Editor’s Note: I have had the pleasure of working with Barbara on Earth Day cleaning up Cleveland Cascade across from Lake Merritt in Oakland. She believes in Oakland and her energy is boundless. I think it is wonderful to see her rewarded for her tireless efforts. I took the photo above of her plaque on the Mother of the Year Walk in the Morcom Rose Garden in Oakland.

Barbara Newcombe Wins
City of Oakland Mother of the Year Award
57th Annual Award Ceremony Honors Long-Time Oakland Resident & Author of “Paper Trails: A Guide to Public Records in California”

For Immediate Release
on Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Press Contact: Kola Thomas (510) 238-3095

Oakland, CA. City of Oakland’s Office of Parks and Recreation (OPR) will honor Barbara Newcombe as the 2010 Mother of the Year, at its 57th Annual Mother of the Year Award ceremony from 10:30am to 12:30pm on Saturday, May 8 at the Morcom Rose Garden, located at 700 Jean Street in Oakland. Mrs. Newcombe was selected out of a group of nominees consisting of exemplary citizens, all of whom have made significant contributions to the City of Oakland.

Mrs. Newcombe was nominated by the Friends of Cleveland Cascades, with letters of support from the Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt; Waterfront Action; and the Oakland Heritage Alliance. Mrs. Newcombe was described as demonstrating “an enviable example of unwavering dedication, activism, and love for her neighborhood, and for enhancing the quality of life for the beautiful people of her beloved city, Oakland” and OPR is very pleased to acknowledge her contribution with this award.

Mrs. Newcombe is an epitome of community activism. With a graduate degree in Library Studies, she worked for ten years as the head librarian at the Chicago Tribune.

In 1984, she moved to Oakland to live closer to family and volunteered at the Center for Investigative Reporting where she authored a book on public record keeping. Her seminal publication, Paper Trails: A Guide to Public Records in California (1991) provided guidance to the Task Force charged with writing the Sunshine Ordinance. Her knowledge of public records was invaluable, resulting in a “more open” government. Mrs. Newcombe’s next focus was the Public Ethics Commission to which she was elected to a three-year term and turned 80 years old at the end of the term. Barbara’s current effort is the restoration of the Cleveland Cascade which has resulted in the formation of Friends of Cleveland Cascade.

Oakland’s Mother of the Year Award is a project of the Office of Parks and Recreation and was initiated in 1954 to publicly honor an Oakland citizen whose contributions to the community symbolize the finest traditions of motherhood, although being a parent is not a requirement to be nominated for the Mother of the Year Award. Past honorees have included hard-working, dedicated community servants whose volunteerism has been exemplary.

City of Oakland
Office of Parks and Recreation
250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 3330
Oakland, California 94612
(510) 238-PARK
(510) 238-2397 Fax

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Birthday dinner at Lake Chalet Restaurant in the Lake Merritt in Oakland, California.

Hears Looking At You Photo – A Visual Essay of Jazz and Blues

Jazz and Blues Art Photography of Kamau Amen-Ra, Tasin Sabir, Edward Miller, Charles Rhone, James Knox

Location: San Leandro Public Library
Street: 300 Estudillo Avenue
City/Town: San Leandro, CA

Exhibit Dates: July 1 – 31 2010

Artists’ Reception: Thursday, July 15, 6:30PM – 8:30PM

Library Hours:

Mon-Thurs: 10am-9pm
Fri: 10am-5:30pm
Sat: 10am-5pm
Sun: 12pm-4pm

Examiner.com: Hears Looking At You focuses on Bay Area jazz photography

We were walking into IKEA and this yellow steel awning on the front of the store caught my eye. I think the sun was hitting it just right.

A glimpse inside the Generations in Jazz: Four Photographers exhibit running now through April 30. I am very honored to be a part of this exhibit and thankful for all that I have learned in the process of putting this exhibit together.

The first photo is our opening exhibit wall and the second photo is some of my photos displayed in the exhibit.

Generations in Jazz: Four Photographers

From Saturday, 03 April 2010 – 10:00am
To Friday, 30 April 2010 – 5:00pm

Free admission
At the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 150 E. San Fernando St., San José, CA 95112

Hours:
Monday – Thursday 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Friday 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday 1:00 PM – 7:00 PM

The works of four jazz photographers, Tom Ehrlich, James Knox, Andy Nozaka, and Walter Wagner, offer an exceptional insight into jazz music and jazz musicians’ life.

The exhibit is one of many events sponsored by San Jose Jazz this month in celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month.

For more information on the exhibit and photographers, click here.

Photo of singer/songwriter/pianist Andy Bey @ Yoshi Oakland – January 2008 by James Knox

In its day, there was nothing like a big, gas-guzzling, Lincoln Continental Mark IV. Of course, today, the EPA would be all over it for its lack of fuel efficiency but back in the day, it ruled the streets.

Patti Austin – Yoshi’s San Francisco

I have loved Patti Austin for as long as I can remember. It was an honor to photograph her shows. I saw her three times during her run and each show was amazing. You can see more photos from her show here.

Mount Diablo State Park – Clayton, California

Piedmont Piano Company – Oakland, California

The Piedmont Piano Company recently opened in the revitalized Uptown District of Downtown Oakland. It was formerly a drafting supply store in a past life. Piedmont Piano redid the neon signage when they bought the building.