Keepingitreal

S.F. woman guilty of punching parking officer

(10-19) 14:18 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco woman tearfully pleaded guilty Monday to a 2006 assault that dislocated the shoulder of a city parking control officer, and left her punishment in the heated case up to a judge.San Francisco prosecutors have sought as much as a two-year prison term for Lina Magailalio, 33, on assault and other charges stemming from the attack Nov. 21, 2006, on parking control officer Angelina Barsi. Her attorney is seeking probation, saying Magailalio has no criminal record. On Monday, Magailalio entered what is known as an open guilty plea - one made without any agreement with prosecutors - that will allow the judge to decide how to sentence her. "My client apologized to Barsi and was crying," Joe O'Sullivan, Magailalio's lawyer, said outside Superior Court. "She said the reason she lost it that day was that her 8-year-old son was having heart problems and was put on cholesterol medication, probably for life." Magailalio admitted to two counts, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and battery causing serious injury. Superior Court Judge Jeff Ross set sentencing for Dec. 1. Prosecutors had stressed that assaults on parking officers must be taken seriously and that Magailalio deserved prison time. Magailalio's legal troubles began when she took her 8-year-old son to see a doctor at St. Luke's Hospital. When her meter on Tiffany Avenue expired, she rushed out with her son to feed it and found Barsi writing a ticket. Barsi told Magailalio that she could protest the citation and drove off. Son in tow, Magailalio drove after Barsi and confronted her three blocks away. At a preliminary hearing, Barsi testified that the 280-pound Magailalio had told her, "You're lucky I don't f- you up," then had punched her in the face. Barsi said she had suffered a shoulder injury as she tried to push Magailalio away. She was off work for eight months. O'Sullivan had conceded his client "just lost it."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/20/BA161A7O3V.DTL#ixzz0UaJhjG3U

The Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival

The Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival is right around the corner, enjoy a "StayCation Weekend" with hotel accommodations and Gold Passes.

The festival is September 12 & 13 and held on the banks of the Russian River in Guerneville, only 70 miles north of the Bay Area. Enjoy the weekend in Guerneville, the West Sonoma town where the Russian River winds through vineyards, grassy coastal hills and forests of giant redwood trees. There are over 50 wineries in the nearby area, the Armstrong Redwood State Park, many small hotels and B&Bs, and a quaint Main Street with antique stores and eclectic restaurants.

Join KBLX's Kevin Brown as we welcome an incredible list of performers on September 12 & 13, including the incomparable Al Jarreau, New Orleans legends The Neville Brothers & Dr. John, the supergroup Jazz Attack with Rick Braun, Jonathan Butler & Richard Elliot... there's a total of 16 performances during the weekend! Plus, enjoy selections from local wineries, an expanded Vendor Village, tasty food offerings... all on the scenic banks of Johnson's Beach.

For all of the event details, visit RussianRiverFestivals.com or call (707) 869-1595.

Is Hip-Hop Too Materialistic?

EXCERPT FROM EASTBAY EXPRESS ~ Let's face it: many rap songs celebrate, if not downright glorify, materialism. To signify baller status, you're encouraged to have a "Rollie" on your arm like Snoop Dogg, "cashmere thoughts" like Jay-Z, and "mustard & mayonnaise" like E-40. Otherwise, as Too $hort might say, you's a "broke biatch." This trend isn't even a new one; back in the old-school days, Grandmaster Melle Mel exclaimed, it's all about the money/ain't a damn thing funny, Jimmy Spicer shouted out, "dollar bill, y'all," and Trouble Funk succinctly stated, "I need some money."The desire for cake, paper, and scrilla isn't limited to hip-hop, by any means; it's surely a reflection of our values as a society. Economics can't easily be avoided in today's economy; the bottom line in America is the bottom dollar, whether we're speaking on Lil' Wayne, Lil' Kim, or Little Orphan Annie. So why should hip-hop be any different?It shouldn't, says Clyde Smith, webmaster of ProHipHop.com, who's been documenting advertising and marketing trends in urban street culture since 2004. According to Smith, "Marketing's always been a part of hip-hop ... as soon as they started doing shows in the clubs, marketing became a normal part of business, as it does in all fields."Okay, but it's a big jump from hand-drawn Phase 2 fliers promoting Kool Herc's block parties to 50 Cent's rumored $300 million deal with MySpace. As Smith notes, hip-hop's economic development has been a gradual process. Flashpoints along the way include Run-DMC's endorsement deal with Adidas, Ice Cube's St. Ides commercials, KRS-One's Sprite and Nike ads, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' gangsta rap soundtrack, Fitty's link-up with Vitamin Water, and Jay-Z's role as pitchman for Hewlett-Packard. CONTINUE READING...

