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CNN's Black in America is a welcome addition to TV, but it has a major problem to me in that it does not represent middle class African Americans. Much of the telecast shows Blacks who are downtrodden, or have had something "done" to them by the "system." It's a one-sided view of Blacks that does not help in really understanding African Americans. Not every aspect of Black culture or the life of those of us who are is negative, and I feel that the general life of middle class Blacks was ignored. (Post also at Zennie's Zeitgeist)

An estimated 2,000 people marched at the Port of Oakland on July 22nd in a call for the Port to force independent truckers to be hired by the trucking companies, thus causing them to provide benefits. Although the protest was also to call for clean air, it's not clear to me what the protesters want the Port to do in that area.

Oakland police make major marijuana growing bust - Tribune By Harry Harris and William Brand, Staff Writers Article Launched: 07/24/2008 09:14:20 AM PDT OAKLAND _ Police broke up one of the largest marijuana growing operations they've seen in recent years, raiding three homes Wednesday night and seizing more than $225,000 cash, arresting four people and confiscating $60,000 worth of marijuana. It was a bust that extended to Mendocino County where some of the marijuana was grown. Police said the suspected ringleader, Theodore Christos, 29. grew marijuana on property he owns in Mendocino County and at a house in the Oakland hills where 151 young plants were seized at a house Christos owns in the 500 block of Crestmont Drive. Oakland Police Sgt. Oritz said all the marijuana transactions were made at a house in the 1000 block of 56th Street in North Oakland. Christos kept records of his sales at his home in the 3500 block of Harrison St.

Well, the war for the right to alter Cal's Memorial Grove continues; score this battle in the war as a win for U.C. Berkeley . Alameda County Judge Barbara Miller granted Cal the right to replace the trees on Tuesday, but also gave their opponents one week to file an appeal. This has been a long, hard, emotional battle between Cal and The Tree Sitters, who still remain in the trees. I captured part of that battle in a three-part video series . For their part, the Oak Grove Tree Sitters plan a march to Berkeley City Hall Thursday. Here's the schedule from their website (with spelling corrections) : Oak Grove Supporters Plan March to City Hall Thursday July 24th On Thursday the Berkeley City Council will presumably make it’s final decision on pursuing an appeal in the UC stadium case. Supporters plan a rally in front of the City Counsel. The plans include: 3:33 pm Meet at Oak grove 4:00 pm March from grove to Council 4:44 pm Rally in front of Counsel Building 5:00 pm

Oakland fans of Senator John Edwards will not like the news they're about to get. For the full story, go over to Zennie's Zeitgeist with a click here .

I can only hope Kids First passes in November because the City's budget problems are so potentially bad that this "zero-sum" choice was presented: pay for more youth programs, and cut jobs, or don't and wait to see if the Kids First Initiative passes in November, and save City jobs. Here's the Trib story, in part.. OAKLAND — The City Council rejected the idea of a compromise ballot measure Tuesday that would have increased funding for youth programs, but not as dramatically as a separate initiative expected to qualify for the November ballot. A majority of council members worried a ballot-measure compromise could seriously dent the rest of Oakland's budget. The meeting came on the heels of another blow to the city's finances: The council voted unanimously early Tuesday not to collect $12 million in increased Landscaping and Lighting Assessment District fees after officials faced questions about whether the new rates would have held up in court. The decisio

In what Oakland Residents For Peaceful Neighborhoods (ORPN) calls a "victory for the people" the Oakland City Council voted last night not to collect the increase in the tax for the Landscape Lighting and Assessment District (LLAD) after the Alameda County Superior Court upheld the tax. ORPN reports on this : City Backs Off LLAD Tax Hike At a special July 22, 2008 meeting, the Oakland city council voted not to collect the Landscape and Lighting Assessment (LLAD) tax increase that it previously declared voters had approved. The decision is a $12 million victory for Oakland residents, who expressed broad outrage at the blatant ballot-box stuffing in a mail-in vote that City Hall conducted in April and May. However, no councilmember admitted that she condoned and participated in the vote rigging. Instead, the council took cover under a state supreme court ruling on assessment districts in general issued last week. Before the vote, one resident told the council, "If the pr