Just after doing a live shot yesterday outside the Oakland Technical High School on Broadway, for a report on the passage of Prop 30, KPIX/CBS5 cameraman Gregg Welk and reporter Anne Makovec were descended upon by "an unknown number of men" who punched Welk and stole his camera.

KPIX released a statement about the incident today, and the assailants, who have not been found, fled in a car. Welk suffered minor injuries, and Makovec was uninjured.

Oakland North notes that the high school had nothing to do with the incident.

Apparently, criminals have figured out that there's some significant street value to this kind of equipment, and there have been multiple incidents involving reporters, including those at KTVU and KNTV, being robbed in Oakland while on assignment.

Shit gets real over there. And not in a good way, sometimes.

[CBS5 via Oakland North]

Jeff Kent, who won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 2000 while playing for the San Francisco Giants, will grace the CBS primetime line-up by appearing in Survivor: Philippines. Regarding his appearance on the show that kickstarted competition reality programming taking place in exotic locales, Kent said, "I don't want to embarrass myself. I did some stupid things in baseball...[but]...I played with integrity."

He's right about doing embarrassing things. In October of 2008, Kent donated $15,000 to support California's Proposition 8, the anti-civil rights initiative that banned same-sex marriage.

More noteworthy? Lisa Whelchel, who played the wonderful Blair from The Facts of Life, will also play in what is, more or less, a non-celebrity cast. Sad. She said that her appearance on the reality show's 25th season was the result of some sort of Betty-White-hosts-SNL-esque online campaign that she and her fans concocted. Whelchel is also an advocate for child abuse by way of hot sauce.

Also, for good measure, CBS casted a lesbian from Arkansas! Of course. Anyway, here's a video about this season, which airs on September 19.

Have you always wanted to live your life in front of TV cameras, with a sundry of people ranging from skinny and attractive to skinny and young? Now's your chance: On April 7th, CBS' Big Brother will be interviewing potential hamsters to live in the Big Brother house this summer. If you make it through to the show, lightening-brief fame is yours; if you outlast your fellow housemates, a cool $500,000 is also yours.

What are the requirements? Well, according to the CBS flier, they want people who are "outgoing, intriguing and competitive," "up for anything and everything," the will to exist inside a house "while multiple cameras record your every move and sound 24/7," a bloodthirsty desire to compete for $500,000 "against other players as aggressive and ambitious as you," and that special something. Whatever that may be.

Details:
San Francisco Open Casting Call for CBS' Big Brother
Saturday, April 7, 2012
2pm - 5pm
Sugar Cafe
679 Sutter (at Taylor), San Francisco

Apple is looking for bites on a new television subscription service. According to the Wall Street Journal, CBS and Disney are considering participation. The service would offer television access to channel's programming over the Internet for a monthly fee. Apple hopes to introduce the service in 2010 but it is unclear if any networks have signed on. Hesitancy on the part of the networks stems from worries over the new service cutting holes in its revenue from selling bundled TV packages. The current deal also would not include advertising. We're just a little confused about how this would be better than Hulu... - Amy Crocker

While Dennis Richmond's farewell received much more attention, very little has been said about CBS 5's Barbara Rodgers is leaving CBS 5. Why? We're not exactly sure yet. But her final broadcast happens this Friday, and they're giving her goodbye a Richmond-esque promotion (though not quite as grand in scale).

We liked Rodgers. Especially her bold move to go grey this past year. (Not pictured at left.) Anyway, we'll miss you, Barbara.

How about you?

With a fresh banner outside CNET headquarters proclaiming it as one of the best places to work in the universe, ever--according to Business Week, anyway--CBS Corporation just made it a little better for the folks who work there. Well, hopefully. CBS decided to purchase the "premier destination for tech product reviews, tech news, daily videos, free downloads, and podcasts" for for $1.8 billion in cash.

CNET--famous for tech reviews, news, and more--has hosts a slew of sites such as ZDNet, GameSpot.com, TV.com, mp3.com, and News.com.

Even if a tip doesn't lead to the conviction of a murder suspect, the Richmond Police Department just started offering $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of homicide suspects. While cash-for-information leading to a conviction can take up to several years, or in some cases a decade or more, to receive, now witnesses will be able to claim their reward "even if it doesn't lead to a conviction," according to Richmond Police Lt. Mark Gagan.

An added blanket of security will also help people come forward who have had the misfortune of witnessing a homicide: tipsters can also remain anonymous while receiving payment without having to go to the police station to collect the reward. So start snitching, people; you can get away with it now. (Well, hopefully you can, that is.) Call the Richmond Police Department's watch commander's office 510-620-6643, or call the anonymous tip line at 510-232-TIPS, if you've seen or heard of any bloodshed that's resulted in a fatality. (Although you will, according to CBS 5, "still have to give enough information for police to have probable cause to arrest someone.")

A small protest was held at City Hall yesterday by 400-plus pissed off Tibetan immigrants, honoring the 49th anniversary of Tibet's uprising against China, but also San Francisco's hosting of the Olympic torch. Just a preface of what will happen in the city next month, San Francisco will be the focus of a major protest since it's the only US city hosting the Olympic torch relay in the 2008 Beijing games.

According to CBS 5, the decent-sized group held banners on the steps of City Hall reading "Olympics in China, Torture in Tibet," and "Truth is our only weapon." Over at sftorch2008.org, it notes that a larger rally will be planned for April 9 when the torch finally makes its way here.

