”Take My Word For It!” unleashes creativity and makes new uses out of stuff we throw
away. Our summer camp is for girls, ages 9-12, who love to make things.
We aim to stretch their imaginations about what can be used to create
fashion! Our day is divided into 2 parts–in the morning campers will
learn how to design and create their own clothing from recycled
materials with artist, Daphne Ruff. Daphne’s wearable sculptures from recycled materials have been seen in installations, performances and videos. Currently she designs and sells purses from recycled materials and …

Samson Reiny/510Report
It’s an overcast Friday afternoon at Golden Gate Fields, the last remaining racing track in Northern California.  The on-and-off drizzle and chilly air have left the bleachers nearly empty as people flock into the clubhouse-a heated room with greasy ballpark-style foods being sold by vendors and closed-circuit television access to the races.  It isn’t quite a standing-room-only crowd, but it seems like a decent weekday turnout-a good number of seats are filled and the walking space is taken up by several anxious television watchers, their heads cocked toward the …

By Huda Ahmed/Oakland North
When I knocked on the door of an apartment building in East Oakland, a woman’s voice nervously asked who I was. The voice belonged to a 45-year-old woman who wishes to be identified only as S. Mohamad because she fears prosecution in her native Iraq; she is a former radiologist who came here as a refugee three months ago along with her husband and their three children. She hid behind the door because she was without a headscarf; Muslim women usually wear one to cover their hair …

BY CASEY MINER AND HUDA AHMED  The 12th St. corridor in Oakland is a 12-lane freeway sandwiched between two perfectly normal city streets. There are no crosswalks or traffic lights, but morning commuters don’t care; the quickest way to BART is to look both ways and hope for the best.

Oakland’s “Unity for the Sake of Change” Presidential Inauguration
Community Viewing at the Oracle Arena
January 20, 2009
Presented in part by Alameda County Board of Supervisor’s Keith
Carson, District 5 Supervisor.

By Anna McCarthy
A peaceful demonstration over the recent fatal shooting by a BART police officer escalated into violence last night in downtown Oakland
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the Fruitvale BART station at 3 p.m .Wednesday to protest the death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, a Hayward resident shot by the BART officer, 27-year-old Johannes Mehserle, in the early morning hours of January 1 on the Fruitvale BART station platform in front of dozens of witnesses.  Since the incident occurred, cell phone footage of the shooting, available on the Internet and other …

By Linsay Rousseau Burnett
Take a stroll through the Allegro Music Store and it’s rich history. Hover your mouse over the collage to scroll right and left or grab the scroll bar at the bottom. Pressing the play button in the bottom left hand corner will scroll the collage automatically. Click on the audio icon in the bottom right hand corner and press the play button to listen to the song “Training Day,” by the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, in the background as you explore the collage. Alto saxophonist Gabe Eaton …

By Guo Shipeng
Cantonese Opera is probably the most common subtype of Chinese opera in the United States.  In the Bay Area, it is popular among first-generation Chinese immigrants, people at least in their 40s, if not older. But in recent years the Red Bean Cantonese Opera House in Oakland’s Chinatown has been trying to introduce the traditional art to the community’s American-born youth. 
Its youth troupe has trained dozens of “little Red Beans” so far, who have performed in its annual full productions in the summer. 
It is no small achievement and …

Over 500 members of the East Bay Indian community gathered in a show of unity to condemn last week’s Mumbai attacks. Congregating at the India Community Center in Milpitas, the crowd crossed religious lines, including members of the Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Jewish communities. They lit candles in a vigil and signed a petition condemning terrorism.

By Linsay Rousseau Burnett
In these grim economic times, chain stores and online retail companies still pose an increasing threat to small businesses. Linsay Rousseau Burnett brings us this report from one small Fremont business that has been a mainstay in the community for the past 47 years and remains full of life. Click to listen.

You can view an interactive multimedia collage of the Allegro Music Store by clicking here.
Check out Allegro’s website: www.allegromusic.net