http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/oakland/ en-us Wed, 6 Jan 2010 00:48:09 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2421817/posts OAKLAND -- The nephew of former Oakland City Administrator Deborah Edgerly was sentenced today to a year of home detention on a weapons charge and ordered not to associate with gang members. William Lovan, 28, of Antioch, whose 2008 arrest prompted an investigation that eventually contributed to Edgerly's firing, pleaded no contest in October to a charge of carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle. Lovan, who did not own the handgun, was also placed on five years' probation by Judge Morris Jacobson of Alameda County Superior Court. In exchange for Lovan's plea, prosecutors dropped a charge of carrying a... SFGate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2421817/posts#comment Wed, 6 Jan 2010 00:48:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415836/posts The proposal to put the science-lab cuts on the table was approved recently by Berkeley High's School Governance Council, a body of teachers, parents, and students who oversee a plan to change the structure of the high school to address Berkeley's dismal racial achievement gap, where white students are doing far better than the state average while black and Latino students are doing worse.The full plan to close the racial achievement gap by altering the structure of the high school is known as the High School Redesign. It will come before the Berkeley School Board as an information item at... East Bay Express http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415836/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:55:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418595/posts THERE ARE times when one reads an article of such magnitude it causes utter disbelief; and rereading the piece only exacerbates the feeling. That was certainly how I felt when I read that the sister of Lovelle Mixon — the assailant who killed four Oakland police officers before he, too, was killed by police — seeks compensation from the city because of injuries she and her grandmother sustained during the gunbattle that ensued in her apartment where Mixon was hiding after he had already killed two officers. It is alleged that as Mixon hid in the apartment, the sister and... Contra Costa Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418595/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:58:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416713/posts OAKLAND — A sister of Lovelle Mixon who was inside the East Oakland apartment where Mixon killed two Oakland SWAT sergeants March 21 is claiming the city should pay her and her grandmother more than $10,000 after she was wounded by a stun grenade and, she says, subjected to hours of subsequent mistreatment by police. The tort claim, which could be a precursor to a lawsuit against Oakland, was ripped by an attorney whose firm represents nearly all the SWAT officers on scene when police stormed the apartment where Mixon was hiding after he fatally shot two motorcycle officers earlier... Oakland Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416713/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:17:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402147/posts Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is showing no signs of grounding his high-flying spending practices - running up nearly $60,000 on his city credit card in a one-year stretch for airline flights, restaurant meals, conference fees and stays at some of the toniest hotels in the nation. That works out to more than $1,000 a week that Oakland's taxpayers shelled out from September 2008 to September 2009 to keep Dellums traveling in style. The mayor ran up nearly every dime of his $59,079 in expenses after the City Council ordered employees in fall 2008 to halt all unnecessary travel to help... SFGate.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402147/posts#comment Mon, 7 Dec 2009 17:55:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392723/posts Bad news for Oakland today. CQ Press has released their annual City crime rankings, and Oakland is even closer to the top of the list than usual. The rankings are based on the incidence of murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and vehicle theft in all US cities with more than 75,000 residents. Out of 393 cities considered, Oakland clocked in as the 3rd most crime ridden, topped only by Camden, NJ and St. Louis, MO. Other cities joining Oakland in the top 10 include Detroit, MI, Flint, MI, New Orleans, LA, Birmingham, AL, Cleveland, OH, Jackson, MS and Memphis,... SFGate.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392723/posts#comment Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:18:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392644/posts OAKLAND — A man arrested at the West Oakland BART station Saturday was held on battery charges after a thick glass window broke during his arrest, severely cutting the BART police officer at the scene, officials said. BART officials held a news conference Sunday to address the incident because a video of the arrest was posted on YouTube. The video is shot from inside a train and shows Michael Joseph Gibson, a 37-year-old San Leandro man, shouting at other riders. In the video, an officer enters the train, grabs Gibson and walks him toward a wall at the other side... Oakland Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392644/posts#comment Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:44:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2390759/posts Somewhere in the bureaucratic haze of Oakland city government, in a spacious office with views of Frank Ogawa Plaza, there is a holiday grinch who has actually succeeded in swiping a slice of Christmas spirit from city residents. Now I already know what you're thinking, so let's get it out of the way. It is not Mayor Ron Dellums. He has been out of town since Saturday attending to a death in the family, said Paul Rose, the mayor's overused, underinformed press secretary. On Monday, Oakland city officials informed Marco Li Mandri, executive director of two business community benefit districts... