Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

The Oakland Tribune article on the possibility of a shared football stadium between the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers is certainly exciting news, but lost in the hope that the Raiders get a new stadium - 49ers or not - is any attention to the process behind getting to that point. In this case, on Friday February 19th the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority is considering a proposal from CSL International, an event planning and stadium development consulting firm to write a feasibility study of a stadium for the Oakland Raiders. Great, but where's the competitive bid for the consultant? And what about minority involvement in the study's development? Now that the Oakland Raiders have finally succeeded in getting the City of Oakland to see that it needs a new stadium, it's important to make sure the Oakland Coliseum Authority doesn't screw it up. Where public monies are used, sole-source consultant contracts are frowned on and have been fo...

Draeger Construction with Zennie62 launch an initiative called Draeger Construction FBI Haiti Program for education on the need for quake-safe construction worldwide. This video from Marc Zboch (not affiliated with Draeger) shows how Haiti buildings were built and why so much quake damage happened:

On the matter of retaining the Oakland A's in Oakland, an email was just released as part of an effort to have Oakland A's supporters contact MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. Here's what it reads: We're at a critical point in our fight to keep the A's in Oakland. Very soon, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig will review the City of Oakland's proposal to partner with the Oakland A's to build a world class baseball-only ballpark near Jack London Square. In the coming days or weeks, the Commissioner will decide whether to keep the A's in Oakland. At this crucial time, we need to make sure that Commissioner Selig sees and understands the incredible level of support of tens of thousands of fans like you who have signed our online petition or joined us on Facebook Can you take just a few seconds, right now, to help? Click here to forward Commissioner Selig an email today: Tell him you want him to keep the A's in Oakland and that you would...

In a day filled with John Mayer, Megan Fox, snow storms in New York and DC, and new 9-11 photos, it's important to stop and take a look at local citizens who want to make Oakland better. Don MacLeay is one, and he's the Green Party candidate for Mayor of Oakland. In the video above, created two weeks ago, Don and this blogger met at Merritt Station Cafe across from Lake Merritt and talked - really his platform - for 35 minutes, and 21 of that on the video above. What follows is a summary of a long, uncut talk. Don MacLeay is a computer consultant who does "small office networking" and a volunteer in a number of Oakland government activism activities. It was at that point that Don MacLeay first determined something wasn't right with Oakland, "I decided I was not in tune with where the Oakland Council and Jerry Brown were going," he said. When Ron Dellums became Mayor of Oakland in 2006, Don MacLeay became concerned again after Dellums said his...

The latest twist in the ongoing Chevron Ecuador case finds Chevron claiming that Ecuador's court-appointed economist Richard Cabrera will be paid by Ecuador from a judgement against Chevron, should the American oil company lose its case. According to CBS Marketwatch : Recently uncovered records, from 2003 through 2008, show from 2003 through 2008, show Cabrera is co-founder, general manager, majority stockholder, and legal representative of an oilfield remediation company, Compania Ambiental Minera-Petrolera S.A. ("CAMPET"), which is registered to perform oilfield remediation and other services for Petroecuador. In a press release, Chevron Vice President and General Counsel Hewitt Pate said, "For three years, Mr. Cabrera has concealed clear financial conflicts of interest that disqualify him from acting as an independent and objective evaluator of the evidence in the case. While Mr. Cabrera's financial interests alone are sufficient grounds for his repor...

[Aimee Allison | OaklandSeen] For much of the time Sweet Jimmies was the heart of Oakland nightlife in the 90's, I would catch glimpses of nighttime boisterous dancing and singing at the spot through the grainy lens of Soul Beat TV. Now Soul Beat and Sweet Jimmies nightclub are a decade gone, and I find myself longing for that Oakland spirit. "Sweet Jimmie" Ward died Friday night at the age of 74 - a former longshorman who was one of hundreds of thousands who came from the South to work at the shipyards or on the Army base during World War II and stayed to raise families and start businesses and shape neighborhoods. Ward made Sweet Jimmies into the place to go - dressed to the nines - where old soul from Mississippi and Lousiana and Georgia was alive. Those in Sweet Jimmie's generation brought small town manners and blues and political organizing and art. They created a legacy and culture in Oakland that defines us today. Now, Oakland's black population has plumme...

Miami, South Beach, Florida - Super Bowl time: Warren Sapp arrested; hot high car spotted (video above). It's Super Bowl time! This Super Bowl update is a mix of good and bad news. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders defensive star and NFL Network Analyst Warren Sapp was arrested after allegedly committing some form of domestic violence against his girl friend Saturday morning in Miami.  According to TMZ.com , Warren Sapp's explanation doesn't read any better than what his girlfriend told Miami Beach Police: According to the Miami Beach Police Department, Sapp is accused of attacking his girlfriend of two years at around 5:00 AM Saturday at the Shore Club Hotel. According to the arrest report, the alleged victim had "a swollen right knee and bruises on the back of her neck." She claims Sapp allowed her to sleep in his hotel room -- then came into the room early in the morning and pulled her out of bed. The alleged victim says they bega...