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The Alameda Pulse
Sean
October 22, 2026
Happy Thursday, everyone!
Friday is a big one for kids. Alameda’s firefighters hand out free pumpkins at Franklin Park from 2 to 5, and Bay Farm School throws its Fall Fest from 4 to 7. In the news, the highest tides of the month land Tuesday and Wednesday, and the City has free sandbags if you’re near the water. Council said yes to the self-flying cargo plane company that wants Google’s old hangar, and Pacific Avenue is getting new rules at Wilma Chan Way. Plus, a new boba shop moved into the Park Street spot the county closed in July.
Let's dive in!
In this week's email:
Featured Events: Free pumpkins and Bay Farm’s Fall Fest
Alameda News: Big tides and free sandbags, hangar vote, Pacific Ave
Restaurant of the Week: Speisekammer's schnitzel on Lincoln
Community Spotlight: UMe Tea, new boba in the old MandRo spot
This Week's Events: RADwood, a rock & roll flea, patio music
Houses on the Market: New Alameda listings
Read time: 8 mins
FEATURED EVENTS
Friday, Oct 23 | 2 to 5 PM | Free, kids 12 and under | 📍 Franklin Park, West Lawn.
Alameda's firefighters are handing out free pumpkins Friday afternoon, and this is the 26th year they've done it.
Firefighters Local 689 sets up on the West Lawn at Franklin Park from 2 to 5 PM.
Every kid 12 and under gets one free pumpkin, and a parent or guardian has to be there with them.
It runs while supplies last, so earlier beats later.
Friday, Oct 23 | 4 to 7 PM | Free to attend; $5 tickets for raffles, face painting and crafts | 📍 Bay Farm School.
Bay Farm School's Fall Fest moves onto the school campus this year, and it's free to walk in.
DJ Edwin is back on the music, with trunk-or-treat tables, carnival games, a photo booth and a sensory zone for younger kids.
New this year is the Alameda Market, a row of local businesses and groups from around the island. Kingpin Katsu, Pampered Pup and Mister Softee are selling katsu, hot dogs and ice cream on site.
Tickets are $5 each or five for $20, and they cover the raffle, face painting and the arts and crafts zone. It falls on a day off from school this year, so wear the costume.
Photos: City of Alameda, Poseidon Aero
The Bay at Alameda peaks at 7.4 feet around 12:46 PM Tuesday, Oct 27 and 1:27 PM Wednesday, Oct 28, the highest tides on October's calendar. On Sunday, Oct 11 the NOAA gauge at Alameda read 8.28 feet at lunchtime, about a foot and a half over the forecast, when an El Niño Kelvin wave pushed up sea levels along the whole West Coast.
Scientists told NPR more of those waves are coming this fall, with the next one due in late October or early November. Walk Shoreline at midday Tuesday or Wednesday to see it. The real king tides come Thanksgiving week, when the forecast tops 7.7 feet. Check the Alameda gauge
If you live near the water, get ready now. The City has free sandbags at a self-serve station at Lexington Avenue and W. Hope Street at Alameda Point, up to five per resident, and staff will help load cars on Saturday, Nov 7 from 8 AM to noon. Report street flooding to Public Works at 510-747-7900 on weekdays or 510-337-8340 nights and weekends, and call 911 in an emergency. Get storm-ready →
Source: NOAA Tides & Currents | NPR
Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to lease Building 11 at Alameda Point to Poseidon, a San Francisco startup building self-flying cargo planes. The 110,000-square-foot hangar at 1190 West Tower Ave has sat empty since Google and Makani left at the end of 2020. The deal is seven years with two five-year options, and it needed four votes. It gets its final vote Nov 4, and the lease starts Dec 5.
The city expects about $12.6 million in rent over the first seven years. Poseidon has 30 employees now and says it will have 100 next year, most of them here, after raising $60 million this fall. It's already in the building on a short-term license. Read the staff report →
Source: City of Alameda
Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to stop through traffic on Pacific Avenue where it crosses Wilma Chan Way. A median diverter will end straight-across trips and all left turns, so Pacific becomes right in, right out on both sides. A new traffic signal will give people walking and biking a protected crossing.
