Tuesday was a day thousands of Oakland baseball fans had been waiting for.
“I think it’s super exciting, I think the community has really rallied behind the team,” Tanner Feustel, an Oakland Ballers fan, said.
Crews Tuesday morning put the final touches on the Oakland Ballers new field at Raimondi Park in West Oakland, just hours before the B’s took the field for their home opener.
The Pioneer League team says Tuesday is about reclaiming baseball in “The Town.”
“We want to lead the biggest comeback in the history of sports,” Paul Freedman, co-founder of Oakland Ballers, said. “Sports use to be about community, sports use to be about bringing people together, sports use to build ballparks like this from the ground up in partnership with the community at some point in time they have lost their way and we are going to lead a movement to bring it back.”
In two months, the historic park was transformed from a neglected pile of dirt, to a new 4,000-seat ballpack.
The area around it is also changing, including new affordable housing units and the recent clearing of the city’s largest homeless encampment on nearby Wood Street.
“I know here in the city of Oakland a lot of people want to talk about how the city can’t actually get things done in regards to fields or what have you. This is proof that when you invest funds into it, when you invest your hard work and sweat into it, anything can happen,” Mayor Sheng Thao said.
Despite sporting colors that are similar to the A’s, the Oakland Ballers say their independent league team is not meant to be a replacement for the Green and Gold.
“We are not anybody’s replacement, we are our own thing,” Bryan Carmel, co-founder of the Oakland Balles, said. “We are a community baseball team. We spoke about it at the press conference. For us, this is about showing what a community can do when it works together to build something.”
“Four thousand people into a residential neighborhood for home games is investment we haven’t seen before,” Carroll Fife, Oakland city councilmember, said. “So this is a very positive step.”
The city and the B’s are working together to make fans feel welcome and safe. They are encouraging public transportation including providing free shuttles from West Oakland BART to the park, providing private security, and parking.
They also say OPD officers will be on hand.
“Looking out for everybody’s safety and there will be a number of ambassadors as well,” Fife said. “But what we also believe activating space where we have multiple crowds is one of the ways we do that.”
A new team with a goal to help transform West Oakland and fans say they’re here for it.
“I think it is going to bring a lot of energy and excitement to this area, kind of help clean up some of it, bring in some new businesses and just revitalize the whole community,” Feustel said.
The Ballers and city both expect there to be a period of growing pains and ways to improve. They say this is just the first step toward what they hope to be a full revitalization of this area.
CHP in Oakland issued a severe traffic alert early Friday evening after a “meat spill” — reportedly chicken and beef parts that came off a truck — have closed northbound lanes of I-880 near 29th Ave.
The alert was issued at around 6:18 p.m. after the traffic hazard on northbound I-880 south of 29th Ave. closed multiple lanes. Initially CHP said two lanes were closed, but a short time later all but lane #4 were shut down. Drivers were advised to reduce their speed in the area due to dangerous conditions.
A “meat spill” — reportedly chicken and beef parts that came off a truck — closed northbound lanes of I-880 near 29th Ave.
KPIX
Photos shared on social media showed a reddish sludge across all of the northbound lanes of the freeway.
Caltrans crews arrived to clear the mess at around 6:50 p.m.
Motorists are advised to expect delays and to use alternate routes to avoid the area. There is no estimated time to reopen the roadway.
Dave Pehling is website managing editor for CBS Bay Area. He started his journalism career doing freelance writing about music in the late 1990s, eventually working as a web writer, editor and producer for KTVU.com in 2003. He began his role with CBS Bay Area in 2015.
While a massive fire at an East Bay lumberyard is still under an investigation, its owner tells NBC Bay Area that the damage could cost the company millions of dollars.
Fire trucks were still at Economy Lumber on High Street in Oakland on Monday, after a fire there Sunday left behind piles of charred debris and burned-out forklifts.
“It’s just sad, you know? I’ve been there for 41 years.” said its owner John Bacon. “I have 30 years of Christmas pictures of the whole employees on the wall. And a lot of my personal stuff is in there. It’s pretty disappointing.”
The well-known East Bay lumberyard has been in the city in decades. Bacon estimates the damage from the fire to the high-end lumber and equipment could be millions of dollars.
“We got almost a million bucks in forklifts that were in the shed, the charging elements for keeping the units charged up,” Bacon said.
