Archive for April, 2010
Native Plant Sale at Ploughshares — May 2nd!
Looks like it’s going to be another gorgeous weekend here on the Island and if you’re getting ready to do some gardening, be sure to stop by Ploughshares Nursery . They’re discounting all their California native plants by 20 percent.
The nursery has more great events coming up in the next few…
Oakland Teachers on Strike — Not Alameda Teachers
As I’ve watched the parcel tax debate unfold over the last few months, I’ve noticed one curious and maybe-not-so-constructive trend: people tend to lump a lot of different groups together. For instance, if they’ve seen government waste in one agency, they assume all agencies are wasteful. Or if…
Alameda’s Ecology-Focused Art Show Ends This Weekend
Autobody Fine Art’s Future/Tense show is running through May 2, this Sunday.
If you haven’t had time to get there, it is definitely worth a visit, so try to squeeze it in.
The exhibit is on the second floor at 1517 Park Street (near Lincoln Avenue).
Jon Kerpel’s sculptures are fun and provocative. The Alamedan has collected objects [...]
Graphic novelties, part 2
More fund graphs from data pulled from the most recent Comprehensive Annual Finance Report (CAFR), you can see part 1 here. The number of Business Licenses that have been issued, please note that there was no data for 2008 so it’s not as though there were zero, the number simply was not captured. The data [...]
Eve Pearlman: May flowers
On a sunny Saturday morning a few weeks ago I arrived at the home of a nearby family for what their Evite billed as a garden work party in the old-fashioned, barn-raising/many-hands-make-light-work tradition. Drinks and sandwiches and babysitting provided. The goal? Transform the water-guzzling grassy patch of earth in front of their home into a [...]
Free Comic Book Day is Saturday
I’ll be honest: I needed a break from Alameda Point and SunCal this week. So in their stead I thought I’d tell you about a neat little annual event: Free Comic Book Day. This year’s event takes place on Saturday (which I guess you know if you read the headline already. Sorry).
The idea behind the [...]
Island sports: Run 4 Education results
Over 100 runners ranging from toddlers on up participated in the Alameda Education Foundation’s Run 4 Education event April 25. Children 10 and under ran in the 100 yard dash which preceded a 5K Fun Run along the Alameda shoreline.
Top finishers in the 5K overall included Peter Hsia, with a time of 18:43.4; Cory [...]
Green Living by Janet Marchant: Un-greening Our Tomatoes!
I’m so disappointed. Just as I was starting to learn about how good local, organic produce is for our planet, I heard that the U.S. Senate is about to put all of those small farmers out of business. As I understand it, big agribusinesses have gotten jealous of the success of farmer’s markets and small, local producers, and are demanding that all of those sustainable farms be forced to buy the same produce-bagging and shrink-wrapping machinery that helps larger producers stay at the forefront of producing new strains of E-coli bacteria.
Now, I’m not angry about this, because it’s probably just some kind of misunderstanding. Our Senators probably aren’t aware of how much healthier organic produce is for us and for our environment, so it’s up to fans of green living to introduce them to the joys of truly good fruits and vegetables. There’s just no comparing a juicy, vine-ripened tomato at its peak to those bland pieces of styrofoam that pass for tomatoes in some stores. So the best way to help Senators understand the issue would be for some East Coast organic tomato growers to take them free samples of the ambrosial fruits of their labor. Of course, since our elected officials are busy people, it might be hard to get close enough to the Senators to hand them a fragrant slice of delicious tomato, so it’s important that someone with a good throwing arm be included in the organic growers’ delegation, in case the tomatoes have to be delivered all in one piece, and in a hurry.
It’s true that throwing the tomatoes could get messy, especially since only the ripest, juiciest samples will do for the purposes of educating Senators. But then, they are probably also not aware of how much fun it can be to get covered in tomato juice and pulp, as many surprised tourists in Spain discover every year in the city of Buñol.
Apparently, no-one really knows how the tomato-smashing festival started, but I read that “one of the most popular theories is that disgruntled townspeople attacked city councilmen with tomatoes during a town celebration.” The councilmen must have enjoyed the experience enough to make it a yearly event. And the moral of that story is that when you mix ripe tomatoes and elected officials, wonderful things will happen!
So, how about it, green living lovers? Who wants to take some transformative tomatoes to Washington D.C.?
Your weekend: Project YouthView
Here’s an early head’s up on an event that’s sure to sell out: Project YouthView, Alternatives in Action’s annual film fest and fundraiser, is on Thursday, May 6 at the Alameda Theatre & Cineplex.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids 12 and up (and just a warning, no one under the age of 12 [...]
Autobody Fine Arts Benefit: May 15th
There are a lot of fun events going on around town in May, but here’s one you don’t to miss: Autobody Fine Arts Gallery — the super-groovy exhibition space just above Park Street Antiques & Collectibles — will be holding a benefit on May 15th.
Called “Beautiful Dreamers,” the benefit…
