The Guardian tried to tell us Oakland was cooler than San Francisco a few weeks ago, and now Fast Company is selling folks on the idea that Oakland is where it's at for starting a business too. They note the presence of thriving startups like Pandora and the proximity of engineering talent at UC Berkeley. And they note that the office market over there is a lot cheaper than over here, and it's currently ranked the seventh best office market in the country by Grubb & Ellis, and No. 3 for industrial space. more ›

Let's start things off by saying that if you're not reading Claycord, you're not living out loud. Really. It's a formidable site on all things Concord, Clayton, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek and Martinez. They use wonderfully mysterious terms like "Ygnacio Valley" while posting entertaining and informative articles bearing such titles as "Man Flipping Off Kids at Meadow Homes Elementary School." See? Fun. Furthermore, MSM and other mainstream sites pinch from them regularly without giving them credit — a victimization we know all too well, sadly — so you know they're good. They're that good. Shove Clayord in your RSS today, if you know what's good for you. more ›

Three weeks after disgruntled student One Goh allegedly shot 10 people (killing 7), Oikos University will reopen today. "English teacher Lucas Garcia was the first instructor to arrive at the campus on Edgewater Drive. Garcia had been in the building during the shootings and said he was emotional about returning," reports Oakland Tribune. " 'I'm just hoping everybody's OK. I think it's going to be hard to go into the classroom.' " more ›

Many older people who reside in the East Bay (and probably elsewhere) continue to believe that the Mission is nothing but a cesspit of crime and poverty, and that "white girls shouldn't be in the Mission." It's a fascinating and dated perspective that Mission Mission shares with us today, via two separate encounters with said old people by a white girl who's looking for an apartment in the Mission. But, we suppose, people do get stabbed there, but that's happening everywhere these days. more ›

A minor 4.0 quake hit the Bay Area at 5:33 Monday morning, rattling parts of San Francisco and the East Bay. Did you feel it? According to USGS, it was centered in El Cerrito on the Hayward fault. Folks on Twitter described the quake as a "jolt or rumble," "strong," "could've have been just a 4.0," and "I am never ever sleeping naked again!" more ›

A motorcyclist, 22, driving along I-80 at around 3 a.m. crashed into an overpass wall, fell over "dozens of feet," and died. "The motorcyclist was transitioning from northbound Interstate 880 to westbound Interstate 80 near the MacArthur Maze at 3:02 a.m. when he slammed his 1994 Yamaha X7 motorcycle into a cement guardrail," reports The Chronicle. more ›

A little before 7 p.m. on Monday, a man died after walking on the BART tracks at the MacArthur station. A Richmond-bound train plowed into the unidentified man, killing him instantly. According to Oakland Tribune, "He fell at the far end of the platform, and officials found no witnesses other than the train operator during the early hours of the investigation." more ›

Over in sunny, tranquil Piedmont, where the women never wear poly blends and the men all have excellent golf swings, the crime rate in 2011 has every yogilates class and PTA meeting abuzz with terror. Burglaries in the tony township, which is surrounded on all sides by Oakland, nearly doubled from 2010, with 88 reported compared to 49 the year before, and car thefts nearly doubled as well. more ›

Just as soon as it came—on Tuesday, to be exact—last night police evicted residents of the new Occupy Oakland encampment on the 2000 block of Peralta Street near Mandela Parkway. Set up in an empty lot, occupiers claim the space has been vacant for years, which they thought gave them the right to camp there. No so. This prompted the landowner to file a complaint with the city. Oakland police moved in a little after 5 p.m. on Wednesday to clear out protesters. more ›

After taking a lot of crap this year for shutting off cellphones and shooting a guy, the BART Police force is looking to make good this holiday season. In a press release, by way of SFAppeal, BART announces their plans to step up foot patrols around downtown San Francisco and offer escorted walks home from the West Oakland and San Leandro stations. more ›

It finally happened. A Mythbusters experiment went awry at the Alameda County bomb range yesterday. Despite the usual number of safety measures you might expect from a reality TV crew with high insurance premiums, a "misfired" cannonball missed its intended target and ended up smashing through a home several blocks away in Dublin, punching holes through the front door, a wall and a minivan window on it's cartoonish path of destruction. more ›

During the early morning Black Friday rush in the East Bay suburbs, a family of eager shoppers was held up at gunpoint in the parking lot of a San Leandro Wal-Mart. Reports say the multiple suspects were not fellow shoppers, but they were definitely looking for a deep discount when they approached the victims emerging from the big box retailer with their holiday haul just before 2 a.m. this morning. more ›

Today in delightful local TV news reports, CBS5 has the hard-hitting report of a secret compound hidden in the East Bay hills that is home to the world's only captive Hyena colony. more ›

After Monday morning's Occupy Oakland raid dismantled the encampment at Frank Ogawa Plaza, the noted East Bay protesters, now without a headquarters, will merge with Occupy UC Berkeley protesters today. more ›

