Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

Although it's one year -- actually less than that -- away, the website for the Fox Theater is now live and operational. It's an informative publication at http://www.oaklandfox.com and shows how the "Fox Theater Restoration Project", under the direction of California Commercial Group and Phil Tagami, is coming along toward its October 2008 completion. Visit the site, and donate to the construction effort . When you do, this is what you get... $250 Friend of the Oakland Fox: 2 Grand Opening Gala Tickets $500 First Nighter: 4 Grand Opening Gala Tickets $1,000 Key Grip: 8 Grand Opening Gala Tickets, Lobby Recognition Plaque and more! $2,500 Best Boy: 8 Grand Opening Gala Tickets, Tile on the Fox Walkway of Stars and more! $5,000 Stage Manager: Reserved Table at Opening Night Gala, VIP Access for 4 guests and more! $10,000 Promoter: Your Name or Logo on the Promoter Banner, 2 Tickets to exclusive Green Room Reception and more! $25,000 Headliner: Your ...

This is the executive summary of the economic report published by the Oakland Chamber of Commerce. A copy of the entire study can be seen with a click > here. The text that follows is directly from the summary. I disagree with the overall recommendations, but welcome feedback from others to start a debate. I feel that the recommendations are too weighted toward the development of large industries, ignores the impact of the sports indusry in Oakland, and has no mention of the need to develop small businesses. It's also too focused on biotech, and that's been talked about for 20 years, and we've still got nothing to show for it. I think we should make our strengths stronger, and that's small business, restaurants, shops, and information, and sports. Here's the study.... ONE: OAKLAND’S ECONOMY TODAY Historically, Oakland’s economic foundation rested on strong manufacturing, transportation, and healthcare industries. Today, these continue to be important pi...

Of all the current Oakland Councilmembers, Henry Chang stands out not just as an elder statesman, but as an honest, principled elected official who I've long admired, regardless of his position. Here's more about him. Henry was born in 1934, the second child of Frances and Henry Sr. He was separated from his parents two years later, when the Japanese attacked his hometown, Shantou. Henry fled to Hong Kong with his Aunt Barbara while his parents escaped to Northern China. Three years later, when the Japanese attacked Hong Kong, Henry returned by freighter back to Japanese-occupied Shantou and was later reunited with his mother and father. Henry's most vivid childhood memories are of the concentration camp his family called home during the occupation of China. There, they witnessed unspeakable torture and brutality. He escaped in 1941 with his brother Thomas by crawling over a wall at night and hiding in a farmhouse. Henry reconnected with his family a year later, whe...

From Oaklandnet.com About Ron Dellums Contact the Office of the Mayor Ron Dellums 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza 3rd Floor Oakland, CA 94612 officeofthemayor@oaklandnet.com T: (510) 238-3141 F: (510) 238-4731 An Oakland native, Ron Dellums grew up on Wood St in West Oakland, attended Oakland schools and graduated from Oakland Tech, Merritt College (AA), SF State (BA), and UC Berkeley (MSW). Ron served two years active duty in the United States Marine Corps, Following graduate school, Ron worked as a psychiatric social worker for the California Department of Mental Hygiene. He then directed various programs in Bayview/Hunters Point before becoming Director of the Hunters Point Youth Opportunity Center. Subsequently, he was Director of employment programs for the SF Poverty program and then Senior Consultant on manpower programs for Social Dynamics Inc, a leading Bay Area consulting firm. In 1967, he was elected to the Berkeley City Council and in 1970 to the US House of Representatives. He repr...

This is the forth day of the raging series of fires that have destroyed or damaged 1,750 homes, closed 100 businesses, and scorched 263,000 acres of land. All of this has resulted in over 500,000 people being displaced from their homes over this time. I've heard reports of people coming down just to volunteer to help. If you're anywhere but there, it's hard to understand exactly what's going on or the enormity of it, untill you see something like this Google Map here. The map shows that it's not one fire but many fires spread around a vast area. I count 20 in all, and raging in size from the 200,000 acre Witch Fire to the 160 acres Walker Fire. Whatever the case, the fires -- even the small ones -- are very large in size. So large, they dwarf the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire. That disaster covered 1,520 acres; this one consists of several blazes, all save for three between 10 and 100 times larger than the Oakland Hills Fire. It's a series of fires too la...

I read the latest news on the Oakland Army Base with more than the usual passing interest. I absorbed it and chuckled. I could not help it. Why? Because the Oakland Army Base land has sat largely unused for years -- since 1999 -- while the Oakland City Council and whomever happened to be Mayor jockied with the Port of Oakland for control of its development. That struggle is also itself countered by competing ideas of what Oakland Councilmembers want to do with the land. It's these political tug of wars that have delayed development of what is still the Bay Area's best infill development opportunity. I can go over scores of examples of land uses that have been proposed for that area, from a ballpark for the Oakland A's to a farmers market, which was the proposal of long-time Oakland development activist Steve Low, my friend and for some time the with the West Oakland Commerce Association (WOCA). But as much as I like Steve, even he's been part of the enormous num...

A great article that needed to be written! It's amazing how stupid we are not to try to develop a diverse work force. Blacks see bleak future in Silicon Valley Census shows dot-com bust harder on African Americans, Latinos By Mike Swift, MEDIANEWS STAFF Article Last Updated: 10/15/2007 06:57:51 AM PDT When Geoffry Brown was laid off from a marketing job with a San Jose software company in 2003, he could not know what lay ahead: several years of unemployment, a divorce and, ultimately, a pay cut when he went back to work. "Nobody wants to hire a 46-, 47-year-old guy. Could I say that being black had anything to do with it? I won't go that far," Brown said. "But I will say I didn't have some of the (employment) networks some people had." Brown questioned whether he should leave Northern California for a place with cheaper housing and a more vibrant African-American culture. During the tough years after the 2001 tech bust, many blacks in Silicon Valley w...

In its February 26th edition, Asian Week ran a column by writer Kenneth Eng called "Why I Hate Blacks." The hate work -- it can't be called anything other than that -- has been denounced by Bay Area Political Leaders. But whiile this happens, Asian Week has gotten off scot-free. Just Google "Kenneth Eng and Asian Week" and you'll find a collection of "hate columns" he's posted that comes off almost as a firing squad of work against Whites and Blacks. It's not just that Kenneth Eng writes this, but Asian Week give him a forum to express his hate. Of course, his behavior doesn't speak for every Asian person. But it must be reported here that Oakland tenant lawyers have told me more than once that Asian landlords do discriminate against Blacks. And in my legal battles with my now-ex landlord Lillie Jue, her own apartment manager wrote a email to me explaning that she didn't not want more Blacks in her apartment complex and was r...

Starting today, Rich Lieberman, the Oakland-native and Skyline High graduate commonly known as "Big Vinny" from his two-year stint as the character "Big Vinny" for Round Table Pizza, has joined the Blogsphere. Currently, Rich appears in the online column section for Matier and Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle. Rich has a long history in Bay Area media circles and knows what's going on with whom and where. Rich's new Blog is called "Big Vinny's Bay Area" and features items, jokes, and news from one of the best connected people in the Bay Area. Visit http://bigvinnysbayarea.blogspot.com