J. Moses Caesar and the New Parkway crew - who had been trying to lease the former New Parkway Theatre from the original owners without any success to date - have been looking at he former Audi dealership at 2345 Broadway (Auto Row) and at the former Omni Nightclub at 4799 Shattuck Ave. in Temescal.

Which neighborhoods are hardest hit by foreclosures? How many foreclosed homes have become a vacant public nuisance?

Bank-owned blighted foreclosures will be on display Thursday during a two-hour public tour aimed at increasing blight enforcement and big bank accountability.

City Councilwomen Desley Brooks and Jane Brunner will join, ACCE - Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment -  and local residents to view three currently undisclosed locations where blight plagues city blocks.

(Editor's note: Our continuing series that looks at Oakland Local's picks for people/organizations to watch in 2011.  Read the whole story...

By Eric K. Arnold

Getting an email marked from “Cleophus Johnson” can only mean one thing: Sunspot Jonz is in the house. Or is it the Brother From Another Planet (BFAP)? The answer is equally plain: all of the above and none of the above.

The International Boulevard Transit-Oriented Development Plan (TOD) was approved by the city of Oakland Planning Commission last week and will appear next before the city's Community and Economic

The city of Oakland values its small business community and is attempting to provide services to assist them with loans, employment, beautification and tax credits.

If anyone questions whether redevelopment funds help revitalize a neighborhood, all they need to do is look at the Uptown District, said Oakland Mayor Jean Quan.

The most recent court hearing on the controversial issue of Oakland gang injunctions has, for the time being, resulted in an apparent victory for the defense.

"Oakland knows how to open a library,"  California State Librarian Stacey Aldrich exclaimed this past Saturday when hundreds gathered to witness the grand opening of Oakland's newest library branch.

(Editor's note: The following is part of our continuing series that looks at Oakland Local's picks for people/organizations to watch in 2011. See all profiles in this series.)

Jason Harvey is a jack-of-all trades: chef, Farmer's Market manager, youth educator, garden builder, as well as the executive director of a vibrant East Oakland food justice organization, Oakland Food Connection. Harvey's many skills are all focused on one goal: “To educate youth and adults about the process of food from seed to table.”

In an area considered mostly destitute and dangerous, a movement is growing to bring commerce, interest and hope back to East Oakland.

The East MacArthur Merchant’s Association (EMMA) came together three years ago, initially to build support amongst each other as small business owners, but now has blossomed into a full grown community-centered organization.

Community advocates will soon ask the city of Oakland to approve a plan guiding Transit-Oriented Development, or TOD, along International Boulevard.