Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

Yesterday, I reported a rumor that Deborah Edgerly, Oakland's Chief Administrative Officer, was going to be placed on Administrative Leave . Today, that rumor has been confirmed by the Oakland Tribune and SFGate.com . From the Trib.. Mayor Ron Dellums sent Edgerly notice at 1:24 p.m. Friday that she had been placed on paid administrative leave until her July 31 retirement date amid allegations that Edgerly interfered with a police investigation. Dellums' move came just three days after he joined Edgerly at a City Hall news conference to announce that Edgerly would be allowed to serve through the end of July, as the two had previously agreed, even as Edgerly faced mounting criticism. My comments from before, stand. I feel the Mayor should have stuck to one decision -- the first one -- and not given in to pressure. I continue to feel sorry for what "MissE" is going through and feel that, while she's certainly made mistakes, her counterparts before her have as

I saw today's Adams Point Yahoo Message Board email to me and this bit of news stuck out like a sore thumb: I don't have a lot of details, however, here's what I heard from my neighbor (who doesn't have internet) My neighbor, a young woman, was waiting for a ride from friends at @ midnight on Weds at the corner of Jayne & Lee. A foreign make car (Corolla?) drove up Lee from Vernon, turned onto Jayne and doubleparked. Two young men got out of the car and chased the young woman who tried to hide out in one of the apartment buildings on Lee. They caught her and took her purse at gunpoint, ran back to their car and drove away. My neighbor describes the attack as opportunistic--the guys in the car saw her and decided to relieve her of her cash, cards and keys. The assault and robbery have been reported to the police The good news: She's not hurt--just scared. The bad news: she lost her purse we have armed robbers cruising the neighborhood. Please be careful. and this

This is a 20 minute movie on the dramatic event that was the convention held in Oakland, CA to elect delegates to represent the 9th Congressional District in Oakland and Barack Obama. It drew 2,000 people. If you live in Oakland and are politically involved, you're going to see someone you know in this video. It was really a kind of homecoming for people in Oakland politics and of course Oaklanders who have been involved with the Obama campaign. I thank the people in the video from Peralta Community College District Chancellor Elihu Harris to my friends, all of whom are in the movie and listed, and the delegate winners in this movie who are just some of the Oaklanders that will represent Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention, Jennifer Pae, Fred Feller , Mark Friedman, Ayelet Waldman , and Darlene Brooks. The estimate of 2,000 people was my own and came from first, eyeballing the event, second from figuring that of 101 candidates, each had perhaps 10 people aver

Not to put too much pressure on her, but Sarah Ann Hayes is going to be the next big thing in female bodybuilding. I met her at Gold's Gym where shes' being trained by my friends Rick and Kelly Dobbins in Oakland, CA, but she lives in Minnesota. If you want to be trained by Rick and Kelly, contact them at rickdobbins@gmail.com

A true service to a city that needs the help. But one has to ask how that will change the nature of life around the Lake? If the Cathedral is the center of a free clinic, will it draw more of a criminal element to the Lake Merritt area? Oakland's new cathedral will have free clinic for uninsured 'Not only a center for the Catholic community, but really, the soul of the city' By Barbara Grady, STAFF WRITER Article Created: 03/08/2008 02:42:04 AM PST OAKLAND — Hoping to help some of 166,000 people without health insurance in Alameda County, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland is planning to open a free health clinic in the new Christ the Light Cathedral Center under construction in downtown Oakland. By the time it opens in late September or October, the Cathedral Center, at 21st and Harrison streets, will include a 1,700-square-foot health clinic staffed by a doctor and a nurse practitioner and drawing from a community of volunteer physicians, diocesan officials said.

From the Yahoo! district message board for the Adams Point area.. Posted by: "Banh, Hoang" hbanh@oaklandnet.com hlbee Fri Feb 29, 2008 10:49 am (PST) Hi AdamsPoint folks, This is a meeting organized by District 2 City Council Office, but it will include the OPD Area 2 Commander and his staff. Adams Pt. is in the Area 2, which consists of Police Service Areas 3 and 4. Reducing Crime in Oakland Wednesday, March 5 6:30pm to 8:30pm Edna Brewer Middle School, Panther Theater, 3748 13th Ave at E. 38th St This meeting will give audience members an opportunity to hear directly from Oakland Police commanders about public safety efforts in District 2 and the rest of Oakland. Q & A with your Councilmember and OPD to follow.

