Oakland Tribune Outtakes

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan wasted no time reaching out to Chinese officials in Beijing when she landed there Saturday to embark on a three-city trade mission with Oakland City Council President Larry Reid, Port of Oakland Executive Director Omar Benjamin and other of the Port’s seaport and airport officials.

Quan met with the chairman of the HNA Group, which owns Hainan Airlines, hotels and other businesses. She wants to try and bring the airline to Oakland, and perhaps convince the company to build hotels and use Oakland as its hub for for foreign tourism to Northern California.

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The tire-slashing vandals struck again last night near High Street and Culver.  Residents are saying that the suspects hit cars along the entire block. That equals scores of tires. Hundreds counting Wednesday’s tire-slashing spree between Brookdale and Allendale. Thousands counting other cities in recent months.  As if people don’t have a hard enough time getting out of the door in the morning.

Here is a smattering of the feedback to the AC Transit brawl story just over Facebook. My voicemail was nearly full. I didn’t want to write the story and it was not worth writing. But it’s goot to know what is lurking out there — racism, misogyny etc. — under the thin veil of civility. The funny thing is people are arguing that I am biased on both sides.

Rob Kiser February 20 at 9:35am

Blame the victim, why don’t you? The 67 year old white man was physically assaulted by the younger black man. It’s on the video. And yet, you blame the older man for the attack. The gall of some people. It would be different if it weren’t on video.

Rob Kiser February 20 at 9:37am

Also, you should get a new facebook photo. This one looks like you’re recovering from a bad acid trip in the Black Rock Desert.

Brandon Livingston

“yeah, like the media and its anti-white bias. you pathetic, worthless swine. ”
“I read your biased article, Angela. You and the American mass media are pathetic. You made it look like Bruso made unprovoked racial slurs and made the worthless subhuman who attacked him to be the sweet, innocent victim. Did you even watch the video? You said nothing of that fat ugly sow Iyanna Washington’s encouragement of racial violence, or the theft of Bruso’s bag. Do your superiors encourage you to write articles biased against whites, or are you just overcome with self-hate from movies and history class?
If I read that some pack animals attacked you on a bus with provocation, I would think that would be poetic justice. ”

Ben Milne:
“You’re a fucking bitch, that nigger deserved every bit of what he got.”
“Not only did that guy deserve every bit of what he got, it had nothing to do with race you biased ass.

Further, I think you will find its because a lot of people take public trans and see this sorta thing all the time, so it hits home to them. And its great to see one of those retards get their due.

Your artice was so biased its not funny. How could you see the same thing as everyone else and end up that far off… your bias is just sad”

Artie Chaffin February 19 at 11:57pm

I just finished reading your article regarding Vietnam Tom and the fight on the bus. I’m very curious why you go into such detail regarding what Tom said and did, yet sum up the racial and threatening comments made by the black guy as “ordering.” Did you happen to even watch the video? The man clearly curses and threatens the old guy for over a minute. Then he goes to the front of the bus to get away and still gets harassed by the guy. You clearly failed to mention any of that in your report. Have you everwondered why nobody believes in what reporters or journalists write about anymore? It because of pieces like yours that blatantly remove facts from a situation that people can clearly see and hear by watching a video. A video is not up to interpretation when there is sound. Please watch again, turn the sound up, look at your story and see just how pathetic of a job was done.

Ben Milne February 19 at 6:22pm

Why did you try to destroy the legacy of Epic Beard Man?

Ashlee Sullivan February 19 at 12:56pm

I feel that you incorrectly reported part of how this situation unfolded. You wrote that Bruso incensed the man by asking how much to have him spit shine his shoes. In the original video the man openly admits when asked, that he did walk by Bruso and said “Whys a brother gotta spit shine a mans shoes?”. Bruso mistook the mans instigation as an offer and even states his interest in the offer was because of a funeral he would be attending the next day. Bruso also attempted to clarify his mistake by saying “It doesn’t matter, you could be a chinaman, I’m not prejudice.”. Also he attempts to ask the man “Why are you so hostile?”.
Why were these things left out of your reporting of the situation? It seems a bit biased because of the fact Bruso has a past video. After watching the video it is obvious that even if Bruso has a short fuse, he was harassed a good deal before the argument became violent. When it did become violent, he was not the initiator of violence. Regardless of this mans past, He was not the one who started the argument. He even endured several threats of physical violence from the other man, which you also left out. I think these things are important to address, I would appreciate it if the events were more clearly reported as they actually unfolded, instead of what just sounds better when read.

Samuel Charowsky February 19 at 9:16am

Did you watch the video? If you did you’d know what really happened. While its not in it, you can tell from Bruso’s tone he thought that the black man offered to shine his shoes. You can deduce that Thomas probably had his foot in the area of the black man and the punk said something sarcastically like “You want me to shine your shoes?” then when Bruso asked how much got defensive.

