East Oakland man tasered, another rolls a joint; sideshows in East Oakland

Followers of my blogs may remember a YouTuber by the name of EASTOAKLAND106 (his capitals, not mine) who uses video to capture life as he experiences it in East Oakland between 106th and International Blvd, and the San Leandro boarder.

In the first blog post we saw two young men exact a unique form of street justice in dealing with an alleged drug dealer, and EASTOAKLAND106's camera took us to a side show.

This time he has more videos. The most recent one was of an obviously out-of-control person; our fearless YouTuber describes the event in this way:

This man was on a few pills and some drank i guess. As you seen in the street he was throwing hella shit in the street bottles pots, pants, pipes he was doing way to much so he came from the other side of his gate and they tased his ass you can hear it when they shoot the taser and the red marks on his clothes he went down for the count.

The second video has his friend from our first drug dealer video rolling a joint and describing the special features of his Buick Park Avenue that he wants to sell:



In this video, uploaded October 3, a group of young women are hanging out of a car turning in a circle in an intersection in East Oakland where Sideshows took place. One of the women falls off the trunk of the car as its moving.



And unless you think, as I did, that the Sideshow only happens at night, not so. Here's a video uploaded in June that has a daylight street party. In the video another group of women drive up to a set of young men twice: first to flash them, then to stop and talk to them. And no the women were not stopped; they slowly drove the car up to the men and stopped.



That Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid and others want to have a legal venue for these "happenings" is a good idea if only to stop the kind of traffic interruptions and safety threats the Sideshows bring. It's also clear there's little in the way of alternative entertainment geared for this demographic anywhere in Oakland, let alone East Oakland.

For those who may ask why I'm presenting this, it's because the vast majority of Oakland or San Francisco bloggers don't show it. What we get is a kind of upper-middle-class view of another part of Oakland on the North end of town. Few blogers, if any, pay attention to East Oakland.

Moreover the view of some in general is to want to sweep Oakland street culture under the visual rug. The mainstream media only shows East Oakland when someone's shot but it does not give anyone a view of what happens in the area on a regular basis. That should change.

Cowboys' Flozell Adams should be suspended for Justin Tuck hit

Dallas Cowboys Offensive Tackle Flozell Adams should be suspended for a series of potentially career-ending actions against New York Giants Defensive End Justin Tuck. What Adams has done in both games against the Giants this year are more than just personal fouls, they're personal cheap shots.

Adams has made no statement of contrition as of this writing. Have a look at Adams actions for yourself:

Oakland Parking upsets this Oaklander; she's shoping in Walnut Creek

The City of Oakland shows no sign of changing its aggressive and unnecessary parking enforcement policies and actions and the result is upsetting Oaklanders so much, some are shopping in places like Walnut Creek. Take this example: a message left at the Adams Point Neighborhood Yahoo Message Board:

Curious if others are experiencing the same thing.

I feel the parking enforcement has gotten a little out of hand. I usually get 1
or 2 tickets a year for parking during street cleaning. My error, but it would
be nice if the street cleaning actually cleaned the streets.

Recently I received a ticket when I had a paid & visible parking receipt in my
car window. On another day, I received a ticket while I was purchasing a
parking ticket. Another issue is after paying tickets weeks later I get "late
payment" notices asking for more money, even when I paid on time.

I'm curious if the parking issuers have new standards and quotas that are
causing them to be overzealous w/ the ticket issuing. I'm hoping our city
officials can look into this and respond.

I'm also curious about the late notices. How can they not know who has paid?
Do they return the money that gets sent in by people who pay when they don't
need to?

Oakland Resident/Wayne Ave.

P.S. I recently went to Walnut Creek (which I never do). Parking was plentiful
and only $1 an hour. This convenience is very important to me and unfortunately
I will be "shopping oakland" less.

The City of Oakland and Mayor Ron Dellums claim $65 million in Economic Simulus money, but can't stop gouging its people with parking tickets. Something's really wrong here. Visit the Oakland City Council tonight at 7 PM.

Tiger Woods ambulance update: 911 call came from Woods' home

An update in the Tiger Woods ambulance to hospital story: the 911 call that one Fire Department spokesperson told TMZ.com came from Woods home and then backed off on the report, then another source claimed came from another residence in the area is confirmed to have come from Tiger Woods home.

