In this edition of our newswire covering the period of May 16 to June 15, we share six stories relevant to Emeryville that you may have missed, including:
Missing Shop Cat Found in Emeryville
A beloved cat that disappeared from San Francisco’s Flower Market was found safe in Emeryville after a five-day search that captured the attention of the market’s tight-knit community. The gray tabby, known as “Number Five” has long served as an unofficial mascot, was allegedly taken from the market by three individuals on May 9, according to surveillance footage.
After an extensive search and social media campaign, the cat was discovered at an unspecified “Emeryville warehouse” where employees had been caring for the friendly feline after he wandered onto the property.
Number Five was reunited with his owner and returned to the Flower Market. Police have not announced any arrests in connection with the incident.
DailyCal Profiles Emeryville LGBTQ+ Cultural Leader
Robby Kendall, one of the driving forces behind Emeryville’s LGBTQ+ culture, was recently profiled by The Daily Cal.
The article delves into how the local resident seamlessly balances his career as a school psychologist with his vibrant creative life as an independent filmmaker and his drag persona, Miss Sweet Nothing.
By day, Kendall supports the mental health of local youth, but by night, he uses his background in human behavior and queer performance art to direct provocative short films.
In addition to spearheading Pride Month in the city, Kendall hosts the monthly Drag Queen Bingo at the Public Market.
Urban Compassion Project Experiencing Turmoil
Urban Compassion Project, known for their massive cleanups of encampments and illegal dumping along the Oakland border, is experiencing some turmoil.
Vincent Ray Williams III, the founder of the volunteer led group, has sued his former nonprofit, claiming he was wrongfully forced to resign just as the organization’s board launched an investigation into alleged financial irregularities. While Williams denies misusing funds and accuses colleagues of an orchestrated ouster, the nonprofit’s leadership maintains the group remains fully operational as both sides dig in for a potentially messy legal fight.
Emeryville Trinket Box Sparks Local Trend
A new Trinket Box, situated just across the city line in Oakland at 3200 Peralta Street, emerged about two months ago and has already attracted quite a following on social media.
The pink Sanrio-themed box is part of a growing national trend of trinket-trading that originated in Philadelphia and has since expanded to hundreds of locations across the U.S. While many of these boxes embrace a specific motif, the local box has taken on a whimsical “neighborhood archive” theme, and community members are encouraged to contribute items that match the vibe. Retro McDonald’s toys, dollar-store finds, stickers, pins, miniature figurines, and colorful keychains are all welcome additions.
The box was installed and is maintained by “Janette,” a local florist. The fallow wedge of land where the box sits, bordered by 32nd and Union streets, also hosts occasional neighborhood flea markets.
Follow the Emeryville Trinket Box at @BBTrinketBox on Instagram.
Novartis Announces Layoffs
Novartis’ once-massive Emeryville footprint continues to be whittled down. The pharmaceutical giant has laid off an undisclosed number of employees at its Emeryville biomedical research facility as the company continues consolidating its California operations around a growing research hub in San Diego. The cuts are part of a broader reorganization within the company’s Biomedical Research division and follow several workforce reductions announced by Novartis globally over the past year.
Novartis, which acquired biotechnology pioneer Chiron in 2006, once occupied the sprawling site slated to become the new Sutter Health Hospital campus. At its peak, the powerhouse biotech campus employed more than 2,000 workers in Emeryville. While the company has not disclosed the exact number of local positions eliminated in this latest round, industry reports indicate the move is tied to a long-term strategy of concentrating its West Coast research activities in San Diego.
Emeryville Physicist Moonlights as Viral Jazz Vocalist
An Emeryville resident making waves on the global jazz scene was recently profiled by KQED for his truly singular approach to the art of vocal improvisation.
By day, Lorin Benedict is a theoretical physicist crunching complex data at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. By night, however, he uses his voice as a highly structured instrument, performing a completely unique, self-invented style of scat singing that sounds like an extraterrestrial language.
Though he didn’t start performing publicly until age 31, Benedict has recently amassed a massive global following of young musicians on social media. The longtime Emeryville local—who frequently collaborates with other avant-garde East Bay artists—is currently playing a string of summer shows across the Bay Area.
Please note that our regular semi-monthly newswire cadence was interrupted this month due to a high volume of news stories.