Wilma Chan Way carries almost 17,000 cars a day at 30 mph, and the city says the skewed intersection has a history of broadside crashes. The work is grant-funded through Alameda CTC and is part of the Pacific Avenue Neighborhood Greenway, with the first phase expected by summer 2027. The same night, Council also approved a $405,476 striping contract for the Lincoln, Marshall and Pacific road diet. See the design →
Source: City of Alameda
Fernside Boulevard between Versailles and High is being repaved through early November. Expect half-street closures on and off and No Parking signs. When it's done, that stretch gets one lane each way and buffered bike lanes. City of Alameda
College of Alameda is looking for a new president. Melanie Dixon resigned this month, applications close Nov 12, and the new president starts Jan 1. Peralta's chancellor is running the college in the meantime. College of Alameda
Council asked the city attorney to draft a Protected Tree Corridor ordinance for the Gibbons Drive sweetgums, 4-0. It's one option, not a decision: it comes back alongside staff's tree plan, expected in December. City of Alameda
LuxFit, a gym from San Francisco, opened Sunday at Star Harbor on Clement Avenue, with 263 people at the ribbon cutting. It's open 5:30 AM to 9 PM on weekdays, and the first 100 members lock their rate for 18 months. LuxFit
There’s a giant pink bunny in the window at 1321 Park St, and during opening week the line ran out the door. UMe Tea soft-opened on Oct 16 and held its grand opening the next day. It’s a California bubble tea brand that started in Cupertino in 2019, with East Bay shops in San Leandro, Fremont, Livermore, Walnut Creek and San Ramon, and Alameda is the newest.
If the spot looks familiar, it was MandRo Teahouse for almost three years. MandRo was a bingsoo and milk tea favorite until a county health inspector closed it on July 2, with 9 violations and its permit suspended. Now the corner of Park and Alameda Avenue is pink, packed and pouring boba again.
The order: a Brown Sugar Boba Premium Oolong Milk Tea, or a Coco Mango if you want fruit, plus popcorn chicken on the side. There’s matcha, fruit teas and yogurt slushies too. Open noon to 8 daily. See the menu
Alameda Rock & Roll Flea Market | Saturday, Oct 24 | 10 AM to 6 PM | $5, kids 12 and under free | 📍 Faction Brewing. 100+ vendors of records and vintage, plus six bands. Lineup
Live music at Cinema Grill | Thursday, Oct 22 to Sunday, Oct 25 | 7:30 PM; Sunday 3:30 PM | 1-drink minimum or $5 cover | 📍 Cinema Grill. Mio Flores Thu, Airwaves Fri, Phree Thinkers Sat, Jesse Manibusan Sun. Lineup
Music on the Patio: The Blind Venetians | Sunday, Oct 25 | 12:30 to 4:15 PM | Free | 📍 Dashe Cellars. Last patio show of the year, taco truck, dogs welcome. Reserve a table
Monster's Bash | Saturday, Oct 24 | 8 PM to 1 AM | $40, $30 members; 21+ | 📍 USS Hornet. Starman plays Bowie on the hangar deck, $300 costume contest. Tickets
Dave's Swingtime Band | Monday, Oct 26 | 7:30 to 9:30 PM | $5 donation | 📍 Temple Israel. A 17-piece big band with a singer; dance or just listen. Details
RADwood NorCal | Saturday, Oct 24 | 4 to 8 PM | Free with registration | 📍 Gold Bar Hangar. Hundreds of '80s and '90s cars, Mix Master Mike DJs. Free ticket
