2013 - Page 4 of 5 - Oakland Voices

The Vegas Effect

January 28, 2013 Sabirah Mustafa

By Sabirah Mustafa What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. It’s an ad slogan with some truth to it. People take the phrase seriously, shunning those who come back from Sin City with perpetually loose

Freedom?!

January 24, 2013 Jian Di Liang

By Jian Di Liang My friend Alice came to the US in May last year. And we met each other at the English Center – a non-profit organization that helps immigrants, refugees and international students

Nail Salon Owners’ New Strategy to Go Green & Improve Relations with Black Clients

January 23, 2013 Katherine Brown

By Katherine Brown It amazes me how priorities change as you grow older. Feats and experiences that seem so trivial now, meant the world to me as an adolescent. One activity in particular was getting

Prison Phone Calls and Prison Visits

January 23, 2013 Debora Gordon

By Debora Gordon I decided I would visit Lam in prison. But prison is not a place where you drop in spontaneously. First, you must be approved for visitation, which requires the inmate to snail

PHOTOS: Health of the Hood – Cleveland Heights

January 22, 2013 Sabirah Mustafa

By Sabirah Mustafa If healthy is as healthy does, then the residents of Cleveland Heights just might live forever. Aside from the abundance of joggers, and the dogs walking their owners, there are free and

Dimond’s Food Mill

January 22, 2013 Jian Di Liang

By Jian Di Liang “Our store is family-oriented, and we are dedicated to help customers and serve the best food,” says Kirk Watkins, owner of The Food Mill in Upper Dimond. “We have been here

Part-time Gangbanger, Part-time Boy Scout

January 22, 2013 Debora Gordon

By Debora Gordon It is occasionally said of someone of dubious repute, “He was no Boy Scout.” As it turned out, though, Lam was, and hence the double life: part-time gangbanger, part-time Boy Scout. Growing

The Stonehurst Edible Garden

January 22, 2013 Debora Gordon

By Debora Gordon Through the entrance to the Korematsu Discovery Academy and Esperanza Elementary School, and just off to the right, is the Stonehurst Edible Schoolyard. Suzanne Ludlum developed the project, and today she is the Garden

Alicia’s Story

January 21, 2013 Debora Gordon

I asked her what she would say directly to Lam if she could speak to him. At first, she was silent. And after a moment, tears flowed from her eyes, and her mother followed suit. Soon, all three of us were crying. What can someone say to someone else who caused such grievous injury? Finally, she just said that she would ask, “Why did you do this?” She said there was nothing Lam could say to her.

Health of the Hood: Lockwood-Tevis Dump Site

January 19, 2013 Michael Holland

By Michael Holland Me being a true Generation X child, it’s no surprise that I liken every aspect of my life to rap music. Other age groups might think it is ridiculous but to me