Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

New York, NY - On Tuesday night, the Oakland, California City Council passed a resolution to study configurations for, but not build, an AC Transit Bus Rapid Transit system through Oakland's spine from Telegraph Avenue to along International Blvd. Even though the resolution was supported by the Oakland City Council, it was not without a fire-breathing argument from legendary Oakland City Councilmember Larry Reid. Reid and his constituents feared that a dedicated bus transit lane set would turn International into a kind of "freeway" that divided East Oakland. Reid said that people from North Oakland would not travel down to East Oakland to spend money anyway. I watched the City Council hearing from a distance back east and with sadness because it looked like a terrible racial issue, with older African Americans arguing that their neighborhood was essentially being invaded and destroyed by AC Transit. This blogger completely understands Larry Reid's fears, but

This NFL Draft installment (thanks to the Inn at Irving Place, part of the Small Luxury Hotels of The World brand) comes from New York, Radio City Music Hall - Former Cal-Berkeley and now Detroit Lions 2010 NFL Draft 1st round pick Running Back Jahvid Best sat down with the media for the first time after he was selected by the Lions as the 30th pick in the first round. Jahvid Best seemed relieved to have gotten over with the whole thing. Plus, note Cal Alums that Best was wearing a RED TIE! More on that below, because I got after him about it. Here's the transcript of the interview, with some corrections to match the video above that the FastScripts people missed: JAHVID BEST: I feel great. This is a dream I've had since I was a little kid growing up just to play in the NFL. So this moment here, just experiencing it with my family and my friends and just getting selected is just amazing. Q. What about (Cal Defensive Tackle) Tyson (Alualu) going ahead of you?

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums made a rare visit to the Oakland City Council tonight, Tuesday, and for the purpose of breaking a tie vote on an alternative created by Councilmember Jean Quan to a resolution that if passed would have taken money from the Oakland public campaign financing program and put it into a plan for educating voters on the new Instant Run-Off Voting system. Quan's alternative split money $100,000 for campaigns, and $100,000 for IRV education. The current City of Oakland program provides just over $200,000 for public campaign financing. In other words, the city helps you by providing matching funds. The Mayor stepped forward after a lively but brutally nasty two-minute statement by Oakland's number one gadfly Sanjiv Handa. Sanjiv accused the City of Oakland and its City Council of being "greedy" because incumbent councilmembers running for reelection didn't want to have competition. While this space agrees with Sanjiv in principle, Handa&

The terrible death of 59-year-old Tiansheng Yu one again sheds light on a problem that has plagued Oakland for some time, yet many don't want to talk openly about it. This space has, and will continue to do so. The City of Oakland has a problem with young black men who just walk around picking people who they think are welcome targets for violence. I blogged about this problem many times. In the case of the " mugging over at Wayne Avenue in 2007 ,"a man who lived on the 300 block of Wayne Avenue in Adams Point was mugged at gunpoint. Someone in the area two black men do the crime in what was described as an "underlit driveway." In 2006, a young woman walked around China Hill, Haddon Hill, and Grand Lake posting a letter called Muggings on Athol . The letter, as I wrote then in Oakland Focus , stated a painful fact: that whites are the targets of assault and theft crimes committed by African Americans in the area. She wrote: We are faced with two d

Susan Mernit, Oakland Local Founder and Executive Editor, was kind enough to post her interview with Oakland's At-Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan at Zennie62.com and at SFGate.com, and here at Oakland Focus. The Rebecca Kaplan interview's a to-the-point discussion of her reasons behind her decision to run. (A bit of disclosure: Rebecca Kaplan's communications director is a blogger and editor at Oakland Local.) Before the text is presented, this blogger has to make one observation: Councilmember Kaplan said she's thought "for months" about running for Mayor. Given that she's barely two years into her time as Councilmember, it seems safe to say Kaplan was not happy being Oakland's At Large elected official and wanted to be Mayor of Oakland as far back as after the first year of her term. But that's this blogger's observation: I yield the floor to Susan Mernit: When Rebecca Kaplan announced last week she had formed a committee to ex

See: city of oakland, mayor of oakland, ron dellums, jean quan, don macLeay, jean quan, greg harland, maya dillard smith, terrance candell The City of Oakland, California Mayor's race is more crowded than you think. It's not just Don Perata, Don MacLeay, Oakland District 4 Councilmember Jean Quan, and Rebecca Kaplan. The Oakland Mayor's Race has ten candidates, nine of them fully known and the last one still largely "under the radar." The full list of Oakland Mayor's Race candidates consists of incumbent Ron Dellums, Don Perata, Don MacLeay, Jean Quan, Greg Harland, Maya Dillard Smith, Terrance Candell, and an tenth person who's still not ready for prime time, but will be. Ten choices for Mayor of Oakland, California. This blogger just got off the phone with Greg Hatland, who's an Oaklander who graduated from Oakland High School in 1964 and lives close to California Attorney General Jerry Brown in the Oakland Hills. Hartland, who's we

