Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums Becomes City's 48th Mayor - "I challenge all of Oakland to see itself in larger terms"

Dellums promises Oakland revival
By Heather MacDonald
MEDIANEWS STAFF

OAKLAND - With the hopes and expectations of a city riding on his shoulders, Mayor Ron Dellums publicly took the oath of office Monday, becoming Oakland's 48th mayor.

In a fiery and eloquent speech, Dellums pledged to end the violence that has long plagued Oakland, limited the city's progress and stained its reputation.

"Let us unite to bring peace to the streets of Oakland," Dellums said, bringing the standing-room only crowd at the historic Paramount Theatre to their feet. "Peace is about justice, and we have a responsibility to bring justice to the streets of Oakland."

Dellums, 71, reiterated his pledge to turn Oakland into a model city by eradicating poverty and establishing the right of every citizen to a healthy life, including access to health care and freedom from crime and drugs.

"I challenge all of Oakland to see itself in larger terms," Dellums said, adding the city's economy must thrive for his vision to take root.

Dellums acknowledged his goals are lofty, and pledged to give Oakland his very best -- saying he knows no other way.

"We will find the money," said Dellums, adding he would get on a plane to ask his former colleagues in Congress or Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates for help if necessary.

Without notes, Dellums spoke for about 20 minutes at the end of the three-hour ceremony that included an introduction from Congresswoman Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and a videotaped tribute from poet Maya Angelou.

"Let us have the audacity to say to the nation and the world: This is how it must be done," Dellums said.

With those words, the mayor launched a week-long celebration that stretched into Monday night with a black-tie gala at Scott's Restaurant in Jack London Square.

The dozen scheduled events, including an evening of music and dance Wednesday night and hyphy-soul showcase Thursday night, are expected to cost $554,000, with corporate sponsorships footing much of the bill in return for a discreet mention in the invitation and signs at the parties.

Those contributions include $50,000 each from AT&T and Kaiser Permanente. Comcast, TV One, the Port of Oakland and HMS Host each gave $25,000, while Clorox, Safeway and Forest City Development gave $10,000, said Mike Healy, the mayor's spokesman.

The city spent between $40,000 and $45,000 on Monday's inauguration, which also featured a performance by the Oakland East Bay Symphony, said Karen Boyd, a spokeswoman for the city.

The inauguration was a homecoming of sorts for Dellums, a native of West Oakland and a graduate of Oakland Technical High School. Dellums represented the East Bay in Congress for 27 years. In 2005, he came out of retirement to run for mayor after 8,000 Oaklanders signed petitions urging him to return to public life.

At the start of his speech, Dellums thanked his wife, Cynthia, for her support, calling her the love of his life, and asked the crowd to give him a "swift kick" if he allows his marriage to suffer because of the demands of his job.

"My heart is very full at this moment," Dellums said.

As he did throughout his campaign, Dellums reached out to teenagers and young adults, reiterating his pledge to appoint young Oaklanders to each of the city's boards and commissions. The mayor also pledged to establish a "great collaboration" with the Oakland school district, saying public education is crucial to democracy.

"It's time for us to step up," Dellums said. "Most kids live and die by public schools."

Since his June election, Dellums has established 41 task forces designed to study all of the issues facing Oakland and to offer solutions.

Dellums said his first priority in office will be to implement the recommendation from the public safety task force to redefine and expand community policing while addressing the root causes of crime.

That's exactly what Pamela Scruggs, one of many Oaklanders who arrived at the Paramount more than an hour early to ensure she'd get a seat, wants Dellums to do.

"He needs to make Oakland a living zone, not a dying zone," Scruggs said.

While the audience bathed Dellums in adoration, he reminded them he is only one person.

"This is not about Ron Dellums," he said. "You just asked an old guy to come out of the comfort zone and play one more game."

Unlike his predecessor Jerry Brown, who offered a four-point plan in his inaugural address, Dellums did not list his priorities, saying that would be a "cop-out."

"We cannot afford the luxury of focusing on just four issues," Dellums said, adding he's prepared to be judged on those terms. "We must focus on all of the issues simultaneously."

Despite his work on the national and international stage as a fierce opponent of apartheid, the Vietnam War and the Reagan and Bush defense policies, Dellums said being mayor of Oakland will be his fiercest challenge.

"Being mayor is not about potholes and street signs," Dellums said. "If that's what you think, no wonder we've got serious problems. It's about quality of life."

Beverly Wilson, one of the first people to line up in a receiving line outside the Paramount to greet Dellums, said she isn't worried about Dellums meeting the huge expectations that mark the beginning of his tenure.

"He has given people hope," Wilson said. "Not hope he can do it, but hope that we can do it."

Black San Francisco State Ethnic Studies Prof Arrested By SF PD For Entering His Own Office!

This is an example of what people are talking about with respect to the higher than reasonable black arrest record in San Francisco.

San Francisco State professor Antwi Akom was arrested last night and placed in county jail for going into his campus office. He was released earlier this evening.

Many people are alleging the incident to be based on racial profiling.

“I think that [the officers] are racist pigs,” said Matthew Shenoda a lecturer the Ethnic Studies department, who has been talking to Akom.“It’s a really clear cut case of racial profiling.”

Campus police refused to comment on the incident.

While in jail, he spoke with numerous friends and colleagues in the Ethnic Studies Department to tell them what happened. Among them was Shenoda, his teaching assistant Ashley Moore, and Dean of Ethnic Studies Kenneth Monteiro. According to these friends, Akom came to campus around 10 p.m. Tuesday evening to pick up a book he needed for teaching his class.

When he arrived in the front of the Ethnic Studies building (which is where his office is located), he was approached by a security guard who asked him what he was doing here. Akom reportedly told the security guard he was a professor and he was simply going into his office. He then proceeded to go inside.

“When he came out, there was a white cop to meet him and told him to put his hands behind his back,” said Shenoda.

Akom said the unidentified campus police officer was called by the security guard while he was inside of his office getting the book. He said he asked the officer why he was getting arrested, but the officer had no answer.

“The officer didn’t tell him anything. It wasn’t until he was arrested that they told him he had assaulted a police officer,” said Moore, an SF State student.

The two began to argue and the officer then called two more police officers for backup. Moore said the three officers threw Akom to the ground and handcuffed him. During that process, one of them hit their face against his knee.

Akom is being charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, which are both felonies.

His bail was set at $51,000 and he was liable to be in jail for up to 72 hours. The San Francisco Police Department did not return calls for comment.

While Akom was getting the book out of his office, and later placed under arrest, his two small children were sleeping in the back of his car that was parked behind the Ethnic Studies Building.

Shenoda said Akom called him to come and pick up the children while he was being hauled to the police station.

“Nobody had checked on the kids. When I got there to pick them up they were crying,” said Shenoda said.

The Black Studies department held a gathering today to discuss what happened to the professor.

“Last night there was an altercation between one of our family members and a police officer on this campus,” said Kenneth Monteiro, the acting Dean of Ethnic Studies. He said the University wrote a letter urging the San Francisco Police Department to release Akom as soon as possible. The letter was signed by SF State Chief of Police Kimberly Wible.

“We’re all in support of Antwi getting out of prison,” said Dorthy Tsuruta, the chair of the Africana department, before he was released. “That’s my main concern right now. And then we’ve got to start doing some education on all the implication of the situation.”

The University President, Provost and Public Affairs office were not available for questioning.

The last time there was an incident of police brutality with racial allegations was when a 15-year-old African American boy was slammed to the ground by a San Francisco State police officers in 2004. The June Jordan High School for Equity student was on SF State's campus having lunch with his fellow classmates when the campus police assaulted him because they thought he had been involved in a previous conflict.

The officers slammed the student’s head into the pavement several times and then put him on his back to arrest him. The student was later found innocent and no charges were filed against him. The incident sparked a protest and walk out by the high school students and SF student against police brutality.

Akom is a tall, dark-skinned, African American male with long locks. The situation appears to hold a high degree of similarity to the previous issue of police misconduct.

“What’s interesting is that he is living proof of what we teach in ethnic studies,” said Shenoda. “At the end of the day you can have all the credentials in the world and it doesn’t matter.”

Moore thinks this is a blatent case of racism that is apparent in all aspects of our society.

“It’s obvious what happened,” she said. “He was a black man in a place he wasn’t “supposed to be.’”

San Francisco: 8 Percent Black But African Americans Dominate The SF Jail System; The Role Of Racism And Classism - SF Chronicle

HIGH BLACK ARREST RATE RAISES CALL FOR INQUIRY
Range of explanations offered by experts, officials for S.F.'s disparity with other cities
Susan Sward, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, December 17, 2006

San Francisco police arrest African Americans for serious crime at a much higher rate than officers in California's other biggest cities.

Black people in San Francisco are arrested for felonies at nearly twice the rate they are in Sacramento. They are arrested at twice the rate of black people in Fresno, three times the rate in San Jose, Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego, and four times the rate in Oakland.

The disparity between San Francisco's black felony arrest rates and the seven other largest cities' -- measured by the number of African Americans arrested per 1,000 black residents -- is so large that many experts and civic leaders who reviewed the numbers said they are "disturbing" and require an investigation.

The numbers prompt several questions, all of which basically boil down to this: Is the high arrest rate of African Americans because of the way the San Francisco Police Department does its policing, or because of criminal activity within the community?

Mayor Gavin Newsom and Police Chief Heather Fong said they do not think the department is going after African Americans in an unfair manner. They also said they were consulting experts to try to learn why the arrest numbers look the way they do.

Newsom said he found the numbers "outrageous'' but was not shocked by them because of the time he has spent attempting to tackle the root causes of poverty.

"There is no question in my mind that this deserves immediate attention and investigation, and I will be doing that,'' Newsom said. He said the investigation would be conducted by a University of South Florida criminologist, Lorie Fridell, who will "do aggressive data analysis'' of the arrest numbers and report back to him and Fong in about two months.

While Fong said the arrest numbers merit review, she suggested that the disparity exists in part because the perception that sometimes San Francisco is "soft on crime'' may draw criminals from out of the city who feel they can come here and "not be held accountable.''

Fong's staff said they hand-counted arrests made by the Tenderloin Task Force last year and found that more than 60 percent of the African Americans arrested were listed on booking cards as "no local" -- a term often applied to transients -- or gave addresses outside San Francisco. The department does not have similar data for other districts besides the Tenderloin, which police looked at because they believe many nonresidents are involved in drug dealing and other crimes there.

San Francisco officers arrest criminal suspects as they find them, not based on the color of their skin, Fong said.

"I don't think just by looking at the numbers, you can prove or disprove that there is any targeting,'' she said, adding that factors such as repeat offenders and out-of-town criminals influence the numbers.

Others who reviewed the numbers for The Chronicle found them startling.