The Lion in Winter, opening weekend | Friday, Oct 23 and Saturday, Oct 24, 7:30 PM; Sunday, Oct 25, 2 PM | $40 adults, $36 seniors | 📍 Altarena Playhouse. Eleanor of Aquitaine vs. Henry II; runs to Nov 22. Tickets
USS Haunted Hornet: The Devil's Sea | Thursday, Oct 22 to Sunday, Oct 25, and Wednesday, Oct 28 | Entry from 6:30 PM; Sunday from 5:30 | From $35; ages 13+ | 📍 USS Hornet. Timed groups below deck; walk-ups at the door. Tickets
Radium Stories: The Side Show | Thursday, Oct 22 | 7:30 PM | $30 advance, $35 door | 📍 Radium Runway. Live storytelling in a circus tent, two Moth GrandSlam winners. Tickets
Live Comedy at Cinema Grill | Wednesday, Oct 28 | 7 PM | $10 plus a one-item minimum | 📍 Cinema Grill. Five Bay Area comics, every 2nd and 4th Wednesday. Tickets
Midnight Mansion Halloween Paint and Sip | Sunday, Oct 25 | 3 to 5 PM | Ticket includes a drink | 📍 Faction Brewing. Paint a haunted mansion, all supplies included. Tickets
Elks Halloween Boo Bash | Saturday, Oct 24 | Doors 7 PM | $30 | 📍 Alameda Elks Lodge. Appetizers, tarot readings, a DJ and a costume contest. Details
Trivia Tuesday | Tuesday, Oct 27 | 7 to 9 PM | 📍 Alameda Brewing. Weekly taproom trivia. Details
Fireside Trivia | Tuesday, Oct 27 | 7:30 PM | 📍 The Fireside Lounge. Weekly live trivia on Webster. Details
McGee's Trivia | Wednesday, Oct 28 | 6:30 PM | 📍 McGee's. Sunset Trivia's weekly Wednesday game. Details
Witches & Wizards on Water | Saturday, Oct 24 | Watch 10 to 11 AM | Free to watch, $10 to paddle | 📍 Sea Trek, Ballena Bay. Costumed kayaks and paddleboards parade the lagoon. Details
Trunk or Treat Family Fest | Saturday, Oct 24 | 4 to 7 PM | Registration required | 📍 Coastline Christian Schools. Decorated trunks, an inflatable maze and an 11-foot python. Register
Alameda High football vs. Arroyo | Friday, Oct 23 | 7 PM | 📍 Alameda High. The Hornets' last home game of the season. Schedule
Encinal football vs. Newark Memorial | Friday, Oct 23 | 7 PM | 📍 Encinal High. The Jets' last home game of the season, same night. Schedule
Alameda Walks: Burbank-Portola | Saturday, Oct 24 | 9 to 10:15 AM | Free | 📍 Washington Park. Dennis Evanosky on the lost velodrome and rifle range. Details
Adult and Teen Biking Practice | Sunday, Oct 25 | 10 AM to noon | Free | 📍 Alameda Waterfront Park. Bike East Bay skills session, then a group ride. Register
East End Sea Level Rise Focus Group | Saturday, Oct 24 | 1 to 3 PM | Free | 📍 Harrison Recreation Center. What's at risk on the East End shore, and your say. Details
A Funky Halloween with The Funk Revival Orchestra | Friday, Oct 30 | 8 to 10 PM | $32 | 📍 Rhythmix Cultural Works. A 10-piece Oakland funk band, costume dance party. Tickets
Halloween Family Fest | Friday, Oct 30 | 3 to 6 PM | Free | 📍 South Shore Center. Trick-or-treating through the mall for kids. Details
Trick-or-Treating in Downtown Alameda | Saturday, Oct 31 | 1 to 5 PM | Free | 📍 Park Street. Look for the We Have Candy signs; games on Alameda Avenue. Details
Howl-O-Ween Pet Parade | Saturday, Oct 31 | Check-in 1:30 PM, parade 2 PM | Free; 30 pet spots | 📍 Webster Park. Costumed pets judged by FAAS, trick-or-treating on Webster. Register
HOUSES ON THE MARKET
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