Following Thursday's small quake, another slight yet significant earthquake rattled the East Bay at 5:36 this morning, centered in Berkeley. This was the latest tremor to hit the Hayward fault in Berkeley over the last couple of weeks. more ›

A small JELL-O Jiggler of a quake hit the East Bay this afternoon. It struck at 3:44 p.m. and measured 3.2. We didn't think much of it until CBS 5 found it necessary to interrupt Judge Judy to tell us all about it. Alas, we now find ourselves writing about it for you, our dear readers, while the honorable Judge Sheindlin rips apart some cad who didn't payback his ex-girlfriend several thousands dollars in loans. Oh blah de, oh blah da. [USGS] more ›

If your ride on the Orange & Black rollercoaster is making you ill, consider the bounty our friends to the east have on offer: the Oakland-centric film Moneyball premieres at The Paramount Theatre on September 19th; the Oakland A's are doing pretty well, with a scant four players on the DL (they must play with Nerf balls & bats); and then there's this shirt. more ›

Cafe Gratitude, the popular local chain of raw and vegan restaurants with locations around the Bay Area and as far south as LA, has been slapped with a lawsuit from a former employer who was not pleased with the company's quirky tip-pooling practice. As the East Bay Express reports today, former Cafe Gratitude server Sarah Stevens not only missed out on the shift breaks required by labor laws, but she also had to pay out a large part of her tips to everyone from an off-site kitchen to her shift bosses. From the EBX: more ›

Quiet little East Bay burg Castro Valley was scheduled to host their first ever Pride march tomorrow afternoon, but greater-than-anticipated interest in the event -- at least 300 (!) people have said they're coming on Facebook -- has pushed organizers to abandon the marching and move the event to the Castro Valley High School parking lot. They're now calling it the Rainbow Rally Across the Valley. more ›

The East Bay Asian Youth Center started a new program this week to stop sex workers from doing business in their neighborhood. According to KTVU, "Neighbors along International Boulevard in Oakland have long been fed up with the blight of prostitution on their streets." So, residents and community members are working with police to send out "Dear John" letters to customers who sought and purchased quickies in the area. more ›

We're not even sure where to begin with this story of elder homicide, domestic disputes and alleged child abuse in Dublin, CA. Rosa Hill, a 36-year-old mother who lost custody of her child after splitting with her husband, has confessed to murdering his 91-year-old grandmother and stuffing her in a garbage can. more ›

A mind-bending five other cities are considered more violent than Oakland, according to 2010 FBI crime data. A 24/7 Wall Street review of said data revealed that, to the shock of no one, violent crime rose in the largest and poorest cities in the U.S., "particularly those which have been in decline for some time." more ›

A wee one found wandering by himself in a Walmart parking lot early this morning has since been reunited with his family. "[T]he boy, between 2 and 3 years old, was found barefoot wearing a diaper and a white T-shirt. His family contacted police overnight," reports the CoCo Times. "Police said the tot was able to reach a door handle at his home -- located across the street from the lot -- and let himself outside." Aw, poor little fella. Could've really hurt himself. Also, who doesn't lock their doors these days? Especially at night. Sheesh. more ›

Berkeley photographer Steven Winter (Dr Speed) sent Berkeleyside this astounding image of the tsunami making its way to Emeryville. Excellent work. more ›

A massive brawl involving 180 people broke out last night at Kitty’s in Emeryville that sprawled out into the streets. Supposedly Kitty’s is known as a place where fights break out—one Yelper said , “Way past time for the city to shut this place down before someone gets killed." more ›

Noted Food Network star Guy Fieri (née Guy Ferry) plans on opening a fourth branch of Johnny Garlic's restaurant chain in the Bay Area. This one will crash land in Dublin in early 2011. Yep. Brace yourselves, Dubliners. [Contra Costa Times, via Inside Scoop] more ›

A few residents in all-that Oakland neighborhood Temescal have helped appeal a decision by the Oakland Planning Commission who approved the rebuilding of a McDonald's spore at 4514 Telegraph Avenue. According to Christopher Waters and Rebecca Saltzman, who helped helmed the anti-McDonald's vitriol to the tune of $1,400, the McGriddle haven will cause all sorts of, ahem, traffic congestion. Check it: more ›

Last night around 10:45 p.m. on a quaint-looking street just a block from an elementary school in suburban Antioch, a 40-year old man from Oakland was shot in the stomach when a masked gunman stole his Mercedes. The driver, who had been waiting for a friend in his car on the 4500 block of Bison Way, got out of the car when the carjacker approached and pointed his gun at him, only to be shot in the abdomen before the gunman made off with the 2-door black Mercedes. more ›

The Oakland Police will have to answer to the public after fatally shooting an unarmed "popular store owner" on Monday. The man, identified as 37-year-old Derek Jones, was killed by officers after responding to a domestic violence call. more ›