By Adelaide Chen
The nightlife in Oakland’s Eastlake area has never thrived, but it existed quietly. Among the local businesses today, many of the Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants close early, before 8pm.
If it wasn’t enough that the a string of robberies scared away customers in the evenings a few months back, business for the 20 or so restaurant owners have been hit by another factor–the downturn in the economy.

By Will Jason
With the urging of the University of California, the state legislature recently passed a new law aimed at protecting the personal information of animal researchers. But more than two weeks later, the names and home addresses of several U.C. Berkeley researchers still remained on several Web sites, according to a review by 510Report.
Stopping animal experiments has long been a goal of many animal rights advocates, who consider the practice cruel and unnecessary. Supporters of animal research say the practice is needed to help cure diseases and improve humans’ …

By Casey Miner  The street vendors of upper Telegraph Avenue are fixtures of Berkeley life; their colorful stands lend the few blocks near campus some of its legendary character. But as anxious consumers cut discretionary spending, those stands see fewer and fewer patrons.
“They can’t afford to buy,” said Bill Tumath, 62, who sells “cosmic spirals” – metal or copper hanging spirals that spin around brightly colored spheres – from a table near Bancroft Way. “They have the money, but they have other priorities.”

By Karen Weise
With little fanfare and no opposition, the Fremont City Council approved a $3 million loan for a once-controversial affordable housing project in Irvington. The loan will allow non-profit developer Allied Housing to purchase a 1.6-acre vacant site to build Main Street Village, with 55 to 63 affordable housing apartments and six to eight ground-floor commercial spaces.

By Angela Kilduff
They may compete in fishnet stockings, revealing uniforms and roller skates, but the women of roller derby dismiss the prevailing stereotypes that their sport is only a game of campy theatrics.
“I can’t ever really tell if people respect it,” said Jenny Carlson, who skates as Jennacologist for the Oakland Outlaws.

By Karen Weise
While supporters hailed the government’s Federal bailout plan as an effort to benefit both Main Street and Wall Street, Fremont’s community banks, credit unions, and small business owners are not convinced.

Radio and print stories by Linsay Rousseau Burnett
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In the heart of Fremont’s historic Niles District, the Essanay Café is a go-to place for fine dining and good wine. But on the first Tuesday of each month, the café swaps out its china with paper plates, for what owner Bruce Cates has themed, the “Recession Dinner.”

By Will Jason
More than a year after announcing plans for redevelopment, the owner of a long-vacant lot in Berkeley’s Southside neighborhood has still not filed official plans with the city. And with the city officials and the owner’s partners growing impatient, the chance to revive what many see as a neglected corner – Telegraph Ave. and Haste St. – could soon fade away.
“A new building would be good for the neighborhood,” said Mario Tejada, 78, who said he has owned
Mario’s La Fiesta restaurant, across the street from the site, since …

Photos, Video and Story by Linsay Rousseau Burnett
Fremont’s Niles community — a historic, quaint and close-knit neighborhood — proved once again that it is not afraid to show some flare, after residents held the 10th annual Pink Flamingo Pee-Wee Golf Classic. The “wacky and tacky” event raised over $2,000 for the Niles Main Street non-profit association.

By Mateen Kaul
On the roof of the blue-domed mosque at the Islamic Society of the East Bay, a group of men peered toward the horizon out west, searching for a glimmer of the new moon in the fading daylight of Tuesday, September 30.