hat to Miya Saika Chen, the Chief of Staff for City Council President Nikki Bas, for providing the Grand Lake Neighbors with a status report regarding a significant number of issues which we are summarizing below. EAH Housing has sold the property which is currently occupied by the Vegan Mob to…
-
Odds and Ends – August 2021
In this May 2020 Splash Pad News article, Gehry Oatey shared his vision for a food court on the vacant southeast corner of Lakeshore and MacArthur. Fourteen months later, he has good news and bad news to report. The bad news is that the project is going to be delayed by about 6–9 months. The…
-
Odds and Ends – July 2021
Monday morning, we received the following email from Tessa Quintanilla, the Project Manager from EAH Housing, about the building that houses Vegan Mob (formerly Kwik Way). “Thought I should reach out to you to give you a heads-up about some events this weekend at 500 Lake Park, as you may have some questions after going…
-
Odds and Ends – June 2021
Doug Stonebreaker has had a presence at the Grand Lake Farmers Market going back to 2003, when Prather Ranch introduced us all to dry-aged grass-fed beef. Two years ago, he and Gary Root formed an innovative partnership operating as StoneRoot Field & Sea. Unfortunately, seemingly out of the blue, Gary made a surprise announcement in…
-
Odds and Ends – April 2021
The March 30 edition of Oaklandside featured a major article about the City Council’s approval of new regulations regarding vending, music, parking, and more at Lake Merritt – particularly along the east shore of the park. Andrew Alden, the amateur geologist who regularly posts excursions focused on geological features, has just published an online article…
-
Odds and Ends – March 2021
If you received one of the cards pictured above in your snail-mail box a couple of weeks ago, here’s hoping you promptly tossed it in your recycling bin as this operation is a total scam. KKA Enterprises is registered with the State of California as a Commercial Fundraiser. They’ve been mailing these solicitations for donations…
Tags
Artists (2) Art Walk (1) butterflies (1) Calendar (1) Event (2) Farmers' Market Entertainment Calendar (1) Farmers Market (1) Garden (1) Grand Avenue Merchant News (1) Lakeshore Avenue News (1) Minutes (1) Monarchs (1) Neighbor Profile (3) Odds & Ends (1) On the Street (1) Photographer (1) Restaurant (4) Splash Pad Park (1)
Splashpad News
©2024