The Oakland Fire Department is still trying to determine the cause of the fire, but confirmed Monday that the fire originated inside of a building at the lumberyard.
As for next steps, Bacon said work at the lumberyard will be put on hold until next week. ANy future redesign of the building will include a sprinkler system, which was not in place previously.
For now, Bacon is making sure his employees stay strong during this difficult time.
“It’s really super disappointing,” Bacon said. “I have customers and employees crying about it, but you just gotta go after it the next day, you know?”
OAKLAND — Neighbors can no longer use a stretch of the sidewalk on E. 8th Street, near Fruitvale Avenue in Oakland.
A car was parked on the sidewalk. A tent was also set up, along with other items, that blocked pedestrians from passing through. Pedestrians who live nearby have to walk out into the street to get to and from their homes.
“The kids who are walking to school have to get off the sidewalk because they can’t go through. It’s the only sidewalk since there isn’t one on the other side of the street,” said Hector Hugo.
Hugo worried a car could hit his wife and their two little girls when they were walking in the street.
Neighbors and business owners said it started out with one RV a few months ago but the problem grew over time. A second RV and a couple of cars have since parked on East 8th street between Fruitvale Avenue and 34th Avenue. Residents fear it could soon look like neighboring E. 9th Street, which is filled with RVs and people living in cars.
“I think, on Thursday, we went past that tipping point. It was really bad,” said Everardo Rodriguez, owner of Bay Restorators.
Rodriguez said that, on Thursday, someone vandalized a stolen or abandoned car on the street by throwing a wooden pallet on its hood. Cellphone footage also showed a person using a rock to break the driver-side window.
A short time later, Rodriguez said, a homeless man walked out with what appeared to be an ax in his right hand to confront someone.
City Hall has been notified but no one has cleared the encampment.
“It goes beyond atrocious. It’s deliberate. How can the city not act to eliminate this?” Rodriguez asked.
One man whose uncle lives in a car on the street said he will tell them to clear out the sidewalk so families can use it.
“I’ll make sure that get cleared up. You’re right, kids need to walk by for their safety,” said the man who gave his name as King.
King said RV dwellers don’t want to cause problems but they have nowhere else to go.
“It’s not the homeless people bringing the trash, destroying these businesses and abandoning all these cars,” King said.
Councilman Noel Gallo met with Rodriguez over the safety concerns. Gallo says the city is working to clear the RVs on both E. 8th and E. 9th Streets.
“That’s on the ‘clear list.’ They’ve got to go. This guy that started (the encampment), he’s from Missouri. (That person came from) Canada. (People from) all over the country coming into Oakland because we’re allowing that behavior to happen,” Gallo said.
Neighbors hope the city will act fast.
“This cannot continue because it puts our life in jeopardy,” Rodriguez said.
Da Lin is an award-winning journalist at KPIX 5 News. He joined KPIX 5 in 2012, but has been reporting the news in the Bay Area since 2007. Da grew up in Oakland, and before his return to the Bay Area, he spent five years covering the news at three other television stations in Texas, Southern and Central California. He also spent five years reporting at KRON 4.
Few things can match the anticipation of a commencement ceremony, when students in matching gowns strut across the stage to collect their hard-earned diplomas.
“A first-generation student this means a lot to me,” senior Marisol Garibaldi said.
Ever since she was a little girl, Garibaldi dreamed of going to college. But two weeks before graduation, she got to announce to the world where she was headed during her school’s so-called College Reveal Day.
“I’m excited to just be able to brag a little bit about where I’m going,” she said.
Also known as Declaration Day, these ceremonies are becoming increasingly popular in recent years. But what makes Cristo Rey’s different from any other, is that for the third year in a row every single senior has been accepted to a four-year university.
And if that’s not impressive enough, all of them come from low-income families, where few of their parents had any opportunity for higher education.
Paola Duenas, the guidance counselor, said the reason the school has been so successful is that every student has a team of academic that works with them one on one and are available to them for six years after graduation.
“Every student deserves an opportunity and they’re all college bound,” she said.
The school has a unique approach that gives students both classroom and real-world experience through a work program that also offsets tuition.
“We have wonderful corporate partners that partner with us and provide an amazing experience for our students in that they mentor them in a job vocation doing work over the course of four years,” said Principal Jessica Murray.
