Laurel Neighborhood News

by Kathleen Rolinson and John Frando

Mayoral Town Hall

Do you have questions for Oakland's mayoral candidates? Neighborhood groups in District 4 are organizing a mayoral town hall question-and-answer session on Saturday, March 18. Candidates Dellums, De La Fuente, and Nadel have been invited to spend 90 minutes in a community forum. Please submit questions by February 17 to Dist4Questions\@gmail.com or a designated neighborhood contact. Location and time are still to be determined. Volunteers are needed for the event day and for planning. For details and updates, see www.laurelvillage.org, or contact Kathleen at krolinson\@gmail.com.

A Blessing for Thyme

The Laurel District welcomes its first European-influenced take-out deli/bakery/café, scheduled to open in April. Thyme Café is Sister Marie de Porres Taylor's dream made a reality. This 1689-square-foot café will offer the very best in fresh, healthy, home-cooked selections, available for take-out or sit down. Featured will be meals seasoned with the spices and flavors of Southern, Caribbean, South America and European cooking. The café will provide catering services to individuals, organizations, and businesses, and healthy box school lunches to schools.

Chef Marie has over 40 years of experience in the food industry. "Cooking is my passion, and I realize that when I'm cooking, I am my most creative. I contend that healthy food can be good for you and taste good. I want to cook food and create a place where people will love to come and eat."

A "blessing of the space" with food tasting is scheduled for February 11, 3 to 6 p.m., at the Café location, 4173 MacArthur Blvd. For more information, contact Barbara Fernandez at Barbara\@BayVentures.net or 459-3828.

Laurel Village Not for Profit

December 6 marked a milestone for Laurel Village Association, which received official designation as a not-for-profit corporation. This is the first step in obtaining full nonprofit status. Laurel Village activities are member sponsored. Nonprofit status enables donors to write off contributions and provides a mechanism for receiving grant funding. The next step, obtaining 501(c)(3) tax-exempt designation, is underway and should be complete by mid-2006. A listing of Laurel Village officers and board members elected for 2006 is available at www.laurelvillage.org.

Kathleen Rolinson can be reached at krolinson\@gmail.com and John Frando at jfrando\@gmail.com.