Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

peter, bryan, sugarbunni Originally uploaded by cicamica_ali . Ok, so if you've wondered who Peter Van Kleef is, that's him. The photo is from his restaurant / bar, or just bar now called Cafe Van Kleef. When it opened, Peter had good finger food!

cindy and sugarbunni Originally uploaded by cicamica_ali . I can't claim this photo, but if you're wondering who the blonde woman is she's Peter Van Kleef's wife and both run the now famous Cafe Van Kleef at 1621 Telegraph in downtown Oakland.

This gem of an entry comes from swtazzguy over at MySpace. It's very extensive and includes sayings I've not heard before. It's perfect for advertisers looking for ideas on how to reach the Hip Hop generation. It's also good lingo for politicians. Note that Oakland is called "City of Dope." 151- Stands for 151 Bacardi, which is the amount of proof in it, also pronouced One-Five-One 415 - 415 is the area code for San Francisco. It roughly describes the physical area of San Francisco City. 415 used to be the area code for the Bay Area, but is now broken into several area codes. 415 is also the name of a now defunked group out of Oakland, featuring Richi Rich. 6-9 Village - The 69th street projects in East Oakland (Longwood Gardens). 707 - North bay 850 - 850 Bryant, San Francisco is the address for the San Francisco County Jail. It stands omniously in SOMA, and can be seen from the freeway to the Bay Bridge. Many San Francisco rappers refer to this build

This position is listed as open on the SMG website as of the date of this blog post. California - Director of Event Services - SMG McAfee Coliseum and Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA POSITION: Director of Event Services REPORTS TO: AGM FLSA STATUS: Exempt SMG, the leader in privately managed public assembly facilities has an excellent and immediate opening for a Director of Event Services at the McAfee Coliseum and Oakland Arena. The Director of Event Services controls and monitors the customer contact aspect and front-of-house division of the facility. Plans, monitors, directs and manages event coordination. MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES: Hires, trains and supervises event service staff. Ensures successful event coordination activities by supervising and training Event Mangers. Plans, organizes and assigns all day-to-day work assignments for event coordinator. Researches, reviews and recommends equipment, materials and supplies required in providing event services and planning. Coordinates outs

This blog post just sat there, but it's worth reading as it explains how upset Raider fans are over the parking problems down there at the Coliseum. This person names every Coliseum contact. JPA MEETIING FRIDAY GREAT DAY RAIDER NATION Alrighty RAIDER NATION, with two months left and ticking for the current 10 year PSL lease to expire, it’s my belief that the problems that have arised are not the fault of us RAIDER fans. It’s the the gurantee the JPA made to the RAIDERS when they first moved back in 1995:”every game would be sold out”. We all know what the result has been. But, if you the RAIDER FAN do not step in and start to make noise regarding PSLs, the parking fiasco, etc., the powers that be may think they can continue to function in the same fashion that has brought about these current problems. I have been hearing many RAIDERS fans lately complain about how they are being treated regarding parking. I, like you do not like what I am seeing with the parking but I am getting

Old news, but still worth posting at any rate. Ending weeks of speculation, Mayor Ron Dellums on Friday named his senior staff, saying they had the experience necessary to help him turn Oakland into a model city. Dellums’ chief of staff will be Dan Boggan Jr., a former Berkeley city manager and University of California, Berkeley administrator who has long been active in a number of Alameda County organizations. Boggan will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the office and for coordinating with City Administrator Deborah Edgerly, who said Dellums has asked her to stay on. Victor Ochoa, an Oakland attorney who was part of Latinos for Dellums during the mayoral campaign, will serve as deputy chief of staff for public safety and economic development. He will also work with City Attorney John Russo. Michele R. Brown, who worked in the Labor Department during President Clinton’s administration and for the Democratic National Committee, will be deputy chief of staff for consti

I found this on the blog "Thoughts From A Strange Mind." "Now the president of the council represents the district that I live in. The only reason that I voted for him was because he was the only one to come to my door and ask for my vote for city council (I voted for someone else for mayor.) After seeing what I did today, he will never get my vote again. I have never really cared for the man's policies, as he has cost the city millions of dollars, he has used is position to get away with things, and his son was arrested for multible rapes. After what I saw today, he will not be getting my vote in the future if he wants it. I'd rather vote for Sadaam." These are the words of Earl Williams as he reports on his first Oakland City Council meeting, the one held on Monday.

