Top Oakland Tribune Headlines

Pacific Boychoir tours South Africa

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 17:18:53 PDT

The Pacific Boychoir, based out of Oakland, is sending 43 boys, ranging in ages from 10 to 18, from both its academy and after school program to South Africa to take part in two international choral festivals.

Deep-fried peanut butter cups and twisty potatoes on a stick

By Larissa Klitzke — Fri, 3 Jul 2009 17:07:45 PDT

Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton doesn't fail when it comes to new types of fried treats.

Booze on the block: liquor stores a drain on West Oakland community

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 17:05:26 PDT

In West Oakland, store owners and neighbors are at odds over whether the businesses are creating problems in the neighborhood or simply meeting demand for alcohol, tobacco and food.

West Oakland project

East Bay: Two people hit and killed by same Amtrak train Friday

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 16:57:49 PDT

Two pedestrians died in separate incidents involving the same Amtrak train Friday afternoon, one in Berkeley and another about two hours later in Oakland, Amtrak officials said.

Pacific Boychoir tours South Africa

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 15:58:22 PDT

Slaying leaves Richmond family struggling for answers

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 13:05:11 PDT

Richmond retiree's violent death is difficult to comprehend, loved ones say.

People: Michael Bay says Megan Fox 'has a lot of growing up to do'

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 10:13:11 PDT

Also: School in 'Bruno' leaves district; Simon Cowell needs to give something up; David Carradine's death ruled accidental

Plenty of free activities, fireworks available on July 4 in and around Oakland

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 23:29:16 PDT

If funds are tight and time is plentiful, several sites in and around Oakland offer an abundance of free or low-cost fun family activities to keep you busy on the Fourth of July.

Fourth of July fireworks, events, parades in the East Bay and Bay Area

MediaNews staff — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 23:25:32 PDT

Whether you're staying put in the East Bay or venturing further in the Bay Area, our Fourth of July events guide has something for everyone.

Post your favorite spot to watch the fireworks

Share your Fourth of July photos

CHP looking to solve seven-year-old fatal hit-and-run

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 23:20:26 PDT

It happened more than seven years ago, but Susan Sabanal, 54, of Hayward says she remembers it like it was five minutes ago. On June, 15, 2002, her only child, Brian Sabanal, 20, was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Interstate 205 in Tracy. The person responsible for the accident was never identified.

Worried scientists find sea otter numbers continue to decline

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 23:06:30 PDT

The three-year average sea otter population on California's coast declined for the first time in more than a decade, according to a U.S. Geological Survey.

IOUs from California are on their way

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 22:42:58 PDT

With its bank balance careening toward zero, California began sending tens of thousands of IOUs to its creditors Thursday, the latest black eye for the state and its broken budget system.

Transportation secretary tours port, talks money

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 22:29:15 PDT

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and elected officials toured the Port of Oakland on Thursday and discussed the possibility of more federal money rolling on to its docks.

Fireworks bust in Oakland could net mandatory prison sentence

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 22:27:49 PDT

Man arrested with largest ever cache of fireworks seized in Oakland charged with two felony counts for possessing illegal explosive devices and an assault weapon

Hayward police say neighbor teen responsible for late-night prowler scare

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 22:27:17 PDT

Police say a developmentally disabled teen entered an 11-year-old girl's bedroom in the middle of the night this week and began fondling her feet before being scared off when the girl woke up.

Oakland police staffing: 801 -- and falling

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 22:25:42 PDT

Oakland's Police Department dropped below its authorized strength of 803 officers for the first time since November last week, and it doesn't appear it will reach its full staffing level again anytime soon.

West Oakland farms sowing seeds of community, harvesting health

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 21:48:43 PDT

Marcel Diallo is on a mission to revive West Oakland's historic Prescott neighborhood, an area where liquor stores provide the only access to fresh food and grocery stores are nowhere to be found.

DVD sent home with Elk Grove elementary students included sexual content

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 17:59:59 PDT

Elk Grove Unified officials have rescinded a request for parents to return DVDs that included "inappropriate images" they say were inadvertently sent home with students at Isabelle Jackson Elementary.

Emeryville's first homicide of the year

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 17:54:57 PDT

San Rafael man found fatally shot inside car at Emeryville marina is not a suicide, police say.

Federal judge fast-tracks lawsuit seeking to overturn same-sex marriage ban

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 17:35:07 PDT

n Lawsuit challenging constitutional validity of measure could wind up in Supreme Court, U.S. district jurist says

The summer (and fall and winter) of King Tut

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 13:12:49 PDT

'Tukankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs' brings the boy king back to the Bay Area.

Slide show:Photos from the exhibit

Goth dancers swing to their own tunes

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 13:09:37 PDT

You've been Goth since you first heard Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Passenger," and although you would love to get on the dance floor, those traditional tunes just don't make your feet move. Luckily, Brian Gardner's around promoting Swing Goth, a partner dance night for those with a darker side.

State board sets 3.75 percent interest rate on California IOUs

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 13:04:50 PDT

California will begin to print and send out tens of thousands of IOUs this afternoon to pay its bills, the latest black eye for the state and its broken budget system.

Governor shuts state offices three days per month

Tony Hicks: Watch video of Michael Jackson's final rehearsal

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 12:44:15 PDT

CNN just got their mitts on two minutes worth of Michael Jackson's last rehearsal before he died. He looks pretty healthy to me.

