Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

Ok, I found the rest of the info on the hostage story. ....It's in the Chron, so I guess I missed this... (03-10) 16:36 PST -- Oakland police hostage negotiators peacefully talked an armed customer out of Cybelle's Pizza at the corner of Piedmont Avenue and West Macarthur Boulevard after a one-hour standoff Saturday afternoon. Employees called police after 2 p.m., when the man approached the counter with a handgun sticking out of the waistband of his pants, said Capt. Frank Lowe. The customer didn't threaten anyone, but refused to leave the restaurant when patrol officers arrived and evacuated the employees and eight customers out the back door. The SWAT team was called and police blocked off streets. Neighboring businesses were ordered to shut their doors and keep workers and shoppers inside. A man who was with the armed suspect told police the two men had been up all night taking methamphetamine. After an hour, the pizza customer came out and kneeled on the sidewalk wi

Senator Obama is coming back to the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Area Democrats are one of the hosts of a fund-raiser at The Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco, on Saturday, March 17th at 5 PM. The contribution levels are $1,000 (for the 6:30 reception), $2,300 (for the 8 PM dinner), and one TBD but lower level for a grassroots event in Oakland at 3PM on the same day. To sign up for both or either event, click here: http://www.obamainsf.com I'm a co-chair for the evening event, so don't hesitate to ask any questions. You may also call at 510-387-9809.

I was told by a couple of friends that CyBelle's Pizza on Piedmont Avenue was taken over by a man with a gun on Saturday, making hostages of the patrons inside at the time. I don't know why he did this, or what the eventual outcome of the horror was. I'll report more as I get information on the incident.

I felt this one and told someone it was a 4.3; I was close. This earthquake hit in Lafayette, CA as its center. While in the report below, the research claims there's no cause for alarm, I disagree. These things are coming more frequently, and its a matter of time before we get a good sized one and its not far off. LAFAYETTE 4.2 quake jolts Bay Area -- no link to last week's temblor Keay Davidson and Wyatt Buchanan - SFGate.com Thursday, March 1, 2007 (03-01) 22:02 PST -- A 4.2 magnitude earthquake near Lafayette shook the Bay Area, just one week after a smaller quake in the same region. There's no cause for alarm, however, and judging by preliminary evidence, the Thursday evening quake is just another reminder of continual slippage on Bay Area faults, a leading U.S. Geological Survey expert said. "This is just a reminder that we all should ask ourselves, 'Do we have an earthquake kit in the car?' " USGS geophysicist Ross Stein told The Chronicle lat

Kenneth Eng took the fall for this, but AsianWeek's editors are the ones to blame. They too should be fired. "I don't hate asians, but after this doofus, I know there is at least ONE asian I dislike intensely. Posted by: Brian Schlosser | Feb 26, 2007 2:58:04 PM - WIRED Message Board" SAN FRANCISCO 'Hate Blacks' writer dismissed by AsianWeek Leslie Fulbright, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, March 1, 2007 The 22-year-old author of a column titled "Why I Hate Blacks" in the regional newspaper AsianWeek has been dismissed, and the paper's editors said Wednesday that they suffered "a serious lapse in editorial judgment" when they published his column. Editor at large Ted Fang said Wednesday at a news conference organized by the San Francisco branch of the NAACP that Kenneth Eng, who lives in New York, will not write again for the free weekly. "The failing of our editorial process in allowing this piece to go forward w

Shattuck Barnes & Noble May Be Closing Doors Major Chain’s Potential Closure Follows Departure of Independent Telegraph Icon Cody’s Books in July BY Sameea Kamal Contributing Writer - Daily Californian Thursday, March 1, 2007 One major chain bookstore in Berkeley could soon close because of some of the same factors that have led smaller independent bookstores to close their doors. The Barnes & Noble on Shattuck Avenue will close, store department manager Jeff McGinnis said. Company representatives did not return calls for comment and McGinnis did not comment on when or why the store was closing, but city officials said that the bookstore may have been struggling to stay afloat with the current expansion of online book retailers. In July the iconic Cody’s Books closed its primary location on Telegraph Avenue, while the owners of Black Oak Books, also on Shattuck, put the store up for sale in January. City officials said they were unsure about the reasons for the closure, and Mic

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

The USGS Website reports this: Magnitude 3.4 - local magnitude (ML) Time Friday, February 23, 2007 at 3:46:15 PM (PST) Friday, February 23, 2007 at 23:46:15 (UTC) Distance from Berkeley, CA - 3 km (2 miles) ESE (105 degrees) Piedmont, CA - 5 km (3 miles) N (350 degrees) Emeryville, CA - 5 km (3 miles) NE (52 degrees) Albany, CA - 6 km (4 miles) ESE (122 degrees) San Francisco City Hall, CA - 19 km (12 miles) ENE (57 degrees) Coordinates 37 deg. 51.9 min. N (37.865N), 122 deg. 14.4 min. W (122.241W) Depth 11.4 km (7.1 miles) Location Quality Good If you felt it, tell them here!

