Bay Area

Celebrate Earth Day All Around the East Bay

Happy Earth Month! Whether you’re interested in learning how to get started with worm composting, how to electrify your home, reduce wasted food, or build healthy soil, there’s a way to celebrate for everyone! Try a StopWaste tip any day throughout the month, or join your neighbors in community for an Earth Month workshop or event.

Published

3 years ago

April 21, 2023

Oakland Post

Who are the action heroes for the environment? You can be one of them! Illustration via Stopwaste.org

By StopWaste.org

Explore all the events and resources, and be sure to check back frequently as we continue to add to the full calendar. Curious about what activities your city is hosting? Check out links to your city’s website below for more. For more information, go to https://www.stopwaste.org/earth-month-2023

Ways to Celebrate Earth Month

Make Every Carrot Count

Reducing wasted food is one of the leading solutions to climate change. Taking care and making the most of our food are important acts of environmental stewardship, honoring all of the resources and labor that went into getting it to us. Learn more ways to plan, store, and prepare food to save money and benefit our planet

Build Healthy Soil

Use compost to feed your garden and build healthy soil! Applying just 1-2 inches of compost to your soil will help your soil retain moisture, improve its structure, and help your plants access nutrients. Compost also helps healthy gardens sequester carbon in your soil and plants, reducing your climate impact.

Celebrate with the Entire Family

4Rs Action Heroes, assemble! Join youth and families across Alameda County in sharing your stories of action and community that represent how you are part of the (Re)Generation – an intergenerational collective identity for people committed to building a regenerative earth.

Calendar of Events

Saturday, April 22

9 am – 1 pm: Oakland Earth Day — Get outside to celebrate Earth Day with neighborhood clean-ups of streets, sidewalks, schools, parks, and along creeks and other waterways. Volunteer registration opens on April 1st; individuals and small groups are encouraged, but not required, to RSVP. To register, go to: https://oakland-volunteer-community-oakgis.hub.arcgis.com/feedback/surveys/c9a5c976287542c19372807dd2c3da6c/explore

8 am – 12 pm: P iedmont Free Compost Giveaway — Pick up one cubic yard of compost while supplies last. Bring your own shovel, gloves, and container(s), to pick up compost. Volunteers will be on deck to help you bag and load the compost into your vehicle. Held at the City’s Corporation Yard, 898 Red Rock Road. * Piedmont residents only.

8:30 am – 1 pm: City of Hayward Annual Earth Day Citywide Clean-Up and Community Fair — Come together to collect litter and abandoned debris in various neighborhoods throughout the City of Hayward. After the Clean-Up, visit the Earth Day themed Community Fair at the park for fun activities. Free lunch will be provided to volunteers who register via Eventbrite. The festival will be held at Weekes Park 27182 Patrick Ave Hayward, CA 94544

2 pm – 5 pm: Home Electrification Fair — Are you thinking about switching from gas to electric? There are plenty of good reasons to make the switch: healthy, safety, long-term saving, and of course climate. Attend the fair to get any and all questions answered about the benefits, energy-saving tips, where to find trusted contractors, available rebates and tax credits, and more! Held at the The Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley

12 pm – 2 pm: Composting 101 — Join Farm2Market and guest speaker, CompostGal, Lori Cadwell, to learn all about composting, including how to compost, the benefits, and trouble shooting of composting. Great for all levels of experience. Held at APC Farm2Market, 2600 Barbers Point Road Alameda, CA 94501.

8 am – 12 pm: Compost Giveaway — Dublin residents can take home one bag of FREE compost at the annual Compost Giveaway event at Emerald Glen hosted by Amador Valley Industries. The compost is made from Dublin residents’ yard trimmings and foods scraps. This is a great way to see how Dublin’s food waste journey is circular and directly benefits the community! This is a drive-through event in the parking lot of Emerald Glen Park, off of Gleason Drive. Dublin residents only*

9 am – 12 pm: C VSan Earth Day — Join your friends and neighbors to beautify and clean up Castro Valley. Volunteer to pick up litter, plant trees and native plants, spread mulch, pulled weeds, and more. The community clean-up sites include Castro Valley Creek, downtown Castro Valley and the Center Street Overpass Park and Ride. To sign u to volunteer, go to https://www.cvsan.org/zero_waste/community_and_education/earth_day.php

11 am – 3 pm: F remont Earth Day — Join for a day to celebrate Earth Day and increase environmental awareness in the community. Activities will include a Bicycle Fix-a-Flat Workshop, Earth Day art, medication take-back, free confidential document shredding, learning about gardening and composting, and more! Held at the downtown event center at 3500 Capitol Avenue in Fremont.