BART Cops Too Ashamed to Identify Themselves?

In the wake of the black eye BART received after one of its cops fatally shot an unarmed passenger in the back, BART police chief Gary Gee has removed the word "BART" from the shoulder patches of officers' uniforms. According to the Chron, instead of saying, "BART Police" in bold letters, the new patches only say "Police," surrounded by a barely readable "Bay Area Rapid Transit" spelled out in very small letters. In other words, BART is attempting to downplay whom its cops work for. The agency, which is facing a huge deficit and plans to raise fares next month, spent $2,500 on the new patches. BART board member Lynette Sweet called the move "one of the stupidest things I've heard." Agency spokesman Linton Johnson said the new patches were in the works before BART cop Johannes Mehserle shot Oscar Grant to death, but you gotta wonder how Gee continues to keep his job. — Robert Gammon

Take 6 Breezes into Yoshi’s

They’re smooth, suave and impeccably in tune. They’re also the most Grammy-nominated vocal group in history. During the last two decades, the six-man a cappella jazz group known as Take 6 has received, in addition to this year’s NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Gospel Artist and three Grammy nominations, 10 Grammy Awards, 10 Dove Awards and one Soul Train Award.It’s hard to pigeonhole Take 6’s music.One listen to the group’s recent Telarc release, “Take 6: The Standard,” and there’s no question that they are the rightful successors to the doo-wop and gospel groups of the 1950s.The line between gospel and jazz, however, is often blurred.These six men who appear at Yoshi’s this week, take on everything from Ella Fitzgerald’s classic “A Tisket A Tasket” (complete with Ella’s voice dubbed in), the Gershwins’ “Someone to Watch Over Me,” and classics by Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye and Quincy Jones to the gospel classic “Shall We Gather at the River.”While there’s no question that the men of Take 6 share a strong faith — each of their bios begins by praising God — they inherit a tradition in which jazz, soul and gospel merge into one. Hence their most recent Grammy nominations include best contemporary jazz album and best gospel performance.Take 6 began at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala., when freshman Claude V. McKnight III formed the Gentlemen’s Estate Club quartet in 1980.Various members came and went, and the group changed its name to Alliance. By 1987, their frequent performances of traditional spirituals and newly composed gospel material led to a contract with the Warner Bros. label, and a name change to Take 6.One year later, the group gained instantaneous fame, as its self-titled debut album scored two Grammys after reaching the top 10 of Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz and Contemporary Christian charts.“While we sing lyrics that always exemplify our spiritual and moral convictions, what we really are at the core is a jazz vocal group,” says 24-year veteran Take 6 David Thomas.Their ability to attract such jazz and R&B stars as George Benson, Al Jarreau, Jon Hendricks and Aaron Neville to join them on some of the latest album’s tracks is proof of their versatility.In the end, the best way to describe Take 6’s harmonious, soothing vocal blend is “fabulous.”
IF YOU GO
Take 6
Where: Yoshi’s, 1330 Fillmore St., San Francisco
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday; 8 and 10 p.m. Wednesday
Tickets: $35
Contact: (415) 655-5600; www.yoshis.com