As for Garibaldi, she’s not just going to any college, she’s headed to UC Berkeley.
“it’s a huge moment for me personally,” she said. “I’m seeing everything that I worked so hard coming to light in one day.”
Two people were shot inside an Oakland high school on Thursday night, according to the police department.Officials said there was a graduation happening at the school when the shooting occurred. Lt. Robert Trevino of the Oakland Police Department said the shooting happened around 7:45 p.m. inside Skyline High School on Skyline Boulevard.A man and woman were both shot and injured. They were taken to an area hospital and are in stable condition, according to Trevino.Officials did not release the victims’ ages, but did say they were both adults.Trevino said the police department is in the preliminary stages of the investigation. However, they did hear several reports of a dispute leading up to the shooting.Officials said there were multiple suspects involved but investigators are trying to narrow down how many.Oakland officers locked down and cleared the school with the assistance of the California Highway Patrol.This is a developing story. Stay with KCRA 3 for the latest.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
OAKLAND, Calif. —
Two people were shot inside an Oakland high school on Thursday night, according to the police department.
Officials said there was a graduation happening at the school when the shooting occurred.
Lt. Robert Trevino of the Oakland Police Department said the shooting happened around 7:45 p.m. inside Skyline High School on Skyline Boulevard.
A man and woman were both shot and injured. They were taken to an area hospital and are in stable condition, according to Trevino.
Officials did not release the victims’ ages, but did say they were both adults.
Trevino said the police department is in the preliminary stages of the investigation. However, they did hear several reports of a dispute leading up to the shooting.
Officials said there were multiple suspects involved but investigators are trying to narrow down how many.
Oakland officers locked down and cleared the school with the assistance of the California Highway Patrol.
This is a developing story. Stay with KCRA 3 for the latest.
There was a large police activity at Skyline High School in Oakland Thursday night.
The California Highway Patrol told NBC Bay Area that they were assisting with Oakland police on the investigation but they did not provide any more details.
The police activity happened during the graduation ceremony at Skyline High School.
NBC Bay Area has reached to the Oakland Police Department for more information about this incident.
Oakland police on Monday were investigating an early-morning fatal shooting near City Hall.
The shooting occurred just after 2:15 a.m. in the 500 block of 14th Street in Oakland’s downtown district, police said.
When officers arrived at the scene, they located an unresponsive man suffering from at least one gunshot wound, police said. Paramedics responded and took the victim to an area hospital, where he later died.
Homicide detectives were investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting, police said.
The victim’s identity was not released and was pending notification of family.
Anyone with information about the shooting should contact the OPD’s Homicide Section at 510-238-3821 or the Tip Line at 510-238-7950.
Laws put in place to protect some of Oakland’s most vulnerable residents during the pandemic, now seem to be putting renters and landlords in almost impossible positions.
Like many major cities across California, Oakland enacted an eviction moratorium following the Covid-19 outbreak, prohibiting landlords from kicking out tenants unable to pay their rent.
Records from Oakland’s housing department show the number of eviction notices filed against renters dropped by about 80% once the moratorium went into effect.
However, an NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit analysis of Oakland eviction records found landlords still sent out more than 2,500 eviction notices during the three-year eviction moratorium — including more than 350 notices to renters living at low-income senior housing buildings.
The letters threatened to kick out renters within just a few days, even though legal experts say landlords did not actually have the authority to evict them. During the moratorium, which lasted from early March 2020 through July 14, 2023, courts were not granting evictions for lack of payment.
Eviction notices sent during the moratorium, by address
An NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit analysis of Oakland eviction records found landlords sent out more than 2,500 eviction notices during the three-year eviction moratorium — including more than 350 notices to renters living at low-income senior housing buildings.
“There’s no teeth behind those notices because the law says you can’t collect that rent for that time period,” said real estate attorney Mark Chernev. “It’s essentially worthless.”
But for many tenants, just getting those eviction notices proved reason enough to pack up.
“That can cause very vulnerable populations, like low-income seniors to be scared and not know their rights and, you know, to basically move out,” said attorney Anne Tamiko Omura, executive director of the Eviction Defense Center. The nonprofit provides legal aid to more than 3,000 low-income tenants each year facing eviction.
“So then the eviction is successful, even though it was supposed to be barred during that time period,” she said.
