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Realtors renaming of Golden Gate neighborhood raises gentrification concerns with locals

November 29, 2012
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Realtors renaming of Golden Gate neighborhood raises gentrification concerns with locals

(This story was reprinted from  Oakland Local.) Published on Thursday, November 29, 2012 by Lauren Soldano In the last few months, a new word has been coined by Realtors at Lawton Associates, Better Homes and Gardens RE and other local realtors to describe the North Oakland neighborhood between Emeryville, Rockridge and Temescal:  “NOBE,” which stands for North Oakland Berkeley Emeryville.  Some long-time residents and community organizations – specifically members of local food justice collective Phat Beets – say that the new moniker, as well as other marketing strategies, are making the area attractive to gentrifiers – and not reflecting the neighborhood as it is today. Phat Beets collective member Josh Cadji says the collective first learned about the “NOBE” marketing project when their organization was featured on the neighborhood map put out by “NOBE” Realtors. “It listed all these hip new places that were not historical institutions or organizations or businesses,” Cadji said.  “Obviously they’re not including black-owned businesses and really, they’re not including restaurants owned by black folks.” Cadji pointed out that the “NOBE” map’s boundaries are almost identical to those of the North Oakland gang injunction area drawn by the city of Oakland two years ago, still in

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Emeryville Taiko Group Moves to W. Oakland Due to Noise Complaints

November 28, 2012
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Emeryville Taiko Group Moves to W. Oakland Due to Noise Complaints

Emeryville Taiko, a Japanese drumming group, has been without a set practice place for years due to noise issues. The group’s latest home is Soundwave Studios in West Oakland.  (Reprinted from Oakland North.) By Samantha Masunaga     Drums boomed from every corner of the West Oakland studio. At the front, a small drum called a shime tapped out a rhythm, setting the beat for the six other drums in the set. At the back, a large drum called an odaiko was suspended in midair by a wooden stand, two drummers pounding furiously on either side, framed by a black backdrop and some velvet curtains. With a red floral carpet underfoot, six women and one man pounded out a happy rhythm with relatively serious faces. “Smile!” Susan Horn, director of the group, called out to her players. Her players obliged, with embarrassed grins. Taiko, by its nature, is a loud activity. Players are encouraged to use their entire bodies to produce a clean, crisp and reverberating sound. Even the process of learning songs is auditory—kuchi shoga, or the phonetic, repeat-after-me method used to teach taiko, is the only way music is taught. Nothing is written down, only spoken. Big hits

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Police: Emeryville warehouse was marijuana distribution center

November 14, 2012
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Police: Emeryville warehouse was marijuana distribution center

By Harry Harris Oakland Tribune Posted:   11/13/2012 09:36:52 AM PST Updated:   11/13/2012 03:39:53 PM PST EMERYVILLE — A 2,000-square-foot warehouse where police last week seized 400 pounds of marijuana with a street value of at least $250,000 was a distribution center and not a grow house, authorities said Tuesday. The weed, which was found in buckets and bags, had been grown elsewhere and brought to the warehouse in the 4300 block of Halleck Street where an assembly line of workers apparently packaged it for sale, Officer Brian Head said. Normally, the growing, harvesting and distribution all happen in the same location. Head said no arrests have been made so far. The grow site has not been located, and, so far, no one has come forward claiming the marijuana was being grown for a medicinal dispensary, authorities said. Police said one person with an apparent link to the warehouse, a onetime newspaper distribution center near Interstates 80 and 580, claimed it was now being used as a skateboard manufacturing center. But Head said police only found four skateboards with no wheels in a box. Police were tipped off to the operation by people in the area who became suspicious

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Sporting Chance to Grab Crab (in Emeryville!)

November 6, 2012
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Sporting Chance to Grab Crab (in Emeryville!)

Tom Stienstra Updated 11:54 p.m., Sunday, November 4, 2012 The next two weeks look like a magical time for the recreational Dungeness season: great crabbing, good weather and no competition from the big commercial boats until their season opens Nov. 15.  The weekend opener was sensational for boats heading offshore out of San Francisco Bay and Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. Out of Emeryville Sportfishing Center, five party boats ran “crab combos,” that is, fishing trips for rockfish to the Farallon Islands and stopping on the way back to check their luck in the crab pots. Those five boats had a total of 146 people, who caught 642 Dungeness crabs (six-crab-per-person limit on party boats), 1,460 rockfish (10-fish limits) and 10 lingcod to 14 pounds. The best crab grounds were 10 to 15 miles off San Francisco, with the pots baited with squid, according to Craig Stone, owner of Emeryville Sportfishing Center. “It was a great start to the season, with beautiful weather and limits for all aboard,” Stone said. “As long as the weather holds for us, it looks really good out there. Early-season storms and rough seas can knock us out, but it was glassy calm out there.” Out of Half Moon

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Emeryville Among Bay Area’s Five Most Violent Cities

October 30, 2012
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Emeryville Among Bay Area’s Five Most Violent Cities

  Tuesday, October 30, 2012 The five most violent cities in the Bay Area were all in the East Bay last year, according to figures released this week by the FBI. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which gathers data from police departments around the nation, shows that Emeryville, Oakland, Richmond, San Pablo and Antioch topped the Bay Area charts for violence. At the other end of the scale, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Orinda, San Ramon and Lafayette were the region’s least violent cities last year. Click here for more information. (Click on link above, then click on “view details” corresponding to each city listed.) (To comment on this story or to read the comments of others, click on the headline to go to the story page, then scroll to the bottom.)

