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From the Editor

Positively Oakland

     I don’t know what impresses me most — the accomplishments of the 10 Oakland high school students profiled in “10 Most Likely to Succeed” or the ability of freelancer Marcus Thompson II to find such amazing graduating seniors.
    The crop of 2010 seniors is a doozy: Some have perfect GPAs, a few exhibit insight beyond their years, several shatter stereotypes, a couple already serve as community mentors and most dream of altruistic careers. They come from public and private schools as diverse as Oakland Tech and Head-Royce or Lionel Wilson and the College Preparatory School. They are aspiring heart surgeons, neuroscientists, actors, activists and advocates. These young men and women are driven and smart, and there seems to be no stopping them.
     All these stellar achievements occur in a disparate city with a violent reputation and a public school district with a looming deficit and imminent downsizing. But these students don’t let anything get in their way. They represent just one aspect of the positive things that happen in Oakland — what Oakland Magazine emphasizes. Positively Oakland.
     Oaklanders can learn a lot about their city in this issue. After two years of closure for major renovations, the Oakland Museum of California reopens May 1 with a 31-hour, nonstop party. Say hello to a new, more interactive institution with “loud hours” instead of “quite hours,” and read all about the new digs in “Nights and Days at the Museum.” What fun.
     Birders know how to have fun, and now you can, too, by pecking your way through a guide to the ins and outs of a quirky sport. Nicole Edmison recommends primo birding spots and points out where you’ll see what in the East Bay with a little help from a major birder, Bob Lewis, quite a wildlife photographer, in “Birding: A Subversive Culture.” And if you’re still in the mood to learn, you can vicariously take up the sport of sailing with the friendly folks at OCSC Sailing in “Classes, Charters and Community at OCSC,” Berkeley’s world-class sailing school that got its start in Alameda.
     What would you like to learn about? Send me e-mail.

 judy@oaklandmagazine.com