Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

Today, Oriana Bolden, someone not known to this space, sent a video she created in downtown Oakland on Thursday that gives a very comprehensive view of the reactions of the crowd after the Oscar Grant / Johannes Mehserle verdict, and the events leading up to the Oakland riot. It opens with comments from some of the mass of people that gathered at Oakland City Hall Plaza. I was there, but was struck by the number of personal media members there. About one-fifth of the crowd had video cameras of some kind. We also see a silent Councilmember Nancy Nadel as the camera pans through the crowd. Here's the video: Reaction to Mehserle Verdict: Oakland, CA: 8 July 2010 from Oriana Bolden on Vimeo . The video has some shocking events, foremost being how a deaf woman was ran over by a police car. It was not clear where at all the police car was going. We see the angry crowd decent on the police car after it ran over the deaf woman. Also, the crowd tries to make room for an am

Just after 9 PM on the Thursday night after the involuntary manslaughter verdict in the Oscar Grant / Johannes Mehserle trial, this blogger got off at 12th Street, Oakland City Center BART Station after uploading the first set of videos of the peaceful protest at 14th and Broadway, and expecting more of the calm that existed around 8 PM. That was not the case. Instead, the police, from not just Oakland, but the California Highway Patrol, and cities like Fremont, had closed into the once safe intersection of 14th and Broadway and had been in the process of carrying out orders to have the crowd leave the area. The result was more police than people, and who did I run into but Oakland lawyer Dan Siegel and two of his friends, who complained in detail about what they saw as runaway police misconduct. One friend said "OPD (Oakland Police Department) had to put us in this vice. (Councilmembers) Jean Quan, Rebecca Kaplan, and I decided we were going to be the police line. W

Oakland, California is now what it hates most: the center of attention in America for a reason it does not want: the Oscar Grant verdict. Former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and not 2nd degree murder, or 1st degree murder as many had desired. The announcement of the ruling had many looking for Oakland to erupt in a wave of violence and property damage that didn't happen while the Sun was up. These three videos below show the giant, peaceful protest, which started on the corner of 14th and Broadway and with one-fifth of its ranks being members of the media, and was moved into the middle of 14th and Broadway. The result was the largest peaceful, traffic-stopping protest ever held in downtown Oakland. This first video shows what happened just before the street protest: The second video is from the middle of the protest at 14th and Broadway: The third video features a the dramatic raising of an enormous flag on

AC Transit Zero Emission Bus  In Monday's Bay Area News Group websites The San Jose Mercury News and the Tri Valley Herald in San Jose, California and Southern Alameda County, AC Transit Interim General Manager Mary King explained why the East Bay California public transit service provider is asking the 1,750 member Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) to accept a contract it imposed on them. King starts by explaining that "Our future — and the future of affordable and environmentally sound transportation for Alameda and Contra Costa counties' riders — is in jeopardy," then tells the reader what this space has been trying to drill into the collective heads of many for some time: revenue froms sales and property taxes has decreased. But what King does not explain in numbers is that AC Transit's total operating revenues have dropped by $12 million in one year, and all one has to do to understand this is download and read the AC Transit budget here: BUDGET .

Terrance Candell Oaklander and St. Mary's graduate, Director of Candell's College Preparatory Academy, and CNN Roland Martin look-alike Dr. Terrance Candell , smarting from what he views as an apparent slight on the part of The Oakland Tribune , and regarding the Oakland Seen-produced Mayoral Forum of three weeks ago, issued a provocative video entitled "Candell Crushes Quan & Kaplan At Mayoral Forum pt.1." While this blogger attended the San Francisco Dress for Success event that evening, there was a hired video spy in the building. From the video of the forum, Terrance Candell was the crowd favorite, even as the Oakland Tribune failed to note that fact until down in the depths of the page, and even then giving the appearance that it wasn't real but planted by him. So, since Candell and company thinks he wasn't well-reported by the Oakland Tribune , they issued this video: Candell's style is a crowd pleaser if you're looking for sp