The City of Oakland, California Mayor's race is more crowded than you think. It's not just Don Perata, Don MacLeay, Oakland District 4 Councilmember Jean Quan, and Rebecca Kaplan. The Oakland Mayor's Race has ten candidates, nine of them fully known and the last one still largely "under the radar." The full list of Oakland Mayor's Race candidates consists of incumbent Ron Dellums, Don Perata, Don MacLeay, Jean Quan, Greg Harland, Maya Dillard Smith, Terrance Candell, and an tenth person who's still not ready for prime time, but will be. Ten choices for Mayor of Oakland, California. This blogger just got off the phone with Greg Hatland, who's an Oaklander who graduated from Oakland High School in 1964 and lives close to California Attorney General Jerry Brown in the Oakland Hills. Hartland, who's website is at Harland4Mayor.com , decided to run for Mayor because Oakland has been a focus of crime for as long as he could remember and wante

The Oakland Salon Beatdown Video is back in the news as the trail starts in April. According to ABC News Channel 7 in the Bay Area, the pretrial hearing was held in Alameda County Superior Court, Department 104. Melissa Seals is the owner of the Oakland hair salon where she was the focus of a brutal beatdown by not one, but six women in the spring of 2009. The women entered the salon and two started the attack while one made a video of it. They then stole her merchandise and raised the blinds so people walking by could see what they were doing, according to The Huffington Post . Here's the ABC News video (Warning: it's graphic): The ABC video reports that in 2010, 36-year-old Melissa Seals is suffering from Post-Tramatic Stress Disorder. One of the attackers is named Kavina Bryant, who attended the hearing. Bryant is the woman in the green sweat pants and blue halter top who does much of the beating of Seals. Another woman, who Melissa Seals identifies as "

Richard Aguirre is an until now largely unknown Democratic candidate for Governor of California taking on California Attorney General Jerry Brown. In the video above, posted today April 17th, Aquirre walks in with the perfect activist-running-for-something attire of jeans, t-shirt, and pony tail, and expects to be taken seriously. Richard v. Jerry at the convention The result, even if that's his brand, is he's in a damaging video he posted on YouTube which shows him not being taken seriously. Richard Aguirre first challenges Jerry Brown to a debate in his speech, then allows himself to be shown yelling at Brown from the back of the ballroom at the California Democratic Convention. After that, much of Richard Aguirre's camera time is spent on a not so merry chase of Brown around the convention, yelling for him to debate like a Chihuahua might bark at a Doberman Pincher. Geez. Finally Richard Aguirre gets to within reach of Brown, who keeps going without st

This space has been constant in reporting buildings that get LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) awards from the U.S. Green Building Council and today's no exception. The popular luxury W Hotel San Francisco, next to Moscone Convention Center, earned a LEED award and celebrated in W Hotel style and fashion, by hosting American Idol Season 8 winner Kris Allen at a ribbon-cutting event on Wednesday at the hotel at a private, invitation-only ceremony. The timing is perfect because Kris Allen just scored his own first:  Allen signed a publishing deal with Universal Music. A LEED award is given to the builders of structures that have efficient, energy-saving HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems that use natural light effectively.  The W Hotel San Francisco is one of a handful of buildings in America, and even fewer hotels, to earn a LEEDS designation. Congratulations.

Waste Management is angry Waste Management v. Recology for the right to dump San Francisco waste is a battle with national implications. Why? It essentially pits one giant garbage firm, Waste Management, against it's much smaller competitor Recology and may pave the way for other local firms to have more success in competing against national organizations in the waste business. Waste Management is 43,400 employees in size; Recology, formerly NorCal Waste Systems, has 2,100. This blogger normally doesn't pay much attention to local trash, preferring the national celebrity brand, but a political battle between two established companies, and the fact that a lot of people from various sides have talked about it without any provocation, caused this space to wade into an argument such that regardless of what is stated, and how reasonable it may be, the other side - or some other side - is bound to be pissed off. But the reason for the attention from this space was a Marc

Today is April 15th, IRS Tax Day. That day where people get their last files together to make a list of fiscal expenditures and get their tax report in to the government before midnight. While today may be a day of dread, fear not, for it's also a time of IRS tax day freebies 2010. Now the trouble is while this is a national trend, not enough retailers or eateries are actually sending out press releases announcing a marketing effort. If this blogger were in the restaurant business, everyone would get a free drink if they purchased a meal and could prove they just filed their taxes. Now there is one company that seems to get "IRS tax day freebies 2010:" Starbucks. If you bring in a reusable mug on April 15th, or today, you get a free brewed coffee according to their website . Cinnabon, who makes those great, big cinnamon rolls with the thick frosting on top, is also part of IRS tax day freebies 2010. Between 6 PM and 8 PM at Cinnabon, you can get two free cupc

In a previous article called 15 common cognitive distortions- how our thoughts influence our mental health , I outlined a list of common cognitive distortions. In review, cognitive distortions are irrational thoughts that usually reinforce negative thinking and emotions and often serve to keep us from positive change. With effort and practice, you can reduce or change your irrational thinking style by practicing the exercises below. This article aims to introduce what a cognitive behavioral therapist might cover with you in therapy as way to help you reach your therapy goals. Identify your style of cognitive distortion(s) . Begin by creating a list of your automatic thoughts and examine them for similarities with a list of cognitive distortions, then outline them in a Thought Record . An examination of our cognitive distortions allows us to see which distortions we tend to use most often. Examine the evidence. A thorough examination of an experience or situation allows us to identif