Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

Lake Chalet Patio in Oakland An Oakland news roundup of things told to this blogger by a number of reliable sources. First, Lake Chalet, the favored eatery of this space in Oakland, has reportedly elected to part with its executive chef Jarod Gallagher. This word comes from people who worked at The Lake Chalet, but now are with other new restaurants in Oakland. While I personally liked Jarod Gallagher and his food offerings, the one issue that has plagued The Lake Chalet is how the food was regarded considering its price points. Jarod did work to change the menu a few months ago, so one can't say he wasn't trying. But the word is that The Lake Chalet's going in a different direction. Business has reportedly been good and the establishment survived the Oscar Grant verdict, so full steam ahead for Lake Chalet. Strip Clubs in Oakland? There's talk by some that if Oakland had more strip clubs it would get more convention business. And the people saying th...

Lake Chalet Patio in Oakland An Oakland news roundup of things told to this blogger by a number of reliable sources. First, Lake Chalet, the favored eatery of this space in Oakland, has reportedly elected to part with its executive chef Jarod Gallagher. This word comes from people who worked at The Lake Chalet, but now are with other new restaurants in Oakland. While I personally liked Jarod Gallagher and his food offerings, the one issue that has plagued The Lake Chalet is how the food was regarded considering its price points. Jarod did work to change the menu a few months ago, so one can't say he wasn't trying. But the word is that The Lake Chalet's going in a different direction. Business has reportedly been good and the establishment survived the Oscar Grant verdict, so full steam ahead for Lake Chalet. Strip Clubs in Oakland? There's talk by some that if Oakland had more strip clubs it would get more convention business. And the people saying th...

San Francisco's Club Fugazi, which hosts Beach Blanket Babylon , has an exciting event tonight, Monday night only at 7:30 PM featuring Young Frankenstein and Wicked cast members! It is the Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation (REAF) presentation of "Wicked fun with Young Frankenstein." REAF's "One Night Only" benefit cabaret series are always great fun featuring cast members from hit Broadway shows in original cabaret performances in intimate theaters. Each show takes on it's own character based on the the make up of the touring cast for each show. The cast of "Wicked" has participated in three of REAF's "One Night Only" benefit cabarets over the past year and they always put together fun and exciting numbers for these benefits. Add cast members from the hit show, "Young Frankenstein," which is opening this week at the Golden Gate Theatre, plus special guest MC, comic Bruce Vilanch, and you've got a recipe for a ...

The World Cup 2010 is history. Spain has beaten the Netherlands. And all we have are memories. What's cool about online video and video-blogging is the ability to capture special moments from the point of view of the vlogger. The Republic, San Francisco In this case, those videos from this space were created just walking down the street in Oakland's Adams Point District , at Era Art and Design Bar for the USA's dramatic win against Algeria , and for the sad loss to Ghana , and today at The Republic Bar and Grill at Scott and Lombard in San Francisco's Marina District . The Republic visit happened because my friend Brian Zahn's a bartender there (as well as at Kel's Irish Bar, also in San Francisco), and also a Facebook friend. He sent a message extending an invitation to watch the Spain v. Netherlands World Cup Final match there. The temptation to get up and go from Oakland to San Francisco and not via car (since a bar was the destination) was...

Today, Oriana Bolden, someone not known to this space, sent a video she created in downtown Oakland on Thursday that gives a very comprehensive view of the reactions of the crowd after the Oscar Grant / Johannes Mehserle verdict, and the events leading up to the Oakland riot. It opens with comments from some of the mass of people that gathered at Oakland City Hall Plaza. I was there, but was struck by the number of personal media members there. About one-fifth of the crowd had video cameras of some kind. We also see a silent Councilmember Nancy Nadel as the camera pans through the crowd. Here's the video: Reaction to Mehserle Verdict: Oakland, CA: 8 July 2010 from Oriana Bolden on Vimeo . The video has some shocking events, foremost being how a deaf woman was ran over by a police car. It was not clear where at all the police car was going. We see the angry crowd decent on the police car after it ran over the deaf woman. Also, the crowd tries to make room for an am...

Just after 9 PM on the Thursday night after the involuntary manslaughter verdict in the Oscar Grant / Johannes Mehserle trial, this blogger got off at 12th Street, Oakland City Center BART Station after uploading the first set of videos of the peaceful protest at 14th and Broadway, and expecting more of the calm that existed around 8 PM. That was not the case. Instead, the police, from not just Oakland, but the California Highway Patrol, and cities like Fremont, had closed into the once safe intersection of 14th and Broadway and had been in the process of carrying out orders to have the crowd leave the area. The result was more police than people, and who did I run into but Oakland lawyer Dan Siegel and two of his friends, who complained in detail about what they saw as runaway police misconduct. One friend said "OPD (Oakland Police Department) had to put us in this vice. (Councilmembers) Jean Quan, Rebecca Kaplan, and I decided we were going to be the police line. W...

Oakland, California is now what it hates most: the center of attention in America for a reason it does not want: the Oscar Grant verdict. Former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and not 2nd degree murder, or 1st degree murder as many had desired. The announcement of the ruling had many looking for Oakland to erupt in a wave of violence and property damage that didn't happen while the Sun was up. These three videos below show the giant, peaceful protest, which started on the corner of 14th and Broadway and with one-fifth of its ranks being members of the media, and was moved into the middle of 14th and Broadway. The result was the largest peaceful, traffic-stopping protest ever held in downtown Oakland. This first video shows what happened just before the street protest: The second video is from the middle of the protest at 14th and Broadway: The third video features a the dramatic raising of an enormous flag on ...