An Investigative Unit analysis of building ownership records and state business filings found more than 350 notices were sent to tenants at just ten buildings housing low-income seniors and people with disabilities. The buildings are owned and operated by one of three entities: Newport Partners, LLC, Christian Church Homes, and Human Good, which calls itself “California’s largest nonprofit provider of senior housing.”
Human Good was the only one that responded to requests for comment, telling the Investigative Unit the eviction notices it sent during the moratorium, “…do not reflect the actual number of evictions, which are extremely rare and must be approved by the court.”
Courts, however, do not enter the eviction process until days or weeks after those notices are sent to tenants.
“They weren’t allowed to serve that notice in the first place,” Mark Chernev said. “And if a tenant moved as a result, they could sue the landlord for wrongfully evicting them.”
For a tenant to win a case for wrongful eviction, they need to leave the rental unit, Chernev said. That puts the burden on the renter to find a new place and then take the landlord to court.
Advocates say the government is doing next to nothing to protect them.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s office did not disclose how many wrongful eviction cases it has prosecuted, if any. The city attorney’s office in Oakland said it tried four wrongful eviction cases in the past five years.
Uptick in seniors facing eviction and homelessness
Today, nearly a quarter of the Oakland clients at the Eviction Defense Center are seniors — up 17% compared to pre-pandemic.
“We’re seeing an alarming rise in the eviction of low-income seniors,” Omura said.
Tenant advocacy groups in San Francisco and Berkeley are seeing similar spikes, at 20% and 15% respectively.
“Seniors were hit very, very hard by Covid. A lot of them, they have fixed incomes … social security that barely, barely covers the rent,” she said. “So they had like little side jobs to supplement and the moment the pandemic hit, all those jobs dried up.”
Anne Tamiko Omura is the executive director of the Eviction Defense Center. The nonprofit provides legal aid to more than 3,000 low-income tenants each year facing eviction.
Nationally, seniors are the fastest-growing age group experiencing homelessness — roughly 140,000 and counting, according to the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
“We see people who are in their 90s. We’ve had a couple clients who are 100 years old,” Omura said. “How do you tell somebody who’s 75, get back in the job market because you need to make $600 more a month? A lot of these situations are really impossible.”
Moratorium ends, evictions resume
After Oakland’s three-year-long eviction moratorium ended last July, landlords were allowed to begin demanding a year’s worth of back rent – and evict tenants who didn’t pay up.
For 80-year-old Zada Flowers, that meant leaving her Oakland home of 26 years, a place where she raised her four adopted children and more than 20 foster children.
“It’s not fair. It’s not fair,” she said.
Flowers runs a daycare out of her home, but the pandemic decimated her small business. She said her rent of nearly $2,000 a month became unaffordable.
Zada Flowers outside of her Oakland home of 26 years.
Flowers eventually received an eviction notice from her landlord demanding she pay nearly $18,000 in owed rent or move out in three days.
“What went through my mind, first of all, is they didn’t care,” Flowers said. “To expect me to move that fast – impossible.”
Tenants can legally fight off their eviction if they can show they endured a “substantial” financial hardship as a result of Covid-19.
Real-estate attorney Mark Chernev said renters need to have documentation proving their struggles. They may also have to get an attorney if their landlord disagrees and takes them to court.
“If it’s truly the result of substantial financial hardship … you would have bank records, you would have credit card bills, you’d have loss of income that you could show, you could have decrease of hours. That would be pretty easy to prove up,” Chernev said. “You can’t just say it. You have to be able to support it.”
Real estate attorney Mark Chernev at his desk.
Chernev has represented hundreds of landlords, including the homeowner who sent Flowers her eviction notice.
“My client has responsibilities. She as well as other property owners need that rental income to meet their own financial responsibilities,” Chernev said. “As unfortunate as it is, small property owners can’t subsidize these types of situations. It’s not fair to ask them to.”
Instead of going to court, Flowers reached a settlement with her landlord that forgives her owed rent and provides her with moving expenses if she leaves by next month.
“I’m seeing seniors out pushing carts now because they’re homeless,” Flowers said. “Many others didn’t have the knowledge of knowing what to do … they just moved out. They just left.”
An NBC Bay Area analysis found more than 350 eviction notices were sent to low-income seniors during Oakland’s eviction moratorium. Bigad Shaban has more.
