With the holiest days in Judaism approaching and nearly one year after the Hamas attack on Israel, Bay Area synagogues are on high alert.
Last year, Rabbi Mark Bloom’s biggest worry was finding enough chairs for the High Holidays. This year, it’s making sure every door is locked twice.
“This past year has undoubtedly been the most challenging I’ve ever had to face as a rabbi,” he told CBS News Bay Area.
With the anniversary of the October 7th Hamas attack coinciding with Judaism’s holiest days, anxiety at Oakland’s Temple Beth Abraham is at an all-time high.
“I wake up at night thinking about it still. I think about what if I was taken hostage. I have nightmares about it. I think it’s changed the relationships I have with people,” said congregant Elan Masliyah.
For the anniversary, Bloom is increasing security, adding extra guards with additional support from the city’s police department.
“The key thing that October 7th changed was the realm of the possible started to seem like the realm of the probable,” said Rafael Brinner, a counterterrorism analyst for the Bay Area Jewish Federation which oversees security for Jewish institutions in Northern California.
Brinner believes Iran’s recent attack on Israel has added a new layer of unpredictability to an already precarious situation.
“We’re living under the sense of, ‘When is something going to happen next?’ and the key thing for us to do is prepare so that we’re not thinking of it every minute of the day, but we’ve done our preparation,” he told CBS News Bay Area.
For Bloom, it’s about reminding people that even amidst all the sorrow and fear there’s at least one silver lining.
“It really has brought our community together,” he said.
OAKLAND — A Whole Foods store property in Oakland that a decade ago was a magnet for protests and vandalizations has now enticed a real estate buyer to invest in the East Bay’s largest city.
An unidentified buyer has paid $44.4 million for the Whole Foods site, according to JLL, a commercial real estate firm that arranged the property deal.
The Whole Foods store is at 230 Bay Place on the edge of downtown Oakland.
In 2011, the store was vandalized and its windows were broken as part of the Occupy Oakland and Oakland General Strike protests directed against Corporate America, the government and other large organizations.
Yet the store has remained open and generates enough revenue and attracts sufficient customers that it has landed a buyer for the property.
JLL Commerical real estate brokers Eric Kathrein, Geoff Tranchina, Gleb Lvovich and Warren McClean arranged the transaction.
“We love bright spots to the Oakland story, and this investor was able to understand the quality of this location and make a great strategic bet,” said Kathrein, a JLL managing director.
The Whole Foods Bay Place totals 57,200 square feet. The existing Whole Foods lease runs for more than a decade.
“This Whole Foods ranks top among its 22 locations throughout the Bay Area and with 12 years of lease term is a great acquisition with irreplaceable credit,” said Tranchina, a JLL managing director.
The healthy and organic foods market occupies a 2.2-acre site on a lot at the corner of Bay Place and 27th Street. This gives the store high visibility.
“The immediate area surrounding Whole Foods is densely populated being home to more than 289,000 residents within a three-mile radius,” JLL stated. “Given its location in downtown Oakland, the property is walkable to numerous multi-housing communities and is served by public transport nearby, including BART.”
A major medical emergency at the Fruitvale BART station Wednesday night closed that station and the Lake Merritt station as service in Oakland was halted, officials said.
The agency announced the initial service disruption at around 9 p.m. with the Fruitvale station closure. A short time later, the transit agency said there was no BART train service between West Oakland, 12th Street, and Coliseum stations.
The Oakland Fire Department confirmed to CBS News Bay Area that a person had been struck by a train on the tracks, but did not have any additional details.
As of 9:30 p.m., major delays exist in the system on the Berryessa Line in the Dublin/Pleasanton, Berryessa, Richmond and Daly City directions. 15 minutes later, BART announced the Lake Merritt station was also closed.
The agency later clarified that Lake Merritt station closed because the power was down. AC Transit has parallel bus service on routes 62, 73 and 1T to assist riders.
There was no word regarding when service would be restored.
Vice President Kamala Harris gave her thoughts on Oakland losing all its major sports teams.
Harris was recently a guest on “All the Smoke” podcast hosted by former Golden State Warriors players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
During the nearly hour interview, Harris, who was born in Oakland and raised in Berkeley, was asked about the mass exodus of Oakland sports teams.
