Free Republic

For all the worry over the upcoming verdict in the trial of the former BART police officer who killed Oscar Grant, there is just as much determination in Oakland to make sure the reaction remains peaceful. From youth clubs and churches to City Hall and even groups planning protests, many people are working hard to keep the inevitable demonstrations from getting out of hand the way they did Jan. 7, 2009. That evening, rioters damaged scores of businesses and torched several cars in the downtown business district in reaction to the shooting of Grant, who was black, six days earlier...

(06-22) 18:26 PDT OAKLAND -- Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums offered a budget proposal Tuesday that would lay off 53 of the Police Department's 776 officers, a plan he unveiled just two days before the City Council is scheduled to reckon with the city's downward-spiraling finances. Dellums' proposal, similar to one option that the council was already set to consider Thursday night, is ultimately a gamble. It assumes voters will temporarily suspend a mandate in November that the Police Department employ a certain number of officers in order to receive the proceeds of a parcel tax. If voters don't go along...

Remember the days when student fundraisers entailed selling cookies or washing a few cars? Well, it appears that kids at St. Andrew Missionary Baptist Church Private School in Oakland (map) are going above and beyond the call of duty to raise money. According to a report by Anna Werner of CBS5, school principal Pastor Robert Lacy and other men have been dropping off students in downtown San Francisco. There, the kids have been standing on sidewalks with their trays of snacks and asking for donations from passersby. The students claim they did this five days a week, after or during...

There may be no place like home. But, for many Bay Area Middle Easterners, a new market just north of downtown Oakland feels a lot like it. "The smells here remind me of my childhood," said Oaklander Ze'ev Sharone. "It's the aroma of the spices. Driving around, I saw it when it was under construction. When it was open, I came in and said, 'Joy and hallelujah.'" Sharone, a therapist, was born in Israel. The 61-year-old likes to stock up on Israeli groceries, spicy Turkish salad, and fresh soups from the deli counter. "It's just what I'm used to," he...

OAKLAND — It was bad enough that their car crashed into a police motorcycle officer early today. It got worse for some of the occupants when a man walked up and told police they had just beaten him and robbed him of his cell phone, investigators said. Four of the occupants were arrested: two in the robbery; one on suspicion of being an accessory to the robbery, driving under the influence and illegal gun possession; and the fourth on suspicion of illegal gun possession. It all started about 12:45 a.m. when a 26-year-old Richmond man left an Old Oakland club...