I saw this at the APAC 14 X Yahoo Group: > Hi All, > > I just posted a recent photo of the flower thief. See the group's ""Photos" folder, and inside > that, a folder called, not too cleverly, "Suspect Photos." > > I'm still trying to determine for certain that he and "Smiley" are one and the same, though > we've gotten some confirmation on that from a few different neighbors. It's also unclear > whether he's still of interest to the police. Several of us have seen him around since he was > supposedly picked up, so we're not sure if the police are done with him, etc. > > At the very least, he's stealing flowers from all over the area. At worst, he's dangerous. If > anyone has any additional information, please post. > > Also, the Suspect Photos folder is public. Anyone ought to be able to add to that folder. > > Thanks, > > Mary Which caused me to write this reply. H

The Guardian Angels established an Oakland, California chapter in 2007 to help fight crime. Now, they need more Oaklanders to help them. Here's more on the program and you can call 510-459-9566.

Just a video of the mural, but it says a lot about what the artist thinks of Oakland. Take a look:

This Yahoo! Message Board post really bothered me: Around 4pm today there was a young African-American (teenager 15-18yo) on a bike wearing a black jacket and black knit cap. I watched him ride his bike up and down Vernon a few times checking out cars and apartments. I called the OPD non-emergency number just in case for peace of mind. It seemed like he was checking out the neighborhood. Just thought I would give everyone a heads up. That caused me to answer back with a plea for all to first, ask questions. That teenager could very well be someone who lives in the neighborhood who's just riding close to home. I talk to people; so should you. If you're reading this and have some weird racial boundary issues, do us all a favor and get rid of them. Please. Thanks!

Amanda Stokes, a 33-year-old blonde white female at 5 foot 4 inches is missing and has been since Sunday, November 25th. According to a flyer that's posted at Oakland's Cafe De Bartolo on Grand Avenue, her car was found at 5000 Park Blvd -- a Black 2001 Honda Accord -- across from the Lutheran Church. If you recognize the photo and live in the Adams Point / China Hill area, it's because she worked at Cafe De Bartolo. If you have any information, please call 404-931-7044. Here are other photos of Amanda with friends.

Cathedral near Lake Merritt could stimulate urban uplift By Rebecca Rosen Lum, Staff Writer - OAKLAND TRIBUNE OAKLAND - Light is the pivotal feature of the 110-foot high Cathedral of Christ the Light sanctuary. As the lakefront cathedral complex has taken shape, it has also generated plenty of heat. The cathedral itself has been compared to a nuclear reactor, a basket wrapped in glass, an architectural symphony and, in the words of Bishop Allen Vigneron, "A great soaring vault." Architectural merits aside, Oakland's business community says it is also helping to generate something the district needs: economic development. "I think it's an absolutely phenomenal project," said Joe Haraburda, director of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. "It will become another landmark that people will visit and (will help them) come to appreciate Oakland for the diverse place it is. It will stimulate more interest in Oakland — yes, in development, too." W

Since the new Whole Foods opened on 27th and Harrison, it seemed to me that there were fewer people at the Lake Merritt Farmers Market. On Saturday, I decided to take camera in hand and ask the vendors for their views. What I learned is that overall vendors feel it's too early to tell, but off camera two people said "Yes." But two others, also off camera, said it may be a seasonal development. One other person said that the Whole Foods was too far away to have an impact on the Farmers Market.