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Bigad Shaban, Sean Myers, Michael Horn and Jeremy Carroll
OAKLAND — Nelson German, renowned chef and owner of alaMar Dominican Kitchen in downtown Oakland, is thinking of closing his acclaimed restaurant following back-to-back burglaries last Friday.
“In just an hour and a half, we were hit twice and that devastated us. To wake up to that, to see two people just taking everything from the bar, filling up garbage bins full of our products, things that we need to survive…” Chef German said.
Surveillance footage captured the moments when the perpetrators broke into his establishment, making off with approximately $6,000 worth of liquor. This marks the eighth time that his business has been targeted by burglars.
“It was heartbreaking … people know me. I’m always the one that’s uplifting others, always happy, always has a smile on my face but this is the first time I’ve felt deflated, really down and kind of out,” German said.
In response to the incidents, German took to social media to express his frustration, shedding light on the ongoing challenges faced by small business owners in the neighborhood.
“I’m exhausted. I’m tired … I just feel super bad about what’s happening and not just for us but others too who’ve been hit and it hurts us. This is our baby,” German said in a video posted to social media.
Despite the setbacks, Chef German remains committed to his dream of sharing his Dominican heritage in the Bay Area. However, he admitted that he is considering leaving Oakland if the situation does not improve.
“We’re the only Dominican restaurant on the West Coast and there are a lot on the East Coast, where I’m from. But here we’re the only ones so we’re super unique. There’s nothing like it and it makes me happy to be in this place for ten years,” he said.
In a show of solidarity, customers turned out in large numbers on Mother’s Day to support alaMar and its owner. Doris Valdivieso and her family, returning from an outing at the Oakland Zoo, stopped by to show their support for the struggling restaurant.
“What a shame! Because these are small businesses that need to sell in order to survive and it’s always hard with all this crime because people think twice before coming,” Valdivieso said.
Despite the challenges, Chef German finds hope in the support of the community, expressing gratitude for the opportunity Oakland has provided him. While the future remains uncertain, German remains committed to his community.
“Oakland gave me this and it made me realize my dreams so I would always be grateful to Oakland and I wanna stay here and I wanna expand but it’s a hard thing to say where to go. I haven’t really thought about it ’cause my heart is still here even though it’s broken right now. But you never know — but the community doesn’t want me to go.”
Police are investigating after gunshots were fired near a group of teen rowers in the Sacramento area.
The incident happened about two weeks ago on the Sacramento River.
A group of teens with the Oakland Strokes were on the boat at the time of the incident.
East Bay parent Fred Ackerman shared NBC Bay Area the video of the incident from another parent. He said his son was rowing on that boat when the shooting happened.
“To be in that situation and see my child shot at, it’s horrible,” he said. “It’s absolutely horrible and what I experienced pales in comparison to what countless families have experienced.”
Ackerman added the teens on the boat thought it was just a joke and maybe someone had shot a BB gun. But when they looked back at the video and realized those were real gunshots, they became shocked and immediately called police.
Ackerman said it was an incident that made him realize that the U.S. may have a problem with guns.
“For me, it’s pretty clear that our kids are less safe having more guns. As a parent, our number one job is to keep your kids safe,” he said. “So, I’m trying to keep my kids safe, I’m trying to encourage others to really think, how can we keep all of our kids safe?”
No injuries were reported.
West Sacramento police confirmed with NBC Bay Area on Thursday that they did search the area for any possible suspects and evidence but didn’t find anything.
The Treehouse entertainment space way out in left-center field bustled between games of a doubleheader as Oakland Athletics fans relished a chance to get out of the sun on a cloudless, spectacular day in the Bay Area, for some ping-pong or to grab a cold drink.
They are few but mighty at the moment, small crowds of longtime diehards determined to cheer their beloved A’s this year before they relocate to Sacramento for the next three seasons and, later, Las Vegas.
Those who are making an effort to come to the Coliseum are seeing more winning baseball, too. The A’s lost 112 games last season and 102 the year before that, and now are 18-21 heading into Friday’s weekend series at Seattle.
It’s a promising start for a club projected for last place that began the season 1-7. They didn’t win their 18th game in 2023 until June 12.
“Guys are confident,” pitcher Alex Wood said. “I think down to each guy, there’s just really, I think they were sick of going through what they went through last year. There’s really a strong will to go out there and play well and try and win every night and you can see it in every guy out there. And I think the cool thing about this group is we’re a super young group but a lot of these guys have been together for a while.”