"What is significant about these numbers is that they beg serious attention,'' said San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris. "These numbers are clearly based on a legitimate collection of data and are not based on emotional cries.''

Merrick Bobb, a nationally recognized expert in police practices, said the city must look harder to explain the numbers.

"The strongly disparate impact of San Francisco policing on African Americans begs for a convincing set of reasons based solidly on empirical fact,'' said Bobb, who heads a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles that advises departments nationwide.

"The SFPD, to date, has not persuasively explained what legitimate factors cause San Francisco to have felony arrest patterns so different'' from the state's other biggest cities, Bobb said.

Sheriff Michael Hennessey, who runs the city's jails and has tracked their racial composition for years, said his lockup population reflects the black arrest rate. "The disparity is just incredibly dramatic,'' he said. "If you are an adult white male, your chances of being in my jail are 1 in 365, and if you are an adult black male, your chances are 1 in 23.''

The Chronicle began examining the city's black felony arrest rate after its investigation of the department's use of force, published in February, found officers were arresting African Americans and reporting use of force on them at rates about five times greater than their presence in the city's population.

San Francisco police cited several factors they say contribute to African Americans accounting for about half of all felony arrests in the city, where they are less than 8 percent of the population. In 2005, 1 out of 3 arrests of black people involved narcotics.

Officers interviewed by The Chronicle said most of the dealers coming from out of town by BART or car to sell drugs -- primarily crack cocaine and sometimes methamphetamine -- are African Americans. Moreover, said Capt. Timothy Hettrich, head of the narcotics division, black drug dealers often sell out in the open on street corners, thus increasing their chances for arrest.

Fong also has said that some of the offenders are arrested time and again, thereby increasing the black arrest numbers.

Also, she said, the department has had to devote a lot of resources to combatting gangs of youths responsible for many of the city's black-on-black homicides. William Whitfield, an African American officer who has worked in the department for more than a decade, said factors such as out-of-town criminals do affect arrests.

"I've seen that with my own eyes -- I got a guy once with an automatic weapon around his neck on a shoestring coming off of BART,'' Whitfield said. "He had the weapon under his jacket, and I was buying dope undercover. I saw him walk up from BART, and when they moved in and arrested him and the crew he was working with, they found the weapon. He was an Oakland guy.''

Whitfield said many black criminals today quickly resort to violence and this occurs at a younger and younger age. People are "selling dope in the Sunset, don't get me wrong, but they aren't shooting each other over it, and they are out in the Bayview and the Fillmore. It's not all about dope and gangs, either, because you've got that everywhere. Sometimes a shooting is a personal beef, sometimes it's jealousy, sometimes it's as simple as, 'You were looking at my girlfriend.' ''

'Disturbing' numbers

Many experts acknowledge that the factors Fong and her officers cite may contribute to the city's black arrest rate. They also note that in cities throughout America, African Americans are arrested in numbers that exceed their presence in the population.

But they say the black arrest rate in San Francisco is so much higher than other California cities that the disparity cannot be explained completely by the factors cited by police.

"America's criminal justice system disproportionately affects African Americans, and San Francisco is no exception,'' said Bobb, the police practices expert. "What stands out in this city is the degree of disproportion, which is higher than what I've seen elsewhere on the West Coast.''

Joseph Marshall, a member of the San Francisco Police Commission and co-founder of the Omega Boys Club who has worked with at-risk youth for decades, said he knows the Police Department has made a concerted effort to combat black gang violence "to reduce the homicides, and those numbers are down.''

But he added: "These numbers on arrest rates are disturbing and scream for an explanation. Is there something going on within the SFPD that makes the numbers so different?''

James Bell, executive director of the San Francisco-based W. Haywood Burns Institute for Juvenile Justice Fairness and Equity, has been wrestling for years with Marshall's question. About 60 percent of juveniles detained in the city are black.

"If you are an intelligent, caring person in San Francisco, you should be disquieted that in a supposedly liberal city, black youths are so much in the overwhelming majority among the detainees,'' Bell said. "The numbers are just too disparate for anyone to credibly advance the 'you-do-the-crime, you-do-the-time' syndrome as an explanation. To believe these numbers, you'd have to believe that white kids in places like the Haight and the Sunset are basically doing no crime.''

Hettrich, who heads the narcotics division, says numbers don't convey what police confront.

"The real story is we go after the drugs, and we go where we have had complaints,'' Hettrich said in a ride-along interview where he pointed out drug dealing hot spots around the city and the high numbers of African Americans and Latinos making sales. "Those arrest numbers may indicate we are doing a good job in areas where we have had complaints.

"Color means nothing to us,'' Hettrich said. "We are prejudiced against dealers."

David Dockery, an African American officer who walks a beat in the predominantly black Hunters Point housing projects, said most citizens "want more of us out there. If I could stand in front of their houses all day long, that's what they'd like.''

Dockery and his African American partner, Officer Mike Robinson, said the department's crime chasing is "color blind.'' They also said what many officers believe -- that criminals are drawn to San Francisco because they feel that if caught, their punishment in the courts will be lighter than it would be in surrounding counties. "We know a guy with four cases pending,'' Robinson said. "Where does this stop?''

Answers, not speculation

San Francisco's high black arrest rate is not of recent origin: 20 years ago, San Francisco was making black felony arrests at a rate much higher than California's seven other largest cities, state Justice Department reports show. In 1986, for example, San Francisco's black felony arrest rate was almost 45 percent greater than Los Angeles' and almost 51 percent higher than Oakland's.

In the decades since then, San Francisco's black felony arrest rate has climbed by more than 35 percent while the other seven major California cities' rates have dropped -- often by a considerable amount. During those 20 years, Los Angeles' black felony arrest rate dropped by more than 36 percent and Oakland's declined by more than 52 percent.

When evaluating why San Francisco's black arrest numbers are so different from the other cities', Bobb said speculation is not productive.

"It is not helpful, in the absence of thorough research and hard evidence, for the SFPD merely to speculate as to possible reasons, just as it is unproductive for others to speculate that there must be police antipathy to African Americans," Bobb said.

A second review was conducted at The Chronicle's request by Samuel Walker, a criminal justice professor emeritus from the University of Nebraska, Omaha, who has consulted with the U.S. Justice Department on matters ranging from police use of force to questions of race-based civil rights violations by police agencies.

Walker concluded that San Francisco police are targeting black people in their law enforcement efforts. To him, the numbers indicate that "many law-abiding citizens" are confronted by officers "solely because of their skin color."

"No other factor than race could possibly explain the San Francisco arrest data given the fact that they are so far out of line compared with other departments,'' Walker said.

Two figures in San Francisco's criminal justice system expressed similar conclusions.

Public Defender Jeff Adachi said that he does not believe the department has a go-after-black-suspects plan, but he added that by focusing on heavily black neighborhoods plagued by crime and violence, police inevitably drive black arrest numbers up and often use those high numbers as proof they are in the right spots to catch the criminals.

"I believe that the San Francisco Police Department has focused its efforts, in terms of 'crime crackdowns,' in those neighborhoods where there is a high concentration of blacks -- the Western Addition, Tenderloin, Visitacion Valley, Potrero Hill, Ingleside Terrace and Bayview-Hunters Point,'' he said. "This has long been the trend since the crack cocaine epidemic, when task forces were formed to focus buy-bust operations in those neighborhoods.''

Sheriff Hennessey said the problem does not just lie with the police.

"I think this is a reflection of institutionalized racism: You are more likely to get arrested for the same act if you're black, you are more likely to be retained in jail for the same crime if you are black, and society is more likely to care less about your incarceration if you are black," Hennessey said.

Officers in the department said they go where the crime and violence is happening.

Mikail Ali and Toney Chaplin, African American inspectors in the gang task force, said police concentrate their efforts on areas where violence is occurring.

"African American youth are shooting each other at a rate far greater than other groups, so we try to get those kids on some charge if we can't get them on a homicide,'' Chaplin said. Ali added: "Social neglect by the community, government and business have caused environments populated predominantly by black people to be conducive to crime and violence, and law enforcement ends up having to deal with the bottom line -- young black kids killing one another at a disproportionate rate.''

The community perception

Chief Fong says officers are taught to treat all citizens equally. Police Academy recruits are given 52 hours of training -- more than twice the state requirement -- on discrimination and cultural diversity as it relates to African Americans, and other races and segments of society, including gays and lesbians, seniors and the homeless.

But in San Francisco's black neighborhoods, many believe police give them special attention.

At the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center -- a hub of activity for African American youths living in the Western Addition -- Executive Director George Smith says he is blunt with young people about what he believes they face.

"I tell young kids that you shouldn't break the law because this is a system so poised to arrest young African American males,'' Smith said.

Guy Hudson, who works two jobs as a city athletics coach and as a security guard, knows many of the kids in black neighborhoods all over town, and he said that many black people believe they often can "talk things over'' with police in San Francisco when that wouldn't work in Oakland, Santa Clara or Daly City.

Even so, Hudson says, it's a reality that police focus on black people in San Francisco. He recalls the time three officers stopped him in Hunters Point after he "drove down a hill a little fast'' and they emerged from their car "pointing guns at my head.''

Hudson, 42, said he asked them, "Out in the avenues, would you be jumping out of your car with an automatic machinegun?''

The police eventually let him go. Before they drove off, Hudson said, one of them told him that someone recently had fired shots at an officer on Harbor Road. Hudson said he responded: "That gives you the right to pull pistols on everyone in the community?''

Police Commissioner Marshall, who is African American, wrote a book, "Street Soldier," in which he described the deep-seated antipathy black people hold for police. "There's not a black person I know who doesn't see the police as an occupying force in the community. At the same time, though, I'm convinced that if black folks stopped blowing each other's brains out, they'd be in a much better position to deal with police issues.''

However, there are African Americans who approve of the way officers conduct themselves in their neighborhoods.

Al Harris, who lives in the Ingleside and works as an organizer for the Safety Network group, which is funded by the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, says police often have to confront a "pretty rough world -- you go into neighborhoods and you're hated. In some neighborhoods, it's instilled from when kids are little that the police are the enemy.''

"I think the police are doing a pretty good job,'' Harris added. "I know officers who do all kinds of good stuff for the kids, participating in community events, giving toys at Christmas, hundreds of turkeys at Thanksgiving.''

Asked about whether it appears that police are targeting black people for arrest, Harris said: "Definitely not. There's no need to target the African American kids. They're the ones out on the streets selling the drugs.''

Earlier study

The numbers revealing the high arrest rate of black people in the city are not the first statistical indication that African Americans get special police attention.

In 2002 the American Civil Liberties Union issued a report, "A Department in Denial: The San Francisco Police Department's Failure To Address Racial Profiling,'' which found black motorists were more than three times as likely to be searched as whites after a traffic stop.

