Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

April Ryan, a reporter with American Urban Radio Networks , bumped the Tiger Woods scandal down Google Trends and for something I didn't think would reach the collective public media radar, an exchange with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs posted on YouTube by the conservative blog TownHall.com: The issue that April Ryan's asking about is White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers' role in the State Dinner Partygate Scandal where Tareq and Michaele Salahi gained access to the exclusive affair without being on the White House' Official Guest List. April Ryan of American Urban Networks April Ryan was trying to ask Robert Gibbs why Desiree Rogers was at the dinner. Desiree Rogers is the White House Social Secretary who planned the event. But Ryan says that Washington gossip centers around the perception that Desiree Rogers is just working to advance her own interests. What's of concern to me is Robert Gibbs' mistake of talking down to April ...

There have been YouTube Meetups, but never one in America's most exciting city, Oakland, California. The Oakland YouTube Meetup at Lake Chalet at 1520 Lakeside Drive in Oakland, and is on Saturday, December 12th 2009 from 2 PM to 5:30 PM. What's the plan?  To meet, eat, and video!  But the idea is to meet YouTubers from all over and especially Oakland, San Francisco, and Northern California.   But it's also a party for non-YouTubers to learn more about how YouTube and YouTubers can help promote their business; you learn by watching us in action and mingling!  It's also a YouTube contest with prizes for the person who uploads their video the fastest.  Join me and other YouTubers like Sarah Austin for a cool event in a really awesome place: Lake Chalet: Visit our Facebook page here . More information to come, but contact me Zennie62 at zennie@zennie62.com

If, like me, you're wondering what the newest information on the Parkway Theater is, well, according to the "i like the parkway" website forum, there's no news - but that's news. If you need a refresher, this video explains what happened to The Parkway Theater: And this video covered the first community meeting: And this is my video interview of former Parkway owners and founders Catherine and Kyle Fisher: This is the communication that was released recently: Dear friends of the Parkway Theater, We hope you're well. We've missed you. It's been a while since we've given an update on the status of the Parkway, so we'd like to share the information we have about the on-going efforts to get a new business opened there. As we approach the time of year where friends and family are a central theme, the organizers of I Like The Parkway are reminded that we have found both in the eclectic group of movie-lovers united through the...

Oakland Raiders Manager of The General Partner Al Davis recently announced that 10 percent of the organization was for sale . That news started a small set of media speculation web posts on the value of the organization based on Forbes annual blast about NFL team values. From Forbes, the Oakland Raiders are worth $797 million, which would put the 10 percent chunk at $79.7 million. Mr. Davis, I'll give you $35 million for that 10 percent But the Forbes estimate is wrong. Way wrong. It's wrong because the number's based on 2008 information, yet presented in this year: 2009. Moreover, media discussion on the Raiders value mentions the credit crunch, and the national economy, but fails to include the local employment situation. People need income to buy tickets and that money comes from jobs. In September 2008, California's unemployment was just 7.7 percent , and we thought that was terrible at the time. Now the rate is at 9.6 percent as of October , and ...

I happened to make a cyber trip over to the Oakland blog 38thNotes.com , where the posts are always interesting, if off-beat. This one on a video called "Oakland b Mine" is certainly that. Reportedly the video was created to be shown at the baggage claim at Oakland Airport. It's in the perfect place for out-of-town visitors to get an immediate idea of what Oakland's all about: diversity. The video features a man who appears to be Latino chasing after an attractive African American woman he sees in Oakland's airport. While he goes through lengths that are extraordinary to say the least, it's a cute video. I would classify it of the "don't try this at home" variety. You know? The camera takes us through many familiar spots in Oakland, including the Lake Merritt Farmer's Market, which means it was created on a Saturday. The video is cool for the cinematography and the music. Check it out, and pass it on!

According to Sanjiv Handa of the East Bay News Service the enormous Oakland Barnes and Noble bookstore at 98 Broadway in Jack London Square may close Jan. 31, 2010. Barnes and Noble is expected to make an official disclosure next week, baring any intervention from the City of Oakland to persuade them to remain open. Sanjiv Handa reports that the anticipated closure will cost the City of Oakland's government $125,000 in annual general fund revenue. (He forgot the additional revenue from the predatory parking ticket policy, but admits its harder to quantify.) The closure of Barnes and Noble is a blow to Oakland but the problem of its low profitability comes as no surprise. Chain bookstores around the Bay Area and around America have closed under the weight of the transition to online sources for news and information and the growth of online booksellers like Amazon.com.  San Francisco's Stacey's Book Store on Market Street closed in 2008 for similar reasons. Thi...

OSCAR ALERT. You have until December 1 to get your Screen Credits and Music Entry Forms in to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) if your movie is to be considered for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. From the press release, AMPAS explains: For a feature film to be considered for the 2009 Awards, the film’s distributor or producer must file an OSC form with the Academy by 5 p.m. PT on December 1. If a feature film is released in 2009 and the completed OSC form is not submitted by the deadline, the film will be ineligible for Academy Awards in any year. OSC forms may be submitted online only, at http://aiwosc.oscars.org/aiwosc/ . Information about submission and feature film eligibility can be obtained by contacting Credits Coordinator Howard Loberfeld at (310) 247-3000, ext. 113, or via e-mail at hloberfeld@oscars.org . For an achievement to be considered in the Original Score or Original Song category, the principal music writer(s) for a feature film must su...