Parkway Theater to close

(03-19) 18:07 PDT Oakland -- When the curtain falls on the Parkway Theater Sunday night, the heart of Oakland's cross-dressing, noir-loving, kitschy core will go dark, forlorn theater patrons said. "You could sit on a couch, drink beer and watch a movie. What could be better?" said Lisa Brown, a longtime Parkway patron and Maxwell Park resident. "It's hands-down my favorite place to see a movie. It's an Oakland institution. I'm in shock." In the age of faceless multiplexes and $12 movie tickets, the Parkway movie theater provided low-cost entertainment that extended far beyond Hollywood celluloid. The 1926 theater showed classic films, TV extravaganzas like the Obama inauguration, Oscars and Super Bowl, film festivals ranging from educational porn to the African diaspora, midnight showings of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and a full spectrum of vintage slasher, noir, monster and horror flicks.But the best part, patrons say, was not just the $5 tickets for shows - it was that that the Parkway served beer, wine and pizza, which the staff delivered to your seat during the movie. And the seats were couches and lounge chairs, each accompanied by a coffee table perfect for resting one's feet. It was also home to the nationally renowned Baby Brigade, in which weary, isolated parents could bring their infants to the movies Monday nights.SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

Debut Performance: TOWN BIZ

Oakland police chief to resign

Oakland Police Chief Wayne Tucker, whose department has been rocked by controversy, said Tuesday that he will resign next month and blasted the City Council for paying "lip service to their commitment to public safety." Tucker, 65, said at a news conference at Oakland City Hall that he will step down Feb. 28 after serving more than four years as chief. He stressed that he has not been fired - nor has he been asked to resign - but that he is leaving because that is what is best for the city and that "quite frankly, I've lost faith in this council." "I think when the council and the chief of police, regardless of who's making the decision, are finding themselves with irreconcilable differences, that it's time for one of them to go, and I've chosen myself to be the one to go," Tucker said. He made the announcement hours before four City Council members prepared to discuss their plans to hold a vote of no confidence in Tucker, citing spiraling violent crime, a below-average rate of crimes solved and a stream of negative publicity. Tucker described the council's criticism of him as "for the most part inaccurate." The leaders of the proposal, Council President Jane Brunner and members Larry Reid, Desley Brooks and Pat Kernighan, called off their news conference after Tucker's announcement. The chief, whose salary is $205,000, serves at the pleasure of Mayor Ron Dellums. The mayor said he accepted Tucker's resignation with regret and that an interim police chief will run the department after Tucker leaves. Dellums did not say who that will be or how the chief will be selected. Dellums praised Tucker's work in overseeing changes in the department in the wake of the "Riders" scandal. In that case, several officers were acquitted of criminal charges that they had planted evidence and beat suspects in West Oakland in 2000, but the city paid a $10.5 million civil settlement and agreed to implement reforms under the supervision of a federal judge. "If history is recorded correctly, Chief Tucker has been an instrument of change moving forward, has been committed to reforms in the Oakland Police Department, has been respectful of the role of the courts in moving that mandate forward. Many of the changes that now have taken place have moved Oakland well forward in a very dramatic way," Dellums said.SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

