Holder brings anti-gang effort to Oakland

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

(05-11) 14:39 PDT OAKLAND --

Putting a dent in gang and youth violence - and not medical marijuana activity - is a priority of the Obama administration, U.S Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday after touring an East Oakland youth center.

The nation's top law-enforcement official said he supported a variety of initiatives to combat gang-related violence, saying they were among "comprehensive, holistic solutions to the problems that affect our community."

Holder made his remarks after visiting Youth UpRising, a nonprofit youth empowerment organization, while flanked by the group's executive director, Olis Simmons, along with Mayor Ron Dellums and Police Chief Anthony Batts.

The attorney general lauded the group's efforts in providing leadership opportunities for local youth.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/11/BADR1DCSM8.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

---

"Not medical marijuana activity"...right on Mr. Attorney General! Good to see an Obama administration official call out the failure of the War on Weed (oh and Drugs in general). However, AG Holder wasn't quite comfortable with legalizing marijuana as the Chronicle reported.

If you pay attention to Bay Area news on a daily basis you might notice how nearly every day some sort of violent crime occurs in Oakland. Even random attacks and drive-bys.

[X_Digger]

1. According to 2008 figures, Oakland has the highest violent crime rate in CA..

at 1,968 per 100,000, with also the highest murder rate of 29 per 100,000 (national average is around 5.5/100,000.)

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/documents/08tbl08.xls

[FrenchieCat]

2. My hubby's offices are in Oakland, round the Lake....

and yes, parts of Oakland are definitely high crime areas,
and something needs to be done about it!