Boulevard Bites

by Tracey Rolandelli and Debbie Francis

### While checking out Café Galleria, we also noticed the arts and crafts store Pot-Pourri in the Lincoln Square shopping center (4100 Redwood Rd). What a beautiful collection of American art and craftwork! Gorgeous hand-blown glass items, woodworkings, jewelry, pottery, and metal art can be found there, as well as other crafts. This shop is a year-round crafts fair, without a trek into the city or holiday crowds. Owners Andy and Julia Diez also have a website, where you can see samples of their collection at www.pot-pourri.com. The Diez family have been supporting the artist community for almost 40 years.

### Loka Yoga, at 2071 MacArthur Blvd. (near Coolidge), has brightened up the neighborhood already. The new yoga studio, which opened its doors on October 21, glows a soft color from its windows during classes, with its lanterns and warm hues. Opened by Alice Joanou, Loka offers classes at different levels, and childcare on Mondays and Friday mornings. Loka's details and blog are at www.loka-oakland.blogspot.com.

### The CORE Program of Oakland, www.OaklandCore.org, met at Pilgrim Lutheran's Preschool on November 13. The CORE program stands for Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies and is a "free training program for individuals, neighborhood groups and community-based organizations in Oakland. The underlying premise is that a major disaster will overwhelm first responders leaving many citizens on their own for the first 72 hours or longer after the emergency." Sponsored by the Oakland Fire Department, classes are also conducted at neighborhood sites and require a minimum of 10-20 participants.

### The California Presidential Primary election is Tuesday, February 5, 2008. If you have never registered, if you moved since you last voted, or if you want to change your political party affiliation, you need to register by January 21. In the Metro readership area, you can pick up voter registration applications at the Laurel or Dimond post office or the Dimond or Melrose branch libraries.

The MacArthur Metro wishes everyone a wonderful holiday season. We will be back in February 2008.