New video shows BART officer shooting Hayward man in the back

A BART police officer struggling to handcuff a 22-year-old man stood up over the facedown Hayward resident and fired a single shot into his back while a handful of officers watched, a video taken by a train passenger apparently shows. The attorney for the family of Oscar Grant III, fatally shot by an unidentified BART officer early New Year's Day, said Sunday he plans to file a $25 million lawsuit against the department and asked prosecutors to consider filing murder charges against the officer. The shooting occurred shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday after five officers responded to the Fruitvale station to reports of a fight on a train, officials said, though they have not confirmed whether Grant was involved in the fight. The new video, obtained by television station KTVU, shows two officers restraining a struggling suspect. While the man is lying face down on the ground, one officer appears to be seen pulling out a gun and firing a single shot into his back.Civil rights attorney John Burris, known for his work in several high-profile cases involving police abuse and corruption, said at a Sunday news conference that the shooting was "the most unconscionable" he has ever seen. He said the Alameda County district attorney should consider filing charges of second-degree murder or manslaughter against the officer. I've drafted a notice of claim against BART for $25 million I plan to submit officially," Burris said, adding that the officer had violated Grant's civil rights and wrongfully caused his death.The Police Department is in the early stages of a thorough investigation, BART police Chief Gary Gee said Sunday at a news conference. He declined to discuss many details, as doing so "before all the facts are in could compromise individual recollections and do disservice to the truth and the answers we're all seeking." BARRT police are cooperating fully with a parallel investigation by the Alameda County district attorney's office, Gee said. Gee declined to identify the officer but said he is a two-year BART police veteran. The officer was given drug and alcohol tests before being sent home on administrative leave Thursday, Gee said. The last BART officer-involved shooting occurred in May 2001, Gee said. Mario Pangelina Jr., whose sister had a 4-year-old daughter with Grant, said he was on the same train as Grant that night, but on a different car. He said he saw Grant's interactions with police immediately before the shooting. CONTINUE READING..

Oakland hip-hop quartet BRWN BFLO makes it political

By Angela Woodall -- Bay Area rappers BRWN BFLO took their name from the 1972 autobiography by Oscar Zeta Acosta, "Brown Buffalo" — a tale of an alienated Mexican-American lawyer in Oakland whose Chicano pride and sense of history are awakened.The story is a familiar one to the quartet of first and second-generation Mexican Americans who go by the stage names Somos One (Julio Magana, 30), Giant (Luke Soriano, 29), Big Dan (Daniel Mora, 23) and Jacinto (Jacinto Mingura, 19).Except their barrio story is set to a hip-hop beat.On stage, BRWN BFLO is fun and energetic but always political with the intellectual creativity of old-school rappers like Afrika Bambaataa."If you feeling what we feelin' put your hands to the ceiling" they chanted during a rehearsal for their Wednesday night Oakland Metro show in the basement of Somos One's North Oakland house.In the background Jacinto worked his AKAI sampler like Charles Mingus playing bass and the guest DJ Oja resembled Thelonious Monk on the piano, only his fingers were flying across vinyl."They can't kill us all and they can't deport us," rapped Big Dan, his long black hair flying about his face as he sang about coming up Chicano in the United States.Hip-hop, ethnicity and a dedication to political activism brought together the quartet of college-educated Californians who characterize BRWN BFLO as a Chicano-conscious revolutionary group."We're all on the hip-hop tip," So using hip-hop was the logical choice as their medium to communicate with young people grappling with broken schools, broken homes and a broken system. "It was natural for us," Somos One said, sitting on a sofa surrounded by political posters and handwritten Muhammad Ali and Carol Mosley Brown quotes. "We are part of the hip-hop generation. My heart beats to it." Calling themselves "edu-tainers" and block educators, they try to stay close to their community roots and preach the gospel of violence prevention, cultural pride and La Raza resistance that they said students in dysfunctional schools learn piecemeal — if at all. as Jacinto put it.nly they do it through music and multimedia — an approach that has won them recognition.Their music has also gotten attention. They have shared the stage with Goapele, Ise Lyfe, Frontline, Blue Scholars and Zion I, who they credit as one of their influences along with WAR, Fuga, La Collectiva, Entre Musicos, Los Rakas and Wu-Tang Clan. As their success grew and number of shows increased, the group decided to create a board whose members are DJs, students, community advocates and others. "We want to stay relevant to what's going on," said Big Dan, who learned the hard lessons of a Fruitvale district gangbanger with some serious brushes with the law. Now he and the other members of BRWN BFLO try to reach youth for whom gangs seem like a better option than school. Somos One likened their role to a storyteller who brings history alive and turns the "you're at risk of failure" mantra upside down. "We're all survivors."SOURCE:OAKLAND TRIBUNE