The USGS Website reports this: Magnitude 3.4 - local magnitude (ML) Time Friday, February 23, 2007 at 3:46:15 PM (PST) Friday, February 23, 2007 at 23:46:15 (UTC) Distance from Berkeley, CA - 3 km (2 miles) ESE (105 degrees) Piedmont, CA - 5 km (3 miles) N (350 degrees) Emeryville, CA - 5 km (3 miles) NE (52 degrees) Albany, CA - 6 km (4 miles) ESE (122 degrees) San Francisco City Hall, CA - 19 km (12 miles) ENE (57 degrees) Coordinates 37 deg. 51.9 min. N (37.865N), 122 deg. 14.4 min. W (122.241W) Depth 11.4 km (7.1 miles) Location Quality Good If you felt it, tell them here!

Residents advised to join forces Mayor urged to focus on community policing, respond to violence on block-by-block basis By Heather MacDonald , STAFF WRITER Article Last Updated: 02/19/2007 02:43:25 AM PST OAKLAND — Mayor Ron Dellums should make the implementation of viable community policing his highest public safety priority, according to two of the task forces formed by the mayor to set his administration's agenda. Released two months after the task forces finished the first phase of their work, the 30 recommendations urge the mayor to reach out to the community in an effort to stem the violence that claimed 148 lives last year and has shown no sign of lessening this year. The community policing task force urged Dellums to lead an effort to organize the city block by block as part of a "proactive partnership between residents, businesses and policeto improve and maintain quality of life in Oakland," where every officer regardless of assignment is a community police off

Residents advised to join forces Mayor urged to focus on community policing, respond to violence on block-by-block basis By Heather MacDonald , STAFF WRITER Article Last Updated: 02/19/2007 02:43:25 AM PST OAKLAND — Mayor Ron Dellums should make the implementation of viable community policing his highest public safety priority, according to two of the task forces formed by the mayor to set his administration's agenda. Released two months after the task forces finished the first phase of their work, the 30 recommendations urge the mayor to reach out to the community in an effort to stem the violence that claimed 148 lives last year and has shown no sign of lessening this year. The community policing task force urged Dellums to lead an effort to organize the city block by block as part of a "proactive partnership between residents, businesses and policeto improve and maintain quality of life in Oakland," where every officer regardless of assignment is a community police off

This is old news, but timeless in the way Robert Gammon tells it. Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid's lost attempt to gain Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums more City Council power is beautifully told here. But Larry's past and blind support of Oakland Council President Ignacio De La Fuente may have hurt him, here. In a way, it reminds me of when Larry voted with Ignacio toward an "action of no action" on the Super Bowl Bid, and even though he was Chairman of the Super Bowl Bid Committee. I was told he did so because he believed he was going to get a key committee chair position from Ignacio, and then it never happened. Behind the Fracas at Dellums' Inaugural When Larry Reid moved to unseat council president Ignacio De La Fuente, he bet that the new mayor would jump at the chance to control the Oakland City Council. He bet wrong. By Robert Gammon - East Bay Express Published: January 24, 2007 Ron Dellums passed on a chance to seize control of city hall just hours befor

This is the widely circulating Barack Obama video I found over at Brightcove, the new video distribution site. It's on Barack's background and message. Also, he's going to be at a fund raiser for Senator Barbara Boxer on February 19th at the Westin St. Francis Hotel, Grand Ballroom, San Francisco.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've walked into the Burger King on the corner of 13th and Broadway, and one reason is the up-and-down pattern of clean in the facility. For anyone who wonders what happens when employees don't keep an eatery clean, read on. What caught my eye was this statement: "This is a common problem in restaurants that don't keep their systems clean" Wow. Grease fire sparks downtown blaze By Janis Mara, Staff Writer Article Last Updated: 02/12/2007 11:50:06 AM PST A firefighter climbs to the roop of a building at 13th and Broadway in Oakland. (Laura A. Oda - Staff) Commuters in downtown Oakland were put off their morning coffee and croissan'wichs Monday, when smoke poured from a building just after 9 a.m. at 13th and Broadway. The fire at the two-story Civic Center Market Place building started as a grease fire in the ground-floor Burger King's flue system, Oakland Fire Battalion Chief William Towner said. No one was in