And while that was going on, Jaimie Grubbs, another alleged mistress of Tiger Woods, is revealing just how much she hates men. According to Radar Online.com, Grubbs said that "boys" were "like toys" to her.

Jaimie Grubbs is not showing a good side of herself and the media's not helping her cover it up. The public news is that she worked or works in a medical marijuana store and was arrested for shop lifting. But what's more terrible is that Jaimie Grubbs opens up and first allegedly sells a voicemail of a person said to be Woods to US Weekly for $150,000, then uses an affair that's obviously contributing to the emotional harm of the Woods family to develop her own fame.

Very bad behavior.

Stay tuned.

Tiger Woods ambulance news: 911 call for Barbro Holmberg, Woods mom-in-law

In the Tiger Woods ambulance story this update: the 911 call was made for Tiger Woods mother-in-law, Barbro Holmberg.

Barbro Holmberg

TMZ.com reports Barbro Holmberg, Elin Nordegren's mother and a Swedish Social Democratic politician, was rushed to the hospital after complaining of stomach pains.

According to the New York Daily News, Homberg she was appointed Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy in the Swedish Government on October 10, 2003 and left office October 6, 2006 after the Swedish government election.

For more on the Woods hospital story, click here.

Tiger Woods hospital news: woman on advanced life support released

An as of this writing unidentified middle-aged blonde woman was rushed to Health Center hospital early this morning and is now released. According to TMZ.com, the Orange County (Florida) Fire Department spokesperson reported that 911 call came from Tiger Woods home, but then the Fire Department rep backed off the story.

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren (Zap2it.com)

TMZ explains that sources have told them the mother of Tiger Woods' Wife Elin Nordegren had traveled from Sweden to the United States to be with her daughter.

There are conflicting reports. Some claim that the 911 call came from Woods house; others say it came nearby. The second report may be the case, as it matches with Monday's new of Woods wife moving out of their home and into that of a friend in the area.

According to WKMG a woman was taken to the hospital and followed by a blonde woman in a black Escalade from Deacon Circle to Heath Center Hospital. The same hospital that Woods himself was taken to after his car accident. Here's the video link from TMZ.com (embed code was not operating): LINK

RadarOnline.com reports that the woman has been released from the hospital as of 9:41 AM EST.  They describer her as in her 50s with "blondish-gray" hair. 

Stay tuned.

Oakland got $65 million in Economic Stimulus; where's the jobs?

I received this email from Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums' Oakland Community Task Force late Sunday night:

Hear Mayor Dellums report on stimulus funding (some of which will fund task force-related recommendations). Oakland has received $65 million in stimulus funding, including half from competitive grants.


A preliminary review of selected cities indicates that this makes Oakland second after Chicago (my emphasis) in the amount of competitive funding received. And Oakland is not, by any means, the second largest city. Congratulations to the Mayor, the wonderful city staff led by task force member Margaretta Lin, and other task force members who participated in the planning process and grant writing.

Ok. Great.  The Mayor's giving a City Council report tonight on Economic Stimulus money to Oakland for ...$65 million?  Wow. 

But here's the question: where are the jobs?

Oakland is a city of just around 400,000 people; the Chicago Metro area's about 4 million. To compare Oakland to a much bigger city in terms of monies received is one thing but it also means what's done with the cash is to be questioned.

$65 million is a lot of money.

I check the City of Oakland's Economic Stimulus Website and found something disturbing: a list of program grants applied for that had not been updated in months. Under the estimate of jobs to be created most of the boxes had TBA which I guess means "To Be Added".

And for those areas where jobs were listed, the total was just over 2,500 positions.  But 1,750 of those were from a block grant program that the website doesn't report the City got money for.   It doesn't read that the City of Oakland was rejected either - it really doesn't tell you much of anything beyond the application due date and the program description.  

Yikes.

This website has not been updated in months!   Terrible!  

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is scheduled to present the Oakland Economic Stimulus report tonight, Tuesday, at 7 PM at Oakland City Hall. Ask him what happened to the $65 million.