“Oh, it breaks my heart. It breaks my heart,” she said. “Remember, we used to have all of them? You know, you just drive by that area. When I go to Oakland, when I go to the Bay Area. When you like land at Oakland Airport and just pass the Coliseum. It just breaks my heart and good, good teams, right?”
In recent years, the city of Oakland lost their MLB, NBA and NFL teams as they moved to other cities.
The Warriors left Oakland in 2019 for the Chase Center in San Francisco. In 2020, the Raiders left the Bay Area and California as the team relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Oakland A’s recently ended its final season in the city as the team prepares to move to Sacramento for several years while a new stadium is being built in Las Vegas.
Harris also talked about how the moves impacted Oakland’s economy.
“It was part of the economic engine of Oakland,” Harris said. “And then the vendors, and it was the local folks, small businesses.”
Barnes mentioned while he loves the Warriors’ new home, it would never be like Oakland and Oracle Arena, in which his co-host Jackson and Harris agreed.
“I’m always going to think Golden State Warriors is Oakland,” Harris said. “That’s Oakland.”
Harris, Barnes and Jackson also discussed the Warriors’ “We Believe” era in the mid 2000s as Harris attended games during that time. Barnes and Jackson played for the team during that era as well.
“I do remember. We want to say our Warriors are always good, whichever era. But that was a very special time,” Harris said. “I mean it was electric, you guys remember? It was electric and we would take BART to get there and go.”
Harris added the thing she likes about sports in general and the Warriors is the team bringing “all kinds of people from around the Bay Area.”
“The Bay Area is a melting pot, right? All coming in,” she said. “And that team, I mean you guys were like the best of the best, legendary, legendary.”
In addition to her Bay Area roots, Harris also talked about being a stepmother and her racial identity during the interview.
An individual was shot in Oakland on Saturday afternoon in the 2900 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
The Oakland Police Department is investigating the shooting, which took place just after 2 p.m. on Sept. 28. The victim was transported to a local hospital where they are now in critical condition, according to the police department.
Oakland police are asking members of the public with information about the incident to contact the department’s felony assault unit at 510-238-3426, or the department’s tip line at 510-238-7950.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
A day Oakland sports fans have long dreaded has arrived — the last major professional franchise in the East Bay is leaving town.
Fans are planning a wake for the Athletics in the downtown Jack London Square neighborhood following Thursday’s home finale at the Coliseum against the Texas Rangers.
Here’s a look at each organization to leave Oakland, in order of departure and with details on each move:
California Golden Seals
An NHL team from 1966-76, the California Golden Seals left in 1976 to become the Cleveland Barons after struggling to deliver a winning product in Oakland.
The Barons were a short-lived franchise, merging two years later with the Minnesota North Stars, who eventually relocated to become the Dallas Stars.
Golden State Warriors
Many players expressed mixed emotions after leaving Oracle Arena, an intimate venue nicknamed “Roaracle” next door to the Coliseum, for the move to Chase Center in San Francisco ahead of the 2019-20 season.
Golden State played at Oracle for 47 seasons, winning NBA championships 40 years apart in 1975 and 2015.
Despite all the new amenities and modern practice facility at Chase, it took time for the arena to truly feel like home. Coach Steve Kerr said it, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, too.
Curry, the two-time NBA MVP and all-time 3-point leader, had to adapt his signature tunnel shot with the change of venue. Depending on the side where his team warms up, he now opts to either try a full-court heave or a shot from an entry way well above one corner of the court.
Oakland Raiders
Raiders owner Mark Davis wanted a football-only stadium and he got one in Las Vegas in Allegiant Stadium, which opened in 2020 and hosted the Super Bowl earlier this year.
The team has now left Oakland twice, having departed in 1982 for Los Angeles only to return in 1995 and then making the latest move to Nevada.
At the Coliseum, the Raiders built “Mount Davis,” as it became known in reference to late owner Al Davis, a section of third-deck outfield seats that largely disappointed baseball fans who lost their picturesque views of the Oakland Hills and the intimacy of a smaller stadium.
Oakland Athletics
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred insisted for years that the A’s needed a new ballpark to be a sustainable organization.
