Perata update #2

The stolen gold camaro was later found in East Oakland. What was insightful is Lt. Green's admission that one carjacking a day occurs in Oakland.

Everyone is kicking OPD around lately for lackluster performance -- reporters (Chip Johnson, Charles Pine), politicians passing the buck (Councilwomen Brunner, Quan), the public (see any forum or mailing list) ... but is our crime epidemic all OPD's fault?

Who's to blame for an inefficient, incapable OPD? Who put a hiring freeze in place on the department in the earlier part of the decade? Was it the Chief of Police, or was it Oakland's city council? Are the politicians not admitting the larger problems? Of an extractive, concentrating economic system that rewards a few and punishes the majority?

To expand on the economics at play: private, corporate prisons; gasoline expenditures that leave our local economies; eating low quality food from McDonald's and Safeway and giving our money to these corporations who don't reinvest in Oakland...

If you've never been to East O, it's definitely colorful and fun to play in. Fruitvale district has lots of good Mexican and SouthEast Asian eats. Take a culinary trip through Fruitvale. Up off the flatlands a bit toward the hills of 580, you can drop "the real" East O, home of Youth Uprising, a place where people promote the validity of opposition to the mainstream through spoken word, song, dance, playing XBox video games and graffiti art. YU features a cafe run by students.

This neighborhood also features Islamic houses of worship (or at least gathering on the sidewalk outside) and is close to a giant strip mall. The thing I found most depressing about this area is that one needs a car to get anywhere. The residents would be much better served by improved public transportation to decently-paying jobs. To complement this strategy however, the area would be much better off with more jobs sited in the general area. Finally, dedicating less pavement to through car traffic would greatly aid everyone's safety when walking about, and even promote sidewalk cafes and other businesses.