That year San Francisco police arrested black people for felonies at the department's highest rate in the years reviewed by The Chronicle -- 171 for every 1,000 African Americans in the city's population.

The next year, the department adopted a new general order establishing its commitment to "unbiased policing'' and stating officers "must be able to articulate specific facts and circumstances that support reasonable suspicion or probable cause'' for detaining, stopping, arresting and searching citizens or seizing their property.

The black arrest rate began to drop. In 2003 it was 150 per 1,000, in 2004 it was 146, and in 2005 it was 145. Even in that last year, though, the rate was three times higher than Los Angeles, San Jose, Long Beach and San Diego and four times higher than Oakland.

Search for explanation

Looking at the 2000 U.S. census to try to find possible reasons for the arrest rate, The Chronicle found some similarities and some differences between San Francisco and the seven other cities.

Like black residents of those other cities, San Francisco African Americans' median household income lags considerably behind that of the city's total population, and their level of education is also typically years behind that of the total population.

Police Commissioner Marshall says answers that might seem at least part of the explanation -- such as poverty, lack of education and the flight of large numbers of middle-class black residents from the city in recent decades -- end up providing no real guidance, because those patterns are found in other cities where the arrest rates are far lower.

In two ways, though, San Francisco does stand out: During the 1990s, the city's African American population declined faster than in any other major U.S. city, dropping by 23 percent, according to 2000 census figures.

The black percentage of population also dropped in Oakland, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego. In Fresno, Long Beach and Sacramento, it rose somewhat. Today San Francisco, which is 7.8 percent African American, has the second smallest proportion of black people among the state's eight biggest cities. San Jose, with 3.5 percent, has the smallest, and Oakland, with almost 36 percent, has the largest.

A second difference involved unemployment numbers. While African Americans in all the cities had high unemployment numbers, only in San Francisco was their unemployment rate -- 6.2 percent -- more than double that of the rest of the population.

Need for investigation

Walker, the Nebraska criminal justice professor, said San Francisco's high black arrest rate should be investigated by the U.S. Justice Department and the state attorney general's office.

Fong said she did not feel the need for a state or U.S. Justice Department investigation of San Francisco's black felony arrest rate. Instead, she said she was consulting with outside experts and plans a review of department policies to see if changes are warranted.

She added that the department's efforts to analyze its arrest record are made difficult by the fact its record keeping system is being overhauled and she can't "go to a computer right now and pull up arrest data with all this information you have spoken about.''

Newsom said while he is convinced there is no "significant racial profiling in our department,'' he cannot "in good conscience defend the disparity'' between San Francisco and other cities' black arrest rates. Referring to the arrest numbers, he said, "On face value, they are outrageous.''

The mayor added that as he has worked to push programs tackling concentrated poverty in the city, such as a tax credit for working families, he has concluded "the issues of crime for me are overwhelmingly correlated with issues of poverty.''

Newsom added that Fridell, the University of South Florida associate professor of criminology selected by the city to review its arrest data, was picked in part because she has special expertise in the area of racial profiling.

One way or another, San Francisco has to discover why it is arresting black citizens at a higher rate than the other California cities, said Bobb, the Los Angeles police practices expert.

What is at stake is the concept of equal treatment under the law, he said.

"The Supreme Court has held that the Constitution prohibits selective enforcement of the law based on considerations such as race,'' Bobb said. "Courts across the country have ruled that using impermissible racial classifications in determining whom to stop, detain and search violates the equal protection clause.''

Walker, the law enforcement expert who has consulted for the Justice Department, says the San Francisco Police Department "should be looking at its own operation to see if there's anything it could be doing differently.''

The equal protection under law guarantee of the 14th Amendment is "the bedrock of all civil rights laws in the United States and a fundamental principle upon which our country is based,'' he said.

Jack Jacqua, who founded the Omega Boys Club with Marshall, said the policing of black people in San Francisco is a problem for the city and its leaders.

While he acknowledged that police have "the most dangerous, difficult job in America,'' he said they "most times treat poor kids from the hood differently than they do more affluent kids.''

Jacqua, who has devoted his life to working with at-risk youths, added that many black youths come from "a population where there is virtually no middle class because the middle class people can't afford to live here, and many of these youngsters end up in the criminal justice system.''

It works this way, Jacqua said: If a kid shoplifts in the Sunset District, police are probably going to call Mom and Dad and have them take their child home. "But if you shoplift downtown and your address is in the Bayview, then they will take you to jail.''

As for the black community, he said much of it "is a mess -- it's destroying itself. Not enough people are involved in standing up and challenging these youngsters to take responsibility for their lives. Where is the leadership?''

And what of the city's liberal political establishment that has reigned for many years?

"The bottom line," said Jacqua, "is that poor blacks are in the way of what this city wants to be, though the city won't admit it because 'we're liberal and believe in diversity.' But the city really doesn't want poor folks and especially poor black folks.''

VOICES: From double standards to police strategy to social factors, there's no tidy explanation

Heather Fong, San Francisco police chief: "I support the crime-fighting efforts of the officers of this department, who day after day, under challenging and perilous circumstances, work tirelessly to protect the people of San Francisco, and do so in an impartial manner."

Victoria Gray, social worker for the nonprofit Family Service Agency: "If you are out here black, selling drugs and your pockets full of drugs and you get busted and holler 'Racism!' -- that's not racism. ... Of course there's racism. This is America. But everything isn't linked to racism. ... You have to understand all our men want is a piece of the American pie, the American dream. I don't blame them for wanting some of the pie, but I blame them for how they go about it."

Damone Hale, member of the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Commission and an attorney who has represented many young African Americans: "You see officers whose talk is rude and disrespectful, and time and again the only distinguishing factors we could find is that the defendant is African American. It's consistent and this treatment is permitted by our society."

Arlene Ackerman, former San Francisco school superintendent now teaching at Columbia University's Teachers College in New York City: "I believe that race in San Francisco is the elephant in the room and people refuse to talk about it and if you bring it up, then you are the racist. I felt more uncomfortable as a black person in San Francisco than I have felt in any other city. ... Someone has to be courageous and step up and address the issue of race in the city, starting in the education system and moving through the criminal justice system.''

Delores Jones-Brown, a former prosecutor who is interim director of the Center on Race, Crime and Justice at the City University of New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice: "Typically when we see disproportionate arrest rates for African Americans or other minorities, it is because the police have focused their forces or hot-spot policing on areas with large minority populations. What is the harm of targeting? Innocent people who are unfortunate enough to live in economically depressed neighborhoods aren't given the same measure of constitutional rights as their more affluent counterparts: They are stopped and frisked, have their cars and persons searched even without permission -- simply by virtue of where they live. It's unacceptable."

William Whitfield, officer who joined the San Francisco Police Department in 1994: "If I had to put my finger on one thing, it's the homes. I look at the kids on the corners, and 9 times out of 10 there's no dad and maybe 7 times out of 10 there's no mom in their lives and they are being raised by an aunt or grandma. Kids aren't being raised as I was -- there's just not that accountability in the homes. If they had someone at home they knew they had to answer to, that would stop a whole lot of it.''

Tim Nichols, ex-San Francisco police officer, on the high black arrest rate: "It comes from the fact the majority of officers who want to take on criminals are in the Bayview and the Fillmore, which are heavily black. I don't believe it's racism. ... Officers have to pick and choose the severity of the crime they want to spend their time on, and officers who make a lot of arrests generally go after hard-core criminals." He also said black drug dealers are particularly visible: "How often do you see a group of whites standing on the street corner selling narcotics? Generally whites don't sell on the corner."

Sharen Hewitt, director of the Community Leadership Academy and Emergency Response project, which helps connect low-income clients with services, said when she has watched what happens on a Friday night on Union Street where the crowds are predominantly white, she finds "kids tearing up, fighting, smoking marijuana, drinking in the streets, guys being abusive to women, young men publicly urinating, and I don't see a whole lot of them being arrested. Some of these behaviors are developmentally appropriate, but I don't think African American young men get the luxury of having errors."

Peter Van Kleef At Cafe Van Kleef

peter, bryan, sugarbunni
Originally uploaded by cicamica_ali.

Ok, so if you've wondered who Peter Van Kleef is, that's him. The photo is from his restaurant / bar, or just bar now called Cafe Van Kleef. When it opened, Peter had good finger food!

Cindy and Sugarbunni At Cafe Van Kleef

cindy and sugarbunni
Originally uploaded by cicamica_ali.

I can't claim this photo, but if you're wondering who the blonde woman is she's Peter Van Kleef's wife and both run the now famous Cafe Van Kleef at 1621 Telegraph in downtown Oakland.

Oakland / SF Bay Area Street & Hip Hop Slang Reference Dictionary

This gem of an entry comes from swtazzguy over at MySpace. It's very extensive and includes sayings I've not heard before. It's perfect for advertisers looking for ideas on how to reach the Hip Hop generation. It's also good lingo for politicians. Note that Oakland is called "City of Dope."


151- Stands for 151 Bacardi, which is the amount of proof in it, also pronouced One-Five-One
415 - 415 is the area code for San Francisco. It roughly describes the physical area of San Francisco City. 415 used to be the area code for the Bay Area, but is now broken into several area codes. 415 is also the name of a now defunked group out of Oakland, featuring Richi Rich.
6-9 Village - The 69th street projects in East Oakland (Longwood Gardens).
707 - North bay
850 - 850 Bryant, San Francisco is the address for the San Francisco County Jail. It stands omniously in SOMA, and can be seen from the freeway to the Bay Bridge. Many San Francisco rappers refer to this building as 850.
925 - the Co Co county
3100 - Hardest street in West Oakland.
5150 - Crazy.

A-------------------------------------------------
A-1 Yola - Top notch cocaine.
AK-13 - Sureno.
AK-14 - Norteno.
Adam One- Popos code for the area of South Side San Jose which has the highest drug rate in the city
All gravity - All good.
All gravy - All good.
Archie Bunker - Bammer weed.

