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Michael Dellums, the son of Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, was denied parole once again today for his second-degree murder conviction for killing a reputed drug dealer in Oakland in 1979, according to Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Bill Boselli. Michael Dellums, 50, has been denied parole numerous times, most recently on Jan. 8, 2007, the same day that Ron Dellums was sworn in as Oakland's mayor. The California Board of Prison terms panel that presided over Michael Dellums' hearing today at the California State Prison, Solano, in Vacaville, where he is being held, decided he won't be eligible for another...

Less than two-thirds of Oakland schoolchildren tested in spring had a healthy body composition, according to state fitness measures, and less than half of the city's seventh- and ninth-grade students passed muster on tests of aerobic health, according to results released Tuesday by the California Department of Education. Each spring, public schools measure the strength, flexibility, aerobic capacity and body weight of students in the fifth, seventh and ninth grades. Children in Alameda schools did significantly better, on average, than children in Berkeley and Oakland. More than 76 percent of the Alameda district's fifth-graders were determined to be in good...

A restraining order has been granted to Sunol Glen School against a woman the school believes tried to take a student earlier this month. Commissioner Charles Smiley granted the three-year order Thursday in Alameda County Superior Court in Pleasanton. It requires Jamie Nickolopoulos, 32, who lives a short walk away from the school, to not contact the school and to stay at least 25 yards away. Records show she did not attend the court hearing. ...snip... She said her daughter said the woman told her she was going to be the girl's stepmother and had candy and movies at the...

"Hip Hop" Voter Bus Ready to Roll - Alameda County and AC Transit Join to Register Young Voters OAKLAND—Alameda County and AC Transit are hitting the road together again this fall with a unique Voter Registration Bus that is designed to attract more people — particularly younger voters — into the elections process. In a unique alliance, AC Transit and the County are setting out to register as many voters as possible — using a Voter Registration Bus with an eye-catching, "hip hop" design. The bus, believed to be the only one its kind in the nation, will travel...

A 10-year-old boy was among four Oakland youths who carried out a string of residential burglaries during the past month, stealing laptops, iPods and other electronic equipment, investigators say. The youths would travel into Alameda on bicycles during daylight hours and target properties where no one was home, making off with items that were easily carried in backpacks, according to police. The group includes two brothers, who are ages 10 and 15, and their 12-year-old sister. The third boy is 15 years old and their friend. Investigators did not disclose the names of the suspects because they are minors. When...

ALAMEDA, Calif.—Hundreds of students have walked out of their classes in Alameda in a protest over the state's proposed budget cuts. Students from Encinal High School marched off campus and straight to the school district's headquarters. Tuesday night, the district school board voted to cut $200,000 out of sports programs and to increase class sizes on some campuses to save money.

ALAMEDA — Three Oakland teenagers arrested in connection with the slaying of a 15-year-old girl at an Alameda park on Halloween will each face a murder charge, police said. The boys were taken into custody Tuesday morning after investigators served arrest and search warrants in at least two locations in Oakland, including a residence in the city's Laurel district. Weapons and ammunition were also seized during the searches, including a .22-caliber handgun that police said may have been the one used to kill Ichinkhorloo Bayarsaikhan. "We are still early into it, but we are confident that we have recovered the...

Alameda police have arrested three male juveniles in connection with the slaying of a 15-year-old girl on Halloween as she gathered with friends at the city's Washington Park. But it was not immeditaley clear whether one of the boys was the actual shooter. Ichinkhorloo Bayarsaikhan, who was a junior at Alameda High School, suffered a single gunshot wound to the back in what police said was an attempted robbery. She was pronounced dead a short time later at Highland Hospital in Oakland. The shooter was among a group of about six boys who confronted Bayarsaikhan and her friends, police said....

Like Cinderella before she met the fairy godmother, the tattered former naval air station in Alameda is still waiting for its transformation into an oasis of mixed-use development, wildlife preserve, sports complex and regional parkland. But the decade-old dream will take what officials are calling a historic step into reality Wednesday, when ground is broken on the first piece of the park component. Down will come a fence that has long blocked public access to the bay, and down will come signs declaring, "Restricted Area - Keep Out." An old residual trail along the formerly off-limits shoreline - now part...

PLEASANTON -- A federal judge has upheld Alameda County's ban on possessing guns on county property, rejecting a free-speech claim by former promoters of gun shows at the fairgrounds in Pleasanton. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins of San Francisco was dated March 31 but was not received by lawyers until Tuesday, as the nationwide debate over gun control was being rekindled by Monday's slaughter of 32 people by a gunman at Virginia Tech University. Donald Kilmer, lawyer for the gun show operators who challenged the ordinance when it was enacted in 1999, said they hadn't decided yet...

