Oh, My! OAKLAND

Last month I wrote an entry about US District Court Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland challenging the Bush Adminisration to protect endangered polar bears. Well, I read today in the SF Chronicle, in a small but important victory, the United States government will list polar bears as an Endangered Species and will so be listed due to global warming. However, the Bush Administration refused to limit emissions from industrial sources or otherwise regulate greenhouse gases and will allow petroleum exploration and extraction to continue, claiming it won’t harm the polar bears. That’s just mental!

I’ve spent 7 years worth of Summers in Oakland and every Summer I discover something new to do in this fabulous City. I’ve decided this Summer to create a list of things to do that I can either complete or simply just pick off each week as the mood hits me. Of course there are tons of things to do in Oakland year ’round and in the Summer time especially, and I won’t exhaust them here because there just isn’t enough time in the world and I do like staying home just as much as going out and exploring.

It was a fabulous weekend for a very casual stroll around Lake Merritt with a stop at the Farmer’s Market at Splash Pad Park (under the 580 and across from Grand Lake Theater). Per usual my sister and I laced up our sneaks and went for a walk around the lake this past Saturday afternoon. We usually go in the mornings when it’s nice, but we had a late night Friday. Anyway, instead of walking just the outer banks of the Lake, we decided to walk inside Lakeside Park as well. We ended up visiting the Lakeside Demonstration Gardens (666 Bellevue) because we saw the gates were open and pretty flowers begging for a look-see.

“Boston (dbTechno) - U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland, California has ordered the Bush administration to make a decision by May 15 as to whether or not polar bears should be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

It has been over three years since a conservation group in California stated that the federal government should protect polar bear habitats.”

I live in what’s official called the “Lakewide” neighborhood in Oakland. Basically, it’s a cross section of Downtown Oakland and the general Lake Merritt area off Lakeside Drive. It’s also in what some of us affectionately call SOBO, South of Broadway. Whenever I’m walking around my neighborhood I take note of new shops, cafes, eateries, apartment complexes, office buildings and sites that are under construction or places that have just opened to get a sense of how SOBO’s growing. I get the sense that SOBO is quickly becoming a more “happening” area and has some interesting places already to visit.

“Edgar Perez could be the poster child of a movement started in Oakland and then advocated in presidential campaign speeches and tucked into federal energy legislation: Train at-risk youth and people stuck in low-end jobs or joblessness to work in the millions of manual labor “green economy” jobs that are emerging as this country tries to reduce global warming. Both the local and national programs are establishing job readiness training programs for unskilled workers so they can get jobs in such green industries as solar, bio-diesel and wind-energy. The jobs include installing solar panels, weatherizing buildings and maintenance tasks at alternative fuel utilities.”

The first known Chinese American film ever created was not only directed by a woman director, Marion Wong, it “The Curse of Quon Gwon” was also produced and shot in Oakland in 1917. This past Saturday, April 12th, the Mayor’s Office of Oakland dubbed April 12 “The Curse of Quon Gwon day” in honor of the discovery of this film by filmmaker Arthur Dong in 2004. Dong was at the presentation in honor of the event at the Grand Lake Theater last night and for the screening of his documentary, “Hollywood Chinese” which is showing at both the Grand Lake Theater and the new Sundance Kabuki Cinema in San Francisco now through April 3rd.