Grand Avenue Merchant News – September 2022
by Ken Katz – We’re thrilled to report that the Knimble space on Grand Avenue has just been leased. The new tenant, ReLove, already has a very successful location on Polk Street in San Francisco which their website describes as:  A re-sale boutique offering a curated mix of vintage, designer, and independent labels. We hand select each item and pour love, care and style into each offering. We are more than a resale shop. ReLove is a community space to spark your imagination, push you beyond your style limits, welcome you with a warm smile, get to know you and encourage you to get rid of what no longer serves you. We don’t believe in excess consumerism of poor clothing we believe in style.
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Lakeshore BID – September 2022 Highlights
by Kira Pascoe – Hipline hosted an outdoor Sunshine, Shop, and Social on August 13th. This social gave exposure to local entrepreneurs and reminded us of all the exquisite talent and diversity we have of art, food, jewelry, and more. The vibe, crowd and vendors were delightful showing what a fantastic and supportive community we have around in our neighborhood and how good Hipline is at cultivating community. September has several big events at the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center: The Oakland Transmarch and Oakland LGBT Youth Resource Fair are on September 3. The Queer Youth Dance is on September 9th at 1740 Telegraph Ave. Pridefest is on September 11. One never knows what locally made amazing, intriguing or delightful find will be in Bay-Made which seeks to connect the… CONTINUE READING

Having Inadequate Mental Health Services is Insane
by Ken Katz – Last month, I reported that “Howard,” a homeless individual whose behavior on Lakeshore and Grand has long been extremely disruptive and destructive, was apparently hospitalized for several months and was now back on the streets. I predicted that, without supportive housing, his behavior would rapidly deteriorate, and that’s exactly what has occurred. One business owner on Grand said he’d exposed himself to her which has been an ongoing problem.  Abebe Lemma, the longtime Lakeshore BID Security Guard advised that Howard urinates and defecates in public during the day. Even more concerning is that he has blood in his urine and other obvious signs of being physically ill.   CONTINUE READING

Farmers Market Updates – September 2022
by Dan Foster – Congratulations to Anne’s Toum for their feature in the SF Chronicle: This sauce debuted at Bay Area farmers markets. Now it’s in Williams Sonoma. Congratulations to the following founders for joining The Lab + The Accelerator at ICA: Pound Bizness – Reggie Borders and Nicole Felix-Borders. Rize Up – Azikiwee Anderson. Tha MF’n Vegan – Bria Hutson. Volcano Kimchi – Aruna Lee. Market Participant Spotlight: kubé is a Black woman-owned, vegan, artisanal, full-fat coconut ice cream womanfacturer and social enterprise in Oakland, California. We produce our own “nice cream” by cold-pressing organic mature coconuts to make the BEST TASTING and most luxurious, creamy, and vibrant creamy vegan ice cream.   CONTINUE READING

Advancing Food Justice – by Andy Naja-Riese – The Grand Lake Market just celebrated a ribbon-cutting for an Incubator Booth designed to help advance food justice, health, and community resilience. The Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM), Kitchen Table Advisors (KTA), and the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) have launched this cross-organizational farmers market incubator program for BIPOC, first-generation farmers who have traditionally lacked access to direct-to-consumer market streams. The program is designed to support a total of 27 ALBA farmers and KTA clients over the next three years, helping them explore and expand into farmers market channels. The program creates an opportunity for these farms to sell at three of AIM’s farmers markets over the course of a year, with participants rotating through each location.   CONTINUE READING

Odds & Ends
Oakland’s film office is attracting more and more motion picture and TV crews.
Charlie Haas has not yet published his latest novel but is reading it aloud in twelve episodes on Alan Rifkin’s podcast.
Stephen Duffy (of Mr. D’s Music Club fame) has a new 12-week after-school  program featuring Singing, Music, Art, Dance and Acting for kids 8-12.
EBMUD offering a rebate of up to $2,000 for lawn conversions at single family homes. For details and more odds & ends… CONTINUE READING

September 2022 Calendar
by Sheila McCormick
This month’s top picks: 

• September 5. Monday, Labor of Black Community Love: A Black Gold Storytelling Event.
• September 9, Friday, Rotary Nature Center Friends. Lakeside Chat #22: Bioluminescence in Lake Merritt.
• September 10, Saturday, *In Person* Camron-Stanford House. History Fair.
• September 29, Thursday, *In Person* 19th Annual Healthy Living Festival at the Oakland Zoo.

For the full calendar, please click on this link. 

September 2022 Calendar of the Month