Occupy Oakland protest
- During a rowdy 5-hour session last night in which city leaders were repeatedly shouted down, a majority of the City Council indicated they would like an end to the Occupy Oakland encampment at Frank Ogawa Plaza, but did not vote on any proposal. Chronicle
- Interim police chief Howard Jordan blamed “anarchists and provocateurs” for the late night violence in downtown Oakland after Wednesday’s general strike. Bay City News Service
- A majority of protesters sought to distance themselves from the vandals and other hooligans who hijacked the tail end of an otherwise mostly peaceful day of protests. Chronicle
- The Oakland Tribune finds widespread frustration and blame for the ongoing protests as public cost spirals.
- Clergy members and other community leaders appealed to Occupy Oakland’s organizers to reopen talks with City Hall over the future of the protests, citing the costs and the distraction to the understaffed police department’s ability to fight crime. Oakland Tribune
- Cartoonist Susie Cagle was released from jail late Thursday afternoon, about 14 hours after being detained in downtown Oakland during the unrest that followed the general strike. Fishbowl LA
- Public Defender Jeff Adachi unveiled new allegations of misconduct by San Francisco police officers. Examiner
- Think tank California Forward unveiled a proposal to tackle the state’s fiscal and governance woes, including shifting to a two-year budget and curtailing last-minute legislative amendments by requiring that all bills be made available to the public at least three days before passage. Capitol Alert
- “Birther Queen” Orly Taitz, the dentist and lawyer from Orange County who made a name for herself questioning President Obama’s birth certificate, says she’ll seek the GOP nomination for the U. S. Senate to oppose Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2012. HuffPost
"Somebody has to stand up for this city. Ms. Quan, you're a good person, but the business community doesn't like this."-- Lifelong Oakland resident Phillip Johnson, addressing a silent Mayor Jean Quan during an emotionally charged special City Council meeting last night over how to deal with the Occupy Oakland encampment.
Other news
- Former Giants payroll manager Robin O’Connor is poised to plead guilty to charges that she embezzled more than $2.2 million from team accounts, the Chronicle says.
- The San Mateo County Transit Authority is leading the charge to revive talk of a possible Dumbarton rail line for commuter service between the Peninsula and the East Bay. Palo Alto Daily News
- Walnut Creek police arrested a Vacaville school administrator on child pornography charges. Contra Costa Times
- The buzz around San Jose State is that the Trojans might jump from the Western Athletic Conference to the Mountain West—if they get an invitation. Mercury News
- The Raiders announced a sellout for Sunday’s game with the Denver Broncos, freeing up the game for local television. BANG
- The former lead pastor of Live Oak Community Church in the Contra Costa community of Oakley pleaded guilty to felony grand theft for fraudulently taking out a $110,000 mortgage on the church in 2008. Contra Costa Times
- The late Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley is among 10 candidates for the baseball Hall of Fame who will be on the Veterans Committee ballot next month. Oakland Tribune
- The latest senseless act of animal cruelty: Authorities are looking for whoever killed a cat in Redwood City by tying a 5-pound dumbbell to its neck and tossing it in a lagoon. BANG
