Alameda County

Human Head Found in Recycling Bin Was Probably Result of a Homicide a Long Time Ago

Authorities say they believe the human head that was found at an Oakland recycling center last week probably belongs to a homicide victim who may have been killed months or even years ago. California Waste Solutions employees on Wednesday found the mummified skull in a load of debris that had been ... More >>

Scott Wiener Proposes Stripping Down City Voter Guide

Can a book topping 500 pages still be labeled a "pamphlet"? That's the situation San Francisco may be facing, as the gargantuan legal text of the referendum targeting the 8 Washington development portends a voter pamphlet of Tolstoy-like proportions. Supervisor Scott Wiener will today introduce a me ... More >>

Austin Christopher Price Identified as Teen Killed Playing "Chicken" With Train

An East Bay teen was hit and killed by a train last night after he was reportedly playing a game of "chicken" with two friends, police said. The boy -- who, according to press reports, has been identified as 15-year-old Austin Christopher Price -- was on the tracks off Lewelling Boulevard near San ... More >>

Alameda County Sheriff Just Might Employ Unmanned Drones to Catch Criminals

It's like something out of sci-fi: The bad guy, dressed in black, runs from police officers and manages to shimmy up a drainpipe and hide on a deserted roof. But then from behind him rises a small computerized helicopter that tracks his every move.Well, for Bay Area folks, that scenario might not be ... More >>

Erin Brockovich Lawsuit: Carcinogen Still Found in Drinking Water, Environmentalists say

Hexavalent chromium is best known as the chemical compound at the center of Erin Brockovich's 1993 lawsuit against PG&E, which resulted in a $333 million settlement. The chemical had contaminated drinking water supplies in Hinkley, Calif.In 2001, the state legislature sought regulations for hexa ... More >>

Occupy the Farm: UC Sues, Hopes Courts Will Evict Protesters

The University of California isn't waiting around for the cops to boot demonstrators from its land. As the Chron reports today, the UC Regents have filed a lawsuit against 14 demonstrators, claiming they cut through gates and have trespassed onto the 10-acre site that's used for university research. ... More >>

Dubai Star Owners Must Pay $2 Million for S.F. Bay Oil Spill

The owners of the Dubai Star oil tanker has to shell out $1.96 million for a 2009 oil spill in the San Francisco Bay that impacted more than 200 acres and killed some 100 seabirds, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said today.About 75 percent of that cash -- which will be divvied up amo ... More >>

10 Best Yelp Reviews of Santa Rita Jail

With unemployment benefits set to end next week, perhaps some of you are devising desperate ways to make ends meet, like robbing a bank or cooking up a meth lab in the far flung parts of Alameda County. Okay, but if you do plan on taking up a life of lawlessness, you should at least know what you ar ... More >>

ICE Does Immigration Sweeps, Arrests Thousands of "Criminal Aliens"

​Immigration authorities have arrested more than 3,100 convicted illegal immigrants and fugitives, including 200 in Northern California, during a massive, high-profile sweep nationwide over the last week. Some 1,900 ICE officers and agents throughout the United States conducted the largest six-day ... More >>

UC Davis Occupy Pepper Spraying Report Will Become Public, Judge Rules

It appears that more light will be shed on one of the most controversial episodes of police response to Occupy protests across the country last fall, after a judge ruled that an independent report on the pepper-spraying of peaceful protesters by a UC Davis campus police officer can be made public.Th ... More >>

Occupy Oakland Protesters Charged With Hate Crimes For Stealing Wallet, Protest Planned

​By this point, it's clear that Oakland -- or at least the Easy Bay city's mayor, police chief, business and cranky old man communities -- hates itself some Occupy. The hating officially enters the criminal justice system today, when three Occupy Oaklander protesters will appear in Alameda County ... More >>

San Leandro Doctor Busted for Writing Illegal Vicodin Prescriptions to Undercover Agents

​A San Leandro doctor has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his decision to write illicit Vicodin prescriptions to undercover Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents posing as patients addicted to the painkiller.Alameda County prosecutors say that Dr. Naim Katiby, 62, a San Ramon resident with ... More >>

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" Composer Vince Guaraldi's Heirs Sue Berkeley Record Company