B -------------------------------------------------
B - Town - Berkeley, CA.
Backwood or Wood - kind of cigar used in blunt-making
Ballin' - Short for balling. i.e. Boss Baller.
Bama - Someone who does not know how to dress. For example, someone who wears a red shirt with bust up no name jeans
Bammer - Bad, Phony. Made infamous by RBL's classic "Don't Give Me No Bammer Weed."
Bangin' - Top notch female.
Barkin - Telling everybody about what you own.
Batch - A bitch (E-40 and B-Legit)
BD - Baby daddy.
Beezy - A b*tch, female.
Bendas - Girls who will love to bend open there legs for just about anyone.
B.F.O - Brother from Oakland.
B.G. - Bruno Gangstas.
Big Willie - Someone who has a big ego.
Blade - A sucka.
Bleezy - Blunt.
BM - Baby mama.
Bomb - weed
Bop or Bopa - Girl who will have sex with anyone.
Bopper - Hoe.
Bootie - Bad, phony. Made infamous by E-40 and the Click.
Bootie Crack Corn - Bad, phony.
Bootsie - Bad, phony. Made infamous by E-40 and the Click.
Boostin Mine - makin me feel good.
Boarderline - A corrner in San Fransico sunnydale
Boss - A hog ass ni**a . About his scratch and quick to check a batch.
Boss Baller - A real big baller
Boss Head - A Bitch dat gives head.
Box Chevy - Mali, Mob (caprice classic).
Bootch - A bitch (E-40 and B-Legit)
Bubble- Any luxury car with tha bubbled out eyes.
Bubbling - Rising up, coming up. Bubbling under.
The Burg - Stands for the city of Pittsburg, home to rappers such as the Mob Figaz, Laze, and Bobby Blake
Bluebird - Refering to something that is hassling or bothering you. It could refer to anything from the police to a nagging girlfriend.
breakin pockets- when a nigga be gettin hella money from hella hoes makin dem broke.
Breezy - Female, broad.
Broccoli - Marajuana, weed.
Burners - A cellular telephone that is being used illegally.
Bushrod - Area of North Oakland.
Buster - Describing a person that is fake or a phony. Someone who does not deserve respect.
Buster Brown - People that hang around when they're not wanted.
Buster Keaton - Describing a person that is fake or a phony. Someone who does not deserve respect.
Butch - Bitch ass ni**a.

C -------------------------------------------------
Cabbage - Money.
Cake - Cocaine.
Candy shop - A place in the projects where they sell drugs or guns.
C-Note - $100 bill
C-side - Central Richmond.
Cavi - Something really nice or good.
Captain Save-A-Hoe - Somebody who will do anything for women. A fool who will buy dinner, diamonds, pearls, clothing, etc because he thinks that he will get some play but always ends up alone.
Chaps - Hating on Nortenos.
Ca$h Flow Ca$tro Valley.
Chassie - Women's body.
Cheddar - Money.
Chevs - Chevys, Caprice, or Impalas
Chewy - Marijuana laced with cocaine.
Chip - A cell phone that is stolen and therefore used to make illegal and free phone calls.
Chong - marijuana laced with crack cocaine.
Choppin' it up - Having a conversation: talking
Chrome - Chrome or gold rims
City of Dope - Oakland, California
Clean - When somethin hella tight.
Co Co county - Contra Costa County
Colliflower - Marijuana.
Collie - Marijuana
Cock-Blockin' - Playa hatin'.
Contact - intoxication by second hand smoke.
Chop Suey- Chinese AK.
Come-up - Jackin' nice things or make money sellin' dope.
Crackin' - A fine female.
Crescents - Crescent Park (in tha Rich).
Crestside - Neighborhood in Vallejo.
Cuddie - Folks from Vallejo's Crestside District.
Cuddie Bang - Pineapple juice, gin, bacardi, lime ,and tanquery.
Cudies - Homies, folks, friends (Mac Mall)
Cup Caking - Spending time with a girl.
Cutie - old school cutlass.
Cuttys - Cutlass Supreme.
Cuzzo - A friend.

D -------------------------------------------------
Da Corns - The Acorn Projects.
Da maro - old and new Camaros.
Da mob - East Oakland residents that put money over b*tches.
Da mobie - An old car that you act crazy in.
Da Rich - Richmond, California.
Dank - Marajuana.
D-Boy- A drug dealer (Spice 1, Young 'D' Boyz)
'dale - Short for Sunnydale, public housing in the southern part of San Francisco.
DC - Daly City.
D-Dub-A - girl that's been around the block way too many times.
D-Game - The dope game.
Dime - Fine ass female, on a scale she's a 10.
Dipped in Butta sauce - Hella fitted, g'd up, creased up from tha feet up.
Dirt - Something bad.
Dirtymeda - Alameda, CA.
Dirty 30's - All 30th streets in West Oakland.
Doce em - Doing donuts.
Dogtown - The beginning of West Oakland.
The Dolph - A street in the Lakeview District of San Francisco where they sell cocain crack weed etc.
Don Jaun - Done deal (E.P.A.).
Dove - A $20 sack.
Dub - A 20 dollar sack of dosia.
Double Rock - Public housing across the street from Candlestick. The biggest concentration of killings in San Francisco in 1994 was at the 254-unit Alice Griffith Housing Development, known as Double Rock. Six occurred near Griffith and Fitzgerald. All of the Double Rock killings are unsolved, though many occurred in front of witnesses.
Dosia - Marijuana
Dozier - Marijuana.
Duck - ugly ugly ugly girl.

E -------------------------------------------------
Eastside O - East Oakland.
Elroys - Police.
EMB - East Mateo Ballin'.
EPA - East Palo Alto.
Errrreeeeee - A call in the ghetto
E.S.O - Eastside Oakland, 98th in Brookfield.
Evagreen, da green - wellknown mid part of east san jose wit crazy hoods as meadow fair, flamgain,etc.
The Evil Side - East Side San Jose
E.X,EX,E.C Street - Excelsior District in San Francisco, east of L.V, south of Mission District

F -------------------------------------------------
Faded - gettin drunk.
Fastlane - Ballin' outta control.
Fa' sheezy, Fasheezi - Meaning 'for sure'.
Faulties - A cellular telephone that is being used illegally.
Faulty - Fake.
Fashazel - Same as fasheezy.
Faydah - Marajuana, weed.
Feddie - Money.
Federal - To get respect from others.
Fedex- an individual that delivers quick mail (money).
Fillmoe - Fillmore District in San Francisco, also known as the Western Addition. Home of Rappin' 4-Tay, JT the Bigga Figga and the GLP, San Quinn, Seff the Gaffler, and Dre Dog.
Filthy Moe - Fillmore District in San Francisco. "Major factor fedex" (E40, Fed, 1995).
Flam Artist - Some one who tries to hard to be flammy (flamboyant).
Flamboastin' - Rising up, coming up.
Flammy - Short for flamboyant.
Flashin - Trippin off stupid shit.
Flight to Boston - Getting the head from a tight bezzy.
Flip it - Selling an item/items illegaly on the street.
Flossy - Showing off. Also flossin'
Flooda - Small area in E.P.A.
Flush - have a lot of cash to spend on the ladies.
Federal - Going Federal, going major. Describes making it.
Fogtown - Frisco.
Folded - A fool getting knocked out from behind.
Folkies, Folkers - Friends, homies.
The Folks - Friends, homies.
Fo sheedo - for reals.
Four fittaleeny - 415 San Francisco county.
Frisco - San Francisco.
Funktown - 10th street to the twomps (Oakland).

G -------------------------------------------------
Gaskill - Street in North Oakland.
G-Ride - A dope ass car
G-Town - The Gardens in EPA.
Gank, Gankin' - Fake drugs, no good drugs,faking; selling generic drugs
German chocolate cake - A Kilo of A-1 Yola.
Gerpin - Trippin off some perv, or a outty ass sitchiation.
the Gateway - nickname for Daly City (gateway to the peninsula).
Ghostown - Heartless area in West Oakland.
Gold feet - Chrome or gold rims
Gold ones - Gold teeth.
Gravy - good.
Grill - Gold teeth.
Grimmy - Crack laced joint.
Grinding - Selling drugs of any kind on the street.
Grip - Money.

H -------------------------------------------------
Half-zip - Half ounce.
Harbor Road - Main street through Hunter's Point projects.
Hay - Bammer weed.
Hayward - Haystack.
Hella - A lot
Heen - Hennesy.
Hemele - what we smoke on (SCO)
Henny - Hennesy
Highland - Projects on Highland St. off of Mission St.
High Sidin' - Looking past people. Ex., "Mobbin' pasy ya block high sidin'." (E.P.A.)
Hillside - Neighborhood in Vallejo. Home of E40 and the Click.
Hoe cake -Sucka, someone who does not have respect(E-40).
Hog - All about his money. Don't share with anyone but friends.
Hoo rider mark - a sucka, a bammer, "Ni**a you a hoo rider mark" : from HIEROGLYPHICS.
HP - Short for Hunter's Point. Home of Herm Lewis, 11/5, U.D.I.
Hubba - Crack cocaine.
Hubba Roc - Means a mark ass ni**a or a punk roc!
Hutch - Female.
Hurt - Ugly ass female/ni**a.
Hyphe - Hyper and Fly.

I -------------------------------------------------
Ice Cream Man - Crack dealer. See the Luniz's video "Playa Hata" with the Ice Cream truck. Also listen to Master P.
Indo - Marijuana.
In a cut or In the cuts - Hella far away. Like "boondocks" or "boonies."

J -------------------------------------------------
Jawmaica - Getting boss head.
janky - Lousy, phony.
Jay Bizzle - Headshotz, skully mouldaz, oral sex.
'jects - Something that is cheap. Short for projects
Jeepin' - Creepin' behind someones back.
Jones - House (E.P.A.).
Juicin' - Going out with a women for their money, not for their looks or body.
The Jungle - The Marin City housing projects where Tupac used to live, and home to 5150, and some fucked up Sheriffs.

K -------------------------------------------------
Keyed - High on marijuana or other drugs.
Kill - Bomb Ass Weed.
Kill-A-Hoe - Roughly describing the groups and sound of Hunter's Point groups 11/5, U.D.I., RBL, etc.
Killah - Alemany projects, San Francisco.
Killa Sharks- The people of San Jose
Killin' Fields - East Oakland is sometines refered to as the Killin' Fields because of the many random killings.
Krypt - Crack cocaine.

L -------------------------------------------------
Lex-luther- Lexus (car)
Lexi - Lexus.
Lightweight - As in "that shit is lightweight clean"...meaning like almost/kindof...or, "..ya i got lighweight faded off that." Or in a single word response, "...were u busy today?" "lightweight."

Like Whaaaaat!!!! - The call of Oakland.
Los Negros - Greeting.
Lower Bottoms - Area in West Oakland Past Acorn projects.
Low Low - Lowrider
LV - Short for the Lakeview area of San Francisco. Home of groups U.N.L.V. and Young Cellski.

M -------------------------------------------------
Mack-Murderer - Same as playa hater.
Macramento - Sacramento.
Mail - Money
Marinating - Chillin'
Mark - Sucka.
Mary Jane - Weed smoke.
Mashin' - Moving/driving quickly.
Mid Town - A set in E.P.A. (E.P.A.).
Miko - Mexicans.
Mini Boppa - A young girl who will have sex with anyone.
Mishone - MISSION DISTRICT. Home of the Nortenos.
MMC - Mateo Mobster Crew
m.o.b. money="" over="" bitches="" (oakland="">
Mob Heata - A bangin' ass thugged out beat
Moe - Short for the Fillmore.
M.O.H.-Mob of Hamos a samoan blood gang. Hamo means samoan.
Mop - Beat some fool down (Fillmoe).
Mouthpiece - The ability to speak a good game for whatever you need done.
Murda Dubs - East Oakland 20's (Dubs)
Murph - To choke a ni**a out. Ex: "That ni**a got murphed out!!"
My Nezzy - my nig - my nay-wear.

