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The Alameda Pulse
Sean
September 17, 2026
Happy Thursday, everyone!
There's a free festival at Washington Park on Sunday and a free movie in Jean Sweeney on Friday, so this is a good week to just show up somewhere. I also tried a Malaysian afternoon tea on Central Avenue, and JuXi finally opened on Park Street.
Let's dive in!
In this week's email:
Featured Events: The Business Expo tonight, Blues, Brews & BBQ and Jurassic Park in the park
Restaurant of the Week: My afternoon tea at Malaya Tea Room
Community Spotlight: JuXi opens on Park Street
Alameda News: The Stardust Gardens voucher holdup, free library cards for every student and the Rockspinners decision
This Week's Events: Live music, the Legacy Home Tour and more, September 17 to 23
Houses on the Market: New Alameda Listings
Read time: 8 mins
Sponsored by Downtown Alameda
If you like tequila but haven't really tried mezcal, Alameda's first Tequila & Mezcal Stroll lets you try both across 12+ downtown stops!
On Friday, September 25, you'll move from shop to shop around Park Street, tasting different pours along the way.
Tickets include:
Tequila and mezcal samples
A collectible Alameda Strolls glass
A guide to every stop
Small bites at select locations
Want to learn what you're tasting? The VIP experience begins at Dragon Rouge, where a mezcal expert takes you through and explains how tequila and mezcal are made and how where the agave grows can change the flavor profiles.
The main stroll runs from 6 - 9 PM and is for guests 21+ with valid ID. General admission is $65 before fees, but ticket prices go up to $75 this Sunday, September 20, if tickets are still available.
Special Offer: Use code PULSE10 for $10 off your ticket while tickets remain.
Sunday, Sep 20 | Noon to 6 PM | Free | 📍 Washington Park.
The West End Arts District's festival is back for a 9th year, with the Chris Cain Band and Terrie Odabi headlining. Bring a chair, buy BBQ and a beer, stay the afternoon.
Alameda's own race weekend is back, with every distance starting and finishing on Alameda Point. Pick the half, the 10K, the 5K run/walk or the 1-mile family fun run, all chip-timed on closed roads, then hang out at the health and wellness expo on the grass. A share of every registration goes to the Alameda Education Foundation.
Saturday warms it up. Packet pickup runs Thursday and Friday 10 AM to 6 PM at Lauren's Closet on Park Street, then Saturday 1 to 5 PM at the expo, with a shake-out run at 1 PM and free yoga on the grass from Breathing Room at 2 PM. Register by Saturday night, prices go up after that.
JuXi opened this week in the old FD Sports Bar space at 1231 Park Street. It's a Cantonese and American restaurant, and the name is a family one: JuXi, pronounced "juicy," is named after the chef and owner's parents.
They describe it as a new generation of Cantonese and American cooking, some dishes close to tradition and others shaped by the Bay Area and California seasons.
They're in a soft opening and serving dinner only for now, Tuesday through Thursday 5 to 9:30 PM and Friday and Saturday 5 to 10 PM. Reservations are on Resy.
A soft opening means the very beginning. The team is still finding its footing, the menu is still being tested, and food can take a while to come out. If you go now, go to support a brand-new spot and expect to try something new, not a finished product. If you'd rather see the polished version, the grand opening is coming soon!
Rendering: MidPen Housing. Library photo: Sanfranman59 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Rockspinner photo: City of Alameda.
Alameda's Housing Authority board took up the 30 rent vouchers that Stardust Gardens needs at its meeting Wednesday night. It's an 80-unit supportive housing building planned for Alameda Point, where MidPen Housing would replace the Navy-era homes formerly homeless Alamedans live in now. Council already promised it up to $1 million a year for 20 years.
The holdup is federal rules and math. Staff say vouchers like these have to be handed out through a competition, and none has been held. They also have to protect rent help for the roughly 1,800 low-income Alameda households the agency serves now. City Manager Gerry Beaudin told the board in August that about 2,300 homes in the Alameda Point pipeline depend on this project.
Every AUSD student from TK through 12th grade now has free Alameda Free Library access through a Student Connect Code. The code is the student's AUSD Google ID, and the PIN is their birthday written as month and day. There's no sign-up and no card to pick up.
That gets a kid 5 checkouts at a time, the library computers, and e-books, Tutor.com and Mango Languages from home. Fees for lost or damaged items are waived while the pilot runs. It works at all 3 branches, and families can opt out through their school office.
Source: City of Alameda
The 2 spinning boulders at Jean Sweeney Open Space Park have been fenced off since April, and on Monday the Public Art Commission decides whether to fix them for about $40,000 or pull them out for about $15,000. Artist Zach Coffin told the city one of his Rockspinners in Warsaw had failed, and because the same contractor installed Alameda's, the parks department closed both right away. An engineering firm the city hired found the fasteners inside the shaft are far too small for earthquake loads.
Staff are leaning toward the fix. Alameda has already put $173,119 into the two pieces, and a repair counts as maintenance, so the money comes from the Public Art Fund and not the general fund. The meeting is Monday at 6 PM at City Hall with a Zoom option, and public comment is open.
Alameda's first short-term rental rules went to Council Tuesday, and we owe you a correction. The ADU ban covers units built under ADU permits, not every backyard cottage. An older cottage on the same property as the owner's home can still qualify.
Alameda High won the 71st Island Bowl 55-0 at Encinal on September 11, and tickets sold out two days early. The Hornets host Newark Memorial at 7 PM Friday to open league play.