I attended the annual Fox Sports Network Baseball Luncheon -- held the first Thursday after the Super Bowl -- last week. In attendance were Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and sitting at the same table with Oakland A's Owners Lew Wolff and Jon Fisher, as well as San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Giants heads Peter McGowan and Larry Baer, and Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. After the event -- videos from it will be on various blogs in the SBS network including this one -- I asked Wolff how the Fremont efforrt was going. He gave me a sincerely tense look and said "We've got a long way to go." And he emphasized "long." I think Lew's going to discover that the wheels of goverment in the Bay Area turn slowly. This fact and Lew's frustration with Fremont could work in Oakland's favor -- if Oakland does something.

Ben and Nate, obviously not happy that the Oakland A's are attempting to move to Fremont, have produced this video. In it they declare that Oakland is home to important social movements, like The Black Panthers and the word "Hella". Then to complete their protest, they ghost ride their Volvo. Here's the video...

The Rockridge Community Planning Council is seeking new board members. You can apply for the April election; the application is due February 28th 2007. Here's the information from The Rockridge News. Looking for ways to improve the quality of life in Rockridge? Concerned about development issues in Rockridge, zoning, schools, traffic, or crime? Have ideas for improving the BART plaza? Expanding our parks? Greening our streets? Well, Rockridge needs people like you. Taking a seat on the Rockridge Community Planning Council board will enable you to further your ideas and make Rockridge a more thriving, dynamic community. RCPC is a nonprofit public benefit organization, founded in 1985 to preserve and enhance the unique character of the Rockridge neighborhood, promote the health, safety, and quality of life of its residents, furnish a forum for community involvement, and provide leadership and representation of neighborhood interests. RCPC will hold its annual election in April fo

Area journalist sets jail-time record Blogger resists subpoena 169 days By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER - Oakland Tribune Article Last Updated: 02/07/2007 08:48:46 AM PST SAN FRANCISCO — Freelance videographer and blogger Josh Wolf became a full-fledged media martyr Tuesday, surpassing the U.S. record for most time spent in jail by a journalist who refused to comply with a subpoena. Tuesday was the 169th day that Wolf, 24, of San Francisco spent in a federal prison cell in Dublin after refusing to give a federal grand jury footage he shot of a 2005 political protest in San Francisco's Mission District. Journalists, civil libertarians and politicians gathered on the steps of City Hall to mark the occasion. "Josh Wolf is in jail for every one of you out there who's holding a camera ... a notepad ... a microphone," said David Greene, executive director of the Oakland-based First Amendment Project. "This is not a selfish act, he has nothing to gain personally by being

According to the Yahoo! Message Board Oakland District Two Councilmember Pat Kernighan has conducted a poll to gauge resident's views on Ex-Oakland Raider Chester McGlockton's proposal for a new Fatburger to be built at the current Kwik Way site at Lake Park near Lake Merritt. Surprisingly -- and in the face of Kernighan's support of the project -- 70 of 126 in poll voted "no." You can vote with a click on this sentence. Here's a photo of the vote tally as it stands right now. It could change. Here's the text that Kernighan wrote: The Recent History at the Site The Kwik Way property has been owned by the Hahn family for about the past seven years. Three years ago, they proposed leasing it to McDonald's. The community organized massive opposition to the McDonald's, primarily because of the increased traffic and litter it would bring to an already congested area. Over 500 people attended the Oakland Planning Commission to oppose the McDonald

Yep. I just returned from a week-long trip to Miami, Florida and to attend my fifth Super Bowl game, Super Bowl XLI. For more on my trip and videos, check out our NFL Super Bowl Game blog. More on Oakland soon. Frankly, I was glad to get away from all of the bad news around town. Geez. Now, I learn that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's bearing his sole for all to see. Maybe that's a good turning point and a good example for politicians in Oakland and all over the World. Full emotional disclosure.