Police departments, including Oakland's, clamor for federal aid to avoid layoffs

By Devlin Barrett, Associated Press Writer — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 11:15:18 PDT

The nation's police departments are clamoring for an unprecedented amount of federal aid to forestall big local tax hikes or the possible layoff of nearly 40,000 police officers -- enough to staff the entire New York City Police Department

Boy throws bleach in face of San Francisco bus driver

Bay City News Service — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:37:46 PDT

A San Francisco Municipal Railway bus driver had bleach thrown into his face by a boy riding in the bus on Tuesday, police said today.

Ex-boyfriend convicted of stalking Marin woman and hacking into her computer

By Gary Klien, Bay Area News Group — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:27:56 PDT

After more than three years of legal maneuvering, a Las Vegas man was convicted of stalking a Corte Madera woman, breaking into her home and hacking into her computer.

Oakland's new schools superintendent, Tony Smith, starts job with fanfare

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 07:34:35 PDT

Tony Smith started as Oakland's new schools superintendent on Wednesday with no shortage of Bay Area officials on hand to welcome him to the challenge. Smith's former boss, San Francisco Superintendent Carlos Garcia, tells Oakland residents to "Fasten your seat belt."

Remains found in Napa identified as missing Oakland woman, officials say

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 07:31:31 PDT

A slaying victim whose skeletal remains police found in rural Napa County has been identified as 47-year-old Johnethel McGehee of Oakland.

Man injured after crashing car into Oakland taqueria

Bay City News Service — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 07:25:23 PDT

A man was injured this morning when he crashed his vehicle into a taqueria in Oakland, police said.

Sketches of Castro Valley slaying suspects released

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 07:05:21 PDT

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office has released descriptions of two men wanted in connection with last Friday's slaying at a hydroponics store on Redwood Road.

New study to explore vitamin D deficiency in blacks

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 06:34:58 PDT

Research will assess whether supplements narrow the gap between disease rates in blacks, other racial groups

No California budget deal means more furloughs, more more problems

MEDIANEWS WIRE SERVICES — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 06:30:22 PDT

The failure to balance the state's main checkbook and the looming IOUs prompted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday to declare a fiscal state of emergency.

Environmentalists want judge to stop construction at Chevron refinery in Richmond

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 06:23:49 PDT

Environmental groups are asking a Contra Costa Superior Court judge to halt construction on Chevron's retrofit of its Richmond plant to refine a wider range of crude.

Fawcett death puts focus on anal cancer

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 06:18:11 PDT

Rare disease linked to sexually transmitted virus forces discussion of once-taboo topics

Alameda County Fair has a relaxed new midweek opening

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 05:41:08 PDT

As the gates to the Alameda County Fair were about to open Wednesday, organizers whizzed about in carts, anxious to make sure exhibits and the people who run them were in place to meet the public.

How IOUs work

From Staff Reports — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 22:55:27 PDT

Out of money, the state is set to begin issuing "registered warrants," commonly called IOUs

Dave Newhouse: Independent streak meant life

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 20:36:34 PDT

The Fourth of July is recognized as Independence Day, commemorating the United States' separation from Great Britain, By George, in 1776.Breaking off from the mother country established a tone of freedom in America that, ethnically speaking, hasn't always reached out successively to the masses.

Officials step up patrols at Joaquin Miller Park

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 20:36:27 PDT

Oakland city officials met Wednesday at the entrance of Sequoia Arena in Joaquin Miller Park to raise public awareness of fire danger in the hills, as well as to reduce late night parties and bonfires in the park.

Alameda: Police search for bank robber

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 16:29:46 PDT

ALAMEDA — Police are searching for a man who robbed the Bank of America on Park Street Tuesday.Two customers and five employees were inside the bank when the robbery occurred about 5:10 p.

'Streets of San Francisco' star, Oscar winner Karl Malden dies at 97

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 14:25:10 PDT

LOS ANGELES — Karl Malden, the Academy Award-winning actor whose intelligent characterizations on stage and screen made him a star despite his plain looks, died Wednesday, his family said.

Feds may take possession of some California parks, if they close

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 13:37:41 PDT

That's the message from the National Park Service, which also has told Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that California will be blocked from receiving future money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the leading federal source of funding for parks, if it closes state parks now.

Frantic budget talks fall short

Governor shuts state offices three days per month

Jackson's will cuts out ex-wife Debbie Rowe; names Diana Ross as backup trustee

By Anthony McCartney, AP Entertainment Writer — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 10:47:17 PDT

Michael Jackson's will has been filed in a Los Angeles court.

East Bay woman, 5-year-old daughter nearly saved before rip tide took them

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 10:34:03 PDT

Devoted Walnut Creek mom and small-business owner, 5-year-old daughter drowned in Monday accident; they leave behind husband, 9-year old daughter

Post condolences for Angie Higgins and Indali Higgins

Marin woman aboard boat intercepted by Israeli navy

Bay Area News Group — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 10:12:19 PDT

The Israeli navy intercepted a ship carrying foreign peace activists - including a San Rafael woman - trying to break a blockade of Gaza on Tuesday and forced it to sail to an Israeli port, the military said.

Elderly beating victim dies, Richmond police to seek murder charges

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 09:37:56 PDT

An elderly man who was brutally beaten while on a walk last month has died from his injuries, and Richmond police plan to speak to prosecutors today about murder charges.

Post condolences for Euvaldo Sisneros

Oakland's budget cuts services, closes $83 million hole

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 08:49:38 PDT

Even as they approved a spending plan, officials acknowledged they would probably be back making more cuts soon.