They have tried to build in multiple spots throughout the Bay Area, most recently at the Howard Terminal site along the water not far from Jack London Square. But there were public transportation and parking challenges, so owner John Fisher pushed on with exploring options in Las Vegas.
Last November, fellow baseball owners unanimously approved Fisher’s relocation plan. The A’s plan to play in the state capital of Sacramento for at least the next three campaigns and hope to move to Las Vegas for the 2028 season.
A large fan group sent “Stay In Oakland” boxes to 15 select owners in hopes of swaying the vote to no avail.
On Monday, Fisher released a letter that outraged fans once more because many have made it clear they just don’t believe him and don’t consider his words genuine.
“I know there is great disappointment, even bitterness,” Fisher wrote. “Though I wish I could speak to each one of you individually, I can tell you this from the heart: we tried. Staying in Oakland was our goal, it was our mission, and we failed to achieve it. And for that I am genuinely sorry.
“Looking ahead, I hope you will join our beloved A’s as we move forward on this amazing journey. I hope I will see you again sporting the Green and Gold. And I hope we will make you proud.”
As the Oakland Athletics play their last home games at the Coliseum, employees still working the stands in their 70s, 80s and even 90s are bracing for what’s next.
Sometimes, Leland Anderson steals a quick glance high into the stands above left field and finds his wife Sandy in section 237 for a wave and a smile.
It’s their way of checking in during shifts as Guest Services ushers at the Oakland Coliseum.
Leland Anderson, right, kisses his wife Sandy while being photographed at Oakland Coliseum.
Godofredo A. Vásquez / AP
“She’s the hottest,” 79-year-old Leland said with a grin while working his usual sections of 122 and 123 for an Athletics game.
The Andersons have always loved baseball, so once their four sons had grown and retirement came along, the couple from California’s Central Valley soul-searched about what they would do next. And it just so happened the A’s were hiring in 2013, the perfect time for them.
Like the Andersons, so many longtime Coliseum employees have built lasting memories at the ballpark, which is set to host a sellout crowd for the final scheduled A’s game here on Thursday. Thousands of fans crowded the stadium to see the team face the New York Yankees for the last round of weekend games prior to the move.
The club has played in Oakland since 1968 and plans to call Sacramento home for at least the next three years before a scheduled move to Las Vegas ahead of the 2028 season. The NFL’s Raiders left the Coliseum and relocated to Las Vegas in 2020.
In the third-base field box, 95-year-old Sam Moriana is one of those familiar faces fans recognize. He charms them with his quick wit and warm welcomes, then leads people to their seats.
He might even share what he calls “the keys to longevity” with a complete stranger.
“Olive oil, garlic, red wine, humor and classical music,” cracks Moriana, believed to be the oldest A’s employee — he even checked with human resources.
“I’m the oldest goat,” he said.
Visiting teams have also created relationships with these ushers, security personnel, concession workers and clubhouse attendants.
“You come here and you see the same people and it’s like family,” said Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., who made his major league debut for the Mariners at the Coliseum on April 3, 1989, and recorded his first career hit here. “They watched me grow up, they watched my kids grow up, so it’s hard. Next year, there’s going to be all new faces and it’s not going to be the same. And it’s not going to be the same for the people of Oakland.”
Many of the employees are still working well into their golden years because they love being part of the games and cherish working at a place with such history, not only for the city of Oakland but in baseball. Many will now retire.
Others are starting to look for jobs elsewhere, such as 35-year-old Derrick Smith. He has been with the A’s the past four years and will soon move cross-country to join the Heat and Marlins franchises in Miami for bittersweet “new beginnings.”
“Kind of sad to leave my friends and my family, but I’m so excited for a fresh new start,” he said.
Some workers remain uncertain about whether they might work games in Sacramento — if they’re even asked and considered. Employees say communication has been minimal.
Leland Anderson, left, fist bumps Stomper during a baseball game between the Colorado Rockies and the Oakland Athletics.
AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez
The Andersons, who celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary on July 3, raised their boys in nearby Hayward and would regularly go to games.
Leland and Sandy come from Modesto, a couple of hours away, and stay with an A’s colleague who welcomes them into her home when they work games.