After continued rudeness from the younger one, Bruso acted like the bigger man and walked away from the fight only to have Mr Uppity continue to talk shit like the tough guy he thought he was. This went on back and forth until finally the black guy walked up to the front of the bus, assaulted Bruso, and then proceeded to get his ass handed to him in a legally sound proceeding.

Now I don’t know what video you watched, if any, but if you watched that one then you’d know the ghetto punk had what was coming to him. The dumbass continued to talk shit even after getting his face pounded in. Maybe next time you’ll do your research or stop kissing the african populations ass, doubt it.

Gary O’Donnell February 19 at 2:37am

Oh and he doesnt name himself ”Epic Beard Man”, it was a named conned for him by 4chan/ebaumsworld

Gary O’Donnell February 19 at 2:36am

You’re very biased on your http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_14429686

not one newspaper account the fact that the girl filming shouted ” say it again pinky” and ” beat his white ass”

to be thats racial hatred and also wanting a fight to happen! adding fuel to the fire, plus at the end she clearly steals the bag, and if you would do some research and go on her youtube account, look at the first comments for her apology response, she clearly states she ” wanted the black guy to win because of slavery”

Joey Neeley February 18 at 7:09pm

Your article about epic beard man doesn’t say anything about the stupid fuckin black chick that stole his bag…..wtf?

For days I have been running back and forth reporting stories on everything from mortgage loan modification software to a Cambodian Buddhist temple coup, and from TheatreFIRST’s upcoming show to the murder of Dewey Tucker, bassist for among others Lauryn Hill, The Coup, Kev Choice and Goapele. (Story will is on hold until Saturday online. In the Trib Sunday. Not totally sure why.)  Busy week. Then today the news popped up that Lorenzo Hoopes, who is pro-Prop 8, is a candidate for the Paramount Theatre’s board of directors. The way it popped up in my e-mail: “WTF. Dellums wants to appoint leader of local pro-Prop 8 campaign to Paramount Theater Board. Opposition mounting on Facebook.”
The “Paramount — No place for Homophobia” Facebook page (Sean Sullivan) explains the arrangement better. But just so there is no other mistake: Dellums cannot appoint anyone to the Paramount board.

For months it was hard to tell what the incremental signs of activity meant for the old Metro Underworld Operahouse on Broadway and Second. Then the sign “Duke’s R&B” went up in the summer. But not much else happened while the dust gathered on the windows of the 200-person, two-floor “dinner club.” Finally, the new operators filed a cabaret permit today. Actually, they applied again. The original owner, Sam Conti, passed away in November after the first application was filed in May. The new operators are listed as Pacific Brokerage Inc., which is Mohammed, Nazem and Nader Ahmadi as well as Clinton Motta, all of Walnut Creek.  Their hearing is Feb. 18.
Speaking of cabaret permits, you might have noticed the article today in the East Bay Express. I have been writing about this (cabaret laws, ordinances, entertainment commission) for at least a year but it appears to have taken a cockeyed Wall Street Journal article to get the buzz going even though there isn’t really a lot of buzz to buzz about — yet. There will be though, knowing Oakland.
Contrary to the Journal’s article, the changes to the way Oakland does entertainment business has nothing to do with crime and everything to do with the fact that we have enough entertainment to regulate for the first time in decades. So I’ll toast to that while City Hall and the party police tinker. It’s about time.

Considering the address — Old Oakland — Chris Klein could have picked a better name than Oaksterdam Tattoo. If he had put the tattoo parlor in Oaksterdam territory there might not have been much fuss. But putting it on Washington Street next to Ratto’s guaranteed neighbors would raise an eyebrow. And they did, according to Klein. That is to be expected when you slap the name Oaksterdam on anything, especially on a tattoo parlor. He said he still gets stray calls by people looking for the green stuff, and I don’t mean ink. But the critics have eased off.
Klein  opened Dec. 18, a couple weeks after the bitchy chatter on Internet sites (“First a tattoo parlor. What’s next? A brothel?” and “Are we that desperate for businesses?”) died down. You could easily mistake the parlor for a gallery except for the sign on the window written in the A’s signature green and white swish, which does not really reflect what is behind the storefront.  A Victorian-era ceiling soars above tattoo stations where “Priest” sat steadily transforming a man’s back into a riot of  multicolored flora and fauna. Paintings by the tattoo artists hang on the startk white walls. There are no drunken sailors or brazen hussies, at least not this afternoon. The sidewalk was filled instead Caffe 817 patrons soaking up the wan winter sun.
Klein, a musician and artist, has kept the front area open for people waiting to turn their skin into a human canvas, as well as for entertainment on Frist Fridays.  Nothing big.  At least nothing like in New Orleans, which is where he moved from.  Further on but not far are two more new (and evidently less controversial ) additions to the neighborhood. The white-walled Collect gallery on Broadway opened Jan. 2 with a screening of film shorts (Oh thank you great culture muse in the sky). Next up is Jan. 12.
Collect is the second storefront being filled by Leila Banijamali and Lauren Geremia. The duo’s other gallery around the corner on Ninth bears the latter’s name, Geremia Design. Together with pioneer FIVEten Studio (oh please don’t go!) the galleries and parlor create a sort of four-cornered Old Oakland art scene. Banijamali and Geremia call themselves San Francisco designers and entrepreneurs. Perhaps. But even if that is their pedigree why do they named the Web site CollectArtSF if both of their “well-appointed galleries” are in Oakland. Was CollectArtOakland taken? You might say I’m being unfair because it is the URL we’re talking about. But: Oaksterdam might be a poor choice of names for the neighborhood but at least the name reflects the city it’s in.