I heard about this one at the Bill Lockyer event in Sacramento. Wow. Seems like we're in for a weird year. Council president booed but re-elected De La Fuente says he felt racially attacked by disrespectful audience By Heather MacDonald, STAFF WRITER Article Last Updated: 01/09/2007 02:55:07 AM PST OAKLAND — Ignacio De La Fuente hung on to the presidency of the Oakland City Council on Monday, after beating back a surprising challenge from erstwhile ally Larry Reid and weathering a hostile assault by some audience members. With the majestic Paramount Theatre packed to the rafters with Oaklanders eager to see Mayor Ron Dellums publicly sworn in, the raucous audience booed loudly when De La Fuente was nominated and more than a dozen people urged the council to choose someone else for president. Loud cheers erupted when Councilmember Desley Brooks (Eastmont-Seminary) nominated Reid. However, only Brooks and Councilmember Nancy Nadel (Downtown-West Oakland) cast their votes for Reid,

This was from the Yahoo! Message Board Last nite at 9pm my wife and friend just pulled up to driveway at Prospect/Kenwyn a man with gun approached car- they set off car alarm and locked door..I ran out and told him *get the F outta here I'm calling the cops* he proceeds to point gun at me- I run in grab phone- he proceeds to bang on window of car 5 times- finally breaking glass - clicking chamber of gun while getting both purses of women- then running away to fleeing car...cops here in 3 minutes- they were gone. Was told they were just on our block 30 minutes ago looking for same people who did same thing 4 blocks away- the cops were so pissed they just missed him/them. Am always diligent about outside street- they were awaiting cars to pull in with lookouts. BE ON YOUR GUARD!!

Well, I'm back to blogging after a long illness on top of a landlord battle that caused me to move and will result in an Oakland Rent Board hearing next month as well as several complaints to the authorities in general. Let's just say this. If you're looking for an apartment in the Lake Merritt area, do you want one where the heater does not work after you moved in? How about a water heater that was 20 years old? What about several days with no hot water? How about PG&E declaring your heater a hazzard and your landlord not only refusing to repair it, but saying it's your responsibility and still asking for rent? What about the fact that one can legally withhold rent for such problems and boy were there more of them? What about your landlord entering your apartment while you're away and without your knoweldge or permission, fixing the heater, and then working to evict you? How about your landlord frequently coming in to your place without your knoweld

This is a video of a typical day on the "57" Bus line ran by AC Transit and which runs through the heart of Oakland from the San Leandro Boarder to North Oakland. This captures the crowd of students that use the bus to get home. In the days before Prop-13, AC Transit had special student-only buses that served Skyline High, where I went to school, and other places. Maybe they still do, and this isn't a normal bus. I guess I drive too much. Here's the video:

I was presented with this letter below by a friend who works at a local establishment on E. 18th Street. I later saw this on the Adams Point Yahoo! Message Board. It's about time someone communicated the message of the importance of community in fighting crime, as many people around here don't even know each other's names. The letter also states a painful fact: that Whites are the targets of assault and theft crimes committed by African Americans in the area. For whatever reason that has been true -- but not talked about -- for years. It's got to stop. MUGGINGS ON ATHOL Neighbors, We live on Athol Ave , between the lake and the Parkway. The night before last, as my fiancé made his way home from the theatre at 8:30 pm, two African-American men who had been loitering by the stop sign at Athol and Wayne in front of 228 Athol ran at him across the street and grabbed him. A gun was put to his head, he was choked, dragged down one of these driveways, pistol-whipped,

City Council Fireworks Here This is a screen shot of the sponsorship matrix for the upcoming Mayoral Inauguration for Mayor Ron Dellums. The cost range is from $10,000 to $50,000. The second photo shows what benefits each sponsor gets. Actually, the sponsorship package is quite extensive considering the public exposure the event -- or events -- will certainly get. Oh, if you're saying "I can't read this" just double click on the photo itself, then you'll see it full size for viewing. As you can see it lists the different events and the costs of sponsorship. I mean look at it this way, it's not taxpayper dollars they're using. Plus, the Black And White Ball, which I referred to, also had sponsors and an extensive cost list. Yet one could get in for a fee, or just sneak in. Now, some -- including me -- have misunderstood this to mean that the "common folk" can't come, and that doesn't appear to be the case at all; the event pl

