This Weekend: Hot Links & Cold Drinks!

The Oakland Running Festival is this weekend

On the Saturday, March 26th the Oakland Running Festival will feature the Oakland Tribune 5K at 6:30 AM

On Sunday, March 27th the Oakland Running Festival will feature the Marathon and 4-Person Relay at 7:30 AM; Half Marathon at 9:00 AM; and Kids Fun Run at 8:30 AM

All runners will enter the Prescott neighborhood from 7th Street, turning right at Mandela Parkway and continue until turning right at 32nd street.

Drivers should use caution.

Be advised there will be street and freeway ramp closures for the full and half marathon routes on Sunday, March 27th beginning early 7:00 AM through 2:00 PM.

Streets will reopen after participants move through the neighborhoods.

For the festival weekend schedule, click here

For the Runner's Handbook, click here

Remember to plan ahead and check the complete detour schedule and map.

Our Neighborhood Detours:

If you are located on the West side (Prescott Neighborhood) of Mandela Parkway, your detour for the Marathon (miles 19, 20, 21) and Half Marathon (miles 6 + 7) is:

Oakland Run Festival is suggesting that starting at 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM, you take Wood Street north, then a right on 34th Street, stay on 34th and cross San Pablo, left on Martin Luther King, Jr Way, take sharp right at 47th Street onto Highway 24 westbound toward I-580 or I-980.

After 1:30 PM: Runners will have cleared area; streets will be reopened to normal traffic.

Note: I have my own suggestion for getting around. If anyone is attempting to access any of the freeways, whether it is I-80, I-580, I-880, I-980, Highway13 or Highway 24 (an often overlooked amenity in the Prescott) living in the epicenter of the bay, they still can.

If you can make your way to West Grand and Campbell, turn west on West Grand and at the first light (frontage road) you make a right, it will take you to I-580 Berkeley, Richmond; a left will take you to the I-880 (7th street ) freeway on-ramp.

At Frontage Road and West Grand, you continue west (towards SF) after the next light, you will have the option of either I-80 San Francisco (left lane) or I-580 Downtown Oakland, Haywood (right lane). From I-580 you can access I-980 (Downtown), Highway 24 (Concord/Walnut Creek) or Highway 13 (Monclair).

If you discover or know of another way, drop me a note at marcus_a_johnson [AT] yahoo.com

If you are located on the Eastside of Mandela Parkway, your detour for the Marathon (miles 19, 20, 21) and Half Marathon (miles 6 + 7), are:

Oakland Run Festival is advising from 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM the northbound Mandela Parkway (toward Emeryville) will be closed to traffic. They are suggesting to get to West Grand you should take a right on Brush to I-980.

You can either continue straight onto I-980 westbound toward I 880 southbound (on-ramp entrance at 16th Street) or take a left on 17th Street, then a left on Castro to I-980 eastbound toward Highway 24 and I-580.

After 1:30 PM: Runners will have cleared the area and streets will be reopened to normal traffic.

Community Meeting

 

Monday, February 28, 2011; 7:00 - 8:00 pm

1199 Pine Street (Pacific Cannery Lofts Sales Office)

Please join us to hear about the status of the Wood Project and surrounding neighborhood:

How traffic patterns and local circulation are changing and options to improve them.

The current zoning proposal to allow the Icehouse to be used for a broader set of uses like research and development, broadcasting and media activities or light manufacturing uses

Train Station Update

How do I get there?

From West Grand:

Turn left onto Frontage Road (Follow Central Station Signs);

Follow signs to turn left into Central Station;

Make immediate right towards Pacific Cannery Lofts; Look for “Sales Office Sign”

From 7th Street:

Turn right onto Frontage Road (Follow Central Station Signs)

Follow signs to turn right into Central Station

Make immediate right towards Pacific Cannery Lofts; Look for “Sales Office Sign”

On-line Media - Comments 101

An opportunity for our Prescott Oakland Point neighborhood to receive some well deserved press after the community party held Oct. 29th in two San Francisco Chronicle articles located in the real estate section and Chip Johnson’s Tuesday, 11.03.09 column highlighting the Central Station Development, immediately became a target by those with cruel and sometimes derogatory statements about our community and people.

Admittedly, I lost it after reading a number of comments and I reached out to community members and invited them to read the comments and respond appropriately. Although initially it felt good, I realize this was wrong, emotional and may have inadvertently gave them more undeserved visibility. There’s a time-honored adage that one should “never get in a fight with a guy who buys printers ink by the barrel.” It’s easy to forget this negative side of the internet.

I forgot about the behavior of the online anarchists who laid in wait to swarm article after article and pictures carping in most cases inappropriately and off topic, leaving comments like popping popcorn, all over the place while occasionally addressing the subject matter.

I forgot how cruel people can be especially when hiding behind the anonymity of an incomplete profile. Only some are bold enough to provide information that identifies them as out-of-towners. Reading their profile and their posting you learn like most kindergarten behavior, they have no regards to those they hurt, demonstrated by their comments directed towards victims of crime.

