Crime

Community organizers urge support for Measure BB

At a Monday morning press conference, 12 community activists from anti-violence, religious and crime prevention groups backed Council Member and mayoral candidate Jean Quan in promoting Measure BB, a public safety measure that will appear on the November city ballot.

Gala offers aid to families of Oakland violence victims

Over 300 people convened at Scott’s Seafood Restaurant in downtown Oakland on Saturday night, to attend the 23rd annual gala of the Organization of Chinese Americans-East Bay (OCA-East Bay). In addition to featuring Asian American athletes the group presented $75,000 to the widow and son of Tiansheng Yu, the victim of a fatal attack on the 1800 block of Telegraph Avenue in Oakland this April.

Gang leaders orchestrate crimes from prison using cell phones

A coalition of law enforcement agencies has arrested four Nuestra Familia gang leaders and 30 gang members. Several of those caught were allegedly given orders to commit murder and other violent crimes by imprisoned gang leaders who sent them encrypted messages via cell phones.

Oakland teen shot days before start of new school year

The front page of the San Fransisco Chronicle today told the story of 13-year-old Jimon Clark, an East Oakland teen, shot and killed Wednesday night while doing an errand with his brother. Jimon was days away from starting at Skyline High where he had enrolled in the architecture program, according to the article. The Chronicle article also reported that some in the police union said there has already been a rise in crime since 80 officers were laid-off in July….

Oakland Airport ranks fourth in “laser strikes”

What happens when you shine a high-powered laser pointer at a plane cruising through the sky? Well, you can disorient the pilot, and according to the San Jose Mercury News, it happens so often that there’s a name for it: “laser strikes.” In fact, Oakland Airport ranks fourth in the nation in incidents of laser strikes, and San Jose Airport comes in fifth. There haven’t been any crashes caused by laster strikes, but some incidents during landings have forced pilots…

Disabled parking placards in downtown Oakland; are they legit?

Placard fraud costs the city income in meters and parking tickets. Furthermore, because cars bearing placards have unlimited time and don’t need to be moved every hour or two, fraud prevents parking turnover; that can severely limit parking options for everyone, disabled or not.