Even if not many fans are getting to see this group come together and finally reap the rewards.
Monday’s series opener against Texas drew a season-low 2,895, then Tuesday’s announced crowd was 3,965 and another 8,230 showed up Wednesday to give the A’s an average of 6,222 through 22 home dates. Last year, the A’s averaged 10,276 per game, but they always draw better during the summer months once kids are out of school, while April is always the lowest month.
Manager Mark Kotsay is quick to praise his players for their focus on what they can control on the field and not all the other stuff, like attendance.
“There’s just no quit in this group,” he said.
Longtime friends Diego Valdez, Aubrey Porter and John Solis have for years attended the home opener, and now they are trying to get to as many games as possible while they can.
“It’s kind of sad for me, honestly,” said Porter, a 43-year-old from San Jose. “I’ve been going to games since I was a kid. I was here when Rickey Henderson broke the (stolen base) record. We used to catch the BART when I lived in Fremont and my dad used to drive me to games here whether I wanted to go or not and I started loving it after that. It’s been one of those things I’m really sad they’re going away.”
Valdez made it to his first game Wednesday since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
These fans understand why the stands are empty. They understand the heartbreak and the hurt.
“It’s just kind of frustrating, the A’s leaving to Vegas, going to Sacramento next year,” the 49-year-old Valdez said. “We lost the Warriors, the Raiders, so I’m trying to come to at least three or four or five more games this year before they leave.”
Porter and Valdez are dreaming big, as in playoffs or — dare they say it — a World Series title.
“That would be awesome,” Valdez said.
“That would be the best thing ever,” Porter said. “Incredible.”
Rona Brooks Morris and younger brother Adam have been coming to midweek games together for nearly a decade — even when Morris was pregnant with son, Colin. Both doctors, they have some flexibility.
“It’s our sibling bonding time, and it’s been an amazing experience. I’ve learned a lot,” Morris said, noting of the early 2024 success: “It’s very exciting because one of my first memories of coming to these games was in 2012 with Colin in my belly.”
They were here together with late father Irv in 2012 when the A’s clinched the division on the final day of the season — Game 162 — against Texas when Josh Hamilton dropped the ball in shallow center field on a high popup by Yoenis Cespedes.
Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien appreciates his former club’s success so far and has already thought about how his next trip to the Coliseum in late September will likely be his last — the final three-game home series for the A’s.
“It’s a place where my family gets to come watch me play, so we’ll have to figure it out after this,” said Semien, who grew up in nearby Albany and went to college at the University of California-Berkeley. “I’ve played a lot of baseball in the place and worked out here in the offseason. It doesn’t feel right, but like I always say, business is business.”
One special fan plans to be around the Coliseum as much as possible until that last day: Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley.
He has become nostalgic — and even somewhat sad — about the team’s impending departure.
“More than anything, I wanted to feel it,” Eckersley said. “Before I said, ‘Aaaw, they’ll be around three more years.’ Well they’re not, and now I feel like there’s a need to want to say goodbye to it. Really. This was a huge part of my life and I’m from the Bay Area and this place has been here since 1968. I mean wow! So I just want to experience it and send it off.”
An Oakland woman said she and others are taking matters into their own hands in an effort to keep themselves safe.
“At this point it’s like you do want to take matters into your own hands. I have to protect myself,” Keisha Henderson of Oakland said.
She said someone broke into her home window in east Oakland at 4 a.m. in April.
She said it took police hours to respond and feels city leadership is to blame.
“In my perspective, it is the policies and the laws that have been put in place by our city council,” Henderson said.
Just on Sunday, Henderson, a former Oakland Public Safety Task Force member, said a group of three teens tried to steal a car from her driveway but ran when they saw her outside.
She detailed the incident online explaining without accountability at the city level, the community has to respond by all means necessary.
“I’m not telling people to go out and start spraying, that’s not what I’m telling people to do but we also have to be realistic about what we are up against,” Henderson said.
Safety concerns and what she says is a lack of action from the city is why she became a licensed gun owner last year.
“My protection comes first and so does my kids’. I cant afford to wait on OPD to arrive and I can’t afford to be on 911 call line for 10-15, 20-30 minutes when you have two to three individuals possibly with guns in their hands,” Henderson said.