N -------------------------------------------------
Nade - Blunt laced with crack cocaine.
Narf or tha Nolia - North Richmond.
Nathan - Nothing.
New Frontier - How to ask your pahtnah to front you a eigth over the phone.
Nickle & Dime - 510
Nickel Shot - A five story public housing building in the Fillmore of San Francisco. Destroyed in the 1990s.
Nina - 9mm pistol.
Nilla - My ni**a
Nizzle - Ni**a
Nortenos - Gangbangers from Northern Cali ("Norte").
North Pole - North Oakland.
Notch - Good looking; top of the line; on a scale from 1 to 10, is a 10

O -------------------------------------------------
o.a.k. - Oakland.
Oakdale - projects in Hunters Point. Home of Cold World Hustlers, Dush Tray, and U.D.I.
Oaktown - Oakland.
OB - Over Bitches/Only Bosses.
O.C - "Outta Control" public housing projects in the Fillmore of San Francisco. Recently destroyed.
OH BOY! - It's crackin'.
On one - drunk / high (E.P.A.).
Off the Heezy - "Off the hook" something crazy.
Out the Frame - Unbelievable/crazy
Out the pockets - Getting out of hand.
Outta bounds - on the wrong side, in an unwanted, or uncomfortable area.

P -------------------------------------------------
Piece - A tight ass girl.
Pigeon - Fake, broke ass,layzie ass female.
Pixx - Peace; I'm outta here.
P-ride - Pimp ass car.
Pallay - Party
Paper - Cash, money, mail.
Peanut - Chump.
Perk, Perkulate, Perkulation - the act of getting intoxicated.
PH - Potrero Hill, San Francisco.
Pote - A Newport cigarette.
P-ride - Pimp ass car.
Pillow - fat sack of weed.
Penelopes- Police (E40)
Pervin- Intoxicated. Drunk.
Playa Hater - Somebody who hates a player because he/she has game. Someone who is jealous.
Ph'in - The act of playa hating.
The Point - Hunter's Point. Area in the southern part of the City.
Popos - The police.
Postin - Just chillin', waiting.
Product - T and A on a female.
Pullin' Licks - Robbin' somebody.
Pure Puruvian - Quality cocaine.

Q-------------------------------------------------
Q.Z. - Quarter ounce

R-------------------------------------------------
Remmy - A crack blunt.
Ridin on candy - Expensive, wet looking paint that is expensive
RIP - A female that gets around.
Ripper or rip-nut - a girl who has sex with anyone.
Robo Thug - E.P.A. Gangstas (Totally Insane) (E.P.A.).
Rodrigo - Marijuana.
Rollin Huneds - 100th street on down , in East Oakland.
Rope - Weed.
Roper - Weed.
Rogue-Dog - Homie,patna(what's up rogue)made in the bay, but frequently used by ni**as in EPA.
Ron Superior - 151 Bacardi.
Runner - Hoe, Trick, Slut, Ripper.
RWC - short for REDWOOD CITY in the Bay Area.

S-------------------------------------------------
San Francyco - San Francisco
San Fransicos - San Francisco
Sa Hob - People from Vallejo's Hillside District. aka homies and folks.
San Maghetto - San Mateo.
Saucy- something that is clean as hell, tight.
San Ho - San Jose.
Sa Hob- People from Vallejo's Hillside District.
San Lee- Short for San Leandro.
Savage - Crazy as fuck, ruthless.
Sav out - Gettin hyphy, going crazy, being a sav (savage)
"sch" - Adding "sch" to the beginning of a word. Example: 7/11 would be "schemevin eleven." Smoke = "Schmoke." (From San Jo)
Scrapper - Buick with the candy paint ridin dubs.
Scully - A girl that gives lots of oral sex.
SFG, SFGs - San Francisco Gangster(s); San Francisco Money.
SFM - San Francisco Mission
Shards - Crystal meth.
Shysti - Shady.
Sick Fitty - 650 the whole San Mateo county.
Sick Side - Southside San Jose.
Sideshow - The act of spinning your car real fast in an intersection (Oakland).
Skully Mouldaz - Headshots, headerz, oral sex.
Sco - Short for San Francisco
Scrilla - Money. Cash. Also Scrill. Gotta get my scrill on.
Scratch - Money
Scratch Paper- Money
Scrub - Triflin, layzie ass dude.
Scurvey (sheisty, shadey) - being greedy with your stuff or holding your shit back. To hog on it yourself
Sceolla.- A quater key of crack cocane
Scraps - Hating on surenos.
SFC - San Francisco City or Sucka Free City, depending on what kind of sucka you are.
"She ready" - A girl ready for sex.
Sherm - PCP
Side-bustin' - Getting involved in what doesn't concern you, why you side-bustin'.
Sideways - gone. "I'm outta here ."
Smerkish - When someone f-ed up. "Man He Being Hella Smerkish!"
Skirby - Actin scared.
Smashin' - Having Sex. Driving Fast.
Smebben - Mobbin'.
Smell me - To understand.
S.O.S.-Sons of Samoa a crip gang.
Souf City and Souf Sucka Free - South San Francisco.
Spacer - A girl who open her legs for any ni**a.
Speez-at(Speez-aught )- House, place.
Spittin' - Mackin on a honey.
Sprinkle- Tellin facts
Square - Punk ass ni**a.
Square Beezy - B*tch that aint got sh*t, doesnt got there game together
S.S.R. -Souf Syde Richmond.
Stacking - Making money.
Stunna - A tight ass girl.
Stunnas - Glasses (Mac Dre)
Sticky Gooey - Super chronic marijuana.
Super-sidin'- Crossin' yo ni**az for a bitch.
Su Side - South Vallejo.
The Stick - Candlestick, in San Francisco, home of the SF 49ers and Giants.
Swamps - Slang for the Sunnydale projects in the southern part of San Francisco.
Swolls - To be buff.
Sucka Free - Meaning San Francisco. Free from all you suckas.
Surenos - Surenos, Sur, Southerners, or the number 13 which stands for "M" referring to the Mexican Mafia.
Swangin it - Hittin dougnuts.
Sweet Swishers - Group of fine ass females.
Swiffin - Bullshit, making up stories, bluffing, making up stuff.
Swoop - Picking something up.

T -------------------------------------------------
The 5 - 50th street in East Oakland.
The function - Black Saturdays.
The nifty - A 5.0 mustang , seen a lot in Oakland.
The 50 - 5.0 mustang.
The pole - North Oakland.
The point - Hunters Point in San Francisco.
The Rich - Richmond.
The Tank- San Jose, Killafornia
The White House - The daly city police station.
The Town - Oakland.
The Vill - Area in E.P.A.
Thizz (thizzing)- High of the drug extasy (Mac Dre).
Takin Mine - gettin on my nerves. "Ni**a u takin mine."
Take Off - Beat somebody up.
Telly - hotel room.
Temples - Temple 1 or Temple 2 (in tha Rich).
Tenda - Someone who is hella fine.
Thick - Describing a women's body. A female who is more than a notch. Skinny, not fat.
Titan - Big balla
TL - Tenderloin district downtown.
To beat - To have sex.
Towerside - The Geneva Towers in San Francisco.
Transformer - Fake ass ni**a. Homothugs. or Drop Top Car.
Trench Town - San Bruno in the Bay Area.
Trees - weed.
Twamp - 20 dollar sack of weed
Twirk - A girl thats ready for sex.
Twiznamp - a fat pilow gram of bomb.
Twomps - The area in east Oakland from 20th-29th street.

U -------------------------------------------------
Une Town - Union City.
UNLV - Us Nortenos Love Violence.
UNLV - Underground niggaz living violently.
UNLV - Lakeview district, San Francisco.

V -------------------------------------------------
Vega - Garci y Vega is a brand of cigars used to roll marajuana. The West Coast version of Phillies Blunts.
Valley Joe - Vallejo. Home of E-40 and the Click.
VGs - The Valencia Gardens Housing Projects, aka the Valley of the Giant.
The Vil - Housing progects on 69th ave in East Oakland (Villa, 69 Vil)
V-Town - Vallejo. Home of E-40 and the Click, Mac Mall, Mac Dre, and Potna Duece.

W -------------------------------------------------
Walnut - Block in Oakland.
Wassuper - What's goin on? A greeting.
Westbound - from West Oakland.
"What it do" - The call when you want somebody to do a doughnut.
White Girl - cocaine. Ex. "Do u need that white girl?"
Weeble - Friend/peer.
Westpoint - A place in Hunter's Point.
Whoride - To act crazy , or clown somebody.
Wolfing - Yelling.
W.S.T. - West Side Tonga.

Y -------------------------------------------------
Yadadamean?!- you know what i mean?! (San Jose)
Yak- Cognac.
Yak Butter - pu**y,"hit that yak butter." Young Mo
Yayo - The Bay Area.
Yayo Cola - Crack.
Yoc town - Antioch.
Yokin' - Making your rock in the street.
Yola - Coke.
The Yae, Yay Area - The Bay Area

Z -------------------------------------------------
Zeez - Sleeping with a girl.
Zips - Ounces of any drug - 415 is the area code for San Francisco. It roughly describes the physical area of San Francisco City. 415 used to be the area code for the Bay Area, but is now broken into several area codes. 415 is also the name of a now defunked group out of Oakland, featuring Richi Rich.
6-9 Village - The 69th street projects in East Oakland (Longwood Gardens).
707 - North bay
850 - 850 Bryant, San Francisco is the address for the San Francisco County Jail. It stands omniously in SOMA, and can be seen from the freeway to the Bay Bridge. Many San Francisco rappers refer to this building as 850.
925 - the Co Co county
3100 - Hardest street in West Oakland.
5150 - Crazy.

A-------------------------------------------------
A-1 Yola - Top notch cocaine.
AK-13 - Sureno.
AK-14 - Norteno.
Adam One- Popos code for the area of South Side San Jose which has the highest drug rate in the city
All gravity - All good.
All gravy - All good.
Archie Bunker - Bammer weed.