Construction has started on The Foundry, 260 apartments on Clement Avenue at Alameda Marina. It's the last piece of the 760-home marina plan Council approved in 2018.
Alameda Record Swap | Sunday, Sep 20 | 11 AM to 5 PM | 📍 Faction Brewing. Fifty vendors, 40,000 records, all ages. More info
Alameda Farmers' Market | Saturday, Sep 19 & Tuesday, Sep 22 | 9 AM to 1 PM | Free | 📍 Haight Ave at Webster St. Produce and prepared food, year-round. More info
Discover Alameda Business Expo & Career Fair | Thursday, September 17 | 4 to 7 PM | Free | 📍 Gold Bar Whiskey Distillery, 2505 Monarch St., Building 22. More info
For the Love of the Cake | Saturday, Sep 19 | 11:15 AM to 1:30 PM | $25 through Sep 18, $35 at the door | 📍 Alameda Elks Lodge lawn. Bring a cake, leave with a box of everyone else's. Buy by Friday night and save $10. Get tickets
Speed Friending, ages 35 to 45 | Thursday, Sep 17 | 5 to 6 PM | Free | 📍 West End Library. Meet people your age, no apps involved. More info
Improv Central's 1-Year Anniversary | Saturday, Sep 19 & Sunday, Sep 20 | $1 a session | 📍 Improv Central. Every class is a dollar all weekend. More info
Tea & Chocolate Tasting | Saturday, Sep 19 | 10 to 11:30 AM | Free | 📍 Main Library. Guided tea sampling paired with chocolate. More info
Glow With Joy: Moon Festival Calligraphy | Wednesday, Sep 23 | 4 to 5 PM | Free | 📍 West End Library. Calligraphy and lanterns for Mid-Autumn. More info
Native Boogie & Beats | Saturday, Sep 19 | 12 to 2 PM | Free, RSVP | 📍 Lincoln Park. Powwow dancing and drumming, last one of summer. More info
Awesöme Orchestra | Saturday, Sep 19 | 12 to 2:30 PM | Free | 📍 Radium Runway. Community orchestra, bring a picnic blanket. Reserve a spot
The Mio Flores SalSazz Trio | Thursday, Sep 17 | 7:30 to 10:30 PM | 📍 Cinema Grill. Weekly salsa night. More info
Larrie Noble's Phree Thinkers | Friday, Sep 18 & Saturday, Sep 19 | 7:30 to 10:15 PM | 📍 Cinema Grill. Pop, soul and rock covers across five decades. More info
Fallen Angels | Friday, Sep 18 & Saturday, Sep 19, 7:30 PM; Sunday, Sep 20, 2 PM | $20 to $45 | 📍 Altarena Playhouse. Closing weekend of the Noël Coward comedy. Get tickets
Alameda Legacy Home Tour | Sunday, Sep 20 | 10 AM to 4 PM | $40, $10 ages 13 to 17 | 📍 Fernside, check in at Edison Elementary. Seven storybook homes from 1925 to 1936. More info
Live Comedy | Wednesday, Sep 23 | Doors 6:30 PM, show 7 PM | $10 plus one item | 📍 Cinema Grill. Five Bay Area comics. Get tickets
It's The Malt! | Saturday, Sep 19 | 1 to 5 PM | $60 to $90 | 📍 The Rake at Admiral Maltings. Thirty-plus beers, a whiskey flight and live music. Get tickets
Mid-Autumn Festival Mahjong Social | Saturday, Sep 19 | 4 to 7 PM | $10 | 📍 Alameda Brewing. Tables, tiles and beginners welcome. More info
Trivia Tuesdays | Tuesday, Sep 22 | 7 to 9 PM | 📍 Alameda Brewing. Weekly taproom trivia. More info
Tuesday Trivia | Tuesday, Sep 22 | 8 PM | Free | 📍 The Fireside Lounge. Prizes every round. More info
Trivia Night | Wednesday, Sep 23 | 6:30 PM | 📍 McGee's Bar & Grill. Sunset Trivia runs it. More info
¡Lotería! | Saturday, Sep 19 | 2 to 4 PM | Free | 📍 Main Library. Mexican bingo with prizes and treats. More info
Lauren Tarshis author visit | Monday, Sep 21 | 5 to 6 PM | Free | 📍 Main Library. The I Survived author, reading and signing. More info
Library Storytimes | Thursday to Wednesday, all three branches | Free | 📍 Alameda Free Library. Mother Goose, toddler and family storytimes. See the schedule
Coastal Cleanup | Saturday, Sep 19 | 9 AM to 12 PM | Free | 📍 Crown Beach, meet at the Bath House. The statewide cleanup day, gloves provided. More info
AEF's Back 2 School BBQ | Thursday, Sep 17 | 5:30 to 8 PM | $85 | 📍 The Rake at Admiral Maltings. BBQ and a drink for Alameda public schools. Get tickets
Yom Kippur at Temple Israel | Kol Nidre Sunday, Sep 20, 7 PM; Monday, Sep 21, from 10:30 AM | Free, registration required | 📍 Temple Israel of Alameda. Services, youth programming and a break-the-fast. Register
AUSD Board of Education | Tuesday, Sep 22 | 6:30 PM | Free | 📍 City Hall. Finalist interviews for the open board seat. More info
EBMUD pipeline webinar | Wednesday, Sep 23 | 6 PM | Free | 📍 Zoom. What the Bay Farm water pipeline job means for Island Drive. More info
HOUSES ON THE MARKET
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