It was billed to be "A Nite of Lust, Libation and Laughter" that its producers say would have brought the kind of merriment to Alameda that's been happening for years in San Francisco with the Exotic Erotic Ball. But that was before Alameda city officials got wind of "Spring Shwing: An April Fool's Celebration," and what its producers called its "sexy hunks and hotties in a spicy seductive setting." The city denied a license for the March 31 event, prompting the producers on Monday to threaten a lawsuit. "Alameda certainly does have the reputation for being stodgy, if that's the...

Secret Service agents have questioned an Alameda man about a display in his front yard featuring a cardboard cutout of President Bush with a knife through his head. Michael McDonald said he was grilled for about 90 minutes by two agents who asked about his personal history and his political views. They also asked him to allow access to his medical records, he said. The cutout also shows painted blood running over the president's eyes and down the bridge of his nose. McDonald said the federal agents asked if he interpreted his work as a threat against the country's chief...

Some Democrats, breaking ranks from their leadership, today said the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in Iraq was a stunt to divert attention from an unpopular and hopeless war. "This is just to cover Bush's [rear] so he doesn't have to answer" for Iraqi civilians being killed by the U.S. military and his own sagging poll numbers, said Rep. Pete Stark, California Democrat. "Iraq is still a mess -- get out."

ALAMEDA — Police say they removed an unusually large amount of guns, including several assault weapons, from the streets last month. Of the 13 guns confiscated in March, many were discovered by patrol officers during routine traffic stops, Lt. David Boersma said. "We've had a dramatic increase in weapons violations during the past month," he said. A patrol officer making a routine traffic stop March 19 on Central Avenue discovered a Tech-9 machine pistol in the driver's waistband, Boersma said. The officer ordered the driver out of the car because he appeared fidgety and kept touching his waistband, Boersma said....

THE PRIEST'S heart was pounding in his chest. His hands were icy cold. He was nervous. More than usual. The pews were nearly full as they are most Sundays as he walked up the middle aisle of St. Joseph Basilica in Alameda to celebrate Mass. It was just after 9 a.m. Children squirmed and latecomers slid into their seats as the morning light poured in through the stained-glass images of Mary, Jesus, Joseph and the saints. Going through the ritualistic motions of Mass, the priest struggled in his mind with the decision he had made. It's the time, he thought....

County Slavery-Accountability Law Fails Supervisors who vote against plan want to focus on future, not what companies did in past By Michelle Maitre, STAFF WRITER Alameda County supervisors narrowly defeated a proposed law Tuesday that would have required companies doing business with the county to disclose whether they ever profited from slavery. The ordinance, authored by Supervisor Keith Carson, failed on a 3-2 vote. Supervisors Gail Steele, Scott Haggerty and Alice Lai-Bitker voted no, with Carson and Supervisor Nate Miley supporting the measure.

There were no winners on a youth rugby field this weekend. A Rohnert Park girls rugby coach and his brother could face criminal charges, possibly this week, for their roles in kicking Alameda girls rugby coach Craig Stewart in the head and punching stand-in referee Paul Berman in the face three times. Another Alameda assistant coach also sustained rib injuries.Seven others, possibly parents or spectators, also could face criminal charges, police said. The Northern California Rugby Football Union suspended all of the players and coaches in the Rohnert Park rugby programs, effective Monday. The victims, meanwhile, are not only gashed...

Hornet looking for money to stay afloat Power could be shut off Monday, eviction may follow - Janine DeFao, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, May 8, 2005 The historic aircraft carrier Hornet, docked in Alameda, is in danger of having its electricity cut off Monday and could face eviction from its 10-year home at the former Alameda Naval Air Station. While the nonprofit organization that has operated a museum on the craft for six years has struggled financially from the start, it is now facing "a perfect storm" of events that could doom the attraction, Scott Armanini, CEO of Friends of...

BERKELEY, Calif. - A mental health counselor allegedly involved in the throat slashing of a 75-year-old woman is being sought on an accessory to attempted murder charge, police said. Hamaseh Kianfar, 30, of San Rafael, is on paid administrative leave from a part-time job at the guidance center at San Leandro's juvenile hall. She apparently did not call police to report the attack allegedly committed by a 16-year-old Oakland girl, authorities said. Berkeley police said Kianfar had not been arrested by Wednesday afternoon. The attack took place at dusk March 16, when two females approached the victim as she and...

New to the Alameda County Board of Education, Dennis Chaconas challenged Superintendent Sheila Jordan's scheduled raise but was rebuffed Tuesday night by a legal opinion claiming her salary was set in stone. In 2002, the previous set of board members voted to give Jordan a compensation package including a $60,000 raise and $13,125 increase in benefits by January 2006 — a 21 percent increase the first year and a combined 35 percent increase over the next three years. On Tuesday, Chaconas, the former superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District, made a motion to freeze the scheduled increase in January....