Month: July 2010

By Jo Ann Bell OAKLAND, CA – The West Oakland Senior Center is not an especially big place. But the two-story building, located at a quiet intersection right across from deFremery Park, is a strong

By Diana Alonzo OAKLAND, CA – After a stroke in 2002 left Myra Chang unable to walk, she needed a home that was affordable and handicap-accessible. Chang, a San Francisco native, signed up for an

By Adimu Madyun OAKLAND, CA – It’s been nearly two decades since Ed Kikumoto proudly accepted his role as a Home Alert block captain in West Oakland. Kikumoto was 43 years old when he and

  By Brian Beveridge OAKLAND, CA – While more than a thousand Oakland port trucks were replaced with taxpayer assistance or cleaned up to meet federal engine emission standards, companies serving the port say that

By Tyrese Johnson OAKLAND, CA – James Harris likes his guns. The 39-year-old West Oakland resident owns a .45 caliber pistol, a .9mm handgun and a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun. Harris’s father was a Marine who

Mom had a bad fall last year. She broke her shoulder and her wrist.  When she came home from the hospital, she was patched up in splints, wrappings, and a sling. Each morning I stepped

By Peace Harmony OAKLAND, CA – Nicci Butler is turning 40 years old this year, and the Oakland native has already picked her birthday wish. It’s a serious one. “I hope to live another decade

There is something about Momma and shoes. Not any shoes. Ruth’s shoes. She imagines everyone wants Ruth’s shoes. She thinks everybody just might be trying to wear them. One night when I was getting her