Oakland District Four Councilmember Jean Quan met with this blogger for a requested redo of an interview conducted with her just after her kickoff event for the Oakland Mayor's Race. The request came from this space simply because the first interview video was so long, 41 minutes long, it was at least 12 minutes beyond the length of the Don Perata Interview of a month ago, and 18 minutes longer than the interviews with mayoral candidates Don Maccley and Greg Harland. Jean Quan  The desire was for a more uniform length that showed the candidate in a good light so that you, the viewer, could make a good evaluation. The result is this 29 minute-plus video that's light-years better than the first one. Rather than meet in a cafe, as before when we met in the upstairs nook at the Lake Merritt Cafe, we met at the Law Offices of Siegel and Lee, the same firm in Oakland City Center where Oakland City Council Vice Mayor Jane Brunner is a partner. Like many of my visits her

If The Oakland 209 Gin Cocktail Competition at Sidebar Oakland felt like a small town reunion of friends, the Bloggers and Boosters party we held for my friend Libby Schaaf was even more so. The event was held at Era Art and Design Bar on Grand Avenue near Broadway in downtown Oakland, and was very well-attended, with a mix of Oakland City Council members like Oakland Council District Five's Ignacio De La Fuente and Pat Kernighan from District Two (who's in a tough re-election battle against Jennifer Pae ), to local notables like Bill Wong, to Libby's family and friends, and their friends. A good, intimate mix. Libby Schaaf  Libby is running for the Oakland City Council Seat currently held by Councilmember Jean Quan, who's running for Mayor. But, and nothing against Councilmember Quan, Libby really should run for Mayor of Oakland. Ignacio said it best: "One of the things I'm absolutely convinced of is that Libby Schaaf is the most well-train

Sidebar Oakland  You know the Oakland Restaurant Scene has picked up when Sidebar Restaurant on Grand Avenue holds what was the Adams Point District's first cocktail competition. The 209 Gin Oakland Bartender Cocktail Competition was held last Wednesday night at the Lake Merritt bistro-style eatery known for its good food and warm atmosphere. The idea was to learn who could make the best drink creation based on 209 Gin - the makers of which did not endorse this blog post. The competition featured great bartenders making great cocktails and from some of Oakland's hottest eateries: Matt and Brian from Sidebar , Marjon from Era Art and Design Bar , Josh from Pican , Alex from Marzano, Matt from The Wood Tavern , Brian representing Levende East , and Jon who's at Grand Tavern, and Eric from Adesso . (As an aside, the only problem was all of the Oakland 209 Gin Cocktail Competition bartenders were men. There are some great female bartenders, like Britt at Pican,

One evening during the 2009 NBA Finals this blogger was given a surprise: the opportunity to be a celebrity bartender for the first time and at a place called Players Sports Bar and Arcade at Pier 39 in San Francisco. Aside from the fact the owners of Players Sports Bar should have aimed higher that a blogger, it was a heck of a lot of fun. So much so, that for World Cup Soccer, it's got to be hopping! One day, Steve Molloy, one of the owners of this kind of mini Dave and Busters in San Francisco, was the tour guide through this vast 13,000 square foot of Pier 39 space, leading the camcorder through its islands of video games, air hockey tables, and other fun stuff. But the video sat on the computer waiting to be uploaded while yours truly fretted with how to improve it. Yesterday, all the worrying gave in to the desire to just get it out, so the result is the video above and a plug for the place that may have been the first in the San Francisco Bay Area if not Americ

Oscar Grant  As Oakland, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, California, and much of the United States await the jury verdict in the Oscar Grant / Johannes Mehserle murder trial, Oakland braces for what's widely feared to be an outbreak of riots should the jury decision not go in a way that is an obvious punishment for former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle. If you want to find out what's happening on the streets of Oakland around the rioting fears, there are few better people to talk to than Oakland cab drivers. On Saturday night, one cab driver (who did not want to be identified by cab service provider or name), did agree to this video above as we talked about what he heard people saying as they rode his cab . "Everybody's talking about it," he said. "I don't know. Some people are saying that a lot of people left town. You know this guy was saying 'I knew a lot of cool white people that's left town. They're not ra