He will tell you that most of the money has not been claimed, but how much has not? Also, when will the jobs become available? Now, or in stages over the next year? And if it's in stages will that be enough to offset projected higher unemployment rates?

And then ask him with $65 million, why does the City of Oakland gouge its residents with high parking ticket costs and overly aggressive enforcement?

Geez.

Toby Gerhart named one of Heisman finalists 2009

The Heisman finalists for 2009 have been named and Stanford's Running Back Toby Gerhart is among them. As The Chronicle's Tom Fitzgerald explains, Gerhart, who led the nation in yards gained with 1,736 and 26 touchdowns, would become the second Stanford player to get the award if he won on Saturday. Quarterback Jim Plunkett was the first Heisman winner for The Cardinal in 1970.

Gerhart is up against stiff competition in Texas Quarterback Colt McCoy, Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow, Nebraska Defensive Lineman Ndamukong Suh, and Alabama Running Back Mark Ingram.

While Ingram played for the undefeated Crimson Tide, his numbers are far less impressive than Gerhart's. Ingram rushed for 1,542 yards this season with 15 rushing touchdowns, 11 less than Gerhart.



Meanwhile my Tim Tebow Crying Poll is a virtual dead heat with 34.51 percent who voted that crying was OK, versus 34.69 percent who think he should have not cried, out of 2,776 votes since Sunday. 

Gloria Allred to talk about motherhood, not Tiger Woods, on MyWorkButterly.com

A quick note to post an interesting comment by Bradi Nathan placed at Zennie62.com and which points to her cool new social network for working mothers called MyWorkButterly.com:

When I received an email from Gloria (Allred) this past Friday, 12/4, stating that she was suddenly free for our video interview, I was shocked and thrilled. My partner and I knew she was in the midst of the Tiger Woods case and were originally set to visit her Malibu home on Saturday. We later learned that she cancelled her press conference that, according to her daughter Lisa, was most likely due to a settlement from the parties at hand.

Gloria invited us to her office in LA for a 30 minute interview that I wished lasted all-day. She put her trial aside to talk about all things motherhood and empowerment. Gloria's interview will be loaded to our site, MyWorkButterfly.com, to inspire our online community of return to work and working moms.

This is a woman who should be in the forefront of the news, not Tiger Woods (a man who can't keep his club in his pants!).

Bradi, Co-Founder, www.myworkbutterfly.com

I checked out the new social network and it's really a great online concept. It's fascinating to see how the social networking industry is so segmented with portals for working moms like MyWorkButterfly.com and others for parents and kids in sports teams like MakeItPro.com.

I'll look out for the Gloria Allred interview!

Tiger Woods wife moves out; porn star Holly Samson 8th woman

UPDATE: Woman rushed to hospital Tuesday morning released.

Tiger Woods wife Elin Nordegren has reportedly moved out of their home and in with friends in the Windemere, Florida neighborhood they live in. Meanwhile Porn Star Holly Sampson is listed as the 8th woman to have had an alleged affair with the World's Greatest Golfer. This is a sad series of developments, as it appears Woods life as he and we knew it is crumbling before our collective eyes.

Holly Sampson

Radar Online.com lead with the story "Elin Nordegren moves out" that was confirmed by the Chicago Sun Times. There's no more new information on that report as of this writing or if she took their two children with her. That information needs to be included here.

Separated? 

Meanwhile, Porn Star Holly Sampson has not denied sleeping with Tiger Woods and Fox News claims that while Samspon is the 7th woman allegedly linked to Woods, there's an 8th, a 9th and a 10th woman as well.

