Free Republic

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Protesters are causing major traffic issues across the Bay Area, including in Oakland and on the Golden Gate Bridge, as part of a worldwide economic blockade in solidarity with Palestine. The first protest Monday morning happened on northbound I-880 in Oakland at 5th Ave., where Protesters brought barrels filled with concrete onto the highway and chained themselves to the barrels. Law enforcement had to cut through the barrels before they could arrest the protesters. Only one lane has been opened. Southbound I-880 has also closed as hundreds of protesters made their way onto the highway with...

The Athletics, as part of their efforts to relocate to Las Vegas in time for the 2028 season, will play their home games for the 2025-27 seasons at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, California, the team announced on Thursday. The deal includes an option for a fourth season. The A's lease with the City of Oakland is set to expire at the end of this season, yet the A's rejected a five-year extension on the lease of Oakland Coliseum. That, plus an apparent desire to retain as much of their local broadcasting revenue as possible (a factor that my have...

In 2023, Oakland, California was the site of 14,554 motor vehicle thefts, an all-time high for the city. With increases in burglaries and robberies as well, violent and property crimes are higher in Oakland than they have been since the early 1990s.The California city of Oakland has approved a plan to install 480 surveillance cameras equipped with automatic license plate readers in an effort to fight rising crime in the city. Most of the cameras, 290, will be deployed inside the city while the remaining 180 will be placed on freeways. The cameras will provide law enforcement with the ability...

Several neighborhoods in San Francisco and Oakland had the most postal worker robberies in California in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Postal Service. According to the data analyzed by ABC7, about 61% of the 145 reported postal robberies across the state last year happened in the Bay Area. Robberies of postal carriers and drivers have increased across the country in recent years. Thieves, often armed with guns or other weapons, have stolen mail carriers’ master keys to gain access to large groups of mailboxes. The robberies have become an increasing concern since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic...

Four of Oakland’s biggest employers are funding a $10 million security plan for the downtown area amid growing crime concerns. Blue Shield of California, The Clorox Company, Kaiser Permanente and PG&E, all headquartered in Oakland, announced Thursday in a joint news release that they're working together on the program. It includes an increased security presence downtown, safety training for employees and subsidized transportation and escorts for workers walking in the area. In the district that includes downtown Oakland, violent crime increased by 49% between 2022 and 2023, according to statistics from the Oakland Police Department. Robberies and aggravated assaults also...

OAKLAND, Calif. - Runaway graffiti, sometimes called urban art, has often been cited as a major sign of urban decay and disrespect for private and public property. While there are rules against graffiti, enforcing it sometimes causes more trouble than it might be worth.

Oakland, California, is threatening to punish this victim of crime, instead of punishing the serial criminals who keep targeting him again and again and again: https://ktvu.com/news/102-year-old-oakland-man-ordered-to-clean-up-graffiti-on-fence-or-pay-thousands #OaklandCA #Oakland #Woke #News #Politics #Democrats #Liberals #VictorSilvaSr #VictorSilva

Oakland City Council approved funding to hire more tow companies and use the state DOT’s vacant lots.Oakland, California is struggling to deal with a deluge of abandoned vehicles across the city. According to the Oakland Department of Transportation, 13,856 cars were reported abandoned over a six-month period in 2023. The city ran out of space in its storage lots and is renting even more room to hold the excess. In total, Oakland is spending $1 million on storage. Anecdotally, car theft is the root of this problem. ABC7 Bay Area reports the Oakland Police Department will not respond to...

For years now, Oakland has been battling an onslaught of burned, stripped and abandoned vehicles that have made certain parts of the city feel like a scene from a John Carpenter sci-fi epic — and new data presented at an Oakland Public Works and Transportation Committee meeting on March 12 indicates that this pervasive issue is only getting worse. The city received more than 11,000 requests to clear out abandoned vehicles from June 1 to Nov. 30, 2023, which was a “staggering increase,” according to Michael Ford, parking and mobility manager at Oakland’s Department of Transportation, who spoke during the...

In-N-Out Burger will go ahead with plans to close its Oakland restaurant this weekend, the Irvine-based fast food chain confirmed in an email Thursday. The drive-thru’s last day will be Sunday, March 24, as the company announced in late January, citing crime in the area as endangering customers and employees. Statistics show the crime situation is starting to improve, city leaders have said recently. The announcement made national news In-N-Out’s “first time ever” permanent closure, as CNN put it. In-N-Out was founded in Baldwin Park in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder and in the following 75 years grew to...