She joined the Bay Area Gun Club and she’s not alone.
Since the start of the pandemic, over a thousand people on social media of all races and ages ranging from 20s to 80s have signed up. The club says a majority of their clients are women living in Oakland.
“The people in Oakland are tired of being victims and rightfully so. Who wants to leave home and not come back or have some type of say so over their own mortality,” Channon Smith, the president of the Bay Area Gun Club, said.
Retired law enforcement and gun safety professionals lead the trainings.
The group stresses their goal is to provide the knowledge of guns and the law to keep their clients safe.
“We are not out there trying to make Rambos and Ramboettes, we don’t want people walking around looking like Blade. Protect your family, protect your wellbeing and if need be, protect one another,” Smith said.
Last week, city officials announced overall crime dropped by 33% from last year this time, but Henderson doesn’t believe that’s true.
For her, safety goes beyond being armed and falls on holding elected officials accountable.
“The power is in the hands of the community, we as a community, we as the voters, and the tax payers we are the majority not the minority,” Henderson said.
OAKLAND — A man was fatally shot Sunday while driving near Lake Merritt and crashed his vehicle into a nearby motel parking lot, creating a public crime scene but no immediate clarity on why he was attacked, authorities said.
The driver was traveling east on Lake Merritt Boulevard past 12th Street — near the René C. Davidson Courthouse — around 11:55 a.m. when he was shot by an unknown assailant, according to Oakland police.
Wounded, the man continued driving his Honda Odyssey minivan for about a half-mile and crashed through a fence of an Americas Best Value Inn motel, a half-block south of Lake Merritt Boulevard and East 12th Street. The vehicle hit two parked cars in the motel’s lot before coming to a stop.
The driver, who was the sole occupant of the minivan, was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been publicly released pending his formal identification and notification of his next of kin by the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau.
The aftermath of the crash was visible from the sidewalk of the motel, showing twisted metal from the fence — including a portion lodged in the front of the minivan — and assorted car debris scattered across the asphalt while a yellow tarp was draped over the passenger side. Police officers could also be seen recovering shell casings from the shooting site a few dozen feet away.
Police have not disclosed a motive or the circumstances that led to the shooting, nor have they released any suspect description. They have confirmed that the victim was shot from the outside of his vehicle, but it was not immediately clear whether the gunfire came from another vehicle or another vantage point such as the sidewalk or roadway.
No other injuries have been reported in connection with the Sunday shooting, which marked the 28th homicide of the year Oakland police have investigated. The department had investigated 34 homicides at the same point in 2023.
Anyone with information for OPD investigators can call 510-238-3821, leave a tip at 510-238-7950, or contact Crime Stoppers of Oakland at 510-777-8572.
The Oakland Ballers on Wednesday released more details of their $1.6 million plan to renovate the independent professional baseball team’s new home, Raimondi Park.
The team’s first home game of its inaugural season in the Pioneer League is scheduled for June 4. The Ballers will play 48 games at the West Oakland park. The Oakland City Council last month signed off on the team’s planned upgrades, which are being funded by private investors.
The Ballers said Raimondi Park will be accessible via Oakland’s reservation system for community members to enjoy whenever the field isn’t in play. This accessibility extends to the video scoreboard, perfect for hosting community movie nights.
The playground area near the ballpark has been repaired and updated for families and children to enjoy during Ballers’ games and more.
All of the streets and sidewalks immediately surrounding the park will be paved by opening day. There will be new dugouts, batter’s eye, netting, fencing and backstop. There will be 4,000 seats with a “colorful” park layout with easy access to restrooms, food, and drinks.
Concession stands will feature standard baseball menu items, including hot dogs, nachos, burgers, fries, vegetarian food options, beer, wine, cocktails, soda, and more. There will also be child-friendly menu options and food trucks in rotation.
The team said fans won’t have to rely on personal vehicles to access games. The team will provide a shuttle from West Oakland BART to the field, running continuously starting an hour before game time and ending half an hour after the game ends.
A free bike and scooter valet will be provided near Raimondi Park, with local bike groups leading bicyclists to and from the park.
There will be three paid attended parking lots available for game day use, providing more than 1,000 parking spaces. One lot will be available for ride-hailing service pickup and an overflow lot will be available for peak volume days.
Security will also be available around the park area to help manage crowd control and ensure an enjoyable experience for all attendees.
