What I do is try to come up with new inventions using discarded things... One of the biggest landfill offenders I've seen would be Futon Frames. It does come apart, or it simply gets 'old.'  I rescue these. So far, here are the three things we can do with solid wood planks from Futons...

1) Frames for your paintings or photography.

(UPDATE Apr. 2: Yes, this post was indeed a joke. Happy April Fool's Day, Oakland!)

Hello, Oakland. It's Thursday, the week's nearly done. Hang in there. Here's a quick roundup of what's going on in and around Oakland...

Climate activists allege city government forced them to caulk. As the lead photo in Ryan Van Lenning's article yesterday about the city's climate action plan indicates, some local climate activists have taken to waving unlicensed caulk guns in public. Claiming that this represents a threat to public safety, last night members of the city Public Ethics Commission detained 41 caulk gun-wielding activists. They were later released without charges -- but Oakland Local has learned that while detained, the Commission allegedly forced the activists to weatherize four floors of city hall. We're investigating and will follow up later.

And in the comments to our story today on a possible pigeon-serving restaurant for Jack London Square, reader JM raised the idea that since pigeons are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, perhaps the city's environment and economy might improve by supporting a local pigeon export business. What's your take? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

In other local news...