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Cut Spending, Save the Trees at Temescal Creek Park

October 16, 2012
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Cut Spending, Save the Trees at Temescal Creek Park

Below is an open letter to the City Council from Emeryville resident Eric Gascoyne. The Council is expected to vote on the tree cutting and other Temescal Creek redesign plans at its regular meeting Tuesday (tonight). The meeting starts at 7:15 pm. Dear Honorable Mayor and City Council Members, I am writing to you in regards of your important upcoming decision you will be making for the removal of 3 very large Eucalyptus trees at Temescal Creek Park .  The following are a few points that I would like you to consider when you make you decide to remove or let these trees remain at our park: These Eucalyptus Trees a.)  Are the longtime homes to mating Red Tailed Hawks.  These birds are beautiful and awe inspiring.  There are no guarantees if they are removed that they will make Emeryville their home in the future. b.)  The trees themselves are magnificent.  They are some of the tallest trees in Emeryville.  In my opinion, the City has done a great job in maintaining these trees and the pruning of them looks good.  I don’t think the number you have been given of $25,000.00 of a one time pruning is accurate.  At

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September 30, 2012
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Quote of the Moment:

“Bike lanes, trees, old houses with character, interesting neighborhoods all attract the types of people who, in turn, tend to enhance the community.  Livable neighborhoods that include the above attributes (and more) are always cited in the ‘best places to live’ surveys.  When the developers and their money are gone and huge housing complexes, busy streets,  and cookie cutter businesses remain, something has been lost that cannot be replaced and your town becomes yet another anonymous, impersonal cityscape.  Think about it before its too late to preserve your town’s character.”

~ Carla Ennis, Emeryville Resident

Resident’s Plea to City Planning Dir. Charles Bryant: “Save Some of the Trees … That is all I am Asking”

August 30, 2012
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Resident’s Plea to City Planning Dir. Charles Bryant: “Save Some of the Trees … That is all I am Asking”

Below is a letter sent today to Emeryville Planning Director Charles Bryant from Adrian McGilly, who lives with his wife (Emeryville Mayor Jennifer West) and two daughters at Doyle Street Co-housing. McGilly, West, and their neighbor Judy Timmel appeared on KTVU news last night to protest the city’s plan to cut down 33 mature street trees to make room for an apartment/retail development, including a park, on Stanford between Hollis and Doyle streets. These residents are asking the city to preserve some of the trees. Mayor West, who is not allowed to vote on any aspect of the development, known as “Parkside”, because she lives a block away, has noted previously in her blog, “I find it surprising that the park could not be designed to incorporate and enhance the mature trees that are already on the site. When I look at the project, I see that some of the trees … might have been retained with careful planning. If the developer and architect don’t value the trees … at least the city council should …” For a previous Secret News story on the planned tree cutting at Parkside, click here. ___________________ To see last night’s KTVU newscast, click here. _________________

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Two Emeryville Shootings Leave One Man Hospitalized

July 27, 2012
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Two Emeryville Shootings Leave One Man Hospitalized

By Sean Maher Contra Costa Times Posted:   07/27/2012 09:19:10 AM PDT EMERYVILLE — Police are searching for suspects in two unrelated reports of gunfire overnight, including a shooting that left one man hospitalized. In the first shooting, about 7:15 p.m. Thursday, police got several calls reporting gunshots near 63rd and Vallejo streets, about two blocks west of San Pablo Avenue’s Golden Gate Playground. Nearby, in the 6200 block of Doyle Street, officers found a man in his 20s who had been shot, Emeryville police Cmdr. Jeannie Quan said. Detectives believe the victim was standing with a group of men in that area when at least one suspect approached on foot, opened fire, then got into a black sedan and sped off, Quan said. The majority of witnesses to the shooting are cooperating, she added, though no suspects were in custody Friday afternoon. The victim was taken to a hospital and stabilized. Five hours later, about 2:15 a.m. Friday, police believe gunfire ended a chase and standoff between multiple cars, Quan said. The incident began in Oakland when a black Mercedes clipped a pedestrian in a hit-and-run as it pulled onto Interstate 880 at Seventh Street, according to police. An

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Red Baron Sculptures Returning to E-Ville Marina

June 8, 2012
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Red Baron Sculptures Returning to E-Ville Marina

Installation this Saturday from 1-3 pm. Volunteers welcome! By Damin Esper Correspondent Posted:   06/07/2012 10:04:43 AM PDT Tyler Hoare talks about the airplane sculptures he has been creating since the 1970′s at his home in Berkeley, Calif. on Wednesday, June 6, 2012. The latest incarnation of the iconic Red Baron and Sopwith Camel sculptures will be installed along the waterfront in Emeryville this weekend. Snoopy and the Red Baron are making a comeback. Or at least the biplanes the two comic strip characters are associated with. Albany-based artist Tyler Hoare has been delighting motorists on the Eastshore Freeway for years with his sculptures of the two World War I-era planes, and he will install a new version of the aircraft on Saturday at the Emeryville mud flats next to the Chevy’s restaurant at 1890 Powell St. The installation will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. Volunteers are welcome. “The last one, my wife got mad at me because I didn’t do anything for the volunteers,” Hoare said. “So this time we’ll go over (afterward) and have a taco and a beer.” The Berkeley resident, who has his studio in Albany, knows the drill by now. “When I did

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