Best Appropriated Public Space
19th and Telegraph
Thanks to pedestrian advocates, 19th and Telegraph will soon become a temporary outdoor sculpture garden instead of a parking lot! — dto 510
Dover Park
This space has benefited from all kinds of love: guerrilla gardening to add drought-tolerant plants, Healthy Hearts / Phat Beets growing produce and the result has been all kinds of neighbors fully using the space — fitness walks in the a.m., movie nights in the summer, and kids all day. — evt
How many pages are there still…
— Fred Belsito
Best Charity
Alameda County Food Bank
They provide invaluable service to a wide variety of folks, and their attitude to the people they serve is respectful and compassionate. The staff have tremendous energy for the work they do, and they attract volunteers because of their energy and compassion. — Mimi S.
Alternatives to Violence Project/East Bay
Trains folks to go into California jails and prisons and do conflict resolution training — there are thousands of prisoners on waiting lists hoping to take these workshops. — pamelacalvert
Best College Professor With a Side Career
Amir Sabzevary
Owns a car wash — r3plicant
Karen Hossfeld
Sociologist and potter — sarahblain
Best Community Garden
Strong Roots
On Woolsey and Sacramento in Berkeley. There’s a hammock and they sometimes play movies up on the giant billboard that’s in the garden from a projector. — Russell EB
Best Company to Work For
Alameda County
Still treats employees as assets. — kgr
Google
Yes, even from Oakland, with local busses.— chroma
I wish I knew
— imnottelling
Self-employed
Why work for someone else when you can work for yourself and be your own boss.— Marckstir
VenueTech
Seriously, go check them out. They do good things for the Bay Area. — crytsalnova
Best Completely Re-imagined Neighborhood
Dimond District
New murals, new mosaics, new shops, and a beautiful park a couple of blocks from the business district. — Ruthie
Temescal
Best food of all gentrified neighborhoods — hledeen
Best gentrification? Huh?
— kaykay
Best Grassroots Political Movement
Take the rainbow back!!
Ho ho! Hey hey! The rainbow is not just for gays! — DoodleyDee
Best K-12 Teacher
D.M. Kloker, Berkeley Maynard Academy
Brings a missionary zeal to kindergarten teaching — pamelacalvert
Lainey Alderman
Thinks and teaches outside of the box. Definately needed with bigger classrooms and less money. — cottontails
Ms. Fong-Wedgwood, Edison Elementary, Alameda
How can one teacher be so constantly friendly and good-natured? She knows my kids by name and they were not even in her classes. — kiluma
There are too many to single one out!
Let’s celebrate ALL teachers who pour their hearts into their work day in and day out, despite dwindling resources and the current wave of teacher-bashing. — FrustratedTeacher
Best local activist
Chicken John
I know he’s in SF, but he’s working for us all! — laughterlover
Michael Davie
Keep the As in Oakland! — anne1423
Tina Ramos
Oakland Grown what what! — Gollie_Wag
Best Local Idea
Overturn all elected officials
— Lupe Memond
Free donuts every day
— dwoloz
Beer Revolution
In Jack London Square at Broadway and 3rd. Best idea in the world. — theonlyshow
Roof Gardens
Because we did it first with the Kaiser garden! — RedRage
Swag
— ctavs
Smoke weed every day
— DoodleyDee
Tax the rich, everything else is bullshit!
— schwatzpc
Best Local Innovator
Adam Lamoreaux
Brewer and Owner of Linden Street Brewery — dee847
Best Motorcycle Gang
East Bay Rats
They’re so predictable. It makes now feel like the ’70s all over again. — kojima
Accept no imitators, these guys are f’n rad! — quixoticfrisson
Miscreants
Nicest group of tough guys ever! — cangiola19
Best Neighborhood
Dimond
Great park, great local library, Farmer Joes, great Octoberfest… — sarahblain
Dogtown
What’s a better name than Dogtown? — Psurkis
Old Oakland
Oakland’s best kept secret…shhhh! — quixoticfrisson
Northbrae!
Monterey Market, Hopkins Street Bakery, Gioia’s, Maggiano’s butcher, and Tokyo Fish Shop just a few blocks away on San Pablo! Then there’s all the shops on Gilman. A foodie’s dream! — makura_kotoba
Best New Cause
Free Anthony Weiner
— joelburger
Saving local government from implosion…
— Nicolas
The anti gum on bottom of your shoes cause
— bobby jean
Best Place to Do Two Things at Once
Bedroom
— BigMammma
Holistic Veterinary Care
My pet gets veterinary care while I shop in the store … Woot Woot! — Lee Bee
Best Place to Hang Out
First and Last Chance Saloon patio
It’s somehow magically protected from the wind. — Moline, Jennifer
Willard Park
It’s like a beeeeach! — likemindedpeople
Best Place to Take the Kids
Adventure Playground
Tetanus schmetanus — likemindedpeople
Fairyland
Fairyland is a place where you go as a child and remember all the great, yet creepy old run-down theme park memories. But the problem is once you get too old, they don’t allow you back in to reminisce, UNLESS YOU HAVE A KID. So as an adult, this is the best place to take the kids, otherwise they won’t let you in. — Nicholas Wong
JuJu Pinball
Kept two dozen kids busy at once — terikaren
Tilden Park
Big kids love the steam train too. — Moline, Jennifer
Best Under-21 Hangout
Facebook 🙁
— Pedinoff, Rebecca
Best YouTube Celebrity
Epic Beard Man!
Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man!Epic Beard Man! — huffingduster
Stanley Roberts
Using the word celebrity loosely, his YouTube videos are awesome! — SativaBelieva
Kreayshawn
— shines77
The Friday song girl
— johnjoe
.Readers Say the Darndest Things: People and Places