“We have always loved baseball,” Sandy explained. “When we dated it was either a movie or baseball, and most of the time baseball won. The night we got engaged we went to a Giants game because the A’s were out of town. It’s just always been part of our makeup. He always played baseball, I always watched, and we’ve had four sons who all played baseball.
“So we were Little League parents forever. It’s in our DNA.”
People like the Andersons are the faces of the Coliseum.
“Some of it’s kind of sad for the people that are not going to be going, excited for the people that are,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said during Tampa Bay’s last visit in August. “It’s been a unique group here of employees. It does seem like the carryover they’ve been pretty consistent as an organization with who they employ. Hopefully, there’s strong consideration for opportunities for them moving forward. I hope some of them get a chance to do some games in Sacramento.”
Clyde and Derek Williams, a father-son security team at the Coliseum, also work Golden State Warriors games at Chase Center in San Francisco, but losing the A’s will hurt.
Clyde Williams lives 44 miles north in Fairfield, practically halfway to Sacramento, so he could commute to California’s capital if he’s asked. He worked Bill Graham Presents “Day on the Green” concerts at the Coliseum beginning more than 25 years ago.
“Well, it’s been everything to me. I’ve been out here on the site for 25-27 years,” he said. “So my heart is saddened that they’ll be leaving but that’s part of the business, so therefore we have to go wherever the big guys say to go.”
He knows they all will deeply feel the absence of the Coliseum glory days.
A’s catcher Shea Langeliers has always enjoyed interacting with all of the familiar ballpark staples.
“The people that work here it feels like a family, we’re all close, all nice,” he said. “They take care of each other, they take care of us. It’s really pleasant to be here with these people. They do such a good job and they’re really fun to talk to and all around just good.”
Clyde Williams describes his most memorable moments as the ones “when fans come in and giving them a great experience.”
“It’s been a pleasure,” he said. “I love this job. I love this place.”
OAKLAND — A’s fans are counting down the team’s final days in Oakland and, at Sunday’s matchup with the Yankees, most were putting aside their anger to reminisce about the good times tailgating at the Coliseum.
If anyone had a right to be sad on Sunday it was James Harris, who started coming to A’s games as a young boy. His father worked at the ballpark when it opened in 1968 and, years later, actually collapsed and died in the parking lot.
“When I come here, I think of that and get a little misty,” Harris said. “But he brought me out here for the first time so I’m trying not to be emotional about it because there’s so many good things and so many bad memories too. I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to have survived.”
Ever since the team announced its intention to move, many A’s fans have gone through the five stages of grief, ending now with acceptance. Marisa Villegas spent one last, intimate tailgate with her husband.
“Really, historically, we’ve had really large tailgates,” she said, “Sometimes we’ve had just the two of us, like we are right now. And, I think, I just really wanted to be here today to experience this last opportunity to tailgate for my A’s.”
Linda Jusino was surrounded by friends on her 60-something birthday. She started coming to the games when she was nine years old.
“It’s sort of unbelievable,” Jusino said. “We really want to stay. This is the Oakland Coliseum and it’s a wonderful place to be and they don’t know what they’re missing by not being in the Oakland Coliseum.”
She wasn’t the only one who thought the Coliseum was getting a bum rap. Martha Marin has had a job shuttling disabled fans in a golf cart for about eight years now.
“I know there’s a lot being said about the stadium but, to me, I love the stadium. It’s just exciting to be here,” Marin said. “But then, when you think about it, we’re not going to have this exciting thing anymore. It’s depressing. Yeah, we could polish it up just like you would polish up your home. You know, when your home is getting older, you work on it and keep it up.”
Tough as it may be for others, A’s fan Mike Murray was taking a practical approach. He’s more interested in the team winning and thinks they have a better chance somewhere else.
“I think it’s better for the team. They’re going to a city with more money,” Murray said. “They may have a shot at another World Series, right? I don’t think that would happen here with Oakland. I don’t think they have the support of the city. The fans, yes. The city, no.”
Though the A’s season ends Thursday, the Yankees will play on. But it was nice to have one more chance to take on the Bronx Bombers in a place that has meant so much to so many for so many years.
James Harris was philosophical.