Remembering these people feel a sense of accomplishment engaging those with erroneous information, injecting their own garbage and getting a reaction (rise) or response, I should have known better than to respond. I realize this is what they do.

Cowardly on-line anarchist are not new or original just hard to get use to.

“Ignite your Possibilities”

Skylier Wear Economic Development Forum is hosting its first annual 5 Series Holiday Events followed by a Fashion Show Gala.

September 5, 2009, Saturday from 12:00pm – 8:30pm; Z Cafe & Bar, 2735 Broadway, Oakland

Skylier Wear Economic Development Forum presents the first of the 5 events “Beauty Parlor”, a fun Make-up day recognizing and appreciating Beautiful Women. It is a day for pampering and preparing for our Holiday Shopping Spree Series. You will have a wonderful experience selecting and purchasing the make-up of your choice.

Skylier Wear Collection currently located here in the Prescott Oakland Point neighborhood, at 912 Peralta Street, is a sole proprietorship run and operated by Skylier A. Blanchard-Crowder.

Skylier, a designer for 16 years, see her customer base as Junior (10 years old to 16 years old), Missy (18 year old to 25 years old) and Misses (25 years old to 45 years old).

Skylier states "My customers are practical yet have a sense of style and class. They are not afraid to accessorize an outfit with a bright color, sense color is the very in look. Some of my customers will still be drawn to your more solid base color chart. Customers will enjoy the diversity of product I offer. Their personalities are lively and upbeat. They appreciate the value of 100% cotton products for themselves and want to provide year round comfort. Some of their buying behavior will be impulse purchases – what most of us do when we see just the right thing. Capturing young aspiring business women and some of their buying habits will be repeat purchases for friends and family members."

Designers wishing to participate in this event can contact Skylier at (510) 919-6644 or Skylier@skylierwear.com

All hands on deck!

KSW Steam Shop - 2525 Mandela Parkway, Oakland.

Das Boot, Paddle Wheel Steamer

KSW Work Night

Wed Aug 5 6pm – Wed Aug 5 11pm

Boat work, repairs, prep. Pappy repairs, prep. Tender prep.

Repeats weekly at 6pm on Wednesday

Lobot Artist in Residency Show/Tell

Lobot Gallery 1800 Campbell Street

7pm, Thursday July 30th

Free

Natalie Sorenson, art and installation
Tom Wherrett, guitar

Husband and wife from Omaha , via Vancouver BC , present the work that has occupied them during their month long residency at Lobot Gallery.

Sorenson is an MFA candidate at Simon Fraser University whose current thesis project is a comprehensive retrospective for a fictional artist.

Wherrett is an accomplished guitarist who has performed at jazz festivals all over North America , he will be playing songs he composed during his residency.

Doors @ 8:30, Saturday, Aug. 1st,

$5

And an evening of mood music with:

• Dame Satan (SF) 11:00
• Small Sur (Baltimore) 10:00
• Golden Gram (Oak) 9:30

DJ Golden Gram will round out the mellow jamz for the evening...

Lobotgallery.com

WOPAC Vacancy- Prescott Area

The West Oakland Project Area Committee (WOPAC) is seeking a tenant representative from the Prescott/South Prescott subarea to serve.

The WOPAC advises the City Council on the use of redevelopment funds in the West Oakland Redevelopment Project Area.

The WOPAC meets once a month on second Wednesday evenings and also has two standing subcommittees.

To qualify as a tenant representative, the person must lawfully rent and occupy, as his or her principal place of residence, a residential dwelling located within the Prescott/South Prescott subarea.

Please contact Ms. Hui-Chang Li at 238-6239 or hli@oaklandnet.com for a Candidate Filing Form if you are interested and/or have any questions regarding this position.

The next WOPAC General Meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 12th, 6:30-9:00 at The West Oakland Senior Center , 1724 Adeline Street . You are welcome to attend to observe the body in action.

For more about WOPAC, visit http://www.business2oakland.com/main/westoakland.htm.

Crucible's 9th Annual Fire Arts Festival

Wednesday - Saturday, July 15-18, 2009
8:00PM - 11:59PM

NEW LOCATION THIS YEAR! (see where)

Each July The Crucible’s Fire Arts Festival celebrates creativity through fire and light with a spectacular open-air exhibition of interactive fire art, performance and the largest collection of outdoor fire sculpture on the West Coast.

This year we will be expanding the festival in a new, larger location. Our new Oakland location is three times larger than years past, giving attendees more elbow room and us the ability to bring you more of your favorite artists. We will have more fire and light sculptures, food and merchandise vendors.

In addition to our regular performances, we will feature the world premiere of Dan Cantrell's The Rootabaga Opera.

The 10-year-old nonprofit was founded in 1999 by a small group of artists seeking to combine the industrial arts with sculpture and multimedia techniques housed in a single location.

The Crucible is known for promoting the reuse of materials that results in creative expression and innovative design.

Through their rich offerings of hands-on classes, participants young and old can learn skills from blacksmithing and ceramics, to welding, woodworking, fire performance and more.

Thanks to A Better Oakland folks for pointing me to some pics from the event. There are more pics at the Flickr site.