We're back! This time with a lot of music via The Bay Abridged (July Edition).

School Districts throughout the state are suffering under catastrophic budget cuts and are looking to families more than ever to fill in the gap.

By all accounts, this past weekend's Art & Soul Oakland Festival was a huge success.

However, despite the thousands who attended and were entertained my numerous hometown artists, many Oaklanders missed the event.

MC Hammer put on a dynamite performance Saturday at the 10th Annual Art & Soul Festival in downtown Oakland - surrounded by a sea of hometown admirers.

Oakland schools start Monday, Aug. 30 - where will your kids be when the last afternoon bell rings?

Julia Fong Ma, coordinator for after school programs for Oakland Unified School District, confirmed 83 schools have free after school programs this year. Participating schools are listed at the end of this article.

Like CAKE? The band performed in James Rhea's hometown, Oakland, CA at the Art and Soul Festival--check out the vids and photos here:

Missed the show? Wanna see it again? Here's a set of MC Hammer videos from Art & Soul to complement our story.

t’s easy to overlook MC Hammer in the pop culture canon. In the late 80s and early 90s, hip-hop was still mainly underground. As the genre’s first major crossover star, Hammer shattered mainstream barriers many didn’t know existed. The Oakland product and onetime McClymonds student was the first rap artist to sell 10 million records. His breakthrough hit, “U Can’t Touch This,” made him a household name in the suburbs. At the peak of his fame, he even had a Saturday morning cartoon show, “Hammerman.”

Macarthur Boulevard between 35th and High St. filled with families
and community members sharing food, fun and music at the Laurel Street
Fair on Saturday, August 14th.

The hometown debut of Pixar’s 25 year reospective at the Oakland Museum of California is a welcome lift for the city

“Oaklanders care deeply about youth and schools and need to know what to expect and what not to expect from the school board,” said Jonathan Klein of Great Oakland Public Schools.

About 100 education workers, community members, School Board President Gary Yee, Vice President Chris Dobbins and Director Noel Gallo met at the Jack London Aquatic Center Wednesday night, to hear Christopher Maricle, senior consultant for the California School Boards Association discuss the roles, responsibilities and challenges of the Oakland School Board.

How juicy is this first weekend of June?