As part of my research on an article about small business resources in Oakland, I attempted to connect with City Councilwoman Desley Brooks of District 6.

According to the Dec. 12^th  New York Times Travel section, bookstores may be a dying breed. But in the Bay Area, they are a strong force.

One example is an annual event called Litquake - a social mixing of both public and authors at bookstores and bars around San Francisco. Its purpose is to demonstrate that reading can be a social activity, as well as build community, which the large retailers like Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble and others can't compete with.

In Oakland this past weekend, Laurel Bookstore, located at 4100 MacArthur Blvd., further demonstrated another service that local bookstores provide that you can’t order on Amazon: fundraising for local schools and organizations.

Are you one of the growing members of the community that is striving to live a gluten free lifestyle?  If you answered yes, then you are aware of how frustrating and complicated it is to go out and find food that you can both eat and tastes good.

Living in the Bay Area is actually quite a blessing as there is a variety of special diets and food types available, and many restaurants and bakeries are addressing the needs of a gluten free diet.

The Bay Area is one of the most diverse places in the world, so it stands to reason that if vampires and werewolves roamed the street of Oakland, they would be reflective of that diversity.

Oakland author AJ Harper thinks so, at least, and in his first two novels, "Night Biters" and "Werewolves the Mix Tape," he writes about an Oakland filled with African-American, Latino and Asian vampires and Filipino werewolves.