Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

I discovered this video on YouTube.com called "Oakland Speaks" and not to give too much away, but it's a well-done, heartfelt look at Oakland's culture and housing costs. One woman says there's a connection between jobs and violence -- in other words, we need more jobs. She also says that we're losing people at a rapid pace, every day. Here's the video:

This has been a controversial issue in the Adams Point area. 401 Fairmount is currently a rather slumy dwelling not far from the new Whole Foods store still under construction. Apparently, AHA wants to obtain the City of Oakland's help in buying and then renovating this place. On the surface, it seems like a good idea. But for some reason, certain people don't want the City of Oakland to spend money on AHA to improve it. Check out this email message from one concerned resident: I just drove by the building the housing advocates want to buy. It is one of the two Pearl Street hell holes that have been repeatedly raided by OPD and the state bureau of narcotics. It's just up the block from where the man was murdered for his parking place. This makes me so mad. The building is owned by a couple who lives on Skyline Boulevard and who has two other properties in our neighborhood, also run down, though not as badly as 401 Fairmount. Indeed, 401 Fairmount is the most dilapidated...