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2390759/posts#comment Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:57:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383281/posts Motorists continued to ignore the speed limit approaching the Bay Bridge's S-curve Monday, just hours after a driver lost control of his truck there and fell 200 feet to his death. During the morning commute, a digital billboard at the westbound incline read, "Slow Down. 35 MPH Curve Two Miles Ahead," yet few drivers heeded the warning, perhaps because of distraction or a simple refusal to slow down, said Simon Washington, director of the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center at UC Berkeley. Washington, an expert in traffic safety who will analyze the stretch for Caltrans in the coming days,... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383281/posts#comment Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:00:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380456/posts Oakland Mayor Ronald V. Dellums owes the residents of this great city an explanation. And if he can't provide one, he owes his resignation. ... He is a hometown hero entrusted with the highest public office Oakland can offer. His $239,000 tax bill is peanuts compared with the weight of his responsibility as Oakland mayor. Anyone can make an honest mistake, and if that's all this is, then no harm, no foul. But Oakland residents deserve to know why the mayor was unable to handle his legal obligation to pay income taxes, .. ... They are deserving of far more... SFGate.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380456/posts#comment Fri, 6 Nov 2009 23:58:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2379175/posts (11-03) 15:20 PST OAKLAND -- Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and his wife failed to pay more than $239,000 in taxes over a three-year period and have had a lien slapped on their property by the Internal Revenue Service, public records show. ... Yeah yeah yeah, another Democrat politician didn’t pay all his taxes. But Dellums isn’t your typical “the rich aren’t paying their fair share!” Democrat. He was among the luminaries of the 60’s New Left and was the first traveled in April to Cuba to meet with their hero Fidel Castro. Now that’s its been discovered that Dellums has... Vocal Minority http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2379175/posts#comment Thu, 5 Nov 2009 15:48:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2377671/posts Ron Dellums, who earns about $184,000 as Oakland mayor on top of a congressional pension, appears to owe the Internal Revenue Service at least $66,554. A lien has been placed against his property for failing to pay taxes for 2006. According to the East Bay Express, which broke the story, Mayor Dellums and his wife, who file jointly, may owe more than $239,000 in taxes, mostly for the years he worked as a lobbyist in Washington, DC. SFGate: Oakland Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2377671/posts#comment Tue, 3 Nov 2009 21:00:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2376718/posts The Bay Bridge reopened just after 9 a.m. today, six days after a repair job on a cracked structural beam on the eastern span fell apart and plunged onto the upper deck. Tests conducted overnight and this morning on an altered version of that repair job showed that the fix was holding, Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said. At 9:01 a.m., a fleet of five California Highway Patrol cars escorted the first private vehicles allowed onto the westbound upper deck since the span was shut down Tuesday evening. About 10 minutes later, the lower deck reopened for traffic heading to the... SFGate.com (San Francsico Chronicle's Web Site) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2376718/posts#comment Mon, 2 Nov 2009 18:49:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2369242/posts So Tom Cable walks. That's how you'd have figured it to play given the other characters and circumstances involved. But more than that, Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein said that Raiders assistant coach Randy Hanson couldn't satisfactorily explain to Lieberstein's conviction rate how his jaw was broken. And that, ultimately, is the lesson here. Nobody told enough of a believable story for us ever to figure out what Cable, the Raiders head coach, actually did to Hanson's face, let alone what his intent was when he did whatever it was he did. With that kind of iron-clad certitude, is... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2369242/posts#comment Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:58:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369239/posts A longtime Your Black Muslim Bakery associate with a checkered past in dealing with public money persuaded BART's board of directors on Thursday to award him half of a seven-figure energy-efficiency contract, despite BART staffers' recommendation to the contrary. Nedir Bey, 48, was a confidant and "spiritually adopted" son of the late Yusuf Bey, Your Black Muslim Bakery's founder. Once a respected community institution, the bakery has been linked to decades of various frauds, abuses of women and children, and violent episodes, including several homicides. Bey's own background includes a $1.1 million Oakland city loan never repaid and campaign matching... Oakland Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369239/posts#comment Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:54:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368382/posts Despite state investigators and other experts saying that a detective's ties to Your Black Muslim Bakery's young leader compromised his investigation of a journalist's slaying, the Oakland Police Department will decline to discipline him, police sources say. Sgt. Derwin Longmire, who investigated the Aug. 2, 2007, killing of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey in downtown Oakland, will return to work within days, according to three department sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. He was reassigned from homicide to patrol last year, and he has been on paid administrative leave since April pending possible disciplinary action in this case. Longmire's... Oakland Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368382/posts#comment Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:40:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2366590/posts OAKLAND — Although changing venues for criminal trials has become a rarity in the state, a decision by an Alameda County judge last week to move the murder case against a former BART police officer was not a surprise, criminal law professors and attorneys in the field said Monday. Professors and attorneys said community outrage against the Jan. 1. killing almost assured the trial would be moved. "If there is ever a case you would expect a change of venue, it would be a case like this," said David Sklansky, a professor