Billed as the East Bay Melee, the Oakland Outlaws take on the Berkeley Resistance at 8 p.m. this Saturday at the Craneway Pavillion in Richmond.

Didn't know Oakland has a roller derby team? Then you might not know the difference between a jammer and a pivot, or the importance of a carefully crafted, saucy and puny nickname.

Not to fear ... Oakland Local is here to help.

“When I started breastfeeding, my great grandmother would sit across from me and sing what I was doing wrong,” explains actress ‘Rie Shontel, who is known as Anita Woodley offstage. 

Shontell transitions seamlessly into her great grandmother’s voice singing, “That’s not how you do it/You’re gonna kill that baby with that milk.” The first few minutes chatting with the journalist who grew up in Funktown on 13^th Avenue and East 17^th is filled with laughter. She share’s some of most memorable interactions with the woman who inspired “Mama Juggs: Three Generations Healing Negative Body Image,” which shows Wednesday and Thursday - Dec. 29 and 30 - at the Black Dot Café in Oakland.

Oakland has long been known for its innovative and fresh contributions to the world of art and music. Numerous female visual and performing artists have honed their skills on the grassroots level in the Lower Bottoms, Laurel and Dimond districts and many have reached international heights.

The ShePeoples Collective was born out of an idea for a space where emerging and professional women artists could gather in hopes of building a rich community.

The SHERO Women's Sexual Empowerment Conference will take place on Saturday, November 13th, 2010 from 9:00am - 3:30pm at the Oak Center Cultural Center (1324 Adeline Street in Oakland). There are spaces for 20 participants and not all of the slots have been filled.

Here is an update on the workshops that will be offered during this day of Personal and Community Development: