Oakland Schools Return to Local Control'
Sharon Higgins
In June, Oakland's elected school board regained its authority over the city's public schools, marking the end of a six-year period during which the State of California was in control of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).

Dimond Neighborhood News
Kathleen Russell, Ken Gibson, and Daniel Swafford
Community Opposes Threat to Dimond Post OfficeOver the last few weeks residents of the Dimond District and other Oakland neighborhoods served by the Dimond...

Laurel Neighborhood News
John Frando
School Safety Traffic Reminder' Students returned to class on August 31. Please remember to slow down and watch for children crossing streets near schools.

Maxwell Park News
Pat Patterson
Lots going on around Maxwell Park as summer, I mean real summer, finally took hold. Enough already, of fog and cool weather.

High Street Neighborhood News
Adelle Foley
What a Night Out' National Night Out (NNO) 2009 occurred on an unusually balmy evening. There were hundreds of block parties in Oakland but I'll write about two ...

Leona Heights Neighborhood News
Gordon Laverty
Like most neighborhoods in, or adjacent to, major cities, we've had our share of problems visited on us. It's unfortunate that so many of us who work hard and...

Redwood Heights Neighborhood News
Denise Davila
Welcome, Principal StoneIt was a pleasure to sit down with Sara Stone, the new principal at Redwood Heights Elementary School.

The Altenheim 100th Anniversary Celebration
Gordon Laverty
The Dimond District was originally established by German Americans who settled here with their homes, their farms, and their beer gardens.

Local Salsas Sampled at Farmer Joe's
Bill Kelvin
A recent stroll through Farmer Joe's grocery store on Fruitvale Ave. yielded a lovely sight: free samples of a wide variety of local salsas.

Caffeine: Good or Bad?
Paulette Avery, R.N., M.S.N., I.B.C.L.C.
How does caffeine affect your health? Do the benefits outweigh the bad effects it can have? Well, it depends. Research has identified clear benefits beyond...

Oakland Schools Want Volunteers
Carolyn Burd
'Oakland Schools have had a lot of success working with school volunteers. They want more!Metro'readers'interested in becoming school volunteers are invited to...

Boulevard Bites
Sheila D'Amico
### Congratulations to the MacArthur Metro Alameda County Food Bank Team. The team donated over 300 hours of service through June 2009 in the name of the Metro.

Imperfect Gardener
Adina Sara
Beware the Wayward CosmosI had no business leaving it there, smack in the middle of the step leading down into the garden.

Orchids and Onions
Chirido Ononi
A long-overdue orchid to Michael Johnson, policy analyst for Council District Four. Michael proved a true and worthy successor to the equally wonderful Claudia...

Creation by Brian Holmes