B -------------------------------------------------
B - Town - Berkeley, CA.
Backwood or Wood - kind of cigar used in blunt-making
Ballin' - Short for balling. i.e. Boss Baller.
Bama - Someone who does not know how to dress. For example, someone who wears a red shirt with bust up no name jeans
Bammer - Bad, Phony. Made infamous by RBL's classic "Don't Give Me No Bammer Weed."
Bangin' - Top notch female.
Barkin - Telling everybody about what you own.
Batch - A bitch (E-40 and B-Legit)
BD - Baby daddy.
Beezy - A b*tch, female.
Bendas - Girls who will love to bend open there legs for just about anyone.
B.F.O - Brother from Oakland.
B.G. - Bruno Gangstas.
Big Willie - Someone who has a big ego.
Blade - A sucka.
Bleezy - Blunt.
BM - Baby mama.
Bomb - weed
Bop or Bopa - Girl who will have sex with anyone.
Bopper - Hoe.
Bootie - Bad, phony. Made infamous by E-40 and the Click.
Bootie Crack Corn - Bad, phony.
Bootsie - Bad, phony. Made infamous by E-40 and the Click.
Boostin Mine - makin me feel good.
Boarderline - A corrner in San Fransico sunnydale
Boss - A hog ass ni**a . About his scratch and quick to check a batch.
Boss Baller - A real big baller
Boss Head - A Bitch dat gives head.
Box Chevy - Mali, Mob (caprice classic).
Bootch - A bitch (E-40 and B-Legit)
Bubble- Any luxury car with tha bubbled out eyes.
Bubbling - Rising up, coming up. Bubbling under.
The Burg - Stands for the city of Pittsburg, home to rappers such as the Mob Figaz, Laze, and Bobby Blake
Bluebird - Refering to something that is hassling or bothering you. It could refer to anything from the police to a nagging girlfriend.
breakin pockets- when a nigga be gettin hella money from hella hoes makin dem broke.
Breezy - Female, broad.
Broccoli - Marajuana, weed.
Burners - A cellular telephone that is being used illegally.
Bushrod - Area of North Oakland.
Buster - Describing a person that is fake or a phony. Someone who does not deserve respect.
Buster Brown - People that hang around when they're not wanted.
Buster Keaton - Describing a person that is fake or a phony. Someone who does not deserve respect.
Butch - Bitch ass ni**a.

C -------------------------------------------------
Cabbage - Money.
Cake - Cocaine.
Candy shop - A place in the projects where they sell drugs or guns.
C-Note - $100 bill
C-side - Central Richmond.
Cavi - Something really nice or good.
Captain Save-A-Hoe - Somebody who will do anything for women. A fool who will buy dinner, diamonds, pearls, clothing, etc because he thinks that he will get some play but always ends up alone.
Chaps - Hating on Nortenos.
Ca$h Flow Ca$tro Valley.
Chassie - Women's body.
Cheddar - Money.
Chevs - Chevys, Caprice, or Impalas
Chewy - Marijuana laced with cocaine.
Chip - A cell phone that is stolen and therefore used to make illegal and free phone calls.
Chong - marijuana laced with crack cocaine.
Choppin' it up - Having a conversation: talking
Chrome - Chrome or gold rims
City of Dope - Oakland, California
Clean - When somethin hella tight.
Co Co county - Contra Costa County
Colliflower - Marijuana.
Collie - Marijuana
Cock-Blockin' - Playa hatin'.
Contact - intoxication by second hand smoke.
Chop Suey- Chinese AK.
Come-up - Jackin' nice things or make money sellin' dope.
Crackin' - A fine female.
Crescents - Crescent Park (in tha Rich).
Crestside - Neighborhood in Vallejo.
Cuddie - Folks from Vallejo's Crestside District.
Cuddie Bang - Pineapple juice, gin, bacardi, lime ,and tanquery.
Cudies - Homies, folks, friends (Mac Mall)
Cup Caking - Spending time with a girl.
Cutie - old school cutlass.
Cuttys - Cutlass Supreme.
Cuzzo - A friend.

D -------------------------------------------------
Da Corns - The Acorn Projects.
Da maro - old and new Camaros.
Da mob - East Oakland residents that put money over b*tches.
Da mobie - An old car that you act crazy in.
Da Rich - Richmond, California.
Dank - Marajuana.
D-Boy- A drug dealer (Spice 1, Young 'D' Boyz)
'dale - Short for Sunnydale, public housing in the southern part of San Francisco.
DC - Daly City.
D-Dub-A - girl that's been around the block way too many times.
D-Game - The dope game.
Dime - Fine ass female, on a scale she's a 10.
Dipped in Butta sauce - Hella fitted, g'd up, creased up from tha feet up.
Dirt - Something bad.
Dirtymeda - Alameda, CA.
Dirty 30's - All 30th streets in West Oakland.
Doce em - Doing donuts.
Dogtown - The beginning of West Oakland.
The Dolph - A street in the Lakeview District of San Francisco where they sell cocain crack weed etc.
Don Jaun - Done deal (E.P.A.).
Dove - A $20 sack.
Dub - A 20 dollar sack of dosia.
Double Rock - Public housing across the street from Candlestick. The biggest concentration of killings in San Francisco in 1994 was at the 254-unit Alice Griffith Housing Development, known as Double Rock. Six occurred near Griffith and Fitzgerald. All of the Double Rock killings are unsolved, though many occurred in front of witnesses.
Dosia - Marijuana
Dozier - Marijuana.
Duck - ugly ugly ugly girl.

E -------------------------------------------------
Eastside O - East Oakland.
Elroys - Police.
EMB - East Mateo Ballin'.
EPA - East Palo Alto.
Errrreeeeee - A call in the ghetto
E.S.O - Eastside Oakland, 98th in Brookfield.
Evagreen, da green - wellknown mid part of east san jose wit crazy hoods as meadow fair, flamgain,etc.
The Evil Side - East Side San Jose
E.X,EX,E.C Street - Excelsior District in San Francisco, east of L.V, south of Mission District

F -------------------------------------------------
Faded - gettin drunk.
Fastlane - Ballin' outta control.
Fa' sheezy, Fasheezi - Meaning 'for sure'.
Faulties - A cellular telephone that is being used illegally.
Faulty - Fake.
Fashazel - Same as fasheezy.
Faydah - Marajuana, weed.
Feddie - Money.
Federal - To get respect from others.
Fedex- an individual that delivers quick mail (money).
Fillmoe - Fillmore District in San Francisco, also known as the Western Addition. Home of Rappin' 4-Tay, JT the Bigga Figga and the GLP, San Quinn, Seff the Gaffler, and Dre Dog.
Filthy Moe - Fillmore District in San Francisco. "Major factor fedex" (E40, Fed, 1995).
Flam Artist - Some one who tries to hard to be flammy (flamboyant).
Flamboastin' - Rising up, coming up.
Flammy - Short for flamboyant.
Flashin - Trippin off stupid shit.
Flight to Boston - Getting the head from a tight bezzy.
Flip it - Selling an item/items illegaly on the street.
Flossy - Showing off. Also flossin'
Flooda - Small area in E.P.A.
Flush - have a lot of cash to spend on the ladies.
Federal - Going Federal, going major. Describes making it.
Fogtown - Frisco.
Folded - A fool getting knocked out from behind.
Folkies, Folkers - Friends, homies.
The Folks - Friends, homies.
Fo sheedo - for reals.
Four fittaleeny - 415 San Francisco county.
Frisco - San Francisco.
Funktown - 10th street to the twomps (Oakland).

G -------------------------------------------------
Gaskill - Street in North Oakland.
G-Ride - A dope ass car
G-Town - The Gardens in EPA.
Gank, Gankin' - Fake drugs, no good drugs,faking; selling generic drugs
German chocolate cake - A Kilo of A-1 Yola.
Gerpin - Trippin off some perv, or a outty ass sitchiation.
the Gateway - nickname for Daly City (gateway to the peninsula).
Ghostown - Heartless area in West Oakland.
Gold feet - Chrome or gold rims
Gold ones - Gold teeth.
Gravy - good.
Grill - Gold teeth.
Grimmy - Crack laced joint.
Grinding - Selling drugs of any kind on the street.
Grip - Money.

H -------------------------------------------------
Half-zip - Half ounce.
Harbor Road - Main street through Hunter's Point projects.
Hay - Bammer weed.
Hayward - Haystack.
Hella - A lot
Heen - Hennesy.
Hemele - what we smoke on (SCO)
Henny - Hennesy
Highland - Projects on Highland St. off of Mission St.
High Sidin' - Looking past people. Ex., "Mobbin' pasy ya block high sidin'." (E.P.A.)
Hillside - Neighborhood in Vallejo. Home of E40 and the Click.
Hoe cake -Sucka, someone who does not have respect(E-40).
Hog - All about his money. Don't share with anyone but friends.
Hoo rider mark - a sucka, a bammer, "Ni**a you a hoo rider mark" : from HIEROGLYPHICS.
HP - Short for Hunter's Point. Home of Herm Lewis, 11/5, U.D.I.
Hubba - Crack cocaine.
Hubba Roc - Means a mark ass ni**a or a punk roc!
Hutch - Female.
Hurt - Ugly ass female/ni**a.
Hyphe - Hyper and Fly.

I -------------------------------------------------
Ice Cream Man - Crack dealer. See the Luniz's video "Playa Hata" with the Ice Cream truck. Also listen to Master P.
Indo - Marijuana.
In a cut or In the cuts - Hella far away. Like "boondocks" or "boonies."

J -------------------------------------------------
Jawmaica - Getting boss head.
janky - Lousy, phony.
Jay Bizzle - Headshotz, skully mouldaz, oral sex.
'jects - Something that is cheap. Short for projects
Jeepin' - Creepin' behind someones back.
Jones - House (E.P.A.).
Juicin' - Going out with a women for their money, not for their looks or body.
The Jungle - The Marin City housing projects where Tupac used to live, and home to 5150, and some fucked up Sheriffs.

K -------------------------------------------------
Keyed - High on marijuana or other drugs.
Kill - Bomb Ass Weed.
Kill-A-Hoe - Roughly describing the groups and sound of Hunter's Point groups 11/5, U.D.I., RBL, etc.
Killah - Alemany projects, San Francisco.
Killa Sharks- The people of San Jose
Killin' Fields - East Oakland is sometines refered to as the Killin' Fields because of the many random killings.
Krypt - Crack cocaine.

L -------------------------------------------------
Lex-luther- Lexus (car)
Lexi - Lexus.
Lightweight - As in "that shit is lightweight clean"...meaning like almost/kindof...or, "..ya i got lighweight faded off that." Or in a single word response, "...were u busy today?" "lightweight."

Like Whaaaaat!!!! - The call of Oakland.
Los Negros - Greeting.
Lower Bottoms - Area in West Oakland Past Acorn projects.
Low Low - Lowrider
LV - Short for the Lakeview area of San Francisco. Home of groups U.N.L.V. and Young Cellski.