Palo Alto chief to retire amid controversy

(11-20) 21:53 PST Palo Alto -- Palo Alto Police Chief Lynne Johnson announced her retirement today, citing the strain of a controversy she sparked nearly a month ago with comments that appeared to endorse racial profiling. Johnson said at an Oct. 30 public meeting at City Hall that she had directed officers to broadly question African American men while searching for suspects in a string of recent street robberies. She later said she had misspoken and had intended to say that officers should focus on men who fit more detailed descriptions and who acted suspiciously in areas where robberies had happened. But Johnson's words - preserved on videotape - prompted broad outrage, and many black men came forward to complain that they had been unfairly treated by Palo Alto police in recent years, a charge Johnson denied. "It's been kind of rough," Johnson said today. "I've always told my staff that when it comes to the time when you don't look forward to getting up and going to work in the morning, it's time to leave," said Johnson, a 58-year-old Fremont resident who became the city's first female chief in 2003 after 28 years in the department. City Manager James Keene said Johnson's last day of work will be on Dec. 19. Assistant Chief Dennis Burns, a 26-year department veteran, will become the acting head of a department with a staff of 170 and a $28 million annual budget. Keene said Johnson, who is white, had not been forced out. "We didn't even get to that point or that conversation," he said. "She's been here for a long time and I think she's earned the right to choose to leave on her own terms. I support her in her decision, but it's a tough day for people in the department and across the city." The Rev. Jeff Moore II, president of the San Jose/Silicon Valley branch of the NAACP, said he was not surprised by Johnson's retirement considering the community outrage. He had not called for her ouster, but many others had."But the problem's not going away," Moore said. "She wasn't the one driving around stopping people. It's the troops. The Police Department still needs cultural diversity training. We need a promise from the city manager and the City Council that that'll still happen." CONTINUE READING...

18 arrested in raids on violent Richmond gang

Eighteen people, including a Richmond parks and recreation employee, were arrested Thursday in connection with a crackdown on a violent street gang in the city, authorities said. Kaisha Hill, 29, who works as a juvenile group counselor with the parks department, was found at a home on the 400 block of Eighth Street with a kilo of cocaine and three guns, one of which was a MAC-11 automatic weapon, investigators said. Hill is an associate of a Richmond gang called Deep C or Deep Central, authorities said as they announced arrests wrapping up a yearlong investigation led by state drug agents. Some 200 state and local law-enforcement officials conducted raids in two waves, serving 43 arrest warrants in Richmond - predominantly in the city's crime-plagued Iron Triangle neighborhood - as well as elsewhere in Contra Costa County and Alameda, Marin and Sacramento counties. The 18 people in custody were arrested on suspicion of a variety of crimes, including murder, assault with a deadly weapon, shooting at a vehicle and drug possession. About two dozen suspects are being sought. Investigators seized more than two pounds of cocaine, a pound of marijuana, $17,000 in cash and eight guns, including a fully automatic weapon, said Sara Simpson, a special agent in charge with the state Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. Members or associates of the gang have been linked to more than half the city's 47 homicides and 350 shootings last year, authorities said. The gang has about 100 members and associates and engages in drug trafficking, robbery, assault and prostitution-related activities, said state drug agent Michael Mattson. The investigation began after two suspected gang leaders, Todd Gillard and Rohnell Robinson, allegedly tried to kill a rival gang member in a drive-by shooting at the Hilltop Mall in Richmond, authorities said. Instead, they ended up shooting the rival's 17-year-old girlfriend in the neck, leaving her a quadriplegic, police said. Robinson and Gillard are in custody and are awaiting trial. Not all the gang's alleged crimes involved violence. Some members pulled a scam known as "rocks in the box" by selling for $300 what they advertised as plasma-screen televisions worth $3,000, Mattson said. In fact, the supposed TV sets were nothing more than pieces of plywood, he said. At a news conference Thursday at the Richmond Police Department, agents displayed drugs, gun magazines, pictures of arrested gang members, Cincinnati Reds baseball caps featuring the "C" favored by gang members and a fake plasma TV. Police Chief Chris Magnus warned that no single operation will put an end to crime in the city. "But smart, targeted crime suppression efforts of this kind are critical to bring a sense of safety back to our neighborhoods and to send a message that gang members and other criminals are not in control of Richmond's streets," said Magnus, who was flanked by state Attorney General Jerry Brown and Contra Costa County District Attorney Robert Kochly. Magnus said the raids would have "a significant disruptive impact" on the gang. SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

