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 ›

Justin Beck's live coverage of today's May Day occupation continues. Right now, at around 3 p.m., cops have arrived in Oakland near Broadway and 14th, demanded protesters to leave or face "removal by force if necessary." The standoff seems pretty intense, even thought there aren't of protesters in the area right now. Then again, this is Oakland. If past Occupy-ish action in Oakland has told us one thing, it's that anything can happen. Even snacks aren't safe. more ›

Who would of thought that, with all of the melee set to go down tonight, one could get so excited about going to Oakland. But it happened. How so? With buttermilk friend chicken, that's how. And it's all going down at Pican. They will feature a "three day brined, hand battered, crisped natural chicken with smoked gouda mac 'n cheese' paired alongside truffled honey. And just look at it. No, look at it. LOOK AT IT. You want it. If not tonight, go tomorrow. Go soon. Go at some point in your lifetime. The southern-food trend is here and staying for a reason. more ›

Photographer Bhautik Joshi was invited by Caltrans to check out the progress of the Bay Bridge's new eastern span. He captured several astounding shots of the span back in 2009, but these new images show how much progress has been completed since then. Impressive. Here are just a few of Bhautik's photos, along with his accompanying commentary. Enjoy. more ›

Coty Luster, an 18-year-old man, was shot "multiple times" near his home in West Oakland. The incident occurred Thursday in the 1100 block of 34th Street. Luster was pronounced dead at the scene at around 8:45 p.m. Police have neither a motive nor a suspect in custody. more ›

The sunken treasure found in Lake Merritt by a group of Oakland schoolchildren back in March has found its rightful owner. According to Oakland police, the two sacks of jewelry, coins, medallions and silverware have been identified by an anonymous owner, meaning the kids from St. Paul's Episcopal School in Oakland won't be able to pawn it all off to fund an elaborate middle school production of The Music Man or what have you. more ›

This morning police found an Oakland woman locked inside her home suffering from a stab wound. It seems the woman was stabbed by her schizophrenic son, who is still at large. The incident occurred on the 100 block of 53rd Street. The unidentified female was transported to a nearby hospital. She is said to be in stable condition. more ›

A man was shot and killed in broad daylight yesterday in East Oakland. The victim, identified as 24-year-old Tyrell Omar Smith was pushing his 1-year-old son in a toy car around 3:15 yesterday afternoon when he was shot by an unknown assailant who fled the scene in a car. more ›

Just after 5:30 a.m. this morning a car containing four men plunged 60 feet down an embankment off eastbound I-580 between Seminary and Keller Avenues. The crash was reported by a nearby resident who heard it, and police and heavy-rescue crews responded, ultimately using three cables to hoist the vehicle back up to the roadway. more ›

A man was found dead in the passenger seat of a crashed Chevy Camaro Monday afternoon, near Mills College in East Oakland. The man was killed while riding in the car near an I-580 westbound off-ramp at Calaveras Avenue and Buell Street. The driver of the car was also shot, and crashed the car into a utility pole. He was transported to the hospital and his condition is not known. more ›

The cover of this week's San Francisco Bay Guardian bears the headline "Is Oakland Cooler Than San Francisco?" Not that we haven't heard this before, like, from our Oakland friends, but lots of hip cats live over there! Artists and folks who enjoy cheap rent and true, gritty, urban experiences! The Guardian's main objective is to criticize San Francisco's "failed housing policy," because if we had more affordable housing, they say, we'd have more cool people staying here. But isn't there a difference between abundant and cheap housing and formalized "affordable housing," which is in the city's control to zone for and protect? more ›

Remember Proposition 19? The 2010 California ballot initiative would have legalized marijuana for anyone of drinking age and allowed local governments to regulate pot sales themselves. The initiative failed with support from only 46% of voters, but it was heavily bankrolled by Oaksterdam University's millionaire founder Richard Lee — which some legalization advocates are saying provoked yesterday's raid by federal authorities from the IRS, DEA and U.S. Marshals service. more ›

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan spoke out about the mass shooting at Oikos University on Monday. During a news conference, Quan questioned the link between mass shooting sprees and our country's readily available guns, saying: "No american mayor wants to have this situation. it seems that over the last decade, we've gotten used to seeing senseless mass killings like this, and we have to question the availability of guns." more ›