M -------------------------------------------------
Mack-Murderer - Same as playa hater.
Macramento - Sacramento.
Mail - Money
Marinating - Chillin'
Mark - Sucka.
Mary Jane - Weed smoke.
Mashin' - Moving/driving quickly.
Mid Town - A set in E.P.A. (E.P.A.).
Miko - Mexicans.
Mini Boppa - A young girl who will have sex with anyone.
Mishone - MISSION DISTRICT. Home of the Nortenos.
MMC - Mateo Mobster Crew
M.O.B. Money Over Bitches (Oakland).
Mob Heata - A bangin' ass thugged out beat
Moe - Short for the Fillmore.
M.O.H.-Mob of Hamos a samoan blood gang. Hamo means samoan.
Mop - Beat some fool down (Fillmoe).
Mouthpiece - The ability to speak a good game for whatever you need done.
Murda Dubs - East Oakland 20's (Dubs)
Murph - To choke a ni**a out. Ex: "That ni**a got murphed out!!"
My Nezzy - my nig - my nay-wear.

N -------------------------------------------------
Nade - Blunt laced with crack cocaine.
Narf or tha Nolia - North Richmond.
Nathan - Nothing.
New Frontier - How to ask your pahtnah to front you a eigth over the phone.
Nickle & Dime - 510
Nickel Shot - A five story public housing building in the Fillmore of San Francisco. Destroyed in the 1990s.
Nina - 9mm pistol.
Nilla - My ni**a
Nizzle - Ni**a
Nortenos - Gangbangers from Northern Cali ("Norte").
North Pole - North Oakland.
Notch - Good looking; top of the line; on a scale from 1 to 10, is a 10

O -------------------------------------------------
o.a.k. - Oakland.
Oakdale - projects in Hunters Point. Home of Cold World Hustlers, Dush Tray, and U.D.I.
Oaktown - Oakland.
OB - Over Bitches/Only Bosses.
O.C - "Outta Control" public housing projects in the Fillmore of San Francisco. Recently destroyed.
OH BOY! - It's crackin'.
On one - drunk / high (E.P.A.).
Off the Heezy - "Off the hook" something crazy.
Out the Frame - Unbelievable/crazy
Out the pockets - Getting out of hand.
Outta bounds - on the wrong side, in an unwanted, or uncomfortable area.

P -------------------------------------------------
Piece - A tight ass girl.
Pigeon - Fake, broke ass,layzie ass female.
Pixx - Peace; I'm outta here.
P-ride - Pimp ass car.
Pallay - Party
Paper - Cash, money, mail.
Peanut - Chump.
Perk, Perkulate, Perkulation - the act of getting intoxicated.
PH - Potrero Hill, San Francisco.
Pote - A Newport cigarette.
P-ride - Pimp ass car.
Pillow - fat sack of weed.
Penelopes- Police (E40)
Pervin- Intoxicated. Drunk.
Playa Hater - Somebody who hates a player because he/she has game. Someone who is jealous.
Ph'in - The act of playa hating.
The Point - Hunter's Point. Area in the southern part of the City.
Popos - The police.
Postin - Just chillin', waiting.
Product - T and A on a female.
Pullin' Licks - Robbin' somebody.
Pure Puruvian - Quality cocaine.

Q-------------------------------------------------
Q.Z. - Quarter ounce

R-------------------------------------------------
Remmy - A crack blunt.
Ridin on candy - Expensive, wet looking paint that is expensive
RIP - A female that gets around.
Ripper or rip-nut - a girl who has sex with anyone.
Robo Thug - E.P.A. Gangstas (Totally Insane) (E.P.A.).
Rodrigo - Marijuana.
Rollin Huneds - 100th street on down , in East Oakland.
Rope - Weed.
Roper - Weed.
Rogue-Dog - Homie,patna(what's up rogue)made in the bay, but frequently used by ni**as in EPA.
Ron Superior - 151 Bacardi.
Runner - Hoe, Trick, Slut, Ripper.
RWC - short for REDWOOD CITY in the Bay Area.

S-------------------------------------------------
San Francyco - San Francisco
San Fransicos - San Francisco
Sa Hob - People from Vallejo's Hillside District. aka homies and folks.
San Maghetto - San Mateo.
Saucy- something that is clean as hell, tight.
San Ho - San Jose.
Sa Hob- People from Vallejo's Hillside District.
San Lee- Short for San Leandro.
Savage - Crazy as fuck, ruthless.
Sav out - Gettin hyphy, going crazy, being a sav (savage)
"sch" - Adding "sch" to the beginning of a word. Example: 7/11 would be "schemevin eleven." Smoke = "Schmoke." (From San Jo)
Scrapper - Buick with the candy paint ridin dubs.
Scully - A girl that gives lots of oral sex.
SFG, SFGs - San Francisco Gangster(s); San Francisco Money.
SFM - San Francisco Mission
Shards - Crystal meth.
Shysti - Shady.
Sick Fitty - 650 the whole San Mateo county.
Sick Side - Southside San Jose.
Sideshow - The act of spinning your car real fast in an intersection (Oakland).
Skully Mouldaz - Headshots, headerz, oral sex.
Sco - Short for San Francisco
Scrilla - Money. Cash. Also Scrill. Gotta get my scrill on.
Scratch - Money
Scratch Paper- Money
Scrub - Triflin, layzie ass dude.
Scurvey (sheisty, shadey) - being greedy with your stuff or holding your shit back. To hog on it yourself
Sceolla.- A quater key of crack cocane
Scraps - Hating on surenos.
SFC - San Francisco City or Sucka Free City, depending on what kind of sucka you are.
"She ready" - A girl ready for sex.
Sherm - PCP
Side-bustin' - Getting involved in what doesn't concern you, why you side-bustin'.
Sideways - gone. "I'm outta here ."
Smerkish - When someone f-ed up. "Man He Being Hella Smerkish!"
Skirby - Actin scared.
Smashin' - Having Sex. Driving Fast.
Smebben - Mobbin'.
Smell me - To understand.
S.O.S.-Sons of Samoa a crip gang.
Souf City and Souf Sucka Free - South San Francisco.
Spacer - A girl who open her legs for any ni**a.
Speez-at(Speez-aught )- House, place.
Spittin' - Mackin on a honey.
Sprinkle- Tellin facts
Square - Punk ass ni**a.
Square Beezy - B*tch that aint got sh*t, doesnt got there game together
S.S.R. -Souf Syde Richmond.
Stacking - Making money.
Stunna - A tight ass girl.
Stunnas - Glasses (Mac Dre)
Sticky Gooey - Super chronic marijuana.
Super-sidin'- Crossin' yo ni**az for a bitch.
Su Side - South Vallejo.
The Stick - Candlestick, in San Francisco, home of the SF 49ers and Giants.
Swamps - Slang for the Sunnydale projects in the southern part of San Francisco.
Swolls - To be buff.
Sucka Free - Meaning San Francisco. Free from all you suckas.
Surenos - Surenos, Sur, Southerners, or the number 13 which stands for "M" referring to the Mexican Mafia.
Swangin it - Hittin dougnuts.
Sweet Swishers - Group of fine ass females.
Swiffin - Bullshit, making up stories, bluffing, making up stuff.
Swoop - Picking something up.

T -------------------------------------------------
The 5 - 50th street in East Oakland.
The function - Black Saturdays.
The nifty - A 5.0 mustang , seen a lot in Oakland.
The 50 - 5.0 mustang.
The pole - North Oakland.
The point - Hunters Point in San Francisco.
The Rich - Richmond.
The Tank- San Jose, Killafornia
The White House - The daly city police station.
The Town - Oakland.
The Vill - Area in E.P.A.
Thizz (thizzing)- High of the drug extasy (Mac Dre).
Takin Mine - gettin on my nerves. "Ni**a u takin mine."
Take Off - Beat somebody up.
Telly - hotel room.
Temples - Temple 1 or Temple 2 (in tha Rich).
Tenda - Someone who is hella fine.
Thick - Describing a women's body. A female who is more than a notch. Skinny, not fat.
Titan - Big balla
TL - Tenderloin district downtown.
To beat - To have sex.
Towerside - The Geneva Towers in San Francisco.
Transformer - Fake ass ni**a. Homothugs. or Drop Top Car.
Trench Town - San Bruno in the Bay Area.
Trees - weed.
Twamp - 20 dollar sack of weed
Twirk - A girl thats ready for sex.
Twiznamp - a fat pilow gram of bomb.
Twomps - The area in east Oakland from 20th-29th street.

U -------------------------------------------------
Une Town - Union City.
UNLV - Us Nortenos Love Violence.
UNLV - Underground niggaz living violently.
UNLV - Lakeview district, San Francisco.

V -------------------------------------------------
Vega - Garci y Vega is a brand of cigars used to roll marajuana. The West Coast version of Phillies Blunts.
Valley Joe - Vallejo. Home of E-40 and the Click.
VGs - The Valencia Gardens Housing Projects, aka the Valley of the Giant.
The Vil - Housing progects on 69th ave in East Oakland (Villa, 69 Vil)
V-Town - Vallejo. Home of E-40 and the Click, Mac Mall, Mac Dre, and Potna Duece.

W -------------------------------------------------
Walnut - Block in Oakland.
Wassuper - What's goin on? A greeting.
Westbound - from West Oakland.
"What it do" - The call when you want somebody to do a doughnut.
White Girl - cocaine. Ex. "Do u need that white girl?"
Weeble - Friend/peer.
Westpoint - A place in Hunter's Point.
Whoride - To act crazy , or clown somebody.
Wolfing - Yelling.
W.S.T. - West Side Tonga.

Y -------------------------------------------------
Yadadamean?!- you know what i mean?! (San Jose)
Yak- Cognac.
Yak Butter - pu**y,"hit that yak butter." Young Mo
Yayo - The Bay Area.
Yayo Cola - Crack.
Yoc town - Antioch.
Yokin' - Making your rock in the street.
Yola - Coke.
The Yae, Yay Area - The Bay Area

Z -------------------------------------------------
Zeez - Sleeping with a girl.
Zips - Ounces of any drug

SMG and Oakland Coliseum Look For Events Director

This position is listed as open on the SMG website as of the date of this blog post.

California - Director of Event Services - SMG McAfee Coliseum and Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA

POSITION: Director of Event Services
REPORTS TO: AGM
FLSA STATUS: Exempt


SMG, the leader in privately managed public assembly facilities has an excellent and immediate opening for a Director of Event Services at the McAfee Coliseum and Oakland Arena. The Director of Event Services controls and monitors the customer contact aspect and front-of-house division of the facility. Plans, monitors, directs and manages event coordination.


MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

Hires, trains and supervises event service staff.
Ensures successful event coordination activities by supervising and training Event Mangers. Plans, organizes and assigns all day-to-day work assignments for event coordinator.
Researches, reviews and recommends equipment, materials and supplies required in providing event services and planning.
Coordinates outside service needs with food and beverage contractor, decorator and other vendors.
Coordinates with marketing department all media entry into the building before, during or immediately following events.
Prepares Event Services departmental and estimated revenues.
Maintains the proper image and generates positive public relations with patrons and staff.
Works extended/irregular hours including nights, weekends and holidays, as needed.
Prepares schedules and assigns events to the Event Managers.
Meets with potential clients, advises them on the facility requirements, and negotiates sales of additional services.
Works with internal service partners to provide quality service to customers.
Serves as liaison for all facility clients to ensure highest level of customer service for all external service providers.
Represents the facility at tradeshows, community events, and industry meetings.
Manages meetings, tradeshows, conventions and conferences contracted at the facility.
Prepares annual budget for department.
Prepares reports of monthly event activities for submission to the General Manager and Board of Directors.
Develops policies and procedures for the Event Services Department and monitors their compliance.
Establishes new standards of customer service by working with departments in the facility.
Other duties may be assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.


EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:

B.S. in Management or related field
5 years Event Management experience in stadium or arena
1-3 years supervisory experience with a professional sports team desired
Exceptional communication skills both verbal and written
Excellent organizational, planning and problem-solving skills
Professional presentation, appearance and work ethic

SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

Exceptional communication skills both verbal and written
Excellent organizational, planning and problem-solving skills
Supervisory experience preferred
Professional presentation, appearance and work ethic

COMPUTER SKILLS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual should have some computer knowledge.


CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

No certifications are required.


OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

Ability to adjust work schedule to coincide with events
Ability to travel required

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This position may be exposed to adverse conditions. Physical requirements include the ability to communicate verbally, stand for extended periods of time, climb and descend stairs, and exposure to loud noise.


TO APPLY:

This position offers a competitive salary and benefit package. Resumes must include salary requirements for consideration and may be sent to:

Ericka Mitchell
McAfee Coliseum and Oakland Arena
7000 Coliseum Way
Oakland, CA 94621
FAX: 510-383-5701
EMAIL: hr@coliseum.com
No Phone Calls

SMG is an Equal Opportunity Employer

For more information, contact:
Ericka Mitchell
Fax: 510-383-5701
Email: hr@coliseum.com

Coliseum JPA Called Out For Parking Problems At Raiders Games

This blog post just sat there, but it's worth reading as it explains how upset Raider fans are over the parking problems down there at the Coliseum. This person names every Coliseum contact.

JPA MEETIING FRIDAY
GREAT DAY RAIDER NATION
Alrighty RAIDER NATION, with two months left and ticking for the current 10 year PSL lease to expire, it’s my belief that the problems that have arised are not the fault of us RAIDER fans. It’s the the gurantee the JPA made to the RAIDERS when they first moved back in 1995:”every game would be sold out”. We all know what the result has been.
But, if you the RAIDER FAN do not step in and start to make noise regarding PSLs, the parking fiasco, etc., the powers that be may think they can continue to function in the same fashion that has brought about these current problems. I have been hearing many RAIDERS fans lately complain about how they are being treated regarding parking. I, like you do not like what I am seeing with the parking but I am getting a little tired of my fellow RAIDER FANS complaining to me about what bothers them, but they do not take it any further then that. RAIDER FANS, you want to be pissed off, you want to complain and make a stink, I am going to tell you a few ways you can, so you do not just share this with me or your fellow RAIDERS fans. I am tired of hearing people complain and do not do shit about it, it’s getting old. Do something, direct your energy to the people on this e-mail down below.

All of us that go to every game see that the parking people- SMG, do not care about you, the RAIDERS fan. I was told by Parking lot Jack, great friend and the first RAIDERS fan at the arena side gate that every game this year they have directed him to a different spot. This past game he was directed to another location different from the week before. This guy is the first car at his gate and SMG shows Jack no respect. Many of you have seen that guy that drives that 4-wheel ATV, whatever the hell it is. He is a complete asshole to fans. You can be nice to him, say hi to him, smile at him and he does not care. No wonder they are having these problems. I feel bad for Jack because I had a run in with this guy a few years ago. Since that time he stays away from me, but I see how he still treats fans from a distance. It’s BS RAIDER FANS.
Also, last Sunday one of the parking attendants made it clear to us the reason why the parking functions in this fashion is because of his boss, and the attendant said it’s just going to get worse. His boss is Anthony Vale, the same yahoo who never took a meeting with me this past offseason after he said he would several times each time I was in town for a JPA meeting. The parking attendant that told us this info. last game was out of good faith and respect for us the RAIDERS fan. Another words, he does not agree with his bosses decision.
ANOTHER TID BIT
The JPA have had what they call “special meetings” this past month, outside of their regalurly scheduled meetings the second and 4th Friday of every month.
The had a special meeting yesterday as a matter of fact. According to the faxs I receive from the JPA the main purpose of their special meetings are to address the lawsuit between them and the RAIDERS. With that said, it’s just my gutt feeling that they are working on the new ticket arrangement since the clock is ticking. Hopefully we hear something from OFMA soon, in the form of a questionaire or marketing scheme.
THIS FRIDAY
This Friday 10/28/05, the JPA meeting starts at 8:30am, and all guest speakers go first. If you come and want to speak do not be late. Get to the coliseum before 8:30am, and be prepared with what you want to say. The doors to walk in are right across from the wall of fame.
VERY URGENT:
PLEASE EXCUSE MY CUSSING FELLOW RAIDER FANS BUT HERE IT IS PLAIN AND SIMPLE: IF YOU CAN’T ATTEND THESE JPA MEETINGS BECAUSE THEY CONFLICT WITH YOUR WORK SCHEDULES OR YOU LIVE ACROSS THE USA THEN GOD DAM IT, START CALLING THE JPA, E-MAIL THE JPA, BOMBARD THE JPA WITH YOUR GRIEF ABOUT THE CURRENT PSL SITUATION AND ASK THEM WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? ASK THEM WHEN YOU ARE YOUR FELLOW PSL HOLDERS GOING TO RECEIVE A QUESTIONAIRE/MARKETING SCHEME IN THE MAIL, REGARDING OUR OPINION FOR THE NEW ARRANGEMENT? ASK THEM WHY IS THIS PROCESS TAKING SO DAM LONG AND WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO ABOUT THE CURRENT PARKING SITUATION? WHY DO YOU ALLOW THESE PARKING ATTENDANTS TO TREAT PEOPLE LIKE SHIT?
COME ON RAIDER FANS, COME ON. MAKE A STINK, MAKE SOME FREAKING NOISE. YOU GUYS SHARE IT AM,ONGST YOURSELVES, BUT WHAT GOOD IS THAT GOING TO DO OTHER THEN VENTING, IF IT DOES NOT CHANGE THE PARKING? THE POWERS THAT BE HAVE NOT DID ANYTHING FOR YOU THE RAIDERS FAN TO MAKE YOU FEEL SPECIAL, MAKE YOU FEEL WELCOME FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD MONEY YOU SPEND? THIS IS BULL SHIT GUYS.
I GRIZ JONES, AM DOING EVERYTHING I CAN TO BETTER THE SITUATION FOR ALL OF US, FOR MONTHS NOW. RAIDER FANS, IF MORE OF US MAKE A PUSH WE MAY HAVE A CHANCE TO NIP THIS IN THE BUTT, BUT IT’S UP TO YOU. I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING I CAN, AND WILL CONTINUE TO. HELP IN THIS CAUSE FOLKS, FOR THIS IS JUST NOT MY CAUSE, IT AFFECTS ALL OF US.
A few numbers to start with, in making your presence felt are:
(510)569-2121. When you hear a message, press 0. When the receptionist answers ask for Ann Haley. You will either get Ann, her asst. Olga, or Ann’s voice mail. Ann’s e-mail address by the way is
AHaley@coliseum.com
She is the coliseum personel person that sits on the JPA. She is the one that makes the agenda’s that go out for each meeting. Start to let her know what you feel about why you have not heared anything about the PSLs that expire in 2 months and why the person in charge of parking, Anthony Vale, has done absolutely nothing to better the parking situation? It does not matter RAIDERS fan if your a PSL holder or not, IF YOU LIVE LOCAL OR ACROSS THE USA, START TO MAKE A STINK. HELP YOUR FELLOW RAIDERS FAN THAT DOES GO TO EVERY GAME.
Please call Ann or e-mail her. Fellow RAIDER fans they need to start hearing this right now from all of us.
Also, here are a few other numbers of JPA members you can contact that need to hear your opinion:
-Ignacio De LA Fuente. Oakland City Councilman and president of the JPA:
*Phone-(510)238-7005.
*Fax-(510)238-6910.
*E-mail-idelafuente@oaklandnet.com

-Larry Reid. City Council man of Oakland, and sits on the JPA.

*Phone-(510)238-7007.
*Fax-(510)238-6910.
*E-mail- Lreid@oaklandnet.com

-Gail Steele. Alameda county appointed official and Vice president of the JPA. You guys have seen Gails face in the SF Chronicle, that came out over a month ago with yours truly on the front page.
*Phone-(510)272-6692.
*Fax-(510)271-5115.

Start to bombard them folks and do not stop. We all have access to a phone, a fax, and or a computer. Lets use these devices to help our cause.
Thank you for your time,
from the Godfather of THE 66TH MOB, Griz Jones….
RAIDER NATION UNITE. SPREAD THE WORD TO ALL MESSAGE BOARDS AND POST THIS EVERYWHERE. HELP KEEP THIS GOING BY REMINDING YOUR FELLOW RAIDER FANS ABOUT THIS SITUATION…

Dan Boggan Jr. Mayor Dellums Chief Of Staff; Victor Ochoa Is Deputy Chief

Old news, but still worth posting at any rate.

Ending weeks of speculation, Mayor Ron Dellums on Friday named his senior staff, saying they had the experience necessary to help him turn Oakland into a model city.

Dellums’ chief of staff will be Dan Boggan Jr., a former Berkeley city manager and University of California, Berkeley administrator who has long been active in a number of Alameda County organizations.

Boggan will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the office and for coordinating with City Administrator Deborah Edgerly, who said Dellums has asked her to stay on.

Victor Ochoa, an Oakland attorney who was part of Latinos for Dellums during the mayoral campaign, will serve as deputy chief of staff for public safety and economic development. He will also work with City Attorney John Russo.

Michele R. Brown, who worked in the Labor Department during President Clinton’s administration and for the Democratic National Committee, will be deputy chief of staff for constituent services and education.

Dan Lindheim, who helped run Dellums’ transition into office, has been tapped as director of budget and policy. Formerly a senior economist at the World Bank, Lindheim also served as counsel to Dellums while he was in Congress.

Karen Y. Stevenson will be director of communications. The owner of Core Communications, a local public relations firm, Stevenson began her career as a television producer for KPIX-TV in San Francisco.

Mike Healy, who served as Dellums’ spokesman during the campaign, will be the interim press secretary. Before retiring two years ago, Healy was the chief spokesman for BART for 30 years.

Additional appointments are expected during the next few weeks.