Oakland police tax fails

(11-05) 10:23 PST OAKLAND -- A measure to raise property taxes to beef up Oakland's police force failed to get enough votes to pass, according to final voting results today. City officials including Mayor Ron Dellums said passage of Measure NN was critical in the battle on crime. The measure garnered 54 percent of the vote, far short of the two-thirds majority required for it to pass. The measure would have added 105 police officers and 75 police-service technicians to Oakland's force. Supporters said the initiative was sorely needed, while opponents said city leaders must manage existing tax funds better before asking for more money. "The issue is implementing community policing honestly, which has not been done," said Oakland resident Don Link, an opponent of NN. Last week, Dellums strongly urged voters to support NN, saying failure to do so would lead to a smaller police force. Without the $41 million the measure would raise over four years, the city would not be able to maintain the force at 803 officers, which was promised under Measure Y, a property and parking tax that voters approved in 2004. That measure costs the average property owner $88 a year. But opponents of the new parcel tax questioned its timing, just four years after Measure Y and amid a national economic crisis. The Police Department now has 772 officers. NN would have expanded the department to 908 officers. Beginning in 2009, it would cost single-family residential property owners an additional $113 the first year, with the amount increasing to $276 by the third year. Dellums said the city will surpass 803 officers on Nov. 14, when new trainees graduate from the Police Academy. But with officers leaving for other departments and older officers retiring at a rate of five per month, Dellums said the city needs taxpayers to dig a little deeper into their pockets to offset attrition and improve public safety. Two weeks ago, the City Council voted to close a $42 million budget deficit by shutting city offices one day a month through June, dismissing dozens of city workers and reducing park maintenance. Deputy Chief Jeff Loman said Measure NN would have enabled the department to increase the number of investigators for all crimes, beef up the city's community policing and provide faster response times to 911 calls. SOURCE:STGATE.COM

Police's lawsuit against Oakland is shameful

THESE ARE HARD times for the city of Oakland. To get out of a deep financial hole, the City Council set to cut libraries and museums, eliminate civilian police department employees, slash public works and make other cuts in services that our residents need. In the middle of this financial crisis, a Pleasant Hill law firm has decided to hit Oakland taxpayers with a lawsuit that amounts to little more than a shakedown. The class action lawsuit, instigated by Mike Rains, an attorney best known for representing Barry Bonds, would force Oakland to pay millions of extra dollars in overtime to cops — but not for patrolling the city's streets or investigating crimes. Instead, the lawsuit contends that Oakland cops, rightfully among the highest paid officers in the state, should be paid more for getting dressed, polishing their medals and doing other menial tasks before and after their shifts. If the lawsuit is successful, Oakland taxpayers will be on the hook for untold millions of dollars in overtime. Make no mistake — that would only mean more cuts in important services. One plaintiff in the lawsuit, a sergeant making $115,000, is demanding overtime for the few minutes of reading e-mail and making phone calls he does before his shift. At the same time, he admits making personal phone calls and reading personal e-mail on the city's dime. This same sergeant drives an unmarked police vehicle One veteran testified that it takes him 30 minutes to put on his uniform — including 10 minutes to pin on his medals. One lieutenant wants overtime for the few seconds he spends shaking his pepper spray before each shift.Incredibly, three of the lead plaintiffs were fired for cause: One for threatening an elderly couple with his service handgun, one for watching pornography while on duty and one for providing police investigation information to the criminals under investigation. Yet plaintiffs' attorneys want Oakland residents to pay these three former officers for the time they spent putting on and taking off their uniforms. CONTINUE READING..

