Do you think you would have gone in the Ghost Ship If you knew it had existed?

The very last thing I heard on the news this evening was that of the 36 who perished, 35 have been identified, but 5 families left to notify. I'm not sure what the situation is with the 36th person. They also haven't said how many were guests and who had been living on the premises.

The pictures I have seen remind me of some of my old haunts. Nasrudian Tea House in Raleigh comes to mind. Just a bunch of folks enjoying each other

@bijouxbroussard: It's terrible, no one thinks of safety when they're all having a party. That's good to know most have been identified. I remember when my sister was killed in a car accident. No body can ever imagine that phone call, or the cops at the door to give you the news. 😥

@sweetpea: Some of us can remember the cops at the door when we had to give them the news😭

@sweetpea: Oh, sweetpea, I'm so, so sorry. It's unimaginable.

My mother and sister came down to my office and told me when my husband Michael and our little one had died. I had been working late and was waiting for them to come pick me up. Michael had my father's number in his wallet so the authorities called him.

@bijouxbroussard: Oooohhh, I'm so sorry!!! There are never the right words for such a thing. I never knew this about you, were they also in a car wreck? My sister had just turned 30, and what we didn't know was she was pregnant at the time. I wrote a story for my brother when he died, but I haven't managed to write one for my sister yet.

@tnjazz: Oh no, not you too!?!!! I didn't know that. What happened? I'm so sorry tazz. 😢

@sweetpea: Yes it was a freeway accident. I found out later a drunk driver (whose license had been suspended) was involved, and had also died. I wrote a story on EP but haven't posted anything about it on SW.

@bijouxbroussard: I just can't except that's the end, I just KNOW we will see them all again. 💔👼

@bijouxbroussard: @sweetpea: @tnjazz:
I'm so terribly sorry to hear that you all had such significant losses. I cannot even imagine how that would feel. My heart truly goes out to you all.

The Ghostship is less then a mile from my home. This last weekend, was incredibly sad. Helicopters flying over all day and it's all that was on tv. Our neighborhood, will forever be impacted by this tragedy. My children and I walked down to pay our respects on Sunday, and the sadness we felt looking at the shell of this building brought every one of us to tears. They said they found the remains of one couple holding onto one another, every firefighter there was overcome with grief. I can only hope this will shine some light on the housing situation in Oakland, as well as how the city handles complaints, and how owners manage their properties. What will make this situation even more tragic, is if nothing positive comes from it, after the fact.

It might raise the consciousness of the housing situation for a while.but unfortunately people sometimes have short attention spans

@rottenrobi: God bless them all and their families. We will forever hold them in our hearts, God will hold them in His hands. ⚱😭🔥🤚🏽💫👼

@tnjazz: Well there's gonna be a war right here if people don't realize we all have basic needs, and find a way to help, not just think of their own asses!?!! 😡

What a wonderful world it would be if people cared long enough to make a difference . Sometimes people tell me to take off my rose colored glasses. I prefer to keep them on

@rottenrobi: I forgot to thank you robi for your thoughtfulness. So you were up front and close to it all. That would really leave a lasting impression! I would be overcome with grief too. 💔⚱

That's true about people, but Oakland has a lot of catching up to do, and fast. This town has always been the red headed step child to the city (SF), and not much has been expected of it, that is until recently. We had a status quo, do nothing mayor for years, Jerry Brown used Oakland as a stepping stone for becoming governor, and another mayor after Brown who was qualified to throw parties, not govern a transitioning city of this size. We finally have a mayor who is from the area, and wants to see it recognized for all it has to offer, not just the where it's going to fall on the national crime chart. Gentrification has hit this city with a vengeance. There's a housing shortage here. Between 2012 and 2013 purchase prices rose 64%. There are approx 1,500 homes in some state of foreclosure, a significantly less number then a few years ago, but still a high number. Investors are coming in and swooping up these foreclosures, some flipping them and putting them back on the market at a significant price increase, making it impossible for people in the neighborhood to buy. Other investors, are fixing them up and renting them out at a much higher price then before. The city (SF) doesn't have any more homes available, so there spilling out over to Oakland, and these transplants can afford these high prices. High prices in predominantly black and latino neighborhoods. Long standing Oaklanders can't afford to stay here anymore. The only reason I get to stay is because my house is owned by a woman who lives on the East Coast. If she ever gets wind of what houses are going for, she could easily up my rent by $1,300/month, and still be below the current standard. Soon Oakland will be owned by people who don't even live in this country.

@rottenrobi: This is an unexpected insight into the situation of things. Your situation is not unique to your area. I live in Memphis and am feeling your same squeeze. The property value of my house has doubled in the years I have been here. In my opinion, just because some are duped into paying more than what houses are actually worth. There is a huge affordable housing problem here,mostly because of absentee owners who are trying to squeeze every dime out of their own "soon to be foreclosed property" to pay for the house they are living in now . I blame the banks for lending people money to buy something they can't really afford and the politicians who make the laws that allow them to do that . Not to sound disgruntled or anything 🙂

@rottenrobi: And it's happening everywhere! In our neighborhood prices for homes have tripled in just a few years! 🙁 We're not home owners either and lucky our rent has only been raised fifty bucks in the past few years, whew! It's scary, any of us could be homeless.