Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

On CNN there are extensive reports of a 5.8 Richter Scale Earthquake, centered in Chino Hills, about 29 miles south of LA. The quake wasn't large enough, fortunately, to cause major damage at least as reported thus far. A water main broke, but traffic's still moving through LA. And now the earthquake was reduced to a 5.4 Richter Scale quake in size by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Maria Ayerdi Will Cause Development Dollars To Flow From Oakland When the currently proposed new Transbay Terminal comes to reality, you can thank the direction of one person for its completion and subsequent drawing or more development dollars away from Oakland: Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan. Who? Kaplan is the Executive Director of The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) , the organization responsible for the development and financing of this massive project, which was featured in this video I created last year: The authority's work will result in the tallest building ever constructed in San Francisco, over 1,000 feet tall and a retail and mixed use complex of over 2 million square feet of space. Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan's resume is perfect for the role. She was Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan is the Executive Director of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) and a former TJPA Board Member. A member of the State Bar of California, Kaplan has served as the Mayor of San Francisco’s .. ...

I present my long form video documentary of the TechCrunch | August Capital Party held Friday, July 25th 2008 at August Capital and hosed by TechCrunch Co-Founder / Editor Michael Arrington. First, let me thank Michael for the opportunity to do this at his event, as well as the time he gave me. Second, let me thank all of you who gave me your time at the party, which was the vast majority of you. I set out to form a pattern of opinions on what the Democratic Party and Senator Obama should address on the eve of the Democratic National Convention. I also tried to give a view of what people were working on in the tech / web community. There's a lot here. But I also tried to make something fun to watch, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. The video is 41 minutes long and some of the highlights: TechCrunch's Michael Arrington explaining that he hope Barack Obama sicks to his concern for "net neutrality" as well as his hope that issues regarding H1 Visas, the FC...

Senator John McCain has a big-ticket fundraiser of 100,000 per person and held at the Fairmount Hotel to add to the public money he's already using to run for President. I figured an anti-war protest must have been planned and I was right: there's one according to KTYU.com: SAN FRANCISCO -- Grassroots campaigners are planning to protest the continuation of the Iraq war Monday outside a fundraising event at a San Francisco hotel for Republican presidential nominee Arizona Sen. John McCain. Members of No Soldier Left Behind will rally outside the campaign fundraiser and collect petition signatures calling for a responsible end to the war, according to Peace Action West, an organization that fosters civic activism. Protestors will hold signs advocating the end of the war and well being of Iraqis and Americans in the region. "Sen. McCain is here raising money in support of an Iraq policy that will be a continuation of the president's fail strategy," Peace Action West...

I saw this news at SFGate.com : (07-28) 06:26 PDT OAKLAND -- Oakland police today are investigating two restaurant robberies that occurred within minutes of each other on Sunday night. The first robbery happened at about 9:35 p.m. at the Bay Fung Tong Seafood Tea House at 1916 Franklin St. in downtown Oakland. Three armed men robbed people of their cash or wallets and took money from the business, police said. No one was injured in the takeover robbery. At about 9:42 p.m., a man robbed the Grégoire takeout restaurant at 4001 Piedmont Ave. One person was hurt during that robbery but did not need medical treatment, police said. No arrests have been made in the robberies, and it was not immediately known whether the two cases were related. I think the main issue is stopping crime before it starts. Both of these incidents happened around the close of business. Why no cameras in either place? What about other deterent devices? Or is this a time to encourage gun ownership?

I saw this article in today's Trib about "Kelly Hill" and their Chauncey Bailey Reunion. "Kelly Hill" is an area that is not known to many Oaklanders, including me. It's a neighborhood in Hayward where Bailey grew up. Bailey lived there as a teen and all the way through Hayward High School. You can read more, here .

Zenophon Abraham Jr. The Partying Playboy According To TangoDiva Wow. Ok, according to TangoDiva I'm now a "Partying Playboy" but I'm not sure if I'm right up there with Hugh Hefner or not! Here's what TangoDiva wrote (oh. Ok. I answered the questions and they put them out there!): The Man Issue 08: Zenophon Abraham By Tango Diva Name: Zenophon Abraham Hometown: San Francisco, California Occupation: CEO of Sports Business Stimulations 1. Where do you like to flirt? Pretty much anywhere. Bar, rapid transit, football stadium, dark part of a dive place. 2. Where's your favorite table for two? - I like the 21 Club in New York, The Alley in Oakland, and The Balboa Cafe in San Francisco -- three different places but all have history and two are darkly romantic (the Balboa's too well-lit). 3. Where should we stay when we visit (besides your place)? Hmm. I like the Claremont Resort in the Oakland Hills. Great views, pool, tennis, and food, too! 4. What qu...