Art and Soul Festival 08

Pictures from the Annual Art and Soul Festival 08 held downtown Oakland, California. This year's headliner was Stephanie Mills, who looked really good. She was energetic and the crowd was really into her medley of old songs. She came out singing her traditional hits. Other artists in the crowd were hometown music icons, Too Short, Raphael Saadiq, Kev Choice Ensemble, Rolls Royce, Mark Curry and others. Throughout the weekend, their were several stages that entertained the crowd, with Blues, featuring Lady Bianca, The Mekesmo Band, Lenny Williams and many more. I really enjoyed the Latin perfomers, Brothers Catatayud & Little, Brazilian Flavor featuring Dandara, and many others. The Culture Jam presented by Khalil Shaheed Oaktown Jazz Workshop was especially entertaining. On the World Dance Stage, there were acts that catered to the younger crowd, Hip-Hop Praise Dancing, Fashions N Motion, and the World Dance Jam, were everybody danced to the rhythmic  musical renditions. The gospel showcase was headlined by the legendary Bishop Walter L. Hawkins and the Love Center Choir, Chris Fields, Terrance Kelly & Oakland Inter-faith Gospel Choir, Derrick & Co., Robin Hodge Williams all of which really uplifted the crowd with their gospel musical renditions of uptempo and traditional gospel singing. This year's cultural event brought thousands of bay area residents to Oakland and it was truly wonderful to see the looks on people's faces and how they were embracing the event. Amidst all of the crime in Oakland and the bay area bigups! to Oakland for putting this annual event on in Oakland.

Earthquake rocks Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A magnitude-5.4 earthquake has struck just east of Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.Officials say there are no immediate reports of damage or injuries.The epicenter was 3 miles west-southwest of Chino Hills and 28 miles east-southeast of the Los Angeles Civic Center, which is in downtown Los Angeles, the USGS reports.The epicenter was about 8.5 miles deep. In general, earthquakes closer to the surface produce stronger shaking and can cause more damage than those farther underground. The quake struck at 11:42 a.m. (2:42 p.m. ET), according to the USGS. Kate Hutton, a staff seismologist at Caltech, said 11 aftershocks followed, with 3.8 being the largest and the only one felt, the Los Angeles Times reported.The quake's magnitude classification fluctuated as seismologists reviewed the data. Initially classified as a magnitude 5.8, the quake's intensity was reduced to a 5.6 and then to a 5.4. Because the earthquake magnitude scale is exponential, a 5.8 magnitude quake is four to five times more intense than a 5.4. A 5.4 magnitude quake is considered by the USGS to be "moderate," which can cause slight damage to buildings and others structures. About 500 can happen globally each year, the survey says.There were no immediate reports of injury or damage in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey told The Associated Press. San Bernardino County fire dispatch did not have reports of damage, AP said.According to the USGS archives, it's the biggest California earthquake since September 28, 2004, when a 6.0 quake was recorded south of Parkfield, which is about 70 miles northwest of Bakersfield. SOURCE:CNN.COM

