Posts Tagged ‘Alameda’

Both AC Transit Bus Fighters Speak Out – Planned Boxing Rematch Cancelled

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Here’s some fresh video from YouTubes’s doghousefm. It seems that the famous incident started when Epic Beard Guy Thomas Alexander Bruso boarded an AC Transit bus so he could go “to Frisco to get some weed.” His original plan for his mother’s funeral:

“I’m going to wear a powder blue fucking suit, and a white shirt and a red tie and a fucking breast cancer pin…”

Comes now the fight loser “Michael” (who appears to be on a first-name-only basis with DJ “JV“):

“First of all, I’d like to aPOlogize to AC Transit…”

It goes on and on, Black History Month, 5150, bygones, veterans, arthritis, murder, parole, apologies, brothers, stolen money, leaking, ass kicking, Strike Force(?) Showtime TV, 10,000 kids, cocaine - it goes on and on.

Can’t remember which morning-zoo / dawg-pound joint this screengrab came from. Oh yes, it was from WILD 94.9 FM:

And here’s more information about the now-cancelled plans for a rematch.

We’re approaching endgame on this one…

Should San Francisco’s Tourists Pay $7 to Visit the Japanese Tea Garden? No

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Here’s the thing about San Francisco and tourists – we want you to come here, but not really. Like sometimes, we’ll give you a discount if you come up from counties San Mateo and Santa Clara, down from Marin, Napa, and Sonoma, or over from Contra Costa, Alameda, and Solano.  

But on the other hand, sometimes you gotta pay more if you’re an auslander. Like at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. Check out the new pricing scheme:

On other words, from a Yelper:

“I just LOVE the Japanese tea garden. It is really pretty, the drinks are good. But $7 for admission? Yikes.”

Yikes indeed. 

And it looks like the idea for charging $7 to enter Strybing Arboretum is on the front burner again as well.

Oh well.

A Message from Thomas Bruso: “Don’t Fuck With Old Senior Citizens, They’ll Surprise You”

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Well, somebody tracked down Epic Beard Guy Thomas Bruso after he got released from John George Psychiatric Pavilion.

Here he is, straight outta Caffe Trieste in North Beach, Tom Bruso:

Wow, he runs the gamut.

He mixes fact with fiction – how can you sort it all out?

Here’s the reaction on KRON 4.

Cosco Busan Oil Spill Endgame: Chinese-Based Fleet Management Ltd. to pay $10 Mil.

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Here’s the news from the boys and girls at Justice, below.

Patched up and riding high – the last time we saw the Cosco Busan back in 2007. Will it ever come back? She’s called the MSC Venezia these days, currently working in the Canaries.

Oh well, she’s not the first Hyundai to leak oil into San Francsico Bay, and she won’t be the last.

The full release, after the jump

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How Should the SFPD Deal With Somebody Like Epic Beard Man Thomas Bruso, Tasers?

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

[UPDATE: Tom speaks out on video.]

Now-famous 62-year-old Bay Arean Thomas Bruso (aka Epic Beard Man, Tom Swift, and Tom Vietnam) picks fights as he rides AC Transit in the East Bay, of course, (incident video now available in high def) but he also has been known to take BART to visit San Francisco from time to time. For example, here he is near Market Street back when he was just 48, as seen by Caliber photographer Troy Holden:

“Back in 1996, I was working at the intersection of 2nd & Market. Each and every day the man pictured above would walk by my shop, wave a loaf of sourdough in my face, and scream obscenities about the San Francisco 49′ers.”

Good times, via Troy Holden

This guy is as strong as an ox and quite onery to boot, needless to say. So, could Tasers help the SFPD control and handcuff Tom (the next time he’s off his meds) and people like him should the need arise?

Let’s find out, courtesy of footage of Tom at an Oakland A’s game last year. Is this a proper use of a Taser? I don’t know. It ended up being a time-saver for the cops, certainly. Would they have felt justified in shooting Tom with bullets at that moment? Obviously not. The question after any Taser discharge is what would you have done if you didn’t have the Taser, right?

If cops view using a Taser as a first resort, you end up with a tragedy like that of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International.

Speaking of Tasers and the East Bay, check out this excellent report from Demian Bulwa about how the BART Police Department ran the initial stages of its Taser program.