Beyond the 8th woman, who's I can explain in a moment, I think it's irresponsible of Fox News to allege there's a 9th and 10th without evidence that is even a child of deductive reasoning. Let's recap how many women have been connected with Woods to date:

1. Rachel Uchitel - The National Enquirer-outed nighclub executive who denied sleeping with Woods but later admitted it after two other women stepped forward.
2. Jaimie Grubbs - The San Diego cocktail waitress who gave US Weekly her recording of Woods alleged voicemail to Grubbs that she remove her name from her phone because his Wife was going to call her.
3. Kalika Moquin - While linked to Woods by a source to Radar Online and other gossip pubs, Moquin has denied any relationship and not given any additional statements. She's the marketing manager at The Bank Nightclub at Bellagio in Las Vegas.
4. Jamie Jungers - The 26-year-old Las Vegas entertainer-for-hire model is the fourth woman who came forward on Saturday. She claimed she was going to tell her story to a British publication, but has yet to do so.
5. Mindy Lawton - Of all the women connected to Woods, 34-year-old Mindy Lawton is closest to his home in Orlando, and was said to have worked at a local restaurant called Perkins Diner. They carried on a 14-month affair (starting in 2006 and ending in 2007) which was said to have been documented by the National Enquirer, which never ran the story.

Lawton's proximity to Woods gave the World its closest look at the golfer's "off-course" lifestyle, consisting of meetups with friends and party girls in VIP areas of places like The Blue Martini in Orlando.   Lawton reportedly took their affair seriously, so it is no wonder that she's allowing her story to be told far and wide - she's pissed.

Mindy Lawton

6. Cori Rist - A source told the New York Post that the 31-year-old Upper East-Side dwelling Rist met Woods at a New York Nightclub called "Butter" then flew her to places where he had golfing engagements.
7. Holly Sampson - The first, and hopefully for Woods the last porn star to make this list, Holly Sampson was introduced to the British Daily Mail via another unnamed source. Sampson has made 85 movies from Lingerie or Bust to Diary of a Horny Housewife. Holly Sampson has not confirmed or denied that she slept with Woods as of this writing.
8. Name by Michael O'Quinn - Michael O'Quinn has said he also represents a woman who allegedly had an affair with Woods, but since O'Quinn has not come forward, that woman has to be "Number 8" because he has said he does not represent any one else.

Fox News claims there's a 9th woman and a 10th woman but has no media partner to confirm that assertion as of this writing. Unlike "Number 8" which can be linked to Michael O'Quinn, there's nothing, not even mention of an unnamed source to justify the introduction of a 9th or 10th woman.

I think Fox News is trying to advance and move the search pattern of this story to favor its own website, which is a terrible process to use in this or any news story.

Now, with all of these reports coming fast and furious, our attention should turn to Woods and his mental state. I have no idea, and the media does not seem concerned to know, how he's doing.

I've got to believe all of these affairs, some real and many questionable, may in some way be connected to the passing of his father Earl Woods, who was so central to Woods development as a man and a level-headed celebrity.

Finally, I wonder why Woods selected nightclub executives and waitresses as opposed to sports executives and lawyers or Stanford coeds?  Woods was at Stanford for just two academic years before his golf life took over and he turned pro in 1999.  Maybe he didn't get the full experience of a Cardinal education, complete with all of the amazingly talented female leaders that come from The Farm.  

I don't know.  I just don't know. 

Stay tuned.

Blind Side Number 1 Movie, Michael Oher video interview

The Blind Side, the amazing true story of how Baltimore Ravens Offensive Tackle Michael Oher emerged from homelessness to become an NFL star with the help of Ole Miss Alum Leslie Ann Toughy, now reached the level of the number one highest grossing movie in America last weekend.

According to Nikke Finke at Deadline Hollywood Blog, the feel-good pict gained a total of $129.2 million to date and scored $20.4 million last weekend with $6.8 million on Friday and $8.5 million on Saturday.

What's interesting about the Sandra Bullock movie is its' real star, Oher refuses to see it. According to Sports Illustrated, he's focused on being a better player in the NFL.

I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Oher at the 2009 NFL Draft and recording what turned out to be the only readily available online video interview.

In the video, Oher talks about his past life saying that "I still can't believe it" regarding his new stardom, but really lights up when the conversation turns to the playing field. Oher mentioned that he liked going against Florida Linebacker Brandon Spikes, who talked to him during the game, calling him by Oher's middle name, Jerome. Oher: "He would say "Martin? Jerome in the house? He's a funny guy."

For more NFL and college football news and views, listen to Football Reporters online at this link, where you can  listen to a nationally-represented panel of coaches, draftniks, and bloggers like me on last Thursday's BlogTalkRadio show, or tune in to the next program.

Window at home in Georgia

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