​Charlie Brown -- that soft-spoken, perpetually trod-upon, and mysteriously bald child at the heart of the beloved Peanuts comic strips and cartoons -- does not conjure thoughts of bitter lawsuits. (The mischievous and urbane Snoopy is another matter.) Particularly not during the Christmas season, ... More >>

Alameda Gun Ordinance to Go Before Full 9th Circuit Appeals Court

​The quest for the rights of ordinary, hardworking Americans to carry bazookas and roll Abrams tanks across government property continues its slow advance. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has  agreed to revisit an Alameda County couple's claim that a law banning guns on county land ... More >>

Occupy Wall Street Protest Expands to San Francisco

12 days, plus interest ​Today marks the 12th day of the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City -- and unlike BART protests, there's no sign that this demonstration is dying down. In fact, it's spreading -- all the way to the West Coast, where California is suffering from a staggering 12 perc ... More >>

Hate Crimes Against Latinos Rise 47 Percent in California

​The year 2010 saw a marked uptick in hate crimes against Latinos statewide, according to newly released statistics from the California Attorney General's office.Attorney General Kamala Harris' annual report on hate crimes -- incidents in which victims are targeted because of their ethnicity, sexu ... More >>

Ernest Scherer III, Bay Area Gambler, Killed Parents to Get Inheritance, Jury Says

Ernest Scherer III​A jury today found Ernest Scherer III guilty of killing his parents, saying he murdered them so he could access his inheritance early and pay down mounting poker debts. In March 2008, Scherer was arrested on suspicion of murder after the bodies of Ernest Scherer Jr., 60, and Cha ... More >>

Santa Rita Inmate Walks Out of Jail and Escapes

No problem​An inmate broke free from Santa Rita jail this week, in what is being dubbed one of the easiest and most low-key prison escapes in recent history. Alameda County sheriff deputies noticed that 21-year-old Ismael Cesda, also known as Ismael Ramirez, was missing during Tuesday night's head ... More >>

GameStop Sued for Swiping Buyers' Private Information

Personal information is....personal​The thing about giving away your personal information -- it's no longer personal. One Alameda County woman trusted a local GameStop employee who had asked her for her private numbers -- address and credit cards -- as she bought games from the retailer.  She ... More >>

Duraflame Burned in Court

You! Put it out! ​Last month, SF Weekly reported on just what happens if you light a fire on a Spare the Air Day: They ask you not to. Then, if you're busted a second time, you're out $400. And while the Bay Area Air Quality Management District uses the term "wood fires," there's a broad variety o ... More >>

'Goats R Us' Facing Animal Neglect Charges

Lawyers, herders, goats, and judges will meet in court​The memorably named company "Goats R Us" R in trouble with the law. Judge Paul Fogel of Alameda County Superior Court ordered owner Egon Oyarzun and herder Wilfredo Felix to stand trial; both will be arraigned next week on animal neglect charg ... More >>

First Transgender Judge Victoria Kolakowski's Long Road

Here comes the judge...​Winners of Alameda County Superior Court Judgeships usually don't get calls from national media. But Victoria Kolakowski -- "spelled just like it sounds" -- isn't just any judge. She's almost certainly the first transgender judge in American history, and even more almost ce ... More >>

Elections Overtime: The Races That Haven't Finished

...And we're counting​Funny thing about Instant-Runoff Voting: The results often aren't so instant. A number of elections around the state are still undetermined. What does the future hold? Gnashing of teeth, threats of litigation, and, of course, counting, counting, and recounting. In an Instant- ... More >>

Yet Another Bay Area Roller Coaster Accident

​One bizarre and disfiguring roller coaster accident at a local county fair is odd enough. But two? In a week? Just days after a ticket-taker at the Sonoma-Marin County Fair inexplicably wandered into the path of the "Wacky Worm" ride and suffered a severed leg, that very same model of roller coas ... More >>

Nigerian Scam: Now the Fraudster Claims He's Married To You

Uh, guess what?​Everyone knows about the notorious Nigerian Internet scam. Lesser known is the old Nigerian wedding scam. Well, actually it was just one guy (from Nigeria) named Emmanuel Ejike Anyanwu who claimed he was married to a U.S. citizen who was none-the-wiser in order to get a green card. ... More >>