at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law.... Oakland Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2366590/posts#comment Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:56:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2365408/posts About 30 animal rights protesters gathered outside the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Sunday, waving signs decrying dogfighting in response to Michael Vick's arrival with the Philadelphia Eagles and drawing mostly praise from Raiders fans entering the stadium. Oakland has been the happy ending for many of the animals rescued from Vick's dogfighting and gambling operation in Virginia. Ten of the dogs in Vick's pit bull collection -- the ones that could be saved and rehabilitated -- found new lives in San Francisco's East Bay, fostered and treated by the group BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls). On Sunday,... NFL Fanhouse http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2365408/posts#comment Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:31:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2364332/posts OAKLAND — The murder trial against former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle will be moved to another county, a judge declared Friday. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson informed attorneys late Thursday that the case against Mehserle, in which he is accused of murder in the shooting of an unarmed Oscar Grant III early New Year's Day, should occur in another county because the 27-year-old cannot receive a fair trial in Alameda County. Jacobson's ruling was made less than a week after a hearing on a change of venue in the case concluded with prosecutors arguing that Alameda County... Oakland Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2364332/posts#comment Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:03:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2348950/posts The Raiders can't keep Rich Gannon out of the Coliseum's broadcast booth, so they want to lock the quarterback-turned-TV analyst out of the team facility in Alameda. Team officials told CBS Sports they did not want Gannon to attend Saturday's television production meetings in advance of Sunday's Raiders-Broncos game, The Chronicle has learned, citing his public criticism of the organization in recent years. "Rich Gannon is not welcome here," Raiders executive John Herrera said Friday when asked about the ban. "We told CBS we did not want him in our building, we did not want him to be part of... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2348950/posts#comment Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:26:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2344053/posts His Excellency, Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland, will offer a Pontifical Solemn High Mass at St. Margaret Mary Church, an apostolate of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, this Sunday, September 20, at 12:30 p.m. The occasion is the 20th anniversary of the first indult Traditional Latin Mass celebrated at this church in 1989. St. Margaret Mary was the first church in California to offer the Traditional Latin Mass every Sunday under the indult granted by Pope John Paul II. in 1988. In 2005, the Institute was invited to the Oakland diocese by then-Bishop Allen Vigneron. Under the... California Catholic Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2344053/posts#comment Sun, 20 Sep 2009 09:20:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2343079/posts An Internet list includes names of businesses, government buildings and university structures around Pittsburgh that protesters apparently plan to illegally target during the G-20 summit, Team 4 investigator Jim Parsons reported. Many of the 100 sites are in the East Liberty, Shadyside, Oakland and Lawrenceville neighborhoods, away from the site of the global economic summit, which will be held Sept. 24-25 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center downtown. MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2343079/posts#comment Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:33:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334916/posts I had to take a time out to send a little message to my friend Jack Cafferty at CNN. He has a blog post focusing on Van Jones and asking if the White House should have so many czars. SNIP The conservative attack on Jones, a swift-boating and a smearing that left Jones with a new national identity to build from. Yes, he's got to overcome the YouTubing he's gotten and he can do this with, well, new videos. Van's not the radical he was in the past, but you know what, Sean Hannity's not cavorting with the White Supremacist... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334916/posts#comment Tue, 8 Sep 2009 22:12:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2332716/posts From a clearinghouse site on radical leftist/marxist Bay Area organizations:YOUTH EMPOWERMENT CENTER / CORPORATE DESTRUCTION CLUSTERS Description: Anti-capitalist money-funnel for radical youth indoctrination groups founded in Oakland, California in 2000, by foundation-guided merger of four existing youth organizing groups and based on the Tides Center fiscal-sponsorship model with a half million dollars of foundation money. YEC is fiscal sponsor of the four founding groups: C-Beyond (a Tides Center project - radical organizers) Youth Force Coalition (anti-prison group) SOUL - School of Unity and Liberation (racial / economic justice group) Underground Railroad (art and culture for revolution) and subsequent groups:... Youth Empowerment Center, Oakland, California http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2332716/posts#comment Sat, 5 Sep 2009 07:05:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2327399/posts Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM), the revolutionary group formed by self-described "communist" and "rowdy black nationalist" Van Jones, held a vigil in Oakland, California, "mourning the victims of U.S. imperialism around the world" on the night after Sept. 11, 2001.... Van Jones is now President Obama's green jobs czar. He does not appear to have distanced himself from his past communist activities and is now part of the Obama administration's push to turn Sept. 11 into a National Day of Service focused on the promotion of the radical environmentalist agenda. Jones also founded the Ella Baker Center... American Spectator http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2327399/posts#comment Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:00:42 GMT