A new tickets exchange just for Bay Area sports and events. Here's the current calendar below, but go to Bay Area Sports and Events for tickets and information. NFL 12/23 Kansas City Chiefs At Oakland Raiders Tickets 12/24 Arizona Cardinals At San Francisco 49ers NBA 12/12 Sacramento Kings At Golden State Warriors 12/14 Houston Rockets At Golden State Warriors 12/26 Philadelphia 76ers At Golden State Warriors 12/29 Boston Celtics At Golden State Warriors 01/06 Seattle Supersonics At Golden State Warriors NCAA Basketball 01/03 California At Stanford Basketball NHL 12/11 Phoenix Coyotes At San Jose Sharks Tickets 12/14 Los Angeles Kings At San Jose Sharks Tickets 12/16 Anaheim Ducks At San Jose Sharks Tickets 12/21 Dallas Stars At San Jose Sharks Tickets 12/23 Calgary Flames At San Jose Sharks Tickets 12/26 Anahiem Ducks At San Jose Sharks Tickets 12/28 Phoenix Coyotes At San Jose Sharks Tickets 01/04 Detroit Red Wings At San Jose Sharks Tickets 01/06 Columbus Blue Jackets At San

Hey, even if I had $50K, I wouldn't spend it on a party for myself. The Dellums people are planning to spend that much money per donor, up to a half-million dollars. I think this is a terrible way to go. No party should be structured this way. What the Dellums people should do is turn to San Francisco Black and White Ball head Paula Goodrich for advice on what to do. Or just follow her model, which is to take a part of the city, rope it off, erect tents, book bands, get corporate sponsors, and charge a fee. Bingo. That's it. In other words make it an Oakland event for the many, not for the few. Wow. I'm a fan of the Mayor, but what they're doing is the wrong way to go.

by Hiroko Kurihara, Chair, RCPC Land Use Committee At press time, Albertsons was preparing to close their parking lot to the public because of Albertsons LLC and Terranomics’ difficulty in accessing the loading dock and showing the property to prospective tenants and developers. The RCPC Land Use Committee is working closely with Albertsons representatives and Councilmember Brunner’s office to help broker a solution that keeps the lot open and provides designated parking slots for Claremont Middle School teachers. Merchants are concerned about the closure and might be able to help monitor the lot. Regarding ROSS: Dress for Less Stores as a potential new tenant, the Land Use Committee has learned that the Rockridge site is most likely not among the 40 sites under consideration by the company. Nevertheless, we will be sending a letter to senior management at Cerberus Capital, to convey the concerns and preferences for the site expressed at the community meeting last July. We’ll keep you

Oakland's Law Corps wins 'profound honor' Organization has dealt with drug dealing cases, including crackdown on liquor stores OAKLAND TRIBUNE Article Last Updated:12/05/2006 02:51:44 AM PST OAKLAND — The National League of Cities on Monday named Oakland one of nine winners of its 2006 award for municipal excellence, honoring the work of the Neighborhood Law Corps. City Attorney John Russo, who founded the organization five years ago, said the city constantly seeks innovative, creative ways to address chronic urban problems. "It's a profound honor to be recognized for such a prestigious award," Russo said. Oakland was also named one of three Gold award winners. Law Corps attorneys, who are usually fresh out of law school, focus on quality-of-life issues and have tackled dozens of cases involving drug dealing and building-code vio-lations. The Law Corps has also led the city's crackdown on liquor stores that blight the community when they provide a haven fo

"San Francisco Red Sox Fan" points to the East Bay Express article on how the Oakland A"s execs managed to work a deal to -- perhaps -- move to Fremont. The article's just ok. Another typically long piece of work that in this case doesn't get to the heart of the matter of the problem of sports in Oakland. In fact, in this case, the authors seemed to write as if they were looking to talk to "names" rather than determine what really happened. But leave that one to another person. I'm diappointed in their work. It's a wimper, not a bang.

"Black Sheep Girl" complains of the terrible bus service and the "creepy dudes" that hang out at the "Oakland BART" station -- don't know which one, but could be 12th or 19th Street -- so she decides to walk home. All the better to see Lake Merritt. We used to have a shuttle that drove around Lake Merritt; we need it back. It was paid for by the Oakland Redevelopment Agency, when for one moment it really understood what city building was all about.

Wow. I happened to catch this bit of news over at the blog called BiggAndyy, which you can go to with a click on the title of this post. He reports that the awards for Oakland kids turning in their guns are tickets to -- LOL -- a Guns and Roses Concert! What genius came up with that? It's supposed to be some weird pun, get it? Turn in your guns for Guns? It's not something the folks in the neighborhoods would come up with. First, it's just not a good idea -- better to give money. Second, and I'm just gonna haul off and write this, the person who came up with the idea certainly wasn't Black or Latino, and yet the program, let's face it, is aimed at African American neighborhoods in Oakland! What's going on over at the City of Oakland? You gotta wonder. Makes you shake your head.