Suspected Ponzi Scheme Fugitive Alan May Arrested in San Francisco

​Alan May ran, but he couldn't hide in San Francisco. The 45-year-old, wanted by the U.S. Secret Service for defrauding folks of more than $7 million in an oil and gas scheme, had traveled here from Cypress, Texas and taken on multiple identities. He rented an expensive apartment and was throwing ... More >>

Kauffman's Five: This Week in Bloggery

My favorite morsels this week from SFoodie and beyond:​1. The thought of pickled eggs induces a pang of nostalgia in anyone with Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry (ahem) ― and probably fear and distrust in most other people. John Birdsall's interview with Comstock Saloon's research-happy chef, Carlo E ... More >>

Baylinks: Dogs Loves Whales, Lady Gaga, & Immigration

​Can your dog help increase your chances of seeing a whale? [Pawsome]If you get arrested in Alameda County, be prepared to have your immigration status investigated. [Oakland North]How does your Gascon grow? [The Tens]Awesome Lady Gaga comic book features, among other things, a crotch-lift. [Missi ... More >>

Cabbie Charged with Molesting Passengers

His flag was up... ​Usually when you hear about crime in a cab, it's because the cabbie has been held up or brutalized by some bat-shit passenger. But in ass-backwards Berkeley, apparently, its a cabbie allegedly doing the attacking these days. Cab Driver Ali Al Obadi, 29, allegedly invited female ... More >>

I Now Pronounce You Incorporated: A Novel Approach to Same-Sex Marriage

I now declare this corporation merged...​Melding legal principles does not always follow the "You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!" "You got your peanut butter in my chocolate!" path. But humor us, here. In San Francisco, the plaintiffs have made their case in an attempt to overturn Proposi ... More >>

Bay Area Beasts: Pterodactyls, Mystery Cats, and Sea Serpents

From Charles Gould's Mythical Monsters, via archive.org​This month saw two stories of mysterious monsters crop up in rapid succession. In Britain, the inhabitants of Buckshaw Village fear a creature that looks like a cross between a boar, a dog and large cat that upends trash bins and devours deer ... More >>

Fixing Hetch Hetchy Dam costs $1 billion more than it should

Were S.F. Public Works Jobs Part of Massive Fraud Scheme? Union Officials Say Yes.

Don FeriaPolice escourt a woman from NBC General Contractors' Oakland offices during a May raid​If you're looking for the Lord Voldemort of local labor, Bay Area union officials have a nomination: Monica Ung. The owner of NBC General Contractors has been charged by Alameda County prosecutors with ... More >>

Get a Job: White House Report Details Employment Boosts in Each Congressional District. Check Out Yours Here.

Every morning about this time/ she get me out of my bed/ a-crying get a job. After breakfast, everyday, she throws the want ads right my way/ And never fails to say, Get a job Sha na na na, sha na na na na -- The Silhouettes, "Get a Job." It may not do the mind well to note that the members o ... More >>

Q&A: Victoria Kolakowski

Money With Price of Admission to Alameda County Fair

Let the Sun Shine, You Hypocrites

Journalism is under attack from lefties who promote public access to information.

July Fourth

And You're Off!

Even if you dont know your exacta from a post parade, the racetrack can be a summer joy

Jailhouse Rock

"I haven't made out with anybody in 36 hours!"

Harsh Judgment

An epic child-custody case, pitting California against Texas, takes another twist when an appeals court labels the proceedings "nonsense"

House Of Tudor

O Brother, Where Art Thou?; "Biff! Bang! Pow!" ; Me First & the Gimme Gimmes; Hogmanay

R&R Rundown

Baseball's Orphans

Why are 74 old-timers -- players who helped create the multibillion-dollar business called Major League Baseball -- still without pensions?

Night Crawler

Mosquito Coast

On the trail of Culex pipiens

Steal Now, Don't Pay Later

Conscientious Injectors

The enforcement of drug laws should be less hurtful than the dangers inherent indrug use itself, say the "harm reductionists" at Prevention Point, who practice what they preach by distributing 1.5 million needles to the city's drug users

Paper Trails