Occupy Oakland

Yesterday I was in Oakland again for more Occupy Oakland coverage.  I covered the general strike at the beginning of November, when thousands shut down the port of Oakland.  Early morning yesterday police came and dismantled the tent camp at Frank Ogawa Plaza downtown.  Protestors had to leave and the entire plaza was cleaned up.  I was on the second shift, covering the rally that day and the march back to the plaza once it was opened back up to the public.  Here's a couple from the day.  

Protestors rally in front of City Hall after being allowed back into the plaza.  Crews spent all day clearing the plaza of tents and garbage.

Paul Benton Sr., of Oakland, wears his sentiments on his hat as crews clean up Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, Calif., Monday, November 14, 2011 after an early morning raid to dismantle the Occupy Oakland camp.  "We understand what occupy stands for and we appreciate it," Benton said, "but this is affecting just average people like myself."  Benton said the movement should push to occupy vacant houses like all of the ones on his street.  

Brad Newsham, of Oakland, pickets outside the police blockade of Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, Calif., Monday, November 14, 2011 after an early morning raid to dismantle the Occupy Oakland camp.  "Surrender this and they'll all go back to sleep I think," Newsham said of giving up the plaza.  Newsham is a San Francisco cab driver who stopped his cab at the plaza on the first day of Occupy Oakland, and said he has been back to either the Oakland or San Francisco occupy sites nearly every day since.   

 

Manisl Roberson of Oakland shows off the flag on his tent at Snow Park in Oakland, Calif., Monday, November 14, 2011.  Roberson relocated from Frank Ogawa Plaza before an early morning raid to dismantle the Occupy Oakland camp.  "You gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em," he said, "I ain't got time to go to jail."   

Sunnydale projects

The Sunnydale projects in San Francisco have a really rough history, and things seem to be getting worse.  A reporter for the Chronicle wrote a column about it after he went on a tour with a politician, and everyone he met that night had either been shot or knew someone who was shot.  The day after the reporter walked through the community I went on my own tour.  I met Drew, who was shot in 2004 after dropping his kid off at a slumber party.  Drew is a mentor and community leader who works with teens at the youth center.  After he was shot, the police thought he was involved somehow and armed, and he had to get other community leaders to vouch for his character.  I met Brad and Thomas, neighbors who were shot last month as they barbecued, just five minutes after Thomas had sent his kids off on an errand.  I toured the projects in broad daylight, and the whole time I was there, no matter who I was talking to, their eyes were constantly scanning the horizon, looking out for trouble.  The projects are at war with another housing project just a couple blocks down the hill, and innocent people keep getting caught in the crossfire.  Drew pointed out where a shooting was last week, and while I was there working on this story a little girl got caught in the crossfire of a shooting.  I've shot in rough neighborhoods in places like Newark, and Detroit, and even other rough neighborhoods in San Francisco, but Sunnydale definitely stands out for its lack of options.  There is no place for kids to go here.  There is one teen center that could definitely use some upgrades.  There is no gym, and the basketball courts I saw in the middle of the project didn't have lights.  Residents talked to me about observing a curfew - grown men who make sure they're inside before it gets dark, men who drive their cars over the curbs of the parking lot all the way to their front doors to let their children into their homes.  I'm new to San Francisco, so I don't know why neighborhoods like Bayview or Hunters Point get more funding or have more resources than Sunnydale.  Drew explained that places like Bayview have five or six gyms, while they don't have one.  I don't know if it's a size issue, or strictly money.  I hope this column helps them get some funding somehow.  There's definitely a larger issue here - Sunnydale seems a lost neighborhood.  

Drew Jenkins gazes down the hill from his Sunnydale neighborhood in San Francisco, Calif., Friday, November 4, 2011.  Jenkins, a community leader and mentor, was shot there in 2004 after dropping his son off at a slumber party.  He says the rivalry between his neighborhood and the one two blocks down the hill is at an all time high.  "This is a state of emergency," he said of the recent shootings, "It's like the land of the lost."

Thomas Konaris, 58, was shot once through his side and once in his foot while barbecuing outside his Sunnydale home October 15.

Bradley Young was shot while barbecuing in front of his Sunnydale home October 15.  The shot went through his arm and lodged in his chest.  Now he said he's shellshocked, and constantly keeps an eye out for people he doesn't recognize.

Police investigate a shooting at The Shop, a barbershop on Leland Ave. in San Francisco, Calif., Friday, November 4, 2011.

Mayor Ed Lee for NYT

The mayoral race here is getting lots of attention.  I shot for the New York Times last week - a press conference where a bunch of candidates spoke out against the current mayor, and then the current mayor's schedule of campaigning that day.  The photos ran today, but the story ended up being different than what it was originally billed as.  So here's a couple from the original assignment about the investigation into the mayor's campaign finances.  

Club inspector

Saturday night I had an interesting assignment from the Chronicle - photograph a guy who can't be photographed doing what can't be photographed.  The Entertainment Commission has this guy who goes around to clubs investigating complaints about noise, or violence.  Except, most of the time he goes incognito so they don't know who he is.  So, I couldn't be obvious about shooting him, and I couldn't show his face in any of the photos I did get, so he can keep his 'cover'.  It was a different kind of challenge.  He was mainly checking on lines outside clubs when I was with him.  The guy was cool about me trailing him and it worked out.  Here's what I got, and the front page from the Chronicle today:

 

Cirque du Soleil's "Totem"

A couple of photos from shooting Cirque du Soleil's new show Totem, which just opened here in San Francisco, and will be here until December.  It was my first Cirque show, and it was ridiculous.  I would write more but I have to go work out.  Every day.  For the rest of my life.  Starting now.