“They say everything has a beginning and an end,” he said. “So, it’s gonna end and we might as well enjoy the fact that we can come out and see the Yankees and the A’s one last time.”
There are no fair-weather fans in Oakland anymore. All that is left are those who are willing to give way more love and loyalty to a team than it probably deserves.
John Ramos accidentally launched a lifelong career in journalism when he began drawing editorial cartoons and writing smart-alecky satire pieces for the Bakersfield High School newspaper.
Night markets have injected some much-needed life into San Francisco’s night hours. Now, across the Bay Bridge, Oakland’s Chinatown has announced it will host its first night market on Saturday.
Tony Trinh grew up in Oakland’s Chinatown when his family opened Phuong Jewelry.
“My mother started this business in 1983,” he said.
The shop has stayed a staple, but he said the neighborhood has changed. These days, almost all businesses that haven’t shuttered are closing around 4 p.m.
“Since the pandemic, it really accelerated,” Trinh said. “Vacancies, a lot of graffiti, illegal dumping, as well as just a lot more crime,” he said.
His own family store was a target of thieves in April. Two weeks ago, Trinh said his family installed a gate that buzzes people in and out for protection. But it is also evidence that the store is here to stay and that they continue to invest in the neighborhood.
So much so, Trinh is leading the organizing for a night market on Saturday as the Executive Director of the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council, or OCIC. It was partly inspired by the success of the night markets in San Francisco. But nonprofit promises this city and business improvement district-funded night market will have an Oakland touch with live mural art painting and DJ’s. There will also be what’s called a Dumpling Olympics, a basketball tournament, and hot food.
Stewart Chen is the OCIC president. He said this won’t look like your typical Oakland Chinatown festivals.
“This time around, it’s very progressive thinking,” he said. “We’re going to have an electric music festival. We’re going to have DJs.”
It’s new energy for the neighborhood, which Chen said has more low-income senior housing than any other district in the city. He added that younger generations have moved out.
“We’re bringing in the people who have never been to Oakland Chinatown; they’ll come and then get a taste of Chinatown, and they’ll stay, and they’ll come back weekend after weekend,” Chen said.
The organization hopes to make the night market a regular event to revitalize shops and the nightlife that once was.
“That was pretty robust from the years that I remember,” Trinh said.
The Oakland Chinatown Night Market will be on Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. It will span two blocks of 8th St. from Broadway to Webster.
As the busy Labor Day weekend approaches, officials at San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport are recommending arriving early and reserving on-site parking ahead of time for a smoother trip.
With over 200,000 travelers expected between Thursday, Aug. 29 and Tuesday, Sept. 3, planning ahead is important, officials said. Based on scheduled airline seats, the busiest travel days of the weekend are expected to be Friday, Aug. 30 and Monday, Sept. 2, according to officials.
“It has been a busy summer travel season,” Port of Oakland Director of Aviation Craig Simon said in a statement. “We wish airport travelers a happy and safe Labor Day and thank them for choosing to fly the East Bay way for the holiday weekend.”
The airport recommends that passengers arrive at least two hours before departure for domestic travel and at least three hours prior to departure for international travel.
Getting a parking reservation is also a good idea, officials said.
For a 3-day long weekend trip, Friday through Monday, the total cost of a reservation is $54 for an economy parking reservation, including all taxes and fees, according to airport officials.
Additional details about parking reservations are available at book.iflyoak.com.
A group of neighbors in Oakland got so fed up with the sideshow activity happening in front of their homes that they took matters into their own hands — by building barricades out of tires and even installing their own speed bumps.
People who live in the area said the streets themselves tell the story of what’s wrong, dozens and dozens of tire tracks and skid marks cover the intersections on East 21st Street. And according to the neighbors, the city wasn’t doing enough to keep them safe.
“It’s terrible. So bad,” said Faustina Mendoza.
She lives just a couple of houses down from this intersection at East 21st Street and 19th Avenue in the San Antonio neighborhood of Oakland.
She said cars routinely run the stop sign and speed up and down the street. One time a car narrowly missed her daughter as she was in the crosswalk.
“This one guy comes and runs over, and she runs, and if she didn’t run maybe they,” she said, stopping as she imagines the worst.
