Rob AriasOur bi-weekly newsletter for this period includes five stories related to Emeryville including:
- The East Bay Bike Party rolled through Emeryville on November 8
- The latest from the trial of recent Emeryville resident Nima Momeni who is accused of killing Tech Executive Bob Lee
- Gaza protesters recently returned to Emeryville
- A Berkeley Measure taxing natural gas that was strongly opposed by Berkeley Bowl was defeated
- California Governor Gavin Newson has extended the CHP surge operation to combat crime in Oakland and the East Bay
Berkeley Measure Defeated that Berkeley Bowl and others called “untenable”
Berkeley voters handily defeated a tax on natural gas that some businesses including Berkeley Bowl deemed “untenable.”
Approval would have imposed a tax of $2.96 for every 100 cubic feet of gas consumed for buildings in Berkeley that are 15,000 square feet or larger. Measure GG, written by a group calling themselves Fossil Free Berkeley, was intended to provoke businesses to electrify their operations and move away from fossil fuels that can contribute to climate change.
Berkeley Bowl’s marketing and communications manager Chi Dixon estimated the financial burden to the company would be “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Berkeley Bowl wasn’t the only local business to oppose the measure with representatives of both Fieldwork Brewing Co. and Boichik Bagels harshly criticizing it.
The measure was soundly defeated by Berkeley voters with nearly 70% opposing it.
East Bay Bike Party Rolls Through Emeryville
The East Bay Bike Party, who coordinate bi-weekly Friday evening group rides throughout the East Bay, rolled through Emeryville on November 8th.
Hundreds of participants with illuminated bikes and amplified music rolled through Huchiun park sharing the good vibes and the freedom two wheels can bring.
While a vast majority of the participants are respectiful, the events have attracted a rogue element that has tagged property, ignited small fires and driven motorbikes and ATVs. In response to the negative attention these actions have brought to the rides, the organizers have been encouraging riders to show their dismay but not engage with the culprits.
Routes for the events are posted on their blog and their social accounts a few days prior to the event.
Protestors gathered outside the Maersk office in Emeryville to reject the ongoing annihilation campaign on Palestine that is being carried out by Israel and funded and approved by the United States! pic.twitter.com/TAljxheRAW
— Kuffiya (@Kuffiyateam) October 25, 2024
Gaza Protesters Return to Emeryville
Gaza protesters returned to the Emeryville office of Danish shipping company Maersk on October 25. Protesters had previously picketed their offices back on June 11 pressuring them to not send U.S. manufactured weaponry to Israel to be used in the ongoing conflict
Gaza protesters also recently targeted the Bay Street Apple Store attempting to tie the company to the conflict because of the company’s policy of matching employee donations to nonprofits that they allege are supporting the conflict.
Protesters at the Maersk offices dipped shoes in red paint and threw them at a sign emblazoned with the company’s logo while chanting Free Palatine slogans.
There were some reports of vandalism, but the protest remained mostly peaceful according to authorities.
Nima Momeni Takes the Stand in Murder Trial defense
The trial of recent Emeryville Resident Nima Momeni has now been underway for four weeks. Momeni recently took the stand portraying his account of the events on April 4th that led to the killing of prominent Tech Executive Bob Lee.
Momeni has been in a SF jail since his Besler Lofts home was raided back on April 13, 2023 on suspicion of killing Lee.
The SF Standard has been doing some incredible courtroom reporting on the trial. Their latest piece details Momeni’s testimony that the killing was self-defense, that Lee was in fact the aggressor and the confrontation escalated from “a bad joke.”
NEW: Oakland families demand — and deserve — to live in a thriving, safe community.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 8, 2024
We’re extending our CHP law enforcement surge in Oakland to help maintain public safety.
We have made nearly 1200 arrests and recovered 2,246 stolen vehicles. We will continue this important… pic.twitter.com/QkQZlzDAqv
California Governor Gavin Newsom has extended the state’s efforts to boost public safety in Oakland through the California Highway Patrol. Newsom first deployed the CHP to Oakland and other parts of the East Bay over a year ago to assist a crime-plagued and under-resourced Oakland.
“We have made nearly 1200 arrests and recovered 2,246 stolen vehicles. We will continue this important work as local leadership transitions,” Newsom tweeted.
The local leadership “transitions” that Newsom is referring to are of course the voter recalls of both Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.
Issues with crime in Oakland likely cost both of them their jobs as voters supporting their recall by a nearly two-thirds majority.
With the Presidential campaign defeat of Kamala Harris, Newsom is among a handful of Democratic candidates expected to run in 2028.