A group of sixth graders from St. Paul's Episcopal School in Oakland experienced a little bit of magic and intrigue during a day of volunteer work yesterday. The students were out cleaning up the shoreline at Lake Merritt Thursday when they discovered two canvas sacks sunken in a few feet of water and laden with antique jewelry, gold and silver chains, watches, foreign coins and other precious metal items. more ›

After Occupy Wall Street's six-month anniversary (more on that in a bit), the world has seen the start of an impressive and growing movement. While some (i.e., its detractors) demand instant results from the scrappy 99%ers, a movement, any movement, takes time. In fact, it can take years, decades, longer for people to wake up. That said, Occupy Oakland honored the six-month mark by setting up a new camp Wednesday night. Occupy Oakland has more: more ›

An SFist tipster, who wishes to remain anonymous, sent us this photo of an Oakland police officer parking in a disabled parking space in Temescal on Monday while sipping some brew inside a nearby Peet's Coffee. And, yes, police will tell you that in emergency situations, cops will park anywhere. But does a double macchiato constitute a real emergency? No. No, it does not. more ›

A 25-year-old woman survived a kidnapping and rape by two men in Oakland on Sunday morning. The victim says she was "grabbed from behind about 1 a.m. near 14th Street and Broadway" by a pair of men who then took her "to a secluded area and assaulted her," reports Oakland Tribune. The rape occurred near Oakland City Hall. more ›

A multi-car crash on Highway 13 Thursday morning resulted in several car wrecks and the death of an 18-year-old Washington man. The tree crashed down onto southbound traffic near Park Boulevard in Oakland at around 4:20 a.m. more ›

You know the old chestnut about "[copulating] like bunnies"? Yeah, well, an Oakland family whose developmentally disabled son was given two rabbits, believing both were female, was surprised by a litter of rabbits, and then another, and then another, it seems. more ›

A man with a gun is trapped inside a CVS drugstore at 51st & Broadway as cops wait outside. The suspect was discovered inside the store before it opened, meaning that no employees were hurt. As of now authorities are telling people to avoid the area. Police have set up a perimeter around the area. more ›

Only three months in and Oakland has played host to an astounding 24 homicides in 2012. A unidentified man was shot and killed inside his apartment over on the 2100 block of 10th Avenue Wednesday night. "Police have detained a person for questioning in connection with the shooting," reports Oakland Tribune. "The name and age of the person detained were not released, nor did police release a possible motive in the shooting." more ›

A man was shot and killed last night while driving a Bentley in East Oakland, and his car proceeded to roll half a block and collide with at least two other cars head-on, including one containing a family with two children, both of whom were hospitalized with injuries. And if the guy was driving a Bentley in East Oakland, is it a stretch to presume he didn't work at Target? more ›

Created by Gothamist cofounder and noted street art aficionado Jake Dobkin, GrafRank shows which graffiti artists are going up in San Francisco and Oakland, and which areas are popular for their work. The chart, complete with links to Flickr searches showcasing vandals cum artists, have rankings for... more ›

Roosevelt Middle School (1926 East 19th Street) is on lockdown after somebody nearby carrying several guns fired shots at around 10:30 today. "The incident began about 10:30 a.m. in the 2100 block of 17th Avenue when the suspect came out of a house with multiple handguns and opened fire," reports Oakland Tribune. "All on-duty Oakland police officers have been called to the scene and officers are only responding to 911 calls at this time." more ›

The crime-ridden state of Oakland continues unabated after two more shootings rocked the East Bay town overnight. First, a man walking on the 1300 block of Campbell Street in West Oakland "heard a gunshot and found he was injured in the leg." He was whisked to a nearby hospital. His condition is "unknown." more ›

Maxwell Park Elementary (4730 Fleming) in Oakland is on lockdown, with students being evacuated, after a neighbor reported seeing a man with a shotgun roaming around the area. No reports of any injuries or shootings. more ›

For the second time in the last ten years, the City of Oakland is initiating a study to look into the feasibility and potential economic-development opportunities that would come from a streetcar line connecting Jack London Square with Oakland's Uptown and MacArthur BART. They got a $300,000 grant from CalTrans last year for the updated study, which repeats similar studies done between 2003 and 2005. more ›