Neighbors accuse drug dealers of setting West Oakland fires

OAKLAND — Two suspicious early morning fires Wednesday in West Oakland that damaged vacant homes on Union and Helen streets appear to be related and intentionally set, but fire officials are not so sure about a third blaze that caused extensive damage to a run-down Victorian on 30th Street.That hasn't stopped a well-known West Oakland developer from labeling all three fires arson and putting the blame squarely on neighborhood drug dealers and Mayor Ron Dellums for letting the city deteriorate.Kathy Kuhner, who owns one of the homes, held a news conference Thursday to publicly accuse a brazen group of drug dealers with terrorizing residents and setting all three early morning fires in the Clawson neighborhood in retaliation for property owners calling police."This is like a terrorist attack,'' she said. "This is not a joke.''Police say they are taking the allegations seriously, but none of the property owners have contacted authorities. And fire officials say no witnesses have come forward."At this time there are no witnesses or suspects," said Fire Lt. David Brue.All the houses were empty. Two were being remodeled and the third had been on the market for many months. The first fire was reported at 12:27 a.m., the last at 4:12 a.m. No one denies there are major problems in the area, with rampant drug dealing high on the list. Is it possible drug dealers set the fire? Police aren't saying no. But the Brue said investigators are leaning toward arson as the cause of the fires at 3050 Union St., which suffered $7,000 damage to property and contents, and 3245 Helen Street, which suffered about $500 damage, but that is not yet official. They do believe the fires are related. He said investigators do not think the fire at 1208 30th St., which sustained about $100,000 in damage, is related to the others. The cause is suspicious but at this point it does not appear to have been intentionally set, Brue said. The property owner was apparently working on the house the day before the fire. "We're still looking for cause and origin,'' Brue said. "The investigation may point to something else.''Mayor Ron Dellums toured the neighborhood Thursday. In a statement, Dellums said he wanted to assure residents that they should not be afraid to stand up to criminals and work with their neighbors to rid the community of violence and other crimes that ruin their quality of life. Dellums said he had received conflicting views on what might have happened from individuals he spoke with in the neighborhood and said he would work closely with investigators to "ensure that justice is done.''investigation is not yet complete. SOURCE:INSIDEBAYAREA.COM

Diocese of Oakland: LEGACY OF ABUSE

Day 1: Sins, secrets and denial Diocese underreported scope of abuse allegations  MULTIMEDIA: Legacy of abuse (video, maps, timeline) POLL: Should diocese have released the names of accused priests, with or without their permission? First in series. Reporters used church documents, obituaries and various public records to identify clergy members accused of sexual abuse of children. Day 2: Leadership disregard MULTIMEDIA: Legacy of abuse (video, maps, timeline)POLL: Should diocese leaders have automatically reported accused priests to police before required to by law in 1997? For most of its 46-year history, the Diocese of Oakland was led by two men. One did not want even his closest advisers to know that his priests had molested Children. Day 3: Abuse was common in religious orders  MULTIMEDIA: Legacy   of abuse (video, maps, timeline) POLL: Should religious orders continue to house accused clergy, while keeping them away from children? SOURCE:CONTRACOSTATIMES.COM The Salesians of St. John Bosco has been the most aggressive church group fighting lawsuits against its priests.

 

Suspect shot by Oakland cops dies

(07-21) 19:27 PDT Oakland -- One of two men shot by Oakland police after a chase that ended in San Leandro has died, police said today. The 21-year-old man was shot at about 10:10 p.m. Saturday at the end of a chaotic chase during which the suspects threw drugs out of their car and crashed into a police car, said Oakland police Sgt. Roland Holmgren, department spokesman. A second suspect, a 21-year-old man, was shot and wounded, police said. Neither man's name was released. The incident began when Oakland police tried to stop a car on the 8100 block of International Boulevard in East Oakland for traffic violations, Holmgren said. The driver of the car refused to stop, leading police on a chase through city streets.The men inside the car threw what was believed to be drugs out of the vehicle, Holmgren said. The driver lost control of the car and crashed into a police cruiser with two officers inside near the corner of Davis Street and Doolittle Drive in San Leandro, police said. The officers confronted the suspects and fired shots, said Holmgren, who did not elaborate on the circumstances that led up to the shooting. A loaded handgun was found inside the car, he said. The officers who fired their weapons were placed on routine paid administrative leave pending investigations by Oakland and San Leandro police and the Alameda County district attorney's office. SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

Teen dies in Oakland shooting

OAKLAND — A 15-year-old boy was shot to death Saturday night not far from his East Oakland home, police said.Police said Derrick Mixon was shot during a confrontation in the 1800 block of 96th Avenue near Birch Street around 10:43 p.m.Although hit more than once, he was able to make it to his home on nearby Cherry Street, where he collapsed outside. He was taken to Highland Hospital, where he died at 11:18 p.m. Saturday.Police said Sunday they have no motive for the killing and no arrests have been made.The killing was Oakland's 72nd of the year. Last year at this time there were 64 homicides.Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $10,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the killer. Anyone with information can call police at 510-238-3821 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572 or 510-777-3211.