That’s why a few weeks ago neighbors got together to put massive tires filled with dirt and concrete into the median of East 21st Street. It’s a homemade form of DIY traffic calming, and people in the area said it worked. It stopped the sideshow activity and much of the speeding.
But after an accident when a car hit one of the tires and flipped on its side, the city said it had to go.
In a statement from Josh Rowan, the director of Oakland’s Department of Transportation, he said, “The community is fed up (and justifiably so) with the sideshows in their community. The community was upset that the city removed their self-installed traffic calming. I directed the removal due to the risk that it created to the traveling public.”
There are piles of tires, all that’s left of the neighborhood-made traffic calming devices, still sitting along the sidewalk.
City leaders met with neighbors on Monday night to talk about adding city-sanctioned speed bumps or traffic circles, but some people said they’re tired of waiting for the city to act.
“That’s what Oakland used to do. We took matters into our own hands. We made sure our communities and our youth was protected so I don’t have any issues with the community stepping up like they should be doing,” said Kariah Scott, a native of Oakland.
“It’s bad because if we call the police they say they can’t do anything,” said Mendoza.
The neighbors also installed speed bumps, bolting them into the pavement. Rowan said because they don’t cause the same safety concerns as the tire barricades, he’s inclined to let them stay.
Katie Nielsen is an award-winning reporter who has spent more than 10 years sharing people’s stories. She joined KPIX in the summer of 2017, and just a few months later, found herself covering the Wine Country Wildfires.
Some older Bay Area teenagers will have a chance to make their voices heard this election — albeit in limited fashion.
While still barred from voting on higher-profile races such as those for president or Congress, 16- and 17-year-olds living in Oakland and Berkeley will be able to cast ballots in upcoming school board elections, which determine the leadership and policies of local districts.
The vote was extended thanks to the passage of Berkeley’s Measure Y1 and Oakland’s Measure QQ, according to a joint news release.
The state already has a system that pre-registers 16- and 17-year-olds to vote, and their registration becomes active once they turn 18, officials said. The same system will be used to allow them to vote in their local school board elections, but not other races scheduled at the same time, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.
“This has never been done before in California and we had to make sure that it was done properly,” Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis said in a statement. “I would like to thank the Board of Supervisors for their support in helping make it possible for 16- and 17-year-olds in Oakland and Berkeley to vote for school board in November 2024.”
Four of seven board seats in the Oakland Unified School District are up for election in November, as are two in the Berkeley Unified School District.
“Voting is not just a right but a civic duty, and extending this right to 16- and 17-year-olds will foster a culture of civic participation from an early age,” Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said in a statement.
Though the goal of this new policy is to increase youth voter turnout, its effects won’t be known until the polls close. And many minors still may opt not to vote.
“Me, personally, I’m not that political, especially with today’s standards,” Naseem Bennett, a 17-year-old Oakland Tech senior, told the Mercury News. “But would I vote? I would think about it.”
OAKLAND — A two-alarm fire Wednesday morning displaced 38 residents at a Chinatown District apartment complex, officials said.
The fire did not cause any injuries.
The blaze started about 5:30 a.m. outside the multi-story apartment building in the 100 block of 9th Street, Oakland Fire spokesperson Michael Hunt said. It quickly spread to it.
Fire officials called for a second alarm about 5:45 a.m. Hunt said crews were concerned about the size of the building and the possible need for an evacuation as they prevented the fire’s spread.
Residents of the building got out on their own. Hunt said the displacements were temporary.
The blaze damaged the power supply system in the apartment, forcing the shut down of power in the entire building, Hunt said. That caused the displacement of the residents, he said.
Four of the units in the building were affected either by fire or smoke damage.
Red Cross is working with the occupants to determine the next step for them, Hunt said. City workers are doing what they can to restore power to the building. There was no time estimate for when that might happen.
Firefighters had the fire under control quickly but remained on the scene for a few more hours making sure there were no flareups.
The scene of an apartment complex fire at 9th Street and Madison Street on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. At least 38 residents were displaced after a two-alarm fire Wednesday morning at a Chinatown area apartment fire, officials said. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
The cause of the fire is under investigation. A damage figure was not immediately available.