Sunday, April 23 —

9 am – 12 pm: E arth Day Shoreline Cleanup — Have fun with family, friends and neighbors, cleaning up the beach! Come to the Earth Day Shoreline Clean Up at Shorebird Park in Emeryville any time from 9 a.m. to noon. If you have them, bring collection buckets and/or bags, garden claw, reusable water bottle, and coffee mug. Wear layers, sunscreen, hat, and work gloves. Additional tools will be available for use until supplies run out.

Saturday, April 29

1 pm – 3 pm: Gardening for Renters — This class can help you navigate small spaces so you can garden! Topics will include: container and indoor gardening, working with your landlord, free/low cost resources, reuse options, and maintaining your garden. It will be held at Ploughshares Nursery 2701 Main Street Alameda, CA 94501.

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Activism

OP-ED: AB 1349 Puts Corporate Power Over Community

Since Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, ticket prices have jumped more than 150 percent. Activities that once fit a family’s budget now take significant disposable income that most working families simply don’t have. The problem is compounded by a system that has tilted access toward the wealthy and white-collar workers. If you have a fancy credit card, you get “presale access,” and if you work in an office instead of a warehouse, you might be able to wait in an online queue to buy a ticket. Access now means privilege.

Published

1 week ago

January 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

By Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

As a pastor, I believe in the power that a sense of community can have on improving people’s lives. Live events are one of the few places where people from different backgrounds and ages can share the same space and experience – where construction workers sit next to lawyers at a concert, and teenagers enjoy a basketball game with their grandparents. Yet, over the past decade, I’ve witnessed these experiences – the concerts, games, and cultural events where we gather – become increasingly unaffordable, and it is a shame.

These moments of connection matter as they form part of the fabric that holds communities together. But that fabric is fraying because of Ticketmaster/Live Nation’s unchecked control over access to live events. Unfortunately, AB 1349 would only further entrench their corporate power over our spaces.

Power over live events is concentrated in a single corporate entity, and this regime operates without transparency or accountability – much like a dictator. Ticketmaster controls 80 percent of first-sale tickets and nearly a third of resale tickets, but they still want more. More power, more control for Ticketmaster means higher prices and less access for consumers. It’s the agenda they are pushing nationally, with the help of former Trump political operatives, who are quietly trying to undo the antitrust lawsuit launched against Ticketmaster/Live Nation under President Biden’s DOJ.

That’s why I’m deeply concerned about AB 1349 in its current form. Rather than reining in Ticketmaster’s power, the bill risks strengthening it, aligning with Trump. AB 1349 gives Ticketmaster the ability to control a consumer’s ticket forever by granting Ticketmaster’s regime new powers in state law to prevent consumers from reselling or giving away their tickets. It also creates new pathways for Ticketmaster to discriminate and retaliate against consumers who choose to shop around for the best service and fees on resale platforms that aren’t yet controlled by Ticketmaster. These provisions are anti-consumer and anti-democratic.

California has an opportunity to stand with consumers, to demand transparency, and to restore genuine competition in this industry. But that requires legislation developed with input from the community and faith leaders, not proposals backed by the very company causing the harm.

Will our laws reflect fairness, inclusion, and accountability? Or will we let corporate interests tighten their grip on spaces that should belong to everyone? I, for one, support the former and encourage the California Legislature to reject AB 1349 outright or amend it to remove any provisions that expand Ticketmaster’s control. I also urge community members to contact their representatives and advocate for accessible, inclusive live events for all Californians. Let’s work together to ensure these gathering spaces remain open and welcoming to everyone, regardless of income or background.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

Published

2 weeks ago

January 2, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Activism

Big God Ministry Gives Away Toys in Marin City

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grow up.

Published

3 weeks ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

From top left: Pastor David Hall asking the children what they want to be when they grow up. Worship team Jake Monaghan, Ruby Friedman, and Keri Carpenter. Children lining up to receive their presents. Photos by Godfrey Lee.

By Godfrey Lee

Big God Ministries, pastored by David Hall, gave toys to the children in Marin City on Monday, Dec. 15, on the lawn near the corner of Drake Avenue and Donahue Street.

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Around 75 parents and children were there to receive the presents, which consisted mainly of Gideon Bibles, Cat in the Hat pillows, Barbie dolls, Tonka trucks, and Lego building sets.

A half dozen volunteers from the Big God Ministry, including Donnie Roary, helped to set up the tables for the toy giveaway. The worship music was sung by Ruby Friedman, Keri Carpenter, and Jake Monaghan, who also played the accordion.

Big God Ministries meets on Sundays at 10 a.m. at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA Their phone number is (415) 797-2567.