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More at Inside Bay Area : “OAKLAND — In the wake of the shooting deaths of four police officers, African-American leaders from around the city gathered Wednesday morning for a closed-door meeting to discuss issues facing the black community. They said the killing by Lovelle Mixon, a 26-year-old fugitive parolee, was the tipping point for black clergy, civic leaders and police to air their concerns and create an action plan to address youth violence. The slayings also provide a lens to look more closely at existing rehabilitation and re-entry programs for ex-offenders and parolees, they said. "We are saddened and in shock," said Raymond Lankford, a pastor and founder of Healthy Oakland, a community organization that promotes nonviolence. "Words can't express what we feel."”

Oakland Police Officers  Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, and Sgts. Ervin Romans, 43, and Daniel Sakai, 35, members of the SWAT team and motorcycle officer, John Hege, 41, who is in grave condition, were all shot in the line of duty Saturday.  Dunakin, Romans, and Sakai are dead.  This is what Oakland Police talk about.   This is why police take the precausions they do.  It's the heart of what we all fear, both the officers and the people of Oakland.  My heart and tears go out to the slain officers who were serving all of us.  And it's a stark reminder of what I said just two days ago on Christina Marie's show "CrossTalk San Francisco": our society is more dangerous now than ever.   It's not just the police shooting.  It's the muggings and threats that impact employees at the University of California Office of The President in downtown Oakland.  These incidents are so frequent of late, that U.C.  officials are strongly considering leaving their Oakland headq

I thought there wasn't going to be a bail set, but now I'm interested in why this turned to a bail hearing. OAKLAND TRIBUNE - OAKLAND— Bail for former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle, accused of murdering a 22-year-old Hayward man while on duty early New Year's Day, was set at $3 million Friday by an Alameda County judge who said Mehserle was both a danger to society and a flight risk. Noting that the crime Mehserle is accused of is serious and the officer's account of the events that led to Oscar Grant's death seems to contain contradictions, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson said he was forced to set bail according to state law. However, Jacobson ruled that the bail amount is high enough to ensure that Mehserle will not skip town if his parents are somehow able to find $3 million to free their son

In a shocking turn of events, it was reported by KTVU that BART Officer Johannes Mehserle, who was the central focus as the cop who shot 22-year-old Oscar Grant in the back on New Year's Day morning, was arrested in Nevada.   This is a dramatically fast development, since it was reported that Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff wasn't expect to take action until this Friday at the earliest and BART spokesperson Linton Johnson asked for everyone to let the process move forward.   Here's my video report with more below: Whatever the case, the incident has attracted every law enforcement official from California Attorney General Jerry Brown, to the Department of Justice on Monday.   My bet is the investigative report BART Chief Gary Gee turned in to Orloff had something to do with this lightening fast action.  But also Officer Mehserle himself essentially wrote this ending when he refused to give a statement, "taking the fifth" regarding why he s

On Monday, Oakland Developer and friend Phil Tagami, who you can find out more about with a click here or to the right where his photo is, was on KQED's Forum on Monday.  It was an outstanding peformance, although Phil can be a bit combative at times, but that's Phil. What's most important is he was able to talk about how Oakland can achieve a possible future as a great city, and how people can and should get involved in the process.  You can hear the show below:

More at SFGate.com : “A man was found stabbed to death in downtown Oakland, police said today. Nemekhbayer Gaitav, 42, was found inside an apartment on the 1400 block of Jackson Street near Lake Merritt about 10 p.m. Monday, authorities said. He had been stabbed and was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have been made.”