Just got an email from Pier 39 (Pier 39 Beach Street & The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94133 (415) 705-5500) about their many upcoming events for the Fourth of July. Here's what it reads: Fourth of July Waterfront Celebration! PIER 39 celebrates Independence Day with a star-spangled day filled with fun and excitement for the whole family! Beginning at 3 pm, enjoy free live band performances in the PIER 39 Entrance Plaza. From 3 – 5 pm, listen to the soft rock explosion of Mustache Harbor. Then get ready to rock out to your favorite 80's hits with Tainted Love from 6 – 9:30 pm. Be sure to check out our street performers on the Crystal Geyser ALPINE SPRING WATER Stage throughout the day. After the concert at approximately 9:30 pm, look up to the sky over the Bay for The City of San Francisco's annual fireworks display. PIER 39's Fourth of July activities are proudly sponsored by Coca-Cola, Crystal Geyser ALPINE SPRING WATER, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, t

Berkeley AC Transit Bus Rapid Transit Oakland, CA-based AC Transit has declared that contract talks between the Alameda - Contra Costa District Transit Company and the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 192, (ATU) have reached an impasse. AC Transit is working to close an estimated $56 million budget deficit due in large part to reductions in revenue from property taxes. AC Transit is working to reduce labor costs by 8 percent at least; far better than cutting jobs but the ATU fails to see it that way. AC Transit has been forced to increase fares and decrease service to make up for the revenue shortfall. ATU made an offer but it reportedly wasn't enough to help close the gap: AC Transit seeks $15 million in savings. What the ATU does not understand is AC Transit's budget problems, like those of the City of Oakland itself, are due to massive reductions in sales and property tax revenue . AC Transit receives a percentage of each dollar of property tax collected in wha

Today, Wednesday, Oakland At-Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan made official what many of her supporters were waiting for: that she's officially running for Mayor. She did this 49 minutes ago at the Joyce Gordon Gallery at 406 14th St. It was just two years ago in September 2008 that now-Councilmember Kaplan talked with this blogger about running for the At-Large Oakland City Council Seat: Now, less than two years later, and having successfully been elected as At-Large Oakland Councilmember,  Rebecca Kaplan announces she's running for Mayor of Oakland. What was true then in 2008 is true now, Oakland's in terrible fiscal shape and its worse today. But let's go a step further: Oakland's got a giant unemployment and underemployment problem that could sack many of the new restaurants that have opened over the past two years. Is Kaplan the person to fix all of this? Well, she just got into Oakland City Hall. Mayor Dellums?  What's up? While I don&#

On Sunday, this space reported the existence of 11 examples of graffiti at various points around Oakland's Lake Merritt from Grand Avenue to Lakeshore Avenue. All of the taggings were done using red spray paint and all were messages related to the Oscar Grant, Johannes Mehserle murder case. Some of the graffiti messages seemed to wish harm to Johannes Mehserle, the former BART Police Officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant. Here's the video showing the problem: Today, all of the messages have been removed by the City of Oakland. The shores of Lake Merritt are back to their unmarked and clean look as the photo above shows.   I did not check the AC Transit Bus Stop on Grand Avenue, but since the video pointed to all of the places, and all of those points are clean, the bus shelter should be as well.  Unless, of course, the City of Oakland's not in the mood to help AC Transit.

City of Oakland At-Large Councilmember and would-be Oakland Mayor's Race participant has announced she's going to make a "special announcement" and reports that it "Will be an eventful speech solidifying her position in the Mayoral race." It will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m at the Joyce Gordon Gallery 406 14th St. In other words, after meetings, events, talks, and the parking issue, Councilmember Kaplan's going to officially run for Mayor of Oakland. And why not? The Oakland Mayor's Race is wide open race and anything can happen between now and November, when the election for the next Mayor of Oakland is held. What I hear from Oaklander after Oaklander is that not one of the candidates is exciting to them. That may be because they haven't seen all of them. The Joyce Gordon Gallery is located on 14th Street between Broadway and Franklin Streets in downtown Oakland.

