Apr 2, 2008
SF Weekly | Borderlands helps make the Bay Area a sci-fi bookstore haven
David Inman walks into the Other Change of Hobbit, a science-fiction bookstore in Berkeley, with only a vague idea of what he’s looking for. “I think the cover was blue and it had a spaceship kind of flying off,” Inman tells the man behind the counter, who happens to be the store’s owner, David Nee.
Dec 9, 2007
Oakbook | Oakland cop out
For the last seven years - whether crime was up or down - the Oakland police department has regularly busted its budget. Big time.
The main culprit is overtime pay, and it adds up pretty quickly. Starting pay for an Oakland cop is $69,000, and it increases with experience. But with overtime pay and various shift differentials, officers often earn more than double their base salaries, according to the city’s salary records.
Oct 17, 2007
Oakbook | From Jerry Brown to homeless youth
Kima was sitting in a jail cell in Sacramento on prostitution charges when she thought of a caseworker she had met once in Oakland. So she called the number on an old business card and hoped for the best.
“I didn’t know what to do, and she had seemed nice,” Kima says.
Sep 25, 2007
Oakbook | Is your council member working hard enough?
The City Hall chamber is mostly empty. As the Oakland City Council members work through agenda items, some sit attentively, others stare into space with glazed eyes. Are they dealing with the people’s business? Or should we just be grateful the committee didn’t cancel the meeting.
Mar 29, 2005
UPI | Supreme Court hears file-sharing case
This was called-in to UPI immediately after the hearing. It ran in the Washington Times, World Peace Herald, Linux Insider and various online outlets.
WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) — File-sharing services, such as music and video swap
Internet sites, should be liable for billions of dollars on copyright infringements, music
and film industry representatives told the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday.
Mar 21, 2005
UPI | Nitrates in U.S. wells worrisome
This story came from a House briefing on widespread nitrate contamination in drinking water. It ran in the Washington Times, Eccowire, WaterWorld and other outlets.
WASHINGTON, March 21 (UPI) — A federal government report on nitrate contamination of the nation’s ground-water supplies shows about 7 percent of U.S. wells contain potentially hazardous levels of the substance — although the data used to compile
the report are far from comprehensive.