I returned to Berkeley later Saturday night to see Where the Wild Things Are (a tear jerker of the highest magnitude in my opinion) and noticed a little sliver of an art house tucked away between two storefronts on Bancroft. Turned out to be the Subterranean Art House, which is hard to spot because there is no permament sign affixed to the 2179 Bancroft Way address. I did not have time to go in (it was cold and my daughters were with us — thus the movie) for “night of music in honor of Hafiz.” Not that I knew what was going on inside anyway from a distance. I could only see paintings on the walls but online they describe the gallery as a place for visual and performance art – including songwriting and dance salons and the 50th anniversary celebration of Butoh dance, which is something that doesn’t happen too often around here. It’s not your average dance style.

A video illustrating the Cal Bears garage tailgaiting tradition taken Saturday on the north side of campus during the last game of the season.

It’s hard to see but the garage on the north side was full of Bears fans with their indoor tailgate parties set up . It was close to kickoff which might be why this guy decided he had enough of his mimosa and turned his champagne glass upside down over the bushes. CheersThe guy dressed head to toe in blue and gold stripes passing by that morning was the tip off that I had unsuspectedly wandered into Cal game territory on the wrong day.  Not that game day would normally concern me but I happened to be looking for parking that morning and the garages were off limits to non-football fans. The video explains why.

I thought I was just going to watch a funny movie Saturday night: “Big Fan,” by Robert Siegel of “The Wrestler” fame. It was neither a funny movie nor just film, as I found out. But in neither case was I disappointed. For one, “Big Fan” is poignant, disturbing and funny in a “Taxi Driver” meets “Mall Cop” kind of way. Paul “from Staten Island” Aufiero, played by comedian Patton Oswald, is a fanatical 35-year-old NY Giants fan whose loyalty is limitless — and creepy.  ”Big Fan” is, in the words of associate director Nick Gallo (of The Onion), a dark, dark, dark comedy, which I heard hits pretty close to home with some sports fans who recognize the absurdity and pathos in the story. And that brings me to the second surprise of the evening: an unannounced appearance by Gallo and actor Gino Cafarelli, who manages to combine in the character of Paul’s brother a New York knuckle head with the scruples of a personal-injury lawyer and heart of a big brother. The duo showed up at the Shattuck Cinema’s small chamber Saturday night to promote the film. So much for a relaxing flick.  Anyway, rumor has it, several Raiders are expected to be part of an audience on Monday. I am really curious to hear what they will have to say about it.

Lately I have been enjoying the dissonance at Jack London Square between watching tanned boaters aboard their crafts at the water’s edge and pop music from the temporary ice rink under the palms at the end of Broadway. Most Sundays I walk from near downtown to the square and back again, a return journey that deflates my mood because the highway overpass at Fifth Street, which pedestrians and motorists can’t avoid (in most directions). The walkway is ugly, dirty and noisy. It doesn’t really do anything to lure people to the waterfront, either. I have often thought how great it would be to at least have a shuttle, especially at night.  I even thought about launching a Mexican Bus style of transportation. Now comes good news that Oakland is launching a free shuttle that will run about 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays between the Uptown District and Jack London Square. The route: Amtrak station along Broadway to West Grand loop around the Uptown via Telegraph Avenue. The days and hours might expand later if there is more money. The shuttle is geared toward getting downtown workers to other neighborhoods and encouraging people to use the ferry. I guess that’s how they got the $1 million grant to fund it. But restaurants and bars are going to be disappointed to hear that it’s not a nighttime service. I know I am even though I am glad for even limited service. I don’t want to sound ungrateful. But Read the rest of this entry »