According to on-line accounts, the three story building was constructed in 1925 and has 31 living units.
An Oakland man said two people in his immediate family have been the victims of separate violent attacks. The latest happened near his home, leaving him feeling like it’s time to move on from the city.
Every night after dinner Alan Wang and his wife usually take a walk through their Oakland Hills neighborhood. But on Monday night, Alan Wang said his wife went on their walk alone and that’s when the unthinkable happened.
“He brandished what looked like a sword or some type of long stick and he was yelling, ‘Hey, I need to ask you a question.’ But of course he wasn’t trying to ask questions. He was truly just trying to hit her and he ended up hitting here three or four times,” said Wang.
Wang said just a few hundred feet from their house, his wife walked past a car with two people inside. That’s when he says a young man jumped out of the car and attacked her.
“She came this way, I think over here, and he hit her and then she went that way trying to evade him and he hit her again, two more times. And then that’s when the neighbor saw from the top what was going on and started screaming, and she came down to help my wife and then the kid ran back down the street into the car and they sped down,” said Wang.
He said his wife was cut on her arm and her back. They called the police, but the suspects were gone before officers arrived.
Now, all they can think is what if it happens again.
“My wife was thinking about taking my 6-year-old daughter on the walk yesterday, what if she was there for that. Right, we have elderly people that are on this street, what if they were on the walk,” said Wang.
Sadly, he said it isn’t even the first time someone in his family has been attacked in Oakland. He said his mother was brutally beaten by strangers in the middle of the road just two months ago.
“A car had stopped her on the street while she was walking. One kid got out and started pushing her around trying to find money. He didn’t find anything. The other driver came out and said ‘Did you find anything?’ He said no and then they beat her,” said Wang.
He said the two attacks have him fed up. He no longer feels safe in his own city, even in his own home.
“It’s just there’s so much crime going on. It’s, you kind of go into Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, this basic need of safety is missing. There’s no safety in this city,” said Wang.
He said it has given him no choice but to move. He and his wife are already looking at places in other areas, and he’s hoping to get his mother out of the city too.
Anne Makovec reports on a deadly collision between a car and a big rig that closed eastbound lanes of I-80 near the Bay Bridge toll plaza has snarled traffic leaving San Francisco.
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Five people were hospitalized in the wake of a mass shooting at a sideshow in Oakland early Sunday morning.
The shooting took place just before 3:45 a.m. at Fruitvale Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard and the department’s communications division received reports of five shooting victims arriving at different hospitals.
The five victims were last listed in stable condition, according to preliminary investigations, police said.
Preliminary investigations allegedly revealed that the victims were at an illegal sideshow when the shootings occurred, according to police.
The Oakland Police Department is asking that anyone with information contact the Homicide Section at (510) 238-3821 or the tip line at (510) 238-7950. Additionally, the department is looking for any videos or photos related to the incident be sent to cidvideos@oaklandca.gov.
Auto safety advocates are calling for stricter regulations on companies transporting animal byproducts after a truck spilled mounds of raw chicken parts across Oakland’s Interstate 880 freeway in May, causing four accidents and jamming traffic for hours.
“There’s clearly something wrong here,” said Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a Washington, DC-based group that regularly makes recommendations to state and federal lawmakers about how to improve safety along America’s roadways.
“When animal byproducts are spilling and leaking onto highways to the detriment and danger of all road users, this is a perfect example of the need for the federal government to step up and evaluate the problem and require a solution.”
NBC Bay Area
Cathy Chase, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
Darling Ingredients, a Texas-based animal rendering company, was responsible for the spill, according to the California Highway Patrol. Law enforcement also confirmed to NBC Bay Area the truck’s driver never pulled over after blanketing all four northbound lanes in a gory mess that stretched 300 feet.
The truck was hauling the chicken parts in an open-top trailer, relying only on a tarp to cover the cargo.
As NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit first reported in June, Darling Ingredients has a long history of causing similarly gruesome spills across the country, including at least a dozen over the past two years in the small town of Clinton, North Carolina, which left blood, intestines, and animal carcasses spread across the city’s roadways.
