Our world is fragile; last week's earthquakes in Japan is testament to that.

There are many ways to survive and thrive: we can eat and drink to make it all better, we can number crunch and separate ourselves into neat demographical packages in the name of fairness and we can resist.

Oakland Local's top stories of the week promises to detail your coping mechanism.    

Have the demographics of Oakland changed much in the last decade? How will population data affect redistricting? Our top story this week, written  by Oakland Local editor/publisher Susan Mernit, tells you how to find 2010 census data.

Oakland Local readers are hungry! Our second highest read story of the week was a sumptuously detailed review of Miss Pearl’s Jam House’s “Gumbo Throwdown,” a pre-Mardi Gras celebration. Read Robert Raburn’s article to find out which East Bay chef won the competition for best gumbo.

The next top story is no reason to celebrate, but we appreciate senior editor Amy Gahran’s timely report on Japan’s earthquake and tsunami warnings.

Our thirsty readers care about beer and we’re not ashamed of that. Before prohibition, Oakland was considered the beer capital of the West. Contributor Vanessa Barrington’s article on the Oakland Brewing Company and the efforts of craft brewers James Costa and Steve McDaniel was next on the list.

Writer Kheven Legrone contributed an opinion piece on gentrification, neighborhood businesses, gang injunctions and respect. Not only did it draw lots of traffic, but it also drew plenty of discussion in our comments section.