The Ballers have already repaired the lighting and irrigation systems and installed new sod.
The team will pause ticket sales Wednesday until May 6 to implement a new ticketing system. As of May 6, fans can save $5 on ticket fees. Single-game tickets bought in advance of game day will be available at $30, $25 or $15 a ticket (including fees). More information can be found at OaklandBallers.com.
OAKLAND — Residents of Oakland’s San Antonio neighborhood are demanding the city do something about rampant prostitution and sex trafficking.
They held a community meeting Saturday on 13th Avenue and International Boulevard where a lot of the activities continue to take place.
As elected leaders talked about plans and solutions, across the street from the stage two sex workers were waiting for customers on the busy boulevard.
“We see this every day. It doesn’t cross our mind like ‘Oh, this should not be happening here. Oh, this is Oakland, it’s regular,’” said high school senior Trang Nguyen.
Many in attendance said the sight of sex workers walking in thongs and see-through tops has become normal.
“Me and my friends joke about it, that’s how normal it is,” Nguyen said.
Community groups invited elected leaders to the town hall. They want authorities to go after the pimps and johns.
“A member of the board of supervisors, an assembly member and district attorney all saying we’re going to partner and work with the community because we know it’s going to take all of us. That hasn’t happened before,” said Oakland council president Nikki Fortunato Bas.
She thinks new partnerships can improve street conditions.
“We are committed to solutions. I personally have been committed in terms of the environmental changes,” Fortunato Bas said.
Last year, the city added barricades on a portion of East 15th Street to stop illegal prostitution and neighbors said they worked but it only pushed the sex workers back to International Boulevard.
Many families that live on the street said they feel like prisoners in their own homes. Children walk pass sex workers to get in and out of the neighborhood.
“The city allows it to happen and so the city and the county and everybody that’s involved that has power to do something about this, by not doing it, it is allowing the business to flourish,” said David Kakishiba, executive director of East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC).
Nguyen shared on stage that, last year, someone in a large van followed her and tried to kidnap her while she was walking to a store one afternoon. A good samaritan helped her and they called the police. She believs the crime was related to sex trafficking.
“I can’t walk around my neighborhood freely, I’m always looking behind me. I always have to bring a pepper spray. I had to buy a taser,” Nguyen said.
Elected leaders made promises at the event but Nguyen said talk is cheap. She believes in results.
“I’m not optimistic that this issue will get solved. I’m just hoping it’ll get better,” Nguyen said.
Da Lin is an award-winning journalist at KPIX 5 News. He joined KPIX 5 in 2012, but has been reporting the news in the Bay Area since 2007. Da grew up in Oakland, and before his return to the Bay Area, he spent five years covering the news at three other television stations in Texas, Southern and Central California. He also spent five years reporting at KRON 4.
SAN RAMON — An arrest by officers nearly six months ago has led to the recovery of more than $325,000 in stolen retail products, police said.
Officers from the San Ramon Police Department and California Highway Patrol’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force, along with San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office deputies, recovered the products Wednesday while serving search warrants at three undisclosed locations.
A statement from San Ramon police said they also arrested one person on suspicion of grand theft, possession of stolen property, organized retail theft, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
The recovered stolen products were worth $326,693 and came from Walgreens, CVS, Kohls, TJ Maxx, Safeway, RiteAid and Sunglass Hut.
Police said investigators also seized about $12,200 in proceeds from the criminal operation.
The bust came as the result of an investigation that began after the arrest of two people in November. Police said they stole about $13,000 in cosmetic products from a store at the City Center in Bishop Ranch.
That investigation led an organized retail theft team from San Ramon police to identify an illegal fencing operation in Oakland, police said. Such operations happen when items have been stolen from stores and then are knowingly sold to consumers.
A person was shot Sunday in East Oakland, according to police.
Just before 2 p.m., officers were sent to the 500 block of Hegenberger Road to investigate a shooting.
Upon arrival, officers located evidence of a shooting but did not locate any victims physically struck by gunfire.
Shortly thereafter, officers learned of a gunshot wound victim who self-transported to a local hospital. The victim is expected to survive.
Officers are continuing their preliminary investigation, Oakland Police said.
No further information is available at this time. Anyone with information is asked to contact the felony assault unit at the Oakland Police Department at 510-238-3426.
