Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

More at SF Gate : “(02-06) 16:48 PST DUBLIN -- Johannes Mehserle, the former BART police officer accused of murder in the Jan. 1 shooting death of an unarmed man on the Fruitvale Station platform in Oakland, was released this afternoon on $3 million bail, authorities said. Mehserle, 27, posted bail at 3:45 p.m. and was released from Santa Rita Jail without incident, the Alameda County Sheriff's Department said.”

More at Oakland Tribune : “The attorney for Johannes Mehserle, the former BART police officer charged with murder stemming from a shooting on New Year's Day, entered a not guilty plea for his client in an Oakland courtroom Thursday. Attorney Christopher Miller entered the plea in front of a packed courtroom with extra security. In a red Santa Rita Jail jumpsuit, Mehserle, who could barely be seen behind a protective clear encasing, waived his right to a quick preliminary hearing. Miller then asked Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert McGuiness for a bail hearing, which was set for Jan. 26 in Oakland. Mehserle was arrested on a no-bail warrant, and no bail has been set. The full courtroom included Mehserle's friends and family and those of Oscar Grant III, the man Mehserle is accused of killing Jan. 1 on the Fruitvale BART platform. Sheriff's deputies carefully let different groups into the courtroom separately to avoid any problems with heightened tensions.”

More at SfGate : “(01-12) 21:36 PST San Francisco -- A raucous crowd protesting the shooting death of a BART passenger marched through downtown San Francisco tonight, overturning trash cans, tossing traffic barriers and lighting small garbage fires. San Francisco police in riot gear quickly moved in and closed off streets as the crowd broke up into smaller groups, scattering in all directions. No arrests were reported.” -- And I'm not sure if this constant drumbeat is going to help. The courts are the best way.

A hairline crack was found in the Oakland BART Y train track Thursday night, which caused a long delay.

Bloggers like Refin and Nancy Friedman have openly pointed to Oakland's chronic lack of retail venues during the holidays. Friedman writes... It's prime shopping season, and my fair city is in a world of hurt. The weekend before last I attended a town meeting convened by my city councilwoman at which a consultant delivered the depressing news that Oakland is losing $1 billion a year in potential retail sales to neighboring cities. (In the trade, that's known as "leakage.") Once upon a time, downtown Oakland was home to four major department stores, a big furniture store, and several swanky boutiques. The tide began turning in the 1980s, thanks to lackluster leadership, rising crime, and general cluelessness. The Loma Prieta earthquake, in 1989, delivered the coup de grâce. Some downtown structures were never repaired and remain vacant. Today Oakland, a city of about 400,000, has only one department store: Sears. To shop at Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Home D

From Rockridge News, which really needs to be in blog form. An interview with City Councilwoman Jane Brunner by Stuart Flashman, RCPC boardmember, and member, RCPC Planning and Project Review Committee In 1998, the city of Oakland updated itsGeneral Plan, the fundamental document defining the city’s land use patterns. Almost 10 years later, the city has not yet revised all of its zoning ordinance to fit with what the General Plan says. The Rockridge News talked to Jane Brunner, city councilwoman for North Oakland, about this zoning upd a t e process and what it might mean for Rockridge. Councilwoman Brunner will be an invited speaker at the RCPC’s October 18 General Meeting on the topic of the Rockridge/ Temescal Zoning Update and the future of Rockridge. Rockridge News: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me about zoning in Rockridge and Temescal. Let’s start with a simple question – what is zoning about? Jane Brunner: Zoning really is taking a look at how many housing units,