Google and Twitter taking on the NYTimes While Arthur O. Sulzberger, Chairman and Publisher of The New York Times , holds that Google is the NYTimes "friend" and they have a good working relationship - even to the point of hounding SFGate.com regarding this blogger's claims to the contrary - a recent Amici  or "friend of the court" brief filed by the New York Times and other large news organizations openly attacks the work of online news aggregators like Google News. If the New York Times likes Google so much, why would it attach itself to the friend of the court brief? The backstory is the Barclay's Capital v. TheFlyOnTheWall.com case. In that case, New Jersey-based TheFlyOnTheWall.com was accused of taking information on bank upgrades and downgrades of stocks that was originally produced by Barclays and the other banks involved in the copyright infringement lawsuit lawsuit. Barclays holds that TheFlyOnTheWall.com website “systematically and

Gen. Stanley McChrystal  The Runaway General , the Rolling Stone Magazine article that cost Gen. Stanley McChrystal his job as commander of Allied Forces in Afghanistan, and exposed a culture of McChrysal's aides that were hostile to civilian military officers, is out on newsstands and online, and it opens with the now famous blast against NATO allies slated to attend a dinner he was assigned to go to. While Gen. McChrystal's comment that there was no one in the room who could beat him up, or: "I'd rather have my ass kicked by a roomful of people than go out to this dinner. Unfortunately, no one in this room could do it." ..made the press, there's more that didn't, until now. This is what else McChrystal's aide said after the writer Michael Hastings asked "Who's he going to dinner with?" The McChrystal aide says "Some French minister. It's fucking gay." Hastings says McChrystal's staff consists of "a

Oakland Parking is STILL a problem Yes. Another Oakland Parking problem. This space continues to receive tips and emails from Oaklanders and people visiting Oakland who have horrible parking stories they want to share with the World. Since Oakland's At-Large Councilmember and would-be mayoral candidate Rebecca Kaplan thinks it's OK for Oakland to use parking fees to balance its budget, even at the expense of the poor from what was yelled to this blogger earlier this year, and without provocation or apology from Councilmember Kaplan (and not bloggers who support her run for Mayor), this space will continue to present each Oakland Parking problem to her. The last one was from Nick Mitchell, who complained of the ugly DMV and Oakland system that works to cause late payment of parking fines . This one is from an Oaklander, Terese Tatum, who shared a letter sent to Oakland Parking Head Noel Pinto: Dear Mr. Arnold and Mr. Pinto, I have spent hours on the phone and left

Koman's off the hook, sort of While it's a bit harder for this space to be excited about FIFA World Cup 2010 after the USA was eliminated by Ghana 2-1 on Saturday, the fire for World Cup still burns. After all you have to love a sports event where Soccer fans Mick Jagger and Bill Clinton have a better chance of scoring than some of the teams. Take Brazil vs. Portugal, and England in it's match against Germany. In the Brazil vs. Portugal match, neither team scored; it ended in a 0-0 draw and both advanced to the second round. Brazil won Group G play, while Portugal was two points behind them. Now, Brazil will play Chile in the second round, with Portugal vs. Spain. Portugal needed a draw and so played like they did, much to the frustration of Brazil. "It's really boring when we have to play against an opponent with 11 players on the back, only trying to draw," Brazil's striker Luis Fabiano said according to The LA Times . England and the Disa

Frank Shamrock (Frank Alisio Juarez III) announced he's retiring from American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting at at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum Saturday at HP Pavilion. Frank Shamrock is the four-time defending, undefeated MMA champion and a 7th degree black belt in something called "Submission Fighting," which is a type of wrestling sport. Shamrock's four time title defense included some memorably brutal battles, like the one against Igor Zinoviev in 1998 that ended in a knockout. It was called the most violent slam in Ultimate Fighting Championship history. (Warning, the video is violent .) Shamrock stopped UFC fighting in 1999 after what's considered to be the one of the greatest fights in UFC history against Tito Ortiz. After that fight, Frank Shamrock was considered the greatest ultimate fighter in history. After a brief stint as an actor, Shamrock returned to fighting in 2001 and had a number of memorable bouts through 2009, when he was