signs: Oaks Motel

The Oaks Motel

Another sign I've posted before, The Oaks Motel on MacArthur. It's a great sign, and is better still when lit up so it's worth another look.

BART under civil rights investigation

I figured the OAC was a done deal after the city council inexplicably went along with BART's plans, but according to Living in the O, BART is under a civil rights investigation by the Federal Transit Administration. In part, this is because BART's EIR (Environmental Impact Report) is based on 2002 data, the OAC including multiple intermediate stops (the OAC plans currently have none), and a $2 fare (the OAC plans currently call for a $6 fare vs. $3 for the current AirBART). The cost for implementing the OAC will also likely be borne in part by higher BART fares and/or reduced service.

I've noted before that BART could build a new station at 98th to better serve the residents of East Oakland and implement TransForm's proposed RapidBART bus plan with intermediate stops for a good deal less than the OAC's $500 million (and climbing) price tag. This won't necessarily stop it, but it's a huge step in getting others to take a look at some alternatives.

signs: 1/4 lb. Giant Burgers

1/4 lb. Giant Burgers

I've shot this sign before, but during the day. It takes on a whole new quality at night. For variety I was going to shoot the 1/4 lb. Giant Burgers sign from the Laurel district further down MacArthur, but it wasn't lit up last night.

new blog on the block

where is it?

At the open house for Central Station in West Oakland the other week, I happened to chat with a new Oakland blogger. Her blog is OakSnap. The Oakland snapshot mystery game, and the premise is simple: she posts pictures from around Oakland, and readers try to guess where it is. Some are easy, some are a bit harder, but regardless it's a fun visual tour of Oakland. Check it out today!

signs: Rhea's Salon of Beauty

Rhea's Salon of Beauty

Just off Lakeshore Avenue on Mandana is Rhea's Salon of Beauty, with its painted and neon sign of interesting colors. It makes me think of ice cream (brown chocolate, white vanilla, and pink strawberry -- very Neapolitan). Mmm...ice cream.

Neapolitan is an interesting word: "of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Naples." Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, confectioner's shops in the U.S. were frequently run by Italian immigrants, so ice cream came to be known as "Italian ice creams" or "Neapolitan ice creams". Whether they had much ice cream in Naples at that time is beside the point. The association with the specific combination of 3 flavors came towards the end of the 19th century.