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao are both defending their cities amid a surge in crime that has caused a backlash with business owners and local residents. Bowser told Axios in an interview that while Washington "had a tough year last year" in terms of crime, she still urged onlookers not to be harsh on the nation's capital. "Don't be so down on DC," Bowser told the outlet, despite homicides having jumped up 36% and carjackings having almost doubled last year, "when many other major cities saw declines in violent crime." Bowser pointed to crime data...

Oakland police see rise in smash-and-grab suspects targeting people sitting in their cars

aco Bell customers can no longer dine inside multiple Oakland locations. KRON4 visited two Taco Bell restaurants on Sunday and confirmed the dining rooms at two locations, 3535 35th Ave. and 630 Hegenberger Road, have been shut down. KRON4 asked one Taco Bell employee in Oakland why the dining room is now closed. “It’s closed because some people sometimes make trouble,” he said. One customer on foot appears to try and order from the Taco Bell drive-thru. That now seems to be the only way vehicle-less customers can place an order at these locations

Oakland's district attorney has vowed to fight against the 'hatred and racism' as she faces a possible recall vote after just 14 months in charge. Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is under pressure over the soaring levels of crime in the dying Bay Area city. But she claims the campaign against her is being 'financed by billionaires who have no interest in public safety', according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 'I plan to push back against the hatred and racism that they have brought to Alameda County,' Price said on Friday following a panel with other county prosecutors at...

In the heart of Oakland, where rising crime rates are turning the city into a battleground, there’s a curious twist in the tale. While law enforcement struggles to keep up with surging robberies, burglaries, and motor vehicle theft, Oakland is channeling resources into an unexpected venture – recycling inspectors. In a recent initiative, Oakland workers hit the streets to inspect trash cans, ensuring residents adhere to the meticulous sorting required by SB 1383, California’s short-lived climate pollution reduction act. The law mandates three-streamed sorting for trash, compost, and recycling. Rebecca Parnes, a senior recycling specialist with the City of Oakland,...

Rep. Barbara Lee delivered election night remarks before any results dropped. Lee, who was expected to fall short in the race for California’s Senate seat, emotionally greeted phone bank volunteers at her campaign headquarters in downtown Oakland. She also passed a baton — literally and figuratively — to Lateefah Simon, her chosen successor to replace her in the House. “There is a woman who has inspired millions of women around the world, millions of women who decided to pull up our own table, our own chairs,” Simon said as the two women wiped away tears. Lee, a three-decade veteran of...

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is deploying the state police to target growing crime in Oakland, California, according to a Tuesday press release. Violent incidents rose by 21% from 2022 to 2023 with robberies and burglaries jumping 38% and 23%, respectively, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. As a result, Newsom said that 120 California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers were going to be sent to Oakland and the surrounding area to “restore a sense of safety,” according to the press release. “As crime rates across California decrease — including right across the Bay in San Francisco — Oakland is seeing the...

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman isn't exactly extending a warm embrace to the Oakland Athletics, who plan to build a $1.5 billion stadium in her city. In fact, Goodman said the team's stadium plan "does not make sense" and that A's ownership should go back to the drawing board and pitch a new plan in the Bay Area. "I personally think [the A's have] got to figure out a way to stay in Oakland to make their dream come true," Goodman told the Front Office Sports Today podcast, which was released Tuesday.

This Isn’t A Third World Country, An Apocalypse Didn’t Happen, A Nuclear Warhead Didn’t Detonate…. This Is Democrat Run Oakland, California “Of all the bad places I've been to in the United States, I don't know if I've ever been to a city that's as vastly rundown, abandoned, and out of control as Oakland, California. This is the side of town where most of the homeless camps are located. Some look like something you'd see in Haiti, lean to shacks made of recovered junk that serve as 4 walls and a roof but that's just about it. Other areas just...

Denny's has closed its only restaurant in Oakland, California because of concerns about customer and staff safety. The announcement came just over a week after cult West Coast burger chain In-N-Out Burger said that it will close its Oakland restaurant in March. COO Denny Warnick attributed to the "frequency and severity" of crimes experienced by its customers and staff. The company said that these included car break-ins, property damage, theft, and armed robberies. This will be the first time In-N-Out has ever had to close a restaurant. The Denny's and In-N-Out restaurants are located just under a mile from each...