My impression of Oakland has always been little better than that of John Carpenter’s vision of the city in ‘Escape from New York.’  It wasn’t too long ago that three cops were killed in Oakland.  Someone needs to flush the rats from this city out into nearby San Francisco Bay and then drown them ALL!

This guy spent his life battling the demons of others and leaves behind a devastated family.

Read the entire story at the San Francisco Chronicle:

Marlon Mayorga made a difference in his life. Courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Marlon Mayorga made a difference in his life. Courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Marlon Mayorga was a social worker at UCSF who dedicated his life to counseling victims of violent crime and helping those who were struggling to kick drugs. The native of Nicaragua had insight into such problems, having gone through recovery years ago.

Mayorga, 41, was walking Leo, his husky-German shepherd mix, at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday when he was gunned down near the corner of Harold and Champion streets, less than a block from his home in Oakland’s normally placid Dimond District.

No arrests have been made, and no motive has been established, said police Sgt. Rich Vierra, chief of staff to acting Police Chief Howard Jordan.

“It’s an unfortunate incident,” Vierra said. “Crime is reaching all boundaries in Oakland. There is no quote-unquote safe zone.”

The sad irony of Mayorga’s slaying was not lost Wednesday on friends who remembered him as a man of peace, a gifted salsa dancer and family man who strove to help those in need. He left behind his wife, their 3-year-old daughter and a stepdaughter…

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