The 55,000 square-foot Whole Foods Market has just opened today at 27th and Harrison and brings good news and the promise of reviatalization to an area that has been waiting for both for too long. I was given a tour of the new place one day before its opening by Jolyn Bibb, Marketing Specialist of Store Openings for Whole Foods. While the video shows the store and what Jolyn said, I can tell you its quite a place to be in. A breath of fresh air. There's an official opening today which begins with a "Bread and Baking" ceremony at 8:45 am before the doors open at 9 AM. Through the day there will be music, food samples, and a guest appearance by famous local chef Paul Bertolli. Plus, reusable Whole Foods Market Green Bags will be given to the first 5,000 customers with a purchase of $15 or more, and a raffle for a giant gift basket filled with a variety of products. There's a lot of food stations in this facility as well. There's something called a dine-i

C.J. Walton's a Richmond-based realtor who posted this at activerain.com But beyond the tragedy of the sellers, there was the tragedy of the perfectly prepared, and perfectly priced condos that are not getting the traffic that they deserve. My client has found a wonderful deal, and yet there is one Lake Merritt Condo that is still out there, that I can't get out of my head. Imagine coming home to an Italian spa every night. This condo had it all exquisite bathrooms, wonderful kitchen, smart use of light and space and it has sat on the market for over 2 weeks. This beautiful condo is the tragedy of a glut of inventory. It isn't that people don't want to buy, it is that there is so much inventory to get through that it is hard to find that needle in the haystack. By the way, this beautiful condo is not my listing. But if you want the address just email and I will give it to you. My point is this, of the many condos I visited, this one had most of competition out dist

This is a shocking report delivered as a video by me and about a document and its findings called "Violent, Property, Crime & Arrest Rates" in Oakland. The video has the details and I'll lay them out in a text fashion in another blog post.

Oakland journalist shot dead in street Motive not known in slaying of Post editor By Harry Harris and Angela Hill, STAFF WRITERS Article Last Updated: 08/03/2007 07:33:11 AM PDT Unidentified mourners observe a moment of prayer at the spot where Oakland Post editor Chauncey... OAKLAND — In what police called a targeted killing, longtime Bay Area journalist Chauncey Bailey was ambushed and fatally shot Thursday morning at 14th and Alice streets in downtown as he walked to the Oakland Post, where he recently had been named editor. Investigators so far have only a vague description of the gunman and no motive in the shooting. "We have not ruled out anything, including whether it was work-related or a personal dispute," said Oakland homicide Sgt. Derwin Longmire. "But this was no random act. He was the target of a deliberate murder." About 7:25 a.m., Bailey, 57, a former Oakland Tribune reporter, was walking to work from an apartment where he had recently been living nea

From The Yahoo Message Board For 14X NCPC You are cordially invited to a NEW NEIGHBORHOOD EVENT Adams Point Social Hour Los Cantaros Restaurant & Taqueria 1st Friday of every month 6:00-7:00 p.m. Stop by Los Cantaros, 336 Grand Avenue, and look for your neighbors with the Adams Point Stickers. Meet your neighbors, buy an evening treat, and maybe top the night off with a walk to Art Murmur, Oakland's free art gallery night (http://www.oaklandartmurmur.com). Cheers! From, The Adams Point Action Council Board

Greetings Neighbors! We need some people to step in and help Hoang Bahn, our public services coordinator, run Wednesday's quarterly neighborhood meeting. I have to phase out my involvement in the group, and thanks to the efforts of various people in the community, we have some very good proactive plans underway for improving the neighborhood and making it safer and more enjoyable. But this does require people to get involved, if nothing else to bring our needs to the attention of the city. So, please, I know everyone is busy, but if you are at all interested in getting more involved in improving the neighborhood, please email Hoang at: HBanh@oaklandnet. com. She has been working super hard for us, but she only can do her work with our input and help. So, please, drop her a line and let her know you want to help. Take care, Charles

It's one thing to have one writer like me take a break and work on other aspects of a several thousand page site, but it's quite another when a website with a group of writers doens't make a single post but once in three months. I'm writing about The Grand Lake Guardian. Unlike this blog, which is part of a 50-blog network, I never believed the Grand Lake Guardian got much traffic at all, even though it's insider fan(s) objected to this point-of-view. When I checked the traffic using Compete, there wasn't enough activity for it to register stats. On Alexa, the only report was that it ranked 6,944,395 of all websites, but there was no 3 month average for it. What this means is that the site's traffic is so low, it's difficult to register. This blog's part of Blogger, so it's harder for those systems to measure Oakland Focus Traffic. But I can say that the blog is read each day or some posting is -- between 5 times and as many as 200 times a