“It just comes over the side of the trailers and out on the roadways,” said Clinton Police Chief Anthony Davis, who’s been critical of the company’s cargo containment practices. “The smell is just horrendous.”
Following NBC Bay Area’s reporting, safety advocates are now joining Davis’ call for regulatory changes.
“It seems that from your investigative efforts, there’s a real serious problem here,” Chase said. “We reached out to some commercial vehicle safety inspectors to find out how big of a problem this was, and, surprisingly, it’s a pretty common problem.”
Not only does Darling Ingredients have a history of spills, but the company also has a track record of safety violations.
Darling Ingredients and its subsidiary companies have received at least 39 violations over the past year for either overfilling trucks or failing to properly secure cargo, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the branch of the Dept. of Transportation responsible for safety oversight and regulations centering around commercial vehicles.
State and federal transportation laws require companies to safely secure their cargo from spilling. However, in many cases, there are no rules governing exactly how to do that, as is the case with the transport of animal byproducts. Other types of cargo, such as hazardous materials, have more stringent containment requirements.
“When any type of product, especially a very slippery one, flies off of a truck, it can cause tremendous havoc on roadways and kill people,” Chase said. “Luckily no one was killed in the last few crashes of this type, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t in the future.”
Within America’s $7.3 billion animal rendering industry, Darling Ingredients ranks as the nation’s second largest company, only behind Tyson Foods. Collectively, the two companies make up about 95% of the U.S. market, according to IBISWorld, a market research firm.
No one was seriously injured in the wake of the Oakland spill, according to the CHP. However, local authorities spent hours cleaning up the mess. The California Department of Transportation declined to disclose the cleanup costs tied to the spill, or whether the agency will try to recoup those expenses from Darling Ingredients.
The CHP said it has not issued any citations to Darling Ingredients for the spill, however, the company’s truck driver who was at the wheel could potentially face criminal consequences.
The CHP recently recommended misdemeanor criminal charges against the driver for failing to secure the truck’s load and for leaving the scene of the spill, according to a spokesperson for the agency. The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office told NBC Bay Area it is currently reviewing the case but has yet to decide on whether to charge the driver.
Neither the driver nor Darling Ingredients responded to NBC Bay Area’s request for comment.
In a previous statement, a spokesperson said the company “deeply” regrets the incident and is “cooperating with all relevant authorities.”
Since the truck’s driver never stopped, law enforcement was left scrambling to figure out who was responsible for the spill.
John Del Rio had his dash cam rolling as he drove through mounds of animal parts blanketing the I-880 freeway in Oakland in May, spilled by a truck operated by a Texas-based animal rendering company. The truck never stopped after spilling the cargo, but Del Rio, who happened to be on the phone with his brother and sister-in-law throughout the ordeal, caught up to driver and reported his license plate number to the California Highway Patrol.
John Del Rio happened to be driving on the freeway that evening, on his way home from work and helped solve the mystery.
Del Rio’s dash cam was rolling as his car was among the first vehicles to hit the meat pile.
“Oh my god,” the dash cam video captures Del Rio yelling. “Is that meat?”
Del Rio said his car was covered in foul-smelling animal parts. Even after getting a premium car wash, he said he found a piece of animal intestine dangling underneath his vehicle the next day.
“Not to be gross, but my car was covered in it,” Del Rio said. “I had to use the windshield wipers quite a few times there. It was that bad.”
Del Rio said he saw no sign of the offending truck at the site of the spill, but he eventually caught up to it and reported the license plate to a 9-1-1 dispatcher. The truck, covered in meat splatter, was hard to miss, Del Rio said.
John Del Rio
John Del Rio captured footage of the Darling Ingredients truck that spilled chicken parts along I-880 in May, and reported the truck’s license plate to the California Highway Patrol
“I had never seen anything like that in my life,” he added. “You couldn’t miss it.”
He also sent CHP the video he recorded on his dash cam, which captured the Darling Ingredients logo on the side of the truck.
After driving through the meat mess himself, Del Rio says he cannot understand how a tarp alone can be relied upon to prevent this kind of cargo from spilling over the side of the truck.
“I’m so glad that you guys are bringing attention to this because I honestly feel that something will come from it,” Del Rio said. “They should have their loads secured … it’s got to be sealed.”
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