The Chinese government is running the Olympic torch around the world, hoping to win the approval of the global public and cover up its brutal occupation of Tibet and abysmal human rights record. When the torch relay reaches San Francisco on April 9th, China will be in the global spotlight like never before. We have an unprecedented opportunity to shine this spotlight on Tibet.

China's occupation of Tibet is a hearted issue -- even though China has maintained that it has "ruled Tibet for centuries" -- especially here in the Bay Area and on you more liberal college campuses. Next month's protest during the torch's arrival is expected to draw thousands.

Alas, it was not a good weekend for cyclists of the Bay Area.

The sheriff's deputy that accidentally crashed into three cyclists in Cupertinio over the weekend -- a collision that killed Olympic hopeful 31-year-old Kristy Gough of Oakland (the third-fastest, non-professional women's triathlete in the world); and 30-year-old Matt Peterson of San Francisco -- has been identified as 27-year-old James Council.

A deputy at the West Valley Patrol Division of Santa Clara County, Council, it seems, was traveling northbound on Stevens Creek Road at approximately around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. His patrol car somehow crossed the center divide, which then struck three cyclists heading southbound.

According to a good Samaritan at the scene, Bryce Renshaw, who came to the aid of the victims, officer James Council might have been asleep at the wheel at the time of the fatal collision. "I saw the officer pacing back and forth on the roadway. He said 'I must have fallen asleep,'" Renshaw tells the San Jose Mercury News.

Council, who has been a sheriff's deputy for only 18 months, has since been placed on paid administrative leave as the investigation into what really happened continues. Wow. An unfortunate situation for all parties involved.

Photo image of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's car that struck bicyclists: CBS 5

It looks like Mayor Gavin Newsom will take a stab at running for Governor of California in 2010. In addition to the gaggle of Democratic hopefuls looking to succeed Gov. Schwarzenegger after his reign comes to an end -- which include former governor Jerry Brown, former state controller Steve Westley, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, just to name a few -- San Francisco's very own mayor wants the title as well.

And seeing as how any serious contender "would need to raise anywhere from $30 to $40 million to mount a serious campaign," our wealthy mayor has a pretty good shot. According to CBS 5, Newsom "has been meeting privately with Democratic campaign strategists" about making the move from SF to Sacramento. CBS 5 goes on to say that "it's premature to talk about it in the open...we'll see what happens in the next few months."

535 San Francisco Unified School District teachers will receive layoff notices this morning due to state cuts in education funding. Today's pink slip handouts stem from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget '09, which will see San Francisco schools losing around $40 million. According to CBS 5, Mayor Newsom is doing what he can, even if it's a Band-Aid solution to a longterm problem.

Mayor Gavin Newsom has said he plans to ask the Board of Supervisors to allow the schools to tap into the city's rainy-day fund to help soften the financial blow, but officials admit that would only provide a "short-term solution."

CBS 5 goes on to say that "layoffs could ultimately total as many as a thousand." Yikes. The job terminations will go into effect once the school year ends.

Offices in Capitol Hill received a manila envelope with a letter claiming responsibility for today's bombing of a landmark military recruiting station in Times Square, NYC. Our parent site, Gothamist, tells us that "WNBC reports that the letters, which arrived today, included a photo of the Army recruiting center 'before it was bombed and...the words 'We did it.'" Which group is claiming responsibility, exactly, remains to be known.

According to the AP, Senator Dianne Feinstein's office sent the following email to other lawmakers:

"A few offices on the House side have received a letter today addressed to 'Members of Congress' with a picture of a man standing in front of the Times Square recruiting station that was bombed in New York today with the statement 'We did it.' He is standing in front of it with his arms spread out and he's attached his political manifesto."

The email, according to Gothamist, also advised people not to open the letters and contact the police.

Today's Times Square attack caused minimal damage to a "New York military recruiting station before dawn Thursday and police were searching for a hooded bicyclist seen on a surveillance video pedaling away," according to CBS. Although the blast was minor, it could have caused "injury and even death."

At first, before reading this story, we were ready to shake our finger at the Vespa rider in question. Lord knows we worry about you kids. But it seems she wasn't at fault. You see, last night a 24-year-old San Francisco woman was put in the hospital with life-threatening injuries while riding a Vespa on South Van Ness Avenue. It seems that "a 1994 Honda Accord, which was traveling southbound, tried to make a left turn onto 21st Street and struck the Vespa...The Accord then struck two other cars on 21st Street, Mannina said. One of those cars was pushed backward into a fifth car," according to CBS 5.

The 21-year-old Honda driver, who was "arrested on a misdemeanor charge of driving on a suspended license and also an infraction, failure to yield the right-of-way while making a turn," was cited and sent on his way.

Of course, we hope the driver of the nifty scooter is doing better. (If you strip away its hipster stigma, the Vespa really is one adorable vehicle, which would be ideal for many San Franciscans. That is, if it weren't for all of those dangerous cars zooming by.) Stay safe, y'all.

The Palme d'Or-robbed gem landed a confused and sick Milpitas' Russell Middle School teacher in the fiery hot waters of bureaucratic hell after he recently screened this anti-abortion film in his chemistry class. According to CBS 5:

The film was shown on January 23, after students in all five of Randy Yang's chemistry classes finished taking a test. The first year teacher reportedly asked his students if they wanted to watch a film about the water cycle, or on abortion. All five classes chose the abortion video.

Charming. What this pro-life documentary, which shows a fetus allegedly screaming ever so quietly as it's being terminated, has to do with the fusion of baking soda and vinegar is beyond us. Anyway, this trumps our middle school social studies teacher who screened Helter Skelter during a shattering third period class many, many years ago.