Stories from September, 2008:


In Oakland, the innocent find no safety

The Casillas family did everything they could, took every precaution they could think of to keep their boy - their only boy - safe from the violence in their Oakland neighborhood. But it wasn't enough. The violence that Leopoldo and Linda Casillas recognized,...
Source: SFGate: Chip Johnson · 09-30-08 · No Comments »

Chip Johnson: In Oakland, the innocent find no safety

The Casillas family did everything they could, took every precaution they could think of to keep their boy - their only boy - safe from the violence in their Oakland neighborhood. But it wasn't enough. The violence that Leopoldo and Linda Casillas recognized,...
Source: SFGate: Chip Johnson · 09-29-08 · 1 Comment »

Readers add their Dellums gripes

There is no denying the rough treatment Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has received in this column since he took office nearly two years ago. But if you think I've been too critical of his work, allow me to share with you what some readers have said about the...
Source: SFGate: Chip Johnson · 09-26-08 · No Comments »

Readers add their Dellums gripes

There is no denying the rough treatment Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has received in this column since he took office nearly two years ago. But if you think I've been too critical of his work, allow me to share with you what some readers have said about the...
Source: SFGate: Chip Johnson · 09-25-08 · No Comments »

Yummy food that you must try!

I’ve been lucky enough in the past week to eat a lot of good food. Partly it’s because I’ve been too damn busy to cook, which I usually love to do, but it’s also because there is so much good food to be eaten in Oakland. Here are my top dish picks from the last […]

Source: Living in the O · 09-23-08 · No Comments »

Everyday Food in Montclair: Vote Now

It’s time to survey the crowd about everyday food in Montclair, and you are an opinionated bunch.  What are your top spots for coffee, grocery shopping, pizza and chocolate? Please take a minute or two to respond:  click here to vote.  Before launching Today In Montclair, I conducted a survey for a now-defunct zip code blog.  Back […]

Source: Today in Montclair, 94611 · 09-23-08 · No Comments »

Earthquakes are scary!

So I something I found myself thinking about last week, for whatever reason, was if I could name one thing that I would like to see the City make their top priority this year, what would it be? I actually surprised myself with my answer, because after puzzling over the question for a few days, I decided that more than charter reform, or records reform, or zoning, or development, or a zero-base budgeting process, or police department reform, I really, really, really want to see the City get serious about disaster preparedness.

 

Source: A Better Oakland · 09-23-08 · No Comments »

Why are developers split over the Oakland City Council candidates?

Eagle-eyed followers of the City Council run-off election between AC Transit at-large Director Rebecca Kaplan and School Board District 1 Member Kerry Hamill will have observed that the two biggest PACs driven by real estate interests have chosen different candidates. Kerry Hamill’s signs were funded by the Coalition for Jobs and Housing, compromised of many […]

Source: FutureOakland · 09-23-08 · No Comments »

Civil grand jury requests information on Oakland officials’ travel expenses

An Alameda County grand jury has requested travel documentation for all city employees, as city-funded travel faces heightened scrutiny as officials stare at a massive budget deficit.

Source: Oakland Tribune · 09-23-08 · No Comments »

Oakland cathedral marvel opens this week

cathedral

Photo by Oakland Tribune

If the Jetsons were Catholic, they would worship here. Behold a 21st-century sanctuary, the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland. Here sacred candleholders are bead-blasted to a heavenly sheen; holy texts are illuminated in stainless steel and embedded in resin compounds in the concrete flooring; and the focal point — a massive image of Christ himself — is formed by a custom-designed computer algorithm, with precision laser-drilled perforations in dozens of aluminum panels, shaping the hallowed figure in tiny points of light.

Source: Oakland Tribune · 09-23-08 · No Comments »

It’s time for Oakland to give Dellums the boot

From the day Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums took office nearly two years ago, residents have witnessed a steady decline in city government function as public confidence has withered. The city's administrative structure and finances are in deep distress. In the...
Source: SFGate: Chip Johnson · 09-23-08 · No Comments »

Grand Jury Wants Oakland Official Travel Expenses - So? Why Do I Care?

Look, this matter of a civil grand jury asking for travel expense data of Oakland elected officials is more — one more — element of gossip mongering that does not solve any problem.

Source: Oakland Focus · 09-22-08 · No Comments »

Oakland Cathedral of Christ Terrible Street Design

For all of the picts of the Cathedral of Christ exterior, here’s one you’re not going to see much of — how it adresses the street.

Yikes.

Source: Oakland Focus · 09-22-08 · No Comments »

Oakland Scout: Neighborhood Events

Each Oakland neighborhood offers unique activities for residents and those who happen to pass through. If you’d like a reason to explore a different part of town, why not take a family day and participate in a fundraiser for cancer research at the Mills College pool, or feast on food and history at Peralta Park, or stay home for a mobile book visit from the Oakland Public Library? Here is a list of upcoming neighborhood events that you might have not heard about.

Source: The OakBook · 09-22-08 · No Comments »

Customs agent foils armed robber in Oakland

An armed robber chose the wrong victim for a street robbery in Oakland’s Chinatown this morning. The suspect approached a U.S. Customs agent with his gun drawn and demanded her purse.

Source: Oakland Tribune · 09-22-08 · No Comments »

Man found dead in Chinatown apartment ruled a homicide victim

Authorities determined Monday that a man found dead in his apartment Saturday had been strangled, making the death the second homicide reported in Oakland during the weekend.

Source: Oakland Tribune · 09-22-08 · No Comments »

It’s time for Oakland to give Dellums the boot

From the day Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums took office nearly two years ago, residents have witnessed a steady decline in city government function as public confidence has withered. The city's administrative structure and finances are in deep distress. In the...
Source: SFGate: Chip Johnson · 09-22-08 · No Comments »

Oakland high schools to close campuses at lunch

In the next four years, fewer and fewer Oakland high school students will be permitted to escape school grounds at lunchtime, according to a plan that will be presented at Wednesday night’s school board meeting. (See full agenda here.)

Skyline, Life Academy, International, Youth Empowerment, Dewey, Far West And Bunche already have closed campuses. Next year, under the phase-in plan, ninth-graders at the Oakland Tech, McClymonds, Castlemont, Fremont and Oakland High campuses would also have to bring their lunches or enjoy the cafeteria fare.

 

Source: The Education Report · 09-22-08 · No Comments »

Meaningless gestures in the name of government reform

But when I talk about the need for charter reform, I’m talking about changes that will allow government to operate more efficiently, things like eliminating the prohibition on outsourcing, or measures that would create a better system of checks and balances, so as to improve government accountability. I am not talking about meaningless and condescending gestures like this:

Source: A Better Oakland · 09-22-08 · No Comments »

Oakland mom a champion of newborns

Klein, with her own toddler and preschooler in tow, has collected 10,000 pounds of slightly used baby clothes — yes, 10,000 pounds — washed them, sorted them into boxes for individual mothers to receive and donated the boxes to area hospitals and health clinics. At the hospitals, which include Highland Hospital, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Oakland, social workers have given them out to mothers and babies in need.

Related: Never Enough Baby Clothes, Today in Montclair, 94611

Baby mom

Photo by Oakland Tribune

Source: Oakland Tribune · 09-22-08 · No Comments »