That’s a poorly-run operation. What about the California Highway Patrol? They seem to do be doing better with Tasers these days. For them, a Taser is just another arrow in the quiver. Check it, a CHP officer on San Francisco’s Octavia Boulevard with his two primary weapons, a Smith & Wesson Model 4006 semi-automatic and a TASER International X26:

  

So why shouldn’t the SFPD have Tasers? We already trust them with handguns and assault rifles, right? We’ll end up with a few more lawsuits but with fewer dead civilians. Sounds like a win, overall.

And finally, let’s hear from the RAND Coporation. They pondered the use of Conducted Energy Devices (CEDs) for the NYPD and had this to say: 

“Our key less-than-lethal force recommendations:

We reviewed reports of about 455 NYPD shootings from 2004 to 2006 and identified 25 cases where we judged that had a less-lethal weapon been available, officers may have used it to subdue suspects instead of using their handguns.

We also note that when other departments have deployed Conducted Energy Devices or CEDs, commonly known by the brand name TASER, injuries to both suspects and officers have declined.

We recognize that some groups have criticized the deployment of CEDs, raising issues of safety, overuse, and misuse. As such we recommend that the NYPD undertake a pilot program for the deployment of CEDs.

Such a program should allow patrol officers in selected precincts to be trained and equipped with CEDs that can incapacitate suspects from a distance. We believe there is evidence that if NYPD officers had access to this device, some number of officer-involved shootings could be avoided, and injuries to both suspects and police officers will decline. A carefully designed pilot program conducted over six to 12 months in a few select precincts would give the department enough information to determine whether the devices would alter the way the NYPD officers apply force and whether the weapons could be used properly.”

So, it would seem a well-executed Taser program could be a good thing for the SFPD.

Oh and yes, an apology from videographer Iyanna, after the jump

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Giant Chinese AT-AT Cranes Have Now Become Symbols of Oakland

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

The Rockridge Trader Joe ’s at 5727 College Ave is now using this giant model of the giant container cranes of the Port of Oakland to symbolize the City of Oakland.

Well played, Rockridge TJ’s.

Click to expand

Alameda-Based 11th District Coast Guard Kills Cocaine Smuggler with Shot from Chopper

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Well there’s a whole lot I don’t know about this incident involving a purported cocaine smuggler killed on January 19th, 2010 somewhere in the “Eastern Pacific Ocean.” But, apparently, this smuggler and his boat weren’t too far away from Guatemala City because that’s where he ended up dying after the Coast Guard shot at his engine with a massive rifle mounted on a helicopter.

Feel free to read the account below – it was just released from the 11th District HQ in Alameda, They’re looking into the theory that the purported smuggler died due to “engine fragment or shrapnel injuries.”

Did this shooting get any coverage in Guatemala? No se. Did this shooting get much coverage in any English language publication? Not that I can see. Do the Coasties have video of all this? Oh yes, I’m sure. Does the Coast Guard even know this guy’s name? Maybe not, they haven’t released it, anyway.

Here’s your 21st century Coast Guard – a machine gun for warning shots

 

…and when you ignore that, a massive rifle to take out your engine block, presumably a Barrett M82 .50 cal.

I don’t have a photo of one of those helicopter-mounted rifles, but how would you like .50 caliber rifle bullets like these sailing by your head from a chopper one at time?

Click to see the ammo - it’s the most powerful commonly available cartridge not considered a destructive device under the National Firearms Act. So don’t be surprised when the unarmored engine block of your “go-fast” boat blows up after you pretend not to hear all the warnings you’ve just been given: 

 

Last year, the Alameda-based “maritime security cutter” USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750), which is like a destroyer, basically, bigger and badder than anything else the Coast Guard has ever had in warm waters, was on a maritime security mission in the same area. So I suppose this is how the smallest branch of the military is spending part of its time these days, just hanging out near Central America looking for drug boats and submarines. It’s like Miami Vice, West Coast or something.

And that’s it.

Maybe the Coasties will issue a more-detailed report sometime.

Read all about it, after the jump

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A Moderate Earthquake Just Hit San Francisco – Thursday, January 7th 2010 at 10:09 AM

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

It felt like a quick initial jolt followed up by three seconds of shaking to those of us in San Francisco. See what people thought about the latest rumblings of our San Andreas Fault over at SFist.com.

The updated report from the USGS indicates a 4.2 near the city of Milpitas.

Right here, “A” marks the spot:

A light earthquake occurred at 10:09:35 AM (PST) on Thursday, January 7, 2010.
The magnitude 4.2 event occurred 10 km (6 miles) ENE of Milpitas, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 9 km ( 6 miles).


Magnitude 4.2 – local magnitude (ML)
Time Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 10:09:35 AM (PST)
Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 18:09:35 (UTC)
Distance from Milpitas, CA – 10 km (6 miles) ENE (62 degrees)
Alum Rock, CA – 12 km (8 miles) NNE (12 degrees)
Sunol, CA – 16 km (10 miles) SSE (150 degrees)
San Jose City Hall, CA – 17 km (11 miles) NNE (29 degrees)
Coordinates 37 deg. 28.6 min. N (37.477N), 121 deg. 47.8 min. W (121.797W)
Depth 9 km (5.6 miles)
Location Quality Excellent
Location Quality Parameters Nst= 89, Nph= 89, Dmin=3 km, Rmss=0.08 sec, Erho=0.1 km, Erzz=0.4 km, Gp=36 degrees
Event ID# nc71336726
Additional Information map with fault names
Google Earth KML (Requires Google Earth.)
ShakeMap shaking intensity maps
NCSS First Motion Mechanism 1

As per usual, t’was the Northern Calaveras (it means “skulls”) branch of the San Andreas. Alum Rock, will you ever win?

Gold! Gold in Oakland! Shorenstein’s 555 12th Street is now LEED Gold Certified

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Gold! I love goooold! So you can imagine how I felt upon learning that 555 12th Street in Oakland City Center is the “first building in the Shorenstein Properties’ commercial real estate portfolio to be LEED Gold certified through the U.S. Green Building Council’s Existing Building Operations and Maintenance (LEED EBOM) program.”

Next stop: Platinum, baby. Maybe someday….

Here it is, deets below:

2319354281_2b37df83fa_b copy

via caramida

Shorenstein Properties’ 555 12th Street Building in Oakland City Center Receives LEED(R) Gold Certification

First Shorenstein Asset to Earn Coveted Green Status http://www.oaklandcitycenter.com http://www.shorenstein.com http://www.greenbuild.com

OAKLAND, Calif., November 13 /PRNewswire/ — Shorenstein-owned 555 12th Street in Oakland City Center is the first building in the company’s commercial real estate portfolio to be LEED Gold certified through the U.S. Green Building Council’s Existing Building Operations and Maintenance (LEED EBOM) program. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building employs strategies aimed at improving performance in: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.   The LEED EBOM certification of 555 12th Street comes some seven years after it opened in 2002.

“This is a major accomplishment,” said John Dolby, Shorenstein vice president and leasing manager at Oakland City Center. “We are very proud of Property Manager Diana Hernandez, Chief Engineer Mike Berry, and the entire 555 12th Street staff for their persistent efforts over the past 18 months.” He added, “We also recognize the importance of the participation of the building’s tenants.  Their cooperative spirit was a big factor in achieving the certification.”

The green building consulting firm of Simon & Associates coordinated the LEED certification process for the building. According to Raphael Sperry, AIA, LEED AP, the initial assessment was conducted in late spring of 2008 and work began in earnest in August 2008.  The building was officially designated as LEED Gold on October 31, 2009.

They go on and on - see you after the jump

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The Embarcadero Chevys Closed Down Last Week Because Its Lease Expired? Really?

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Well it was quite a mystery last week when, via Eater SF’s The Shutter, we all learned that the Chevy’s Fresh Mex at 2 Embarcadero Center in the Financh would close down forever as of last Friday. Per ABC KGO TV Channel 7, the employees were bummed because they only got three days’ notice of the closure - and as for any severance benefits, well that’s a big fat nada.

Why did this eatery close down without warning? Well, the manager (and management in general) didn’t want to say. But now, we have a statement from Chevy’s. See?

Click to expand:

IMG_9466 copy

Their “lease expired.” Simple, right?

But that seems a little funny. (Of course, I’m not in the restaurant biz so I don’t know.) You’d think they’d have been able to give the workers more notice if this was just a matter of losing a lease.

(And you know, actually, I’d imagine that Boston Properties (or whomever you talk to when you want to strike a bargain on cheaper rent at Embarcadero Center) would be looking to make a sweet deal, based upon the low level of occupancy they have these days…)

Maybe Chevys’ management figured they’d be closing this store a month or two ago, but they kept this info a secret from the workers?

(When Warren Simmons, Sr. and his son Warren “Scooter” Simmons, Jr. started up the first Chevys (no apostrophe, please) in Alameda back in 1987, did they think that this was they way it was going to be? Oh well.)

Mmmmm……